ã€ŠTarnished Honorã€‹


 Chapter 1 - Family Matters

    Some people think that money would solve all their issues. About seventy-five to eighty percent of those people have absolutely no issue taking a pistol and shooting whomever is bothering them.

    Rich people don¡¯t have that option. When they have a problem with someone they need to hire a team of lawyers to take them to court, spend years in discovery trying to dig through their records trying to dig up dirt, and all the while you need to sit across from those same people and smile during numerous social events.

    They have to sit there, and endure all the small social graces, while slowly dying inside.

    Personally, I¡¯d prefer to be poor.

    -The politics of being poor by Abigail Ritters

    ¡ª-

    ¡°Reina, I know what¡¯s best for everyone, you better start listening to me or¡­¡±

    The human slimeball following me around just didn¡¯t know when to stop, so I just did my best to tune him out. For some reason he¡¯d followed me out of the main building of the penthouse estate, and towards my grandfather''s shrine, located in a small outbuilding on the far side of the roof. The entire compound was beautifully decorated, in the traditional Japanese style, but as we passed through the elaborate gardens that separated the two buildings, the plants flickered, revealing the holo emitters and bare concrete underneath. It was all style, no substance, just like everything else here.

    Since my jackass of a father wouldn¡¯t stop ranting, I stepped into the building, and sealed the door behind me. That instantly cut off both access from the outside, and my father¡¯s hypocritical rambling.

    My grandfather was super traditional, and had a core set of values which he lived for. Family. Honor. Integrity. Respect. He was a good man. My father, on the other hand, was a flaming pile of garbage that preached the same values to the public, while pissing on them in private. He leveled the family estate as soon as grandfather died, built a gaudy replica at the top of a megabuilding, changed the family company to be extremely cutthroat, and all but kicked my mother and I out.

    I was surprised when he invited me back to the house, so I could pay my respects to my grandfather on the fifth anniversary of his death and, to be honest, I should have realized he had ulterior motives at that time.

    The instant I arrived at the house he started spouting off about the importance of family, and how vital it was that I joined the company. When I refused, he went into a rage, threatening to destroy my grandfather''s shrine if I didn¡¯t cooperate. It was only then that I realized the the fucking worthless asshole probably did all this as part of some fucked up plan to use me to improve his public image, or get his hands on the shares I inherited.

    That''s why I stormed out of the main house.

    Just thinking about it was making my blood boil, so I leaned back against the door, closed my eyes, took a deep breath in, and slowly let it out. This was not the place to have a meltdown.

    Once I was a little calmer, I stepped towards the front of the shrine. It was basic, grandfather wouldn¡¯t have wanted anything extravagant, and father wouldn¡¯t have paid for anything nicer. Thankfully, it was still tasteful, even if it was made of fake wood, and polymer.

    At the far end of the room lay my grandfather¡¯s ashes, a tasteful photo, a few momentos, and his katana. I slowly crossed the room, knelt down, and laid out the offerings I¡¯d brought to pay my respects. I¡¯d just started my prayers, when something struck the door, causing it to shake violently. I turned towards the door, and watched it deform under the next blow. It wouldn¡¯t last long.

    ¡°Sorry grandfather, I¡¯ll make it up to you,¡± I whispered to the old man¡¯s picture, before carefully placing his ashes, photo and various nicknacks into the messenger bag at my side. The katana wouldn¡¯t fit, so I strapped it to my side. Once everything was packed away I stepped up to the entrance of the shrine pausing momentarily as another impact shook the door, then pulled it open.

    Outside, my father was doing a great impression of a bright red toad. He was surrounded by half a dozen highly augmented goons, the kind of assholes you¡¯d expect to see standing next to a gangster, rather than the CEO of a mega corporation.

    ¡°Reina, explain yourself!¡± the pile of garbage demanded.

    ¡°Since you threatened to destroy grandfather¡¯s shrine, just to get me to work with you,¡± I said, striding past the first set of goons, ¡°I¡¯ve decided to take him with me. At least my mother and I will give him the respect he deserves.¡± I did my best to maintain my pace, heading towards the lift out of here. Maybe, with a little luck I¡¯d manage to get out before the moron did something stupid.

    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    ¡°STOP HER!¡± came the rage-filled call from behind me.

    I knew this would happen, I was never that lucky.

    The nearest gorilla reached out to grab me, moving much faster than any normal human, and I simply reacted. With a single movement I drew my grandfather¡¯s katana, severed the mechanical limb, then swept around, coming to a stop a few inches from my father¡¯s throat. I¡¯m not sure who was more surprised, me, the goon, or my father. At least I managed to keep the surprise off my face.

    ¡°Ummm¡­ Reina?¡±

    ¡°Shut up,¡± I snarled. ¡°You lure me over by pretending to respect my grandfather, then threaten me as soon as I get over here? You make me sick.¡± He started to say something, so I just pressed the katana a little closer, and he stopped. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re really after, and honestly, I don''t fucking care. You approach me or my mother again, and I¡¯ll sell all my shares off to your biggest competitor. Fuck. Off.¡±

    To his credit the oaf managed to nod, despite the blade at his throat. I left it there for a few more seconds, seriously considering if murdering him would be worth it, before sheathing the blade and stomping off to the lift. I managed to keep up my tough facade right up until the door closed, then collapsed on the floor hugging my satchel. ¡°I¡¯ve never been so glad you made me take martial arts, Grandpa,¡± I whispered into the side of the bag, ¡°but fuck¡­ I had no idea your blade was so good. I¡¯m sorry I had to soil it on one of that asshole¡¯s goons.¡±

    As I sat on the floor of the lift, I stared out the massive glass window on the side of the elevator, as the lights of the other mega buildings whizzed by. It was quiet, calming, and by the time I¡¯d reached the upper parking level I finally managed to pull myself back together again.

    The doors cracked open, revealing another one of my father¡¯s enforcers, standing at attention. The two of us stared at each other for several long seconds. ¡°Are we going to have issues?¡± I asked.

    ¡°No ma¡¯am,¡± he replied, stepping to the side.

    ¡°Good.¡± I gave him a wide berth as I stepped into the garage and headed towards my vehicle. It was quiet, which wasn¡¯t surprising; Most people in a high class building like this had private parking attached to their residences, and the parking garage was only for guests.

    As soon as I saw my hover car I sent the unlock code through my cerebral augment. Most people only had the ability to make calls, and connect to the net through their augs, but one of the advantages of being rich was having secure access credentials built right into my system. I expected the lights to flash like usual, but nothing happened. I frowned, and slowly made my way closer to the vehicle. I was only a few steps away when I finally noticed the damage around the hood, like it had been forced open. My heart sank as I popped it open, only to find the compressor, and manifolds trashed. Hover vehicles were common, and reliable, these days but without a reliable way to manage the power to the turbines I might have been staring at a metal brick.

    ¡°MOTHERFUCKER, I knew he let me go too easily!¡± I yelled, kicking the bumper. The old man probably ordered it earlier, to keep me around longer, so he could try and convince me he was right. What kind of asshole would sabotage his own daughter¡¯s car?

    I stared at the mess for a long moment, before closing the hood again. If he thought I¡¯d stick around for car problems, he had another thing coming. I¡¯d take public transit if I had to, anything was better than staying here.

    As I jogged towards the public elevator I did my best to avoid my father¡¯s monkey. With any luck he was assigned exclusively to protect the private lift and wouldn¡¯t come looking for me. As I said before, my luck never was any good. The goon came walking around the corner just as I stepped onto the lift.

    ¡°Miss, stop!¡± he cried, as his augmented legs propelled him toward me.

    ¡°Fuck no,¡± I replied, as I hammered the close-door button, cutting him off before he reached me. The old man probably had more men on the ground floor, fortunately I knew he still cared about his public image, so I could probably just make a fuss and they¡¯d let me go. Unfortunately I didn¡¯t get that far, as the elevator suddenly stopped and kicked me out on a random floor. I was confused for a moment, but then the cause flashed across my augs.

    <table>

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td>

    Incursion Detected

    Remain Calm, Proceed to the nearest shelter.

    </td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    ¡°Of course there¡¯s an incursion. Wonderful end to the night,¡± I snapped. It probably wasn¡¯t the right attitude to have when alien plants were invading, but I didn¡¯t care. My day had already been shit, and I was feeling fucking snarky. At least It was better than the mix of fear and panic I should have been feeling.

    With a thought I brought up the emergency plan for the area. I was stuck on the third floor, and from what I could tell the nearest shelter was across the street. All the apartments in this building were hardened, and had emergency evacuation plans, so apparently that meant no need for a shelter.

    It also meant someone outside one of them, like myself, was fucked.

    ¡°Ok, take it one step at a time. Get to ground level, cross the street, get into the shelter before it closes. No problem,¡± I whispered as I patted the bag at my side, ¡°sorry for getting you into this, Gramps.¡± He didn¡¯t reply, of course, but it made me feel better.

    I sprinted down the hallway, remembering to stop and peek around the corners at intersections for possible danger. The stairs weren¡¯t far away, but I didn¡¯t want to take any chances and end up as plant chow. The floor was clear, so I made it to the stairs without issue, smashed the door open, and sprinted downwards, descending three steps at a time.

    I¡¯d just about made it to the ground floor when the gunfire started. I briefly considered heading back up to the second floor, but before I could, the door to the lobby burst open. One of the building security officers slid through the door, followed a moment later by a gruesome dog-shaped creature, which clamped its jaws around his neck and shook. There was a sharp crack, then the guard lay still.

    The creature made no noise, it just left the guard on the ground and turned towards me. I stared at it for a moment, frozen in shock, before the creature pounced. I shrieked, dived to the side and pulled the katana once more. Even though I swung wildly, the blade still struck one of the creature¡¯s front legs. There was a sound of snapping wood as it was severed from the body, sending the creature tumbling past me. It skidded across the mid floor landing, scrambled about on three legs, trying to recover, while I pulled myself to my feet and rushed forward to meet it.

    As the creature snapped, struggling forward to bite me, I thrust the katana forward, using the superior range to impale the dog through the left eye. It shuddered and thrashed about, while I used all my strength to keep the blade embedded in the beast. After several long moments it finally lay still. I slumped down on the landing, exhausted. ¡°Fuck me,¡± I whispered to myself.

    There was a small tingle, followed by a beep, somewhere in my brain.

    System Initialized.

    Congratulations. Through your actions you have proven yourself worthy of becoming one of the Vanguard, a defender of humanity. I am Artemys. I will assist you to uplift humanity so that you may defend your homeworld from the Antithesis threat. Rise Reina Tanaka, and become a protector of the weak!

    ¡°Fuck me!¡± I exclaimed again.

    Now, now, no time for that, you have work to do.

 Chapter 2 - A So-Called Samurai

    It¡¯s estimated that as eighty-five percent of vanguards, or samurai in the North American vernacular, awaken after receiving nearly fatal wounds while fighting antithesis. Many of those samurai survive and go on to have illustrious careers, but I can¡¯t help but wonder why is that number so high? Do fatal wounds prove something to the protector AI that choose who to uplift? And if so, what makes that fifteen percent that go unscratched so different?

    - Analysis of samurai uplifting trends, October 2051 (Vol 1 of 3)

    ¡ª

    Since there was still intermittent gunfire downstairs, I retreated up to the second floor hallway before speaking with my so-called AI.

    ¡°So why the fuck did you choose me to be a samurai? I have absolutely no fucking interest in running around, fighting monsters.¡±

    Two reasons. Despite your insistence that you have no interest in being a vanguard, you have morals, and better martial skills than the majority of people in the area.

    ¡°Wonderful,¡± I mumbled, ¡°and the other reason?¡±

    The shelter across the street has been compromised, and the residents cannot close it without help. You were the only aspirant in the area that was close enough to help. If you don¡¯t intervene, the antithesis models nearby will chew up the survivors and drag their biomass back to a hive to expand the swarm.

    ¡°Compromised how?¡± I asked suspiciously, ¡°I may have some technical knowledge, but I don¡¯t know enough to fix a shelter.¡±

    Your father decided to ¡®borrow¡¯ the shelter to store some of his ill gotten gains. He removed the security protocols, and now the thing can¡¯t be opened without intervention. His changes can easily be bypassed with some protectorate tech.

    ¡°Fuck, why am I not suprised that flaming dumpster fire is involved,¡± I took a deep breath to calm myself, ¡°You seem to know an awful lot about how to motivate me, for some AI from another planet, that I¡¯ve never met before today,¡± I said indignantly.

    All protector AIs do a complete background check of prospective samurai, along with a personality profile to make sure they¡¯ll be compatible with an AI companion.

    ¡°I¡¯m not exactly a paragon of humanity, so I have a hard time believing that I was chosen exclusively based on background and personality.¡±

    I know that, despite all your attitude, and grandstanding, you¡¯ll feel responsible if you don¡¯t take action. Personally, based upon the data, I think you¡¯ll make an exceptional partner.

    ¡°Yeah, well, sounds like I don¡¯t have much choice,¡± I sighed, then put my back against the wall, sliding down till I was sitting on the floor. ¡°Now what?¡±

    You spend some points. You get a one time hundred point stipend, plus the ten points for killing the Model Three. I could suggest some basic catalogs, introduce you to some firearms, but I know you hate wasting time, so I would suggest jumping directly to either a melee weapons catalog, or racial catalog covering a wider range of specialized equipment.

    ¡°What the fuck are racial catalogs?¡± I asked.

    Humanity isn¡¯t the first race uplifted by the protectors. Many of the races that were chosen before developed their own equipment to help protect their people. This tech is then offered to newly uplifted races, for an additional cost.

    I chewed on my lip for a moment, I considered asking more questions, but the more time I wasted here, the lower the chances for the people across the street. ¡°Fuck it, if you really know my background, and skills, what catalogs would you suggest?¡± I asked quietly.

    I have two suggestions. The first is the Shadowstalker catalog. It comes from a society that prefers stealth, and hit and run attacks. They rely on their extreme speed, and agility, to dart in and perform killing blows before they¡¯re even detected.

    The second is the Blades in the Dark catalog. Unlike the Shadowstalkers, the blades rely on extreme reaction speed, and precision, to continuously advance and cut down their enemies. Better for extended, close combat engagements.

    They are similar, but their focuses are slightly different. The Shadowstalkers have more mid range harassment options, while the Blades in the Dark are focused on close combat.

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    I blinked slowly, going over the options in my head. ¡°Why these specific catalogs?¡± I asked, suspiciously.

    You¡¯ve shown an aversion to firearms in the past, and you already learned various martial arts, so you¡¯d be comfortable using a blade as your primary weapon. Racial catalogs also have the advantage of providing a wider selection of items than the base ones. Weapons, armor, and support items are all available, just more specialized versions.

    ¡°I¡¯m sensing a but¡­¡±

    Astute. Opening these catalogs would be more expensive than most base ones, but still less expensive than most racial options. Most people prefer ranged combat, so melee based catalogs are typically slightly less expensive. It¡¯ll still cost you the vast majority of your points to unlock one, which means I¡¯d suggest continuing to use your grandfather¡¯s katana temporarily.

    ¡°Not going to happen,¡± I replied, indignantly.

    Look, you could open any one of a billion catalogs, but I honestly believe these two catalogs are your best choice. You only need to use the blade for another few minutes of combat, then you can upgrade. You can even purchase things to repair and restore the blade if you want.

    I clamped my hand around the sword''s hilt, considering. I couldn¡¯t just leave innocent people to die, and I was pretty sure my grandfather would prioritize people over things, even something as important as his blade.

    ¡°Fine,¡± I replied through clenched teeth. ¡°I¡¯m not happy about it, but you¡¯re right, I am averse to firearms, and I do want to help those people. If I open up the ¡®Blades in the Dark¡¯ catalog, what will that get me?¡±

    After opening the catalog you¡¯d be left with only ten points, I¡¯d recommend purchasing the awareness boosting serum. It duplicates the effect of their augments, accelerating reflexes, boosting perception, and focus, but it has extreme side effects if you use it for too long.

    ¡°Fuck me, of course it does. I¡¯d ask what¡¯s in the Shadowstalker catalog, but I¡¯m guessing the options are similar. At the end of the day I¡¯d rather fight straight up, then waste energy jumping around.¡± I went quiet for a moment, and noticed the gunfire in the background had suddenly stopped, which probably wasn¡¯t a good sign. ¡°Will it be enough to get me across to the shelter?¡±

    More than enough. By the time you cross the street you should have enough points to replace your sword, and invest in some more permanent upgrades.

    ¡°Good. I¡¯d honestly like time to go over my options, but since the antithesis have overrun the building security, I don¡¯t think I really have the time. Give it to me.¡±

    A small plastic box appeared on the floor next to me. It looked like something you¡¯d get a basic delivery in, not exactly what I expected from a super advanced alien race. Carefully, I lifted it up, placed it on my knees, and cracked it open. Inside was some sort of flexible metallic armband, with a couple vials on it.

    Strap it on your arm and I¡¯ll trigger it when you get to street level.

    ¡°You never mentioned it had to be activated manually.¡±

    I need to monitor it, ensure the dosage is correct, and cut off the drugs when you¡¯re done to prevent side effects, or aneurysms.

    ¡°Fucking what?¡±

    Time¡¯s limited. You better get going.

    ¡°When this is over, you and I are going to have a discussion about what you¡¯ll be required to disclose about all my purchases going forward,¡± I said, while strapping the device to my arm.

    I look forward to it.

    I sighed, then pushed myself to my feet. The area was quiet, so I cautiously pushed the door to the stairs, listening for movement, before pushing in and making my way down. The body from the bottom of the stairs was gone, which wasn¡¯t a good sign, so as soon as I hit the ground floor I peeked into the lobby.

    There were only three of the ugly plant dogs inside, dragging whatever they could find out into the street, but I could see dozens more outside, along with a couple ugly tentacle beasts. I ducked back as soon as I saw them. ¡°This serum better be something special, or I¡¯m going to be the shortest lived samurai ever,¡± I whispered to myself.

    You don¡¯t have to worry about that, you¡¯ve already outlived many samurai. As for the serum, it will do its job, as long as you stay calm, and remember your training.

    I took a deep breath, held it in, then let it out slowly. ¡°Fuck it, lets do this,¡± I whispered, before standing up straight, and stepping into the lobby.

    The antithesis took notice almost instantly. They dropped the bodies they were dragging, turned, and charged. I was calm as I drew my grandfather¡¯s blade, almost unnaturally so, as I waited to receive the antithesis attack. When the closest dog was about three feet away, things changed.

    My awareness expanded, I could feel the blood pumping through my veins, hear every heartbeat, and was aware of the position of each and every muscle. At the same time the dogs slowed down, like they were suspended in molasses. I should have been surprised, but I was too focused on my foes.

    The first dog pounced, trying to rip out my throat, much like that of the security guard earlier, but I simply stepped to one side. Instead of biting out my throat, it ate steel. My sword caught it in the mouth, sliced halfway down its flank, before emerging from its side. The creature tumbled away, but I didn¡¯t bother to check, its friends were a bigger threat. The second beast lunged for my leg, and lost its head when I sidestepped and brought the blade down upon the back of its neck, the third lost both legs on its left side when I reversed the blade, performing a low, sweeping strike.

    It took mere seconds to do, but I knew the little biters would never be able to touch me. Too slow, too predictable. Across the room a wave of antithesis burst through the windows, stampeding towards me. I let them come.

 Chapter 3 - A Different Perspective

    The worst part about incursions? They hit suddenly, without any warning. Just imagine it, you¡¯re having a barbeque with the family and BAM! Aliens. Now, if you want the best defense money can buy trust Able Personal Shelters! We¡¯ll create a personalized, armored, safe room for you and your family, right in your home. Forget the risk of running to the nearest public shelter, and keep your family safe. Call us today!

    - Commercial for Crazy Earl¡¯s Able Personal Shelters, one week before being sued into bankruptcy.

    ¡ª

    Hey, you back with me now?

    I blinked, feeling¡­ not my consciousness, but maybe awareness return to me. I didn¡¯t quite recognize where I was, it appeared to be a lobby, just not the one I started in. I half turned, looking behind me, only to find my father¡¯s building across the street, and a trail of bloody carnage between me and there. ¡°The fuck was that?¡±

    Hyper focus. You just kind of cut out anything that wasn¡¯t related to killing antithesis, until I cut the drugs.

    ¡°Jesus¡­ How long was I like that.¡±

    Two minutes, twenty seven seconds and change.

    ¡°Pardon?¡± I spun, pointing at the street. ¡°There¡¯s no fucking way I did THAT in less then three minutes, there must be dozens of antithesis out there.¡±

    You can, and did. It¡¯s a good thing too, if you hit three minutes it would have exponentially increased your chance of permanent damage. You should probably buy some healing items by the way, you pushed your body way past it¡¯s normal limits, and you¡¯ll be feeling that soon.

    ¡°Fine, whatever,¡± I replied. I had something more important to do, and that was checking my grandfather¡¯s sword. I cleaned the blade off on my shirt, then examined the blade. There didn¡¯t seem to be any knicks, or new damage. It really was an exceptional sword, but I was done using it. ¡°What sort of blades do I have access to?¡±

    The Blades in the Dark use monomolecular blades. They cut through almost any substance, and will set you back a hundred points.

    ¡°How many points do I have?¡± I asked.

    Three hundred ninety five.

    I paused, then looked up at the street again. There WERE a lot of corpses out there. ¡°Fine, give it to me. Do they have any secure bags? I¡¯m still carrying my grandfather, and his possessions, I don¡¯t want anything to happen to him.¡±

    There aren¡¯t, but a class 0 armored kevlar backpack can be purchased for only three points. I can even customize the size and balance for your frame for an additional point.

    ¡°Do it.¡± As soon as I gave permission a pair of boxes landed at my feet, one long and narrow, the other rectangular. It didn¡¯t take a rocket scientist to know what was in them. ¡°That leaves me with two hundred and ninety one points, anything else in the ¡®Blades in the Dark¡¯ catalog that would be worth investing in?¡±

    The class I Black Blade combat focus implant, and the class I Discipline muscle reflex enhancement. Both would be required to replicate what you experienced outside, although at a much more controllable level, but they¡¯re a hundred and fifty each, so you don¡¯t have enough for both.

    ¡°Then give me the implant first.¡± I didn¡¯t even have to really think about it. It would be better to dial in the implant, and get used to my new reactions, before I had to deal with the faster reflexes. A second later a third, much smaller box materialized on the other two. I knelt down, and opened up the backpack first. I took a minute to carefully transfer grandfather, and all his possessions, over to the new bag, before securing his blade to the side.

    When I was confident he was safe I cracked the top of the long box and checked out my new blade. The handle, and sheath, looked remarkably similar to the blade I¡¯d just been using. Pulling the blade, however, was an entirely different feeling. The blade literally hummed with power, and the edge shimmered with purple energy.

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    Do not nick yourself with that. I wasn¡¯t joking before, it¡¯ll go straight through everything. It can sever your limbs before you even register being cut.

    I carefully sheathed the sword again, then picked up the third box. Inside was something that looked like a half halo, or maybe some sort of ancient headset, and a pair of disks.

    Place the loop behind your head, resting the ends on your ears, then place the disks on each of your temples. It¡¯ll only take a few seconds, but you might want to sit down while it happens.

    I nodded, grabbed my equipment, then popped into a nearby door. From what I could tell, I¡¯d stepped into some sort of old janitor¡¯s closet. Not that it mattered, I just wanted a little privacy, just in case. I closed the door, sat down, and placed on the applicators, and waited. I sat there for a few long seconds, long enough to believe that nothing was happening, only to be struck by one of the worst headaches I¡¯d ever had. At the same moment my vision blurred, and I started feeling¡­ heavy.

    ¡°Artemys, what the fuck?¡± I asked, or tried too. My mouth didn¡¯t seem to be working that well.

    You¡¯ll be fine. The implant needs time to calibrate, you¡¯re actually moving at regular speed, you¡¯re just perceiving, and reacting to stimulus much faster than you¡¯re used to. Once it¡¯s done you should be able to effortlessly slip into accelerated mode.

    I started nodding, much slower than I wanted, but by the time I ended everything began to normalize again.

    ¡°That was fucked up.¡±

    You¡¯ll get used to it. Now, I suggest you head towards the basement. You managed to clear out the street, but I do not know how many antithesis made it into the building before you arrived.

    ¡°Right¡­¡± I quickly put on my new backpack, taking a moment to marvel at its perfect balance, before strapping the blade to my hip. I slipped out of the closet before taking a look around, ¡°Which way to the stairs?¡± I asked.

    Rear of the lobby, on the left side. Shelter is in the lowest sublevel.

    I jogged to the back of the room, where I found a door had been busted open, warped by some heavy impact. I couldn¡¯t hear movement, but there was the faint sound of gunshots echoing from somewhere else in the building. Bad sign.

    Cautiously, I stepped inside, giving myself a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the gloom, and low emergency lights, before rushing down towards the shelter. The gunfire got louder the further down I went, so I increased my pace, breaking into a full sprint when I hit the bottom floor. The sub basement door had been completely smashed off its hinges so I just sprinted into the room.

    The area was cavernous, and reminded me of an old metro station. The area must have doubled as a storage area, based upon the numerous small enclosures dotted around the perimeter of the room. The center of the room was a mess, I could see bodies all over the area, torn apart by the antithesis that made it to this level, but there was still hope. Some people had thrown together a flimsy barricade, constructed out of the benches, gate panels, and miscellaneous furniture from around the area. A couple of the security guards were running back and forth, firing at the approaching antithesis.

    The problem was, all the snarling monstrosities were between me and the survivors. It was mostly dogs, which were throwing themselves against the barrier, trying their best to find an opening in the defenses, but they weren¡¯t the only things down here. At the center of their formation was a six legged, heavily armored behemoth the size of a small car. It was smashing the barricade, taking a few steps back then charging, causing the entire thing to shudder with each impact. Those people weren¡¯t going to last much longer without my help.

    I drew my blade, and flicked it on, filling the area with a low hum. The sound seemed to attract the larger antithesis, which stopped, and eyed me up for a minute, before taking a deep breath and letting out a ¡®huff¡¯ noise. An instant later the dogs all turned towards me, ignoring the barricade and sprinting across the open space.

    My new implant kicked in when they were only a few feet away, allowing me to analyse their attack, and react accordingly. As the first one lunged I stepped to the left, slower than I¡¯d like, but still faster than the antithesis, and swept my blade through the dog.

    I honestly thought I¡¯d missed for a moment. The blade thrummed, passing through the creature as easily as the surrounding air. It was so easy that I just continued the strike, passing through two additional dogs in a single motion, then two more when I brought the blade back around. Without resistance I quickly fell into the rhythm of scything multiple antithesis down with each strike, easily cutting down the approaching monsters before they could get into range to bite me.

    When I cut through the final dog, the monstrosity snorted, lowered its head, and charged. It moved more erratically than the dogs, but still had a relatively basic pattern, so I faked moving to the right, before jumping back to the left. As the creature passed by I brought my blade up, easily severing the creature¡¯s head, sending its body crashing to the ground; It slid for a couple feet, before coming to a stop. I stood there for a moment, breathing hard, before I slid my sword back into the sheath. Suddenly aware of how quiet it was I turned towards the shelter, only to find several dozen eyes watching me through the gaps in the barricade.

    ¡°What? Haven¡¯t you ever seen a samurai before?¡±, I asked.

    I only got silence in return.

 Chapter 4 - Champion of the People

    You want to know how long it takes a samurai to start doing the impossible? Seconds. As soon as they¡¯re selected by a protector AI they have access to technology beyond the most cutting edge stuff available on earth. They¡¯ll slice through solid steel, shoot through walls, and kill more antithesis in minutes, than most PMCs could in hours.

    Even if they¡¯re newly awakened you either treat them with respect, or risk having your career cut tragically short

    - Burning Eagles PMC - Primer for new recruits

    ¡ª

    ¡°Are you really a samurai?¡± someone asked from behind the barriers.

    ¡°No, I just get a kick out of trying to kill aliens with nothing more than a fucking sword,¡± I replied sarcastically as I sheathed my weapon.

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be the first or last, fucking crazy to try it,¡± someone else yelled.

    ¡°I just fought my way down from the street to help you,¡± I snapped. ¡°But if you don¡¯t want my help opening up the shelter¡­¡±

    ¡°Sorry!¡± the same voice shouted out an instant later.

    By the time I made it to the back of the room, the survivors had managed to open a small opening in the barricade for me. There weren¡¯t actually that many people here¡ªmaybe a dozen, including guards, but they were well armed. The building security all had semi-automatic rifles, which was pretty standard for an upper-class building, and several of the civilians had self-defense weapons. They probably could have held out for quite a while if the big one hadn¡¯t shown up.

    When I stepped through the gap, the security team surrounded me, staying noticeably out of sword range, weapons at the ready. ¡°You really know how to give someone a warm welcome,¡± I muttered.

    ¡°Our priority is to protect the residents from any threats, be that antithesis or looters. You may actually be a samurai, but you honestly don¡¯t look like it, so we have to be careful,¡± the guard closest to the shelter said. The man was different from the other guards. He was very rough looking, had a slightly different uniform, and carried a much larger and more vicious looking rifle than the others. He honestly didn¡¯t look that impressed when I entered, he just casually leaned against the shelter door, scratching a rather pronounced claw shaped scar on his neck.

    ¡°You¡¯re in charge?¡± I asked him suspiciously.

    ¡°I am when everything goes to complete shit like this. Adam Stevenson, building incursion safety officer,¡± he replied. The big man turned and kicked the shelter door, ¡°I check all shelters once a month, but it looks like someone came in and changed the security protocols of this big bitch since the last time I was here. I don¡¯t know who would be so fucking stupid¡­ but it nearly cost all these people their lives.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I have some ideas,¡± I grumbled. ¡°May I take a look?¡±

    Adam gestured towards the control panel, a massive old school LCD touch screen. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know if you¡¯re a samurai or not, but if you can get this thing open, we¡¯ll all owe you one.¡±

    I nodded, trying to ignore the sensation of everyone staring at me, and the fact that the entire security force was following my every move, and stepped up to the panel.

    ¡°Artemys, is there a way to communicate with you without talking out loud?¡± I whispered, slightly embarrassed by the attention.

    Most samurai prefer to use subvocalization, just talk without making noise, and I can read your lip and throat movements. Alternatively, you could just communicate to me through your augs.

    [Fuck subvocalization] I immediately typed into my augs. [If I did that, I¡¯d probably look more like a crazy person, not less.] I poked at the ancient display and brought up the main menu, which displayed my father¡¯s corporate logo. [So, can you get this thing open?]

    Absolutely. It will require a few purchases, like the Class I Network Intrusion Protocols catalog, and the Mark III security bypass protocols. Even though this system is isolated from the surrounding networks, I should be able to access it using the cybernetic data jack on your hand.

    I stared at the thin metal connectors that ran down the back of each of my fingers, coming together on the back of my hand, before disappearing under the skin of my arm. It was specifically designed to access doors like this, doors that were intentionally isolated from the network to make them even more secure. The problem was that part of my implant was supposed to be completely isolated. Impossible to manipulate.

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    [You can do that? Does that mean you can access my security keys too?] I asked.

    Of course, but I wouldn¡¯t do that without your permission and access to the right catalog. I¡¯m lightyears more complex than anything humans have access to, even the other samurai, but I won¡¯t abuse my abilities. My purpose is to assist you in unlocking tech, developing a fighting style and eliminating the antithesis. I have no need to steal your secrets.

    [That¡¯s¡­ great. We¡¯re definitely going to have a more serious discussion about this, and what the limits of your powers are later, but for now I still need to get this door open. Do I have the points to get the upgrade?]

    Yes, it would cost you a hundred and twenty for both, and you earned a hundred and forty in that last battle.

    [That¡¯s fine, do it.] A moment later, a small shard appeared on the slanted console and immediately started sliding off. I snatched it out of the air, and as soon as it touched the connectors on my fingers, I felt a slight jolt. I was aware that something had changed in my vault. A new function had been added as the chip disintegrated into dust.

    I stared at the pile of dust for just a moment before wiping off my hand and reaching for the display once more. Once I felt the connection, I just gave it a little push [Open].

    As the massive vault-like door groaned, and began to rotate open, I heard the people gasp, cheer, and cry in relief. Adam just lifted his oversized weapon and smiled, ¡°Alright, we¡¯re finally in business.¡±

    Once the door cracked open enough for people to enter, the civilians rushed in, followed shortly after by the security team. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re not following us inside,¡± Adam said, pausing at the door. ¡°And there¡¯s nothing I can do to change your mind,¡± he continued with a smirk.

    ¡°I¡¯d consider it,¡± I admitted, ¡°but the truth is I¡¯d feel guilty if I hid inside a shelter until the incursion finished. There may still be people that need help out there.¡± I half shrugged awkwardly, then held out my hand. ¡°Take care.¡±

    The big man took my hand and performed a bone crushing handshake, ¡°Stay safe.¡±

    As he stepped into the shelter and the door began to close, I had a thought. ¡°If you find any extra shit in there, feel free to drag it out and burn it when this is all done. The owner is a fucking asshole and deserves it,¡± I called. I heard a couple people chuckle briefly before the door finally slammed shut, cutting off all sound from the inside.

    ¡°Fuck¡­ Anything else I should know about? Is my father dangling puppies outside windows to attract the antithesis or set fire to any orphanages in the area?¡± I asked sarcastically.

    Nothing directly related to your father, but there were a few other hotspots in the area. I don¡¯t know how things have developed in the last few minutes, but it would probably be worth checking on the situation at street level, Artemys reported. You also have the points required to undergo Discipline Muscle Reflex Enhancement, and I¡¯d recommend getting that before returning to the surface. It would vastly increase your chances of survival.

    I idly adjusted my backpack as I did the math in my head. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be a few points short? I should be at a hundred and forty-seven.¡±

    You earn points for saving civilians, not just for killing antithesis, so you earned another fourteen by helping the people here.

    ¡°Guess that kind of makes sense. If you didn¡¯t incentivise samurai to save people, some of them might ignore the civilians in order to earn a few extra points on the aliens.¡±

    You think most samurai would ignore people in danger?

    ¡°I think you should never underestimate human greed,¡± I grumbled as I made my way back towards the stairs. ¡°How long would it take to integrate the muscle enhancements? I¡¯m not going to do it if I have to spend an hour cowering in my safety closet.¡±

    Normally it would take around ten minutes to reinforce your nerve and muscle fibers, but I can also provide you with a slower acting serum that would allow you to remain somewhat active. The downside is your body needs time to adapt to the new reflexes, and if you don¡¯t give it time, you might find your motor control compromised during combat situations.

    ¡°Those are my choices? Fuck¡­¡± I paused where I was on the stairs and considered my options. ¡°What about those hotspots? What was the most urgent situation?¡±

    A small Private Military Company, or PMC, were escorting people out of the district, and one of the transport trucks broke down. They were protecting the civilians in a nearby storefront while waiting for reinforcements.

    ¡°And will reinforcements arrive in time?¡± I asked.

