《The Anachronist! (A Stray Cat Strut Fanfiction)》


 Chapter 1: Out of time

    There is a saying ¡°history is doomed to repeat itself.¡±


    Many thought that the arrival of the antithesis would render this saying obsolete, but surprisingly not.


    Even with an alien invasion humans are still human.


    -history textbook 2045


    ********


    The tour guide, like all the other underpaid and undereducated workers at this ¡°historical site¡± were full of shit. This bunker complex was just 30 years old, a mash of various styles throughout American history, and overall had no real historical value itself. It still was though a treasure trove of cool artifacts for a war history nut like me though.


    The bunkers and trenches were also pretty cool as well. Made to capture the feel with actual wood reinforced walls, the bunkers clearly having been made of tough concrete, and more.


    It was the closest one could get to a world war 1 and 2 bunker and trench line in America. Even with its inaccuracies like heavy duty alloy pillars in the bunkers to reinforce them it was still very nice overall and managed to capture the feel of it all.


    As a bonus it was mostly ad and sponsor free since it was the love child (and dick compensation method) of a stupidly rich CEO from one of the private arms companies. It was a place to house and show off his collection of actually real and functional stuff from the world wars AND get a tax write off on top of it all. Most people don¡¯t know it, but these kinda places are the best since the cooler the stuff and the less the ads the bigger it makes the owner look.


    So yeah, most of the building is pretty much ¡°rule of cool¡± but it¡¯s fun in its own way. Besides, where else am I going to see some fully functional M1A1 brownings that just need a belt of ¡°fun¡± to be working again? Honestly tempted to pay to get a few shots off if it wasn¡¯t so stupidly expensive.


    I let out a sigh and walked over to a case full of ww1 beauties that, while frankly abhorrently mixed up, was still amazing. A trench made gear mace from an American trooper, a fully restored german stahlhelm with the extra armor on the front, and some other cool items mixed in. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what would win, that nasty makeshift mace or the hardened steel helmet.


    My credits we-


    INCURSION ALERT.


    Fuck.


    Fuckity fuck SHIT.


    I look up and see the massive slabs of fuck-everything falling from the sky and coming down HOT. The nice thing about living in the NOVA spires was the military companies loved building close to DC for easy access to politicians which meant LOTS of cool military toys were currently being shot at the bad-times-balls coming down hot.


    The not so good thing was most samurai tended to fuck-off to get AWAY from said companies and politicians meaning that what was slamming into the incursion was JUST government military grade hardware with some higher end private stuff.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Meaning powerful, but not good enough to wipe them out in the air.


    ¡°EVERYONE TO THE VAULT!¡± Some of the workers called out trying to keep the tourists in line as they were led to the location¡¯s vault. I could see it just down the hall as well deep in the bunker, and it was a NICE one. Huge door, lots of room, and buried underground to blend in with the bunkers.


    I also saw workers desperately trying to get the painted over mechanisms to work.


    I took a deep breath waiting for the crowd piling in too thin before I tried to go into that clusterfuck. Last thing I wanted was to be trampled getting in or stuck in the back with them unable to close the door. I¡¯d take my chances out here rather than be packaged up ¡®thesis chow thank-you.


    At least there was time, they were just-


    A lady next to me screamed and pointed down the hall. I didn¡¯t need to look to know incursion + screaming = BAD THING. I needed a weapon. Something. ANY thing!


    Wait.


    Old things are things!


    I clenched my teeth and lifted up my right arm before slamming my trench coat covered elbow into the case feeling the cheap glass shattering. My thick coat protected my arm from the glass as I grabbed the metal antique brain basher and turned to see what plant I needed to whack.


    Sure enough there was one of those fugly four legged doggy model whatevers down the hall. It was looking right at me over the sobbing body of some guy frantically trying to crawl away with the dude¡¯s leg dangling from its mouth. No longer attached to said poor bastard of course. Seems like my move got its attention for a moment.


    A moment was all I needed.


    ¡°Oi! You ugly four legged freaky fucking fern! COME ON!¡± I yelled out as I started to jog at the thing bringing the metal mace up and a little to the side. Sure enough the thing started to run at me, leaving its prior victim behind.


    Good.


    Like hell I was going to let ANYONE get hurt as long as I could fight.


    I summoned all the knowledge gained from hours in mesh re-enactments as I swung my metal mace down and to the left, letting the weight of the thing do the work for me. A shiver ran up my spine as the metal spikes made from welded on gears slammed into the thing¡¯s head, then into it. I could feel the resistance of whatever ¡°skull¡± it had giving way to old school human ingenuity.


    The model freak slammed into the ground with the mace flattening its head splattering alien brains and blood everywhere with a satisfying crunch. Another one hiding behind a door lunged at me only to be met with a backswing slamming it into the wall making a splat that would make Jackson pollock proud with a percussive crunch I deeply wished I had recorded. Would have made for preeeem ASMR later.


    I looked around to make sure there was no other antis about and to see where everyone was. I could see workers dragging the man with a fresh tourniquet on his leg into the vault with everyone else lined up to get into the vault.


    A vault that was still jammed.


    I looked at the mace, the dead antithesis, and down the hall.


    Fuck.


    It.


    I grabbed the helmet and put it on my head, then tied my trench coat up to give me some sort of protection before standing in the middle of the hall, mace at the ready. The people behind me needed time and it was clear I was the only poor bastard that had some fight in him.


    ¡°Retreat? Hell, I just got here.¡±


    I chuckled a bit and shook my head as those words left my mouth. It was my time to shine but all I had in me was old war quotes. That, and a drive to finally do something.


    ¡°Well Dan Daly, seems this son of a bitch doesn¡¯t want to live forever.¡± I growled to myself as another antithesis dog started to run down the hall. Was I talking about the thing in front of me or myself? Fuck if I knew. I just knew I was going to give the people behind me as much time to get in that vault and shut the door as I could.


    That meant holding the line.

 Chapter 2: Just in time

    ¡°They might be aliens, but even they are still able to be killed by a good old bonk. It is amazing how sometimes even our most primal methods of survival can be effective.¡±


    A Historian on the mesh comment on a ¡°wack a ¡®thesis¡± game in the mesh. 2048.


    *****


    The world moved in slow motion as the plant lunged at me.


    I gave the alien a firm kick putting all my overweight ass into it, stopping it midair before slamming my mace down again on its monsanto-reject head. I lifted the mighty metal mace up and slammed it down again just to make sure it wasn¡¯t going to get back up.


    I looked up just in time to see a bird, nope not-a-bird, diving at me. Instinct kicked in and I brought my head back. If it was going to go for my head I was going to GIVE it head!... not in that way. At the last moment I slammed my head into it giving it a well armored head butt.


    Judging by the crunch, the goop running down the helmet, and the fact the thing fell down without getting any hits in meant the steel won.


    I chuckled before someone spoke into my head. An elegant female voice that seemed to purr out every word. It would be almost pleasant if not for the fact I had the mother of all fucking headaches. It was as if every word was both soothing and trying to rip my head apart!


    System Initialized!


    Congratulations. Through your actions you have proven yourself worthy of becoming one of the Vanguard, a defender of humanity. I am Byllona. I will assist you to uplift humanity so that you may defend your homeworld from the Antithesis threat!


    Rise, Jack Arius, and become a protector of the weak!


    I froze. I had heard about hearing those words in countless reports, but to hear them myself!?


    ~Now. It seems you are using very outdated technology even for your kind.¡± The voice cooed into my head. ¡°Would you like an upgrade? A new weapon? You might not have many points yet, but I am sure I can provide you with what you need to keep yourself, and the people behind you, safe.~


    I took a breath and shook my head. Then regretted it. Holy SHIT the reports said new Samurai got headaches but I didn¡¯t think it would be like this!Think about life changing stuff later, right now I had to make sure me and everyone else lived long enough to have a life to change.


    I looked around at the situation. The antithesis would have to come down the single long, narrow hallway and through me to get to the vault. That means I had a killbox pre-made. All I needed was something to put a lot of big bullets into said box.


    I grinned from ear to ear as I turned and my eyes locked on old school salvation.


    ~You¡­ you have to be kidding? Please? I can give you alien technology that is so much more advanced than¡­. That.~ Byllona groaned out seeing what I was focused on.


    ¡°Tech I don¡¯t know how to use.¡± I calmly replied, getting a wince from the people watching, thinking I had just lost my shit. ¡°That? That I have done countless sims with.¡± I stopped above the old killing machine and ran my hand across it.


    ¡°I know how most of this works by the way. The Samurai stuff I mean. the corp I worked for did direct deals with samurai before for blueprints and more.¡± I gave the ma-deuce a small shake to test to make sure it was sturdy. ¡°How much would ammo and something to cool the barrel be?¡± I asked, feeling nothing in the water jacket. With how much fire I was going to be laying down it would have to be water cooled to not melt.


    ~Fair enough.~ The voice answered with a bit of a grumble in her smooth tone. ~The gun and its ammo is so outdated the ammo would be from the Class 0 Civilian-Grade General Combat Equipment. 100 points to unlock and five for a box of ammo. For cooling some basic water for 1 point since it seems to be what it is designed for, but I can offer you something better later. Would you want that?~


    I grinned as I popped open the valve for the water shroud and the cover for the gun. ¡°Let''s get this party started. Sounds like a wonderful deal to me.¡±


    Soon the longest 50 cal ammo box I ever saw slammed into the ground next to the machine gun with a large jug of water poofing in next to it without a sound. I pulled the cap off the water and started to pour it into the water cooling system with one hand while the other flipped open the ammo can and dragged the belt of old school death into the top of the gun.


    ¡°Oh! Hearing protection!¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    I looked around for some only for Byllona to croon into my ear. ¡°Basic for ten sound good? It''s got microphones and would be good enough for this situation.¡±


    I nodded my head as I tried to get everything in its right spot before slamming the cover down and tossing the empty jug aside. It was a pain to do both at the same time, but it was clear nobody in the vault was going to volunteer to join in on a machine gun crew with a magical maniacal man who muttered to himself.


    ¡°Thank you my dear, and yes please.¡±


    ~Ooo you are already nicer than most of the other Samurai!~


    I saw a box shimmer into existence near my leg. I flipped it open and slapped the two padded cups onto my ears while being glad they would fit under the helmet. I shivered feeling them sucking just a little onto my ears to seal themselves before the sounds of the world returned.


    Just in time for more to show up.


    ~Ten model Threes confirmed. Please ta-~


    I aimed the gun down the hall and pressed the trigger down with my thumbs. The thudding of the 50 cal echoed down the hall and shook my very soul as the ancient machine did what it was created to do:


    Kill EVERYTHING in front of it.


    I watched as the model threes were ripped apart as the big bullets made to kill armor slammed through them. The heavy caliber shredding the plants with enough force to tear their bodies apart before continuing on with their powerful charge and ripping apart anything behind. The gun roaring out a primal declaration to the antithesis that humans had FIGHT.


