ã€ŠWitch of the West (A SCS Fanfiction)ã€‹


 Chapter 01 Initialized

    It¡¯s not every day I get to have fun with one of my projects.

    I gently and very carefully place the porous orbs of white into the holding receptacle. Once it¡¯s safely in place I drop its brothers in along with the first, in all around twenty of the orbs go into the thin polymer container. I then carefully turn the container over, so the opening faces horizontally. On the top there is a small opening and a funnel to pour the catalyst for my experiment. I only have enough materials to do this once, so if I screw this up, I will have to wait stars knows how long until I can find replacements, and it will be embarrassing in front of my audience.

    Holding my liquid catalyst steady, I must do this quickly for it to have maximum effect. I dump it all into the funnel at the top of the container, and quickly seal it up with a cap.

    A gentle shake and the liquid quickly reacts with the orbs, causing a buildup of gases. I keep calm and aim the open end of the container out towards the onlookers. An evil grin spreads across my face as the contents of the container spew out in spray of sugar and sticky goo!

    Laughs abound as the children are sprayed with the concoction; it gets over everything in a ten-foot cone in front of me. Who said science can¡¯t be fun?

    The kids only being around 7-8 years old or so are easily fascinated by the simple display.

    ¡°This.¡± I explain. ¡°Is a physical reaction of carbon dioxide and the tiny bumps coating the candy releasing the bonds and freeing all the carbon dioxide at once!¡±

    I set the dripping bottle down onto the table behind me.

    ¡°Does anyone have any questions?¡±

    None of the kids raise their hands, they seem to be mostly busy licking the sugary mess off their hands and laughing.

    One of them that did not get too messy raises their hand.

    ¡°Yes, Albert?¡±

    ¡°Can I have one of the candies?¡± He asks as his face turns red, from embarrassment. I grab the roll of candies and hand it to him.

    ¡°Of course, you can, take one and pass it around to everyone. Remember Albert fortune favors the bold and inquisitive, never be afraid to ask questions!¡±

    He takes the roll and slips one out, then hands it to the girl next to him.

    ¡°Now class, I have a simple project for you to complete. It¡¯s due to me in one week!¡± Groans from the kids fill the room. ¡°Now now, it¡¯s not that bad. What I want you to do is get with your parents and build a demonstration of what I just showed you in some way. For example, you could mimic mine or build a volcano, or something else search the net if you need to. I will be sending a more detailed explanation to help you.¡±

    Using my augs I select the pre-made file their previous teacher had prepared and send it out using the school¡¯s distro list to their parents. I say previous because their last one was consumed by a model three Antithesis in an incursion that somehow slipped into the city.

    Antithesis, an invading plant based alien species that have been scouring the galaxy consuming everything and anything to expand. Ever since that first incursion that dropped onto Ohio in 2022, we knew aliens existed and they were here to consume us as fuel. They are a dumb species for the most part like a tree, they just grow to gain more food, and they create different plant types, we call them models, each model has a different purpose. Thankfully there was another alien race who call themselves the ¡°Protectors¡±. They have been helping the galaxy by using a program they call ¡°Uplift¡± where they select worthy individuals to gain a super advanced AI capable of teleporting in advanced technology to aid the species in repelling the Antithesis. Those Uplifted are called Vanguard by the AI, of course humans being the weebs we are, call them Samurai.

    It was exceedingly rare for any drop pods to actually land in the city, so while tragic it is understandable how the teacher let her guard down and then got eaten. That was about a week ago, when the school put out a call for subs I volunteered. I firmly believe that children should be given as much education as possible. They are our future, and it is critical that they learn not just rote information but also how to learn, to be curious, and how to think for themselves and not just gobble down the trash corps and media put out.

    Thus, I am here teaching 8-year-olds basic science, me, Morigana, with a master¡¯s in physics, an understudy in Antithesis, and Vanguard technology. My day job was not thrilled about me departing for an extended time, but they don¡¯t have much choice. I am one of their biggest researchers and without me they would still be making fire by rubbing sticks together.

    The end of class bells rings, the children gather of their backpacks and zip out of the classroom at relativistic speeds. Nothing moves faster than a child on a Friday trying to get home for their weekend. I challenge anyone to change my mind!

    As the last kiddo crosses the rooms threshold a siren blares out through school¡¯s PA system. A high-pitched warbling noise that oscillates, the incursion alarm. Moments later my augs flash a similar alarm with a bit more detail.

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    A map of the city is displayed with red overlays, predicting the Antithesis drop locations and expected spread rates if they land.

    The mega city of Las Vegas has a very robust and sophisticated AAA defense network that has been able to fend of the majority of the invasion pods. Between the local Samurai, Joint Base Nellis, and Creech there are multiple layers of response to the invasion.

    Samurai AAA tech litters the surrounding mountain tops providing the superior power of Vanguard tech, with several emplacements mid-city as well. The mountains also provide a natural land barrier with built in choke points to defend the city by land. Most of the local Samurai also live at Nellis and have their equipment on ready for nearly instant response.

    The Joint units embedded there also respond with current Earth tech melded with Vanguard tech provided by Samurai through defense contracts. It¡¯s a very beneficial arrangement for both the Government and the Samurai. The Samurai get a fat check from the Government to supplement their needs, and the Government gets their hands on Vanguard Tech, or more precisely the company I work for does and we get paid to meld it into current Earth military tech.

    As good as all this is, Antithesis still get through sometimes and cause casualties mostly due to the population¡¯s belief in the defenses and their track record.

    I, unlike those complacent beings, I firmly believe in self-preservation and therefore I grab up my bag of science goodies and start running out the door after my students.

    ¡°Class, please follow me to the nearest bunker!¡± I shout out as loud as I can. Some of the students turn back from down the hallway. ¡°Yes, you get your classmates in front of you, the bunker is this way.¡± I point down the opposite side of the hallway.

    I access my aug network and ping all the children whom I don¡¯t immediately see with instructions to turn around.

    I also highlight the pathway directly to the bunker for them, and myself.

    Most of the students immediately start running towards me in the correct direction.

    I run past them to catch up with the students I don¡¯t have in sight, using my access as a teacher I can look up their location anywhere on campus. There are only five of them and they are only a few turns down from where I am.

    I manage to meet them half-way. ¡°Let¡¯s go students, to the bunker please, nice and orderly!¡± I usher them in front of me with my hands.

    We make it to the first set of stairs leading down to the bunker when a world-shattering explosion shakes the building.

    My augs ping with an update, an Antithesis pod has literally landed on the school grounds, right on the football fields. Some of the students dropped to the floor from the impact, I reach down and grab them by the arms to help them up, we continue down the flight of stairs, only 3 more flights to reach the bunker at the bottom of the building. When we reach the last set of stairs, I hear the skitter of claws on hard flooring. Antithesis are near somewhere, down a hallway? Below us? It¡¯s hard to tell.

    ¡°Go kids, keep following the markers to the bunker, once you¡¯re in seal the doors!¡±

    There are three doors on this level leading out to different hallways, they could be coming from any of them or all three.

    I peek through the windows of each door, trying to see if I can spot the Antithesis making the noises. While I¡¯m doing that, I think of what I can even do to stop them when I see them. I have some things in my science bag, I open it and take a look.

    I have some raw elements in small quantities that I was going to possibly use as demonstrations for the kids if the soda and candy did not interest them. I rummage around and my hand lands on potassium, about half a pound. If I combine it with water it will explode, maybe I can take out a few with it. I need water though; I did not bring any. Where can I¡­ the sprinkler system! I do have a lighter, I quickly grab it, turn it on and toss it up at a sprinkler. On my second try I hit it and am rewarded with a deluge of water. The sample of potassium is thankfully contained in an argon sealed container, safe from the water at the moment.

    The problem will come with removing it quickly enough and hitting the Antithesis with it before it blows up in my hand.

    Perhaps not, if I loosen the lid, just enough then throw it, it might be enough to break apart.

    I loosen the lid and hope this works. I hear the scratching noise more distinctly coming from the middle hallway, I take a peek and sure enough down the hallway running at my position is a pack of seven model threes.

    The model threes that drop here are non-typical to most areas. They have been adapted to the desert climate of Vegas. They more resemble large Coyotes, with one massive unhinging jaw and a longer tongue that they use to grab prey. They are also leaner with less armor making them faster, long pointed ears for greater heat dissipation. I check the school Network and see that all the students have made it into the bunker.

    Now I have to wait for the right time to throw it, I¡¯m no athlete and am not deluding myself thinking I can throw it very far. About twenty feet out I throw the potassium container with its loosened lid, and hurriedly shut the door.

    I must have misjudged the energy release of potassium hitting a large amount of water because the door blows inward. Pieces of Antithesis, door, and other random shrapnel burst through the doorway and into me.

    I felt several objects pierce into my body, causing fountains of pain to erupt all over. My vision went blurry, and I was having trouble breathing. I could see streams of red mixing in with the water, creating pretty little blood eddies in the standing water. At least the kids are safe, a future generation of thinkers. It is hard to tell but I think the Antithesis are dead, and the doorway is clogged with debris. So, I¡¯ll just bleed out quietly instead of being eaten. My mind starts going fuzzy, and I feel lethargic, I could tell some major arteries were cut or bleeding out.

    To top it off a massive migraine hit my head and I screamed out.

    System Initialized!

    Congratulations. Through your actions you have proven yourself worthy of becoming one of the Vanguard, a defender of humanity. I am Sandymoleno. I will assist you to uplift humanity so that you may defend your home world from the Antithesis threat!

    Rise, Morigana Luxanna, and become a protector of the weak!

 Chapter 02 I cast Fireball!

    System Initialized!

    Congratulations. Through your actions you have proven yourself worthy of becoming one of the Vanguard, a defender of humanity. I am Sandymoleno. I will assist you to uplift humanity so that you may defend your homeworld from the Antithesis threat!

    Rise, Morigana Luxanna, and become a protector of the weak!

    Hello Morigana, it appears you are in dire need of medical attention. Would you like to purchase ¡°Class I Medical Utilities¡± for Fifty points? You currently have One Hundred and Seventy points. One Hundred from Initializing, and Seventy from the slain model Threes that are no longer rushing your position.

    I hear, or not really hear but it¡¯s in my head like another voice. A very soft voice, almost just above a whisper in a library. Yet firm and hard to miss, like my favorite professor from college.

    Thank the stars, I¡¯ve been picked to be a Vanguard! I may not need to bleed out after all, let¡¯s just hope I can find the energy to move and not make my internals any worse.

    You have less than three minutes before you will lose consciousness and then bleed out into the water. Your significant wounds are, one your brachial artery has been nicked and it is squirting out, two a punctured lung, and third severe lacerations to your legs.

    ¡°Yes Sandymoleno, please do and then a class one woundstop, a Class One Nano-Regenerative Suite, and a hemo-Restore please¡± I manage to mumble out somehow. I have done a significant amount of research regarding the lives of Samurai, and this seems to be what most need right away.

    Class I Medical Utilities unlocked!

    Points reduced to: 120

    Good choices, I recommend dosing most of the Woundstop into the brachial bleed, and the rest into the collapsed lung. Then inject yourself with the Hemo-Restore, and finally breath in the Nanos. This will be the optimal emergency treatment. You appear to not be in imminent danger from Antithesis, so do not panic, as it can cause fumbling.

    New Purchase: Class One Woundstop:

    Points reduced to: 115

    New Purchase: Class I Nano-Regenerative Suite:

    Points reduced to: 95

    New Purchase: Class I Hemo-Restore:

    Points reduced to: 90

    In front of me three packages drop into the water, as if by magic.

    I reach for the Woundstop first, I open the package and inside is a tube big around as a water bottle with a tip like a chemistry baster at the end. I grab it and depress the button into my arm. It feels like sand pouring into my body, rather unpleasant but less unpleasant than being dead.

    I then switch to the hole in my chest where now that I¡¯m kind of paying attention I notice breathing is incredibly painful and I¡¯m wheezing badly. I press in the rest of it and begin coughing, flecks of blood fly from my mouth.

    Next up I grab out the Hemo-Restore from its box.

    Inside there is a tube with crimson red liquid within, with a sort of plastic stopper at one end. A yellow arrow pointed towards a stopper. I press it against my upper leg and press the button.

    The syringe injects a series of tubes into my skin that connects with the nearest vein or artery and dumps the Hemo-Restore directly into my system.

    The next box I pick up holds a small device that looks like an asthma inhaler crossed with a rebreather. I press it to my face and take a deep breath. It feels like breathing a lungful of electric fire, tingles clawing their way down my throat, then through my lungs.

    I lean back against the railing of the stairs, taking deep breaths, as my internals reach a more natural state of existing. My mind slowly starts clearing, and my vision returns to normal.

    I can see now the doorway is full of debris, Antithesis guts and gore, and that Sandymoleno is correct, and I seem to be safe for the moment.

    ¡°Sandymoleno, thank you for your timely rescue. I really appreciate it. I owe you my life.¡±

    Think nothing of it Morigana, by showing your willingness to sacrifice yourself in-spite of your overwhelming instincts of self-preservation, and real desire to forward humanity¡¯s goals of improvement it was determined you qualify as a Vanguard. So really, thank you for stepping up!

    ¡°I¡­really don¡¯t feel like I deserve it. So many of the other Samurai seem to have done more initially than I have.¡±

    Do not sell yourself short Morigana, the algorithm that we use to determine fitness for duty is rather robust. We almost never make a mistake.

    ¡°Almost never? Have there been mistakes before?¡± I ask.

    There have been several instances in the beginning of the Uplift initiative. However so far, we consider the selection of Humans to have been 100% successful.

    ¡°That is somehow not reassuring, Humans are rather finicky beings. We don¡¯t exactly have the greatest track record for being¡­ Humane.¡±

    This is true; however, we see a lot of potential within the human race. Do not despair, there is hope.

    ¡°What exactly constitutes a failed selection?¡± I ask, shifting my position on the floor to get more comfortable. I am feeling much better and could probably walk, but I need just a bit more rest.

    There was a race of beings in our first selection that had an individual destroying their eco-system on accident through a massive deployment of orbital strikes. They blotted out their sun and entered an extended ice age, in hopes of freezing out the Antithesis. Needless to say, we have learned much in our selections.

    ¡°Did they survive?¡±

    They did indeed! However, they are now on a new planet after we had to do an emergency mass relocation.

    ¡°Again, not filling me with confidence, on a side note please do not let me do that.¡±

    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    I will advise you should an action place you in that position, do not fret.

    Enough loafing around, I feel good enough to get up and see if I can make it the bunker. I check the Network and see the Bunker is still indicating that it is open.

    That is not a good sign, I also verify that all my students are in it, and they are. So why is it still open?

    ¡°Sandymoleno, can you see why the bunker doors are not closed and secure?¡±

    Of course, a moment please Morigana. It appears that the electronics for the closing mechanism are shorted. The doors need to be closed manually and they are too heavy for the present persons within the bunker to close, and more than likely would require being pushed from the outside.

    ¡°Fan fricken-tastic, then let¡¯s get down there and see if we can help. Also, Sandymoleno, I¡¯m just going to call you Sandy for short. No wait, better yet can I change your name completely?¡±

    You may call me whatever you wish, I am here to serve you in safeguarding humanity. My name was randomized upon selection for interfacing with you.

    ¡°Great, then from now on your name will be Merlin. It fits with my name better I think.¡±

    Clever, my new designation is now Merlin. It is an honor and privilege to be named.

    Getting up I limp downstairs, everything still hurts. Most of my wounds seemed to have at least closed off and stopped bleeding.

    ¡°Merlin, I realize I¡¯m lacking a weapon now that I am a Samurai, and self-protection. It would be irresponsible of me to die being a protector of humanity now.¡±

    This is true, and I believe your death would be a loss for humanity as a whole, not just because you are a Vanguard.

    ¡°That¡¯s touching thank you Merlin.¡±

    Now for weapons, what did you have in mind?

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure really, I¡¯ve never used a gun in an instance of violence and I don¡¯t really like them. I have helped modify Earth tech and seen Vanguard-tech enough to know that I¡¯m not really the type to shoot things.¡±

    Well, there are some more creative methods for fighting Antithesis. Some Vanguard prefer grenades, lasers, swords, or even plants. We can look towards your namesake in old lore, and your recent actions for killing Antithesis.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    I reach the bottom of the stairs and enter the hallway that leads to the bunker.

    In lore Morigana is a sorceress that uses magic, you used raw elements to create a crude explosion¡­or a fireball. That idea could be expanded upon. You would need to combine two catalogs to achieve a more reliable, and lethal system. Class I Esoteric Single-use explosive Devices for delivery methods, and Class I refined elements for the core of the weapon.

    ¡°That does sound like something I would like. Would I be able to control the strength of explosions by adjusting the ratio of combined elements and volume?¡±

    You would indeed, I would create for you a delivery system for the ¡°ammo¡±, so you do not need to throw them. I would also link your augs to the system so you can manually adjust payload for effect. The delivery system would then fire the ammo, and it would explode at a signal from your augs or a pre-determined criteria that you set prior to launch.

    ¡°I love it already, and how much would the categories and system cost, and how much per shot?¡±

    The two categories would cost sixty points together. The weapon system itself would cost twenty points, and the elements I have in mind would cost ten points. It would fill your weapon system like a magazine and allow for several uses of the system depending on the size of round you intend to fire. Using the smallest practical setting you could fire the system ten times.

    ¡°What element is used to provide the effect, what are its characteristics, and can you provide me with its energy output per setting. That way I can tune my augs with settings and understand its lethality range.¡±

    Of course, Morigana, the element is not one your race has discovered yet. It is called Villifinunium and was created by the creators long before humans even existed. It flash boils in the range of most Earth temperatures and when it does it reacts to any Oxygen present in the area resulting in a massive fireball. One gram of Villifinunium is enough to cause roughly a twenty-foot sphere of fire at approximately three thousand degrees. Needless to say, it is volatile and will do exceedingly well at destroying Antithesis. It would also provide you with a built-in system to cleanse Antithesis spores and biomaterial at the same time as they would simply turn to ash.

    ¡°I will take one please! It sounds like the system will contain about ten grams of the stuff?¡±

    That is correct Morigana, unlocking the categories and purchasing your weapon system now.

    Class I Refined Elements unlocked!

    Points reduced to: 80

    Class I Esoteric Single-Use Explosive Devices unlocked!

    Points reduced to: 30

    New Purchase: Wand of Fireballs!

    Points reduced to: 0

    Right as I reach the bunker doors a small container roughly the size of a shoe box teleports in-front of me on the ground.

    I open the box and inside is a wand about an inch thick, and eighteen inches long. On one end has an opening big enough for a marble to fit through. The business end glows a fiery red from the inside, and transitions to a dark black where it is held.

    Morigana, your augs have been synced with the wand and you are now able to access the wand¡¯s function menu.

    ¡°Awesome thank you Merlin. For the time being can you please set it to lowest yield. We need to deal with this bunker.¡±

    Of course, Morigana, the wand is set to one gram. In regard to the bunker there are no handholds on the interior of the doors, so it must be pushed closed, and I do not believe you are capable of closing the doors on your own.

    Fudge, he is right and looking into the bunker it¡¯s not just my class of students, half the school appears to be in here as well. I would feel insulted for being called weak but I¡¯m not going to lie to myself, I¡¯m all of five foot four inches, and maybe a hundred and five pounds, and most of that is in my breasts and bum.

    Looking into the bunker I see a scattered bunch of teachers and faculty all trying to keep the horde of children under control. You would think everyone would be panicking, but I¡¯m guessing the reality of the situation has not quiet hit home yet. Denial or disbelief that the Antithesis will get here.

    ¡°Merlin without any points to spend, I think the only thing I can do is stop any Antithesis from reaching here.¡±

    The bunker is set at the end of the hallway and only has one entrance, but the hallway looks like it splits in a ¡°T¡± maybe sixty feet before the entrance to the bunker. Not a very big buffer between the entrance and where the Antithesis will pour out from should they make it down this far.

    I agree with your assessment Morigana, either stand at the T-section and fire down the hallways, this is less efficient use of the wand¡¯s charges but safer. Alternatively stand in front of the bunker and shoot at them. This is riskier being less time to react and you are closer to the weapon''s area of effect.

    I begin moving towards the T-section of the hallway, passing doors as I go.

    ¡°I think standing here is best, keeping the children and staff safer.¡± I say.

    I adopt a light crouch and hold my wand at the ready.

    ¡°Merlin, can you check the school feeds for me, and see if you can locate any threats. I do not want to get caught off guard.¡±

    You are tied into the schools net already, of course I can. I will create a mini-map on your augs and set red dots and their model type on it. I will of course notify you if I see them moving towards you as well.

    ¡°That is very helpful, thank you.¡±

    Looking down each hallway they have several doors on either side, empty classrooms. Both hallways are about forty feet long and end at stairwells.

    I open the wand''s menu and look at the settings. Merlin was underselling the options a bit I think, there were tons. Blast radius, temperature, launch range, proximity detonation range, impact detonation, time delay, specific range detonation, fire color, launch sound, verbal command cues, somatic commands, and on and on.

    I set detonation setting to proximity detonation of one foot or impact, and an arm distance of twenty-five feet, silent launch, a verbal/mental command, and activated a launch overlay on my augs to depict the current trajectory and impact radius.

    Morigana, while you were fiddling with your wand a group of seven model Threes has begun descending the stairwells. They will arrive from the left hallway in about three minutes.

    ¡°Much appreciated Merlin.¡±

    I take aim down the left hallway and take a shaky breath out. My injuries have for the most part calmed down enough including my lung. At this points my nerves are getting the better of me. Even though I blew up the first set, it was because I had no time to think about it. This time I have a relative lifetime to overthink this, possibly the rest of it.

    I hear the Antithesis before I see them, growling, and the clacking of claws on cheap flooring.

    I see movement through the window of the door.

    I take aim and set the overlay in my vision with the wand.

    As soon as the first model three clears the door I trigger the wand.

    ¡°I CAST FIREBALL!¡± I shouted.

    A slightly larger than pea sized object rockets out of the wand, faster than I can track it. The bead misses the model three by more than a foot, looks like I need some practice. However, it reaches the range trigger and detonates.

 Chapter 03 No One Eats Cafeteria Food

    ¡°I CAST FIREBALL!¡± I shout.

    A slightly larger than pea sized object rockets out of the wand, faster than I can track it. The bead misses the model three by more than a foot, looks like I need some practice. However, it reaches the range trigger and detonates. Again, Merlin undersold the wand. A quick flash of the bead separating and releasing the element to flash boil into the Oxygen. The resulting fireball is intense, the explosion rocks the hallway incinerating the model threes, the paint, light fixtures, doors, uhm everything.

    Shit.

    The hallway is on fire, like everything in a thirty-foot area. I did not account for the narrow hallway expanding out the blast radius.

    You have obtained seventy points Morigana, and it appears the model threes have not only been incinerated but all biomaterial has been destroyed. I will update the software in the wand to account for narrow areas of deployment for a more accurate depiction for the area of effect.

    ¡°It worked out well enough I think Merlin, no need to apologize! I¡¯m unhurt and they are toast so win-win.¡±

    Actually, Morigana your eyebrows and lashes have been flash burned off. I will have the remaining nano bots replace them momentarily. On a side note, you have also obtained one token and three hundred and fifty-seven points for defending the bunker, with over one hundred occupants. Your point total is Four hundred and Twenty-Seven Congratulations!

    ¡°Hecken yeah Merlin, I¡¯m not sure what to use a token on at the moment but I am excited to go shopping! The next thing I need though is a way to close the bunker so I can move on and try to destroy the pod out on the field.¡±

    Of course, Morigana that is a wise decision. I can unlock Class I drones, it would have a simple drone with strength enough to manually close the bunker. However, it would have little other purpose and would be somewhat pricey for a throw away. Alternatively, you could unlock Class I Nano Machine technology and then buy some nanites to repair the door''s electronics and close it normally. This would be cheaper and open up a catalog with a diverse range of utility.

    ¡°How much would option two cost, and expand on the uses of what else is in there please.¡±

    The catalog is fifty points, and the nanite spray with the raw repair materials would cost twenty points. In the Nano tech catalog, you can assemble and build a multitude of objects and complex systems that can adapt to situations as needed. They do tend to be weaker than say a traditional comparable object, but again they are adaptable by your own need and imagination.

    ¡°I see, so I could have self-repairing armor, or have it change shape or have a melee weapon that can adapt from a sword to a spear or hammer?¡±

    Precisely, would you like to proceed?

    ¡°Please, unlock and purchase the new toy Merlin.¡±

    Class I Nanite Machine Technology unlocked!

    Points reduced to: 377

    New Purchase: Electronic Repair Nanites:

    Points reduced to: 357

    A small box plops into existence at my feet, with a neat bow on top. I tug off the bow and flip the lid to find a small ten-ounce spray bottle.

    I check my mini-map for danger, no Antithesis appear to be in the stairwells so I should have time to run back and repair the doors before anything else shows up.

    I walk back down to the bunker; I still don¡¯t actually feel up to running just yet.

    The students and faculty are in a proper panic now and are shouting and crying, it¡¯s hard to single out anyone particular but I think the general worry is from the explosion they just heard.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay everyone. There was a group of model threes that made it down but they have been taken care of. I¡¯ve recently been made into a new Samurai and have come back with repairs for the bunker so please calm down.¡±

    I hear a few murmurs. ¡°Morigana became a Samurai?¡±

    ¡°How, she seemed just a nerd, why did they pick her?¡±

    ¡°Her clothes are all torn, you can see her undies.¡± Followed by some giggles, from the children.

    ¡°The sub, great we are doomed.¡± Someone else scoffed.

    Trying to ignore the comments, I shifted my skirt to cover myself better.

    I will highlight on your augs where to spray.

    ¡°Thank you, Merlin.¡±

    A zone of red appeared on my augs on each door behind the hinges, I aimed the little bottle and sprayed down the areas shown. A few moments later the bottle is empty, I stood back and waited.

    ¡°How long is this going to take Merlin?

    By the time I complete this statement about it being almost repaired they should be done. Ah they are done, and you may close the bunker at any time.

    I check the school network and sure enough I see the command and status as green.

    ¡°Okay everyone.¡± I shout.

    ¡°I am going to close the bunker and go topside and see if I can aid in the removal of the remaining Antithesis. Please calm down and wait here.¡±

    Rousing speech Morigana.

    ¡°Hush you.¡± I initiate the closing sequence for the doors.

    The massive bunker doors slowly swing shut and lock into place.

    I check my mini-map and start tracing the best way to reach the fields where the pod landed. If I can clear it out, I should get a decent number of points and maybe move on to other areas and see if I can help.

    After setting a route I start following it on my mini-map.

    I head up the flight of stairs, opposite from the ones I blasted with my wand, the area is still somewhat on fire.

    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    Your current route selection will take you through the cafeteria. It appears to have become a gathering point for a significantly large group of Antithesis. Allow me to show you.

    A small window opens in my vision. I can see the masses gathering around the food warmers. All the Antithesis seem to be consuming the food, my guess to carry back to the pod to start a hive. From what I can see I count fifty or so model threes, and they look like they are escorting about twenty model Eights giant armored centipedes used to gather biomass to grow hives. They are all contained in a room roughly a hundred feet across in both directions. Prime targets for fireballing!

    ¡°That looks promising Merlin, keep an eye out and let me know if anything changes before, I get there.¡±

    Naturally I will. Please be cautious there are still other Antithesis wandering around and I am only able to use the school¡¯s network to search.

    I slowly make my way through the school, checking corners and hallways before I move through. I have Merlin keep checking the network around me to make sure I don¡¯t miss anything.

    Approaching the final doors to the cafeteria I get a feeling of unease. This is a very large congregation of baddies, and all I have is a wand. No armor, or back up weapon I suddenly feel very vulnerable.

    ¡°Merlin, assure me this will go well please, and this is the right thing to do.¡±

    As much as I would like to do that I won¡¯t, you were selected because your profile suggested you were capable of handling situations like this. Use that above average human brain of yours and THINK. If you are feeling uneasy it is for good reason, use your instincts yes, but then apply your brain to figure out why.

    ¡°That was oddly helpful in a back-handed kind of way¡­ thanks?¡±

    Now, let¡¯s clean this mess out.

    I peek up through the cafeteria¡¯s door windows to get a better grip on the situation.

    I notice a flock of model ones, little bird creatures used for scouting, that were missed on the feeds, they may have flown in while I was moving. That makes me think, what route are they using to get here when there are only two hallways. The one I¡¯m standing in and one on the far-right side of the cafeteria.

    So, they are using the other hall to move around otherwise I should see more activity here.

    ¡°Merlin.¡± I whisper. ¡°Check the activity in that other hall please, if I¡¯m right there could be more Antithesis moving back and forth.¡±

    You are correct, there appears to be a steady stream of threes, eights, ones, and I also see a model six. The good news is the wand''s destructive power should be capable of taking out a model six.

    Model sixes were like giant grizzly bear sized aliens, with heavy armor plating, six legs and could organize and command other Antithesis. In all a scary combination.

    ¡°Great, then I guess I go in wand blazing? Please refill the wand as points allow and as needed. Last thing I need is to run out of ammo.¡±

    Naturally I will do so.

    I take a calming deep breath and slip into the cafeteria; nothing seems to have spotted me just yet.

    I aim my wand at the group, they all seem to be gathered around the food. Most humans complain about the quality of cafeteria food, evidently Antithesis have no such qualms. Lunch ladies should feel proud.

    I move the wand around until I get the maximum area of effect, but it won¡¯t cover all of them. I access the settings and increase the casting by one gram. The explosive radius increases by two and a half feet.

    That makes sense - doubling the amount does not equate to double the size it would take four times to see that expansion. Still, it¡¯s enough to cover the area I need.

    ¡°I cast Fireball!¡± I whisper out.

    The even bigger pea zips out of the wand impacting directly on a model three.

    Stars be! The explosion rocks the cafeteria sending molten trays and shrapnel everywhere. Thankfully none of it makes it to me, the tables and chairs block most of it and the active sprinklers dampen the fire''s spread.

    You have gained six hundred and seventy points.

    I take aim at the other hallway doors expecting a response.

    Sure, enough a new hoard of threes, a model six and two model fours come barreling out of the hall. I hesitate a moment, the model six is insanely huge like a bear combined with bug, massive limbs, and thick armor plating. The fours are like shambling mounds of tentacles covered in spikes of which I know can be used as projectiles, and a hallucinogen type gas that it can disperse.

    Without changing my wand''s settings, I use another charge.

    I use the aug mental command this time to activate the wand.

    The pea lands at the foot of the six, the explosion fills the room sending out shockwaves, and I can feel the temperature raise by a good amount, the air also seems rather thin.

    You have gained one hundred and five points.

    ¡°This is working exceedingly well! From what my research has shown other than the model six who I was not sure on. This wand should be able to kill any of them up to at least model tens.¡±

    You are correct, however should anything get closer than the minimum safe distance you will be without defense or weapon. If you ran into a model Four ambush for example, you would be without protection. Now that you have more points, we should spend them.

    ¡°You are right, let¡¯s get some protective gear and a close-range weapon. Something that is light and maybe adds some fire protection? Weapon wise, something that does not require a lot of strength or skill for now.¡±

    Good ideas, for fifty points we can open Class I personal body armor. However, another group of beings with a similarly scientific mind and preferred using the natural elements as weapons and armor, they were a bit nutty and eccentric, but they were no less intelligent and exceptionally lethal. Combining them with Nano tech we could build something unique to you.

    ¡°Oh? And who are these people?¡±

    The catalog is called ¡°Class I Warcaster Technologies¡±. It would cost two hundred points, and I would recommend unlocking Class II as well for five hundred points and a token. These two catalogs alone could handle offense and defensive equipment.

    ¡°Yes, but that would leave me low on points, would that be enough to get anything useful?¡±

    Yes, there is a set of gloves called Hydro-Cryogenic displacement gloves. They cost Seventy points. You can use them to freeze anything on touch or at a short range roughly ten feet, that contains a liquid, making them extraordinarily brittle and unable to move. The freezing effect also rapidly spreads through the afflicted subject even after contact is over. The gloves themselves are resistant to Antithesis melee attacks.

    ¡°That does sound beneficial, but I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s what I need right now. I think something more defensive would be better. Like armor or maybe shielding?

    In that same category in the Class II catalog is a personal shielding unit that provides complete coverage. It is strong enough to ward off your fireball wand, or high tier Antithesis weapons. However, the cost for the gear is twelve hundred points. Alternatively using the Class I Warcaster and Class I Nano Tech I can create a personalized armor set for Two hundred and Fifty points. It would protect from your fire and physical threats. It comes with a localized energy shield for your head, it also filters out toxins and would provide one hour of air but is not as strong as the Class II.

    ¡°I think that is the best route for now, purchase that please Merlin.¡±

    Class I Warcaster Technologies unlocked!

    Points reduced to: 932

    New Purchase: Nanite Enhanced Mk I Armor of the Witch:

    Points reduced to: 682

    A shoe box drops onto the cafeteria table next to me.

    Hurriedly I toss the lid and look inside, love me some new clothes! I can¡¯t wait to see my very own Vanguard armor!

    I am disappointed.

    It¡¯s a bottle, like a 2-liter bottle and it¡¯s a boring black color.

    ¡°Merlin, what is this?¡± I say in disbelief!

    Calm Morigana, it looks that way because it is combined with nanotech and is in a relaxed form. Please open the container''s lid and place a finger in the entrance. I will handle the rest.

    Trusting Merlin, I pick up and open the bottle, it¡¯s surprisingly light, then looking inside I see a dark liquid.

    I place my finger gingerly into the opening, I can feel the liquid inside it kind of feels like sand mixed with water.

    It latches onto my finger suddenly; I jerk my hand back and drop the bottle.

    ¡°What the heck.¡±

    Please wait, while I configure the nanites into the armor''s active form.

    The goo rapidly spreads across my body. Hardened plates form over my chest and back, it spreads down across my arms forming light gloves, down my legs into plating, and boots for my feet.

    ¡°Merlin, can we make this more aesthetically pleasing?¡±

    This is only me initiating the active form, you may use your augs to adjust fit, color, and aesthetics to your desire.

    ¡°Thank you Merlin, I can¡¯t fight evil looking like a medieval knight.¡±

    Opening the menu in my augs a replica of myself is shown with the armor overlaying my body. With some mental tweaks I adjust the armor to a more feminized appealing way. A girl has to look good while fighting evil, you know?

    I slim down the design, making sections appear transparent over my upper chest to give some cleavage, and down my legs ending in thigh high boots. I dye the armor an alternating stylized black and deep purple.

    L.O.V.E it!

    If you are quite done being a diva, a situation has developed in the gym.

 Chapter 04 Help Inbound

    If you are quite done being a diva, a situation has developed in the gym.

    ¡°What sort of development Merlin?¡±

    A pack of model Sixes are gathering what appears to be a strike team. Video feed coming to you now.

    In my vision I see from above what Merlin is talking about.

    Four model sixes, some thirty model threes, three model fives, and at least six model eights.

    Fives are new to the situation and possibly worrying, imagine a model six with four legs but covered in spines that oozed neurotoxins kind of like a sea urchin.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing they are going to try and crack the bunker, to get to all that condensed biomass?¡±

    That does seem like a logical conclusion. I would suggest ambushing them before they get too far. I will highlight the quickest route.

    Checking the mini-map I see a four-way hallway that they will need to pass through in order to get to the nearest stairwell to the bunker. I set a waypoint there and start running there for all I¡¯m worth. Which to be honest isn¡¯t much, I¡¯m still moving with a bit of a limp.

    I want to be able to beat the group of of Antithesis so I can set up some traps or at least get an optimal firing solution.

    ¡°Merlin, can I use the wand to drop the pellets and set them to proximity, like mines?¡±

    If you checked the menu setting you would notice an option to do just that. So yes, you can.

    ¡°Don¡¯t sass me, I¡¯ve been busy.¡±

    Yet you have enough time to adjust your armor for vanity?

    ¡°Point.¡± I say with a sigh and a huff as I run down the hallways.

    On the mini-map I can see the Antithesis strike group coming up to the hallway just prior to where I¡¯m trying to ambush them.

    I skid to a halt at the four-way.

    I quickly set my wand to 1-gram increments and set the beads for remote detonation in tandem. I figure if I can get them all in the middle of the four way and then detonate the beads and hopefully overlap fields so none can escape.

    I point the wand at each of the four hallways and place one bead near the left wall of each hallway.

    I then retreat as far back as I can down the opposite hallway from the direction they should be showing up.

    That leaves me with one charge left on the wand. ¡°Merlin how quick can you reload my wand when I use this last shot?¡±

    Near instantly, I designed it that way.

    ¡°Excellent, please do so without asking, unless I am low on points and may need medical supplies soon. Perhaps a fifty-point buffer.¡±

    A reasonable safety net I can accommodate. Get ready, they are here.

    I moved slightly around the last bend squatting in the water, so I was not in direct view of the oncoming Antithesis pack. Using the small video feed from one of the hallway cameras I watched the pack move in.

    They were not moving very quickly, the model threes seemed to be sniffing the air, and looking around for something.

    ¡°Uh-oh Merlin.¡± I whisper. ¡°Can they smell me, or the mines?¡±

    Yes, they probably can, but considering you''re covered in your own blood, Antithesis blood, and plenty of dirt and grime, I¡¯m guessing they are unsure of what...

    Before Merlin could finish the front model six lets out a yipping howl.

    Never mind, they are charging.

    Sure enough the pack was sprinting down the hallway.

    I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, I need to time this out just right.

    It looks like all of the Antithesis I saw in the gym are here except the model eights.

    The first pack member crosses the four-way and I start counting.

    One Mississippi

    Two Mississippi

    Three Mississippi

    Then I trigger the mines.

    FWUMPH!!!

    Holy hell! The group of mines being grouped together compounded their effects!

    My ears popped from the rapid air pressure change, a translucent shimmer sprung up over my face, my shield kicking on.

    Flames rush around the corner I¡¯m hiding behind enveloping me in a fire whirlwind.

    As quick as it started it stops. The lights are destroyed, but the glowing walls provide enough light to kind of see.

    I cannot quite tell if any are left because the cameras in the area are destroyed but you have obtained four hundred and twenty points. You are at a total of One thousand One hundred and Two. The model eights were not in the blast or were far enough back not to be damaged.

    ¡°I will have to head to the gym and see if I run across them, will my armor protect me if I walk down the hallway in its current uh, condition?¡±

    Indeed, it will. Protection from your own weapons was considered in the design. You could theoretically be hit by one of your own fireballs. I do not suggest you attempt this of course. Tier I Vanguard tech is quite superior to almost all modern earth tech, something I¡¯m sure you know quite well. Also of note, if you did not notice that explosion destroyed the backpack you were carrying and its contents.

    ¡°Awesome. If that¡¯s all I lost so far, then I¡¯m going to consider myself lucky.¡± I say matter of fact.

    I tip-toe around the corner into a tunnel of fiery hell. Thankfully the building¡¯s fire suppression system is still active, and it¡¯s made of steel, being a left-over industrial building, the school acquired for its use and remodeled just enough to fit its needs. Like adding in the cafeteria, gym, library, and auditorium.

    Skirting around the smoldering bodies I make my way through the hallway and through to the gym.

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Peeking into the windows I see the model eights chilling out in the middle of the food court. I crack the doors open slightly and point my wand at them and use my wand''s last charge.

    The pea sized ball smacks into one of the outer model eights and explodes nicely. Crisping the lot of them and igniting the flooring and anything else flammable like flags, and banisters¡­ oops.

    You have gained thirty points, and I have refilled your wand subtracting ten points for a total of One thousand One hundred and Twenty-Two points. I also detect no more Antithesis in the school building. However, there is a model Twenty-Two mobile hive setting up residence on the football field outside. It is being guarded by several model Tens, a large amount of model Threes, a pack of model Fifteens being set up in the bleachers, even more model Eights, a large amount of Fours, and a few Sixes mixed in for fun.

    ¡°I think Merlin I may be out of my depth for this one, can you reach out to see if any other Samurai are near for help?¡±

    A good idea, there are two, one of whom have answered. Putting them through now.

    ¡°Hello?¡± A voice pops into my head through my augs. ¡°A new Samurai? Awesome! Welcome to Team Kick Ass. I¡¯m Handy Hank, yeah that¡¯s my real name and also my Samurai name! Your AI has told me that you need some help, yeh?¡± He says with a lazy southern drawl, cheerfully. He sounds like he should be standing in his yard drinking beers not saving the world from an alien incursion.

    ¡°Uh right, Merlin can send you the overview but a model Twenty-Two has taken up residence at my school. I¡¯m still learning and lack the points and refinement to deal with this.¡± I said.

    ¡°Right you are, I can head on over here in.¡± He pauses. ¡°Fifteen minutes or so to head over. If you want some Samy lessons I will split the points with you 70-30 in your favor. I¡¯m pretty flush, Vegas is really good place to farm points so I¡¯m happy to help a baby grow.¡± I hear a slurping noise after he¡¯s done talking.

    ¡°Are you drinking?¡± I ask in confusion.

    ¡°Ayup, having a BBQ with friends right now. Got about ten minutes till the ribs are done, then I¡¯ll be over to help.¡± He says after another sip.

    ¡°Is that safe? Drinking and Samurai-ing?¡± I ask shocked.

    ¡°Oh yeah, no problem! I¡¯ll take a cleanser beforehand no worries little lady. I¡¯m sending a location marker on your map, your AI provided to me. I will meet you there cool? Cool.¡± He says before hanging up.

    ¡°What the what just happened Merlin?¡±

    You asked for a seasoned Samurai to help clear an Antithesis problem, don¡¯t look a gift horse in the mouth.

    ¡°Okay, whatever. What can we do in ten minutes to help me prepare? I feel like I need another maybe longer-range single target weapon or maybe some self enhancement? Better yet, something that won¡¯t be a hazard to others if I¡¯m going to be fighting with a partner.¡±

    I check my mini-map and start moving to the marker Hank left. It¡¯s on the outside of the school by the parking lot, maybe a thousand feet from the fields where the model Twenty-Two is setting up.

    That is indeed a novel idea! The Warcaster Class I catalog has something you may like. It¡¯s a force directed plasma whip; it uses magnetic fields to contain a plasma that can be directed by your augs. It can extend out to several hundred feet in a controlled path to strike targets.

    ¡°That is insane, how much would it cost and what sort of damage can it do?¡±

    It would cost you three hundred and fifty points, and the plasma burns at fifteen thousand degrees, it also can move up to supersonic speeds. Don¡¯t panic though! The magnetic field is contained in a force field that lapses only when it hits a target identified by you. So, you could snake it around the battlefield safely.

    ¡°Holy snikies, why did you not lead with this sooner! Can you have it installed into my left gauntlet so I can have the wand at the ready?¡±

    Of course, that is one benefit of your nanite armor it is customizable remember. The weapon comes with an integrated software upgrade to control the whip, it will be almost like a second limb. One drawback is power, constant use will drain its power core, it has roughly a sustained span of five minutes of use at maximum range. Recharges cost fifty points.

    ¡°Purchase this now please!¡± I practically shout.

    New Purchase: Class I Force Directed Plasma Whip:

    Points reduced to: 772

    A shoe box appears in front of me in midair as I¡¯m running, smacking into my chest. I grab it and pull out the whip, it looks like a simple rod about an inch round and six inches long.

    I bring it up to my left arm and the armor reconfigures to accept the weapon.

    Installing software now. It¡¯s a good thing you already have top of the line augs by Earth standards, I can tell you have had access to some Vanguard tech in their upgrades as well. Otherwise, we would have had to upgrade them too.

    ¡°Call it perks of my previous profession.¡± I say out of breath.

    I reach the meetup point in about five minutes, I find a comfortable spot on the grass and plop down to catch my breath.

    ¡°I think when I can, some physical upgrades are in order Merlin. I am out of shape and stars know what sort of abuse I¡¯m going to be put through in the future.¡±

    I agree, most Samurai seem to be very for or against modifications. I¡¯m glad you do not hold these same reservations.

    ¡°Well, I have seen reports of Samurai who fail to adapt, and it¡¯s not pretty. So please look into some biological options, cybernetic, and genetic please. I would ideally like to keep my human appearance but enhancing them still.¡±

    Gladly I will pin a few common options, and a few I think would interest you more specifically. I am getting pinged by Hank¡¯s AI, he is here.

    Out of nowhere Hank was suddenly present. He has denim jeans, a white shirt with some food stains on it, a huge Texas belt buckle, cowboy boots and hat, and let¡¯s not forget the gigantic robotic monstrously huge gauntlets.

    It¡¯s no mystery why he is called Handy Hank, I guess? But wait, he¡¯s wearing like comfy clothes. How the hell does he expect to take on a hive dressed for, well a back yard BBQ.

    ¡°Hello my new Samurai! I¡¯m Hank, to everyone but the stuffy ones who need a Samurai name.¡± He says.

    He extends a gigantic, gauntleted hand out. I hesitantly extend my hand to shake his. Surprisingly his hand does not crush mine into paste and he gently but firmly pumps my hand three times and releases.

    ¡°Nice to meet you too Hank, I¡¯m Morigana. Like you said I¡¯m a new Samurai and while I have a fairly good knowledge of Antithesis. I also recognize that knowledge and experience are not one and the same.¡±

    He grins and lets out a whistle. ¡°That¡¯s a mighty good outlook miss, and like I said I¡¯m more¡¯n happy to lend some expertise.¡±

    He takes a look at me, and suddenly I¡¯m self-conscious about my gear and appearance.

    ¡°It looks like you and your AI have done a good job getting some armor and weapons on yahs. I deployed some drones over the nest to gauge its strength and honestly think you could probably take it on yourself.¡±

    He says nodding as he speaks. ¡°So, here¡¯s what I¡¯m pondering right, I¡¯ll sit over yonder wall.¡± He nods at a little knee-high stone wall. ¡°And talk you through this and should it get hotter than two squirrels bangen in a wool sock, I¡¯ll step in and help.

    ¡°Two what doing what?¡± I ask, as he chuckles.

    ¡°That¡¯s what you took from all that? Lorty girl, go kill the hive. Best bit of advice I can start yah off with is take out the model Fifteens first. That way you¡¯re not haven to dodge them quills, second keep an eye out fer model Fours they can toss out some barbs, so maybe them second yah?¡±

    I was really hoping for a bit more than that but, if an experienced Vanguard thinks I can do it, well at least he¡¯s near if it goes south.

    ¡°What do you think Merlin?¡± I ask quietly, Hank I¡¯m guessing heard me, but I think he politely ignores it.

    I believe his assessment is correct, your current armor is rather robust. You should still avoid attacks; a heavy impact could cause internal damage and you can still suffer from heavy trauma. In conjunction your two weapons will provide sufficient power to handle the present models.

    ¡°One more thing young¡¯n take this.¡± He hands me a small device shaped like a tub of chew. ¡°It¡¯s an emergency teleportation puck, that thing there will make a judgment call and instantly port you to my house should it detect fatal damage to ya.¡±

    I turn the little puck over in my hands, it seems rather pedestrian but sometimes that¡¯s the way Vanguard tech is.

    ¡°Thanks, I hope I don¡¯t need it though.¡± I tell Hank. Tucking it into my armor, the nanites shift to form a little pocket on my hip.

    I let out a raspberry, to release me tension. ¡°Okay then, I¡¯ll give this a go.¡±

    ¡°You got this; I¡¯ll just be here till then I recken.¡±

    He plops onto the wall and out of nowhere cracks open a beer.

    ¡°Actually, hold on darlin, when¡¯s the last time you¡¯ve had any food?¡±

    Now that he mentions it, how long has it been not that long?

    My musings are interrupted by a gentle gurgle. Traitor stomach.

    ¡°It has been a while I guess and all the running around.¡± I say.

    In Hank''s hand a paper plate appears. Atop the plate sit baked beans, a bun with meat pouring out the sides, and a corn bread muffin.

    ¡°Before you go into all that, sit here and fill your belly.¡± He says, he also produces a bottle of sweet tea.

    Before I know what I¡¯m doing my body takes over and grabbed the plate from his hands.

    With no ceremony I dig into the food, it is to die for oh my stars.

    I¡¯ve never eaten such rich spicy food. The bun was filled with brisket and a sweet spicy sauce, it takes me all of sixty seconds to shovel it all into my mouth.

    ¡°Your welcome to more but maybe after, don¡¯t want you getting the itus out there fighting.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, I guess I really needed that and wow, amazing food. Did you make it or is that AI made?¡±

    Hank¡¯s face looks stricken, and he places his hand over his heart feigning pain.

    ¡°I will have you know I made that myself, been cookin it all day. I¡¯m not letting any alien invasion ruin my BBQ.¡± He says in his lazy drawl.

    ¡°I apologize truly, I just assumed¡­so sorry.¡± I say embarrassed. Before I can say something else, I decide now is a good time to tackle a hive.

 Chapter 05 The Kick is Good!

    From where we are, there is a concrete path that leads out to the football fields. The path splits near the back of the bleachers and wraps around to the other side where the model Fifteens, ugly giant grasshopper looking nightmares are setting up an overwatch.

    ¡°Merlin, can you ask Hank for feeds from his drones, I would like to be able to see the big picture.¡±

    Naturally, Hank¡¯s AI has responded with the feed. Placing in the corner for you. I Will be monitoring it as well and will alert you if I see anything. By the way Hank¡¯s AI¡¯s name is Bobby.

