Imposter System

While contemplating, another monitor activated. On the screen, a group of three were shown fiddling with the camera. They backed away to check it, and waved to it. They were speaking, but the cameras didn't have audio and Matt didn't know how to read lips. Alexis, who had just finished clearing one of the wounds on the vest looked over.

"They are discussing whether to return to the base or scout on ahead." Alexis said before returning to her task. Matt didn't have time to be impressed by her skills because a red glint appeared in the distance aimed at the camera. The screen flashed red as the light hit the lens, causing the camera to go static again.

"It looks like you can take the cameras out after they're activated. But this is bad. Looks like another medic team is being ambushed. You and you, lets move out!" Matt acted right away and pointed at George and one of the people in Alexis's medic team. Matt had an impression of this person, since he was one of the two that got into a fist fight at the reception earlier. His name is Mike Bison.

The trio left through the side door and made their way to the medic team that was being ambushed. They were moving at a steady pace and arrived at the scene just in time to see the three people in the medic team with their hands up, exiting through a side door in the military bay. The trio decided to hide behind some rocks and waited for a while. Matt wouldn't leave it up to chance and activated his Detect Life. What he noticed was three sources of life inside the building ahead of them.

When Matt turned to look at his teammates, he discovered that Bison had an above average life force. This man was more than just a bridge officer! This level of life is something Matt only saw in those top-level soldiers that do nothing but train. Although he was curious about this person's identity, Matt used the common military gesture system to target the building.

The three of them moved silently together, entering into a formation taught in basic training. When they reached the door, Matt signaled the others to wait. He was monitoring their positions with his Detect Life and noticed that one of them was approaching the door. He focused on that signal and his internal structure was revealed to him. Matt was able to see some old injuries due to interruptions in his life force. Based on his posture, he hadn't detected the three of them outside.

Matt gestured that someone was approaching the door and the three trained their guns. Once the person opened the door and stepped out, several laser shots hit all over his vest and he was instantly eliminated. Matt skillfully aimed at the same spots as his allies to cover his inability to eliminate anyone. It was against the spirit of the game to call out after being eliminated, so he simply threw his arms up and began walking to the nearest exit. Although he didn't alert the others on purpose, they noticed his behavior and realized what had happened.

Matt saw the other two moving through the back of the building, perhaps through a window. He signaled his teammates to go around and pursue while he went inside to see what they were up to. As he approached the electric control panel, he saw various panels labeled with different names. Warehouse, Med Bay, Weapons Locker, Security Alpha, Security Omega, Communications, Garage, and Reactor.

The two security rooms had full power and the option to disable them was greyed out. However, all of the other locations had a central power reset that required someone to reactivate the power at the specific location. This was probably solved on an electrical panel at that location. What Matt didn't understand is why the reactor was also an option. However, after thinking about it for a few seconds, he came up with a simple conclusion.

'The electric control panel is on our side of the battlefield; therefore, the reactor should be on their side. It's a good distraction or even an ambush site.'

"Doctor O'Connely, we couldn't find anyone else." Bison popped his head in. He walked over on his own and looked at the control panel. He hummed and scratched his chin. "Looks like they didn't get to do anything before we caught up to them."

However, Matt shook his head and rebutted. "Originally, our advantage of having the electrical room next to us is knowing which facilities are in the whole arena, and having the ability to shut off power without the other side knowing what is happening. Because we didn't catch the ones that ran, we lost our advantage. Not to mention they took out three of our teammates."

Bison had a look of realization and then he awkwardly smiled. "So, what do we do?"

Matt smiled and looked over at the control panel. He had a good idea but first they would need to reconnect the camera. The process was fairly simple, since the team before them left the ladder out. Matt climbed the ladder while Bison and George kept watch. He disconnected and reconnected the camera and the light came back on. Then he stepped back and started to talk at the camera.

"We're shutting the power down and going to attempt an ambush. The medical team was eliminated. Two enemies escaped." After finishing, he sent a telepathic message to Alexis to make sure she saw him on the camera, and once he got confirmation, he approached the panel. On the panel for the reactor, Matt turned the dial and set a timer for 3 minutes. Then, he pulled the reset lever down and the timer began to count down.

Matt exited the electrical room and gathered his teammates. "Let's move."

As they traveled through the snowy environment, Matt led the group toward the opposing side. He wasn't sure if the reactor was on the left or right, so he simply picked one and hoped for the best. His real goal was to get his teammates eliminated and oust the spy on the other side. Since a large portion of his team was already out, this would be fairly easy.

Although he complained about the event when he saw it, Matt was actually having fun. He was able to dissociate and forget about his troubles. This was the main reason he was addicted to gaming in his past life. Suddenly, the temperature dropped and Matt checked his personal device. It had been three minutes and all power had shut off in the arena. The only way to turn it back on was to go directly to the reactor. It was very possible that someone was already there so their time was limited.

Matt activated his Detect life and caught a group of two hiding in a nearby building. There was no light so he ordered Bison and George to stand guard while he searched the building. Inside, he got the jump on the two people but realized something was wrong right away. They still didn't notice him, but he could make out their details from the glow of the emergency exit light.

The duo wore tactical vests, and were holding real guns. Their clothing was completely black without any specific markings. Matt slowly backed away, but they noticed him just then. They turned and aimed their sights down on him. Matt threw his hands up and they flashed a light in his face.

"Identity confirmed, Matthew O'Connely. Stand down." One of them said as they both lowered their weapons. Matt, however, stayed tensed up. He didn't dare do anything abrupt. "Injecting hypnotic serum." The other said as it approached with an injection delivery device. The machine let out a hiss of air and the medicine began going through his system. After a few seconds, the man who injected him whispered into his ear.

"We were never here. You passed out after hitting your head." Then he slammed his stock into the side of Matt's head and he fell down. The drug wouldn't do anything to him because of his resistances, but he played along and pretended to be knocked out. He tried to figure out what was going on but could only come to two conclusions.

First, someone was taking advantage of the situation in order to take out important members of the ship and vie for power. The obvious person would be Willard, but there was still the possibility of a hidden actor.

Second, the captain arranged for all of this in order to execute someone. Perhaps the reason why he hasn't made a move against Willard or revealed that the AI was compromised is so that he could have free reign over the chaos in the ship. Without the AI keeping him in check, and the crew unaware, the council never had to form, and he could do any illegal activity he wanted.

Matt tracked the two assailants with his Detect Life and smiled viciously. 'If you want to be lawless, then don't blame me for what's going to happen.'

He stood up and his heart rate began to increase. His pupils dilated, and even in the pitch darkness, he could still see. Matt's instincts were exploding through his mental barriers, and he didn't hold them back.