    I laughed watching what would have been a nightmare just a few moments before now was almost comical with how easy it was. The last one of that wave leaping up to try to get past the mulched remains of the other Model Threes only for it to be stopped in midair by copper jacketed death. Did I shoot it more than I needed to?


    Yes.


    Was it cathartic to see the nightmare ripped apart and flung backwards?


    FUUCK yes.


    I sat there for a bit soaking in the.. EVERYTHING of what just happened. For the first time in years I felt alive, accomplished, like I had DONE something. I let out a whoop and looked at the gun.


    ~That admittedly worked better than expected. However, I can see in the cameras that a much, MUCH larger wave is coming. It is clear that not only are you attached to your current weapons platform, but that it is effective as well.~ Byllona confessed. ~Therefore let''s focus your points on making it better.~


    I paused for a bit and looked at the marvel of history before me.


    ¡°We are not going to bubba the gun.¡± I grunted.


    ~But-~ she sighed so long it made me feel the need to take a breath. ~Fine. I have a catalogue for exotic ammunition, but judging by your clear preferences I can already see a possible better fit. The Dezerek catalogue is full of weapons, ammo, armament, and more that fit your tastes since they specialized in trench and defensive warfare.~


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh? Tell me more.¡±


    Somehow she managed to clear her throat despite not having one.


    ~We do not have time for their history, which I can already tell you would love to hear later, but their basic catalogue has light armor, ammunition types, guns, and more that fits your aesthetic and preferences. For 200 points you can unlock the catalogue with a box of anti-personnel ammo for your gun being 10 points for 1000 rounds. The ammo can be fired out of your weapon and will explode within whatever antithesis it hits after penetration. It will not explode inside of any structural material so you do not have to worry about a cave-in. In addition they have a barrel cooling solution that would keep your barrel at ideal temperatures for hours of continuous fire for five points.~


    I smiled wide and flicked open the cover of the gun. ¡°That is, by far, one of the sexiest things anyone has ever whispered into my ear.¡±


    A huge ammo can appeared next to the old one. This time in black metal with red lines criss-crossing all over it. I flipped it open and quickly swapped the belts as a huge jug of what looked like red slime appeared next to the barrel. A quick drain and pour later and¡­ well it was a thing of beauty.


    ~You are low on points, but the next wave is here so it is a moot point.~


    I racked the gun and aimed it down the hall. Humming an old war song as I waited.


    ¡°Gooory gooory what a helluva way to-¡°


    The first three model threes rounded the corner only to explode like fireworks on the fourth of July.


    ¡°-die~.¡±


    I continued to sing as I held down the trigger. Sweeping the gun back and fourth as a literal wave of those model threes mixed with some new tentacly fucks rushed into my killbox. The marvelous bastard made by John Moses Browning and alien additions singing along with me as I reduced the wave of fiber and fangs into mulch and blood.


    I barely had to focus at all! Just simply moving the gun side to side as the hall was so packed there was no need to aim at all. Just hold the trigger and watch. The bodies slowly got closer and closer to me, but it was due to the mush slowly being pushed forward by fresh bodies rather than them making it further. Anything that got over the slurry soon had a hole punched into it before popping like a water balloon.


    I sat there singing old songs as I fired away. My handy dandy AI partner adding more ammo to my neverending belt that I was spanking the aliens with and giving me more of that goop to top off the shroud. Bullet after bullet roaring out to deliver sweet vengeance with no end in sight.


    All things must come to an end however and soon the whole bunker shook as something big was going on outside.


    ~ A Samurai reinforcement has arrived. He is currently shelling the area to clear out the antithesis above ground, but will be coming in shortly to provide relief. Normally I would be saying rescue since you are so new to this, but you are doing fantastic!~


    I chuckled and kept shooting. ¡°Just tell him to give me a heads up before he comes around the corner. I am not going to stop firing until there is nothing left to shoot.¡± I patted the top of the gun.


    ¡°This is the most fun I have ever had in my LIFE.¡±

 chapter 3: A little late to the party

    ¡°Fucking camper¡±


    Timeless gamer lament


    ****


    I hummed another old tune as the gun rattled on. I knew it had been well maintained since the museum rented it out for rich people to shoot for fun, but I suspected the goop did more than just cool it as a faint crimson glow shone through some of the seams. As long as it didn¡¯t alter any of the internals I didn¡¯t mind though.


    That, and it kept firing.


    I watched as soon instead of whole antithesis rushing in, only bits and pieces flew into the hallway. It didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out that the other Samurai was almost there. A mixture of relief and sadness filled me as I started to focus instead of just mindlessly sweeping the hall. Picking off what few plants remained unshredded before at long last everything was still.


    I was sad that the fun was over, but I was more than happy I had won and everyone was safe.


    I held the line.


    Soon a familiar face swept down into the hall and struck an elegant pose of power.


    ¡°Everyone relax! The Eager Eagle has arrived!¡± He called out with his voice booming down the hallway. He was a flight specialized Samurai with a mech suit straight out of old patriotic propaganda. A helmet styled to look like the head of a bald eagle, massive metal wings, shining chrome armor, and enough missiles to make Lockheed feel inadequate.


    ¡°I have come to save you all! You dear sir have done a fine job holding off the plant horde and have taken a bold leap into the world of becoming a Samurai!¡±


    I grinned, oh this poor bastard was putting on a show and had no idea that-


    ¡°Fine people of the shelter! I heard about your woes and fears since your door would not close and flew elegantly to save you! To bring liberty to you and free you from your confines! To guide you into the light once more whole an-


    Why are you laughing?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but lose it. Laughing hard as I leaned against the still steaming gun so hard tears fell from my eyes.


    ¡°Grand entrance Eagle!¡± I called out trying desperately to catch my breath. A smoking habit didn¡¯t do wonders for my lungs and I just about laughed them out of my body. ¡°But nobody but me can hear you!¡±


    His eagle head turned to the side just a little as the chrome shined in the light. Soon motioning to the shelter behind me. ¡°But they are right there?¡± he asked, confused.


    ¡°Yeah. At the end of a hallway underground where a 50 cal machine gun has been firing nonstop for hours!¡± I pointed out taking deep breaths. ¡°Ohhh fuck that was funny. We will be lucky if ANYONE in there doesn¡¯t have permanent hearing loss.¡±


    That majestic eagle head looked at me, then the gun, then the crowd, then back to me. I tried hard, but soon I was laughing once more. If you have ever seen a bald eagle look at you head-on, the derpy face combined with the confusion brought the giggles back.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°Well drat! I had a speech all ready and everything!¡± The Samurai pouted, crossing his arms before letting out a long groan of frustration.  ¡°Alright. Fine. I will give a better one later to make up for it.¡± He then looked me over while he tapped on his chin.


    Oh. He was going for it right away.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ gunner, throwback, and lots of other stuff is already taken.¡± He thought aloud as he tapped the chin of his helmet. ¡°Look at you, alien tech in a world war 1 American gun with a German helmet on with a modern trench coat. Shooting aliens.¡± He laughed a little with a small whistle. ¡°Man, the history guys would be screaming about the anachronisms.¡± I shrugged. He wasn¡¯t wrong but surviving came before historical accuracy.


    ¡°Hmmm. Anachronisms¡­,¡± he tapped his chin before snapping his fingers. ¡°Anachronist!¡± He, I swear to god, cawed out. I knew he was a furry from his file, but damn man, in public?


    Still, not a bad nickname. Would give me more flexibility with my kit later.


    ¡°Well there is still time to see if the name sticks and all. For now we need to do some weeding FOR FREEDOM!¡± As he yelled out he struck a pose that would make Uncle Sam proud. The Samurai, not the old American icon. I knew it would since the old Samurai Uncle Sam struck poses just about every time he could to the point it was a game in the office to figure out what comic he stole the poses from.


    I was in the lead.


    ¡°You probably have more than a few points from defeating all those antithesis scum! Why not use the nearby bathroom and change into something better?¡± Eagle pointed out as he motioned to a bathroom.


    I shrugged and walked into the bathroom and stretched, getting myself ready for the biggest shopping spree I had ever done in my life.


    ~Alright Jack.~ Byllona crooned into my ear. ~It is finally time to get you into something more befitting a vanguard. Now. I can already tell you don¡¯t want anything super modern, but how about a compromise? I scoured the human internet and found something from a science fiction that could be a halfway point.~


    I grinned. ¡°Krieg?¡± I asked bluntly.


    Her scoff filled my head. ~Of course you would figure it out right away. Yes. A throwback to the diesel punk aesthetic you seem to adore, but with the ability to, as Eager Eagle put it, be a anachronistic.~


    I chuckled a bit and leaned against the wall. ¡°Well. Let''s think about my image too. Amazon might not come after me, but since they own Games Workshop I don¡¯t want to be a walking advertisement for them.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Without pay that is, but I know how easy it is for Samurai to get wealthy, so nah. Not making my image derivative.¡±


    I started to pace as I stroked my hard-won beard. ¡°Hmm¡­ plus a bit too edgy.¡± A picture started to form in my mind. A trenchcoat over an old school ww2 marine corps uniform. Metal arm and leg guards to protect against biting Antithesis with a metal cuirass to protect my back and chest with a metal raised collar for my neck that is attached to the cuirass. All above the coat as well so that I look like more than a creeper in a trenchcoat. A long gas mask under a more stylized Stahlhelm with that handy metal plate on the front to boot with metal plates on the sides of the mask to look cool and to protect my face a bit more.


    As for coloration I decided against black. While it would help me blend in it didn¡¯t feel right. That, and trying to avoid being part of the death corps. Ah, duh. Olive drab for everything but the metal which would be left shiny. Good ol¡¯ white star in a circle that looked stenciled onto my trench coat on both sides of ot at the base of the flaps. For the mask the famous shark jaws painted on the metal.


    ¡°Got it my lovely assistant?¡± I asked Byllona unsure if she could truly read my mind.


    ~My my, such a flatterer already.~ She cooed. ~And yes. I noticed you left out materials.~


    I shrugged. ¡°Out of the two of us you would be the one to know better.¡± I pointed out. ¡°So, what can we do?¡±


    ~Just about anything in the level 1 catalogues. I am going ahead and crediting you for saving the people in the vault since the safe zone is so close and thanks to the Eager Eagle a path has been secured. In fact, PMCs and the army are already using the bunker system as a forward line against the antithesis so really they could hunker down in the shelter and be fine.~


    I nodded and smiled. A token already was quite the accomplishment!


    ~Overall your totals are:


    2 tokens


    37,255 points.~


    ¡°WHAT THE FUCK!?¡±

 chapter 4: Taking his time

    ¡°Only a Samurai could look at an incursion and think ¡°jackpot¡±


    I never understood it until I worked for the family. Now? I just get the sales department ready the moment the plants start to fall from the sky.