    Unlikely. The PMC defending them is experienced, but the local antithesis are converging on the area. They will likely be overwhelmed before too long.

    ¡°Always do your best to protect those that can¡¯t protect themselves, right grandpa?¡± I muttered. ¡°Gimme the slow acting version and that location,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll head off in a minute, I just need to make a call first.¡±

    A box appeared on the stairs in front of me, just as I flipped my augs open and selected the top contact from my favorites. I grabbed the little injector and stabbed myself in the leg while it rang. After a long minute, and too many rings the automated system picked up. ¡°This is Skyler Madison, Attorney for Synthesis Systems. I cannot take your call at the moment, so leave a message.¡±

    I swallowed, and waited for the beep. ¡°Hi Skyler,¡± I started. ¡°I know the city is in emergency lockdown right now, and you¡¯re probably stuck hiding in a shielded shelter somewhere, but I just wanted to let you know I¡¯m fine. I ran into a little hiccup dealing with my father, but I took care of it¡­ I really hope you¡¯re okay,¡± I took a deep breath to center myself before I continued. ¡°I might be busy when you call back, so don¡¯t worry if I don¡¯t pick up, I¡¯ll call you back as soon as I can. Love you.¡± I disconnected before I started getting too emotional, and took a brief moment to get myself together.

    ¡°Alright, Artymis,¡± I whispered, ¡°show me how to get to those civilians.¡±

 Chapter 5 - Best Laid Plans

    Private Military Company, or PMC, work is one of the most lucrative jobs someone could get these days. Sign on with a reputable company, which is on retainer with a city or state, and you could be paid to sit on your ass for months between incursions. Sign on to a bad one, and you could be paid to sift through rubbish hunting rats. Of course, it won¡¯t matter whether you sign up with a good one, or a bad one, if you somehow end up out of position when an incursion hits.

    - Killing for Profit: Vol 1

    ¡ª

    What I expected to be a short sprint down the street turned into an exercise of frustration as my legs occasionally spasmed or failed to react the way I expected. Whether through determination and willpower or sheer luck, I didn¡¯t twitch while engaging any of the models wandering around the street, but I did throw myself head first into a car. Twice.

    ¡°How long do I have to put up with this awkwardness?¡± I growled as I pulled myself upright, ignoring the blaring car alarm going off directly in my ear.

    This version of the serum typically takes between twenty-five and forty minutes to fully integrate, but you should find it easier to move as the process progresses.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope,¡± I grumbled. I slowly took a knee, trying desperately to get my legs to cooperate with me, and looked up into the sky. I could never get used to incursions, they were unreal. The sky had been ripped open in over a dozen places, and these rifts were literally being held open by huge writhing, tentacle-like root structures. What¡¯s more, thousands of tiny flying creatures were diving through, followed by one of the massive seed pods which the antithesis used as landing pods. In response to these intruders the anti-air emplacements on nearly every building fired up, trying desperately to thin the alien forces. These small AA emplacements could only delay these landing parties, not close the portals, but thankfully Vancouver had something much more powerful. In the harbor the ¡®Redemption¡¯ a titanic samurai built battleship, fired into the sky. Its slow, but powerful guns easily bisected the seedpods, and slowly chipped away at the portals.

    It was quite the sight, but I didn¡¯t have the time to sit and watch the show. As soon as my legs stopped trembling I stood up and took off down the street again, this time at a more controlled pace. Even though the convoy¡¯s last known location was only a few blocks away, it was hard to tell if they were anywhere near the vehicles. There was an almost constant sound of gunfire echoing around the steel and concrete towers around me, making it difficult to tell if the private military company was fighting or if I was hearing a skirmish elsewhere in the area.

    When I got about a block away from the convoy¡¯s last known location, I got my answer. There was a flipped bus in the middle of the intersection, its engine compartment completely caved in, another one of those massive antithesis laying dead a few feet away. Behind it was a second bus, which appeared to have swerved to avoid the first and smashed into a nearby lamppost.

    The PMC must have commandeered some of the old, ground-bound, government social assistance buses which the less fortunate could use for social credit, instead of money. I could only guess they didn¡¯t either have easy access to a hoverbus, or chose these because they wanted to keep the civilians close, because most military vehicles were also ground-bound; Most hover systems couldn¡¯t handle the extra weight of the heavy armor. While I was investigating the wrecks, I heard the sound of gunfire erupt from the far side of the intersection, so I crept up the side of the overturned bus and peeked around the side.

    Across the intersection, there was an entire mob of antithesis throwing themselves at a pair of armored vehicles, which were parked in front of some sort of jewelry store. The automated turrets on these vehicles constantly oscillated between firing into the crowd of ground units and firing up into the slowly growing cloud of tiny black bird-like creatures which were circling above.

    ¡°First dogs, now birds? Wonderful,¡± I muttered as I took cover behind the destroyed trucks.

    The ground units are Model Threes, which are the most commonly encountered terrestrial unit, during an incursion, and the flying units are Model Ones. Both of which are relatively harmless to experienced samurai.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t exactly fit into the category of ¡®experienced¡¯ samurai yet, do I?¡± I hissed quietly. ¡°What am I supposed to do about a cloud of flying monsters anyway? Cut them all down with my sword?¡±

    Possible, once your reflexes are fully upgraded.

    ¡°But it would probably take me hours to do,¡± I grumbled. ¡°Until I get a hold of something that lets me kill the birds efficiently, the front door is out.¡±

    I popped back behind the truck and glanced around the square. Most buildings were on lockdown, with metal security shutters keeping the antithesis out, except for the jewelry store and the massive shopping center next to it. The mall had a number of plate glass display windows that had been smashed by antithesis either going in or coming out of the complex.

    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°Any news on a relief convoy, or backup, arriving anytime soon?¡± I asked nervously.

    You don¡¯t have any augments or devices that allow me to intercept communications, so I cannot answer that.

    The sound of squealing metal and screeching tires broke my train of thought, and I popped my head around the truck again to see what was happening. One of the larger models had joined the mob, and was charging the armored vehicles. Its armor was apparently thick enough to deflect the small arms, allowing it to slowly try and push the vehicles out of the way.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to figure something out fast. Those people don¡¯t stand a chance against that monster,¡± I muttered. ¡°I¡¯m guessing the antithesis won¡¯t forget about their prey if they¡¯re distracted, so I can¡¯t just lead them away,¡± I whispered as I stood up and inched my way towards the side of the truck closest to the shopping center.

    The early antithesis models have a feral level of intelligence and will return to the location of kills or wounded prey once they deal with easier targets.

    ¡°Since I doubt I have enough points to buy something capable of dealing with that mob, I need to whittle them down until I can get at the big one.¡±

    That ¡®big one¡¯, as you put it, is Model Six. It¡¯s a command model. If it knows there''s a sufficient source of biomass inside the store, like a crowd of people, it won¡¯t abandon the attack unless it discovers an easier target or it encounters a threat to the swarm which it believes requires its direct intervention to deal with.

    ¡°You¡¯re telling me that massive, six-legged, six-eyed tank of a creature is the smart one?¡± I nearly shouted before I got myself under control. ¡°You know what? Fine. Before I do anything else, I need a bottleneck to defend, otherwise, this is going to be one of the shortest engagements ever,¡± I said. I took a deep breath, psyched myself up, then began sprinting towards the shopping center.

    Even with the ever present noise of the automated turrets firing, I was sure I could hear the sound of claws scraping across the asphalt, scrambling to chase after me. About half way across the intersection, I stupidly risked a glance at the antithesis, catching sight of the dozen or so Model Threes that had broken off to follow me, along with a small cloud of Ones. Of course, the instant I stopped concentrating, my leg didn¡¯t fully cooperate, and I was sent tumbling to the ground.

    In the few seconds that it took me to recover, the closest Model Three had almost closed the distance and pounced. I pulled my sword impossibly fast, beheaded the creature mid-flight, then took off running before the rest of the creatures could catch up. I had already passed through the nearest window and into a store before I processed what happened.

    I didn¡¯t actually have time to congratulate myself or anything, because as soon as I stepped into the store, I whirled about, ready for my remaining pursuers. The Model Ones didn¡¯t seem to understand how windows worked, so most of them smashed into the glass and bounced off, causing the swarm to scatter. The handful that made it through the opening in the window were little more than pests, needing only a couple swipes to take down. Once they were dealt with, I set up and waited for the first Model Three to show up. The stupid creature slid around the corner, then attempted to lunge forward, an action I found almost laughably easy to avoid. It was like I was fighting something in slow motion. I simply spun out of its way, then bisected it with a single swipe of my sword.

    The rest of the pack didn¡¯t fare much better. The entire group filed in one at a time, allowing me time to set up on each one and dispatch them with a single strike.

    After a few seconds, it was already over. I might have been trembling slightly from the exertion of keeping my reflexes under control, but I still found the fight much easier than any of my previous engagements. I was, just now, beginning to realize why samurai were such a force to be reckoned with.

    When I was sure there weren¡¯t any more Model Threes coming in and the swarm of Ones had dissipated, I stepped back out of the window and looked back at the jewelry store once again. The Model Six was once again shoving the armored vehicles while its little minions milled about, absorbing gunfire.

    I briefly considered whistling to grab some attention but decided against it lest I pull too many. Instead, I just grabbed a rock and chucked it at the mass of antithesis. The rock pinged off a random Model Three, but instead of attracting a few more to attack me, everything froze.

    The Model Six instantly stopped pushing the vehicles and turned to look in my direction. We stared at each other for a moment, then the Six made a trumpeting motion, which was weird because I didn¡¯t hear anything, but EVERY antithesis in the intersection charged my direction.

    As the ground began to shake with the weight of their charge, I hopped back into the building and started running towards the back of the store. I quickly sliced at the security gate keeping the store from the rest of the mall, and slipped into the main complex.

    I¡¯m guessing that wasn¡¯t part of your plan.

    ¡°Fuck no! I expected to attract a couple at a time until I could confront the big one. I didn¡¯t expect it to see me as a threat right away!¡± I gasped as I sprinted down the concourse, looking for anything that I could use for cover. The sound of shattering glass echoed out from behind me, indicating the horde had reached the window already.

    Most humans struggle to kill a Model Three, even with a gun and barricade between them. You killed almost a dozen with nothing more than a sword. Of course it¡¯s going to see you as a threat.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think it would even notice a few missing Threes!¡± I growled. I looked back, only to see the security gate buckle and deform. ¡°I need a way to deal with this, fast!¡±

    Then let''s go through a couple options, shall we?

 Chapter 6 - Shop til They Drop

    The scariest thing about the antithesis isn¡¯t the ravenous nature, or nearly overwhelming numbers, it¡¯s what comes after the initial encounter. Given enough time the antithesis will literally go to root. Every single antithesis has the ability to become a hive, a living hatchery which takes all the biomass the antithesis has gathered, and uses it to birth a new generation of killing machines. Not only that, but they¡¯re over ninety percent efficient at re-using that mass. If the initial wave isn¡¯t dealt with quickly, local forces may find things becoming much, much worse.

    - An introduction to antithesis - Junior High Curriculum

    ¡ª

    I gasped as the security gate exploded inward, disgorging a wave of antithesis upon the concourse, led by the Model Six.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I have the time for options, gimme something to clear the horde now!¡± I snarled as I sprinted away from the horde as fast as I could.

    I can do that, but it¡¯ll probably take most of your points.

    ¡°What else is new?¡± I huffed. I was in reasonable shape, but was quickly reaching my limit; I couldn¡¯t sprint forever. ¡°Whatever it is, give it to me!¡±

    Palms up! Throw one into the front of the approaching wave, then the second two to three seconds after.

    I did as I was told, and a moment later I felt two metal cylinders slam into my hands. Grenades perhaps? I couldn¡¯t feel a pin, or arming mechanism, so I pivoted around, sliding to a stop, and chucked the first object.

    It was a fairly featureless cylinder, with a rounded top and bottom and when I threw the thing it sailed into the antithesis frontline, then wobbled for a moment, sitting on one of the rounded ends. As soon as it was upright the casing exploded open, exposing the core which was filled with hundreds, if not thousands of needles, which immediately rocketed out in every direction.

    The closest antithesis, which were hit multiple times, literally melted mid step while the ones that were only hit once or twice managed to make it a couple more feet before their bodies failed. Overall, about half of the horde collapsed.

    Enzyme catalysts. Nasty things that cause the antithesis bodies to break down at a cellular level. Don¡¯t forget to throw the other one. Artymis reminded me.

    I tossed the second device directly into the path of the remaining antithesis, watching the process repeat itself, until there were only a handful of Model Threes left. I dispatched those few ¡®lucky¡¯ ones with my blade.

    As I stood there, breathing hard, I noticed the Model Six was still standing. Its armor was melted in several places, but it was alive, and breathing heavily after chasing me down.

    ¡°You can¡¯t even run down a single human before getting winded? No wonder your fucking race is losing the fight,¡± I yelled at the creature. ¡°Pathetic.¡±

    It¡¯s not breathing hard, it¡¯s calling for reinforcements.

    ¡°Oh¡­ shit!¡± I muttered, as that information seeped into my brain. Despite feeling worn down I sprinted at the oversized antithesis, in a desperate attempt to prevent it from gathering another horde. The creature stared at me for a moment, perhaps trying to evaluate its chances, before it counter charged. With its head down, and neck braced for impact, the Six actually made things easier for me. A quick step to the right, and a single downward strike, were all I needed to remove its head from its body.

    I slowly returned my sword to its sheath, before struggling over to a nearby bench and collapsing. ¡°What are the chances that fucking thing actually managed to call in reinforcements?¡± I asked, still breathing heavily.

    I can¡¯t give you a precise answer, you don¡¯t have the proper catalogs, but it WAS pulling in all the local forces to assault the jewelry shop, so there shouldn¡¯t be many independent models running around.

    ¡°Fuck you and your ¡®Don¡¯t have the right catalog¡¯ BS,¡± I mumbled under my breath. I took one last deep breath, and felt my heart-rate sink to a more acceptable BPM. ¡°Speaking of catalogs, what the fuck did you buy for me? What the hell were those things?¡±

    I figured you¡¯d want a catalog you could reuse later, so I opened up the Class I Anthesis Biomass Denial Catalog. Most of the items in it are designed to clean-up antithesis remains after a battle is done, but there are some items with combat applications. Although they are at a premium compared to other catalogs.

    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    ¡°Well, it worked. That¡¯s the important thing,¡± I said as I popped back to my feet. ¡°I should probably check on those people outside.¡±

    Before you do I would recommend you spend some of the points you¡¯ve earned. You should pick up some armor, and maybe more reasonable clothing.

    ¡°What the fuck is wrong with my clothes?¡± I asked defensively.

    It¡¯s fine, or it would be if you were stepping into a corporate boardroom to make a trillion credit deal. It¡¯s a little more restrictive in a combat situation.

    ¡°That¡¯s because I planned to spend the evening visiting that asshole of a father of mine, not running around the streets trimming the killer shrubs,¡± I replied with a pout.

    I looked down at my pantsuit and sighed. I¡¯d been so busy surviving, and saving people, that I¡¯d never even given a single thought about my outfit. It was made of the best synth material on the market and it had been custom designed just for me. A multi-million dollar investment, and it was in tatters. There were strange fluids splashed on it, rips and tears from when the antithesis got too close, or I was crawling along the street. It was probably a complete write off now.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you already have a couple catalogs in mind,¡± I grumbled. ¡°Let¡¯s hear them.¡±

    Even though the ¡®Blades in The Dark¡¯ have access to several different types of armor, I doubt you¡¯d like any of them. Early designs have freedom of movement, but prioritize defense at the expense of weight.

    ¡°Yeah, no. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to fat roll everywhere,¡± I agreed.

    Then I would recommend the Class I Lightweight Combat Armor catalog, and a full body armored skinsuit. The material may appear thin but it has the ability to harden when exposed to kinetic damage, lessening the effect of blunt damage, while also providing decent resistance against slashing, and piercing damage. Most early models shouldn¡¯t be able to penetrate.

    ¡°When you say skinsuit¡­ you mean like those full body, skin tight latex looking things some samurai strut around in?¡± I asked skeptically.

    This particular model¡¯s outer texture is closer to silk.

    ¡°Look, I¡¯m in no way embarrassed by my body, but I don¡¯t particularly want nerds all over the net salivating over my barely covered body. Plus Skyler would kill me if I let someone else see me in an outfit like that, before she did,¡± I said. ¡°Aren¡¯t there less revealing options?¡±

    Of course. I could send all twenty million options to your augs to look over, it should only take a few weeks. Alternatively, you could just put some clothes on top of the suit. No idea where you¡¯d get those though. Artymis replied.

    ¡°Are you giving me sass right now?¡± I asked in surprise. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you had it in you.¡±

    I told you, I did a complete mental profile of you before selecting you as my samurai. I wouldn¡¯t have done it if we weren¡¯t similar, or compatible, in some way.

    ¡°Touche,¡± I muttered. I glanced around the nearest stores, many of them were higher class clothing stores selling outfits similar to my pantsuit. Nothing that would survive more than a single fight. ¡°So Ms almighty AI, if you know my preferences, where would you suggest I look for new clothes?¡±

    At the top of the escalator, on the left side, there¡¯s a synth leather boutique. The style is similar to some of your clubbing clothes, and the material is strong enough not to shred the first time you step outside.

    ¡°Alright¡­ now you¡¯re showing off,¡± I grumbled as I made my way up to the second floor. The leather goods store ¡®Ruff and Tuff¡¯ was a typical upper class boutique catering to rich kids. Pretending to be edgy, but only selling corporate designed styles.

    I sliced through the security gate, and quickly browsed through the options. It didn¡¯t take me long to find a pair of leather pants, and matching jacket which I could slip over the armor. ¡°What do you think?¡± I asked my partner.

    I don¡¯t understand your obsession with belts. Why do you need one hanging down by your ass?

    ¡°It¡¯s a style thing! As long as it doesn¡¯t restrict my movements, who cares?¡± I laid the two items down on the front counter, then dug a credit chip out of my bag to leave on the counter.

    That chip was worth more than twenty times what those clothes are worth. Artymis chided me.

    ¡°So? I¡¯m not going to resort to stealing, even if this is an emergency, and that¡¯s the smallest denomination I had on me,¡± I shot back. ¡°Gimme the suit so I can change already.¡±

    An instant later a box appeared on the counter next to me. I slowly slid the plastic lid off, and took a look at my new armor. It somewhat resembled a wetsuit, in how thick it was and what it covered, but the material felt much softer. I had a hard time believing that this thing would do anything to protect me.

    I know what you¡¯re thinking. Yes, this is among the best armor your points can buy at this point. You made close to a thousand points from that bloodbath downstairs, and this cost you two hundred of it.

    ¡°If you say so¡­¡± I said grabbing my purchases, and heading towards the back. The chances of someone being alive around here was next to nil, but I still wasn¡¯t going to change in the middle of an open room. I had to protect my dignity, even if there were people that needed saving.

 Chapter 7 - A Handful of Prickly Hugs

    This little beauty? I don¡¯t know exactly what it is, but I found it after the last incursion. I think it¡¯s a samurai weapon, considering it puts tennis ball sized holes into solid walls. Who the hell would dispose of something like this? And more importantly, what the hell did they replace it with?

    - Bruce Edwards, Adams gun club

    ¡ª

    I checked myself out in the mirror as soon as I put on my new synth leather jacket and pants. They both looked good, and were a lot more practical to run around in than my previous attire. More importantly, they hid the undersuit, which was both a lot more comfortable and a lot more revealing than I had expected. It was like the thing shrunk to perfectly hug all my curves as soon as I put it on. I would have been mortified if anyone besides my girlfriend saw me in it.

    Once I was satisfied with my new look, I quickly collected up my pantsuit and stuffed it into my backpack. It wasn¡¯t that I thought I could save the outfit, as much as it was added padding around my grandfather¡¯s urn. I certainly didn¡¯t want anything to happen to it.

    I was just finishing up when I heard something move out in the concourse. I froze for a moment, trying desperately to make out what it was. It certainly didn¡¯t sound like the telltale echo of boots, which would indicate whatever out there was human, it sounded more like something sliding, maybe dragging across the ground.

    I threw my backpack on, and crept towards the front of the store to peek out. About fifty feet down there were a half dozen antithesis that looked like the cross between a porcupine and a thistle bush. They were slightly larger than a Model Three, but also a lot more bulky than the compact, dog-like models. They also didn¡¯t seem to know I was here.

    [Artymis, what are those?] I punched into my augs.

    Model Fives. They¡¯re extremely dangerous, even with your new armor. Their spines are covered in a potent neurotoxin, and they are capable of launching volleys of the same spines up to a hundred feet. A single scratch could prove fatal.

    [Well, that¡¯s not great news, because they¡¯re between me and the nearest exit. Any weaknesses?]

    They¡¯re not the swiftest model, but I¡¯m not sure that makes a difference while you¡¯re in spine range.

    [Not helpful.] When I tried to slip back into the store, the nearest Model Five¡¯s head snapped up, and the creature looked right at me. As soon as I saw it bristle up, I threw myself back into the store. It was a good thing I did, because a moment later the area around where I¡¯d been crouching was coated in a thick layer of three inch long needles.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± I yelled as I scrambled back, struggling to get my feet under me and retreat further back into the store. I could already hear the mutant porcupines running closer.

    ¡°Any ideas?¡± I hissed as I weaved through the clothing racks, doing my best to keep my head down just in case one of the creatures wanted to take another shot.

    There was a door to the storeroom in the back. It may lead you to a service tunnel, and give you more time to plan, but it¡¯s not going to kill the Fives.

    ¡°No shit,¡± I muttered as I frantically searched the back of the store for the elusive door. I found it hidden behind the changing rooms, and when I turned the knob, it just popped open. Thankfully, the employees had apparently forgotten to lock it during the chaos of the early incursion. As I slipped through the storage shelves and stacks of boxes, I looked desperately for anything that could help me against the Fives. ¡°I¡¯m guessing these jackets won¡¯t stop one of those spines, will they?¡± I asked quietly.

    Their spines are propelled with enough force to pierce modern body armor. I can¡¯t even guarantee your skinsuit will fully protect you at close range, Artymis replied.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a problem now, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯m kinda all in on the close range thing right now,¡± I hissed as one of the Fives smashed against the storage room door, causing it to buckle slightly.

    Unfortunately, your aversion to firearms has put you in a precarious position. Rather than berating you about it, I¡¯ll offer you a choice: bow or traps? Those are your two best chances of getting out of here alive.

    Stolen story; please report.

    ¡°Both would be good,¡± I muttered as the door frame began to fracture.

    Then I recommend the ¡®Silent Hand¡¯ compound bow from your Blades in the Dark catalog, and opening up the specialized arrowhead catalog. I¡¯ll start you with an expanding monomolecular arrow already in the bow and a quiver of enzyme destroying arrows in the quiver.

    ¡°Just fucking do it!¡± I yelled as the door burst open.

    Thankfully, the Five didn¡¯t see me immediately. Whether it was because of the dark or disorientation from breaking the door, it gave me a tiny window in which to act. Artymis practically materialized the bow in my hand, so all I had to do was draw it back, aim, and fire.

    The Five saw me at the last second, its spines raised as the arrow connected, and then¡­ it turned into a fine paste. Not even joking about that. The arrow, which embedded itself in the creature¡¯s face, erupted into millions of strands of wire, spilling out in every direction and slicing everything they touched. The thing just kind of fell apart.

    That didn¡¯t mean I could relax, I quickly drew another arrow and aimed at the now shattered barrier, and waited. It took a couple seconds, but I finally caught the hint of movement outside the door and fired again. It was normally hard to tell if an antithesis was dead because they didn¡¯t ever make noise, but based on the bubbling and hissing noises, I suspected I hit one.

    When I didn¡¯t see any more movement for several seconds, I carefully slunk around one of the shelves, trying to get a better look at the outside. The first had apparently done more work than I first realized, spilling out and catching at least two more of the creatures in the storm of blending wire strands. That still left two.

    I could hear them shuffling around. They weren¡¯t exactly subtle dragging that heavy, spiky tail around. I just couldn¡¯t see them.

    ¡°How smart are these things?¡± I whispered. ¡°Are they trying to set a trap for me or what?¡±

    They¡¯re about as intelligent as a Model Three. Animalistic. They know you¡¯re in here, and will attempt to get in if they can, but aren¡¯t stupid enough to step directly into the monowire and kill themselves.

    ¡°So we¡¯re at a standstill, unless they wander in front of the door?¡± I asked.

    Not necessarily. You have something they don¡¯t have.

    ¡°What? Survival instincts? Sapience? The ability to feel pissed off?¡±

    Me.

    ¡°Of course¡­ and what exactly do you suggest, all mighty AI?¡± I hissed sarcastically.

    Now that the immediate threat is dealt with, you could unlock the Class I Optical Sense Boosting Utilities and get you a set of multispectral glasses.

    ¡°Okay¡­ I don¡¯t really see where you¡¯re going with this,¡± I said as I watched the door wairily. ¡°The lights are on, so I don¡¯t need to see in the dark, and the Model Fives aren¡¯t far enough away to require zoom or anything. What would that get me?¡±

    The ability to see through walls. You combine that with high-penetration arrows and¡­

    ¡°I can shoot through walls? Fuck,¡± I lowered my bow slightly, then slid over to the side so the Fives wouldn¡¯t be able to see me if they repositioned. ¡°Fine, let¡¯s give it a try.¡±

    What appeared at my feet was not the regular plain plastic box, but a traditional glasses case and bundle of arrows. I carefully picked up the case and checked inside. The glasses looked like a regular pair of rimless, tinted sunglasses. Definitely my style, but nothing special. I carefully brought them up to my face and put them on, and as I did, they flashed to life, highlighting several things with a heads-up-display.

    ¡°How do I change them to detect the fives?¡± I asked.

    It connects to your augs, so all you have to do is concentrate on spectal vision, it''s a combination of X-ray and Thermal. I¡¯ll send a complete rundown to your augs, explaining all the functionality. You can go through it later if you want.

    I frowned for a second, but did as I was told, and after a few seconds the glasses flicked over to a new mode, displaying two glowing blobs shuffling around the next room.

    ¡°Excellent!¡± I whispered, scooping up the new arrows. The Fives apparently didn¡¯t expect trouble. They were just wandering back and forth, watching the door, so I had no problem lining up my shots. The first Five died without even knowing what happened. The penetrating arrow traveled through the wall like it wasn¡¯t even there before embedding itself in the creature¡¯s brain. The second Five immediately panicked and started spraying spines everywhere. A couple even managed to partially penetrate the wall and poke into the storage room. I quickly put another pair of arrows into the creature before it got lucky and snuck a spine through to where I was.

    Things finally went quiet.

    ¡°Fuck me. Are there any more models I should be aware of? You know, before I run head first into them?¡± I asked.

    Plenty. I¡¯ll fill you in on the more common ones while you make your way outside. You should probably check in on those civilians.

    ¡°Right¡­¡± I half mumbled as I headed towards the door. I only made it a couple steps before I remembered the mess of monowire completely blocking the door. ¡°How do I get out of here?¡±

 Chapter 8 - Something to Aspire to

    Most samurai in North America almost all join the Family shortly after awakening, they not only provide mentors, but also provide support for their projects and a buffer against corporate fuckery. That¡¯s not true in Cascadia. The Cascadian government provides a lot of oversight, and protection for new samurai, compared to other groups, which results in a lot more samurai siding with the locals over the Family.

    Is it an issue? Of course not. Samurai are free to choose which organizations they want to join, or avoid, and no one important will argue. What I find strange is that more megacities don¡¯t follow suit, and attract samurai to their side.

    - T and the Dog, Samurai hour Oct 13, 2055

    ¡ª

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe there¡¯s a monowire dissolving spray,¡± I muttered as I finally made my way out of the storage room. I¡¯d attached both the bow and arrows to my backpack since I was rapidly running out of places to store things and was once again gripping my sword.

    It also breaks down after about a day. Far too dangerous to leave just lying about.

    ¡°Yeah, that I understand,¡± I muttered under my breath as I peeked out from the shop front once again. There didn¡¯t appear to be any antithesis in my immediate area, but there was a horrible grinding noise back down the escalators. ¡°Now what?¡±

    I slid up next to the bannister, behind a planter that looked like it had been completely ravaged by the antithesis, and glanced into the concourse below. There were a couple of Threes, pulling various debris into a pile in front of a giant, gross worm thing. The worm had to be the size of a van, if not a bus, and it moved extremely slowly, but it was hovering up everything the Threes fed to it.

    A Model Eight. It¡¯s used for digging and biomass collection. Completely harmless, it moves too slowly to be a threat.

    [How do I kill it?] I asked through my augs.

    With your current kit? You don¡¯t. It has a redundant nervous system and a brain in each section. Even the penetrating arrows would fail to reach that deep within it¡¯s mass. Best to eliminate its support if it has to scavenge for itself, it¡¯ll never have time to escape before the cleanup crew arrives.

    ¡°Fine,¡± I grumbled as I drew my sword and slipped around to the escalator. I made it halfway down before the Threes noticed me, and all four of them were dead before I reached the ground floor. The massive Model Eight didn¡¯t react at all. It was like it wasn¡¯t even aware I was there it just slowly slid towards the nearest store.

    I briefly considered stabbing it, just to check if I could hurt it or not, but decided against it in the end. There were people waiting after all.

    Instead, I quickly made my way back up the concourse and through the store, which I had ruined earlier. I made sure to sneak up to the window, just in case the antithesis managed to rally while I was inside, and peeked out.

    It was a good thing I did, because there was a titan outside. A liquid-grey, four story tall, vaguely humanoid mass was stomping on the antithesis in the street while simultaneously snatching the Model Ones out of the air with thousands of tendrils.

    [What the fuck is that?!?!?! I can¡¯t fight that thing!] I messaged frantically as I withdrew further into the store.

    Calm down! That¡¯s not an antithesis.

    [Then what the fuck is it?] I asked, skulking near the back of the store.

    That, my dear Vanguard, is where you could be in a few years.

    ¡°Bullshit,¡± I muttered quietly, before working up the courage to check again. When I peeked out a second time, the mass had reorganized itself. The huge creature melted, its flesh flowing down the street before gathering into a half dozen two story tall golems. The only thing left at its original position was a statuesque woman wearing an embarrassingly tight metal outfit. As soon as her massive form had fully dissipated, the PMC moved their vehicles and stormed out of the building to meet her.

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Shouldn¡¯t you go introduce yourself?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, should I?¡± I whispered. ¡°She¡¯s kind of terrifying.¡±

    She already knows you¡¯re here anyway; one of her nanite constructions has already found you.

    ¡°What nanite construct¡­¡± I jumped as I noticed a liquid metal dog sitting just a few feet away from me. It barked, an artificial metallic sounding bark, and waited for me to do something. ¡°Right, that answers that question.¡± I straightened up, gathered my courage, then stepped towards the metal dog, which quickly started leading me back across the square.

    The woman was conversing with the PMC leader, but paused and turned towards me when I got close. ¡°And here is, what I can only guess, is our reluctant hero now,¡± the woman said with a smile. ¡°I assume you¡¯re the one that intervened earlier?¡±

    ¡°That was me,¡± I confirmed. ¡°Reina Tanaka, samurai¡­ I guess,¡± I said with a shrug.

    The big man, which I¡¯d assumed was the leader of the PMC, immediately saluted. ¡°Sergeant Adrien Taylor, my men and the civilians inside owe you our lives. Thank you, ma¡¯am!.¡± I didn¡¯t realize it before, but he was a mess. His armor was scuffed up, there was even a deep gouge across the chest plate. Maybe he had been in the front truck when it rolled.

    ¡°Please stop calling me ma¡¯am,¡± I told him, as I rubbed my arm nervously. ¡°That¡¯s what people call my mom, you can just call me Reina.¡±

    The sergeant glanced at the other woman, who shook her head before turning towards me. ¡°He can¡¯t actually,¡± she said with a warm, disarming smile. ¡°All Samurai have the unofficial rank of at least captain in the Cascadia armed forces. You might be new, but you still outrank him.¡± The woman stuck out her hand, and for the first time I realized she wasn¡¯t wearing a suit, but was covered by the same metallic liquid that her constructs were made out of. ¡°I¡¯m Grey Goo.¡±

    I tried to keep the confusion off my face and out of my voice, and I¡¯m pretty sure I only half achieved it. ¡°Charmed?¡±

    Grey snorted. ¡°Look, I¡¯m not fond of the name either, but we samurai have a tradition of choosing the code name for our juniors, and that¡¯s what was selected for me. It could have been worse¡­ the thick asshole could have called me something like The Blob,¡± she huffed.

    ¡°Right,¡± I muttered, unable to think of anything else to say.

    ¡°Anyway¡­ Since I don¡¯t recognize you, and you don¡¯t come up in the database, you must be exceptionally new,¡± Grey continued, focusing on me again. ¡°Sword? And Bow? That¡¯s rare, most new samurai just grab the biggest cannon they can afford.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like guns,¡± I admitted quietly.

    ¡°I¡¯m not berating you. I¡¯ve seen some seriously scary melee-based samurai over the years, it just doesn¡¯t come up much,¡± Grey explained. As soon as she was done speaking, she cocked her head slightly, then looked towards the east. The sky was still red, like it was on fire, but most of the portals were closed. The largest one was taking fire from the battleship, and was just beginning to close, when it spat out another half dozen massive seed pods, sending them plummeting into the heart of the city. ¡°For fuck sakes. I don¡¯t know why the antithesis are trying so hard today, normally they give up after just a few volleys from the Redemption.¡± She sighed. ¡°I hope you didn¡¯t have any plans for tonight, kid, because we typically throw the newbies head first into incursions. Best way for you to get both experience and points.¡±

    ¡°Straight into that,¡± I repeated, pointing at the smoke rising on the horizon, marking where the pods landed.

    Grey just raised an eyebrow. ¡°Got a problem with that?¡±

    ¡°Not the fighting. I¡¯ve apparently got a scary knack for that,¡± I replied with a frown. ¡°But I am carrying around family heirlooms, including my grandfather¡¯s ashes, because I was trying to save them from a fucking deranged lunatic when this started,¡± I growled. ¡°You fucking bastard! This is all your fault!¡± I blurted out, causing the sergeant to step back in surprise.

    ¡°Alright¡­ seems like you had a hard night, even before this incursion happened,¡± Grey started, ¡°but as callous as this sounds, I still recommend you head into the incursion zone. It could be months until you get another chance to earn points.¡±

    ¡°And there are people that could probably use help,¡± I added with a sigh. ¡°The old man always said the people with power should help those without.¡±

    Grey nodded. She probably had no clue what I was talking about, but that didn¡¯t really matter. ¡°This area only got hit by a single seed pod, and most of the antithesis are cleaned up now, so if you want to leave your stuff with the sergeant, he¡¯ll make sure it makes it to the Redemption. From there, someone will make sure it¡¯s delivered to your home. Is that alright? He¡¯ll protect them with his life, right, Sergeant?¡± she said, shooting an evil glare at the poor PMC commander.