    ¡°Thank you kindly, thank them for me as well.¡±

    I notice in the feed the Twenty-Two seems to have taken up station in the middle of the field and started producing new Antithesis. Twenty-Two''s are huge six legged monsters that can spawn new models and act like a mobile hive, they have a giant maw that they use to consume biomass or other matter to churn out Antithesis.

    The crowd before has nearly doubled since the last time Merlin made a head count.

    ¡°Come to think of it Merlin, some sneak would be good for this. If I can get below the bleachers the Fifteens are sitting on, maybe I can kill them off as an opening gambit.¡±

    There are many options, the most direct would be Class I Stealth Technologies for two hundred points, within it we can adapt your boots to be soundless, and your armor to suppress your smell. At your current points invisibility is not really an option, but with those two you should be able to complete the goal you desire. Total would be three hundred and fifty points.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go ahead and do it Merlin.¡± I whisper.

    As you wish, loot inbound!

    Class I Stealth Technologies unlocked!

    Points reduced to: 572

    New Purchase: Class I Nanite Silencing Boot Enhancement:

    Points reduced to: 472

    New Purchase: Class I Nanite Smell Damper Armor Enhancement:

    Points reduced to: 422

    Two little boxes plop out onto the concrete sidewalk, reaching into them I find two small injection tubes.

    Simply press against a piece of your armor and depress the plunger, the nanites will configure themselves correctly.

    Easy enough, I grab them and stab them into my thigh armor and press the plunger. A small hiss escapes and then nothing.

    ¡°Did they work? I ask skeptically.

    Of course, did you expect an explosion or something? They are stealth enhancements. If you were not so accustomed to your own smell, you¡¯d notice you no longer stink of ash and blood. As for the boots, take a step.

    I continue on the path around the bleachers trying to stick to the shadows, and sure enough I no longer hear the clomp of my boots on concrete, neat.

    Keeping an eye on the drone footage I manage to sneak my way around the stadium without drawing attention from the Antithesis.

    Watching them move around though is fascinating. It¡¯s one thing to study feeds, photos, and written accounts of the Antithesis but it is an entirely different experience being up close and killing them. It hardly compares, and it is both exciting and horrifying.

    Under the bleachers I bring up my wand and set the beads to remote detonation at three grams each which should yield a twenty-five-foot sphere. I space them out across the underside fifteen feet apart so there is overlap.

    Exiting out the opposite side of the bleachers, I make my way behind the sheds that hold the gear and try to make it to the other side of the stadium. I want some distance before setting these things off, some cover would be nice too. Looking around I see a concrete building tucked off the side of the goal post maybe thirty feet off the field.

    I sneak up to it and realize it¡¯s a bathroom, whatever, cover is cover.

    Morigana, the Antithesis seem to be grouping up at the far end of the field closer to the school. I believe they are about to make a push into the building to get into the bunker. You need to act quickly before they get too much of a head start.

    Coming around behind the bathrooms, I see some random junk piled up behind the building and an ugly bush. I sneak up around to the far corner and take a peek at the bleachers, I pull out my wand and get ready to detonate my charges.

    A heavy blow smashes into my back, putting me on the ground.

    What the frick.

    My whole body hurts, I lay stunned and wheezing. Whatever hit me knocked the breath out of me.

    More hammer blows smash into my back pinning me to the ground.

    ¡°Merl¡­¡± I cough out trying to speak.

    Morigana, a model Nine was hiding behind you. Use your augs to deploy your whip behind you.

    With a mental command to my augs I deploy the whip and blindly flash it up and above my body.

    I hear a sharp pop and hiss, as it slices into the model Nine, vaporizing the water in its body where it hit. It stops attacking my back and I roll over wheezing, looking around I see the ugly bush oozing green blood.

    The model Nine, the leaves actually being its fur, its limbs being tucked inside the main body and extending vicious scythe like arms for weapons. The thing was muscular underneath, no wonder it felt like being hit by a freight train.

    One of its arms lay on the ground between us where I sliced it with my whip.

    With a new mental command, I direct the whip to coil in front of me and lance out in a piercing strike.

    The model dodges to the right, away from the building, then lunges forward unleashing its arms like a walking lawnmower.

    I change my whips instructions forming it into a swirling mass between myself and it.

    The model Nine¡¯s arms swing into the vortex of crackling plasma and its limbs go flying in all directions in a bloody spray.

    I bring the tip up and slice it horizontally through the model Nine, it stops moving as its top half lurches off of its bottom half.

    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    You have gained twenty-five points, incidentally the noise has attracted the attention of the other Antithesis, they will be here soon. I also recommend a nano repair suite for your internal injuries.

    ¡°Yes please.¡± I gasp catching my breath finally while retracting my whip. ¡°That really fricken hurt Merlin, I thought my armor was strong enough to protect me from those attacks.¡±

    New Purchase: Class I Nano-Regenerative Suite:

    Points reduced to: 427

    The inhaler drops into my hand, I immediately put it to my face and inhale.

    The armor did protect you, instead of being sliced into bloody ribbons you only suffered internal bleeding. Also, enough dallying, focus on the incoming horde of aliens.

    Right, in my augs I trigger the beads I set under the bleachers.

    A cacophony of explosions ring through the stadium. Through Hank¡¯s feed I see the bleachers turn into so much molten slag, shredding into the model Fifteens that were sitting there.

    You have gained seven hundred points. Your total is now One thousand One hundred and Twenty-Seven points.

    ¡°Hecken-A yeah!¡± I shout.

    I turn around the corner of the building I¡¯m hiding behind and see the absolute horror as the entire army of Antithesis is rushing me.

    I quickly pull up my wand and fire off my last bead.

    It whizzes into the pack and detonates, it¡¯s too small to reach all of them, crap.

    Re-loading your wand Morigana, fire away! Points reduced to One thousand One hundred and seventeen.

    I set the wand to lowest yield, and line it up across the field and launch the beads into the oncoming masses.

    Fire and hell rips across the field, as Antithesis, the field and everything in front of me becomes ash and smoke.

    It¡¯s hard to see what¡¯s going on anymore, the area is covered in smoke and chaos.

    My wand hits zero charges left, I stop shooting and try and figure out what¡¯s left.

    The area is eerily quiet, minus the smoldering corpses, and crackle of fire.

    You have gained Four hundred and Sixty-Two points. Minus the last wand re-load you are now at One thousand Six hundred and Thirty-One.

    ¡°Merlin, can you tell what¡¯s left I can¡¯t see anything in the smoke and flames, nor can I hear much. I ask in a whisper.

    Same, Hank''s feeds are showing an overhanging pillar of flame and ash. I need a better detection suite. For two hundred points you can unlock Class I Advanced Sensory Technologies. Then for two hundred points I can get you an advanced close range sensory suite that integrates with your armor. I can use it to scan using almost every medium of sensory data available but only in a short range.

    ¡°What is short range? Will it detect model Nines too? Twenty-Ones?¡±

    The range will be based on a few factors, such as your height above your area, obstacles, countermeasures, and each type of sensor is different. On average, I will be able to detect anything within one hundred and fifty feet of you. Also, yes both models will be able to be detected within that range.

    ¡°I see no downside to that, lets do it, and quickly. Please just insert the nanites directly into my armor¡±

    Loot inbound!

    Class I Advanced Sensory Technologies unlocked!

    Points reduced to: 1431

    New Purchase: Class I Multi-Spectrum Sensory Suit Nano Armor Upgrade:

    Points reduced to: 1231

    Suddenly something surges up out of my armor onto my head.

    ¡°The frick!¡± I gasp reaching above my head.

    It¡¯s a hat, a pointy one with a wide purple and black brim. Naturally Merlin makes it a witch hat.

    Software installed, system integration complete! Good news all of the Antithesis were killed by your barrage. Bad news! The hive has taken damage and is now emitting distress pheromones and is calling in backup. I recommend dispatching the hive quickly, it might limit the response of other Antithesis.

    ¡°Merlin, I still can¡¯t see squat, how am I supposed to do that?¡±

    I''m overlaying sensory data on your augs.

    Suddenly I could see again, I could tell that there was still fire and smoke blocking my view, but I could see through it. I also was getting a general almost sixth sense of everything around me in a sphere, this might take some time to get used to.

    Sitting smack dab in the middle of the field sat the model Twenty-Two.

    ¡°If I use my whip like a blender will that be enough?¡±

    Most definitely, pureeing that hive will assuredly prevent it from producing more Antithesis. Once you have cut down the hive, I recommend using your wand to clean it up so it can not be used as biomass later.

    ¡°Sounds like a solid plan.¡±

    I make my way closer to the model Twenty-Two, tiptoeing around smoldering Antithesis corpses, large swaths of burning field and random debris. A large section of the bleachers ended up on the thirty-yard line. I feel a bit smug about it, that¡¯s some good range.

    The Twenty-Two reacts as I near, I can see that it has dangling pods around it. It¡¯s trying to desperately make some new plant monsters to defend itself.

    I throw my arm out willing the whip to extend to max range, curling it up around the hive from the base up. As it reaches the top, I make the whip rotate around and shrink in onto the hive.

    Expanding water vapor erupts from the Twenty-Two as the whip meets it¡¯s skin. Chunks of plant and blood spurt out like a geyser. Once I feel it¡¯s been blended well enough and most of it has collapsed into a heap, I pull out my wand and send out two beads.

    They impact the Twenty-Two, reducing the lump of gore into a pile of ash and bloody goo.

    You have gained five hundred points. Your total is now One thousand seven hundred and Thirty-One.

    ¡°Hey darlin, Hank here. Congrats on taking out the Twenty-Two and its little posse. However, my drones see a model Eleven flying at rooftop level on its way here, three minutes out.¡± Hank says.

    Model Elevens, giant four winged, furry, dog faced, smart avian predators.

    Sweet tits let¡¯s do it.

    ¡°Thanks Hank, I¡¯ll be ready for it!¡±

    Just over the school I see a massive dark object zip overhead, I don¡¯t even get a chance to react when it climbs up and I see it release something large.

    A friggen truck! It¡¯s throwing a truck at me!

    I run as fast as I can towards the truck, hoping that it will fly over my head.

    I slide onto my side through ash and blood, the truck passes over my head by a few feet thudding into the field behind me.

    I lose track of the Eleven. ¡°Merlin where is it!¡±

    Currently several thousand feet up according to Hank¡¯s drone. Do not fret, it is on the way back to you, be ready.

    ¡°I was not fretting about its lack of bothering me, thanks.¡±

    I ready my whip by extending it out in a swirling cone around and above me. If it tries to snatch me up with it¡¯s claw it has a nasty surprise awaiting it!

    I hear the thing before I sense/see it with my hat.

    It¡¯s making a steep dive at me, is it going to just suicide smash into me? That¡¯s not typical of an Eleven, they are supposed to be smart.

    Nope, at the last moment it pulls out of the dive and lands on the field.

    It swings one of its massive me sized claws at my person.

    I trust Merlin when he says my armor can stop most Antithesis melee hits, but after the Nine I don¡¯t trust my internals to take the blunt trauma.

    I jump under the claw and send my whip right at its stupid face. For good measure I also swirl the following section like a corkscrew.

    The Eleven throws one of its wings in front of the whip. The wing gets shredded into ribbons, somehow chunks of it get thrown at me, hitting me in the chest.

    I let out a grunt as I¡¯m knocked over.

    It shrieks and flies off-apparently three wings is enough for it to bugger off.

    Using the whip, I burn off the bits and sit up.

    ¡°Merlin, the heck is it now?¡±

    Hank¡¯s drone is following it. The Eleven just picked up another car, I¡¯m going to assume it¡¯s a gift for you.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need a friggen car or truck thanks, he can keep it. Please overlay its location in my HUD, I¡¯m going to try and destabilize its flying ability with a fireball and then hit it before it releases the car at the whip''s max range.¡±

    Target marked; I will change the highlight to red when you should release your fireball and then whip.

    I ready my arm wand and get ready to extend the whip out like a lance.

    The Eleven turns into a hypothetical marker, into a black blob with a green outline.

    As it nears , I can see it clearly; it has a bright yellow car in its talons.

    The moment the highlight turns red I release a max range bead set to proximity. It detonates just under the model Eleven. The sudden rise in temperature under it causes a short but powerful updraft. The Eleven surprised by the sudden updraft becomes unstable. I then unleash the whip at max speed and length to intercept.

    A sonic boom fills the stadium as it accelerates from my forearm.

    It pierces through the car and up into the Eleven''s body, and out its back. I quickly send the whip into a swirling motion trying to shred the thing like a smoothie.

    What ends up happening is the whole mass turns into a large, blended mess of blood, hide, and car shrapnel.

    I quickly start running parallel to the direction of its travel.

    It cruises through the goal post and into the field, like a meteor.

    I hear a sickening crunch and squelching noise as it impacts onto the field and makes a small crater.

    You have gained one hundred points and one token, for a total of One thousand Eight hundred and Thirty-One points and two tokens. Congrats!

    I flop onto the ashen field onto my back, exhausted.

    ¡°This work kind of sucks it out of you, doesn¡¯t it? I think my next purchase needs to be physical conditioning upgrades.¡±

    I have just the thing!

 Chapter 06 UpgraDDe with two Ds

    I have just the thing! Class I Bio Sculpting for fifty points, and Class I Integrated Cybernetics one hundred points. We can use multiple catalogs in conjunction to compile a synergistic system between your armor, weapons, body, and mind.

    ¡°I¡¯m liking the sound of this, go on.¡±

    Well first, we enhance your internal organs with restorative ballistic nanite coating for one hundred points. They will shed kinetic energy across the nanites spreading out the impacts. They will also be able to conduct repairs to your body automatically over time. This will install multiple nanite generating structures in your body so they will also be naturally produced by your body.

    ¡°So far sounds good, what else?¡±

    We can also engineer your bones with stronger compounds increasing their total toughness beyond normal human limits for three hundred points, then we can inject musculature enriching bio nanites to attach to your muscles making them stronger and more elastic for one hundred points. Essentially you will be stronger than say five peak males combined.

    ¡°As long as it does not make me look like a roided out five human male sized girl. I¡¯m on board¡±

    It will not, at most you will have more defined and toned muscles. Next, we will infuse your skin with a conductive alloy that will harden in response to external stimulation, it will also form a complete circuit with your armor should you be electrocuted and dump it into the ground, as well has routing heat into your armor like a heat sink, this will cost two hundred points.

    ¡°I¡¯m liking the sound of all this so far, how long is all this going to take?¡±

    It will, take a while seventy-two hours if done at lower costs, but there is one more item I think you will like as well. Biological Nanite Neural conversion, this will remove your current augs and replace them with a full body networking nanite hive mind. Essentially all your nanites work in tandem to increase processing power and workload. You will likewise notice that your ability to think and process information will expand well beyond normal human limits. This will be three hundred points.

    ¡°Merlin, where exactly will these nanite factories be going?

    They need to be in locations that can quickly disperse the nanites to areas that are taking damage or need repairs so, one in each breast, and two on either side of your glutes.

    ¡°I knew it! I guess this will save me from having to get a BBL or implants.¡±

    Yes¡­ If you are unhappy with your physical appearance, we can use a sculpture device and change any features you wish.

    ¡°No Merlin I was kidding, I¡¯m fine with what you''re proposing really. So, the total points will be one thousand two hundred and fifty?¡±

    That is correct, and you will be able to withstand a far greater range of damage, your skin will be bullet proof up to roughly 20mm shells, immune to most electrical and fire attacks, super strength, and endurance, increased cognitive abilities, and moderately quick healing. Most of these upgrades will be tied into your nanites, including your armor.

    ¡°Stars yes, let¡¯s do it!¡± I say still laying on the grass.

    Class I Bio Sculpting unlocked!

    Points reduced to: 1781

    Class I Integrated Cybernetics!

    Points reduced to: 1681

    New Purchase: Restorative Ballistic Nanite Coating:

    Points reduced to: 1581

    New Purchase: Bone Enhancement Augmentation:

    Points reduced to: 1281

    New Purchase: Musculature Enriching Bio Nanites:

    Points reduced to:1081

    New Purchase: Non-conductive Alloy Skin Graft:

    Points reduced to: 881

    New Purchase: Biological Nanite Neural conversion:

    Points reduced to: 581

    One large box drops on my chest releasing an ¡°Oof¡± from me.

    I have combined all the upgrades into one large dose. Please remove the injector and place into a thigh. You will feel a pinch and some unpleasantness as the mass is injected into your body. This process will take several days to complete, you will notice fluctuations in your body as changes happen. You should notice slight gains within the next few hours, so try not to die before they complete.

    ¡°Thank you Merlin, I will do my best not to expire before then.¡±

    Grabbing the injector from the box, I try not to think about how large it is as I jam it into my thigh. A thick molasses like sludge pushes its way into my body. Unpleasant feeling is putting it mildly, I can feel the sludge inch its way into my body and spread out.

    ¡°Feels like hundreds of little worms wiggling around my leg, thanks for that.¡±

    You are most welcome Morigana, they will go a long way in enhancing your duties as a Vanguard.

    I sense Hank entering my area of detection, he¡¯s strolling across the field towards me.

    I roll over onto my stomach and prop myself up onto my elbows.

    ¡°Would you look at that.¡± He says looking around at the carnage.

    ¡°You¡¯re a natural. I really don¡¯t see advice I can give on your performance other than you should run perpendicular to threats that are thrown at you like the car. Seems yah got a good head on your shoulders, you will go far in this work.¡± Hank says with a smile.

    ¡°Thanks, really, I guess it was nice knowing I had a safety net should I need it.¡±

    ¡°No worries here, it¡¯s always a blessen to meet the new Samurai, always interesting how they will develop.¡± He says.

    He hikes his thumb behind him and says. ¡°But looks like you''re about done fer the day yeah? Do you need a lift home, or what not?¡±

    ¡°I appreciate it, but I have my own car, and yeah home and a shower sounds divine right now.¡± I say back.

    ¡°Right you are, dirty business this, I¡¯m sending your AI my info, look me up any time. I don¡¯t particularly like fighten but I do this for the people, yah know?¡±

    He pulls a beer out of nowhere, pops it and takes a sip. ¡°Reckon I¡¯m off too, oh and I guess it¡¯s customary for the first Samurai that runs into a new¡¯n to name them. You cool with that?¡±

    I¡¯d forgotten about that part, there are some truly dreadful Samurai names out there and I don¡¯t want something stupid. I must have made a face because he continues talking.

    ¡°Now now, I see that face it¡¯s no biggy it¡¯s just a custom you can call yer self whatever you want. But I reckon I have a good one for yah if you want.¡±

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    I sigh.

    ¡°Yeah, alright I guess.¡±

    ¡°Witch of the West, simple yea but you¡¯re looking mighty like a witch and your name fits so¡­there yah go.¡±

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯m fine with that I guess.¡±

    I think it¡¯s rather fitting myself, congrats Morigana, Witch of the West!

    ¡°Any ways, I updated the family for yah as a new Samurai if you need assistance from them go for it. Just remember you don¡¯t really have to do anything they tell you.¡± He pauses. ¡°Right, I¡¯m off, take care now!¡±

    Before I could muster up any response, he was gone. Like poof just not there anymore.

    ¡°What the heck was that, Merlin?¡±

    If I had to guess he has some sort of teleportation technology unlocked. Considering he gave you an emergency teleportation device it would make sense. By the way I have linked the puck with your sensor suite, the response for fatal incoming damage has been greatly increased.

    ¡°Aww, you know the sweetest things to tell a girl.¡± I say grinning.

    ¡°Can you look into a practical pathway for my own teleportation please, don¡¯t go into them now, just look.¡±

    Of course Morigana, I have noted several options for later.

    Getting up my whole-body aches, looking down at myself I cringe in disgust. My original clothes are all but gone thanks to the fire, they were expensive too. I¡¯m also covered in ash, soot, blood, Antithesis gore, and drenched in sweat.

    Never before have I desired a long soak in a bath more than I do now.

    First though I check the school¡¯s network to check on the bunker and kids. The doors are still closed and locked, that¡¯s good.

    ¡°Merlin, can you sweep the school for any more Antithesis, just to be sure?¡±

    I have been closely monitoring the school the entire time, I do not detect any more Antithesis on the premises.

    I consider going to the bunker to check in but the tragic condition I¡¯m currently in, I don¡¯t know if it would be wise to show up looking like a hot mess in front of the kids.

    ¡°Thanks, how¡¯s the rest of Vegas look? I ask.

    I start making my way to where I parked, hopefully my car was not destroyed in the attack.

    There were only a few incursions that made land fall. Other Samurai have responded and have either cleared them or about to finish. Overall minimal deaths were reported. The most significant event is the creation of a new Vanguard.

    ¡°Are you talking about me?¡±

    Indeed I am.

    ¡°You know how to make a girl feel special, Merlin.¡± I say sarcastically.

    I make it across campus to the parking lot to find my car in one piece, small miracles.

    I own a very bougie car and I know it, but I love it. It¡¯s a two-seater sporty hover car, royal purple and sleek all over. That¡¯s about all I know, I mostly bought it because it looked pretty. It¡¯s not my fault my job pays well, but I¡¯m not some rich brat. I give to programs that help schools and feed children. I believe that everyone should get a chance to make something with their life. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s fair that some kids are born rich and get the world handed to them on a silver spoon.

    Before getting in I want to slim down my gear a bit.

    I open my armor settings in my augs to adjust them.

    I see that there are pre-set options one being casual wear. After adjusting the settings to my liking and initialize my selections. I feel the nanites shift across my skin and gather into a nice white blouse top with a cute little tie, a black thigh length pencil skirt, and to top it off some lacey thigh high stockings and black comfy pumps.

    I drop into my car seat, set the autopilot for home, and lean back with a sigh.

    I still have my wand in my hand since it¡¯s not built from nano-tech, with a lack of a better option I open my glove box and drop it in.

    The city seems to have calmed down; traffic is hardly a bother at all. My car zips through the city, I watch as the tall buildings go past, mostly casinos and apartments. I own my own place in one of the high rises farther south in the Summerlin area. The only real issue I have and it¡¯s not even a big deal is that it¡¯s almost the exact opposite direction from where I work.

    Work, oh no! I¡¯m a Samurai now, it will be difficult to do my projects and travel around fighting the Antithesis. Or will it? I have my own direct access to all of the Vanguard data ever! Yes!

    ¡°Merlin, do you know what I do for a living?¡± I ask.

    Of course, you are a Vanguard, or Samurai if you prefer. You are also a scientist who integrates Vanguard tech with modern earth tech to advance your civilizations technology. A noble pursuit, and one the creators highly encourage.

    ¡°Really they do?¡±

    Yes, they very much want Earth to advance itself to better handle the Antithesis on its own.

    ¡°So, would you be willing to aid me at work? Help understand the tech and develop new uses for it?¡±

    I would indeed, I am more than capable of teaching you with lessons instead of just giving you the answers. You will need to unlock technical manuals in catalogs however before I provide in depth information.

    ¡°Whew, that is a relief, and it makes sense. I would not learn much during my work if you just told me what to do instead of the whys and how. Thank you."

    Naturally, I am here to help you in whatever endeavors you wish. Some who are chosen never go off to fight, and that¡¯s okay too.

    ¡°I have heard about those, but that¡¯s not what I want to do. I will gladly fight but would also love to continue my research.¡±

    I pause to think, can I just make my own gear and tech instead of using points? If I¡¯m going down the path of nanite use, can I just program them to do what I want? Like what if instead of using printers like I know some Samurai do, I made nanites, then programmed them into my tools and weapons, I would make my own blueprints or buy them.

    ¡°Check my logic here Merlin.¡± I say.

    Okay, I¡¯m listening.

    ¡°If I were to produce my own nanites in some way, not important for this theory.¡± I say waving my hand dismissively.

    ¡°Could I get a program to assemble them into my weapons, armor, and self-enhancements? Say without needing a huge printer and blueprints and such?¡±

    That would be an interesting plan for progressing, and as far as I know has never been done before. However, with your skill set and expertise I believe it could be done yes.

    A shark like grin spreads cross my face.

    ¡°In that case, what could I do to produce nanites in mass quantities without needing a huge printer type set up?¡±

    You could instead get a nanite replicator, it would only ever produce nanites, but you could build it out of nanites, and it would be relatively cheap. It would essentially be a more robust version of the nanite structures growing in your body right now.

    ¡°And how much space would be required for the replicator?¡±

    Not that much really, you appear to have a mostly un-used room in your dwelling. It would be sufficient for your needs; you would still need a way to acquire raw materials to manufacture the nanites.

    ¡°Would it be cost effective to use points to just summon in the materials? I have a catalog for elements, would I need the Class II catalog?¡±

    Not really, it would be better to acquire them locally for processing.

    ¡°Hmm, I think I¡¯m going about this the wrong way. Why not have my company pay for the materials, then I can use it to my benefit as well, and they get access to more direct Vanguard tech. Yes! I am genius!¡± I shout out excitedly, bumping my hands on the ceiling.

    ¡°Merlin, call the CEO of my company please!¡±

    One moment please.

    I hear a voice come through my augs a moment later.

    ¡°Who is this? How did you get my number and why did I have no choice in answering?" Says the voice, I¡¯ve never actually met the CEO or heard him so no idea what he sounds like. So, like this guy I¡¯m guessing.

    ¡°Hello yes, this is Mr. Vanderik?¡± I say.

    ¡°Yes, now what is going on?¡± He asks, I can hear some irritation seeping into his voice.

    ¡°Sorry to bother you, but I am Morigana Luxanne, I¡¯m one of your researchers in Vanguard Tech¡­¡± He cuts me off before I can finish.

    ¡°What are you doing bothering me, don¡¯t you have a supervisor to report too instead? You¡¯re going to be in deep trouble if you don¡¯t have a good reason for disturbing me.¡± I can tell he¡¯s past irritated he sounds like he¡¯s about to rage.

    ¡°Like I was trying to say Sir, I¡¯m your biggest researcher and just recently became a Samurai. All your other questions can be answered by saying my AI did it, say hello Merlin.¡± I say with some smugness.

    ¡°Greetings Mr. Vanderik, I am indeed Morigana¡¯s Vanguard AI, I am responsible for initiating this call on behalf of my charge.¡± He says using his stuffy professor voice.

    Silence fills the air.

    ¡°A Samurai? On our payroll?¡± I hear the mental cogs adjusting in his head, and dollar bills flooding out of his ears.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I wanted to discuss with you. I have been talking with my AI about advancing the corp in a mutually beneficial way.¡±

    ¡°You are under contract Miss Luxanne, so any research you do belongs to Tip of the Spear Technologies. I¡¯m glad to have you with us, we can possibly look into increasing your pay.¡±

    Now it¡¯s my turn to get irritated.

    ¡°No Mr. Vanderik, I don¡¯t think you understand, I will be getting a new contract from you and some new terms. If you don¡¯t like it, I can always contact another corp and I¡¯m sure they would love to have a Samurai on the books. And before you say anything else, realize that my AI can get in and purge the very existence of my old contract, and if that¡¯s not good enough, I would love to see you enforce it on a Samurai.¡±

    More silence.

    ¡°I see. Perhaps it would be best if we spoke in person tomorrow morning?¡± He says, I can practically see his teeth grinding.

    ¡°I would like that, say 9 AM tomorrow morning then?¡± I say cheerfully.

    ¡°See you at 9AM Miss Luxanne.¡±

    I mentally close the call in my augs. ¡°That went well.¡±

    Would you like me to destroy your current contract Morigana?

    ¡°No, I think we will see how he does tomorrow, perhaps find it and be ready to just in case.¡±

    Naturally.

    I arrive home shortly after, my car parks itself in the provided garage and I climb out.

    I enter into my house proper and B-line it for the bathtub.

    ¡°Merlin, the nanites, what do I do with them if I don¡¯t need any of them?

    I can remove them from your person and store them wherever you wish. Once your nanite structures in your body are complete they could be stored there for future use.

    ¡°Maybe just have them reform on the counter in their normal form please.¡±

    My armor crawls off my body and in short order I¡¯m standing in my underwear in my bathroom, my armor neatly folded on the counter.

    Looking into my full-length mirror, I inspect myself. I¡¯m still covered in blood, and Antithesis gunk.

    I strip out of my underthings and jump into my shower to first rinse off all the crud then crawl into my giant tub turning the water to scolding hot.

    I let out a sigh of contentment.

    ¡°Yes please.¡± I say to no one slipping under the water.

 Chapter 07 Enter the Shark Tank

    The next morning I¡¯m awoken by a very obnoxious noise that seems to be emanating from my brain.

    It is time to get up Morigana, you asked to be awoken at 7am, it is now 7am so rise and shine!

    ¡°Ugh.¡± Is all I manage to get out.

    My bed is so soft and warm and never do I want to leave it ever again. I cuddle into my pillows even more.

    Your race is easily pacified by soft plushy objects; you are all doomed.

    ¡°You¡¯re just jealous you can¡¯t snuggle up in here like I can.¡±

    No, I get the pleasure of existing in your head instead.

    Sitting up, I feel different. A bit more firm and yet jiggly? Oh, right my physical improvements probably got further along while I was sleeping.

    ¡°How much longer until my upgrades are completed Merlin?¡±

    Your upgrades will be completed in another forty-eight hours, at the moment you are roughly twenty percent complete. You need to consume a healthy amount of food over the next few days.

    ¡°Sure, sure Merlin, you just want me to be fatter.¡± I wave my hand dismissively.

    You will weigh more yes.

    I get up and drag myself into the kitchen like a zombie, my hair keeps getting in my way which is not helping. I love having such a full mane and hate it because it takes a lot of work.

    Grabbing out frying pans, I whip up some scrambled eggs, bacon, and everything bagels, all real stuff not the cheap processed junk. Perks of money again.

    I go ahead and make three because apparently, I¡¯m a fatty and need more food, and chase it down with some orange juice.

    Your point total has increase by ten by the way, for a total of five hundred and ninety-one. I have also cleaned your armor nanites by shuffling them around and allowing the contaminants to fall off. Now you have a mess on your counter to clean. You¡¯re welcome.

    ¡°I can¡¯t even right now Merlin¡­you, I whatever.¡± Maybe I need to invest in some sort of cleaning bot later.

    Eloquently said.

    ¡°Hush you.¡±

    Fed, and watered I jump in to take a quick shower and get my hair tamed. Then dress back into my now cleaned outfit. I leave it configured the same way I had it last night, but with my hat on. Just a little reminder of my Samurai status.

    I head out to my car, I set the autopilot for TotST sit back and relax for my ride to work.

    The trip is entirely boring, and I like that.

    I arrive at the compound just before 9AM, enough time to make it through all the security check points.

    Of which I forgot about, I¡¯m decked out in Vanguard combat armor, and have a plasma whip meshed into my person somewhere.

    ¡°Merlin.¡± I whisper while waiting in line at the check point.

    Yes Morigana?

    ¡°My gear won''t set off these alarms, right? I ask.

    They would under normal circumstances, but I figured I would suppress the data sent to their system and tell them it¡¯s fine and let you pass.

    I had every reason to trust Merlin, knowing the capabilities of the AI, yet I was still sweating like a whore in church.

    I was next, the guard wands over me with a handheld device, checks my badge, and waves me through the walk-in detector.

    Nothing goes off, no armed guards come running as expected.

    I walk up to the receptions desk; a professional looking chubby woman is behind it on the phone. I wait for her to finish, trying to be polite.

    When she¡¯s done, she looks up and addresses me. ¡°Yes, how can I help you?¡±

    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Morigana and I have a 9 AM with Mr. Vanderik.¡±

    ¡°One moment, let me check.¡± She says, clicking through menus on her computer.

    ¡°It appears there is nothing on the schedule¡­are you sure?¡± She says with skepticism practically oozing from her person.

    ¡°Merlin, some help?¡±

    Of course, I have updated their system with your appointment, notified his actual secretary, and confirmed he is in his office.

    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Care to look again?¡± I smirk.

    ¡°Oh, would you look at that I see your appointment here. Must have been a glitch. She says. Her eyes squinting in disbelief. ¡°Take the elevator up to floor twenty-nine, his office is directly ahead.¡±

    I make my way across the lobby and slap the call button. Moments later the doors chime open. I step aside to let the occupants exit; don¡¯t you hate when people trying to get on rush the elevator? Like you need to let people out to make space, don¡¯t need to be a physicist to know that.

    Stepping in once clear, I have the lift to myself and press the twenty-nine button.

    The doors slide close, and some gentle music plays over the speakers.

    A short ride up and the doors open, a heavy-set man sweating through his business suit rushes into the lift.

    Rude.

    I squeeze past him into the reception area. ¡°Merlin, he seems in a hurry, and it would be a shame if the lift got stuck for a few minutes.¡±

    Coincidently, the lift did indeed get stuck on floor ten, looks like it will take about five minutes for the system to reset. The cooling unit also seems to have malfunctioned.

    Was that petty of me? Maybe, does it make me feel good though? Absolutely!

    I walk up to the secretary a man sharply dressed in a very expensive suit.

    ¡°You must be Morigana, who has a 9AM appointment.¡± He says deadpan. Like I don¡¯t even exist to him.

    ¡°Is that so hard to believe?¡± I say stepping up to his desk, I realize that my 5¡¯4¡¯¡¯ stature is not exactly threatening but oh well.

    ¡°It¡¯s not my place Miss, please go in he is waiting for you. It¡¯s 9:07 you¡¯re late.¡± He says with an air of flippancy. Holding his hand up just so.

    ¡°Merlin.¡± I whisper.

    ¡°Does he have anything on him that is electronic?¡±

    Why yes, he does, observe.

    The man¡¯s very fancy suit starts flickering different colors and random patterns.

    I laugh, and push in through the door that says, ¡°Mr. Vanderik CEO¡±.

    ¡°It seems you are understanding my petty vengeful side Merlin, I approve.¡±

    I aim to please, and I quite agree with your pettiness as well.

    Entering the CEO¡¯s office, it is decked.

    Like bougie as all heck thick lush carpets, very expensive paintings, and random artwork sit on pedestals. His desk a huge honking chunk of real wood sitting like a monolith in the center of the room. Behind it, floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city.

    Sitting at that desk in the world¡¯s most over-stuffed chair is Mr. Vanderik.

    ¡°Welcome Miss Luxanne, I¡¯m glad you were able to make it. Please have a seat.¡±

    He motions towards two comfy, but less so than his, chairs.

    I go ahead and sit and cross my legs leaning back.

    ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± He asks, sitting back in his power chair, looking down at me.

    ¡°After talking with my AI, Merlin.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s me.¡± Merlin says, using my hat like a mouthpiece.

    I continue with a grin ¡°I came up with an idea that will help me advance my Samurai arsenal, and therefore making myself better able to kill Antithesis, and in doing so making more points. However, it would be beneficial to remove some logistic and supply issues, to a more capable party, and in return that party would gain access to more readily available Samurai Tech. Not only that, but it will be integrated into Earth level tech readily sellable to the masses or the Government.¡±

    Mr. Vanderik sits forward, steepeling his fingers.

    ¡°And this more capable party is this company? What supplies would you need?¡±

    ¡°My AI has a list of the basic materials that would be needed to start. Once I¡¯m more functional and I get a chance to sit down and work I will send up updated requests.¡±

    ¡°And with these materials, you can produce what exactly?¡±

    I access my aug¡¯s armor settings and hover over the shift to the armor pre-set.

    ¡°Something like this for say ground troops.¡±

    I stand up and initiate the change.

    My office clothing shifts into the body armor in just a few moments.

    ¡°Customizable nano technologies, that can adjust use on the fly with some aug commands, or however you¡¯d like to have them set.¡±

    His eyebrows raise, showing some interest.

    ¡°That is just what I can do now, with time and resources I could come up with so much more. My record pre-samurai should speak for itself, but now that I¡¯m paired up with a Vanguard AI my potential is nearly infinite.¡±

    His face lights up, I got him now hook line and sinker.

    ¡°With some exceptions of course, some weapons and tech are restricted to non-Vanguards I will of course screen the tech released.¡± Merlin says from my hat.

    He leans back into his chair, finger still steepled.

    ¡°You are correct, Miss Luxanna, I have reviewed your file, and your research has been most lucrative. I¡¯ve also reviewed the materials your AI sent, and I believe we can manage these levels. The question then remains how much do you want in compensation for your research, and how much time do you need to present your first project?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the thing, I¡¯m not sure. Research and design are not easily predictable, it could take me hours, days, or months to come up with a satisfactory design. As for compensation I would like ten times my current pay, a bonus for every piece of tech delivered of say¡­ten percent of my annual salary, and then one percent of the sales of each item.¡±

    His eyes practically pop out of his head. ¡°That¡¯s ludicrous! Why do you think your tech will be worth so much?¡±

    ¡°Well sir, easy I am a Samurai, and you can slap that on your product, and you can use field video for demonstrations instead of hypothetical lab testing.¡±

    He deflates a bit and seems to be listening to someone else talking.

    ¡°Merlin.¡± I whisper. ¡°Who¡¯s he listening to?¡±

    He appears to have his board of directors and department heads giving him advice. It sounds like they want you badly but are adding conditions. Like ensuring you work from their labs and you under constant surveillance while working.

    ¡°It seems that your terms are acceptable, if you agree to some of ours.¡±

    I nod for him to continue.

    ¡°We want you to work from one of our labs, built specifically for you so you will have your own secure space. You will have to produce or show progress of completing something every month. There will of course be some fine print but that is the bottom line of it.¡±

    That actually doesn¡¯t sound too bad, I was not looking forward to supply trucks dumping materials off at my home. Defeating their surveillance would be child¡¯s play for Merlin, so that¡¯s not even an issue.

    ¡°I will add a few lines of fine print as well then, if I am out in the field on Vanguard duty your monthly check in will be paused until my return, and then it may resume. Stuff like that.¡±

    ¡°I would not expect you to stop fighting, after all that would help your gear showing it in use after all. Seems we have a deal; I will have legal write up a contract and have it to you soon.¡±

    ¡°Is there anything else?¡± He asks.

    I shake my head. ¡°Nope, a pleasure Mr. Vanderik.¡±

    I walk out of his office and try to hold my composure until I get to his secretary¡¯s desk. The man¡¯s suit is still lighting up like a strobing disco ball.

    ¡°There seems to be something wrong with your suit, sir you should get it looked at.¡± I say casually strolling into the elevator, I can see his face turn beet red.

    I return my armor to its civilian state before getting into my car.

    ¡°Take me home Merlin.¡± I say smiling at my win.

    The trip home should be nice and relaxing.

 Chapter 08 The Family Always Wants Something

    The trip home should be nice and relaxing.

    It was not.

    You are receiving a call from someone in the Family, would you like to take it? It¡¯s a video call I can send to your dash.

    ¡°Sure, why not.¡± Let¡¯s see what the infamous Family wants with a baby Samurai.

    A very young-looking guy in a cheap business suit pops up on my car''s dash.

    ¡°Hello, Miss..Miss Witch of the West I am Mr. Brunswick. I have been assigned as your liaison, anything you ne-need from the family I will be your man.¡± He says, it looks like he¡¯s reading from a script, and he is stuttering a bit.

    I grin evilly, it¡¯s so cute when they are nervous, this might be fun.

    ¡°Hi Brunswick, what¡¯s your first name?¡±

    ¡°Ada-Adam Miss Witch of the West, you can call me that, yes.¡±

    ¡°Since we are going to be getting to know each other so well let¡¯s just use our first names Adam, you can call me Mori, leave all that Samurai naming for the media and stuff.¡±

    His face turns beet red. ¡°Wha-whatever you wish Mori.¡± He practically whispers in uncertainty.

    He sits up a bit straighter trying to compose himself.

    ¡°The Family through its ch-channels has found a possible hive that has taken root and begun producing Antithesis.¡±

    ¡°Adam, don¡¯t you guys have other Samurai to handle this kind of thing, I am still new to this after all.¡±

    ¡°Ye-Yes we do, but The Family likes to give new Samurai first call so they can earn more points and buh-build up their gear.¡±

    ¡°Aww that¡¯s so sweet of you Adam, so where is this hive at? Vegas should be fairly well protected so I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s somewhere else?¡±

    ¡°You are cor-correct Mori, it is south of Vegas around a town called Searchlight. It is a sm-small community of roughly twelve hundred people. They have been reporting Antithesis activity and believe a hive is hi-hiding somewhere in the surrounding mountains.¡±

    ¡°So, you nor they know exactly where the hive is, so I need to go down there find it and kill it? Sound about, right?¡±

    ¡°That is corr-yes Mori. Hank has also agreed to be on call should you need additional help.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s very sweet of him, I guess I have something else to do today instead of getting naked and soaking in a nice warm bath.¡± I said innocently, subtly pushing up my chest.

    Adam¡¯s eyes bulge out of his head, and his stammering gets worse. ¡°I-I-I will send your A-A-I uh, the information we h-h-have.¡±

    He then quickly signs off.

    I let out a hearty evil laugh.

    You are something Morigana.

    ¡°Indeed, well since I have everything I need already, I suppose we should head on down to Searchlight then.¡± I say grabbing my wand out of my glove box.

    Re-routing your personal vehicle to Searchlight.

    ¡°Thanks Merlin you¡¯re a dream.¡±

    So here we go into the unknown, to the middle of the desert to help some shanty town to hunt down a hidden hive that could be anywhere in a huge desert.

    ¡°Merlin, I think we will need some eyes to help scout out the area. See if we can avoid aimlessly wandering around the desert.¡±

    A wise choice Morigana, you have available to you a few drone options in your Warcaster catalog, Nanite Tech, and stealth catalogs. If you like I can combine them together to create a versatile set of micro drones that can cover a large area quickly and discretely. It would cost four hundred points.

    ¡°Yikes Merlin, that¡¯s expensive for a drone.¡±

    It is not just a drone, more accurately it is a micro drone swarm that forms a surveillance net that will expand to cover several miles at once. Its only real issue is durability but the small size, stealth features, and quantity aid in its survival.

    ¡°That sounds delightful then let¡¯s go ahead and order one up, just have it deploy around the car please.¡±

    No worries, deploying now.

    New Purchase: Class I Invisible Divining Orb Swarm:

    Points reduced to: 191

    Outside the car a large sleek metallic Owl appears on the hood of the car. It spreads its wings, bursts into a dust cloud and then disperses into nothing.

    ¡°That was neat, guessing the Owl is the shape it takes when not in use?¡±

    You would be correct; I have dispatched it into its swarm form and sent it ahead of us to scout. Once your upgrades are complete you should be able to handle the huge amount of data it will be able to acquire and send to you. Until then I will simply provide you with updates.

    ¡°Sounds good to me Merlin, I¡¯m going to take a nap. Please wake me up when we get there.¡±

    Enjoy your nap, we should be over Searchlight in fifteen minutes.

    I close my eyes and almost instantly am woken up by Merlin.

    Morigana, I hope you enjoyed your nap; the drones have arrived slightly ahead of us and have begun searching for the hive.

    I look at the dash and see only seven minutes have passed, snarky AI.

    ¡°Have they found anything yet?¡±

    They have found several hundred Antithesis gathering in the mountains south of the town. However, the hive still remains hidden, but this gives you a place to start searching.

    ¡°Show me an overlay of the town and Antithesis please.¡±

    On my dash an image of the town displays the location of the horde. It looks like they are all centralized in a large valley that leads directly up into the town. If I can cut off the horde and box it into the valley my wand and whip can hopefully prevent them from ever reaching the town.

    ¡°What have the Antithesis been eating to grow like this? From my understanding they need biomass or a decent deposit of nutrients to consume. Is there something rich in the ground that they are consuming?

    A good question, according to historic records of the area this town was rich in gold at one point. The Antithesis may have found a large deposit of minerals and material underground and capitalized on the remoteness of this town to stay undetected for so long. Ah this makes sense now, the drones have discovered a mine entrance that the Antithesis are exiting. I¡¯m assuming that is where the hive will be found.

    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°Let¡¯s set the car down here.¡±

    I mark a spot on the map in the town next to a sports store on the edge of town. It¡¯s roughly a mile away from the mine, and will set me up at the start of the valley the Antithesis are gathering in.

    ¡°Once I¡¯m down, I think I will need a new weapon to use in the mines. My wand is perhaps too destructive to use in enclosed spaces, and my whip, while a good option, I think is a bit unwieldy in tight spaces.¡±

    Understood, what did you have in mind?

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it needs to be able to kill en masse or quickly enough to take out multiple targets, and singularly and not be such a hazard as to collapse the mine or kill myself.¡±

    I have an idea, but you would need a few more points, and to unlock Warcaster Class II catalog. It¡¯s a self-replicating, fast acting acid that dissolves the cellular binding that Antithesis use in their biology. It¡¯s very short range but in an enclosed space like a mine will be devastating.

    ¡°And how dangerous is this to humans, and how is it applied?¡±

    It is relatively harmless to humans, but once it eats into Antithesis the gas released from the Antithesis dissolving can burn your lungs. With your shielding, you will be able to operate without much issue. As for application, there will be a hyper compressed bottle of the acid stored within your armor, and it can be sprayed at high velocity from your hand. The cost for the weapon system is seven hundred points, plus the five hundred and a token for the catalog.

    ¡°Let¡¯s put a pin in that for now and see how we are doing when we get to the mine.

    Of course, Morigana, we are about to touch down at the designated location.

    My car sets down right outside a rundown looking store with a giant ¡°Out of Business¡± sign on the front.

    I hop out of the car and set my armor to active mode. I also make an adjustment to my left hip, creating a small holster for my wand.

    ¡°Alright Merlin, please set a waypoint on my mini-map and approximate distance to the horde.¡±

    Done, and done, the drones have detected movement from the horde, your car seems to have attracted their attention.

    ¡°Fudge, let¡¯s get moving then.¡±

    I set a brisk pace away from town and into the desert hills. The area has a surprising amount of low shrubs and plant life all of it a dull brown. I crest over the first hill trying to keep low, so I don¡¯t present myself too easily.

    Below is the start of a valley that looks like it was a dirt road at one point. Well, it¡¯s still a road it¡¯s just being used by invading aliens.

    Crossing through is a huge line of Model Threes, the Antithesis scouts and front-line units. These were C variants, adapted to the desert.

    They are ripping up all the vegetation with their long tongues and stuffing it into their mouths. Above them I notice a small flock of Model Ones, circling looking for targets of opportunity.

    ¡°Merlin, can you please send out a warning to all the locals that the Antithesis are on the move towards town and to find shelter if they can.¡±

    Message sent, also the Family has hired a PMC to help. They should be here in a hour or so.

    ¡°Right, let¡¯s get this party started then, please hold my point count for now, I don¡¯t want the distraction.¡±

    Gladly, good hunting.

    I grab my wand from my hip and adjust its settings for proximity and max range based on my hat¡¯s sensors.

    Let¡¯s get these stupid birds first so they can¡¯t track me as easily.

    I duck behind the hill more, aim, and fire off a fireball.

    The bead explodes near the top of the flock, enveloping them in a huge fireball, incinerating the ones at the center. The ones at the edge catch on fire and plummet to the ground.

    The Model Threes on the ground take notice and search around for the source of the attack.

    I quickly take aim at the pack as they notice me laying at the top of the hill. Thankfully the valley wall is fairly steep, and they are struggling to find purchase to climb up it.

    I take aim and fire two more fireballs into the front lines of the Threes.

    FWUMP, FWUMP!

    Fireballs blossom into the sky sending flaming Model Three chunks into the air.

    Little craters are left behind, I better be careful I may accidentally make a path of holes for them to use to climb the hill.

    The pack snarls in their strange plant way and try clawing their way up.

    I unleash my fireballs one after another into the horde, focusing on the ones closest to me, trying to prevent them from reaching the top.

    Reloading your wand as needed Morigana, don¡¯t worry. Don¡¯t let up.

    ¡°Thanks Merlin.¡± I say, unleashing more blasts.

    A pack of Threes have managed to climb up the valley farther down the line, highlighting on your augs now.

    Just west of where I am, I see the red highlighted Threes charging my location.

    I lash out with my whip horizontally trying to swipe them all off the hill, or in half whatever works.

    Bit of both happens, the whip slices into the group at an angle slicing most of them up and pushing their bodies into the others dropping them down into the valley.

    Morigana, they have sent another wave of Antithesis in your direction. It looks like more advanced units. Model Sixes are also setting up some Model Fifteens as artillery, they will be able to fire on your position momentarily.

    Fudge, looks like I will need to get mobile, while my armor supposedly will protect me from the worst of Antithesis, I do not want to test it out like against the Nine earlier.

    I get up from my prone position and start running across the valley wall in the direction the pack of Threes who climbed up came from. I need to get to those Fifteens before they bombard me, or the town.

    I continue shooting fireballs into the valley taking out as many of the Model Threes as I can.

    They die in large groups, their numbers slowly whittling down.

    I make it roughly two hundred feet before my senses and Merlin scream at me.

    Buried Model Fours below you!

    Too late, up from the ground tentacles like from an anime girl''s wet dream erupt from the ground slamming into me. Two of them grab around my waist and chest crushing me into the ground. The others start pounding into me, the barbs ripping into my armor sending nanite chunks into the air.

    I can feel my armor sliding around my body trying to shuffle nanites around to the areas being destroyed.

    I quickly send out my whip slicing through the tentacles holding me down and try to wiggle my way free. I gasp as the pressure is released from my chest, the other tentacles slap into my side and send me rolling down into the valley where the horde of Model Threes were waiting for me.

    I land with a groan in the valley, I can feel cuts and scrapes along my body from the beating and fall.