    When the points start flowing to Samurai they upgrade. And that means leftovers.


    And for the Family those leftovers means profits.¡±


    -Unknown Family upper manager. 2038


    *****


    ~Elevated heart rate detected. Are you okay Jack?~


    I just nodded as I stared ahead.


    ¡°Two?¡± I squeaked out. Masculinity be damned.


    ~The second token was for holding off an excessive number of antithesis on your own despite your low level.~


    I nodded. I didn¡¯t need to do the math to ask where the points had come from. The mulch field in the hall was proof I had killed a LOT of the things.


    And killing a lot of the things meant a lot of points.


    ¡°So, you can get an upgraded catalogue and really hit the stage with a splash.¡± She crooned into my ear, sounding more and more like one of those red dress clad singers from an old school speakeasy.


    ¡°Uh¡­ yes. Level two of the catalog of¡­. What were they?¡± I asked, leaning against a wall. From a mid tier corpo to a Samurai with a wallet. Damn.


    ¡°The Dezerek. They are a reptilian species that live on a planet close enough to their sun it caused most of their planet to be a desert. When the antithesis invaded their world they opted for massive static defensive lines in depth with artillery as large as your skyscrapers.


    Since the biological material on their planet was very isolated alongside water they managed to starve out most of the invasion while using their artillery to blow up any hives they found. No matter how deep they were. High winds on their planet however left their air capabilities reduced and they were unable to get to space without protectorate help. This leads their catalogue to specialize in trench warfare, defensive lines, heavy walkers, and projectile weapon specialties.¡±


    I grinned wide. ¡°Space lizards? Fuck. Yes.¡±


    There was a pause before she spoke up. ¡°I am detecting¡­ arousal? Ah. I finally checked your aug¡¯s browser history.¡±


    Oh no.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°No wonder you felt a connection to Eager Eagle. Do not worry. I will not judge you for your interests.¡±


    Oh thank god.


    ¡°I will also include the adult section of the catalogues for your perusal later.¡±


    Oh?


    ¡°But for now let''s focus on getting you geared up.¡±


    Oh right.


    ¡°The coat will be tier 2 and can be made of their ballistic nanosilks with interwoven alloys to make the fabric bullet resistant as well as to the quills, teeth, and claws of the lower level antithesis. The metals will be made of a strong and slightly heavier alloy that should be able to resist damage. The whole thing will be lined on the inside with a gel that will help with percussive forces and temperature regulation with everything impregnated with a spray to ensure hazardous substances will not get to you. Along with the vanity customisations the whole total will be 12,500 points and a token.¡±


    I let out a long whistle.


    ¡°The level of customization, a new catalogue, and two other factors that I have yet to reveal to you are the main causes of spending.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Oh please, we both know you are more than out of shape, so I took the liberty of including a weight loss helper as part of the outfitting process that was not cheap and called for the purchase of a level 1 catalog. It will be¡­ very unpleasant I am afraid, but it will get you to the more slender but fit form you desire for both form and function. I am also including an exoskeleton to help you lift things underneath your gear to help you run faster, jump higher, and carry heavier loads. It will also allow you to wield heavier weapons.¡±


    The image of me in that costume going Rambo with a .308 browning popped into my head and I smiled. ¡°Ohhh you lovely, sexy, smart assistant.¡± I cooed.


    ¡°Oh honey, think bigger.¡±


    My eyes shot open. ¡°Bellona. My beloved.¡±


    Her chuckling filled my head. ¡°Oh stop it. We can¡¯t be a thing, but I do appreciate your appreciation.¡± A rather large pill appeared in my hand. ¡°Eagle has been notified you will be doing some body enhancement and to go on without you for now. I will begin to assemble your new gear while you¡­ handle the changes.¡±


    I shrugged and gulped down the pill. ¡°You make it sound like it''s going to be horrible!¡± I teased before something occurred to me. It was a weight loss pill. The weight had to be lost somehow and she had directed me to a bathroom.


    Oh shit.


    ¡°Indeed. Please try to relax while your body goes through its changes.¡±


    Outside the door Eager Eagle was about to check in on me to make sure I was okay before he started to escort the people out. After hearing the beginning of my trial he opted to just leave me be with both of us glad the people we were saving were unable to hear. Nobody should bear witness to the horrible things that would make post Kentucky Bell bathroom trips seem easy.


    ****


    ¡°I think diet and exercise would have been less traumatic.¡± I groaned as I staggered out of the bathroom stall.


    ¡°You did fine honey.¡± Bellona gently whispered into my head. I had faint memories of her comforting me during the last hour, but that was joining the rest of what happened in the land of repressed memories. My clothes hung loosely off my now fit body that were soaked in sweat. I let out a weak groan as I slipped off my old clothes and put on my new outfit.


    I sighed in relief as the built-in motors took my body¡¯s weight off my lower body. It has been through enough for now. I adjusted a few things here and there and shifted the gas mask on my face to get me the best visibility possible. Time to go topside and help out some more.


    I hummed happily as I followed where Eager Eagle had gone up through the hallways that would need an army of janitors to clean and back up into the sunlight.

 Chapter 5: Big ben? big boom!

    I never expected our landscaping team to become national assets, but here we are.


    Welcome our new ¡°Alternative Tactical terrain adjustment consultants.¡±


    -lockheed executive introducing ¡°A.T.T.A.C.¡± 2032


    ***


    The moment I popped out of the slurry I looked around amazed at just how much had changed over the past few hours. I could see tracers flying across the skies cutting through clouds of the Bird models with the telltale black POOFs of flack. I watched as a couple of Samurai in flight suits flew about helping to gain air superiority alongside some other flying suits proudly bearing government military colors that had been clearly gotten from said Samurai.


    Well, we were super close to what was left of DC so it did make sense there would be more fun toys here. Not like DC could do anything for itself anyway since you couldn¡¯t protest, debate, bribe, or crazy the antithesis to death, not that DC was super important anymore anyway. I remember a couple of times they tried the protest idea though. The hive nearby was a bitch to deal with afterwards according to reports.


    Anyway, just as I knew there were not many Samurai in the area. I could see the red white and blue of Uncle Sam¡¯s missiles and rockets flying about, the HUGE plumes of flack from Sally Shrapnel, and the huge line leading to Arsenal¡¯s setup. I chuckled knowing that Arsenal¡¯s REAL nickname was Arse-and-all, but kept it to myself. They did good work.


    ¡°Alright Anachronist!¡± Eager Eagle cawed out. ¡°Let''s get you where you would work best. Considering how you handled that machine gun, maybe we could put you on the front line so you can farm even more points!¡±


    I paused and listened. I could hear the roar of rockets, the clatter of guns, and the booms of cannons that drowned out the screams and yelling of men and women. There was one sound that I could not hear though:


    Artillery.


    ¡°We got any howitzers in the area?¡± I asked Eager Eagle who sighed.


    ¡°No, not yet.¡± He confessed as he rubbed his head. ¡°The missiles are having limited effect as well. Something is guiding the Model 1s to block any incoming missiles so we can¡¯t hit the hive directly. It''s not too far out, but it''s buried in the ground by impact so direct fire can¡¯t hit it either. What limited artillery like mortar systems we have are not penetrating the ground enough.¡±


    Oh. It''s time. ¡°I need a large open area.¡± I start walking towards Arsenal¡¯s area. There had to be a few idle soldiers waiting to be upgraded to steal for manning what I was about to buy.


    ¡°We have a few areas since the logistics teams are still setting up. We thought we would need more room but some of the bunker system is proving to be already what we needed so there are lots of open areas.¡±


    I bet the owner of the bunker was having the best day of his life PR wise.


    ¡°Alright. Byllona what are my options?¡±


    ~Your tier two catalogue has a few options that would prove to be very effective. There is the Ground render mark two, the Nest cracker 3, and the one I bet you will pick is the ¡°Affront to the old gods.¡± It would be a tier three or four with its destructive abilities but it is fully immobile and takes some time to be adjusted. On top of that its ammo is not cheap either.~


    As I saw the image flick onto my augs I couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°Price?¡±


    ~10,000 points. 100 per shot.~


    I let out a long whistle. It would eat into my funds for sure, but I was armored up and we needed a solution more than I needed points.


    ¡°Let''s do it. Hey, Eager Eagle. This is how much room I need.¡±


    I had Byllona send him the dimensions and he audibly squawked. ¡°YOU JUST BECAME A SAMURAI! How can you afford something that flocking big!?¡±


    ~Oh he was just getting cuter and cuter~.


    ¡°I spent over an hour just killing.¡± I pointed out. ¡°I¡¯m willing to splurge on this.¡±


    He let out a long sigh and looked up. I tapped the side of my head to join in on the conversation I knew was going on.


    ¡°-the fuck!? He became a Samurai?¡± An all too familiar voice piped in.


    ¡°You know him?¡± Eager chirped in confusion.


    ¡°Yes the family is WELL aware of him.¡±


    I beamed in pride at hearing that.


    ¡°And he is probably in the conversation already. JACK-¡° there was a pause and a sigh. ¡°-fuck this is going to take some getting used to. Anachronist. Do you really need ALL that space?¡±


    I chuckled a bit. ¡°Rodger dodger Bobber.¡± I cooed, enjoying the ability to annoy the shit outta him at long last. ¡°And I will be leaving what I put there. Both for static defense for the future and so that the Family R and R team can get a goooood look at it.¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    He grumbled a bit before sighing. I think there was a curse under that breath, but whatever. ¡°Alright. Cleared. And make sure nobody is near that area since I don¡¯t know what Ari- I mean ANACHRONIST is putting down, but it''s Samurai tech so lets err on the side of caution.¡±


    I gave a nod and Eager Eagle gave me a thumbs up.


    ¡°Alright. Over here should work.¡± Eagle guided me to a huge open field by Arsenal¡¯s distribution point. It was clear it had been set aside for a tent city, but with the bunker system so well done it was left unneeded.


    I waved to Arsenal who was passing out guns and armor to soldiers. A nice- okay a nice gal today judging by her chest plate who specialized in logistics. They got their points by passing out Samurai tech to soldiers who did the killing for her. She allowed the Family and some of the mil corps to buy those weapons from the soldiers in exchange for them running background checks on anyone about to be armed.


    That meant a long line of trained military personnel currently doing nothing.


    ¡°Byllona, start setting up while I get a crew.¡± I cooed as I walked up to the line. ¡°OI!¡± I yelled out getting everyone¡¯s attention. When a Samurai demanded your attention you gave it after all.


    ¡°Who is trained in ballistic artillery? I¡¯m bringing the fuck off gun and need a crew of strong bastards to help me run it!¡±


    The line looked at each other for a while. It was a dangerous thing to volunteer in the military, and now a SAMURAI was asking for volunteers. After a bit a few people shrugged and stepped forward.


    ¡°Alright, what we handlin¡¯?¡± One dude that clearly had body mods to help him lift heavy things.


