《Last flames of the Old World.》 Chapter 1: Introducing, Rasmus. -----Arcology of Aurora, Year 70 A.R ---- I cashed in my Commission at the Assignment hub for some 125 Credits, it should be enough to keep me going for another day. The damage to my Walker was less than expected after an average skirmish, only requiring the outer hull plates to be replaced, leaving me with 80 Creds, it''s not much but seeing as food and shelter only costs 40 creds a day, it is a decent paycheck. ¡±Oi Rasmus! Back already huh?¡± A cheerful voice resounded in the hallway. ¡±Yeah, there weren¡¯t any heavies this time, so I got back early.¡± I responded to the young nerdy looking guy with grime on his face. he is Lee Benson, he is my mechanic. I met him some half a year back when I arrived to Aurora, he is a decent mechanic, but I don''t really like how he looks at me sometimes, I also suspect he is a bit bipolar. ¡±Heh, Yeah I guessed from the lack of artillery shells stuck on poor Lily.¡± Lee chattered with a smile, and continued on with a serious expression. ¡± You really should consider running with a squad already, the days when a lone gunner could make a living have already come to an end,¡± he said, and appealed: ¡±You have noticed it too right? lone gunman jobs just don''t pay well anymore, people want more than guts and individual skill, They want numbers, numbers and power.¡± It''s not like I haven¡¯t noticed it, Honestly i¡¯d like to run with a group too, but whenever I try to ask someone, they just look pale and mumble something, honestly, yes I know I am unpopular but at least say it to my face! ¡±I¡¯ll think about it.¡± I told him, as I brushed past him, eager to get back to my apartment so I can get a shower. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.¡­I swear I could hear him breathe through his nose much stronger as I walked past, gonna ignore that, Ignore Ignore¡­ With such thoughts I hurried away from the Assignment Hub and escaped to the safety of my room. I Took off my pilot suit and helmet and prepared a hot bath, after which I submerged myself into its warmth and relaxation. After what felt like an eternity, I reluctantly dragged myself out of the bath, drying myself in front of the mirror and oiling the Connector ports in my flesh. In the mirror one can see the young and lithe body with well defined muscles, and a skin with wires and Plug-in ports in it. combined with a head Veiled with long satin hair and adorned by a face with depressingly androgynous features, unnatural looking cyan eyes, and a small serial number under the right eye, ¡±R.42 M.U2¡± Ah, I have not introduced myself, Have I? Well my name is ¡±Rasmus¡±. I am a weapon. not that I really care. Authors Note: Good evening, I hope this story tickles your fancies here at Rrl. The chapters will be rather short sometimes, and long other times. I tend to prefer to end a chapter based on when i feel like it, not chapter lenght. the premise was made on the spot a few days back and as such, It will flesh out as the plot progresses. I dont have much skill in story telling, but i have made many Plots for a storyline in the past. Now we will see if i can do it in writing. Yeah, I ramble, my apologies. Please note any Mistakes I make and any ways i could have done better. Thanks. Chapter 2: About the past. Having finished my shower I hit the sack, taking in that blissful state of sleep. Or so I wish, but as always, I slept badly. Nevertheless, after some 6 hours of rest. I got up, and started preparing for the hurdles of the next day. Changing my power source for the mechanical parts, washing my face, oiling my ports. The usual stuff. What? ¡¯Water should be bad for my electronics¡¯? bah, I¡¯ll have you know I paid top dollar (credits) to make my electronics waterproof. All my wires and electronics are separately insulated, even if I bathed with a hole in my flesh I would still be fine! After finishing my morning routine, I downed my already cold cup of coffee in one go and, whilst cringing at the taste, I stepped forward to face another day in the life of a ¡±weapon.¡± As such, I headed to the Assignment Hub through the long metal hallways of the arcology. The Assignment Hub is essentially what old fantasy books would call an ¡±Adventurer''s Guild¡±, But what I like to see it as, is a gun renting business. People come over to the Hub to acquire the ¡±Weaponry¡± they need, and pay to the Hub a standard fee, and extra, based on how many ¡®old beasts¡¯ etc. the ¡®weapon¡¯ had to kill. By ¡®weapons¡¯ I mean things like me. Ex-humans. We are the solution the corrupt old government invented to raise their military power. Originally they made us from criminals, orphans, lone refugees, people whom no one would miss too much and because of this fact, they dismantled us and rebuilt us with the best parts they could gather. Muscles, bone structure, and most importantly, brains were taken and Reinforced with metals and enhanced with electronics. Living, feeling people were ruined, and mindless humanoid weapons were made. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The information was kept from the general public, and military wages went down, as standing military was replaced from humans to humanoid weapons, but research continued, having proven the concept, they changed from prebuilt humans as the material, to using tank bred ones. Humans grown to full size within months, and then rebuilt into weapons. These ¡±mass produced¡± lacked human intellect, but were malleable, and easy to train for simple tasks. Perfect grunts for a military. Eventually, the information leaked to the general populace, living under constant surveillance in their Safe ¡°Utopia¡± (Read: ¡¯Dystopia¡¯). The knowledge sparked a great conflict. One that to this day is referred as the Great Revolution. Since then, 70 years has passed, and the same weapons that were once so despised, are now the preferred method for the post-old world military. Hypocrisy, so beautiful. After making my way to a Hub terminal in the lobby, I started reading through the currently available Skirmishes. Author¡¯s Note: The first few chapters don''t contain that much action, they are more about explaining the premise. I know, the plot is not all that fast paced (especially early on), so I recommend patience, the storyline I have in my mind is going to be rather long. Please notify me on any mistakes etc. Thank you. Will most likely write another chapter today. (New editor: BenDeleth) Apparently i will have to put a note here, well i am this writer''s editor. Sup. Chapter 3: Commission Hub The Skirmishes are individual battles that a squadless Walker-type ¡°Weapons¡± can take part in for a meager pay, they tend to group together many Walker pilots into squads and the jobs vary from elimination jobs to rescue missions, all the way to tactical rescue operations. After skimming through the available Skirmishes, I narrowed my choice down to a few potential options ¡±Survey Border territory X-12-421 Y-174-29¡± Estimated foe: No estimate, Medium conflict chance Merit: 2 Profit: 60 Credits ¡±Survey Border territory X-18-469 Y-172-29¡± Estimated foe: No estimate, Medium conflict chance Merit: 2 Profit: 60 Credits ¡±Eliminate Enemy Force on X-09-255 Y-139-112¡± Estimated foe: 10-20 Medium, 0-3 Heavies, 0-200 Lesser Merit: 9 Profit: 170 Credits ¡±Haul valuable cargo¡± Distance: 155 Km Target: ¨ªrotan Arcology (X-950-117 Y-105-25) Estimated foe: 0-20 lesser 0-1 Medium, Low conflict Chance Merit: 3 Profit: 95 Credits The 2 Survey missions are essentially next to each other, making them a great choice to take both, but their pay is not very good if you factor in potential repair prices from conflict. What? ¡¯Don''t you get paid extra if there is conflict and you eliminate enemies?¡¯ Don''t misunderstand, the person paying for commission has to pay extra, but that fee goes to the Commission Hub, in fact it is the main income for the Commission Hub, since the job reward is given to the ¡±Weapon¡± tax-free. The extermination is great on both pay and merits, but it''s not really worth it due to the potential of 3 Heavies. Leaving only one option The Hauling job. Hauling jobs essentially are the most risk-free easy money, but they demand a lot of moving between arcologies, that''s why I usually avoid them, I prefer to stay in one Arcology, but seeing as I have bills and it''s the only price-efficient job, I guess I should take it. The trip is relatively short so I can always come back after finishing it. Signing myself for the hauling job I Take the elevator down to the Walker hangar, where I left Lily for Lee to maintain. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Coming out the elevator I could already see my Walker, she already looks a bit well aged, rusty even in a few places where the dark grey paint has worn off, but that''s nothing to worry about, as long as the white lily on the side is still visible. The Walker looks ¡®¡¯thin¡¯¡¯ for a machine ranging around 5 to 6 meters and wide enough for a cockpit able to fit me in with some extra space. Its legs were designed for faster maneuvers, her right arm carrying the R223 Rifle whilst the left arm has a hand designed to wield the vibroblade currently sheathed on her back. Overall she looks almost ¡®¡¯vintage¡¯¡¯ in her design, probably because of her more rounded shape instead of the more straight and box-like shape of the newer models. And as expected, Lee is already working on Lily, doing god-knows-what to it. ¡±Ah Rasmus!¡± He exclaimed as his eyebrows un-scrunched from their focused frown, and his face changed to a beaming smile. ¡±What job is it this time, extermination?¡± He continued. ¡±Hauler. To ¨¬rota.¡± I said casually, making his happy face freeze, ¡±¡­Hauling job?... You are leaving Aurora?¡± He asked, with a strange expression ¡±Not for long, I do plan to come back after I am done.¡± I try to calm him. ¡±¡­But that''s a week long trip..¡± ¡±Dont worry! it will go by in a flash I am sure¡± Erm, why am I forced to calm down an adult man about something like this¡­ I feel creeped out a bit. ¡±¡­.¡± Ah, he is sulking now¡­ ¡­I¡¯ll just leave him be for now.. I leave Lee to his thoughts and head to Lily¡¯s hangar terminal. Author¡¯s note: Last chapter for the day, But for the time being i plan to post more than one chapter tomorrow so we can get the storyline to a point where there is some actual content here. Please notify me on any mistakes etc. Thank you. Chapter 4: Regarding Walkers. Ah, I haven''t explained Walkers yet, have I? Well, as you may guess, they are essentially like ¡±Mechas¡± that the 21st century Otakus fanboyed over, albeit not quite. Walkers are essentially a lot like me, partially artificial constructs, partially made out of bio-material. Combined in a clever weave. For example, the framework of a Walker is made out of a very light bone-carbon weave that has a layer of programmed ¡±flesh¡± around it, this flesh re-grows and is able to even slowly repair the frame. Allowing a Walker to essentially make its own repairs slowly over time. Instead of an old school CPU and memory banks for programming that an old school ¡±Mecha¡± would have, a Walker replaces it all with brain tissue, brain tissue that has been engineered to learn and execute the necessary tasks to fine-control the mechanics inside the Walker. This brain tissue also works as a ¡±Wet Drive¡± that supplements the control orders given by the pilot, learning and supplementing for the small faults in drive patterns of the pilot. The ¡±brain¡± is generally referred to as the ¡±Operating System¡± That being said, most parts of the machine that have to be able to take heavy loads or handle taking impacts tend to be purely mechanical with a touch of electronics to operate and link it to the Walker¡¯s Operating System. These parts used to have a bio-component to them in the past, but due to the fall of the old government the technology to make Walker parts that are combined with bio-material has been lost. In fact the only way to make new Walkers is to capture hostile ones and re-build them if necessary. Lily, or ¡¯Walker-Series-02-05 ¡±Old-World-Lily¡± ¡¯ as its official registered name stands, is one of the oldest models of Walkers on the market, belonging to the early days of the revolution she is already Museum-piece worthy, but she and I go way back, so I am going to keep using her. Well, seeing as most likely you blanked through all that, Tl;DR: ¡±Walkers are part machine, part biomaterial based combat units¡± Anyways, here are her specs. *************** Walker-Series-02-05 ¡±Old-World-Lily¡±******************** Head [Sensor Slotted A-3 +7] [Sensor Slotted A-3 +7] Left Arm [Mounted: R223 Rifle (Sensor-Sights)] Left Shoulder [Mounted: 2Z-23 Vibro-Blade ] Right Arm [Mounted: E1 Hand] Right Shoulder [Mount] Back [Mount] [Armor Slotted: Lightweight +2] Chestpiece [Armor Slotted: Medium weight +4] Left Leg [Utility slot] [Suspension Slotted: R2 +3] This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.Right Leg [Utility slot] [Suspension Slotted: R2 +4] Statistical evaluations: Agility: 276 (Reaction time: 90, Max motion speed: 95, Motion Accuracy: 91) Strength 23PP (21 PP Used) Sensors: 120 Firepower Estimate: 70 ************************************************************* Those are Lily¡¯s specs. The component names in different slots are not really important, they are rather average. The statistical evaluation is a far easier to understand evaluation. For the record, the following is average for a Walker: ¡±Statistical evaluations: Agility: 260 (Reaction time: 86, Max motion speed: 90, Motion Accuracy: 84) Strength 25PP (20 PP Used) Sensors: 100 Firepower Estimate: 130¡± So yeah, Lily is rather average, and even loses in firepower rather badly. But I would like to take pride in saying her price to performance ratio is second to none, you know? Nevertheless, to get back on track. I use the terminal to slot in a cargo-space into the mount on the back. Making the specs into: *************** Walker-Series-02-05 ¡±Old-World-Lily¡±******************** Head [Sensor Slotted: A-3 +7] [Sensor Slotted: A-3 +7] Right Arm [Mounted: E1 Hand] Right Shoulder [Mounted: 2Z-23 Vibro-Blade, Sheathed ] Left Arm [Mounted: R223 Rifle] Left Shoulder [Mount] Back [Mounted: Cargo +5] [Armor Slotted: Lightweight +2] Chestpiece [Armor Slotted: Medium weight +4] Left Leg [Utility slot] [Suspension Slotted: R2 +3] Right Leg [Utility slot] [Suspension Slotted: R2 +4] Statistical Evaluations: Agility: 256 (Reaction time: 80, Max motion speed: 85, Motion Accuracy: 91) (-20) Strength 23PP (23 PP Used) ( -3 ) Sensors: 120 Firepower Estimate: 70 ******************************************* So, with the cargo space slotted I tell the still sulking Lee to finish his maintenance by 3 PM so I can get going. I think that made him even moodier¡­ Authors note Well, First chapter of the day, I will post another one a bit later, one that finally contains some action, that should be interesting. Please note any mistakes etc I make. Thank you. Chapter 5: First Encounters The road from Aurora to ¨¬rota is as follows: along the old Highway for 15 hours, resupply outpost at an old gas-station where the pilots can rest in safety and the Walkers can be refueled. And then you can either follow the highway through the old tunnel system, or you can go through the mountain passages. The trip through tunnels is faster, just 7 Hours. But the tunnels are a common location for the old beasts to hide in, whereas the mountains will take considerably much longer, 18 hours. but contain less chance for resistance, that being said. Lily only has a 17 Hour operation time, so I am going to have to use the tunnels. Unlike most jobs, a hauling Job is often a solo mission. ¡°Couriering¡± they call it, that¡¯s what I am doing. So, that being said, I embark to my long trek through the Ruined World. The Arcology of Aurora that I call home, is built inside the ruins of an Old World city, and as such to this day empty husks of giant buildings, streets, and wreckage of pre-fall machines still define the surrounding terrain. The taller buildings have since long served as ¡°AA gun housing locations¡± for the Arcology security force and the 5 kilometer radius of the arcology is always under strict surveillance, in fact surveillance jobs within the Arcology vicinity have served as some sort of ¡°Training¡± missions for beginner members in the Commission Hub since ages old. That being said, any further than that tends to be uncertain and often dangerous territory for two major reasons. One is because Dirty weapons were used by the government and sabotaging the power plants by the revolutionists were both a natural occurrence during the great revolution, and the still remaining background radiation makes communications near impossible at long distances. The other is because to this day, the military of the Old World is not gone. ¡°Old Beasts¡± we call them. The neverending roaming Monsters made by the Old government. During the Great Revolution the military outlasted the government, but eventually even the military broke down as well. All that remained were the soldiers they made and the still running Vats, mass breeding more. To this day they still multiply In the ruins of the Old World. This is kept going based on what feeble pre-programmed orders they all were given ordering for the military to never fall together with the rare few advanced models, guiding the lesser ones. Like the Tribal Lords of old. That is the Land I am heading to again. Leaving the hangar, and passing the arcology gates, I begin making my trek amongst the ruins of the city. The land, as desolate as always stretched before me with the arcology dome looming behind me. I guide my walker through the ruins. ¡°Welcome to Lo-¡± a Large sign at the side of the highway says. The rest of it, broken off by what seems to probably have been an artillery shell. Someone has repaired it with pieces of scrap metal, and painted ¡°Hell¡± over the end of it. Past this point, the landscape officially is not under active surveillance by the arcology, used to the sight by now, I kept on going. The trek is quiet, but nerve wrecking. As you can never tell when you are in the crosshairs of an enemy. You can only trust in your Walker¡¯s sensors and traverse amongst as many wrecked cars as you possibly can, to make any potential Snipers have to work harder for their meal. After god knows how many hours, it finally happens. The sensors Identify a muzzle flash as I feel a shock reverberating through Lily¡¯s frame, Due to being Linked to Lily¡¯s brain directly via a connection port, I can instinctively tell the impact did not go through the armor plating, and as I think such, I Make Lily dodge to the side, behind a wrecked truck. From behind the truck I stick my rifle through a broken window, using the rifle¡¯s sensors to aim and search for the sniper. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.From what I can see, the enemy numbers 4 total, 3 lesser Soldier type and one Berserker of the Medium variety. Ah, Berserkers, this particular type being as tall as Lily, and a lot more menacing looking, was already within sprinting distance from me. I already could see its plate like skin on its bulky frame, more importantly though, I could see the rusty metal claws which were embedded into its arms via chains. But of course this was all seen in a glance and as the beast saw me, it let out a roar and came barreling down towards me. But instead of focusing on that thing, I open fire at one of the lesser ones that is wielding a Sniper rifle. *Bang* Recoil is transmitted through Lily¡¯s brain to me and the Lesser one collapses, By now, the Medium is drawing close, as such I take the rifle out of the window, and take out the Vibro blade from its sheath and move rapidly backwards. Not a moment too soon, as within the same breath that I move backwards, the Berserker slams Itself at the truck, flinging it at me and to the side. Seeing the ever closing front of the truck I dive down, letting the truck pass over me as I take aim with the rifle. Laying semi automatic fire at the Medium as it draws into close quarters, and as it is about to put its superior physical strength to use, I cut it''s head off, causing it to collapse on the floor next to me. But even now I can''t relax. as the 2 lesser soldier types open fire, knowing my armor can''t take that much beating, I roll to the side, behind an old sports car. Reloading my rifle I Take a deep breath, and by aiming from behind the car wreck, I take the remaining 2 down one at a time. After that¡¯s done, I surveyed the nearby area, checking if those lesser ones were actually dead. Which they were, clean shots through their heavily modified bodies. The two I killed last had normal automatic rifles coming out their right arms elbow with multiple tubes attached to them going back into their arm, one tube linked to their visor though, a mechanical eye embedded into their skull. The sniper however had its entire arm and part of its shoulder replaced with a large rifle designed to attack Walkers from great length and as I could see, the rifle could be attached to the ground. The damage was however, fatal, a shot through their torso. I went on scanning, I have already fought these types quite often in the past and they usually don''t change so much, this being one of those times they remained ¡®¡¯mundane¡¯¡¯. The scan showed no further enemies near me so I scanned Lily for damage. Of course, the cargo container was damaged¡­. So now I gotta check that to make sure that whatever I am supposed to haul wasn¡¯t damaged. Moving lily safely between some rather large ruined vehicles I set her to alert me if it scans any movement in the vicinity whilst I am checking the cargo. The container inside the cargo compartment was indeed damaged and some of the cargo has spilled out. So I started to hurriedly put them back in, well I did but one was too damaged, so I left it outside as I taped the container back shut. Next, I just have to throw the damaged cargo ou- Ah god damn it. You may wonder why I am swearing. It''s because the damaged piece just woke up. Oh and also, seems like I am now involved in an underworld smuggling operation. One that made it past the Commission Hub screening. The cargo is underage slaves. Author''s Note: Not done yet for the day. first a side chapter and then one more normal chapter. Thank you for reading. Please note any mistake I make. Thank you. Chapter 5.5: The Product and the Courier. *Pov: Alicia* I woke up to the pain, on a cold metal floor, my shoulder felt like there was a burning rod through it, I was afraid they would hurt me again if I cried¡­ ¡­so I tried really hard and kept it in. I opened my eyes to see where they brought me now, only to have my eyes cross with my captor. ¡°A-¡° my voice got stuck in my throat. She had Inhumanly cruel cyan eyes like the old beasts and a bloody roll of tape in her hands. Behind her I could see a cargo container that had been taped shut, it had blood on it, ...I am sure that my horror was transmitted to her, as she suddenly started smiling in a twisted way... That smile sent cold shivers down my spine. This person is dangerous, definitely even more dangerous than the people who kidnapped me. As I was about to make a run for it, she grabbed me by the arm, so I could not escape, I kept struggling. ¡®Oh god, I am going to get eaten¡¯ I thought in my head as she opened her mouth. A soft cold voice, much like how Death must sound like, resonated. ¡°Hold still, I can''t repair you if you keep struggling¡± ¡­Eh? *20 minutes later* His name is Rasmus, and he isn¡¯t actually a girl, but a boy. After he told me to stay still, he bandaged my shoulder, and gave me a nutrition bar to eat. It tastes like sawdust but since I had not eaten anything for days it still tasted like heaven to me. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.After I calmed down a bit I feel a bit embarrassed of my reaction, ...I don¡¯t think he is actually that bad. (Or trying to eat me! that was a weird thought¡­*embarrased* ) He just looks scarier than he is because of those cyan eyes and pale skin. I still haven¡¯t dared to ask what that container was, but I am pretty sure it contains others like me¡­ I heard banging from inside of it a few minutes ago¡­ I think I don¡¯t want to know... ...If I ask he might put me back into it as well¡­ He might not be a good person, but he is not as bad as the others. He doesn¡¯t hurt me, he even bandaged my arm. ...and he has yet to¡­ Try anything like that to me. ¡­He is better than those people¡­ After I finished the nutrition bar he helped me to the cockpit of his Walker and had me sit in an empty compartment behind him, telling me to hold on tight if we end up in a fight later. Seeing the Walker connect to the ports in his flesh was the creepiest thing I have seen... Feeling the Walker stand back up from a kneeling position, I tried to make myself cozy in the small compartment. Knowing that it would be the most comfortable place I would get in the future, after this trip is over he will hand me over to ¡®Them¡¯ after all¡­ ¡­The blanket he gave me is Warm¡­ Author''s Note: One more chapter today after this. Please note any mistakes I make. Thank you. Chapter 6: Outpost. Looking at the little cretin in front of me, I considered throwing it out of the cargo hold, It kept glancing back between the cargo crate and me, probably realizing that it is full of others like it. I was about to get rid of it, but then I realized. This is a chance! Maybe I can finally get a squadmate if I play my cards right! Thinking so, I grabbed her by her wrist and reached for a medical kit. But she began squirming, so I told her to keep still. I don¡¯t know why but she seemed really surprised by my words. But since trying to figure out why doesnt help anything I decided to ignore it, and bandaged her shoulder. After doing so and giving her a blanket, I gave her some of my rations, as to show kindness, she instantly began nibbling at it like a little squirrel. Ah, a heart warming sight... After she finished eating I put her to an empty compartment behind the cockpit and got on with my duty of traversing the highway. After many, many more hours, I encountered another group of old beasts. Only lesser ones this time, no Mediums or Heavies, so I took my time, sniping them from afar. (The little one kept surprisingly quiet through the fight, maybe she was asleep?) After recording the encounter into my logs, I continued on my way to the outpost. After some 3-4 hours we finally arrived to the outpost. and as far as outposts go, this one feels particularly well protected. A fenced up old Gas station with gatling guns and AA guns installed to defend it. With a moving gate made out of a large truck with armor slapped onto the outside. I swear they took that out of an old world movie. Outposts like this one are often made along popular routes between Arcologies. They are a bit like old world frontier towns, and tend to make do thanks to merchants passing through on their way between Arcologies. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. After they confirmed my identification number, they moved the truck out of the way, allowing me to head inside. I parked Lily to one of the charging stations linked to a solar farm and helped the little one along with me out to head to the Gas station inn for a meal. After eyeing through the list for cheap meals available I saw the little one stare enviously at a meal some merchant¡¯s kid was eating, sighing in my head I bought the same meal for her, as I got myself some oatmeal. This is going to sting in my wallet. Thinking so, I ate my meal gloomily before heading to bed. The next day I purchased a seat for the little one (her name is Alicia apparently) Hm? ¡®Why are you pampering this random KID for no reason? I thought you were practical!¡¯ You ask? Hah simple! I am Implanting into her head the idea of how kind I am and then I shall keep her instead of delivering her, gaining myself an instant squadmate! Eh, what? ¡®but won''t she be really useless because she has no combat experience?¡¯ Hah, semantics! I learned, so that means she can too! Just give it time and you will see! One day we will be a world famous Weapon set, and you will be left to envy our fame on the sidelines! ¡°Umm¡­ Rasmus¡­ Why are you looking into the distance with contempt?¡± Alicia asked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it¡­ The reader knows why¡­ Hehe¡­¡± ¡°Uuuu¡­ Rasmus¡­You are being scary again¡­¡± *Cough* Moving on. After installing a proper seat for Alicia, I paid for my lodging, and began making my way onwards. Towards the entrance of the tunnel system. Author''s Note: Last chapter of the day, going to stick to normal schedule now that there is some actual content here. Please note any mistakes I make. Thank you. Chapter 7: Into the Abyss Pt. 1 The tunnels we are heading trough were actually once an underground highway through the mountain, but after one of the tunnel walls broke down it caused it to link to the country''s extensive Railway Network it has essentially become an unknowable danger, and travelers are advised to stay away from it. But seeing as Lily¡¯s operating time is too short to go around over the mountainsides. Hence I am going to go through them instead. Well, despite it being a potential danger zone, I have taken the surveillance job for this area 3 times in the past, and I know my way around inside it, also out of those 3 times I encountered anything above Lesser only once, As such, I stepped into the tunnel system, switching Lily¡¯s sensors to detect light in a larger scope than the human eye, to compensate for the lack of sunlight. The route forwards was littered with wrecked vehicles,and had a disturbingly large amount of long since dried blood and rusted bullet casings from repeated fights that have kept occurring here over the years. I should be able to travel with relative safety for at least 30 mins before reaching any potential enemies. An hour later, I finally found hostiles. Well, to be precise, they found me, as my hull informed me after getting a decent peppering. I took cover behind some vehicles as I usually do, but instead of preparing to snipe I took out my blade, in an area this dark, one can''t snipe effectively unless they have a pulse-type sensor. It did not take long until the Enemy Shock Troops reached me. Hound type Lessers, damn that¡¯s old school. Instead of firing at the 3 bear sized dogs, I drew my blade and slashed it through the nearest one, the one going for my throat, cutting through its mechanical enhanced body. The second one was quickly dispatched with a shot to its opened maw. However, the third one proved more difficult as it¡¯s multiple rows of teeth latched onto my leg before I could take its head off. I could feel Lily whining as its internal component were getting crushed in the Hound''s jaws, pulling my blade from the dead Hound, I made Lily swing its leg in a kicking manner at the truck with full throttle, slamming the hound hanging onto it with great force, causing it to let go. I finished it off with a casual shot to its oversized head. After reloading my rifle and checking if Lily¡¯s leg was still functional, I dashed from behind my current cover to another truck, some 25 meters further ahead. As soon as I came out from behind cover, the enemies opened fire on me as I started moving with speed to try my best dodge the incoming fire, diving the last few meters I made my way close enough to fire back. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. After taking down 2 more Hounds that the enemy sent at me, I took aim from behind the truck and began dispatching the soldier types. But I was forced to stop soon due to a great force slamming into my side, sending me tumbling. ¡°GRRRRR¡­.¡± ¡®Fuck¡­ Glad I got that seat with a seatbelt for Alicia.¡¯ I thought in my slightly shell-shocked state, as my reflexes and Lily¡¯s supplementing abilities kicked in, rolling to the side, barely avoiding another slam from a big ass sledgehammer that caused the asphalt to crack like glass. ¡°Fuck, a Brute¡± I thought swearing as my mind cleared, scrambling off the floor as I avoided yet another heavy incoming hit from the looming giant beast. Knowing that it¡¯s skin and muscles would be too tough to penetrate with an R223, I took to avoiding its swings, whilst trying to keep some of the larger vehicles between me and the Soldier types, I desperately scanned the surroundings trying to figure out how to survive this, until I found a solution, a mad one. But a solution. I kept luring it, taking another hit that sent me tumbling along the way, (pretty sure that scrapped what was left of my chest armor, probably some broken hydraulics and circuitry too.) I reached a large truck that had rolled to its side, taking many steps back, quickly, I laid fire at the thing, specifically aiming at the eyes and Adam''s apple, the eyes are difficult to hit, and the Adam''s Apple isn¡¯t life threatening, but they aren¡¯t well armored and thus hurt more. Within seconds the beast roared and charged at me and whilst I dodged, making the brute charge right Into the truck, a truck that then proceeded to fall on it. The Brute roared under the large vehicle, struggling to lift it off, whilst I cut through the truck''s cargo on the Brute¡¯s back, allowing the contents to begin leaking out. Then i took many steps backwards, shot at it, sparking a flame, and ran like hell. Behind me, I could hear the roars of God, and on Lily¡¯s back, I could feel a shock wave unlike any you can Imagine, as the tanker truck blew up. Author I said I would not post more than one chapter today... but I cant help it. Posting another one in a while, Please notify me on any mistakes I made. Thank you. Editor''s note: For those of you wondering what a Brute looks like, they look extremely similar to berserkers for the exception that they are taller, have much more muscles and their skin looks more like armour. Chapter 8: Into the Abyss Pt. 2 ¡±-Clonk, Creeak¡­ Clonk¡± The only sound in the dark, ¡±Creeeak¡­. ¡­Clonk.¡± The sounds of a Walker, slowly limping onwards. A Brute. That was not something I expected. Brutes are at high end of the Medium spectrum and not something you would ever want to fight in close quarters. Definitely not something that appears often. Just how rotten is my damn luck? Thanks to that encounter, the cargo was all lost and honestly speaking, it¡¯s a miracle that Lily is still moving. What actually happened after the explosion? I am not quite sure, my memory is quite fuzzy, I probably have a concussion you know? ...My latest memory after the explosion is waking up inside the train network tunnel that ran parallel to the highway tunnel, but gathering from the wall of rubble and earth where the highway tunnel used to be, it probably collapsed. What about Alicia? I checked earlier, she seems to have hit her head and lost consciousness somewhere along the way, eh, probably for the best, or she might have soiled all over her seat during the fight with the Brute. Well, to get back on point, I am now limping along an uncharted train tunnel, hoping to reach a station before I am found by hostiles, This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.I have no hull integrity, If I am found, I am dead. ¡±Creeeak¡­ ¡­Clonk.¡± I keep moving. ¡±¡­.Creeeeaak¡­ ¡­Clonk.¡± How long has it been now? An hour? Three? I don¡¯t know. ¡±¡­.Creeak¡­ ¡­Clonk,¡± *Crack* Lilys leg gives out and we collapse on the floor. ¡°BzzzT¡± *Shizzle* Ah shit, there went the power core, ¡­leaking hydraulics must have got to it¡­ ¡°...There there, we had a good run didn¡¯t we?¡± I softly spoke to Lily. ¡°You can rest now.¡± ¡±zzt..¡± ¡°¡­¡± *Power cuts off* I disconnect from the controls, got Alicia from her compartment and whilst carrying her on my back, I continue moving. My eye implants allow me to see at least a little bit, so I can keep going. In the dark I keep on moving. Author''s note: last chapter of the day, next one tomorrow. Notify me on any mistakes I may have done. Thank you Chapter 9: In the Abyss Pt 1 There are no blueprints of the train system that still exists, so I cannot be sure if I am on the right path, I can only rely on my compass, (what, you thought they wouldn¡¯t install one on a top tier weapon? Heretic!) so whenever I end up in an intersection I can only pick whichever way is more towards my target. ...I am not sure how long it has been, but I keep going. Whatever happens, I must keep going¡­ ¡°Hnng¡­¡± I feel Alicia begin to stir, good, she is finally waking up. Laying her against the tunnel wall I take out my flask and offer it to her. ¡°..Thank you¡± she says in her small voice, as she takes a few gulps from the flask, I proceed to explain the situation to her, she looks at me concerned for some reason, but now is not the time for that. After ensuring she can walk, we kept marching onwards. ...Now that I am thinking about it, she was probably feeling creeped out by my bruises... It not like I just walked out of that fight all fine and dandy you know? (a few cracked ribs, bruises, oh and one or two bullet holes.) (What? I told you I am well insulated, a few holes in the flesh aren¡¯t gonna stop me, just gotta make sure I don¡¯t bleed out that¡®s all.) We keep advancing in the dark. The good thing about being this deep in the train system is that there is no food or prey for the Old beasts, so you won¡¯t find them roaming idly. The problem comes if there is a group of them passing through. So I still have to be careful. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°-KYAA!!¡± A sudden scream echoed through the tunnel. I looked back and saw that Alicia stumbled on something and fell. Taking a closer look, it was a torn off security door. Looking around, we find the hole it belongs to in one of the alcoves far to the side, sadly it is not an emergency staircase up, (for some reason they made none, perhaps to avoid terrorists getting into the train system?) but it was a safe area out of the open, so we decided to rest our feet for a bit. Alicia tried to offer me the blanket I gave her earlier, but I refused. It was a present to earn her loyalty points, if I take it back it would have been meaningless you know! After that, it got rather blurry, I think I fell asleep, despite meaning to just rest for a moment... When I woke up I found that Alicia had put the blanket on me to keep me warm despite what I told her and had curled up next to me to keep warm. Sighing I took the blanket and laid it on her small figure, as I carefully got up. ...I suppose loyalty like this is not so bad either. Author''s note: Thank you for reading, another chapter will be posted later, it seems I cant get myself to stop posting double, I might increase avarage chapter lenght later... Please notify me on any mistakes I make. Thank you. Chapter 10: In the Abyss Pt 2 Whilst waiting for her to wake up, I decided to further examine the room, at first I thought it was almost empty, but then I noticed that the part of the wall facing towards the train tracks was not a wall but an inconspicuous gate much like a garage door. Further examining the room I realized this is an empty Security Drone garage, Old world Security Drones were much like the Walkers, but smaller and clumsier, not to mention less effective because they were built completely without bio-components. A pre-cursor to the Walkers you could say. Thinking about it I realized that, if this was an empty Drone hangar there would most likely be more nearby, since Security Drones were usually used in numbers. Normally you would have them on Autopilot, but they do have a cockpit. Realizing that there might be a way out of my current situation, I hurried off to search the vicinity with more care than before. It did not take long to find what my near-sleepwalking self failed to notice. There was a grand total of 3 more Drone hangars in the vicinity, 2 of which were behind locked security doors and one was empty. Examining the locked security door to one of the hangars I soon realized they were keycard-locked and would be impossible to open without power even if I had the right card, which I didn¡¯t. Despite this I refused to lose hope, so I began to search the 2 hangars for anything that could serve as a solution. During my search, Alicia woke up, but instead of making a fuss decided to keep quiet and watch what I was doing instead. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Actually, I hadn¡¯t thought about it before, but how can she see in this dark at all anyways? Asking her about it she mumbled something about getting eye implanted by her captors. They were probably planning on turning those kids to child soldiers, then I think, surprising really, I had assumed something else, but that is inconsequential. I shrug away such thoughts as I keep on working. I return to the security door from before after finding a few unused fusion batteries and collecting some high voltage cables from a broken charging station in one of the hangars. After connecting the ends of the HV cables to the fusion batteries with some duct tape (Yes, even in this apocalyptic madness you should never leave your home without duct tape!) I used the open ends that I had peeled as makeshift welder. Not the best tool for the job, but it was enough to slowly eat through the security door. After finally detaching the door¡¯s bolts I got in. Inside the garage, a machine twice the height of me stood covered in dust. A still pristine ¡°Series 15-09-02-Commercial¡± Security Drone, its arms with wrist mounted rifles and functional hands protruding from its humanoid frame still looking as dangerous as it must have looked decades ago. But most importantly, it¡¯s cockpit still looked functional from the outside. Author''s note Last chapter of the day, going to continue tomorrow. Chapter 11: From the Abyss. Opening the hatch and entering the Drone¡¯s cockpit, I am welcomed by a simplistic but very well refined control system, no connection ports but 2 joysticks for maneuvering and a keyboard plus a few switches for system functions. It has been ages since I piloted anything manually instead of connectors. But I think I can handle the basics. Flipping a switch to turn on the cockpit power I place my fingerprint on the scanner, The rest of the Drone turns online. ¡°-Access authorized, welcome unit- ...R-4-2 M-U-2 -¡± A familiar mechanical voice chimes in the cockpit. They never got to wiping me from their registry, good. ¡°Run system diagnostics.¡± I say in a clear voice. ¡°-All systems nominal, warning, no connection to Main Hub, extreme caution recommended-¡± Main Hub, that has not existed for decades you know? ¡±override hangar gate.