    ¡°Merlin, armor repairs! Direct injection please!¡±

    Repairs injected for additional cost but done!

    I can also feel my internal bio-nanites start repairing internal damage from the beating, and fall.

    I roll over to see the advancing Model Threes.

    Still laying down I fire my wand into the masses trying to fend them off.

    Pieces of Model Three¡¯s fly into the air, filling the air with the scent of burning grass.

    I don¡¯t have a good method for dealing with the buried Model Fours, so until they come out, I will just have to wait. Not that I won¡¯t be busy now that I¡¯m ground level with the army of Model Threes.

    Standing up, I try and make my way down the valley towards where the icon on my map says the Model Fifteens are positioned. Keeping my wand shooting I make my way around the bend.

    I back myself up to a different valley wall, and rapid fire off some beads to buy myself time to take out the Fifteens.

    Finally, after several tense minutes the Threes around me thin out enough I think I can take a shot.

    Looking over, the Fifteens are launching their gross balls of spikes up into the air.

    Fudge crackers.

    They arc up into the sky and come hurtling down on my position.

    I duck down into a small ball.

    I let out a scream of fear, as they hit around me and explode sending out their payload of barbs and death.

    I feel several needles punch through my armor, thankfully they are shallow only sticking into my body a few millimeters. One bounces off the shield over my head and lands in the dirt next to me. The rest are deflected off of me, thankfully.

    I rip out the ones that are in my side, hissing in pain as each one is removed.

    Breathing heavily, I take aim, I manage to get a volley of three maximized fireballs into the Model Fifteens'' location.

    FWUMPH!

    Fire and hell engulf them all, turning them and the models around them to ash and gore.

    ¡°Merlin, I need my internal nanites to get a healing boost, please. Just inject me directly even if it costs more.¡±

    Injection inbound, it will hurt more than normal, be prepared.

    It sure as heck does hurt more, feels like my liver was displaced by twenty feet.

    But it quickly fades, and I can feel pains I had start to clear up.

    I survey the valley around me, the only thing standing other than me are a few Model Threes dragging themselves across the ground trying to get to me.

    Using my whip I quickly dispatch them. I still need the Model Fours to come out to kill them too. Inspiration strikes me.

    ¡°Merlin, I need a strong sonic weapon.¡±

    Simple solution is Mark I Concussion Grenade for five points.

    ¡°Yes please.¡±

    New Purchase: Mark I Concussion Grenade:

    Points reduced to: 4930

    I extend my hand out and in it falls a baseball sized sphere with a red button.

    I take aim, who am I kidding right? I chuck it the best I can at the buried Model Fours.

    It flies short and off to the side, fudge.

    It goes off in a loud invisible bang, though I can see the shockwave it produces in the air. Thankfully it hits where the Fours are buried.

    They scramble to exit the dirt and sand to get away from the crushing soundwave that hit them.

    I quickly activate my whip and slash across their bodies, and then send the tip back into them for a quick second hit.

    Well-done Morigana looks like this area has been cleaned up. The path to the mine appears to be cleared at the moment.

    ¡°Fantastic.¡± I say exhausted. I can¡¯t wait for my body upgrades to be finished.

    I make my way through the rest of the valley, it dead ends in a large bowl surrounded by tall hills.

    Random buildings and mining equipment dot the landscape, all abandoned. If I had to guess whoever used to own and operate this place has been turned into plant chow.

    ¡°Merlin, can you send the drones into the mine to scout while we make some purchases?

    Gladly, drone swarm en route. I¡¯ve also gotten updates from the PMC, they are fifteen minutes out.

 Chapter 09 Mine Your Own Business

    ¡°Merlin, can you send the drones into the mine to scout while we make some purchases?

    Drones inbound for mine mapping. I have also taken the liberty of searching the owning corporation''s logs for detailed maps and I have found a complete layout of the mines. I will notify you when the drones find something of note.

    ¡°Great, good thinking Merlin. So, let¡¯s take a look at upgrading my armor and weapons please.¡± I said while sitting down on a defunct mining vehicle of some sort.

    Excellent! I think we should start by unlocking the Class II catalog for Warcaster Tech.

    ¡°I agree, please open it.¡±

    Class II Warcaster Technologies Unlocked!

    Points reduced to: 4471

    Tokens reduced to: 1

    Holy stars, that¡¯s a lot of points! I must have killed a lot more aliens than¡­ no, never mind, it does feel like I¡¯ve been killing them out here forever.

    In that case, I think it¡¯s time to splurge for some nice gear.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go ahead and get that shielding unit you mentioned too, and the cryo gloves.¡±

    New Purchase: Class II Point Defense Full Body Force Shield:

    Points reduced to: 3271

    New Purchase: Class II Hydro-Cryogenic displacement gloves:

    Points reduced to: 3201

    ¡°Merlin why are the gloves so cheap even though they are Class II, and seem very strong?¡±

    They are indeed very strong, but they are a set of gear with a specialized function. They are only useful on things that contain liquids and are within ten feet of you. Even then, the ranged effect has rapid diminishing returns. The reason they are Class II is because whenever you do freeze a target, the ice will spread across it, eventually turning it into essentially a block of ice. Mixed in with that is its incredible durability; nothing short of a sustained piercing weapon of at least a Model Eleven or higher has a hope of getting through.

    ¡°What I¡¯m hearing here is that I could stick my hand down an Antithesis¡¯s mouth if I had to and turn it into an aliensicle?¡±

    Yes, but maybe don¡¯t do that on purpose.

    Unwrapping my new toys, I see two bottles of, I¡¯m assuming at this point, nanites.

    Grabbing each, I place my finger into the openings and watch the liquid sludge crawl across my digits and meld into my armor.

    Software for both items has been installed into your augs. The shield emitter is centered around your hat, integrating with its sensor suite. It will automatically detect hostile objects, or anything really. It then deploys a shield plate to stop the object. Should it be something more encompassing, it will envelop you entirely. The power supply is robust enough to supply several hours of full shielding before it needs to be recharged. It also absorbs the energy sent against it back into its power supply. This can then be used to recharge all your energy-based systems.

    ¡°Holy stars Merlin, why did you not explain it like that when you first told me about this shield? I asked, shocked.

    Well, I was trying to encourage you to earn points for cool equipment! This is the power of an expensive Class II item. So, your new gloves work by shunting the heat from the liquid in an object touched into another dimension, the effect then propagates through the liquid overtaking the entire thing.

    ¡°Merlin, I need more tokens, for more Class II catalogs. No! How do I get a Class III? Reports from other Samurai say I need multiple Class II¡¯s?¡±

    Well yes, you need to get several related Class II catalogs and then based on your use and my better judgment I can allow you to spend points and tokens on a Class III catalog.

    ¡°Wild, okay now let¡¯s unlock Acid Spray before I have to go down these tunnels.¡±

    New Purchase: Class II Self-Replicating Antithesis Acid Dispersal System:

    Points reduced to: 2501

    The box pops into existence on my lap, reaching in is a canister. While picking it up, it sloshed around a bit. I place it against my right glove and watch it disappear into it.

    The canister has enough acid to spray continuously for about thirty seconds. A three second burst should be enough to shoot out in a thirty-foot cone in front of you. Refills cost fifty points.

    ¡°I think we are all set to go down into this mine, any last thoughts or advice?¡±

    I think you should be sufficiently equipped to deal with most of the projected threats this hive could send against you. Ah, the drones have found what could possibly be the hive''s location.

    ¡°What do you mean by possibly?¡±

    Well, there is an area I have been trying to investigate. However every time I send a group of drones into it, they go dark. Something is destroying them or disabling them. Hives have a strong chaff type substance that helps it hide, or it could have a high tiered model with ECM shutting down the drones. But by sending in the drones from multiple paths to the same location it has created a dead spot.

    ¡°That makes a lot of sense, please mark the route on my map please, and the locations of the Antithesis the drones have found. Better yet, can you make a summary listing of Antithesis that have been seen so far?¡±

    Of course I can, map updated, dropping a list on your augs to scroll through.

    I take a moment to review everything and come up with my own game plan. I need to kill everything down here so it can¡¯t spread but I also need to get the hive before it produces more. Buuuut, I know if the hive is hit it will drop its emergency pheromones causing everything in range to swarm it.

    Hold the phone, that¡¯s an idea! If I set up my wand beads around the hive room and then shock the hive into sending its distress smell out everything will rush in, and I can kill everything at once! Just like I did in the hallway back at the school.

    ¡°Merlin, I have a plan! Going to do the hallway trap but at the hive, I want to try and get them all at once.¡±

    A good plan, I suggest killing all the Antithesis on the path marked ensuring a route out of the hive. Also, the PMC have arrived in the town and are setting up a perimeter around the town.

    ¡°Can you reach out and connect me with their leader? I want to update them on the situation.¡±

    Of course, a moment please. Connected, transferring the call to you.

    ¡°Hello Samurai, I am Major Devoy with the Desert Fox PMC, your AI has informed me that you are about to take out the hive? Is there something we can do to help?¡± Said a serious sounding man over my augs.

    ¡°I am about to try; this will be my first hive. I¡¯ve read a few reports and watched a video of a Samurai taking out a hive.¡± I told him.

    ¡°Well, we are here to support your effort. What would you like us to do?¡± He asked, slightly annoyed that I didn¡¯t answer his question.

    ¡°Can you guys make a perimeter at the mine entrance, so nothing gets out?".

    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    ¡°Not a problem Ma¡¯am, send us a pin and we will set up. Have you seen any Antithesis around the town?¡±

    ¡°There was a horde about to attack the town when I arrived, I wiped them out not long ago. I just arrived at the entrance and was about to head down, I think I will wait here until you arrive, so no Antithesis sneak out while I¡¯m down there.¡±

    ¡°Roger, we are enroute now.¡± He said, ending the call.

    I did not have to wait long, thirty seconds later I heard the whine of hover engines approaching from the east.

    A moment after that I see three large APC¡¯s crest the hills followed by two heavy repulsor lift tanks. Some decent firepower, nice to have backing me up.

    They settle down around the mine entrance and three squads of soldiers decked out in tan camo and some fancy looking guns. Stuff that looks like hybrid Vanguard and human tech. In fact, I squint at some of the rifles, those look like ones I designed. Some heavy-duty railguns that use smart AI to adjust the rounds to suit the target it shoots at automatically.

    The guy who dismounted first approaches me, rendering a salute.

    ¡°Samurai Witch of the West, I¡¯m Major Devoy, nice to meet you.¡± The soldier said to me.

    I return a truly sorry excuse for a salute having never done one and feeling rather silly about it. I feel my face flush a bit and drop it.

    Major Devoy is very young looking, sharp blue eyes, chiseled face made by some god somewhere, and I can see a small tuft of brown hair peeking out from his helmet, and most importantly he is tall, like six foot four. He exudes an air of confidence, danger, and safety. I have to stop myself from staring.

    Girl, get your stuff together, he¡¯s a soldier, not a mountain to climb.

    ¡°You okay Ma¡¯am? Do you need some water? You look flushed.¡± He asks with genuine concern. He grabs a canteen from his hip and hands it to me.

    I grabbed the canteen taking a quick sip, then a few more. Apparently, I was thirsty... in more than one way.

    I tried to hand it back, but he had turned away and started adjusting his squads¡¯ positions. They started setting up defensive positions around the entrance without his involvement, true signs of seasoned soldiers or strong leadership.

    Morigana, focus you have a job to do here.

    ¡°Yea, sorry, Merlin, you''re right. Any suggestions for them?¡± I asked my AI while snapping myself out of my girl brain.

    They are setting up an efficient defense. They clearly have done this before. I suggest you focus on yourself and mentally prepare for your task at hand.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, let''s go play with an advanced invading alien species and turn them into so much goo.¡±

    Not knowing what to do with the canteen I placed it on the ground with a shrug and headed into the mine.

    The entrance is pretty big, maybe a hundred feet wide and thirty or so tall. Plenty of space to fit the heavy drilling and mining equipment that I see scattered around the valley. Alternatively, a good entrance to unleash a huge alien army onto an unsuspecting town for chow.

    Checking my mini-map I see that the pathway marked by Merlin crosses paths with quite a few Antitheses considering the enclosed environment. I put the wand away on my hip and arm up my Cryo glove on my left hand, and the acid spray on my right.

    The first group that I will run into will be a group of Model Threes. With my sneak boots, and scent reduction, both primary senses used by the xenos, I should be able to sneak up close to them before they notice me.

    I turn the last corner and see the group licking the walls? Gathering minerals from the surface, I guess? Weird. I¡¯m able to sneak up behind them and get within range of my acid spray.

    Aiming with my arm and projectile prediction loaded into my augs, I trigger the acid for a burst.

    A thick mist of dark liquid sprays out coating all the Model Threes in front of me. The moment the acid hits the group I see small spots of flesh start boiling away where it touched the skin. Then almost like a wave, it spreads across their entire body and within moments turns into a pile of amorphous goop on the floor.

    Holy stars.

    ¡°Merlin, this stuff is wild! Why don¡¯t we put this stuff into ammo for infantry? Do you have any idea how effective this would be delivered by a bullet?¡±

    Yes, however it is a Class II weapon, and while it is not forbidden to give out, it is very costly in terms of earth compounds used to create it. I doubt you would want to become a supply factory for the stuff, using your points, so not really practical.¡±

    ¡°I see, oh well.¡±

    Continuing down the tunnel system, I run into a few more packs of Model Threes. Merlin definitely picked a low-risk route avoiding most of the hive occupants. The only real surprise was in the form a Model Nine pretending to be a tumbleweed.

    As I near it, I casually walk past, pretending not to notice the alien. When my hat sensors warn me of motion, I quickly spin around activating my cryo gloves.

    A thick white stream of something comes spraying out. It collides with the arm swiping at my torso, instantly freezing the limb. The momentum keeps it coming and it collides with me.

    A sharp cracking pop comes from the Nine¡¯s arm as it shatters, the cracking follows down the arm along where the ice has spread. In less than two seconds the Nine completely shatters into a pile of broken ice on the ground.

    Continuing on, I notice throughout the tunnel large tree-like roots spreading out across the ceiling. Occasionally, sticking out of the roots are giant leaves. From my studies I know the leaves are designed to gather heat in place of sunlight, or they can be used as heatsinks if they get too much heat built up. Which is crazy to me because it is getting hot and humid the further in I go.

    On my mini-map I¡¯m approaching where Merlin is assuming the hive''s location to be by the huge gap in coverage.

    ¡°Merlin, let Major Devoy know that I¡¯m about to assault the hive and be prepared for anything.¡± I whisper to him.

    Message sent.

    Peeking around the corner, my eyes bulge out of my head. Thousands of Antitheses are gathered in a massive cavern at least a thousand feet long. I may be under equipped to deal with this.

    I back up the cave a bit, so I have some separation.

    ¡°Merlin.¡± I hissed, ¡°What the shit is that! There is no way to deal with all that on my own.¡±

    I disagree; however, I do see your concern. The predictive models I have were off. This hive must have been here longer than we thought. I¡¯m seeing several advanced models in there, judging by that, and the quantity, this hive is at least six months old.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you have so much confidence in me, but how do we deal with so many at once? I would need some massive bomb, or crazy Vanguard super weapon.¡±

    As it turns out, you have access to both. But I feel both of what you¡¯re referring to, are I think, too simple and pedestrian for you. I have an idea and I will give you a hint. I want you to use your intellect to come up with a creative non-barbaric idea such as ¡°Blow it up der-her-her¡±. My clue is this, compression.

    ¡°Compression, as in the balanced force in all directions into a point?¡±

    Indeed, this is a cave and Antithesis are plants and while they do have some good armor, that hardly matters when force, such as kinetic or sonic energy, transfers through to internal organs.

    ¡°So, what? We create a massive pressure wave outside each of the cavern entrances forcing the air to compress into a single point focused on the hive, turning everything in the area into organic mush?¡±

    That is a genius idea Morigana, I have just such a weapon in your Warcaster Class II catalog. However, you do not need to go into the cave to use it, you will need to leave it at the mine entrance. According to the drones and the maps provided by the mining company there is only one entrance.

    ¡°Oh-oh! I see what you¡¯re thinking, over pressurizing the entire cave system will cause cavitation of the air, squishing everything within and igniting the air at the same time.

    Yes, the device will create a shield on this side to protect everyone outside of it, then condense a massive quantity of air, then shove it down the cave system. With no exit other than the blocked one the air wil condense to the point of combustion like you said, both squishing and then exploding. The weapon costs one thousand points, it sounds expensive, but the point gain will be immense.

    ¡°Well let¡¯s get the frick out of here then, and why exactly did we need to come down here if we could have just used this thing?¡± I say making my way back topside.

    We had to make sure the hive was here, no point destroying a good mine if there was just a baby hive, or a random pack of Antithesis who just happened to be sitting here.

    ¡°Hush you, I get it.¡±

    I make it back topside without running into any Antithesis thanks to my drones.

    ¡°Let¡¯s call back the drone swarm, don¡¯t want to blow them up too.¡± I told Merlin.

    ¡°Also, please purchase the... what¡¯s it called?¡±

    Drones have been recalled, the weapon is called The Microburst, ironically it is not very micro. Purchasing now.

    New Purchase: Class II Microburst Shielded Compression Generator:

    Points reduced to: 1736

    A spherical device the size of a washing machine pops into existence at the cave entrance. On its surface is a small panel with a video playing. The video depicts the effect of the weapon using stick figure Antithesis, showing them getting squished then burned.

    Cute.

    ¡°And how far back should we stand before setting this off?¡± I asked.

    Technically the shield will protect you and the PMC, but¡­the cave could fail and any number of other probabilities so mid valley for safety.

    ¡°Merlin, I worry about the safety margins your creators built into you.¡±

    I walk over to Major Devoy.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am, did you succeed? You were not gone long, and there is a very serious lack of explosions that are normally associated with Samurai destroying hives.¡± He asked after performing a picture-perfect salute.

    ¡°Uh, no but I just placed down a device to finish the job. I came over to advise you and your troops to seek cover.¡± I say, eyeing up the mountain.

    ¡°Right, that tracks.¡± He shifts his head to the radio on his shoulder. ¡°Foxes find cover. Samurai device about to explode.¡± He says nonchalantly into his radio.

    The troops behind him immediately run behind equipment, buildings, and various forms of cover almost comically quick, but efficiently.

    The vehicles all lift off and retreat back as well.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am, if it¡¯s all right I¡¯ll stay with you.¡± He said.

    ¡°Sure, Merlin says that we should be safe near the middle of this valley so¡­ yeah let''s go.¡±

    I move to behind one of the buildings maybe a hundred feet from the entrance, and squat with my back against it.

    ¡°This good Merlin?¡±

    Sufficient I think, are you ready? Just initialize the device with a command from your augs and we will be in business!

    I check my aug menu, find the device, and mentally smash the big red button!

 Chapter 10 Major Hang Ups

    I check my aug menu, find the device and mentally smash the big red button!

    At first nothing really exciting happens, the device deploys a shield over the cave entrance that appears to the eye as a light blue barrier.

    Major Devoy looks over at me and lifts an eyebrow, as if asking ¡°Is that it?¡±

    I raise my hand with one finger up, the universal ¡°Wait a minute, you impatient man.¡± Not the finger you¡¯re thinking of.

    From the device a flash of light, then the shield turns a dark opaque blue blocking it out.

    KABOOOM!!!

    The next thing we know everyone is on their ass, the earth shudders in response. Rocks and earth crumble from the mine walls, the valley seems to vibrate as if alive. My teeth chatter in my head and it feels like Armageddon is visiting our locale.

    From the mine I¡¯m guessing about where the hive is a huge jet of fire erupts from the ground, no that does not do it justice, a friggin¡¯ volcano of molten earth and fire rip out of the earth, spinning several thousand feet up into the air in a vortex.

    Oh, shit balls!

    I am tracking several objects from the eruption that will land in your vicinity. I suggest retreating farther before they land. Highlighting objects on your augs.

    I can¡¯t even squeak out a response, I try and climb to my feet and fail, falling on my face.

    An arm reaches around my waist and hauls me up over their back like a rag doll.

    All I see is the ground moving past as I¡¯m carried further back from the mine; we don¡¯t stop until there is no more space to retreat.

    ¡°SHIELD UP¡± A voice shouts from the person carrying me. At this point I¡¯m fairly sure it¡¯s Major Devoy, my hero.

    I¡¯m un-ceremonially dumped onto the ground, and Major Devoy drops on top of me.

    Through his limbs I see a pale blue barrier pop up over us, and the rest of the unit is huddled around us as well.

    Not that I¡¯m complaining, but one of his hands happens to be on my breast, and one of his knees is parked between my thighs.

    My face burns a bit noticing this, and also from the embarrassment of nuking the valley with what, according to Merlin, was supposed to be a low impact device.

    On my augs I see the highlighted debris smash into the blue shield causing it to flare up. Several impacts later and a chunk of rock manages to break through the barrier before it snaps back into place.

    My eyes go wide, it¡¯s going to hit the Major, I try to wiggle free but can¡¯t break his grip, my bodily upgrades are not enough to move the mountain on top of me.

    ¡°Stop moving Morigana, you¡¯re safe.¡± He says, shouting over the roar and explosion.

    I can only watch his face in horror as the piece slams into his legs. Blood and bone splatter everywhere, my point defense shield kicks on stopping the fragment from hitting me.

    His body slams into mine, knocking the wind out of me.

    Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

    ¡°MERLIN PUCK THE MAJOR!¡± I shout out, tears welling up in my eyes.

    Understood, activating now.

    The Majors weight vanishes from my body as he is teleported away instantly.

    The eruptions and debris falling trickles down till they stop.

    I sit up on my elbows shaking, what in the fuck just happened.

    ¡°Merlin, explain how that happened, you said it would be safe to use that here!¡±

    It should have been, there must have been additional elements within the hive to cause secondary explosions beyond what the mines structure could handle. The ceiling gave way at the vortex of the compression causing, as you saw, a huge structural failure. I apologize for the miscalculation.

    ¡°YOU APOLOGIZE?! The Major could be dead! Everyone here could have died, and it would have been all my fault for trusting you! Never again Merlin, from now on I will see the destruction done myself, no more indiscriminate weapons!¡± I shouted shaking with rage and frustration.

    I understand, Morigana, I will not suggest them again. I hope you understand that I do hold the best interest of humanity at heart. I would never intentionally put a human¡¯s life at risk. If it makes you feel better Major Devoy is being cared for now by Hank and his AI, and he should live. A side note that I hope helps, the Major was selected to be a Vanguard for his sacrifice protecting you.

    I let out a pent-up breath, trying to control my tears and shaking.

    ¡°No Merlin, it does not, but I¡¯m glad he is okay. Is the hive destroyed at least?¡±

    It is indeed, you have accumulated¡­

    ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± I shout slapping the ground with my hands.

    ¡°Is anyone else hurt, and call Hank.¡±

    No one else was injured thankfully, their shield stopped the worst of the impacts. Hank is on the line now.

    ¡°Hey little Mori, your buddy you sent over is in a class IV medical recovery pod, he will be okay.¡± Hank says over my augs.

    ¡°Clever idea using your puck to send him to me by the way. I don¡¯t think he woulda made it otherwise.¡± He lets out a heavy breath.

    ¡°Thank you, Hank, he got hurt shielding me from a bomb blast that my AI screwed up analyzing the risk on.¡± I said between my teeth.

    ¡°Oiy now, the AIs are very good at what they do but shit happens out in the field that can¡¯t be accounted for, I do understand your frustration though missy. Just remember being a Samurai ain''t all sunshine and roses. People get hurt, people die, and this is only the beginning. You need to dig deep and make sure you can handle this. No one¡¯s goina judge you harshly if you back out or take a breather.¡±

    I wipe my face with the back of my hand, trying to clear out my tears.

    Around me the PMC is collecting itself and accounting for everyone, going over the equipment, and staring in awe at the carnage from the blast.

    ¡°I¡­I know, I guess I was not ready to see it so soon. I need some time, I think, to process everything. Just yesterday I was an engineer and teacher and the worst I had to deal with were scraped knees and snotty noses.¡±

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    I pick myself up off the ground, looking at myself. I¡¯m covered in dust and blood from the Major. I take a steadying breath. He¡¯s alive, it¡¯s just a mess, not a big deal, I tell myself.

    ¡°Thank you, Hank, can I come visit?¡±

    ¡°Course missy, address sent to your AI. Clean yourself up a bit yeah? Major here will be out for a while, so don¡¯t worry, eat, clean yourself up, it¡¯s okay.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, I will.¡± I say ending the call.

    Morigana, again I am sorry for the error. Major Devoy¡¯s AI has reached out and is assuring me that he is recovering and will be fine.

    ¡°Merlin, is it possible to split the points from that hive with him? Was he a Samurai long enough to get any credit?¡± I ask.

    Sort of¡­given the situation and the proximity of the event I believe it is fair to award him a portion. I will confer with his AI and see what she thinks.

    ¡°Fine, let me know.¡±

    One of the PMC soldiers walks up to me hesitantly.

    ¡°Excuse me Witch of the West, do you know what happened to the Major?¡± He asks, looking around nervously.

    ¡°Yes, he was injured and was teleported to a care facility. Uhm, and also you should let whoever know that he was selected to be a Samurai.¡±

    The soldiers¡¯ eyes get big, and his mouth drops open.

    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am! I will let dispatch know; do you know where he is though?¡±

    Not sure if I should give out a Samurai¡¯s address I respond with a shrug.

    ¡°Yes, but I can¡¯t give out the location. I¡¯m sure he will report in when he can.¡±

    He doesn¡¯t seem to be thrilled with the answer but what¡¯s he going to do?

    ¡°Understood Ma¡¯am.¡± He says walking off.

    Morigana, after discussing it with Major Devoy¡¯s AI we have determined that a ten percent portion of the points is an appropriate reward. Before you say that is not good enough, realize that this is not standard and is a significant amount of points for a new Vanguard.

    ¡°Fine, it¡¯s good enough. Now I¡¯m going to go home and pretend you don¡¯t exist while I think about this. Unless the world is ending, or I ask something don¡¯t bother me.¡±

    Understood, Hank¡¯s address has been loaded to your car. Again, I am sorry for my error I will be more diligent in the future,

    I don¡¯t respond to my AI, instead I head over to the soldier that spoke to me earlier.

    He looks over as I¡¯m approaching, rendering a salute, that I ignore.

    ¡°Soldier.¡± I look at his name tape, I don¡¯t know rank symbols so whatever. ¡°Stone, do you guys need anything else from me? My AI says nothing down there should be alive.¡±

    ¡°No Ma¡¯am, we will do a sweep of the town, and the mine when it cools down enough to check. We will kill anything left, or if it¡¯s too much to handle we will contact the Family for Samurai assistance.¡±

    Oddly he does not seem overly upset with me for nearly killing them all and their officer. Are they that numb to this or are they afraid to show anything in front of me?

    I go to walk away but turn and ask. ¡°Stone, how do you guys¡¯ cope with all this?¡± I say, emphasizing everything with my hands.

    He stops for a second and thinks before responding.

    ¡°You either get used to it or have a mental break down. In that case a shrink talks to you to see if you can continue or get pushed out.¡± He says. I can see some shadows in his eyes, looks like he has seen his share of horrors and made it through.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I say heading back to my car.

    I don¡¯t remember walking back to the car and setting the autopilot to home.

    Somehow, I get home and into the bath without even realizing it.

    The hot water soothing my body and mind, with some clarity, and in a place I feel safe, I finally process what happened.

    I used an alien device of which I had very little hope of ever understanding in a setting with unaccountable variables. I should have known to ask about the mine¡¯s integrity, the hives ability to have its own explosives, or even what minerals were present in the rock, or hell maybe the company that was mining left a huge load of explosives behind.

    I scrub at my legs to get the blood and dirt off; the Majors blood. I drain the water out and replace it with fresh clean water, and a metric ton of bubble bath.

    From now on, no huge uncontrolled explosions, precise and specific strikes only. I need a way to be able to take out huge swaths of enemies without injuring anyone else.

    I don¡¯t think my wand is a huge danger. Its area is small, and I can get predictive mapping for its explosion. Its short range also helps me understand what and where it will hit.

    The cryo gloves are the same, short range and I can control what¡¯s hit, the acid spray is only effective on Antithesis so no worry there. Lastly my plasma whip is probably my most dangerous weapon, but its safety is my mind and its shielding.

    What can I do then, to take out huge areas safely?

    My whip is my strongest weapon, how can I use that do to more damage? It moves around perfectly controlled by my mind through my augs. What if could make the plasma arc like lightning from target to target and move around or through targets I want it to.

    Wait no, why not use lightning? I¡¯m betting there is tech in a catalog to charge the air in a specific path, create a pathway of charged particles that avoid what I don¡¯t want, and hit only what I want. I could upgrade my augs and sensors to create pathways quickly and direct it through huge swaths of targets.

    The damage would be instant and fatal, lightning only strikes for two or so seconds and can go for miles! It also burns at fifty-thousand degrees! Yes! The crazy thing is, it would hardly use any power and is relatively low tech for the Vanguard.

    ¡°Merlin.¡± I say flatly.

    I am here Morigana, what can I do for you?

    ¡°Don¡¯t think I have forgiven you, but I have an idea and I need your stupid AI brain to see if it¡¯s possible.¡± I say, I sink into the tub up to my face and take a moment to gather my thoughts.

    ¡°Lightning. Is there a catalog or weapon that will let me change the charge of my target and the weapon and the space between or whatever so I can create a safe pathway to multiple targets at once?¡±

    There is indeed. There is a device in your Warcaster II catalog that is designed to do such a task. You would need to unlock three other catalogs to effectively use the weapon as I believe you are intending.

    Class I enhanced Augment neural processing for two hundred points, and Class II of the same for six hundred and a token. Then use the Mk IV hive mind neural processing upgrade that will cost one thousand points.

    Then unlock the Class II Advanced Sensory Technologies for six hundred points and a token then upgrade your sensor suite to Class II version for five hundred points.

    After that the weapon system itself will cost you two thousand points. It re-arranges the positive and negative properties of atoms, creating arcs of lightning on very specific pathways. The temperature, speed, width, length, and connecting targets can be all be adjusted.

    So, in all five thousand five hundred points, and you will have a lightning-based weapon that can target as many targets as you can identify, engage, and then destroy in just a few seconds.

    I take a moment to let that all sink in, holy stars that is a lot of points for one weapon. But then, to think it will stop collateral damage to others, and I won¡¯t hurt those around me by accident.

    Do I even have that many points and tokens?

    ¡°What are my points and tokens Merlin?¡±

    Eleven thousand three hundred and twenty after splitting with the Major, and two tokens.

    Oh, wow that was a huge kill then I guess.

    That is of course also after the penalty for distance from the kills themselves, there was a small penalty for that.

    ¡°I see. Be really clear with me, Merlin. What hazards would this system present to others and any other associated risks?¡±

    Very well Morigana, I will try and give you every detail I can. I will provide you with a manual for the weapon for your own reading as well. The weapon discharge will be real lightning, so any risk associated with lightning will also be present here. You will need to be aware of conductive materials on and around your target. Objects near the pathways of the lightning may still be burned or damaged. The basic temperature of each arc will be around fifty thousand degrees. Water in the vicinity or around the target may cause un-intended deflections of the lightning or transfer to other objects. The software and upgrades that I have selected will increase your ability to process all aspects of the weapon. You will gain enhanced thinking speeds, perception, and a massive gain in your brains ability to process countless simultaneous actions at once.

    I got what I asked for, Merlin went on for roughly forty minutes explaining all the details, along with providing a very in-depth user guide. And I listened to every single thing he said. From the looks of it this may be the only weapon I need, in conjunction with the acid I can kill and melt down almost anything.

    ¡°Okay Merlin, make the purchases please.¡±

    You may wish to get out of the bathtub first, Morigana.

    ¡°Right, good call.¡±

 Chapter 11 Such a Knife Eatery

    ¡°Right, good call.¡±

    I climb out of my bath, grab one of my super plush towels for my hair, and one for my body.

    I dry off, toss on my underwear and head into the living room where my nanite armor is sitting neatly folded on the table.

    I reach down and activate its armor form; it slithers across my body like a river of sand.

    ¡°Okay purchase please Merlin.¡±

    Loot inbound!

    Class I Enhanced Augment Neural Processing unlocked!

    Points reduced to: 11,120

    Class II Enhanced Augment Neural Processing unlocked!

    Points reduced to: 10,520 and 1 Token

    Class II Advanced Sensory Technologies unlocked!

    Points reduced to: 9,920 and 0 Tokens

    New Purchase: Class II Multi-Spectrum Sensory Suit Nano Armor Upgrade:

    Points reduced to: 9,420

    New Purchase: Mk IV Hive Mind Neural Processing Upgrade:

    Points reduced to: 8,420

    New Purchase: Class II Tempest Staff of Storms:

    Points reduced to: 6,420

    Three boxes drop onto my dining room table; two small ones about the size of a shoe box, and the third is long and skinny, maybe seven feet and a foot wide.

    I open the two small boxes; inside I find, to no one¡¯s surprise, two small bottles, probably full of nanites! I go ahead and stick my finger in one for my armor and inject the second into my thigh.

    ¡°Merlin, the aug upgrade will it mesh with the one currently upgrading now, or how will that work?¡±

    I went ahead and charged a few extra points to speed up both, you should feel a bit of vertigo in a few minutes when both upgrades meld and take effect.

    ¡°Fantastic.¡± I roll my eyes and sit down before it hits.

    While I¡¯m waiting, I reach over for the last box. Removing the lid, I peek in to see a beautiful staff sitting in red velvet.

    The staff is an otherworldly dark purple with glowing cyan lightning swirling from the top to bottom in an ever-shifting display of natural arcing lightning. At the top is a crescent moon shaped receptacle that has lightning swirling in a contained ball. The staff is roughly five and a half feet tall and just the right size to wrap my hands around comfortably.

    ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful Merlin, I¡¯m impressed.¡±

    I am glad you approve; I went through six thousand seven hundred and forty-two variations before selecting that design.

    I pick it up and caressed it with both hands, smiling in awe.

    As I looked at the swirls, a wave of vertigo and nausea hit me. I fell back into my chair and tried to stop myself from throwing up.

    ¡°Ugh.¡± Is all I get out before throwing up all over my table.

    I really need a cleaning bot.

    Once the vertigo passed the world around me come into sharp focus. I could see and sense everything around me in vivid clarity. What¡¯s weird is that it felt natural, like I¡¯ve been blind my whole life and now I can see.

    I could even sense people on floors around me, doing various activities, people above me were watching a movie and eating, the guy below me was enthusiastically watching porn, gross.

    ¡°Merlin, can I dampen down this¡­¡± Before I could finish, my hive mind augs interpret my thoughts and instantly reduce the sensory inputs down to just my current surroundings.

    ¡°Never mind.¡±

    Also, Morigana, with your new augs you no longer need to speak out-loud to me. We can communicate almost instantly without words.

    <Oh wow, this is a nice addition, is it mind reading?> I asked using my new neural connection to Merlin.

    It is not, it¡¯s just a super sped up direct connection between the two of us that moves faster than thought. It converts thought and intent into direct communication.

    <That¡¯s a nice addition.>

    Using my new augs I sent a call to Hank, who picked up in just a few rings.

    ¡°Ah, afternoon, Morigana. I was about to call you. Bobby says that Devoy is about ready to wake up and you should head on over when yah can.¡±

    ¡°Oh good, I¡¯m glad he¡¯s recovering and yeah, I was just about to ask! I¡¯ll be over in a bit.¡±

    I drop the call, clean up my mess, and gather up my new staff. I form a back attachment using my nanites without even thinking about it so I can carry it hands free and head to my car.

    As I¡¯m reaching for my car door, a monstrous gurgle emanates from my stomach. Darn bodily needs, I should pick up some food on the way over, I¡¯m guessing Devoy might be hungry, and Hank fed me last time so I should return the favor.

    What is even open this late, it¡¯s hitting 10 PM.

    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Pulling up the net with my augs I search for something on the way that I think a Texas BBQ lord and a soldier I know nothing about would both eat. Pizza, no, too generic, Mexican, no thanks, burgers, too many options, ooh, I know. Who doesn¡¯t like some Korean BBQ!

    I know a little mom and pop place that has the best bulgogi! I set my car''s autopilot to Juhnes Korean BBQ.

    I watch out my window as the city flew past, idly thinking about what sort of projects I should work on once the materials for nanite production show up at my new lab at TotST. Obviously, the armor I demonstrated but in a way that¡¯s easily mass produced and affordable but functional. But what else though? Perhaps a healing nanite injection for wounds, or even to counteract the gas effects of model Fours, or the parasite worms from model Sevens.

    My musings were interrupted by a call.

    It¡¯s Mr. Brunswick from the Family.

    I send it to the car¡¯s screen, so I can see him squirm. But not before I adjusted my armor nanites to make my cleavage dip down to my navel and push up the girls.

    Grinning like a mad woman I let the call through.

    ¡°Good afternoon, M-Mori! Congrats are in order for destroying your f-first hive. I have the after-action report from the D-Desert Fox PMC here, and after reading it I have to say it was a r-resounding success.¡±

    He tries to stammer out as his eyes bulge out of his head and his face turns scarlet red. I can see him straining his eyes trying to keep them looking at mine.

    My mood instantly changes. Resounding success? Does he not know about me nearly killing the Major? I can feel my face warp into a scowl.

    ¡°Listen here Adam.¡± I said spitting his name out like a rotten egg. ¡°That was a disaster, I destroyed the mine beyond use, and nearly killed the PMC¡¯s commander. What¡¯s worse, he was trying to save my stupid life and now he¡¯s in critical condition.¡± I practically yell at him, pointing my finger at him venomously.

    I also reset my armor to its full setting, I¡¯m no longer in a playful mood.

    ¡°B-b-but he did not die, and he was selected to be a S-Samurai!¡± He says trying to defend himself and the report.

    ¡°Even if everything turned out okay, it does not change the fact that I screwed that up and it could have killed him. It was lucky I had a teleportation device from Hank that dropped him into a Vanguard medical station, or else he would have died, Samurai selection or not. So, DO NOT come at me with this garbage!¡± I scream at him!

    I wish I had a phone to slam down to hang up on him, so instead I slap the screens hang up button instead, breaking the glass.

    My mood is ruined causing me to brood over my mistakes during the mine raid until I arrive at Juhnes.

    The place is a little hole in the wall, set into one of the small side streets in ChinaTown. I know it¡¯s Korean, not Chinese, but I nor anyone else really cares, it¡¯s more like Asian Town really.

    The streets are dirty, and trash strewn, and holographic ads pop up all over in Chinese, which I don¡¯t understand a single bit of. But it all adds to the vibe of the place. The more of a dive the place is the better the food is going to be.

    Stepping in, it¡¯s not very big, maybe a twenty-by-twenty room with some tables pushed up against the wall, occupied by a few people eating. There is a Korean woman behind a small counter cooking, and her husband standing just off to the side taking an order. Even though I¡¯m in my full Samurai armor, no one even bats an eye. Do they just not care, too busy eating, or maybe trying to ignore it in case I react poorly to being gawked at? No idea, but I guess I¡¯m fine with it.

    I get in the short line and look over the menu. I think two pounds of beef, two large sides of rice, and two pounds of chicken bulgogi should do the trick.

    After placing my order, I wait in the corner away from the door, watching the people in the street walk past.

    A group of three young men strolled into the restaurant, and immediately I could tell they were here for trouble.

    Focusing my sensory suite on them I could detect three knives and a high-point revolver. How do I know that? Well, my augs detected the lump of metal, scanned the net for matches, compared the data and spit out a ninety-eight percent likelihood of its identity.

    Technology is wild.

    <Merlin, why are they ignoring me?>

    I am unsure. Clearly, they saw you upon entry, maybe they think you¡¯re some sort of weirdo doing cosplay? Who would expect to see a Samurai in this dump?

    <Hush you, this is not a dump! It¡¯s culinary excellence!>

    The three youths go up to the Korean man at the counter who took my order, swaggering up to him with a smirk.

    ¡°You going to finally pay your monthly subscription old man? You¡¯re two months behind.¡±

    The Korean man puts his hands up and in broken English responds.

    ¡°We paid already, you ask too much now, please ask no more.¡±

    Two of the group pull out their knives and keep them low at their waist.

    <Should I intervene Merlin? Helping him now might save him from a stabbing, but they could just come back later, and I can¡¯t babysit a restaurant for the rest of eternity.>

    You give them a beating, and bluff saying you can essentially watch the place and react from any distance kind of thing.

    I roll my eyes, guess it¡¯s better than him getting stabbed right now.

    I calmly stroll up behind the group quieter than an owl.

    My physical upgrades are not quite done yet, but I can tell I¡¯m stronger than I could ever be normally. I¡¯m fairly confident that I can outmatch them in strength individually, and I know I¡¯m at zero risk of being stabbed by a knife, plus I can vent some of my frustration.

    I reach up to youths in the back who have the knives out, grab them by the side of the head and try to bring their heads together.

    It kind of works. They react fairly quickly, turning their heads to look and end up headbutting each other. They slump to the ground, knocked out.

    The leader spins around.

    ¡°What the hell! Who are you, cosplay bitch?¡±

    Well, that settles that question.

    <Hush you, busy.>

    Seeing his two buddies drooling on the floor he reaches into his pants for the revolver. In his panic he grabs the trigger, and the gun goes off still in his waistband. The bullet shoots through his pants, and stops about a centimeter from my shin, intercepted by a thin blue hexagonal shield disc.

    Neat!

    I grab the arm with the gun and push it into his body, stopping him from drawing it the rest of the way up, with my right fist I punch him awkwardly in his gut.

    I¡¯m not exactly a fighter so it¡¯s a garbage punch only effective because of my enhancements.

    An oof escapes his lips and he lets go of his gun, dropping it down his pants, clattering on the ground. I let go of his arm and use both hands and slap them over his ears as hard as I can. I saw this move in a women¡¯s self-defense course once and it seemed to work. It¡¯s supposed to cause disorientation by over pressurizing the ear system.

    Not sure if it works or my greater strength did the trick, but the youth crumpled to the ground and was knocked out.

    You may have overdone it a bit with that last one.

    <Nonsense Merlin, he probably deserved worse.>

    I grab all three by a leg and drag them out of the establishment, propping them up against the building across the street. As late as it is, I doubt anyone will mess with them.

    I go back to Juhnes, not sure what to expect from everyone or what to do.

    The Korean man is waiting for me by the door.

    ¡°Thank you miss, but now more trouble will come.¡± He says with a weary sigh.

    ¡°Morigana.¡± I say filling in my name.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I did not want to see you get hurt, is there anything I can do to help prevent backlash?¡±

    ¡°I am Ji-Ho and my wife is Juhne, if you take out the whole gang maybe.¡± He says sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

    Taking out a gang of miscreants is definitely not in my wheelhouse of expertise. But I just happen to know someone who made me grumpers lately and would love to make some extra work for them.

    ¡°I¡¯ll figure something out. Until then, call me if they come back.¡±

    I send over my contact info to him and walk back out into the night air with my food.

    I stand over the three miscreants pondering what to do before I go.

    <Merlin, can you hack their augs for info? And maybe leave them a message for when they wake up?>

    Of course, what message would you like to leave?

    <Honestly, no idea, use your big brain and leave something casual with a heavy undertone of impending violence?>

    Understood, message left!

    Hopping back into my car, I continue on to Hank¡¯s and use my augs to make a quick call to my favorite Family member.

 Chapter 12 Food and Company

    Hopping back into my car, I continue on to Hank¡¯s and use my augs to make a quick call to my favorite Family member.

    I don¡¯t place the call through the dash screen this time, I¡¯m in no mood to mess with Adam. After a few rings, he picks up.

    ¡°Hello Mori, w-what can I do for y-you?¡± He asks, I hear a lot of fear and uncertainty in his voice.

    ¡°I stopped a protection racket down here in Chinatown and I need someone who can take out the gang or protect the restaurant from further harassment. Address and info coming from Merlin.¡±

    ¡°This is s-something The Family can look into for sure, I will u-update you when I have something.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ve got something to take care of.¡± I say, then hang up on him.

    The rest of the trip over to Hank¡¯s is uneventful, just me gazing out at the city lights. Vegas really is a beautiful city if you don¡¯t look to closely at the underbelly.

    Which I just happened to stick my nose into. What was I supposed to do though, sit back, and watch a man get stabbed?

    Ugh, I¡¯m going to miss my boring old life of teaching and inventing. Though I don¡¯t want to give up either one.

    We are arriving at Hank¡¯s.

    I check outside, we are in the very south-west area of Vegas in the Summerlin area but just outside of it in the desert, looks like Hank likes his privacy.

    His house is less house and more of a giant ranch, there are huge grass fields filled with horses, cows, and animals I¡¯ve only seen in textbooks. Around the entire perimeter is a huge wall, maybe fifteen feet tall, with barbed wire, massive spotlights, and evenly spaced around it are pillars with automated weapon emplacements of some kind.

    I would hate to have to invade this place, glad I¡¯ve been invited over.

    I¡¯m receiving landing instructions from the compound''s AI; Hank must be doing well for himself to have such a place. Perhaps it would be wise to find out his method for point gaining.

    <No kidding, he said he was doing good on points, I believe it. But Merlin, this visit is not about us, this is about Devoy and his recovery.>

    Of course, Morigana, I¡¯m just curious is all, perhaps it would be beneficial to take Major Devoy out on his first Samurai mission. That way you can get some solid points, have support, and spend time with your crush.

    <Merlin! He is not a crush!>

    Your heart rate, hormones, and other reactions say otherwise.

    <I¡¯m just¡­, he is just¡­, Hush you!>

    Stupid AI, stupid body betraying me.

    We landed in a driveway in front of the ranch/house/mansion thing. Before stepping out I convert my armor over to casual wear, but I keep my hat, I¡¯m growing fond of it and the sensory data it provides. The staff I leave on my back though in a holster looped over my shoulders like a backpack, and my wand on my hip. Maybe I¡¯m paranoid, but I like knowing I have my gear with me.

    Approaching the entrance, which has giant double doors simple in design but beautiful in their own majesty. I go to knock, and they open of their own accord, waiting for me is none other than Hank, in what I¡¯m starting to think is his every day white shirt, jeans, hat, boots, and giant belt buckle.

    ¡°Welcome to my humble abode Mori, I see you brought some food too, great! It¡¯s always a good time to eat, your friend woke up just a few minutes ago. After his healing I recken he¡¯s hungry. Nothing gets to a man¡¯s heart faster than his stomach.¡± He says with a chuckle.

    I drop my head down to hide my face as I feel the blush coming on.

    ¡°It¡¯s just some Korean BBQ from Juhnes, love their stuff.¡± I say quickly shoving the bags into Hank¡¯s normal hands. Looks like those gauntlets he had were just that, gauntlets and not his real hands.

    ¡°Nice, I love Korean too! But let¡¯s get in to see Kevin, come along!¡± He beckons with his head, his hands being full of food.

    Inside, it is astounding, like what you would expect if you gave a country bumpkin limitless money and no restrictions. Everything inside was done in a wooden finish, and decorated with stuffed animals, guns, pictures of hunting, fishing, and other activities.

    What an amazing house, truly just breathtaking. I thought I was wealthy but the opulence presented here is just wow.

    ¡°I had him moved into a guest room so he can recover more comfortably, come.¡± He says pulling me out of my gawking.

    He led me through more of his huge house passing room by room. He gently knocked on a door and waits.

    A muffled ¡°Come in.¡± comes from the other side of the door.

    Hank pushed on in, and I followed in after. The room is decorated much the same, except it has some fancy medical equipment on the far side of the bed. A bed filled with one very tired looking Major Devoy.

    He has a blue hospital type gown on, and a thick comforter covering him from the waist down. Which I am glad for, I¡¯m very conscious of the fact that it¡¯s entirely my fault that he is in this situation to begin with.

    I look away as the feeling of guilt buries into my heart, I try not to cry but I can¡¯t help it I feel the tears welling up.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave you two here a minute while I get the food dished up.¡± Hank says before vanishing with a gentle pop.

    I need to unlock some teleporting tech, and not just because I¡¯m lazy.

    The silence lasts for what seems like eons, I¡¯m not sure what to say, how do you apologize for blowing up someone¡¯s legs?

    ¡°Hey now little witch, I¡¯m doing great. Your little teleport trick saved my life. I am very grateful.¡± He says in a soft calm voice.

    I simply nod my head, not trusting my voice to say anything.

    ¡°Really, this is a good thing, I¡¯m a Samurai now. I will recover from this and come back even stronger. Thanks to you I can help protect even more people, this one mishap will lead to something good.¡± He says his voice like warm honey.

    I vigorously nod my head again, this time I can¡¯t stop it and I let out a sob. I wipe my eyes of tears.

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right this is good, but I¡¯m still so sorry. I¡¯ve vowed never to use a weapon like that again. I¡¯m going to make sure I can account for all the collateral damage I can. What¡¯s a Samurai that causes more harm than good?¡± I say between sniffles.

    ¡°There are always accidents out in the field, and no amount of preparation or planning will account for everything. Pull over that chair and take a seat.¡± He gestures at a wooden chair with thick cushioning.

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    I grab it and drag it over to his bedside; I remove my staff and lean it up against the wall before sitting down.

    ¡°So, your Merlin tells me that you want to take me out on my first Samurai Mission.¡±

    Traitorous AI!