    ¡°That.¡± I smugly stated pointing behind me with a thumb just in time for the ¡®purchase¡¯ to be ¡®delivered.¡¯¡±


    A spine tingling crack later and all talking stopped. I looked around taking in the sights of everyone¡¯s heads looking at the same spot and slowly moving up almost in unison.


    ¡°The ¡®Affront to the Old Gods.¡¯ I stated as I turned to admire the canon so large it would make the Gustav from world war 2 blush. Its massive barrel almost a middle finger to the world as the dark metal clashed with the blue skies.


    The barrel itself had two massive supports under it to help keep the barrel from bending under its own weight with built in hydraulics to act as shock absorbers. The main part of it was like an old school artillery gun with two huge triangular mounts to let the gun tilt up and down with the base featuring massive tracks to allow the cannon to turn. The breach was at the rear with a crane and elevator to help load what would have to be MASSIVE shells with everything clearly able to angle itself so that the crew could load without the gun having to return to a ¡°resting¡± position.


    The controls were in a small metal box on the right of the cannon well up in the air with a ladder leading up to it. While it did have a window as big as the gun was I bet there was some sort of screen system inside for targeting.


    ¡°Niiiiiice.¡± I heard Arsenal whistle out before she hopped up and jogged up to me. ¡°Soooooo. Got ammo?¡± She asked as she stood next to me.


    ¡°You just want a chance to shoot the big gun.¡± I countered pretending to be cross.


    ¡°Duh.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough. I got ammo but I bet you have something juicier. Wanna split the hive points?¡± I offered as I motioned to the canon.


    She just looked at me as a huge shell appeared next to the loading ramp. It was twice the height of a normal person and made of a dark metal with a red spiral down the side.


    ¡°Bunker buster round. Goes deep then pops with a dash of incendiary.¡± She explained.


    ¡°Alright boys!¡± I pointed at the strongest men. ¡°You four, load.¡± I pointed at a couple of others. ¡°You handle the breach.¡± I then started to climb up the ladder before pointing at the last man. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna babysit this thing so you get to come and learn how to aim and fire.¡±


    The man squeed and rushed for the ladder. I can¡¯t blame him at all really. How often do you get to be the one that gets to be the main gunner for such a gun. Sure his life after the fight was going to be a nightmare of documenting things, but a promotion was in the bag for sure.


    I settled down in the hard metal seat watching as the mono color screen in front of me flashed before quickly calculating a trajectory. I grabbed the control sticks and slowly started to adjust the gun, shivering as I felt the big beast shuddering as it slowly turned towards where the hive was.


    On the screen I could see the arch and the projected impact circle slowly get closer and closer to the mound before it finally lined up and flashed indicating it was ready to fire. I looked over at the screens showing a live feed from the loading area watching as the men and women strained pushing the massive shell into the breach before a breach that could probably withstand a nuke was swung into place.


    It was nice that it was designed to be loaded no matter where it was aiming. As slow as it moved it would have been a bitch and a half to put it in a loading position after every shot.


    ~Target is aligned. Ready for firing. Lets give these boys and girls a show.~


    I laughed and started to record things with my Aug. ¡°A part of me wishes the plants were smarter so we could actually shock and awe them.¡± I gripped the firing lever and took a breath. ¡°But ah well. Now. Cool line¡­. AH!¡±


    I tensed getting ready to pull the lever.


    ¡°From dust you came-¡° I yanked the lever back. ¡°-and to dust I shall return you fucks!¡±


    The ground shook and the clouds parted as the gun fired. Shit. ¡°firing¡± felt like a goddamn understatement. The gun infernoed as it fired its shell into the heavens. The barrel letting out a cloud and ball of fire that probably would have shredded upper level antithesis on its own as it flung its shell into the sky.


    ¡°Byllona, binocs.¡± I called out.


    ~10 points. Here you go.~


    I felt the binocs drop into my hands and slammed them against my mask to see the hole-to-be.


    I watched seeing model 1s and some bigger flying fucks trying desperately to gather above the hive to block the shell. I got to see in beautiful gory glory as the shell slammed right through the cloud spraying the ground below before it hit the mound. A gyser of earth flew into the sky knocking a few more of the smaller bastards out of the air as well.


    Then the mound heaved.


    Then the fire came forth.


    I watched as the hill split open and fire, earth, antithesis, and whatever else was in that hill was flung into the air.


    ~Massive damage has been done to the hive, but it still needs a few more hits.~


    Good. I wanted to get some front line fun. Judging by the swarm pouring out of the hill I was going to have quite a lot of fun.


    ¡°Alright, have fun!¡± I told the new gunner as I had Byllona spawn them some more basic high explosive shells to hammer the hive with.


    ¡°I am going to help out the front lines.¡±

 Chapter 6: It was the best of times...

    When attacking a hive the only real time you need precision is when you are smacking the hive itself. After that you need guns. LOTS of guns.


    -PMC marketing spokesperson 2039


    ***


    Eager Eagle let out a loud squawk as I gave his ass a small slap as I went by. Sure his armor blocked him from feeling it but the surprise at least snapped him out of his barrel shock. I know the barrel was long, thick, and packed a punch but he was still staring at it as I jogged by him.


    Had to snap him out of his stupor somehow. That, and his armor did his ass a number of favors.


    Also, that feather tail is now confirmed real.


    Anyway, I jog to the front line and look at the massive line of tanks, turrets, soldiers and more just firing into a massive horde of plants. Enough to make those old photos of the rainforest seem like a nicely manicured lawn. There were far too many to even begin to count! Not that I was good with numbers anyway. That was what we had accounting departments for.


    ¡°Byllona. What do I have that could help do some brush clearing? A mobile machine gun platform would probably be the best for this situation.¡±


    ~You do not have as many options due to the stationary nature of your catalogue. However, they do have one line of heavy mobility that you would probably enjoy.~


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ~You humans refer to them as ¡°walkers.¡± They do not share the humanoid forms of what you call ¡°mecha¡± but they do have a wide range of these mobile gun platforms. Perhaps a sand stomper to start with?~


    I watched as a 3d model appeared in front of me. A beautiful thing that I actually reached up to try to grab even though it was just visible thanks to my augs.


    I NEEED IIIIT.


    But first: I had a theme going.


    ¡°Paint it olive drab, give it the pretty star, brass covers for the rotaries to make it look like a normal water cooled machine gun, make the belt covers skeleton and shiny metal going to the backpack so the belt is visible, legs a bit thicker, and make the main body more round than angular.¡± I requested. ¡°What are the things at the top?¡± I asked, motioning to what looked like two sets of four tubes.


    ~Light mortar systems. Your species¡¯ modern vehicles use them for smoke and chaff deployment.~


    I thought for a bit before a nasty smile grew on my face. ¡°Can they shoot gas?¡±


    ~Yes. Exotic explosives catalogue available.~


    ¡°Buy it and let''s do it.¡±


    ~Alright. Buyi-~


    ¡°Spawn it in a big old school wooden crate. The boys in the trenches could use the wood and I want to make an entrance.¡±


    ~But it has such a nice box! Fine.~ Byllona grumped in my ear as a huge old school wooden box appeared. Slamming into the ground a bit behind the trenches causing some of the nearby soldiers to jump.


    I couldn¡¯t help but laugh a bit at her dropping it like a petulant child.


    ~I can hear your thoughts, you know.~ She hissed into my mind.


    ¡°And I don¡¯t mind you know.¡±


    I countered as I used a small door in the back of the crate to slip inside. I paused and lifted up my mask to take a nice long sniff. It was as wonderful as I imagined. The smell of fresh wood mixing with fresh grease and oil. All with the faint aroma of new walker smell.


    Even in the dim light I could make out the sexy curves of my new toy¡¯s main body in that beautiful olive drab. On its side were two short arms that ended in those heavy rotary guns with those shrouds making it look just like a brutal old school machine gun. Belts led to a huge backpack that was undoubtedly full of nothing but sweet copper jacketed death.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Its lower body was stubby with legs as tall as me but so thick it would make someone perpetually in the mesh blush. Huge feet that looked like they would give a bulldozer a run for its money all attached to a turreted waist so that the walker could turn its upper body.


    I saw the 8 tubes on top, but my eyes quickly went to the front. A long slit that hid a whole sensor suite with a gap clearly meant for someone inside to just look out. All above the wide red and white of shark jaws.


    ~I know you love me, so less talk and more killing.~


    I grinned and hopped into the walker and started booting it up. I had played way too many hours in mech simulators in the mesh, so everything was already familiar to me thanks to what was clearly some creative re-arranging by my lovely assistant.  I sighed and shivered in pure delight as I felt the mech raise up.


    ~For the record. The tubes were added due to me swapping out the inertial dampeners for them. I figured you would want to feel it.~


    ¡°You. Are. The. Best. Byllona.¡± I cooed as I leaned back and got ready.


    ¡°Can you play this on both internal and external speakers?¡± I asked as an idea formed. ¡°I want to make an entrance.¡±


    ~This song is clearly decades beyond the look you are going for.~


    ¡°Thus perfect due to my name.¡± I countered. ¡°Besides. The chorus is perfect.¡±


    ~Alright. I will play it just for you.~


    I moved the walker carefully in the crate getting ready as the base line started to play. I hoped the noises would warn those outside to get the FUCK out of my way.


    I took a deep breath and waited. Then it dropped.


    ¡°We are the prodigy¡±


    I punched it.


    The crate exploded around me as I charged and jumped clear over the trenchline between the soldiers and the wave.


    ¡°Invaders must die!¡±


    My mortars joined in the song first with their own percussive beat.


    THMP-THMP-THMP-THMP-THMP-THMP-THMP-THMP


    Then when I saw the lethal gas slowly start to billow out I let the main star rock out. I flipped the covers off the triggers and held them down. Slowly moving the arms back and forth in a brutal crossfire. The song almost drowned out by the most beautiful spine tingling noise in military history:


    Twin.


    High caliber.


    BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT


    And if one listened closely, those who could still hear of course, would hear something. Something faint and magical. A sound of pure whimsey and glee. A sound that could only be described as ¡®happy gas mask noises.¡¯


    I strode proudly towards the wave that was being shredded by my twin guns. Plant, gore, earth, everything was ripped apart in my crossfire. Tracers showing the deadly arcs of my twin guns as I swept them back and forth with pauses only to focus fire on the occasionally thicker or more armored bastard. Soon even those were easier as those that had been in the gas field stumbled forth looking very melted and coughing up whatever was inside of them before my guns ¡°helped¡± clear their bodies out.


    It''s cleared out if their insides become outsides right?


    Soon though a few of the model 3s got smart and went low, dashing under the hail of hell to try to get me.


    Instead they met foot.


    I shivered feeling the walker shuddered as I stomped down knowing that whatever antithesis was below was well and truly planted in the ground now. Probably self-watering as well with how juicy that squish felt.