¡± I say. ¡°-Hangar mainframe, unpowered, supplying emergency power, opening hangar doors-¡± The Drone responds. Guiding the machine out of the hangar, I help Alicia into the cockpit, It is rather stuffy with both of us in here, but what can you do? There is no spare space in these thing. I open the area map on the Drone terminal. It is at least 70 years out of date, but it is miles better than nothing. So using it, I plot a route to the relative location of ¨¬rota. Turning on the travel mode in the drone to save power, we set off. Unsurprisingly we had indeed veered off track whilst travelling blind and had to backtrack for an hour, but aside from that, the distance left was not too bad, it wasn¡¯t even that long until we reached the vicinity of the station and began encountering hostiles again. No mediums this time, just a lot of Lessers. I might be driving a clumsy drone and I might be rusty in doing so, but it shames me to admit that I still dispatched them faster than average simply due to the greatly increased firepower that inbuilt assault rifles offer in comparison to a single shot rifle. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. That being said, I am quite certain that if I had encountered even a single Medium it would have been my end, a Drone is simply too clumsy to control for that kind of combat. Carefully exiting through the station I found myself In a relatively short distance from the arcology, just some 10 kilometers. So I continued my journey and soon enough I was within the safe zone maintained around all arcologies. *BANG* A high caliber bullet passed right by me, digging a large hole on the ground next to me, that could have just killed me! After taking cover just in time to avoid rapid fire and realizing it is most likely the Arcology security mistaking me for a hostile, I hastily contacted them by the onboard radio. ¡°Stop shooting at me goddamnit! Can''t you tell a difference between friend and foe!?¡± I yelled into the radio, as machine gun fire peppered and chipped on the concrete pillar of some wrecked building I chose for cover. ¡°..¡± Firing stopped as a voice responded in a surprised tone ¡°Sorry about that, your Walker hasn¡¯t got its signature changed from the Old-Gov signature, that combined with its size made us assume it was most likely a rare Medium.¡± The voice was gruff and bordering middle age, probably been in this line of duty for quite a while. ¡°No problem sir, I lost my own Walker during combat and hijacked a hostile one that I found, I am part of the Commission''s Group. My ID is XXXXXX ¡± I informed the security squad leader in a friendly tone, no need to piss off the officials. ¡°¡­Your ID checks out, you can move on, but change your unit signature before leaving¡± he responded after a minute. Relieved, I got out of cover and continued onwards to the Arcology, to finally rejoin civilization again. Author''s note: I know I know, its a tad early... (just barely the next day for me) First chapter of the day, posting a side chapter and another proper chapter later on. Please notify me on any mistakes I make. Thank you. Chapter 11.5: The Repairman of the Monster. *POV: Lee Benson* Hehe, good evening folks it is your favourite engineer! Lee-sama! *cough* No, I am not a weeb. ¡­REALLY! I AM NOT, OK?! *cough* Well, as you already know, I am Rasmus¡¯ personal mechanic. I mostly specialize in micro-hydraulics that her his Walker, being an old model, requires. Sigh, I still remember when I first met her him, I had just finished my apprenticeship In a private Walker-repair shop and had begun making my way to the Mechanic¡¯s Union in hopes of finding a pilot without a mechanic. And then I saw her. Coming out of the Commission Hub building. A young lady with beautiful dark hair like satin, deadbeat gorgeous face and bright cyan eyes. As I stood there frozen, our eyes crossed and I could feel my heart skip a beat. That cruel cold look in her eyes, that disgust feigned uninterest, she was totally In my strike zone. Sadly at the time I couldn¡¯t muster the courage to open my mouth, but I knew that if I let this once in a lifetime chance go, I would regret it. So I decided to follow her, get to know her, so I could maybe figure out a good way to say hi for when I work up my courage. Heh, turns out I never needed to succeed in that, as she suddenly accosted me by grabbing me by the collar and slamming me against the wall just 2 days later. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. To this day I remember her his words clearly. ¡°Tell me why were you staring at me with your hand in your pants, or lose it.¡± He said, his words dead serious and more than little cruelty in her his eyes. That was when I finally realized she was a he, which also surprised me greatly. But even so, at that moment, I decided that it did not matter. I wanted to be hers his. That was how I became the personal mechanic of the ¡°Old-World Monster¡±, of the Commission Hub. ¡­ I am not a masochist, Ok? ¡­Really! Editor''s note: For those of you wondering whether or not the length of the future chapters will go on to be this short, we have used the past chapters as a sort of warm-up to start writing longer ones. Don''t worry about it. Author¡¯s Note: Well, as editor said, future chapters should get steadily longer I hope. Another chapter later today. Please notify on any mistakes I make. Thank you. Chapter 12: Arcology of ìrota *Pov: Random Security Worker* I rubbed my temples in annoyance whilst reading the data on the merc seeking entrance, cyan eyes and a body probably more machine than human. Isn¡¯t this well over the edge and deep in the Old beast territory?! That being said colored eye augments and the other implants he has are all separately legal and there is no rule denying this combination, but come on, there is literally no augment shop that would sell Old beast style eyes, there is no rule I can appeal on, but anyone who can look that cruel and would purposefully fashion themselves with Old beast augs¡­ Well such a person is definitely bad news. I could detain them for questioning, but that would solve nothing and since he is a member of the Commission Hub, there is no way to deny entry either. Swearing and rubbing my temples once again, I approve the entry request and move to the next one. *Pov: Protagonist* After waiting for almost 20 minutes (damn the service sucks here!) I gain access to the hangars and park the drone, luckily charging stations have not changed since Old-Gov days. After parking and waiving any engineering propositions, I take an elevator up to the lobby and make my way to the Commission Hub customer support desk. ¡°Excuse me.¡± I said to the professional looking lady behind the desk, I swear I saw her smile become tighter when I came to talk to her¡­ ¡®First day on the job and nervous¡¯ I guess? ¡°Yes! What would it be sir?¡± She said in a polite voice. ¡°I would like to file report on a hauling job that turned out to be for Illegal goods¡± I told her. ¡°Certainly! what were the goods may I ask?¡± She said without taking a pause, as she began taking out the necessary forms. ¡°Eh, Child slaves under the age of 13.¡± I said in a casual voice. ¡°I see, please fi- eh?¡° She paused mid sentence as she realized what I said, she took another look at me and noticed Alicia, who was peeking whilst hiding behind me. ¡°Excuse me for a moment!¡± She said as she dashed off, evidently to get the officials. It did not take long until I was in a dark room with a single light and a metal table, being questioned by a serious looking security worker. He seemed strangely adamant on trying to make me confess that I had a part in all of this, but after making me repeat the sequence of events for the Umpteenth time, I think I finally got through to him. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. After being left to sit there for an hour or 4 longer, (and questioned one more time) I was given a refunding of half the Commission pay for reporting it and I was finally allowed to leave. Of course I felt bad for losing Alicia as a potential teammate. But seeing as I can¡¯t get the full pay by completing the job, the refunding has to make do. But then on the way out, I saw a child protective services agent trying to get Alicia out of the door using kind words. Alicia was crying and refusing to leave, I caught a part of her words as she cried loudly ¡°-n¡¯t want to leave without Rasmus! No!¡± She continued crying. As she caught sight of me she instantly bolted from under the blanket and hid behind me. HA! See!? I told you that it was a good idea to pay for that meal! You thought I was a fool, now you are the fool, aintcha!? The child protective services agent looked troubled and after having to engage in another hour of deeply scrutinized conversations, I was finally allowed to leave. This time, with Alicia walking behind me wrapped in a blanket. Yes, loyalty is definitely not bad, maybe to reward her I should use some of my money to purchase her some actual clothes. She must be quite cold without any. (...What? ''Why did I never tell you that she is naked this entire time?'' Why would that matter!? She is a little kid for God''s sake! You pervert!) (Also disgusted author: Lee would be proud of you, Pervert.) Editor''s note: The Editor is however not proud of you. Pervert. Author''s note: Last chapter of the day, more tomorrow. Please notify me on any mistakes I make. Thank you. Chapter 13: Shopping, and selling. After leaving the security station, I made my way to the local Merchant Hub and got Alicia some clothes. Since I have no taste, I let Alicia pick from the things with a price tag under 7 credits. She seemed really fidgety and unsure at first, but soon began checking different clothes, moving to and fro between aisles. Ah, quite heartwarming. It took almost an hour, but we left with a few pairs of dark colored one pieces, some panties, (stop Re-reading that, perv.) and some socks, knee socks (and that) and a pair or 2 of shirts and pants. ¡­.Not limiting the max number of items was my mistake¡­ I don¡¯t know why but they are mostly dark colored, similar to my clothing. Eh, whatever. After all is said and done my current credit situation has degenerated to 25 Credits. Not enough for even a room and a meal. Thinking about it, I made my way to what I evaluated as a reputable private Walker store. It took me some effort, but perhaps due to my high Merit in the Commission Hub, I got to see the store manager. Ah by the way, Merit is essentially your, eh... ¡°Ranking points¡± in Commission Hub. Higher number shows that you are more accomplished and more competent for the job. How high is mine? Eh, somewhere over the 1000. Let¡¯s move on. The store manager was a greedy but cunning looking pudgy man, eh clich¨¦ much? Trying to ignore the glaring stereotype I continued on with my business, namely selling the drone. You see, surprisingly a drone is rather rare these days. And when I say rare, I mean rare enough that no one even knows what a drone is and rather see it as another Walker. Walker type ¡°Weapons¡± like me are the preferred tool for defending your interests, a walker that doesn¡¯t require the brain and other core components to be harvested from hostile walkers would be a boon for sales. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. So you may be surprised, but the store manager got really interested in what I had for sale after I explained him about what I wished to sell. Of course, you can¡¯t put drones on sale immediately, but an old-Gov Drone would probably make any research into easily mass-producible pseudo-Walkers go much faster. Soon enough, we were negotiating to pin down the price tag on the drone I was selling. Eventually I walked out of his office, a beautiful 1500 credits richer and with a 70% off on my next Walker purchase. One I am planning to do next in fact. After making my way to one of their trade terminals, I began going through their catalogue. Seeing as I have a decent amount in my wallet, I might as well get a custom built. A chance to buy one does not come often you know? As such I began picking the parts and specifics. Author''s note: only one chapter today, and a short one at that since I am a bit busy, planning to do 2 tomorrow. the chapter length should start going up slowly as the plot progresses. the next 2 chapters tomorrow will be mostly about main character choosing the Walker components, so be warned on that. The ones of you who have read so far may have noticed not much has happened in the story line so far, this is because the plot is going to be rather long so it takes a moment to take shape (and I am a newbie in writing), I have only gotten around to introducing the first of many many side characters to the plot, so yeah. have patience, story line will flesh out as the plot progresses. Woops, rambling again. Please notify me on any mistakes I make. Thank you Chapter 14: Walker-Creation pt 1 In the company¡¯s trade terminal I selected the ¡°Custom¡± tab and began. The first step of the construction job was choosing a frame. When it comes to making walkers, the first step is always choosing the frame, this is because as I mentioned before, to this day it is not possible to make new frameworks, we can only scavenge and make use of Walker frames scavenged from the ever-so-valuable mechanical Old-beast types. Yes I know, during our time together we have not really met any mechanical ones, this is in fact not too strange, since they were mostly made use of in the early days of the revolution. These days there aren¡¯t many, still running, Old Government Walker factories scrunching out new specimens. Making Arcologies near such factories both very dangerous and very prosperous to run. Frame 178 A-05 (800 credits) Frame 312 A-67 (820 credits) Frame 025 B-25 (910 credits) Frame 185 U -95 (1600 credits) So, thinking such thoughts, after scrolling through dozens of options, I pin the target down to 4 potential candidates. 2 Are variations of a more heavy frame with good leg span and decent joints, with the difference that it has a rigid torso, whilst the other has a hydraulics-compatible torso, allowing for more agility. (The A-05 and -67 Frame). One seems to be all about good accessibility for connector slotting for motors and seeks to minimize hydraulics as to minimize both the weight and excess size, I think. (the B-25 Frame) The last one seems to be a production line fault, or a ¡°unique¡± type, as a more fanciful one might call it, basically it seems that the design has an excess arm slot under the left one, essentially containing 3 arms. After feeling conflicted for a good dozen minutes, weighing my choice, I picked the U-95 frame, seeing as it is a once in a lifetime chance, I decided to take it, since any other part can be switched except the frame, I might as well splurge to get the best I can afford. Call it an investment. Since I have a 70% discount, the price of the U-95 for me is just 480 credits, heh, first component and I already spent a third of my whole wealth, I should try to practice at least some moderation. After choosing a frame, the next step is to choose an operating system. Ignoring the existing racial superstition about the original DNA of the brain affecting the functions, the argument on the choice here can be boiled down to a spectrum of experience. Fresh operating system, or a used operating system? A fresh operating system offers no Drive support unlike an experienced one, But an experienced one will never completely synchronize with you.This is because of habits of earlier drivers affecting the handling. After moment of contemplation, I picked a relatively clean and fresh Operating system that came cheap due to being made with a ¡°racially inferior¡± DNA. Costing some 230 credits. (to me, 69.) I decided to fit the OS core (brain) into a compartment that was right behind the Connector system of the cockpit, minimizing connection lag, keeping it safe and stopping my weak points from being too spread out. Now then, since I have my Walker¡¯s core components picked, time to get started on its mechanics. So, legs. The important things about your frame¡¯s leg types can be summed up to 3 key factors. Agility, toughness, and length. Personally I prefer frames without excess tallness, as to reduce my size as a target. I also greatly value agility, albeit I do also see the importance of toughness. As such, I filtered through the options until I arrived to 3 decent options Leg 020 A-20 (150 credits) The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Leg 033 A-25 (160 credits) Leg 569 B-19 (145 credits) Leg 221 B-26 (160 credits) The A-20 and 25 are built with decent armor to agility ratio, but lose out against specialized types. The B-19 and 26 on the other hand, have increased armor on the front and sides and because of that, a somewhat reduced agility, but still, quite decent. After some deliberation I decided to go with the B-26 model, it has a thinner foot than the -19, that allows for better agility in exchange for steady footing, but balances by having a hydraulicall support hook at the backs (think a talon) and as such it should have steady footing to take a blow from the front, whilst retaining good agility for dodging to the side. That costs me 48 credits. I love this discount¡­ Next, the torso. Torso is tricky, depending on what you want from it, it can contain anything from spare space for cargo etc, to even hiding a gimmick weapon or contain a grenade belt, it all depends on what you want from it. In my case I decided to focus on decent back and front armor, about the same of both, with 2 empty compartments left unused inside it. Nothing too fancy, but should be sturdy enough, I outfitted one with a seat for Alicia. That set me back another 130 credits. After the torso, I took a moment to rest my eyes, checking my watch I realized I had been scrolling through these for an hour already, who would have thought how long this can take. I asked a passing by store clerk if I could perhaps have a some refreshments, to which he agreed and quickly fetched me some bourbon. I meant water you know? ...Whatever, high-class establishment, embellished customer support eh? At least they gave Alicia juice instead. That being said, I sipped my drink for a bit longer before getting back to work. Next comes the Drive core. For a Walker like the one I am planning we probably should go for a Medium sized power core, one that produces a lower passive output, but can put out bigger power spikes, as such I went for the local 51-51-A Drive core, compact, power efficient, and can put out a lot of power in a short burst, but due to its compact size, lacks in cooling tech compared to bigger models. That, I purchased for 150 Credits. (discount, still) Next, arms. (Defaulting to company recommendation on the component types like capacitors/hydraulics that I don''t know well enough ya see.) When it comes to arms we have an issue on shoulder-joints, there are 2 popular solutions for a shoulder joint, a twin rotor (sideways up down in a row, bit like in an old car¡¯s cardan shaft ) or a ball-joint (smooth, full range of motion, like a real shoulder.) A twin rotor generally always more popular, due to being sturdier, but a ball joint is still often used by pretentious fools and gifted pilots of the agile Walker types despite being much more of a weak point. The problem with a twin rotor though, in my case, is that twin servo joint hugs the main body too much in its range of motion, so it would not be possible to make the second arm fit under it. I decided upon a pair of tough ball-jointed arm 205 B-55¡¯s as the main hands. No shoulder mounts, but that leaves more space for good mounting and better rotors so it is more agile and sturdy for it. Paid 140 creds for 2. As for the odd arm under the main hands I picked a ball-joint 256 B-36 that has been stripped from essentially all armor and in exchange is at the same time agile, able to take high recoil and small enough to move unhindered under the left main arm. For just 40 credits And now, time for the fun part. Weapons. Chapter 15 Walker-Creation pt2 First things first, primary weapon, For a primary weapon I should probably choose something practical and useful at long range, so a semi-automatic with a decently high calibre is probably a good idea, especially since, well... That''s what my last Walker had. What? I am old fashioned. ...Not sentimental. So, going through the gun options, I narrowed my choice down to 3 potential options. An R525 Rifle (sensor) A P66 Rail-Action (sensor) or an C-3 TY-9 Combine Rifle. The R525 is essentially the big brother of my old R223, with a much bigger calibre,(75 mm compared to 40 mm) and bigger magazine (23 compared to 20), a great choice for any sniper types out there. It would costs me 220 Credits. The P66 is great in stopping power, but the power draw is rather severe, great for taking down big foes I suppose,(2 shot dynamic magazine, reloads from reserve without handloading. (Reloads a shot into the mag every 1.2 seconds) It would cost me 250. The last and maybe in some ways, least. Is the C-3 TY-9, it has a smaller calibre than the other 2, (40mm). Less stopping power as well obviously, does come with a much bigger magazine (a whooping 145 and shaped like a drum) though and can be toggled between full auto and semi-auto, making it great for closer distances. costing an even 230 credits. After some deliberation, I decided to go for the C-3 TY-9. Since I can also attach a bayonet onto it for no extra charge. Making for a decent main weapon at most ranges and its general machine gun esque shape would not be a problem seeing the magazine is nicely fitted inside the gun to not cause it to bump into anything when maneuvering it. As for the extra hand, I Installed what we in this line of work call a ¡°Nailgun¡±, or as its official name goes: T-2 Thermic Lance Launcher or T2 -TLL for short. I just think of it as a nail gun tho, great penetration due to the superheated tips on the bolts and a 5 bolt Mag with 22 cm bolts attached below the gun, it was made in such a way the gun did not entirely cover the ammo, it is a good weapon, even though the ammo costs 4-5 creds a pop. Price? 120 credits. After picking a good rifle for my main hand and a bolt gun for the other, I decided to pick a sturdy shield for my off hand. For only 44 credits, the shield was not that complicated, not for me at least. It was made out of a single part and attached to an arm with good enough hydraulics to withstand extremely tough blows. The shield itself was made out of multiple layers shaped vaguely like a coffin, the first layer, starting from the arm, where the support beams and plates are attached in such a manner where it can absorb the blow into the arm. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. The second layer consists of single plates layered over each other like sharp scales, the bottom plate forming into a single spike that can be dug into the ground and the top 2 forming spikes into a ¡®¡¯V¡¯¡¯ shape. The third and final layer held more plates, again, layered over each other in the now familiar sharp scale like fashion, they however stopped at the parts where the top and bottom went into a spike. Overall this gave the shield a quite sturdy look and with the bottom spike, in addition to the hydraulics, I would be able to withstand even the heaviest blow, if I slammed the shield into the ground. The top spikes would allow me to rest the Nailgun in between them for more stability and the layered structure would allow for more toughness against blunt objects using less material than normal shields. All of this for the beautifull price of just 44 credits. Aside from that, I got a basic head and some company standard sensors, armor. Etc. And then checked the total cost. 1451 credits. Since assembly price is included -per item, that is the total price, leaving me with just 74 credits. Enough for a single day¡¯s food and rent, not enough for two days. It pains me to become poor again so soon, but it is worth it. Ignoring my own worries, I pressed *confirm*. . . . ¡°Are you sure?¡± Y/N ...Yes¡­ (damn you! You ruined good end for the chapter! >:/ ) ¡°Absolutely sure?¡± Y/N ¡°¡­¡­¡± I pressed Yes again ¡°Congratulations, your product should be ready in 3 days.¡± . .. ... ¡­.Whut? ... .. . Author''s note: 2 in one, since these chapters are more or less the same thing, still a tad busy so I will post more tomorrow. please notify on any mistakes I make. Thank you. Chapter 16: Solving money problems. Ok¡­ So it seems I might¡¯ve just made a LITTLE mistake there, 1 days worth of funds and a three day wait. ¡°¡­¡± ...Don''t look at me like that! So what that I forgot shipping time, I can get through this! Knowing that this was not something easily solved I decided to get Alicia and myself something to eat whilst I think. Opening the door to a local Diner, I am assaulted by the smell of actual warm food for the first time in days. ¡°Wah~¡± I hear Alicia mumble, ears sparkling as she looks at the warm food, your drool is leaking you know? Well, I suppose that was to be expected. Finding us a table I called the waiter over. ¡°Can you get us some warm soup and fresh bread please?¡± I asked politely ¡°Certainly m¡¯lady!¡± The waiter jotted down my order and disappeared off to somewhere. Ignore the ¡°lady¡±... Ignore.. After a short wait, the waiter returned, carrying our meals. ¡°2 Bowls of salmon-carrot soup and fresh bread from the local bakery, please have an enjoyable meal.¡± He said as he retreated. Ignore¡­. Ignore.. Whilst trying to forget this mistake, Alicia, who seemed to be stifling the beginnings of a giggle began to eat her soup, so I decided to do the same whilst thinking for a solution to our money problems. As far as I can see it, there are three potential solutions: 1: Sell Alicia, would make a good amount of money on the black market, but I would lose my first potential squad member. 2: Rent Alicia to the black market, I would personally lose nothing in exchange of easy money, but Alicia would probably end up unable to trust me and disloyal squad members are worse than no squad members. 3: Donate Alicia¡¯s blood, since I can¡¯t donate my own due to the chemicals my implants have mixed into it, I can only donate Alicia¡¯s. Would make easy money but the payout is meager and Alicia would most likely be anemic for multiple days, slowing me down. What? ¡®Why are all your solutions about selling Alicia in some form?¡¯ Well I can hardly sell myself can I? I don¡¯t have anything else to my name here, oh! I think I just came up with a good 4th solution. 4: Get a loan. What? ¡®Why didn¡¯t you think of that before considering to sell Alicia!?¡¯ Shut up! >.< ...I am not mad that she found the waiter situation funny¡­ ¡­.. ... After eating and paying for the meal, (10 credits! >:/ ) I began searching for a place to stay the night. Traversing the metal corridors of the Arcology I eventually made my way to the residential district, where the housing and inns are usually maintained. It was not that long before we found a decent place to crash for the night in one of the inns located on a smaller, less well maintained, plaza. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.Welp, there went 60 credits. What? ¡®Didn''t a day¡¯s worth of food and shelter cost 40 credits?¡¯ Oh, I seem to have confused you. 20 credits is an inn standard for a low end inn, basic meals for a day are 5 to 6 credits, if you are not too wasteful, but the extra comes from my other meal, recharging my power source, remember? Well, the power source is a high end compact microfusion cell. So it costs a rather long penny, 12 to 14 credits to be more exact. The reason it costs 60 credits this time is because I had to use a field charger to keep it working for the last few days, a field charger is great when you wish to keep going for a few days, but weakens the charge rate, so now I need to waste almost about double the money to recharge it to full, as to get rid of this damage. After recharging my power source, I left for the Commission Hub. Why the Commission Hub? Well, as the Old World crumbled, so did the banks and the ability to communicate at great distances, causing a large scale banking system to simply not exist, as thus the one group that has spread out through essentially all Arcologies, the Commission''s Group, is left to pick up the Old World services that are not easily re-established otherwise. I mentioned it before, remember? The Old Government resorted to the use of dirty weapons during the great revolution and nuclear power plants were sabotaged by the revolutionists. War is ugly and the world we live in is uglier for it. That is the other reason for why we enclose ourselves in domes of steel, aside from the Old beasts, the outside world has enough background radiation to disturb communications at distance, the longer the distance, the more disruption, so groups like the Commissions Group, the Mercantile Group and such, that have access to potent enough transmitters, maintain the credit, loan, and merit status for its members. Without being part of one of them, you can never leave your arcology and still have something to your name. I head to the Hub terminal as soon as I enter the lobby, tabbing to the ¡°loan¡± area, I loan 130 credits on merit. With 10 days time to pay back 145 credits. That should secure my living for the next few days. After signing the loan, I leave the Commission Hub. ¡®Well, since I am unable to do anything for the next 3 days, I suppose I should make use of this chance¡­¡¯ I thought, might as well teach Alicia some survival basics. After picking Alicia from the inn, we headed to a public training ground. Author''s Note I''m gonna post a side chapter after this, and maybe I shall even write another main chapter. no promises on that tho. Chapter 16.5: The Product and the Courier. Pt.2 *POV: Alicia, when still in the Abyss* ¡­¡¯It''s so warm¡¯¡­ ...Eh?... I am being carried... Those was the first thoughts that came to my mind as I slowly woke up. The person carrying me seems to have noticed that I woke up, he stopped walking and laid me against a cold wall and onto the hard floor. ¡®Ah? The warmth is gone¡­¡¯ Whilst missing that source of comfort I slowly tried to open my eyes. ¡°Here, drink.¡± A cold but familiar voice said. ¡®Ah, I know that voice¡­¡¯ I thought, feeling my slowly rising anxiety dissipate. ¡®Despite sounding so cruel, this voice wouldn''t hurt me¡¯ I thought, ¡°thank you¡­¡± I mumbled as I reached out and drank from the flask. After that, he began telling me about where we were and how I had probably hit my head during combat, but I couldn¡¯t concentrate on what he was saying. Because I noticed his appearance. Flesh torn on many places a shoddily bandaged shoulder and a metal pole stuck through his right lung, ¡®How can he still be alive?¡¯ The question resounded in my head¡­ ¡°-alk?¡± Ah, no good, I didn''t pay attention to what he asked¡­ ¡°Hey, I asked: can you walk?¡± ¡°Ah, yes, I can walk¡± I mumbled, why can''t I speak up dammit. ¡°Good.¡± He said, as he carefully helped me up by hand, wait, was that concern in his voice? His voice is so cruel I couldn''t tell, but I think he is concerned for me, even though he himself is in such state, I could feel a strange emotion welling in me as I walked. For god knows how long we walked whilst he held my hand, as if unwilling to let me wander alone in the dark. With every step he wavered slightly, as if walking was getting more difficult. I am worried how much longer he can go on, but every time I look at him and try to ask him to rest my will wavers and my voice gets stuck in my throat. ¡°....¡± ¡®He is so determined¡¯ That was the feeling I got from him, a total unwillingness to stop, despite his skin getting more pale by the moment, ¡°-KYAA!!¡± I fell as my foot got stuck on something, I didn''t notice it because I was too focused on Rasmus. As we looked closer it turned out to be some kind of a torn off Old-World door and after looking around for a while, Rasmus found the doorway it belonged to. Seeing the room it led to was empty, I somehow convinced rasmus I was tired so that we could rest. ...I wasn''t, but I knew Rasmus was, I could instinctively tell that he would not admit it, even if I asked. He sluggishly wrapped my body in the blanket he gave me despite me telling him repeatedly that I didn''t want it, after which he sat down to ¡°keep watch¡± as he said, barely coherent. But despite that he fell unconscious soon after. ¡°¡­¡± After he fell unconscious, I quickly got up and properly inspected his wounds, If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.¡®...This is horrible..¡¯ How can he still be alive? The pole has gone clean through his ribcage and there is more than one bullet hole on him. ¡°I have to do something¡­¡± My mother was a nurse, so I have seen wounds before, but I have no sutures or any other tools. Despite the lack of tools, I decided to do my best to help him, I rebandaged the shoddy bandage on his shoulder and removed the metal pole, I was afraid it would cause a lot of blood to flow out but it just caused a few sparks... that¡¯s when I realized he really was not human. ¡®...He really is an Old Beast¡¯ I thought in my mind as an instinctive fear welled inside me, my mother always said the Old Beasts are the most cruel monsters out there. The metal pole was in my hand, its other end would probably be sharp enough...¡± ¡®-No.¡¯ I thought in my mind, ¡®he is not cruel, he has not hurt me yet, has he?¡¯ Thats right, this entire time he has been caring for me, hasn¡¯t he? I shrugged off my welling feeling of fear and continued addressing his wounds. After I was done, I took the blanket, laid it on him and snuggled under it aswell. ¡®...His back is warm¡¯ I thought as I fell asleep. Soon after I woke up, i noticed he had already woken up and had began to work on something. He was moving and acting as if he had not noticed it himself, but he was far better now than a few hours ago. ¡®...Ah..¡¯ I realized, ¡®mom said that didn''t she?¡¯ ¡®Old Beasts are emotionless, they can''t even feel worry for their own lives, the Old Government took that ability away from them so they would fight to the death¡­¡¯ A strange pity rose up in my heart, despite caring so much about my health he cannot even fathom protecting his own, even if he protects me, no one is protecting him¡­ It may have been just my feeble mind seeking some kind of control over the hellish life I had lived or it may have been purely me seeking something to rely upon. but nevertheless I think that¡¯s when I decided it. ¡®...He protects me... but no one protects him...'' ''...then as long as I am with him, I will do the same for him.¡¯ Author''s Note: If it is not obvious yet, any information given in any Pov is biased, the main character for example seems oblivious to any moral issues, the fact that most other people are downright terrified of him, etc. Alicia sees the good actions of the main character without knowing he planned to sell her at one point, give her away for reward at the ''police station''. etc. you get the gist of it, No character shows a truly objective point of view here. and since there is no invisible narrator, you just have to gather your view based on various Pov''s of the same scene, or just make your own interpretation in general. Chapter 17: The two views ¡°No, hold it like this.¡± I began from teaching her the basics of handling a knife ¡°...Like this?¡± ¡°Wrong, do it properly, like this.¡± She seemed rather intimidated by the hunting knife I had given her, but nevertheless the fact that she was trying her best was clear, so I patiently continued teaching her. ¡°...Good enough for now, next, the gun.¡± The following days passed quietly with me teaching Alicia knife skills and marksmanship. I was actually quite surprised by her determination, I would never have thought that the joke-warning I gave her at the start about me selling her if she didn''t perform well would really get such good results. By the end of the three days she was able to swing the knife correctly and dodge a few practice blows I swung at her, as for her marksmanship... well... ¡°Look, its her.¡± ¡°Oh~ I get to see something good today. <3¡± It seems she became the mascot for local gun hobbyists after getting 23 points out of 25 in the firing range on the second day. ...I am definitely getting her a sniper rifle later. Thinking such thoughts I traded the metal hallways of the arcology to the equally metal Commission Hub hangar, since my new Walker should have arrived. Stepping out of the elevator what laid in front of me was a piece of pure beauty. A seven metre tall, dark gray Walker with three arms, one partly hidden behind a shield slightly smaller than the Walker itself, the tip of the loaded ¡®¡¯nail¡¯¡¯ poking out from behind it. The black secondary colour accentuated the deep reddish orange I chose for the trimmings of the armour nicely, you could notice this the most on the right arm¡¯s shoulder guard, where I commissioned a burning orchid silhouette to be placed. The right arm ended in the main gun, with its free of charge bayonet already attached. All in all, it looked beautiful as I walked up to it. ¡°Nice to meet you and best regards.¡± I said as I patted its metal hull with affection, before I headed to my hangar terminal to see her specs. *********Walker-Series-Unique-01035-511 ¡°Flamma et Armora¡± ************** Head [Sensor Slotted:Type Standard +1] [Sensor Slotted: Type standard +1] Right arm [Mounted: Shield.111 V type. ] Right lower arm [Mounted: T-2 Thermic Lance Launcher] Left arm [Mounted:C-3 TY-9 Combine Rifle] Back [Mount] [Armor Slotted: Type Standard] Chestpiece [Armor Slotted: Type Standard] Left leg [Utility slot] [Suspension Slotted:C-2] Right leg [Utility slot] [Suspension Slotted:C-2] Statistical evaluations: Agility: 265 (Reaction time: 100, Max motion speed:80 , Motion Accuracy:85 ) Strength 33 PP ( 27 PP Used) Sensors: 94 Firepower estimate: 145 ******************************************* Flamma Et Armora huh? Fea for short, I like it. After scrolling through a bit more I made my way into the cockpit and lead Alicia to hers so she can get to know it better in peace. The insides were surprisingly lavish for a combat walker, with smooth polished metal trims combined with painted black backplates and purple leds used for warning indicators etc, the connector setup seems more refined than Lily¡¯s, which linked to almost all ports on my flesh, this one however seems to only need the one at the back of my neck and the ones on my feet and fingertips, I like it. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Deciding to get used to the new setup, I sat down and connected to the Operating system, the unused plugs linking to my connectors felt really weird. Soon I felt a foreign presence in my mind. That would be the untrained Operating system. An operating system becomes indistinguishable from your own mind after driving long enough, but a fresh one, or one that has been used before is different, it''s like another person that is occupying your mind. For now I decided to stay linked for a while to allow the Operating system to get a little bit more used to the way I think, tightening and releasing my grip, defining what makes the main gun fire etc., but most importantly, getting used to the third hand. Contrary to others, getting the new hand to move was not too difficult to me, all I had to do was designate to the fresh brain, the task to copy my mental actions to move my right hand and emulate them to its own brain as a separate action. The problem is teaching the new brain to emulate actions based on my mental choices. so now I am moving an imaginary third hand to teach the new operating system to read them as an order to move the actual third hand. *Pov: Alicia* When we arrived to this arcology at first I thought I was safe again, but then they shot at us. And even after that, I was shocked when I saw people looking at Rasmus. No matter what you say, those are looks of fear, fear and disgust. ...But he doesn''t seem to even realize¡­ At the security station the people wanted me to go with the nice-seeming lady, but I could not abandon Rasmus, he needs me¡­ As we left the station he bought me many nice clothes¡­ ...I never thought I would wear clothes again¡­ I wanted to show him that I was reliable so despite wanting to buy colorful and cute, I asked him to buy me practical and bland clothes instead, I don''t want him to think I am a burden. ...I think he did not like me buying that much¡­ I should not have bought knee socks. What do I even need them for! I am such a fool¡­ After that, he bought me some warm food in a really nice place, it was so delicious. He cares for me. The waiter that thought he was a she, was really funny, Rasmus really should cut that hair, he looks far too feminine with it. After that we looked at walker parts together. It was a happy day. He did not abandon me, ...as long as I am not a burden he will not abandon me¡­ he will protect me and I will.. ...I will protect him, Ater he told me I had to learn shooting and knife skills or I would be abandoned, so I studied really hard¡­ ...Because I did so well he bought me an ice cream. ...He cares for me, he even gave me my own cockpit inside Fea, he doesn¡¯t want to lose me. He cares. Author¡¯s note: If you are wondering, no. This does not count in any way as romance, this is far more along the lines of psychological dependence towards the main character. So far I think the greatest reason to mark this story mature is due to the slowly warping traumatized mentality of Alicia that Rasmus is reinforcing. Never think a main character is kind just because his point of view is civil methinks. Also wont post more than a chapter per day or every other day for the next day or 3. somewhat busy atm. Chapter 18: Departing ìrota After more or less reaching the point where I could use the extra hand, I decided that it was high time to participate in a new skirmish for the Commission Hub, it is either that or I won''t have the credits to get a bed for the night. Popping my head over to Alicia¡¯s cockpit I said: ¡°I heading upstairs for a bit, getting us a new job. Don''t wander off ok?