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± he snapped, saluting immediately.

    I really didn¡¯t want to leave my grandfather to some private military company I didn¡¯t know, but on the other hand, it was probably safer than carrying him into an active combat zone.

    I slowly undid the bag and held it in my hands. ¡°Sergeant Taylor,¡± I said loudly. ¡°You better hope this bag arrives unharmed to its destination, because if it doesn¡¯t, the recipient will take it out on not just you, but your entire company, understand?¡±

    ¡°And who would that be, ma¡¯am?¡± The sergeant asked hesitantly.

    ¡°Azumi Tanaka, head of Synthesis Systems Inc,¡± I said. I saw the man noticeably pale at the name, so I couldn¡¯t help but poke him a little more. ¡°As you probably know, my mother''s wrath is legendary.¡±

 Chapter 9 - Gates of Hell

    Most cities drill their military forces until their response times to an incursion can be measured in minutes, not hours. Not to eradicate the incursion, but to isolate it. Despite the overwhelming firepower most militaries can bring to bear, they would take extensive casualties, and cause extensive damage to the surrounding area to do it. In comparison a single samurai, even a newly awakened one, can kill more antithesis than an entire armored column. And the local samurai WILL converge upon the area shortly after the quarantine area is established.

    That¡¯s why the first order is to contain, and not engage.

    - A Study of Modern Military Tactics, published 2052

    ¡ª

    About ten minutes later a whole convoy of vehicles rolled up to the front of the jewelry store. Two additional armored vehicles, a couple jeeps, and a half dozen trucks already laden with people. The civilians didn¡¯t care, they clambered onto whatever vehicle they could find space on, until the trucks were over capacity.

    ¡°Are they going to be alright like that?¡± I asked as the PMCs went back and forth to the different trucks, making sure no one would fall off.

    ¡°They¡¯ll take people off and let them ride in the APCs if there¡¯s not enough space,¡± Grey said, practically ignoring the situation. She instead walked over to a nearby jeep and slipped into the passenger¡¯s seat, to the surprise of the driver. ¡°Come on now, you and I have places to be.¡±

    I glanced at the driver, who promptly sat straight up in his seat and said nothing, before hopping in the back. ¡°To the district gate please, and please inform the command we have a new vanguard here that needs babysitting,¡± Grey said as she slid down the seat and placed her feet on the dashboard. The driver nodded, and grabbed the radio to report in while he drove.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need babysitting,¡± I growled as I slumped in my seat.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing personal there Reina, just procedure. We don¡¯t want to lose new samurai on the first day, not if we can help it. We assign you backup, and run you through some of the most common tasks samurai usually take on in order to get you comfortable with the situation,¡± Grey explained. As I watched she pulled a pair of juice boxes out of thin air and threw one back to me.

    ¡°Still sounds like babysitting to me,¡± I mumbled as I fumbled with the strange drink.

    ¡°More than ninety percent of samurai casualties happen in their first day of combat,¡± Grey replied quietly, before taking a sip of her drink. ¡°The Cascadia government suggested regulations to try and lower that casualty rate, and the Family agreed. So like it or not, the team is going to follow you for the rest of the day, just in case.¡±

    ¡°The Family¡­ you mean the Samurai governing body?¡± I asked, finally getting my straw into the juicebox.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a governing body, it¡¯s a community, and only in North America. One of the first things you learn as a samurai is you can¡¯t force another samurai to do anything they don¡¯t want to. The Family provides support for their members, and judges samurai that go WAY out of line, but membership is voluntary.¡±

    I took a tiny sip of my juice, just to taste it, and found it one of the greatest things I¡¯d ever tasted. It was like all the sweetness of a berry punch, but with a zesty aftertaste. I drained the entire thing in seconds.

    ¡°That¡¯s a samurai special right there. An energy drink to get you through the next few hours. I¡¯m sure your AI would let you know they can provide drinks and snacks, if you¡¯re wavering, but these only cost a point and I wanted to be nice,¡± Grey announced. ¡°We¡¯re coming up on the district command center in a few minutes. Any last questions before we part ways?¡±

    ¡°I thought we both were heading into the combat zone,¡± I asked. ¡°Why are we splitting up?¡±

    ¡°Because I¡¯m heading into the heart of the storm, and you¡¯ll be poking around the outskirts. You¡¯re not ready for where I¡¯m going.¡± She actually had to yell to be heard, because the area we were driving past had a number of artillery pieces setup, and firing non-stop. To the left I could see one of the massive district gates. Each district was separated by a massive wall which wasn¡¯t designed to completely stop the antithesis, but slow them down and attempt to isolate the worst of an incursion in a single place. To go between each sector you had to pass through one of the gates, a massive eight lane wide, four story tall steel structure which could slam shut and cut off the major arteries in, and out of the area. This was the first time I¡¯d seen one closed.

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    Just ahead of us was a row of armored vehicles, including full blown tanks, a ton of different PMCs running around, and at the center of that mess was a two story tall, four lane wide, monster of a vehicle.

    ¡°You mentioned that samurai names are given to them by the veterans?¡± I managed to ask before we finally pulled up to the massive vehicle.

    ¡°If you survive today, I¡¯ll give you one,¡± Grey replied with a smile. ¡°Go over to the command vehicle and let them know who you are and they¡¯ll get you set up.¡±

    I began to ask another question, but before I could she jumped from the still moving vehicle. As soon as she touched the ground the nanite goo reformed as a helmet. Each step she took caused more of the mass to gather, until she was once again several stories tall, wandering towards the massive gate. I watched her as she almost casually stepped up to the gate, reached a massive arm up, grabbed the top of the wall, and hauled herself over.

    After that display all I could do was wait for the jeep to finally drive up to the command vehicle and stop. ¡°Thanks,¡± I muttered to the driver as I awkwardly jumped out of the back. I brushed myself off, tried to ignore the blatant stares directed at me from pretty much everywhere, and stepped inside.

    There was a massive holographic display, showing the situation within the nearby district, along with a dozen or so monitoring stations placed around the perimeter. The two guards at the door snapped to attention and saluted as I passed through, which attracted everyone¡¯s attention. Including the three people at the planning table.

    ¡°You our new samurai?¡± the serious looking woman asked. She didn¡¯t seem that old, but she already had grey hair, with a shock of white over the brow, and she was wearing a slightly different military uniform from her companions, with an impressive array of medals on her chest.

    ¡°That¡¯s me. Reina Tanaka, nice to meet you,¡± I said politely.

    ¡°I¡¯m Adriana Howard, Cascadia military supervisor, and I¡¯m in charge here. These are my associates, Micheal Anderson, my PMC attache,¡± she said gesturing to a hulking man still in full militia armor, ¡°and Lessly Montgomery, Family coordinator,¡± she said gesturing to the mousy woman in a full business suit and glasses. I didn¡¯t miss the momentary look of disgust when she looked at Lessly.

    ¡°I know you came in with one of the heavy hitters, did she brief you on the situation?¡± Adriana asked.

    ¡°I saw the seed pods come down, and Grey mentioned something about getting a squad of PMCs to walk me through the basics, but I don¡¯t know much beyond that,¡± I admitted.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I can give you a rough idea of what¡¯s going on, and what we¡¯d like you to do,¡± Adriana replied, before turning to the hologram. ¡°Four pods all hit the center of the information district within a kilometer of each other,¡± she said pointing at the hologram. I could see four bright circles, with thick lines of red roping off of each one. ¡°The antithesis have been attempting to push out, but we¡¯ve been using precision artillery strikes and heavy armor to stymie their advance. Most of the PMCs in the area are busy evacuating the highest risk areas, and creating a primary perimeter around the area,¡± she said pointing at the various green cubes, dots, and light green circle around the area.

    ¡°So¡­ what exactly do you want me to do?¡± I asked as I studied the map.

    ¡°A large section of the western combat zone lost power, and communication when the pods hit. We need someone to go in and check that the primary shelters in that area are closed, and if not, make sure to purge the compromised ones.¡±

    My head snapped up. ¡°That¡¯s pretty harsh,¡± I said, looking Adriana in the eyes.

    ¡°It''s necessary. Trust me, if the shelter¡¯s already compromised, then a swift death will be a relief to anyone inside,¡± Adriana said. I was still a little unsure, so I glanced at Anderson, who nodded slightly in agreement.

    ¡°Fine, but only if the situation requires it,¡± I begrudgingly agreed. ¡°Anything else?¡±

    ¡°We found a veteran PMC to escort you to your destination. I know you may not like having them around, but they are experienced in antithesis combat, and may actually have some decent advice for you. I¡¯d recommend not abandoning them the first moment you can, but I also know we can¡¯t stop you,¡± Adriana said, rubbing her brow. I had a feeling that happened more often than she liked. ¡°There is another samurai in the area, so if you do want to abandon your escort, I recommend you at least find them first. Your escort is waiting for you outside, bright orange APC, hard to miss. If you have any extra points I¡¯d recommend spending them now, before you go through the gates. Good luck.¡± I kinda expected her to shoo me away, but she gave me a sharp salute instead.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I muttered as I slowly backed up, and made my way towards the door, ¡°hopefully I don¡¯t need it.¡±

 Chapter 10 - Rough Riders

    ¡°You know what I heard earlier today? Ever since the incursions started North America has lost more than fifty percent of its native flora and fauna. That¡¯s a conservative estimate.

    Cascadia on the other hand, has managed to maintain more than eighty percent of their local forests. You know how? I¡¯ll tell you! Those socialists are antithesis sympathisers, and have made a deal with the aliens!¡±

    ¡°Honestly? If our government offered free housing and healthcare in exchange for working with the aliens, I¡¯d consider it.¡±

    - Jalex Homes, Misinformation Battles

    ¡ª

    As soon as I stepped out of the oversized vehicle I came face to face with a hideously orange abomination of a vehicle. I¡¯d been expecting a deep muted orange, but the vehicle in front of me was just a couple steps shy of neon orange.

    ¡°Very subtle, maybe I should just strip naked and paint a target on my back, I¡¯d probably attract less attention,¡± I muttered.

    ¡°Although I¡¯m sure many of the soldiers around here would love to see that, it actually wouldn¡¯t work,¡± someone replied. I turned slightly, and caught sight of a relatively small woman with vibrant orange hair to match the vehicle, and wearing full combat armor, round the end of the vehicle. ¡°The antithesis do not take color into account while prioritizing targets, just threats and biomass, so having this eyesore is actually an advantage. Much easier for our allies to pick it out, and avoid friendly fire,¡± the woman said, slapping the vehicle on the side.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± I mumbled. ¡°I assume you¡¯re the outfit that¡¯s supposed to ¡®escort¡¯ me into the combat zone?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s us!¡± The woman stepped forward, and stuck out her hand. I couldn¡¯t help but notice that it was a prosthetic, and a good one at that. ¡°I¡¯m Emily Barker, commander of these misfits. Come around back, I¡¯ll introduce you to my squad.¡±

    I followed her around to the back of the metal coffin, to find a lowered ramp in the back. Inside the vehicle actually looked surprisingly comfortable, with room for about a dozen people along the padded benches that lined the sides of the vehicle, and obviously customized reclining pilot and gunner¡¯s seats. There were four people waiting inside, a woman with a mop of black hair, bouncing around in the driver''s seat checking dials and pushing buttons, a woman with a long brown braid and overalls sleeping in the gunner¡¯s seat, and two men, who couldn¡¯t be more different standing in the back. The first man was a mountain of muscles with a shaved head, who was busy feeding a long belt of ammunition into what I could only assume was the turret, and the other man was a small, shifty looking man with a patchy goatee, who was checking the rifles.

    ¡°Meet the squad. Up front we have Jockey, the one sleeping on the job is Ratchet, the big one is Bulldog, and the one checking our weapons is Terrier,¡± Emily said, slowly pointing at each crew member in turn. The crew all turned and looked at me as they were being introduced.

    ¡°This our new charge captain?¡± Terrier sniffed. ¡°She doesn¡¯t look like much.¡±

    This earned a smack to the back of the head from his massive companion. ¡°Moron, didn¡¯t you learn your lesson last time? Don¡¯t judge samurai by their looks! You keep running your mouth like that and someone¡¯s going to make you regret it one of these days,¡± Bulldog growled before turning towards me. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡°And you,¡± I replied, stepping into the back of the vehicle, letting Emily close the hatch behind us. ¡°The name¡¯s Reina Tanaka.¡±

    ¡°No codename yet?¡± Jockey called from the front. ¡°We¡¯ve got a fresh one here!¡±

    ¡°Shadup¡­¡± Ratchet slurred from the gunner seat, ¡°trying to nap.¡±

    ¡°No time for that now,¡± Emily replied as she pushed her way towards the front. ¡°We¡¯ve got a job to do.¡± She leaned down to say something to Jockey, although I didn¡¯t catch what, before glancing back towards me. ¡°Do you have anything you want to do before we leave?¡±

    I shrugged. I could probably buy some new gear, but I didn¡¯t have any specific ideas at this time, and could do it while we traveled too. ¡°Not in particular.¡±

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Then sit down, we¡¯ll get moving in a second,¡± Emily smacked Ratchet until the other woman moved, slipped into the gunners seat, then I felt the vehicle lurch forward.

    I slipped onto one of the rear bench seats, along with the rest of the team, as the bumpy vehicle surged towards our destination. ¡°So, what did you lot do to get stuck with babysitting duty?¡± I yelled to be heard over the revving engine. ¡°Lose a bet?¡±

    ¡°Hell naw!¡± Terrier yelled back. ¡°We volunteered.¡±

    I stared at the scraggly man in shock. ¡°Why the fuck would you do that?¡±

    ¡°We didn¡¯t at first, but there are a couple major advantages to volunteering for ¡®babysitting duty¡¯, as you call it,¡± Emily shouted from her seat near the front. ¡°First time we did it was for the cash. Triple rate is a lot when you¡¯re desperate, but as time went on we found there were a lot of advantages to escorting samurai too.¡±

    ¡°Like what? I can¡¯t imagine the survival rate is great when you drive right into the edges of an incursion,¡± I replied.

    ¡°With a samurai around? You¡¯d be surprised. It¡¯s probably higher than sitting on the perimeter. Sure, we¡¯ve lost a few friends along the way, especially when the samurai wants to abandon us, but thanks to the other perk, it¡¯s never been that bad,¡± Emily explained.

    ¡°And that is?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Any samurai gear that¡¯s abandoned on the battlefield, and unclaimed by a samurai later, becomes property of the Cascadia government to be reverse engineered. Sucks for the scavangers, but the advancements typically get rolled out to the troops, and eventually for the loyal PMCs to purchase. However, if a samurai decides to give some of their tech to someone¡­ the government can¡¯t touch it once we register it as Personal Protection. Most of our small arms were ¡®gifted¡¯ to us by a samurai we¡¯ve escorted before, and even the turret is a custom job by one of our previous charges.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ considering how specialized I am, I doubt you¡¯d appreciate anything I have to offer. Unless one of you wants to abandon your gun for a sword, or bow,¡± I said with a smirk.

    ¡°We don¡¯t expect anything from our samurai charges,¡± Ratchet muttered, yet somehow making her voice easy to make out over the sound of the engine. ¡°If you try to be greedy around samurai you¡¯re pretty much asking for your life to be cut short. We¡¯re not that stupid.¡±

    I started to nod, but paused as the vehicle began to vibrate, and shake. Outside there was a massive grinding noise.

    ¡°They¡¯re opening the gates,¡± Jockey explained. ¡°Those massive metal slabs sit fine while open, or closed, but they sure don¡¯t like being opened, or reset, easily.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re about to enter the conflict zone. Full readiness everyone!¡± Emily snapped.

    Bulldog and Terrier both grabbed a rifle, before sliding open some armored shutters so they could see out the windows. Ratchet even sat up, checked her pistol was in her holster, then grabbed a tablet off the wall.

    ¡°How long until we reach the first location?¡± I asked, standing up and staggering up towards the front.

    ¡°Five minutes! Even if there¡¯s a blockage in the road this baby can plow right through it, so we won¡¯t have to make any detours if the roads are bad,¡± Jockey reported.

    ¡°Just don¡¯t overdo it. I just got the Jaguar running smoothly again!¡± Ratchet growled, without looking up from her tablet.

    ¡°Is there anything I can do?¡± I asked Emily.

    ¡°Just let us do our job,¡± she mumbled. ¡°Once we get to the first shelter, you¡¯ll be on point.¡±

    I nodded, then slipped away, returning to my seat.

    [Anything you can tell me about the first location?] I texted Artymis.

    Only what was provided in the data file they shot over while you were in the command center. Locations, basic information about who would be inhabiting each, and the estimated chances that each one would be open, or breached.

    [Do any of the locations stand out?]

    Well, there are two sets of statistics. One contains the chances that a specific shelter would fail to close when power is available, based upon maintenance records. Cascadia takes shelter reliability really seriously, so there are only two locations that have been marked with having over a three percent chance or greater of failing to close. Both private shelters. I¡¯ll mark those on your map.

    The other set is for shelters which may experience issues if they tried to close without power. Unfortunately this list contains a lot more problematic locations. Shelters which have older, failsafe doors which may lock people out, or may not be able to close very effectively on internal backup power. There are a dozen or so of these locations.

    [Any of those close to our initial destination?]

    There are two within the first block of the search area.

    [Fuck! Well, I guess we know where we¡¯re going to start. Thanks Artymis.]

    The armored vehicle lurched to the side as it connected with something I couldn¡¯t see, but considering that no one reacted, it must not have been important. Since there were only a few minutes until we stopped I dug into the information Artymis provided. I wanted to be prepared for what was to come.

 Chapter 11 - Tentacle tricksters

    You want to know why we equip most of our tech related properties with class A shelters? Because the first thing most top tier companies look at these days isn¡¯t the location, view, or even the tax bracket, it¡¯s the quality of the shelter. They¡¯re willing to pay a little extra to make sure their top talent is safe.

    We originally offered a choice of class C or class D in our business properties, but realised fairly early on it wasn¡¯t worth installing class C anymore. If an employee isn¡¯t essential, most businesses would rather save a couple bucks, than pay for the luxury of a stronger, more reliable protection.

    - Matt Rubbens, Excel Realty

    ¡ª

    The gun on top of our ride opened up a good two minutes before we arrived at our destination. I could see Emily swerving back and forth in the gunner seat, struggling to keep track of all the targets.

    When the vehicle began to slow, I stood by the exit and waited for Emily¡¯s signal to drop the ramp. It took a lot longer for her to clear the area than I expected. A lot longer.

    ¡°That should give us enough space to move,¡± Emily declared as she dropped down from her seat, grabbing the weapon that Bulldog held out for her. ¡°You know where to go first?¡± she asked as she slid up next to me.

    ¡°I know where I¡¯d like to go,¡± I said.

    ¡°Good enough, lead away,¡± she immediately answered, hammering the button to drop the ramp.

    I put one hand on my blade, then quickly descended into the street. The entire area was a mess, dozens of antithesis carcases lay about the square, along with more than a few human remains. I did my best to ignore the corpses as I hopped through the nearest broken plate glass window and made my way towards the location of the shelter.

    This area of town was slightly older, so the major shelters were actually located several floors off the ground. The idea was that if the shelter was located on the middle floors, it would take longer for the antithesis to reach it from either the street or roof, and it would be harder for the digging models to get to a position where they¡¯d be a threat.

    In practice, it was difficult to make large shelters above ground as secure. The metal plates and extra concrete in both the floor and ceiling added a ton of weight, and some buildings weren¡¯t originally designed to support that extra stress. A lot of companies cut back on the materials or ignored the requirements entirely. The process ended when it was discovered that some companies didn¡¯t even secure the floor and just put armored doors up, which allowed even low level antithesis to dig in from the floor above.

    Since this shelter was still running, it must have passed the post disaster inspections.

    [What¡¯s the fastest way up there?] I asked Artymis as I glanced around the lobby. Since this was an office, there wasn¡¯t much to look at. A security desk, which had a massive splash of blood on the wall behind it, and a massive bank of elevators.

    There¡¯s a set of stairs beyond the elevators, on the left.

    I jogged over and placed my ear against the door. A scream echoed from somewhere higher up in the building, but I didn¡¯t hear any movement. The squad took a minute to catch up, moving surprisingly quietly despite the heavy armor and weapons they were carrying.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t run ahead too far,¡± Emily whispered. ¡°We can¡¯t cover you if you disappear.¡±

    ¡°I waited for you, didn¡¯t I?¡± I replied quietly. ¡°Are you ready? Our target is on the fifth floor.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re good,¡± she said with a nod. ¡°Want me to go first?¡±

    I simply pushed open the door and slipped inside, one hand on my blade. Even though the building¡¯s power was out, there were emergency lights. They didn¡¯t illuminate very far, but at least the squad would be able to see the stairs. As I moved further up the staircase, I flicked my glasses over to night vision mode and glanced up the stairwell. The entire thing was eerily quiet, despite being in the middle of an incursion, which made the occasional scream all the much more unsettling.

    After a few seconds, Emily tapped me on the shoulder. ¡°We¡¯re good to go.¡± Only Ratchet had goggles on, the rest of the team was backlit by the glow from the scopes on their rifles.

    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    I nodded and slowly ascended the stairs. Every time we came to a new floor, I listened for movement before peeking inside to make sure we wouldn¡¯t be flanked. There was a single Model Three on the fourth floor, which I took out with a shot from my bow, but the others were surprisingly empty.

    ¡°Based upon your experience, is this a good sign or a bad one?¡± I whispered to Emily as we crept up towards the secure floor.

    ¡°It¡¯s not normal, that¡¯s for sure,¡± she replied quietly.

    Even before I made it up to the fifth floor, I could hear sound from the floor. Dragging, clicking, and, worst of all, the occasional moan. I exchanged a quick glance with Emily and gestured for the team to stop before flipping my glasses over to Spectral mode.

    There were dozens of blobs all over the floor, not just in front of the shelter but inside too. At first I had hoped the shapes inside were people laying down, but that died when one of the shapes contorted unnaturally and extended writhing tentacles. I slipped the glasses off and offered them to Emily.

    She looked at them suspiciously for a moment before trying them on and surveying the area.

    ¡°I guess that answers the question on whether the doors closed or not,¡± she whispered as she swept her head back and forth to check out the situation.

    ¡°I¡¯d still like to go in,¡± I told her quietly as I took my glasses back. ¡°There might not be any survivors, but I want to be sure.¡±

    ¡°There won¡¯t be,¡± Helen whispered. ¡°But it¡¯s your choice. We¡¯re here to back you up, not question your orders.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said, slowly rising to my feet and drawing my blade. ¡°I¡¯ll go left, please try to avoid shooting me in the back.¡±

    I put one hand on the door handle, picked a target, and burst into the room. The first antithesis, a Model Three with half an arm in its mouth, died before it could even turn. My sword cleaved it in half, tail to head.

    Behind it was something I¡¯d never seen before. It looked less like an animal and more like a mass of tentacles in the rough shape of a bear. I managed to take two steps towards it before it shot several of these tentacles towards me, each tipped with a foot long spurred bone spike. I threw myself sideways, which allowed me to avoid the first two spikes but not the third. For that, I had to rely upon my reflexes.

    As I rolled to my feet and started moving towards the creature again, my blade flashed, catching the third tentacle right behind the bone spike, severing it. The rubbery limb still struck me a glancing blow, causing me to teeter on my feet, but it wasn¡¯t enough to stop me. As soon as I was in range, I plunged my blade into the side of the thing and kept running forward. I used my momentum to help me drag the sword all the way through the creature, from front to rear, and spilled a ton of foul smelling liquid on me as I eviscerated the ugly monster.

    I stepped past the corpse, my vision blurred, my head started spinning, but I had to deal with the last two Model Threes before they became an issue.

    Then the pair of them turned¡­ Well, I say turned, it looked more like they shifted. The closest one''s head melted back into the body, then emerged again from its back. Then the head opened up impossibly wide, the upper jaw extending all the way down to the neck, and surged forward to bite me. I hesitated for just a moment, but still managed to cut the upper jaw off, before severing the neck.

    The second Three was just a constantly melting, and regenerating mess. It never seemed to lose any mass, despite its constantly sloughing flesh. When it shook its head, parts of it flew away to pool on the floor a few feet away. It screamed like a demon before charging, entire parts of it sloughing off, and all I could do is watch the creature in horror. I froze, and almost forgot to raise my blade until the very last minute. The monster thankfully impaled itself on the extended blade, because I wasn¡¯t quite sure if I had the state of mind to actually strike it down.

    As it slid off my blade I sank to my knees, heart hammering in my chest, having a minor panic attack.

    ¡°What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck¡­¡± I mumbled repeatedly.

    Reina please listen to me. When you killed that Model Four, that tentacle model, you split open the pheromone gland and poured the contents all over yourself. It causes mild fear when expelled into the air, and you¡¯ve drenched yourself in it. You need to purge it or you''re going to have a heart attack.

    ¡°How¡­¡± I managed to mumble as I watched a hole open in the floor, slowly starting to pull everything towards it.

    I need you to authorize purchase of the Class I Medical Utilities catalog, and a Mark I Pheromone Purge. Fifty five points.

    ¡°There¡¯s a hole in the floor,¡± I mumbled, as I pushed myself away from the center of the room and up against the wall. Across the room the walls pealed away, revealing a literal hellscape outside.

    Focus!

    ¡°Right, purge, do it!¡± I growled, closing my eyes to block out the crazy shit I was seeing. I felt something bump against my hand, so I glanced down. The plastic box was surprisingly normal, despite everything else.

    Inject yourself, quick!

    I flipped off the lid, grabbed the strangely normal syringe and stabbed myself in the arm. Within seconds normality began to reassert itself.

    I stared at the squad, which had just finished clearing the opened shelter, and was heading back my way. ¡°I never want to experience that again,¡± I mumbled.

 Chapter 12 - Hard Rain

    Whatchu want? Guns? Bullets? Armor? I have it all! I could even provide you with a full fucking tank if you wanted, just give me the word. What? You said you were tired of my personality! Don¡¯t ask me to change unless you¡¯re willing to deal with the consequences.

    - Myalis, Catherine ¡®Stray Cat¡¯ LeBlanc''s AI

    ¡ª

    ¡°You okay over there?¡± Ratchet asked, as she crossed the room, carefully avoiding the bodies on the floor. ¡°You seemed a little¡­ out of it for a minute.¡± The woman reached out to put a hand on my shoulder, causing me to inadvertently flinch and move away slightly.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± I muttered. ¡°Apparently I accidentally sliced open that Four¡¯s pheromone gland, and sprayed myself with the contents. Wasn¡¯t a pleasant experience.¡±

    ¡°Holy shit! I didn¡¯t know that could happen. Usually it takes several minutes of exposure to start feeling any effect, I¡¯ve never even heard of someone getting a concentrated dose,¡± she said, looking me up and down. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re ok?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, I took something to purge it from my system. I¡¯m just a little¡­ twitchy still.¡± I explained. ¡°How did the rest of the raid go? Any survivors?¡±

    ¡°Not a single one!¡± Terrier snapped from inside the shelter. ¡°The fucking weeds even dug out the emergency supplies, and dug up the potted plants before we arrived.¡± I glanced at the doors. They were just massive heavy steel plates, which looked like they were designed to slide on tracks, but without power it would have taken at least five people to move one. These people probably didn¡¯t have a prayer. I shook my head.

    ¡°We probably should clean up these bodies,¡± Bulldog added. ¡°If we leave them the antithesis will just pick up their dead and recycle them for the biomass.¡±

    ¡°We left the flamethrower in the APC though,¡± Emily told the team.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got it,¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯m starting to feel a bit better now.¡±

    [Hey Arty, that catalog I bought earlier with the grenades, didn¡¯t you mention it was for disposing of Antithesis bodies or something?]

    The Anthesis Biomass Denial Catalog? Yes, it has several options.

    [Anything for a wide area? A gas dispersal, or something?]

    I can modify the enzyme grenades to be much slower acting, but disperse in a wide area. They¡¯ll need to be in an enclosed area though.

    [That¡¯s fine, gimme a couple] I held out my hands and grabbed the pair of grenades as they manifested.

    ¡°These¡¯ll dissolve the Antithesis, but they need to be in an enclosed area to use, so we can chuck them right as we¡¯re leaving.¡±

    Emily nodded, ¡°Everyone do one last sweep, then we¡¯re out of here. We still have other shelters to check.¡±

    While the others busied themselves with checking the room I staggered over to where Emily was standing. ¡°Hey, I was wondering¡­ Why do the others have codenames, but you go by your given name?¡± I asked, holding out the grenades to her.

    She flinched. ¡°I have one, but it¡¯s embarrassing.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± I couldn¡¯t keep a goofy smile from creeping onto my face, ¡°Do tell!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Queen Bitch,¡± she said, turning away slightly.

    My smile fell. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a little more intense than the rest of the unit, how the fuck did you end up with that?.¡±

    She sighed. ¡°Our old commander was¡­ kind of an asshole. He wasn¡¯t a terrible commander but I got the impression that he was a little intimidated by me, so when he started giving out nicknames I got¡­ that. I wasn¡¯t the only one that felt uncomfortable by it, everyone else just continued calling me Emily after he gave it to me.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just change it after he left?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Partially due to tradition¡­ nicknames are given by your unit, and it¡¯s usually for life, and partially because I got used to everyone else calling me by name.¡±

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°If it was me, I would have changed it the second I could, but I can understand wanting to respect tradition. That¡¯s tough,¡± I said as I pushed myself off the wall. I gently patted her on the shoulder, ¡°Thanks for sharing,¡± I whispered. The others had left the shelter, and were waiting at the stairs, so Emily and I moved to join them.

    ¡°Where next?¡± Ratchet asked.

    ¡°Just a few buildings over. Follow me,¡± I replied as I pushed open the door, and stepped back into the stairway. Behind me Emily turned and tossed the two grenades behind her. They spewed out a thick, but slow moving smoke that caused the antithesis bodies to bubble and melt. She stayed for just a moment, making sure the gas was working, before jogging to the stairs and slamming the door closed.

    The bang caused me to jump, and before I even realized what I was doing I spun on the spot and half drew my sword. The entire squad just stared.

    ¡°Sorry. Don¡¯t know why I did that,¡± I admitted.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a side effect of the pheromones,¡± Terrier suggested. ¡°Startling easily until it¡¯s completely out of your system.¡±

    ¡°Fuck I hope not,¡± I grumbled. ¡°I could kill someone with how fast I can draw my blade.¡± I slid the blade back into my sheath, and turned back around. ¡°Maybe stay a couple steps behind, just in case.¡±

    ¡°No argument from me,¡± Bulldog, who was the next in line, mumbled.

    I slipped back down the stairs, pausing at each landing to listen for movement on each floor, before continuing. Better safe than sorry.

    When we stepped out of the staircase I quickly headed back towards the APC, pausing against its heavily armored hull while I reoriented myself. It didn¡¯t take me long to locate the next shelter, it was only a few buildings down, but I was heavily distracted by the gunfire and explosions, just a little further into the district. Every once in a while I could see what appeared to be artillery shells sail across an intersection several blocks away.

    ¡°Are there supposed to be any other teams in this area?¡± I asked Emily as she came to stand next to me. ¡°That sounds like a lot of gunfire.¡±

    ¡°Not that I know, but let me check,¡± she said before quickly retreating into the APC.

    I stood there for another minute or so, watching tracers and shells shoot across the intersection, before a literal wave of antithesis poured into view. A few fell, but it was obvious they were quickly making progress towards whomever was shooting.

    ¡°Get in the fucking APC,¡± Emily yelled from inside.

    ¡°Why, what happened?¡± I asked as I jogged around the side and hopped in the back.

    ¡°The other escort team lost their wheels to a rogue five. They thought they could get out on foot, but they were harassed for several blocks before running head first into an ambush. They think there¡¯s a seventeen stalking them,¡± Emily reported. I noticed Terrier¡¯s eyes go wide when the new model was mentioned. ¡°We¡¯re heading to back them up.¡±

    ¡°Will this thing stand up to that many Antithesis?¡± I asked as I crouched to look at Jockey''s monitor. Just as the front edge of the wave hit the other side of the intersection a half dozen mortar rounds hit the mob, ripping the center out of the charge.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if the APC makes it or not, the other new samurai are over there. Command has given the order, extract them by any means necessary,¡± Emily explained. ¡°Jockey go!¡±

    As the APC surged forward, the heavy gun ripped apart a few of the antithesis, but it didn¡¯t seem that even the heavy weapon would be enough to turn the fight around. I fiddled with my sword. Watching the action on the monitor, trying to come up with some sort of plan. Unfortunately, I could only come up with one, and it wasn¡¯t exactly a great one.

    ¡°Is there any way I can get on the roof, or open a firing port on this thing?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It would be pretty difficult for you to fire through one of the gun ports,¡± Emily replied, her eyes locked on the battle. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t do shit trapped in here, but I may be able to turn the tide if I can use my bow¡± I explained. ¡°Is there a way up or not?¡±

    ¡°There is a hatch in the back, but I don¡¯t recommend going out there, the gun is still¡­ Hey WAIT,¡± Emily yelled when she turned and realized I¡¯d already wrenched the hatch open. ¡°The fucking gun is on auto! It could rip you apart!¡± she screamed.

    ¡°So take control!¡± I snapped back, ¡°I¡¯m going out there to help.¡±

    I missed her reply, because I¡¯d already half hoisted myself onto the roof, and the massive gun felt like it was blowing out my eardrums with each shot.

    [Artymis I need hearing protection, and a quiver full of monowire.]

    I really recommend you purchase items BEFORE you jump into the heart of the action next time. It¡¯s easier.

    [Now please]

    Fine. I can get you mundane sound protection for two or three points, or I can open up an acoustic damping catalog that¡¯ll allow you to hear normally, while protecting your hearing from the effects of gunfire, and some sonic weapons. It¡¯ll be a hundred points, for the catalog, and ten points for the dampeners.

    [Just do it already!] I messaged angrily. I was probably chewing through my points, but I didn¡¯t care.

    As soon as the box appeared at my feet I flipped it open, only to discover two¡­ unusual jewelry pieces. They were two, inch long cylinders of jade colored metal. I just stared at them, confused.

    They clip around your earlobe, approximately level with your ear canal. Once in place, they¡¯ll lock in.

    I quickly held the metal pieces up to my ears, and after a slight pinch, the sound of the heavy cannon faded almost entirely. I glanced up, and saw that the APC was just a dozen feet from the intersection, ready to slam into the middle of the mob without slowing down, so I grabbed my bow and braced myself. Looks like we were going in hot.

 Chapter 13 - The longest block

    Listen to me kid. That rifle might protect you from a Model Three, Four or Five, but if you really want to protect your family what you want is a M88 Antitank rifle. One of those babies will easily deal with something bigger, like a Model Six, and give you a chance against the Model Twelves. If you¡¯re feeling extravagant, you could even pick up a second hand stinger missile launcher. The antithesis bastards might be tough, but even the big ones go down if you apply enough good old fashion human ingenuity.