    I didn¡¯t want to risk any getting through to the lines behind me however and I squatted a bit to get the firing line lower to the ground. The next few that tried to duck low were soon shredded just like the rest with the lower firing angle helping to slow down the wave even more. I watched as the taller ones fell forward with their legs cut apart by one sweep only for their bodies to be torn apart during the next sweep. If they were not crushed by countless others trying to get closer to the machine of death in front.


    As I went I let Byllona handle spawning and reloading. The THMPS of my mortars now aimed towards the areas outside of my guns¡¯ arcs to soften them up, literally, for those in the trenches. I could hear cheers from the trenches before they adjusted. Moving well down the line to reinforce other areas as it was crystal clear nothing was getting anywhere near close to the trench line with me in front.


    I didn¡¯t care about points. No. I was in heaven. I was finally fighting against the threat on the front line and doing my part. Helping out and keeping others safe rather than just stare at a screen all day.


    And I never felt so ALIVE!

 chapter 7: ...It was the worst of times.

    ¡°Any man''s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee¡±


    John Donne 1572¨C1631


    ***


    Dead.


    I had focused fire onto a particularly big mound of model threes only to find out why they had piled up on something. It didn¡¯t take long for my bullets to rip apart the mass of plant matter but leaving the body alone. As powerful as they were, my rounds just bounced uselessly off his armor.


    Armor that didn¡¯t protect the neck.


    A neck that had been¡­.


    I took a deep breath.


    Breath in.


    Breath out.


    I let the roar of my guns drown out my thoughts as I got my mind under control. This was not the first Samurai death I had to deal with. With my line of work and when you studied so many it was inevitable someone you worked with or followed closely finally met their end.


    This was the first time I had seen one in person though. Very rarely was a body able to be recovered, and even then some sales corpo would never be allowed at the funeral. It was always some article, report, or obituary with tons of mesh and chatroom talk that followed.


    But there he was.


    Captain Carnage.


    Frankly an asshole that refused to work with the family or anyone else. A melee specialist that was only just reaching mid-tier who prided himself on being the first in. He was excessively vain, determined to have his face on as many vids as possible. Hell, he even named himself despite the tradition of an older Samurai naming you. I read more than one report where the Samurai had opted for ¡°Captain Cunt¡± instead. He thought he could tear apart anything.


    Hubris.


    And here I was. A fresh Samurai facing down a horde himself. My thoughts were jumbled up as another boom echoed out, this time exploding in the air ripping apart countless flyers and raining dagger sized shrapnel onto the crowd. Seems Sally Shrapnel got to take her turn on the gun.


    No. I wasn¡¯t alone.


    ¡°Dead Samurai confirmed.¡± I called out into a comm unit on my mech the moment Byllona gave me a green light. ¡°Captain Carnage. Apparent cause of death is a neck injury.¡± The words dripped out of my mouth. Just say them. Don¡¯t think about them. ¡°I can give some covering fire for body retrieval.¡±


    There was silence over the communications line before Eagle spoke up. ¡°Roger. Never liked the dude but¡­. Clear the area and I will swoop in.¡±


    ¡°Roger.¡±


    I took a deep breath I felt in my soul and started to step to the side. ¡°I am working towards clearing the area around the body temporarily. Please adjust fire.¡± I called out through my walker¡¯s speakers to the men behind me.


    Slowly I started to walk sideways and started to focus my fire more on the area with the body. I saw the tracers of the guns behind me quickly adjust to focus on the areas I had been mowing down to hold the progress we had been making.


    I wanted to charge in. To let loose and rip a path right to the body and drag him out while letting loose a hell of which the antithesis would have no counter. To be flaming vengeance and all that shit.


    But I wasn¡¯t stupid.


    I was just a rookie with a fancy walking death machine. A death machine that couldn¡¯t fly if I got swarmed and while it was clearly able to rip them apart there was only so much it could do. If I got swarmed there would be two bodies needing to be recovered and all those behind me would be much worse off.


    One dead Samurai was already too many.


    ¡°In position for advance. Moving forward to secure area.¡± I called out before focusing my fire right on the area around Captain Carnage. Slowly moving forward bit by bit with my more narrowed and focused arcs helping me push back the wave even faster and further than before just in that area.


    I had to get on the other side of the body because the way my firing solution worked if Eager Eagle spent too long getting the body he would be cut apart by my guns. Plus if one model three got gutsy and rushed him his armored body was still probably squishier than my walker.


    I took another deep breath as I drew close enough to get a good view of him through the screens and my viewport. His head was badly mangled with his hair ripped out from the clearly many attempts to drag him to a hive. His armor bore more than a few deep scratches as well, but it held up. If he had worn a helmet with that same armoring he probably would have still been smacking away. The only thing that had kept his body still for recovery was his massive gravity hammer that was laying on his body pinning it to the ground.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    I took a deep breath again and used my walker¡¯s foot to slowly push the hammer off the body. My mech let out some groans and noises of protest from having to move something so heavy, but soon there was a thud as the hammer hit the ground leaving the body able to be taken away.


    ¡°Alright, Eager Eagle. He is clear for pickup. Lightened the load for you as well.¡±


    I called out before stepping forward and giving the wave all I had. Tubes thumping pretty much nonstop bathing the wave in front of me in a sickly yellow haze that slowly melted the model 3s. Whatever the gas didn¡¯t kill my guns churned apart, pushing back the wave just enough to give me room to work. However I could tell that I would not be able to hold the bulge forever as the wave slowly crept closer and closer to me. Focusing more and more on my little pocket as more of the fucking fern freaks realized that I was closer than the others.


    I heard the roar of jets behind me and only gave the rear view screen a quick glance to make sure it was what I thought it was. Sure enough all that was left of the body was a red stain in the ground and the hammer. A long trail of blood showing which way Eager Eagle flew.


    ¡°Body secure.¡± The boy grunted out clearly struggling with the weight.


    ¡°Roger, falling back.¡±


    With that I slowly started to reverse. Spraying the area I had been in to help cull the focused horde before slowly letting my arc return to what it had before. Once it was back to an even level with the rest of the wave I finally took a breath and leaned back in my seat letting the roar of the guns and the thumping of the mortars drown out my thoughts once again.


    *****


    I settled into the rhythm for who knows how long. Only adjusting my firing patterns when something bigger started to make its way through. I could tell the horde was getting less and less with each time the ground heaved from the gun, and soon Uncle Sam and Eager Eagle were flying over the hoard taking out any bigger plants. Guess the skies finally got cleared out.


    ~Three hives eliminated. Two stealth one major.~ Byllona softly stated. ~Your body rhythms are returning to normal. Are you ok?~


    I took a deep breath and nodded. ¡°Yeah. Going to be a very interesting talk with my therapist later.¡± I joked with a grin that didn¡¯t reach my eyes. I was good at those smiles. Was handy when you were selling what I did.


    ~Did you know him?~


    ¡°Not really. Only some reports.¡±


    ~Okay. You have a lot of points if you need to fall back to recover.~


    ¡°No. I will see this through.¡± I declared as I watched the horde thin more and more. That small part of my brain fueled by old Samurai shows was begging to charge. To really do some damage while looking as cool as possible.


    My heart just wasn¡¯t in it though.


    I was reaping my pound of plant right here, and the antithesis were going to keep coming at me until either they were all dead or I was ready to drag back to a hive. I didn¡¯t need to risk myself trying to be as cool as possible. I knew what happened to those that pushed it a bit too far.


    ¡°Alright. This is the last of them now. Good job everyone. Only minimal casualties!¡± A loud and proud voice boomed into the mic. The unmistakable call of Uncle Sam himself right before he let loose with a staggering amount of explosions sending antithesis everywhere. I had to admit it DID help the mood.


    Soon enough the last of the freaks rushed over their mulched allies only to join the pile themselves. Soldiers armed with chem sprayers distributed by Arsenal hopped out of the trenches and started to hose down the bodies, melting them while guarded by their comrades carrying more conventional weapons in case something was waiting.


    ¡°Hey new guy, Anachronist? You can come back now and celebrate! That was a very nasty attack and you did fantastic!¡± Came the boisterous calls of Sally Shrapnel. I started to go back towards them but paused and shook my head.


    ¡°One moment. I am going to give these cleaners a few presents first. I got the points to spare.¡±


    A token in exotic chemical weapons later, a bunch of points, and a quick search for those that played the same sims I did on the mesh later and three walkers were striding through the mess. The bodies were the same as mine but with the machine gun arms replaced with a sprayer on one arm and a grasper on the other. Their paint jobs were also just plain olive drab with the numbers 1 through 3 painted on each respectively. I watched from atop my own walker as the soldiers sprayed the massive mounds down then used the grasper to ¡°mix¡± up the sludge to make sure it was all melted down.


    Sure I could have used the points for something else, but I just couldn¡¯t. The points came too easy to me today and it just didn¡¯t feel right to hog them all when it was going to make their lives easier. I for once in my life had more than what I knew what to do with.


    ¡°What was the total again?¡±


    ~3 tokens. 132,600 points. You killed a lot of antithesis, plus your contributions to the hives got you plenty. The walkers only cost you 1000 points each with the exotic chemical weapons catalogs costing 100 for the basic and 500 for the level 2.~


    I nodded and took a long draw of my cigar. Blowing out the smoke as I looked over the battlefield. Now that I looked it was clear the mounds of antithesis were much higher where I had been with them trying hard to focus on the bigger threat.


    More points for me, less risk for the other non Samurai. How it should be. No grandstanding or other shit like that. We are here to kill the antithesis and keep people alive. Hard to do that if you are dead.


    I took another long draw and nodded my head with a sigh. It was only a matter of time before that dumbass had died anyway. Nobody to watch his back, bad build, and bad attitude. Hell, the dumbass was probably the reason the wave focused so hard on this narrow area since he probably pissed off the stealth hives with that big hammer of his.


    ¡°Alright. Enough mourning. Time to go enjoy my first victory party as a Samurai.¡± I then flicked my cigar butt away and hopped up.


    ¡°Fuck!¡±


    I had to dive right back into my walker as the chemical soaked slurry around me caught on fire. A few frantic stomps later and it was put out. Fuck, that was going to go viral for sure. I could already see the troops laughing and pointing. ¡°Uh, as a heads up the chemical is flammable.¡± I warned the others using my walker¡¯s speakers.


    No sense in letting others learn the hard way.

 Chapter 8: Party time

    We don¡¯t have the funding of the PMCs, the tech of the Samurai, or the training of any of the militaries. It''s almost impossible to get time off work these days to even train at all or go gun shopping. But, our homes, our families, our friends are right behind us and we have nowhere else to run to.¡±


    Militia member ¨C 2055


    ¡°Congratulations! Only one Samurai death, but it was Captain Carnage so do not consider it a failure my fellow Americans! Today¡¯s victory was grand! No line broke, no land lost, and everyone fought heroically, bravely, and more to preserve what we have left!¡± Uncle Sam¡¯s voice boomed out from a makeshift stage. His huge smile felt almost unnatural, but it was hard to make out with the blinding bloom of fireworks that exploded behind him at the end of his short speech.