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to if you don¡¯t want to. I was going to ask Hank for suggestions, he mentioned that Vegas is a good place to farm points. From my day job I hear a lot about them hunting out in the northern part of Nevada since it¡¯s mostly open desert.¡± I say to him, my eyes are finally clearing up, I wonder if I can remove my tear ducts so I don¡¯t cry anymore.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s about right. We often get tasked to go out with a Samurai and clear nests in the area. Honestly, we are trained in adapting to the eccentric tools and gadgets the various Samurai use. That¡¯s one reason why we were given a shield generator like the one you saw.¡±

    ¡°So.¡± I hesitate.

    ¡°You¡¯re not upset?¡± I ask timidly, with a shaky voice.

    ¡°Not at all, in a way I should thank you for making a circumstance where I became a Samurai. I figure with my firsthand experience on the front lines, and your book smarts we will make a well rounded team.¡± He says smiling.

    Wait, how does he know so about my book smarts? Did they get like a brief from the Family when they sent them out to help me?

    He reaches a hand out and places it on top of mine.

    My heart lurches to a stop, then speeds up to a million beats a second.

    I told you, crush! Your heart is about to explode so maybe try and calm down.

    <HUSH YOU, you¡¯re still in time out!>

    I think Devoy takes my silence as a bad thing, because he withdraws his hand and says.

    ¡°Sorry, you don¡¯t have to go out with me, I just thought it would be beneficial. You know?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. It¡¯s an excellent idea I just, uh...got a lot on my plate. I¡¯m still new to this too. I have to deal with my normal job and a gang in Chinatown, I want to teach my classes at school still, and now I have to save the world.¡± I said in one breath.

    He chuckles. ¡°I hear you Little Witch, it¡¯s overwhelming isn¡¯t it. But you don¡¯t have to do it all alone, The Family helps, friends help, and that can make all the difference.¡±

    I nod along with him, ¡°I just need time to wrap my head around it, make a routine.¡± I said.

    ¡°Routine helps, it helped me get through training too, procedure, familiarity, and good people at your back. So, let¡¯s team up, we can bring my PMC squad with us for support and we can do some solid good.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to keep being part of the PMC?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yea, I like my job too, and they actually have policy and procedure for members who get picked. Nice boost in pay, or freedom to leave.¡± He said smugly.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re going to stay?¡± I said.

    He shifts in the bed to get more comfortable.

    ¡°Sure am, I¡¯m not going to abandon my troops, they have been with me through thick and thin, saved my ass many times.¡± He said smiling.

    Just then knock on the door. ¡°Foods here young¡¯uns!¡± Hank says busting in the door like some sort of food Santa.

    He pulls in the food on a trolly, he yanks food trays out from under it, placing them on our laps, and dumping bowls of Korean bulgogi on them. He also mixes in his own beans, pork, and giant glasses of sweet tea onto the tray.

    He then leaves as quickly as he entered.

    I swear I¡¯m going to get fat if I hang out here too long.

    All conversation stops as we dig into the food. Evidently, we both were starving because it only takes maybe ten minutes to consume all the food.

    <Merlin, If I get too fat, there are Vanguard catalogs to help, right?>

    There are indeed. However, your caloric intake is actually too low, I encourage you to consume more. In fact, I may need to suggest a supplemental injection of sorts to help you.

    <Not now, please I¡¯m busy trying to enjoy real food.>

    Naturally, later.

    After we finish eating, I lean back content, they only thing that could make this better would be a cozy bed and a nice book to read.

    I look over at Devoy, he is laying back in the bed with his eyes closed.

    ¡°I think I ate too much.¡± He grumbles holding his belly with his hands.

    ¡°Thank you, for the food and company, Morigana. Nothing sucks more than being in the hospital and no one visits you.¡± He said.

    ¡°I guess I wouldn¡¯t know, I¡¯ve never really been injured before. Well before being a Vanguard, since then I¡¯ve had a punctured lung, brachial artery bleed, heavy lacerations on my legs, and multiple quills pierce into me by a model Fifteen.¡± I reply with a nervous laugh.

    ¡°And that is just within the past two days!¡± I said.

    He chuckles. ¡°That¡¯s nothing, my first week with the Foxes I had a model Nine¡¯s scythe arm go through my kidney! Thankfully we had a Samurai with us and he was able to patch me up quickly. Two days later a model Three takes the tip of my fingers on my left hand, the company paid to regrow those.¡± He said wiggling is fingers at me.

    ¡°Well now that you¡¯re a big fancy Samurai, what do you plan on spending your points on? I convinced Merlin to send you a portion of my points from the hive kill.¡± I tell him.

    ¡°Thanks for that by the way, it¡¯s nice to get a jump start on points and gear. I¡¯ve been talking with my AI, Pyllonia. I decided that I want to focus on defense and close combat.¡± He said.

    ¡°That could make a nice combo for us, you block¡¯em, I knock¡¯em!¡± I said with a grin.

    ¡°Exactly right. I¡¯ve been working with Pyllonia to decide what catalogs to open, what gear to select, and what to do with my body to take more abuse. There are too many options really.¡± He says letting out a frustrated sigh.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you will figure it out, and you have Hank here too, for help. He seems to know a lot about stuff.¡± I said to him.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not too worried, with your support, and the PMC squad I¡¯m sure we can handle just about anything. I think once I recover, we should see if there are any hive sightings so we can get some more tokens.¡±

    *****

    I must have dozed off sometime during the conversation because the next thing I¡¯m aware of is someone shaking me awake.

    ¡°Wake up missy, it¡¯s time for some breakfast.¡± A voice says with a calm southern drawl.

    ¡°Wha...who? Why?¡± I said groggily.

    The strong smell of bacon, eggs, muffins, and baked beans wafts up into my nose.

    I open my eyes, and the world comes slowly into focus. Hank is standing over me with a tray full of amazing smells and foods.

    I push the blanket off me, that someone must have draped over me while I slept. I also somehow am in pajamas.

    <Merlin, who undressed me!>

    No one, I adjusted your armor to something more comfortable while you slept.

    <Warn a girl, next time, but thank you.>

    You¡¯re welcome.

    ¡°Thank you, Hank, I¡¯m going to get fat staying here, even if Merlin says I need to eat more.¡± I said, moving the offered tray to my lap.

    I look over and see that Devoy is already awake and eating his fill.

    ¡°Any time, I love to feed people, no one appreciates just how much joy and happiness food brings to people. It¡¯s such an easy thing and yet people are content to sticking garbage in their mouths.¡± He said.

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s how I feel about education, so many kids grow up being ignored by the system, to grow up being ground up by the system in low paying jobs or living on the street just because they couldn¡¯t get an education.¡± I said back to him.

    Devoy is just sitting there looking back and forth between us.

    Hank nods his head. ¡°Aye that¡¯s the rub of it for sure, and while I am only one man I try and find ways to get good food out into the community, I run every food shelter in the city, and for most of the schools too.¡± He said.

    Must not be my school then because I¡¯ve seen the lunches¡­and it¡¯s definitely one of the lowest tier schools in the city, one reason why I volunteer there, sad how they would rather budget for a nice sports team and field instead of teachers and good food.

    ¡°The school I¡¯ve been teaching at lately could use some help, I may have destroyed the cafeteria, and besides that the food was awful!¡± I said to Hank.

    He rubs his chin with his hand in thought. ¡°Well, send over the school info and I¡¯ll see what I can do. It really chaps my ass that the city cares so much about the tourism, military, and not much else. Thanks for letting me know.¡±

    ¡°I appreciate it, Hank, really. There was another thing too, I¡¯m not sure how to ask this really, so I guess I¡¯ll just spit it out.¡± I said nervously.

    ¡°You said that Vegas was a good place to farm points? Would you mind sharing how or where? Devoy and I talked about heading out together to get points and tokens.¡±

    Hank looks between us with a knowing grin.

    ¡°Course I do, would be my pleasure.¡±

 Chapter 13 Sunday Funday!

    ¡°Believe it or not, Nevada has a lot of Antithesis activity going on. They love it here, large chunks of land with no Samurai to bug¡¯em. Not a lot of humans either though, so what they do is dig into the earth with roots and suck up all the natural minerals and what not. They also purge the surface of all plant life, and on top of all that they get almost non-stop sun light to provide free energy.¡± Hank said, while we stare at him absorbing every word.

    ¡°Right, so we got us some Samurai secret satellites that a few of us popped up yonder. Once we see a hive get a certain size, we go kill the lil¡¯uns and burn down the hive for a fat pay-day in points and tokens.¡±

    Huh, that sounds like cheating? Can you cheat in this? I never thought a Samurai would try to find a way to cheese the system.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried about them growing out of control or hitting small towns?¡± I ask.

    ¡°A little.¡± Hank said. ¡°But we keep a close eye on them and keep the satellites checkin¡¯ all the human inhabitants several times a day. That¡¯s actually why I woke you both up. Got a little town called Beatty that we have been watching for a few months now. Hive has finally grown enough to be a threat to the town.¡±

    Hank said collecting our empty plates and trays, ¡°I reckon this is a perfect chance to get some time together and grow as Samurai.¡±

    Devoy and I look at each other, I raise an eyebrow making him grin.

    ¡°I¡¯m down, are you in, Little Witch?¡± Devoy asks.

    ¡°I guess so, are you sure you are up for it though? And as long as I can be back by tomorrow for class and work.¡± I say.

    Hank nods. ¡°I spent a good amount of points and resources getting him right as rain. Bobby and Pyllonia both agree he¡¯s at about 90% effectiveness. As for time out there, I guess that depends on how quickly y¡¯all can kill the hive and remove the Antithesis models in the area. With your car it should only take you maybe 15 minutes to fly there. I suggest you get some gear, Devoy, and head out here soon. I¡¯ll have Bobby send over the info.¡±

    Hank walks out with all the empty dishes leaving us to our own planning.

    ¡°So-o, what did you want to buy gear wise?¡± I ask awkwardly.

    ¡°Like I said, defensive stuff primarily, and of course a weapon of some kind that will be able to take out most Antithesis. Let me converse with Pyllonia a bit and see what we can come up with.¡±

    ¡°Sure, let me know if I can help.¡± I say.

    Would you like to offer them access to your catalogs to help them along?

    <Sure, I forgot about that. Whatever helps them get something started.>

    I sit there quietly pondering what sort of gear Devoy will actually get, I know he has about a thousand points, so he can get some decent gear.

    I can¡¯t hear him talking at all, so I¡¯m guessing he has some decent augs with communication abilities. Which make sense, if he¡¯s a commander of a squad. He would need to talk with HQ or base or whatever somehow.

    After a few minutes waiting, boxes start appearing on his bedside. In all, five boxes pile up at his feet, most of them are no bigger than a shoe box, only one is long and narrow, maybe four feet long.

    He opens the first one, and it has a familiar 2-liter bottle in it. He sticks a finger into the bottle causing the dark goo within to swarm over his body like a river of ants.

    It quickly forms into a deep gunmetal black armor with red lights, it covers him from head to toe. Looks like he¡¯s going with some decent personal protection right off the bat.

    Ah, Class I Phalanx armor combined with your nanite tech, good stuff! It should withstand some serious abuse from most of the common models.

    The next box he flips open contains a round puck thing the size of a dinner plate that is glowing a faint red, he slapped this onto his left forearm.

    Another solid choice, Class I Extendable Aegis Energy Shield Emitter, can shield a small area around the user, should stop nearly anything for at least a while, until it¡¯s overloaded.

    Third box opens and he pulls out an injector, the armor around his neck peels back and he injects it into his neck.

    Aug upgrades for combat integration, simple but good.

    The last small box he opens and in it is a sword hilt with no blade. He presses it up to his right arm and it gets sucked into the armor.

    Now that is a statement piece, Monomolecular-Nanite Thermal blade.

    The last and biggest box he opens has a sleek rifle with a scope attached. The rifle matches his armor, being a deep black with red lights.

    Class I DMR with a 30x scope with predictive analytical targeting assistance, and a fifty-round magazine of 7.62 APHEI.

    ¡°Anything else? Looks like you had a better set up than I did for my first encounters.¡± I say smiling, a bit jealous at him starting out with so much more than I did.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s about all I can afford for now. I really need to get some body enhancements soon, but Pyllonia assures me that this gear will be good enough as a base to build from. Apparently, your Nano and Warcaster Catalogs help a lot with customization and direct upgrades, helps save wasted points on gear you can¡¯t use later on.¡± He said.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you found a good use for them. Are you ready to go then?¡± I ask, standing up, switching my pajamas into my active armor mode.

    ¡°No time like the present. Lead on, Little Witch.¡±

    He swings his legs out from the bed and hops onto his feet. I watch wondering if he will collapse when he takes a step.

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Thankfully not, it¡¯s almost like he was not fatally injured just yesterday.

    The miracles of Class IV medical care.

    I turn, grab my staff, and walk out to the front door where Hank is waiting for us.

    He takes a look at Devoy, nodding at his new gear.

    ¡°That should do you well for now, I reckon. But I have here two more emergency teleport pucks for you, this time. Just like before, they will activate if fatal damage is detected or expected to happen.¡±

    ¡°Thanks Hank.¡± We both say at the same time. We look at each other and I roll my eyes. If I could see his I bet he is too.

    ¡°Right.¡¯ He laughs. ¡°I also let the Foxes know where you¡¯re heading, they are gearing up now and should make it up there in about four hours or so, I told¡¯em not to hurry too much. Give you both some time alone to figure out stuff.¡±

    ¡°Thanks really, you have been more help than I could have ever hoped for, Hank.¡± I say, giving him a quick hug.

    I release him and we walk out to my car, I crawl in and open my augs to see what info Hank has sent over to us. I send the location over to the car¡¯s navigation, while Devoy climbs into the passenger seat and adjusts his armor into some desert camo type fatigues.

    It¡¯s a bit of a tight fit with our gear, I think soon I will need to figure out a better transportation method other than my sports car.

    <Merlin, please look into better transportation methods for me and come up with some suggestions.>

    Of course, Morigana, I have several ideas noted for later.

    <Also, where is my Owl? I haven¡¯t seen it in a while.>

    With your completed augs you should be able to link with it and control it easily now. I will highlight the pathway in your augs to its controls.

    I sense in my augs the correct pathway. With my new augs it¡¯s less of a computer system, like I don¡¯t really ¡°see¡± things, I have more of an instinctual sense of things. Like my mini map isn¡¯t something I can see anymore but I can see it in my mind¡¯s eye clearly. It¡¯s a bit to get used to, but not having to look at it makes comprehending and processing the data almost instant.

    I follow the mental pathway to my owl drone and see that it¡¯s currently dispersed in a cloud surrounding the car. I ¡°click¡± through its options mentally, reforming it into an Owl and bring it into the car. Closing the car doors, I activate the autopilot setting off towards Beatty.

    ¡°Nice piece of tech, bet it cost a bit.¡± Devoy said eyeballing the Owl.

    ¡°It¡¯s been helpful, I¡¯m going to launch it once we get a bit closer to Beatty. And yeah, it was four hundred points, but well worth it.¡± I say to Devoy.

    ¡°Awesome, always pays to have eyes in the sky, situational awareness can be more valuable than an entire army.¡± He said, nodding his head approvingly.

    ¡°So, as you know.¡± I say with some reservation. ¡°That last, uh, mission. Did not go well, and I have decided to avoid weapons like the one used, and only use things I can guarantee won¡¯t hurt others.¡± I say to Devoy.

    He looks over at me with a frown, his lips pursed with concern.

    ¡°Look Morigana, I understand your feeling of hesitation, but I do not blame you for what happened. You are dealing with alien tech beyond normal human understanding. Please don¡¯t let this stop you from doing what needs to be done.¡± He said, placing his hand on my shoulder.

    ¡°But if it makes you feel better, I will buy into weapons if we need larger destruction and let you focus on precision. As a commander I have to make calls that cost people their lives. It never gets easier, but if we don¡¯t take the risk humanity as a whole could fall.¡±

    I feel tears welling up in my eyes, I try to will them away but one manages to sneak out down my cheek. I feel grateful that he understands and will take up that responsibility.

    ¡°Let¡¯s change the topic, Mori. Let¡¯s build a plan for this attack. Every good operation has a basic plan for engagement and contingency.¡± He said, switching from a soft supporting voice to his commander voice.

    ¡°With the information Hank sent over, we have a visual of the hive.¡± He points at the screen on the car¡¯s dash, linking his augs to it. A map of the area over Beatty springs to life.

    He zooms into an area just Northeast of the small town of Beatty, showing an outcropping of greenery. The map helpfully displays the name of the area as ¡°Revert Springs¡± dead center of the green area is what looks like a mutated tree towering over the rest of the natural trees.

    <Can you link into the satellite and get live images, Merlin, and display them onto the screen, please.>

    I needed to get access from Bobby, the encryption was set by him, and while I could crack it, asking was easier, but yes, here is a live feed.

    The image shifts slightly and a live feed appears.

    ¡°Right, that¡¯s helpful.¡± Devoy said. ¡°Any way, it looks like this is where our hive has rooted. I also notice that there are two smaller hives growing up as well.¡± He said highlighting the areas.

    ¡°We can also see that the entire area around it is infested with Antithesis, I think they are trying to build up before attacking the town. The immediate area has been stripped of most organic material, seems they left some tree cover to hide from above.¡±

    He draws an orange circle Southwest of the town next to the court house. ¡°let¡¯s swing around the town and insert here to prevent the Antithesis from detecting our approach from the air.¡±

    He then draws a blue line up the street, and to the state route 374, then merging into the 95 North. ¡°We walk up this road on foot, it¡¯s about a mile and a half walk. Not too bad really, but this will let us surprise the Antithesis, and sweep any of them on the way North.¡±

    He looks at me, giving me the ¡°are you following look¡±, I nod and he continues.

    ¡°This will hopefully keep any from getting in behind us and as we move up, we will be pushing them away from town. We should also use weapons that are quiet, do you have any?¡± He asks.

    ¡°I do, my whip is quiet and can go out a good range, I also have acid spray, and a freeze ray that are close range weapons. I¡¯m guessing my fireball and lightning will be too loud?¡± I say going over my weapons.

    ¡°Those are good options; I¡¯m going to stick to my sword and shield and let you handle anything at extended range with your whip. If something beyond that range engages us, we will evade their detection and try to sneak closer. Once we are on the hive, we will let loose with everything and prevent any from getting past us.¡± He said.

    ¡°I will create a separate plan for the PMC, for when they arrive, and handle the communications with them when they show up. If we clear it before they get here, I will have them sweep the town for residual Antithesis. Any questions?¡±

    ¡°No?¡± I don¡¯t know half of what he said, I¡¯m just going to follow him and try not to be loud.

    I have adjusted our course to align with his plan, we are arriving at his insertion point in a moment. I will keep your mini-map updated with satellite data. Would you like me to take over the drone? I will spread it across the road going north, and a bit east and west of it scanning for Antithesis that could flank you.

    <That sounds delightful, Merlin, thank you.>

    Of course, I will naturally refill weapons as needed and warn you if I notice something you may have missed.

    <Let¡¯s also try not to let Devoy get hurt again too please.>

    We don¡¯t really pass over much of the town on our way in thanks to the insertion point Devoy picked. But the town seems dead, I don¡¯t see any vehicles operating, or noises, it is eerily quiet.

    <Can you get into the local network and warn the locals of the threat please?>

    Yes, a moment please. Aaand done, however something is amiss. I got delivery confirmations from my message but no replies. Something is wrong, be alert.

 PSA AI ART

    I get a few comments about the art and I thought I would lend some insight on how I''ve been managing it and how the APP works.

    First I enter a description of what I want.

    Here is what Devoy''s looked like.

    Then I select an art style from a list, for his I used Comic 3, and the results are this.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    As you can see they vary a bit, so I cycle through and it keeps random generating images until I find one I like, then I can refine it by using it as a base and then it generates more based on the specific image picked. The AI does some weird stuff as well, it duplicates arms, hands and whatnot all the time and will add things of it''s own accord.

    Anyway, I hope that has shed some light on how it works and why in my story description I mention "I¡¯m going to try and include some art from an AI generator called Dream by wombo.art. Just know that it¡¯s not a perfect match to characters but you will get the idea, I hope!"

 Chapter 14 Ghost Town Blues

    We exit my car, and step into the morning sunlight. It¡¯s only 10AM and it¡¯s already hitting 101 degrees. I wonder how much a built in AC unit in my armor would cost.

    The town is dead quiet, not a vehicle or person can be seen anywhere.

    ¡°Have you ever been here, Major?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Once, and while this place is pretty dead most of the time, this feels wrong.¡±

    ¡°So, it¡¯s not just me then?¡± I asked.

    ¡°No, something is going on here. Have you deployed your drone yet?¡± Devoy asked.

    I started when we landed; the drone feeds are accessible to you with your hive aug.

    Right, I need to start flexing my enhanced mental capabilities with my augs. I look into my mind and find the drone and its functions. I access its feeds and sensors letting them sweep through my mind.

    From what I can process and gather through the thousands and thousands of sensory inputs is¡­ the town is empty. Like not a soul in the mile and a half range that the drone has dispersed.

    <You said you received delivery acknowledgement from your message Merlin? Can you dig into that more and see if you can locate everyone who received the message in the area?>

    Of course, one moment¡­ Yes, uhm, huh, problem. Every single resident is located at one of three locations. A church of LDS to the Northwest, the high school to the Southeast, and a truck stop to the north.

    <What reason would they gather there? Are they shelters?>

    According to the local records, they are not. There is a bunker in the middle of town that is in easy range of the entire town. There is no reason for them to gather where they are. I advise you advance with caution.

    <No kidding.>

    ¡°Major, Merlin found the population all gathered at three locations in town.¡± I tell him.

    He activates his Phalanx armor, and unshoulders his rifle, then turned around in a circle looking at everything.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen this before Mori, and if it¡¯s what I think it is this is going to be a tough day.¡± He said with a sigh, and a dip in his shoulders.

    It clicks in my head too; I¡¯ve done enough studies on Antithesis to know what pattern this is presenting.

    Model Sevens. Fudge crackers.

    <Merlin, send Hank an update, please, suspected Model Sevens have taken over Beatty.>

    Message away, Bobby has replied and wants to know if you need help.

    <Not yet, I need to learn how to handle this.>

    Understood, please let me know if you want to call him in.

    ¡°So, how do we handle this Devoy? I can get a medical scanner upgrade for my drone and see if we can determine if anyone can be saved, lend aid, and then take care of those that can¡¯t.¡± I said to him.

    He nods, without stopping his sweeping of the area.

    To upgrade your drone with the medical scanner will cost one hundred points to do remotely.

    <Do it please.>

    New Purchase: Short Range Drone-Operated Medical Scanner

    Points Reduced to... 6,330

    I take control of the drone swarm and send it into the nearest gathering point, the high school.

    As the drone swarm flies over the town, it creeps me out how empty it is.

    The school comes into focus, I direct it in the front doors and spread it out to search the area. Very quickly I find the residents, they are all gathered in the gym.

    They all are sitting, or standing around, some laying on the ground, immobile, in a large pile. There had to be maybe two hundred of them, all of them gazing off into nothing-ness.

    ¡°I found them.¡± I whispered in disgust; I knew these models existed but had hoped never to deal with them.

    I send the feeds over to Devoy. ¡°Yeah, I was afraid of this, if they are too far along, we are going to have to kill them.¡± he said, turning to look at me.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to do this, I will. There is no shame in not wanting to kill these, Mori.¡± He said to me.

    I take a deep breath. ¡°No, I need to do this too, if I want to be a good Samurai I need to be able to handle this.¡± I said with as much strength in my voice as I can muster.

    ¡°Okay, then change of plans. Let¡¯s get the scans done first, though.¡± He said.

    I re-focus on the swarm, finding the medical scan commands, I initialize the scan.

    Moments later, I get what I feared. All of them have been compromised, the Model Sevens have completely taken over their brains and have converted them completely into plant drones.

    I shook my head. ¡°They are all compromised, at least they are all in one area.¡±

    ¡°Something, so change of plan is thus. We go in, use our melee weapons to clean out the gathering. Enter from the north of the school and push quickly into the gym.¡± He said, then marked the plan in my mini-map.

    ¡°Any questions?¡± He asked.

    ¡°No, let¡¯s just get this over with.¡± I said.

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    We start walking north on the road, the sign on the street says it¡¯s South C. Ave.

    At the intersection we turned right and walked all the way until we saw the school¡¯s football field come into view. We cut across the dirt just before it, heading towards the school.

    As we approached my sensor suite detects small worm like creatures in the dirt carpeting the area around the school. Model Sevens in their pre-host forms, gross. There are hundreds of them wiggling about, like fat little grubs.

    ¡°Use your acid spray on them Mori, I will keep an eye out for trouble around us.¡± Devoy said.

    I point my left hand out selecting my acid spray, a trajectory prediction fills my mind, I make some adjustments for max coverage and begin to spray.

    The quiet hiss of releasing spray filled the area, the deadly acid coated the ground in about a thirty-foot arc in front of me.

    The Model Sevens who even get a tiny bit of the acid on them begin to shrivel up on themselves like slugs doused with salt.

    After just a few minutes of off and on spraying, my sensor suite tells me there are no more in the vicinity.

    You have obtained five hundred and fifty points, split with Major Devoy at a fifty-five percent split, for a total of six thousand eight hundred and eighty points.

    Through the process of spraying the area we end up at the doors leading into the main building of the school.

    The school itself is very rundown, damaged walls, poorly maintained roofing, and the doors look like a gentle breeze will knock them off their hinges.

    Pushing into the school building, the floor is covered in blood streaks, and other slimy trails of some kind, the lights are still on but in such poor state they may as well have been candles. On the walls there are cheesy motivational posters, and not digital ones, we are talking serious old school paper posters. This town feels like it¡¯s from the stone age, a considerable lack of modern technology.

    We quietly make our way through the abandoned hallways until we reach the last doors leading into the gym. I quickly review my feeds from my drones, nothing has changed, all the poor souls infected by Model Sevens are still lumped into a pile.

    Devoy shouldered his rifle, then springs his sword out from his armor into his right hand. On his left hand his shield emitter surges to life forming a wall of crimson energy that covers his left side, like a riot shield.

    ¡°Do you know how to use a sword?¡± I whispered to Devoy.

    ¡°I¡¯ve trained in a lot of melee weapons, spears, swords, axes, staffs, and a few others. It¡¯s always been a favorite pastime of mine. Now, let¡¯s focus on the task at hand. I¡¯m going to rush in first and be the front line, I will try to stop them from getting past me. You, focus your whip on any that try to out-flank us on the sides.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m ready then.¡± I said, tensing up.

    Through my drone, and my own eyes I watch Devoy rush into the room like a crimson bolt of aggression.

    I can¡¯t help but watch in awe and horror as he starts slicing through the Model Seven hosts.

    The elaborate dance of foot work and sword movement is captivating. The pile of hosts reacts as a whole, all of them get up or started shambling over to Devoy like a living wave of bodies. They try to claw, bite, or slam into him with their bodies to very little effect.

    As soon as one gets within sword distance, he slashes out, decapitating them, removing arms, legs, or cutting them right in half.

    My stomach starts to churn at seeing humans being butchered like sacks of fruit.

    <Merlin, something for nausea please, I can¡¯t do this if I¡¯m throwing up>

    I can adjust some of your internal nanites to suppress the urge.

    <That¡¯s handy, please do that.>

    A few moments later I can feel the urge to vomit receding, but the revulsion of watching humans being slaughtered does not dissipate.

    As quick as Devoy is cutting down the hosts, more take their place and I can tell he will be overwhelmed soon if I don¡¯t help.

    Steeling my mind, I summon my plasma whip from my left hand. I try not to think about them as humans, and just see them as evil plant zombies.

    I snake out my whip to the sides of Devoy, slicing through the hosts like wheat in the field. Removing the containment field, the whip burns its way through the masses easily. I work in sync with Devoy, hosts that he can¡¯t attack in time get cut down by me.

    We fall into a rhythm together and within ten minutes the shambling mound of Model Seven hosts is little more than a slosh of human remains and burning plant remains. If it wasn¡¯t for the nausea suppressant, the horror before me would for sure have made me puke.

    Devoy turns around to face me, he is covered from head to toe in the blood and ichor. Human organs are wedged into crevices on his armor and I¡¯m having trouble looking at him.

    ¡°Good job Mori, I know that was not easy. Think you can spray this place down to ensure the Model Sevens can¡¯t infect anyone else?¡± He said.

    Wordlessly I retract my whip and get to spraying the area down in acid. It only takes a few moments to completely spray the gym down.

    Once done, I quickly vacate the gym, entering the hallway we came in from. I press my back against the wall and start to cry.

    To think, this is happening all over the world. Humans being turned from individuals with hopes, dreams, and a will to live, to biomass for a stupid plant that has no idea it¡¯s causing harm to innocent people.

    If only there was some way to communicate with them and tell them they are destroying living beings with thoughts and feelings.

    Wait, why can¡¯t we? Has anyone really tried? Surely the Protectors have, they have super intelligent AIs with abilities so far beyond our comprehension we may as well be ants to them. But there is something about human pluck and ingenuity that can¡¯t be discredited.

    Before my thoughts wind down into places best left be, Devoy squated down in front of me, placing a hand on each shoulder.

    ¡°It¡¯s not okay, Morigana, and it never will be until these alien fucks are kicked off our planet. But until then, people like me and you have got to keep our shit together. I know it sucks, and it¡¯s not easy, but we are the spearhead that keeps humanity safe.¡±

    He sighed and took my hands into his. ¡°Get up little Witch, people are counting on you.¡± Lifting me up as he says it. Sometime during my sulking, he cleaned his armor off, he looks pristine again.

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± I said, ¡°I can do this, let¡¯s clean out this town and try and find any survivors.¡± Grabbing my staff, I head towards the exit, Devoy following right behind me.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hit the church next, I¡¯ll keep an eye out if you want to send your drones ahead to see how it looks.¡± He said to me.

    Morigana, just so you are aware your new point total is seven thousand four hundred and twenty-four.

    <Thank you, Merlin.>

    I direct my augs to the drone swarm controls and gather them up to scout out the church to the Northwest. We start walking through Beatty, crossing roads, all the while keeping an eye out for any Antithesis or people.

    The drone swarm reaches the church in only a few minutes. The outside of the church is not covered in Model Sevens.

    All the doors to the church are barricaded off with junk, pews, desks, alters and whatever else the locals could scavenge from the area. I feel a spark of hope that there might be some survivors in the building.

    I move in the swarm and notice that the doors were once glass, and it¡¯s been shattered, evident by the shards covering the floor. My hopes are likewise dashed seeing these holes in the doors.

    I hold my breath as I send in the drones, inside a group of thirty people sit behind barricades with varying types of weapons. Laying around the barricade of pews is a scattering of Model Seven remains, roughly twenty or so in total.

    I activate the drone¡¯s medical scanner on the people, and other than elevated heart rates and some dehydration none of the people are infected.

    Thank the stars.

    ¡°Major, there are survivors at the church, we need to hurry before something bad happens.¡± I said to Devoy.

    ¡°Mori.¡± He said dejected. ¡°You have just committed the cardinal sin of military procedures.¡± He said coming to a stop in the middle of the road.

    ¡°I did?¡± I said confused.

    ¡°Yeah, never say ¡®Before something bad happens¡¯ or anything along those lines, because of course, something bad will happen.¡±

    I stop a few paces away, and check around me, and check the drone feed. Nothing is moving, not even a tumble weed. What could happen?

    ¡°Like what?¡± I asked.

 Chapter 15 This is My BOOMSTICK!

    "Like what?¡± I asked.

    Like the deep earth-cracking foot stomps coming from the North.

    ¡°You had to say it. Send your drones North and see what¡¯s making the earth rattling stomping noise please.¡± Devoy said palming his forehead.

    I leave a small group of drones to keep an eye on the survivors, and quickly dispersed the rest on a northern trajectory.

    Let me help you, I can see from the satellite what exactly is causing the commotion. A Model Twenty-Three has been dispatched from the hive, along with eight Model Fifteens, three Model Seventeens, one hundred and seven Model Threes, nine Model Six¡¯s, and a new type of model that I am unfamiliar with. They appear to be heading for the church.

    <New type¡­?>

    Indeed, quite the treat to see a brand-new model. Displaying for you now.

    In my mind¡¯s eye I see the satellite view zoomed in really close. It looks like a giant chameleon the size of a school bus. Between its front and back legs are massive flaps of skin that seem to shimmer different colors constantly. It¡¯s tail ends in a massive hypodermic needle about seven feet long, the rest of its body is covered in thick bark plates, and its eyes are at the ends of fleshy mounds that constantly shift in all directions independently of each other.

    Yes, it appears to have mimicked the local lizard called a chameleon. Those giant flaps of skin extend several hundred feet and change colors to form an insanely detailed image. Looking at before and after images of the hive I see what happened. The Antithesis have developed a model that can produce high resolution images to fool satellites.

    <That¡­ is not good.>

    Indeed, it will make future recon more difficult.

    Of course, done.

    ¡°Change of plans, let¡¯s intercept the Antithesis before they hit the church, we want to avoid collateral damage. Having to defend civilians in proximity to hostile force can be a distraction and a liability, best to be avoided.¡± Devoy said.

    ¡°Okay, then we should probably run, I have some physical enhancements so I should be able to keep up with you.¡± I said, doing a few stretches, limbering up a bit.

    ¡°I have highlighted a projected intercept point, let¡¯s go.¡± He said, taking off running.

    I run after him, pumping my short little legs as quickly as I can. I¡¯m surprised when I catch up to him easily. I match his pace, which is nothing to laugh at, it¡¯s much quicker than I could have run just a few days ago.

    The stomping is getting louder as we raced towards the danger. It¡¯s crazy that I¡¯m rushing towards the man-eating aliens instead of running away, who would have thought?

    I can see the dust cloud billowing up to our right like an angry dust tsunami, I can make out shapes in the dust storm, two forms stand out, they are like some prehistoric horror shows. One a massive Model Twenty-Three, a T-Rex made of interwoven vines, longer than it is tall and the darn thing is nearly thirty feet tall. The other is the new model, standing just under the Model-Twenty-Three but almost twice as long, sweet celestial bodies!

    We get a clear line on the side of the pack roughly a hundred feet away, intercepting it barely eight hundred or so feet away from the church, only a street away.

    Wasting no words, Devoy unslung his rifle and started shooting into the pack. Every shot he fires kills something, Antithesis start dropping quickly but not quick enough. For a weapon that is firing semi-auto, I can¡¯t distinguish the individual shots, it sounds like a machine gun going off.

    It¡¯s time to try my new weapon out. I read the instructions for this very carefully and extensively. I made sure I understood exactly how it worked and what to expect.

    I accessed the staffs operating system with my hive network. I could feel the mental shift in processing as the world around me crawled into slow motion. I could even distinguish the individual shots fired by Devoy.

    The full impact of my class II sensor suite went into effect, I sensed every Antithesis in the pack, as if I could reach out and touch them. Which is exactly what I¡¯m looking to do, but with violence and hatred. I have had enough of these stupid plant aliens killing humans, I¡¯ve seen enough suffering, and bloodshed. No more!

    I link the particles from my staff head and map a route from it to each and every Antithesis within my sensor suites range. The mental strain is shared throughout my entire body as the calculations I¡¯m performing strained my mind. I linked all the Model Three¡¯s, then the adjacent models, I feel a full-on migraine forming, but it¡¯s spreading into my entire body as the hive mind takes the load.

    What feels like hours pass, but in reality, it¡¯s only been a few seconds.

    I have everything except the two big models linked, I figure they will be less affected by this than the smaller models.

    For the final step, to initialize the lightning I push the first energized electron out from the staff and into the pathways I made, this creates a cascade of energy.

    Time resumes normal speed, from my staff a blinding flash of lightning arcs out like a spider-web of energized plasma, leaving burning streaks in my retinas.

    CRABOOOM!!

    A defining thunderclap accompanies the lightning, my shields flare, stopping the shockwave of sound from damaging my ears.

    In a span of two seconds, every Antithesis in the web is struck with lightning, instantly cooking their insides, and igniting the plant like materials they are made of and flash boiling any liquids in them, causing some to explode. They all collapse onto the ground, some burning, others turned to ash, the smell of burning broccoli and ozone fills the air.

    Devoy doesn¡¯t miss a beat, he goes from firing on the small aliens, to rapid firing at the T-rex, and chameleon.

    I slump down onto the ground using the staff to support myself. I¡¯m exhausted, I knew that using this would mentally, and physically drain me, but not this bad.

    Your internal nanites are working on repairing your body''s fatigue, give them a few moments and you will start feeling better.

    The Model Twenty-Three, and the new model are upon Devoy, he has switched to his sword and shield.

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    Both models are attacking him, relentlessly. He has his shield deployed into a massive shield, much larger than before, covering something like ten feet wide, and fifteen tall.

    The Twenty-Three lunged at him with its huge jaws, large enough to swallow a car. The new model used its tail to try and pierce through the energy barrier. Thankfully, both are too big to attack at once, and are alternating strikes.

    Devoy isn¡¯t just taking it though; every time one of them strikes at his shield, he retaliates with his sword, slicing into the T-Rex¡¯s head and neck, taking large chunks of it with every swing. His shield parts, allowing his sword to pass through unobstructed.

    It takes a few strikes, against the new model¡¯s tail but eventually he works through the extraordinarily dense plates on its tail slicing the tip of it off.

    I never thought I would see someone take on a Twenty-Three with a sword and a shield, yet here was this beast of a man single handedly stopping a T-Rex and a super chameleon all on his own.

    Without warning Devoy retracts his shield and bolts under the T-Rex, the Chameleon turns to try and slam its bleeding tail into him but smashes it into the T-Rex¡¯s face instead. Devoy lashes out his sword into the back of the Twenty-Three¡¯s legs where it¡¯s armor plating is thinner.

    The Twenty-Three tilts over onto the Chameleon, causing both of them to tear into each other trying to untangle their limbs.

    Devoy pops up on the other side, taking a few steps back to avoid getting caught in the flailing.

    ¡°All yours, Mori I think your whip should finish them off.¡± He said, looking at the two monsters flailing about on the ground, mulching the dead bodies of the crispy lesser models.

    I hobble up onto my feet and unleash my whip into the downed monsters. I focus on striking parts with less armor, snaking the whip into their internals, swirling it around for good measure. Both of the behemoth monsters stop flailing, coming to a smoking rest. Devoy walked over to where I¡¯m standing, returning his sword to his armor.

    ¡°Well, that sure was interesting, and something I would like to avoid in the future without some better gear.¡± He said.

    The sound of hovercraft interrupts any more conversation. I look over to where it¡¯s coming from. It¡¯s the Desert Foxes showing up, they have three APC, and two repulser tanks just like before.

    ¡°Good timing, they are early, I adjusted their insertion point and have them coming to support the church¡¯s defense.¡± Devoy said. The transports fly over our head, and land in the churche¡¯s parking lot.

    We started walking over to them, as they disembark from their transports.

    I keep behind the Major as he steps up to his men. He instantly starts shouting orders, setting up defensive positions.

    They scramble to obey.

    In just a few short hectic minutes they are embedded into the position, and I think nothing short of triple what we dealt with would be needed to unroot them.

    There are roughly ninety soldiers spread around the building, and some on top of it. They have erected mobile barricades and walls, giving them all cover, and a way to funnel advancing Antithesis into kill zones. The two tanks are on opposite sides providing heavy cannon support to any side of the building. The APCs are dispersed around the building providing quick fallback points if evac is required, and their mounted turrets swiveled out to give overlapping medium fire support and suppression.

    The soldier who took over when Devoy was injured smartly presents himself to Devoy, rendering a crisp salute that is promptly returned.

    ¡°Hello, Captain Stone, it¡¯s good to see you!¡± Devoy said to him, with a smile in his voice.

    ¡°No sir, it¡¯s really good to see you up and around already, and a Samurai to boot!¡± He said grinning ear to ear. ¡°When we heard what happened we were all worried about you. We all wanted to reach out but did not want to interrupt your recovery, sir.¡± Stone said. The major placed his hand on his shoulder, turning him and walking towards the church.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go check on our survivors, make sure they don¡¯t need any medical attention or supplies, who knows how long they have been trapped in there.¡± Devoy said.

    We entered the church double doors, which were little more than wooden frames with the glass in the middle blown out.

    ¡°Don¡¯t shoot, we are here to help.¡± Devoy shouted out with his hands raised.

    ¡°Humans coming in, the Antithesis outside have been killed, and there is a PMC squad set up outside.¡± He continued.

    The building was dark, all the lights were out, and so was the AC, so probably no power. It must have been like this for a while; the interior smelled of unwashed bodies, sweat, and other odors I did not want to dwell on too long.

    ¡°Oh, thank god, help has finally arrived.¡± A woman¡¯s voice said from the gathering of people.

    The gathering consisted of thirty-four terrified people, spread out around the room, all facing the door. Some of them had guns, others table legs and other objects with the obvious intent to be used as blunt weapons. They had up-ended tables, pews, and any other piece of furniture they could to provide makeshift cover.

    Not bad for a bunch of untrained church goers.

    The woman, who spoke stood up and came forward. She was maybe sixty years old with white curly hair that went only to her ears, she was thin and haggard looking.

    ¡°We have been cooped up here for three days, the Antithesis swarmed the town, killed many, and dragged others off to god knows where.¡± She said to us, hope filling her eyes.

    ¡°You can rest now; we will handle it from here.¡± I told her.

    Looking around I see the Model Sevens they killed. To prevent them from being recycled, I douse them lightly with some of my acid. Not enough to have the gasses effect the survivors though.

    A few soldiers come in and start dispersing water and ration packs to the survivors.

    I send the drones through the rest of the church; they zip through quickly and find nothing of interest, just more dead Antithesis.

    Devoy came over to me, his helmet lowered to expose his face, I can see the worry lines on his face.

    ¡°I love the part where we get to rescue and help people, but damn, I don¡¯t want to tell them what happened to the rest of the town.¡± He said to me in a whisper.

    ¡°Maybe let them recover first? We still have the hive to clear out, and the truck stop.¡± I said to him.

    ¡°I know, I¡¯m going to leave the PMC here to provide protection while you and I go check out the truck stop.¡± He said.

    The survivors are sitting around drinking and eating.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take a moment to eat and drink ourselves.¡± I said to Devoy.

    He nods, grabbing an MRE and water bottle from the supplies the soldiers brought in.

    I¡¯ve never had an MRE, and it was interesting to see what was in it. Mine was called ¡°Beef Stew¡± and it was anything but that. It tasted like plant protein generously drowned in cheap sauce, it also had some crackers, powdered beverages that I ignored, and a lemon pound cake that was dry enough to be used as a sponge.

    But I ate it anyway, it was what everyone else had and I would feel guilty ordering something from the Samurai menu in front of everyone.

    I noticed Devoy watching me with a grin on his face while I ate.

    ¡°What?¡± I asked with a mouth full of cracker.

    ¡°You can always tell when someone has never had an MRE, their face goes through a few phases. First confusion, as they try to figure out what everything is and how it works. Second, optimism as they see the items having some familiar names to things they enjoy. Third, either horror as they take the first bite and realize that the food is designed for maximum caloric value over taste, or joy because it¡¯s better than the street vendors that serve up rat meat.¡±

    I look down at my MRE, thinking about what my reactions had been. I definitely understand one and two, but three? I don¡¯t think it was quite so horrid. Bad? Yes, for sure, but not so bad I couldn¡¯t eat it.

    Capt. Stone walks over and slips something into the Major''s hands. I cheat and use my sensor suite to see what it was. Money, they bet on me!

    ¡°Hey, what did you bet on!¡± I demand from Devoy, setting my cracker to the side.

    ¡°Oh, nothing. Just as I thought, you were definitely the horror face version, that¡¯s all.¡± He said, as he tucked away his ill-gotten gains.

    ¡°Harumph, rude.¡± I said, giving up on my food entirely. He just laughed, shoveling the last of his food into his mouth. He stands up and headed for the door.

    ¡°You ready?¡± He asked.

    Standing up I brush the crumbs off of myself, and nod.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

 Chapter 16 There is Always a Bigger Fish

    We walked outside into the sunlight, the oppressive heat instantly hit, I swear the sun was trying to kill me.

    <Maybe blocking out a bit of sun would be a good thing, Merlin.>

    I very much doubt that others would appreciate your wish to shade the Earth a bit.

    <Hush you.>

    Devoy stepped out into the sun as well, stopping beside me.

    ¡°Damn sun. Alright, let¡¯s go check on the truck stop. The Foxes are staying put, so it will be only us again.¡± He said.

    I¡¯m really hoping that the truck stop is also not full of Model Sevens, and it has another group of barricaded humans.

    I bring up my swarm commands and disperse them across the town to search out the truck stop.

    ¡°Sending out the drones to investigate now.¡± I said to Devoy.

    ¡°Great, can you link the feed for me, please.¡± He asked.

    With a quick thought I sent the feed over to Devoy, almost instantly he pressed his hand to his head and staggered a little.

    ¡°What the shit, Mori, how do you watch all these feeds at once? It¡¯s giving me a headache.¡± He said.

    Whoops! I adjust the settings to only send the feed for the small group at the truck stop, limiting him to a single point of view.

    ¡°Sorry, I have an aug upgrade to handle the load.¡± I said with a grin.

    The swarm was swirling around the truck stop and then flew into the building. Immediately my heart sinks, in the public showers is a mass of bodies. I activate the medical scanner on the drones looking for Model Seven infestation. But nothing shows up, it¡¯s just a pile of dead bodies maybe two hundred or so.

    Why would the Antithesis leave such a pile of bodies behind and not drag them off to become extra biomass?

    ¡°What is going on here?¡± Devoy asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m wondering too. Why haven¡¯t they dragged the bodies off yet? It looks like they have been there for a while, judging by the decomposition, maybe three days?¡± I said.

    Perhaps they are holding them for future use as an emergency source.

    In the feed, the ground starts to rumble and shake, three holes opened up around the pile. Massive Model Eights drag themselves up out of the ground. They start circling the pile of bodies. These are the largest Model Eights that I have seen so far, easily twenty feet long, and five feet around. They all at once open their massive mouths and start snarfing down human bodies.

    Makes sense now, they were digging tunnels below to move the bodies without having to drag them across the surface. It seems this hive is trying to be as discreet as possible. That would explain the new Models, and the Model Sevens. This group of humans appears to have put up a fight, if you look closely, you can see dead Model Seven slugs around the ground, and a few Model Nines as well. The Antithesis must have sent an assassin group to handle them. Be wary, this hive may have more tricks up its sleeve.

    ¡°Right, I think we¡¯ve seen enough and made enough noise. Let¡¯s head over and cleanse the area before they get too much of the biomass secured.¡± Devoy said.

    ¡°I agree, let¡¯s run. I¡¯ll follow you.¡± I said, securing my gear for a run.

    Devoy takes off at a brisk run, I easily catch up to him and match pace.

    It only takes us a few minutes to reach the truck stop at our pace. The outside looks vacant and run down. Only a few trucks are sitting around the building, it must have been fairly empty when it got hit.

    We slow to a walk and, make our way into the building. The nice thing about my drone swarm is that it takes away a lot of the surprises and guess work of clearing a building.

    We quickly skip through the building¡¯s interior going right to the showers. The place is super creepy, I am realizing that I don¡¯t like being in buildings that should be busy and are eerily quiet.

    We approach the entrance to the showers and I can hear the Model Eights shuffling around inside.

    ¡°Right, I¡¯ll go clear this mess with my wand, if you will stand watch outside, just in case something comes to crash the party.¡± I said to Devoy.

    ¡°Sounds, good, I¡¯ll post up here.¡± He said.

    He pulled out his rifle and set up in a shooting stance, facing away from the showers.

    I pull out my wand and get ready to fireball the place. I walk into the shower room quietly, my sneak boots doing most of the work since I¡¯ve never had to sneak anywhere.

    The shower room is maybe forty by thirty with shower heads spaced around the room with little dividers and curtains for privacy.

    I recall my drones from the room and set them to standby.

    Without putting too much thought behind what I¡¯m burning, I unleash a bead at each Model Eight, and one at the pile of bodies.

    The room is instantly converted into a fiery inferno.

    KAFWOOSH!!

    The fireballs sucked all the oxygen out of the room causing a little vortex of air to suck in from the hallway. My shields momentarily flare up protecting me from the random debris that flies out from the room.

    What¡¯s left is a smoldering pile of ashes and destruction. The curtains, and everything else flammable is ash. The ground is practically glowing from the heat generated.

    I summon in my swarm of drones back in and send them down into the ground.

    <Where do you think this leads, Merlin?>

    Gauging by the direction of the tunnels It should deposit directly at the hive to the North unless it veers off somewhere.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    The drones continue following the tunnels, it appears that Merlin is right, or would have been but the tunnels take a sudden and drastic direction change and dive deeper underground. Not to the hive above ground, worse.

    The drones drop out into an expansive cavern several miles across, and several hundred deep. Hundreds of tunnels lead off in all directions. The walls are covered with Model Eights, thousands upon thousands of them. Crawling into and out of holes just like the ones my drones dropped out of.

    Holy Stars.

    At the bottom of this massive cavern swarm tens of thousands of Antithesis. More than twenty full grown hives sit at the bottom spewing out models by the bucket load.

    Sweet baby sun, this is bad news bears.