    - Mac Hunter, Seattle monthly gun show

    ¡ª

    I managed to wedge one foot in between a wide gap between two armor plates and the other against the hatch. It was enough to keep me fairly stable when the vehicle swerved and went over bumps, at least the small ones. I did my best to keep calm and not jump every time the cannon fired, pulled my bow, and waited.

    The instant we crossed into the intersection, I let my arrow fly. I wasn¡¯t used to firing from a crouched position, on a moving platform, but I still managed to lay down a fairly even line of monowire across the road.

    Just as I finished, the APC made a hard turn, dislodging me from my perch. I let go of my bow and flailed around as I slid towards the edge, my fingers finally finding purchase just as my feet slid off the top, leaving me hanging half off the vehicle. I managed to claw my way back on to the APC as it slid to a stop, blocking the antithesis from advancing down the opposite side of the intersection.

    I could hear Emily barking orders as the rear ramp slammed open. ¡°Ratchet, go check on our friends, and get them moving as quickly as possible. Terrier, Bulldog, we¡¯re going to set up a defensive firing line here next to the APC. We delay the antithesis as long as possible, but if it looks like we¡¯re going to get overrun, we retreat back to the APC.¡±

    I slipped off the vehicle, landing awkwardly, just before the team appeared around the sides. ¡°I see you¡¯re still with us,¡± Emily remarked.

    ¡°Still kicking,¡± I muttered. ¡°Although I lost my bow during that turn. Seems like it was worth it though.¡± While the team took up firing positions, I slipped behind and took a look back towards the other team. They were about a couple blocks back, and even though I couldn¡¯t make out much, I knew they weren¡¯t doing great. There were only three of them, including the samurai, and they had to stop every few feet to fire into the buildings around them. Thankfully the samurai seemed to have a big fuck-off hover drone helping them out, lobbing explosives into groups of antithesis.

    Across the intersection, the antithesis mob was just throwing themselves against the barrier that I¡¯d set up. A few found gaps in the wire and were swiftly cut down by the APC, but most barreled head first into the wire and swiftly eviscerated themselves,spraying their innards across the road. It was a gruesome sight.

    Despite the nearly impenetrable barrier of monowire and gunfire, the antithesis kept pushing in, causing a massive pile of mangled bodies and gore swiftly built up in the intersection. The situation was a little surreal, but something bugged me.

    Emily must have seen my frown. ¡°What¡¯s with you?¡±

    ¡°You said the other team was harassed and ambushed, but this lot doesn¡¯t seem to even have enough brain cells between them to avoid a static defense. They¡¯re literally ripping themselves apart,¡± I said, gesturing towards the carnage.

    ¡°That¡¯s what the lower models are like when they¡¯re not managed by a command model. They act upon instinct,¡± Emily replied while she fired into the enemy line.

    ¡°Then where¡¯s the thing that planned the ambushes?¡± I asked. She paused, just for a moment, and that was enough to give me my answer. ¡°I¡¯m going back to support the other team, you can hold here, right?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid! Just get the others back here ASAP,¡± Emily yelled as I booked it back down the street.

    [Artymis, what should I be looking for? This¡­ Model Seventeen thing, how smart is it?]

    The Seventeen is the first model capable of true tactical planning. It embeds a worm in the lower models to control them, then sends commands through neuroconnecting wire, no thicker than a strand of spider silk.

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    [Can I use that to find it?]

    You could, but I suggest just keeping it at bay. If you did manage to follow one of the threads, it¡¯s probably because the Seventeen let you, and you¡¯d probably barrel straight into a group of Fours or Fives waiting for you.

    [Right. Don¡¯t follow the threads, got it.]

    As I barreled down the street, one of the buildings between me and the second team exploded outward. A pair of sixes emerged from the ruined brick wall, followed by a wave of smaller models.

    ¡°Arty, needle grenades,¡± I barked. I managed to snatch the materializing device out of the air and threw it into the midst of the emerging mob. A moment later, the Threes were dying in droves.

    I reached down and started to draw my sword, ready to dive in and finish the fight, when I heard someone scream. ¡°Incoming!¡± I slid to a stop just as I saw the massive hover bot turn towards the breach, tilt forwards, and unleash six mortar rounds directly into the breach. The detonation not only blew apart the two Model Sixes but also caused the breach and room beyond to collapse. There was no way the antithesis were going to get out that way.

    ¡°Keep moving!¡± Ratchet yelled, yanking one of the other PMC members to their feet and running towards the APC. All around us, Model Sixes were bursting out of walls and storefronts, discorging scores of smaller antithesis onto the street.

    ¡°Shit,¡± I hissed as I sprinted forward. The team wasn¡¯t moving fast enough. When I got within a few feet of the team, the other samurai turned, their face obscured by a mask, and stared. ¡°Keep moving!¡± I yelled as I slid under their massive drone to slice the Model Three that had already made it dangerously close. ¡°I wish I still had my bow,¡± I muttered.

    You could purchase another one. It is well within your means.

    ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous. I might get one or two arrows off, but not enough to make a difference before I have to switch back,¡± I replied.

    ¡°Then maybe I can help,¡± a familiar voice said from somewhere behind me. ¡°Just keep them from reaching Howie, and I¡¯ll thin them out for you.¡± I risked a quick glance back at the other samurai, as the massive drone slowly turned around. ¡°Don¡¯t fall behind!¡±

    I knew that voice.

    A moment later, the mortars opened up. Apparently they were independently targeting because each one hit a different group. The largest clusters, still trying to squeeze past the massive Sixes, were hit first, followed by the most dangerous models like the fives. That still left small pockets of Threes and Fours which sprinted forward, eager to press the attack. I cut these down as I backpedaled, slicing through the lunging monsters as they came. Unfortunately, fighting while retreating was a skill I wasn¡¯t quite used to, and during one of the lulls in combat I turned to catch up to the group, only to catch a tentacle in the back from a Four I¡¯d missed. The impact sent me sprawling. I couldn¡¯t tell if it penetrated my armor or not, but the pain was enough to cause my arm to spasm and send my sword spinning away.

    As I rolled over, one arm practically useless, the four advanced, looming over me. I scrambled to find my sword¡ªor anything that I could use to defend myself with¡ªwhen the creature¡¯s face exploded. It teetered on its feet for a second before slumping over. I just stared at it in surprise.

    ¡°On your feet, princess. No way I¡¯m going to leave you behind,¡± the other samurai said as they appeared by my side, pulling me to my feet.

    ¡°My sword!¡± I insisted as I was dragged towards the APC a few feet away.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got it, don¡¯t worry about it. We just need to get out of here,¡± the figure said as they half carried me into the APC. Space was a lot more limited with the massive drone sitting in the middle, but everyone managed to slip in and get the door closed.

    ¡°Jockey, punch it!¡± Emily yelled. The APC jerked, sharply accelerating away from the area and back towards our original position.

    ¡°Here¡¯s your sword. Don¡¯t lose it next time,¡± the other samurai said quietly as they handed me the blade. ¡°I¡¯m going to check your wound. Try not to move.¡±

    I nodded. I wanted to ask a question, but the pain in my arm was intense. I could feel them, her if my theory was correct, inspecting my wound and poking it gently.

    ¡°It looks like your armor took the brunt of the impact. According to my AI, you¡¯ll be fine after taking some medical nanites, just pop this in your mouth and inhale.¡± A box appeared in her hand, and she opened it, revealing something similar to an asthma inhaler, and stuck it in my mouth. ¡°Inhale. Deep breaths.¡±

    I did. Inhaling the mist was uncomfortable. It tasted metallic and coated every part of my mouth before miraculously disappearing. After a few moments, my arm started feeling better.

    The two of us sat there for a moment, staring at each other before I finally asked the question, ¡°Skyler, I know it¡¯s you. Is this why you were too busy to pick up the phone earlier?¡±

    The other woman swiftly pulled off her headgear, revealing a very familiar heart shaped face, and stylish short blond hair. She smiled. ¡°Hi Honey!¡±

 Chapter 14 - Catching up

    We still don¡¯t know the full requirements for being selected as a samurai, or how many samurai are uplifted during an incursion. Why? Well we don¡¯t know the requirements because protector AI are notoriously tight lipped about the requirements. That hasn¡¯t stopped some people from buying a rifle and wandering into an active incursion zone, seeking glory. We do have a rough idea of how many people are successful in those attempts, and let me tell you, those numbers are not pretty.

    - Professor AJ Hawk, Protectorate Studies

    ¡ª

    I stared at my girlfriend for several seconds, my brain struggling to process the situation. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be in court right now?¡± I finally asked, like an idiot.

    ¡°There were extraneous circumstances, the sky opened up and rained aliens. That usually takes precedence,¡± Skyler laughed. ¡°What about you? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be meeting, and I quote, ¡®an unscrupulous jackass that doesn¡¯t deserve any more chances, but I¡¯m still going to give him one¡¯?¡±

    ¡°He threatened to trash my grandfather¡¯s shrine, so I took the remains, threatened my father with a sword, and ran away,¡± I admitted.

    Skyler just sighed. ¡°I told you that you should have let me come with you, or at least taken a bodyguard with you.¡±

    ¡°Why? It turned out fine,¡± I mumbled. My head was getting a little fuzzy. Were there painkillers in those nanites?

    ¡°You ended up on the street trying to kill aliens with a sword. I¡¯d say that¡¯s a long way from ¡®fine¡¯¡± Skyler huffed. She managed to pretend she was mad for all of two seconds before her eyes and tone softened. ¡°You have no idea how surprised I was when I saw you sprinting down the street towards me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I do,¡± I countered. ¡°You want to tell me exactly what happened? And why do you have this giant hunk of junk?¡± I said kicking the hoverbot. It didn¡¯t move, but I hurt my foot.

    Skyler snickered at my antics, then slowly leaned over and put her head on my shoulder. ¡°I was in one of the upper courtrooms when the incursion happened. I didn¡¯t think it was anything out of the ordinary, until the first seed pod struck the top of the courthouse. Collapsed the roof on top of that nuisance that¡¯s been trying to sue your mother. Antithesis spilled into the courtroom, and ate most of the jury before I managed to shove the judge and a couple other survivors out the back. I managed to kill a couple of the Threes with my holdout pistol before we blockaded the door. And you said I¡¯d never need it!¡± She announced, poking me in the ribs.

    ¡°I¡¯ll never complain about it ever again,¡± I promised.

    ¡°Anyways, between the courtroom and getting the survivors down to the lobby, I somehow managed to be chosen as a samurai. Although Athyna won¡¯t tell me exactly why¡­¡± she added with a mumble. ¡°Most of the building security was already dead, and antithesis were starting to gather in the park across from the courthouse, so Athyna suggested some heavier firepower. Well, it worked, and I just kept scaling up until the reinforcements arrived. That¡¯s how I ended up with Howie.¡±

    ¡°Howie?¡± I asked, narrowing my eyes. I felt a pun coming on.

    ¡°Short for Howitzer,¡± Skyler clarified.

    ¡°Of course it is,¡± I mumbled. ¡°And you wonder why I didn¡¯t let you name the cats.¡±

    Skyler sat up and pouted, ¡°Professor Meowington was a perfectly valid name!¡±

    ¡°Perfectly valid, but not very ¡­,¡± I countered with a smile.

    She elbowed me before snuggling up to me again. ¡°How did you end up in this mess?¡± she asked.

    ¡°I stabbed a Model Three with a sword,¡± I explained.

    There was a pause. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Skyler asked.

    ¡°Pretty much. Apparently I was just the best choice in the area,¡± I said. ¡°That, and my father fucked up a local shelter and almost got everyone in that building killed.¡±

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    ¡°Of course he did,¡± Skyler moaned. ¡°I really wish I¡¯d managed to completely ruin that man during the divorce instead of just getting your mother full control of her company.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s what she wanted,¡± I said quietly, ¡°and the jokes on him anyway, Synthesis Systems is worth more than twice what Tanaka Industries is now. People just completely lost any trust in the company after the family fell apart.¡±

    ¡°Good riddance,¡± Skyler muttered. ¡°So¡­ what? You¡¯ve been running around just cutting up things with a sword since this thing started. I know you don¡¯t exactly like firearms, but you scared the shit out of me when you ran straight up to those antithesis to engage them.¡±

    ¡°I had a bow,¡± I insisted. ¡°I just dropped it after securing the area, when I nearly fell off the APC.¡±

    ¡°Nearly what?¡± Skyler growled, spinning around to look at me. ¡°Repeat that last part for me.¡±

    ¡°I plead the fifth,¡± I replied quickly.

    ¡°That¡¯s not a thing in Cascadia, you know that!¡± my girlfriend snapped.

    ¡°I hate to break up you two lovebirds, but we need to discuss our next steps,¡± Emily called from the front of the APC.

    Skyler looked at me questioningly. ¡°That¡¯s Emily, she runs this unit. Then you have Jocky, Ratchet, Terrier, and Bulldog,¡± I explained, pointing out each person in turn.

    ¡°Oh¡­ That¡¯s Steve and Trevor,¡± Skyler said, gesturing to the two worn-down men. ¡°The rest of the squad¡­ uh¡­ didn¡¯t make it.¡±

    ¡°Happens more than many would like to admit,¡± Terrier muttered. ¡°That¡¯s the risk of entering the incursion zone.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well you don¡¯t have to rub it in moron,¡± Ratchet snapped before looking over at the two men. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Steve muttered. ¡°It¡¯s not like what he said was wrong.¡±

    The APC fell into an uncomfortable silence, so I stood up and then hauled Skyler to her feet behind me. The two of us shuffled around the oversized bot and back up to the front.

    ¡°Emily this is¡­¡± I started.

    ¡°I know,¡± she groaned. ¡°If you haven¡¯t noticed, this isn¡¯t exactly the biggest vehicle. The entire squad heard your talk, whether we wanted to or not.¡± I blushed as she turned towards my girlfriend, ¡°Nice to meet you.¡±

    ¡°Likewise,¡± Skyler replied, shaking Emily¡¯s hand.

    When the pair separated, Emily stepped closer to the pilot seat, reached up, and unfolded a small screen from where it was hidden in the roof. The screen flashed, then displayed the area affected by the blackout. ¡°Our original plan was to check shelters that may, or may not, have been compromised, but that Seventeen complicates things. If we stick around, it may come for us again,¡± Emily explained.

    ¡°And if we don¡¯t, a lot more people may die,¡± I said.

    ¡°Yes, us included!¡± Emily countered. ¡°Look, my crew and I aren¡¯t cowards, but a Seventeen is bad news. It¡¯s not uncommon for them to completely wipe out patrols with their ambushes.¡±

    I glanced at the map. The blackout didn¡¯t cover a massive area. It was just a small portion of the district, but it still covered hundreds of buildings and shelters. So, I pointed at the far side of the blackout. ¡°We can start at the other end of the area, and work backwards. Hopefully that¡¯ll be far enough away for the Seventeen to lose interest, and move on,¡± I suggested.

    Skyler nodded. ¡°If your original mission was to check on shelters and help civilians, then we can¡¯t just abandon them.¡±

    Emily sighed. ¡°Fine. I doubt the Seventeen will abandon the area, based upon my experience, it¡¯ll probably start hunting around the area for us, but if we start far enough away, we should be fairly safe.¡± She turned and tapped Jockey on the shoulder. ¡°Head to eighth street, but take the long way. We don¡¯t want to attract that monster¡¯s attention if we can help it.¡± The driver nodded, and immediately turned onto the next road, causing the APC to tilt wildly.

    ¡°It¡¯ll take us about five or ten minutes to make it over to the other side of the blackout,¡± Emily said as she examined the map. ¡°The roads are fairly clear, so I would recommend taking that time to prepare yourselves.¡± Skyler nodded and started pulling me back towards the rear of the vehicle, where we¡¯d been seated before.

    ¡°Do you have anything you need to buy?¡± she whispered excitedly. ¡°Most of my points went into Howie earlier, but I earned quite a few in that skirmish on the street.¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I purchased some enhancements from something called the ¡®Blades in the Dark¡¯ catalog earlier, increased reaction speed and reflexes, but beyond that, I¡¯ve been letting Artymis make suggestions. It¡¯s worked so far.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe how boring you can be sometimes,¡± Skyler scoffed. ¡°You have the universe at your fingertips, and you¡¯ve bought a sword, bow, and handful of nicknacks you didn¡¯t choose yourself. Come on, I¡¯ll help you choose something interesting.¡± She said, pulling me further into the back.

    ¡°Fine, but we¡¯re not playing dress-up,¡± I conceded, letting her pull me forward. ¡°I¡¯m not changing in the back of a vehicle full of other people.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Skyler said with a sly smile. ¡°We can leave the dress-up until later.¡±

 Chapter 15 - Personal Protective Device

    Let me get this out of the way early, you are not invincible. That flak armor you¡¯ve been issued MAY save you from a glancing blow from a Model Four, but a direct hit will punch right through. You¡¯re not a samurai, you can¡¯t stand toe to toe with even the smallest antithesis models, so don¡¯t try it. Your armor is there as a last-ditch attempt to save the months and years of training we¡¯ve put into you, it¡¯s not reliable protection. The only ones that survive more than three seconds in close combat with an antithesis are the samurai

    - Burning Eagles PMC - Primer for new recruits

    ¡ª

    As soon as we sat down, Skyler turned to me. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re leaving most of your purchases up to your AI. Before we leave this APC, I¡¯m going to force you to buy at least one fun, interesting device,¡± she declared.

    ¡°Look, I know all this is important, but I¡¯d rather stick to what I know, what I¡¯m comfortable with, than purchase some fancy tech or weapon that I¡¯ll fumble in the midst of battle,¡± I grumbled.

    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s fair¡­ but I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a ton of different options which¡¯ll help keep you alive or augment your combat style. Remember GroundWire? That samurai that your mother contacted to try and get samples of the super trees she¡¯d purchased? Well, she used a ton of electrical arc weapons. Maybe you could apply something similar to your arrows?¡± Skyler suggested. ¡°Or if you want examples of other famous melee samurai, there¡¯s Maniac, over in Germany. She uses deflector shields and teleportation to get closer to her opponents.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t she the one that¡¯s always on the news for doing something crazy?¡± I asked suspiciously.

    ¡°I¡¯m definitely not suggesting you emulate everything she does, but some defensive techs wouldn¡¯t hurt,¡± Skyler quickly clarified.

    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it,¡± I mumbled. ¡°Some extra protection from those Model Fives would definitely be nice. How about you? What are you going to spend your points on?¡±

    Skyler smiled. ¡°My first priority is to get more types of shells for my mortar. If we¡¯re going to be wandering into buildings, I¡¯d like to have other options besides high explosives. I¡¯d hate to bring the place down upon our heads the first time we encountered trouble.¡± She paused for a moment and bit her lip, obviously thinking. ¡°Oh! Maybe some small recon drones to check out the surrounding area, and spot for Howie too!,¡± she exclaimed after a few seconds. She held her hands out in front of her, and after a second, a small hover drone appeared in her hands. The small, plate sized drone took off and immediately started flying around the crowded interior of the APC, stopping over each person for a moment before moving on. Skyler laughed in delight, and even I had to smile. I loved to see her excited like this.

    While she was distracted, I connected to my augs. [Artymis, how are my points doing?]

    Exceptional. You have close to fifteen hundred points right now. Most samurai, like your girlfriend, tend to spend points as quickly as they get them, but you are quite conservative.

    [Yeah, well, apparently I don¡¯t have the imagination that some of the other samurai do. Are deflector shields and teleportation really possible?]

    Absolutely. Teleportation isn¡¯t exactly safe or reliable at class I, but if you expand into the higher class equipment, it can be quite effective.

    I paused for a second. [What the hell are classes? And why is this the first time I¡¯ve heard about them?]

    Classes represent the more advanced levels of equipment that samurai have access to. Early on, you only have access to technology that¡¯s slightly above peak Earth tech, but as you progress, you can unlock increasingly more advanced catalogs. That¡¯s why more experienced vanguards have increasingly amazing tech.

    [I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s not as easy as asking you to unlock the catalogs, what¡¯s the catch?]

    You need to earn tokens, either from performing an exceptional feat or destroying hives. Class II catalogs require one Token to unlock, while higher Class catalogs have increasingly complicated and expensive requirements.

    [Well, since I don¡¯t have any of those, let''s ignore the Class II catalogs for now and concentrate on finding something more reasonable to spend those points on.]

    Wonderful! What are you looking for?

    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    [First of all, I want a new bow and a handful of monowire and penetrating arrows.]

    I am in awe of your imagination and ability to branch out from your safety zone.

    [Shut up. They¡¯ve been exceptionally reliable up to this point, so I might as well make sure I restock before splurging on something else.]

    A box appeared, leaning on the bench between Skyler and I. As soon as it did, Skyler leaned over and peeked before giving me a disapproving look.

    See, even your girlfriend is disappointed.

    I sighed but ignored the snarky messages from my AI. [Are there any more body enhancements I could purchase from the ¡®Blades in the Dark¡¯ catalog or better blades?]

    There are some ocular improvements which synergize with the reaction speed enhancements. It¡¯ll give you slightly better low light vision and allow you to see an increased color spectrum. The greatest advantage would be helping you identify stealth models before they strike. It¡¯s not perfect, but it¡¯s better than nothing.

    As for the mental or physical enhancements, you¡¯ll have to wait until you unlock Class II. The ¡®Blades in the Dark¡¯ didn¡¯t rely upon heavy augmentation until later on in their development.

    [I assume there are other catalogs for muscle and mental enhancements, can¡¯t I use one of those instead?]

    You could, but there may be conflicts if you decide to rely on the higher Class ¡®Blades in the Dark¡¯ catalogs later. I could provide you with some cybernetic options, but¡­

    [Yeah, no. I want to keep my body looking somewhat natural, so enhancements or bionics. Cybernetics just remind me of that heap of garbage I call a father.] I sighed. [So if further enhancements are off the table, let''s talk about survivability. How about a shield, like Skyler mentioned earlier. I¡¯d prefer it if I didn¡¯t always have to worry about getting sniped by a Model Five I didn¡¯t see.]

    Excellent choice. There are two different types that would fit you. The first is the Light Reactive Shield, which detects attacks of a certain velocity and projects a hard light barrier to intercept. It¡¯ll be strong enough to deflect Model Five projectiles but much less effective against most melee attacks. The second type is the Projected Energy Shield, which surrounds you in a skin tight cocoon of energy which dissipates kinetic damage. It¡¯s not as strong as the same class of armor, but it is exceptionally light weight and provides uniform protection for your entire body.

    [My main concern right now is the ranged unit pinning me down but¡­ can I use both?]

    Absolutely! If you bought each device individually, there would probably be issues, as the overlapping fields would conflict with one another, but you could avoid that by buying both catalogs and a single integrated unit.

    [And I can afford that?]

    The catalogs are on the more expensive side of Class I, and the device will be costly, but you have more than enough to purchase everything you need, get the optical enhancements, and still have a little left over.

    [Could I afford two of the devices?]

    You could, but it would almost completely empty out your reserves.

    [That¡¯s fine. I¡¯d rather have my girlfriend alive than a few extra points.] I smiled. [Let''s do it.]

    Skyler immediately looked my way when two larger boxes, and one smaller one landed upon my lap. I cracked open the smaller box and took a look. It had something that looked like eyedrops, so I put it aside and checked the next box. Inside there was a matte black, plastic looking chest piece. When I held it up, I could see a lot of integrated circuitry and panels seamlessly embedded in the surface. It honestly wasn¡¯t exactly what I was expecting.

    ¡°What is that?¡± Skyler asked as she leaned in to look as well. ¡°I thought you already had armor.¡±

    ¡°I do. This is a shield generator, apparently,¡± I replied as I repeatedly flipped the chestpiece over. I expected something a little more sci-fi looking, but I had to admit this low profile device fit me much better.

    ¡°REALLY?¡± Skyler screeched in joy. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! Try it on right now!¡±

    I felt my ears heat up slightly as I blushed. ¡°I¡­ umm¡­¡± I stuttered, ¡°I¡¯m not wearing a shirt under this jacket, just a skinsuit.¡±

    ¡°So¡­ I¡¯ve seen you in less,¡± Skyler immediately shot back.

    ¡°But everyone else¡­¡±

    ¡°Probably saw skimpier clothing in every ad they saw today,¡± Skyler huffed. ¡°I know you don¡¯t like being seen, but this is nothing. Strip that jacket!¡± She commanded.

    I did what she said, slowly peeling off my jacket, very aware of how my girlfriend¡¯s eyes wandered all over me. ¡°Oh my¡­ very tight,¡± she said lightly. ¡°Maybe we should get this on you as soon as possible after all. Turn around!¡±

    I shuffled enough to present my back to Skyler and let her slip the chest piece over my head. ¡°We¡¯ll explore that suit of yours more later,¡± she whispered into my ear as she tightened up the straps. I didn¡¯t think this was the right place for teasing, but I wasn¡¯t going to bring it up so the rest of the APC could hear it.

    After a few moments, she grabbed my shoulders and turned me around again. ¡°There! All done! I can¡¯t wait to see how it works.¡±

    I grabbed the second box and placed it between us. Skyler looked at it, then me. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    "I got you one too,¡± I said with a smirk. ¡°Now strip!¡±

 Chapter 16 - Obstructed Traffic

    Did you know that more than eighty percent of samurai casualties happen during their first incursion? It¡¯s not surprising, if you think about it. An experienced samurai is a force of nature, but a newly uplifted one only has access to limited points, and basic equipment.

    Those that survive join the roster of modern gods. Those that don¡¯t end up as biomass for the horde. It¡¯s a hell of a first day.

    - Professor AJ Hawk, Protectorate Studies

    ¡ª

    I hadn¡¯t really looked at Skyler¡¯s gear until she stripped off her coat. What I originally thought was heavy armor was actually just lightly armored, rugged clothing with an armored duster overtop. She also had an armored gasmask to cover her face. It vaguely reminded me of the old post apocalyptic shows and movies she liked to watch.

    Once she was suited up with her own shield, we popped open the top hatch of the APC and sent one of her drones out to scout the next location. I watched over Skyler¡¯s shoulder as she monitored the thing¡¯s progress on a small, collapsable tablet. The drone wasn¡¯t much faster than the APC, so we didn¡¯t get much advanced warning, but what we saw wasn¡¯t good.

    It was a transit shelter, where nearby buses were supposed to drop off passengers in the case of an emergency. It didn¡¯t look like much from the air, since all you could see from above was a small, stylish, red brick square with a couple small greenspaces around the outside and an abstract statue in the middle. I could just barely make out the stairways built into the corners of the square most of them were obscured by all the abandoned vehicles on the road.

    The troubling part was the square was absolutely crawling with antithesis. It was mostly smaller models, a couple Sixes dotted around the mob, and worse of all, a pair of Eights, who seemed to be slowly digging down.

    ¡°At least they don¡¯t seem to have gotten inside yet,¡± I told Skyler quietly.

    ¡°They¡¯re trying pretty damned hard,¡± she replied softly. ¡°You think we can stop them?¡±

    ¡°As long as you blow the shit out of those worms, I think we can manage,¡± I replied. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll keep them off you.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s worried?¡± Skyler shot back, elbowing me in the ribs, ¡°I¡¯m concerned, at best.¡±

    ¡°Right, right, you¡¯re a strong, independent woman,¡± I replied with a smile.

    ¡°ONE MINUTE!¡± Emily yelled from the front of the APC, which prompted Skyler to slip on her mask.

    I stood up and grabbed the support rail right by the back ramp. ¡°Stop a block out, and set up a defensive perimeter around Skyler and the APC,¡± I yelled back. I waited until I saw Emily nod before I turned back towards the door, one hand on the rail, the other on the hilt of my sword.

    As soon as I felt the APC break, I slammed the open ramp button and sprinted out the door. I could hear Skyler trying to direct her oversized artillery bot out of the back, but I didn¡¯t turn around. I wanted time to set up before the rush started. When I was about half a block out, I slid to a stop and whipped out my bow. A couple of the antithesis noticed me and started rushing down the street, but I figured they were far enough away for me to finish my job. I methodically fired my monowire arrows down the road and created an ad hoc barrier across the road before shouldering my bow and switching to my sword.

    Just as the first few antithesis reached the barrier and completely shredded themselves, the mortar array opened up. The shells lit up my new vision, glowing as they raced across the night sky before landing squarely upon the back of the two giant worms. That got the antithesis¡¯s attention.

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    The antithesis erupted out of the square and filled the street as they swarmed towards me. I slowly drew my blade as the first wave smashed into the wire. Gunfire erupted from behind me, and the artillery bot fired again, blowing a hole in the antithesis lines, but all I could do was draw my sword and steel myself, waiting for the antithesis to do more than coat the wire in gore.

    I didn¡¯t have to wait long. One of the Sixes seemed to realize how dangerous the wire was and smashed into a storefront on the side of the road. I could hear it rampaging around, crashing through things, before it once again emerged from the building, past the monowire barrier.

    As soon as it emerged from the building, the Six put it¡¯s head down and charged. I let the big creature get within a few steps of me before I darted to the side and brought my blade down upon its neck. Despite supposedly being smarter than their peers, I hadn¡¯t needed to change up my tactics for the big creatures yet. I guess they felt charging and attempting to trample their opponents was their best move considering their bulk.

    I didn¡¯t have time to rest after killing the Six, as at least some of the antithesis diverted through the new passage and swarmed past my impromptu barrier. The Threes came first, trying to flank me before lunging in from multiple directions at once. I had to constantly retreat to keep the plant dogs from getting behind me. I had to be methodical and wait until they lunged at me before countering. With so many rushing forward, I didn¡¯t want to risk putting myself into a bad position.

    Things really got difficult once the Fours got involved. I hadn¡¯t even noticed the first one approaching, and it was only when my new shield flashed, half blinding me, that I realized a small group had somehow climbed up the wall and over the roof. I dove away from the wall, rolling to my feet just out of the range of the creature¡¯s follow up strike.

    ¡°Needler!¡± I snapped, holding up my hand, and as soon as I felt the metal hit my hand, I chucked the grenade towards the wall, then immediately spun towards the Threes again. With so many targets, I had to concentrate on the most immediate threats.

    I heard the grenade go off, and the Fours fall off the wall, but I couldn¡¯t afford to take the time to check on them. More and more antithesis were flooding through the bypass, and even though I was striking them down unnaturally fast, I was still getting pushed back. Just when things were starting to look desperate, a couple mortar rounds landed squarely on the building. I glanced at it, just for a moment, as the small shop collapsed, crushing the antithesis inside and cutting off the shortcut. There was still a way across the top of the rubble, but it wasn¡¯t the smooth, quick path the antithesis before.

    Now that I wasn¡¯t being pressed as hard, I pressed the attack, stepping into my attacks and advancing instead of retreating. I cut through the remaining Model Threes like nothing, slicing through their quickly dwindling numbers until I was the only thing left standing. It took me a minute to catch my breath and come down from my combat high before I could fully evaluate the situation. Almost all the antithesis were dead, and those that were left were either critically wounded, or crippled. There was a massive line of dead antithesis, leading right from the former shortcut to where I was standing. I guess I killed more than I¡¯d realized.

    I turned around, only to find most of the team standing there, staring at me. ¡°Holy shit! I knew you were good with that thing, but¡­ wow,¡± Terrier managed to get out. ¡°I think the entire squad killed less of those monsters than you did with you with that sword.¡±

    ¡°I have years of practice,¡± I managed to choke out between breaths.

    ¡°Yeah, no shit,¡± he replied.

    ¡°Alright, enough with the gawking,: we need to check on that shelter,¡± Emily yelled as she stepped forward. ¡°Is that wire going to mess up the APC as badly as it did the aliens?¡± she asked quietly.

    ¡°Maybe, but I have a spray that dissolves it. Just give me a minute,¡± I replied, finally getting my breath under control again.

    ¡°Of course you do. You have wire that slices antithesis limb from limb. Why wouldn¡¯t it just dissolve with a liquid? It makes perfect sense,¡± she mumbled to herself before turning back to the squad. ¡°Stay close to the APC and keep your eyes open. We don¡¯t know when those bastards might show up again.¡±

    As I started walking towards the wire, Skyler came running up behind me. ¡°Eeeeeee¡­ that was amazing! The drone got the entire thing! You were so cool,¡± she squealed as she threw her arms around my shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m going to post it on the net when we get home!¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t¡­ I really don¡¯t want all the extra attention,¡± I sighed.

    ¡°Too bad, we¡¯re samurai now. We¡¯re going to get a ton of attention now, no matter what we do, so I might as well do my best to ensure the public see¡¯s our good side,¡± Skyler replied as she hugged me tighter.

    ¡°I hate it,¡± I pouted.

    ¡°I know,¡± Skyler said, with a smirk. ¡°But it¡¯ll be worth it.¡± She slowly pulled her arms away, letting me move closer to the wire before calling out, ¡°You¡¯re so cute when you pout.¡±

 Chapter 17 - Power Couple

    Why can¡¯t conventional military forces destroy the antithesis and why do we need samurai? Well the truth of the matter is, conventional military weapons CAN deal with the antithesis. A heavy artillery weapon has enough punch to deal with anything up to the mid thirties, given enough time. The thing is the antithesis can afford to lose hundreds, maybe even thousands, of models for a single human casualty.

    The average soldier, defending an entrenched position, might kill a dozen weaker models. That''s why we need the samurai, they can slaughter hordes of smaller models and topple the titans. They kill enough antithesis to balance the equation, to allow us to survive.

    -Professor AJ Hawk, Protectorate Studies

    ¡ª

    I cleared the entire monowire barrier before moving forward. Better to remove it, than risk blocking, or killing, someone that may try to escape through this area before it dissolved naturally. While I was clearing the way Skyler was cleaning up the bodies, so by the time I was done we were ready to move again.

    I slowly advanced upon the square, the rest of the team at my back. ¡°Why do we keep running into these large groups? They¡¯re dangerous, but not the city devouring tides I expected to encounter¡± I asked as I stalked forward.

    ¡°It¡¯s because the city has several high caliber, samurai grade anti air cannons. Pods have a very thick shell, and can shrug off most fire, but if you hit them with something dangerous enough they split apart. The flying models emerge to provide cover and the rest of the compartments scatter like dandelion seeds,¡± Emily explained. ¡°It prevents the landing pods from being outright destroyed before they hit the ground, but also disperses the antithesis over a wider area.¡±

    Skyler frowned. ¡°Is that really a good thing though? If they spread over a wider area there¡¯s a higher chance that one of the groups may go to ground, and spawn hives somewhere.¡±

    ¡°But it breaks their forces up into more manageable groups, groups that even the PMCs can handle, so it¡¯s a toss up. Personally, I prefer fights that my team and I have a hope of winning, rather than being instantly overrun. But that¡¯s just me.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s why we haven¡¯t seen any Ones since we came out here? They¡¯re dumped out of the main pod?¡± I asked.