¡± After seeing her nod I smiled and got out of Fea and after telling the engineer assigned to me to get started on getting her field ready, I made my way through the busy hangar to the elevator. For some reason he got really pale whilst talking to me, I hope he doesn''t get ill mid-repair... After taking the elevator up to the busy Commission Hub lobby I was greeted by the brighter than average lamps hung from the ceiling, I immediately went to the Hub terminal, placed along one of the walls of the stone and metal accented entrance. As I headed to the terminal I already knew exactly what kind of a job I wanted and found a decent one fairly quickly. ¡±Haul valuable cargo¡± Distance: 155 Km Target: Auroran Arcology (X-102-117 Y-926-25) Estimated foe: 0-20 lesser 0-1 Medium, Low conflict chance Merit: 4 Profit: 120 Credits Yes, a job to head back to Aurora, it is my home after all. Lee must be getting quite worried at this rate, I could head over the mountains this time as Fea has a solid 21 hour operation time, but there is also something I must do along the way in the tunnels¡­ After accepting the hauler job I informed the local engineer assigned to me to make sure Fea is ready in a few hours, after this I helped Alicia get ready to travel. Soon enough, I left the safe concrete walls and steel defence towers of ¨¬rota behind us and embraced the desolate world I had grown used to oh-so-long ago, much like Aurora, ¨¬rota is built upon the ruins of an Old-world city and uses the husks of taller buildings for AA-emplacements, it also has a 5 km area that is always under surveillance, as such there was not much difference from my usual routine. Passing through the extended ruins of what was once a prosperous maritime city, I headed back to that place again, the train network. Soon enough I reached its entrance, inside one of the larger buildings in the middle of the old city, one of the few remaining accessible train network entrances left inside the city and surrounded by the ruins of what might once have been a busy plaza. However I chose to focus on the task at hand and so once again descended into the abyss. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡®Why am I heading back to the train network?¡¯ Because I have to get the other security drone, so that I can give it to Alice. What? You thought I would get her a Walker later? Do you even know how pricey it is to transform a person into a Walker pilot? Depending on the specimen and the service provider that costs somewhere between 1000-2800 credits, you know? I did say technology to weave bio material to technology is no longer available for Walkers. Why would you expect a similar job done in reverse to be cheap? Eh, ¡®why is it possible for Walker pilots and not Walkers?¡¯ It seems I may have confused you again, normally Walker pilot type ¡°Weapons¡± (like I call my kind) of the post-Old Gov just get a few implants to link their nerves to a Walker, the surgery is not nearly as invasive or likely to cause rejection syndrome than binding slabs of meat to machinery in a way that it doesn''t just die, or bio-engineering the flesh to be able to repair the machinery over time. Hm, what did you ask? ¡®Am I also a normal person equipped with just some implants?¡¯ ... ¡­ *Bang* A bullet hits the hull of Fea. ...Enough thinking. Time for combat. As I think that I slam the spike of my shield to the floor, rooting it stuck just in time to stop a charge from a Berserker. I drive the bayonet on my rifle through its gut, like meat on a stick, turning it on automatic I let loose, essentially eviscerating its torso, causing its other body parts to scatter on the floor, now useless. Swinging Fea¡¯s other hand to clear the blood and guts from the barrel, I take aim and begin reducing my enemies to stains on the floor. Allowing the war to take over, I drown the unwanted emotions in my heart. Author''s note: only one chapter today and tomorrow, we shall see if I will pick up the rate after that. Chapter 19: Through the abyss After breaking through the enemies on the surface, the number of enemies steadily diminished until none remained and the tunnels were quiet just like before, the dark is still as overbearing and desolate as before. It is peaceful, in a strange way. After hours of traversing in the desolate darkness I slowly make my way back to where I found the security drones. Kicking the security door off its hinges, I park Fea there for now. Then I help Alicia out of her cockpit. I proceed to bringing Fea to the other security drone that is, much like its earlier counterpart. Still in pristine condition. After entering the cockpit, I flip a switch to turn the thing on and let it run my fingerprint. ¡°-Access authorized, welcome unit- ...R-4-2 M-U-2 -¡± the same mechanical voice as before chimes in the cockpit. ¡°Issue new access ID.¡± I instruct the unit computer. ¡°-To run this command, access level 2 and vocal authorization are required, would you like to proceed?-¡± The thing responds. ¡°Run executive override, code 19-40-15-16-11 ID-02¡± I demand from the computer. ¡°-...Override accepted. Welcome, ID-02-¡± the machine finally responds after a while. ¡°Issue new ID.¡± I tell the damn thing again. ¡°-Acknowledged, please designate unit ID and save the unit fingerprints.-¡± I have Alicia register into the database. After all of this is said and done, the nightmare of every adult since the invention of the engine began. Teaching the younger generation how to drive. ¡°No, not that button, that one and then carefully push the right joystick forward. No, not like that, do it steadily, yes. That''s right, now tilt it to side, slowly, slowly, no. Not like that¡­¡± Needless to say, we spent the rest of the day there. After the driving lessons we took a break whilst slowly enjoying our rations. ¡°Alicia¡±, I said idly. ¡°Y-yes?¡± She said, apparently surprised by being suddenly called. ¡°Thank you for your hard work, you did good.¡± Always remember to keep good ties to your underlings. ¡°...Thanks¡­¡± She mumbled. One day I hope she will come out of her shell more. ...She got a bit red... I hope she isn¡¯t getting ill. After finishing our rations and getting some sleep, the driver¡¯s training continued, now whilst travelling to our destination, since she has more or less learned how to drive. Experience is a great teacher. During our drive I had her train her shooting accuracy by having her fire at various things that we came across in the dark tunnel. Eventually we also found some enemies, as we reached somewhat near where the old highway tunnel used to connect to the train network, only Lessers, nothing too serious, somewhere around 10-30, at least 10 of which seem to be Hound type. I instructed Alicia to stay behind me since she was still fresh blood, I could tell she was afraid to open fire, scared to take a life? I tried to tell her to not think of them as living people, but more or less like robots and that it would be mercy to them, to no avail. It was only after I said ¡°If you cannot shoot, what good are you?¡± in frustration, that she finally pulled the trigger. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Her shooting was all over the place, nothing close to what she could do if she was calm, but I suppose that is to be expected. I meet the first incoming Hound with a slam to the face from my shield, the second got a thermic lance to the face and the remainder was dispatched with machinegun fire. I use a drill-sergeant like voice to force Alicia to move forward and keep on shooting as I keep picking off any enemies that get close enough to actually harm her. After confirming that there are no more enemies I scan the area one more time and then, knowing that adrenaline does not last long, I dragged Alicia out of her drone and brought her face to face with an enemy she killed. I told her she did this and after letting it properly sink in for a second I began guiding her, she should not feel bad, these things are not humans, it is alright, etc. I slowly guided her to accept this as a new way to think of reality. ...I know, this is cruel. But she has to learn... I cannot have an unreliable ¡®¡¯Weapon¡¯¡¯ watching my back or we might both end up dying. Once I have gotten her to calm down with a gentle hug and repeating sentences like: ¡°it is alright¡± ¡°You did nothing wrong¡± ¡°What you did was correct¡± etc. We keep on moving, we encounter a few more enemies whilst in the vicinity of the broken highway tunnel, but Alicia seems considerably more calm this time and actually aims properly as well. After the conflict I make sure to ensure she is alright, free loyalty is really needed right now since she might start hating me for making her go through this. That would be bad. After passing the point where the tunnel used to be, we traverse in what I expected to be the silence for hours again. But Alicia has gotten strangely talkative. I wonder if she was seeking asylum from the guilt in her heart by seeking closeness from me. I did my best to entertain her whims by chatting with her to best of my ability. Eventually we reached a station that we could use to leave the train network. It probably was a countryside entrance or something since it was not situated in a city but instead the ruins of a small town. After orienteering ourselves we followed the roads, heading towards the outpost. We ran into another group of Lessers, this time with 2 Snipers, so I had Alicia shoot whilst covering behind a truck I took them out by using the single shot setting of C-3 rifle. Then we systematically took down the rest At this point, I don''t really have to fear Lessers unless they are armed with a tank-buster or something, but since Alicia is using a Security Drone, I have to increase its survivability before I can relax against Lessers. We continued heading towards the outpost until we saw smoke in the distance and realized. The outpost was under attack. Author''s Note: Yeah, still busy, too busy to post yesterday in fact, might not post tomorrow, we shall see, but nevertheless... here ya go, Notify me on any mistakes I make. Thank you. Chapter 20: (Out)Postal wars As we rushed towards the outpost we soon got a full view of the battlefield. There were dozens upon dozens of Lessers, Hounds running rampant on the battlefield and Lesser Gunner types shooting at anything that moved. At least 14 Mediums, with Berserkers at work tearing the outpost walls down, decimating the defences and Medium Gunner types keeping any Walkers the defenders had in check. There were also two Brutes, one was engaging a group of Walkers and the other was destroying the gate at a very rapid pace. Worst of all, they were lead by a Heavy type. A Rager. (A 14 meters tall beast with plated hull-like skin, a pair of miniguns sown in to replace its left hand, a large spiked wrecking ball serving as the right hand and unlike normal Heavies that have one monstrous head, this one has a group of 3-7, bundled up like flowers sitting on his shoulders. The thing is double my size) The underlings were carrying out the hard work whilst the Rager mowed down anyone who tried to escape with its miniguns. Ragers are dangerous because when they are calm, they possess a near average intelligence, but when angry they can keep wrecking havoc for days. It seems this one was keeping the outpost from sending a messenger to get help. Measuring our odds I was certain we could not save this outpost, but I also knew that we did not have enough power to reach Aurora without refueling. So our fate was bound together with this outpost. So, since I had no other choice, I got to work. The biggest issue here without a doubt is that other Brute, it is tying down 4 Walkers alone. If we could have them aid the battle we could most likely take down the Mediums, opening more Walkers to help take down the remaining Brute and hopefully the Heavy. As such, after ensuring Alicia was ready for this, we began carefully advancing towards the battle, whilst staying behind as many vehicles and such that we could, as to hopefully get as close as we could before getting spotted. We reached rather close, some 40 meters from the battlefield before the Hound types spotted us. Knowing that we couldn¡¯t get any closer I told Alicia to wait until I give the order, and then open fire, as I abandoned cover and began running into the battlefield. It did not even take 5 seconds before a large amount of firepower was diverted to me, hundreds of bullets peppering the shield I kept in front of me, knowing it was the only way that I would make it through this I kept firing the C-3 on full auto, as I mowed down the Hounds that diverted to take me down, passing their dead mangled bodies without a pause on my rush right at the Heavy. Realizing I was actually coming at him, the surprised Rager began shooting his dual minigun at me as I kept getting ever closer, I could feel the pressure and see the sparks from hundreds of bullets barraging onto the shield, whilst all I could do is pray it would hold. Thank god they are not armor piercing¡­ As I reached the Rager it swung its mace-hand whilst roaring at me, intent to squash me like a bug. But that was exactly what I had expected, as I dived past under the incoming mace, passing right between its 2 feet, it stumbling as it tried to turn around, but that did not matter right now, dangerous as it is. Among Heavies, a Rager is simply too huge for its own good, too bulky in its movement, too big for any decent action time. As such I ignored the oversized mountain of death and kept moving, intent on taking down that brute. Pov: Adam Rorke ¡®What the fuck?!¡¯ That''s what came to my mind first when I saw the madman. It had been a calm day, we were on our way back to Aurora after a successful skirmish and taking a rest at the local outpost. But then the Old Beasts invaded. Dozens upon dozens, I swear the landscape outside had become a fucking beehive of Lessers and Mediums lead by a single giant Heavy, We had taken part in missions involving Heavies before, but never without strong allies or artillery support, but now it was us, a dozen security guards and a group of caravan guards against a horde lead by one of those things. Mike said the thing is called a Rager, something that can slam a hole in an arcology wall if it tried. Of course we were afraid. hell, we were nearly shitting our pants, but we had to try something. We had to survive. In the chaos some tried to escape, others died before laying even a single hit. ¡®We are the most experienced fighters here¡¯ I realized, as I steeled myself for the task ahead. ¡°Mike, rally the security guards, help them keep the Berserkers outside or we will lose the civilians, the rest of you runts with me, we have to take down the brutes while the Rager is still looking down on us.¡± I did my best to rally defence, thinking the foe was underestimating us. Who would have thought it was I who underestimated the foe. Opening fire on the brute with my dual machine guns whilst Mike tanked and Lila and the rest tried to get shots in on its weak points we sought to take the Brute down quickly, but instead of keeping to Mike the brute went for Lila, sending her flying and tearing her Walker essentially in half with a single hit from its makeshift Greataxe. Our formation quickly fell apart after that, and soon we were barely keeping alive, with our members getting picked off by the second. But then a fucking madman came. Rushing from behind cover right at the Heavy, mowing down Hounds in its path. I remember myself swearing and crying in my heart: If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡®Why did you join the battle you idiot! You could have gotten us help!¡¯ ...But there was nothing to be done, the fucking moron would be dead soon, as was evident from the rapidly closing mace of the Rager. But then a miracle happened. The madman dodged under the Rager and instead of engaging it, just kept on running, it was then I realized the goddamn nutcase was running at US. As he got close he opened fire at the Brute we were fighting, dragging its attention. The beast roared and swung its greataxe, as to get rid of the new nuisance. ¡®This time he will die¡¯ I remember thinking disappointed in my heart, a Rager is huge and easy to dodge, but the Brute is faster and that walker is simply too bulky to dodge that axe. But then the madman provided another miracle. Instead of dodging the incoming axe he actually took it head on with his already near-shattered shield, it unsurprisingly broke apart on impact, but it stopped the axe and then a hand that I had not noticed before showed itself from behind the shield. Armed with a fucking nailer he shot a pair of thermic lances at the Brutes feet, pinning it down. Realizing we had been just foolishly standing there like a bunch of retards, vulnerable on the battlefield, I yelled into the comms: ¡°What are you waiting for you fucking morons, the gods themselves have given us a chance, lets fucking take it!¡± Shrugging off our surprise we opened fire on the defenceless Brute, effectively peppering its head for a full minute before it fell. I was about to thank the bastard but whilst we were killing the beast, the Angel of Madmen had already run off. So we instead started rendering aid to the caravan guards because this was the first chance we had to turn the tide. And we would be even more mad than the madman if we didn¡¯t take it. Pov: Mc After pinning the Brute down I left it to the walker group, judging from the marks of repairs on their hulls they have fought a decent amount in the past, they should be able to finish a defenseless Brute, at this point the Heavy had gotten back its bearings and opened fire at me. I knew it was going to happen so I promptly made a new makeshift shield by jamming the bayonet through a Berserkers gut and kept it between me and the Rager¡¯s fire, I used the hand that once had a shield to punch and sweep Hounds and Lesser Gunners from my way as I promptly rushed to where the other Brute was, dragging its attention by shooting a thermic lance at its back. The Old Beast turned around and came at me with a makeshift sledge hammer, standing there between 2 beasts stronger than myself I pinned the second Brute down, ducking to cover behind it, causing the still shooting Rager to shoot at its own unit. This would probably not have been a lasting status-quo seeing as Ragers are rather intelligent, unless pissed off, so after removing the Berserker corpse from the bayonet and reloading the Nailer, I began firing my main gun at the Rager from behind the Brute, causing it to get pissed off and keep firing. The Brute was roaring and screaming in misery as it was slowly getting minced to death by its master, desperately trying to reach behind itself or get its feet off the ground, to no avail, as any time it got close to releasing a leg I shot another Lance onto it. (Old beasts don¡¯t fear death but they feel pain alright.) Soon the thing was dead and I had no more cover to hide behind, but at this point the other Walker group had already finished off the other Brute, so I messaged Alicia ¡°Now.¡± Alicia opened fire on the Rager, by now having been completely forgotten by the enemy, I was surprised but she had actually made her way behind a sturdy built old truck, allowing plenty of protection whilst shooting. Her sudden participance was enough to distract the Rager for a moment, just long enough that I could escape from behind the dead Brute and allowing me a clear shot at the things miniguns, knowing that at this point it was all down to luck I unloaded all of my loaded thermic lances at the thing, 2 of which hit. Digging into the guns and the beast''s flesh, breaking them. It always amazes me how well these things can eat through most material. Having disabled the ranged capacity of the Rager, I aided the other pilots in clearing out the rest of the Mediums, whilst nimbly avoiding the giant bastard that had by now gone completely into rage mode. It might be dangerous if it hits, but as long as it has no ranged weapons and is focused on me instead of the badly damaged outpost, the thing is essentially a harmless mountain of metal and flesh. After cleaning the Mediums out, we finally focused on taking the Heavy down, with a lot of ammo and thermic lances we finally felled the Rager, during this work, I could feel the world slipping from me and at the end of it. I felt the world go dark. Author''s Note: I had a bit more time today than usual, so I wrote this in one go, (take its length as my apology to low posting rate the last few days) No double posts in the near future I am afraid, but I should hopefully be able to get back to my chapter-a-day rate, so a new chapter tomorrow, If I end up writing more than one chapter in the future I will keep the extra in reserve, that is what the last few days have taught me, always have a few chapters in reserve... Notify me on any mistakes I make. Thank you. Chapter 21 That which followed the battle. Pov: Adam Rorke After we cleaned up the remaining stragglers and the Heavy was felled, I saw the most bizarre scene in the world, the nutjob pilot of the shield bearing walker being dragged out of her walker by a pale, dark clothed little girl screaming for help. The first reason that it felt bizarre to me was because the goddamn pilot was a beauty (albeit flat chested). the second reason was that she had multiple bullet wounds on her. Me and a couple of other pilots ran over to help the poor girl out and somehow hauled the pilot to the outpost¡¯s clinic. ¡°This is some horrid shit.¡± I remember myself saying, looking at her wounds. Thinking back on it, she had run right through a battlefield whilst being constantly shot at, it would have been all kinds of fucked up had she not gotten hit during it, but what made it truly disturbing where the other marks. ¡°...Is she even human?¡± Aside from the new bullet wounds she had pre-bandaged wounds on multiple spots on her body, her shoulder, her lung, it seems there must have also been organ damage along the way, there was just no fucking way she could just run to the battlefield indiscriminately in this state¡­ Combining all of that with the fresh bullet wounds, one on her thigh, a shoulder hit, arm, waist, leg.. In fact how da fuck did she take this many bullet wounds and not just keel over then and there?! ¡°No!¡± As the old-looking outpost medic was about to start addressing her wounds the woman¡¯s short-haired lil¡¯kid suddenly grabbed his arm and screamed that, flustered at receiving our surprised gazes she started explaining in a really quiet voice: ¡°Um, she would not want a man to touch her whilst she was unconscious, some of those wounds are a bit, you know...¡± She explained, as her adorable face started to resemble a tomato, why does that look so fucking cute!? ¡°My mom was a doctor¡­ I have been addressing her wounds in the past, could you¡­ Um.. Leave it to me? ¡± ...Why is her muttering voice so cute!? (author: her mumbling is not very coherent, she is mumbling after all, but she means addressing Rasmus¡¯s wounds, not her mami¡¯s) The medic seemed conflicted, but after looking at the woman''s hideous wounds, he agreed, provided that the girl would sign a paper that releases him from any responsibility¡­ You just did not want her fucking death on your consciousness right!? Your eyes are swimming. Oi! Resigned we left the treatment of the strange Walker pilotess to the little girl. ...How fucked up must the world be when we leave dying patients for 12 year old girls to handle¡­ It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. *Pov: Alicia* Uuu¡­. What do I do now? I knew that if they examined Rasmus closely they would realize he was not just an implanted human, but an actual Old Beast, so I exploited his womanly appearance to get them to leave, but if I don''t do something he is going to bleed out¡­ Worried for his life, I began by removing his tattered clothes and blocking the wounds, whatever I do would not matter if he bled out, Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ...I may have lied to the others that my mother was a doctor, but she was only a nurse and I don''t honestly know what to do... ...I Fumbled around and found some blood bags, but I did not know what blood type he was, there was not any O negative¡­ O negative is a luxury only the rich and powerful can afford after all, I took a chance and gave him type A, ...I hope that is his blood type¡­ ...Please¡­ He cannot die¡­ *Pov: Adam Rorke, many hours Later* The little girl finally came out from the pilotess¡¯ room in the clinic, albeit with more blood on her than before. ¡°Ra- Umm... Rachel should be stable¡­ But she needs a few hours of rest, undisturbed¡­¡± Honestly, I could not fucking believe what she just said. No one could get that close to well minced pork and live, I was about to go in and check but the little girl stopped me. ¡°No! ...She is not dressed, her clothes were in tatters... So I took them off¡­¡± ¡­.¡±Ok, I wont look¡± I gave up. Her distressed face is cute¡­ (Author: Great, first a masochist man and now a pedo...) Apparently the girl¡¯s name is Alicia and the woman is Rachel, they are apparently adopt-twins, we talked for a while, but she seemed tired, not too surprising, she is 12 and had to deal with her sister almost dying after all, so we let her rest and went to the local bar to get wasted. *Pov: Protagonist, next morning* As usual, I slept badly. Why can''t I sleep well like the others? I slowly woke up to the sound of a heart monitor¡¯s rhythmic beep. It took me a moment, I realized that I was the patient. Well, I guess I did overdo it a little, but what can I say? It was do or die, if we could not kill the Heavy we would not make the travel to Aurora alive. Heh, it¡¯s funny, that was my first solo fight with a Heavy. And I won. Heh. As my mind slowly cleared I found that there was someone sleeping with their small head lying on the side of the bed. ¡®Alicia¡¯ I see, she must have been the one to address my wounds, that being said I do vaguely recall the bandaging I had done whilst half asleep in the tunnel having been exceptional, maybe she did it back then as well? A small smile rose to my lips as I looked at the little thing that had evidently fallen asleep whilst keeping watch next to my bed. ¡®Loyalty like this is not bad I suppose¡¯ I thought as I lifted my hand and began patting her sleeping head. ¡°Hau~...¡± She began to slowly stir under the might of my patting technique. ¡°Ras...mus?..¡± She muttered half asleep. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m here.¡± I responded slightly smiling. ¡°Rasmus!!¡± She dive-hugged me. ...I suppose loyalty like this is really not bad. ¡­ Then she had to re-bandage me. ...Dive-hugs can kill you know? Author''s note Here you go, chapter of the day. more tomorrow. Chapter 22: Travel continues. After escaping my hospital bed, Alicia unloaded a confession on me about how she had to deceive the others that I was a woman to stop them from realizing my identity, I was annoyed and may or may not have considered selling her again¡­ but I must admit that she did her best, considering the situation. So as to your question, yes. I am an Old Beast. Well, go on? You shocked? Offended? ¡­ WELL? Oh right, you can''t speak in chapter-talk unless the author lets you. Well if you are offended, F*** you, racist. If you aren''t, thank you for your understanding nature. So yeah, I am an Old Beast, sorta. The revolutionaries repurposed me early on during the war and had me serve them instead. ...What? I told you I am a weapon. how else would survive all of the wounds I get on a daily basis without dying? By now most of my wounds have stopped bleeding, its quite useful you know? Whilst I was stuck in a mental monologue, a burly looking but well dressed man came into the room. Ed Tyson, the person in charge of the outpost. ¡°Ms. Rachel I presume?¡± ...Endure...Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. I give a meaningful glance to Alicia. ¡°Um¡­ She doesn¡¯t like to talk to outsiders, sorry.¡± She quickly explained...Outsiders? ¡°...Outsiders?...¡± The bald, darker coloured man mumbled aswell, before carrying on in his normal, deep voice. ¡°Ah ok, that¡¯s not an issue, we just wanted you to know that we are really thankful for your contribution to keeping our outpost up and running.¡± He said in a voice full of platitudes and continued ¡°If you would lend your Commission-hub ID, we will add it to your score.¡± I nodded and had him add the credits to my account with a swipe of my ID card, I took care to have my thumb over my name ofcourse. So, I suppose I should explain credits? I warn you, if you think it is just money, you are wrong. Credits are a statistic maintained by the largest companies, the Commission''s Group, the Mercantile Group, to name a few. It is a proof that you have contributed to society and in exchange for your contributions, you get to cash in ¡°Credits¡±, your numeric value, to get different commodities. Sounds identical to money? Well it essentially is but with one key difference. If you do not belong to one of the main companies, you cannot have credits. So yeah, people who act criminally in the open essentially no longer exist. Smuggling and stuff sure, but no one dares to become a raider etc, simply because it excludes you from trading with anyone else in the world. ¡­¡¯They got rid of their ¡°Big Brother¡± government, just to elect corporate overlords?¡¯ ¡­ I know, I love the human hypocrisy too. After acquiring the credits from mr ¡°Tyson¡±, (does he box I wonder?) we departed for Aurora. *Pov: Alicia* We left the outpost after the old outpost-guy gave Rasmus his credits. I talked a lot with Rasmus while we were travelling, about how I think he should cut his hair, or what his room in Aurora looks like¡­ It was mostly me asking and him answering with short answers, but it was nice. ...Somewhere along the way we encountered a group of human sized Old Beasts, Lessers, I think the word is? ...Rasmus said it would be good practice so I should kill them on my own¡­ I still feel weird about killing, but if I don''t... Rasmus will leave me, so I will do as he says and kill. ¡®He will not leave me. He cares.¡¯ Thinking so, I use the left joystick to take aim and open fire. The first burst from my machineguns landed on a humanoid Old Beast with a machine gun-arm, I think it died instantly, but then the others turned towards me and began to shoot, ¡®if I let them damage the Walker, Rasmus might get disappointed¡­¡¯ I take cover to the side, still shooting at the beasts, I think I killed another one¡­ ...4 more to go?... I reload my machine-guns and begin to shoot from behind the cover, my bullets tearing through them like they were made of paper. ...After I killed the last one, Rasmus praised me. ...Why do I suddenly feel so happy? ...hehe~... Chapter 22.5 The merchant and the beast. Today was a unique day, a very unique day indeed, who would have thought this would happen to my shop of all places. The ¡°Old world monster¡± of the Commission Hub had come to my store. Of course I knew the significance of this, the ¡°Monster¡± might not be even close to the strongest Commission Hub member out there, but he was without a doubt definitely one of the most terrifying. ¡°Here have a seat Mr. Rasmus.¡± I helped him to his seat personally whilst my aide helped the poor child he had brought with him, first rule of dealing with the ¡°Monster¡±, despite his heart wrenchingly good looks. NEVER mistake him for a girl or mention his feminine looks, according to rumors anyone who does, puts themselves and their family at jeopardy. I feel pity for the poor child with him, I wonder if she was taken by the ¡°Monster¡± from her family? After aiding them to their seats I took my place on the other side of the table. ¡°So, what is it you wish from our humble store Mr Rasmus?¡± I opened the discussion, putting on my best professional smile. Second rule of dealing with the ¡°Monster¡±, always try to keep on his good side, but never show yourself weak, there are more than enough legends of him kneecapping and using his fellow allies as human scarecrows, letting them die in his place or him hunting down and killing people who hired him and refused to pay. I must appear strong, I must put on my best merchant act here! For my family!Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°I wish to sell my Drone.¡± ...The fuck is a Drone? ¡°I see, I see, I must admit i have never heard of this¡­ ¡°Drone¡± Is it your new Walker perhaps?¡± He nodded, eh? The monster has purchased a Walker¡­ That is big news! The Monster might be well known for his cruelty, especially among us in the Mercantile Group (We have exceptional Intel gathering i¡¯ll have you know), but what is even more famous is his choice of Walker. An old piece of junk that the Old-Gov used early on in the war. Liliam et Arma, (later dubbed ¡°Old world Lily¡±) armed with only a sword and a single-shot styled rifle, no sane man would go to battle without at least a basic machine gun, but the Monster has roamed the battlefields for centuries, armed but with only that rifle and a sword. The fact he can stay alive this long without anything more has only added to his legend. The fact that he is planning a new Walker is huge. After that that I listened carefully to the Monster, afraid to miss any crucial bits about this new Walker of his, and soon I realized I had misunderstood, what he was selling was much more than a Walker, it was a Walker that could be mass-produced. Once again the monster was dropping bombshells on me, he is completely swallowing me to his pace, I must regain control! As we negotiated on the price I used all the tricks I dared to make the price as low as I could, I am walking a very dangerous line, I must show that I am not to be under-estimated, but I must not offend him. Some legends state he has his own crime syndicate kidnapping children for slavery and selling them¡­ I must protect my child, my dear little Lulu... ...I am shocked¡­ He agreed for a tiny price of 1500 credits and a one-time 70% discount¡­ I have paid more for rare Walker-frames! this has to be a ploy! After he left my office I came to soon realize it really was not a ploy, he actually agreed to the price. I was confused until I saw him carefully pick through our stock to make a new Walker, that''s when it hit me, he agreed to the low price on purpose, and now he is purchasing a frame from us¡­ *Snifle* For some reason our humble store is getting sponsored by a legend (albeit the cruel kind)¡­ ...I shall make sure whatever he purchases is going to be assembled by our finest engineers. On the house. Chapter 23: Aurora, City of conflict After Alicia killed the group of Lessers, we continued our travel towards Aurora. Lucky for me, the rest of the way there was mostly uneventful. And at dusk, we saw the remains of skyscrapers and derelict apartment blocks where Aurora was built upon. It feels good to be home again. Well, as good as coming back to this city can feel at least. ¡°City of conflict¡± they call it. Aurora is built within spitting distance of an Old-World metropolis that is to this date completely infested with Old Beasts. There have to be Vats in that city somewhere or they would never be able to keep fighting back this long. That''s why Aurora has so many extermination and surveillance jobs you know? It is a conflict hotspot after all. That''s why it is a perfect place for someone like me. ¡°Halt, unidentified squad, present your ID within 10 seconds or you will be neutralized.¡± A familiar young voice resounded through the comms. ¡°Its me, unit ID XXXXX, I have a civilian in-squad, planning to enlist her into the Commission''s Group once inside.¡± I responded to the security force member, I think his name was William? ¡°Understood sir.¡± The voice on the other end quickly replied, nice and professional, good, good. ¡°Welcome back to Aurora, sir.¡± Oh? Also courteous, one day he might get somewhere in life... Maybe. As we entered the arcologies hangar, the first thing I did was re-assign Alicia for an adjacent hangar to my own through a terminal. ¡°First let''s turn in the Haul-job. Then we will go sign you in as a member of the Commission Hub, alright?¡± I asked her as we headed to the elevator. ¡°Ok.¡± She simply answered. I swear she gets so much more quiet when we are in a city¡­ As such after getting out of the elevator into the Commision Hub lobby, I headed over to the terminal. Well, I was going to. But I was ambushed in the hallway. ¡°Rasmus!~~~ You are back!¡± My ambusher yelled as he tried to grab me with a bear hug. I refuse to be attacked first by my ambushers so I promptly disabled the hugger with a knee-kick. ¡°Yeah, the job got a bit hairy along the way. But I made it back.¡± I responded to my ambusher. ¡°...Can¡­ You not talk so casually after kicking me in the balls..¡± the ambusher mumbled something unclear on the floor. ¡°Hm? did you say something?¡± ¡°No! no not at all!¡± He scrambled off the floor. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Heh.. It''s good to see you again Lee.¡± I responded to the bugger. As I extended my hand for a shake. ¡°You too rasmus, you too.¡± He ignored my hand and came in for a hug with tears in his eyes. (see why I think he is bipolar?) ...He caught me after all dammit¡­ ¡°Umm¡­ Could you let Rasmus go¡­ He seems uncomfortable¡­¡± Alicia¡¯s voice said quietly from behind me. ¡°Eh? ¡° He let me go¡­ freedom~¡­ Good job alicia! ¡°Rasmus, what is that?!¡± He suddenly asked me whilst agitatedly pointing towards Alicia. ¡°She is Alicia, she is gonna be my new teammate.¡± I responded in what I hope to be a calming voice.¡± ¡°Why is it a girl!?¡± ...Why can''t she be a girl?! Also¡­ ¡®it¡¯? ¡°Lee, calm down¡­¡± ¡°NO!¡± ...Loud¡­ *kick* ¡°Gofu!¡± ¡°Umm¡­ Lee? Are you alright?¡± Alicia asked the twitching mass on the floor. ¡°Ignore him, he will revive later I am sure.¡± Sigh, why cant Lee get some meds or something, see how he jumped right from happy to really agitated? Clearly bipolar. ¡°...My balls¡­.Oh my balls¡­¡± Unintelligible moans could be heard from behind us as we moved towards the terminal. After logging in on my ID I turned in the skirmish, acquiring some much needed Credits. ¡°Now, let''s get you signed up for the Commission Hub eh?¡± After she nodded we headed over to the burly scarred man handling the reception desk. Well, we are in a conflict city (short way to refer to cities that actively commission Extermination jobs), so it is not too strange that the Commission Hub would rather hire some retired Weapon instead of a naive lady. ¡°Hm? What is it?¡± He asked, he seems really stiff, sigh, PTSD case or something? ¡°Add her to the list.¡± I responded making him seem really uneasy for some reason ¡°Sir, I cannot take direct part in this practice, there are rules you know?¡± he answered, what? ¡°Last I checked there is no minimum age for joining the hub?¡± ¡°Eh? Oh! that''s what y- I mean, Ofcourse, please have her fill these documents.¡± he responded. PTSD and trouble keeping up with the conversation, did he get a blow to the head or something? Well, nevertheless we soon had her signed up for the Commission Hub. Aside from that, 120 creds should be easily enough to gain access to my room. As such we head to the said room next. Upsides of being a long-term member of Aurora¡¯s Assignment Hub, if I leave the Arcology they won''t empty out my room or charge rent for the first 30 days as an incentive to come back. I suppose I have proved my value eh? Opening my room¡¯s door I told Alicia ¡°Let me present to you: my room, in all its glory.¡± After opening the door to my clean and brightly lit room, I was greeted by the familiar sight of my tables and workbenches all filled with various equipment for augmentation tinkering and repairs, repair-gels and the old can of WD-40 I keep around for joints and such. It seems I left the light in the bathroom on because it was shining into the room. ¡°get yourself a pillow and a quilt or something from the drawer over there, you can use them to sleep when you need to. When you get some money from the commission hub we will get you your own room.¡± I told her. What? ¡®Gentlemen would let her have the bed¡¯? Well I am not gentle. Deal with it. ¡°...Thank you.¡± Heh, see? That meal was definitely worth it. I told you that you will regret questioning me buying it. (referring to first visit to the outpost) After settling down we both took a relaxing bath in turns, I oiled my joints (ahh~...heaven¡­) ate some canned food, and turned in for the night. Best continue tomorrow when we aren''t so tired. *Pov: Assignment hub Reception man / underworld mob goon number 12* Phew, for a moment I thought that boss was going to add the poor girl to the next cargo shipment in the open¡­ But he knows better than that after all, he would never show his hand openly in our work. After all, boss is a genius. *Pov: a Security guard* Sigh¡­ For christs sake we should have known that asshole would not stay away for long, he might be a member of the Assignment Hub, hell he might even be a pretty gifted member, but he sure as hell is not worth the trouble, while he was away the local smuggling ring acted far more manageable, hell we were nearing agreeable terms for a moment there! Now that he is back we are back to square one again. Chapter 24: Normal day. As always, I slept badly. eh? ...¡®What do I dream about?¡¯ .... ... .. . . .. ¡­ ¡­. ¡­¡±AAAGHHGhHHG!!!¡± They shock the limbless body trapped to the table again, it hurts when they do it to the thing, but I don''t mind, that¡¯s not me after all¡­ Dad promised that this research would make me walk again, so I will bear it¡­. ¡°AARRHAAAAH..!!!¡± *sob sob* It is not me that they are hurting. It is that one on the table¡­ ¡° Log 112. Research sample 42, still showing outward signs of mental receptiveness to stimuli, but EEG reads decreasing activity in the the dorsal posterior insula, it seems that the Y-22 at 10 mg dosage is successful in affecting the brain chemistry without cell deterioration. If the effects maintain the desired direction there should be a good chance to regain funding.¡± An elderly voice said. They talk about weird stuff again¡­ ¡°AAASGAHH!!¡± ...Please stop hurting it already... ¡°Personal note, further research is required into the increased random activity in the Cerebral Cortex that seems to occur consistently moments after stimuli.¡± ...Please make it stop¡­ ...Father... ...They charge the pads and bring them closer to that thing on the table again... .. . . Ah, sorry sorry¡­ I let my mind wander. I¡¯ll tell you about the nightmares some other day, ok? They aren''t too pleasant of a subject to talk about this early in the morning. As I got out of bed and recharged my power source, I took a glance at where alicia was supposed to sleep, but her corpse and beddings were no longer there. Judging from the sounds in the kitchen she must have woken up before me and is now trying to make some breakfast. Smiling slightly to myself I donned some fresh clothes and headed to the kitchen. Unsurprisingly our breakfast was canned meat and some dried plums. What? You expected me to have fresh ingredients, after having left the arcology for over a week? I am not that wasteful! Alicia seemed a bit down since she failed to make breakfast, so I promised that we would go get groceries later today. After we finished our morning duties we headed out into the the relatively quiet hallways of the Arcology. On today¡¯s agenda we have:
  1. visiting Lee at the hangar for fitting Alicia¡¯s Drone with a sniper-rifle.