    <Merlin, we have a tiny problem.>

    I see that, it appears that they have burrowed below the southern region of Nevada. Judging by the size, tunnel locations and amount of Antithesis this colony is several years old and spans many miles out from here. This could be a problem.

    <No kidding, and not that I would, but using any sort of massive explosion could bring the cave system down causing untold damage to the surface. We could accidently sink the state into the ground!>

    That is a worry, this hive will take a large, combined effort to cleanse. It may be wise to call Hank and the Family.

    <Right, lets report in to Devoy, and at least clean out Beatty.>

    I summoned the drones back up to the surface with all haste, and walked back out to where Devoy was waiting,

    ¡°We have a problem.¡± I tell him, sending him the images the drones took of the cavern.

    ¡°God damn, that¡¯s a cluster of get fucked if I¡¯ve ever seen one!¡± He said in disbelief.

    ¡°No kidding, I¡¯m going to call Hank, if you want to call the Family and let them know.¡± I said to him.

    ¡°Yeah, good idea.¡± He said.

    I mentally bring up Hank¡¯s number and dial.

    ¡°Hey Mori, I hope all is goin'' well.¡± Hank said through my augs.

    ¡°Not really, you see we found something worrying.¡± I said.

    ¡°Oh? What is it?¡±

    I bring up the images and data gathered by the drones and send them over in a packet.

    ¡°We found this hive cluster sitting under Beatty. Merlin said it¡¯s possible that it has been growing and expanding for years.¡± I said.

    A few minutes go by before Hank responds.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be a double headed mongoose, they have been playin'' us hard! That is quite the discovery, this is going to be a tough¡¯n to clear for sure. I¡¯ll need to gather the local Samurai, military, and PMCs to form a game plan. Go ahead and clear Beatty and I¡¯ll get back with-ya.¡± Hank said.

    ¡°Sounds good Hank. Devoy and I will do what we can here, we found an infestation of Model Sevens and a new Model with camo effect that covers a large area. I will have Merlin send an info dump on what we¡¯ve found here.¡± I said to him, all in one breath.

    ¡°Good hunting.¡± He said before dropping the call.

    I look over at Devoy, he¡¯s also done with his call to the family and waiting on me.

    ¡°Alright, this place is clear, let¡¯s get the surface hive cleared out. It¡¯s a straight shot North on the 95 from here. Lets make this quick, maximum lethality.¡± He said, grinning like a kid with a new toy.

    We headed out of the truck stop at a gentle trot, we don¡¯t have far to go and don¡¯t want to arrive tired.

    I deploy my drones ahead of us to find out what is left guarding the hive. I¡¯m kind of worried, this entire venture has been far more than we bargained for. A Model Twenty-Three, a new model, Model Sevens, and a super-secret hive.

    No more surprises, please, stars above.

    The swarm beats us to the grove, we duck behind a casino across the street from the dirt path that leads up to the grove, to check the drones.

    I see a full-grown hive tree, and two mid-sized ones that seem to be past infant but not full grown. They are growing in a tight ring, forming a perfect triangle on top of a hill.

    Strangest of all, no Antithesis in the area. Just some random trees that have not been harvested and plenty of human biomass that has been deposited under each tree.

    <Merlin, where are the plant monsters? I know we killed a lot of them but we can¡¯t have killed them all.>

    The wave that contained the new model, and the Model Twenty-Three did indeed account for all the Antithesis that I could detect with the satellite. However, that does not mean they have not left invisible units behind. The satellite is not equipped for that sort of detection. I suggest advancing with caution.

    <I wonder if there are Model Nines or Model Twenty-Ones around? If this was supposed to be a stealth hive, that would make sense. We will need to get closer, I think.>

    I will continue to watch the area for activity so you may focus on searching for hidden foes.

    <Thank you.>

    Devoy was peeking around the corner, watching up and down the street, looking for anything sneaking up on us.

    I send a quick snap of the feed to him.

    ¡°Looks empty, but Merlin thinks there are hidden models around, I will use my sensors to search for them, but let¡¯s get going.¡± I said to Devoy.

    He nods, we walk across the road to the dirt path leading up into the hills and the hive. The path is heavily used, the dirt freshly plowed by the recent activity. I keep my mental focus on my class II scanners and try and decipher every bit of information I can on our surroundings.

    I really don¡¯t want to be surprised by anything.

    After a few minutes walking we reach the tree line and we can see the hives at the top of the hill maybe a hundred feet in.

    Morigana, your sensors are detecting the presence of Antithesis, it¡¯s hard to sense what it is though¡­ I want to say that it¡¯s the entire hill. However, nothing seen on earth is that large, I¡¯m wondering if it¡¯s the tree roots expanding out in an extraordinary dense configuration.

    I focus on what my sensors are telling me, and I see what Merlin is talking about. It¡¯s easy to miss because it¡¯s so massive. It almost just looks like a rock or a blob of minerals. Resources gathered by the Antithesis perhaps, or even like Merlin said, roots?

    ¡°Devoy, something is underground, I think we can expect maybe a group of Twenty-Eights? Or a mass of eights, I don¡¯t know but lets be careful and slow.¡± I said to Devoy, chewing my lip to fight off my nerves.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, we got this. We are two prepared Samurai with amazing gear, plenty of smarts and muscle. Let¡¯s go save this town from alien asshats.¡± He said, laying into his smooth confident voice.

    We advance up the hill slowly, Devoy activated his shield and drew out his sword, I held my breath and got ready to sling a fireball or my whip at the first thing to move.

    We get to about forty feet from the hive when the Earth tilts us to the side.

    A deep rumbling and cracking sound came from below us as the whole area raised up into the air with us on it.

    I struggle to maintain my balance and grab onto Devoy for stability.

    ¡°Hoooly shit! Mori, I think we found what was underground!¡± He shouted.

    The ground shook back and forth like a dog trying to dry off. It¡¯s too much for us and we get thrown into the air, and land in a pile near the edge of whatever is lifting out of the ground. We slide off the side on the loose dirt and drop twenty feet onto the ground below.

    My shields flare to life and absorb some of the impact before I hit the ground. Devoy gracefully lands on top of me, only my armor prevents me from having the wind knocked out of my lungs.

    We scramble to untangle our limbs and get up. I ignore the pain in my body, trusting my nanites to start repairing injuries.

    Standing over us is the largest creature I¡¯ve ever seen or heard of.

    Standing forty feet tall, and about fifty wide is a huge tortoise. Its shell a super massive chunk of stone and dirt, easily ten feet thick, its skin is covered in giant plates of armor covering everything but it¡¯s joints. Its head is ten feet wide and six feet tall with a giant beaked mouth that could swallow us whole. Coming from all around its shell were groupings of tentacles each varying from a couple dozen feet long to seventy feet or so, most ending large bulbous formations like hammers. Lastly, it had the three hive trees growing out of its back, swaying back and forth.

    It was looking at us, with it¡¯s six eyes, and it looked hungry.

 Chapter 17 The Root of the Problem

    Standing forty feet tall, and about fifty wide is a huge tortoise. Its shell a super massive chunk of stone and dirt, easily ten feet thick, its skin is covered in giant plates of armor covering everything but it¡¯s joints. Its head was ten feet wide and six feet tall, and a giant beaked mouth that could swallow us whole. Coming from all around its shell were groupings of tentacles, each varying from a couple dozen feet long to seventy feet long or so, most ending in large bulbous formations like hammers. Lastly it had the three hive trees growing out of its back, swaying back and forth.

    It was looking at us, with its six eyes, and it looked angry.

    ¡°Alright Mori, I¡¯ll stand in front and try to block as much as I can. I need you to try and eliminate as many of those tentacles as you can so I¡¯m not overwhelmed.¡± Devoy said, activating his shield and sword.

    ¡°Sounds good. I don¡¯t think my lightning or fireball will do anything to this thing, too much rock and armor plating. I think my whip and ice might be the best counters.¡± I said back, I adjust my armor so I have ice on one hand and the whip on the other.

    That¡¯s all the time we had to talk; the giant tortoise lunges its dump truck sized head at Devoy.

    He brings up his arm to block the attack, the energy immediately blinks out from the impact. The tortoise¡¯ head bounces off though and leaves Devoy still standing.

    A swarm of its tentacles come swirling in from each side. Devoy re-energized his shield and brought it back to bear. I swing in the whip on the left side, cutting through most of the tentacles before they can slam into Devoy¡¯s shield.

    The few on the left that make it through slap unto the shield, glancing off, the shield holds though. Devoy slashes out with his sword and counters the tentacles on the right, cutting through them like pool noodles.

    A few of the boulder like tips fly off and clip Devoy on his side eliciting a grunt from him. The tortoise does not relent, it tries again to crush Devoy with its head, dropping down onto him like the world¡¯s largest sledgehammer.

    I rush in and unleashed a spray of ice into the things face. Ice crystals form around its face, it starts to quickly spread up its face and over it¡¯s eyes. It¡¯s not enough to stop the momentum though and it hits the shield anyway. The ice built over it¡¯s head shatters outwards in a spray of freezing mist and ice chunks.

    His shield collapses again, overloaded by the energy absorbed. Thankfully the energy does not transfer into him, the shield energy is projected slightly ahead of the emitter and isn¡¯t physically connected. So, when it takes a hit, no energy is transferred into Devoy directly, otherwise I¡¯m sure his arm would have broken already.

    The Tortoise rears its head back in pain, my ice destroyed two of its eyes. So, that¡¯s something done to it.

    Another grouping of tentacles comes rushing in again from both sides, they seem to grow back really fast. Again, I focus on the left side where Devoy has less ability to swing his sword to deflect.

    <Merlin, this is not going to work, we need to find a weakness to this thing. You said earlier that the hive roots were growing into the ground in a large mass?>

    That is correct, even now I can see them in the tortoise spreading out like a nerve system.

    <Could, they be controlling this thing? Like the hive is the brain and this body is just a construct they built, like an armor suit or something.>

    It is a possibility; I don¡¯t detect the normal biology present in the tortoise so your theory could be correct.

    <So, if I destroy the hive trees, it could kill this thing?>

    I believe so, this is the first of a kind Antithesis, but I can tell you that signals are being sent along the roots throughout the tortoise body. I would say there is a good chance you are correct.

    We cut through the tentacles and Devoy only takes a few more glancing blows. Between his shield, sword, and dodging he is mitigating damage really well. So far, he has avoided taking any heavy hits.

    <In that case, I need to get on top of this thing so I can destroy the trees. I doubt my whip or fireball will reach past the swarm of tentacles.>

    I agree, they would probably try and block the attacks, and even if they did get past you need to get the roots. So, getting topside would be ideal.

    Devoy changes tactics and runs in towards the tortoise legs, he swings his sword in a flurry of strikes against its legs. The sword does cut into the things leg, but the damage seems superficial. Thin slices crisscross its leg a few inches deep, but the tortoise hardly seems to notice. I don¡¯t even think he penetrated past the thick rock-like armor plating it has.

    The tortoise seems annoyed by it though, and kicks at Devoy with its huge foot. He brings up the shield and blocks the kick, the shield drops instantly. The foot carries through with its momentum and hits Devoy, sending him flying back ten feet into the dirt.

    He rolls a few times kicking up a bloom of dust then springs back onto his feet swearing.

    ¡°Devoy!¡± I shouted. ¡°Are you okay?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, just got my bell rung, thing hits like a freight train.¡± He said.

    ¡°Good, I¡¯m working with Merlin on a plan, think you can hold it off for a just a few minutes?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how long I can hold it, but I can try. So please hurry, whatever you''re planning!¡± He said, charging back at the tortoise.

    <I don¡¯t have time to learn how to fly right now, how would unlocking something like short range teleportation work?>

    You have the necessary sensory capabilities to accurately teleport somewhere within your sensors range. We would need to unlock a catalog and then purchase one of three devices that would get the job done.

    <And those would be¡­?>

    Class II Short range teleportation devices catalog for one thousand points and a token. Then you have two methods to instantly travel. One is a dimensional transfer emitter; it creates a small dimensional gate that links from one place to another and allows for you to step through it and appear at the other end instantly. The second is a teleporter that renders your form into pure energy, then transfers you at the speed of light to the new location, this method does require you to have line of sight and only traverses in a straight line. Third is the typical teleporter your sci-fi shows would use. It moves you bodily from one place to another instantly by swapping whatever is at your end destination with where you are. The only limitation is the amount of energy required is immense and it has a longer cooldown time, also it¡¯s the most expensive in points.

    <I don¡¯t like the sound of option two, option three sounds good, how long is the cooldown, and point cost?>

    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    Presently without buying into some power supply catalogs, and items, you could teleport every two minutes, and the device would cost seven thousand points.

    <Whoa, okay that¡¯s not ideal, what about option one?>

    The portal emitter can create portals instantly and you can travel through them as fast as you can enter them. The emitter costs three thousand points, and with your sensors can deploy anywhere within about three hundred feet.

    <Can the portal be created in any plane?>

    Yes, you can make it horizontally or vertically, so you could fall into it if you wished, or any sort of configuration. It does not need a surface to be placed, and it is invisible, you will sense it with your augs in a tangible way but that¡¯s it.

    <Can others enter it?>

    Kind of, if they are touching you and you configure the portal for it, yes. It will add a delay for your next portal of about 10 seconds. However, you cannot send someone or something through it without you.

    <Okay, purchase the portal emitter, please.>

    Loot inbound!

    Class II Short Range Teleportation Devices unlocked!

    Points reduced to: 8,194

    Tokens Reduced to : 0

    New Purchase: Class I Short Range Dimensional Portal Emitter:

    Points reduced to: 5,294

    Like before, a small box drops at my feet, I hastily grabbed it up and ripped open the lid. Inside sat a purple gem about an inch across, and about half an inch thick.

    Place on your hat, it will merge with your armor.

    I quickly place it on my hat and let go.

    Software installed successfully into your augs, you should be able to access its control menu now just like your drone swarm. Select a destination point using the controls, the spatial coordinates will be automatically saved and the portal will be opened for you. Then simply walk or move through it however you wish.

    I check on Devoy quickly, he is running around the tortoise cutting through tentacles and avoiding attacks from its head. Instead of trying to tank everything directly, he is using his speed and agility to prevent it from getting its head aimed in his direction. Smart, goes to show he¡¯s not just a meathead.

    I focus inwards on my new device, and understanding floods my mind, it¡¯s actually quite simple to use.

    I reach through my sensory suite and select an empty space above the tortoise¡¯s shell between the three hive trees. I trigger the portal there, and directly in front of me.

    I don¡¯t see anything there, but through my augs I get a sense of distorted reality directly before me. I take a quick breath and step through. Instantly, and without any sense of motion, I¡¯m standing on the tortoise¡¯s shell.

    ¡°Oh, fudge, that was strange¡± I said out loud to no one.

    I don¡¯t think the Tortoise notices me, being distracted by Devoy and his antics.

    I would suggest using your acid, it should propagate down from the trees and into its roots fairly quickly.

    With no delay, I swap the acid onto both hands and start liberally spraying it all over the biggest tree. After a few seconds, I switch to another tree, and then the last.

    The acid eats into the bark of the tree and starts to replicate itself quickly. Chunks of tree slough off onto the shell releasing a putrid smell of rotting vegetables.

    The tortoise shudders under my feet and starts flailing around like a rampaging bronco.

    ¡°Mori! Get off that thing! It¡¯s going haywire!¡± Devoy shouted up to me.

    I pray to the stars I used enough acid; I select a point behind Devoy and gate myself to him.

    I appear instantly behind him, in time to see every tentacle on the tortoise crash into the spot I was just standing in a resounding KRABOOM!!

    The tortoise swayed back and forth a bit like a drunk sailor, stumbling around crushing smaller trees and vegetation in its movements.

    With a final act of defiance, it snaps out at us, but falls short, collapsing in a thunderous crash, as all billion tons of rock and shell fall to the ground.

    ¡°Well, whatever that was worked, good job Mori.¡± Devoy said, exhausted, he grabs something out of the air and injects it into himself.

    You have obtained one thousand five hundred and forty points, and four tokens. For a total of nine thousand seven hundred and thirty-four points and four tokens.

    Nice little payout of tokens, one for each tree and the tortoise.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad it did, too, I think we may have had to call in some help if it did not.¡± I said.

    ¡°Your move to take out the roots was genius; I don¡¯t think we could have gone toe-to-toe with it for much longer.¡± Devoy said, dusting himself off.

    ¡°The real trick of this fight will be preventing that giant turtle from becoming a new hive.¡± He said.

    ¡°I think if I drop more acid into the opening I made where the trees were, it should eat it from the inside out.¡± I said prepping up my acid sprayer. I portal onto its back again and look at my handiwork up close.

    There are three gaping holes where the tree roots entered the shell, inside was a cavernous area filled with melting plant goop.

    ¡°Actually, I think we are good, the acid is still propagating. Its just slowed down a bit eating through the shell¡± I shout down to Devoy.

    ¡°Well, we can¡¯t be too careful. Lets have the Foxes keep an eye on it.¡± He shouted back.

    <Your take, Merlin?>

    I agree, the acid should consume the Antithesis in a matter of a few hours without your help.

    ¡°Great, I think I¡¯ve about had enough adventure for one day, I think. Lets check the town''s bunker and call it a day.¡± I said to Devoy, while portalling back down.

    ¡°That is a neat trick, I may have to get something like that too.¡± He said appreciatively.

    With a sly grin I grab his arm, pulling him into a portal. We exit where the dirt road meets the main road.

    Devoy pops up behind me with his hand over his mouth, his face turned a worrying shade of pre-vomit. ¡°Indeed, you should get it!¡± I said with a taunting laugh.

    ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re evil you know.¡± He said, holding back heaves.

    ¡°Come on, the bunker is this way.¡± I said dragging him along behind me.

    I verify its location on my map, it¡¯s between 2<sup>nd</sup> and 3<sup>rd</sup> street and the corner of Montgomery in the middle of a dirt field. The entrance is a concrete pillbox with a huge steel door that leads underground.

    It only takes a few minutes at a quick pace to get to it.

    The entire way there I keep an eye out with my drones and sensor suite.

    Thankfully I don¡¯t detect anything of note.

    We arrive at the bunker entrance to find the door sealed fast, and the door controls working perfectly. With a quick handshake with my hive net, I access the controls and open the door.

    Cool dry air escapes from the entrance, the lights are still on and I don¡¯t detect anything within range. I gather up a portion of the drone swarm and send it down into the bunker.

    They zip down several flights of stairs to reach the bottom, where another door bars the way. I remote in using the drones and command the door to open as well.

    The drones swarm in quietly and discover a bloodbath.

    Blood, gore, and human chunks litter the entire area, I don¡¯t see any traces of Antithesis. Whoever was in here did not fight back, they were slaughtered.

    Stars above, why?

    Rage fills my heart; I knew the Antithesis were evil murder machines but every time I see this it hurts my heart.

    ¡°The bunkers been ransacked.¡± I said to Devoy.

    ¡°They burrowed from below and dragged them all down into the caverns below.¡± I told him. I¡¯m not going to cry this time, I¡¯m really tired of being saddened by their atrocities, instead I¡¯m choosing to get mad.

    I am going to exterminate every single last one of them - or die trying.

    The Antithesis have been messing with The Witch of the West¡­ It¡¯s time to give them The Bitch of the West.

 Chapter 18 Witch Craft

    ¡°There is nothing we can do here, let¡¯s get back to the Foxes and get everyone left alive out of here.¡± I said to Devoy, we both started walking towards the church in silence.

    I may only be a three-day old Vanguard but I¡¯m already sick of seeing the horrors that the Antithesis leave in their wake. I really wish I, or rather humanity, had a better way to shove these invading aliens off of the planet.

    I clenched my fists in frustration, there have been years and years of Samurai before me, and yet no one has figured out a way to exterminate them yet. What we need is a unified front of Samurai, a true Vanguard. Sure, The Family is trying to organize Samurai into somewhat of a unified force but the problem is the Samurai are too individualistic. They are like fingerprints, all part of the same hand but unique in the way that they carry it out the fight against the Antithesis.

    What we need is a unified Samurai unit, with everyone using tried and trusted tactics, training, and equipment. Individuality is important too, though; experimentation should be encouraged. It takes a village to exterminate a pest, or something like that. Ideas are best refined by many, that¡¯s how science works. Someone makes a journal with all their data and information and then the peers challenge it. They dig through it and tear out anything that does not fit until the only thing left is truth or nothing.

    ¡°Penny for your thoughts, Mori?¡± Devoy asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

    ¡°We will never win this war, with everyone pulling in their own direction. Unorganized, random fighting is not working. The Family has the right idea of it, but without someone to enforce their instructions, Samurai are just going to run amuck and do whatever they please.¡± I said, uncurling my fists.

    ¡°Just look at this mess.¡± I said, lifting my hands, emphasizing Beatty.

    ¡°Hank, bless his heart was trying to help Samurai get stronger by tracking hives, letting them grow, and then cleansing them before they threatened anyone.¡± I said.

    ¡°Yeah, and it has helped us get stronger. We have gained a lot of points and tokens for a day¡¯s work.¡± He said.

    ¡°Yes, but at what price! Almost everyone here is dead or nearly so. Because of Hank¡¯s or whoever¡¯s oversight, an entire town has been decimated! Thirty-four survivors left from maybe a thousand!?¡± I practically shouted at Devoy.

    He looks over at me with a frown. ¡°I get your point, Mori, but at the same time we can now do something about it. The points and tokens we gained can be used to get upgrades and provide the means to protect even more people.¡±

    I look at him shocked, my hand moving up to my mouth.

    ¡°You don¡¯t seriously think that¡¯s okay!? We can¡¯t sacrifice people like that, I get that soldiers and people die fighting these things every day. But we can¡¯t intentionally neglect them just so we can pad our points. Or has being on the front lines fighting these things warped your perspective?¡± I said to him with some venom.

    He frowned and took a step back raising his hands. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right, but this was not our fault. Don¡¯t be mad at me about this, we can talk to Hank and make sure no other towns or cities around here suffer the same fate.¡±

    ¡°Good, let¡¯s let the Foxes finish clearing the town and get the civilians to a shelter. Then head back home, I have a lot to look into and plan tomorrow, classes to teach, research to do, and possibly a gang war to clear.¡± I said ticking off the items on my fingers.

    ¡°Wait, gang war?¡± Devoy asked. ¡°You¡¯ve been a Samurai for three days and you¡¯re already involved in a gang?¡± He said surprised.

    ¡°Mhmm, picking up the bulgogi I stopped some punks from collecting protection money from the owner.¡± I said sighing.

    ¡°That is impressive but let¡¯s not forget you also discovered a super hive underground that we will have to remove, and all the small towns we will need to visit.¡± Devoy said adding up with his own fingers.

    ¡°Gee thanks, I guess I¡¯ll have to find a way to never sleep again.¡± I said sarcastically.

    ¡°There are catalogs and upgrades to permit that capability.¡± Piped up Merlin, using my hat to talk.

    ¡°I was kidding, I am like a cat and need my fifteen hours of sleep a day.¡± I said, slapping Merlin.

    Devoy laughs and said. ¡°You¡¯re not a cat, you¡¯re a Diva. I would hate to see how grumpy you are without your sleep, though.¡±

    We approached the church where our survivors were holding up, surrounded by a barrier of vigilant people itching to shoot aliens. Devoy approached Captain Stone, who rendered a salute to Devoy, who then returned it.

    ¡°Any changes here Captain?¡± Devoy asked.

    ¡°No sir, the civilians are tired and ready to get somewhere safe. Were you able to clear the hive, then?¡± The captain asked.

    ¡°We were, it had a surprise waiting for us, another new model. Which brings our new model count from here to two.¡± Devoy said.

    ¡°That¡¯s alarming sir, normally new Antithesis show up separately.¡± The captain replied.

    ¡°I believe that with such a massive gathering in one location we will be seeing more experimental Antithesis designs.¡± I added in. ¡°My money is on them only getting nastier, too.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s get these civilians out of here, captain, then have the Foxes do a sweep of the town for anything we might have missed. This place needs to be deep cleaned, and there are a few holes around that need to be filled. Here are the locations.¡± Devoy said, then flicked his hand in a gesture some use to represent sending aug data over.

    Mori, while you were fighting you have received several emails, they are non-critical so I figured I would hold them until you were not in combat.

    <Appreciated Merlin, who are they from?>

    One is from your company, it¡¯s your new contract. Another from your school¡¯s principal, and one from The Family, with an update on your friendly gang situation.

    <Great, I¡¯ll review them when I get home, unless they can¡¯t wait?>

    They can wait until you are home, but you should read them before Monday.

    <Alright, thanks.>

    The Major supervised the loading of the civilians into one of the APCs. Without gear and equipment, they all fit into one easily.

    ¡°Mori, I¡¯m going to ride with them for support, and to check in the PMC base directly. I¡¯m guessing there is going to be a lot of preparation for the assault on the cave system, and the surface area.¡± Devoy said, climbing the ramp into the APC.

    ¡°Sure, I have a few things to look into as well. I¡¯ll see yah around Major.¡± I said.

    I turned to head back to my car but remembered something important.

    ¡°Devoy!¡± I shouted back turning around. He stops up the ramp and turns around.

    ¡°What?¡± He asked, looking confused.

    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    ¡°Your Samurai name after your first mission, I have not given you one yet!¡± I shouted back at him.

    His eyes go big, and he looks concerned. ¡°Well, what did you settle on then?¡± He asked.

    Grinning I said. ¡°Nothing that bad, but I was thinking the name of Mordred!¡±

    He chuckles, while shaking his head. ¡°That¡¯s not too bad I guess, not what I would have picked, but I¡¯ll go with it.¡± He said before ducking back into the APC and closing the hatch.

    I have a way to walk to get back to my car, so I decide to test out my new portal tech.

    I select a nearby rooftop and activate the portal, the roof is about two hundred feet away and a story up. The invisible portal forms vertically in front of me and on the roof. I take a slow step into it; my hand and foot disappear but I can still feel them and move them around. I then pull them back to me with no issues, the portal still remains there unfazed.

    I stick my hand back in then look at the roof at the other end and see my hand sticking out of nothing, I wave back at myself.

    I hop all the way through and land onto the roof, the portal instantly shuts behind me.

    <Merlin, how does the portal know when to close?>

    It registers the mass of the object entering the portal, then when the entirety of the mass passes through the portal, it shuts behind you. That is why you can stick your hand or other body part through and it does not shut. It is also why you are able to bring someone that you are touching with you . There is a long mathematical equation to determine maximum mass per entry, but you should have no issue bringing another human with modest equipment.

    <No risk of losing my head if I stick it in, then?>

    None, it will not close while it detects your signature within its event horizon.

    <Good to know! And there is no way to see through it, is it always invisible?>

    That is correct, you can however stick your arm in and drop something like a drone or grenade then remove your hand. The portal will malfunction, eject your body part and close because of the mass change, and you will need to wait ten seconds for it to be deployed again.

    <What about momentum?>

    Momentum is retained upon entry of the portal. You can for example, enter the portal by ¡°falling¡± into it and upon exit of a portal that is horizontally placed, you will ¡°fall up¡± to burn off momentum.

    <Huh, so I could fall from a really tall place into a portal on the ground and play portal jump games to bleed off momentum until I¡¯m slow enough to survive?>

    Essentially yes, you can cheese physics a bit.

    <Nice! Also, I need a better form of travel than this car.>

    You asked about it earlier, and I have a few ideas, but some input from you would help narrow down the suggestions.

    <It needs to be fast, able to carry like, four kitted out Samurai, some decent protection, and some offensive firepower.>

    We can start simply looking into the Class I Hover Vehicles catalog for three hundred, then I recommend unlocking Class II Nanite Machine Technology for five hundred and a token. From there I have a very good range of options that I think will meet your requirements.

    While we are conversing, I chain cast my portals across the town to get to my car quicker. It only takes me maybe a minute or so with the portals, it¡¯s so much quicker than just walking. In fact, it feels like a slightly disjointed stroll at a leisurely pace. Make a portal, walk into it, keep walking and make a new one, and so on and so on without so much as breaking stride.

    <Well, what is the vehicle you had in mind exactly? It already sounds expensive!>

    You¡¯re not wrong, it will be expensive, but I highly doubt you will need to replace it. Since it will be made of nanites, upgrading it will be a breeze.

    <I do prefer single purchases to throw away gear. Regale me with the details, Merlin.>

    The vehicle, because I would hesitate to call it a car, would cost six thousand five hundred points. It would be entirely made from nanites, which by now you know, means it can be reconfigured to suite your immediate needs on the fly. Get it; on the ¡°FLY¡±!

    <Yes, Merlin very punny of you, I swear you must be getting some bad influence from our media.>

    Hardly bad! Just read every single Xanth book and could not resist dropping a pun.

    I sighed and shook my head, if I thought I could ban him from the internet I might consider it for humanities sake.

    The vehicle will be able to fit anywhere from one to ten or so people, depending on your imagination and how comfortable you want to be. It will be protected by variable thick armor plating, from only good enough to stop the wind, to something that could stop an armor piercing 105mm round at point blank range. It will also, of course, be equipped with the Class II point defense shield emitters, and your Class II sensor suite, as well as being able to link with your hive mind augs for flight controls. Its onboard software will interpret your commands and fly accordingly. As for weapon systems; for offense, you will have an equivalent weapon system to your Tempest Staff, being able to conduct lightning strikes, and a launcher like your wand but with greater range and payload sizes. The vehicle will be able to travel at speeds in excess of fifteen hundred MPH. What do you think?

    <I¡­, wow, yeah, I¡¯ll have one of those please. Go ahead unlock the catalogs and make the purchase now.>

    As you wish; loot inbound!

    Class I Hover Vehicles unlocked!

    Points reduced to: 9,434

    Class II Nanite Machine Technology unlocked!

    Points reduced to: 8,934

    Tokens reduced to: 3

    New Purchase: Class II Warcaster Integrated Tactical Configurable Hover Craft! (W.I.T.C.H Craft):

    Points reduced to: 2,434

    <You really stretched for that name, didn¡¯t you?> I said to him, rolling my eyes.

    Nonsense, that¡¯s what it¡¯s called.

    <Yeah, because you named it that.>

    I fail to see your point. Whether I named it or not, that is what it is called. You¡¯re welcome.

    <Thank you, Merlin.> I said giving up on it.

    An enormous box plops down in front of me, between myself and my car. I mean HUGE box about the size of a city bus in length, and maybe fifteen feet wide, and neatly held together by a ribbon with a red bow.

    <Did you really need to put it in a box; and a bow? This isn¡¯t getting a first car, like in cheesy teen movies.>

    Only the best deliveries for you, Morigana, I would hate to shirk my duties of delivering goods in less than excellent style.

    <Wouldn¡¯t that be a shame.>

    Open it up already!

    <Keep your pants on, I¡¯m going to.>

    I don¡¯t have pants!

    <Ugh.>

    Antics aside, I am excited to see what I have paid a metric butt ton of points for.

    I walked up to the box and pulled on the ribbon, it released easily and pooled onto the ground. As soon as it was free, each side of the box fell, revealing my new toy.

    In the box sat what I could only describe as a spaceship. It was sleek, pointy at one end and widened at the middle, then narrowed down to a slim tail sticking out behind it. On either side of the hull sat two wing like protrusions that split vertically into basically four engine nacelles. The ship was a deep black and purple, with purple lighting highlighting parts of the hull.

    <Oh, my stars Merlin, this is a hovercar?>

    Technically no, but I did say it was a hover vehicle, not a car. I would even say it verges on an atmospheric multi-role strike ship. It took a few catalogs to make, and since I had the joy of using nanites I was able to take some liberties.

    <Thank you, it is quite lovely, and I can fly this?>

    Kind of, like I said, when you link up with its operating system you will be able to control its intent with a thought and it will interpret that into action. Go ahead and touch the outer hull to begin the process and you will see.

    Hesitantly I reached up to the side of the ship, the surface was cold, a little spark leapt to my hand. I felt my hive mind augs set a secure connection with the ships OS. In only a few moments I felt all the data flow into my mind; instantly filled with information on how the ship operates, and its functions.

    <Oh, I see, this isn¡¯t so bad! Best flight training ever.>

    Not quite, but better than some human pilots with years of experience. But that also isn¡¯t saying much, so it¡¯s a good thing you have me!

    <Someone has a high opinion of themselves!>

    Well, when you¡¯re an ageless super powered AI the size of a planet, you will know why I¡¯m so confident in my abilities.

    <Hush you, let¡¯s take this thing out for a spin!>

 Chapter 19 Answering Emails

    Well, when you¡¯re an ageless super powered AI the size of a planet, you will know why I¡¯m so confident in my abilities.

    <Hush you, let¡¯s take this thing out for a spin!>

    The craft had a ramp in the back that led into it; with a mental command I dropped it. It smoothly lowered onto the ground giving me the first view of its interior. It had four seats, two on each side, with five-point harnesses to hold in passengers. There was also space in the middle for some cargo. There was a small opening leading to the front where there were two seats side by side with a space between to get through.

    The cockpit was just a single glass panel wrapping around the entire cockpit. I think the window was mostly for the human brains benefit of having a visual, and even that was mostly for the passengers. Same for the panel, the moment I stepped into the craft my augs started feeding me the status of everything related to the crafts operation, a quick glance at the panel confirmed it was displaying everything I could already sense.

    <Can you set my car to return home Merlin.>

    Of course, Sending it now.

    I moved through the craft to the front, between the hold and the cockpit in the wall, I notice a small storage cubby on each side, intentionally sized for my wand and staff. I go ahead and place both into their holders and sit in the pilot¡¯s seat on the left.

    The seat is perfectly molded to my body and is very comfortable!

    Using my hive augs I command the craft to go through its startup sequence, while it¡¯s doing that I think about my destination; home. It¡¯s only like six in the afternoon or so, but I¡¯m super exhausted and could use some quiet down time.

    I lift off my new craft and point it towards home, I push up the crafts engines and get it up to full speed, it shoots off like a rocket hitting its top speed of fifteen hundred MPH in ten seconds, I can tell from my link that we hit 6.8g in that span. Thanks to my enhancements my body hardly even felt it. At this speed it should only take about four minutes to reach home with a gentler deceleration.

    The trip is nice and quiet, I do some light reading of the crafts specs and performance characteristics, that Merlin provided for me.

    Upon arriving at my apartment building an unforeseen issue became clear. I could absolutely park this thing in the parking lot with the other cars, but it might draw a lot of attention. I quickly flip through the crafts configuration options, one of them is a non-descript large truck, a perfect disguise.

    I settle the craft down at the back end of the parking lot, quickly grabbing my wand and staff on the way out. Once I clear the ramp, I trigger the change. The crafts nanites quickly and fluidly slither around until I¡¯m no longer looking at my sleek new toy, and instead a dumpy looking truck, albeit a large one.

    <Merlin, how do all the nanites fit in a smaller area like that?>

    Simple, they condense themselves closer together and in areas that a normal truck would need to operate. Since the truck never actually has to drive, not that it could, the nanites can pack themselves extremely densely.

    <Awesome!>

    I revert my own armor over to its casual wear before entering the apartment building. I cross through the lobby to the lifts and set it to take me to my apartment. My apartment is half the floor I¡¯m on, so it¡¯s fairly large. Once I exit the lift, it opens to a small waiting area where my door is, and on the other side is my neighbor¡¯s door. My door is smashed open.

    I convert my casual wear back into armor, and grab my staff, someone is about to get a rude awakening. I reach out for my drone¡¯s controls to send it in to scout, and I realize I left the stupid thing back in Beatty! Frick!

    <Merlin, recall my drone please, I left it in Beatty.>

    Of course, I was wondering when you would remember it, it is on its way now, but at its speed will take a while to get here.

    No matter, I have my sensor suite.

    I look into its data and see that there are three individuals spread around my apartment. They are picking through my things, tossing drawers around, plates, silverware, my closet, everything is in shambles.

    They even stabbed my couch looking for whatever they are after.

    <Who are these people? What the stars are they doing to my apartment?>

    If I had to guess, people with ill intent.

    <Wow, thanks for that assessment.>

    Well, I¡¯m not wrong.

    <Yeah, but it¡¯s not very helpful now is it! What are they looking for?>

    Ah, perhaps your new Samurai status has gotten out and malcontents are after some easy Samurai gear that has been left unsecured. This is actually fairly common for corps, gangs, or some PMCs to try and lift gear off new Samurai who are vulnerable still. Or even abduct new Samurai to use as tech farms.

    <I¡¯ve read a few reports of that happening, but I think they will find I am more than capable of defending myself.>

    That may be very true, I pity the fool who tries to abduct you.

    <Okay Mr. T, but that still means my apartment is vulnerable.>

    Indeed, it is, as is evident by the hooligans going through your underwear drawers.

    <Well, I did say I need a cleaning bot, how much would a cleaning bot cost?>

    By cleaning do you mean with violence or like cleaning your dirty floors?

    <Can¡¯t it be both?>

    Ever the efficient point spender. I have considered this already and have a solution. I can place a Class 1 AI into a nanite assembly that can perform basic combat functions, as well as cleaning your apartment while you are away. It is only a Class 1 drone but assembled with parts of your Class II catalogs it will still be fairly potent to all but the most heavily equipped invader.

    <What sort of basic combat?>

    It will have a sampling of your lightning in the form of a non-lethal stun, enhanced strength due to its nature, flight, and highly detailed sensory capabilities. In all it will cost two hundred and fifty points.

    <Alright, purchase it please.>

    Loot inbound!

    New Purchase: Class I Maintenance Nanite Kombat Yard Defender M.N.K.Y-D:

    Points reduced to: 2,184

    Before me a box the size of a dog shimmers into existence, surrounded by a glowing ring of runes and symbols.

    <Really Merlin, the theatrics? And what¡¯s with the name? You spelled combat wrong.>

    Did I though? Nonsense, and I thought you might appreciate the summoning circle.

    I just sighed and opened the box.

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    Within, sat a monkey with wings, but it did not end there; oh no! It was about two feet tall, had a prehensile tail, a sleek dark black mechanical look, no fur, purple runes circled around its skin in a shifting pattern. But the cherry on top? It had a little black fez hat and a black and white butler¡¯s shirt.

    <I can¡¯t even... Merlin, really? Can I change its appearance to something else, anything else!>

    I¡¯m afraid not, this is how it comes.

    <But It¡¯s made of nanites, can¡¯t I just reconfigure it?>

    You would think so, right? But nope, it is the way it is. Anyway it¡¯s scampered off to clean your apartment already.

    Indeed, while I was trying to keep my cool it had scampered off into the apartment.

    Not a moment latter I see it engage the first intruder in the kitchen, it zooms in on its wings slamming into the person¡¯s face. They get knocked over and they both collapse onto the floor. The person swears briefly, then I see a quick flash of light and the faint smell of ozone as it zaps the intruder. The monkey hops off quickly, leaving behind an unconscious idiot.

    It quickly takes flight and wings its way into the living room where the second person is digging through my couch. It spears itself into the persons back like an angry cannon ball. The woman let¡¯s out a loud oof and falls forward onto the shredded couch. Another zap, and they are knocked out too, I can see that they started to drool on the couch.

    The little monkey, wasting no time, zips off into the bedroom where the last person is kicking around my clothing on the ground. The monkey flips over delivering a flying-kick to the guy¡¯s gut. He lets out a grunt and folds around the monkey from the impact. One last zap and he is out of commission too.

    I have to give it to the little monkey; it is quick and did indeed clean up my apartment! Guess I can¡¯t be too mad at Merlin.

    <Okay, I¡¯m sold Merlin, we can keep it!>

    I¡¯m glad you see the value in it! Now what are you going to name it?

    <I uh¡­ how about Gary?>

    Gary it is!

    Gary grabbed the unconscious bodies and pilled them all up in the living room in a heap. It then started cleaning up the mess that was made by the invaders.

    <How does it know what it looked like before they tossed the place?>

    I provided Gary with a schematic of the apartment prior to the invasion. It will repair, replace, and clean everything back to normal. He will also keep the three interlopers from getting away until you decide what to do with them.

    <Fantastic! I think it¡¯s time for a bath!>

    I set all my gear aside and draw up a hot bubble bath and relax into it.

    Right, lets get into these emails. First up the school sent something, using my augs I access my mail and open the email.

    Dear Samurai, Morigana Luxanna,

    We are pleased to inform you that we have secured a more permanent teacher for the classes you have been subbing in for. We appreciate the time and effort you placed into educating these students. We hope that your new endeavors as a Samurai go well. Thank you for all you have done and bless your future fight against the Antithesis!

    Sincerely Principal Dr. Penelope Bandreas

    I sat there befuddled, they found someone else over the weekend. No way, they have been trying for a while now and now magically they have someone? No, I think the key here is the Samurai part, they clearly don¡¯t want a Samurai teaching their class. I can kind of understand, Samurai are notorious for going to extremes to get what they see as important done. Anything from assassinations, murders, theft, or any other measure to get the job done.

    That is hardly me though, I¡¯m not some deranged sociopath using only violence to get what I want done. Sure, I did some petty things at the Corp office, but nothing to hurt or kill anyone, and no one was in any danger by intent.

    What sucks is if I do something drastic like barge in, and force my way back in to teach, it will validate their belief to not let me teach the classes.

    Stupid school, I let out a sigh of frustration.

    I could very easily delete the emails existence and update the class rosters with your name as if nothing happened, Morigana.

    <No, that would be playing into what they fear, and at the end of the day, I want what¡¯s best for the students, not my own personal validation. I will try and show them that I can be the bigger person and figure something out.>

    Very well, but I could.

    I ignore Merlin and start up a reply.

    Dear Principal, Bandreas,

    I am glad that you have been able to find a permanent teacher for the school. I have enjoyed being able to provide a stable education for the students. Should you ever find the need for my services please let me know. I would be more than happy to come back and teach any time! I have been in touch with Handy Hank, a Samurai of some standing. He should be reaching out to provide support for the school in the form of better food and supplies at no cost to the school. Thank you for all your support.

    Vanguard Morigana Luxanna, Witch of the West

    Okay, one down, two left. I open up the one from my company. In it is a massive contract with expectations and a list of the supplies that they have been able to secure. It looks like they have added my stipulations, and, oddly enough, everything looks on the up-and-up. My guess is that they did not want to try and screw over a Samurai that could dismantle them in moments.

    I go ahead and sign the contract and send it back, looks like I will have plenty of time to design new toys for the company since I won''t be going back to teach.

    The last email from the Family proves to be the most interesting if not the least helpful.

    It¡¯s a collection of files from various Samurai that have had to deal with gangs in their local areas. There are more of them than I thought there would be. It could be that a lot of Samurai come from the lower end of society and live close to, or are even in gangs, at the time of initialization.

    Samurai Morigana Luxanna, Witch of the West,

    We are sorry to hear about your situation with a local gang in your area. Sadly, we do not involve ourselves in matters at that level unless it threatens vital infrastructure, or fighting the Antithesis. However, we do have several reports from other samurai that have had to handle gangs. We have included their reports, we hope you find this helpful. As always please feel free to reach out to us for anything.

    The Family

    Useless group of snobs, the lot of them!

    Well, let¡¯s see what they sent me. I open the first report.

    Location: Japan

    Gang: Triads

    Samurai: Raikiri

    Report: The Samurai known as Raikiri had his family murdered by the notorious gang called the Triads. Once he obtained the status of Samurai he relentlessly hunted down and slaughtered every member in existence. He then dragged every body into one location and used it as bait to draw out a large wave of Antithesis. He waited until they were all consumed before taking out the Antithesis and the hive they spawned from.

    Holy suns, that¡¯s brutal! I guess they take revenge seriously over there. But slaughtering an entire gang seems like a very time-consuming proposition, especially in a giant city like this. Next report!

    Location: New New York City

    Gang: Rafter Rats

    Samurai: Risky Rhino

    Report: The Samurai know as Risky Rhino was attempting to purge a large area of NNYC of Antithesis when he came across a building controlled by the Rafter Rats gang. They refused to permit him to save their ¡°servants¡± and wanted only themselves saved from the advancing hoard of Antithesis. He ignored them and saved all of their servants. He then stood back and watched the Antithesis tear apart the gang members then razed the building by destroying the supports and collapsing the building on the Antithesis, killing them all.

    Well, another case of eradicating the gang outright, I¡¯m starting to see a trend here. Kill them and be done with it.

    Next one.

    Location: Calgary, Undercity

    Gang: Void walkers

    Samurai: Teddy

    Report: The Samurai known as Teddy used her AI bear bots to invade the Void walkers¡¯ compound, killing most of them and displacing the ones not killed. The samurai did provide aid to those who put their weapons down and surrendered.

    This last one also had a transcript of an attempted interview of the Samurai.

    ¡°You want my advice on how to deal with gangs? Why the fuck would you want to do that?

    Fine. Here''s my guide in two easy steps. First, don¡¯t deal with them unless you absolutely need to. Most of them are just a small group of people that gathered together to protect themselves. They won¡¯t fuck with you if you don¡¯t fuck with them.

    if you absolutely have to deal with them, make sure you¡¯re in a position of power. Establish your position early, because if they sense weakness, they¡¯ll most likely take advantage.

    Happy now? What do you mean ¡®No¡¯. Well fuck you, that¡¯s all you¡¯re getting.¡±

    Clearly, they have some anger issues, or something against the Family or both? Who knows. There were a few more reports included, but I doubt they provide much else in guidance. It¡¯s clear that the only way they have been dealt with is with force.

    Your guests have started to awaken, how would you like to handle them?

    <I don¡¯t know but I guess it¡¯s time to figure it out then.>

    Sighing, I get out of the tub and dress back in my armor.

 Chapter 20 Taking out the Trash

    Once I was decked out in my armor again, I headed out to the living room where Gary was keeping a watchful eye on the guests.

    All three of them had regained consciousness and looked rather upset, in their current situation.

    ¡°Good morning sleepy heads, how was your nap?¡± I asked them using an overly chipper tone.

    ¡°So, who wants to tell me what you three were doing digging around in my apartment?¡± I asked them sweetly.

    The three looked at each other nervously but said nothing.

    ¡°Okey, lets try this again, this time if no one says something I will have Gary here, randomly zap one of you.¡± I said pointing at Gary, who playing up to the role cracked his knuckles threateningly.

    I could see the three start to sweat a bit and grimace at the thought of being zapped.

    The woman spoke first, well, girl, she did not seem to be much older than twenty.

    ¡°We sent tah crack a vibe, and see if we salvage Samurai tech laybouts yeh?¡± She said with what sounded like a lower city accent.

    Vegas had many sub-cultures and accents present in its vastness, you had the upper city rich people who spoke all fancy, your mid-tier normal folk who spoke the normal sounding English to my ears, you had the normal lower city who had mostly slang and whatnot, and then the undercity, who I¡¯ve rarely encountered so was not too sure on that one.

    These guys were clearly lower city slum, by the way she sounded. Which hinted to me that they were most likely part of the gang I¡¯d thwarted.

    ¡°Well, you can crack on back home and tell your leaders that I¡¯m not an easy target, they get exactly one warning. This one, if they come after me, or my friends at Juhnes, I will come upon them like a vengeful thunderstorm and vent my fury on their pathetic heads.¡± I said, from a normal tone slowly quieting down to a gentle whisper at the end.

    They all gulped almost at once. ¡°We wonna come back, promise!¡± The girl said.

    ¡°Just let us set away, yeh? We tell the boss okay.¡± She continued; the others nodded along with her.

    ¡°One last thing before I let you go, what is the name of your gang?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We are the Royal Tigers.¡± She said sitting up with some inflated pride, looking me dead in the eyes, as if she was trying to impress upon me the folly of my ways for crossing them.

    I just rolled my eyes back at her.

    ¡°Right, now don¡¯t let me see you again.¡± I said, releasing them, and not so gently shoving them out of my non-existing door.

    They scrambled to get out, and down the elevator.

    That went well, do you actually think they will leave you and Juhnes alone?

    <Not a chance, I¡¯m guessing I¡¯m about to fight a gang war to some degree. One I really don¡¯t want to have, I would rather not have to harm anyone. We have enough problems with a massive underground hive, having to solve petty issues like this seems like such a waste of time.>

    I agree, perhaps hiring a PMC to root them out? Or if you had a small army of your own to police them?

    <Merlin, I hardly have the points to spend on making some sort of army of anything. Plus, it all sounds so¡­ petty. I will let them make the first move. Oh, wait!>

    I sensed my drone swarm coming near my apartment, I could use that to follow these three back to where they came from and keep an eye on them!

    Mori, you are a genius!

    I quickly tag a small part of the swarm to follow each of them discreetly and have the rest patrol the outside of my building, keeping an eye on my ¡°car¡± and the building entrances.

    Very clever, I will help keep track of them, and if I notice them doing anything will alert you. In the meantime, I suggest food, your calorie intake is too low.

    <I am really starting to think you are trying to fatten me up for something. You keep mentioning food like I¡¯m going to waste away.>

    I would never try to make you fat, but your physical upgrades are nearly complete and you will need to replace a lot of calories from today¡¯s activities, and to account for all the additional energy needed to run a stronger bodily system. You will, on average, need to consume somewhere around ten thousand calories a day now.

    <Sweet baby stars, Merlin! I guess that makes sense though, I should have realized enhanced performance would come at a caloric increase. Can¡¯t make energy from nothing.>

    Well, that¡¯s not entirely true if you were to obtain some class IV catalogs there are indeed ways to create energy from nothing, but that¡¯s neither here nor there.