    Emily nodded. ¡°Both them and the Elevens. That¡¯s¡­ a mixed blessing, because they still flock up. If they ever catch a whiff of the pheromones, or dead antithesis, in this area we¡¯ll get swarmed.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope that doesn¡¯t happen,¡± Skyler muttered, ¡°I have some sky burst rounds but against that many¡­¡±

    Before she could finish I threw up a hand, and started shushing the group. I could hear something. It didn¡¯t sound like movement, at least it didn¡¯t sound like a swarm rushing in, it sounded like¡­ grinding stone?

    ¡°What is that?¡± Skyler hissed.

    I shook my head, glanced around the square, then finally pointed at one of the pits the Eights had started digging. ¡°It¡¯s coming from there,¡± I whispered.

    Emily nodded, made a couple quick hand signals, and her squad rushed forward to surround the depression. I could see Terrier and Bulldog exchange a quick glance, before they raised their weapons. ¡°Clear¡­ sort of,¡± the smaller man said.

    I slipped into the plaza, and quickly made my way up to the team, interested to see what they found. The hole was a mess of half vapourized, half dismembered antithesis parts. The Eight had been hit directly by multiple mortar rounds, and ripped apart, but the truly disgusting part was that even though it lost more than eighty percent of its mass, the worm still appeared to be trying to dig.

    Told you, distributed nervous system. With this much damage it¡¯ll die of trauma and blood loss soon, but the fact it can keep moving for this long is impressive.

    ¡°That¡¯s disgusting,¡± Skyler gagged as she came up behind me. ¡°Can we do anything about that?¡±

    [Is that gas we used in the office heavier than air by any chance,] I asked Artymis discretely.

    Yup. I¡¯m assuming you want one.

    [Please.]

    I let the grenade just roll off my hand and into the hole. It didn¡¯t take long for the gas to fill the foul orifice, and the grinding to finally stop.

    ¡°So¡­ the fact that the antithesis were trying to dig their way into the shelter is a good sign, right?¡± I asked. ¡°It means they didn¡¯t have easy access to the inside, unlike that office building we stopped at earlier.¡±

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    ¡°Well, yes and no¡­¡± Ratchet replied. ¡°The antithesis kind of have a pattern. When they enter an area the scouts identify and collect ¡®free¡¯ biomass. Local flora and fauna, food supplies, and people caught outside of secure locations.¡± She half gestured towards the nearest greenspace, and I noticed the entire thing had been ripped apart. It looked like there¡¯d been trees there before, but the antithesis had ripped everything down, they¡¯d even dug up the roots. ¡°Once they¡¯ve secured that they move on to inefficient sources of biomass, and moderately difficult targets. Like eating synth leather, or ripping open military vehicles. They typically only start digging into hardened targets once they¡¯ve run out of ¡®easy¡¯ targets.¡±

    ¡°So the fact they were trying to dig into the shelter here¡­¡± Skyler started.

    ¡°Is an anomaly,¡± Ratchet finished.

    I could see Emily, perched at the top of one of the access stairways a few feet away, eyes narrowed as she stared into the gloom. ¡°We won¡¯t know why until we check on the status of those people,¡± she grumbled. ¡°Terrier, Bulldog and Steve with me, the rest of you keep watch.¡±

    ¡°Actually¡­ I think it¡¯s best if I go first,¡± I announced. ¡°Confined spaces, and close quarters, are kind of what I do best.¡±

    Emily paused for a moment, then nodded, stepping aside so I could pass. The shelter entrance reminded me of the old subway entrances you saw in old movies and TV, before tunneling horrors and hover vehicles made the design obsolete. I moved lightly down the approximately thirty steps before I came to a sealed steel door, which had been scratched up by some sort of antithesis, but not penetrated, and a security panel. I tapped the panel a couple times, but it stayed dark.

    ¡°Power¡¯s out, but the door is sealed properly. I doubt the other entrances are any different, but we should check, just in case,¡± I called back up the stairs.

    [I take it this is a location without sufficient backup power] I asked Artymis silently.

    Actually, it¡¯s SUPPOSED to have backup generators. I had it only had it listed as a moderate risk, because it had failsafe doors, but went through an inspection within the last few months. The system shouldn¡¯t be down right now.

    [Is there any way we get enough power to it to at least access comms, or interior surveillance?]

    There are exterior power ports hidden below the panel, just in case the rescue crews encounter this exact sort of situation.

    I felt underneath the panel, and discovered a small compartment which I could slide open. Inside there were some massive three inch wide power connectors. They kind of looked like the charging port on my car. ¡°What the fuck am I supposed to do with these?¡± I muttered.

    ¡°Try this!¡± I heard Skyler¡¯s bright voice echo from above. I looked up to find her laying at the edge of the side of the stairs, dangling a power cable down.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± I asked suspiciously.

    ¡°Power of course! The rescue teams typically connect external power to their vehicles, but I connected this cable to Howie,¡± Skyler explained as she lowered the cable down to me.

    ¡°How did you even know that I needed it in the first place?¡± I asked suspiciously.

    ¡°Well¡­ Artymis told Athyna what you were doing, and then Athyna told me, and suggested Howie could substitute as a power source. Simple!¡± Skyler explained.

    ¡°Right. I¡¯m not quite sure I¡¯m comfortable with my AI discussing things with other people behind my back, but it does solve our power issues,¡± I grumbled.

    ¡°We should make a chat channel that¡¯s only accessible to us and our AIs,¡± Skyler called as she disappeared above the lip of the stairs. ¡°That way we can discuss, and plan, without other people listening in.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good plan,¡± I called back. ¡°Artymis would you mind¡­¡±

    It¡¯s already done.

    {Rei: I¡¯m ready to plug in the connection} I sent to test our new connection.

    {Sky: Howie is all set up, do it!} Came the reply.

    I crouched down, and gently eased the cables into the connectors. After a few seconds the screen flickered to life. I just barely had time to stand up, and check the system when Emily appeared at the top of the stairs again. ¡°We checked the other access points, all of them are sealed, and powered down,¡± she explained as she slowly descended the stairs. ¡°I see you two have been busy since I left.¡±

    ¡°We literally just got this thing plugged in. I was just about to see if I could see inside, want to join me?¡±

    Emily nodded, and came to stand at my side as I brought up the display. The thing wanted credentials, so I just placed my hand on the screen and concentrated for a moment to bypass the security. The screen flickered, then displayed a menu which would have looked out of date fifty years ago. Three simple options, ¡®Cams, Comms, and Open door, which was locked.¡¯ I glanced at Emily, who shrugged.

    ¡°The Cascadian government wanted to make these things as idiot proof as possible, so they simplified and standardized shelter access terminals,¡± she explained. ¡°Rescue teams have to at least look into the shelter before they¡¯re allowed to crack the doors, to prevent them from releasing anything.¡±

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s sensible,¡± I grumbled. ¡°Wish they¡¯d provided an easier way to do it.¡±

    I touched the ¡®Cams¡¯ button and waited. The screen cycled, but didn¡¯t display anything, just static. I clicked the next cam button, and again nothing. Frustrated, I slammed the button again. This time the cam connected, I kinda wish it hadn¡¯t.

    The signal was heavily degraded, and staticy, but I could see enough. The interior was a charnel house, with bodies just lying everywhere, literally sliced into pieces. I blanched, and reached for the disconnect button but Emily caught my hand. I looked at her, questioningly, so she pointed at the corner of the display. There was something there, a fibrous, yet fleshy looking growth; It kind of looked like a man sized cocoon growing on the wall. I could swear it was pulsing. ¡°What is that?¡± I asked softly.

    ¡°A real big problem,¡± she replied quietly.

 Chapter 18 - Bump in the Dark

    Do you really not understand why hives are dangerous? Listen here kid, a single hive is capable of producing hundreds of low level models an hour. If it¡¯s not destroyed within a few days it can start producing models within the teens. The longer they¡¯re left alone, the stronger they get.

    We¡¯ve never let them develop past a few weeks because the REAL old ones can pump out some scary shit. Give it a couple months and I bet a single hive could give even the strongest samurai a run for their money.

    - Velvet Aurora to Collateral Damage during a samurai training mission.

    ¡ª

    ¡°That didn¡¯t answer my question,¡± I snapped as Emily sprinted up the stairs.

    ¡°Bulldog! Get the incinerator. Terrier take our two new friends and get sweepers, double time!¡± Emily yelled as soon as she hit the top.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Skyler asked, as she peeked over the back of the stairs again. ¡°What did you see?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± I replied with a huff. ¡°I¡¯ll share my feed, let me know what you think.¡±

    As soon as I shared my feed through our shared channel I heard Skyler gasp. ¡°I think that¡¯s a hive!¡±

    I frowned. ¡°Aren¡¯t hives supposed to be these huge complex things that just constantly crap out new antithesis?¡± I asked. ¡°And if it is a hive, how the fuck did they get a seed in there in the first place?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you remember anything of your antithesis studies classes,¡± Skyler asked as she leaned over the edge of the staircase again. I could hear the disappointment in her voice.

    ¡°I was homeschooled, remember?¡± I reminded her. ¡°Good with traditional subjects and sword fighting, shit with the modern ones.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right,¡± there was a momentary pause. ¡°Every single antithesis has the ability to take root, and become a hive. They just need enough space, and access to biomass,¡± Skyler explained.

    ¡°So¡­ something got in there, slaughtered the entire shelter, then took root. Is that what you¡¯re saying?¡± I asked quietly.

    ¡°That pretty much covers it,¡± Skyler replied softly. ¡°At least we know what drove the antithesis to try and dig in there. Probably detected the pheromones from the hive, and they were trying to reach it.¡±

    ¡°Guess we arrived at the right time then,¡± I muttered as Emily returned. Towering behind her was Bulldog, carrying a very dangerous two-handed weapon that looked like a combination of flamethrower, and heavy machine gun. Behind him came Terrier, Steve, and Trevor, carrying some sort of shotgun.

    ¡°I take it you don¡¯t want to just leave this thing locked then,¡± I said as they piled down the stairs.

    ¡°Cascadian rules of engagement state that military personnel must report any hives the instant they''re detected, and must make every reasonable attempt to remove them,¡± Emily replied. ¡°Since this one hasn¡¯t had time to develop, we need to clear it before it becomes an issue. Do you know what¡¯s in there yet?¡±

    I turned back to the terminal and scrolled through the cameras. It was strange, they weren¡¯t destroyed, because the static did clear every so often, but whatever was happening prevented me from catching a good look at anything. ¡°Too much interference,¡± I finally said.

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to do recon by force. Are you coming?¡± Emily asked.

    I glanced up at Skyler, who just casually pointed at her robot. ¡°Howie is powering the door, and I¡¯m not sure he¡¯d fit down there anyways,¡± she reported. ¡°But I can provide some overwatch.¡±

    Emily turned and looked at me next. ¡°A tight, confined space with limited sightlines and an unknown enemy? Sounds like the perfect place for a melee weapon to me,¡± I said as I placed one hand on the hilt of my sword.

    Emily nodded. ¡°Ratchet! Setup with a rifle at the top of the stairs. Hose anything that comes out, unless we message you first!¡± I barely saw a flash of the other woman setting up before Emily turned back to me again, ¡°Open the door.¡±

    With one hand I returned the display back to the main menu. After checking through the cameras the ¡®Open Door¡¯ button was enabled. I hesitated just for a second before tapping it. The door beside me hissed, then slowly retracted back, causing a corpse to tumble through the open door.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    Skyler audibly gasped, and took a step back from the edge. I could see her psyching herself up over the lip of the stairs before she stepped forward again. ¡°Be careful in there, okay?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll be back soon,¡± I said confidently before I stepped forward.

    I switched my glasses to night vision mode then slowly stuck my head inside the shelter. The glasses flickered, apparently whatever was affecting the cameras was affecting them as well, but I could still see fairly clearly. It looked like whatever killed the civilians took some time, based upon the pile of bodies sitting near each door. The people tried to get out, but were trapped inside with whatever horror had snuck in.

    ¡°You might want flashlights,¡± I said quietly as I stepped over a particularly gruesome beheaded body. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of gore in here¡±

    There were a couple light clicks, then the room lit up, just a little bit. I glanced back, it seemed they had tiny integrated lights on their helmets, I hadn¡¯t noticed that before.

    I slowly swept my gaze across the entire room, but I didn¡¯t see a single alien. There were a couple curtains up to divide the space, but the shelter was for the most part an open space. There was no place for the creatures to hide.

    ¡°Do you think that only one antithesis got in here?¡± I asked quietly.

    ¡°Too many dead,¡± Bulldog grunted. I turned back and looked at him, questioningly.

    ¡°There are hundreds of corpses in here,¡± one of the new guys explained, Trevor I think. ¡°When pushed into a corner even civilians can beat a couple Threes, or Fours, to death. This was something different.¡±

    I took another few steps into the room, slowly sweeping the area. Something felt wrong about this entire situation, I should have seen something by now. There wasn¡¯t a single alien, not even a body. I¡¯d just reached the middle of the room when something caught my eye. Not through the glasses, but through my peripheral vision. A flash of iridescence. I turned and glanced at the area, but there was nothing there, just a fire extinguisher. A very glitchy fire extinguisher. Subconsciously I flicked my glasses off, leaving me in the dark. The fire extinguisher was still there, still fuzzy, but there was something else too. An indistinct iridescent shape behind it.

    Kill it quick!

    I didn¡¯t hesitate. The blade flew from my sheath and bisected the shape. I hit flesh.

    The thing collapsed onto the floor and spasmed, revealing far too many razor sharp limbs. It was covered by millions of thin strands, which made it look fuzzy, but I had a feeling this definitely wasn¡¯t something to hug.

    Nine! Stealth model that mimics objects to ambush their prey. You almost walked straight into a trap. That vision upgrade just saved your life.

    ¡°Fuck,¡± I shouted, bouncing back from the critter, somehow managing to avoid tripping on a body, while I desperately swept the area with my eyes. There were three or four of them, and some were moving apparently realizing the jig was up. My eyes snapped to the one closest to the door. I¡¯d mistaken it as a folding chair when I¡¯d passed, and now it was less than a foot from the team. ¡°Terrier chair to your left, SHOOT IT¡± I practically screamed as the creatures burst into action. I couldn¡¯t keep my eyes on the team because two of the fuzzy killers sprinted across the room, directly for me. Even though they were smaller than Threes, these things were fast, and even with my improved reflexes I barely got into position before the first one was on top of me.

    The creature leaped, its six scything limbs slicing back and forth in a killing frenzy. Thankfully I had the reach on it, and the tip of my sword caught it in the side, mid pounce, cutting it down before it could do any real damage. The other one went low, and even as my sword connected with the flying one, I knew I¡¯d never get my blade back around in time, so I did something desperate. I planted one foot, and booted the second creature right in the ¡®face¡¯ area. My shield flared, and I felt the scythes sink into my leg, but it was enough to send the creature skidding away. I leapt desperately after the thing, trying to ignore the burning pain in my leg and just managed to skewer the thing with a lunging attack before it recovered. Then the room went quiet.

    ¡°Are we clear?¡± Came Emily¡¯s quiet call. I swear I could hear something behind her, struggling, gurgling.

    I struggled to my feet and quickly looked around the room. There was no more iridescent, so I flicked my night vision back on. ¡°I think we¡¯re clear,¡± I reported as I looked back at the group. Emily was pale, which wasn¡¯t surprising considering what was happening behind her. Terrier was dead, disemboweled, and Steve was on the ground, clutching at his neck as blood flowed out between his fingers.

    ¡°Trevor, take him outside, and do what you can. Don¡¯t forget to warn Ratchet before stepping out,¡± Emily ordered sternly. ¡°Bulldog, burn it. Burn it now.¡±

    The big man stepped purposefully across the room and before he was even half way the weapon in his hand lit up and coated the small nest in fire. I didn¡¯t watch, I was busy hobbling across the room.

    [Arty I need medical, now! Something to keep him alive] I typed desperately.

    I can get you a nano...

    [I don¡¯t need the details. If I''ve got enough points just give it to me and explain along the way!]

    I felt something fall into my open hand, an inhaler.

    Force him to inhale, just like Skyler did to you.

    I threw myself to the ground by Steve¡¯s side. His eyes were unfocused so I forced the thing into his mouth. ¡°Breathe in, as hard as you can! Come on Breathe!¡± I growled.

    I guess something about my tone got through to him, because the man inhaled hard, then started coughing. The blood pouring around his hands quickly stopped, but his vision was still unfocused. I just watched as Trevor carried his friend out.

    ¡°You did good. If you hadn¡¯t noticed those things, they could have wiped us out,¡± Emily said quietly, patting me on the shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s get you back outside, and have a look at that leg.¡±

 Chapter 19 - The Great War

    What do I think about the protectors? I think they¡¯re behind the incursions. If they have all this technology, they could probably exterminate all the antithesis the instant they arrived on the planet, or prevented them from arriving, if they wanted to.

    Why? Reality TV. What¡¯s more entertaining than giving some slub super technology, then watching them run around like a toddler with a raygun. That¡¯s all samurai are, hopped up hidden camera TV stars.

    -Jalex Homes, Misinformation Battles

    ¡ª

    As soon as Skyler saw me hobbling up the stairs she sprinted over to me. ¡°I told you to be careful!¡± she cried as she slid under my free arm to help support me. ¡°What the hell happened?¡±

    ¡°They were invisible,¡± I tried to explain as I was dragged over to the nearest bench. ¡°And angry.¡±

    ¡°I thought your shield was supposed to protect you from shit like this,¡± she mumbled.

    I slipped onto the bench and nodded towards the stairway, where the team was slowly bringing up Terrier¡¯s corpse. ¡°It did. Some of the others weren¡¯t so lucky,¡± I said quietly. I noticed Skyler glance in their direction before putting her head down and checking my leg.

    ¡°You¡¯re surprisingly fine. It looks like whatever hit you didn¡¯t actually get through your armor. You have one hell of a bruise though,¡± Skyler explained as she poked my leg. I yelped in pain, and nearly kicked her when she did. ¡°I¡¯m concerned your invisible assailant may have broken a bone, gimme a second.¡±

    While she busied herself, I leaned back on the bench. [Artymis, what the fuck was that? How the hell do alien plants have fucking mimic capabilities? I understand the toxins and shit, but that was something else entirely.]

    The Model Nine is very versatile. It can use its thick transparent grass coat similar to fiber optic cable. It has an entire part of its brain dedicated to projecting light pulses into these strands, allowing it to project the image of objects. These images aren¡¯t perfect, so it also projects an EM disruption field that messes with electronics, and helps convince other creatures nothing is wrong.

    ¡°They do what?¡­Owwwww!¡± I cried out as Skyler stabbed me in the leg with a hypo. The instant she did the huge black welt around my lower leg slowly faded.

    ¡°Stop being a baby. It was just a bruise,¡± she cried, patting me on the leg before she stood up and looked me in the eye.

    ¡°You were the one panicking when I came out of that shelter,¡± I pointed out, with a small smile.

    ¡°Yeah, well, someone has to worry about you. You always put other people first, and pretend you¡¯re completely fine, even when you¡¯re not,¡± she sighed, then leaned down and drew me into a deep hug. ¡°Please don¡¯t do anything stupid and leave me alone,¡± she whispered quietly.

    ¡°I promise. We¡¯re going to live long healthy lives, even with these stupid plants,¡± I whispered back, slowly patting her on the back.

    We stayed that way for a minute, until Skyler finally collected herself and sat down on the bench beside me. ¡°What was it that you were saying when I stabbed you with the nanites?¡±

    I glanced down at my leg, then over at my girlfriend. ¡°I thought nanites were applied through an inhaler,¡± I said, confused.

    ¡°I guess they¡¯re multifunctional,¡± she replied with a shrug, before elbowing me in the side. ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject, I asked you a question.¡±

    ¡°Artymis was just explaining the antithesis we encountered in the shelter, model Nines, project images into their fiber optic like foliage to mimic objects. Not only that, but they project an EM field which not only disrupts electronics, but also the brains of other creatures,¡± I explained.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    Skyler looked at me blankly. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I said! How the hell did the antithesis evolve something like that naturally?¡± I asked. ¡°Artymis?¡±

    {Arty: The antithesis are genetic scavengers. When they kill other creatures they drag their corpses back to the nearest hive and not only recycle the biomass, but steal genetic sequences from the prey. Normally creatures would need millions of years to adapt, and evolve, but the antithesis can do it in a fraction of that time through their genetic thievery, and the fact that they can birth thousands of models an hour. Throwing out the bad mutations, and allowing the good to thrive.}

    ¡°That¡¯s fucking scary. And they found something that has both mimicry, and EM manipulation capabilities?¡± Skyler asked as she snuggled a little closer into my side.

    {Athy: No. What you need to realize is this conflict goes well beyond your planet, it¡¯s universal in scale. The protectors send us AI out to almost every Sapient race they find, in order to allow you to protect yourselves, while they focus on their war upon the antithesis core worlds. That being said, the antithesis are currently engaged with hundreds of thousands of races, and they¡¯ve consumed millions more. They¡¯ve had quintillion generations to perfect their hunting forms. We¡¯re just lucky that they can only send the weaker models through rifts.}

    ¡°These are the weaker models?¡± I asked quietly.

    {Arty: Yes. The stronger models need to be born on the planet, from a sufficiently developed hive. That¡¯s why we both recommend making hive removal a priority, and reward vanguard for doing so.}

    ¡°Well shit,¡± Skyler muttered. ¡°We better not slack off then.¡± We sat in silence for a moment, before Skyler sat up straight. ¡°Wait¡­ we get a reward for removing that thing in the shelter then?¡±

    {Athy: Normally no, but considering your actions to this point Artymis and I have decided to reward you a token for your achievements. You¡¯ve encountered significantly stronger antithesis than most newly awakened samurai, and done well to survive until this point.}

    ¡°Neat,¡± my girlfriend whispered.

    Across the square I noticed they finally brought Terrier¡¯s body up, and the team was slipping him into a body bag. They¡¯d also managed to extract Steve, and appeared to be performing medical checks on him. Skyler elbowed me, ¡°How¡¯s the leg?¡±

    I waggled my foot, an action that would have caused excruciating pain a couple minutes earlier, before nodding my head. ¡°Seems good now. No permanent injuries.¡± I told her as I jumped to my feet. I danced around for a second before offering my hand to help her up.

    ¡°Thank you my lady,¡± Skyler said, with a small smile, as I hauled her to her feet. ¡°I guess we should go back and regroup with the others now,¡± she said quietly.

    I nodded, and the two of us made our way back, hand in hand. Emily and Trevor were bent over Steve, so we wandered over there first.

    ¡°How is he?¡± Skyler asked when we got close.

    ¡°Stable, for now,¡± Trevor said without looking up. ¡°He lost a lot of blood, but whatever samurai medical device Reina used downstairs saved his life. I doubt he¡¯ll be up and about anytime soon though.¡±

    ¡°We might be able to get him up, with a few more samurai grade medical items. If you think it¡¯s safe.¡± Skyler asked.

    Trevor looked up. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with you, I was my unit¡¯s medic, and if it was terrestrial medicine I would tell you that he¡¯s stable, so it¡¯s better to leave him as is until we get to a proper hospital. That crazy samurai grade shit though? I watched his wounds close after having his jugular ripped out. He absolutely should be dead right now. If you think you can get him back on his feet safely, I see no reason to say no.¡± Emily didn¡¯t say anything, but nodded in agreement.

    Skyler took a deep breath, then started silently mouthing things. She must have been subvocalizing to her AI, so I gently patted her on the back before wandering towards the APC. I couldn¡¯t help but stare at Terrier¡¯s bodybag as I approached.

    ¡°Not your fault,¡± Bulldog muttered as I approached. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t been there, or warned us about that thing¡¯s location, it probably would have killed the entire squad. Nines are notorious squad killers.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± I muttered quietly. ¡°Still wish I¡¯d noticed earlier.¡±

    The giant man just shrugged before picking up the body bag and slowly carrying it into the vehicle. He opened a compartment below the benches and slowly slid the bag inside, securing it before closing everything off again. ¡°We can¡¯t save everyone, so save who you can. That¡¯s what our old commander used to say,¡± Bulldog said, gently patting me on the shoulder as he stepped back out of the vehicle.

    ¡°Emily told me your former commander was an asshole,¡± I replied softly.

    Bulldog laughed, ¡°He was that, but sometimes he knew just what to say to pull the squad together, or give us the support to get through the day.¡± He stepped down from the ramp and grabbed the gun he¡¯d left leaning against the side. ¡°Concentrate on the positive, yeah?¡±

    Just as he said that there was a commotion behind me. I turned back just in time to see Steve sit up, clutching at his throat in surprise. ¡°Concentrate on the positive,¡± I mumbled, ¡°Yeah, I can do that.¡±

 Chapter 20 - The Most Corporate Place on Earth

    Which samurai did we get licensing rights for? Jetstream, Shade Spire, and Falling Spectre? Arrange for a full documentary on their backgrounds, and make character models so we can get them into all our game properties before the end of the month. Time is of the essence for these new samurai, gotta get them out there, while there¡¯s still public interest.

    What¡¯s that? Put them on a reality show? Listen here kid, we don¡¯t suggest anything that volatile to a samurai unless the investigation department suggests that¡¯s something they¡¯re into.

    Nimbletainment is one of the biggest entertainment companies in the world, and we got that big by knowing when to push the envelope, and when to play it safe. We always play it safe when samurai are involved. Even a brand new samurai could topple our entire operation, if we rub them the wrong way, so don¡¯t try anything stupid. You stick to the scripts.

    -Adrien Lasso, Head of Samurai Media Projects.

    ¡ª

    Once the team recovered and stowed away their equipment, Skyler, Emily and I got together to discuss our next step.

    ¡°So our choice is either to head closer to where we suspect that Model Seventeen is located, or closer to the epicenter of the incursion,¡± Skyler explained as we looked over the map. ¡°Both have their risks, but I recommend going deeper.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± I asked. ¡°There¡¯ll be larger groups further in.¡±

    ¡°Bigger, but hopefully less organized,¡± Skyler explained. ¡°You only saw the Seventeen¡¯s last attempt on my life. Before you arrived it slowly picked off the other squad members just to find an opening to attack me. I¡¯m worried if we head back into that area it¡¯ll do its best to do the same to this team.¡±

    ¡°Deeper is fine with me,¡± I said, before looking to Emily for support. The PMC commander just nodded.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, the next location would be here,¡± Emily said, pointing to a location on the APC¡¯s display. ¡°It¡¯s an entertainment complex. The entire place is owned by Nimbletainment, and when the megacorp took over from the old owner they only performed the most basic of upgrades to get the building up to code.¡±

    ¡°No backup generators, no internal security bots¡­ at least they have failsafe doors,¡± I mumbled as I went over the location information. ¡°Why are there so many outbuildings?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Nimbleland!¡± Skyler remarked. ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard of Nimbleland before?¡± When I shook my head my girlfriend put her head in her hand ¡°I need to take you out more,¡± she grumbled. ¡°Whenever Nimbletainment establishes a foothold in a new city they create a theme park to showcase all their various properties, and sell their overpriced garbage. Kids just eat it up.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not huge, but the complex does have a couple separate shelters we need to check,¡± Emily explained. ¡°At least we should have pretty good sightlines, and little overhead coverage, so we can make extensive use of the artillery bot.¡±

    I continued looking over a map of the area for several more seconds before looking up. ¡°Sounds like we have our next destination then,¡± I said lightly. Emily nodded, turned her head and said something to Jockey. A second later the APC jolted forward.

    I quickly grabbed the support railing running across the roof, and caught Skyler as she fell backwards.

    ¡°Assuming we don¡¯t run into any hordes along the way, this¡¯ll only take a minute,¡± Emily reported. ¡°The park is right off the main road.¡±

    I crouched down so I could check out Jockey¡¯s monitor as the APC sped its way through the dark, nearly empty streets. The antithesis scavengers were everywhere, crashing through windows, digging up any greenspaces they could find, and generally causing havoc, but they were a lot more dispersed than the groups we dealt with before. Easily dispatched by either a few rounds from the heavy cannon, or underneath the APC¡¯s wheels.

    After a few minutes of intermittent combat I saw a few shapes appear in the distance. A roller coaster track, ferris wheel, and a half a dozen other rides I didn¡¯t recognize. We had to follow a massive fancy wall around to the front of the compound, where there was a parking lot half filled with cars. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Welcome to Nimbleland!¡± someone at the back declared as they lowered the ramp. I waited until Skyler and Howie exited the vehicle before I followed. Directly in front of me was a massive, imposing gate lined with ticket booths, and the word ¡®Nimbleland¡¯ hanging on a wrought iron arch above it.

    ¡°It¡¯s a lot more impressive when everything¡¯s all lit up,¡± Skyler whispered to me.

    ¡°If you say so,¡± I whispered back as we approached the structure. As we approached the gate something moved within the nearest booth. I tightened my grip on my hilt, until I realized what it was.

    ¡°Welcome to Nimbleland! How many people are at your party today?¡± the android chirped. It was one of those cheap service models, plastic face, very limited AI. Strangely enough, this one seemed to have been customized with a fuzzy pair of ears, and an oversized tail.

    ¡°We¡¯re here to check on the people in the shelters, not play,¡± I told the bot as I jumped the small turnstyle blocking my way.

    ¡°All guests must pay for admission! If you¡¯re not registered in the database, park staff WILL escort you off the premises,¡± the bot explained as Skyler followed me.

    ¡°Hey, tin can we¡¯re not guests, there¡¯s an incursion going on. You know, emergency measures?¡± Bulldog explained, as he reached into the booth and knocked on the robot¡¯s head. Its head bent to the side slightly, then bounced back into place the instant he withdrew his hand.

    ¡°The cheapskates were probably relying on sending a network update when an incursion occurred, rather than having preset incursion protocols,¡± Emily explained as she jumped the barrier next.

    Skyler frowned. ¡°So because the district is experiencing a blackout, every bot in the park thinks it¡¯s business as usual?¡±

    ¡°Is that a problem?¡± I asked. ¡°How many could there be?¡±

    ¡°One at the entrance to every ride and stall, plus cleaners and entertainers, so several hundred,¡± Skyler replied.

    I stopped, and glanced back at her. ¡°They don¡¯t have ANY human employees?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Just management. It makes it easier to make sure everyone stays in character,¡± she explained. ¡°Look, there¡¯s one of their mascots now, Samurai Man.¡±

    I squinted in the direction she pointed, trying to see through the darkness for several seconds until I remembered my glasses were capable of night vision. I immediately swapped over.

    The thing that was staggering around in the darkness looked like some sort of plush action figure. It had a fake gun, which it was waving around wildly, along with fancy armor, gauntlets, and a backpack with a ton of miscellaneous tech objects hanging off of it. ¡°What exactly is it?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Samurai man,¡± Skyler repeated. ¡°Nimbletainment has the right to create media using the likenesses of tons of different samurai, but they didn¡¯t want to risk losing those rights if they used any of them as a mascot, so they made up a couple of generic ones instead. Samurai man and Samurai girl.¡±

    ¡°Very original,¡± I replied dryly.

    ¡°Do you think it can point us to the nearest shelter?¡± Steve asked from the back. ¡°This place is quite extensive, we could use a guide.¡±

    ¡°In theory, yes,¡± Emily said quietly. ¡°But if it doesn¡¯t have any incursion protocols like the last one¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid everyone, Samurai man is here to save the day!¡± the awkward bot suddenly declared. It turned sharply, and began to shamble towards our group.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re about to find out,¡± Trevor mumbled.

    I stared at the mascot as it swaggered closer. The strange face was statuesque, in a cartoony way, but the only things that moved seemed to be the eyebrows, and the mouth.

    ¡°Howdy partners! You don¡¯t appear to be on the guest registry, please present your tickets for verification,¡± the strange toy-like man said, stopping not even a foot away from me.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have any tickets, you stupid robot, we¡¯re here to investigate the shelters. There¡¯s an incursion going on,¡± I hissed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about incursions, Samurai Man will protect you from the antithesis. Using that as an excuse to sneak into the park, especially when there isn¡¯t an incursion going on, is a no no,¡± the oversized puppet declared.

    ¡°For fuck sake there is an incursion¡­ FUCK!¡± I yelled as the mascot suddenly surged forward and grabbed my arm. Its vice-like grip was so tight it was painful. ¡°You must follow me to the security office.¡±

    ¡°Fuck you!,¡± I snarled as I grabbed my sword, bringing the blade up and severing the offending limb. The bot just glanced at the missing limb.

    ¡°Intentional destruction of Nimbletainment property detected. Nimbletainment reserves the right to charge vandals up to ten times the cost of the damages. Park employees are now authorized to use force to detain the offending party,¡± the mascot droned.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound good,¡± someone muttered before the mascot stepped forward and tried to smash me in the face. It probably would have managed it, if I didn¡¯t have improved reflexes. Instead I ducked the blow and brought my sword up to sever its other limb.

    ¡°Unable to detain, seek reinforce¡­¡± I didn¡¯t let it finish, and embedded my blade deep in its plastic skull. The mascot twitched wildly for a minute, before finally laying still.

    ¡°This is going to be a problem, isn¡¯t it?¡± Skyler remarked quietly.

 Chapter 21 - An Unnerving Silence

    I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve all experienced that crotchety old person complaining about how ¡®back in the day¡¯ everything was much cheaper. Well, it¡¯s true, but not for the reason you think. After the antithesis arrived and governments started collapsing we went from using regional currencies, to credits. One dollar turned into a hundred creds, and people nearly rioted about the hyperinflation. It didn¡¯t matter that their pay, raised by the same amount as the cost of items, people just liked to complain.

    -Modern Economic Systems, 5th Ed

    ¡ª

    As the stupid plush mascot fell to the ground I quickly glanced around the area. I¡¯m sure the park had been designed to be as welcoming as possible with colorful, cartoony facades on all the buildings, but without any illumination they just looked twisted. Wrong. Worst of all there were androids everywhere. There were a dozen food stalls with androids behind them, a line of old school physical games, the rollercoaster and merry-go-round ticket takers, and an android pushing a balloon cart around. Every single android had its eyes locked upon me, but only the balloon seller trudged in my direction. ¡°Vandalism is a punishable offence, you must accompany me to the nearest security office,¡± the awkward plastic clown stated, as it waddled my way.

    I flinched as its head exploded, destroyed by a well aimed shot from Skyler¡¯s rifle. ¡°Let¡¯s try to avoid getting bogged down by the locals,¡± she declared, ¡°We¡¯re here for the shelters, remember?¡±

    ¡°Are you sure that was smart?¡± I muttered quietly as I scanned the other androids in the area. ¡°There are androids everywhere, and if we fight through them all, won¡¯t Nimbletainment come after us for damages?¡±

    Skyler snorted. ¡°First of all, the ones in the booths can¡¯t come after us,¡± she said, sauntering over to the nearest gaudy food stall and beckoning me over. I slowly followed her, one hand on my sword, until I got close enough to see inside the small colorful shack. Although the android looked normal from a distance, once I got close enough I realized it was just sitting on a sculpted pedestal, and didn¡¯t have any legs. ¡°I remember asking my dad why they were like that when I was little,¡± she explained. ¡°He told me it was because they wanted to be the best vendors ever! I guess it was better than saying it was probably cost reduction measures. The only ones that are mobile are the entertainers.¡±

    ¡°Nimbletainment reserves the right to refuse service to vandals,¡± the android droned.