    He always was one for theatrics.


    Everyone could see a huge black smoke cloud from the battlefield in the distance. After seeing my little¡­ ¡°accident¡± earlier they decided to take advantage of the flammable nature of what they were still spraying everywhere and used it to light the huge wall of antithesis on fire to burn the bodies. After letting them melt to a goop some of course.


    ¡°Yes, this was one of the most successful incursion defenses we have seen in a few years!¡± Uncle Sam continued to call out as his long white hair flowed in a breeze that I couldn¡¯t feel. Suddenly his large hand, covered in a elegant and perpetually clean white glove, swung down and motioned to-


    Oh fuck. Me.


    ¡°While many of us did our jobs well and as planned, special commendation must be given to our newest Vanguard, The Anachronist!¡±


    Wellllll shit.


    ¡°While brand new his cannon allowed us to shock and awe the alien invaders from a distance, striking their hive without putting any of our own at much risk! On top of that his valiant defense of the front line drew the aliens to him, taking on far more of the scourge causing the pressure on the rest of our brave defenders to lessen! Not only that his courageous actions allowed us to recover the body of Captain Carnage! While I do know many of us have had our issues with him-¡° I could hear the others shifting around me. Yeah, ¡®issues¡¯ was putting it lightly. ¡°-it is good that his gear was recovered so we can learn more and his body will be able to be laid to rest. A round of applause for The Anachronist!¡±


    All the Samurai started to applaud me. Frankly? It felt really good. Sure my (now last) job had given me recognition once in a while, but not often. It was nice to have people actually let me know just how good of a job I did.


    It was also clear there was a reason for it too.


    I could see all the other Samurai looking at me with hope in their eyes. I knew why too. Right now our area only had 4 Samurai. Well, 5 with me now. Eager Eagle, Sally Shrapnel, Uncle Sam, and Arsenal. That was it. No real cleanup crews, hunters, or anyone else.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Pretty much any Samurai that was found in the area soon left and everyone knew why. Politicians constantly trying to make them help out with some cause or election campaign, military corporations hounding and stalking them for any tech they could get, the local press desperate for ANY Samurai news since there were so few, and the fact that few Samurai meant more work for those that stayed.


    Not only were all of those good reasons to get out of here but a lot of people were not even from here. Politicians and their staff from whatever area they crawled out of, imported contractors for the mili corps, and just the normal transients meant that quite a few Samurai just went home. Others got good offers or just took the chance to fuck off to one of the nearby settlements. Hell, Philly had a TON more Samurai than we did.


    With Captain Carnage now dead they needed me more than ever.


    I gave everyone a nod and finished off the hot dog I had been eating. All of us Samurai were off in our own little area having a BBQ sponsored by The Family. A little celebration of a job well done with the press kept way back from us by some PMC and military guys.


    It was nice.


    ¡°Hey! The Anachronist!¡± A playful¡­ was that a chirp? Anyway, Eagle was calling out to me so I turned around with my mouth full of questionable tube meat in a cheap bun. Tasty as fuck though.


    The man jogged up to me and I grinned seeing his head. A beautiful head of white feathers, eyes that only looked intimidating from the sides, and a long curve beak poked out of the armor. Eager Eagle had opted for one of the more extensive body mods. Rumor had it he wasn¡¯t a bald eagle originally, but Uncle Sam kept annoying him until he changed.


    ¡°Hey. Now that you are a Samurai and all we were hoping you were going to stick around.¡± He looked at the other three with a small smile. ¡°We¡­ really need the help and your setup is already filling a need we have. None of us are really good at defense.¡± He confessed before looking back at me with a huge smile.


    ¡°Also, I wanted to extend a nice, warm, happy invitation to join and work for The Family!... WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING AT ME NOW!?¡± He squawked in frustration as I spat out what little food was left in my mouth as I fucking lost it.


    ¡°I- I¡¯m sorry man.¡± I finally choked out. ¡°But I already work for them!¡±


    His head tilted with those derpy eyes looking me over in full confusion and I lost it again. Damnit if the antithesis didn¡¯t kill me laughing at this dude would!


    ¡°But¡­ you¡­ You just became a Samurai? How were you already working for them?¡±


    ¡°I worked in the sales department.¡± I confessed once I could finally breathe again. ¡°I went around to the nearby settlements where Samurai fled to and bought tech from them to sell to the local groups.¡± I explained between nice and deep breaths. Smoking is not good for you kids! ¡°I didn¡¯t handle local deals though. Higher ups did due to The Family not wanting to chase off what few of you were left.¡±


    He let out a long sigh and slouched forward a little. ¡°Aw, was looking forward to giving you a whole talk and being the one to bring you into The Family.¡± He admitted with a cute little trill. Yup, the noises are coming from him.


    For someone covered in armor whose head was a bird of prey he was pretty cute.


    ¡°It''s alright.¡± I patted his shoulder. ¡°I am not leaving The Family. They treated me well when I worked for them so I am going to stick around with them. They will help keep the worst of the corpos and stuff away too.¡±


    I looked behind us towards the spires. The Woods, Fairburke, and Tyson spires standing tall and proud. There had been others at one point, but those were the three left intact.


    ¡°Are you staying?¡± He finally worked up the courage to ask.


    I looked over at him and gave him a warm smile. ¡°Yeah. Got family in the area. While I wasn¡¯t born here I still consider it my home.¡± I answered as I looked at the other Samurai who all let out a long sigh of relief.


    ¡°Oh thank god.¡± Uncle Sam groaned out. His characteristic smile turned into a grin of pure relief.


    Just how fucked was the situation on the Samurai¡¯s side!?

 Chapter 9: Time to make some choices.

    ¡°I had to put on a brave face as long as there were still people counting on me. That''s the only reason I kept going.¡±


    Local militia leader P. Garvey- 2050


    I looked around as the party¡­ well, whatever this little meeting was, wound down. I knew there was a problem. A big fucking problem, even.


    There was no way we could do this.


    I mean sure we could probably hold off a bunch of more antithesis. We might could hold off until more Samurai appeared, but as it stood there was no way our small team was going to be able to hold the area on our own. Sure we had a decent spread of skills and specialities, but there was no way it was going to be enough.


    I let out a long sigh as I looked at all the soldiers and PMC members walking around. Laughing, drinking, collecting what they could as they enjoyed the victory. Most of them were probably looking at very nice paychecks probably.


    There was one more group though.


    I could see them all gathered around a campfire passing around some booze and laughing. Their faces looked like they had been through hell which was fair considering what they had just gone through. All their gear looked different with some having plate carriers while others looked like they duct taped pans to themselves. Oh wait, one did.


    I knew what they had to be: Militia. Poor bastards had pretty much nothing. A few managed to get some of Arsenal¡¯s goods and were holding onto the items like their lives depended on it. Some had some higher end private market weapons, some had beat up weapons probably nabbed from a dead PMC or soldier, and a few had weapons that I was shocked worked!


    I always thought about joining a militia group, but most of the ones around here were¡­ not exactly right if you catch my drift. Typically they were more about ¡°resisting government and corporate overreach¡± than actually helping the people out in these trying times. Those poor souls down there though? They looked to be the real deal.


    Desperate people passed over by the PMCs and militaries or just wanting to do anything they could to defend their homes on their own terms. They held the line because their homes, families, and friends were behind them and not for some paycheck.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    I felt bad. Always getting the short end of the stick, looked down on, and with the only luck they could hope for was to survive and MAYBE find a gear upgrade in combat. Not many of them though. Guns were pricey these days and the time to practice could be even more expensive if you lived paycheck to paycheck.


    Hmm¡­


    I got up and walked up to the group who froze. All looking at me like I was here to beat the shit out of them.


    ¡°Hey uh¡­ if arsenal or any of the companies want their stuff back we will give it to them. Don¡¯t worry.¡± One of the older men around the fire spoke up. Poor dude was scared I was after something since Samurai never came and spoke to them.


    As I looked over the tired and scared group I had made up my mind.


    ¡°Nah, not here for that.¡± I plunked down on a nearby chair and lit up a cigar.


    All of them looked at each other wondering what the fuck a Samurai was doing sitting with them then. They were just militia after all.


    ¡°So¡­ The area is pretty fucked.¡± I started out with. Yeah not the most heroic opening but ah well. No sense in trying to lie to them since they knew what was up better than anyone else really. ¡°The military and PMC stay in their areas unless they get paid to go somewhere. Any new Samurai keep fucking off too.¡±


    He looked at them. ¡°Let me guess. Some of you were the first to get here?¡±


    He saw them wince with a few nodding.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± The old dude spoke up. ¡°I live just down the street. When the first few started to trickle in I was right by the cops and security team for the museum fighting the things. Didn¡¯t take long for the rest to show up, but if they didn¡¯t pick a spot with some guards already on site I woulda been chow.¡±


    The others shuddered and I gave him a small nod.


    ¡°Fair. I can tell you all are not well armed. I bet most of you are struggling to even afford this much.¡± I point out getting a wince from many of them.


    ¡°But this does give me an idea.¡±


    I saw the looks of confusion as they wondered just what the brand new Samurai had swirling around his brain.


    ¡°We need a force that is spread out, armed, trained, and ready to attack at a moment¡¯s notice. Not a force able to hold off Antithesis on its own, but enough to hold them back and keep people safe until the PMCs, military, or maybe one of us few Samurai show up.¡±


    I looked around at them with a grin. ¡°A well armed militia that ISN¡¯T bat-shit or posturing. Trained and armed by a Samurai that is there to help their communities rather than for a paycheck. Since all of you would be spread out at home and work and shit then that means you will have the coverage needed for this.¡± I leaned back with a smile.


    ¡°Add in the fact I will be arming and helping you all train and that takes out a lot of the financial issues. Hell. If I get some financing I will even offer some pay if I can to make it so that more can join up.¡±


    All of them nodded. ¡°We are in.¡± The old guy said with a grin.


    ¡°This sounds kinda like the Minutemen¡­¡± One of the others mused.


    Well¡­ if the name fits the theme I got goin¡­


    ¡°To the new Minutemen!¡± I yell out getting a cheer from all those around me. Did I have any idea what the fuck I was getting into? No. Did this have to be done? Yes.


    Hours of RTS and other weird videogames don¡¯t fail me now!

 Chapter 10: quiet time

    ¡°People think becoming a Samurai is like in comic books and animated shows. An epic awakening with lots of action and a moment of pride where you can stand tall. Where nothing can touch you and your life is suddenly so much better!


    It ain''t.¡±


    Samurai Uncle Sam- 2048


    ¡ª--


    Well, I wanted to talk ideas, strategy, and start to find out who in the group wanted to join up. However one of them made a good point: They were all exhausted having not only fought off an incursion, but done so after who knows how many hours of work. Hell, one was a line cook and had to wash up before going BACK to work.