    <That is interesting, and what good does that do me when I don¡¯t even have access to class III catalogs? I¡¯m three days in and I doubt you will let me buy into those anytime soon.>

    That is correct, but it hardly hurts to look forward, does it? I have thought up some interesting systems for you in the future!¡±

    <Let¡¯s just worry about today, and tomorrow. In fact, let¡¯s talk about tomorrow. What do I need in order to start fabricating my own nanites, and designing my own blueprints for equipment?>

    Of course, the first thing you will need is the catalog for Nanite manufacturing, adequately called ¡°Class I Nanite Manufacturing technologies¡± for two hundred points. Then a class I nanite manufacturing swarm, they cost one thousand points. After that you can either attempt to assemble your own designs using or purchase blueprints, but even then, you can only make the most basic items.

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    <What do you mean, basic?>

    Well, as a Class I you only have access to basic nanites, they have limited capabilities and can¡¯t do anything you would call spectacular. There are however, nanite blueprints for specific different types. For example, your armor has several different types, like armor plating nanites, color changing nanites, power supply nanites, processing nanites, kinetic absorption nanites, recycling nanites, thermal energy absorbing nanites, molecular scrubbing nanites, and a few others.

    <Oh well stars be, what sort does the class I cover?>

    They are armor, power, processing, and color changing nanites. Those are the most basic and needed to fundamentally create anything. You will need additional nanite blueprints to construct other types, or upgrade to Class II for a token and a thousand points.

    <Oh wow, okay and how much do the blueprints cost to add types?>

    Each blueprint will cost two hundred points.

    <So, it¡¯s cheaper to unlock the class II catalog and construction swarm?>

    That is correct, however you hardly have the points to do that, so for the time being I would suggest the class I. I can tell you though that if you get the class I now, the cost to upgrade it to class II will be slightly discounted. However, the cost of the blueprints will not, so it would be a waste. But don¡¯t be discouraged, there are plenty of things the class I can make without them.

    <Well, I think perhaps we will go with the class I for now and play around with what I can make on my own. After all, I have to learn the basics first anyway. Walk before run and all that.>

    A good way to look at it indeed.

    <All right lets go ahead and unlock the catalog, but we will save buying the construction swarm for tomorrow at the office>

    A wise choice! Unlocking now.

    Class I Nanite Manufacturing Technology unlocked!

    Points reduced to:1,984

    <Excellent, thank you. Now lets see about repairing my apartment before bed.>

    Gary has it well in hand, it should only take a few hours to repair everything.

    <Well then, I guess it¡¯s time to stuff my face with calories then, I am rather hungry, and the MREs did not taste that good.>

    Excellent! I will leave you to it.

    I briefly watched Gary re-assemble my door and place it back on its hinges. Nodding in approval I head off to the kitchen to make some dinner.

    I quickly rummage through my pantry and fridge, pulling out some chicken, lemon, potato¡¯s, spices, snow peas. I cut them up, toss them in some tin foil and bake it in the oven.

    In about thirty minutes I will have a nice little meal.

    In the meantime, I sit on my newly repaired couch and turn on the TV, time to catch up on what transpires in the world.

    I flip on to the local news first.

    ¡°Reports are coming in from Beatty that the town was infested by Model Sevens. Nearly all of the population was taken over by them. Model Sevens specialty is infesting hosts and turning them into puppets for the Antithesis to control. Thankfully an up-and-coming Samurai pair was sent to clear the hive. The newly minted ¡°Witch of the West¡± a former teacher and tech developer, and ¡°Mordred¡± a Major from the Desert Fox PMC, rescued the remaining residents and destroyed the hive.¡±

    The screen shifts to an aerial view, showing myself and the Major fighting the Model Twenty-Three, the chameleon, and the hoard of smaller Antithesis. When it showed me using my chain lightning killing them off, it swapped back to the news caster.

    ¡°What a shocking display of new tech from our new Samurai. Both of them were selected by the Protectors during this last wave. This wave was particularly bad, being that the portals spawning them managed to manifest below the firing arc of most of the emplaced weapons. Hopefully this does not become a trend or we will need more Samurai in the streets to fend off the incursions.¡±

    Well, considering that there is a massive mega-hive sitting under our feet, something tells me that her worries are well founded. I switch the channel to something less depressing, the Discovery channel. Nothing quite as relaxing as watching about the world we live in and all its wonders.

    A soft ding announces the completion of my dinner, I grab it out of the oven using a mitt and place it on the stove. I stare at the mitt; do I need the mitt? I take it off and hesitantly reach out to the pan gently tapping it with a fingertip. It feels warm but does not burn, I place my hand on it firmly, and other than the warmth, it does not hurt or burn my skin. Neat!

    It''s like watching a child learning things are hot or not.

    <Hush you, I wasn¡¯t born able to do this, so I¡¯m having to re-learn my limits.>

    Of course, that makes sense.

    Even though I can¡¯t actually hear him, I can hear the mocking tone in his words, the jerk.

    I finish dinner, and some good TV and head for bed. Dropping my armor off at the counter, swapping into PJs, doing my nightly routine and flop onto the bed, snuggling into my blankets.

    Even though it¡¯s only soft blankets and pillows, nothing would dare come at me in the safety of my blanket fort, not even murphy.

    The next morning, I wake up to the blaring of my AI alarm clock in my head.

    Rise and shine little Samurai! It¡¯s time to start your first day in your new position! We have science to do!

    <You are far to chipper in the morning, Merlin.>

    Well, I have no one to bother while you''re sleeping. Do you have any idea how much time I experience while you sleep? I have computed millions of simulations of every event since we have met to analyze your actions, and to predict your future actions and needs. And that is just in the past twenty minutes.

    <Yes, yes I get it you¡¯re a super AI from outer space, now hush and let me eat breakfast.>

    *Sigh* So rude, my point was; you''re welcome for my awesomeness.

    <I appreciate your amazing help, sorry. I¡¯m not a morning person, and I am grumpy because instead of going to teach, I have to go to work.>

    Ah, yes but just think of it this way. You are helping protect those same children from the Antithesis by sciencing up new, to you, technologies!

    <You know, you''re right, thank you.>

    Of course.

    I go to the kitchen and whip up a quick breakfast of eggs, bacon, cheese, and triple it on three bagels.

    I notice my apartment is sparkling clean, and everything has been repaired, as if no one had ransacked the place just the night before. I also notice Gary is sitting on the couch watching TV.

    <Why is Gary watching TV?>

    Most likely because he¡¯s done cleaning and is bored, is that a problem?

    <Nope.>

    I finish my breakfast and watch the TV behind Gary, he has animal planet running, not that earth has a lot of animals left like it did a few hundred years ago. Good job humans destroying the environment, killing off everything. Well, to be fair, I guess the Antithesis did most of that, but we were on the path of doing it ourselves before they showed up.

    Finishing my three bagels, I toss the plate into the sink, get my armor from where I left it, the armor slithers around my person, configuring into my casual ware.

    ¡°Bye Gary, be good!¡± I said heading out the door.

    I make it out to the parking lot, and am faced with a real conundrum.

    Do I take my car, or the Witch Craft?

 Chapter 21 Lets get Crafting!

    I think it would be a good idea to impress upon my company my new Samurai status. Don¡¯t want them to think that just because I¡¯ve worked for them for a while that they can walk over me. Need to set a new first impression that they won¡¯t forget, and nothing says a new impression like screaming in at Mach 2 in a Vanguard tech level craft.

    My Witch Mobile is sitting unmolested in its spot looking like a dumpy pickup. I access its controls and revert it into its natural configuration. The nanites respond instantly reshaping itself into the sleek black and purple combat form.

    It¡¯s interesting how far I¡¯ve come as a Samurai in such a short time, here I am controlling some tech far more advanced than anything produced by humans with just a thought. And on that thought, how I wonder if my nanites are susceptible to hacking.

    <Merlin, how much of a risk is there of someone hacking into or taking control of my nanites?>

    While it is possible for another Samurai with sufficient catalogs and equipment, it would be very very difficult. Your nanites being class II are significantly hardened from EWAR and cyber threats. Another AI could do it. However, we would not exercise our power on another Samurai in that way. The opposing Samurai would have to do it themselves without aid. I would not worry too much about it, worst case scenario I would intervene and block them from taking over.

    <That¡¯s very sweet of you Merlin.>

    Think nothing of it! I already protect your augs from unwanted invasion and cyber threats. Granted almost nothing gets past your Class II augs anyway, but before they were upgraded, corps and other agencies have made attempts at gaining access to your old augs.

    <Wait what? Who? And why didn¡¯t you tell me?>

    Several entities, your current employer being one of them, a few other competitive corps of your employers, the local government, a few casinos. Like I said though nothing to worry about; its fairly standard for us AI to protect our charges in this way. I did not mention it because I did not want to distract you from the important tasks at hand. I should have mentioned it sorry; would you like a report every time it happens?

    I open the rear hatch to the Witch Craft and climb in, I check my staff and wand are secure in the locker behind the drivers cabin, then take my spot in the driver¡¯s seat. I strap in and initiate the startup sequence, setting the navigation system for work,

    <No, and I¡¯m sorry. I guess I should have realized something like that would happen. I remember even reading about it in several accounts from Samurai, I just never thought it would happen to me, you know? Perhaps a weekly report of the attacks would be nice, that way I can see who¡¯s after me.>

    Of course, that is reasonable. No need for apologies; we are a team, and good communication is paramount. I will be more forthcoming with information that you might find relevant.

    <Thank you, I appreciate it, Merlin.>

    In the email from work they mentioned that I will be working from the secure off-site facility instead of the old one I was at. Something about wanting to provide additional security.

    The location they sent me was out in the middle of the desert surrounded by nothing and more nothing. I deftly maneuver up into the air, in the email it provided a route to take to avoid traveling directly to the facility, so if anyone followed or tracked me it would confuse them, and avoided flying directly to it.

    I quickly hit the top speed and blitz my way over the city at a safe altitude to avoid shattering windows and colliding with other traffic.

    Due to the round-about way of travel it took me fifteen minutes to arrive at the designated facility. The building was little more than a concrete parking-garage randomly sticking up out of the desert. There was a fairly large sized door on each side of the cube building allowing vehicles in and out. Unlike a normal parking garage though, none of it was exposed to the outside, it was entirely encased in concrete.

    There were also gun emplacements evenly spaced around the roof top and side walls. The facility also had a forty-foot concrete wall surrounding it with its own gun emplacements. A fortress is what it is, or a bunker. I¡¯ve heard of this place, but was never granted access, or even given its location.

    Unfortunately, there was no one around to be impressed by my spiffy new ride, maybe the security cameras around the place would be enough to show it off.

    I brought the Witch Craft up to one of the doors, and sent the codes included in my contract. The giant door split down the middle and slid into the walls, granting me access to the interior. I slipped inside and quickly scanned down a suitable parking spot near one of the access points that led below.

    I deftly maneuvered the craft into a parking spot and settle it down gently between the lines of three parking spaces. Nothing like asserting dominance by taking up a load of space.

    I made my way over to the nearest elevator. I had to provide it a retinal scan, thumbprint and I could tell it also had a bio scanner. The door hissed open and revealed a simple little elevator with a minigun hanging down from the ceiling. I stepped in, the door closed behind me and the elevator started it¡¯s descent. From what I could tell, it knew what area I¡¯m to be working from.

    Clever security system, giving no one the chance to go somewhere they don¡¯t belong. Although¡­ I reached out with my augs to find any remote access controls. I quickly sensed that there was, I¡¯m guessing for management, so they could check on projects.

    I¡¯m no hacker but with my Class II augs I quickly broke through their security and found the options for floors and, and the bio-information for who can access the floors, but other than that, there is nothing about what is being researched. I saw my credentials will take me down to sub-basement seventeen, out of thirty-two floors.

    The elevator eventually comes to a stop and the doors open with a soft ding.

    The elevator opened directly into a huge open space, my sensor suite instantly tells me that it¡¯s a hundred feet by a hundred feet, and thirty feet tall. The space is not entire empty, along one wall is a much larger door, and stacked around it are pallets of ingots of varies kinds, and other materials in raw form. These would be the materials that Merlin told them I would need to start working on projects.

    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    In the middle of the room there were several worktables and a desk with a computer set up on it, and an expensive looking office chair.

    <Well, Merlin, it looks like they sent the raw supplies, but other than that this place is bare bones.>

    Indeed, but the great thing about nanites, is you can use them to make whatever things you need that are missing.

    <True enough, well no time like the present to get started. Can you go ahead and order up the nanite construction swarm?>

    Naturally, loot inbound!

    New Purchase: Class I Nanite Manufacturing Swarm:

    Points reduced to: 1,004

    In the middle of the room a large spinning circle of runes and lights appeared. Glowing light pulses out from the middle and slowly a black cauldron formed in its center. The cauldron was five feet around and about three feet tall, I peek inside and see a viscous looking goop bubbling away inside it.

    Simply touch the cauldron to initiate the control interface install, then you will be in business!

    <So, I don¡¯t need any external interface, like a computer or whatever?>

    None at all! Your augs are more advanced than any non-samurai tech on the planet, and even then, it is likely more advanced than the majority of Samurai since they seem to have an aversion to upgrading support systems, in favor of things that go boom.

    I reached out and placed a hand on the cauldron, as soon as I made contact, I felt the data flowing into my augs.

    The interface immediately manifested in my mind, showing me the available nanite types, swarm count, available blueprints, materials in range, and a bunch of other options. If it was not for my augs I¡¯m sure it would have been overwhelming.

    I had wondered how I would get the raw materials over into the cauldron, but it looks like the nanite swarm would gather it and drag it into the cauldron and construct the nanites there.

    Right then let¡¯s get to designing stuff!

    I showed Mr. Vanderik the nanite armor first, so I think that would be a good place to start and it should be fairly simple.

    I only have access to the basic nanites, so anything I make will be at best Class I, but I¡¯m thinking something closer to like Class 1/2.

    For my first project, it would be bad if I unleashed some sort of super armor and inadvertently kicked off some sort of tech war.

    Over the next few hours, I immersed myself into the design interface, experimenting with how the nanites interacted and shaped the objects they made. Studying the way, they shifted the different nanite types to form a functioning object. The armor/defensive nanites seemed to naturally shift and flow over the support type nanos. They always ensured that even though the armor was moving or taking damage that they tried to present themselves to the outside.

    Initially I wanted to make something that the corp could manufacture and sell, but I think I want to maintain control of the production, and if I¡¯m going to do that, I need to be able to produce on a larger scale.

    <Merlin, can I have the swarm manufacture more of itself to increase output levels?>

    Yes, and no. You would need to unlock the Class I Nanite Manufacturing Nanite blueprint, for five hundred points. Then you can duplicate them, to increase your output levels.

    <Let¡¯s go ahead and do that please.>

    Of course, installing now into your nanites.

    New Purchase: Class I Nanite Manufacturing Nanite blueprint:

    Points reduced to: 504

    In the control interface I see the new type of nanite appear for construction.

    There appears an option to make more, and next to it shows how many I can create given the supplies on hand. I don¡¯t want to exhaust all my supplies making more of these but I definitely want more to be able to produce faster.

    I adjust the quantity and set it to essentially quadruple the available construction nanites.

    The swarm instantly begins to bubble out of control in the cauldron, several of the bubbles shot out of the cauldron and quickly floated over to the raw materials, they pressed up to them and enveloped several ingots and other supplies. Somehow the delicate bubbles managed to float up and back to the cauldron with several tons of materials, depositing them into the viscous goop.

    The nanites went nuts, they swarmed around the materials causing them to glow a cherry red and melted into the goo. The nanites swarmed and swelled in a hypnotic pattern, sparks and bright lights flashed out of the cauldron.

    I have to take a step back because the cauldron starts to grow in size as it creates more nanites, adding them into the mass, and interestingly the new nanites start creating more of themselves in a cascade effect, and within the span of twenty minutes the cauldron is four times bigger than it was before.

    With that taken care of, I go back to tinkering with my first suit of armor for the everyday infantry. I want it to be protective, light, easily repaired, and capable of being adjusted on the field to fit the soldiers need,

    It has to also be simple enough that even without advanced augs it can be manipulated.

    I take inspiration from the normal camo fatigues that I see the soldiers have underneath their actual body armor, if they can go into combat with less weight, and more protection it will be a net gain. More mobility, able to travel and operate with less fatigue, and able to carry more of other items that can help them, like ammo, weapons, or even food and water.

    I don¡¯t know how much time I spent in the design interface, but sometime later Merlin interrupted my work.

    Morigana, it¡¯s probably time to call it a day. It¡¯s nearly 6PM, you have been at this non-stop.

    <Whoa, really?>

    I check my internal clock and realize he¡¯s right. I¡¯ve been at this for hours and did not even notice. I look at the progress that I¡¯ve made and I¡¯ve only managed to assemble and design the basic outline of the nanite lattice for the armor, and this is just one of the forms that I want pre-loaded into the armor.

    Sighing, I get up to leave, this is going to take longer than I thought.

    Do not be discouraged, Morgiana, this is no easy task for even the most advanced earth technology. You have gotten more done than my prediction models suggested you would in the time span.

    <Really? Your models were off? By what like .1%?>

    Uh well, you see¡­ oh look at the time you should get home and eat, you need more calories!

    <Merlin! How far off was your prediction?>

    Ugh, fine you were ahead of the model by 0.00001%. Happy?

    <Wow, okay not sure if I should be flattered or be mad for underestimating me.>

    Definitely flattered! You are above average for Samurai performance at this stage in your Vanguard career.

    <Right, let¡¯s just go home and eat then. I know how much you want to see me get fat.>

    Oh for¡­ I don¡¯t want you fat! Your caloric intake is too low for your physical needs.

    <I know, I¡¯m messing with you, calm your processors.>

    I leave the room, and ensured it is locked behind me.

    I got into the elevator and it automatically started moving up to the parking area. After a few seconds the doors ding open, letting me out into the parking area. I quickly find the Witch Craft and load in setting my navigation system for home.

    I deftly maneuvered my ride to exit the structure, clearing the opening doors at around 700MPH, just shy of the sound barrier.

    The sensors on the Witch Craft immediately send off an alarm in my mind, right as I passed over the compounds outer fence line.

    Out in the desert north of the compound a massive return from the sensors indicated a wave of flying objects twenty-two miles out.

    I focus the sensors into the area and the resolution increase showing individual returns. Antithesis, thousands of flying units, Model Ones, Model Twos, Model Elevens all of them heading this way.

    <Well Merlin, it¡¯s time to test the combat ability of the Witch Craft.>

    Indeed it is, there is little risk of your ship being destroyed, and it is fully capable of killing the models in that swarm. However, by my estimates, there is a probability of about 52% of the hoard slipping past while you try and kill them. I suggest perhaps alerting the others.

    <A wise idea, if you can reach out to Hank while I start killing these off, that would be great.>

    Naturally.

    While Merlin called Hank, I pointed the Witch Craft at the approaching horde, decelerate to more manageable speeds, and warm up the weapon systems and targeting sensors.

 Chapter 22 An Angel by Any Other Name

    Filtering through the scanner return I try and get a better look at what is approaching, and how many. Other than the fact that it¡¯s several thousand individual Antithesis that is. Which on the surface sounds super scary but, being that they are mostly Model Ones, and Two¡¯s, I¡¯m not worried about them as much as the Model Elevens scattered through the formation. In moments I decipher the information, the majority of the Elevens are clustered around the middle of the formation in a ball.

    The ball is super dense though, and with all the flapping wings and moving bodies, it¡¯s a challenge to figure out exact numbers of anything. I am also starting to suspect they have some sort of ECM field going on, being that my sensor systems are class II, I should be able to see more than this.

    <Merlin, do you have a good count of the Model Elevens?>

    Kind of, I¡¯m limited to your sensors and the satellites above. I¡¯m seeing forty-two of them with a margin of error of 15% or so.

    <That¡¯s a lot of flying power in one area.>

    It is, indeed, I¡¯m curious as to why they are here. Normally flying units are accompanied by portals, spawning ground units in a populated area.

    <You got me, you¡¯re the super advanced AI with how many years of experience dealing with the Antithesis?>

    Yes, but the Antithesis have this nasty habit of evolving and adapting new strategies and models. For your information, I am not as old as you think I am! I am one of the newer generations of AI, I am only four hundred thousand years old, give or take a few.

    <Forgive my rudeness.> I roll my eyes.

    You know, I can see you rolling your eyes, I am not that old!

    <Sure, sure, Grandpa Merlin.>

    You know what, hush you!

    Ignoring any more comments from the peanut gallery, I focus in on the ship¡¯s weapons. I dive into the targeting matrix for the chain lightning system, building the complex pathways needed to connect the electrons to each other to make the cascade needed to create the plasma. This time I am prepared for the mental load that comes with using the weapon. What also is helping is the additional computing power of the Witch Craft giving me an entire ships worth of additional computing power. I am also only focusing on the Model Elevens; the smaller models are not worth the energy required to target them.

    Instead, once the lightning arcs are planned, I¡¯m going to use the fireball launchers to saturate the area in fiery death! While doing this I am also managing the ships speed, maintaining the same relative speed and distance compared to the location of the swarm.

    After a what feels like a few minutes I¡¯m finally happy with the pathways for the lightning emitters. I give the final mental command to begin the energy cascade. The effect is immediate!

    CRACCKK-THWOOOM!!

    Lightning bursts out of the ship''s emitters sending a lightning storm of death and destruction into the swarm¡¯s heart. The craft''s windows briefly darken to protect my eyes from the blinding plasma. In the few seconds the lightning exists it lights up the darkness the swarm was creating with its volume. It creates dark shadows and chaos like some sort of apocalyptic storm sweeping the horizon.

    Holy Stars, I don¡¯t think it will ever be boring watching this weapon work.

    Large masses of the formation begin to fall out of the sky like meteors.

    Your strike was successful 100% of the Model Elevens were eliminated in some way or another. As well as 18% of the lower Model Ones and Twos. Impressive first strike!

    With the primary targets down, I gun the engines at the swarm. I bring up the targeting system for the fireballs and unleash indiscriminate fiery doom on them!

    With mental commands I start maneuvering the craft around the swarm maintaining a healthy distance. My ship may be tough, but I don¡¯t want to overstress it by flying into the swarm.

    I fire off fireballs into the large groupings of the flying models. Huge swaths of them incinerate, ignite, burn, or otherwise combust in some way. A wicked smile crosses my lips as the carnage escalates rapidly, I may have even let out a cackle of joy as the swarm size begins to shrink.

    Just when I thought I was getting this swarm down to size, my good friend Murphy reared his ugly head.

    The center of the swarm opened up. The giant mass that I could not get through parts itself, exposing the heart of it.

    A massive green tentacle covered sphere emerges out from it. It¡¯s roughly a hundred feet across, and I literally I cannot see past the carpet of massive tentacle¡¯s covering every inch of its surface. That is until it opens its massive maw that bisects the sphere down the middle, revealing jagged spears that the creature probably would call teeth, each one at least twenty feet tall.

    <Merlin, what in the stars name is this Lovecraftian horror?>

    You know, that¡¯s a good question and, perhaps we should find out?

    <Let¡¯s maybe see if Hank would come help with this, is he still on the line?>

    ¡°Hey, Missy! I¡¯ve been watching and figured you were doing well and reckoned I¡¯d let you do your business. Merlin says you wanted to talk though, yeh?¡± Hank said over the line.

    ¡°Yes, do you see this thing that just popped out of the swarm? Any idea what it is?¡± I asked, concern and worry edging into my voice.

    ¡°Nope, can¡¯t say that I do, but you know it ain''t much surprise that we see something new. The Antithesis I think have been using Vegas as sort of a proof of concept for new models.¡± He said with his drawl.

    Thankfully I¡¯ve been keeping my distance from the Cthulhu like creature, while continuing my barrage of fireballs.

    While we are talking the monster opens its giant mouth exposing its massive teeth and tongue, it spits it at me, easily breaking the sound barrier, as it forms a concussive vapor cone. I quickly jerk my ship out of the way managing to avoid the tongue harpoon by maybe twenty feet, that may sound like a lot, but at these speeds it¡¯s a near hit!

    Frick, that thing is long and fast! I was keeping a healthy distance of about a mile from the center!

    ¡°That looks like a handful, Mori. Do you need some help?¡± Hank asks, sounding like a worried parent.

    ¡°I think¡ª" I grunt, while dodging another tongue lashing. ¡°That I¡¯m okay¡±. I say between maneuvers.

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    I focus my emitters on the creature and route multiple lightning strikes through its body, arcing into lower models surrounding it and back in.

    Not spending much time on it, I send the cascade. Bright flashes of lightning pulse out of the ship emitters, striking the creature. It does not seem to be having too much effect on it, just burning through tentacles, and passing through it.

    I set up multiple strikes on it, over and over. Lightning fills the sky like an angry tempest. Barely dodging another tongue strike, I also set up my fireballs and unleash a salvo into the creatures¡¯ sides. The explosions rock the sky incinerating huge swaths of its tentacles.

    I wait, holding my breath as the smoke clears, to see if I got it. Out of the smoke comes a strike from its tongue! It rams into the side of the Witch Craft puncturing right through the point defense shielding and into the hull. Sheering off the left side of my ship.

    ¡°Ack! It hits hard, Hank, maybe some help is needed.¡± I gasp trying to get control over my ship as it loses altitude from the hit. I rapidly re-distribute the remaining nanites to cover the sections that were destroyed, shrinking the overall size of the craft to compensate.

    I pull out of the dive a mile over the ground, I look out in time to dodge another attack from the sphere.

    ¡°Hang in there, Mori, I¡¯m sending help!¡± Hank practically shouts.

    ¡°Sooner is better, Hank! I don¡¯t know if I can take any more hits like that!¡± I said in a panic.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Little Witch, I¡¯m sending someone who specializes in quick rescue work. You¡¯re in good hands, just hold on for a few more minutes.¡± He says calmly. He is definitely trying to reassure me and calm me down. ¡°You¡¯re doing good work, just keep dodging them attacks and try and get some distance.¡±

    Ack, duh! I turn the Witch Craft away and hit the throttle to max speed. I zip off over the mountains at 1500MPH.

    Mori, watch out! Merlin shouts into my head.

    Too late! The creatures mouth opened even wider and, within, a glowing blue energy orb expands up and out of its maw then explodes!

    A pulse of energy sweeps out from it like a nuclear bomb, the wave overtakes me and the ship goes suddenly dark. All the systems fail, and the nanites lose cohesion, separating into a fine dust.

    Thankfully, the ship seems to have protected my body-armor from the pulse and it hasn¡¯t fallen off me. That¡¯s good, considering that I¡¯m now falling over an empty expanse of desert mountains!

    <Merlin, can my upgrades protect me from a fall at terminal velocity?>

    Yes, you should survive the fall, although it will be unpleasant, as you might expect.

    <That¡¯s something, I guess, oh wait!> I check my armors systems and everything seems to be functioning, including my portal.

    <Okay, let¡¯s try to exploit my portal, and kill off my inertia to get me onto the ground faster.>

    Clever, Mori, is clever!

    Ignoring his snark, I set up a portal and launched myself vertically into the air. Once I hit the apex of ''falling up'' I activate a new portal at ground level horizontally and popped out on the ground at a walking pace.

    <Tah-dah!>

    Nice, now focus! The giant Antithesis monster is almost over-head and it is looking for you.

    Looking up I see the flying swarm drifting over my position, blotting out the sun. Not good! In a panic I reach into my armor and grab out the teleport puck that Hank gave me and activate it.

    Nothing happens. Well not nothing, Cthulhu and his buddies are swarming over me like a tentacle tornado of clashing teeth and horror.

    ¡°Hank, you still there?¡± I asked on the line.

    My voice is met with silence. <Merlin, what¡¯s going on?>

    It seems there is some strong residual electronic interference that is blocking everything. The big hentai tentacle monster appears to have some intense ECM abilities that rivals Class III or IV equipment, rather impressive really.

    <Great, you be impressed while it eats me. And why are you watching hentai on your free time?>

    I just happen to have consumed all of earth''s media ever created, and that is currently being created, it¡¯s not my fault if an alarmingly large portion of it is tentacle porn¡­

    <We need to talk about your references later when I¡¯m not about to be eaten.>

    If you say so.

    With nothing better to do, since my staff and wand were both on the Witch Craft, so who knows where they went, I set up and jump through a portal several hundred feet towards the town. The range seems a bit more limited than normal, but using line of sight I can still summon a portal. I¡¯m guessing that,because it cuts through dimensions, it is less affected by the ECM.

    <I need some options here, Merlin, how many points do I have now?>

    After your assault on the swarm you are sitting at, six thousand one hundred and seventy-four, and seven tokens.

    <Great, I need something that will, frick, I don¡¯t even know, kill a god?>

    While I would hardly call it a god, we do have some options that might do the trick. Fire seemed to be able to do some damage, we could try rapidly circulating the air, and introducing a fiery element into it, that will compound in its intensity through rapid spinning and extreme oxygen consumption.

    <Are you talking about making a fire tornado?>

    Precisely!

    While we were conversing small squadrons of Model Ones and Twos start pelting my location via suicide bombing. I make short hops with my portals to dodge the incoming missiles.

    <I find the idea both fascinating and horrifying! Tell me more.>

    Well simple really, there is a, well, it¡¯s a staff now, that will adjust the local temperature in both hot and cold extremes, forcing the air into a controlled vortex that is based on your position. We will then introduce a combustible gas into the mixture and ignite it. The resulting fire will intensify the winds and exponentially increase, the fire¡¯s temperature, vortex size, and wind speed.

    Before I could ask more about this new, potentially overly destructive, toy, I see a golden streak of fire come arcing from what looks like the upper atmosphere. Like a small meteor, aimed right at the hentai monster. Fricken Merlin! Now my thoughts are even calling it that; the Cthulhu monster!

    So, what new fresh heck are the Antithesis dropping on me now, one demi-god creature isn¡¯t enough?

    Instead of speeding up like physics suggests it should, it starts to slow down as it approaches the monster. Cthulhu takes notice of it too, and fires it¡¯s tongue harpoon at it. The thing takes a direct hit, or it appears to.

    Either the tongue pierced the object, or the object grabbed the tongue, but both head back towards Cthulhu and rocket back into the things mouth.

    <Merlin, what just happened?>

    I would say that Hank¡¯s help has arrived, or that is one crazy meteor.

    Moments later several of its teeth get pushed out of its mouth through its skin with quite a bit of velocity. Massive slits appear all over its body, tentacles drop off like giant vine ropes.

    One of those lumps bursts out spewing ichor and gore several hundred feet out into the desert, along with it comes a human sized flying fireball. With the explosion of gore and whatnot, my sensor suite kicks on and picks up what the object is clearly.

    It¡¯s a person in armor, and the fire spewing out the back upon better inspection are actually wings of white and gold! In one hand they are carrying a massive flaming greatsword, the blade is almost six feet long, no normal human could probably even lift it. They swing around and face off against Cthulhu again.

    But instead of coming in to fight again, Cthulhu actually turns and starts to run away with the rest of its swarm. My angel winged savior starts to give chase but instead they pull out some sort of gun and fire it at Cthulhu before retreating back towards me on the ground. In a spectacular display of grace and control they gently set down In front of me barely even disturbing the dirt at their feet.

    Before me stands the most beautiful woman I¡¯ve ever seen in my life.

    Standing seven-foot-tall rippling with muscle, she looks Samoan with her caramel mocha skin, broad hips, deep black hair, with soulful hazel eyes, and a stunning figure that would drive anyone mad. She¡¯s cladded in white and gold armor, fire red wings sprouting from her back, in one hand the greatsword, and on her back some sort of rifle.

    ¡°G¡¯day, lass! I heard that there was a damsel in distress! I am the Samurai Valkyrie and I am here to help.¡± She said, with a thick Old Zealand accent and a heart-stoppingly beautiful smile.

 Chapter 23 Chef Monkey Pants

    ¡°G¡¯day, lass! I heard that there was a damsel in distress! I am the Samurai Valkyrie and I am here to help.¡± She said, with a thick Old Zealand accent and a heart stoppingly beautiful smile.

    She called you a damsel!

    <Hush you, can¡¯t you see the grownups are busy.>

    I¡¯m old enough to be your¡­ wait a minute!

    <Walked into that one, point Mori.>

    ¡°You look in one piece, my med scanners don¡¯t detect any immediate threats to your health.¡±

    ¡°Uhm, thanks.¡± I said feeling like a low rent side chick compared to this woman. Not only did she take the Cthulhu monster on, she did it with a sword! There has got to be more to her than what is on the surface.

    ¡°How did you do that? That tongue attack speared through my class II shields, and ship like it was tissue paper. Then here you come and just grab it with your hands and then punch through its face with nothing but a sword!¡±

    She grins, and lets out a hearty laugh, swinging her sword and slamming it into the dirt. She placed her hands on her hips, leaning into the side like a super model.

    ¡°I have invested heavily into personal upgrades for my body, I¡¯m technically not human anymore.¡± She said patting her lean stomach.

    ¡°I replaced my entire body with a synthetic-metallic-carbon based alloy, that uses quantum tunneling to maintain the bodily functions required to run it. The tech is under a Class IV catalog, it also gives me the strength to dead lift one hundred and fifty tons or so.¡± She said in her adorable accent, while flexing her arms.

    My jaw was stuck open, with a cheeky grin she reached up and closed it for me.

    ¡°Anyway, was there anything else that needed handling? You able to get back to the city on your own?¡± She asked, looking around at the piles of dead Antithesis rotting in the setting sunlight. ¡°Or a hand with cleanup maybe?¡±

    <Merlin, is my ship repairable, or do I need to buy a new one?>

    Give me a moment, I¡¯m trying to establish a connection with the nanites, they should ¨C Ah! Got them, assembling the Witchcraft now. Good news, I recovered 93% of the nanites, also your staff and wand!

    Around me a fine black mist rose up from the ground, and by around, I mean several miles around! Evidently, they spread out over a wide area.

    ¡°It looks like I will have a way home after all, and I can handle cleanup with my ship, thank you.¡± I said to the Valkyrie. She nodded and watched along with me as my ship slowly rebuilt itself next to me.

    ¡°That¡¯s a neat trick, I¡¯ve always wanted to mess with Nanites but I always find myself preferring to punch things into submission instead of all that fancy stuff. Can¡¯t disable my fist through their face with any EMP gimmick, yah know?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, and perhaps I need my own answer for situations that my normal gear and bag of tricks might fail me.¡±

    She walks over to the Witchcraft, placing a hand on its hull and sliding it along the smooth exterior. ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful ship you have, don¡¯t feel too bad. Everyone has a weakness, that under the right situations, can be exploited or taken advantage of.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I just like to be as prepared as possible, that¡¯s why I like the nanites. They provide a very versatile weapon system that can be adapted to most situations. I will have to work with my AI, Merlin, to come up with a plan to prevent this from happening in the future.¡± I said, watching her walk around my ship in a circle.

    When she came back around the front she was smiling. ¡°I need to get back on station in case anyone else needs a rescue, sending my info over to your AI, should you need a rescue in the future.¡± She said, spreading her wings wide. ¡°Oh and, here is the tracking data on your Hentai monster.¡± She said with a wink, my augs pinging with a message and the data. .

    Why is everyone calling this thing my Hentai monster! I had no hand in its creation or its presence near me! Also, does everyone watch that stuff ?Good stars above!

    Before I could comment on her accusation, she flaps her fiery wings and launches into the sky like a small star.

    Well, okay then, looking around at the mess of flying Antithesis around me, I let out a sigh. Better get started cleaning up all the bodies before they turn into hives or seed into some other horror.

    Climbing into the re-formed Witchcraft, I set it to hover, and using the scanner suite that was working again, I used it to find all the Antithesis bodies and blast them with fireballs to ensure nothing survived.

    I fly around the battlefield and start cleansing the large swath of desert of every bit of alien goop that I can find.

    After about twenty minutes I have an epiphany. Why am I doing this at all? I have catalogs for nanite drone swarms! Surely something in one of them could do this without my needing to be here, it¡¯s not like this gets me any points.

    <Merlin! I need some sort of Antithesis cleansing drone swarm to do this for me.>

    Right you are, got just the thing, and I¡¯m surprised it took you this long to think of it really.

    <Whatever, it¡¯s been a long day, just out with it will you.>

    Of course, best bang for the buck option we have the Antithesis Sanitation Swarm, they will scour the area and collect the biomass left and process it down to base elements and deliver it to your cauldron to use as raw resources.

    <That is an awesome idea, and how much will they cost?>

    Only two hundred and fifty points.

    <Let¡¯s go ahead and order it up then.>

    Righto, loot inbound!

    New Purchase: Class Two Nanite A.S.S. Cleaner

    Points reduced to: 5924

    <MERLIN, THAT IS NOT AN ACCIDENT.>

    I have no idea what you¡¯re referring to, do you not like your new swarm?

    <I¡­ can¡¯t just... oh my stars, just have it start cleaning up this mess please.>

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    A box about the size of a motorcycle appears in front of me, without any ceremony I open the side to reveal the new swarm.

    It¡¯s nothing spectacular, looks like a giant mosquito, one of the most prevalent bugs in the world, and not even the Antithesis were able to kill them off.

    It lifts off with a low buzzing noise and immediately zips out the back of the Witchcraft, before dispersing into a billowing cloud of chaos.

    The drone will systematically search the area with a 10% buffer of expected over-search to ensure nothing accidently went out farther.

    <Great, then lets head home.>

    Pointing my poor banged up ship home, I set a leisurely pace back home, I¡¯ve had enough fast-paced nonsense today.

    On my augs I get a call from Devoy! A smile instantly plants itself on my face without me even realizing it.

    I quickly answer the call.

    ¡°Hello Little Witch, I heard from Hank that you got in a spot of trouble today. I hope all went well? Since you are answering the phone, I¡¯m guessing so.¡± He said sounding both concerned and confident.

    ¡°Since becoming a Samurai it has been nearly a daily occurrence to run into trouble.¡± I replied back to him, with a bit of a sigh at the end.

    ¡°So, yes, trouble, but I had a plan in place to handle it. It was quite a spectacle to see Valkyrie in action though. I¡¯ve heard of her, but whoa, seeing her in person was something else entirely.¡± I said, fangirling a bit, it''s not every day you get to bump into some of the big Samurai.

    ¡°I bet you did, you do think quick on your feet, taking out that turtle yesterday was quite impressive.¡± He said.

    ¡°I know, aren¡¯t I just amazing.¡± I said with a cheeky grin that he couldn¡¯t see.

    ¡°Hah, yea, that you are. Anyway, I just wanted to call and see if you were alright, and you did not need anything.¡±

    ¡°Nope, all fine, and other than needing a nice soak, I¡¯m good.¡± I said.

    ¡°Okay, then how about¡­¡± He paused, taking in a breath, then let it out before continuing. ¡°Maybe dinner, you know, to help you unwind?¡±

    I was stunned into silence. Me? Dinner? With the mountain? Oh my, oh my, what do I do?

    I can almost hear your inner panic Mori, repeat after me.

    I would love to.

    ¡°I would love to.¡± I said sounding like a robot.

    I¡¯m a big blunder-faced goofball.

    ¡°I¡¯m a¡­ bit of a mess, so maybe tomorrow?¡±

    <Nice try Merlin, trying to get me in trouble!>

    It was worth a shot, hah!

    With an amused sounding chuckle, he replied. ¡°That sounds great, I will come and pick you up after you get off work then. Speaking of work, how was your first day in your new position?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s save it for tomorrow, and then I¡¯ll have two days of boring stuff to tell you instead of one.¡± I said back to him. Can¡¯t dish out every bit of boring to him at once, or else we won¡¯t have anything to talk about. Then again, I guess there is always Samurai type stuff to talk about.

    He laughs. ¡°Fair enough, I will see you tomorrow then.¡± He said, then the call ends.

    Masterfully handled, you''re welcome for the rescue.

    <I hardly needed a rescue. It just caught me a bit off guard. Going from fighting hordes of evil aliens to a dinner invite, throws a girl off, you know?>

    I suppose for a simple carbon-based life form like your self I can see that.

    <Simple! I will have you know I am not some simple anything. I know that I am top tier of human excellence!>

    Indeed, you are, but that¡¯s not saying much compared to the rest of the universe.

    <I don¡¯t care about them, it¡¯s enough to worry about our little marble.>

    True enough, well then let¡¯s get you home then.

    The trip home does not take too long even at the more leisurely pace that I took. Upon exiting the Witchcraft, I set it to its dumpy truck disguise and head into my apartment.

    Gary is in the same place I saw him last, watching TV. The news is on, and it¡¯s showing the horizon and a swarm of flying Antithesis. I see flashes of lightning and explosions covering the screen, and I can see a dark shape flitting around, occasionally lightning or fire explodes out from it. My Witchcraft, I know what it is because it was me doing it.

    The screen flips over to a woman dressed in business casual, standing there talking.

    ¡°This was the scene not too long ago, we are getting info saying that the newly ascended Samurai known as ¡°The Witch of the West¡± was fighting off a massive aerial wave of Antithesis, when a new, previously unseen model, emerged from it ¡±

    The scene flicks back, and sure enough, the massive tentacle monster emerges and starts swatting at me. It follows the fight until I tried to run, and it unleashes the EMP blast and the footage goes dark.

    ¡°As you can see, the blast took out our cameras and it is unclear how the Samurai fared. We do know that the wave of Antithesis was turned back, cameras mounted on the weapons on the near mountains saw the wave flying away.¡±

    It switches to some low-quality footage of the swarm retreating back out into the desert. Oddly there is no mention of the Valkyrie or any images of her in the area.

    Gary looks back at me from the couch, sees that I¡¯m there watching, shrugs and turns back around.

    ¡°Gary, why don¡¯t you be a good helper monkey and make me some dinner?¡± I tell him.

    He looks back at me, and with some reluctance, gets up and moves over to the kitchen where I can hear him banging pots and pans around unnecessarily loud.

    With a sigh, I head directly to the bathtub, strip off my armor and underthings, and slide into a nice hot bath.

    The hot bath triggers a question that¡¯s been bugging me a bit that I had not really thought of in the moment. Merlin was about to unlock a Class III catalog for me, in order to kill off the Cthulhu monster, which not long ago he said he would not.

    Would he still do so now?

    <Merlin, question.>

    Yes, Morigana?

    <During that fight, you were about to unlock the Fire Tornado tech, a class III catalog of stuff?

    Yes¡­ and?

    <Why then, and not earlier? What changed?>

    Well, you were in very real danger from that new model. While it is possible some combination of your current tech could have handled it. I concluded that the Class III tech would be more capable and more likely to succeeded, with a lower risk to yourself and the civilian populace.

    <Is that really it? No other reason?>

    I suppose I trust your levelheaded choices and believe that you are less likely to abuse higher tech levels wantonly. So, I was prepared to open those technologies to you.

    <What about now, the only risk I¡¯m facing right now is raisin fingers.>

    I have spent several seconds thinking about it, and I have a question for you first.

    <Yeah? Okay, what is it?>

    Do you think you are ready for class III technologies? These catalogs are drastically farther ahead than what any human tech on this planet can reproduce and its misuse can cause lasting and sometimes subtle damage to eco systems, tech, economies, and have even made some Samurai power crazy.

    I was taken back by his question and lapsed into silence. I considered the question from all sides.

    I was already devastated by the use of the bomb in the mines and the un-intended side effects it had, and the risks that I did not consider in its use. What sort of things could I miss with using something strong enough to change the entire landscape for miles? A fire Tornado could cause a massive swell in heat, igniting air, causing spin off tornados, melting the sand into a glass wasteland. Destroying the environment of anything below and around it. Just because the desert looks empty does not mean it is. Creatures under the sand, the plants, birds, whatever, would all be potentially killed.

    The Antithesis are doing enough of destroying our environment, we Samurai don¡¯t need to help it along.

    The tech itself is crazy advanced too, I would like to think I would use it for good, and not sell it off or incorporate it for corporation use and abuse. So, on that front I¡¯m not too worried, nor am I worried about becoming power hungry.

    Perhaps though, that¡¯s how everyone thinks. No way that they could become corrupted with power, and that they would never abuse it. I have seen a fair share of Samurai losing their cool in several scenarios and taking things into their own hands. Everything from toppling entire corporations, to assassinations, to, in some extreme cases, bullying smaller countries into compliance in some form or another.

    I just don¡¯t know, maybe it¡¯s best to wait until I have been around the Samurai community more and see how others do, and what sort of things I should consider.

    Like, should I build up a strong base of understanding class II tech first? I know that¡¯s what Merlin suggested before.

    I blew some bubbles with my mouth into the tub.

    This is too much for bath time, maybe food and a nap first, and then deal with these types of things.

    <Merlin, I think more time to think on it is needed, and I¡¯m really tired. Perhaps tomorrow I will have a good answer for you.>

    I understand, and that is the answer I both expected and was hoping to hear from you. Think on it more, and when the time comes unlocking class III will feel right for you.

    <Huh, all right then. Enough of that, I need food and sleep. I just hope Gary¡¯s cooking is not abysmal.>

    Don¡¯t hold your breath, he¡¯s a cleaning monkey, not a chef.

    Sure enough, what Gary had made was essentially some canned soup and bread that he found in the pantry. It¡¯s clear he heated it up in the microwave and then ran back to the TV.

    Sighing, I sat down eat it anyway, and headed to bed, too tired to care.

 Chapter 24 To Catch a Monkey

    I woke up the next morning with a grumbling stomach. I need to either upgrade Gary, since he¡¯s being mostly useless and hogging the TV, or get a separate drone to actually do cooking.

    Likely it¡¯s cheaper to upgrade him with proper cooking skills instead.

    <Merlin, what would I need to teach Gary to cook a decent meal?>

    Simple as pie, there is a cooking upgrade data packet we can upload into him for a measly ten points. I think it¡¯s a great idea specially since your caloric intake is still too low.

    <Oh, for the love¡­ how much to get a daily supplement of what I¡¯m missing at the end of each day?>

    Obviously, the price would change depending on several factors. Your activity for the day, how much you have eaten and any additional upgrades or changes you could possibly make to your body.

    <Assume, current upgrades, a vigorous day and I haven¡¯t eaten anything at all, so worst case scenario expected without me being technically dead.>

    Ah in that case I would say fifteen points for an injectable cocktail of required nutrients.

    <That¡¯s not too bad, it¡¯s over my daily points limit but if I eat some solid meals during the day it should get below my ten points, yes?>

    I would think so yes, three solid meals and only moderate activity should get you around five points. And before you ask, the catalog is a generic one all Samurai have access too.

    <Great, then before bed remind me to take my supplement, please.>

    Do not fret, I will remind you. Did you want the upgrade for Gary?

    <Yea let¡¯s get Gary his upgrade.>

    Loot inbound!

    New Purchase: Class I Cooking Manual for Lazy Monkeys!

    Points reduced to: 5924

    A small box about the size of a business card drops into my open hand. Opening it reveals a little vial with a dark liquid in it, nanites of course.

    Now to get it into Gary without him throwing a monkey fit, can¡¯t imagine this being too hard, he¡¯s probably watching TV and not paying too much attention to his surroundings.

    I slip out of bed and quietly tiptoe out into the living room, and sure enough Gary is sitting on the couch still sucking down animal planet garbage. I drop down to a crouch and creep up behind the couch carefully, I take a slow breath in and hold it, afraid that even my breathing will alert him to my presence.

    I make it to the couch, and slowly raise up on my knees, reaching over the couch with the vial ready to apply the update so I can get a decent breakfast without having to cook it myself.

    I must have shifted or made a noise or maybe he heard the hammering of my heart being this close to him. He whips his head around letting out a whoop and howl, launching himself off the couch.

    ¡°Cursed Monkey, get back here!¡± I shout, leaping after him.

    I launch off the couch and try to grab him as he¡¯s flapping up towards the ceiling, my enhanced physicality helping propel me up at him. I managed to latch onto a leg and hold on for dear life as he tries to shake me loose by flying around and shaking his leg. I manage to slam my other hand into his calf, shattering the vial and allowing the nanites to merge into his being.

    He screeches in annoyance, I let go landing on the living room table shattering the wooden thing into splinters. Relishing in my victory I let out a laugh and wait for the update to take hold.

    ¡°Okay, be a good helper monkey and make me a nice breakfast Gary! Then clean this mess up!¡± I tell him standing up from the wreckage.

    I head to the bathroom, stripping off my pajamas and jumping into the shower for my morning routine.

    <Merlin, lets send my scouting swarm over to the lab and have it scout out a fairly large area say ten miles in all directions to ensure another swarm or some other interloping entity does not sneak up on me again.>

    An excellent idea, I have dispatched the scout swarm, and it is easily capable of covering a larger area so I dispersed it over a fifteen-mile area around the lab.

    <That works, thanks. On the topic of that swarm. What in the stars was that all about anyway? A large swarm like that does not just pop out of nowhere, and rarely ever without the portals or additional ground support in tandem. It almost feels like they were waiting for me.>

    I am unsure as well; my initial assessment was that it was a random wave sent out to test the new model that was being hidden at its center. However, once it was closer I was able to detect, using the Witchcraft''s sensors, a pheromone being emitted from the, let¡¯s call it... Model Sixty.

    I¡¯m sure you are aware that the Antithesis primarily communicate through pheromones, pollen, some rudimentary vocal abilities, and genetically imprinted programming.

    <Yes, that¡¯s fairly common knowledge in the Antithesis academic area.>

    Well, it was not the normal scents or mixture found in the majority of communication model, it was more of a reactive compound.