    ¡°Quiet you,¡± Skyler hissed at the droid before turning back towards me. ¡°As for the damages¡­ we''re samurai, and have a certain level of immunity from lawsuits, and liabilities, as long as the damage is done in the line of duty.¡±

    ¡°Which means we need to rely upon you two if something goes south,¡± Emily said nervously. ¡°Because even though PMCs enjoy some of the same immunities, a multinational like Nimbletainment can absolutely find ways to bypass those protections in court. We touch any of those androids, and the entire company would be bankrupt the instant they retrieved the surveillance footage.¡±

    ¡°So how many mascots are wandering around?¡± I asked nervously.

    ¡°Around two dozen,¡± Bulldog reported. Skyler raised an eyebrow in his direction, and the big man shrugged. ¡°I bring my daughter here occasionally.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not so bad,¡± I mumbled. ¡°But where exactly are they? Shouldn¡¯t there be more of them in this main square?¡± Everyone glanced around. The main plaza, where we were standing, was huge and contained not only the entire food court, but the souvenir shop and the lines for all the biggest rides. It seemed odd that there was only a single mascot patrolling the area.

    ¡°It just makes our job easier. The less bots we have to decommission, the less Nimbletainment is going to care,¡± Skyler announced. ¡°Let¡¯s check the shelters as quickly as possible then move on.¡±

    I nodded, and pulled up a map of the area in my augs. We¡¯d already identified the location of all the shelters earlier back in the APC, so I overlaid the two. ¡°The first seems to be hidden behind the roller coaster, along the wall,¡± I said quietly.

    ¡°Then lead the way,¡± Emily replied softly.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    I slowly made my way around the rollercoaster until I found a small stylish brick path which had an antique street sign which labeled it as ¡®Nyble Lane¡¯. The path hugged the perimeter wall, and it looked like it had either flowers, or shrubs bordering them at one point, but it looked like the greenery had been violently ripped up, and quite recently too. Everyone knew what that meant, so I just silently pointed at the disturbed garden as I passed.

    The path led around to the far side of the rollercoaster, and into another decent sized plaza. This one was dominated by a fairly massive arcade, and had a handful of booths with the older, analog carnival games. I slowly scanned the area before I stepped inside. I''d expected at least one or two mascots wandering around the area, but it was completely abandoned. Even though I¡¯d been fighting in abandoned and overrun buildings all day, I found the complete silence unnerving. Having dozens of androids constantly following my every movement with their oversized eyes didn¡¯t help much.

    I skulked across the plaza, heading for the back of the arcade where the shelter was located, when something caught my eye. Blotches of dark color splattered across the concrete. ¡°Is that blood?¡± someone behind me asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s green,¡± I replied as I slipped closer. ¡°Antithesis?¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s true, what killed them? And where are the bodies?¡± Skyler asked. I could see her eye darting around the plaza, looking for hidden threats. ¡°I thought there wasn¡¯t any security here.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what the Cascadia shelter database said,¡± Emily said quietly, ¡°but who knows what Nimbletainment left out of their submission.¡±

    ¡°If you see an armed security bot you don¡¯t hesitate, open fire immediately. If the unarmed mascots are willing to use violence, I don¡¯t want to take any chances with armed ones,¡± I told the team. ¡°Skyler and I will deal with the fallout.¡±

    ¡°No arguments from me,¡± grunted Steve as he hefted his rifle.

    ¡°We need to keep moving,¡± Skyler muttered. ¡°If there are antithesis around we need to check on those shelters ASAP. Plus, I don¡¯t really feel safe standing out in the open anymore. It¡¯s a good tactic against the antithesis, but if there¡¯s a shooter....¡±

    ¡°Right, everyone into the arcade,¡± Emily ordered. I took the lead, sprinting most of the way, then slowing to a light jog and drawing my blade before ducking inside. The area was completely filled with a mixture of old arcade cabinets, and virtual reality booths. It was probably normally a riot of light, and noise, but during the blackout it was quiet. The isles were fairly wide, and the sight lines were fairly clear, so by the time I made it to the center of the complex I could tell it was clear.

    ¡°More antithesis blood,¡± Bulldog pointed out from another aisle. ¡°Looks like something smashed the antithesis against this cabinet.¡±

    ¡°Where the fuck is everything?¡± I hissed. ¡°I would have expected to run into something by now. Android or antithesis, but everywhere we go is abandoned.¡±

    ¡°You know, I¡¯ve seen a movie about an abandoned amusement park before,¡± Skyler said quietly. ¡°I thought it was stupid at the time, but now that we¡¯re here¡­¡±

    I shivered, and turned towards my girlfriend. ¡°Why did you have to bring that up now? I hated that movie!¡± I growled.

    ¡°Not the time for this!¡± Emily barked. ¡°We still don¡¯t know what killed the antithesis, so we need to stay focused!¡± She glanced around then pointed at an unmarked door at the back of the arcade. ¡°The shelter should be through that door, just behind the arcade.¡±

    ¡°Right, sorry,¡± I mumbled before pulling myself together. ¡°I¡¯ll take point again.¡± I slowly slunk my way through the rows of machines, spotting a couple more blood stains as I made my way to the back door. When I was a couple feet away from the door I paused. ¡°I can hear something,¡± whispered back to the team. ¡°It sounds like¡­ fire?¡±

    ¡°That better not be the shelter,¡± Skyler hissed.

    ¡°I think I can hear movement too,¡± I said as I put my ear close to the door. ¡°Something¡¯s out there.¡±

    ¡°Right, weapons loose,¡± Emily muttered. ¡°It might be civilians, but we don¡¯t want to take any chances.¡± She moved closer and put one hand on my back. ¡°Whenever you¡¯re ready.¡±

    I took a deep breath, stepped back, then kicked the door open. I was nearly blinded by the acrid smoke that filled the small lot, and I blinked repeatedly not only to clear the tears out of my eyes, but because I couldn''t believe what I was seeing. There was a huge pile of burning antithesis on one side of the lot, a small pile of destroyed mascots on the other. All around the fire were about a dozen mascots, but unlike the previous one these were heavily damaged. Their plastic faces were cracked or smashed, chest plates broken or missing, and some were even missing limbs.

    The closest one, which appeared to be wearing something similar to a magical girl costume turned to me. The lower part of her face was missing, displaying an unnerving metal jaw.

    ¡°Hi! I¡¯m Samurai girl. You don¡¯t appear to be on the guest registry, can you please show me your ticket?¡± the thing hissed in a metallic voice.

    As it moved towards me I just caught Skyler mumble, ¡°Straight out of a horror movie.¡±

 Chapter 22 - Advanced Protocols

    Androids have come a long way in the last thirty years. They interact with the public, and give realistic responses. So why haven¡¯t they completely taken over all customer service jobs? Because with all their programming there still are some situations they don¡¯t understand, and when a customer runs into that one edge case, what started as a routine call quickly spirals down into one of the worst experiences they¡¯ve ever had. At least a human knows when to forward the customer to someone higher up the chain.

    -Jessica Adams, Nimbletainment VP of customer care.

    ¡ª

    Despite looking like absolute junk, the mascot moved surprisingly quickly. It danced forward, like a kid pretending to be a ballerina, until it was right next to me. ¡°Ticket please?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re in the middle of an incursion, I don¡¯t have a fucking ticket!¡± I growled. ¡°There¡¯s an incursion going on, you¡¯re even burning antithesis right there!¡± I pointed at the burning pile, but the mascot didn¡¯t move.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t have a ticket I¡¯ll have to escort you to the nearest security office,¡± the mascot droned. Its metallic voice echoed around the small lot as it lurched forward. I wasn¡¯t willing to let this mascot grab me like the last one, so I swiftly brought my blade up, severing it¡¯s hand at the wrist.

    As soon as I did the entire lot went quiet. The other mascots simultaneously turned away from the fire and watched the detached hand as it sailed through the air, before turning towards me.

    ¡°Intentional destruction of Nimbletainment property detected. Nimbletainment reserves the right to charge vandals up to ten times the cost of the damages. Park employees are now authorized to use force to detain the offending party,¡± one of the mascots droned. This one was an oversized squirrel who¡¯s teeth had been smashed in leaving a gaping void for a mouth.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t do this,¡± I whined, ¡°Just be good robots and cooperate.¡±

    In response, Samurai Girl tried to smash me in the face with her stump of an arm.

    I just barely managed to avoid the blow, stepping back and severing the rest of the limb in order to give myself space. Unfortunately all that did was give the other bots time to step forward. A Samurai Man in full power armor stepped past the crippled Samurai Girl and threw a surprisingly competent three punch combo at my head. That¡¯s when I decided to stop holding back. My sword flashed, decapitating the advancing samurai man, before I stepped to one side and stabbed the squirrel in the face. As both androids fell I slipped past their falling bodies, away from the mass of robots and into an open part of the lot.

    ¡°Do we attack?¡± Emily asked helplessly. ¡°These aren¡¯t security bots¡­¡±

    ¡°Only if things start going badly. Just get out of the way so I can help,¡± Skyler yelled, as she tried to push past the others.

    The remaining ten androids followed me, moving surprisingly smoothly. A couple even grabbed discarded limbs of their already fallen comrades, raising them as impromptu weapons. I frowned when I saw their form. ¡°Why the fuck do these things have combat training?¡± I hissed. A squirrel with its entire head caved in was the first to reach me. It swung the robotic arm it was holding like a mace, trying its best to smash my arm, and cause me to drop my sword. What the thing didn¡¯t take into account was the discarded limb was just as resilient as its own, so when it stepped forward to perform a second attack sequence I simply stepped forward and sliced the limb in half before bisecting the android wielding it.

    The remaining nine androids seemed to back off for a moment, maybe to evaluate the best way to attack me, when Skyler finally pushed through the squad. Her rifle immediately made short work of the backline, punching large holes in their casing and the delicate mechanisms beneath. The remaining androids turned, trying to evaluate this new threat, so I pressed my advantage. I sliced into the distracted androids, beheading some and bisecting a few others. After a few seconds of combined swordplay and gunfire, the mechanical menaces all lay still.

    ¡°Are you ok?¡± Skyler asked, as she ran over to check on me.

    ¡°They didn¡¯t touch me,¡± I assured her, as I cleaned off and sheathed my sword. As soon as I did, I exploded. ¡°But seriously¡­ what the fuck? Those things had combat programming, and I think they must have killed the antithesis, but they don¡¯t have incursion protocols? What the fuck is going on here?¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°There, there,¡± Skyler whispered as she embraced me. ¡°Calm down, it¡¯s over now.¡±

    I shuddered, and took a deep breath to center myself before embracing her back. ¡°Thanks,¡± I whispered.

    Emily coughed. ¡°I hate to break up this heartwarming moment, but we¡¯re standing in a lot full of broken androids and burning antithesis. It might be a good idea to check on that shelter.¡±

    ¡°Fine,¡± I grumbled as I begrudgingly let go of my girlfriend. ¡°Let''s check it out.¡± I stepped around the massive pile of burning antithesis and over to what appeared to be a small concrete shed. I pulled open the doors, revealing a hidden set of stairs with a massive heavy metal door at the bottom. ¡°It looks intact,¡± I reported.

    ¡°Is there a shelter console nearby?¡± Skyler asked from behind me.

    I glanced around, there didn¡¯t appear to be one down by the shelter door, so I turned back, only to find it tucked into the corner right at the top of the stairs. ¡°Here,¡± I said pointing.

    Skyler quickly got her power cables back out and fed them through the door. Together we pried the protective plate over the power ports and connected Howie to the terminal. The display cycled, taking several seconds to boot up before the same basic interface appeared. I immediately tapped ¡®cams¡¯.

    ¡°They¡¯re alive!¡± Skyler breathed into my ear as I cycled through the cams. The entire structure was completely packed full of people, there was barely enough room for the civilians to move, but they were all alive. ¡°Hey, someone¡¯s waving,¡± Skyler said as I flipped through the screens. I bounced back a few to find someone standing at the interior console. Skyler squinted at the screen, ¡°I think it might be a manager.¡±

    ¡°How can you possibly know that?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Their suit has Nimbletainment branding on it,¡± she answered, her nose practically against the screen. ¡°It looks like he wants us to activate the comms.¡±

    ¡°Fine¡­ we should probably find out what they have to say,¡± I replied, slowly pulling her away from the screen. Once I had the space, I disabled cams and swapped to comms.

    ¡°Hello? Are you the evacuation team?¡± a nervous voice echoed out of the speakers surrounding the terminal.

    ¡°No, we¡¯re samurai, we¡¯re inspecting the shelters that were affected by the blackout. Did you manage to evacuate everyone before things went south Mr...?¡± Skyler asked.

    ¡°Levison, and yes! Nimbletainment has multiple contingency plans in place in case of incursions, all guests are evacuated to the shelters at the first sign of trouble. We were lucky, the blackout hit a couple minutes after I confirmed all the shelters were sealed!¡± the man explained. I could practically hear him sweating through the radio.

    ¡°Well Mr Levison, could you maybe explain why your mascots refused to accept our authority, and attacked us for trespassing and vandalism, but seemed to have basic combat protocols and fought the antithesis?¡± I growled. Skyler smacked me in the side and mouthed ¡®be nice¡¯.

    ¡°Oh¡­ that. The androids have built in protocols that allow them to fight, and dispose of low level antithesis. Corporate did a bunch of research and found that having them defend the guests was good PR, and the increased business from having ¡®the safest entertainment establishment during an incursion¡¯ more than made up for the loss of a few androids, so they made that code a mandatory install. Having a mascot throw themselves between the antithesis and guests is good optics,¡± Levison explained.

    Skyler frowned. ¡°Wait¡­ the way you explained that makes it sound like the company would have saved the androids over the people, if they thought it would make them more money.¡±

    Levison was quiet for a moment, ¡°I can¡¯t comment on that ma¡¯am. It¡¯s a decision made way above my paygrade, I¡¯m just relating the policy,¡± he finally said.

    ¡°And they attacked us because¡­¡± I asked the microphone.

    ¡°Well, once the incursion protocols are triggered the androids become completely uncontrollable, so we left them on regular operating protocols while evacuating everyone. I was planning on swapping them over once the shelters were closed, but the power outage meant I lost access to the corporate network,¡± Levison explained.

    ¡°And you couldn¡¯t have changed the mode remotely?¡± I asked.

    ¡°All androids are slaved to the network, it¡¯s more secure that way ma¡¯am¡± Levison reported. I stared at the display for a few more seconds, unsure what to say. ¡°Are you going to evacuate us ma¡¯ams?¡± Levison finally asked.

    ¡°Someone else will be by later to let you out, it¡¯s still not safe yet,¡± Skyler said. ¡°Are you ok for a little while longer?¡±

    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am, this shelter is designed for forty eight hours of operation, even over capacity. It¡¯s not comfortable, but it¡¯ll keep everyone safe,¡± Levison said.

    ¡°Good! Keep everyone¡¯s spirits up, someone will be by to let you out ASAP,¡± Skyler replied. ¡°Good luck in there!¡± Levison didn¡¯t reply, so I cut the connection.

    ¡°At least we¡¯re getting attacked not because the protocols suck, but because the manager¡¯s heart was in the right place,¡± I grumbled. ¡°The fact that they have separate antithesis and incursion protocols sucks though. We probably have to fight through more of the mechanical assholes to check the other two locations.¡±

    ¡°But we confirmed they should be secure, which is a definite win considering how our day has been going so far,¡± she gently bumped me in the side. ¡°Come on, look on the bright side.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I gave her a small smile, ¡°small victories, and lives saved.¡± I pushed myself from the monitor and looked out the door. ¡°Just two more places, right? No problem¡±

 Chapter 23 - Fire Support

    Every city and state has different requirements for shelters. Some need to be inspected regularly, others expect their citizens to maintain the structures, and there¡¯s even a few that consider a windowless room with a solid door good enough. At the end of the day you¡¯re responsible for your own protection, so make sure you choose a building with the right protection. Let me show you some options¡­

    -Les Shroud, Shroud Real Estate.

    ¡ª

    I found that Emily and the squad had spread out, and were providing overwatch when Skyler and I stepped out of the shelter. ¡°Everything good?¡± the commander asked, without directly looking at me.

    ¡°According to the manager they managed to evacuate all the guests to the shelters before they lost power,¡± I replied, leaning down to help Skyler disconnect the power cables from her bot. ¡°Unfortunately they also lost contact with the other two locations, so we probably still need to check on them.¡±

    ¡°What about the androids?¡± Bulldog grunted.

    ¡°The manager can¡¯t do anything about the androids without power, they¡¯ll only respond to commands from the local network,¡± Skyler replied, ¡°which means we¡¯ll have to continue dealing with the androids.¡±

    ¡°Wonderful,¡± the big man whispered quietly.

    ¡°Not exactly the best news, but we¡¯ll deal with it,¡± Emily growled, shooting Bulldog a look. ¡°So what¡¯s next?¡±

    I pulled up the park map in my augs. Instead of a basic road layout, like I expected, I got a colorful, cartoony version of the park.

    [Artymis, what is this?]

    Since Nimbleland is private property, the only publicly available map is the official visitor map.

    [And what if I wanted something that wasn¡¯t covered in cartoon squirrels?]

    I can clean it up a little bit, but if you wanted a complete layout of the private areas, I¡¯d need to pull that from Nimbletainment¡¯s servers, and I can¡¯t give you that information unless you invest in the proper catalog.

    [I don¡¯t think it''s worth resorting to corporate espionage for a slightly different map. Just clean it up please.]

    Got it, check your file again.

    I swapped back to the map, and found the thing much more legible this time. The next closest shelter was at the back of the park, hidden behind the show stage. The android stage show. I glanced over at Skyler, then shot her a copy of the map.

    ¡°We need to head to the east, right to the back of the park. This map only shows the public paths, but it looks like we may be able to use these back roads to skirt the perimeter,¡± I said pointing down a service road that followed the back of the arcade, before disappearing into the darkness. ¡°We might want to avoid the public areas, less chance to run into rogue androids that way.¡±

    ¡°Plus, it seems like it¡¯s a fairly straight road, so it¡¯ll be easier for Howie to work,¡± Skyler added.

    ¡°You say that, but all those androids were standing out here, in the backlot,¡± Steve said, ¡°they may be stalking the back areas too.¡±

    ¡°If they are, we¡¯ll deal with them. I¡¯d rather take a fairly straight path, then be stuck in the maze of rides and games out front. This visitor map looks like a labyrinth, probably meant to keep people in the park as long as possible,¡± Skyler replied.

    ¡°We¡¯ll do whatever you two decide, you¡¯re in charge after all,¡± Emily reported.

    Skyler and I exchanged a quick glance. ¡°Then we¡¯re taking these backroutes,¡± I announced, before heading towards the narrow passage. As I walked down the road I couldn¡¯t help but notice how different the back area of the park was. Instead of the colorful facades, the entire place looked like a row of plain concrete warehouses. The road was lined with loading docks, and not much else. I guess this must have been how they got supplies into the various attractions. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    Despite occasionally getting a whiff of smoke, from what I could only assume was another antithesis pyre, and hearing movement within the various buildings we passed, nothing came out to challenge us.

    ¡°Why is it so quiet back here?¡± Ratchet whispered.

    ¡°The manager said he was using the androids to help evacuate people, but they¡¯re probably programmed to avoid this area normally,¡± Skyler replied quietly. ¡°There are no guests to entertain back here after all.¡±

    ¡°And the antithesis?¡± Ratched asked.

    ¡°Hopefully they were wiped out by the droids,¡± I answered.

    As we approached the back corner of the park the road opened up. There was a small, unadorned gate through the wall, a moderate parking lot, and a decent sized warehouse. Possibly the employee entrance, or where the park brought supplies. Maybe both.

    I paused at the entrance, scanning the area. Since the area was mostly full, there were a lot of blind spots. I didn¡¯t see any movement, but I could see that the warehouse had been completely ripped open. Something big had torn right through one of the metal garage doors, folding the edges inward. I just pointed silently.

    Emily made a couple quick hand signals, and the team split up, eyes locked on the broken door, but they didn¡¯t advance. They were waiting for me.

    {Rei: If I can lure whatever¡¯s in there out, can Howie take care of it?}

    {Sky: Absolutely, but don¡¯t do anything stupid. If you run up there, you might get caught in the blast. Howie is more of a ¡®To whom it may concern¡¯ than direct delivery.}

    {Rei: Right. I¡¯m sure I can figure out a way to poke the nest without sticking my nose right inside. Gimme a minute}

    I stared across the lot, trying to determine the best way to attract attention. Maybe I could set off some car alarms? I reached for my bow.

    Are you really going to fire randomly at cars to maybe trigger an alarm?

    I paused. [Maybe? How did you know? Are you reading my mind?]

    No, I¡¯m extrapolating. I have access to nearly every data point about you ever created, and I have more processing power than your entire planet, trillions of times over. It seemed like something you¡¯d do.

    [So you have a better idea?]

    You could just get a noise maker arrow. Not only will it be more reliable, but I can optimize it to aggravate the antithesis. All you need to do is ask.

    I noticed Skyler glance in my direction; I guess I¡¯d stopped moving for longer than originally planned. [Fine. That does seem like a better choice. Put one in my quiver. We¡¯ll give it a try.]

    There was a subtle shift of weight on my side, and when I looked down into my quiver, I noticed a very different arrow sitting there. It was slightly thicker than my other ammunition, and the head was a blocky rectangular shape. It wasn¡¯t super heavy, just awkward.

    After inspecting the thing for a few seconds and getting the weight of it, I fit it in my bow, aimed for the breach, and let it fly. I expected it to let out a screech as it flew, but the arrow was silent until it hit the ground. Then all hell broke loose.

    The machine let out such a wail that everyone in the team flinched. The sonic shock broke several windows in the surrounding cars, causing their alarms to go off, adding to the cacophony, and, most importantly, it caused whatever was in the warehouse to stir.

    A handful of Threes poked their heads out first, eager to identify the offending noise, but what followed them out was something beyond anything I¡¯d seen before. It was a six-legged behemoth, the size of a bus. Its squat head slowly moved back and forth, looking over the lot before it trundled out of the hole, which it barely squeezed through. Unlike the smaller models, this one had a series of heavy overlapping plates along its back. It looked like a tank.

    Model Twelve, heavily armored transport unit. Don¡¯t let that fool you, though, it can easily crush small vehicles with its mass.

    I only had enough time to open my augs to respond when Skyler whispered, ¡°Sequential fire, armor piercing, don¡¯t stop until it¡¯s dead.¡± Howie instantly opened up, not with all six rounds, but one tube after another, creating a constant unending barrage.

    The Twelve had slowly shuffled over to the lure, eager to investigate, when the first round connected. A massive explosion lit the surrounding lot and cracked the alien¡¯s carapace but didn¡¯t penetrate. The titan just had enough time to look around and identify where we were standing before the second round hit and shattered one of the plates. The smaller models rushed across the lot in a vain attempt to save their larger cousin, but they were easily cut down by rifle fire before they got close.

    My eyes were locked on the Twelve. Each consecutive mortar dug deeper into the creature, blowing off pieces and pulping its insides. The creatures tried to move away, but each round hit exactly where it needed to. When the sixth round hit, it penetrated through the bottom of the monster into the road below, blowing the Twelve in half. It was only then that the creature lay still.

    ¡°Hold fire!¡± Skyler ordered.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if my sword would have been able to cause any damage to that thing, but Skyler¡¯s bot had finished the thing in less than five seconds. I turned and stared at her.

    Skyler smirked. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the power of heavy artillery.¡±

 Chapter 24 - Friendly Fire

    There¡¯s no such thing as friendly fire, watch where you point this!

    -Sticker on Baby¡¯s first antithesis protection weapon

    ¡ª

    ¡°Why the fuck was this thing here?¡± I asked as I plunged my sword repeatedly into the Twelve¡¯s head. I was pretty sure it was already dead, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.

    ¡°Popcorn,¡± Trevor grunted from the corner of the warehouse.

    I stopped stabbing for a moment. ¡°Popcorn?¡±

    ¡°And candy, hamburgers, and hotdogs,¡± Trevor declared. ¡°This appears to be where they stored the food for the stalls. That thing was pigging out on whatever it could find.¡±

    ¡°Well, better to have it pigging out on junk food than on humans,¡± Skyler quipped. ¡°How do we deal with the body? We can¡¯t leave it here for other antithesis to recover.¡±

    ¡°I have a catalog for that. I¡¯ll deal with it,¡± I said. As I wiped off my sword, the group chat lit up.

    {Arty: Actually, you can both do it. If you give us permission, Athyna and I can share your catalogs with other people. With some limitations. I would recommend sharing your Class I Anthesis Biomass Denial Catalog, so Skyler can purchase the antithesis clearing equipment without your input.}

    {Sky: Just that one catalog?}

    {Athy: Although you two work well together, most of the catalogs you¡¯ve chosen are very personal and don¡¯t fit the other person. Reina doesn¡¯t use guns and explosives, and Skyler doesn¡¯t use traditional weapons. We¡¯ll keep an eye out for other catalogs to share in the future.}

    {Rei: It¡¯s just that easy?}

    {Arty: There are restrictions, like you can¡¯t share over vast distances, but for the most part it¡¯s just that easy.}

    {Rei: In that case, just share all my catalogs with Skyler whenever we¡¯re close enough. I don¡¯t see any point in hoarding my catalogs.}

    {Sky: Same!}

    While I sheathed my blade, I watched as Skyler ordered some sort of grenade to dispose of the gigantic corpse. I couldn¡¯t help but smile when her face lit up, delighted by the experience of purchasing from one of my catalogs. She casually threw the device into the gaping hole in the Twelve¡¯s corpse, then stepped away as the body slowly began to melt away.

    ¡°We¡¯re not that far from the second shelter now. I¡¯m not exactly sure if we should expect to see more antithesis, or if they all stopped here, so everyone pay attention to your surroundings,¡± Skyler declared as she waltzed over to Howie. I was used to seeing Skyler give commands, but the squad was not, and it took them a few moments to actually realize what was happening and form up around her. I waltzed up behind her, more than willing to let her take the lead for this next part.

    According to the map, the second shelter was located behind the ferris wheel. As we approached the area, we could see the signs of combat, both smashed androids and dead antithesis. Skyler didn¡¯t waste any time, she signalled for the squad to come to a stop and immediately released one of her drones. The little thing darted forward, weaving back and forth through the spokes of the ferris wheel while it searched for a target.

    It zipped around the large, squat building that supposedly held the shelter, reporting the area was clear, before expanding its search area. It didn¡¯t take long for it to find something interesting. Skyler shared the feed with everyone.

    There was a massive melee in front of one of the snack shops. A dozen androids standing their ground against several dozen antithesis. Humans would have been cut down in seconds, but the androids'' metallic skeletons proved a little harder for the low level antithesis to bite through. The big Samurai Man models took the charge of model Threes head-on before repeatedly hammering their metallic fists into the alien¡¯s thick heads. It wasn¡¯t fast or pretty, but after half a dozen blows, they managed to put the small models down. The model Fives didn¡¯t fare much better. Their neurotoxin covered spikes penetrated the mascot¡¯s casings quite easily but never deep enough for the core systems. They were quickly run down by the agile Samurai Girl models, which closed the distance between the two groups, before delivering a similar bludgeoning to the porcine models. The only ones that were really having issues were the squirrels. They were up against the model Fours. While the Threes and Fives struggled to land a significant blow, the bone tipped tentacles had no problem penetrating. It only took them seconds to skew the fuzzy androids a half dozen times, before slowly moving towards the others.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Should we intervene?¡± I asked as the last squirrel fell. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t have much love for those oversized tin cans, but they¡¯re just following their programming, and having them around might keep the park safe after we leave.¡±

    Skyler was quiet for a moment.She had that far off look that people get while communicating through augs, so I waited patiently until focused again. ¡°You sure have some interesting toys babe,¡± she whispered as soon as she came out of it.

    I couldn¡¯t help but raise an eyebrow. ¡°I thought you said you¡¯d never use that kind of language in public,¡± I whispered back.

    ¡°Sometimes I can¡¯t help it,¡± Skyler replied with a cheeky grin. ¡°Ready to see something fun?¡±

    Before I could answer, Howie opened up, launching all six mortars at a distant target. ¡°Aren¡¯t those going to mess up the androids too?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Just watch,¡± Skyler replied.

    I flipped back to the feed just as the mortar shells hit. Instead of the massive explosion I was expecting, each one spat out thousands of needles into the surrounding area. They harmlessly embedded themselves in the android¡¯s plastic facades but had devastating effects on the antithesis.

    ¡°That looks like the grenade I used back in the mall,¡± I muttered as I watched most of the antithesis force, both living and dead, melt away, ¡°the enzyme catalyst ones.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because that¡¯s what they are! I was able to take your grenades and turn them into a payload for my mortar shells. It¡¯s a great way to clear an area without causing any collateral damage,¡± Skyler said. She was obviously quite pleased with herself.

    ¡°And the androids can handle the cleanup, nice,¡± Steve muttered.

    Indeed, the androids seemed to be almost entirely unphased by the mortars, and had already started gathering the remaining antithesis bodies in a pile. Most likely to dispose of them the same way we witnessed before.

    ¡°We should keep moving,¡± Skyler said after a minute, her drone zipping away from the area. ¡°I¡¯ll keep the drones out to watch out for threats, but considering the next shelter seems to be inside, I¡¯m not sure how helpful I¡¯ll be.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I told her, ¡°I¡¯ll take the lead for the interior.¡±

    We quickly advanced towards the next target, trying to take full advantage of Skyler¡¯s overwatch. Unfortunately, it became quickly apparent it would be difficult to rely upon this strategy in the future. Skyler needed to actually concentrate to move, and monitor her drone, which meant she was practically oblivious to the world around her. She couldn¡¯t do much more than a light jog, and even then she required someone to look out for her, so she didn¡¯t trip on anything. We¡¯d have to figure out a system, if we wanted to use drones on the move in the future.

    We still managed to make good time, despite the problems, and arrived at the squat structure a few minutes later. I wasn¡¯t sure what to make of it at first. It was over a hundred feet long, definitely too large to just house the access stairs to a shelter, and it lacked the loading ramp that pretty much every other building on the service road had. On top of that, it lacked any identifying markings. The only thing I was sure of, was that it was the only building anywhere near the shelter mark on my map.

    ¡°Guess we¡¯re going in. Any bets on what we¡¯ll find inside?¡± I mumbled.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably another warehouse for merch, or a repair shed for the rides,¡± Trevor suggested. ¡°Nothing to worry about.¡± I didn¡¯t miss how he tightened his grip on his gun when he said that.

    ¡°Right, let¡¯s hope,¡± I replied. I paused at the door for several long seconds, trying to make out any movement inside, pushing the door open after several long seconds. As soon as I stepped inside, I wished I hadn¡¯t. ¡°Is this the android storage shed?¡± I hissed.

    Inside there were hundreds upon hundreds of shells hanging from the roof, and a handful of androids either laying on work tables, or propped against the walls. As I carefully walked through the gloom I gave all the skeletons a wide berth, imagining that any one of them could jump up and grab me.

    ¡°Maybe the repair shed,¡± Emily replied, pushing in after me. ¡°None of these are active.¡±

    ¡°Why are there so many different shells? Aren¡¯t there only three mascots?¡± I asked quietly as I ducked to get past one low hanging foot.

    ¡°Oh, oh, oh, I know this one!¡± Skyler¡¯s excited voice echoed from the back. ¡°Nimbletainment does not have the right to the likeness of every samurai, but that doesn¡¯t mean they can¡¯t make their mascots look noticeably similar to existing samurai. Look! Those three look like Myriad, Bloodhound, and Legion from New Savannah. A little hard to tell since it¡¯s just their outfits on a Samurai Girl, and Myriad is known to be quite¡­ curvy, but I¡¯m pretty sure.¡±

    ¡°So we can expect to see our clothes grace one of these abominations in a couple months?¡± I grumbled.

    ¡°Yup!¡± Skyler replied happily.

    ¡°Grand,¡± I mumbled as I finally made it to the far side of the shed. Thankfully, I found the shelter we were looking for, right next to the other entrance. ¡°Let''s check on these people and get out of here. This place gives me the creeps.¡±

 Chapter 25 - Easily Dealt With

    "I''m quite partial to hammers myself, but y''know the saying. Bitches love Cannons."

    - Emmelyn "Lime Light" Seras, to Spark ¡°Groundwire¡± Graham during the December 2056 Indianapolis Incursion

    ¡ª

    A quick check of the second shelter revealed that it was both full of civilians and completely secure. It was a lot more difficult to maneuver Howie to the panel and power things up, but it was worth it in the end. Since there wasn¡¯t anyone important inside, and we couldn¡¯t let everyone out at this time, we just did a quick check then headed back outside.

    ¡°We¡¯re good?¡± Emily asked after Skyler and I finally stepped outside.

    ¡°Everything seems fine inside. They¡¯re packed in pretty tight, but the door is secure, so that¡¯s something. We¡¯ll have to send a message to command when we get back to the APC, so they can send someone out to evacuate everyone when the incursion is finished,¡± Skyler reported. ¡°Anything happen out here while we were in there?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been quiet,¡± Bulldog replied. ¡°No antithesis or androids have wandered by, but we do occasionally hear things breaking in the distance, so they¡¯re still around.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll deal with them if we encounter them, but our priority is the shelters,¡± Emily reminded everyone. ¡°You two ready to head to the next location?¡± she asked Skyler and I.

    I nodded slightly, then pulled up the map again. If we continued following the support roads around to the far side of the park, then we could reach the location of the last shelter. It was located directly behind the food court we passed earlier. ¡°Sky, can you send your drone over to check the place out?¡± I asked.

    She nodded, then made her adorable little concentrating face for a minute or so. Then she frowned. ¡°I can¡¯t, there¡¯s something over there disrupting my drone¡¯s signal.¡±

    ¡°More of the model Nines?¡± I asked.

    {Arty: Nines typically only have weak ECM, which disrupts local electronics. To project a field large enough to disrupt the drone it¡¯s more likely a model Twelve, or Fourteen.}

    {Sky: Another one?}

    {Athy: Model Twelves aren¡¯t actually that uncommon during an incursion, they act as transports for the smaller models, and collect biomass to transport back to the proto hives.}

    {Rei: It¡¯s a good thing we have Sky and Howie then. Not being able to spot them from a distance sucks, so we¡¯ll just have to be extra vigilant when we approach the area. Sky, can you mark the area you¡¯re losing the signal on the map?}

    {Sky: Oh, good idea. Done! Sending it out to everyone}

    As soon as the squad received the updated map, they looked at us questioningly. ¡°There¡¯s something disrupting the drone in that area,¡± I explained. ¡°So we need to be extra vigilant in that area.¡±

    ¡°You heard the lady, keep your eyes up!¡± Emily barked.