  2. Buying groceries.
  3. Signing Alicia and me as a squad (I forgot yesterday!)
  4. Checking if a friends business is running alright.
So the first place we headed to was the Assignment Hub. Signing myself and Alicia as a squad was rather easy, all we had to do was talk to the ex-Weapon manning the reception desk and tell him to do so, he did have to see our ID but was that really surprising? So with that out of the way, we took an elevator down to the hangars.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Lee.¡± I called out to the pair of legs sticking out from under the hood of Fea¡¯s main core. *Cough* ¡°Rasmus!¡± sounds of scrambling fill the air for a moment as Lee scrambles out from inside Fea¡¯s core. ¡°Um¡­¡± Lee glances at Alicia awkwardly. ¡°Sorry about yesterday, I may have overreacted¡­ It''s good. That you finally got a squadmate I mean.¡± Lee said with a apologetic look. ...I swear I saw some hate in those eyes when he looked at Alicia, but i¡¯m gonna let it slide. ¡°So, what do you think of Fea?¡± I changed the subject. ¡°Ah, she is a beauty I must say!¡± Lee responded with a smile, starting his incoming monologue. ¡°I rebuilt the damaged parts on her, including your shield, that one was quite tough you know? The specs on that are way too precise, that being said, I did change how the hydraulics link to the arm, It should handle an impact a bit better.¡± ¡°The frame itself is a total piece of art, someone must have pulled all the stops on integrating the rest onto it, It even has hydraulic bearings running parallel to the main supports as a fallback, in case they malfunction, I am pretty sure that you wouldn''t have gotten back to aurora without them.¡± ¡°there is also a separate wet drive included in the inner folds of the OS-Core armoring to help dealing with junk data from sensor scramblers. None of this was even included in the machine registry. Whoever built this really worked to impress I must say.¡± I nodded. Satisfied that Fea was satisfactory in the eyes of a professional mechanic. ¡°How about the Drone?¡± I asked next. ¡°That kids walker?¡± He gave a cold look to Alicia before carrying on. ¡°It''s a rather fascinating piece of old tech that you found I must say, It uses too many motorized joints to my taste but it is still quite ingenious.¡± ¡°They just don¡¯t build ¡®em like this anymore, as for the Controls I switched the joysticks it had, for balljoint-handle-controls used in turrets, closest thing in commercial use, otherwise if they get damaged we cannot replace them, I still haven''t configured it though.¡± ¡°Ok, thanks Lee. Before you configure it, could you switch the weapons on it for a rifle? R223 or R525 Should be fine.¡± I asked. ¡°Ye no problem. I will pay your repairs from my pocket this time, but I need you to pay me back later alright?¡± ¡°Yeah, thanks Lee.¡± After talking with lee a bit more (with me catching him often giving Alicia a cold stare, and alicia being generally quiet) We left Lee to his work and carried on our tasks for the day. After Leaving the Commission Hub I visited the offices of the ¡®Armament Acquire&Shippings¡¯ Corp that a friend is running. (A&A-Corp for short) The moment I walked through the front door I was instantly greeted by a very polite swindler-looking guy ¡°Ah! Mr Rasmus. Welcome back, welcome back! We have all been eagerly waiting for your return, ¡®Boss¡¯ Is in his office waiting for you, go on right in!¡± He cheerfully explained as he ushered me past the waiting people in the lobby and past the metal detector (past not through). As I mentioned, the owner of this place is a friend of mine, it used to be run by a shady person who traded in human trafficking, so I killed him and gave the company to a person who was not in on the plot, since then I have often helped them with their business problems, you know, small stuff, like figuring out where to ship weapons to, or how to avoid their competitors figuring out trade secrets, improvements on the merch, those sort of things. Heh, sometimes I feel that I am the real owner of this place from the way the staff treats me. ...They left Alicia in the lobby though¡­ I am sure she will be fine. ¡°Ah Bo- Rasmus! Welcome back, welcome back! Have a seat sir!¡± The CEO of the company, Nastim, a rather thin, lazy-looking guy with a beard creeping up his face every morning, ushered me to take a seat in a comfy-yet-fancy sofa. He always had the best manners I must say. ¡°So, I trust you heard what went down with my Haul-job?¡±I asked him as I took a sip of coffee that a pretty assistant ushered over for me. ¡°Ah, I heard, I heard, The Carrier-corps Haul was seized by the local security right?¡± ¡°Yes, namely, I turned it in.¡± I responded. ¡°I-is that so? But now our trade is going to be severely hindered by the increased scrutiny in the port city.¡± He responded. Yeah, I agree this means the security will be very careful so they will most likely hinder Nastim¡¯s cargo shipments, but that''s not an issue since his company is out of the human trafficking business, and since Carrier-corps (c-corps for short) are his biggest competitor in the region, this can be a benefit. ¡°It may seem like an issue at first, but you gotta see the opportunity, I am certain Carrier-corps won''t be able to carry proper trade for a while through ¨¬rota, but we have the local trust there don''t we? you can use this to take over C-Corps¡¯ trade contracts by convincing ¨¬rota of this corporation''s clean papers.¡± ¡°...True, you are right we have the ¡®trust¡¯ of many security officers, but we still need to ¡®convince¡¯ many more of our corporation¡¯s clean cargo, I will have people get right on that bo- sir.¡± He responded. ¡°Besides that, I think you should consider including silencers on the personal armaments on sale.¡± There are bound to be many shady types we can sell to now that the security is kicking up. Selling to criminals might be wrong, but hey! Their cash is just as green. Besides, many of the security officers in that city seemed interested in taking law to their own hands when I visited, it will definitely sell. ¡°...Are you sure? ¡®Silenced¡¯ Weaponry would definitely go a long way to make trade easier in ¨¬rota, but isn''t it a bit¡­¡± ¡°Just do it. You will thank me later, also make silencers readily available for purchase to all customers in the area.¡± ¡°...Ok sir. I will do as you say.¡± See? These kinds of things make me feel like I own the place, not him. ¡°Yeah, just remember, it''s your corporation not mine. Oh also, I recommend trying to acquire C-corps¡¯ assets in this city when their trade is suffering.¡± ¡°Of course sir.¡± Always so polite this guy. We chatted a bit longer about things, trade security, etc. but soon I decided to excuse myself, Alicia and I have to buy groceries before the day is out after all. After visiting the market and purchasing some much needed food supplies, we headed to my room again and lazed the rest of the day. *Pov: CEO of ¡®Armament Acquire&Shippings¡¯ Corporation / second in command of an underworld Mob.* Boss came back to Aurora today, honestly it made me quite glad, things went to shit after he left and turned in that cargo, the Etre family that rules the local area was really not happy to have lost a shipment. ...It was shocking to hear that boss wants to go into an open war with them this boldly, even carrying the opening move out himself. Etre family and everyone else is now also suffering since ¨¬rota is keeping an eye out to stop any slave-trading¡­ Yet he wants to use the people we bribed and coerced to keep trade going¡­ going as far as ordering the tongues and vocal chords to be removed from all trafficked slaves to silence them just goes to show how committed boss is. He even wants to offer the same treatment to anyone who wants to discreetly silence their personal slaves neatly... Since it¡¯s Boss, we should be able to manage. He is the one who gave me this job after all, and has made us rise to rival even the great families, whilst being careful enough to never openly talk of our business, always metaphors and never even touching the blood money, Boss is too skilled and smart¡­ and cruel. Even if I think this plan is too bold I know better than to disobey or cut him out, I can tell from those cruel eyes that i would not survive to see the next day if i did. Editor''s note: A note on our main character: He appears to have the same general awareness of his position as mob boss, as a harem anime main character has of his harem. Chapter 25: The Six. The next day we headed to the hangar after eating breakfast. (American style breakfast, ¨¢ la Alicia. Turns out she knows how to cook, I asked about it. It seems she often had to make her own breakfast in the past because her parents were busy.) We found Lee in the Drone hangar, fitting a brand new long barreled R525 onto its primary hand. ¡°Lee.¡± I called out. ¡°Ah! Rasmus, good timing! I just got the new pea-shooter installed, The hydraulics were a tad challenging, but compensating with motorics did he- ¡± he began his monologue. ¡°...Can you get it configured before noon?¡±I interrupted him, easier to stop him early than kick him later. ¡°...I think so yeah? Ya planning to take a Skirmish later?¡± He responded, good. ¡°Yeah. I need the credits.¡± ¡°Ok. I¡¯ll get it done.¡± He promised. I bid him farewell and headed back up the elevator, and went to the Hub terminal. It took me a moment, but I soon had the option thinned down to a few candidates ¡±Survey border territory X-11-420 Y-164-30¡± Estimated foe: No estimate, Medium conflict chance. Merit: 2 Profit: 70 Credits ¡±Survey border territory X-18-469 Y-172-29¡± Estimated foe: No estimate, Medium conflict chance. Merit: 2 Profit: 70 Credits ¡±Eliminate enemy force on X-014-275 Y-136-120¡± Estimated foe: 10-15 Medium, 0-2 Heavies, 0-200 Lesser.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Merit: 9 Profit: 170 Credits ¡±Eliminate enemy force on X-20-260 Y-140-125¡± Estimated foe: 10-25 Medium, 0-1 Heavies, 0-250 Lesser Merit: 9 Profit: 160 Credits ¡±Eliminate enemy force on X-09-265 Y-138-120¡± Estimated foe: 10-55 Medium, 0-2 Heavies, 0-280 Lesser Merit: 9 Profit: 185 Credits All the skirmishes seem pretty good in some way, so I let Alicia decide. She did not want to choose at first but eventually she picked one with a ¡°...Umm¡­ ...This?¡± whilst poking at the screen. ¡±Eliminate enemy force on X-09-265 Y-138-120¡± Estimated foe: 10-55 Medium, 0-2 Heavies, 0-280 Lesser Merit: 9 Profit: 185 Credits That is the one she picked, the one with the most Hostiles¡­ Well, I let her choose. So. Lets do it I suppose. After signing up for the Skirmish I treated Alicia for a meal in a local restaurant. Meat and smashed potatoes. then we headed to the Meeting-hall Meeting halls are a practice set already a decade after the revolution by the Revolutionaries, people who are not originally in the same squad that end up being stuck together in a skirmish meet each other in an empty hall provided by the Assignment Hub. (fun fact, Assignment Hub Originates as the mission-control of the Revolution. They were the people who organized the weaponized revolt across the land. Later on they became the Commissions Group. ...And yes, both Assignment Hub and Commission Hub are grammatically correct names for it these days.) As we entered through the large open double doors of the hall we saw that the well-maintained room was already starting to fill up with various pilots. Some were already showing their machines on the holo-projector in the middle of the room, whilst others watched, sitting on their chairs or tables. The group of pilots in my group are a ragtag bunch, a young looking bloke with blonde hair, an old-timer who has visible metal augments both on top of his skin and clearly under it and a pair of brothers with raven black hair and a cheerful disposition. After greeting everyone, I began introducing the people to Alicia. the blonde guy is called Aaron and he is a scout-type Weapon. Instead of a walker, he uses small toy-plane sized flying machines. (fun fact, Drone is a word that was curiously lost from the vocab since the revolution, I am not sure why, they tend to be just called Machines, whereas manned machines are called Walkers) The old dude is called Charlie, and he is a Walker-type. He drives a heavily upgraded ¡®Ex-Zamia Et Deus¡¯ (Ezed for short) equipped 2 long barrel-modified C-3 TY-6s (The little brother of my gun). The twins are called Thomas and and Timothy. They are our ¡®Heavies¡¯. They both pilot their own ¡®Excemptia-5¡¯ Series Walker equipped with a P77 Rail-Action. (P66s Big bro.) and pair of shoulder-mounted Mortars. Yes, I have worked with them before. After some talking we settled the roles. Aaron will be our eyes and ears, the twins will take the heavies and me and the old guy will be the foot soldiers, whilst Alicia will provide overwatch. After settling the roles we all left the Meeting-Hall and then the Arcology, and went to do our job. ¡®Back into hell the six men marched, a land that to them, is so ever familiar.¡¯ ...heh¡­ why am I feeling poetic all of a sudden? Chapter 26: Monsters. Heading out into the wastelands of the old city and its outskirts, we began slowly making our way towards the target. Elimination type skirmishes are the main reason conflict cities like Aurora are made, the benefits of them are many: Eliminating all large groups of Old Beasts that leave their hotspot get killed and as such can¡¯t attack other Arcologies, making the world safer for everyone. The corpses of elimination targets (and any other missions that contain combat) get collected in scavenge-type jobs. Allowing an easy way to get weaponry that that can be traded on the open market (the corporation my friend runs is specialized in this you know?). They allow a steady living for those who dedicate themselves to combat, making sure that our Arcology-riddled land always contains people who are skilled enough to defend it. Etc. So as you can see, Arcologies Like our Aurora are quite important. So, since it was planned from the beginning to be conflict city, they named it ¡®Aurora¡¯ After Odio Van Aurora. Eh? ¡®Who is Odio?¡¯ He was a warlord, strategist and a great philosopher who lived 3 centuries ago during ¡°the 3rd World War¡±. Despite being the military leader of a fairly small nation, he kept his nation independent with an iron fist. He became famous for the ¡°Principle of Pain¡± philosophy of peace. As any time he lost land to an enemy nation, he would have his people help the enemy of his enemy to take the land instead. Rinse and repeat, or he would cause similar suffering upon the occupying force. Eventually people gave up on trying to take his lands because they were far more trouble than they were worth, their land had no important strategic resources and any land taken from them was never quite successfully colonized. According to history books he even had his own citizens infect themselves with a weaponized strain of Polio during the ¡°Occupation of Ergate¡± so that the enemy army would suffer. They named the new form of warfare that he invented: ¡°Weaponization of enemy Occupation Plans¡± heh, you can question his morals, but not his accomplishments. Oops, rambling again. Sorry. So you can translate our city name to: small, but unkillable and unoccupiable. Well, while I was rambling within my skull, outside it we kept marching towards the target location. The scout machines made the march quite peaceful. As we could mostly navigate around any hostiles. ...Yet of course we still ran into a few groups of Lessers, but they were easily dealt with. Soon enough we came close enough to the target to keep track of their movement. So we began preparing our plan of attack.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The coordinates were quite accurate, given some 1 kilometer drift. The horde was currently traversing along an Old-time motorway. 8 Lanes wide, built about 10 meters above ground-level. If we approach from the side they will see us quite quickly, but the Lessers and other small troops would not be able to descend from the motorway. if we used an earlier junction in the motorway to get our troops to the same height, we should be able to reach considerably closer before getting spotted, but in exchange we would be swarmed by the smaller enemies. The enemy had a single Heavy unit. (Lucky~) called a Behemoth. Behemoth is an amalgam of flesh and metal with a varying number of tank turrets protrudingOn its back shaped much like a half a dozen story tall Gorilla. It also moves much like a gorilla. Semi-four legged. What? ¡®The job is a total overkill for 6 Weapons to take care of?¡¯ Yeah, welcome to my life, the amount of Merit I have is too high, so I only get the suicidal job-types. After some deliberation, we settled for coming at them from the side. First, we soften them with the mortars, then we take the survivor out at close range. Either by killing them as they charge from the motorway, or by climbing out there ourself. After eating some rations (and me reassuring Alicia), we started shelling their location with the mortars and preparing for their counter-attack. Immediately after the first shells hit the ground we began seeing the expected movement, Lessers scattering, smaller Mediums equipped with long-distance weapons shooting back from the motorway. And the bigger ones discarding the higher ground and charging at us. ¡°ALICIA! Fire at will! Take them out before they reach us.¡± ¡°CHARLIE, RASMUS, single shots, shoot where the flesh is frail. Support alicia¡± ¡°TWINS, Keep those fucking mortars going.¡± Aaron, our scout and the only one with a top-down view of everything, took charge. And so, a nerve-wrecking wrestle with a foe of superior numbers began. ¡°BANG.¡± Recoil reverberates through Fea¡¯s arm, I Take aim once more, ¡°BANG¡± recoil, I repeat my actions. ¡°BANG¡± in the background, I could hear Alicia¡¯s shots like a steady beat, this combined with the mortars from the twins sounded like the Devil''s choir itself, the melody is provided by me and the old man, band of pain. The battlefield is a canvas of our modern art piece, bright flashes from the occasional Napalm shells in the mortar rounds, the blooming red flowers among the little candles that spew lead at us, the old motorway coming down majestically in the background. By now, the surviving Lessers and close-range Mediums are actually joining the battle, using the collapsed ruins of the motorway to get down. Every second, they pushed closer and we pushed back. Charlie and I had already switched from single-shots to automatic fire. The Heavy had already joined the fray as well, judging from the tank shells being fired at us from afar. ¡°AH FUCK look sharp guys here come the Hounds!¡± Aaron yelled into the comms a dozen seconds before the horde descended upon upon us. ¡­¡±Who let the dogs out?¡± I could not resist responding, warranting a few chuckles from my compatriots, but after that, we had no time for jokes, as we engaged in a Medieval-esque melee. Wide swipe with the primary hand, bayonet cutting enemies apart whilst the rest of the arm''s length swung them away like a hit from a baseball bat, machine gun fire into face, thermal spikes to the gut, blocking a lunge with my shield. Everything always gets blurry at this point. Luckily Alicia was further behind us and did not have to take part in this¡­ I am not sure how long our melee lasted, 20 seconds? A minute? 10? At one point I heard screaming in the comms resembling Charlie''s voice. That is the last I heard from him. But as with all things, time makes them pass. eventually we got some breathing space. I did take a few bites and some bullet holes. But I made it out alive, ignoring the torn open tin can that was once Charlie¡¯s walker I continued firing at anything that moved. ...Firing continued... ...Most threats on the battlefield were dead by now, just some stragglers and the Behemoth remained. I got my head nearly blown off by that one a few times during the melee. Hell, I think it was a shell from that Beast that caused an arm to go missing from one of the twins. Taking the Behemoth out is not something I can help with, I dont have the firepower (It is every step as sturdy, if not sturdier than a Rager, and it took dozens of people and a lot of time to kill that) so my and alicia¡¯s job became keeping the stragglers away from the Twins, as such I did not see much, but I did hear the booming of the P77¡¯s and the roars of the Behemoth that ensued. ...After the Behemoth was felled, we did a sweep to eliminate any surviving hostiles, before logging the encounter. There we stood in the middle of a sea of blood, on a field of flesh just ready to begin decomposing, inside our machines of carnage. ¡®Weapons.¡¯ Ihat is the only name you can call things like us. Six of us went to battle, and everything within a half a mile radius is turned to dust. Well, there is another name as well I suppose, perhaps more fitting... ¡®Monsters.¡¯ Chapter 27: Returning. After scooping what remained of Charlie¡¯s body out of his walker, we made our way back to the Arcology. The traverse back wasn¡¯t much different from departure and it was not long until we were passing through the familiar steel hangar gates again. The fact that Charlie died is not a big deal, Aaron seemed upset and the Twins seemed a tad more quiet. But Honestly, sometimes Weapons break when used, they should just get over it. That being said, Alicia was surprisingly ok. Good. I might be able to make a good squadmate out of her yet. After leaving the Walkers in the hangar for maintenance, we took an elevator to the main floor and turned in the skirmish for a reward. And since there were 2 of us, (Alicia doesn''t know how to handle money yet,) I am going manage our money. 2 times 185 equals 370. Its nice to actually have some coin¡­ Well, it would be, but according to my balance 300 credits was instantly deducted for the repairs¡­ This is unfair¡­ I knew the maintainance would go up in price with a new Walker but still¡­ ¡­ I am also starting to strongly suspect that the 1500 I got from selling that drone was grossly under the going rate¡­ ...sigh, why am I so bullied?... That being said the 70% discount made it worthwhile enough I suppose. Besides, now that I have Alicia, I get double the earnings. Oh. ...The maintenance for this time was only 120, the rest was because Lee left an open bill on my account¡­ I did say that I would pay back but still¡­ ¡­.All that money¡­ Gone¡­ *snifle* Welp. Whatever. I have to say, Alicia did splendid this time, she shot at the enemies when told, she shot accurately and she didn''t start making unnecessary racket when one of the other Weapons broke. So, I think giving her a reward is in order. So, I promised to treat her with a meal of her choice. As such we headed to a local eatery. *Pov: Adam rorke* That day we learned where the damn giants of our realm roam. We had just arrived back to Aurora and cashed in our paychecks for the successful job. I thought I should let the boys unwind, so I had taken them to a local Bar. All was fine and dandy there. Hell we stayed till they had to kick us out, so ¡®course we began searching for a new bar to get more wasted. As I was guiding my horde of wasted apes to another bar, 2 of them that always been a bit sleazy, Jackson and Fernando started harassing a little kid of all things. She had just come out of a restaurant with her bigger sister, and had ran ahead along the road cheerfully as jackson and Fernando noticed her, so she was all alone with them. Watching it left a bad taste in my mouth and technically they are in my care, so I was about to go yell at the idiots, but her sister had gotten there first. I think everything would have gone well if that one sentence was not muttered.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Oh~*hic* Thre comes your slut *Hic* sistrre, does she wat to join innn on the fun too? Hehe *hic* hehehe~ we have plenty to-*hic* plenty to spare you know? Wold you like a taste?¡± Jackson said as he turned to look at the sister lewdly, attempting to cop a feel. Without even really looking at her. I think it was at this moment that Jackson knew. He fucked up. The next thing I heard was that sickening sound¡­ *Crunch* *splurt* As that same sister grabbed his windpipe, at the Adam''s apple. And crushed it. Fucking, crushed it. As she let his unconscious (and unbreathing) body fall to the floor, she turned her eyes towards Fernando, who still had his fat arm on the little girls breast. He was totally frozen, like a deer in headlights. And I can''t fucking blame him, because as she turned towards Fernando, I saw her Eyes. Cold, cold fucking eyes. Like a goddamn glacier. I have seen those eyes before, in the head of every Old Beast I have slain. Just seeing them my gut would scream it to me. There was no hint of mercy in those eyes... But more importantly, I knew that face. That is the goddamn madman pilot from a few days ago. Before Fernando or I could even recover enough to react, she grabbed his arm and twisted it, forcing it to point towards his stomach. A chilling voice every fucking bit as terrifying as her eyes resounded. Quiet, low and almost growling in nature. ¡°...Don''t ruin her day.¡± As she (he?) began to push his arm with great strength. Sickening screams came out of Fernando¡¯s mouth as she literally tried to shove his own arm through his stomach, SLOWLY... and It sure as fucking hell was working based on the sickening sound. I recovered from my stupor and bolted forward to save him from this¡­ Monster just as his arm broke the skin and was about to start slowly plunging right through his gut. But then, as I was rushing towards him, a scream resounded. ¡°NOO!!¡± The little girl grabbed that monster at the waist ¡­ And hugged it. ¡°...I am alright¡­ ...So you dont have hurt them anymore, ok?¡± She spoke, almost pleading. That¡­ Fucking beast did nothing for a few seconds, as if thinking if it should keep going, then it gave me a look, as if saying ¡°If you Fucking mess with my Goddamn sister Ever again, You are dead.¡± And then let Fernando go, It then turned its back on me and checked its sister, as if ensuring she was alright. Some people dressed in black suits came over from the crowd and spoke a little with it. Then the Beast and the girl walked away, The Black suited people cleaned the already dead Jackson up like some trash and gave Fernando and us a warning, informing us that ¡®if we by some chance remember what happened here we would not live long enough to talk about it.¡¯ ...So just like that. Jackson is gone. And I can''t even bring his body home or tell his fucking wife how he died. *Pov: Mc* Sigh, the meal was so tasty. And I am pretty sure Alicia enjoyed it too, based on how she kept smiling and chatting through it. After eating I decided we should head back to the residential area to get Alicia a room next to mine from the money we gained as a way to show that she did good. And that she should keep on being loyal. But then things went downhill, Alicia had skipped ahead after we got out of the restaurant (she is finally starting to come out of her shell even in public I think.) When she started getting harassed in public This would definitely ruin Alicia¡¯s day and thus reduce my loyalty-points, so I hurried over to stop the pervs. As I got closer though one of them tried to mock how feminine I looked, so I grabbed it at the windpipe as to make it unable to talk and incapacitate it temporarily, I think I drew a little blood though. But whatever, It is thrash after all. The other one was outright molesting Alicia, even while I incapacitated its friend so I decided to teach it a lesson as to make sure it would never harass my property again. As I was about fully enact my lesson tough alicia stopped me. After some thinking I realized that I am probably showing my¡­ less desirable side, so I let the trash go. Luckily there were a some people that I knew from the A&A Corps offices nearby who promised to help the two injured, so I decided to leave it to to them as I lead Alicia home, making sure she was alright and not traumatized by their harassment to best of my ability. Chapter 27.5: The Product that was kept by the Courier. *Pov: Alicia* ...I failed to make breakfast¡­ I woke up early today, I wanted to make Rasmus some breakfast¡­ but he had nothing in the fridge¡­ ..Sigh.. I suppose it was to be expected, looking at his room. No decorations, not a single rug on the floor¡­ no paintings¡­ a bare light bulb for illumination¡­ ...I knew it, he needs someone to care for him. I will care for him. It took a lot of effort, but I managed to convince Rasmus to go buy some groceries later today. After eating some canned food Rasmus did have, he guided me around the Arcology again¡­ That mechanic, Lee¡­ he doesn''t like me, I think he is afraid that I will take Rasmus from him¡­ The way he looks at Rasmus¡­ it reminds me of a puppy wagging its tail. ...It is kinda funny. I think he is not that bad, atleast he isn¡¯t secretly hateful towards Rasmus like everyone else¡­ It feels awkward to walk the hallways with all those stares¡­ After that, we went to some kind of a shop that is apparently run by a friend of Rasmus. ¡­ .. . ¡®Uuu¡­ Why?...¡¯ That is what I thought when they blocked me from following Rasmus¡­ ...I don''t like the people in this shop¡­ ...Their eyes and faces smile, but every time they look at me, I can see it in their eyes¡­ ¡®Disgust¡­¡¯ That is what they all feel towards me. I can hear them whispering with each other¡­ ¡°Look, Boss got himself a slave?¡± ...Yeah. That is the case is it not?... What else could I be to Rasmus? I am not his daughter, not his wife¡­. I am his slave I guess... ¡°Yeah, I would never have guessed, he has never done so before you know?¡± ¡­. ¡°Yeah, I hear that it belonged to that shipment he turned in¡­ It looks so feeble, It must be that right? A trophy slave.¡± ¡­ I think I know what kind of a shop this really is¡­ A slave market¡­ That¡¯s why they look at me so disgusted¡­ Because I am just a slave... ...I want to leave... After an agonizing while, Rasmus finally came back and we left. During that entire duration no one brought me a chair or came to talk to me¡­ And all those disgusted stares¡­ It was like I had gone back to THEM¡­ But Rasmus escorted me out whilst holding my hand¡­ He brought me to the market and we got some groceries¡­This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡®He is much better than those people. I don¡¯t want him to leave me.¡¯ ...But I don''t think he realizes that those people are slave traders¡­ I must protect him. The next morning I made him breakfast. Some strips of bacon, eggs etc. He seemed to like it¡­ I am glad. I was afraid he would not like my cooking¡­ Later, he let me pick a job we would do¡­ Honestly I wanted to take an easy one, but then I remembered all those people in that slaver shop yesterday¡­ ¡®Trophy slave¡¯ ¡­. I don''t want Rasmus to think that way. I have to show him that I am valuable¡­ I will choose the one with the best income. ¡­ The people Rasmus Introduced me were strange, there is something familiar in their eyes¡­ A certain coldness. It¡¯s not as strong as Rasmus, but it is there. ...I wonder, is it from all the battles they have been in? I like the Twins, despite having that same coldness they joke and seem happy. But I think it is a facade¡­ The old man, Charlie. He seems calm and polite, but I can see disgust in his eyes when he looks at Rasmus. After listening to him talk for a while I think he really hates Old Beasts a lot. Aaron is.. Well Aaron. He is handsome and confident. I don''t really like him, his arrogance scares me¡­ it''s like he thinks himself above everyone else. They are all so different. But the way they chat together makes me think they have worked together often in the past. ¡­ There was not much talking on the way to where the horde was. Despite all that chatter before we left the Arcology. Their behavior seems really professional somehow. Once we reached the horde they settled down and began discussing strategy¡­ I did not really understand any of it¡­ Just a lot of co-ordinates,directions and formations being talked about. In the end though, we began attacking. They had me at the back since I had the weakest frame and a sniper rifle. I set the sniper aim on my left screen and started shooting to the best of my ability. It was scary. But I knew Rasmus would discard me if I did not show I can do this. But at one point, I noticed something. ¡®Why?!¡¯ Whilst rasmus was fending off the Hounds with everyone else, Charlie pointed his gun at Rasmus. ¡®Does he really hate Old Beasts that much?¡¯ Before I could think any further, I aimed at Charlie and pulled the trigger. ¡®...What?...What did I just do?¡¯ I hit his Walker on the shoulder and then he got swarmed by Hounds. ...I killed somebody¡­ ...I am a murderer¡­ ¡®No.¡¯ I had to do it. He was going to hurt Rasmus. ...I protected Rasmus. Just like he protects me... I did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong. It was necessary. He deserved to die for trying to hurt Rasmus. ... Yes. Yes he deserved it for trying to hurt rasmus. Yes. he deserved it. I did nothing wrong. He wAs TrAsH, hE dEseRveD iT. After the battle was over. Everyone seemed sad that Charlie died. I guess I understand¡­ He was their friend after all. ...Rasmus seemed a bit more quiet as well. I think it¡¯s best that I never tell him what happened. I chose the right job I think. Rasmus was really proud of me. He took me to a restaurant and let me eat whatever I want. He cares. <3 After we finished eating, he said he would give me one more present when we would get home. I was excited, so I had hurried ahead. But then I caught by a pair of mean old men¡­ The way they touched me was disgusting, just like when THEY did all of¡­ that to me. I was about to scream for help, but before I could. Rasmus was already there. He took the first man by the throat and squeezed really hard¡­ I could see it collapsing and blood splattering everywhere¡­ I was scared of him¡­ His face was colder than ever. He really is a monster¡­ to be able to do all of this¡­ Then he grabbed the other guy and said those words. Words I will never forget. ¡°...Don''t ruin her day.¡± I realized¡­ He was doing all of this¡­ For me. He is protecting me¡­ But if he keeps this up, he will be feared by everyone even more¡­ I have to protect him. ¡°NOO!!¡± I screamed out. I grabbed Rasmus and hugged him. ¡°...I am alright¡­ ...So you dont have hurt them anymore, ok?¡± I pleaded him, I have to stop him. ...He stopped hurting the other guy. And then turned towards me, checking that I was alright and fixing up my clothing. He really cares about me. After we got back home. He got me my own room next to him. He cares this much about me¡­ A mere slave. ...Back then during the battle I made the right choice. Rasmus will protect me from anyone who wishes to harm me. He will protect me. He will protect me. ... And I will proTect hIM from aNyOne. ANYONE. WhO WisHeS to hArM HiM. Chapter 28. Sleep is for the weak. ¡­ They stopped hurting the thing, now they have put it in a glass tube, the pale blue water is making it difficult to see¡­ Sometimes they cut into its flesh and attach things to it, but I don''t feel it anymore. They strapped wires onto its head for some reason, they tingle a bit but it is alright. It does not hurt¡­ When is father coming to bring me home? Some people dressed in white coats came to the room again, talking about stuff I don''t understand. They had a well dressed man with them, if only they would turn towards the tube so I could see them better. ¡°Sample 42 has shown great progress since the breakthrough we made with sample 41, the pain and survival responses have both receded to minimal levels, albeit the body still reacts to pain the mind seems unreactive, yet even so the rest of the brain functions normally. We are confident sample 42 is a perfect candidate for researching practical applications to the mind reconstruction technology. ¡° What are they talking about? Are they talking about the thing in the tube? ¡°Good. About time that disabled trash was of use to my family.¡± The man in the suit said¡­ Why does he sound so familiar? He turned towards the thing in the tube, I can finally see his face Eh¡­? Father? Father is that you? Father? Why are you looking at the monitor next to the thing at the tube? Let''s go home already! ¡°Father? Home? HAH! Don¡¯t fuck around you piece of Invalid trash, you were always a disgrace nothing more than a broken tool. You ruined my family. My marriage!¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡­.What?... ¡­...Father?¡­. ¡°You have my permission, turn that...thing into something useful, if you can''t. Throw it away.¡± ...Father is walking away from the the thin-...from me¡­ ¡°Yes Minister Redwood¡± ...I am trash?... ...a broken tool... ..hehe...hehee...hehehe¡­ ...They start cutting into me again huh?... ¡­ .. . As always. I slept badly. I hate my dreams. Fragments of a past that no longer matters. ...Well, maybe one day I find some sleep drugs that don''t get instantly filtered from my body by the blood purifier augments. (Purifier augs, very useful on stopping sepsis from my various cases of gunshot wounds.) After getting up, I ate breakfast with Alicia (Omelettes ¨¢ la alicia.), they were quite tasty. Before we could continue our day though, the Arcology security came to take our statements. It seems someone in the crowd reported what happened. In hindsight I feel somewhat bad about how far I went. But what can I say? I really don''t like to be called a girl. Being constantly mistaken for one through almost a century can make one a bit grouchy. I told the security that I had a small fistfight with two perverts that tried to harm Alicia and that I did not use excessive violence on them. (I might have, I can''t quite remember.) They questioned us for a bit longer, but after a while they thanked us and left. Apparently since there is no body or a victim that has come forward there is nothing more for them to do. After that I did some quick maintenance on my joints etc. and then headed out into town with Alicia, time for another skirmish. After heading to the Commission Hub terminal I was about to begin going through the available jobs, but the moment I opened the job list something caught my eye. ¡®An event huh?¡¯ ¡±Event: Stop a roaming beast lord¡± Estimated foe: No estimate, certain conflict chance Merit: 35 Profit: 3000 Credits Description: A roaming beast lord is set on route towards Arcology. 60 Highest ranking local members are urged to participate. Coordinates given upon arrival to the meeting-hall (event hall will be used.) An event is a VERY rare job type. They are one of the best ways to get a lot of coin in a short amount of time. Or die horribly. After some contemplating I decided to accept the job. Honestly speaking, I am quite content here in Aurora. I can''t be asked to learn all the hallways and routes through a brand new Arcology. So I will take part. Eh? No, I am not suicidal. If the job turns out to be too undoable I will make sure to abandon everyone to die and head to ¨¬rota. After signing us up for the job I spent the next 2 hours showing Alicia around Aurora some more. She seemed quite interested in the firing range, well the firing range and the local pet shop. I promised that I would buy her a squirrel if she does well on the next job. She seemed really happy about that. We spent the last hour before the meeting at the firing range because she ¡°wanted to be ready¡±, she is a really good shot I must say. Then, we headed to the meeting hall. Chapter 29: Planning for war. Hm, it seems we are more or less the last people to arrive I dare say. The people in the meeting hall number around 40. I have worked with most of them before, but there are a few new faces. Twins are there but Aaron seems to have bolted I think. There are also other folk, like Nestor and the Agasha sisters and the ¡°Red-rose¡± squad. I think I also saw Arthur and Boris, as well as Mr. Greenwish. All in all, many of the people I wanted to make a squad with in the past. But did not dare to ask. Well, I tried to ask Arthur, but he ran away after I asked to talk with him privately in a shady alleyway... The Commission Hub executive arrived to the hall and began telling us the job details. In event types like this there is no meet and greet, too many people after all. So instead, all the job coordination is carried out by the Commission Hub. All the members need to do is believe that the Commission Hub will treat them well. So without further ado, the executive began filling us in on the details. The beast lord we are going against goes by the name of Neuro, leading a horde of 1000-2000 or so Old Beasts of varying type and size. The ¡°threat estimation¡± was that about 60% are most likely Lessers. Apparently ¡°Neuro¡± was considered above-average in threat level due to its erratic manner of choosing targets. Sometimes taking Arcologies, other times just taking an outpost outside it and then leaving. Sometimes attacking aggressively other times very carefully. There was no clear behavior model. Like a really neurotic person. His name fits. The problem with beast lords is their strategic sense. A normal Old Beast, no matter how intelligent, is still just a beast. They don''t understand the battlefield. But a beast lord is a whole different creature. They are like me, OLD Old Beasts. Beasts who served in the original military of the old government, often as officers. They understand the battlefield on a whole new scale. It is safe to say that they most likely have more know-how about the art of war than the people gathered here in the Meeting-hall. These people might know how to fight sure. But how to wage war? Heh, their parents weren''t even born back when a ¡°military¡± and ¡°wars¡± were still a thing. Nevertheless. What we have for our advantage is that whilst they have only one good general. We have forty meh-quality generals, but many dumm heads combined should be able to take on a good one. Why am I rambling about all of this? Because the executive is long winded and boring. He even began his monologue from listing Neuro¡¯s past transgressions for 15 minutes. I am not interested. To cut the long monologue short, he informed us that he would post a job notice for all Weapons in the Commission Hub due to the formidable size of the opponent later today and since we were the most experienced in Old-Beast hunting of the whole bunch, he wanted us to be the command chain and squad leaders of the organized force of the Commission Hub. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. The security force of the Arcology would maintain order within the Arcology and help evacuate if the horde is determined unstoppable. Aside from them we were also told that depending on luck, we might get reinforcements from ¨ªrota but most likely by the time they would reach us we would be up our necks in lead and teeth. After explaining all of this, he began distributing our jobs. The Twins ended up being in the joint-leadership of the artillery unit, the Agasha twins would separately lead a frontline unit each, etc. I was given charge of our Mobile Fire-support squad armed with sniper rifles and tough shields. The idea was that our squad would be able to take more risky vantage points than our regular snipers and allow for more daring tactics. At this point, looking at all the responsibility they are putting on me I am starting to feel like my window to escape is quickly closing¡­ ...Seems like whether or not I want it. I am more or less committed to the task now. If it isn''t obvious, these folk are intent on stopping the horde before it reaches the Arcology. I suppose they don¡¯t want to let the Arcology come under fire. The repairs would take forever. After that, the meeting continued for a few more hours, chains of commands were agreed upon, individual prestiges were argued of, the usual stuff. We would meet our individual units and depart tomorrow, that means today I have to get Alicia some upgrades, or she won¡¯t survive. That being said, I dont have the money¡­ *Snifle* ...I suppose it is time to assess our options once more.
  1. Rent Alicia: this option would solve the problem, but I have worked really hard to get her loyalty and I would rather not lose it, also there might be bruising or similar harm that might reduce her combat effectiveness.
  2. Donate Alicia¡¯s blood: we already went through this one before as well.
  3. Donate Alicia¡¯s organs: ...maybe if we can get artificial ones on the house (real child organs are rare). That one is a maybe.
  4. Take a loan: I already have a loan, they won¡¯t give me more T.T
  5. ¡­ I can''t come up with one.