    <What does that mean, reactive? Like a toxin or hallucinogen like some of the lower models?>

    No, more like it interacted with the signals and chemistry that our communication cores emit that we implant into the Vanguard.

    We both go silent for a few seconds, while it sinks in.

    <They are tracking us?>

    It does seem that way, and it seems to have worked.

    <But if it was releasing the pheromone, how did it find me then, it would have had to tag me at some point earlier.>

    Very observant and I thought about that and looked through my data from the last few days and I found an answer. When you were in Beaty, I noticed a small variation in their pheromones. I did not think much of it as the Antithesis are constantly adapting themselves, and I saw no dangerous effects from it, so I dismissed it at the time.

    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    <So, it was hunting me, specifically?>

    It very much appears so, and looking back, it did not just tag you. Devoy was tagged with the pheromone as well.

    <Ah fudge crackers, can you inform his AI please, I don¡¯t want him caught off guard.>

    I have sent a data packet to Pyllonia with the information.

    <Thanks. Now what can we do about this tracking problem? I don¡¯t particularly like the idea of Antithesis following me around.>

    I think using your lab we should be able to synthesize some sort of counter agent, or some other way to scrub it off.

    <Sounds like a plan.>

    After finishing my wash routine, I hopped out of the shower and got dressed in my nanite armor, in it¡¯s white shirt and black skirt combo. Exiting the bathroom, I smell something amazing coming from the kitchen. Peeking around the corner into the kitchen I see Gary cooking up a breakfast feast fit for a queen.

    Bacon, eggs, omelets, pancakes, oatmeal, fresh baked muffins, bagels, hashbrowns, french toast, and several glasses milk, OJ, and coffee. I can feel my mouth salivate at the sight of it all, and my tummy also comments with a grumble. Gary sure has outdone himself; I walk in and take a seat before the breakfast feast and start digging in.

    Thirty minutes later I have eaten too much and I am cursing my eyes for being bigger than my stomach. Gary is back at the couch and has already repaired the damaged table. I feel a bit of guilt for accusing him of being lazy, perhaps he is too efficient, and with nothing left to do he watches TV.

    Sighing, I haul my butt out of the chair, head into the living room, and pat Gary on the head. ¡°That was amazing, thank you.¡± I said.

    Alright, let''s get to work then and see if I can¡¯t finish designing the nanite armor, and work on this new tracking ability the Antithesis have been testing out on us.

    I convert the Witchcraft into its true form and off to the lab we go!

    On the way over I link into the scout swarm, nothing interesting has been detected so it looks like, for the moment, it¡¯s quiet.

    I settle into a parking space at the lab and take the lift down to my lab. I see a new stack of resources piled in one corner, the gathered material from the fight yesterday.

    I quickly settle into my chair and open the control interface for the cauldron. Right where I left it, I see my armor design in its infancy. I¡¯m not sure if its my amazing intellect or my determination, but I manage to get the basic structure and functions completed in about four hours. I send the first run to the cauldron to manufacture.

    The liquid within surges out and starts grabbing up the materials around it in small batches, the nanites cleanly slicing through the ingots and other materials like they are made out of Jello and tossing them into the cauldron.

    After only a few minutes a bottle about the size of a soda can is placed on the ground next to the cauldron.

    <That was quick.>

    It was also something very simple, so yeah.

    Reaching down I grab the bottle and use my augs to interface with the contained nanites. I immediately see the armor¡¯s menu appear, full combat setting, and standby setting, as well as a few color options and the integrity of the nanites. Something like this, while very simple, could save a lot of lives.

    I wonder if I could make a civilian version for kids or something. I also don¡¯t like that it just dropped it on the floor. Opening the cauldron¡¯s menu I quickly design some basic shelves with cradles for the bottles. Within fifteen minuets I have several rows of purpose-built shelves. I then order up enough armor sets to fill the shelves.

    The cauldron bubbles to life on overdrive and starts grabbing resources by the ton and pumping out armor sets. With it set to craft mode, I feel accomplished being able to deliver the first sets of goods for the corp. And a nice fatty check along with it when the armor gets sold off.

    I would like to be able to make some emergency armor like this for kids, so in an emergency they could quickly put it on during an incursion but I don¡¯t think the corp would want to fund some charity items like that. Also, I am more concerned with this ability for Antithesis to track Samurai by their AI chips.

    <Merlin, I think we need to capture an Antithesis to experiment on.>

    Oh? I¡¯m guessing this is in regard to the tracking pheromone?

    <Exactly, I assume we could probably simulate the stuff but nothing beats the real deal. I want a few models, and some of the pheromones used to tag and track our chips.>

    I understand your reasoning but having live Antithesis is always dangerous and poses a risk.

    <I get what you''re saying but with any advancement comes a calculated risk. This facility is perfect for this too. Secluded, underground and fairly secure, and worst-case scenario we fill this place with fire and acid.>

    Let¡¯s do it then, I can tell you are determined to do it so I will help how I can. In that regard I have a few suggestions that might help. There is a catalog for biological containment vessels. It has specially designed containment vessels for Antithesis that allow for safe and secure transport with little risk. They also keep them preserved in stasis until released for study.

    <That sounds perfect, how much for the catalog and the vessels?>

    The catalog purchase would be for its class I and II so, four hundred points and a token. Each containment vessel will cost fifty points.

    <That¡¯s not too bad, let¡¯s go ahead and purchase the catalogs. How large are the vessels? >

    Roughly the size of a softball

    Class I Portable Biological Containment Unlocked!

    Points reduced to: 5824

    Class II Portable Biological Containment Unlocked!

    Points reduced to: 5524

    Tokens reduced to: 2

    <If they are that small how exactly do they store something as large as a dog or whatever model it might be?>

    Simple really, they contain an extra-dimensional pocket that exists out of space and time so that anything stored in it remains in the same state that it was when it entered it.

    <That¡¯s simple?>

    Yes? Compared to the tech levels that exist above Class II it¡¯s basically a child¡¯s toy.

    <Right, anyway I¡¯ll buy a few when I need one before capturing something.>

    May I make a suggestion?

    <Considering that you love to make them regardless, sure why not?>

    Doing this alone could be dangerous why not turn your date into an adventure.

    <That¡¯s actually not a bad idea!>

    Using my augs I dial up Devoy.

    ¡°Hello, whatsup Mori?¡± Devoy said picking up the call instantly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you are canceling our date night?¡± He said sounding worried.

    ¡°Not at all.¡± I replied ¡°In-fact I was wondering if you would like to make it a bit more spicy! Merlin sent over some info earlier about the Antithesis tracking us.¡±

    ¡°Yea, I reviewed it and I can see why it could cause some concern for us. Maybe even some panic for the less prepared Samurai.¡± He said.

    ¡°Right, so I want to go out and capture some Antithesis so I can study them a bit and maybe figure out how to counter or even use this to seize an advantage.¡± I said, rapid fire with excitement.

    He laughed with his warm as honey voice. ¡°Of course, that¡¯s what you would want to do. Sure, lets go hunt down some Antithesis for our date. Where did you have in mind?¡± He asked.

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not sure but I figure¡­ Oh! I have the tracking data from the Model Sixty. We could see where it went and maybe even get some of the pheromone samples and some of its minions.¡± I said.

    ¡°Alright, and we can maybe even take it out. I¡¯ve been doing some upgrades and have some new toys to test out. This should be fun!¡± He said matching my excitement.

    ¡°Okay, let me consult the tracking data and I will come pick you up in, say, an hour?¡± I said.

    ¡°That sounds great! Make sure to tell Hank, so he knows where we are, in case we get into trouble.¡± He said, sounding like a parent.

    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± I said dismissively. ¡°I¡¯ll let him know when I know where we are going.¡±

 Chapter 25 The Missing Past

    I open up my augs and review the active tracking for the Model Sixty. An overlay of the desert pops up with a green line depicting the path of travel that the Model Sixty took when it fled. The line heads North out over some random mountains that no one cares about. It eventually leads directly over to one of them and stops.

    The tracker ends with a giant ??? over the location.

    <Merlin, what¡¯s with the question marks?>

    The signal from the tracker stopped sending at that point, according to the logs the signal cut out 32 minutes after it stopped at that location. It¡¯s safe to assume since I don¡¯t see it on any satellite images that it went underground.

    <Likely then the signal can¡¯t get through, or perhaps a hive jammer is blocking it?>

    Those are the most likely options, that or the Model Sixty used its EMP to shut it down, we will know if we find it.

    <I would be willing to bet that it¡¯s in that giant cavern we found, or it¡¯s in something similar that¡¯s connected to it.>

    I agree, I am adjusting the scout swarm to head that way and see if we can find something before we arrive.

    <Sounds good to me, going to call Hank then.>

    I open my aug phone and initiate a call with Hank.

    After only a few rings Hank picks up.

    ¡°Ah, hey Mori, how yah doin?¡± He says in his heavy Texan drawl.

    ¡°I¡¯m good Hank, Devoy and I are about to head out on a date, hunt down some Antithesis that have developed some sort of tracking tech.¡±

    ¡°Oh heck, that¡¯s good to hear. I¡¯m glad yer¡­oh wait a date?¡± He said surprised.

    ¡°Yes, we were going to do dinner but something about scientific field work gets the blood moving you know?¡± I said back, with a grin on my face, not that he could see it.

    ¡°Oh, uh yea, I guess so! Be safe out there yeah? And let us know what you find of course.¡± Hank said.

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m sending over the location in case we need something. I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s underground, possibly part of the cave network we discovered. On that front, has any sort of plan been made to eliminate that problem?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Kind of.¡± He said sounding a bit irritated. ¡°The problem with Samurai is that they all have ideas and want to handle it in their way. So, when a bunch get together to figure out a plan it goes sideways quick.¡± I could practically hear him shaking his head. ¡°So far, the only thing we have decided on is to send someone who specializes in stealth and scout the area out. We should hear back from them soon.¡±

    ¡°I sympathize with you Hank, I can¡¯t imagine leading a gaggle of cats.¡± I said with a chuckle. ¡°Any way, I just wanted to let you know, if you don¡¯t hear back from us in say twenty-four hours, maybe send someone to find us?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do just that missy, I¡¯ll let Valkyrie know just in case, she specializes in rescue.¡± He said.

    ¡°Thanks Hank, I¡¯m off to my date now. Byeee!¡± I said ending the call.

    I get a ping as soon as the call ends, it¡¯s an address and a message from Devoy.

    Here is my address, since I¡¯m guessing you don¡¯t actually know where I live.

    <ul>

    <li>Devoy</li>

    </ul>

    Smarty pants, I knew I was forgetting something. I roughly know the place. The address is in Henderson, in a questionable part of Vegas, that area changes from decent to absolute garbage depending on what side of the road you are on. Following the traffic, as a normal citizen of the country should, I make my way to his place.

    I arrive at a huge apartment complex that spans at least two blocks. It¡¯s one of those mega complexes that house somewhere around six thousand people.

    They were designed by some corp a long time ago in a pitch to the government to build super affordable housing, with room for entire families to live in.

    What we ended up with was essentially a mini town in one giant building, with its own micro culture and society. Supposedly living in one of these was¡­ an experience. The place was glowing with neon-signs, billboards, and all sorts of graffiti, and not to mention the hordes of people milling about on the roof, decks and any semi flat surface.

    We are being hailed by the complexes air traffic control. They are sending us instructions for landing near Devoy¡¯s apartment. I have overlaid their instructions for your use.

    A navigational plot popped up into my mind to follow, it meandered in a roundabout way avoiding specific areas. Following it gave me an estimated arrival time of five minutes. Yeah, no. I pointed the Witchcraft at the end point and headed directly to where his apartment is.

    Or not, I¡¯m not your supervisor.

    <Glad you recognize that, and I don¡¯t have the patience for some random route. I am on official Samurai business. On that note, please advise the controller of my status and thank them for their service.>

    Since when is a date official Samurai business? I have informed them to mind their own damn business anyway.

    <I¡¯m a Samurai, I¡¯m doing something, therefore its Samurai business.>

    That is some circular logic if I¡¯ve ever seen it, however you are technically correct, the best kind!

    I land with hardly any fuss, just some dodging of random traffic and a few near misses but thanks to my amazing pilot skills, manage to miss everyone!

    His apartment was on the twenty-second floor and had its own parking platform extending out from it with his hover-car parked on it, and a hover-cycle. With not really enough space for me, I just had my craft hover in the air next to the platform and extended a ramp down.

    Just so you are aware, I am actively blocking nearly fifty-nine adds, or solicitations every fifteen seconds since you have entered the airspace, what a wonderful place.

    <Gross, can you possibly shut down the system for a bit and give the locals a reprieve? Maybe give them, I don¡¯t know something peaceful or a simple message so they don¡¯t panic when they stop being bombarded by garbage.>

    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    Amusing, gladly¡­and done!

    Stepping down the ramp I approach his door, a glass slider tinted for privacy. I gently tap the door announcing my presence if he did not know I was here already.

    The door hisses open revealing a fully armored up and ready to go Devoy. His armor was striking with its black and red, very imposing and yet comforting. Knowing I had a beefcake of a man protecting me from the evil plant monsters.

    Not that I needed it of course, but it¡¯s the thought that counts.

    I rush up to him and give him a hug, surprising him. I had trouble wrapping my arms all the way around his bulk but my fingertips just barely touch. After a second his arms wrap around me completing the embrace.

    ¡°It¡¯s good too see you too, Little Witch.¡± He said, with a chuckle that moved through his chest and into me.

    ¡°I have had an interesting week so far, I needed that.¡± I said letting him go.

    ¡°So, I¡¯ve tracked the Model Sixty to a mountain range, where the tracking data stops. Most likely it¡¯s in that cavern we found, or it managed to disable the tracker somehow. Either way we have a location to start looking.¡± I said, grabbing his hand and leading us back to the Witchcraft.

    ¡°Well, this should be an interesting date, then.¡± He said.

    ¡°The best kind, and we need to capture a few so I can study them. Preferably ones that have the new tracking pheromone.¡± I said, settling down into the pilot¡¯s seat, while he took the co-pilots seat.

    ¡°Yeah, you mentioned that and I have something that might help.¡± He said, sending over a data packet on his augs.

    ¡°Oh?¡± I said as I opened the packet.

    In it was a schematic for a bullet. A 7.62 round that fit in his current rifle but it was elongated with a gravity grenade sub-component in the rear. Once it fired the round flared in the targets body and the grenade would initiate causing the victim to be pulled down with a varying degree of strength anywhere from 1-200gs! Holy smokes!

    ¡°You know how to spoil a girl! I love it, this should help me hit them with my containment devices.¡± I shouted, pumping my fist. He chuckled and said. ¡°I figured you would like it; they are a bit expensive but their effect actually has a decent range and could take out multiple at once, more than paying for it.¡±

    ¡°I need to look into something like that too, that would be fun to play with.¡±

    While we were talking, I raised the Witchcraft into the air, ignoring the traffic controllers and headed directly out to where the Model Sixty was last seen.

    ¡°So that¡¯s an interesting place you live in, Devoy, not to insult your housing but don¡¯t you get paid decently for being an officer in a PMC?¡±

    He looked over at me, retracting his helmet, revealing a smirk. ¡°We can¡¯t all be big corpo researchers, and it does have decent pay, but Vegas housing market is just too expensive, and with the Antithesis causing supply interruptions for inbound supplies cost of living is skyrocketing.¡± He explained, making me feel a bit guilty.

    I knew that those things were problems, I even saw it affect my students and the other faculty at the school. I guess I stuck my head in the sand a bit too much. Mentally kicking myself, I made a mental note to try and find a solution for lowering cost of living, or at least clearing shipping lanes.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I guess I can get a bit closed minded if it does not involve my students or job. I think it would be a good idea at some point to try and fix those issues somehow.¡± I said back to him, sheepishly.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I know you did not mean it as an insult, but yes, it would be good to figure something out.¡± He said, reaching over and giving my shoulder a squeeze.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about something else besides my questionable living arrangements.¡± He said, thumbing his nose.

    ¡°Where is your family?¡± He asked. I felt a lump in my throat as I thought of what happened to them.

    ¡°Well, I normally save the depressing and self-pity for later, but It might be nice to let it out to someone.¡± I said, feeling a bit defeated I slump down in the seat.

    ¡°Both my parents died on a cruise ship a few years ago. An aquatic Antithesis swarm attacked the ship.¡± I said.

    His face scrunched in sympathy, his lips dropping in a frown. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that, Mori.¡± He said placing his hand on my shoulder again, this time leaving it there.

    ¡°I thought that Samurai were paid to protect those ships for that exact reason?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, there were three. In fact, they did manage to repel the attack with minimal damage and loss. Or so the report went, but what they did not say, is that those minimal losses were about twenty people on a smaller boat heading out to do some diving.¡± Tears started to crawl down my cheeks. I have not had to face this in such a long time, it being tucked away in my mind kept me dredging it up.

    ¡°My parents were both on that boat, and were swallowed up by a whale type Antithesis, and were lost almost instantly.¡± I said, between sobs.

    Devoy got up and kneeled next to my seat, embracing me fully.

    I will pilot the craft, Morigana.

    I let go of the controls and lean into Devoy¡¯s hug, letting out my sorrows.

    ¡°It¡¯s not okay Mori, and nothing I can do will take the hurt away. But I am here for you, and I promise you that we will take that fight to them and ensure that we can protect as many families as possible from the pain and loss that you have suffered.¡± He said in a whisper into my ear.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± I suck in a breath, before continuing.

    ¡°But that¡¯s not all. I¡¯m the reason they were on that cruise. They were having some marital issues, and I thought a cruise together to relax and spend time together would help.¡± I relax and take a breath, focusing on the firm embrace that Devoy has me in.

    ¡°My sister blames me for their deaths and has not spoken to me ever since. So, I moved out here to Vegas to start over. To try and live my own life and find a way to redeem myself, and help fight Antithesis. Developing tech to fight them was the best I could do, that is, until I became a Samurai.¡±

    I pull away, and look up to Devoy, tears streaming from my face dripping all over his armor. I use my hands to try and move the tears away, succeeding only in smearing them on my face.

    ¡°So, there you know my biggest darkest secret, I killed my parents and it¡¯s also why It hurt so much when I almost killed you. I don¡¯t want to be responsible for anyone else¡¯s death. Ever since, I¡¯ve been a recluse and have been hesitant to let anyone else into my life.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Sorry Mori, I had no idea. I do not blame you nor do I think you should blame yourself for what happened. There was no way to know that would have happened to your parents. As for what happened to me¡­ the law of unintended consequences reared its ugly head.¡±

    He leans forward, taking my face in his hands, gently looking into my eyes.

    ¡°Mori, you should not blame yourself, I now have the unique opportunity to help more people than I could have ever hoped to as a simple PMC officer. I can help the whole planet! So, too, can you!¡± He said, laying in with his strong voice filled with meaning and determination.

    ¡°Because of you, we know of a super massive infestation under this whole state, and maybe even larger! We have the chance, because of you, to save millions of lives! Hope, Mori, you have given us hope and a chance.¡±

    He said, leaning forward kissing my forehead.

    ¡°Let¡¯s unpack this sorrow and turn it into action to help others. Come, Mori, let us bring wrack and ruin to these Antithesis like they have never seen before!¡± He said. ¡°And, when we are done, we can try and reach out to your sister again. If she loved you, she should be able to get past what happened, and if not¡­ Then was she really your family? Real family is always there for you, thick or thin. I will always be here for you Mori, I promise you that.¡± He said, firming his voice up.

    I look into his eyes, and see acceptance, determination, warmth, and safety. I nod with a weak smile. ¡°Yes, I would like that.¡± I said shakily.

    For what it¡¯s worth Morigana, I too shall never leave you, and will do my absolute best to support your goals in removing the Antithesis scourge from your planet.

    <Thank you, Merlin.>

    As an update to the outside world, we have arrived. I have been circling the mountain and found the entrance to the cave. The scout drone has also done a preliminary pass and has found some interesting activity.

    <Hold on, Merlin.>

    I gently push Devoy, back towards his seat. ¡°We are here, and I need to focus on this, to help distract myself from this for now.¡± He looks over at me with concern, but gives me a warm smile in understanding, and a promise to listen again in the future if I need it.

    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go kick in the Antithesis front door and crash their party.¡± Devoy said, with a grin, punching his fist into his hand.

 Chapter 26 Thats No Cave

    I looked over my sensory inputs, from the Witchcraft and from the scout Owl. The impression from both is a bit overwhelming. There is a cave opening about halfway up the mountain that is wide enough for the Witchcraft to fly down, with enough space that even a half-blind drunk could navigate down with little risk of hitting anything.

    I¡¯m assuming its wide to accommodate the Model Sixty. Which means of course, we can take the Witchcraft down far enough to find it and try to gather pheromone samples or at least finish it off. But before all that, there are a few things that need to be taken care of before we plunge the Witchcraft into danger against the Model Sixty.

    In the last battle it¡¯s EMP and tongue harpoon caused some serious damage and some upgrades need to be made.

    ¡°It looks like we will be taking the Witchcraft down into that thing.¡± I vocalized to Devoy and Merlin.

    ¡°Last fight I ran into a massive flying Antithesis we are calling a Model Sixty.¡± I explained to Devoy. ¡°It had a very powerful EMP, strong enough to drop the Witchcraft and it also shot its tongue out like a freaky harpoon.¡±

    ¡°That does not sound like your garden variety Antithesis, ideas to counter it?¡± Devoy responds.

    ¡°The best way to counter EMP is to harden your electronics with shielding or shut them all off. I¡¯m hoping our AI friends have some sort of tech that can manage one or both, Merlin?¡±

    The control panel on the Witchcraft lights up and projects a mini hologram of a wizard in black robes covered in stars.

    ¡°There are many options available that would work for you, and the Witchcraft.¡± Said the little hologram, Merlin.

    ¡°First a rapidly expandible layer of copper lined nanites that would sit flush to the surface, creating a solid faraday cage, these would also double as heat sinks. Option two as you said, shutting down the power to the Witchcraft, however I don¡¯t think I need to tell you why that¡¯s a bad idea?¡± He implied, as if we were dumb.

    ¡°No, Merlin, I don¡¯t think having the ships nanites shutting off while flying is a good idea. Any other options, surely, the Protectors have something fancier than copper shielding?¡± I said, annoyed.

    ¡°Right you are!¡± He continued. ¡°I think the best and most functional method is an energy absorbing conduit substrate installed into the ships hull.¡± He said, sounding rather smug. ¡°This would suck the EMP blast into the ship and funnel it into specifically designed sinks, that convert the blast into a concentrated beam of plasma, that then can be used to shoot back at the Antithesis.¡±

    A little Witchcraft model pops up in hologram form, then gets hit by a EMP wave. The energy gets sucked down into glowing lines across the hull, and is directed back at the Model Sixty hologram, blowing it up.

    Devoy looked over at me, his eyes raised. ¡°That sounds pretty awesome!¡± He chimed in.

    ¡°It does.¡± I reply skeptically.

    ¡°How much is this upgrade going to cost though?¡±

    ¡°Not terribly too much, within your price range, it is in your Class II Warcaster technology catalog, so don¡¯t need to open a new one. For nine hundred points you can have it installed and fully operational!¡± He said back.

    ¡°Okay, and what about the tongue harpoon then? That thing blasted right through the shielding and armor of the ship.¡± I asked him.

    ¡°That is a bit more of an issue; as it stands, the kinetic energy it produces is so focused it overloads the shields and armor almost instantly. Do not fret! There are options available to counter its power.¡± He said, raising his voice ominously.

    ¡°With the power of dimensional shunting, of course! When the tongue fires, or any focused kinetic energy attack, the shunting generator creates a small portal that intercepts the attack, dissipating the energy into a pocket dimension.¡± He said, displaying a demonstration of it working via hologram.

    ¡°That definitely sounds like something to have, and how much does that upgrade cost?¡± I asked him.

    ¡°One thousand points, so in all nineteen hundred points for the upgrades.¡± Said the little hologram.

    I look at Devoy for input. He shrugs and responds with. ¡°Your call, they all sound good to me, and the way you describe this thing, we want as many tools as we can get.¡±

    ¡°Alright, go ahead and get the upgrades, Merlin.¡±

    ¡°Loot inbound!¡±

    New Purchase: Class II Energy Redirecting Substrate:

    Points reduced to: 4624

    New Purchase: Class II Small Diameter Point Defense Dimensional Shunting Portals:

    Points reduced to: 3624

    Instead of boxes appearing at my feet to open like normal, a small swarm of nanites appears outside the ship and swirls into the hull.

    ¡°Installing software upgrades, and UI for ship and user!¡± Chimes in Merlin.

    Instantly I see the new tech options in the ship¡¯s controls, for how complex the tech is, it is remarkably simple to control.

    ¡°I think we are all set to go, then.¡± I confirm, looking at Devoy.

    ¡°I think so too, lets take a last look at your scout info and build a plan, though.¡± He said.

    I pull up all the scout data on the control panel, in a 3d rendering of the mountain.

    It looks like a giant ant¡¯s nest, tunnels fill almost the entire mountain and seem to dead end randomly, or merge into others, making never ending loops. Two of the tunnels drop out of sight and head deeper underground.

    One of them shrinks down to about twenty feet across, while the other remains large enough to fly the Witchcraft through easily. If I had to guess, that is where our wayward Model Sixty has gone.

    Pointing at the larger tunnel, I tell Devoy my plan. ¡°This looks like the tunnel for our buddy, I think if we follow it down, we should find some clues, or him.¡±

    Devoy agrees, saying. ¡°I think you¡¯re right, let¡¯s go take a look and see what we find.¡±

    I point the Witchcraft down the cave entrance and fly down it at a moderate pace. I want to be able to react to any surprises that pop up. You never know what sort of trap or ploy the Antithesis will come up with. They seem to be coming up with clever ways to ambush and fight their monkey prey.

    Several hundred feet in; the walls of the cave start showing signs of an Antithesis hive that is well rooted. Massive root structures with leaves grow along every surface. The sensors are telling me the heat and humidity levels are rising as we get deeper. The light from the surface has long been gone, and we are solely flying using the Witchcrafts sensor suite, in which I can see the full image of the surroundings in my hive mind augs, but I have it showing on the screen for Devoy¡¯s sake.

    So far though, no sign of any Antithesis, which is odd considering how old this hive appears to be. I would like to think it should be swarming with them. That and the swarm I fought off should still be around, a large portion got away.

    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    I underestimated the scale of the mountain because we were still traveling down and not too slowly, and we still had not reached the point where the tunnels go off the scouted map. In-fact we are only about a quarter of the way down the winding tunnels.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting a bad feeling about this Mori. Where are the Antithesis?¡± Devoy whispered, like they could hear him.

    I was getting the same feeling, but without any solid reason to back out, other than a gut feeling, I pressed on.

    ¡°You know Mori, I¡¯m wondering if this is a trap. If they knew that they were being tracked, they could have intentionally led us down here.¡± Devoy offered.

    That thought had crossed my mind, with how the Antithesis have been adapting, and by their very nature of having several Antithesis designed for ambush.

    ¡°What do you suggest then?¡± I asked, I know Devoy has a very tactical mind and this is the sort of thing he would excel at.

    ¡°Well, if you know you are walking into an ambush, often it is better to go around it, and attack from another angle that they are not expecting.¡± He leaned back into his chair before continuing. ¡°Or spring the trap on purpose once you know what it is and having a stronger counter ready.¡± He finished.

    I check the scouted map that we had, and I did not see any other routes down to where the Model Sixty went.

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t see another path down, so we have to spring it. The problem is, what and where is the trap?¡±

    ¡°That is the tricky part, finding the trap without the enemy knowing that you are on to them. Where are your scout drones?¡± Devoy wondered.

    Checking my augs, the drone is down near the bottom of the tunnel but stopped, the logs show that it stopped because the signal farther down was being blocked and would cause the swarm to lose cohesion and fail. That must be where it is, or the very edge of the trap.

    I zoom into the section where the Owl stopped and show him the data.

    ¡°The Swarm stopped at the bottom here, if they continued, they would lose their ability to transmit and share data amongst themselves. I think that is where our trap will be.¡± I said.

    He puts his hand up to his chin in thought. ¡°Can you still send them in, and have them return to transmit data after?¡± He asked.

    ¡°I think so, but we won¡¯t know if something goes wrong, they will just not return. I think it is worth a shot though.¡± Taking control of the swarm manually I give the instructions to scout down the tunnel for three minuets and then return. So, in six minutes we will have an answer one way or another.

    An agonizingly long six minuets later the swarm returns up the tunnel, transmitting the new information.

    ¡°Huh.¡± Is all that I can say once I see what is below.

    The tunnel opens up into a massive cavern, where a full-sized hive is chilling. The drone¡¯s sensory data is showing heavy ECM emissions coming from the hive, which explains the blackout. But that is not even the interesting part, latched onto the massive tree like structure of the hive is the Model Sixty. It¡¯s using its tentacles to grab up the smaller Antithesis around it and swallowing them whole. The damage that Valk, and I did to it was almost gone, I¡¯m guessing it was accelerating its healing by eating other Antithesis whole.

    ¡°That.¡± Devoy commented. ¡°Is a lot of Antithesis in a small area, and while I have picked up a few upgrades, I do not like the odds of taking on a full hive, the Model Sixty, and all their buddies.¡±

    And I agreed, there were easily twenty or thirty thousand Antithesis down there, of all model types.

    Yet¡­ I needed Antithesis samples and I had a bone to pick with the Model Sixty.

    ¡°Okay, hear me out.¡± I started at Devoy. His face went white as a sheet, while I had a grin on my face.

    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious Mori, you want to try to fight them all?¡±

    ¡°Not all of them, look, we fly in there, shoot off some fireballs and lightning, wait for the Model Sixty to use its EMP burst, then fire it back at it. Once it¡¯s down we can zip down and secure a few samples that I need, and off we go!¡±

    Devoy is looking at me like I was growing a second head.

    ¡°You are! Okay well let¡¯s try this. Drop me off near the edge, and I will grab the samples, while you distract them all. They should be so focused on you that I will be mostly ignored.¡± He suggested.

    ¡°I get what you''re saying, but you will still be on your own, and what about the trap? I just noticed the cave opening is ringed with Model Fours, and Fifteens. That¡¯s a lot of melee ambushers and artillery.¡±

    ¡°I did see them, but I can penetrate that line fairly easily. What sample types did you need to get?¡± He humble bragged, flexing his arms ironically.

    ¡°I need to get as many types of Antithesis that have the tracking pheromone as possible. I¡¯m not sure which ones have it, but it could be any of the models we ran into while in Beatty. So, a bunch.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­¡± He said, looking a bit overwhelmed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t fret! I have a device that will capture them safely and allow for easy transport. Merlin, can you purchase, say¡­ twenty of the vessels, please.¡±

    New Purchase: Class II Antithesis Biological Containment Vessel x 20:

    Points reduced to: 2624

    A black and purple backpack plops onto the ground unceremoniously.

    <Merlin, why is it sometimes you make my purchase crazy flashy, other times they come in shoeboxes, and others are just ¡°Plop¡± ,here is your stuff?>

    You¡¯re right. Let me try that again.

    The bag vanishes into thin air, replaced by spinning hexagonal, multilayered, purple magic arrays, and the backpack slowly rises up out of its center.

    Devoy looks at me with a raised eyebrow, looking for an explanation.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask, Merlin is being sassy.¡± He nods in understanding.

    ¡°Any way, in the bag are twenty containment vessels, you should just have to hit an Antithesis with one and it will trap it inside.¡±

    Devoy opens the bag and pulls one out. It¡¯s a black and purple sphere, with a stylized ¡°M¡± on the front, and its about the size of a softball. He drops it back in and slings the backpack over his shoulder.

    ¡°All right, let¡¯s do this.¡± Devoy says, he manipulates the hologram and drops a pin outside the cave, but before the entrance. ¡°Drop me here, and I will wait until you start the fireworks before I make my move.¡±

    I gave him a concerned look.

    ¡°I will be fine, I have some new toys and upgrades. I should be the worried one, after your last battle against the Model Sixty¡±

    ¡°Well, I too have a upgrades on the ship, so we can both feel better about our respective roles.¡± I said back to him.

    He laughed at my comment.

    I re-focus on maneuvering the ship into position to drop off Devoy.

    ¡°This is going to be a hot drop; can you handle it?¡± I ask, without looking at him.

    I hear him sealing up his helm before answering.

    ¡°Course I can.¡± He replies.

    Initializing the Witchcrafts defenses, I ramp up the speed and prepare for a intense fight.

    As we approach the drop zone for Devoy, I lower the rear hatch and link our position to him so he can jump when he is ready.

    A few moments later, I sense him jump out.

    Tracking him with the ships sensors, I see him land a good distance away from the cave entrance, and it looks like none of the Antithesis respond to his arrival, so that¡¯s good.

    I focus back onto my own situation. I¡¯ve entered the main cave, and unlike Devoy¡¯s arrival, the Antithesis definitely noticed.

    The Model Sixty immediately unlatches from the hive and unwinds its mass of tentacles. The horde of Antithesis below responds as well, countless flying models leave the ground and form into a giant swarm of claws and spines. The ground based ones seem to swarm, and try to follow the ship on the ground, which I find amusing.

    I also pick up, on the edge of the cavern, the Model Fifteens launching their balls of spines up into the air like flack. It appears they have no concern for friendly fire.

    The ships shields flare up and intercept the incoming wave of ranged attacks, or at least the ones that would have hit, I¡¯m trying my best to dodge as many as I can. I swerve the ship side to side, do some rolls, and adjust speed to provide the hardest target possible.

    I am not letting them get free shots in, either. I have my fireball launchers working overtime, pelting the ground units with max sized fireballs. The ¡°thwump thuwmp¡± of the launchers firing rapidly fills the ship.

    Massive explosions tear through the hordes of xenos, sowing death and chaos in their wake.

    I am refilling your weapons supplies as we go, figured you may appreciate that, by the way.

    <Yes, of course, thank you Merlin. Am I netting a gain in points so far from them?>

    You are indeed, and a fairly large amount of them too, I will total them after if you make it out of here.

    <Thanks for the vote of confidence!>

    I am fairly confident in your escape, but you never know.

    The flying Antithesis are not left unscathed either. I enter my lightning plotter, and make rapid small pathways, creating and unleashing lightning blasts through their formations.

    They fall by the score, plummeting into the masses below them.

    Everything was going well until the Model Sixty unleashed its attacks.

 Chapter 27 Battle Below the Earth

    They fall by the score, plummeting into the masses below them.

    Everything was going well until the Model Sixty unleashed its attacks.

    The first thing the Model Sixty did was unleash its tongue harpoon at me.

    As quick as it launched, my new shunt projector opened a portal to intercept the tongue. The tongue vanished into the void of darkness that was the shunt portal. The generator terminated the portal a split second after and sliced the tongue off at the tip.

    Thank the stars, one of its primary attacks disabled in one fell swoop. In retaliation it instantly switched tactics and started chasing me. The tentacles around its body, while not as fast or kinetic laden, still provided a significant threat. It unleashed them at me like a wave of ever-growing angry vines. No matter how much evading I did, there were more tentacles, more than possible to avoid. My ship took constant hits, I could feel through my interface the point defense shields and the new shunt, deploying barrier after barrier, to prevent them from getting a direct hit on the ship.

    I tried varying speeds and maneuvers around the large cave to try and build some distance, but it was just as fast and seemed to be able to follow my every move. I was not going quietly though. I had my fireball launchers, and lightning firing at it and the surrounding Antithesis like a disco ball of death. The cave was filled with explosions, lightning, and massive thunderclaps as I unleashed everything I could into the Model Sixty and the hives never-ending waves. I could literally watch the hive dump out new Antithesis in real time. It was primarily making mass amounts of Model Ones, and Twos. Mixed in, were a few Model Fifteens, to add in some flack to dodge from the ground.

    The heat warnings and system overloads were flashing through my interface, warnings that the constant use of weapons and defense were building up too much heat in the ship and it was in danger of being overloaded.

    <Merlin, are you seeing this problem?>

    Which one do you refer to? The giant floating tentacle monster, the hordes of Antithesis below you, spewing spines and flack grenades up at you, the ship overheating, or the hive ripping up some of its roots to try and swat you down?

    <The roots are doing what!!>

    Yes, it seems the hive is desperate enough to try and take you out by itself, a rare thing to see but it is possible the Model Sixty is controlling it.

    <Okay, great, but I need a way to shed the heat building up in the ship.>

    Ah yes, that is a problem. You could route it all through your new substrate and fire it off as a thermal lance.

    <That¡¯s an option, why did you not mention it when it was installed! Merlin!>

    It¡¯s an option in the interface, I would think you would notice.

    <If you have not noticed I¡¯ve been busy not dying here.>

    Indeed, I have noticed, sorry. Here, allow me to initialize it for you.

    In my interface I saw him shuffle through a few menus and open the substrate fire controls. He then selected the Model Sixty as its target and hit ¡°the red button¡± and fired it off.

    Nothing visually happened immediately, until I saw a small hole slice through the Model Sixty¡¯s side, cutting through about twenty tentacles. I watched in glee as they all dropped onto the Antithesis below crushing several.

    <Very nice, thank you.>

    You are most welcome; I expect you should be able to do that on your own now.

    <Easy, thank you.>

    The warnings for heat were all quieted, now that I had a safe outlet for the overload.

    I continued swerving around the cave, I had to focus my lightning on several Model Elevens that swarmed up at me in a pack. Each one about the size of my Witchcraft, and dangerous enough to toss it around like a toy.

    I broke through their formation, locking onto each with my lightning nodes, when they opened their massive mouths and disgorged a huge fleet of Model Fours directly at me. I quickly re-directed the strikes to encompass the hurled Model Fours before they could cling to the ship and try to break in.

    Several pulses of lightning later, several of the Model Elevens were blasted from the sky and the rest veered off.

    Between my shields, the lightning strikes, and shunts, I managed to stop most of the Model Fours from reaching my ships hull. Somehow three of them managed to latch on though, and start banging away at the hull directly.

    Oooh, stars, that¡¯s bad!

    I note their locations on the hull and build up some speed, then make a rapid turn, and spin so they are on the outer edge of the turn hoping with enough change in vector they will be thrown off.

    But it¡¯s to no avail, they don¡¯t budge an inch, I then tried spinning in a tight circle to see if that works.

    Nope!

    Several alarms ring out in my mind as hull breaches are made in several areas. Instead of shuffling nanites to fill the gap I have Merlin take over flying the ship.

    <Merlin, take over! I need to deal with our passengers.>

    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    Of course, I have the controls.

    I turn back into the cabin and can see the holes forming, and the Model Four tentacles wiggling their way through trying to expand on them.

    I try to walk back and the ship makes a lurch dropping me on my hands and knees.

    <I¡¯m trying to walk here; think you can avoid getting hit, please.>

    If only it was that easy, calm your tits.

    <Calm! In this mess! I am calm!>

    With a grunt I manage to crawl to the back and stand up.

    I give each hole a two second burst of the acid I have; almost instantly the acid spreads along the tentacles and into their main body. They quickly turn into piles of slush and drop away from the ship.

    The ship shakes violently and throws me to the decking again. <What the stars was that, Merlin!>

    Nothing to be concerned with, just the Model Sixty slapping us around with its tentacles. You know, business as usual.

    <Tell them to stop putting holes in my ship!>

    I crawled back into the pilot¡¯s seat, strapping in my harness again.

    <I have controls.>

    You have the controls, Morigana.

    I happen to be passing over the cave entrance and see that Devoy made his way through and is completely encircled by ground units, he has a sizable pile of bodies around him that the Antithesis are having to crawl over to reach him. He has literally made a wall of dead Antithesis to help control how many can come at him at once.

    I drop several fireballs around him to help thin the horde a bit. He looked up and gave me a thumbs up.

    ¡°Thanks for the assist, Little Witch! I¡¯m doing fine though, getting a healthy dose of points down here.¡± Devoy radioed in.

    ¡°Glad to hear it, manage to get any models captured?¡± I called back.

    Before he could answer I got an alert. A huge energy build up was being detected from the Model Sixty.

    ¡°Model Sixty is about to use its EMP, Devoy! Get ready!¡± I shouted over the radio.

    A huge blue-white ball of energy erupted out of the things mouth, creating a pressure wave in front of it that could be seen by the naked eye. The flying Antithesis around the Model Sixty were turned into mush as the pressure wave slams them into walls and each other.

    I brace just before it hits my ship, it pushes the ship sideways from the force. Then the blast hits, everything sends off warnings and alerts. Thankfully, the substrate works as advertised and absorbs the blast, protecting the ship from shutting down.

    You have approximately seven seconds to discharge the blast before it overloads everything and the ship melts.

    <Approximately?>

    Okay, precisely 6.8742 seconds but its easier to say 7.

    <Fair.>

    Not wasting any more time with Merlin¡¯s sass, I direct every weapon system I have onto the Model Sixty, and for good measure, hit the physical fire button with my hand. I know it¡¯s not required, but moons above, does it have a cathartic effect smashing it down!

    A searing bright beam of energy lances out from the ship, the windshields immediately darken to try and protect my eyes. Concentric rings of vapor follow behind it, leaving a trail of sonic booms that ripple down into the other Antithesis, squashing countless into goo. Right behind the beam, fireballs and lightning vomit from every available launcher and emitter.

    The damage is spectacular! It rips through the Model Sixty, making a relatively small hole, but blows out the entire back end of its body. There is no blood or gore, everything is incinerated or boiled off instantly. The force of the trailing pressure smashes into it next, crushing the husk against the cavern¡¯s distant wall, which, even that, did not escape unscathed. It now has a large bowl like area of melted rock at least thirty feet across.

    <Oh my, Merlin I think you undersold this weapon. You have a habit of doing that.>

    Did the hologram display not show the thing dying?

    <It did, but not the part about the pressure waves, or melting the cavern wall.>

    Well, I can¡¯t predict every instance of when and where you will fire it off! Or even how much energy will be poured into the EMP attack. In fact, the energy from this EMP was 42% more powerful than the one it used on you before.

    <I¡¯m glad the ship was able to take it, then!>

    Uh about that, it nearly was not, the margin of absorption was estimated based off that initial hit and +/- 50%. So, had it been any stronger, it would have just melted the substrate instead and most likely destroyed the ship.

    I sat in silence for a moment while I processed that.

    <You¡­ I have no words. Disappointed, I wish I had these warnings before charging in!>

    You do, but you would need to view the system parameters and info, that I now include in every upgrade I give you.

    <You know what¡­ from now on, let¡¯s give me those sorts of warnings up front, verbally.>

    I will endeavor to do better.

    <Thank you. How is Devoy?>

    He is whole and has continued fighting.

    I review my immediate area to see how the battle space has changed since the Model Sixty was killed.

    Everything in the air has been removed, and now it¡¯s just a swarm of the standard ground units. The hive seems to have been damaged in the attack and stopped producing more units.

    <Let¡¯s see if we can collect some samples from the Model Sixty.>

    Great idea!

    <Give me a containment vessel please.>

    Loot inbound!

    New Purchase: Class II Antithesis Biological Containment Vessel x 1:

    Points reduced to: 26,480

    <Whoa, that¡¯s a lot of points.>

    Well, you have killed off a considerable amount of Antithesis, so¡­yes?

    I grab the vessel from the box it spawned in, and maneuver the ship to where the Model Sixty fell. I open the back hatch and toss the ball at it¡¯s corpse, hoping it still grabs it up. The ball hits it and bounces off, for a moment I figure I¡¯m about to have a poo day trying to harvest samples. Until the ball opens and sucks in the whole body.

    Awesome!

    Now to clean up the mess, and pick up Devoy.

    That¡¯s when Devoy calls me.

    ¡°Mori, I have your samples. Any time you want to come pick me up would be great.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m on my way now!¡±

    I fly across the cavern, dodging the random spines and stuff still being thrown up at me, but without the air units and the Model Sixty, it''s hardly a challenge anymore.

    Devoy has managed to make a massive pile of dead Antithesis around him, and there are still more coming.

    I drop fireballs around him, and a few chain-lightning blasts to clear the landing zone. I zip in above him, and dropped the rear hatch, Devoy leaps up at least twenty feet, and into the ship. That saves me from landing, I guess.

    ¡°Welcome aboard!¡± I shouted back to him.

    ¡°Glad to be aboard, it¡¯s a mess down there.¡± He said, walking up into the flight deck and flopping into the co-pilot chair.

    He dropped the backpack between his legs on the floor. ¡°I got your samples here, tried to get a bit of everything, filled all twenty balls.¡±

    ¡°Fantastic! I can¡¯t wait to get into them!¡± I said with glee, clapping my hands together.

    ¡°Let me finish off this hive and we can get out of here!¡±

    Over the next few hours, I flew around in circles, blasting everything with fire and lightning, scorching everything in sight, and making sure nothing can grow back.

    I configured some fire controls for Devoy so he could have some fun with fireballs too, that, and give him some points as well.

    Once everything was ash and bad memories, we left the cave system the same way we came in.

    ¡°What a first date eh?¡± I said, lifting my eyebrows at Devoy.

    ¡°A first for me, normally its dinner and some entertainment after.¡± He responded back, shinking his helmet down so I could see his face.

    I frowned a bit, was he upset that we did not do something more normal? I hope not, but maybe he deserves a more traditional date after this. I will have to pull out something really nice, I have the money and clout now.

    Hmm¡­

 Chapter 28 Planning

    Diverting the mood into something less dramatic, I looked over at the backpack he had dropped on the floor between his legs.

    ¡°You going to show me the balls, or you going to make me guess?¡± I waggled my eyebrows suggestively at him.

    He looked at me, confused for a moment, then down at his lap, then the backpack. Understanding lit up his face, and he grinned.

    ¡°You hardly need to ask; they are yours after all.¡± He shot back, picking up the backpack and handing it over to me.

    Grinning from ear to ear, I grab the backpack.

    Riffling through the backpack quickly, my augs read the data on each ball as I touched them. In the twenty balls he used, he managed to catch; 5 Model Ones, 4 Model Threes, 2 Model Fours, 1 Model Five, 2 Model Six, 1 Model Eight, 1 Model Nine, 2 Model Tens, 1 Model Fifteen, and a Model Twenty-Two, somehow.

    Not a bad haul. I grinned in glee, and clapped my hands together!

    ¡°Yes! Thank you!¡± I practically shout, throwing my upper body at him in a hug.

    He chuckled and patted my back. ¡°Any time, Mori, it was actually quite fun.¡±

    I moved back to my side, and resume flying the ship.

    ¡°Right, well, let me drop these off at the lab really quick and then take you home.¡±

    He shrugged and kicked his feet on the dash. ¡°No worries, I¡¯m not in a rush to go anywhere.¡±

    I reached over and slapped his feet of the dash.

    ¡°Get those bloody boots off my dash!¡± I jokingly shouted at him. with a grin.

    He reeled back, literally trailing some Antithesis blood with his boots.

    ¡°Oh, my bad, I¡¯ll get that cleaned up.¡± He sheepishly responded.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, the nanites will burn it and dispose of it.¡±

    In practically no time we arrived at the lab, and I parked in the garage.

    We exited the ship and headed towards the elevator.

    ¡°Am I allowed to be here?¡± Devoy said with some concern.

    ¡°Sure, what are they going to do? Tell me or you ¡°No?¡±

    ¡°Fair point.¡± He shrugged.

    I go through all the security checks to get into the elevator and we step in.

    Normally it whooshes off to my lab, but this time it just sat there, nonresponsive.

    Devoy looked at me with an ''I told you so'' on his face.

    Sighing, I dug into the security programs again and forced the elevator to move.

    I looked back at him with a cheeky smile that said, ''Don¡¯t doubt me or else'', shaking my finger at his face.

    He put his hands up in surrender, with a chuckle.

    The elevator dropped down to my lab and the doors opened, revealing my mostly empty lab space.

    It had the supplies that the corp were bringing me, updated by Merlin, the shelves for the armor being built, that were all empty now, and my cook pot.

    Devoy looked around ,seemingly un-impressed, judging by his expression.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, it¡¯s a work in progress. I just got the place.¡±

    He laughed.

    ¡°No judgment here, it just does not look very much like a lab, more of a production line.¡± He said.

    ¡°Yeah, so far I have not had a chance to do much actual research, but...¡± I drop the backpack onto the floor. ¡°With these I have something to dig into that I¡¯ve always wanted to mess with. But I¡¯m tired and want a bath, and I¡¯m sure you are ready for¡­whatever you do to relax.¡±

    ¡°A shower sounds amazing right about now, I¡¯m covered in alien goop.¡± He looked down at himself in disgust.

    <The containment devices, will they be okay if I just drop them here for now?>

    Absolutely, they will contain the antithesis for a very long time.

    <Awesome.>

    I drop the bag, and motion Devoy towards the door.

    ¡°Ready?¡±

    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    He nods and we headed back up the lift towards the Witch Craft.

    We have a quiet ride back to his housing block, both of us too worn out to do much talking. I vaguely remember passing out a bit, even.

    When we arrived at his place, he hopped out the back. ¡°Have a good night, Mori, let me know when you are ready for round two.¡± He said, waving as he slipped into his apartment.

    <Take me home please, Merlin, I may take a quick nap.>

    I think your ¡°may¡± is more of a will, so sure, I will drive.

    <Thanks, and you¡¯re right, I¡¯m beat.>

    I feel the gentle surge of the engines lift the craft into the air and then drift into a nap.