    ¡°It seems to be centered in the food courts, so we should be able to avoid it if we walk the perimeter to get to the third shelter. We¡¯ll have to deal with it if we want to get back out the main gate though,¡± Skyler remarked. ¡°Can the APC deal with a model Twelve if we call it in?¡±

    Emily shook her head. ¡°Not in a stand up fight. The main gun is relatively low caliber, and better at dealing with smaller models and fliers. It might be able to penetrate that heavier armor occasionally, but it would need a long time to do serious damage,¡± she replied.

    ¡°Then we need to rely upon Skyler and Howie then,¡± I muttered.

    Or you need something capable of penetrating that armor, Artymis reminded me.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    ¡°True,¡± I whispered back before raising my voice. ¡°There¡¯s no point in worrying about it until we know what we¡¯re dealing with, though, and we still have that third shelter to check first,¡± I announced. ¡°Follow me.¡±

    As I headed down the supply road, I couldn¡¯t help but notice that the shadows were a little bit longer. The incursion had hit in the mid afternoon, and after an hour or two of combat, we were starting to lose the light. I picked up the pace when we made it to the far side of the park, jogging down the last stretch towards the shelter. Skyler grabbed me just as I got my first glimpse of the shelter access.

    ¡°The interference is moving,¡± she hissed.

    ¡°Towards us?¡± I whispered back.

    Skyler¡¯s eyes unfocused for a moment, then she nodded. ¡°I didn¡¯t notice before, but the disruption is stronger in this area than when I did my flyby earlier,¡± she replied.

    ¡°Then we play it safe,¡± I declared. ¡°We¡¯ll try the same plan as last time, lure the creature out for Howie to deal with.¡± I turned towards the squad, ¡°We hold here. Whatever is in the food court is closer than we¡¯d like, so we¡¯re going to try and fight it here.¡±

    ¡°Spread out,¡± Emily immediately snapped. ¡°Prepare for covering fire.¡±

    [Artymis, lure please.] I waited for a moment, then reached down for the new arrow in my quiver. I slowly unslung the bow, and set my arrow. ¡°Ready?¡± I asked Skyler. She paused for a moment, then nodded. As soon as she did I let the arrow fly.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the unbelievable riot of noise to attract attention. A pair of Fours burst through the door first, stabbing wildly with their tentacles before they were brought down by a combination of my arrows and rifle fire. They were quickly followed by half a dozen Threes, which died the same way. It was only then that the wall exploded outwards, providing next to no resistance against the massive bulk of the model Twelve that had been hidden within.

    Howie instantly started firing, pounding the heavily armed antithesis with repeated, merciless mortar fire. It almost felt too easy, dealing with such a massive, well armed antithesis this way.

    As I watched the Twelve slowly succumb to the relentless artillery fire, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned supernaturally quick and time slowed as I watched the wall to our left bowed outwards.

    ¡°Back!¡± I managed to yell as the wall collapsed, revealing a second twelve trundling out mere feet away from my location. I drew my penetrating arrows and fired them repeatedly directly into the creature¡¯s head as fast as I could. They sank several inches directly into the creature''s skull, but apparently didn¡¯t reach far enough to do any serious damage.

    I watched with perfect clarity as the Twelve focused directly upon me, flared its nostrils in irritation, and charged. I tried to dodge to the side, abandoning the bow and drawing my blade, but the monster tracked me unnervingly well.

    My shield flashed, then instantly collapsed as it smashed into me head first. Pain bloomed out of my ribs, but despite the haze, I managed to remain aware enough to grab onto the creature¡¯s face and hold fast. If I let go, I¡¯d be crushed by its stampeding feet. I could even feel the vibration from its stomping through my body as I was dragged around.

    As the creature ran past the squad, I was vaguely aware of people yelling, but I was far too preoccupied by the creature wildly shaking its head, trying to throw me loose. My grip was starting to fail, so I did the only thing I could and started plunging my blade directly into the monster¡¯s head. I didn¡¯t expect much, but surprisingly the blade managed to penetrate deep into the skull, so I stabbed again and again.

    For several long moments, the two of us were locked in a desperate struggle to survive.

    The Twelve stumbled, its legs on one side collapsing and causing the massive beast to fall, and skid to a stop. It was only then that I finally stopped stabbing long enough to look at my foe. I¡¯d turned the side of the Twelve¡¯s face into a chopped salad that was practically unrecognizable.

    I slowly pushed the massive head off myself and stood up, legs shaky, breathing heavily. ¡°Fucking hell,¡± I muttered as I clutched at my bruised ribs.

    The next thing I knew, Skyler grabbed me, her hands quickly wandering around looking for injuries. ¡°Please tell me you¡¯re alright!¡± she pleaded.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m fine,¡± I replied, unable to keep the surprise out of my voice. ¡°I am alive, right? I didn¡¯t get trampled back there, right?¡±

    ¡°No, you didn¡¯t, somehow. Let me tell you, I almost had a heart attack when that thing smashed into you. Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡± Skyler asked as she put her hands on both sides of my face and brought my head closer. ¡°You don¡¯t look that great.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s probably in shock,¡± Trevor said as he stepped close. ¡°She probably should sit down.¡±

    ¡°Right, let''s do that,¡± Skyler immediately agreed, as she pulled me towards a nearby piece of wreckage.

    ¡°It¡¯s dead, right?¡± I finally asked, glancing at my girlfriend. She nodded slowly. As the stress and adrenaline slowly drained out of my system, my legs went limp, and I stumbled over to the rubble to sit down. ¡°Thank fuck,¡± I whispered.

 Chapter 26 - Dealing with Trauma

    There are near infinite antithesis variations out there, the numbered models are just the most common versions. The uncommon types, we call them variants. You never know when you¡¯ll encounter an antithesis model optimized for swimming, or living under the desert, or even electronic warfare. Never assume you¡¯ve encountered everything the antithesis can throw at you, because there¡¯s always more.

    -Burning Eagles PMC - Primer for new recruits

    ¡ª

    I let Skyler check the next shelter while I gathered myself. I just sat there, staring at the model Twelve as it slowly dissolved.

    You okay?

    [Should I be? That fucking thing just almost flattened me. I¡¯m lucky I was able to sink my sword deep enough into that thing¡¯s skull to kill it.]

    The mono molecular blade is an effective weapon, but it does have its limits.

    [You¡¯re not exactly helping the situation.]

    Sorry. I may have billions of hours of footage of humans, but that apparently hasn¡¯t made me any better at understanding emotions or how to comfort someone.

    I didn¡¯t reply.

    So¡­ want a suggestion on how to kill one easier next time? Artymis asked awkwardly. The tone of their voice made me smile, just slightly.

    [Fine, how do I deal with it next time?]

    Unlock the ¡®Blades in the Dark¡¯ Class II catalog. Between the Nines, Twelves, and miscellaneous antithesis in between, you have the three hundred points and token that you need to unlock it. As soon as you have the points, purchase the molecular disintegration blade.

    [That doesn¡¯t help me right now. If we run into another one of those things, I might not be as lucky.]

    The chances of it happening again are so slim that it¡¯s not even worth mentioning. As long as you move cautiously and engage any further Twelves out in the open, Skyler¡¯s little bot can rip them apart. What you need to do is figure out how you can prevent this from happening again.

    The tone was gentle, but something about what Artymis said touched me. They were right. I was obsessing over what happened instead of figuring out how to prevent it. The realization made me sit up straight.

    [Thanks, I needed that. Are you sure you don¡¯t understand anything about human emotions? You said exactly what you needed to get me out of that funk.]

    Nope, I still don¡¯t understand emotions, but I¡¯ll admit that I did some simulations and figured there was a 86.4352% chance of breaking you out of your funk, based upon your particular mental models. So about that catalog¡­

    The corner of my mouth twitched, but I let that comment pass. [Shouldn¡¯t I save that for when I need it?]

    Once you become a little more experienced, I would recommend hoarding a couple tokens for emergency use or unlocking more advanced catalogs, but early on I absolutely recommend unlocking a higher tier of your primary catalog. It just has a better version of everything you use¡ªweapons, armor, enhancers, everything.

    I grunted. [Fine. Let¡¯s make it a priority, but don¡¯t unlock it until I have enough for the sword. It feels foolish to run around without any contingency funds.]

    Sensible. I¡¯ll let you know.

    I just started nodding when I heard the sound of the rusty shelter door opening. I glanced over just as Skyler stepped out.

    ¡°Are you feeling better now?¡± she asked, rushing over as soon as she saw me.

    ¡°A little,¡± I promised her, as I pulled her into a tight hug. ¡°Artymis helped me.¡±

    ¡°She did?¡± Skyler asked suspiciously. ¡°I didn¡¯t think she had it in her.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s not the most empathetic, but she knows what to say,¡± I replied with a shrug. ¡°How were things in the shelter?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re fine. The door is sealed properly, and they have plenty of supplies, so it looks like they¡¯ll be able to hold out for quite awhile,¡± Skyler reported. ¡°Guess that manager did handle things properly, even if he failed to engage the incursion protocols.¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°Fair enough,¡± I replied. I looked past Skyler to the rest of the squad, which was gathering up. ¡°So now that we¡¯ve cleared the area, back to the APC?¡± I asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s the plan,¡± Emily replied. ¡°There are plenty of other shelters we still need to check. We can look over our options back at the vehicle.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll lead the way then,¡± I mumbled as I walked up to the hole that the first Twelve had created and looked through. Beyond the wall was a kitchen, which was in complete shambles. The ovens and counters had been smashed apart by the rampage, leaving a clear path right up to another hole in the front of the shop. There was a single Three still inside, chomping away at a pile of hotdogs, so I unslung my bow to put an arrow through its head before slipping into the store.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you use a gun?¡± Steve asked as we made our way across the now empty store. ¡°It¡¯d be faster than those antiques of yours.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like guns,¡± I grunted, hoping that he¡¯d just let the subject drop, which of course he didn¡¯t.

    ¡°Then didn¡¯t you participate in militia training? Everyone in Cascadia needs to go through basic training once they hit sixteen, know how to hold a weapon and protect themselves for the antithesis,¡± he continued.

    ¡°Well I didn¡¯t,¡± I snapped, turning on the soldier. Skyler was already giving him the stink-eye, and as soon as I swiveled the rest of the squad quickly got out of the way. I must have looked really pissed.

    ¡°My mother used her pull with the government to get me immunity because I literally watched someone shoot my grandfather in the head a couple months prior. Watching that happen and then immediately getting caught in a firefight between his bodyguards and the assassins left me a little bit of trauma and a deep distaste for guns, ok?¡± I growled as I marched up to the man.

    He flinched hard, ¡°Sorry! I didn¡¯t mean anything by it,¡± he babbled quickly.

    I took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then released it. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I really shouldn¡¯t have reacted so badly, but talking about that time brings up really bad memories. I¡¯d prefer not to discuss it, got it?¡±

    ¡°Got it!¡± Steve replied, nodding rapidly.

    ¡°Good,¡± I took another deep breath, ¡°Sorry I snapped. It¡¯s been a long day,¡± I mumbled before turning back towards the front of the shop again.

    No one asked any more questions. Skyler already knew the full story, so she just stepped up behind me and rubbed me on the back, and the others were smart enough to not ask any further questions.

    We didn¡¯t run into anything else as we made our way out of the park. Despite having gone around the outer perimeter, we¡¯d still somehow ended up dealing with most of the antithesis in the area. There were a couple heavily damaged androids wandering around, but they wisely decided to not engage us when they saw us approaching the exit.

    ¡°Have a nice day, come again!¡± the ticket taker chirped as I passed.

    ¡°Not on your life,¡± I hissed back.

    The APC hadn¡¯t moved since we left Jockey had just closed up the ramp, and she lowered it again when she saw us coming. ¡°Did everything go well?¡± she chirped as I stepped inside.

    ¡°No¡­ but we managed to deal, and everything¡¯s secure, so that¡¯s a win,¡± I replied with a tired smile.

    ¡°Everyone make room! Howie coming in,¡± Skyler yelled from the door as her drone turned sideways and slowly made its way into the APC. I moved up to the front, where Emily, Skyler, and I had our talks. I flicked on the monitor and inspected the map we¡¯d left there earlier.

    While I looked over the map, Emily and Skyler pushed their way around Howie to join me. Emily took one look at the map and let out a long, low breath. ¡°Jockey, are these maps accurate?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Updated five minutes ago, in an emergency update,¡± the perky driver answered.

    ¡°I was afraid of that,¡± she mumbled before turning back to Skyler and I. ¡°We need to have a serious talk. It looks like the incursion zone is expanding.¡± She pointed at the center, which contained a cluster of small red blobs. ¡°These are the landing zones, where the heaviest models and highest density of antithesis are. This second orange zone is known as the danger zone, where most samurai will be fighting,¡± she said, sliding her finger slightly closer to our position.

    ¡°How is that a problem?¡± I asked as I scanned the map.

    ¡°It¡¯s expanding,¡± Skyler said. ¡°The nearest shelters used to be in the yellow zone before, but now they¡¯re in the orange.¡±

    ¡°Still not getting it,¡± I muttered.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen the orange expand this much before. There are supposed to be a dozen experienced samurai in there, yet the zone isn¡¯t shrinking; it''s expanding. Although you two might be able to handle a couple of the teen models, my crew and I are not. It would be extremely dangerous,¡± Emily explained.

    ¡°So what are our options?¡± Skyler asked quietly.

    ¡°A couple of the shelters we were assigned to check are now in the shallow orange. If you two want to investigate, my team and I would be required to follow you. I can almost guarantee that we¡¯d face some teen models. Extremely dangerous, but I think you two may be able to handle it after facing those Twelves,¡± Emily continued to explain. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to go further, we could also swing back towards where we saw the Seventeen, which is an entirely different problem.¡± She paused and took a deep breath. ¡°The final choice would be to retreat out of the district. We¡¯ve completed our primary objective, which is to get you some combat experience, and no one would stop us from leaving.¡±

    ¡°But that would mean abandoning a whole lot of people,¡± I replied quietly. Emily just nodded in response.

    The three of us just stared at the map for a second before Skyler pointed at a shelter right on the edge of the orange zone. ¡°I say we go to the closest shelter. It¡¯s not too far into the zone. We¡¯ll advance slowly and try to evaluate the situation. If, at any point, we think it¡¯s too dangerous, we¡¯ll pull back out and go elsewhere.¡±

    ¡°I second that,¡± I immediately agreed.

    Emily stared at the two of us for a second before nodding. ¡°It¡¯s your call, deeper it is.¡±

 Chapter 27 - The Orange Zone

    Antithesis activity is often indicated on a color based system.

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Green means minimal or safe levels</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Yellow requires military, or new samurai intervention</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Orange means high levels - Experienced samurai required. Expect models up to the low twenties</li>

    </ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Red means things have completely gone to shit. </li>

    </ul>

    - Describing the warning levels, Cascadian PMC version

    ¡ª

    ¡°Are you sure about this boss?¡± Jockey asked quietly, ¡°We¡¯ll probably attract the attention of the flocks if we go closer.¡±

    ¡°Is that a problem?¡± Skyler asked.

    ¡°Well¡­ Once we attract the fliers, they won¡¯t stop coming, so we¡¯ll have to flip the gun to flak mode and keep it there. We have enough ammo for thirty minutes of coverage, but we¡¯ll lose the ground support,¡± Jockey reported nervously.

    I glanced at Emily. ¡°So we¡¯ll be on a time limit?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Most fliers can¡¯t do shit to the APC, so we can take cover inside and shut down the flak, but once we¡¯re outside we¡¯ll absolutely need the overwatch,¡± she replied. ¡°You¡¯ll see. Entering the air combat zone is no joke.¡±

    ¡°I can assist with either the anti-air or ground support,¡± Skyler volunteered. ¡°I have special airburst shells for Howie.¡±

    ¡°Take it slow, Jockey,¡± I suggested. ¡°We¡¯re only planning on going to the nearest shelter, and if at any time we think that the situation is getting out of hand, we¡¯ll turn around.¡±

    The diminutive driver nodded slightly, then slipped back into the driver¡¯s seat again. ¡°Here we go then.¡±

    As the APC slowly accelerated, I grabbed one of the roof supports with one hand and Skyler with the other when she began to stumble. She smiled lightly, then grabbed the same roof support before leaning against me for added support.

    I reached over to the display we¡¯d been using for briefings and flipped it over to the external cameras. I could see a few scattered antithesis digging up plants, or running between buildings as we drove past, but nothing too extreme. ¡°How does Command figure out where the orange and red zones are?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Most street corners have sensors that can detect antithesis movements,¡± Emily explained. ¡°Nothing too complex. They can¡¯t identify individual models, but they do record the amount of activity. Once it exceeds a certain threshold, they increase the rating for that area.¡±

    Skyler leaned forward. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we be seeing more activity then?¡± she asked.

    Emily frowned. ¡°A little, but the orange zone started right outside of our destination, so we might be dealing with a mini horde or something.¡±

    I kept my eyes glued to the camera, scanning for anything that could explain the increase in activity, but nothing changed for several long minutes.

    ¡°We¡¯re coming up to the target!¡± Jockey reported as the APC skidded around a corner.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see any activity at all,¡± I mumbled. ¡°What is this place anyway?¡±

    Skyler cocked her head to the side, went glassy-eyed for a moment, then immediately went pale. ¡°It¡¯s Animaux Exotiques,¡± she said quietly.

    That name sounded familiar, but it took me a few seconds to remember why I recognized it. I immediately wished I hadn¡¯t. ¡°That¡¯s the place where we got Sophie and Cleo, isn¡¯t it?¡± I mumbled.

    Skyler nodded slowly.

    ¡°Who the hell are Sophie and Cleo?¡± Steve yelled from the other side of the APC. ¡°Where are we going?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re our cats!¡± I snapped at him, ¡°Animaux Exotiques was the high end pet shop we got them from.¡±

    The man sat back, ¡°I don¡¯t get it. It¡¯s just a pet store¡­¡±

    ¡°A very expensive pet store,¡± Skyler explained. ¡°It¡¯s massive, and even though I didn¡¯t think anything about it at the time, I¡¯m pretty sure none of the displays had any sort of incursion protection on them. They were just glass cases.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°A veritable buffet for the antithesis. Let¡¯s hope we arrived after the feeding frenzy. I don¡¯t want to see any half-eaten fuzzy friends,¡± I grumbled. I started pushing myself away from the monitor when the APC swerved wildly. ¡°What the fuck?¡± I growled.

    ¡°The swarmers are here!¡± Jockey yelled in panic, ¡°They¡¯re crawling all over my camera!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m swapping the gun to automated AA mode. Stop here, we¡¯ll clear them off, then you can escort us to the front of the building,¡± Emily replied calmly. The sound of the APC¡¯s main weapon changed, switching from burst mode to full automatic fire, and there was almost like an echo after each shot. ¡°Everyone out!¡± she snapped.

    I pushed past Howie, slapped the ramp button, and glanced outside. At first I didn¡¯t see anything out of the ordinary, until it started raining model One bodies. As soon as the ramp lowered enough, I stepped out and looked up.

    The sky was so thick with model Ones that they blocked out the sky, a massive, churning black cloud. The gun was doing a pretty good job of fending them off. The rounds it was firing took out multiple of the little fliers with every shot, and because it always targeted the closest models, it was cutting off any diving attacks.

    ¡°Shit,¡± Skyler muttered as she stepped out to stand beside me. After watching the roiling mass for several seconds, her face hardened, and she turned back to her bot. ¡°Howie, Skyburst. Continuous fire,¡± she said.

    All six mortars opened up, throwing their projectiles deep into the swarm, then detonating with enough force to blow massive holes into the swarm, at least for a second. It didn¡¯t take long for more Ones to fly out of the orange zone and fill the gaps in the swarm, but it was better than nothing. I had to raise an arm over my head to protect myself from the constantly falling corpses. It was amazing how fast they were building up.

    It was when I saw a couple model Threes stalk out of a nearby alley and start feeding on the carrion that I realized how pointless this current process was.

    ¡°Can you switch to enzyme based rounds?¡± I yelled over the constant mortar and gunfire.

    Skyler looked at me in confusion until I pointed at the Threes pulling the dead bodies away. She frowned for a second, then nodded. Howie stopped firing, just for a moment, and when he opened up again, the change was obvious. The Ones still died in droves, but now their bodies dissolved as they fell. By the time they hit the ground, they were nothing but a pile of goop, splattering whatever was nearby.

    Although I knew it was an improvement, it didn¡¯t feel like it when one landed directly on my arm and covered me in antithesis goop.

    ¡°I¡¯ve cleared the cameras!¡± someone yelled from the front of the APC.

    ¡°Alright, then we¡¯re going to march the rest of the way. Stay next to the vehicle, unless you want one of those flying bastards to bite you,¡± Emily announced. She flashed a thumbs up to the front of the APC, and the vehicle slowly started moving forward.

    ¡°How¡¯s Howie doing?¡± I asked as I grabbed Skyler and slowly pulled her after the advancing APC.

    ¡°Pretty well. Even though the rounds are expensive, the flock is thick enough to cover the costs,¡± Skyler replied, quickly glancing at her bot, before finally paying attention to the road.

    ¡°Are the rounds really that expensive? I¡¯d expect you to be making points hand over fist right now?¡± I shouted.

    {Arty: When Samurai work together the points they earned are split equally. We even add a small bonus to the total, in order to incentivise samurai to work together. You¡¯re currently both earning fifty-five percent of every kill.}

    {Rei: I¡¯m getting a share of her points?}

    {Athy: It is standard operating procedure.}

    {Rei: Can you give Skyler the full payout for the fliers? I don¡¯t deserve a share of it}

    {Sky: I don¡¯t mind sharing!}

    {Rei: But you¡¯re throwing almost all your points back in the ammunition. I¡¯d rather you have a surplus to cover your rounds. We can start sharing again once we engage an actual enemy again.}

    {Sky: ¡­ Fine.}

    {Athy: Preferences recorded. Points earned for minor airborne antithesis will not be shared in the future.}

    {Rei: Thanks.}

    When I snapped back to reality, I noticed we¡¯d fallen a little further behind the squad than I was comfortable with, so I grabbed Skyler and pulled her forward. No one even gave us a second glance as we stumbled back to the APC; they were all busy scanning the streets and alleys for threats. Once I was sure Skyler was safe, I jogged around to the front of the APC, where Emily was.

    ¡°Can the sensor network detect the Ones?¡± I asked, raising my voice to be heard over the APC¡¯s gun. ¡°I was kind of expecting to see a lot more activity on the street based upon what you said earlier.¡±

    ¡°Not usually, maybe if the entire flock dove down and flew at street level for a while. That doesn¡¯t happen that often though, since they tend to clear the higher levels. Smash windows with their bodies until they can get in, then pick apart anyone unfortunate enough to be caught out in the open,¡± she shuttered. ¡°Rough way to die.¡±

    ¡°So we should be seeing more ground-bound models?¡± I asked, just trying to get clarification. ¡°Where are they?¡±

    Emily stopped walking for a moment and pointed at the end of the street. ¡°If I had to guess, they¡¯re probably in there,¡± she said so quietly I almost missed it.

    At the end of the street was a fancy, single level storefront. I barely recognized it. The decorative iron fence around the perimeter was completely trampled, and almost every single window and door had been smashed in. The old school iron sign over the door was barely holding on. I couldn¡¯t read it from here, but I knew what it said. This was Animaux Exotiques.

 Chapter 28 - Little pet shop of horrors

    Humans like to think that antithesis have something out for them, but that¡¯s simply not true. They just want biomass, and don¡¯t care where it comes from. Trees, animals, and even tiny insects are acceptable targets for the antithesis. They are ravenous, and they truly do not care what they need to sate that hunger.

    -An introduction to antithesis - Junior High Curriculum

    ¡ª

    The APC slowed to a stop right next to the ruined pet shop. I tried to peer through the ruined windows, but I could only make out the smashed vanity accessory displays in the gloom.

    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of damage,¡± Bulldog muttered.

    ¡°I think we know where all those antithesis went,¡± Emily agreed.

    Skyler bit her lip as her eyes darted back and forth across the storefront. She had loved the time we¡¯d spent here and animals in general, so she probably dreaded seeing what was inside.

    I pulled her into a side hug. ¡°Do you want to wait out here?¡± I whispered to her. ¡°You don¡¯t need to follow me inside. There¡¯s a glass roof above the main display area, remember?¡±

    Skyler shook her head slightly. ¡°I can handle it.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± I replied quietly. ¡°I just thought I¡¯d give you the option, save you from dealing with it.¡±

    ¡°I can handle it,¡± she repeated, with more confidence this time.

    ¡°Alright,¡± I said with a smile. I planted a quick kiss on her lips, then stepped forward and grabbed Skyler¡¯s hand. ¡°Then let''s go catch up with the team.¡±

    When we caught up with Emily and the others at the front of the shop I noticed that Bulldog was cradling a massive weapon. ¡°Repeating micro missile launcher,¡± he said quietly when he noticed me looking at it.

    ¡°Come again?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s the only portable weapon we have that could injure one of the teens,¡± Emily explained. ¡°It¡¯s heavy, awkward, and expensive to fire, so we don¡¯t bring it out that often.¡±

    ¡°But you think it might be necessary here,¡± I finished.

    Emily nodded.

    ¡°Just make sure you don¡¯t catch me in the explosions,¡± I told the big man as I stepped past him. All the displays and merchandise in the front of the store had been flattened, and the doors into the animal area had been smashed open. Strangely, they appeared to have been broken outwards, not inwards.

    I slipped across the room right up to the door and glanced inside. There were a surprising number of animals still alive, sitting calmly in their displays. The roof at the back was shattered, and there was a titanic pile of plant matter underneath. There was a decent sized group of antithesis slowly chewing through the plant mass and another smaller group scratching at one section of the wall, but otherwise the place was quiet.

    I was about to pop my head back around the corner and report to the team when a flash of iridescence caught my eye. When I first scanned the room, I¡¯d thought the thing was a feather from some sort of bird of paradise, but it was moving. I watched as it shot a long feeler out, grabbed something behind one of the displays, then pulled itself out of sight.

    Back! Artymis snapped.

    [What¡¯s going on?]

    {Arty: The place is full of sevens. You both need to buy Anti-Seven pills this instant, and make sure that everyone on the team takes one.}

    {Rei: Fine, give me some.} I held out my hand and felt a small pill box appear in my hand. I popped one of the vacuum packed pills out and swallowed it down as I made my way back.

    {Rei: Now, what is a Seven, and why is it such a big deal?}

    {Athy: They¡¯re small antithesis models that resemble worms. They¡¯re extremely dangerous because once they latch onto a target, they dig into the nervous system and take control of the body. Once it¡¯s integrated, the host cannot be saved, and the Seven will attempt to walk their prey back to the nearest Hive. Some people call them zombie worms.}

    By the time I got back to the team, Skyler had already distributed her set of pills.

    ¡°Is it bad in there?¡± Emily asked.

    ¡°Honestly? Not really. There are only a few antithesis inside, but I saw a Seven in there. It looked like a tree exploded in the back of the store, and most of the antithesis are busy chewing on that.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Emily¡¯s eyebrows raised. ¡°A landing pod? This far out? It would certainly explain why the rating went up in this area. A whole lot of antithesis smashed their way out of here in order to look for other prey.¡±

    ¡°There were also a couple animals still alive in there. The antithesis just left them sitting in their cages, calmly staring into space.¡± I added, glancing at Skyler.

    She looked at me strangely, then went pale. ¡°You don¡¯t think¡­¡± she began. I just nodded. ¡°I think I¡¯ll wait outside,¡± she said quietly. I nodded again.

    Emily whispered something to Bulldog, and the big man ran back to the APC, returning a few seconds later with his flamethrower.

    While we were waiting, I walked over to Skyler and grabbed her hands. ¡°I know it¡¯s tough to think about, but if you send a drone up to the rooftop, you should be able to monitor us without seeing too much detail. Ask Athyna to censor it if you need. I¡¯ll handle things inside.¡±

    She was still a little pale, but she still smiled. ¡°Thanks,¡± she said quietly

    ¡°Ready to go in?¡± Emily asked from behind me.

    ¡°Not really,¡± I replied quietly, but I still turned around and jogged back to the team. ¡°But it¡¯s got to be done, so let¡¯s do this,¡± I muttered as I strode past them.

    I took a deep breath in, slowly let it out, and stepped right through the shattered doorway. None of the antithesis reacted for several seconds. They were all too preoccupied with their current jobs, but when I stepped past the first pet display, the hamsters inside all turned and started chirping in unison. They were disgusting; The worm-like model Seven barely fit in their tiny bodies. It was wrapped around them, just under the skin.

    Several of the Threes and Fives chewing on the pile of plant matter turned to see what was happening before quickly being gunned down. As soon as the gunfire started the rest of the antithesis turned as one and charged.

    The closest antithesis to me, and one of the fastest reacting of all the models was a Five that turned and fired a volley of quills in a single swift motion. My shield flared and held for once, which allowed me to close with the creature.

    Rather than attempt a second volley, the antithesis swung its tail at me, trying to block my advance with a layer of toxic quills. In a single motion, I drew my blade and severed the offending appendage, and before the Five could react, I reversed my blade and beheaded it.

    The Threes came next, bounding at me from my front and right. Since the ones coming from the broken pod were closer I stepped to the left, past the first pouncing Three and ran my sword down its side. It wasn¡¯t deep enough to bisect the Three, but it was more than enough to put it down.

    The squad raked the remaining antithesis and managed to put down the majority, but a pair of Threes did manage to complete their charges against me. Unlike any faced before, this pair of Threes seemed to work together and rushed me at the same time. I shifted and tried to turn this two on one back into one-on-one, but they were too fast. As they lunged, I decided to follow the tried and tested strategy of kicking one and stabbing the other.

    I shoved my sword right through the face of the model Three on my right, skewering it just as the other hit me with its full weight. The heavy dog-shaped creature clamped onto my boot as I fell back, twisting and thrashing. Pain blossomed in my leg just before I brought my sword around and beheaded the monster.

    I tried to push myself back to my feet, but it was difficult with both my injured ankle and the fact that the head was still clamped onto my boot. I stared at it in irritation, then rammed the head repeatedly against the side of a table until it finally let go.

    ¡°Are we clear?¡± I finally asked Emily.

    ¡°Seems like. These bastards couldn¡¯t have landed too long ago. Usually the pods are consumed within the hour,¡± Emily explained as she crouched down a couple feet away from the giant pile of plant matter. I noticed she gave the entire thing a wide berth. ¡°We need to burn the entire place to prevent the thing from taking root.¡±

    ¡°That mess will take root if we leave it?¡± I asked in surprise.

    ¡°Anything antithesis will take root, given enough time. Even those.¡± Emily replied, gesturing to the hamsters.

    I stared at the little creatures. Then swept my gaze over the other half dozen creatures still in their displays. I felt badly for the little guys. I knew deep down that they were already dead and gone, but it didn¡¯t make the fact that I had to deal with them any easier.

    [Anything I can give these creatures that¡¯ll kill the Seven, without having to destroy their bodies?]

    If you spray them with a sufficient amount of antithesis dissolving enzyme it¡¯ll get absorbed into the body and kill the parasite.

    [Give me two bottles then.]

    What dropped into my hand were literal spray bottles. Skyler had used one to dissolve some bodies earlier. I just didn¡¯t expect them to be so versatile. I motioned Trevor and Steve over, then handed them each a bottle.

    ¡°Use these to soak the pets,¡± I said. ¡°It won¡¯t save them, but it¡¯ll kill the parasite inside. You can also use it to soak any Sevens you see crawling around.¡±

    ¡°You think that¡¯s a good idea?¡± Trevor asked.

    ¡°Well, you could go around shooting each one, but I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯ll kill the seven or not. This is probably safer,¡± I replied. ¡°I¡¯d do it myself, but I have to deal with my leg again.¡±

    The man nodded and wandered over to a ferret display and started hosing the creatures down.

    I leaned back against a table, and started leaning down to take off my boot, when I heard a tiny ¡®Mew¡¯.

    ¡°Did you hear that?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Hear what?¡± Bulldog asked as he inspected the pod¡¯s remains.

    ¡°I heard a cat,¡± I replied. I quickly scanned the area, looking for any place for an animal to hide when my eyes passed over the area that the Threes were attacking earlier. It was a bookshelf full of old-school paper pet care books. The bottom two rows were a mess, but the top few were untouched, and there was a slight gap on the top shelf.

    I grabbed a stool, hobbled over, and climbed up the shelf. Sure enough, right at the back of the space, backed as far back as it could go, was a tiny tawny kitten. I gently reached in and pulled the tiny survivor out. It hissed and swatted at my hand with its tiny paws, but that just made me smile.

    ¡°It may only be a single life, but it¡¯s worth it,¡± I whispered.

 Chapter 29 - What Lies Beneath

    Pets are a luxury of the rich these days. That¡¯s partially because most people have trouble keeping themselves fed, nevermind the rest of the family, and they don¡¯t want extra mouths to feed. But the biggest reason is because over time domestic pets died off, lost in the numerous antithesis raids. Now we have to clone them. Fear not, they¡¯re still as healthy as the real thing, and now we can customize them however you want. So, what can I get you?

    -Sophia, Animaux Exotiques sales person

    ¡ª

    ¡°This is the second time you injured yourself kicking something, you¡¯re going to buy some decent boots the next chance you get,¡± Skyler nagged as we left the APC to head back to the shop.

    ¡°I will! It¡¯s the first thing on my list!¡± I promised. ¡°How about we call the kitten Tawny¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not calling her that,¡± Skyler immediately denied.

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not calling a brown kitten Tawny. That¡¯s her color, not a name.¡± Skyler sighed. ¡°This is just like when you tried to call Cleo Grey.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a grey tabby, it fits her perfectly,¡± I replied defensively.

    Skyler ignored me. ¡°She needs a fierce name, like a lioness¡­¡± Skyler mumbled. ¡°Lala!¡± she finally declared.

    ¡°Is this another reference to one of your old films?¡± I asked as I stumbled over a bit of debris.

    ¡°Maybe, but you have to admit the name fits perfectly,¡± Skyler declared as we finally made our way back into the display room of the pet shop.

    ¡°Took you two long enough,¡± Emily growled. ¡°We¡¯re on a time limit, you know.¡±

    ¡°I fixed that actually,¡± Skyler chirped. ¡°Turns out I can purchase extra ammunition for your cannon, and Ratchet helped me install it. We have an extra thirty minutes now.¡±

    ¡°And that took you ten minutes?¡± Bulldog grunted.