    Fuck. I forgot about work. I knew that I would probably be getting a kickback from the family for loaning out those mechs plus some of those special offers they were making to try and keep people around. So far it wasn¡¯t working well, but would make my life easier at least.


    Ah well, problem for future me. I waited a bit for the news agents and representatives of everything from PMCs and MIlitaries to oddball companies to start to leave before I even thought about going to my car.


    Could I summon a brand new ride? Yes.


    Did I want to? Kinda.


    But my car was my car damnit. I paid it off in full, it had my cigars, cutter, and lighter in it, and it was just how I wanted it. Okay, it was messy as fuck but it was my car. Besides, if I was lucky and nobody sees me get in my car I could blend in and sneak home. I don¡¯t think my ID has been fully linked to my Samurai name just yet, so I might get enough time at home to set things up for the inevitable hoard.


    I milled around a little then left as the crowd of contractors and scientists started to land and make their way out to the field to get whatever data they needed for whatever spreadsheets they had to fill out, or powerpoints to kill someone with, or whatever they needed the data for.


    I didn¡¯t want to stick around and get caught up in questions. Hell, it''s why I was waiting to avoid people following me home.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    My car shuddered as it slowly took off and slipped into a lane, taking off to the nearest gas station. From there I went to a restaurant, a big box store, costco, THEN finally went home. I knew people were tracing any car that left that area would be watched like a hawk after someone was just announced to be a new Samurai.


    Try tracking me now motherfuckers. EVERYONE goes to Costco!


    And plus it was nice to just¡­ sit and think for a while. Sure there were people who hacked their autopilots to do stupid stuff like late merging still, the traffic was thick, there was a hover wreck above L-95 upper that also caused a jam on L-95 lower (as always), and I had to dodge a couple of Marylanders, but for once it felt nice.


    In a sick twisted kinda way.


    Here I was, a newly crowned vanguard who had just mowed down hundreds if not thousands of Antithesis and helped recover a Samurai¡¯s body. A guy about to start a new home guard system. A guy who could just give the word to his AI and have a clear lane just for himself.


    My life had just gone through a¡­ change to put it lightly. But just for now I got to live as a normal wage slave. Puffing a cigar to deal with the migraine of NOVA traffic as I tried to come to grips with it all. Byllona offered to talk to me but I said no. I¡­ needed a moment.


    As I watched the cars zooming about as if this whole area hadn¡¯t just been under an alert I couldn¡¯t help but think about how this was probably going to be the last normal moment of my life. By tonight the Open Source Intelligence people on the mesh would know everything about me, by tomorrow night there would be fans at my doorstep, by the end of the week I would have at least one binder full of a single proposal from Lockheed, then the next day a flood of others.


    As I left Costco I went ahead and flipped off my interior sensor bar. I know they are watching.


    Soon my car settled down into the garage of my building and I snuck up the stairs to my apartment. The guard was probably halfway through his Balatro 3 run at this time so he wouldn¡¯t notice me. Besides. I was still geared up and knowing the dude he was smart enough to just call the cops instead of playing hero anyway.


    Playing hero is how you wind up in the metric ton of shit I was in. Fuck.


    I walked into my tiny one bedroom apartment and put my helmet down on a coat rack before collapsing onto my gaming chair with a long groan. Carefully though. The chair was not a super nice one but it was nice enough and here I was dropping who knows how many pounds of armor onto it.


    I turned my chair a little and looked at the small collection of old war guns on display and reproduction helmets. Good thing I went to the range so often with them I guess. Going to be lots of shooting in my future now.


    My phone was pinging away but I didn¡¯t even bother looking. I knew it was co-workers talking about what they had seen in the fight and discussing the hot new Samurai that was sticking around. Probably debating who was going to get dibs on meeting him first. I sighed, took out my phone, saw I was right, and texted my manager I would be in late tomorrow and had something important to discuss with him. Felt bad I wasn¡¯t going to be able to give a two weeks, but how the fuck could I stay on as a Samurai!? At least the PMC guys could be shuffled around but The Family was there to serve and work for Samurai.


    I didn¡¯t even know what to tell my parents! I mean ¡°hey mom and dad! Im going to be risking my life in horrible ways from now on!¡± Sure dad would be proud since I never made it into the military proper like him, but this was different.


    I took a long, deep breath. Grabbed a bottle of brandy, and started to chug. Tonight I was going to turn off my brain and let tomorrow me figure it out.


    Did Samurai get hangovers? Well fuck. Another thing for tomorrow me to figure out. Maybe the pain would help keep my brain from going nuts.


    Always dreamed of this and now that wish is granted. Any more fingers left on that monkey paw?

 Chapter 11: Time for "work."

    ¡°All of you see Samurai at their most epic, at their toughest. Or dead. You never see us when we wake up in the morning, stub our toe, or when we fall out of bed.¡±


    Eager Eagle - 2056


    ********


    Pain.


    Pain in EVERYTHING.


    Pain in my head.


    Pain in my back.


    Pain in my legs.


    Even a LITERAL pain in my ass.


    This is what happens when you push an out of shape body for far longer it has been pushed in years after taking some alien medication that caused massive instant weight loss. All of that followed up by drinking hard.


    I could see one empty bottle of whiskey already on the floor by my bed and I hoped that was the only one.


    I got up with a long groan and didn¡¯t bother looking at the clock. I knew I was running late for work, but it wasn¡¯t going to be my job pretty fuckin¡¯ soon. I saw a few texts asking if I was okay pop up on my phone and I sent a simple ¡°Coming in soon.¡± Reply. Can¡¯t blame them. Never was late without warning before and all of them knew I was close to the battlezone yesterday.


    I did not want to do today.


    ~I successfully kept your address censored through the night. Some people have probably independently verified your identity, but I kept it from being spread. I also took the liberty of confiscating all the money people put up for bounties to get the information. I did ask for permission but you were drinking a bit heavily at the time.~


    I rubbed my face as I stripped and got in the hot shower. It was weird having to wash a, frankly hot, body rather than something on the heavier side of ¡°dad.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Byllona.¡± I let out a sigh and started to wash up. ¡°And yeah, woulda given permission for you to do that if I was sober too.¡±


    ~You are welcome. You now have three million credits added to your accounts.~


    I paused, rubbed my head that was already unhappy with all the shit I had put the brain inside through, then let out a long groan. ¡°I will pretend I didn¡¯t hear that amount for now. Remind me later that my life has changed even more.¡± I groaned out as I rested my head against the shower wall.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ~Would you like medication to help heal your body¡¯s pain? Maybe a cure for your alcohol related suffering?~


    ¡°Thanks, but no. I think it will be better for my mental health to focus on the pain right now rather than everything else.¡±


    Yep. Just think about how fucked up my body was rather than my life. Have a crisis over the whole ¡°my life just changed¡± stuff later. Was it the healthiest way to deal with it? Nope. I doubt there have been many psychological studies, papers, or really anything to deal with this though.


    Hard to put someone in power armor on a couch, much less ask them how they feel.


    Fuuuck. Now I know why liver and stomach swaps were so popular for Samurai.


    I slid out of the shower and dried myself off. I sat down on one of the bath mats and just let the lingering steam help clear my head just a little. Once I built up some more energy I got back up and trimmed my beard, did my hair, then walked out to my room. I almost put on my normal work clothes, but eh. Why bother? By the time anyone realized something was up with what I was wearing it would already be too late. What were they going to do anyway, write me up?


    I poked my head out of my door and looked down both hallways. Nobody. Thank god. I did NOT want to deal with paparazzi or some mil suit with a hangover. The voice in the back of my head (the natural one not Byllona) was reminding me I could legally kill them now, but while it did sound like it would be cathartic I doubt the act would be very good for my mental state long term. Plus the gunshout would be HELL on this hangover.


    Well. Made it to my car and flipped on the autodrive once more, cut and lit a cigar just like every other morning, and put on music since I knew the normal mesh personalities I listened to would be talking a ton about the new Samurai since most of what I listened to fell into the ¡°Samurai news¡± or ¡°cool historical stuff¡± categories. Things that yesterday I was more than a little involved in. While it probably would be ego stroking and cool to listen to people say how cool I was I decided to have just one last normal ride to work.


    Soon I landed at work and opted to park in the normal spot I always parked in. Sure I could park in the fancy Samurai area right by the door, but I felt I owed it to my boss and co-workers to explain the situation to their face since me landing in said spot was going to at least make security come out and start asking questions.


    I took another long, deep breath and got out regretting the fact I didn¡¯t bother to drink water last night or this morning. I did, however, give myself a pass since I did have quite a bit on my mind. Not that my mind was going to give me a pass though.


    I walked up to the door, badged in, and walked towards my cube farm. I could see people giving me weird looks since I was clearly hungover in the middle of the week and wearing casual clothes. Nobody bothered to stop me though. They all knew I belonged here and a couple even knew where I was yesterday. Probably just thought I was taking it hard.


    I didn¡¯t make it to my desk though as my supervisor and a few co workers were all standing around it. A pack of my favorite sodas and some snacks were on my desk. Damn, I was going to miss working with these guys and gals.


    ¡°Hey man, are yo-¡± The supervisor looked me over and whistled. ¡°No. Go home.¡± He ordered. ¡°You are almost NEVER late unless there is traffic and I have never seen you in jeans in my LIFE. Plus your face looks like..¡± He shuddered. ¡°Just go home man. You need the rest. Come back after a bit. I bet it had to be rough being right there at the site of an incursion.¡±


    I took a deep breath and leaned against a cube wall. ¡°Yeah¡­ about that.¡±

 Chapter 12- quitting time

    ¡°Yeah, all that fighting has to suck, but I never have seen a Samurai stare at a google excel spreadsheet for eight hours straight.¡±


    Office worker- 2040


    _________


    Well, this was it. The only people that will be harder to tell I had just become a Samurai was my parents. These people were the closest things I had to friends, knew more about Samurai than just about anyone else, and me becoming a Samurai meant that I would not get to hang out with them as much. One, I would be losing this job for sure since I would have to focus on Samurai stuff and the fact I had enough money now I didn¡¯t need to even work anymore.


    The second part was we were in sales. We talked to Samurai, got their old shit, then sold it to the local military groups, contract companies, other Samurai wanting to diversify or try stuff out, and more for banks to help fund the Family.


    Now that I was a Samurai all my old friends now had to treat me like a client rather than a co-worker or friend since there were pretty much no Samurai around. Granted we did business with the Samurai in some of the outposts and settlements nearby, but those places were far out there.