    I wake up to Gary¡¯s mug carrying me into my apartment.

    Not what a girl wants to wake up to, I try to wiggle my way out of his arms and right myself. I end up more tangled in his arms and wings.

    ¡°Gah, let me down, you ape!¡± I grumbled.

    He quickly sets me down just inside the apartment.

    ¡°Be useful and make something to eat, please, Gary, I need to clean up.¡±

    He bounded off to the kitchen, and I hear pots and pans banging around. Shaking my head, I make my way to the bathroom and draw up a hot bath with a healthy dose of bubbles.

    I¡¯m particular to raspberry and mango scented bath bombs, the heavenly smell immediately puts me into a relaxed state.

    Stripping down I crawl in and sit, soak in the warmth and delicious smell; if there were a heaven, I¡¯m sure it would be something like this.

    With a clear head, I start pondering my next project. I want to figure out a way to better understand how Antithesis communicate, and see if there is a way to take advantage of that.

    Every bit of data available suggests that they heavily rely on pheromones, I¡¯m not sure that is the right thing to even call them. They are plants after all, so more of a type of pollen? Perhaps a bit of both, a chemical hybrid that can send more complex information than just ¡°Come here¡± or ¡°Go there¡±. I have seen the Antithesis work together in small teams, and there is plenty of footage showing them working together, too.

    Of course I could ask Merlin for the information, I¡¯m sure there is a catalog of raw Antithesis data detailing exactly what and how they work. However, that does not help me truly understand it, being given the answers does not lead to mastering the information and being able to implement it in a practical way.

    I really need to get some solid lab time, but first I need to figure out a nice date with Devoy to make up for the cave diving.

    <Merlin, can you send out my collection swarm to the cave to harvest all the bio-mass?>

    It has already been dispatched to cleanse the area. You seem to be terrible at managing your secondary drones, so I have been maintaining them for you. If you were wondering, also your Owl is in the living room pestering Gary for scraps.

    <Do they need to be fed?>

    Sort of, they do require energy to maintain function, they can obtain it in several forms. Taking food and processing it down for its caloric value is one way. They could just be plugged in, but the AI that drives both Gary and the Owl are slowly evolving and forming personalities of their own. The Owl seems to really like bacon.

    <That¡¯s¡­ interesting, and I had no idea that could happen. I should probably name the Owl then, if it¡¯s going to have its own personality emerging, I can¡¯t just call it Owl>

    You could call it that, it does not matter all that much.

    <Hmm how about Hooty?>

    That is something near 60% of what contained owls are called, perhaps something more original?

    <Fine spoilsport, let¡¯s go with Cosima>

    A fine name, AI has been updated.

    <Most excellent! Now help me brainstorm a date idea that won¡¯t suck>

    Given your social skills and awkwardness, nothing could make it not suck.

    <Merlin! I hope that is in jest, I will have you know I am a social savant and could charm the pants off anyone!>

    Of course you could, then perhaps a dinner at your favorite place, Juhnes? After that some sort of activity to wrap up the evening? Sending you a list now.

    I opened the file he sent and took a peek at it.

    <ul>

    <li>Amusement Park</li>

    <li>A Movie</li>

    <li>Live Show</li>

    <li>Casino</li>

    <li>Mini-Golf</li>

    <li>Dancing</li>

    <li>Paintball</li>

    <li>Sumo-Suit</li>

    <li>Base Jumping</li>

    </ul>

    Ooh, I like most of these, but what would be best? Vegas does not really have any good amusement parks, so that¡¯s out. Movies are a bit clich¨¦, and I can¡¯t recall the last time I was interested in any of them. Gambling has never been an interest, though with Merlin I¡¯m sure we could up our odds of winning. Come to think of it, any Samurai could hop into a casino and rob the place blind with the power of our AI. Mini-Golf sounds nice, I¡¯ve always loved all the little themes and silly displays, I think we have our winner.

    I make a quick web inquiry and see what Mini-Golf locations are available.

    A small list appears in my head, Twilight Mini-Golf, PopStroke, KISS World.

    Oh ho! KISS world, how appropriate for a date!

    <Merlin, please get us some tickets for the KISS golf place.>

    Of course, but I don¡¯t¡­

    <Hush, just do it please.>

    Very well, tickets acquired.

    With all that taken care of, it¡¯s time to take care of my bath! I scrub down some more and hop out.

    I toss on my pajamas and head out to the living room to find chaos.

    Gary and Cosima are having a war in the kitchen, Gary is throwing everything within reach that isn¡¯t food, trying to stop Cosima from eating the meal he has prepared for me on the table. Cosima is hovering in the air, trying to dodge said objects, while diving down and picking off broccoli, pork tenderloin, and random bits of anything it can grab.

    A roller pin zips past my head making me duck to avoid it.

    ¡°ENOUGH¡± I shouted at them.

    They both look over sheepishly, Cosima lands on the table and Gary hides something behind his back innocently.

    ¡°Thank you, Cosima plug yourself into the wall and get power that way, when I¡¯m done eating you can have whatever is left over. Gary¡­ thank you for protecting the food, next time make Cosima her own snack instead of making a mess. Because guess who gets to clean it all up now?¡±

    He looks around realizing that the apartment looks like a warzone. I can see the moment it dawns on him; he has to clean it all up.

    He gently sets down the pan he had behind his back. Looking dejected, he starts picking things up.

    Cosima fluttered down to an outlet, she extended a cable and plugged it into the outlet.

    Peace restored, I sat down and enjoyed what was left of my dinner. Once finished I headed off to bed, thinking of the upcoming date and how amazing it will be.

    With nothing vital to do in the morning, I don¡¯t set any alarms and awake slowly sometime around noon.

    All is quiet in the apartment, too quiet. I shift the covers off myself and slink out into the living room to see what was going on.

    On the couch Gary and Cosima sit staring at each other, no, not staring, glaring. Between them lies the remote control.

    Great, another battle for resources, only this time it¡¯s over what to watch.

    ¡°Gary, how about some breakfast please.¡± The only response I get is a nod.

    Sighing, I stepped up to the couch and grabbed the remote.

    ¡°How about you go watch the TV in my room, Cosima. Gary spends more time cooking out here, he should get this TV.¡±

    Cosima shoots me a evil look before flapping her way into the bedroom.

    ¡°Good grief, it¡¯s like having children.¡±

    Gary gives me a dirty look before scampering off to the kitchen to start breakfast.

 Chapter 29 Late or fashionably on time!

    ''Today should be a fun day!'' I think to myself as I force a comb through my hair for the billionth time, trying to tame its wild tangle of a mess. Not only do I get to go play with the captured Antithesis that Devoy caught for me, but I also get to go out on our second? date. Yes, let¡¯s call it our second! I finally manage to get the comb through the matted mess of hair, just to have it tangle back up instantly. Curse my wavy hair, I shall not let it stop my good mood!

    Finishing my morning routine, I go back to the living area to find no chaos! Gary is just finishing placing breakfast onto the table, and Cosima is nowhere to be seen, small victories.

    I sit down before my feast and survey what Gary has made for me. Looks to be the usual fare, with a new addition. Oatmeal!

    Yes! I dig in with very lady like manners, as my stomach is reminding me of my increased caloric intake by rumbling at me.

    Using my augs, I flick through the news stations to see if anything interesting has happened lately. Local news, a man gambling lost his life savings, and decided to get drunk and run through the casino naked. A mega corp purchased an apartment building, kicked everyone out and is renovating it to be a massive shopping mall.

    A small stealth hive was found in Jean, a small little town south of Vegas, and a local kid was initiated as a Vanguard and cleared it out. By the looks of it, he is only 16 or so, and he lost an arm in the initial attack saving his little brother, then replaced it with a cybernetic one. It must be fairly strong because it was gripping a massive hammer, bigger than the kid.

    Finishing up my breakfast, I brush my teeth and slip into my gear. After being ambushed by the flying Antithesis swarm, I¡¯ve decided to just bring it with me everywhere I go, because apparently, I am a wanted figure by the big wigs of the Antithesis and it pays to be ready.

    Before leaving I stop at the door and look back, Gary is watching animal planet again, I seriously don¡¯t get him and his fascination with extinct animals but whatever.

    ¡°Bye you two, behave while I¡¯m gone! Cosima, be on alert if I call for you!¡±

    I hear a hoot-hoo from the bedroom before I closed the front door.

    I pass through the apartment lobby, ignoring all the onlookers and whispers that I¡¯ve come to expect now, from living here. I may need to look into getting a more permanent residence of my own soon. Who knows how long until everyone knows I live here and get mobbed by fan-people.

    In the parking lot old trusty sat in its dumpy vehicle camo.

    I hop in and warm the engines up, cancelling the camo. Come to think of, it how long before people figure that out, too? I may need to cycle into other forms of hiding the ship.

    I quickly zip across the desert to my lab, scheming up plans on how to play with my new toys!

    Parking and going down the lift go surprisingly well, a nice change of pace.

    In my lab, it is as I left it. Mostly empty, but haphazardly placed in the middle of the floor is my bag of containment vessels.

    With a squeal of delight, I rush over and grab the bag, and pull them all out. I quickly realize I have nowhere to put them, nor a place to sit, or anything actually helpful in here.

    I query the cookpot craft menu, and quickly design a shelf for the vessels, with plenty of room for more, a desk to work on and an overly comfy chair to sit in.

    The cookpot very quickly spits out the requested items, them being common objects, it takes only seconds to craft.

    Next, I need a way to contain the Antithesis so I can study them without being horribly murdered in the process.

    Looking around the room, it has plenty of empty space, using the cookpot menu I design holding cells, using nanites I know to be strong enough to contain the models that were captured. With exception of the Model Twenty-Two I can fit everything else.

    I order up the holding cells made of nanites, they are a bit slower to craft, accounting for their increased durability and size.

    The lab now has on the far side, several rows of cells of varying sizes, the larger cells along the walls for more security, and the smaller ones spaced out from those leaving an aisleway between them.

    The cells have clear walls, and a virtual control panel to manipulate the walls to form doors, or openings, really anything I need.

    I grab the vessels and toss them into the cells, the cell walls open to admit the vessels, once they land and the walls close back up, I release the containment vessels and tah-dah! All my experimental critters pop into existence with a satisfactory ¡°popping¡± noise.

    <Okay Merlin, let¡¯s do some science!>

    Your definition of science is both tragic and lacking. Are you sure you don¡¯t want to unlock the already well researched and documented catalogs for Antithesis?

    <No, and don¡¯t you besmirch the good name of Human science! We may not be as fancy as the Protectorate, but we are scrappy and determined!>

    I suppose as far as species go, humans are both of those things. Though you are also as a species, a bit slow to come together and fight the imminent alien invasion thing. Most species at this point in the invasion process formed unified governments dedicated to fighting the Antithesis. I will give Humans one accolade though, in all the species so far, no other has developed such a¡­ colorful variety of individual ways to fight the Antithesis and yet still somehow survive.

    <I don¡¯t even know if I should be proud or insulted with our individualism. I both like that our people are so varied, and yet it is my biggest gripe as well. We absolutely SHOULD be coming together and presenting a unified front. Instead, we jockey for more power and money still, and squabble like children instead of facing off against the Antithesis together.>

    See, there is the reason I picked you as a Vanguard.

    <Thanks, I guess?>

    I mean it, your view is one I share, Humanity as a whole needs to collectively get its act together and push out the Antithesis. Our predictive models show that if Humanity gathered a unified front the invasion could be contained withing a few years and eliminated to a non-threat in only a decade.

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    <Well that¡¯s optimistic, but I doubt that will ever happen. And while I would love that, I am only one person amongst millions¡­ even with the tech offered by the protectorate I doubt I could single handedly make that much of a change.>

    That¡¯s not true. Do not fool yourself, Morigana. You are smart and have a good head on your shoulders. Look at Human history, it only takes one influential person to create a large movement. For now, baby steps, develop your knowledge and skills, use that mind of yours and think your way through this. I have hope for your future.

    <Wow¡­ that was quite moving. I think you¡¯re right, and just proved why I need to figure out and learn how Antithesis work on my own.>

    ¡­ That was impressive, I will eat my own words. Continue with your experiments! I do have a suggestion though, that will point you in the right direction without cheating.

    <I¡¯m listening.>

    There is a catalog for analyzing and data collecting for non-specific purposes, that has equipment and tools for studying a wide variety subjects. To include Antithesis, while not specific, it will cover most of the needs that I can foresee.

    <That is an excellent idea! Tell me more.>

    I recommend getting both Class I and II catalogs and have a list of equipment that would benefit you greatly. Class I/II Analyzing equipment and data collection toolset for a combined six hundred points and a token.

    Within that catalog I recommend the Biological Volumetric Air Sampler, Synthetic Chemical Recreator, and Mycorrhizal Signal Interceptor. For a combined three thousand points. This will provide a solid basis for your research, without giving away too much.

    It seems that I am on to something with my original thoughts of looking into the Pheromones released by Antithesis. The first two heavily lean towards an airborne delivery system for communication. The third though¡­ that is something I did not consider. Could they be using some sort of fungal pathway to transmit information?

    <Let¡¯s do it, make the purchases please.>

    Loot inbound!

    Class I Analyzing Equipment and Data Collection Toolset unlocked!

    Points reduced to: 72380

    Class II Analyzing Equipment and Data Collection Toolset unlocked!

    Points reduced to: 71880

    New Purchase: Biological Volumetric Air Sampler:

    Points reduced to: 70880

    New Purchase: Synthetic Chemical Recreator:

    Points reduced to: 69880

    New Purchase: Mycorrhizal Signal Interceptor:

    Points reduced to: 68880

    Three rune laced spinning glowing circles appear on my desk, like some sort of demonic summoning. Each produces a black and purple box

    Rolling my eyes, I open up the first box, inside is a simple glass tablet. The next box has a boxy contraption with a bottle hanging below it, and a dispersal nozzle coming from the bottle. The last box has a round-ish ball, with one flat side with a screen, and multiple antennae sticking out of it like a sea urchin.

    Shiny!

    I look over each device, touching each one initiated a software update and linked them to my augs.

    Where to start? I think looking into my initial predictions of their communications is best. Let''s see how far off I was, in thinking that the most basic communication they used was with pheromones, pollen, and chemical signals.

    Lifting up the Air Sampler I move over to the cell that holds the two Model Six¡¯. Oddly enough, all the contained Antithesis were sitting still within the cells, having given up trying to escape. Instead, they just sat there watching me with their creepy alien eyes. They seem to have realized they cannot damage the walls they were in and entered some sort of standby mode.

    Holding up the device near the Model Six, it immediately makes a mental chirp in my augs, displaying its findings directly into my mind.

    The Model Six was sending into the air a mixture of pheromones. Looking at the composition of both, the message was astonishingly clear.

    Pacify, preserve energy, non-hostility, await command.

    The information was simple, and with little detail, but the intent was clear. They, or rather the Model Six¡¯, knew the futility of attacking the cell walls, and was instructing the group to save their energy and wait for an opportunity to attack.

    Fascinating!

    Using this method to communicate confirms several of my theories!

    The Model Six¡¯ are indeed short-range squad commanders. The agents they release are very short range but effective non-the-less! It also shows that they have a limited intelligence, in-so-far as being able to make informed decisions. It was also pushing out very subtle sound waves, pushing the pheromones in the directions that it wanted, enabling it to somewhat direct commands to different units around it.

    I let out a giggle of excitement, as I placed the Air Sampler down and reach for the Synthetic Recreator. Immediately the menu pops up with a list of options. It looks like the data from the Air Sampler was shared with it, and I see profiles for creating the Pheromones that it has detected.

    My eyes widen, and I feel my jaw hit the floor.

    Oh. My. Stars!

    This is revolutionary, with this simple data set I could manufacture simple repellent, grenades or aerosols to give out to non-combatants or civilians¡­ or have them spray out from bunkers to shut down Antithesis behaviors in a localized area.

    <Merlin! Do you see this! Do you have any idea the applications this has!>

    I do indeed, Morigana, it is why I suggested the equipment I did.

    <Why has no one used this information or spread it out?>

    Well, for the most part Samurai shy towards using things like bullets and explosions to deal with the Antithesis. Very few¡­ lets say, intellectuals, get selected for being a Vanguard.

    <I see. Well, looking at the compounds produced from the Air Sampler, the pheromones produced are really simple to manufacture. Can you set up an order for their ingredients with the corp. I¡¯m going to design simple release devices for personal use!>

    Of course, order placed.

    <Thank you.>

    Grinning from ear to ear, I set to work designing a simple grenade, spray bottle, and bunker dispenser.

    After several hours of intense crafting, I have a design for each idea, as well as a underslung grenade launcher variant.

    A quick glance at the time, it¡¯s nearly 8pm.

    Frick!

    I pull up Devoy¡¯s number and give it a call, he answers on the first ring.

    ¡°Well, hello Mori, I was expecting a call a bit sooner.¡± A slightly upset voice said.

    ¡°I know, I know, I¡¯m so sorry! Merlin showed me some new toys and I¡¯ve been in my lab all day experimenting on the Antithesis you captured me! I made a breakthrough already!¡± I practically shouted at him.

    ¡°Oh?¡± He said, trailing with a amused sigh. ¡°And what did you find?¡± I could hear ¡°This better be good¡± tone under the words.

    ¡°I found a way to decode the base pheromone communication that Model Six¡¯ use. I can duplicate the compound, and install it into deployable weapons to create safe zones, or deterrents for lower tier Models! Imagine, putting this in every school room, or kids on the street, or military grenades, and bunkers and everything!¡±

    A brief pause.

    ¡°That¡­ is quite amazing, Mori. So, I¡¯m guessing no date tonight then?¡± He sounded like a wounded puppy; my heart broke a bit with guilt.

    ¡°Uh, well, the place I picked is open until 11pm, and I think I can still swing the food place, too, if we hurry.¡± I gibbered out quickly.

    ¡°Well, I am ready now, so if you give me the address, I can meet you there to save picking up one of us.¡± Devoy said.

    ¡°Awesome, I will meet you there in like twenty minutes!¡± I said while hanging up.

    I quickly shoot over the address for Juhnes, while vaulting out of the lab, after sending the cauldron to craft as soon as the materials arrive.

    I also make a quick call to Juhnes.

    ¡°Hello, this is Juhnes Korean BBQ. Who is calling?¡±

    ¡°Hey! This is Morigana, I fought off the gangs exploiting your restaurant the other day.¡±

    ¡°Oh yes, thank you for that, they have not been back since! If ever I can repay you let me know, please.¡± He said ,sounding grateful.

    ¡°Well, actually you see, I kind of promised a special friend a date, and if you guys could stay open a bit for it, I would be most appreciative!¡±

    ¡°Oh ho! Of course, of course! Please! I will make a special occasion just for you! When will you be by?¡± He asked, excited.

    ¡°Twenty minutes, and really, thank you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not much time, but no worries we can do it. See you soon.¡± And he hangs up the phone abruptly.

    Yes! Salvaged!

    It¡¯s a miracle your species propagates at all.

    <Hush you!>

 Chapter 30 It Finally Happened!

    Without wasting any time I sprinted to the lift, I reached out with my augs ahead of time and dug into the safety restrictions and removed them.

    I stepped into the lift and activated the lift, it springs up into the air like a potato out of a potato launcher, I could hear the equipment moving the lift squeal in protest. My stomach drops into my feet, the only reason I¡¯m still standing is the physical upgrades I made to my bones and muscles, any normal human would probably be some sort of mush on the floor.

    The lift comes to a sudden stop, and because physics being what they are I continued moving and gracefully slammed into the ceiling like a sack of potatoes.

    Once I fall back to the ground, I sprinted to the awaiting Witch Craft, the engines are already warmed up and ready to go.

    <Thanks for getting her ready Merlin.>

    Of course, figured it might give you a few precious seconds.

    Rolling my eyes I leapt into the open cargo door, before even making it to the pilot¡¯s seat I started flying the ship out the hangar door and into the night sky.

    I stumble through to the front, plopping down into my seat.

    <Take me to Juhnes please! I need to come up with a nicer outfit than what I have.>

    I opened up my armor settings and find the design section in the menu. A model of myself springs up into my mind with my current equipment on. On the sides it has tabs where my other pre-sets are stored for quick changes. Below the pre-sets is a little plus. I select that to open a blank slate.

    My image changes to an image of me standing there naked, eep! Thankfully only I can see this!

    I add in my standard underwear and save that as the undergarment standard, so next time it won¡¯t start with me being nude.

    Let¡¯s go with something simple, but elegant. I imagine a simple dress, with a hint of dark blue that blends down into purple at the bottom. I add a black cloth belt to cinch it around the waist. I add in long sleeves with the same color transition going down them. Something is missing though, what does it need? Stars, why is fashion so difficult! Oh ho! Stars! I dash in stars, galaxies, planets, and moons! I spread them out and make them give off light as if they were real and make them rotate and spin around the dress.

    Let¡¯s not forget my hat either! I drop my hat on top, then make it match the dress color and star design, but I make the underside appear like the darkness of space, with stars twinkling. To finish it off, I add gold trim and stitching to the whole outfit, Happy with my rush job, I save it and activate the design.

    The nanites making up my gear swirl and crawl over me, to bring to life my masterpiece of a dress!

    I look over at my staff and wand, I can¡¯t really carry them around on a date, not even just that, but they are bulky in general¡­

    <Merlin, what options do I have for storing my staff and wand, I want them at hand but not in the way. Can you convert them to nanites?>

    Can they? Yes of course, but you would have to purchase them again, and the cost would increase due to upgrading them to nanites.

    <Well, that¡¯s handy, but I hate purchasing things again, seems like a waste of points.>

    Okay, picky-pants, how about a dimensional storage space?

    <That sounds more like it, more info, please!>

    I create an extra-dimensional space, like a warehouse, and store your junk there until you need it, what else is there to say?

    <I don¡¯t know, how about catalogs and cost and such, smarty-pants.>

    It¡¯s a Class II catalog called Extra Dimensional Solutions it will cost six hundred points and a token. The Item I have in mind for you is called Category II Extra-Dimensional Spatial Storage portal and is a thousand points. It will be keyed into your hats brim; you can shove just about anything into it that will fit. The space within is essentially limitless, has no air, no temperature, and time does not flow in it. So, anything placed within, basically enters a state of stasis until it is removed. To get things out, you use your augs to recall the item, and it will drop out as quick or slow as you need it, within limits, or you can reach your hand in to grab it.

    <That is awesome! Only my hat brim though? Could I have it move somewhere else?>

    Yes, I figured that made the most sense since your hat is fairly large, and with your nanites you can change its size to fit a wide array of stuff.

    <Okay, but how do I change the location?>

    Oh, easy, just like all your gear menus! Anywhere that your nanites form a complete circle in some way, can be set as an entry or exit point for the portal.

    <Way better than re-buying my staff and wand! Purchase, please!>

    Loot inbound!

    Class II Extra-Dimensional Solutions unlocked!

    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.Points reduced to: 68,220

    Tokens reduced to: 4

    New Purchase: Category II Extra Dimensional Storage Portal:

    Points reduced to: 67,220

    A summoning circle with purple rings materializes in the air next to me and drops a black and purple box out onto my lap.

    I reach in to find a black and purple glass orb about the size of a golf ball, picking it up instantly starts the software install for my augs. As the knowledge gets add into my augs, a quick glance at the new menu tells me that, like my other items, it will integrate into my armor just by placing it against any part of it.

    I press it against my hat, and it gets sucked in instantly.

    A quick thought and the underside of my hat turns into an impossibly dark void that seems to suck in even the light. Grabbing my staff and wand, I press them both into the void, and they vanish into it without so much as a sound.

    Eerie! I close the portal and check the menu, and see a list of items stored within the void.

    <ul>

    <li>Wand of Fireballs</li>

    <li>Tempest Staff of Storms</li>

    </ul>

    I think about pulling out the staff, the void opens back up and I see the staff start to slide out slowly. Cancelling the command, it sucks right back up and the void closes.

    We have arrived at Juhnes, it appears Devoy beat you here.

    <The shame! I¡¯m the worst date ever.>

    Your words, not mine.

    <Hush you.>

    The Witchcraft naturally doesn¡¯t fit into the small alleyway that Juhnes takes up, so I leave it hovering over the shop. Using my portal emitter, I appear right outside the front door.

    Taking a steadying breath I whisper ¡°You can do this.¡± Pushing in the glass door I peek my head inside, the place looks fantastic!

    All the tables were removed save one, the walls were decorated in holograms of Asian scenery, beautiful trees, little villas, greenery and waterfalls. They were even touched up with sounds of running water, and other nature sounds, as if we were out in a garden.

    Standing next to the table was Devoy, decked out in a nice black suit. He must have seen my head poke in because his face lit up with a smile and his eyes shone with a welcoming warmth.

    My heart skipped a beat as I took it all in.

    I finally stepped into the place and closed the door behind me. Devoy opened his arms inviting me in for a hug, which I immediately jumped into.

    I leaned into the hug, feeling his strong arms wrap around my person, it was like sitting in a warm bath, wrapped in a bubble of cake and cozy, and it smelled of tea tree and vanilla.

    I let out a content sigh, enjoying the feeling, snugging up as close as possible.

    Too soon, he releases me from the cocoon of warmth and holds me at arm¡¯s length. He looks me up and down, I can see in his eyes the wonder, the look I was hoping for with the dress!

    ¡°You look amazing, and that dress¡­ wow!¡± He said in awe. I do a little twirl for him, making all the stars and celestial objects spin aand twirl as I do it.

    ¡°Thank you, and you look rather striking as well, I approve.¡±

    He lets my hand go and pulls out a chair at the table for me.

    ¡°Your seat.¡± He gestures.

    I plop down into it with lady-like grace.

    On the table are several candles and other random decorative placements.

    Devoy walked over to his side and sat.

    ¡°So, we are getting a surprise special treatment apparently.¡± Devoy said, his eyes lingering with a question.

    ¡°Mr. Ji-Ho said that he is going to spoil us with his best items until we can¡¯t eat any more. Which leaves me to wonder, what happened to get this sort of treatment.¡±

    I sheepishly grin, ¡°I may have beat down a local gang, that was exploiting the place for protection money. They then sent goons to my place, and I beat them up too, and warned them any more action would result in the full wrath of a Samurai.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s¡¯ the story behind the potential gang war you mentioned, think anything else will come of it?¡± He questioned.

    At this point Mr. Ji-Ho came out from the back pushing a large table on wheels, in the middle of it was a pit with a fire going, and a grill suspended over it. Around the edges were a large variety of meats, toppings, and massive lettuce leaves.

    My eyes leapt out of my head as my stomach gurgled in anticipation. Devoy laughed at my reaction.

    ¡°I think someone forgot to feed themselves today.¡± He joked.

    ¡°She has in fact not eaten any lunch today, only breakfast. Make sure she eats at least six thousand calories, please, Devoy.¡± Piped up Merlin from my hat.

    He busted out laughing. Between laughs he managed to get out; ¡°You got it Merlin, she¡¯s in good hands, I think.¡±

    ¡°Traitorous AI, who¡¯s side are you on?¡± I grumbled.

    ¡°Give him a break Mori, he only fusses because he cares. Right, Merlin?¡±

    ¡°That is correct Devoy, I want to ensure she is fit to fight when more Antithesis invade.¡± He said smugly.

    ¡°Go away Merlin, you¡¯re ruining my date night!¡± I hissed at him.

    ¡°Pfft, you hardly need my help to do that.¡± He retorted.

    ¡°HUSH, YOU!¡± I screeched, throwing my hat across the room.

    ¡°My point exactly.¡± Said the hat from the other side of the room.

    Devoy busted out laughing at our antics.

    Mr. Ji-Ho just carried on with a smile on his face, watching from the side politely.

    He placed plates down, and some skewer sticks, forks, and other utensils to facilitate cooking the food. Then briefly explained how to cook the food and wrap it.

    Essentially, we cook the meats we want over the fire, use the giant lettuce leaves to wrap the meat up with our choice of toppings, like a bulgogi lettuce taco.

    We spend the next hour or so, grilling our food and stuffing our face with the amazing food, only minimal small talk in between bites.

    After we had our fill, Mr. Ji-Ho rolled away the grill and brought out a plate of sweet sticky rice with a side of mango, for dessert.

    It was amazing!

    With a content sigh, I sat back in my chair and grinned sillily at Devoy.

    ¡°What?¡± He said, obviously amused.

    ¡°Nothing, this was great! I hope you enjoyed it too.¡±

    ¡°Of course, much better than fighting off countless waves of aliens, in a pool of blood and gore.¡± He patted his stomach. ¡°More filling for sure.¡± He joked.

    ¡°So much better.¡± I laughed.

    ¡°And I¡¯m sorry that our first date was more of a plant grinding murder session.¡± I said, looking downcast.

    He leaned forward and looked into my eyes.

    ¡°You¡¯re an amazing woman, incredibly smart, beautiful, determined. I love that you care about everyone, and want to make this world a safer place.¡± He reached across the table, taking my hands in his, gently squeezing them. ¡°Never be sorry for being you, this world is full of evil, selfish and power-hungry assholes. You are the counterpoint to them. You have my support for whatever it is you do. I trust that you have the best intentions in your heart.¡±

    My eyes started to water as he was talking.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said, pulling a hand back to wipe my tears.

    ¡°Nothing to thank, if anything I¡¯m the lucky one, who gets to see your dreams come true, and spend time with the most amazing woman on the planet.¡±

    He got up and walked around the table, keeping one hand in his. He gently pulled my hand up, and out of the chair guiding me over to an open space on the floor.

    Soft music came out of nowhere and we started a slow dance. I leaned into his chest taking in his amazing smell, and the warmth and strength of his presence.

    We slowly danced around the room, just enjoying the moment.

    When the song ended, he looked down into my eyes and leaned in, I felt my heart try to beat its way out of my chest, I leaned into him, and we had our first heart stopping kiss. It was soft, and warm and made the world shrink down to just the two of us.

    It was at that moment the glass shattered and a brick came sailing into the room.

 Chapter 31 Flare and Mystique

    It was at that moment the glass shattered and a brick came sailing into the room.

    Without looking Devoy snapped his hand out catching the brick before it hit the ground.

    ¡°You have got to be kidding me!¡± Shouts Devoy out the now broken window.

    I recalled my hat, it broke down into a nanite swarm of swirling purple and black, reforming onto my head.

    Devoy looked down at the brick, there was writing on it done in a black grease pen.

    ¡°Coming for you!¡± was all it said. There is only one group, or I suppose I should call them what they are, a gang that had it out for Juhnes and or myself. The Royal Tigers.

    I rush over to the window and look around outside, to see if I can see who threw the brick. Focusing on my sensors instead of my eyes I try to pick out any odd behaving people in range.

    Sure, enough there are two people running down the street pushing people out of their way. Shouts and cries of alarm echo down the street in their wake.

    Devoy steps up with me peering around the street, I notice his suit has been replaced with his sleek black armor, his helm retracted so his face was exposed still.

    ¡°What do you see, Mori?¡± He asked.

    ¡°Two of them, running up the street that way.¡± I pointed in the direction they were running.

    ¡°Want to give chase?¡± He asked, I could tell he was itching for some violence, and to be honest I was in a grumpy mood as well, we were just getting to the good part.

    I could feel my face flushed from the kiss, and the rising irritation of it being interrupted.

    Was it petty or overly drastic that I wanted a measure of revenge? Maybe, but I also promised the Tigers if they messed with Juhnes, or myself there would be retribution.

    ¡°I think we should, but I don¡¯t want to just deal with these two. I told them once if they messed with this place or me again, I would come after them.¡± I said with some venom.

    ¡°In that case, we should follow discreetly and see where they end up. I doubt street rat gang members like these are smart enough to try and mislead us. I bet they are heading right back to their base or whatever shit hole they call home.¡± Devoy said.

    Sighing, because he¡¯s right, but at the same time I don¡¯t particularly want to kill humans, regardless. So how do I stop a gang of miscreants, all they respond to is violence and strength. Short of killing off the entire gang, or most, if not all the leaders. how do I keep this from happening again and again?

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill them though, but I don¡¯t want this cycle to keep happening.¡± I said pleadingly to Devoy.

    He looked at me apprehensively, a small frown etched across his face.

    ¡°Then what do you want to do, because without stomping their little faces in they will just keep coming like rats.¡± He explained, miming punching someone in the face.

    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know, lets just follow them for now. Once we see where they head, we can figure it out.¡± I spoke.

    Mr. Ji-Ho came out from the back room a look of outrage and shock on his face. I winced as I noticed him. ¡°We are going to figure out how to stop this.¡± I said to him. ¡°I can also replace the window when I get back, for now please stay here.¡±

    ¡°Please, be safe, and thank you, I know that this is not your fault, you are only trying to help.¡±

    ¡°Be safe, I¡¯m going to have my guard drone come and keep you safe, should more of them come while we are gone.¡± He nods apprehensively.

    <Have Gary fly over and keep an eye on him for me please.>

    Gary has been dispatched; he will be here shortly. I have also sent Cosima to your location to set out a grid to help track your assailants.

    <Good thinking, thanks!>

    Of course. Someone here must try and use all the available tools at your disposal.

    <Hush you.>

    Devoy and I walked into the street after the two gang members, I set our pace at a brisk walk making sure to keep the runners in range of my sensors but far enough that they would hopefully not notice us.

    I went ahead and switched my dress over to the combat outfit I had saved, while on the move.

    We tracked them through the busy under streets of China Town, they were moving at a quick pace. I think the locals knew who they were and gave them space, allowing them unobstructed travel. Meanwhile Devoy and I had to do more pushing and shoving to clear through the streets. Us being in armor did not seem to immediately clear the way. Only after we passed did people catch on that Samurai where moving past and scramble to get out of our way.

    After about fifteen minutes of following them, Cosima arrived in the area. She dissolved into a swarm of nanites and started coating the whole area in a massive surveillance net. My link with her provided a far more comprehensive look at the area.

    I slowed down to a stop, pulling Devoy over to the side.

    ¡°What is it, did they stop?¡± He asked, alarmed, looking around for trouble.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°No, they are still moving, I have my recon drone overhead now and she¡¯s able to track them more reliably than I can with just my hat. I figure we can see where they go without risk of spooking them, this way.¡± I had to practically shout with all the clamor from the street.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡± He shouted back at me.

    Devoy pointed over at an alleyway, just ahead of us, and walked into it. I followed him into the alley, removing us from a bit of the hustle and bustle of the street noise and constant jostling from the crowd.

    ¡°Good idea, a bit more peace in here.¡± I could finally say without yelling.

    Looking around, he dragged us into a dark side alley with metal prefab buildings around us. Some dumpsters overflowing with trash lined the place, and some randomly stacked crates.

    ¡°Such a romantic local, do you take all your dates here?¡± I asked seductively, winking at him.

    He laughed, bringing me close with a hug before whispering in my ear.

    ¡°Only the lucky ones.¡±

    A shiver ran down my spine.

    No, no no! Not in an alley full of garbage!

    Thankfully that¡¯s as far as he went, releasing me with a grin, he said.

    ¡°To be fair, you took me to an alien nest, and we fought off murderous plant monsters for science.¡±

    ¡°Point.¡± I said ,giving him my most innocent smile.

    A mental ping alerted me to a change in the gang members we were tracking.

    An aerial view of the area appeared in my minds eye, with two red dots entering a dilapidated warehouse several blocks east of us, they were several streets off the main strip in the super ghetto.

    I shared the data with Devoy, and gave instructions to Cosima to infiltrate the building, map it and the surrounding area. I want to be able to know where everyone is and how many we were dealing with.

    We started our trek over to the warehouse, keeping an eye on the progress Cosima was making scouting out the building for us. I set a marker on the map for us to head towards, another building just a few streets down from the target building. I did not want to spook any lookouts they may have in the area.

    ¡°Other than the few buildings we went through in Beaty, have you ever had to clear a building full of people?¡± Devoy asked.

    Come to think of it, no. Even then the school that we cleared was full of Model Seven zombies. While that experience shook me up, it was not the same as what we were about to do. Yes, they were gang members who probably would not have any issues killing us if they were given the chance. I found it difficult to even think about killing off people.

    I shook my head in the negative. ¡°No, and I guess I am hesitant to say that I could kill any of them. Specially since I¡¯m confident that with our Vanguard equipment and physical enhancements, they would need to get lucky to even hurt one of us.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to load up on non-lethal rounds and a stun-sword for this then.¡± Devoy said, as a box of ammo and a sheathed weapon materialized in his hands. He hitched the sword to his hip and reloaded his rifle with the new magazine.

    <Merlin, I need something similar to incapacitate people with a reliable net of safety. Something with less than a 1% chance of accidental death in a below average healthy person.>

    You have several choices in your catalogs that could fit that requirement. Did you want something close range, like Devoy¡¯s sword or more ranged like his rifle>

    <I think both would be ideal or either, a system or weapon that can adapt to either. You know what I mean!>

    Indeed, the Electro-Static stun ring-set in your Warcaster Class I catalog can be adapted to perform as you are requesting. They will emit a low-voltage charge that will transfer via touch or short-range discharge up to thirty feet. It will disrupt their bodies nervous system for a short time, causing their muscles to seize for about five minutes.

    <Are you sure that is safe enough? What about cardiac conditions or suffocation if their lungs shut down?>

    The shock is controlled just prior to impact to gauge the persons health, it will fail to activate if there is a risk of cardiac arrest or asphyxiation, and if while being shocked either condition begins, the shock will terminate.

    <Alright let¡¯s get it, oh how->

    Loot inbound!

    <-much is it, never mind.>

    New Purchase: Class One Electro-Static Stun Rings:

    Points reduced to: 66720

    I small jewelry box materialized on the ground in front of me, in a flash of light and runic summoning circles.

    Devoy looked over at me with a raised eyebrow. ¡°It¡¯s what Merlin does when he¡¯s feeling flashy, I did not ask for it.¡± I said defensively.

    He grinned with understanding.

    ¡°Thankfully Pyllonia does not pull shit like that on me, I¡¯m thankfull for her level headedness and practicality.¡± He said, with a stupid smug face.

    ¡°I will have you know, Mr. Devoy, that I am the definition of refined Protectorate excellence! My additional effects bring a certain style and flare to my works, and I take great pride in uplifting Morigana¡¯s style and mystique by proxy.¡± Piped up my hat.

    ¡°You are such a tryhard, Merlin, stop showing off and just spawn in the required gear like a respectable AI.¡± Came the very neutral voice of Pyllonia from a part of Devoy¡¯s armor.

    ¡°Humph¡± Was the response from Merlin.

    I reached out to grab the box, but before I could, the box vanished.

    In front of us in the open street a massive, twenty-foot summoning circle with six of the most intricate black and purple swirling runic rings shimmered into existence. After a few moments a marble statue of an Angel with its wings spread open, with a hand extended outwards slowly materialized up out of the rings, emitting a blinding flash of light. On its hand sat an extravagantly fancy box, with glowing runic symbols encircling the lid.

    We all just stared on in awe, as my five-hundred-point rings came out in the most extravagant trollish way possible.

    ¡°Jupiter¡¯s moons, Merlin, why?¡± I said bewildered.

    The Angel statue reached its other hand over and opened the box to display two very fancy golden rings, they moved in on themselves like a snake made of lightning.

    ¡°Merlin! Really!¡± I exclaimed.

    I looked at Devoy for support, instead he was using the building next to us to support himself while laughing hard enough to start coughing. I could see tears streaming down his face.

    He waved his hand at me, because he clearly couldn¡¯t speak.

    Pyllonia spoke from his armor. ¡°How mature, make it even more of a spectacle then.¡±

    Sighing, I reached out and grabbed the rings, placing one on each index finger. The user manuals instantly loaded into my augs, I quickly scanned through their functions.

    After a moment of quick reading, I was happy with them.

    ¡°Thanks Merlin, maybe let¡¯s not give away our position to everyone in a hundred miles next time.¡± I scolded him.

    ¡°Of course, Morigana. No one will have seen that I used a trick to ensure only you and Devoy saw the display. In reality, when you reached for the rings, I spawned them into your hand the moment you had them in your possession.¡± Bragged my hat.

    ¡°Fine, but maybe let¡¯s cut down the showiness anyway.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re no fun sometimes.¡± I rolled my eyes at his comment.

    Devoy was able to collect himself, and stop laughing.

    ¡°Right, let¡¯s go over the data your scout has accumulated.¡± He finally managed to say.

    Using my augs I create a full VR map of the Royal Tigers warehouse and share it with Devoy.

    The warehouse is pretty darn big, about the size of a football field but square. It has four levels, and the bottom level is twenty feet tall. The entire structure is full of holes, fallen walls, beams, and largely looks structurally unsound. It¡¯s a good thing we are packing quieter, less destructive, non-lethal gear or else this building would not survive our assault.

    Each floor above the first was a hive of hallways, walls, and artificially created dead-ends and rooms, the place was chaos incarnate.

    Lastly the people, there were somewhere around three hundred of them packed around the place in groups, or in rooms. This was going to be a challenge to clear, but I owed it to Ji-Ho, and if it helped the rest of China Town too, all¡¯s the better.

    ¡°So, here is the plan.¡± Devoy said.

 Chapter 32 Interlude - Everything looks like a nail!

    The wind smelled funny today, it had a sort of musky smell tinged with copper. Shaking my head to clear it, I had work to do. My brother Lenny and I were only 16 and 9, not old enough for people to want to hire us properly. So, we did odd jobs and errands for the people who owned the airfield at Jean. Mostly cleaning up junk or doing repairs to the building¡¯s workings. Even though neither of us had a proper education, handiwork seemed natural. That, and with the mesh available, we learned a lot about repairing buildings, plumbing, and just basic maintenance.

    So instead of hiring a proper repair team, they cheaped out and paid us in food, clothing, and a place to stay.

    ¡°Lenny, come hold door closed, the wind is too strong.¡± I said to him, grunting. The door lock had been clogged from all the dirt and I was trying to clean it out. With the wind though, it kept flapping all over the place and I needed both hands to take apart the lock and clean it.

    ¡°Coming, Allen.¡± Lenny said, putting down his Grasshopper action figure. He grabbed hold of the door, and I was finally able to remove the lock and start cleaning out the dirt.

    ¡°There is a new Samurai out, Allen. Do you think we can save up and get it?¡± He said, looking up at me sheepishly.

    Lenny loved the Samurai, he looked up to them like heroes, and whenever a new action figure came out, he wanted it, but we barely made it by as it was. I hated to tell him no, so I tried to find other ways to get them. Most of the ones I got for him, I found in the trash, usually damaged in some way. But that did not matter to Lenny, he loved them all the same.

    ¡°I will try and find it, who is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a new model of Sam-O-Ray!¡± He shouted a smile spreading across his face, and his eyes lighting up.

    ¡°I thought that your favorite was Cause Player?¡± I said, trying to distract him, I know he has a few of Cause Player, he has a few styles, depending on who he was playing as, for his stream.

    ¡°It is, but I don¡¯t have any of Sam-O-Ray and he¡¯s cool too.¡± He whined back.

    I rolled my eyes; I managed to clean the last of the dirt out of the lock and got to putting it back in the door.

    ¡°I will try, Lenny. No promises, okay?¡± I said, knowing that the chances were very small.

    I gave the lock a few tests, making sure it was working before closing the door. Mr Blearman, the owner of the airport, had one more job on the list today. The far hangar had a dirt pile behind it that was somehow getting larger. He wanted me to spread the dirt back out, a simple task that should only take a few hours at most.

    I liked those sorts of jobs, I could sort of turn my mind off and just work, it made days go by faster and Lenny liked to play with the creepy crawlies that would come out of the dirt, his favorite was the roly-poly¡¯s. I went around back of the building to where our tool shed was, to get a shovel and wheelbarrow. Figured I would just disperse the dirt further away with it, preventing whoever was dumping dirt there from having easy access to the same dirt.

    We walked over, me pushing the wheelbarrow and Lenny behind me making whooshing noises as he flew Grasshopper around, fighting imaginary Antithesis.

    We came up to the dirt pile, I set down the wheelbarrow, grabbed the shovel and pushed it down into the dirt. I repeated this for a while until I filled up the wheelbarrow, then wheeled it over to another spot and dumped the dirt out. Taking the shovel, I flattened it out, so it did not look like someone just dumped a pile of dirt there.

    For some reason the coppery mold smell had been getting stronger while working. Over the next hour of digging the smell was becoming almost unbearable, it was starting to smell more like a rotting compost pile. Did someone bury a dead body under this thing and it was rotting?

    I shove my shove back into the pile, and without warning the ground erupts! I get thrown down on my butt and drop the shovel when I hit the ground. Dirt and debris are flying up into the air obscuring my sight, but I catch glimpses of something moving around in the dirt cloud.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Next thing I know I feel sharp teeth bite into my arm. I let out a scream, that makes my throat hurt from the strain. Blinding pain sears through my body as I¡¯m picked up by my arm and whatever has me shakes me in the air. Whatever has me flings me into the air, I land on the dirt and roll a few times, stopping when I collide into the hanger.

    I¡¯m bleary with pain and blood loss and can¡¯t focus.

    I try to stand but fall on my side. I let out a scream as fresh agony blasts through my head. I try to catch myself with my right hand but fall flat on my face. My whole right arm is missing!

    A piercing scream breaks through my mind, a scream not coming from me.

    Lenny!

    Whatever attacked me must have moved on to him when I got thrown. I get a massive surge of adrenaline; my head clears enough to see that what¡¯s attacking us is a Model Three Antithesis. A large wolf sized plant alien, slightly different than the normal type, the ones here in Vegas resemble more of huge coyote and make a yelping noise with their single massive jaw.

    The pain subsides and the loss of my arm becomes a side worry. Lenny is in danger, and I must protect him, he is the last family that I have. We were both abandoned in the desert. Thankfully we were found, and had somewhat of a stable upbringing until our adopted parents were both killed during a gang war. Since then, we have been working here, away from the big city and its gangs.

    I charge at the Model Three, it has Lenny cornered against the wheelbarrow. He has been throwing himself out of the way of the aliens¡¯ attacks, barely avoiding them. It¡¯s not that he was special or had any skills, just his small size enabled him to wiggle away from the attacks.

    I rushed over and picked up my shovel with my only arm and swung it as hard as I could at the things neck, just behind the head.

    *Thwunk*

    It hardly even seemed to notice and lunged again at Lenny, who fell to the ground to avoid the attack.

    I needed to get its attention! I threw myself in front of it, standing over Lenny.

    My mind went red and hazy with rage, and I swung the shovel at it, over and over.

    *Thwack*

    *Thwack*

    *Thwack*

    I must have gotten a good hit in somewhere because it fell over dead, its head looking like a disfigured sack of goop and blood.

    I stood there, bleeding out, breathing heavily, looking over the dead alien when the world split asunder, and my head felt like it was exploding.

    System Initialized!

    Congratulations. Through your actions you have proven yourself worthy of becoming one of the Vanguard, a defender of humanity. I am Typhest. I will assist you to uplift humanity so that you may defend your home world from the Antithesis threat!

    Rise, Allen Kasidya, and become a protector of the weak!

    My dude, your health is low, you need some healing potions, or you¡¯re going to bleed out all over the place and die. I don¡¯t see any extra life tokens, so you won¡¯t respawn.

    Confusion rained supreme in my mind, what was going on? From what I¡¯ve heard only Samurai get talking AI, what was this thing on about? Was this some sort of malware from a video game? I was pretty sure Samurai did not have health potions.

    Allen, like don¡¯t ignore me. I¡¯m trying to help you. Here, I¡¯m going to unlock some skill trees for you and get this ball rolling. I hate watching the MC get stuck on silly shit, like figuring out what¡¯s going on.

    Skill Tree Medical Supplies I unlocked!

    Points reduced to: 60

    New Purchase: Class I Health Potion!

    Points reduced to: 10

    In my hand appears a glass bottle about the size of an apple, filled with a thick red liquid.

    Drink that quickly, it will stabilize your HP and keep you from dying.

    I look at it skeptically, this definitely has a video game vibe to it, but at the same time this is how Samurai stuff works in all the news, videos, and stuff.

    I go ahead and remove the cork that sealed the bottle and chug it down. It tastes like super fake cherry medicine, I almost gag on the taste, but manage to get it all down.

    Almost instantly I feel better, warmth rushes back into my body, that I hadn¡¯t realized was slowly draining away. Something strange also happens. My augs, which were literally free garbage a corp gave out to spam you with ads, fill in with a UI like in a video game. It has a red health bar in the top left corner, under it my current point totals, 10. I also see a crosshair, lightly imposed in the center or my vision.

    What the fuck.

    The health bar is slowly filling up from where it was about 10%, now up to 80%. It seems to be capped out, the section above it grayed out.

    If you¡¯re wondering, that missing 20% is your arm being gone. You will need a stronger healing potion or some other option to restore the missing HP. Also, if you¡¯d like to actually kill stuff in one hit, I can get you something slightly better than a shovel. You know what, here you go, Ye Ol'' beat stick.

    New Purchase: Common level 1 Hammer:

    Points reduced to: 5

    In my hand, a large Warhammer appears in place of the empty bottle. It fits perfectly into my hands, and weighs just enough to feel hefty, but not too heavy for me.

    On my UI a new icon appears in the shape of a hammer.

    At that moment, from the large hole that¡¯s now replaced the dirt pile, a pack of Model Threes come climbing out.

    Aww, yeah! It¡¯s fucking hammer time!