...Based on this list, option 3 seems like the only viable solution... So, I began heading for the Pharmatics Group main building. (Obviously I did not tell Alicia why we were heading there.) But as we stepped through the door into the Pharmatics Hub I realized. ¡®Oh wait. I could just sell my spare aug-repair set can''t I?¡¯ ¡®...But we already came this far¡­¡¯ I took a look at the unknowing Alicia. ¡®...Ah fuck it, best keep her in peak condition. ¡® I bought some vitamins for Alicia as an excuse to why we visited and left the Pharmatics Hub. Selling the spare repair-set was easy enough and soon we headed back to the Walker hangars of the Commission Hub with a spare 130 credits. (¡®It¡¯s not that much¡¯ you say? Well sorry for not being able to afford a better repair-set!) The price was enough though for a basic flat shield for Alicia¡¯s Drone, it isn¡¯t amazing, but it will make do. The war will supply whatever else we need. I also informed Lee about what was coming and he promised to join the field-repairs squad to help the coming battle. Heh, at least he is somewhat reliable. After ensuring Alicia would qualify for my squad (and hopefully not die), I decided that we would spend the rest of the day on the firing range, Alicia needs to be ready. I won¡¯t let my squadmate die this quickly. ...Never again. *Pov: Alicia* Rasmus heard me sneeze earlier today so he bought me vitamins¡­ ...I feel bad making him worry, he seems to already have his hands full¡­ I spent the rest of the day on the firing range¡­ ...A squirrel would be cute... Chapter 30: Meeting my men. ¡®Demonstrate¡¯ ¡­ .. . I shoot another one in the gut, as I dodge under the knife the one near me tried to stab me with. Then I shoot him under the jaw and through the top. Bullets pepper the ground around me. I take aim right above the muzzle flash and kill the shooter. ¡®All hostiles neutralized.¡¯ I stand upright and wait for my next order. ¡°As you can see, military unit 2, built from sample 42, is able to handle itself in both close and long range without any fear of its own life. We are very pleased with the design here at-¡± ¡°-I know what it can do, I have seen the footage. What I want to know is when are you going to be able to make me more?¡± ¡°...Regrettably ever since sample 41 suffered a mental collapse after being rebuilt into military unit 1¡­ All the other following models have followed the same results¡­ We have not been able to isolate the reason for these results¡­ For the time being, sample 42 remains the only successful military unit to date.¡± ¡°...*Sigh* I know you want more funding, but I simply cannot authorize it unless you can solve this issue.¡± *sounds of walking away* ¡­ .. . ¡°...F*CKS SAKE! THAT PIECE OF MOTHERF**KING CONDESCENDING C*NTSHAKE!¡± ...I was kicked¡­ ¡°CANT HE FUCKING SEE HOW IMPORTANT THIS RESEARCH IS?!¡± *Kick* ¡°THAT FUCKING ASS!¡± *Kick Kick* ¡­ ¡°....*Deep Sigh* Get up. We are heading back to the lab.¡± We head back to the main lab through the holding area. ¡°...¡± I stopped in front of one of the cells. ...The child inside stared back at me, just stared. ¡­.That stare, it is familiar.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Oi Shitbag! What¡¯s the holdup`?¡± ...I know those eyes. ¡°This one will succeed.¡± Eyes that have lost themselves. ¡°Hah? What the fuck would you know you piece of trash?¡± ...Ah, I was kicked again¡­ ¡­. ¡­ .. . Hm, I wonder if I can just get an IV drip of sleep drugs that slowly injects it inside the blood-brain barrier? No... no. the risk of infection is scary... After breakfast, I took Alicia to the meeting hall assigned for my group. The group of people inside numbered 13, a rather large number for a single group, but they are currently trying to employ all the local Weapons after all. So it is not that weird. Walking into the room I can hear the chatter die down and feel their eyes gather on to me. ¡®...Heh, what a nostalgic feeling. How long has it been since I last lead a squad? Nearly a century?¡¯ I know that it is not time to reminisce of the past, they are already beginning to mutter to each other¡­ ¡°Look, it¡¯s that monster¡± ¡°Eh? The beast leads us? Really??¡± ...Time to get to work. Lets use the same speech I was given all of those years ago. ¡°I don''t need to Introduce myself. My name does not matter. Call me sir or boss if you have to address me.¡± I level a hard glare on them and let it sweep across the room. ¡°Under my command, there exists only 2 demands.¡± I Let the silence echo in the room for a few seconds. ¡°Listen, obey my command." "Hear me, or die by my hand.¡± To this day I claim that the person who gave me this speech clearly liked ¡®Sabaton: Poltava¡¯ too much, but for some reason whenever I demand the second half from people they become much easier to handle. I walk through the group of people towards the holo screen in the middle. Well, I was going to, but there was a fool that interrupted us. So I removed him, for the good of the rest. We cannot have low discipline. A weapon HAS TO obey when the trigger is pulled. A willful weapon is nothing more than a broken one. ¡°It is that simple gentlemen, follow these two, even unto death and in exchange, I promise you.¡± ¡°That we won''t leave a single foe standing on the field of war in our wake.¡± And so, we begin talking logistics. *Pov: Benjamin Tolstoj* ¡®Oh god, I shouldn¡¯t have taken this job.¡¯ That is the first thing I thought when I saw who was in charge of our group. The oh-so legendary ¡°Monster¡± of the Commission Hub. A madman who is nearly an Old Beast himself, a beast that has survived with a single shot rifle and a sword for years, alone. Maybe it would not be so bad if not for the stories of him viciously sacrificing allies for a victory or even rumors of going mad in the battlefield and hunting enemies and allies indiscriminately. There are even rumors surfacing that he soloed a fucking Heavy and won a few days ago. Then, he opened his mouth. And what he said, made my back tingle. What he said was not a self introduction, or a plea or even order for us. It was a decree. One punishable by death if broken. After speaking, he walked right through our group, causing everyone to make way for him, all but one. Harrison stayed where he stood. Harrison has always been a good pilot, but bad with authority. I have worked with him in the past. They say he belongs to the top 3 snipers in the entire Arcology despite his low merits. ¡°Eh, I don''t think you will kill anyone, you are within Arcology lands, maybe if we were already outside on a mission, but beast or not, no fool would mur-GUHA!¡± The beast slammed its hand at the side of his neck with an open hand swipe. We could all see the neck bend out of shape, Harrison collapsed on the floor. ...Jesus fucking christ. He killed Harrison. By his hand. Just like he said¡­ ...The literal way he carried out the punishment would¡¯ve been slightly funny. If not for the dead friend on the floor¡­ After casually ending the life of a comrade, the beast walked to the center of the room. Activated the central holo-projector, and began going through the logistics of our group. Many of us wanted to turn the job down at this point. But something about what he promised in return kept most of us from leaving. We have family in Aurora. A life, and now a horde of monsters is threatening that life. If it takes obeying a monster to fell a horde of them, we would gladly do so. That is how our squad and its discipline was forged. From the death of a comrade. And our equal fear for our foe, and our leader. Chapter 31: The defence line. I assigned a man by the name of Tolstoj as my lieutenant and a woman by the name of Rachel as the spotter, a clear-voiced man by the name of Stephan would be the comms officer, due to him having a high quality comms unit in his Walker. And yes. Explaining their jobs and duties took a moment, and explaining the rest of the ¡°chain of command¡± what a comms-officer was took even longer. Eh what? ¡®What about the man you removed?¡¯ He was a nuisance so I threw him away. The Arcology security looked past my transgression due to the ¡®special wartime circumstances¡¯ in other words, the Arcology can¡¯t afford to imprison higher merit members of the Commission Hub, that would be suicidal. I might have a problem after the battle though. Nevertheless soon enough, the grand total of our Weapon force was mobilized. And so, we begin our war. The location chosen for taking on the horde is an entrance to a valley that works as one of the few rare natural passages through the long and tall local mountain ranges. Located some 26 hours away from the boundary of the Arcology. One could recommend cutting the enemy supply lines, but that would be impossible. Old Beasts don''t use them. If they are hungry they eat what they find, be it a dead carcass or the weakest of the pack. According to our estimate, Neuro¡¯s horde should reach us in 56 hours. Counting in our travel, that Gives us some 30 hours of much needed time to set up. ¡­ .. . For the sake of not letting the enemy through, defences were set up, portable, light cover bunkers, basically some metal walls to hide behind. But much more importantly. Trenches. Oldschool. Most of this was done by the Constructions Group. Aside from this, large radius shrapnel mines were laid out. They wouldn''t stop anything larger than a small Medium, but they will definitely help slow the enemy down. Turrets were Installed at many parts of the defensive lines. Albeit, personally I think those will be killed rather quickly, they are stationary and in the open. Easy pickings. The artillery units settled at the far edges, well behind the defence line. Snipers were sprinkled both into the defence lines and into specific vantage positions. The Hub supplied them with high end thermic splinter rounds for this job. Great due to their ridiculous penetration and wide AoE. The ¡®Heavy killers¡¯ (those Walkers that are armed with high-end rail actions and similar) would mostly be brought in as needed, with many ground-mounted rail actions included along the defence lines, inside bunkers and in wider ¡°rooms¡± inside the trenches.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The repair and medical units have their camps some kilometer behind our defence line. Hopefully ready to keep our Weapons alive and functioning. Our squad would be mobile. Supplementing for any snipers that would be lost, and creating new vantage positions as the need arises. Honestly what do I think of our odds? ¡­ Honestly, no one else here seems to realize it. But Aurora is not that highly stocked in war equipment¡­ if I assume correctly. The ammo for the artillery is taken right out of the Arcology defences, the rail actions are not ours either. I heard that companies like the one my friend runs were demanded to hand over any excess heavy weaponry at gunpoint. And half of our combat force does not belong to Walker-types. Making me assume they are volunteers. All in all we number 500 Walkers (100 unit rotation) and 700 foot units. Heh, look at us. Priding in being able to kill hordes of monster with our metal machines, and we still needed a large armada of young men and women to fill the trenches. Truly war never does change¡­ Honestly though, the leaders did not make multiple lines of defence that we could slowly retreat backwards along, the supply lines are not defended well enough, an oldschool artillery bombardment could cut us off from all reinforcements if the Lord utilizes his artillery in a manner similar to how ¡°Blitzkrieg¡± utilizes it. ...In fact, can we even take a full out frontal assault from their whole horde whilst under artillery fire!? I don''t think so¡­ T.T I tried to convince Alicia to not take part in the coming battle since her Walker is too under-equipped and to simply stay in her cockpit within Fea instead. But she wouldn''t agree no matter how hard I tried... Just how goddamn much do you want that squirrel!? Eh? Apparently she wants to be useful¡­ Darn this cute fella. You win. But you better not get hurt ya hear!? (Finding a new squadmate would be a pain after all) During the travel I tried to get to know my lieutenant, but he seems to get pale whenever I address him informally¡­ I gave up after the 5th attempt. The comms officer on the other hand seems like a nice fella, I chatted with him for a while during our transit. He even asked for my number in comms-network at one point. Eh? ¡®Did I give it to him?¡¯ Well of course? After all, if I play my cards right I might get a new squadmate, furthering my income even further. (3 man squad is the minimum for squad-specific skirmishes that pay a squad bonus!) Some 4 hours before the scheduled arrival of the horde we had first contact with a few scouts. A few fast running Lessers. We killed most but a few got away. Now they know we are here. We should brace ourselves for what is to come. The upside is that a full frontal assault is almost certainly not going to happen. The same military knowledge that makes the enemy dangerous, also makes a frontal assault nigh impossible. No leader would charge headfirst into enemy lines without knowing for certain that they would win. No, no most likely what is something more tactical. More coordinated. ¡­ .. A few hours later. The enemy armada started to appear on the horizon. So, it begins. An old school battle with strategies and tactics. ...Or so I thought, until I saw and heard their artillery open fire, and their armada breaking into an open charge. ¡­. ¡­ .. . ¡­.Whut? Chapter 32 When plans Crumble *Booom* Whilst the explosions were bombing the floor, I was scanning the skies. *Boom* *BOoooooM* As I thought, there is a spy-drone barely within scanning range, the idiots in charge of information ignored surveilling the sky, just because there are no aerial Old Beasts in Neuro¡¯s horde, I should have realized that this might happen. I should have checked... *booom* *Ungodly screams* *BOooooM* *Ratatatat* *Booom* *screams* *Boooom* Soon the choir of explosions and chaos properly took off.. -¡¯Choir of death¡¯ Comeback stage.- That''s what it all was. ¡°LT, signal forward! All squad members. Convene to the sides and retreat from the artillery range whilst avoiding the center, It''s a slaughterhouse! Regroup on Coordinates X-34 Y-35! Maintain radio silence after extraction!¡± I yelled into the comms as I ran towards the side myself with alicia, dodging artillery shells all the while. ¡°But sir! What about our orders? We have to help the line!¡± A foolish response came back ¡°FUCK THE ORDERS, that line will NOT hold. If you want to protect your city. You cannot do it dead! Now tell the men to get the fuck out of- *BOOOM* ¡± I answered as I barely dodged a shell that struck around 2 meters from me, blocking most of the shockwave with my shield, but still getting blasted to the floor. Behind me, I could hear the guns blazing and the young screaming in the trenches, as they took enemy lives and had theirs taken. With a quick glance I could see the enemy charge get ever closer to the front line, they had already reached our first line of landmines, they did little to stop any of the hundreds of Heavies included. Something warm was getting into my eyes, making it difficult to see. ¡°...You heard me Tolstoj... Get them safe.¡± I spoke into the mic as the worried Alicia ran over to try to help me. A few seconds later a response came through the comms. ¡°...Sir yes sir¡­¡± and soon after I could hear him begin guiding them out. ¡°...Heh..¡± Slightly chuckling to myself and thinking: ¡®I just might make a soldier out of that one yet¡¯ ¡­.I lost consciousness. ¡­ .. . .. ¡­ ¡­. ¡®Stand at ready and wait for orders.¡¯ ¡°As you can see, ever since we isolated the common factor between sample 42 and the late success of sample 225, we have managed to increase the odds of success tremendously, we are running at near 80% success rate. These 150 military units are all fully programmed and ready to serve,¡± *Gestures at our even-lined formation* ¡°With the advancements we have made with integrating flesh and technology together we could pursue marvelous inventions! Bio-computers! Self healing structures!- ¡°Yes, I am perfectly aware of their specs and the continuation plans you have presented. I have just one question¡­ why do they all have cyan eyes?¡± "...Well, we have been keeping it as a sort of a symbolic insider joke, that our weapons are the ¡°flames¡± of our military-flag." He gestured at the military flag that is placed towards the far end of the hall next to the national flag. A black flag with a red flower, burning in cyan flames. The national flag Is white with a red flower growing on a cyan stalk with cyan leaves. "Now more importantly, with additional fundi-¡± ¡°-Yes yes. Funding is tight. Isn¡¯t it always? I am more than sure you will manage. Much more importantly, I wish to see how well they work in practice. Pick your best 3, and we will put them into active service. It is time to see how well these¡­¡±Weapons¡± of yours can integrate into a real military, if they do well. We will revisit your funding.¡± ¡°...Yes, sir Redwood¡­¡± . .. ¡­ ¡­. ¡­..I place the pack full of clothing from the depot into the storage-closet.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Hey! You aren''t gonna unpack them in your locker? Just gonna leave em in the sack? *Sigh* This is why you men are oh so hopeless~.¡± A brightly smiling well-muscled girl said from the adjacent bunk. She got up and walked over to me. ¡°We were assigned to work together, so it seems we will be stuck together for the time being!¡± She slapped my back¡­ ¡°The name is Lily! What¡¯s yours?¡± ¡­¡±Name?¡±...I take a look at a nearby mirror. In it I see myself. A smooth skin and cyan eyes. With my lab designation tattoo still visible. R42 MU2 ¡­. ¡°...I am-¡± ¡­ .. . .. ¡­ ¡­. ¡°-Rasmus? Are you there?¡± ¡­Ugh¡­ My head hurts¡­ Groggily I open my eyes to look around. We are in a cave¡­ Alicia is next to me, wrapping something around my head. ¡°Dont move... You cracked your skull¡± she said¡­ Ah I see, that''s why I blacked out¡­ Hah, my Walker could take the impact but I couldn¡¯t ¡°Umm¡­ ...Do you remember your name?... How many fingers am I holding?¡± She asked with 4 fingers up, looking at her face she seemed pale and her eyes were slightly red. ¡°...Don''t worry Alicia, I am alright. 4 fingers.¡± I responded, trying to muster a reassuring smile. ¡°¡­.Thank goodness!¡± Alicia said as she gave me one of her deathly dive hugs. ¡­¡¯Thank god I don¡¯t have a stomach wound¡¯ I thought as I slowly patted her head¡­ ¡°...How long was I out¡­ Where are we? ¡± I finally asked after letting her calm down a bit. ¡°You were hit by the bombardment, I think you were out only for an hour or two, I wasn¡¯t sure what to do so I dragged you out of your Walker and brought you to a nearby bunker, the entranceway collapsed and I was really quiet so I think they missed us¡­ I was so worried...¡± She said as she kept hugging me. ¡°¡­It¡¯s alright. You did good, do you know what happened to the others?¡± I asked. She only shook her head a little. Well, if Tolstoj is any good as an LT they just might be alive. ¡°...We have to get moving¡± I said, as I started to get up. ¡°...But your head¡­¡± ¡°I am fine,¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Alicia.¡± I took alicia by the shoulders and made her look at me. ¡°I am fine.¡± She finally gave a small nod, to which I added. ¡°And besides. If I wasn''t, I am sure you will take care of me. That''s what fellow squadmates do right?¡± I said, giving my best attempts at a smile. She smiled brightly and nodded. I continued. ¡°It¡¯s the same with this. They belong to my squad. We can''t leave them behind.¡± ¡­. WHAT? ¡­ WHY ARE YOU SUPRISED!? Is it so weird that I wish to make sure my squad is alright!? Eh? ¡®Didn''t you kill one of them before?¡¯ he wasn¡¯t a member, he was a dissident. A broken weapon. The least we owe to our fellow Weapon is to make sure to take care of them. ... ¡­Fine. I want them to feel like they owe me and start relying on me more. Perhaps I can get some of them to stay under my command when this is all over¡­ ¡­ Shut it. ¡°...Ok ...how do we get out?¡± Alicia asked. I look around as I get up, spotting one of the installed gun emplacements of the turret. Walking over (carefully, getting up made me feel a bit woozy¡­) I said ¡°Help me open the bolts on this.¡± Soon, we climbed out of the bunker and back in the open. What was once a beautiful defence line was now a sea of carnage. Half eaten corpses, craters across the fields, torn open Walkers and huge flesh-horror looking Old Beast corpses. Just as eaten as the human corpses. There is a certain¡­ uniqueness to experiencing a battlefield where the Old Beasts punched through.. A strange smell-mixture of early-decomposing flesh, the smell of plasma and gunpowder still in the air and that unique smell of stomach acid that wafts off of the torn open stomach-bags left on the partially eaten corpses. Honestly, it''s no surprise the first thing Alicia did was puke her stomach empty. After helping Alicia calm down and muster herself again, we searched through the vicinity. The Drone was still there, fine and pristine save for a few stray bullet holes and dirt blown into the air by the explosions. I suppose the Old Beasts didn''t bother trying to break an empty Walker which is built by their eh¡­ ¡°friendlies¡± originally. (...If a Drone is built by the same government as the Old Beasts¡­ are Old Beasts and Drones siblings? That''s a weird thought. Alicia inside my brother¡­ wow, that is a weird thought¡­ My head hurts¡­ what was I on about again?) After we found the Drone it was quite easy to locate Fea by using the Drone¡¯s sensors. It was still there on the ground and mostly unhurt, save for a corpse of a Berserker that had fell on it. In a way we were quite lucky. After using the drone to drag the Berserker¡¯s corpse away, I got into Fea, I was going to let Alicia come along in her Drone but she refused. Demanding to come with me inside Fea¡¯s cockpit to make sure my head won¡¯t bleed. ...Slowly rising mutiny in the ranks? ...Nah. After making sure the Drone is in cover, we took off. Destination: X-34 Y-35. since It has not been long I am quite certain that the horde is still nearby. So I don''t dare use the comms to try to contact my squad. The comms signal is too strong and would be picked up. Hence we march. Honestly I was worried that they had moved on, I had not exactly gotten around to fostering loyalty yet after all. But when we reached within viewing distance of the regroup location. There they waited. ¡®I really might just make a soldier out of that Tolstoj yet¡¯. I thought in my mind, as I traversed to their camp. As I slowly reached closer to the camp I could see Tolstoj argue with someone else from the squad outside their walkers, half of them were outside their walkers at the time. But as soon as they noticed us they broke up their argument and scrambled to their walkers, meeting us midway. ¡°Sir! You survived!¡± the comms officer chimed through the comms. ¡°...Yeah, how many squad members did we lose?¡± ¡° Elisah and Felix didn''t make it out. Others are mostly fine, just a few bruises.¡± Tolstoj chimed in, so we are mostly on full force. Good¡­ now I suppose it is time to get back to work... ¡°Ok, get ready to move. We have to reach the support camp. We have to check what happened to them.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± Hm, Tolstoj seems more obedient now. good... Moving onwards towards the support camp in silence, a strange worry was nagging my mind, one that I couldn¡¯t quite place until we reached it. Burning temporary hangars. corpses of civilians in the streets. Suddenly, something clicked in my mind, as I realized what the worry was. Lee was in the camp, somewhere. Searching the camp systemically, we found him. He was sitting leaning on a doorway, a gun in his hand and bullet hole in his gut. There were 2 dead Lessers nearby. He just weakly smiled towards me. A single thought resounded in my mind. ¡®¡­No¡­¡¯ Chapter 32.5: The Repairman who gave his life. *Pov: Lee* ¡­.It hurts. ...A gunshot hurts¡­ ...Heh, I am such a fool aren¡¯t I? Trying to protect others despite never shooting a gun before¡­ They came right through the defences¡­ mostly Lessers, I guess we weren''t worth more than that to them... The other engineers were too slow, only a few managed to even fight back¡­ I had to do something¡­ Heh, Rasmus would sneer at my stupidity wouldn''t he? I should have just hid and not play hero. ...It is cold¡­ Ah¡­ I can see Fea¡­ So Rasmus made it after all¡­ I knew she would not die so easily¡­ I am glad. ...That girl¡­ Alicia, she is with him it seems¡­ good. Rasmus will need someone with him¡­ He is too kind for his own good¡­ Even if others can''t see it. I can¡­ she will need someone with her when I am gone¡­ Rasmus is running over¡­ ¡°There are two other survivors inside¡­ They are hiding in a storage closet¡­*cough cough* help them...¡± ¡°Alicia. Help him.¡± ¡°Hehe, I am glad. You do care after all.¡± *cough cough* If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡±...I Don''t think there is anything the little kid can do for me, I am not as sturdy as you.¡± I grab her hand by the sleeve, to make sure she looks at me. She must listen. ¡°Save the others¡­ stop that bastard¡­¡± Please¡­ do this for me... ¡°Okay.¡± Hah¡­ I can rest easy then. ¡°Take-*cough* Take care of yourself.. It was an honor...¡± Gazing at the concerned face of the one I love¡­ ...It is not a bad way to go. .. ¡­ ¡­. ¡­.. *Pov: Rasmus* ¡­ ¡°So, what will you do?¡± There is nothing to be done.. He is dead (¡°...Rasmus? Are you ok? Your wound is bleeding¡±) ¡°You are such a failure, you know that? So painfully close to human, but just a machine where it counts. ¡° ¡­ Shut up¡­ (¡°...Rasmus?...¡±) ¡°Just a cold mechanical man, no heart or purpose. Its no wonder that everyone knows.¡± Shut up. (¡°Rasmus. Say something!¡±) ¡°That you are just a broken weapon¡± Shut up. Shut up sHuT uP ¡°SHUT UP!¡± *grap* ¡°Rasmus¡­*cough* Its me¡­ I cant breathe¡­¡± Alicia is in front of me¡­ I am holding her by the throat¡­. A familiar figure appears next to her. ¡°So what is it going to be, Tin-boy? Run away, like you always do.¡± She gestures at the burned camp and Lee¡¯s body ¡°Or are you actually going to do something?¡± ¡°¡­.¡± Chapter 33: Pack of the beast ¡°Or are you actually going to do something?¡± ¡°....¡± I let go of Alicia¡¯s throat, I can hear her cough¡­ I hope I did not truly harm her... ¡°Eh she will be fine, I was taking beatings far worse than your little neck-lift when I was her age and came out fine didn''t I?¡± ¡°..You became a spec ops interrogator, like hell that counts as fine¡­¡± ¡°*Cough cough* Eh¡­? Rasmus, are you ok?¡± Alicia seems concerned of me¡­ ¡°Hey! Focus. We have a task, don''t we?¡± ...I know¡­ But there is no way it can be done. At bare minimum, there are at least 3 dozen Heavies remaining, no matter how you look at it, there is no way we can stop that. ¡°Well well, lookie who¡¯s grown soft and fat huh ^.^ ? The tin-boy I remember would just do the job and not whine you know~?¡± ¡°...Heh, ...you are right.¡± ¡°Rasmus¡­ who are you talking to?¡± Alicia asked something unimportant to the side, so I just pat her head to assure her that everything was fine. ¡°So, who is she? My replacement?¡± ...Shut up. Turning my eyes towards my ¡°squad¡± for the first time since the bombing I could see many things. The quietness, the downtrodden morale... some members had even split off mid-search to find their fallen friends among the wreckage. Ordering Tolstoj to gather everyone up I began to piece my thoughts together as I watched their searching and strife, their arguments and consolements. ¡°...You envy them, don''t you? The dead?¡± ...Shut up... ¡°...You envy how easy they have it. Being cared of by so many, whilst you work hard daily, and yet at best, the society tolerates you and would certainly never mourn for you..¡± Shut up. ¡­. ¡­ As they slowly finished gathering, I tried to think of any speech that I had heard in the past that I could use, with poor results. ¡°Screw that, you should still remember something about it right? The times before you became¡­ this thing you are¡± Irrelevant and fragmented. Useless. ¡°No. Not useless¡­ Just painful, youwere a politician''s son, speaking is in your veins.¡± ¡° And after all, you have seen it first hand haven''t you? The abyss of despair within our minds¡­ you have felt an abyss far darker than the one they are in.¡± ¡°Just¡­ guide their mind into the very brink of the abyss. ¡° ¡°...And ignite it with a flame that could burn the very world to cinders.¡± ¡°And if all else fails. I will be here to ridicule you for failing, alrite? ^.^¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ...Heh¡­You just can''t help being annoying huh? Well¡­ I suppose I don''t have a right to blame you, after all that I let you go through. But I will rely on you for on-the-spot aid alright? ¡°Yup~¡± *Pov: Lee Tolstoj* I could sense the mood of our group, we felt broken. We just survived an onslaught by an Old Beast horde and travelled through the remaining burning tents and broken bunkers that were once part of our support camp. However, after looking for survivors for what seemed like an eternity we finally came upon a few. Two doctors saved by some random mechanic. Wasn¡¯t he boss¡¯s mechanic? He did seem¡­ Odd after talking to him here. More strange than he was before that is. Boss ordered us to gather, it took some convincing to get the other back, many were uninterested, some even completely unwilling, but after some talking they still showed up. However, no one spoke to each other, they either just stayed in their Walker or sat in front of it. After the last member arrived, boss walked out in front of the group in silence, as if in deep thought. Before he began speaking¡­ we saw something we had never seen before on him as he stared off to something unseen towards the side. A smile. A truly, truly sad smile. There was something painful about it. Then, he leveled a stare upon us, his eyes were cold, as always¡­ But there was something different about it this time, something that we could all relate to¡­ Dark, yet familiar. Had the eyes changed, or had we changed, I wonder? Then he began talking. ¡°You lost many friends today.¡± A quiet voice. The lack of edge in his voice stunned and silenced us all. ¡°...But there is more to it than that isn''t there?¡± ¡°You did not just lose friends. You feel responsible for letting them die.¡± Different than the assertive voice from the last time spoke, the words spoken¡­ painful. But none of us could deny them. ¡°You fear, you fear for the rest. Back home. In Aurora.¡± The voice felt¡­ Almost consoling in its own way, like the voice of our own conscience. ¡°I have a friend back in Aurora¡­ Heh, yeah. Even someone like me¡­ He is a polite fella with many subordinates. I don''t want him to die.¡± He was silent for a split second, and continued ¡°A friend I had passed away in this very camp. He had some family in Aurora as well¡­ Search your heart. We all have family and friends in Aurora¡­ sisters, brothers¡­ wives¡± His words built a warm hue of nostalgia inside us dyed in shades of vague sadness¡­ it would be easier to just reminiscine of better days. ¡°...We all know it here, don¡¯t we?¡± His next words¡­ Left a void in our minds and hearts. ¡°If that horde is not stopped. They will all die.¡± The void was a cold¡­ desolate feeling¡­ just like his eyes. He let the silence, the despair hang over all of us, and then he spoke once more. ¡° All those people back on Aurora¡­¡± Certainty in his voice¡­ slowly grew. ¡°They are not yet dead. But WE are already no different from the dead, with nowhere to run to, and no way to survive.¡± ¡°You have a choice. Die for the living, or die for nothing.¡± ¡°So I say, for the sake of the living. let us take up our weapons once more.¡± A kindle was set aflame inside us. Quiet murmurs of agreement and silent nods began appearing amongst us. ¡°If you follow me, know that you will not be fighting to survive, or to save the men around you, no. You will be fighting to leave a legacy.¡± Spark. ¡° You will be fighting to save your home.¡± Determination. ¡° You will be fighting, To make FUCKING SURE. that no friend, no comrade who died here, will EVER be forgotten.¡± The flames inside our hearts were burning. Anyone who had been sitting lazily had long since got up. We were all feeling too excited to just sit Idly. The voice grew only stronger. Only more authoritative. And his eyes followed. ¡°A wise saying warns us that ¡®he who hunts monsters must be mindful not to become one himself¡¯... ¡° ¡°Discard those kinds of thoughts, ¡° ¡°Discard your fears.¡± ¡°Forget your heart. ¡± ¡°Those are things you might need among the living, among the surviving, but the path we will walk is not for surviving, NO! FUCK SURVIVING.¡± We all listened in silence. With grim faces. And fire in our hearts. Not a peep was let out. ¡°To slay a beast. Sometimes a worse, even more cruel beast is needed. That is the kind of a world that we live in.¡± He leveled one of his more familiar cold, cruel stares upon us. And spoke. ¡°Gentlemen.¡± ¡°I Welcome you, to my pack of beasts.¡± And at that time, for the first time. We could all look directly back into those eyes without any discomfort¡­ something about those eyes captured it so well. The feeling of hatred we felt towards Neuro for killing our friends. The twisted burning cruel hate kindled in us all. But also the cold. Emptiness we felt. As he said there was no dreaming of survival here. If it takesus giving up what humanity we haveto save our families, if it takes our very lives as well¡­ That is a sacrifice we would all cheeringly embrace with open arms. Chapter 34: The sacrifice of the ‘Mobile Fire-support’ *Pov: Tolstoj* The following warfare we partook in was messy. We had to go back to the destroyed defence line for weapons, Walkers and other material just to have the firepower to take on this job of ours. The pursuit after Neuro took a long while, but we caught up. most of the men split up to stall the enemy unit with small groups as to slow the enemy down as much as possible. Whilst the rest would skip ahead, we had to employ some really ugly tactics to slow them down, if we were lucky, we just might be able to slow the enemy enough to allow the reinforcements from ¨¬rota to reach the Arcology on time. Of course, we all knew this was a suicidal battle, every unit who split off to slow the horde down knew full well that at best, they could distract the enemy for some dozen minutes at best and even then only if they fought smart, and to the very bitter end. Every unit who did not yet have to split off to slow the enemy down, vowed in their souls that the enemy would suffer, in the name of all who had died. Perhaps we could have utilized our numbers better, but we did not know of a way to do so, even our leader was barely keeping himself together with that head wound, we realized this rather quickly when we saw how unsteady he was piloting his Walker. Despite that, he kept a strong front for us, and gave orders with an iron grip. So, we fought. We fought and harassed the enemy all the way unto the very doorsteps of Aurora, we used anything we could just to slow them down some more, some slowed the enemy down by making a stand in some sturdy old structures, others made the enemy hunt for them by baiting and running as long as they could. All sorts of weaponry was used to give them pain and suffering, scavenged artillery, rail actions, hell, we dropped a highway on the bastards. Many were lost and even more were lost by the enemy. The remaining 6 of us engaged the enemy with the aid of the reinforcements from ¨¬rota. The Irotan forces engaged the horde in a semi-open combat, employing the defencive structures around Aurora for cover and fire-aid. We helped by attacking from behind, using what functioning artillery Walkers we still had (a Shitty T-66 and an Ernzech with a torn open cockpit) as the others used their original Walkers to protect the artillery. Honestly, it was shocking that we made it through that hell. None of us fought with that intention. Death was the goal. Whether it was served to the enemy or to us, had grown meaningless to us along the way, as long as the enemy died as well. Luckily the enemy horde did not divide many of their units to take us down, since we were a lesser threat. Hah, I bet that changed when Bernard discarded the formation and ran into the enemy formation guns blazing with a Walker that he had strapped full of Artillery shells.( thermic splinter rounds Bitch. Trust me, that must¡¯ve hurt) The explosion must''ve took at least 50 Lessers and a pair of Heavies alone. After that, they paid us a lot more attention, but we did not care. We kept fighting. Bullet by bullet, we kept felling more of the bastards. There was no retreating, no fearing death. ...Somewhere along the line, we all suffered some rather serious wounds, but we did not care. We would keep fighting until there was nothing left to fight. Boss showed a whole new side during this, as he seemed to be able to go on no matter what hit him. It was honestly awe inspiring. Eventually though¡­ our efforts were answered. As the last enemy was slain by the ¨¬rota defence force. We had won. The task was done. It was a strange feeling, as if we had already forgotten that there was something beyond this¡­ bloodbath. As soon as the last enemy was taken out, boss fell unconscious, it seems he had been running off of adrenaline for the last 8 hours. Poor bastard. Seeing his bullet riddled body get dragged out I could tell he had truly given his all. We all had. None of us thought we would survive to see the end, but 4 of us. 4 survived. And we came out of it as changed beings. We had partook and accepted the Idea of sacrificing our own one unit at a time, just to slow the enemy. ...nothing could ever be the same. *The Official travel log of Elias Camber to the Commission Hub.* My name is Elias Camber, This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. and the following is both my official, and unofficial account on the events of the attack on Aurora on XX Day of XXXX 70 A.R. I was assigned as the head of our relief-unit to be sent to Aurora to aid the defence. My unit consisted of 25 Heavies and 100 Average units, out of whom 20 were armed with artillery capacity. We also had 25 scouts to ensure a clear route to Aurora and to keep an eye on the situation with the invading force. All members of the unit were chosen with a high minimum margin of movement rate and high function time, as to minimize the travel time. Our traverse to Aurora was mostly uneventful and our morale was high. Whilst the job officially was to help with the incoming attack, we had read between the lines that by the time that we arrived to Aurora, the attack would have already been long-since over. And our job would be to temporarily replace the lost man and firepower in keeping the city safe. At approximately 7 hours before arrival to Aurora, we had received a warning from our forward scouts that the enemy was not only still alive, but was both severely weakened and greatly behind on Its estimated schedule. There were reports of stragglers from the Aurora defence force employing guerrilla warfare to distract and slow the enemy force. Upon receiving this information, I doubled our travel speed, intent on reaching Aurora before the enemy horde. We reached Aurora approximately 1 hour before the enemy force. At this time our scouts had Identified the remaining enemy force to contain: 26 Heavies, 119 Mediums and around 200 Lessers. We engaged the enemy 40 minutes later in a successful battle. (Details on attachment 1). Our losses included: 9 mediums, 3 heavies, and mediocre amount of monetary losses from destroyed local defences. The remaining 4 units of the Aurora defence force forsake their guerrilla tactics and took part in our defence by ranged fire support. Out of these 4 units: 1 died and the other 3 were heavily injured. After further investigation to the fate of the defence force was conducted in the following 3 days further information on the fate of Aurora¡¯s defence force was acquired. Based on survivor testimonies and material evidence the enemy unit punched through the Aurora defence line on coordinates XXX XXX. By sudden charge Utilizing Artillery support. (Details on attachment 2). after which they continued to destroy the behind-lines support camp, and proceeded towards the Arcology in a near direct route. The surviving unit of the defence line, a ¡®mobile fire-support¡¯ regrouped a small distance away within the following hours, and combed through the support camp and then the defence line. They found 2 survivors in the support camp, whom were later recovered by our units. (Details on attachment 3). They had taken weapons and various near-broken Walkers with artillery and Heavy weapon capabilities as well as various carpet mines and similar tools. from the defence line wreckage. And had proceeded to pursue, and harass the enemy force in small, 1-3 man groups, firing upon the enemy from afar and stalling to the best of their abilities (Details on attachment 4). They managed to fell approximately: 190 Lessers, 54 Mediums 7 Heavies along the way to the Arcology through the use of various types of artillery and Heavy Walkers. The final group of 3 members, before we had reached the enemy force. Had even rigged an old highway with explosives normally used as artillery shells and blown it up under the enemy force. Due to the enemy surveillance machines and their lack of a long distance detonator, The group did not escape the blast radius and was buried under the collapsing highway. They managed to slow down the enemy force by approximately 2 and half hours through their persistence. It should be noted that none of these small 1-3 man groups successfully retreated. and were all killed in action. the surviving members: Benjamin Tolstoj, Arnold Kane, Samuel Blake, the squad leader Rasmus Ironwood and his co-pilot Alicia Levelan, were all injured in various severe ways, Arnold Kane lost his leg, Benjamin Tolstoj received a dangerous laceration in his gut. Samuel Blake was permanently blinded by his Walker¡¯s fuel line breaking, causing severe burns on his face. Alicia Levelan had received a vicious wound to the left elbow, likely permanently crippling the hand. The squad leader Rasmus Ironwood sustained several gut wounds and a head wound of uncertain severity. His recovery is being cared for by a private group unlinked to the main Pharmatics Group and thus information is scarce, but he seems to be In coma. (Full list of ¡®mobile fire-support¡¯ unit casualties in attachment 5.) It is my stance that the names and bravery of each member of the ¡®mobile fire-support¡¯ squad, whether alive or dead. Should be honored to the very best of our abilities. Without them, the arcology of Aurora would not still exist. End of report. Date: XX.XX.70 A.R Signed: Elias Camber Chapter 35: Waking up ¡­. ¡°So, what do you think he is gonna be like? The new boss?¡± ¡­. ¡°Come on, talk to me.. Are you still mad that I borrowed your rifle? I couldn''t help it! I lost mine, honest!¡± ¡°... No, you are just loud.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± We walk in through the open security door into the briefing room. There were 3 others inside the room. 2 Potential threats, 1 frail. ¡°Sup folks! The name is Lily, *slaps Rasmus¡¯ shoulder.¡± This one is Rasmus. If you ever need someone dead just ask him, ¡®kay?¡± ¡­ The other three Introduced themselves. The 2 PT¡¯s were Reynolds and Thomas. The frail was called Naomi. Soon after, someone came through a door near the front. A PT. Bald head and scarred and well muscled, with pink earphones, playing a song loud enough that we could all somewhat clearly hear it. ¡°ATTEEENTIIONN!!¡± He walked to the center of the front of the room and began talking. ¡°I don''t need to Introduce myself. My name does not matter. Call me sir or boss if you have to address me.¡± He levered a hard glare on us and let it sweep across the room. ¡°Under my command, there exists only 2 demands.¡± He took a pause, and then said. ¡°Listen, obey my command." " Hear me, or die by my hand.¡± .. 2 Seconds after he said those words the vocals of the song he was listening to, said the same thing. ¡­ Lily burst to laughter¡­ trying to say something like ¡°polt¡± or ¡°ava¡± between her laughter fits. ¡­ .. Annoying. .Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. .. ¡­ .. . My head hurts¡­ I open my eyes... ...Everything feels blurry¡­ Blinking my eyes a few time the bright white room slowly came to focus. ...On a quick glance, it seems like a Pharmatics Group hospital room¡­ But something is different¡­ Blinking my eyes a few more times I try to spot the difference¡­ Everything feels muddy¡­ ¡°Ah that''s fine, your brain is probably just swelling a little, you really should have done something to that wound sooner, you know? ^.^ ¡± A familiar figure smiles at me from a nearby chair. ...Great, you are still here¡­ Looking around the room the differences finally came to me, unlike a Pharmatics medbay, this room contains tools for electrical repair, I was laying on a heavy metal bed, the bedsheets were not pure white, but striped and I had three pillows. ¡­.I could understand two¡­ But really? three? Looking around more, I spot Alicia sleeping with her head resting on the side of my bed¡­ I wonder how long I was out¡­ ¡°That''s not important! Think! You are in a hospital room, they must have treated you! Whoever these people are, they know!¡± ...She is right¡­ I restlessly look around the medical machine filled room, as suddenly the door opens. A young nurse maybe 19 years of age looks at me surprised. ¡°Oh! Mister Rasmus, you are awake!¡± *She hastily bows deep* She looks familiar from somewhere¡­ Why is that? ¡°...Do I know you?¡± I asked. ¡°Oh! Sorry sir! I was one of the survivors from the supply camp! I am glad you remembered me, sir.¡± ...I didn''t, you just look vaguely familiar. ¡°Look closer silly~ Doesn¡¯t she look just like that weirdo corporation friend you have?¡± Ah, she is right. ¡°...Are you related to Mr Cage? (Author: Yes, a slaver by the name of Cage. Sue me.)¡± ¡°Oh! Yes, Nastim is my father. my name is L¨ªca¡± That would explain it. ¡°So umm¡­ I just wanted to say, I am really thankful for saving us and umm¡­ I was thinking..