    ¡°Look¡­¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°Y¡¯all know about the new Samurai right? The Anachronist?¡± I looked around at my co-workers. ¡°Welll¡­ That¡¯s me. I got picked after defending the vault when it didn¡¯t close.¡±


    My boss let out a swear then to my surprise I saw people smiling wide while others let out swears of their own before using their augs for something. ¡°What¡¯s up? I know we don¡¯t have a ton of work recently so why are some of you so pissed off? We can still hang out sometimes?¡±


    Karla, the girl that sat next to me, laughed hard. ¡°Oh bitch please. Bets are being settled right now. We are not mad at you!¡±


    The fuck?


    ¡°The fuck do you mean bets are being settled? You guys bet on me being the new Samurai!? How? Why?¡±


    ¡°There was nothing to do yesterday and suddenly we were lit up with news about a new ¡®rai, so of course we watched what was going on.¡± Steve chimed in. ¡°Mary cheered when Captain Carnage was reported dead. Never could stop him from sending her pics of his ¡°Hammer.¡±-Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Never understood why he was so proud of it. More of a knife than a sword and from what Sally said the lazy bastard never could use it ri-¡± Mary cut Steve off only for Steve to grab the conversation back.


    ¡°-ANYWAY. A new Samurai pops up where you went as well, so we were watching the news to see if we could spot you. Instead we see a Samurai with a love for pre-anthesis history running around. I want you to name three other locals who know more about pre-anthesis history more than you who don¡¯t work at the museums or teach.¡±


    ¡°Plus the new Sam¡¯ was damn good at tactics and clearly knew their shit about Sam¡¯ stuff.¡± Karla chimed in.


    ¡°Right! Well we connected the dots and some of us guessed it had to be you under that mask. Many said no since you were skinny now, but I pointed out a lil¡¯ ¡®rai tech would help you lose weight. Arguments broke out and we settled on making bets. Once you came in late and skinny as fuck most of us demanded to be paid out right then and there, but Bob-¡± Steve motioned to the boss. ¡°-said if we were gonna bet on you like a sim race we had to wait until the news crossed the finish line.¡±


    I stared at them for a long time before finally sighing and nodding along. ¡°Yeah. Fair enough.¡± I looked up at all of them with a smile. Yeah, I was gunna miss these guys. ¡°Hey Bob, tag.¡± I called out to my former boss.


    ¡°What do you mean ta-¡± He blinked before letting out a long groan of pain. ¡°Of course you didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Nope! I wanted to let you guys know first after all! Besides, I didn¡¯t want to deal with any of their pitches juuuust yet. You also get the honor of announcing I am staying in the family.¡±


    ¡°Some honor! Do you know how much paperwork it is going to be to announce you are a Samurai now!? I don¡¯t have any fuckin¡¯ idea since I haven¡¯t even heard of another time a member of the family¡¯s corporate becoming one! Plus, you were under my command! I am going to be answering questions for hours!¡± He hissed.


    ¡°Yeah, but maybe you will get a bonus. Plus you would get paid for the questioning.¡± I pointed out with a smug smile.


    ¡°I can¡¯t help but feel like you are getting me back for something.¡± He let out a long, deep sigh from his very soul. ¡°Fine.¡± He then looked at the others. ¡°Get ready for questioning.¡± He warned the rest. ¡°This is a rare chance for the family to get lots of information to help track down potential Vanguard candidates so you know they are going to come after us all. I¡¯ll ease up on deadlines as well when they start dragging us to the fancy rooms since it is going to take awhile. Oh, and I will try to get a few company lunches out of this in order to ¡®celebrate.¡¯ I¡¯ll tell em¡¯ it¡¯s to help encourage team building and to try to bribe you all for more info.¡± He explained with a smug smile to the crew that just cheered along.


    I was going to miss working here for sure.


    ¡°By the way, Bob. I am going to need your help running a plan up the ladder. Sure I could strong arm it like most Samurai, but this plan probably will work better with the Family happily working alongside me rather than just because I told them to.¡±


    Bob then froze and his smile faded. He walked up to me, patted my back, and motioned for me to follow. Naturally, I did.


    ¡°Hey. Anachronist.¡± He whispered to me. ¡°Shit is more fucked than you might think.¡± He whispered softly. ¡°It¡¯s on a need to know basis and up until now you didn¡¯t really need to know. Now that you are a Samurai, one with a¡­ particular loadout, you will need to know. Get ready for a special meeting soon.¡± He warned.

 Chapter 13: Time for a meeting

    ¡°Expect the-¡±


    Last words of a PMC near the front lines. - 2040


    ¡ª------


    No swear words come to mind for this. Just¡­


    I knew things in the area were bad, but this. This is a whole new level of bad.


    Okay, so rewind to the start of the meeting.


    The NOVA area had three massive towers where most people lived. Each separated into their own speciality: The Tyson Tower was the entertainment and shopping hub which also held the majority of the offices for the various corporations. The Fairburke tower was the home of the wealthiest and most elite as well as most of the major politicians. The Woodbridge tower was for lower income people like me. Between them was the sprawl of suburbs, shopping centers, and more that didn¡¯t quite make it into the towers.


    There was supposed to be a third that had just finished development before the antithesis overran it. The Stafford spire. It was a bit further south but it was recognized that as the population grew and needed more room, particularly with refugees from the area flooding in, a fourth tower was needed. It was going to be for the middle class, a few offices, and home to many of the military contractors. Everyone could see its husk still looming into the sky, empty and unused, or so we thought.


    I had been dragged into a meeting just after meeting up with my old coworkers by upper level family members. Taken to the nice and quiet confidential conference room with all the nicest soundproofing, no windows, and more money could buy to make sure whatever was said in the room was left with the people they wanted. In the room were some nice and shiny starred people from the army, marines, and air force. At the front of the room was a man I only knew about in passing since I was never high up enough to even get to say good morning to him. The head of the local family branch.


    ¡°Good morning Anachronist. Please sit down.¡± He offered me the nice and comfy chair at the head of the table. ¡°Please keep what you are about to learn to yourself. This is a need to know basis to the level other Samurai are not permitted to learn about it until we can be sure they will not leave the area.¡±


    I shrugged and sat down glad my hangover was almost gone. I had no clue I was in for a headache that would make the last one feel like someone gave my head a small flick.


    The door was closed and a 3d map of the abandoned Stafford spire and the surrounding sprawl popped up. ¡°This is the Stafford area.¡± He explained as the view changed to a sea of yellow, orange, and a few light red spots around the spire. ¡°And this is our current knowledge of the antithesis concentration in the area.¡±


    It was bad out there, worse than I had expected even. It was clear there were hives set up all over the place. It was hard to clear them out when not many Samurai wanted to come close to the area to begin with, but the military made it worse by insisting the area was their duty to clear.


    ¡°Well. It is the announced concentration of antithesis. This is the real map.¡± Some yellow turned to orange, a few more red dots appeared, but overall not too much worse. Then I looked up.


    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± I whimpered out.


    The tower. The whole fucking tower. It was a deep crimson from its base to the top. It was one giant hive.


    ¡°An appropriate reaction.¡± The head sighed and nodded along. ¡°When the tower was built it was built with the antithesis in mind. The idea was to make it as strong as possible with as many emergency supplies and water sources we could cram in so that if the antithesis overran the area it could turn into a massive vault.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    He zoomed in on the tower.


    ¡°The problem is it was overrun through the sewage system we had yet to properly secure. Once the first few floors were lost the volume of antithesis prevented us from sealing the building so it was fully overrun. Without Samurai support the local forces stood no chance and retreated. The antithesis then used the emergency supplies, gardens, parks, water sources, and more to grow out of control.¡±


    He turned to face me.


    ¡°Due to how reinforced the building was it was deemed to not be worth bringing the tower down with how much ordinance it would require. On top of that all resources had been diverted to stopping the wave to keep it away from the three secure towers and D.C.¡±


    I rubbed my chin looking it over. ¡°What kept you from assaulting it afterward?¡± I asked. Although looking at the star studded boys in the room trying to look everywhere but at me I had a bad feeling.


    ¡°By the time we pushed the antithesis back to the tower and established a line it was determined by the military and government officials that the area would be quarantined and designated for use by the military. Officially it was due to the military struggling to deal with the threat without Samurai support.¡±


    ¡°Unofficially?¡±


    ¡°Unofficially the military and arms manufacturers wanted to keep the tower and the nearby area infested. This was so there would be a known local area where they could test their new weapons without the risk of the area seceding. Any new weapons we designed or obtained Samurai tech were taken to this area and tested.¡±


    He zoomed out and motioned to the line where all the antithesis colors stopped.


    ¡°The containment line has been continuously reinforced and given the best tech we can develop, and even a number of Samurai tech we could afford to spare. It has always easily held off any incursion attempts from the tower. Due to this and the tests along with the lack of open growth we thought the area was being properly culled.¡±


    He tapped his tab and a new picture popped up on screen of the tower with a few strange branches growing out of the top.


    ¡°Then we spotted these growing out of the tower. Due to us believing there was not enough biomass in the tower we assumed they would not use it to grow more than a basic hive.¡±


    The picture then changed to what looked like an alien world. Glowing pods, vines, antithesis crawling everywhere, and more. When I looked close I could kinda make out the human stuff it had grown around, on, and through.


    ¡°This was taken shortly after. We managed to get some drones inside and discovered a worse case scenario. The entire building is now home to one of the largest hives on record. This hive extends from the subterranean areas to the top of the tower uninterrupted. We believe the only reason it has not posed any more of a threat than it has so far is due to the culling we do in the surrounding area and the fact it is low on biomass. It appears that it was so focused on growth in such a safe and well stocked place it didn¡¯t have much left over to build more antithesis besides enough to make new hives around it.¡±


    I just stared at the tower of red. Even Byllona was silent as we tried to understand the magnitude of what had been on my doorstep for years.


    ¡°The tower itself was so reinforced that we are unable to do any real damage to the hive within using conventional weapons. Due to the hives surrounding it and the sheer volume within we deemed frontal assaults as even less viable. If we knock it over then we will wind up with a whole line of highly dense antithesis hives that will be dispersed into areas under our control so that option is denied. Bringing in outside Samurai was denied due to the panic and issues it would bring both politically and to our military the news of such a hive would cause.¡±


    I just shook my head. ¡°So you just¡­ let it sit?¡± I asked in pure shock.


    ¡°We ran harassment campaigns and tested new equipment on it, then any new equipment that was deemed effective was used to continue to harass the tower to try and keep it contained. We also target any outgrowths that appear in the tower both to stop its growth and to prevent the public from getting hints.¡±


    I could only rub my face in annoyance. ¡°So why drag me in so fast?¡±


    The suits looked me in the eye at long last.


    ¡°You are the first that has the catalogues that are fit to handle it. You have conventional weapons and gear that is good for clearing out entrenched positions and securing lines. All the others use high explosives that risk the tower¡¯s structural integrity or just pass out guns.¡±


    The family head spoke up. ¡°And you seem like your gear could help reinforce the line.¡±


    I took a deep breath and leaned back in my seat. Nothing was ever easy, was it?