¡± Just as she was about to ask something Alicia began to stir¡­ ¡°...Eh? ...I will give you two a moment, s-sorry for intruding¡­¡± She says as he hastily closes the metal door. Wai- ah god dammit, I didn''t even get to ask how long I was out. Oh well, i''ll ask Alicia. As Alicia slowly woke up the first thing I said before she could react was. ¡°Good morning. Don¡¯t dive hug me.¡± Trust me guys. ...Dive hugs can kill. ¡­.By the way, telling her not to do it did not work. ...Ow¡­ ¡­ .. . According to Alicia I was out for 2 weeks. During the duration she had been mostly spending the time watching over me. (Heh, look at this cute little bugger..) The medbay apparently belongs to the A&A corps. I suppose I have to thank Nastim for that¡­ I don''t know how the people in the Pharmatics Hub would have reacted to my¡­ ¡®iron heart¡¯. (And other entrails.) That being said I must admit¡­ Ever since the day I took that haul-job, things have been really hectic¡­ I don''t think I have been quite as repeatedly near-death once in the last 40 years. ...I take a look at Alicia as she is smilingly peeling an apple for me whilst holding the apple down with her bandaged arm, and peeling with the other. ...I suppose I don''t mind. *Pov: L¨¬ca Cage* How dare that piece of fucking slave filth ruin my chance to confess to Mr.Rasmus¡­ ...Had father not specifically forbade any violence towards it, I would have just whipped its body to a bloody pulp made of dead slave flesh like it oughta be. That fucking piece of shit. Chapter 36: Rare peaceful day. After the doctor (Old fella with white hair. Imagine stereotypical doc-fella ^.^) Examined me once more, I was released from that medroom. It seems Alicia¡¯s arm is more than just wounded, her elbow was shattered by an enemy bullet¡­ That is a problem. She seemed really sad and pale when she told me that, so I gave her a hug. (I can¡¯t have her dive hug me again! My wounds are not properly closed. Pre-emptive measures!) After crying a bit she calmed down again. ¡°Seriously though, this is what ya find to replace me? This? She can''t even handle an injury without a shoulder to cry on! Your standards for a partner have really gone down¡­ ¡± As I said, the doctor said I am ok to leave, so there should not be anything wrong with my brain, the annoyance should disappear when the swelling goes down. ¡°Nah~ I am here to stay.¡± Ignoring the annoyance, I slowly made my way to the Commission Hub to receive my reward. As always, I get stared at in the streets a tad. I think it has increased a little¡­ Oh god¡­ the bandaged head must have made me even more unpopular... ...Endure¡­ After entering the Hub, I was going to make my way to the Commission Hub terminal, but I was stopped midway by one of the managers of the Hub. ¡°Excuse me Mr Ironwood... I am sorry to disturb, but could you follow me to one of our private terminals¡­ free of charge of course...¡± He seems a little pale, I hope he is Ok¡­ But that is surprising, a private terminal? Those are quite a luxury you know? ¡°Ok, lead me there.¡± ¡°Of course sir!¡± I was soon lead to a private room with a nice armchair and a terminal in front of it, I had alicia sit down in case she was feeling tired and turned the terminal screen towards myself so I can go through it. ¡­.O...k.. I see now why I had to use a private terminal¡­ I don¡¯t know what happened while I was out but there are like half a dozen transactions to my account, and that is ignoring the reward that I can claim¡­ Transaction: 5000 Credits. Sender: *Private citizen, Anonymous* Transaction: 105 Credits Sender: Timothy McMano Transaction: 2170 Sender: Nali Erlim Transaction: 6000 Sender: A&A Corporations. Transaction: 55 Sender: *Private citizen, Anonymous* Transaction 2000 Sender: Bob Marley (Author: No musicians were harmed during writing) ¡­. What the fuck went down whilst I was under? ¡­ After looking at the list a while longer I decided to do the smart thing. I phoned Nassim. ¡­ So¡­ apparently, the Commission Hub released the names of my ¡°Squad¡± to the public as some kind of heroes, so I guess this is the people showing support to the survivors. In Nassim¡¯s case, I suspect it was him showing gratitude for saving his daughter. ...That was not why we fought. ...I do not deserve this money.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. After turning in the skirmish, my money amounted to around 18 thousand creds. ¡­ Jesus christ I got shadow-riched Hm, some of the money is missing? Ah, of course, the loan was auto paid. Cool. It would have been overdue by now... ¡­ After finishing that, I moved on to my next order of business... ¡­. ¡°You know¡­ You always seem to avoid thinking about that subject¡­ Are you gonna be able to handle it?¡± ¡°...Shut up.¡± ¡°...Sorry¡­¡± ...great, now I confused Alicia.. *pats head* (Patting the head, cure for all ails!) Ignoring lily, I make my way to a local residency in the Arcology, and ring the doorbell. The door was answered by an elderly woman with slightly reddened eyes. She must have been crying. ...The door sign had the surname ¡°Benson¡± on it. . .. ¡­ .. . ¡°Rasmus? ...Are you alright?...¡± ¡­ After I told the lady who I was she kicked me out, apparently I am ¡°A Murderer.¡± ¡°I took her son from her.¡± ¡°If I did not exist, Lee might still be alive.¡± ¡°Rasmus! Snap out of it!¡± Alicia slapped me. ¡°It was not your fault.¡± ¡°....¡± I pat alicia¡¯s head as I get up. ¡°...Thanks¡­¡± I quietly muttered as we moved on. Next order of business¡­ I made a promise I must fulfill. ...Yea, we went to a pet store. I bought Alicia a squirrel. (domesticated breed, they become strongly attached to the first person that feeds them.) ...The first thing the squirrel did when Alicia let it out of its cage after feeding it was skitter up her arm and onto her head. ¡°OHMYGAWD THAT''S SO ADOWABLE!¡± And so, Lily went insane. ¡° Shut up Rasmus! I want one too!¡± ...Annoying. And you are a hallucination, no pets. ¡°...I hate you.¡± Good. After purchasing the squirrel I made my way out of the pet store with a really upbeat Alicia. I knew it. She really wanted that squirrel. I made my way back home with Alicia. Where we enjoyed a rather tasty meal (Alicia cooked, and I helped since her arm doesn''t work..) and ate some chocolate that was left in our mail. Who sent it I wonder. (Don¡¯t worry, I tasted it for poison. I have a rather strong purification aug after all.) After that, we retired for the night. *Pov: Alicia* ¡­. Rasmus~ Rasmus~ Rasmus~ Rasmus~ He didn''t reject me because my hand was broken after all~ He even bought me Tibbles later! Hehe¡­ Rasmus~ Rasmus~ ¡­ Poor Rasmus...Why did Lee have to go and die on Rasmus? If he was still around Rasmus wouldn¡¯t have to feel sad¡­ Rasmus~ Rasmus~ And that girl he saved.. Lisa?... ...She Likes rasmus¡­ I don¡¯t mind that, but I was there for the last 2 weeks¡­ ...Her personality is bad news. Rasmus shouldn''t get involved with those kind of corrupt people¡­ ...Her father as well... I knew he might not react well to finding out that Rasmus is... an Old Beast¡­ so I paid him a visit. ...In the end, he is just as bad as that girl. But he is Rasmus¡¯ friend, so I think it''s fine¡­ Rasmus~ Rasmus~ They treated Rasmus and me much better today, they still stare a lot, but it was more curious than scared or disgusted¡­ I hope they will stop looking at Rasmus like that forever... You know? Rasmus bought me Ms.Tibbles¡­She is so cute I could just pet her for days¡­ ¡­I gave her an Acorn and she just got right into cracking it... Its adorable hehe~ *Pov: Nasim AKA: Evil 2nd in command* ¡­As always, Boss truly is a genius¡­ How on earth did he foresee everything click into place like this I wonder¡­ Ah¡­ I have so much to learn¡­ The invasion attempt on Aurora not only gave Boss a shiny new reputation of a near-martyr hero... ...But also drained ¨¬rota¡¯s available security folk drastically for the duration of the invasion war, as their security was more focused on taking the duties of the Commission-Hub members that were sent as reinforcements. They also lost many of their high-end spy machines and similar precautions as they were given to the use of the scouts¡­ For a few days, ¨¬rota was wide open for smugglers to use, and we were the only ones on the scene to exploit it. We did not only rake in some serious coin, but secured a-nigh unbreakable foothold on ¨¬rota¡¯s smuggling routes, one unlike anything any other local smuggling ring has¡­ ...We have a strong enough backing from the the corrupt, bribed, and coerced backers in the area that we can even safely carry out the ¡°silencing¡± service Boss ordered, without risking much¡­ Etre family as well.. With our control over ¨¬rota we have a total chokehold on them... ...Just how much did Boss foresee?... That slave of his as well¡­ *shiver* ...I was a fool to ever think she was just some kind a trophy or amusement to Boss¡­ everything he does is coordinated¡­ That girl is like a toxic flower, or an ornamental dagger¡­ Pretty and innocent looking¡­ But I know better now¡­ While Boss was in coma she gave me a warning¡­ she called me, saying that I should be very careful on how I react to Boss¡¯ state. ¡­.And shot an employee in the head just half a meter to my left through a window¡­ That could have been my head¡­ (and how on earth does she shoot with only one properly functional arm!?) ¡­She is Boss¡¯ insurance¡­ His way of ensuring that no matter what happens, or how much he delegates to us. He stays in control¡­ How did he train her to be so loyal so fast?... Boss is frightening¡­ I was right to never cut Boss out¡­ he is too cunning... I worry for my daughter¡­ she seems to have caught a fancy towards Boss¡­ ¡­ No matter what. I must never end up on Boss¡¯ wrong side, if boss likes L¨¬ca as well, that would be great... Chapter 37: Memorials, Recruitings and repairings I place the drugged handkerchief onto the targets sleeping face, very carefully. ...He did not even wake to fight back. ¡°Target captured. Bringing them in.¡± I notify Lily through the comms as I drag them out of the building using a window right at the bottom of the stairs in the first floor. ¡°Good job Tin-head. Next is my turn alrite? ^.^¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Hey, I did not pick your callsign, you drew it from the hat, not me~¡± ...Why did we pull for callsigns anyway?... After that. Lily began interrogating him, as I waited outside. ¡­ Loud¡­ ¡°Wow, a screamer huh?¡± A familiar frail looking woman asked. ¡°...Naomi.¡± ¡°Hi.¡± She responded ¡°....¡± ¡°....So¡­ Why did you join TEAR?¡± ...T.E.A.R... Tactical Espionage and Armed Reactions. Tasked with identifying and eradicating any unpatriotic groups through careful information handling and correctly applied force. ¡°... It is my job.¡± ¡°...Ok¡­¡­¡± ¡°...You are as difficult to talk to as always huh¡­ how does Lily do it¡­*sigh*¡± 30 Minutes later. Lily finished extracting the intel and giving him a strong amnesiac to wipe out his memory of the last 24 hours. I returned him to where I extracted him from. . .. ¡­ .. . ¡­ For once, I slept well¡­ ¡°Good for you ^-^¡± ¡­ Oh right. The suffering migrated outside my sleep. ¡°How rude.~¡± Getting out of bed, I headed to the kitchen, unsurprisingly I found Alicia there trying to make breakfast. Obviously I helped her.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°...We will go to the Pharmatics Group later today to get you an artificial joint... alright?¡± I asked during dinner. ¡°Okay.¡± She answered with a somewhat relieved smile. Having only 1 functional arm must be horrible¡­ But before that can be done, there is one, much more pressing thing to be done today. Today they hold a memorial for everyone who died during the invasion. After finishing our meal, (and morning maintenance) we headed to the plaza. A wide, park-like area inside the arcology. Normally it is a peaceful place to rest. Today however, it is packed full of dark-clothed people and had coffins neatly placed in dozens of rows. Every coffin containing someone who fell to save this arcology. The memorial was long and boring. And ultimately irrelevant in my opinion, who gives a fuck? But there was a reason I went. ¡°...Tolstoj¡± I called out to the group of few people to the side, just as bandaged as I am. But still here, dressed in black. ¡°Sir!¡± He instantly reacted, as they all came over to talk. ¡°...I am not your leader anymore. Just Rasmus will do.¡± ¡°Nonsense sir. You said when we met for the first time didn''t you? It¡¯s either boss or Sir.¡± Heh, I did say that. ¡°...So, how are you guys?...¡± ¡°Recovering. Samuel got himself a pair of artificial eyes¡± he pointed at the bald guy with bandages all over his head. There is a small hole in the bandaging to let him look through. ¡° Keane is getting a prosthetic.¡± He nodded towards a black haired guy that was using struts to get around. ¡°...And may I say sir¡­ We are itching to get back into action.¡± ...Eh? ¡°...I thought you had your own squad to return to?¡± I asked him. ¡°Yeah¡­ I was going to get back to my squad, Samuel as well¡­ but it is not the same anymore¡­ their eyes are so naive¡­ they can''t even meet ours anymore¡­ ...And the silence is-¡± ¡°-Haunting.¡± I finish his sentence. I know their feeling. ¡°...So we think¡­ us beasts should stick together and all, you know?... So, what do you say sir, will you keep leading us?¡± ...Heh¡­ ¡°If you want¡­ But there is no slacking under my command. Got it?¡± ...They all salute, going ¡°sir yes sir¡± ...seeing them smile in such a battered condition feels strange¡­ But I must say, that really could not have gone in a better way. ¡°...Wow, that is an extreme case of Stockholm syndrome I say =/¡± After finishing our conversation, I passed between the grieving people and the pale coffins, making my way to a particular coffin.¡± ¡°...Goodbye old friend¡­¡± I said for the last time. As I smiled sadly towards his coffin . .. ¡­ .. After the memorial service, we had a meal and headed to the Pharmatics Group for a new elbow-joint for Alicia. The Pharmatics group building is an interesting one, the walls are pale white, floors pale gray, everything is so¡­ clinical. After discussing with a local professional, the options were dumbed down to: Lexton-254 Price: 260 Credits (operation price not included) A Cheaper one with a little less motion range, it would also require more effort to learn to cope with, 660 Creds for the whole operation. (operation costs 400 credits) Tarkos-267 Price: 390 Credits (operation price not included The pricier would move better and would be much easier to get used to. But would cost 790. I asked alicia which one she wanted and she picked the cheap option. So I complied and bought it for her, her operation would be 2 days from now. So we are grounded for a while. ¡°Good, use the free moment to go get a new mechanic. You know you need one!¡± ¡­. ...You are right. But it does make me nervous, it has been so long since I had to get a new mechanic¡­ I don¡¯t know how much the recruitment scene has changed¡­ ¡°Eh, shrug it off you wuss. Onwards!¡± ... ...And so, I head to the local Mechanic¡¯s Union office. Chapter 38: New mechanic Walking into the Merchant¡¯s Union I am welcomed by an interesting hall. Built from metal, with many screens and lights along with many holograms advertising the latest in walker technology. ...Jesus. The shop I bought Fea from was less advertisement-heavy. Making my way to the customer terminal I took a moment to scroll through the tabs, to familiarize myself with the system. After a bit, I got to the ¡°hiring¡± section of the screen, tagging ¡°long term job¡±. I began checking through the options. Most of them demanded exorbitant fees for the repair job. Others I rejected because their CV seemed too arrogant. Nothing is worse than an arrogant engineer, there is no leeway with those people. ¡­That''s why I got along so well with Lee... ...Despite being bipolar he was always eager to help... After scrolling a while longer. I got an Idea. I went to the search options and listed them by amount of Merit in the Mechanic¡¯s Union. From lowest Merit to most. Then I capped the amount of time working to less than 5 months. Essentially listing the fresh out of education folk. After scrolling a while, I narrowed my choice down to three fellas. Melody Tritania Work experience: none. Self description: I have done 7 years of study in the Confectura Walker company. I am very good with any kind of repairwork. If you need a repairman, I am your gal. I am also punctual and a hard worker. Looking for a solid day job to sustain my living here in Aurora. Tommy Hicks Work experience: part time in a family shop. Self description: I am an honest worker. I am looking for a job that is solid and safe. My strengths are hydraulics and electronics. I spend most of my days at my family¡¯s shop at XXXX. Am willing for an audit whenever. John Anderson Work experience: 1 week tutelage. Self description: Repairs, adjustments. Hell, working with scrap. I am your guy. Price is negotiable, as are hours. Call me. So, I looked through further on their CV¡¯s and data. Melody is booksmart, but creative. She might work out quite well. ¡°Total lack of practical skill.¡± Tommy seems like a stereotypical family business kid. Good grades but is often late and a tad forgetful.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Total lack of punctuality.¡± John is¡­ Well he is not skilled on paper. But has great on-the-job and practical reviews. The total opposite of Melody. He just might work out as well. ¡°Total lack of knowledge on engineering.¡± ...You can be a total downer you know that? ¡°Thanks Rasmus ^.^¡± Despite their lack of experience, and obvious flaws. They are all really good in their respective fields. For the time being, I tagged all three for an Interview tomorrow. Setting an interview cost 100 creds each btw. T.T After that was done. I took Alicia home for the day, we had a meal (there was more chocolate in the mail again¡­), and I let her laze, after which we retired for the night. . .. ... .. . I walk among the large crowd in the streets. As always. The cities are bustling. The multi-floor highways are screeching as they curl around giant glass skyscrapers. The people seem so content, not knowing what is going on. ...I suppose that is for the best. ¡°The target is heading into the alley, be ready Tin-boy~¡± ¡­ I still hate that name. Why did it stick? ¡°Understood.¡± I make my way into the alley after the target. He turns around to look at me. ¡°You?¡± ¡­¡±I am sorry Minister Redwood. But you have outlived your usefulness to the TEAR.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ...The target looks around in a baffled manner. ¡°Impossible! You can¡¯t kill me! I am yo- *Gurgle*¡± ¡­ Warm redness pours out of his throat. ¡­Why?¡­ Why are my eyes wet I wonder..? ¡°Target neutralized.¡± . .. ¡­ .. . The next day, after going through all the motions of morning routine, I took Alicia out for a few hours. ...I tried to ask what would she like to do for fun, but she insisted on the firing range¡­ ¡°Hmm¡­ So she might not be a lost cause after all~¡± ...Oh well, to each their own. After that, we went for a short meal in the local restaurant before heading to the designated location of the audition meetings. The meetings were set up to occur one after another. So they were all waiting in the hallway. One was a muscular guy with a buzz-shave, one was an average build lady with blonde hair, and one was a short pale skinned kid with glasses. ¡­ The girl left a few minutes after seeing my face, I really am unpopular after all. ¡­ The muscular guy left a few moments after¡­ ...Wow¡­ Today is not good for my self esteem¡­ ¡°What''s your name?¡± I asked the remaining kid. ¡°O- Umm.. Tom Hicks Miss- *cough* sir.¡± He responded, ¡°... ¡®Tom hicks¡¯. You are hired.¡± ...Due to the total lack of contestants. *snifle* *Pov: Tommy Hicks* ...It had been a normal day at the shop, until that job audit. ...I was hired by the Beast. ...They say she *chough¡¯ he is the most frightening of all Commission Hub members. Willing to do whatever atrocity it takes to finish he- HIS! His mission¡­ Lately though, I heard he was the leader of the legendary ¡°Mobile Fire-squad¡± that saved our home¡­ ...maybe he is not that bad¡­ just really committed to her task? ...His task* Chapter 39: the job gets done. . .. ¡­ .. . ¡°Wow¡­ The moon is so pretty¡­ It¡¯s a shame how rarely one gets to see it.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Yup yup. Definitely prettier than a dark sky.¡± She said as she relaxingly leaned backwards against the window behind her. ...She does realize we are on a cleaning scaffold 27 floors up, right?... ¡°You really should talk more ya know? The cool and quiet suits you. But women need some warmth too you know?¡± ...Annoying ¡°We have a job to do.¡± ¡°Yea yea.¡± Just after I had said that, we got our go-ahead, the cameras are down. ¡®Engage.¡¯ Quickly lowering the scaffold one floor, we break through the window. I shoot the two guards rushing towards me in the head as we rush forward. Passing their corpses by before they even touch the floor. Hostile from adjacent singular bathroom, opens door on the right. I slam the door shut with his arm still in between the door, shooting 3 bullets through the door. ¡®Moving onwards.¡¯ Hostiles down the hall. Phosphorus incendiary grenade applied. *BANG* I move at the same moment as the grenade detonates. Shooting 2 bullet at each approximated spot of enemy unit that I saw just before the explosion. Passing through, I shoot any survivors. In a room down the hall. No guard visible in the room, but there should be one based on intel. I shoot the guard hiding behind the door 3 times. Target is chained to the table. ¡°We are in. Extract the information.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. *Sigh* ¡°This is why you are a Tin-head. As soon as there is combat you turn into a total machine~¡­ I am on it. Lock the floor down.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± I leave the room and head to the staircase. Rolling down a bunch of proximity mines. They arm and stick to their surface and take point in a spot able to see both the elevator and the staircase. *7 Minutes later.* ¡°We are done, the Redwood case is buried. Sheesh, that was messy¡± Lily says as she wipes her hands clean from the blood. ¡®Extract¡¯ We take clothes from some dead enemies and dress the enemies in our clothes. After faking their death, I proceed to knock Lily out and shoot myself in the shoulder and ribcage. ¡°This is detec- *cough* detective Reynolds.*cough cough* Hostiles are down. I repeat hostiles are down.¡± I use the radio. ¡­ ...We extract from the police station by ambulance and pre-existing cover story. . .. ¡­ .. . And so, another day came. ¡­ Lately my dreams have truly been better¡­ maybe the head trauma rattled something. ¡°Nah, you are just glad to see me. That''s all!¡± ...Nope. After the meal. It was time to finally repair Alicia. The trip to the Pharmatics Group building was mostly uneventful, we did see L¨¬ca standing in an alley near our residential building, but she disappeared before we could go talk to her. After waiting for a while, it was soon time for Alicia¡¯s surgery. The doctors said it would take at least 4 hours for Alicia to wake up. So I took the time to go see my new engineer, get him started on the necessities. Etc. *Pov: Tommy Hicks* Shit. I am late. I had once again forgot the flow of time and now I am an hour late. On the first day on the job no less! !! As I was about to leave the house with a ¡°bye mom!¡± and had opened the door. I was greeted by the face of the beast. ¡°You are late.¡± Ah shit shit shit! I pissed off the beast. Worse yet she knows where my family lives! ¡°I am sorry! It won¡¯t happen again. I promi-ow.!¡± I immediately said as I pulled a 90 degree bow then and there, and slammed my head to hers¡­ she was standing on the lowest step of the stairs after all¡­ I stopped rubbing my hurt head and looked at her eyes... Oh god¡­ I am so dead¡­ sorry papa, mama¡­ "*sigh*...Let''s go." Eh? *Pov:Rasmus* ¡­ I knew he was the antithesis of punctuality¡­ But to think he is a clutz as well¡­ ¡°Well, it is kind of cute~¡± ¡­. After introducing Tom to his new job, mainly maintenance and repairs of Fea and the Drone. (Drone was recollected by the Commission Hub, and was reclaimed in exchange for proof of earlier ownership. ((Hangar logs)) He seemed really pale through the whole ordeal, but greatly promised and begged about how he would definitely do good work. ¡°I know right. Whats with the tears and all the melodrama?? It totally ruined any semblance of cuteness he had. *sigh*¡± After I had made sure he could do the job. I had him sign a working contract. And so, I now have a new mechanic. ...He also promised to work on minimal wage like Lee, I wonder if it some kind of pride thing with mechanics these days? Oh, if you are wondering how the pay works. The mechanic¡¯s wage is included in my usual repair costs. After that was done. I went to have a meal before I would go see Alicia at the Pharmatics Group, and ran into Tolstoj. We chatted a little. Not much seems to have changed in the last few days. They are still itching to get back to action, and so forth. Oh, and Kane had died. Apparently the leg surgery went wrong. ...Really? Survives the hell and dies in the hands of the people he went into the hell to protect. Fate loves dark humor. ..I would have expected samuel to die during his eye surgery but really, Kane? You died from leg SURGERY? ...After it was TORN OFF in combat...You die from careful surgical procedure? ...Sigh¡­ People these days¡­ No sense of style. Learn to die properly. ¡°...You know¡­ Sometimes I don''t know if we live in the same world.¡± We don''t. You are dead. ¡°...Oh! That''s true! ^.^¡± Chapter 40: Routine life The next few days passed quickly. I met L¨¬ca a few times during that, she doesn''t seem too bad of a person. Self obviously, Alicia made it through her surgery and had to stay still a few days so the wounds can be allowed to heal. But eventually, she was released. And even later, cleared for action. You know what that means? It is time to start up our new squad! ¡°You know¡­ even if you ignore me, I am stillll heeeree¡­¡± ¡­ Yeah. She still hasn¡¯t disappeared¡­ I am almost getting worried. On the other hand, my dreams have been considerably better. So that is nice. Nevertheless. Onwards I go, with Alicia in tow. To the Commission Hub meeting hall. We had already signed up our new squad earlier in the week and had already picked our next job. ¡±Eliminate enemy force on X-09-262 Y-138-120¡± Estimated foe: 10-15 Medium, 0-2 Heavies, 0-200 Lesser Merit: 9 Profit: 185 Credits (squad bonus pay: 30%) It is a fairly easy, standard job. So I decided on it as our first job. Gotta get used to the daily grind again and all. Since we are doing this as a proper size squad, we don¡¯t get any backup like in solo jobs. Instead it is just the 4 of us. For sake of safety, Samuel had switched his Walker¡¯s sniper to a P66 rail-action. So that we can actually take on some Heavies. So, our team build looks like as follows: Tolstoj and Alicia and I are our snipers. Samuel is our heavy. (Tolstoj has a shield too so I had him take care of Alicia) ...What? ¡®Sounds like a really unbalanced squad¡¯? Well of course, we are all originally ¡®sniper¡¯ types after all... So, after a warm meal, we took off. The target enemy force was relatively near, which was good for us, since we did not yet had a scout type, making distance travel risky. We reached the target in a few hours. The enemy horde was traversing cross-country style from place to place, we had caught it in a relatively open slightly hilly area with essentially no trees or structures to cover behind, 1 Heavy, 12 mediums. The Heavy was a Behemoth. Whereas majority of the Mediums were Berserkers. Mostly open land might suck if you were a normal sniper squad, but not us. We decided to make a stand using a nearby hill as our point of attack. Tolstoj took the first shot, which tore through a Berserker, felling it on the first try. ¡°Focus on their ranged units. Ignore the Berserkers until they get close. Samuel. Focus on the Heavy.¡± The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. I instructed as I began shooting at the enemy ranged units. Soon enough, the enemy started shooting back. shots slamming into my shields and ricocheting to god knows where. The enemy¡¯s Medium guns were soon quieted, but the Berserkers kept shooting at us. Forcing us to stay light on our feet. The lessers were not much better. Soon the berserkers and Hound-types started to reach us. Hence we did a fast retreat down the hill we were on, to hide behind it from the enemy fire. Allowing us to focus on the close rangers. You might expect our folk to be unused to close quarters. Being snipers and all. You would be wrong. I slam the blade of my bayonet into the head of an incoming Berserker, opening fire on the Hounds coming behind it at the same time, decapitating the Berserker, and turning the mutts into a flowers of blood sprays and lead. Tolstoj who is next to me shot a Brute who was coming towards us as Alicia picked off the ones further away, Samuel is mostly standing back since a p66 is too strong for this, but vigorously joins any needed melee by using the rifle as an oversized mace, turning Hounds into meat paste. ...Trust me, we can handle close range... Soon enough some of the enemy ranged Lessers started to climb over the hill as well, but by then we had mostly dealt with the close-range ones, making taking care of them easy enough. Itwas not longthough before the Heavy was seen climbing the very hill, but we had anticipated that happening. ¡°Samuel. Do it.¡± *BOooom* The explosives we had brought along and laid on the hilltop blew up. Taking down numerous Lessers that yet lived, and decimating the feet off of the behemoth. Its roars were exquisite, like the thunder of god. Honestly, what did you expect? That I just attacked them blindly? Hell no. Samuel finished the near-dead Behemoth off with a few well placed shots from his P66, and after logging the encounter, our job was done. ¡°Good job boys. Good job.¡± I congratulated them as we took a break. A dozen minutes later, we were in transit to Aurora once more. After we eventually made our way back to Aurora, we convened in the lobby for a short moment before ending the day¡¯s work. ¡°Good work guys. The job went well. But this is just the beginning, I have already chosen the next job. Meeting hall tomorrow at 8Am sharp. Got that?¡± After getting their agreeing response I dispersed our group for the day. I also took Alicia¡¯s and my pay for the job. Then, I looked around and picked the next job for us. Scouting 2 adjacent areas. Nice and easy work. 40% squad bonus and 65 cred pay both. What? I said that I had a job BEFORE choosing one? Yes. ...Your point? ¡°...Can you stop talking to your imaginary friend within your head when you have a hallucinator one that you neglect? ...I am lonely¡­¡± ¡­ By the way, Lily has been sulking because I ignore her. It is kinda funny. ¡°Shut up Tin-head. I am not sulking!¡± See? Funny. ¡°So, how¡¯s the hand?¡± I ask alicia. ¡°Eh?... Its better, it doesn''t hurt that much and moves right¡­¡± she responded. ¡°Good.¡± I just responded. After visiting engineering to make sure Hicks is doing his job (he was surprised :l), I took Alicia to have a meal. I was going to laze after that but Alicia asked me something. ¡°...Rest for the day again?...¡± ...huh? ¡°yeah¡± I ask. Confused. ¡°...Sorry¡­ It¡¯s just¡­ You never do anything else than work or rest¡­¡± Why would I? ...I am confused. ¡°Why would I?¡± ¡°...Whatever, can we go to the firing range?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± *Pov: Alicia* I must protect Rasmus from that Lisa. After I got released from the hospital bed I found 2 spy cameras in Rasmus¡¯ room, and she keeps trying to ¡®Bump into¡¯ him ¡®accidentally¡¯ on the streets. Those chocolates too¡­ one package contained roofies and ecstasy in the chocolate You know?? Rasmus~ Rasmus~ ...Luckily Rasmus was not too affected, but I ate one and was out for the day¡­ that was dangerous~... Rasmus~ He let me sleep on his couch for that night~ Since then I have taken to throwing away any chocolate before Rasmus eats them. I must protect him. He also needs to get along better with his squadmates~ Samuel is still intimidated by him and there is too little chatting going on between them. Yeah. I have my work cut out for me. Work hard me! Chapter 41: Recon . .. ¡­ .. . ¡°Ah, this burger is so yummy!¡± *Munch munch* ¡°¡­ It''s a piece of ground down cow flesh and fat between two pieces of bread. Why would it matter?¡± ¡°Because YUMMY!¡± She suddenly shoved a piece of burger in my mouth. ¡°See?~¡± she asked with a triumphant smile. ¡°Nope.¡± I really don''t. What is so amazing about it? ¡°Sigh¡­ I know you are a bonehead but stilll¡­ Fine! As we keep working together I shall teach you the joys of cuisine thoroughly, so just you wait~¡± ¡°....Sure?¡± I responded. Just as Lily was about to respond the door opened with a ¡°cling¡± from the doorbell, the waitress greeted the person coming in with a ¡°welcome!¡± ¡°...Time to work again.¡± ¡°*Sigh* Got it. I will wait in the truck.¡± She said as she drank her coke in one go. ¡°...Stay safe ¡®kay?¡± She said before leaving. Why does it feel good to hear that? ¡­¡±Yeah.¡± ¡­ Work calls again. I think as I take my silenced pistol out in one hand and a syringe in the other I aim at the waitress and end her with a shot to the head as I rush forward. drugging the target out with the syringe. After killing the chef that was the only other person in the building and wiping the tapes. I hauled the target to the truck ¡°Extraction done. Let''s go.¡± I said. And we took off into the night. . ..This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡­ .. . After waking up and doing our usual routine. (Alicia is still a great cook!) We prepared for the mission of the day. Eh? ¡®Mission a day is weird?¡¯ No, mission a day is the standard. Things just haven''t gone well for me lately. So it took me awhile to get back to the routine. ¡°....Seriously. Stop talking to a nonexistent listener in your head.¡± You are nonexistent. ¡°Gee, thanks alot. I feel so much better.¡± You are welcome! So, we headed to the meeting hall where everyone was already was already waiting. After a brief chat. We took off for the job of the day. The scouting job I picked is fairly simplistic. Mostly sweeping through the 2 sectors and taking out any hostiles we find. As such most of the day was spent going through the areas, one part at a time. Honestly, the thing this mission greatly highlighted to me was how desperately we could use a scout. I should see if I can find one when we are done. Most of the job was simple, the area we had to scout was mostly open fields, with some old warehouse-lots and some farms dotting the ground. As far as enemies went, it was quite peaceful, only a few Mediums and some 50 Lessers. It was all quite easy. Easy, but time consuming. Eventually we were wrapping up the last parts of the second sector as the sun was nearing the horizon. But we encountered something unusual. One of the old pre-war buildings we saw in the distance had Walkers stationed near it. And based on the lights, there was running power. Which is strange because there should be no outposts in this area. We got into the range where we could see them more clearly as to get a better idea of what was going on. ¡°There are 5 Walkers. They all seem to have a cargo hold attached¡­¡± I said as I looked down my scope. One had a minigun, another one seems to be their Heavy, 3 Normal types) ¡° Traders?¡± Tolstoj responded. ¡°...Or smugglers¡± Samuel chimed in. ¡°Lets settle down in cover. We will keep observing until we can be certain.¡± I ordered. It took a while to get confirmation. But they were smugglers allright. It became pretty apparent when we saw a dozen or so women and children burst out of the warehouse entrance. Before we could do anything. They were all gunned down. The minigun howling and the screams of the dying slaves could be clearly heard due to the sensors on our walkers. ¡°Those fucking monsters¡­¡± I heard Tolstoj mutter. In a way, I could understand his emotions¡­ I dare say if Alicia was there¡­ ¡°See. she is clearly my replacement.^.^¡± ¡­ ¡°So Tin-boy, There are people dying, and you have a squad that looks up to you for moralguidance.¡± ¡°Whatcha gonna do?~¡± ¡°...Get ready. We have a job to do.¡± I said. They all agreed. ¡°Tolstoj. The Walker near the door. Snipe the driver. Alicia takes their Heavy. Samuel. Take the one with a minigun.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Yes Rasmus~¡± Answers chimed. I took aim at one of the remaining Walkers. An old model, ¡®Iron-rose¡¯ ¡°On my mark.¡± I said. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Fire.¡± Chapter 42: Saving products. Within the same second, 4 bullets found their target. Two of the Walkers just...sort of stumbled and fell down, dead. One did not die. Darn, Tolstoj missed. One was blasted around like a ragdoll. ...Heavy weapons are truly frightening. ¡°Keep firing.¡± I said with a calm voice. *BANG* A shock reverberated through Fea as I shot the survivor. A few more bangs resounded as the others all focused on taking the remaining one down. Before the enemy could react, all 5 Walkers were destroyed. ¡°Let''s move boys... charge forward! Shield up front, guns on automatic. Fire at will. ¡° I ordered as I took off from cover behind some wrecked vehicle. Gun set on automatic as I began moving towards the compound across the road. I am sure they had qualms with my orders¡­ But these people followed me through hell. They know better than to question orders. Unsurprisingly. Within seconds, the warehouse had turned into a beehive. The Lights were cut and our sensors could pick up a lot of movement coming from inside that old structure. Soon, small blinking steel candles began lighting up the warehouse again, spewing lead at us all the while. They were shooting from holes in the walls. From a crack in the barred up windows, hell. Some of them came outside, shooting at us in the open. Moving rapidly closer to the building mid-run. Guns on automatic and shields in-front. We slaughtered our way onwards. Why are we doing this despite it being suicidal and mad? Simple, to avoid a hostage negotiation. As controversial as it is. If we give them a chance to talk. A chance to make use of the numerous slaves they most likely have inside as their human shield to bar us from attacking. We would put their lives at a far greater risk than by open attack. As long as they haven''t even had a chance to negotiate. There is no benefit in killing the hostages. No sane being would waste time killing harmless merchandise when in the middle of a life and death situation with an non-negotiating foe. Soon enough an armor piercing RPG blew up on the road right next to me, flinging tarmac into the air. Had the user had better aim. I would have most likely died. I doubt he had more. But I shot a burst of bullets at his location for good measure as I kept on running. Moments after, I could see another one being fired from a different spot. This time barely hitting, blowing Tolstoj¡¯s walker¡¯s arm clean off. ¡°DON''T STOP SOLDIER. KEEP FUCKING MOVING!¡± I yelled into the comms. Making Tolstoj shrug off the concussion and stay in motion. Seconds later, we were right in front of the door leading into the warehouse, I did not stop but slammed right into it, shield-front. Blasting it right off it''s rusty and enfeebled hinges. (Second reason for open charge. To keep them from having the time to dig up their anti-Walker weaponry.) ¡°Shoot to kill.¡± I said. Moving down smugglers with my C-3 TY-9, I took special care to focus on anyone armed with any kind of heavy weapon. As soon as the enemies ran out. We kept on moving deeper into the warehouse. The entire time it took us to attack and kill our way through the structure was below 10 minutes. If anything. This would be a great example of how quick planning and element of surprise can move mountains. The inside of the structure was disgusting. The place was full of cages. At least a dozen hundred cages. Stacked on top of each other in rows reaching the ceiling. All containing a clothless, ready-to-ship slave. We were right. It really was a smuggler compound. Tolstoj and Samuel rushed to help the slaves. Whilst Alicia came to me. Come to think of it she was most likely held in a place like this once too¡­ I was not sure how to comfort her. So I just patted her head... ¡°...Something does not add up. Where did those slaves escape from? There are no empty cages.¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ...Lily is right. They all escaped at the same time too. With separate cages it would have been quite difficult. Looking through every nook and granny, I found the explanation. Towards the side of the warehouse, near the entrance there was a trapdoor. I went to one of the slaves that Tolstoj and samuel had already let out. ¡°... I want you to answer one question, what is beyond that trapdoor?¡± He looked towards me with an expression I knew well from the past. As he croaked out a single word. ¡°...Hell.¡± Tolstoj moved over and told me quietly ¡°I checked the tats on the dead slavers. They work for the Etra family. A large slaver-group infamous for sex-slave trafficking and their ability to break people into combat slaves.¡± ...I see¡­ This is just wild conjecture but most likely, beyond that trapdoor is where the true purpose of this place hides¡­. And that is.. ¡°...Rebuilding humans into tools of war¡­ Sound familiar?¡± ¡­ ¡°Alicia and myself are the only ones who know how to fight outside a Walker. You guys help these people. We will deal with what is down there.¡± I said. ¡°Like hell we are letting you go down there without help.¡± Tolstoj rebuked, but I just slowly shook my head. ¡°...Just do what I say on this one. Alright?¡± I told him ¡°...Yes sir.¡± After checking that Alicia was up for this. I opened the trap-door for a split second, dropping a grenade in. Guns blazing we descended into ¡°hell¡± the second after detonation. The area under the trapdoor was surprisingly clean and clinical. I can only assume its pre-war. Unsurprisingly, there weren''t that many inside the hidden facility. Perhaps 30. And the moment we had come down They knew the jig was up. Alicia stayed far back. Sniping down corridors. Whilst I drew enemy fire and dealt with what I could. Grenades. Assault fire. Usual stuff. Hm? Why do I dare use grenades? They are low-shock incendiaries. I looted them from the dead smugglers from the warehouse. Eventually we cleaned the place. I got shot a few time but nothing serious. Alicia patched me up in a moment. Clearing up the rest of the structure room by room for survivors gave a good look into the twisted minds of the smugglers running this place. Metal wire whips, soundproof cells with no windows or light¡­ tables with restraints¡­ I can see how a creative mind could turn this place into something truly frightening¡­ We eventually found survivors in some of the cells. 10 people. 3 had gone mad. (I had to shoot one in fact. He charged at me the very moment I opened his cell door¡­) 4 Were barely functioning¡­ ¡­ The last 3 had lost themselves. Just lying there... Limb. the look in their eyes is so familiar¡­ I got tolstoj and some of the slaves who were less afraid of the ¡°Hell¡± To help me bring these survivors out of the hellhole. After a quiet talk with Tolstoj It became apparent he thinks we should put the broken down doll-like ones out of their misery. ¡°You know better than that right?¡± ...I still wonder.. Would it be more merciful to let them... stop. Just let them free from being. ¡°You have been there¡­ You can help them.¡± ...I don¡¯t remember much about those days anymore¡­ the blank me was quickly programmed to a purpose¡­ "..." ¡°...Then program them.¡± ¡­ I requested Tolstoj to let me be alone with the broken ones. Alicia seemed worried about me for some reason, but I assured her I would be fine. Heh, she is the one reliving her hell, this place being a slave-den after all. And the one she worries for is me?... I sit down near the three carefully observing them, they just lay there. ¡­ I began speaking to them in a quiet voice... ¡°...I know. You are not humans.¡± ¡°..You already gave up on being human¡­ You are not one¡­ it is easier to not be one¡­ nothing hurts anymore.¡± ¡­ ¡°But are you really satisfied with that?¡± It was so...fickle, but I noticed it¡­ it was there¡­ I might not be able say what¡­ but it was there¡­ ¡°...Yeah¡­ there is still something right?... Something you must do¡­ something deeper¡­ ¡± ¡°There is still that, Right? That one thing that matters. Even now. Remember it¡­ I know. returning to human is still too difficult...Then don''t. But you still have to accomplish it Don¡¯t you?... that one thing¡­¡± ¡°You don''t need to be human to accomplish it. Do you?¡± ¡°...You don''t have to feel... Do you?¡± ¡°...Forget humanity¡­ Forget feeling¡­ Leave those to me¡­ I will do them for you¡­¡± ¡°...But fight back¡­ Fight for that one last thing.¡± ¡°...Move your body¡­ Fight for it¡­¡± After I stopped speaking... There was barely a difference, it was still deafeningly quiet... only one thing had changed.. The third one of the three dolls had movedher eyes¡­. And was staring right into mine¡­ I smiled to her my usual smile and said. ¡°..Good job¡­¡± ... ¡°...Welcome to my pack.¡± Chapter 42.5 to the broken. *Pov: Natalie* My family was always poor. It is not really strange in this world for a family to be poor. The different groups hold the right to choose who gets credits and who doesn''t¡­ Despite our poorness we managed to keep on living¡­ Me, my burly father, caring mother and my adoring baby brother, Thomas. We kept on living. ...For 16 long years we kept on living. Father had lost his job at shippings. And money got more tight than ever. ...We tried to make do however we could¡­ But without a working family member we were good as dead¡­ ...I was taken 3 days later. In the night after my 16th birthday¡­ ...They kept us in cages¡­ Like animals¡­ ...They treated us as even less than animals. ...Sometimes.. They did things to me¡­ I kept trying to escape¡­ Trying to break out of the cage, even made a ruckus about how my family would try and find me¡­ ...That''s how I learned ...My family¡­ mother and father had sold me¡­ ¡­ ¡­ They moved me underground. The other slaves whisper of this place¡­ They call it hell¡­ it''s where they break you, where they build you anew¡­ They put me in a dark room. One without anything in it. One with soft walls¡­ ...The things they did to me in the following days¡­ They weren''t as bad as when they did nothing¡­ ...The silence was worst¡­ Sometimes they would go weeks without visiting me¡­ I know because they feed us once a day through a small hatch¡­ ¡­ I was so afraid of that silence¡­ It was so loud in my head when I was alone¡­ I was afraid¡­ what would the silence do to me¡­Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Eventually when they left me alone for multiple months ...I... could fight no more against the silence¡­ It was easier¡­ to let it in. ...They began to feed me themselves because... I... stopped eating... ...They began doing things to me again because... did not fight back... ...It is easier¡­.to just stop¡­ there was no purpose in action... ...No purpose in...being... . .. ¡­ ¡­. .. . ¡°...I know. You are not humans.¡± ¡­ ¡°..You already gave up on being human¡­ You are not one¡­ it is easier to not be one¡­ nothing hurts anymore.¡± ¡­ Don''t know that voice... ¡°But are you really satisfied with that?¡± ...satisfied¡­? who¡­? ¡°...Yeah¡­ there is still something right?... Something you must do¡­ something deeper¡­ ¡° ...Thats right...what happened to Thomas¡­?... ¡°There is still that, right? That one thing that matters. ¡° ¡­Thomas¡­ ¡°Even now. Remember it¡­ I know. Returning to human is still too difficult¡­¡± ¡­ Can''t go back¡­ ¡°Then don''t. But you still have to accomplish it Don¡¯t you?... that one thing¡­¡± ...Yes¡­ ¡°You don''t need to be human to accomplish it. Do you?¡± ...Not...human? ¡°...You don''t have to feel... Do you?¡± ...don''t need to feel... ¡°...Forget humanity¡­ Forget feeling¡­ Leave those to me¡­ I will do them for you¡­¡± ...Can rely on you?... ¡°...But fight back¡­ fight for that one last thing.¡± ...ok. ¡°...Move your body¡­ Fight for it¡­¡± Struggle.. It has been so long¡­ Struggle so hard¡­ ¡­ Manage to move¡­ ¡­It''s the most beautiful being in life¡­ An angel that descended to mortal plane to save this... ¡°..Good job¡­¡± ...His words are like a warm balm¡­ Together with the angel... can do it¡­ Will fight. ¡°...Welcome to: my pack.¡± Yes! Chapter 43: Returning to Aurora. I carried the one who managed to react with me over to the other slaves. ¡°I am disappointed in you. You should have made them all react.¡± ¡­What am I, miracle-machine? ¡°Tolstoj, take Samuel with you and head back to Aurora. We need help with moving everyone here.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± He responded. Good man. Alicia and myself spent the next hour watching over the slaves¡­ well Alicia watched over them. For some reason none of them came within 10 meters of me. ...Jesus¡­ I am unpopular even among slaves¡­ ¡°There there¡­ You aren''t unpopular with me~¡± ...Wow¡­ Getting comforted by voices in my head¡­ I have really sunk low¡­ I ended up spending most of the wait coaxing the-still-dollish-slave to regain functionality. Her reactivity is quite feeble. But she is responsive. I am honestly not sure how much of her mind still remains, but whatever remains seems to trust me, so it seems I am stuck caring for her recovery. I caught Alicia staring at us more than once whilst teaching Marionette. I wonder, is it really such a strange sight? ¡°...You named the girl ¡®Marionette¡¯?¡± Yeah, it fits doesn''t it. ¡°...Yup! Its cute so... approved! ^.^¡± ¡­ .. . Some time later, Samuel and Tolstoj returned with the Aurora security, meaning we could finally rest easy. ¡°Sorry Alicia. This place must have been rough on you¡­¡± I said as I patted her head. She just shook her head a little and leaned on me. ¡°Aww¡­ She is still adorable.^-^¡± Eh¡­ Loyalty like hers is not bad I admit.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Umm¡­ Why are you smiling?¡± She asked me ¡°... Its nothing.¡± I responded. ¡°Aww. You embarrassed?~¡± Nope. Why? ¡°...¡± I handed Marionette over to the Pharmatics Group personally once we reached back to Aurora. I tried to hand her to the Arcology security, but she immediately started feebly struggling, giving me a pleading look. So I ended up bringing her back myself. The Pharmatics Group gave her a sedative and made me promise to come visit her tomorrow, apparently her trust in me could be very useful in treating her. I congratulated my men on a job well done, we did go through quite a lot after all. Sadly the damage to Tolstoj¡¯s Walker would make us unable to take a job in the next day or 2. So I had them agree to convene the day after tomorrow for our next job. We also had a discussion, and agreed that it was about time to get a scout into the team. So I filed a request at the Commission hub. After that, I was about to home with Alicia but then I bumped into a familiar face. ¡°Ah!... Mister Rasmus. G-Good Evening!¡± L¨¬ca stuttered. I responded with a simple ¡°evening¡± ¡°Umm.. How did your job go?¡± ¡°...It went ok.¡± I responded. ¡°Ah! That''s good¡­ So. Umm¡­ I was thinking¡­ I have a day off tomorrow and-¡± ¡°-Rasmus¡­ sleepy~...¡± Alicia cut in. Tugging at my sleeve.¡ä.. ¡°... Sorry.. As you can see I am a bit busy right now.. Can we talk some other time perhaps?¡± I answered with my best apologetic face. ¡°Eh? Oh! Ofcourse.. Sorry to disturb.¡± L¨¬ca responded. ¡°...Is it just me, or are you getting better at this¡­ social thing tin-boy?¡± Lily asked me as I bade farewell to L¨¬ca. ¡­ I feel more or less the same though? ¡°Eh, whatever then~¡± Your curiosity is way too flimsy you know? ¡°K~¡± ¡­ I took Alicia home as planned, the day must have been heavy on her. Poor girl¡­ I made Alicia food for once. I admit. I am not all that great of a cook. But hey, I tried. I am not sure if the food was any good¡­ but Alicia said she enjoyed it. After the meal and a good shower. We both retired for the night. *Pov: Alicia* ...Rasmus found one of THEIR dens today¡­ He was so concerned for me the entire time¡­ He wouldn¡¯t let me out of his sight even if I told him I was fine¡­ ...I could tell it from his voice¡­ He was seething in rage seeing how they treated people like ...us... That place...There were so many others ...just like me there¡­ ...The ones from the underground facility¡­ Was I going to end up like that if Rasmus had not found me?... ...Rasmus seemed really caring for one that had broken down¡­ Would that have been me if Rasmus had not saved me?... ...Without Rasmus¡­ I wouldn¡¯t exist anymore¡­ ...I can never repay him¡­ no matter how hard I try¡­ I thwarted one of Lisa¡¯s attempts today again, I must redouble my efforts¡­ She is growing persistent¡­ ...No one is allowed to harm Rasmus¡­ ...He is my saviour¡­ no one else''s¡­ ...I might have to kill Lisa if she keeps up like this¡­ *Pov: L¨¬ca* That fucking despicable cunning piece of slave flesh keeps getting in the way. But Mr.Rasmus is never alone without her¡­ ...What should I do¡­? I will find a way to get rid of it. Just wait. That piece of broken trash should stay in the gutter where it belongs. How dare it get in the way of actual people, despite being nothing more than a consumable product for satisfying the whims of more important folk? No one is allowed to get between me and Mr.Rasmus¡¯ love. We love each other! ¡­He just has not realized it yet. <3 ...I will confess to him tomorrow. No matter who gets in the way. *Pov: Tolstoj* We chose correct. The work is tougher than what we had in the past¡­ But so are the stakes. ...Looking at all the people we saved today, I can''t help but think it. If these are the results. I would gladly give even more for our cause. Staying in his ¡°Pack¡± was the right choice. Chapter 44: Rest between days of combat. . .. ¡­ .. . ¡°...Why am I spending the rest of the day here?¡± ¡°Because~ you have a cute partner and she asked you out for a drink of course!¡± ...Who calls themselves cute? ¡° Bartender! Another one!¡± ¡­Sigh. The bartender brought us our drinks. For some reason, she kept giving me a strange look. And lashing her eyelids often ¡°Thanks.¡± I simply responded to the waiter. ¡°...NOPE!¡± she suddenly yanked the drinks from my hands. She seemed a bit annoyed about something. ¡°Bartender! A bottle of vodka!¡± She demanded. ¡°...I really don''t see the point in this.¡± ¡°Stop fussing and drink! Cheers!¡± ¡­ ¡­ ¡°GGivve up¡­ Yo*hic* -old drinks to welll~.¡± *sigh* ¡°I told you this was a poor Idea¡­ Come on, I¡¯ll help you home.¡± ¡°Thnk Tin*hic* biy?¡­ Biu?.. Boy..¡± *sigh* Here. I¡¯ll support you so let''s go... ¡­ I help her out of the bar and drive her to her home. ¡­ ¡°Is this your place?¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Yess *hic* te key is undr the Ma*hic* mmmmat..¡± ¡­ She is too wasted to get anywhere herself.. I carried her through her house to her bed. ¡°There, you are home so sleep now. Okay?¡± ¡°Kkkay~... thnks Tin-tin¡­¡± *sigh* ¡°Just sleep okay?¡± I said as I turned to leave the room. ¡°Tin¡­..¡± ¡°Hm? What is ieeh!¡± *whom* Just as I was about to turn back, she pulled my hand with surprising strength. Making me stumble face to face with her, mere centimeters apart¡­ ¡°...Pretty¡­¡± She muttered with surprisingly sober voice... ¡°...Your eyes are the prettiest I have seen¡­¡± ¡°Umm¡­ thanks?¡±...This is strangely awkward... ¡°Rasmus¡­ You won''t leave me right?... ...Partners must always be loyal...¡± ¡°¡­I won''t.¡± I am not really sure what she is on about, but whatever. ¡°Hehe...thats a promise right?... I am¡­.glad¡­¡± ¡­ .. . Cmon! Dont fall asleep with your eyes open. Hey! ...Annoying. . .. ¡­ .. . The tasks for the day are not that numerous, I only need to interview the scout candidates and visit Hicks to make sure the Walkers have had their maintenance. ¡­ Oh wait. I also gotta go see Marionette in the Pharmatics Hub. Starting the duties of the day, I began making my way over to the Commission Hub. The number of people who applied to join as a scout were not that many to be honest. ¡°Is that surprising? You said it yourself too didn''t you? You are unpopular~¡± ...Wow thanks. ¡°You are welcome! ^.^¡± Well, to get back on point. The number of applicants may not be large. But it was still something. After skimming through a bit I set up a meeting later today with 2 separate scouts. They both seem reliable enough. After I had dealt with that, I took the elevator down to go see Hicks. ¡­There was no one in the hangar ¡°Wow¡­ he really lacks all punctuality. :l¡± I know right? But before I could start making my way to Hicks¡¯ family home to drag him to work by force. A nearby Elevator door opened, and a pale and sweaty Hicks rushed out of it. ¡°Oh!... Y-you are already here?¡± He suddenly got on his knees then and there, but he slipped midway and face planted¡­ Then he scrambled to proper kneeling position from there.. ¡°I am so sorry that I am late. It won''t happen again I promise I am so sorry sir! I promise! Never again!¡± ...Wow. ¡°...Wow.¡± ¡°It''s fine. More importantly. Is the maintenance done?¡± I asked him, trying to move on from his bizarre persona. ¡°Ah! Yes, yes it is sir! It won''t let you down promise!¡± ¡°Good.¡± ...What else could I say to that? ...His behaviour was awkward enough that I just sort off.. Hurried out of there ...Wow. ¡°Ikr? just... wow.¡± Even Alicia muttered something to the effect of ¡®Poor guy...¡¯ ...Well, on the upside. That concluded that part of the day''s work. I suppose it is time to head Over to Pharmatics Hub. The area Marionette was held in was the long term rehab. Meant for severely damaged folk. ¡°...Damaged is a poor word choice.¡± It fits. ¡°True.¡± For the time being, I was instructed to support her in regaining basic responsiveness. So I spent the next 4 hours giving her orders like: ¡°move finger X.¡± ¡°Now lift your hand.¡± ¡°Paw¡± (they seemed to not like me teach that to her for some reason¡­) ¡°Say A¡± After a certain amount of time I promised her I would be back tomorrow. And that he has to obediently wait for me. ...She nodded so I am pretty sure she agreed. After that, I began making my way back to Commission Hub for the scout Interviews. Chapter 45: New teammate I made my way to the Commission Hub once more. The files on the two people I set an interview with are as follows by the way: William Tenpei Merit: 320 Type: Scout Description: I do my best to work fast and be as efficient as possible. My scout-type Machines are all fitted with multi-porting, allowing for other members of the squad to also receive direct feed from them. I hope to hear from you soon, Mr. Ironwood. George Johnson Merit 540 Type: Scout Description: Let''s face it oh Beast. What you need is not just any scout. You need someone who has been there. In the trenches. You need someone who is just as willing as any Walker pilot to take to arms and do whatever it takes on the field of war. I have read the report on the invasion incident. You are a hell of a leader, and I think we would do well together. I will hear from you soon I am sure. I am going to meet Mr. Tenpei first, lets hope he pans out. Johnson seems gifted, but a tad arrogant. *Pov: William Tenpei* Ugh¡­ I can''t believe I have to search work from a brute like ¡°Beast¡±... ...Well, nothing I can do about it now¡­ my old squad already fired me and no one else has yet graced their squad with me. I arrived to the meeting-hall only to find that he had not arrived yet. ...Typical. Can''t even be asked to arrive early¡­ *sigh* Well, everyone can¡¯t be perfect. ¡°Beast¡± eventually arrived. A minute late no less.. He began the meeting with a handshake. Would you imagine it? A handshake! Oh the germs¡­ I tried to be accommodating of his failures. But after he began describing my job in the squad I just could not take it anymore. ...He wanted me to just sit around, lending my machines for his squad! A scout like myself deserves at the very least the leadership position, not to be a glorified seat warmer!The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. I told him exactly how misguided he was and then left the meeting hall. That should teach him. *Pov: Mc* ...wow. ...He was a douche. ¡­ Eh, next interview is in 5 minutes. I should get ready. *Pov: George Johnson* I arrived to the meeting hall as fast as I could. I have always hoped to meet the Beast. He is arguably one of the most practical combatants in the entire Commission Hub, working for him would be amazing. I admit...He is also really bloody beautiful. He greeted me with a warm, firm handshake. Like a proper fucking man. Not like some of those toads who call themselves ¡°leaders,¡± I like him already. He tried to propose the usual job type to me, being just the eyes and ears but I quickly rejected him. Promising that I could hold my ground in combat when needed. Hell, I got myself a bloody Walker for this! After discussing a bit longer. He agreed to my proposal. Good, I knew he would be a swell boss. *Pov: Mc* ¡­ ¡°You totally had your expectations reverse to reality huh?¡± So it would seem¡­ Well, It is good that we finally got a scout to our unit, and a really competent type at that too. After that, I took Alicia to have a meal, since we had not eaten yet. (For some reason she insisted on barbeque.) afterwards, we went to the firing range for the rest of the day, she has grown to be a really frighteningly good at shooting, so I told her I would begin giving more focus to her knife skills in the future. ¡­ I also bought her an Ice cream and some food for her squirrel. ...Did I mention she named the squirrel Tibbles? Well, nevertheless. We retired for the day soon after. . .. ¡­ .. . ¡°So, starting today folks. You have a new squad mate.¡± Boss began our debriefing with such words. ¡°Let me introduce Mr. Muil to you folks.¡± A guy with a handsome face and smooth skin walked into the room. ¡°Much like our Rasmus, He too is specialized in most small arms, assault rifles, and hand to hand combat. As such he will be working in parallel with Rasmus in extracting targets. Got that?¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± we all responded, and Muil took a seat near me. Boss kept on talking about our next job. but a certain fact was keeping my mind preoccupied. Muil... had Cyan eyes like me. And whilst others might not see it, he had a familiar tattoo under his left eye, written in ink only visible in lower spectrums of light. ¡°MU-4117¡± I wonder, why do I feel a strange worry? . .. ¡­ .. . *Pov: Alicia* I feel a bit sorry for Hicks¡­ If only he could see Ramus¡¯ magnificence then he wouldn''t need to be so stressed all the time. I also feel bad for Marionette, and maybe a little jealous¡­ Rasmus is really giving his all for her¡­ It would be nice if he focused on me like that too¡­ Rasmus~ Rasmus~ ...Then again he does focus on me doesn''t he~ ...He is just a bit bad at showing it. But wasn¡¯t he today too trying hard to teach me so I would be safe, he even bought me an ice cream at the end. ...Rasmus is so kind¡­ But I must protect him, today too. When we were about to enter a restaurant, I spotted Lisa in it. ...I nearly failed to avert that one¡­ ...I must work harder! Chapter 46: Last day of rest As always, I went through my usual routine, meal, shower, you know. The same as always. After all that jazz was done, I brought Alicia to the shooting range for the next few hours, as I myself headed over to the Pharmatics Hub. Marionette seemed a lot more reactive today, she even smiled when I came through the door. As per the Doc¡¯s orders, I spent the next few hours trying to help her regain her ability to speak. ...With poor results I might add. ¡°I feel sorry for her¡­ Imagine having to be like that¡­¡± ...I have been, remember? ¡°Oh, true. <.<¡± Despite her broken state and poor results. She was definitely trying her hardest. This is why broken people are so great. They work really hard, and if they seem to be losing their interest. You just remind them that this all is ¡°for that one thing¡± they oh so dearly wish to accomplish. ¡°...You are cruel you know that?¡± Cruel? No. Practical. ¡°...No. I am pretty sure you are cruel. ^.^¡± ...Meh. Ignoring Lily¡¯s comments I finish up at the Pharmatics Hub for the day, after which I went and picked Alicia up so we could go to the Meeting-hall. She seemed quite tired, so I suppose she had worked quite hard. The meeting went quite smoothly, I introduced Mr. Johnson to the rest of the group. He seems to get along with them quite well, There doesn''t seem to be any problems there for the time being. Beyond that, I asked whether Tolstoj''s Walker had been repaired yet. Apparently it won''t be done until late into the evening. ¡°Wow, lazy engineer eh?~¡± I know right? Well, for the time being, we agreed on a job for tomorrow. A simple job really. The side that mainly makes it worthwhile is the squad bonus. ¡±Eliminate enemy force on X-09-200 Y-139-112¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Estimated foe: 10-20 Medium, 0-2 Heavies, 0-200 Lesser Merit: 9, profit: 155 credits (Squad bonus pay: 40%) After that we ended the meeting for the day and agreed to convene again tomorrow. We headed back home after I bought some peanuts for the squirrel. ¡°I am telling you~ Its name is Tibbles not ¡®the squirrel¡¯... ¡° ¡°Yeah! Stupid Rasmus!~¡± ...Why are you joining this as well Lily? ¡°Because, cute!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ...For the time being I said sorry to Tibbles. ...Wow, I feel pathetic doing this. ¡­ At this point we still had almost all of the day to go so I spent it with Alicia. ...A nice day to just rest is nice too for a change I suppose¡­ ...I admit, the sight of Tibbles nibbling a peanut on Alicia¡¯s shoulder is a little adorable.. ...Wow, I am getting mushy these days aren''t I? ¡°...Yes. yes you are.¡± *Pov: Alicia* Phew¡­ Today was a hectic day¡­ Rasmus brought me to the shooting range for a few hours¡­ He is so nice, but who would have thought that the bitch Lisa would actually hire people to kill me whilst I am inside the shooting range. There were 3 of them¡­ 2 in the sniper range and one manning the armory desk. ¡­ For the time being I calmed them down and got what information I needed from them, that is how I know it was Lisa. ...It seems I must kill her after all for Rasmus¡­ she is too dangerous. ¡­ I will take care of it after the job tomorrow. ¡­ also, the sight of Rasmus playing with tibbles is so cool¡­ I wiLl nEveR leAve hiM. *Pov: L¨¬ca* ¡°FUCKING USELESS!¡± I shot the slave that came back. The useless pieces of crap could not even kill a single fleshlight. They had no value to begin with. ...Still that piece of fucking crap had killed 2 and left the third one alive by accident. Clearly it knows how to fight, Let''s hope she wont tell father. ...I will dispose of her. Any way necessary. After all¡­. ¡°No one.¡± I look at the holy place to the side of the room. ¡°No thing.¡± The bed I nursed him in while he laid unconscious. I had it brought to my room for safe keeping¡­ I have adorned it with various pictures of us together. ¡°Can get between our love¡­¡± ¡° Hehe~¡± *Pov: Tibbles* *snif snif* !!! o.o ... Pweanut¡­ ... 0.0 ... *Nibble Nibble* ... *Happiness* Chapter 47: Loyalty is not bad. . .. ¡­ .. . I was going to head to a restaurant with Lily after the meeting, but Muil. The new existence of Muil, takes precedence. Leaving Lily in the meeting room I headed off with Muil to a more private location. ¡°Why did you join my squad?¡± I asked him, cutting straight to the chase. ¡°Your squad, unit 42?¡± he said, tilting his head slightly. I responded with a nod. ¡°It is now my squad, Unit 42.¡± He said. ¡°You and the rest of generation one are all being recalled. Since this task force has served its purpose well, I am to replace you to ensure its continued functionality¡± He responded. ¡°...But what of Lily?¡± I can''t just leave her behind, can I? ¡°She will continue working here. What about it?¡± Muil responded. Tilting his head again. ¡°...¡± ¡°..I am staying.¡± I dont know why¡­ ...why am I so against leaving? ¡°...That is not an option.¡± He slams me against the wall and lifts me by the throat I struggle back¡­ But he is stronger ¡° If you refuse to be recalled I will be forced to bring you back myself. My specs are far superior to generation one units.¡± I can''t breathe¡­ Not good¡­ ¡­.At this rate¡­ *BANG* Blood and electronics splatter across my face and the wall as Muil¡¯s corpse falls limply on the ground. Coughing my throat open on the floor I look up to see who saved me... I look at her smiling face, holding to a 12 mm. pistol. ¡°Partners must always be loyal.¡± She says with a smile. . .. ¡­ .. . Another day dawns. Another battle comes. After our usual morning meal and the necessary visit to the Pharmatics Hub, (Marionette has made significant progress. Being able to say some simple words. Apparently she is working hard even when I am not there.) We finally begin making our way to our next Hub assignment.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. The job we have to deal with is as I said before, an extermination job ¡±Eliminate enemy force on X-09-200 Y-139-112¡± Estimated foe: 10-20 Medium, 0-2 Heavies, 0-200 Lesser. Merit: 9, profit: 155 credits (Squad bonus pay: 40%). The enemy numbers are not too numerous, so we should be able to handle it well enough, especially since we have a new scout for the squad. As such we depart soon after the squad meeting. The traverse is mostly peaceful. Turns out that Johnson is a rather good scout, well able to help us avoid unnecessary confrontations along the way. ...That being said, we did have a strange chance encounter with a lone Brute that seemed to have somehow managed to get stuck under a broken truck. We shortly fixed that. ...With a lot of lead. Soon enough though, we reached the target of the trip. A horde of Old Beasts, currently residing under a highway. ¡°Soo¡­ underground?¡± No. The highway was not at ground level. ¡°Soo¡­ under the underground?¡± ...You are doing this on purpose...aren''t you? ¡°....maybe :3¡± ...Yeah. She is still in my head. Am I officially mad yet? ¡°Don''t worry Rasmus! We''re all mad here. I''m mad. You''re mad¡± ...That does not reassure me. To get back on point. The horde is in a position that is honestly pretty advantageous for us. They are more or less in the open, whereas we can use various nearby structures for cover. They also only have 1 Heavy. A Rager. Wow. Been awhile since I saw one of those. After getting my squad into position, we commence the attack. With a bang. Apparently since our last job, Samuel had acquired a single shot artillery weapon for his Walker. So I utilized it against the Rager. The shot hit squarely at the center of its ¡°head-bundle¡± tearing them apart. ...Jesus christ. Samuel one shot a Rager. ¡° ¡®Kay I admit. That is pretty fucking cool .-. ¡° Not willing to be outdone, we too open fire. Sniping at enemies as they rush forward, shielding from their fire. The usual tactic. I feel like jobs like this have gotten far easier since the old days. ...Not that I am complaining. Soon enough, we picked off the remaining hostiles, we had to resort to a decent amount of close-quarters-combat but there were no real injuries. Overall the job really does feel a bit lackluster in difficulty compared to what we are growing used to. Nevertheless. We logged the encounter and began making our way back to Aurora. On the way back though, Samuel¡¯s core overheated¡­ Seems like the Artillery was a bit too much on such a lightweight Walker? Or maybe the engineer who did the installation nicked something. For the time being we took a break and let it cool down for a while Whilst waiting, I saw Alicia sitting on the ledge at the side of the highway we were using to travel back to Aurora. I decided to join her to pass the time. She noticed my arrival, but did not particularly react to it too much. ¡°It is pretty, is it not?¡± She asked me after a while. From the ledge You could see for miles and miles ahead, the view was adorned with various broken up highways and ruined structures. Due to the lack of moisture in the air and the cloudless sky, the sunlight was hitting them just right to make strongly contrasted shadows. Making it all into nearly picturesque representation of a wasteland. ¡°Yeah¡± I just responded. I don''t really mind the scenery, it is not that bad I suppose. ¡°Rasmus.¡± She said. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°...Thank you, for keeping me.¡± ¡­¡±You are welcome.¡± I responded. ¡°Really? That''s all you came up with?¡± ...Shut up. Alicia did not respond, she just edged closer and leaned against me, her little head resting against my bicep. ¡°...Promise you will never abandon me?¡± ¡­. That promise¡­ I have made it once before¡­ This time¡­ ¡°I Promise.¡± I will keep it. After all¡­ ¡°We are partners. We must always be loyal and protect one another.¡± ...I have seen what happens if I don''t. *Pov: Natalie* The angel praised progress¡­ Glad¡­ Will not let him down¡­ Will work hard today as well. That way angel will help. ¡­.Thomas¡­ Will come back for you¡­ ...Promise¡­ ...Eyes are moist again?... ...It is weird. Chapter 48: Red flower. ¡°That''s what you get when you let your alertness drop after getting a scout. Your fault.¡± ¡°Hicks.¡± ...Yeah. Apparently so ¡­*sigh* He promised and boasted greatly that he could get the job done easily by tomorrow, so that is good. Well, I suppose a little company would be alright. ¡°Forbidden love?¡± ¡°Don''t tell me...forced marriage sealing the forbidden love route? Reality is wicked...¡± ¡°But I am always annoying~ that''s why you like me remember? ^.^¡± (*Author bangs his head against a wall*) This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.¡°...What the fuck went down?¡± ¡°IT WAS YOU! YOU PIECE OF FUCKING SLAVE FUCK!¡± *Bang* The sound followed by more screams. ?? Chapter 49: "No." ¡­ The doctor said that Alicia would never regain control of her body from chest down. ...The bullet had shattered into a dozen shrapnels on impact, tearing holes in the heart and other internal organs. One of the shrapnels lodging into the spine. ...Apparently my quick reaction of rushing her to Pharmatics Hub saved her life¡­ but she had to get an artificial heart, and even now¡­ her spine cannot be repaired¡­ The doctor who was telling me this looked both sad and afraid¡­ but mostly sad... I waited outside her hospital room through the night until she woke up, and went to see her. Her bandaged body was lying on a clinical hospital bed¡­ she looked so fragile¡­ as if on death''s door. ¡­ Her eyes were red¡­ She must have been crying so much¡­ but she is keeping it in so I don''t have to see¡­ Please don''t... ...She told me things... Apparently she had got into a petty quarrel with Lica in the bathroom and it devolved into a full blown fight, It ended with her killing L¨ªca... ...She told me other things too¡­ like a floodgate had opened... ...I¡­there is too much I did not know¡­ About L¨¬ca¡¯s feelings¡­ about Nastim being a slaver¡­ about Alicia¡¯s fears... ...Heh¡­ Look at me¡­ Pathetic¡­ Here I thought I had the world figured out... ...Alicia kept telling me things¡­ about this and that¡­ Things I never knew she thought¡­ But slowly she ran out of things to say. ...She looked at me, with a resolved face¡­ as if at peace¡­ ¡°...Please¡­ Kill me...¡± In the Arcologies, a person like Alicia¡­ crippled and in active need of medical care costing hundreds of credits to take care of per day¡­The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°you have given me so much¡­¡± she said... ...I did it again¡­ I let my partner down¡­ ¡°Please don''t make me repay it all with misery¡­¡± ...She is smiling¡­ ¡­ Her smile¡­ I never realized how beautiful it was in the past¡­ ...But her current smile was closer to a suppressed cry¡­ She is crying on the inside, yet smiling¡­ Please don''t smile¡­ It hurts so deep... ¡°...You know what comes next¡­ right?...¡± ...I know the answer¡­ I know dammit¡­ Why is it that she has to tell me?... ...The right answer is to let her die¡­ She wants it¡­ and there is nothing I can do¡­ ¡°...She is suffering¡­ you have to let go¡­¡± ...It always happens¡­ I always fail... Looking at her painful smile¡­ I put my hand to my pocket¡­ taking out the gun that Nastim had used¡­ ¡°¡­¡± ¡°...You know what to do¡­¡± ¡­ ¡°No.¡± ¡°What do you mean...No?¡± ¡­ No. Just no. ¡°Fuck this shit.¡± I let my partner down again? Yes. I let Lily die. Yes. I let Alicia become a cripple. I am a failure. So what? Just¡­ Give up? JUST KILL ALICIA? ¡°NO!¡± I FUCKING REFUSE! I let my partner down again? So I will fucking struggle. I let my partner get crippled? A shrapnel in the spine? THEN I WILL TEAR OUT A FUCKING NEW SPINE AND GIVE HER THAT. Doomed by life to cause misery to anyone who gets close to me? THEN I WILL FUCKING TEAR THE SPINE FROM LIFE ITSELFAND GIVE ALICIA THAT. I will not back down this time. I will not accept this failure. ...I will fix this. If it takes going against the god¡¯s of fate themselves, then so be it. ¡°Wait for me alicia¡­ I will make it better¡­ ¡° I told her. ¡°I promised didn¡¯t I?... I will never abandon you.¡± ...For the first time in my whole visit, she smiled for real, with tears forming in the corners of her eyes¡­ ¡°...Okay.¡± Her soft voice said almost inaudibly. ¡­ *later* ¡­ I kick the door open. Revealing the remaining Cage family members, Nastim and his wife. Busily packing to escape Aurora, for the time being I kneecapped both to stop them from running. I walk over to Nastim, who is screaming in agony, putting a gun to his head. He disgusts me. ¡°...Are you afraid of me?¡± I can see it in his eyes¡­ That palpable fear. His voice stuck in his throat. ¡°Assemble y-... ...MY people.¡± ...But if that is what it takes. ¡°I have use for them.¡± Chapter 50: Taking the reins. My duties were numerous. The reason Alicia cannot be helped further is due to the lack of quality in medical care after the revolution, we are able to produce and attach implants, even reproduce the connection sockets that Old Beasts used for Walkers. But we cannot perform precision surgery on the spine, the nerves run too close to each other there. ¡°But there is a way to solve that?¡± Yes. Old Beast breeding vats. The advanced surgery technology in those is more than enough to extract the shrapnel and repair Alicia¡¯s spine. One of these vats exists near the Arcology, but we cannot take it, even with the added support of the C&C. ¡°Why?¡± They are too well fortified. The vats are always in a constant state of producing more Old Beasts. To take it out would require an army. And I don''t mean a petty few hundred soldiers. But a real army. At the bare minimum we need about the full military of Aurora, ¨¬rota and a few more nearby Arcologies. ¡°Then the goal is clear right?¡± Yes. Take Aurora Take Irota. Take them all. I had Nastim explain the rest of the high ranking members that I would be assuming full control, after which I had them explain the C&C¡¯s situation. I am no businessman, but after going through the data they provided even I can say that they are pretty damn prosperous. ...How I managed to cause all of this is beyond me. For the time being, I decided to ignore the forces available beyond Aurora. For right now that is where this all begins. C&C has a grand total of 1 training and 4 holding facilities in the areas near the Arcology, as well as 2 shell corporations, one a charity organization for victims of slavery (jesus fucking christ..) for cleaning their money and papertrail. As far as the local ¡°Groups¡± go (Commission¡¯s Group, Mercantile Group. etc). The C&C more or less have the lower steps in the chain of command under their thumbs.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. For the time being I had them bring me to the training facility. I also had Alicia moved to a safe medical building that is working for the C&C. The training facility had been set up in an old sewer system that had been cut off from the rest of the sewer system by cave-ins. Forming a perfect hideout. There were guards nearly everywhere in the facility, wearing kevlar and armed with handprint locked assault rifles. I suppose the guns-trade cover story th- WE have comes with its perks. I was guided around the facility by a slime-covered looking old guy, apparently his name is Bryan. ¡°He reminds me of a maggot. I am not even kidding¡­¡± ¡­ The ¡°training¡± tools and details Bryan explained to me were indeed effective, albeit somewhat crude. ¡°...keheh¡­ As you can see Master, MY training facility only uses the finest of tools on the market. I hope everything is to Masters pleasing ...kehehe..¡± Bryan told me. ...Even his words sound slimy somehow¡­ After inspecting the equipment I demanded to see the slaves that were ready to be shipped out. ...I was brought to a room with a black leather couch and a humidor full of cigars, after which they started showcasing the slaves one after another. ¡°...Can we leave yet? This place makes me want to burn it down¡­¡± Soon. ...The slaves Bryan showed me were all broken. There was no light left in their eyes¡­ Despite that they all obeyed and moved according to anything he said. I concluded the visit after that, and gave Bryan some pointers, drugs that could expedite the breaking, certain tools ...knowledge that stuck to my mind from the¡­ worse days. ¡°...Are you sure that was a good Idea?¡± ...This is for Alicia¡¯s sake. When we lay siege on the vat city we will need all help we can get. Be it military or slaves¡­ ¡°...I don''t like where this is taking you¡­¡± Whether you like it or not is not important. I will heal Alicia. Whatever it takes. After my visit to the training facility, I began working on the priority one for the time being, taking Aurora. The controlling element of any Arcology is essentially the same. The Arcology security and the Various Groups that inhabit it. If I want the Arcology to join me I must either disable them all and control the populace with force. Force we currently lack. ¡°...Or, you can push the controlling groups to obey, by using the populace.¡± That is the alternative, yes. That will not be easy though. There is no clean way to attract the populace without alerting the controlling groups. And the moment they notice, we would be evicted. ¡°Then¡­ attract their attention uncleanly. And make it impossible to evict yourself. Your father was a politician. Make it work.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Chapter 50.5 Revolution Pov: Civilian of Aurora I was at the marketplace buying food for my family. ...Ever since my husband died defending the Arcology, money has been tight¡­ If we don''t get an extension on the loan we will be evicted at the end of the month... ...In an Arcology, eviction means death¡­ The lands outside are irradiated wastelands where there is no food¡­ As I was trying to determine what would be cheapest to buy until I noticed that there was a commotion. The advertisement screens in the area had started flickering for no reason... Then an image appeared on the screen. It took a second for my mind to realize what it was. An image of the defence line, the same defence line my husband died protecting¡­ A man appeared on the screen, standing in front of the Image. He had a mask on without eyeholes, without details, just a blank mask. Then he began talking. ¡°Some of you might not recognize this image.¡± His voice was a cold one, but not cruel¡­ much like a man who has seen hell and come back. ¡°But most of you do.¡± There was a weight behind his words, strangely alluring to the ear. There were technicians hard at work trying to fix the advertisement board but they seemed to be struggling. ¡°This is what was left of the defence Line. The very line we set. The line we fought back at.¡± He took a short pause¡­ ¡°The one that thousands died on.¡± He was at the defence line? But barely anyone survived that¡­ It sounds unbelievable.. But something about his voice makes me want to believe it. He shakes his head slightly with a hand on his mask, Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Then he looks at the camera again¡­ Like he was staring at me¡­ Despite there being no eyeholes on his mask. ¡°I ask you, when did YOU forget? When did you, and all the rest of us forget?¡± Forget what? ¡°When did we forget that we are at war?¡± His words garnered a brief silence, even at the marketplace. ¡°...¡¯The People¡¯s Revolution¡¯... None of you remember, but that was the name that we fought under when this war began. A great revolution, against our corrupt government¡± he said, with a strange nostalgia in his voice. ¡°...But we failed did we not? You, all of us grew complacent. Look around you.¡± ¡°You live in an armed haven from monsters, ruled by corporations, as long as you profit them you get to stay, when you don''t¡­ You are evicted!¡± ...The truth, that none of us wanted to think was laid bare by him... ¡°We, The People¡¯s Revolution, failed. We fell to the same sins the government did. Now we have the military to end our old enemy, but we don''t. Because keeping the war going makes profit!¡± The words he spoke kindled a strange feeling at the bottom of my stomach... ¡°...Does this not piss you off?¡± ...yes. ¡°...Does this not make you angry?¡± yes. ¡°In the past. Good men and women fought back. They lit a flame, that would consume the Old World and its corruption.¡± ¡°Where has that flame, our will to FIGHT gone?¡± ¡­ He is right¡­ ¡° Today. Let us spark that flame once more.¡± His voice grew in strength. ¡°Today. We shall spark the flames of revolution once more.¡± That strange feeling I felt was growing in me like a forest fire, looking around me I could tell many felt the same. ¡°Today. We will fire the first shot of a new war. A war to take back our world.¡± He said with a certainty in his voice, as if he already knew we agreed. Like he was the voice of our anger. ¡°Follow me, men and women of Aurora. Follow me, and we will show the world, that The People¡¯s Revolution is far from over.¡± Suddenly, the feed cut off. And silence echoed throughout the marketplace. The Arcology security had already come out at some point, armed just in case¡­ ...Perhaps we would have backed down seeing them, but then something happened, setting of a chain reaction. In the distance, we could hear gunfire and screams. The security had fired upon the population. ...At that point, nothing could stop us anymore. As we went on rampage against the Arcology security people with similar blank masks (except with eyeholes) as the man from the advertisement joined us. Somehow we ended up naturally following them as we fought. *23rd of February Year 70 A.R. the Revolution of Aurora* Chapter 51: After revolution. We took Aurora 2 weeks after I assumed command of C&C. Honestly, it was not too difficult, as the seeds were already all there. The C&C originally traded in combat slaves. So they could offer perfect obedient units to help control the attack. The populace was still hurting from the recent attack, and the government was corrupt enough to be visible to the naked eye. You may wonder if the security guards who shot upon the populace were really security guards. They weren''t. But we needed to set the populace off. That being said, self obviously it won''t be long until Irota sends a force to suppress us. Most likely it is already en-route in fact. I managed to delay it through C&C contacts in Irota for a few days, but even that has its limits. For the time being I used my¡­ ¡°Blank¡± persona to set a temporary government in motion, it took a few days, but for now Aurora is stable. In fact most of the system has not changed, the Commission Hub still operates. As do the other ¡°group¡± facilities, but they are no longer controlled by their original ¡°Groups¡±. ...Most likely this would all crumble in a few weeks, but I aim to find a solution by then. ¡°Solution to Alicia¡¯s issue, or to the Arcology crumbling?¡± Whichever is easier to achieve in time. That being said, the populace itself is surprisingly easy to manage. This is because the current education system is too job-oriented. Parents teach children basic calculus and how to read, and then depending on the job you seek you apply to be taught by one of the ¡°Groups¡±. End result? No history education beyond the basics. The tight grip that the groups hold on the news also makes for another weakness. No understanding of advanced propaganda. As such using the advertisement boards and other news-outlets, it is easy to make them feel that they are a part of something grand. Just to be sure though, I have implemented a basic care system for the people who lost family to Neuro¡¯s invasion and opened access to credits to non-Group members. Greatly easing the lives of the civilians. As a result ¡®the Faceless¡¯ have garnered a very good public regard. One of the main changes to the old system was in fact that the Arcology security was abolished and is now replaced with my people. With many civilians seeking to apply to join. As such, I say we are off to a good start.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°I wonder how they would feel if they knew that behind the masks were only slaves and slavers¡± ...I care not to find out. With Aurora under my control, It is time to shift my focus to the inevitable response from ¨¬rota. ¡°Get me the map of the local areas¡± I told my assistant. ¡°...Yes.¡± She came back soon carrying the correct document ¡°...Brought file¡­ Here¡­¡± she said. Yes. She is Marionette. She has made great strides in the last few weeks as you can see. ¡°Thanks.¡± I told her, patting her head lightly. Despite her expressionless, stoic nature this seems to always bring a faint smile on her face. "...Cute" Shifting my focus from Marionette to the file, I continue planning. The coming days will not be any easier. For the time being, I have been confiscating as much of the corporate owned hardware as I can but I don''t know how much of it can be made ready before the enemy arrives. As such I am forced to turn my eyes to seeking tactical advantage. With determination, I continue planning the path to my goal. *Pov: Tolstoj* So much has happened in the last month. First that little kid Alicia was shot, then Boss disappeared. Then the Arcology rebelled and masked people took charge. At first we were afraid that Boss died during the rebellion, but then he contacted us. ...The person who took the Arcology was boss¡­ ...Where the fuck did he get such an army?... ...There are so many questions¡­ but at least we now know why this rebellion is happening, it is too obvious. ...Boss is finally taking his rightful place as the leader of the Arcology, for the good of the people. What happened to Alicia must be what triggered it. Understanding the revolution that was upon us. We too applied to join the ¡®Faceless¡¯ that Boss had formed. From the way they carried themselves it was obvious they were well trained, they were quiet and at the same time, exuding an aura of authority. I wonder, how harsh will the training be, for us to reach the same level. *Pov: Tibbles* ¡­ *misses alicia* ¡­.o.o ¡­*Nibbles on a peanut* ¡­.. *still misses Alicia* *sad squirrel* ¡­*Snifle* Chapter: 52 Defence war. The ¨¬rota attack force was spotted a day later. Their summed full force is more or less: 40 Heavies, 30 Artillery, 200 normal Walkers. About 270 total. This, is indeed a rather frightening military presence, 270 Walkers is enough to cause some serious hurt. I wonder if it is actually more than they sent to help Aurora when Neuro invaded... Well, that is inconsequential. Whilst they were still in transit towards us, we took care to make proper use of the chance. Namely, Propaganda. Showing the populace ¡®just how the ¡°Groups¡± and their corporations respond to our hunt for freedom¡¯ with footage of the incoming military was indeed rather effective on the populace, after all. Propaganda has not been used with to this extent for nearly a century. As such volunteering to join the defence became nearly the norm, instead of exception. This is one of the reasons I made sure the populace was cared for. Loyal populace is always better than a fearful one. ¡°Loyalty Is always important. No matter the scale.¡± Exactly. I decided to engage the enemy before they reach the arcology. This might seem foolish. After all, you saw what happened with Neuro. But this enemy is different. As is the command this time. To put it simply. I employed trickery. I plotted the most likely path the enemy would take, and prepared. The tactic was rather simple, I hauled a large portion of the Artillery in the arcology over, as well as most of our mines and gun placements. I made the scene of attack happen along a road passing through a heavily overgrown farmland. As the enemy passed through, I divided them with artillery fire (normal shells mixed with phosphorus and napalm shells. Perfect for flashy looking bombardment without wasting high-end shells) and then began expanding the field of fire at a steady rate.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Unsurprisingly, they retreated sideways. Right into the minefields and places where I had our gun placements ready finish them. ¡°...You slaughtered 270 Walkers with gun placements, mines, and artillery?¡± Technically, I slaughtered 135 Walkers with gun placements, mines, and artillery. I just happened to do it twice. Divide and conquer can be used like this too. Honestly speaking, the only reason this worked was because the enemy was unable to accurately scout the surrounding vicinity, The plants were growing nearly as tall as a man, and as such were well able to hide mines and gun placements. Whereas the artillery was hidden under camo-materials until it was time to start firing. So as a sum up. We had the advantage of surprise and not being spotted once. ...we also hauled a large majority of the entire non-Walker weaponry there... so it would be weird if it was not enough... If you are wondering why I did not use our Walkers. That would be simple. Right now, we are en-route to ¨¬rota. I am not even near the battlefield back home, I just keep in contact by a heavy-duty transmitter that we looted from the Commission''s Group HQ at Aurora. ..The ones who defended aurora were essentially just a lot of civilians and a few dozen of my ¡°Faceless¡± to guide them. ...I wonder how ¨¬rota is going to react, having their force annihilated and their own Arcology under siege. ¡­*Sigh* it is truly a shame how far the art of war has degraded after the Old government fell. ...Lily remind me to set up a public school system if this all succeeds. Okay`? ¡° ¡®kay.¡± And so, our march continues. They attempted to take our Arcology, Now we will take theirs. ¡­ Please wait for me Alicia¡­ I will fix my wrongs. ...No matter what it takes. ...No matter what. *Pov: Elias Camber* We were en-route to Aurora when it happened. An artillery attack broke our ranks, firing in a straight line through our armada, mixing smoke and napalm shells among the artillery. We tried to move away and regroup but as we did, we ran directly into a minefield. And then bullets started flying at us from multiple directions. It was not even 10 minutes before we were no more¡­ ...Jesus christ¡­ what monster did we end up in a war with? *Pov: Faceless* We took down an armada with a bunch of civilians and some basic weaponry¡­ ...Is there anything Boss cannot do? ...perhaps, just maybe¡­ I might be standing in the middle of events that will be spoken of a millennia from now, legend in the making¡­ Yet I wonder if we will all be remembered as heroes or villains? ...Whatever happens, I will see it through to the end. Chapter 53 Offence war. Taking Aurora was¡­ interesting, From the beginning, despite us having taken out their Walkers, the fact still stood that the structure in question was an Arcology, and we wanted to make use of it. As such, attacking in an open manner was not an option, Honestly speaking, without their Walkers their military value is already non existent. ¡°...Then what are you after?¡± Commercial value. ¨¬rota is a major trade hub for the local economy, if we can control it, we will have a major advantage. It might even be possible to win the others without waging any more war. As such it is necessary to take the Arcology as intact as possible... The C&C better have come through on this one. Marching towards the Arcology, we were welcomed by rising smoke and powered down defences¡­ C&C did come through. I had the members of C&C lay siege and take out the Arcology power grid when we arrived, since ¨¬rota defence weaponry is all top of the line, they are quite reliant on electricity. As they have completed their task. We pour into the defenceless Arcology, some of the Arcology guns are still firing, not everything can be electronic after all, but it was not nearly enough. Pouring into the hangars we lay waste to all who oppose us. The civilians among our force were queasy, but the Faceless ensured that they continue functioning. ...The Arcology fought back bravely. Unsurprising, seeing as they fought for survival. But that did not make them immortal. They were still reliant on their populace. As such some of my core targets was to take the buildings capable of spreading the ¡°word¡± first. To my surprise many of our ex-civilian units were ¡°proselytizing¡± for the cause as they fought¡­ Did I go too far with the propaganda? ¡°...Well, including the slightly subliminal suggestions to your propaganda may have overdone it¡­¡± ...It was efficient.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. And nevertheless, the ethics of it does not matter, assuming we emerge victorious. Taking over and using various Hub buildings to spread the successes and goals of our revolution worked somewhat, lessening the defences morale and even turning some of the populace to our side¡­ A great and surprising boon was the local Pharmatic¡¯s Hub wing surrendering without a fight. Asking only to be allowed to treat the wounded from the attack. ¡°Perhaps not all corporations are corrupt¡± ...That, or perhaps a better way to think of it would be ¡®not all corporation subgroup-heads are corrupt. ¡°I gotta fix that cynicism of yours¡­ At this rate you will never be popular.¡± ...Someone liking me got Alicia hurt. ...I don''t need to be liked. Eventually, some hour or two after we laid siege, the Arcology had finally fallen to our control. As such much like last time we began working on getting the Arcology functional, and obedient. I have a lot more to do, but I will fix my mistakes. ...I wonder. Is my ¡°Revolution¡± a worthy successor to yours¡­ Lily? . .. ... ¡­. ... .. . Multiple years have passed since Lily shot Muil and I helped her escape¡­ To this day I am not sure how she is doing¡­ ...She is still alive. I shoot another hostile down with my rifle. ¡°All hostiles terminated¡± I report to HQ. ...After that, we return to base for maintenance. ¡°As you saw Mu-12 is still functioning exceptionally even after 8 years of active service, it is safe to conclude that first generation converted to generation three have a far longer lifespan than those turned directly into generation three.¡± ¡°As such I would like to- ¡°We know, you wish to take the long route, we told you already professor, there is no reason to care about their lifespan, just work on easing mass production. Now, how is the Walker series coming along?¡± ¡°...Quite well sir, the use of Ethiopians for nerve systems has shown a pleasing success rate on reducing complications during the brain-attachment. Walker generation 3 prototype should be ready for testing in another 2 months.¡± ¡°Good, get it done, there has been a disturbing increase in insurgency lately.¡± ¡°Yes sir. Thank you sir.¡± ...The elderly government official left the room whilst the researcher kept bowing. Then he turned to me ¡°Let''s go.¡± I follow my creator as he brings me to my ¡°tube¡±, my repair-gel filled coffin of rest between missions¡­ I wonder, will I ever see you again¡­ Lily? . .. ¡­ Chapter 54: Aftermath I had to be careful now that ¨¬rota was ours, Aurora only had ¨¬rota for aid but now that we took ¨ªrota, we have gotten ourselves in the crosshairs of everyone in the nearby landscape. ¨¬rota is that important for commerce to flow. For the time being I had issued an open threat to destroy ¨¬rota myself if any attempts to take it were to occur. I also promised to keep the commerce flowing through Irota as long as there were no hostilities raised against us. I don¡¯t know if it will be enough, but it should be. I did have to leave a sizeable force of ¡°Faceless¡± to protect Irota when I left back for Aurora since the populace had not yet fully come to terms with the change in leadership. But they would soon fall in line as a consequence of propaganda and easier life under my rule. And once they grow used to it, they will naturally spread the ideal. Allowing for the cause to spread onwards. Or so I hope. Beyond that, I also have plans to ensure the allegiance of the other Arcologies well underway. Let''s hope they pan out. Currently I am going through various company licenses and the like, trying to maintain reasonable order in the two Arcologies. ¡°These...last papers¡­¡± Marionette said as she handed me some more paperwork. ¡°Thanks Marionette, you have been working hard. I am proud of you.¡± I said as I patted her head, eliciting a familiar faint smile on her head. ¡°Once we have the other Arcologies under control I will help you find your brother. Promise¡± I told her, making her nod a little. That is her goal apparently. Meeting her brother again.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°That is a bit¡­ tragic, is it not?¡± Well, either way. I already looked into it, her brother is dead. ...He was sold to a particularly brutal slave owner that was into snuff¡­ ¡° ¡®Kay, I suddenly don¡¯t want to know more.¡± Yeah, sometimes the world can really suck. Focusing my mind to the paperwork, I continue working until late evening, there was not anything of real interest, but it was necessary work. ...After finishing my work I went to see Alicia at the private Pharmacy Group run by C&C. *Pov:Alicia* Rasmus came to see me today¡­ He brought Tibbles with him¡­ It has been so long¡­ Ever since Rasmus promised to... fix me, he has had this¡­ ...Sadness that I can''t make disappear¡­ whenever he comes see me he looks like he is torturing himself¡­ Hearing that he would not abandon me¡­ It made me so happy¡­ But now I almost wish he did¡­ then Rasmus would not be in so much pain all the time. ...Please¡­ stop being so sad all the time¡­ *Pov: Mc* ...It seems Tibbles loved seeing Alicia again, who would have guessed a squirrel could miss a human so much¡­ For the time being I asked the doctors if Tibbles could stay with Alicia, they agreed. I chatted with Alicia¡­ She mostly talked and asked questions, whereas I answered and listened. ...It has been a while¡­ I am sorry, I promise¡­ I will get you out of here. ...After the visit, I retired for the day once more. This war is far from over. . .. ¡­ .¡­ ¡­ .. . ...Another briefing was held today. We would be waging war against another insurgency group. They have been increasing recently. Making it seem likely that someone is pulling the strings in the background. After the briefing, I check my equipment and head off to the transport, ready to face my next task. Once more, my silent squad of Weapons sit silently in our transport vehicle en-route to battlefield. I wonder, do the others think? Or am I the only one? ¡­ Irrelevant. ¡­.All that I need to know and think of, is how to kill the foe. Chapter 55: Work piles up when gone. I make my way into my office. Despite having been gone for only the necessary time to get my needed hours of sleep. The work has already piled to a near foot tall stack. ¡±... Just hire someone else to do this¡­ Its boring~ ¡° I would, If I knew anyone both competent enough and trustworthy. I don''t. I must be certain that my plans are going through as intended, otherwise it might all crumble, after all, the current economy I am running is not much unlike an elaborate ponzi scheme. ¡°... Whats a ponzi scheme? :/¡± ...Not important. ¡­ And so. I tackle the mountain of papers once more. ¡­. *Hours later* ¡°...Last..files ¡­¡± ¡°Thank you Marionette.¡± I say offhandedly as I take the last stack of documents for the day. ¨¬rota is adjusting, slowly. I think it should be safe to move more units out from there again. And just in time too. The arcologies of Tempora and H¨¤oi are both showing an opportunity to strike. ¡°...Best not overdo it. Just take one of them.¡± Agreed. It is more important to win than to be fast at this point, especially since Alicia¡¯s condition is mostly stable. For the time being I set the gears in motion to crumble H¨¤oi from within. H¨¤oi is a rural Arcology, made mostly worthwhile by its vast farmlands. If I can take it, I should be able to drastically cut down the cost of food in my controlled Arcologies by having them give preferential treatment to sell mainly within the local area. ¡°...Meh, I suppose it would speed up the loyalty gains¡± That, and further solidify pre-existing loyalty. At worst we are gonna piss off some food conglomerate types from over the pond so it should not be an issue. ¡­.After finishing the preparatory work for taking H¨¤oi, I went to check in on the training of my new faceless.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. After allowing local recruits the number of Faceless has grown drastically, for the time being I took the slimy Brian that trained the original slaves that became Faceless, and had him teach a few...more militaristic personages some of the relevant tricks, after which I trained them a few more skills myself. I also borrowed aid from the local Pharmatics Hub in the form of various¡­ narcotics. For the time being the training structure of Faceless is as follows: Cardio phase (2 week,) early training (1 week), Breaking. (3 days) Training and last loyalty checks (2 week) As such the first batch of the new Faceless should be ready in some¡­ 17 days. ¡°...Time sure does fly huh?¡± Indeed. Looking at the Faceless trainees I could see a few familiar faces¡­ Turns out Tolstoj & co have also signed up for the faceless. They are probably due for the mental breaking phase within the day. ...Well, they will be a good addition to the ranks. ¡°...Remind me to stay useful to you alright...?¡± You aren''t. You are a hallucination of someone who I cared for, that now keeps distracting me for no good reason. ¡°;-; ¡° ...Why do I feel bad now¡­ Damnit. ¡° ^.^¡± Just as I was about to berate the voice in my head further, I was interrupted by a message. ¡°....¡± I rush my way to the C&C medcenter. ...I sit there¡­ watching over Alicia¡¯s frozen body. Apparently Alicia¡¯s artificial heart shut down momentarily, forcing the staff to act. ..Further examination revealed a bullet shrapnel that had gone unnoticed, dangerously close to the left common carotid artery, it had caused an internal bleed, which lead to the heart stopping. ...Due to the recent operations, her immune system is still too weak for another surgery. They could operate, but the odds are, she would not make through it. ...For the time being I demanded them to put her into a medical cryostasis. ¡­Her heart is stopped and her body is being preserved by the cold¡­ for all intents and purposes. ...She is dead. ¡­ according to the doctors, her body should stay¡­ ¡°alive¡± by the cold for approximately 30 more days, beyond that will risk cell degeneration. ¡­ 30 days¡­ ¡­ I must work faster. First thing first. Take H¨¤oi. . .. ¡­ ¡­. ¡­ .. . Enemy 2nd floor window. Shoot. 3 shots. Enemy from behind the corner. Slam against the wall, 2 shots to torso. Grenade. Ducking under cover. *BOom* Explosion. Out from cover. 4 shots. Reload. I make my way through the enemy fortifications. *¡±* Units MU-6661-6665. Disabling grid *¡±* The Radio crackles. ¡­.Lights shut off, letting the darkness return. ...Move, I continue making my way through the enemy defences. Chapter 56 Hàoi. *Pov: David Wernham, head of the H¨¤oi Mercantile Hub* ...I ran the numbers on my personal computer again¡­ Hoping to receive a different result. Ever since ¨¬rota was taken, the traders from there suddenly stopped coming¡­ ...We are a farm Arcology, we make do by selling our produce to the militant Arcologies in exchange of weaponry and power sources¡­ Without the trade from ¨¬rota, we can''t survive. ...The revolutionaries that took over ¨¬rota have not responded to any hails¡­ We even sent some trade caravans to the local Arcologies, but no word came back¡­ I do not know why this is happening, but we won''t survive much longer without aid. In fact, the numbers say that we barely have the fuel to keep the power on for another week. That was what I thought, until I received a message of a trade convoy approaching the Arcology. *Pov: Teresa Kelsey, Sergeant In H¨¢oi security force* ...Right now, things are a mess. ...Things have been a mess ever since a convoy comprising of 4 combat Walkers and 3 Keelbacks arrived. (Keelbacks are Walkers with no arms or guns, only a huge ass cargo space and a lot of armor) They claim they are smugglers from across the pond that had eluded the embargo we have received by the fucking Beast-cult that has taken over ¨¬rota. They apparently have ¡°affordable fuel and necessary materials for sale for¡­ ¡®reasonable¡¯ prices¡± ...Fucking sky high I am sure. And even then that is only if they really are just smugglers, It is just a little too¡­ ¡°convenient¡± that they just happened to make it through the embargo without harm. Perhaps a trap, likely spies. The cargo holds of their Keelbacks are lined with lead too, apparently to help smuggle past ¡°border securities¡± Yet I cannot just turn them away, since the head of the Mercantile group is calling in a lot of favors upstairs to get that cargo. The damn old fool. Probably just afraid that his luxuries will reduce, bah. ...I might have to let them in, but not without precautions. *Pov: David Wernham* I watch excitedly from my porch as the convoy is finally allowed into the hangar. I had to bribe multiple high-ups in the security force but it was worth it. I am not sure what they are worrying about, but without some backup fuel, H¨¤oi is doomed. ...Not that they would know of course. If they did, there would be mass panic. Still, the 20 Walkers pointing their guns at the convoy as it enters sure is displeasing, the security force really is paranoid huh? Lets just hope that won''t increase the costs. ...If they do we might have to just take their cargo by force. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. *Pov: Teresa Kelsey* The smuggler group looks genuinely shocked at the heavily armed welcome, I almost feel kinda bad for suspecting them so strongly now... After making sure they have all dismounted their Walkers and are unarmed, I order my lieutenant to examine the cargo, as I greet the leader of the smuggler group. She is a rather¡­ strange fellow, with a cap and dark sunglasses, combined with military wear, it is a rather strange looking combination on a woman, but it fits her style I think. ¡°Sorry about the rough welcome, my name is Ter-¡± *BANG* Just as I am about to give them the closes thing to a cordial welcome I could under these circumstances, I feel a strange sensation at the center of my chest. ¡°-Eh?¡± I look down to see a hole where my heart used to be. As I am about to fall to the floor, I see my lieutenant get squashed under one of the keelback cargo doors just torn off from inside out. ...Old Beasts inside keelbacks?... what the fuck...¡­ ...It''s so cold¡­ I watch as the floor rises to meet me *Pov: Faceless* After taking out the one seemingly in charge, we begin the assault, an EMP rounds and chargers-type Old Beasts made short work of the Walkers thanks to their razor sharp claws combined with integrated Thermite-shotguns. Taken off-guard, they had no true chance. ...Nor did we to be honest, but we knew this was a suicide mission to begin with. ...But it is worth it. ...We must liberate the world. With our blood, tears and steel. Thousands will be saved. I die knowing this. *Pov: Rasmus* The captured Old Beasts I had been collecting through Irota markets wrought havoc very effectively indeed. The insides of Arcologies are soft, just a few cargo¡¯s of chargers were enough to cause mass hysteria and panic, (it''s almost like the old world government built them for this kind of job.) Allowing our forces to¡­ ¡®sweep in¡¯ and save the day. ...The idea was originally to starve them to submission, but¡­ we are in a hurry, and there is no telling how long they would still have held back. ...We did find an old fatso on a luxury porch opening up to the hangar, he was apparently the head of the local mercantile group branch, considering the bullet hole and the pistol in his hand, I guess he is the one who pushed for our¡­¡±delivery¡± to be allowed inside. ¡°¡­¡¯Starve them and then offer poisoned food¡¯ eh? I think I remember Boss teaching us that once ^-^ ¡± Indeed. I took my lessons. For the time being, due to the local panic and our timely ¡®save¡¯ it was easy to secure control of the Arcology, they let us in with open arms in fact. After that it was easy to doctor the truth to fit the narrative, the ones causing the mess: ¡®smugglers, a corrupt greedy mercantile group head and an accident in smuggling, proving once again how the corporations are only out for themselves¡¯ Heh, the propaganda division I have been constructing are sure to have a field day with this. For now it is best to further boost my popularity by releasing their storages to the market. ...Self obviously the prices would climb sharply after the storages run out, but the populace doesn¡¯t need that knowledge. ...I just need their loyalty a little longer. ¡°...22 days left¡­¡± ...I must work faster. Next target. Tempora. ¡°Are you sure? The current number of Faceless are already struggling to maintain security across the Arcologies you have¡­ Wouldn¡¯t it be better to wait for the new batch?¡± ...I dont have the time. But you are right of course, there are not enough Faceless¡­ For the time being I gave an order to finish the training of the new batch early. We need them. ¡°Are you sur-¡± Yes. ¡°...¡± Editorial note: For the description of the charger type beasts, you can get away with it if you imagine it like Deadspace necromorphs. Razor sharp bone claws coming out their hands whilst below that is what can be described as a fusion of a futuristic shotgun and your under-arm. Then add in a more frail body build for speed plus dystopian body horror and voila, a charger is born. Ready to rip and tear anything in close quarters. . .. ¡­ ¡­.. ¡­ .. . Guard in the hallway, Silencer. 1 shot, move onwards. 2 guards, left. 4 shots. Reload. Move. ...I pass through the defences in a half running fashion¡­ The priority target is behind the door in front of me. ...I open the door. . .. ¡­ ¡­. ¡­ .. . Chapter 57: Boom. . .. ¡­ ¡­. ¡­ .. . I rush through the open door. The target is in front of me, 3 insurgents and a bunch of maps. The operational lead of the group. First insurgent, shoulder, knee. 2 shots. Second insurgent lifts gun. Hand¡ä knee 2 shots. Third insurgent rushes from side with a knife. Evade blade, use momentum, throw target across the room. Knee. 1 shot. I incapacitate the insurgents and clear their weapons. Calling in confirmation. ¡­ .. Heh, for some reason I almost expected to find Lily here. . .. ¡­ ¡­. ¡­ .. . Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Having stocked up at Aurora and gotten some faceless reinforcements (the new batch) I move towards Tempora with my units. The Faceless will take care of reeling H¨¢oi in properly, they are already grateful so it should be simple enough. ¡°...I honestly think you are doing this with too much hurry..¡± ...18 Days. ¡°....¡± ¡­ To get back on point. Tempora is a production Arcology, and a very useful type at that. They produce bullets. With the Arcologies I am taking over, plenty of units are assured, but ammunition is a whole other beast. A sustained active siege on a place like the vat city will easily drain all of our ammo in mere moments. That is why we need Tempora. ¡­ As far as taking Tempora goes. I did mention there was an opening that had manifested recently. And that opening is a delicious one. The man in charge of tempora Commissions hub. Arthur Gerarde. Has been in contact. Turns out he has family in ¨¬rota, family that has grown rather loyal to our cause. As such it was not difficult at all to bend him to our needs.. Gerarde has promised to provide us false ID¡¯s and inside help on getting to the other group heads. Allowing our units to access the city unnoticed, as well as take over with minimal effort. His only demand was that bloodshed would be avoided. ¡°...Will it?¡± ...Eh, depends on how well things go, ¡­ .. . I watch from a safe distance with the rest of our main force as the operatives infiltrate Tempora. Marionette is pouring me a cup of tea. ...I wonder if she is trying to replace Alicia? ¡°...Sheesh, some one is a bit cynical. She just wants to help you.¡± ¡­.Right. I thank Marionette as I sip the tea. The infiltration squad should report in within the next 3 hours, so we have a little spare time. I should probably run you through the updates I have been making on Fea huh`? ¡°Yah¡­ It looks like a whole different beast.¡± Heh, I suppose so. Sadly I don''t have a status chart at hand, but I can run you through the additions. The attached pack at the back of Fea with two antennas protruding from it, is the hub for the other scanners that have been attached to Fea, which together updated the main sensors with better models, they should allow for a far better range in scans and help avoid the more¡­ hidey enemies. You might notice the torso is also a bit bulkier, I had a new reactor fitted, 1.5 times bigger in pure size, approximately double the sustained power and peak draw. A lot of the armor was reworked as well, less heavy but more or less just as though, maybe a smidgen less¡­ But the drop in weight sure makes up for it. What else¡­ oh yeah, new hydraulics and servos. As well as better supports in the shield arm. It should all come quite handy when we finally siege the main goal. The vat city. As I am thinking so, something unexpected happens. A flash of light is seen from a faraway distance¡­ and a long time after, a distant sound is heard *BOOOoom* ¡°Shit.¡± ¡°Shit.¡± I rush back to my Walker and try to reach one of the long range comms at Aurora ¡­ .. *Static* ¡­ .. . ...Jesus Christ¡­ To think someone would preserve such a thing¡­ ¡°Preserve what?¡± ¡­ I think aurora¡­. Just got Nuked.. Chapter 58: World shaken. ¡°We are returning to Aurora, pack up.¡± I said, prepping Fea in a hurry. ¡°...Sir...are you sure? The arcology is almost hours¡­?¡± A voice questioned my order. ¡°SHUT UP.¡± *wham* I smack the idiot standing next to me, sending him down to the floor. ¡°We move in 10 minutes. Anyone who is still not ready will be shot.¡± ¡­We don''t have time. ¡°...Are you okay?¡± Marionette asked. ¡­¡±Don''t worry about it. Get ready to travel.¡± I told her as I kept working ¡°...But¡± I grabbed her by the back of her neck. ¡°... Don''t try me right now¡­ Ok?¡± I let her go once she nodded. ... Soon, we took off. . ¡°...Wasn''t that a bit¡­ harsh?¡± .. Irrelevant. ...I have to get back to Aurora. Alicia is still there¡­ ¡°But...the nuke? ...Surely she could not have survived that...?¡± The explosion was too small to have been a proper warhead, at worst it was a suitcase nuke, oldschool, easy to smuggle from place to place. ¡°But the payload is small.¡± Exactly¡­ ...The facility is outside the Arcology¡­ She should be still alive¡­ This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. She has to be. I continue moving towards Aurora. ...The next few days were hellish, the worry was killing me. I made sure to travel as fast as possible, but even then. It took days to get back to Aurora. The scene was not much unlike the fate of many cities during the Old war. Rubble. Rubble and smoke. I ordered the unit onwards, moving towards the location of the medical facility outside Aurora. ...There were no guards outside, just a sealed of metal blast door.. Not good. I shot the blast door off its hinges. Dismounting Fea. ¡°Marionette and you three, with me.¡± I head into the facility. ...No lights are on¡­ ...The hallways were empty and jarring. ¡°...Are you sure this is a good Idea?¡± ...Alicia is down the hall to the left I keep moving through the facility¡­ arriving to the door of Alicia¡¯s medical room. ...Steeling myself I open the door. A room in a reddish hue opens in front of me. ... *Beep* ¡­ *Beep* ¡­ .. It is alicia¡¯s cryopod, still operational, lit by 3 emergency lights. I check the pod in a hurry. ...It seems to be running on emergency reserves, but they are low¡­ if we had got back an hour later¡­ she would be defrosting¡­ ¡­ .. . After hooking Alicia¡¯s unit up to one of the Walkers for power, I issued orders for further recon to the fate of the facility. ...From what it looks like most likely what happened was that the facility was abandoned by the staff in fear of radiation¡­ And for a good reason too¡­ if they had stayed they would have been breathing radiated dust for the last few days¡­. They wired the facility power to the life support units and shut down everything else before they left¡­ hoping to prolong the survival of the patients¡­. Even shutting the blast door to keep away radiation. Seeing as her cage is missing, I assume they took Tibbles with them.. heh. The attempts to leave the patients safe? Futile¡­ there were dozens of cold corpses on hospital beds, the power ran out two days ago, and even then, no one was changing their IV drips¡­ ...Luckily Alicia was frozen¡­ I don''t want to imagine the alternative results¡­ ¡°...I tried to warn you, in your rush you let your forces stretch too thin¡­¡± ...I know. But what else can I do?? Alicia barely has two weeks left¡­ ¡­¡±...¡± ...I know, you are just a hallucination. You don''t have the answers any better than I do. ¡°Well¡­ at this point, you are already stuck on the path right?...¡± ¡°¡­Might as well see it through.¡± ...Right. ...Shaking my head to get rid of the sleep deprivation, I get up. Ready to face the next step. Chapter 59: Down the road with no return. It has been 3 days since Aurora was nuked. ...Since then, we moved onwards to ¨¬rota, rounding up people, ignoring the slowly emerging signs of societal collapse in the Arcologies. Without the power base in Aurora, we have no viable way left to keep the revolution going. Right now. There is only one thing we can do. ...Know we won''t have the troops, but fucking do it anyways. ¡°.... =.=... ¡° ...Shut up. ¡°Hey! I didn''t even say anything!¡± Doesn''t matter. Your eyes did. ¡° :/ ¡± Back on topic. With Aurora, we lost the entire command structure of C&C, and by hands of radiation, we lost the able minded and/or bodied folk in the facilities around Aurora. Not to even mention the impact on morale¡­ So yeah. There is no longer any way to amass the necessary troops to take the Vat city on time. ¡°-And that is why we must do this.¡± ¡°We must fight.¡± ¡°Not for our own sake.¡± ¡°Not for the sake of our families¡± ¡® ¡°BUT! For the sake of SHOWING the entire world.¡± ¡°...That humanity can still rise.¡± I finish the speech I was giving whilst Idly thinking of other things. I take another glance at the now cheering force of fanaticized followers in front of me. In front of me, was an armada. 600 Walkers. All armed to teeth with heavy weaponry. I had also brought over and set into positions on a cliff nearly on the other side of the city 150 artillery weapons mounted on half-track vehicles, 200 ground mounted artillery weapons. And a sizable force of some 1200 loyal citizens, armed with various heavy-end handheld weapons, like rocket launchers, heavy rifles, ground-mounted heavy rail guns, etc. as well as 10 Keelbacks full of spare ammunition. We were currently very close to the Vat city, there it was, looming in the horizon. Even more so than an Arcology, a Vat city is truly awe inspiring,The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Where an Arcology was built onto the ruins of destroyed Old cities¡­ A vat city is a neigh-untouched ruined city¡­ The difference? We dismantled thousands of skyscrapers around the location of an arcology for the construction materials, a vat city has them all still standing¡­ ...Yes. What in front of us, was a gigantic metropolis, The size that I had not seen in almost a hundred years. Inside that place, Old Beasts, in numbers unimaginable resided.. And we were going to siege it. It was a painstaking effort to round up the forces here¡­10 days of carefully amassing forces, moving them into position, setting down down defences around their positions¡­ I had to close the long distance comms, the Arcologies that we took over kept requesting support after having been left for dead¡­ ¡°...It is too late to turn back now.¡± Yeah. all we can do now, is to bring it to the end. A closing act. So we began the siege. It all began with the choir. 350 Artillery cannons, all firing in unison. Looking from here It was like the mountain they were settled on had erupted into a roar. And then, came the rain. Numerous artillery shells descended into the Vat city, forming a scene all too familiar from the old war. In less than a moment, the city came alive, as if the beehive had been batted. Numerous Lesser Old Beasts. Like ants of an ant hive, swarming towards the mountain, with just as many Heavy and Medium Old Beasts¡­ Jesus Christ¡­. In terms of offensive strength that is several fold more than the army of a small nation¡­ That was to be expected though¡­ Second choir joined in, the Old Beasts with artillery began firing back. 2 Layer choir.. Majestic. But as said, expected. The artillery kept firing as the old beast horde rose to the challenge, taking to the mountain in less than 10 minutes. Blasting through the defences on the mountain easily. But soon they saw their mistake. Third choir joined in. Raining destruction upon the mountaintop. The halftrack loaded artillery. You see, that mountain with its cliffside was chosen for a reason, it is an entrance to the underground train track network. Allowing for our foot soldiers and the rest to start escaping into the tunnels, pulling the Old Beasts with them, ...The halftracks began relocating a minute after the volley. ¡­The Old Beasts started rushing into the tunnels soon after the new location of the halftracks. ..And so, we started a game of cat and mouse. As soon as most of the enemy horde had moved, we took off as well, using another entrance to the old train network. While the majority of our forces distract the horde, the rest of us will get into the city, and take the vats down. ¡°...Why do you know the local train networks so well?¡± ...You can''t remember?... ...This city is it you know? ...The city whereI was made. . .. ¡­ ¡­. ¡­ .. . ¡°Great work as always MU-33, by bringing us those insurgents, you have truly made things easier for us. The data extracted alone has been enough to root out a dozen insurgent hideouts.¡± ¡­ Apparently they were relevant, as far as targets go at least.. ¡°...I think you deserve a reward! I am charting you into the new Walker pilot programme, Let''s take you to Engineering and get you the necessary uplink ports. Tomorrow, I am going to give you a Walker of your own!¡± ...A strange feeling, I think I have never seen him so chipper¡­ well, I suppose I really did good job¡­ . .. ¡­ ¡­. ¡­ .. . Chapter 60: The Reichenbach falls The traverse through the train system was nerve wrecking¡­ I am not sure if the Vat city has a Beast lord in charge of it¡­ But if there is¡­ and if it is smart enough¡­ there might very well be guards down here¡­ There was not much time either. No telling how long the units can hold the enemy distracted. So we run. ¡°Enemies detected down the right branch¡± A scout reported. ¡°Unit 1A stays here, keep them from storming us from behind, rest of you, keep moving down the left branch.¡± I said, leaving a group to keep us safe, after all, there is no telling how many Old Beasts might be found in these old tunnels¡­ Best keep our backs secure. Whenever the network branched, I left a few Walkers to keep watch, from memory this path only has 6 branching spots, so at worst it reduces the main force by some odd 70 Walkers. We did also spot enemies directly in our path, a few Mediums, they were easily taken care off.. A real issue was when we ran into a Heavy worm-type that has not been encountered before, it could burrow through the earth, I can only assume it was attracted by our gunfire as we took down the Mediums. It ate a Walker whole when it burst through the right side wall of the tunnel. Effectively collapsing the way back along with its attack¡­ ...It ate almost over a hundred Walkers before a gutsy individual took it down¡­ by blowing up their Walker and its artillery shell supply after being swallowed¡­ I do not know who it was, but for the sake of ease, I will call him Oscar. Thank you for your contribution, Oscar. ¡°....¡± After that we moved on. No, I did not tell the people we left to guard the branching points behind us about any of this¡­ the least they deserve is to have hope. ¡°False hope?¡± Sorry¡­ I don''t have any other kind left in stock. Moving onwards, we plunged ever deeper into the old city. *POV: Marionette* ...Know now¡­ In the end¡­ He is no angel¡­ Back then, when the explosion happened¡­ his mask broke down¡­ He was pasing around¡­ was worried if he is ok¡­ was going to ask, but then was told we would be leaving. ...But¡­what about Thomas?... I was going to ask, but then someone spoke up ...He...killed a teenager for talking back to him, broke his neck¡­ ...Why...Why is he behaving like this?... ¡­.When I asked¡­ ¡­ ...I saw his eyes¡­ ¡­There is no light to them¡­ ...He is no angel¡­ ...Some did not want to leave.. So he gunned them down¡­ ...On the way back¡­ some did not want to keep moving¡­ ...wanted to set camp.. ..Gunned them down¡­ ...When he confirmed that ¡°she¡±.. Was still alive, he donned his mask again¡­ ...Now we are attacking the city of devils¡­ but I know now.. ...He doesn''t Intend to help me meet Thomas¡­ ...For what sake¡­ why did...I climb back from abyss?... *Pov: Tolstoj* The hell we went through¡­ Jesus Christ¡­ ...Every fiber of me wants to slaughter that monster¡­ but he is the only one keeping our forces together¡­ So I will not do it¡­ I had thought ¡°Boss¡± was a great leader before I was.. ¡°trained¡±... I was a fool¡­ That place¡­. So many of us were lost to it¡­ by the end I knew¡­ I would be unable to go back ever again¡­ but then¡­ we were taken out¡­. ...I was broken¡­ but I knew¡­ I knew the true face the monster¡­ and it is worse...far worse than anything in existence¡­ Following the piece of shit¡­ We slaughterrd¡­ we slaughtered our way through the tunnels¡­ ...Good men were left behind.. The piece of shit did not care¡­ ...There is nothing I could do to de..f...fy him¡­ I don¡¯t know if the others stayed sane¡­ So I follow¡­. *Pov: Mc* As soon as we got near the station near the laboratory housing the vats, the enemy numbers started rising drastically. At this point it was clear that we could not just clean up their numbers to keep moving through¡­ Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Another distraction was necessary ...I divided 250 of the Walkers to assault the enemies ahead of us, and to escape to a separate passage¡­ pulling Old Beasts away from the station¡­ ...They went in, guns blazing. ¡°...I admit, I was unsure about whether the new faceless would be ready¡­ but I suppose you were right¡­ blindly loyal and ready to die for the cause¡­¡± ...Yeah, perfect soldiers. ¡°... Kinda like you once huh?...¡± ... ¡°Face it, how is this any better than what was done to you?¡± Shut up. At Least I never¡­ ...I would never do what they did to you¡­ ¡°...But, how is it worse than¡­ this?¡± Shut up. ¡­ Ignoring the hallucination in my head, I continue moving with the rest of the unit. After a second to make sure everyone knows what way to run towards, we pass through the now empty station, ascending into the city, and charging in a beeline towards the laboratorium. . .. ¡­ ¡­. ¡­.. Some of u- *cough* Well. I got in¡­ So did 20 others¡­ Tolstoj and remnants of other squads¡­ I give the order, and we abandon the Walkers¡­ to move into the structure¡­ And after opening her cryopod I order some of the physically most fit Faceless to carry Alicia. Yeah¡­ I took her with me¡­ Since we would not be able to pacify the Vat city, all we could do was hope to get her snuck in like this, and hope to find a working automated medical pod somewhere in here... ...Despite the fact that Old Beasts are made here, it should be quite safe inside¡­ ...One thing the Old Beasts would never do on their own is roam inside the labs without purpose¡­ In fact even I can feel some residual hesitancy in me now¡­ ...Heh¡­ Nearly a century and the old programming is still kickin back?... thats some sturdy work they did¡­ The insides are really broken down, but the parts pertaining to Old Beast production were built sturdy, and the facility had hundreds of vats¡­ unsurprising some of it has survived to this day¡­ We made our way through the deserted corridors¡­ ...Even in its run down state...this place is so nostalgic that it''s creepy¡­ ...Taking a right on one of the corridors. I head towards the medical wing of the laboratory¡­ I hope the wing still has power¡­ ...Outside I can hear rumbling and menacing roars¡­ I can only guess at the ridiculous size of the Old Beast that was moving around out there¡­ The Faceless seemed worried.. But I assured them it should be safe once more¡­ ¡­ As long as we are in here, they don''t dare to try anything¡­ This place is like holy ground to them¡­ I heard Tolstoj mutter something like ¡°then what about when we get out`?¡± but for now I disregarded it¡­ If luck is with us, then I might have a solution to that aswell¡­ As we finally reach the medical wing, I take a look around the familiar room¡­ Rooms with surgery tables¡­ automated mechanical surgeons¡­ research computers and files¡­ centrifuges.. This is the right place alright¡­ And through a door to the left¡­ I move in. Yes. Automated medical units¡­ They were still under development when I last saw the medical wing¡­ As far as I can tell... they look complete. After fiddling around, I managed to turn one one on. They are still functional. Perfect. I was about to tell the Faceless to help quickly lift Alicia in, she has been out of her cryopod for a few minutes already and without a doctor there is no telling how much time we have before there will be brain damage. But then we heard some very unexpected sounds Windows breaking¡­ and howling¡­. As we look around to the entrance we see them. A Lesser Old Beast down the hall, it saw us and opened fire whilst screaming loudly. *Bang* Tolstoj silenced it with a gunshot. Seconds after, more screaming and howling reverberated through the facility, as we could audibly hear the Old Beasts rush inside ¡°You said they would not come in here!!¡± Tolstoj yelled to me shooting at Old Beasts who were appearing down the hall. ¡°The programming must have degraded over the years, or the Lesser ones evolved. Help me get Alicia into the pod!¡± I respond as I frantically fiddle through the medical pod terminal ¡°FUCK THAT we need a way out of here NOW!¡± Tolstoj responded, gunning another Old Beast down. But at this point the numbers down the hallway were rising, fast. ¡°The mechanical labs on the other side of the hall have a personal tram tunnel out for sensitive deliveries, we can use it to escape. ONCE HAVE SAVED ALICIA. NOW HELP ME!¡± ¡°Fuck this shit we are going NOW! Guys, with me!¡± Tolstoj responded... How dare he¡­ I take a pistol from my holster and aim it at Tolstoj ¡°You are not going anywhere, until Alicia is safe.¡± What is whit the look in his eyes¡­ ...Ah, I see¡­ Its that isn¡¯t it? ...The same look I have been given for the last 70 years¡­ ...Whatever.. I turn around to ask Marionette to help me instead, knowing there is no convincing these guys¡­ ...As my eyes meet hers ...That look. *Bang* ...Eh?... ...Blood is flowing from my chest¡­. *bang* *bang bang* ...I stagger to the floor¡­ ¡°Let''s go.¡± I can see their silhouettes rush out with my blurring eyes¡­ ¡­.As if a last kindness¡­ I see them close the metal lab door behind them as everything goes dark¡­ ¡­ .. No. ¡°No.¡± . I shake the darkness off¡­ struggling to get up, *Cough* Blood is dripping from my mouth¡­ I can see sparks coming out of the wound¡­ must have gone right into the internal mechanics¡­ Probably through a battery. Based on the pain¡­ blood and battery acid mingling¡­ must be the cause of that smell¡­ I force the medical pod open¡­ lifting Alicia Inside Outside, I can hear the banging of Old Beasts at the door¡­ but it is all blurry¡­ Irrelevant¡­ *Cough* Turning the medical pod on, I see it whirl to action¡­ It works¡­ thank goodness¡­ ...Collapsing to the floor¡­ I crawl over to lean against a wall¡­ as I wait for the surgery to end¡­ ...The banging is getting louder¡­ Hehe¡­ *Cough*... In the end.. I suppose it is poetic¡­ to be almost undone by the very people I wronged to get here¡­ *cough* But¡­.In ...the end it i-*Cough* ...I finished¡­ I did it¡­ ...For once¡­ I*cough* *cough* Fixed it¡­ my mistakes¡­ Right?...Lily? ¡­ Lily? ¡­.ah..they finally stopped banging .. . This feeling.. Ok dark¡­ ¡­. ¡­ I will let you in now.. ...My flame¡­ is already extinguished now¡­ Isn¡¯t it? . .. ¡­ . ¡­ .. The scientists help me inside my brand new Walker¡­ It is a beautiful piece, one can tell the amount of effort that was put into the design¡­ They said I can name it... I happily sit into the pilot¡¯s seat, uplinking to the main computer¡­ ...Ah That was the moment I knew.. ¡­.Whose brain they used for the drive core. ¡­ That was the moment, that the revolution truly began. Afterword Sooo... ....That happened.... ....yeah... ... ..This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. . *Akward silence* As you can tell...just as with descriptions, I am not very good with afterwords.. I originally began writing this book with no idea where it would lead, but I suppose I dont mind the results. It was fun, but the time to move on came, So... yah. new day, new book. Prologueis in.Gonna post chapter one tomorrow. for anyone interested. the new piece is Uplink And. lastlyyet most importantly: My deepest gratitude to anyone who took the time to read all the way here.Ihave unfathomable respect for all of you readers:) Thank you.