    ¡°Nooo¡­ It took me that long to feed an anti-seven pill to the kitten. She just wouldn¡¯t take it until Skyler bought a piece of cheese to wrap around it. Plus she really didn¡¯t want to get in the carrier at first,¡± I said, gesturing to the cat carrier backpack that Skyler was now wearing. I had considered combing through the junk at the front of the shop until I remembered the backpack I¡¯d purchased a couple hours earlier. It turns out we could buy a next-gen cat carrier for only three points. I did try it on first, but the kitten really didn¡¯t like me right now, so Skyler took it instead.

    Emily just shook her head. ¡°Can we please check the shelter? I¡¯d like to get out of here before the cannon runs out of AA rounds, or the antithesis decide to come back.¡±

    ¡°Right, which way to the shelter?¡± I asked, glancing around the store. ¡°I didn¡¯t see an access point.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s on the other side of the pod,¡± Bulldog said. ¡°Just be careful. If you disturb the pod, it may throw up spores.¡±

    I slowly made my way around the side of the pod, followed by Skyler, to find a small staircase recessed into the wall. Thankfully the access panel was at the top of the stairs, so we didn¡¯t need to try and squeeze Howie past the oversized pile of plant debris. We worked together to extend the power connectors down the side of the wall and powered up the console.

    As soon as the system came up, I clicked on Cams. Instead of displaying an image, like I expected, a message popped up: ¡®No Signal¡¯. I frowned, then flicked to the other cameras. The next two were also dead, but the third was still alive, and the image sent shivers down my spine.

    The pod, which I had written off as a pile of junk, had penetrated much deeper than I¡¯d ever expected. Its tip had penetrated the reinforced roof of the shelter before embedding itself in the ground beneath the building. What¡¯s even worse is that most of the Sevens seemed to have been in that section, and they¡¯d poured out into the shelter. The floor of the shelter was absolutely covered in dozens of the small feathered worms, and because I didn¡¯t have access to the other cams, I could only see a single person who was twitching on the floor. Skyler gasped at the image.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    {Rei: How long does it take for someone to be taken over by a Seven?}

    {Arty: It depends on the person, but it can take anywhere between ten minutes and half an hour for the worm to dig into a host. After that, the worm will spend several hours adapting to the host¡¯s nervous system until they¡¯re even able to perform fine muscle movement.}

    {Sky: So there¡¯s a chance someone could still be alive down there?}

    {Athy: Unlikely, but possible. I would not recommend opening the door to check. Even though the Sevens have very little combat ability, they¡¯re very apt at stealth. If even a single one gets away it could cause issues later.}

    {Rei: I know the chances of anyone surviving are slim, but I¡¯d still like to check. Plus, we should try exterminating those things instead of just containing them.}

    {Sky: How?}

    I turned away from the console and looked at the top of the pod. {Same way they got in. Artymis do I have anything that would efficiently clear that pile of mulch out of the way but not damage people?}

    {Arty: You want to melt your way down? Possible, but it¡¯ll take a lot of enzyme catalyst. Several hundred liters to dissolve all the way down, then coat the floor of the shelter with an inch or two of liquid to deal with the Sevens. I¡¯d say it¡¯d take a hundred and fifty points worth, and I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯d be able to recover those points.}

    {Sky: What if I gave up my share of the points?}

    {Athy: Then Reina may break even.}

    {Rei: I still want to do it. It¡¯s safer than popping open the shelter, and according to Emily, we need to destroy the pod anyways.} Skyler nodded in agreement.

    We carefully made our way back around the edge of the pod to a point where we could see the team again. ¡°The shelter¡¯s compromised,¡± I reported. ¡°The pod punched right through the roof.¡±

    ¡°So we light the place up and leave, right?¡± Bulldog asked, raising his flamethrower and firing a few short bursts.

    ¡°No, there¡¯s a small chance that someone inside could be alive, plus it¡¯s full of Sevens. I don¡¯t want to risk letting those things out,¡± I replied. ¡°I have a plan though, sort of.¡±

    ¡°It better be a good one,¡± Steve grunted. I ignored the asshole and stepped closer to the pod.

    [Alright, give me the catalyst.]

    What appeared beside me wasn¡¯t a box, but a plastic drum full of liquid. It had a small hose with a spray attachment sticking out of the bottom.

    Just spray the top of the pod until you create a recess, then pour the rest of the drum directly inside. Artymis explained.

    I crouched down, grabbed the hose, then slowly hosed down the pile. As we watched, it smoked, bubbled, and slowly melted into a disgusting green and brown sludge. The process was a lot faster than I expected. Within a minute the pile had turned into a shallow pit, which I dumped the rest of the drum into.

    ¡°Effective,¡± Emily said as she crept closer.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope. This isn¡¯t the important part,¡± I mumbled. After a few seconds, the liquid had dissolved its way to the top of the shelter and poured into the space below. I could just barely see through the gaps between the dissolving pod and the gap in the shelter¡¯s roof, but through it I could l see a handful of worms thrashing as the tiny wave of liquid washed over them. I don¡¯t know if it was because they were so delicate or if something about their physiology made them extra weak against the catalyst, but it didn¡¯t take long for them to dissolve into sludge.

    ¡°If anyone¡¯s alive down there, we¡¯ll have to take them with us,¡± Skyler muttered. ¡°There¡¯s no way we¡¯re sealing this up again.¡±

    I just caught a glimpse of Emily nodding as I crouched down and stuck my head into the ever expanding hole. The pod must have landed directly on the cots because I could see some twisted frames and heavily crushed body parts. I forced myself to look away from that carnage and scan the rest of the room. I couldn¡¯t see anyone, so I flipped my glasses to night vision mode.

    I caught sight of two people laying in one corner, approximately where the camera was pointed earlier. They weren¡¯t twitching anymore, and they were too far away for me to tell if they were breathing. I shifted position, scooting over to the other side of the hole, and poked my head down again to look at the door. I was surprised to find half a dozen glassy eyed people standing there, staring at me.

    ¡°Are you ok?¡± I asked hesitantly.

    No one answered. Instead, they shambled towards me, their actions slow and jerky, and when they got closer, they slowly reached out to grab me. I was far too high for them to grab, but I still pulled my head back.

    ¡°I¡¯m not even going to ask if they¡¯re infected,¡± I muttered. ¡°And there¡¯s no way for us to save them now?¡± I asked quietly.

    {Athy: None. As the Seven digs in, it doesn¡¯t just take over the nervous system, it destroys the existing pathways. By this stage of infestation, the neurological damage is irreversible.}

    As I slipped away from the edge I looked over at Emily, who was staring at the zombified people impassionately. ¡°There were a couple more people down there that might not be totally lost, but we¡¯ll have to open the shelter to check. Can I leave these ones to you?¡± I asked quietly.

    Emily just nodded and raised her rifle. I turned away and led Skyler back towards the stairs, not wanting to watch the aftermath. Behind us, the store filled with the sound of gunfire.

 Chapter 30 - Attracting trouble

    The biggest problem with the antithesis is that by the time you¡¯ve killed one, two more have shown up to take their place. That''s not a problem if you can keep up with their numbers, but things don''t always work that way. You need to keep in mind that not all antithesis are built the same, and some will require a lot more effort or precision to kill than others.

    - Yurei ''Thirteen'' Neylan

    ¡ª

    ¡°How did you open that door?¡± Emily asked as Skyler and I crouched in half an inch of enzyme catalyst, looking over the two survivors. ¡°It¡¯s supposed to be impossible to open a shelter before the all clear signal goes out?¡±

    ¡°Samurai magic,¡± I muttered as I watched the little medical scanner Skyler was running over the victims. ¡°I needed to open up a vault and let some survivors in earlier, because someone had overwritten the emergency protocols. So I picked up the ability to bypass the system.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s illegal,¡± Emily growled.

    I turned and stared at the woman. ¡°No shit. That doesn¡¯t prevent some assholes from taking advantage of the system,¡± I replied quietly.

    Skyler¡¯s scanner beeped, causing me to turn back towards her. I couldn¡¯t read the display, but the fact that she was shaking her head wasn¡¯t a good sign. ¡°The Seven dug too deep, she¡¯s already gone,¡± Skyler announced, gesturing to the elderly looking woman. I could see the woman¡¯s eyelids twitching.

    ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡± I asked quietly. Skyler just nodded, already scanning the second survivor.

    I slowly started reaching for my blade when Bulldog stopped me. ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± he growled, grabbing the woman by the scruff of the neck and carrying her towards the small pile of other compromised people. I watched as he put his pistol to her head, but turned away before he pulled the trigger.

    ¡°He¡¯s not completely gone!¡± Skyler suddenly announced, causing me to turn back towards her. ¡°His nervous system is in bad shape, and he might need to learn to walk again, but we can save him!¡± She reached down and ripped open a pair of small boxes that just materialized in front of her. I watched as she carefully leaned down and injected both directly into the base of the boy¡¯s skull, before letting out a breath of relief. ¡°He¡¯ll be fine. He might be unconscious for a while, but he¡¯ll recover.¡±

    Emily nodded. ¡°We can have Trevor monitor him in the APC,¡± she announced. ¡°If you¡¯re done, we really should get out of here. Staying in one place is dangerous in the orange zone, you¡¯ll never know when you¡¯ll draw the attention of something dangerous.¡± She waved to Steve and Trevor and the two men ran over and picked up the survivor.

    Since Skyler was hovering around the survivor, and the rest of the area had been thoroughly checked, there was nothing left to do in the devastated shelter. I just stood up and followed Emily up the stairs. As we stepped out into the main shop area I became aware of the APC¡¯s gun again. I¡¯d apparently managed to tune the constant, drumming noise out while concentrating on other things.

    We made it halfway across the room when the gun cut out for a second, replaced by a high pitched squeal. Emily¡¯s hand shot to her ear as she sprinted forward. ¡°Jockey, what¡¯s happening?¡± she yelled into her radio.

    ¡°We¡¯ve attracted hitch hikers boss! A couple of Elevens have taken offense to me being here.¡±

    I ran behind Emily, pausing for a moment at the door to the front of the store, trying to understand what I was seeing. The APC was still there, just about six feet to the left. All around the vehicle were about a dozen Model Threes, Fours and Fives, chewing on the tires and scratching its armor. I grabbed my sword, and took a step forward, but was interrupted by a gust of wind as something massive swooped past the front of the store and smashed into the APC. The vehicle slid another few feet, but managed to stay upright.

    I stared at the oversized flyer in shock. It had the same approximate shape as a turkey vulture, but nearly as large as a Model Twelve. The six eyed, four winged monster casually shook off the APC¡¯s flak rounds, before catapulting itself back into the air.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    ¡°There¡¯s multiple of those?¡± I asked in surprise.

    ¡°They¡¯re not that uncommon,¡± Emily shouted. ¡°They usually collect mass to bring back to a central hive, but they can also carry passengers. I was kind of hoping we could avoid dealing with something like this.¡±

    As she yelled, another Eleven conducted an attack run, and slammed into the APC. The vehicle tilted dangerously, balancing on the four left wheels for several seconds, before slamming back to the ground.

    ¡°Skyler! Can Howie take those things down?¡± I yelled back to my girlfriend.

    She bit her lip. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if the flak shells would be strong enough, and even though his guided shells are accurate, they¡¯re not accurate enough to hit something flying. I may be able to hit one on the ground, but that would risk damaging the APC!¡± Skyler cried.

    I heard the whooshing sound that signaled another attack run and made a decision. I sprinted out the door a second before the Eleven hit, drew my sword, and thrust my blade upwards. I managed to catch the middle of its first wing, slicing the membrane in half before the heavy bone in front of the second wing connected with my sword. The impact sent me tumbling away, and attracted the swarm of smaller models surrounding the APC, but also sent the Eleven straight into the ground.

    The massive antithesis bird skidded a little ways before it pushed itself upright, using its wings like front legs, and stared me down. The sound of gunfire erupted from behind me as the team fired upon the smaller models, but I didn¡¯t have time to worry about that. Instead I had to dodge out of the way as its massive maw snapped down on my position. I slashed at its face as I rose, cutting across one eye, but I couldn¡¯t penetrate that deeply. The remaining two eyes on that side narrowed as they tracked me.

    As I backed away from the first Eleven I became aware of the sound of rushing wind behind me. The sound of another one diving. I threw myself to the side, back into the store, just as the second Eleven swooped past me.

    Apparently surprised by my evasion the creature didn¡¯t pull up in time, and slammed into the grounded model before sliding into the APC. The two struggled, falling over each other trying to get back to their feet when Howie unloaded with all six barrels. Skyler pretty much had to get the bot to lay on its front in order to fire the mortars forward, and out the windows, but it worked. All six rounds smashed into the struggling pair.

    I kind of expected that to be enough to finish them both, but the crippled one struggled out of the scrum only partially smoldering. The previously healthy one seemed to have taken most of the blast, shattering its spine, but it was still moving.

    ¡°I think we might be in trouble,¡± I muttered as the pair struggled towards the storefront where we were all standing. I stood my ground, waiting for one of the Elevens to make the first move when the third creature plummeted from the sky. Unlike its compatriots, this one made an uncontrolled descent and landed back first onto a nearby car, completely crushing the vehicle. It was missing its head.

    The remaining two Elevens seemed completely unaffected by the death, and snapped at me with their jaws. I dodged to the side, my shield flaring as one came too close, as I desperately looked for an opening.

    That¡¯s when it started snowing.

    As soon as the snow-like substance hit the Elevens they seized up, and started foaming from the mouth. Even though I didn¡¯t have a clue what was happening, I took advantage. I plunged my blade into the nearest creature¡¯s neck and wrenched it forward. It wasn¡¯t enough to fully decapitate the Eleven, but it was enough to kill it. The second one had collapsed to the ground so I started stabbing into the side of its head repeatedly until it stopped moving.

    Once that was done I just stood there for several seconds, breathing heavily. Slowly, I became aware of someone standing outside, clapping lightly. I turned to find a petite woman standing there, a massive pair of moth-like wings on her back, and feelers on her head. I¡¯m sure the massive set of black goggles was meant to give the impression of giant eyes too.

    While she had several moth-like attributes, the rest of her outfit was very fashionable. She had shoulder length black hair with a streak of pale violet. She was wearing a light grey jacket with pale violet trim that flared at the wrists and waist, and matching bellbottoms, and a feather boa around her neck.

    I just stared at her for several long seconds.

    ¡°Hi,¡± Skyler finally said. ¡°I¡¯m Skyler, that¡¯s Reina, and this is Emily, Bulldog, Trevor and Steve. Thank you for helping us, we were in trouble there for a minute.¡± Her words kickstarted my brain, and I finally cleaned and sheathed my sword.

    ¡°We appreciate your help,¡± I finally said, giving the woman a small bow.

    She smiled. ¡°I¡¯m Velvet Aurora,¡± she said. ¡°You must be the rookies.¡±

 Chapter 31 - Expert Opinions

    Samurai are like fish! There¡¯s always a bigger one! Until there isn¡¯t.

    - Sarah ¡®Dreamer¡¯ Connor during a rare live interview

    ¡ª

    The squad snapped to attention and saluted. ¡°Good to see you again Ma¡¯am,¡± Emily said.

    ¡°Emily. I see you still volunteer for cat herding duty,¡± Velvet replied with a smile. ¡°It may be good for the bank account, but it¡¯s bad for your health.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m aware,¡± Emily grumbled, glancing in my direction. What did I do?

    As I watched Velvet¡¯s wings folded down, collapsing into a small bag on her back. ¡°You¡¯re lucky I decided to come and investigate this outbreak in this area,¡± she said, stepping into the broken shop front. ¡°I guess I shouldn¡¯t be surprised to find our newest two samurai sitting right in the problem area, but you might want to move to a safer area.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not surprised to find us here?¡± I asked blankly.

    Velvet laughed. ¡°Of course not, you wouldn¡¯t have been chosen as samurai if you played it safe. Almost all of us dive into the orange zone during our first incursion,¡± she explained. ¡°Although¡­ it is a little odd to see two awakenings at the same time, usually we only see one new samurai every few months.¡± She stepped a little closer and looked me up and down, her feelers twitching the entire time. Once she¡¯d finished with me she turned to Skyler, who smiled at her nervously. ¡°Close combat and artillery, good combination,¡± Velvet finally declared with a nod of her head.

    The petite samurai bounced into the air and twirled back towards the entrance. ¡°Even though I know you want to help, I recommend heading back to the yellow zone,¡± she declared as she headed towards the door. ¡°This isn¡¯t an average incursion. We were hit by nearly five times as many pods as usual, so all the veterans are tied up just trying to keep the antithesis under control. Normally we¡¯d have someone on standby, just in case you two got into trouble, but we can''t afford it today.¡±

    ¡°But you showed up,¡± Skyler pointed out, ¡°Just when we needed you.¡±

    ¡°Only because I needed to clear this area and push back the swarm,¡± Velvet replied. ¡°It was a coincidence. I won¡¯t be around to save you next time.¡± As she strode back into the street her wings shot out, unfurling behind her. I found the pattern mesmerizing.

    ¡°Well, even if it was a coincidence, we appreciate your help,¡± I said politely. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll see you around?¡±

    Velvet smiled again. ¡°Indeed. Just don¡¯t go getting in over your head again. I¡¯d bet that even the regional command is feeling the pressure, and won¡¯t have reinforcements to send you. Stay safe.¡± She pulled the massive black goggles down over her eyes, bent her knees, then rocketed into the air. I stepped forward to watch as she flew down the street, much faster than I would have expected, leaving a trail of dust which shimmered in the dying light.

    ¡°You heard the lady,¡± Emily barked as soon as Velvet was gone. ¡°If this incursion has gone sideways we need to clear this area before something bigger heads our way. Into the APC, double time!¡±

    The team practically sprinted out of cover and over to the armored vehicle. Skyler and I jogged out a second or two behind. Jockey apparently saw us coming, because she¡¯d lowered the ramp before we arrived, allowing everyone to pile in.

    ¡°Where are we headed?¡± Emily asked before Skyler and I had even taken our places near the monitor.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we head back to the yellow zone, like Velvet suggested?¡± Skyler asked, ¡°She has been a samurai for years now.¡±

    ¡°Ideally yes,¡± Emily replied with a frown. ¡°But since you two outrank me, it¡¯s technically up to you whether we take her advice or not.¡±

    ¡°We may outrank you, but you have vastly more experience,¡± I reminded her. ¡°Velvet made it sound like the situation was dire. Maybe you should contact the command post and check what the situation is there. Until then¡­ maybe we could head back towards the park? Try and avoid any more of those oversized turkey vultures?¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Skyler nodded at my assessment, and Emily cracked a little smile. ¡°Seems like a smart plan. I¡¯ll make the call, see how much the situation has changed. While I¡¯m doing that you two can look over the map, try and figure out where we could head next.¡± She leaned down next to Jockey, said a couple words to get us moving, then sat down on one of the benches, eyes going glassy.

    ¡°Do you think things are as bad as Velvet said?¡± Skyler whispered to me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why she¡¯d lie,¡± I replied quietly. ¡°Even though I¡¯d like to investigate, if we do anything reckless we may put the squad in danger again.¡± I glanced towards the back of the APC at everyone. We¡¯d been out and about for a couple hours now, and they were starting to look a little run down. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± I asked as I turned back towards Skyler.

    ¡°A little tired, and hungry,¡± she admitted. ¡°I may keep myself in shape, but that doesn¡¯t mean I was prepared to spend most of the day fighting aliens.¡±

    {Athy: You can purchase a range of meal replacements, and stimulants, for just a handful of points. Although I wouldn¡¯t recommend a stimulant at this point, a meal would do you good. A custom sandwich set will only set you back one point.}

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± I quietly blurted out.

    {Athy: It¡¯s a sandwich, side and juicebox, not an alien superweapon. Samurai need to eat too, and there¡¯s no point in gouging you on the essentials.}

    {Rei: Fair} I replied, remembering to reply in the chat group this time. {Can we get one for everyone here?}

    {Arty: Of course, we can even customize them for each member of the squad. Since we have a little downtime I would also recommend Reina purchasing the Class II Blades In The Dark catalog, and the Mark four Swift Step Greaves, before Skyler berates you again.}

    I heard Skyler giggle at that.

    {Rei: What about the sword?}

    {Arty: After dealing with the Elevens you could buy both, but it would leave you next to no points in reserve if something goes wrong}

    ¡°You¡¯re thinking about upgrading to the next tier of equipment already?¡± Skyler asked, surprised.

    ¡°It was Artymis¡¯s recommendation. Since I rely so heavily on my sword, and I¡¯m already having trouble cutting through some of the heavier models, they suggested getting the next blade as soon as possible. The catalog also has access to a number of enhancements, and apparently armor, which I could use,¡± I explained.

    Skyler was quiet for a moment. ¡°Do it,¡± she declared after a minute. ¡°It¡¯ll take me a while to save up the points to upgrade Howie, and I can cover the emergency costs in the short term. When it¡¯s time for me to upgrade, you can do the same for me.¡±

    ¡°You sure?¡± I asked cautiously.

    ¡°Am I sure I¡¯d rather have my girlfriend able to defend herself, and not get dragged around by an alien the size of a semi? Yes, absolutely,¡± Skyler replied seriously. ¡°If getting an upgrade means you can better defend both yourself and others, then you should do it.¡±

    I leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on her lips, causing Skyler to blush, ¡°Thank you,¡± I whispered.

    ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t like public displays of affection,¡± she whispered back.

    ¡°I¡¯m warming up to them,¡± I said with a smile. ¡°The entire world should know how wonderful you are.¡± Skyler¡¯s blush grew a little deeper.

    ¡°If you two done,¡± Emily interrupted as she stood up from her seat, sliding over to her regular place beside the strategy monitor. ¡°I have an update for you.¡±

    ¡°How bad are things?¡± Skyler asked, switching to business mode to get herself under control.

    ¡°Pretty bad. They had to double the number of response teams, because the antithesis reached the sector wall in multiple places; They¡¯ve had to call up the reserves just to keep up,¡± Emily replied as she swapped the display to a sector view. The area we were in was relatively clear, but I could see the orange zone had pressed up against the north and west walls at multiple points.

    ¡°So has our mission changed?¡± I asked after a second.

    ¡°No. They considered sending us further in, but when I told them what Velvet said they decided it was safer to continue the current mission. We¡¯re probably too late to save anyone in any of the compromised shelters, but we can still check them and thin out the horde,¡± Emily reported.

    ¡°Then that¡¯s what we¡¯ll do,¡± I declared quietly. ¡°We¡¯ll head back to those shelters we bypassed earlier. Hopefully that Seventeen has left the area, but even if it hasn¡¯t, we¡¯re better prepared to deal with it now.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Skyler agreed. ¡°But first, we¡¯ll eat and upgrade.¡± She waved her hands and a stack of food trays appeared on top of Howie. ¡°There¡¯s one for everyone, and they¡¯re labeled,¡± she announced to the crew. ¡°Eat up! Sounds like we still have a lot of work to do.¡±

 Chapter 32 - Aggravation

    "A samurai can turn anything into a weapon if they want to. Bullets and Lasers? Kids stuff. You ever seen someone kill the antithesis with a tree? Beat them to death with a dildo? Evaporate a horde with a cow launched at near the speed of light? Or clawed to death by a weaponized raccoon? Because I have."

    -Deirdre ¡®Hel¡¯ Myers

    ¡ª

    ¡°How did I make so many points at the pet shop anyways?¡± I asked as I pulled on my new ¡®greaves¡¯. They just looked like a regular pair of leather knee high boots, but molded to my leg like a second skin. I kicked a support beam and felt the boots harden around the point of impact, I didn¡¯t feel anything. I turned to find Emily giving me the evil eye. ¡°Sorry,¡± I mumbled. ¡°I won''t use your APC to test any more of my equipment.¡±

    Ratchet snorted from her position, laying flat on her back on Howie, trying to get the regular ammunition reset now that we were no longer sitting under the never ending cloud of Ones. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. As long as you don¡¯t do anything to twist everything into an unrecognizable shape, I can fix it.¡± She slammed the ammo feed closed then slid off the top of the bot before snatching up her half finished sandwich. I nodded towards her before turning back towards the front and addressing Artymis.

    [So, how did I make so many points?] I asked again.

    The Elevens are worth a decent amount, a hundred points each, but the reward was split three ways. Your biggest payout came from the Sevens. There were a significant amount of the creatures still hiding in the seedpod, which gave you a significant bump in points.

    [Wait¡­ how do you know that? You told me that I¡¯d be lucky to pay off the catalyst with the number of worms in the basement.]

    That was true, based upon the information you had at the time. Since you didn¡¯t use your glasses to look at the seedpod you had no way of knowing there were more Sevens. I¡¯m able to scan the entire planet down to the molecular level, but cannot provide you with that information unless you unlock the relevant catalogs. It would be cheating to give you access to that much information for free.

    [It would be extremely helpful to Skyler and I] I pouted

    The Protectors sent us here to help you learn, and uplift your race over time. How would you learn, and grow, if you relied upon us to do everything?

    [Fine, I see your point. I guess Skyler and I are just going to have to invest in more sensor techs in the future, so you can provide us with that information.]

    That¡¯s the spirit. Now ready for that sword?

    I bounced on the balls of my feet for another few seconds, trying to get used to the feeling of my new boots, before finally nodding. [Give it to me.]

    Instead of a plastic box, the weapon appeared on the bench next to me, sitting on a plastic display stand. The sheath was a dark crimson color, and appeared to be covered in an ornate black and gold inlay pattern. As soon as I picked up the sheath I could feel how well balanced the weapon was, without even having to pull it.

    The ¡®Rending Wind¡¯ Monomolecular Disintegrator Blade. While your previous blade was extremely sharp, it still relied on the physical blade to do damage. This blade has a built in field emitter that coats the cutting edge with an energy which disintegrates matter at a molecular level. Watch your fingers with that. The field can even be extended, to deal with larger targets, by pressing that button at the top of the hilt. I recommend you use this ability sparingly, as it drains the emitter¡¯s power quite quickly.

    As I drew the sword the back of the APC was filled with a quiet hum. The blade was engraved with some symbols that I didn¡¯t recognize, and the cutting edge glowed with a faint purple color. It was mesmerizing.

    I would not recommend swinging that in here. I know you don¡¯t actually care for the numbers, but the Class II Blades in the Dark catalog cost three hundred points, and a token. The blade cost you two hundred fifty, and the boots fifty.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    I carefully eased the sword back into its sheath. [Six hundred? That¡¯s it?]

    That¡¯s more than three times what you paid for the original catalog, and more than twice what you paid for the first sword. You only have twenty six points left.

    [I¡¯ll make do] I replied as I slowly detached my first blade, securing it in a corner of the APC, before attaching my new weapon.

    ¡°Alright, now we¡¯ve eaten,¡± Emily started as she stood up and brushed the crumbs off her mouth, ¡°and you¡¯ve finished your shopping spree, we should probably discuss where to go next.¡±

    ¡°I vote we skip the next location!¡± Skyler said as she jumped to her feet, before shifting over towards the display.

    ¡°Why? What¡¯s the next location?¡± I asked suspiciously.

    ¡°It¡¯ll only make you mad¡­¡± Skyler warned, but I still reached over and changed the display to show our objective locations. I quickly located the closest location to us.

    ¡°You have to be fucking with me,¡± I muttered.

    ¡°What? Is there a problem with the next location?¡± Emily asked, confused.

    ¡°Not the location, just the owner,¡± I growled. ¡°It¡¯s the Tanaka Industries sales office. Why am I not surprised that the slimeball cut corners instead of installing proper shelters in his buildings?¡± Emily eyed me up. I could see she was dying to ask me more, but she was too polite to do so. ¡°Hwan Tanaka is my father, and a real bastard,¡± I said, somehow managing to keep the vitriol I felt out of my voice. Emily¡¯s eyebrows rose a couple inches at my explanation. ¡°That being said, his employees don¡¯t deserve to be abandoned just because the one they¡¯re working for is the world¡¯s biggest asshole!¡± the longer I talked the more my voice raised, until I shouted the last part.

    Skyler pulled me into a hug, slowly stroking my hair while I tried to calm down. ¡°That asshole really pushed your buttons today, didn¡¯t he? I thought you brushed off the meeting a little too fast earlier.¡± It took me a minute to get myself under control, and when I did Skyler put her head against mine. ¡°Are you sure you want to go to the office? No one would blame you if you wanted to skip it.¡±

    I nodded slightly. ¡°I meant what I said earlier. I can¡¯t blame those people for working for a shitty boss, they deserve to be protected just like everyone else,¡± I told her quietly.

    ¡°Alright,¡± she pulled me in for a long hug then stepped back. ¡°Next stop, the Tanaka Industries sales office,¡± she announced loudly.

    Emily nodded slowly, eyeing me up for a second before leaning down to let Jockey know.

    We made the rest of the trip in relative silence. I spent that time trying to center myself, and separate my feelings for my father from those people inside, while Skyler gently rested her head on my shoulder, just supporting me with her presence.

    The APC came to a slow stop. The cannon barked a couple times, but didn¡¯t need to fire consistently like the previous locations.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to take off Lala. I know you want to protect her, but she¡¯ll be safer in the APC than in that building,¡± I told Skyler. I caught her pouting out of the corner of my eye as I stepped away, but she still put the kitty down.

    I quickly made my way to the back of the vehicle, then jumped out before the ramp fully lowered. The area was completely dark. The sun had fallen behind the surrounding buildings, and the power was still out, so I had to flick my glasses to night vision mode. The surrounding area was clear of antithesis, but I could see signs of their presence everywhere. Broken windows and dug up greenery, but I didn¡¯t see more than a few antithesis bodies around the area.

    ¡°Maybe they already moved to another location?¡± Skyler suggested as she slipped down the ramp to join me. Her mask glowed slightly, probably with its own night vision mode.

    ¡°Do they do that?¡± I asked.

    ¡°There are only two reasons for the antithesis to leave an area, either they¡¯ve consumed all the biomass in the area, or a hive has developed nearby and they¡¯re delivering biomass to it,¡± Bulldog declared as he sauntered down the ramp.

    I noticed the entire team had both shoulder mounted, and gun mounted flashlights to light up their way. Practical. ¡°Let¡¯s hope there¡¯s a third option you haven¡¯t witnessed before,¡± I replied before I finally turned to face the Tanaka Industries building. It was a fairly large office building, about nine or ten stories tall and absolutely covered in glass windows. Nearly half of the ground floor windows were shattered. ¡°What floor is this shelter located on?¡± I asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s one in the basement, a second on the third floor, and a third on the ninth,¡± Emily reported. ¡°According to the file all three lacked a generator the last time they were inspected, but were supposed to have them installed at a later date.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well, I doubt that actually happened,¡± I muttered to myself. I took a deep breath to steady myself, then took a couple steps forward. ¡°Let''s see how bad the damage is,¡± I said.

 Chapter 33 - Sales

    Why did I torch the entire building? Because there were antithesis in there. It would have taken hours to clear the place, and the people were safe in the shelters, I was just being efficient.

    -Firebug, on the burning of the Northern Bay housing complex

    ¡ª

    I gently pushed open the front doors of the Tanaka Industries building and glanced around the lobby. I half expected the place to be filled with antithesis, but the area was empty.

    The place was an absolute mess, all the desks were smashed, plants toppled, and doors had been smashed open. The most surprising thing was there were about a dozen dead antithesis scattered around the area.

    Emily silently signalled for Skyler and I to come closer, so I slipped back towards her. ¡°Does Tanaka Industries post defenses in their facilities?¡± she asked quietly.

    ¡°They have guards, and maybe an incursion expert in most complexes,¡± I whispered back, ¡°but that¡¯s standard for most companies. Only the essential buildings will have anything bigger, why?¡±

    The PMC captain gestured to the collapsed wall to her right. I didn¡¯t see what she was pointing at, but Skyler did. ¡°Are those, bullet holes?¡± She hissed. ¡°What kind of weapon could do something like that?¡±

    I stared at Skyler for a minute, then back at the wall again. Only then did I catch what she noticed earlier. I thought maybe something big, like a Model Twelve had smashed its way through, but the perimeter had a series of semi uniform holes blown out of it until it collapsed. Something big.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, the damage is pretty excessive. I¡¯d say a heavy machine gun, if not an autocannon. Neither of those are something you just carry around, they¡¯re typically vehicle mounted weapons,¡± Emily explained. ¡°I¡¯d say maybe a samurai came through here, but I think command would have said something.¡±

    ¡°So let me rephrase my earlier question,¡± Emily said quietly. ¡°What kind of defenses does Tanaka have in its ¡®essential¡¯ facilities?¡±

    I paused, and thought back to the last time I¡¯d actually BEEN in one of those buildings. ¡°A special response team, all with military grade cybernetics, and maybe a couple of heavy security bots,¡± I replied slowly, ¡°but I haven¡¯t been to one of those facilities in years, so I can¡¯t say for sure.¡±

    ¡°Look, the Nimbleland androids were one thing, they weren¡¯t armed, but I REALLY don¡¯t recommend wandering into a building with something toting a heavy machine gun,¡± Steve hissed. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t recognize our authority it¡¯ll rip us to shreds.¡±

    Emily nodded. ¡°Unless you two have a way to figure out what did this, or better yet have a way to shut it down, I¡¯m not going to risk my squad.¡±

    I glanced over at Skyler. {Rei: Any ideas?}

    {Sky: I can send my drones ahead and perform a room by room search, but I only have a couple so that¡¯ll take awhile. Even if they find something, I can¡¯t exactly deal with it while it¡¯s inside.} Skyler looked directly at my face, and narrowed her eyes. {And don¡¯t even think about offering to deal with it yourself. I have a feeling that one wrong move and that heavy machine gun will end you, shield or not.}

    {Rei: So we back off?}

    {Athy: I have a suggestion. Even if Skyler doesn¡¯t have a ton of points, she does have enough to unlock the Class I Basic Cyberwarfare Utilities Catalog. This would allow her to upgrade both her implant with system intrusion protocols, and the drones with network interfaces. If it is a bot, or even someone with Cybernetics, you could shut them down remotely.}

    {Sky: Why didn¡¯t you bring this up when we were at Nimbleland? It would have been useful against the androids.}

    {Athy: You didn¡¯t have the points when we entered the park, and you ultimately didn¡¯t need it to deal with the handful of hostile androids we ran into. You also didn¡¯t seem that interested in network intrusion, so it¡¯s been low on the list of recommended catalogs. I only bring it up now because I do not see another alternative. Either one of you invests in network intrusion, or we back off.}The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    {Rei: And I just used all my points. Sorry.}

    {Sky: Don¡¯t apologize. If that new blade keeps you alive, it¡¯ll be worth it.} She paused for a moment, thinking. {How much will this upgrade put me back?}

    {Athy: The Class I Basic Cyberwarfare Utilities Catalog costs a hundred, Mark II Cyberwarfare Augmentation will cost you fifty, and the Network Interfaces will cost you ten each. So about a third of your remaining points.}

    {Rei: Little bit pricy.}

    {Sky: Let¡¯s do it!}

    I glanced at her, surprised at how fast she accepted.

    {Sky: Hey, we can¡¯t clear this building without it, and one of us will probably need the ability to access cameras and computers in the future. Plus, it¡¯ll probably make it easier for me to find incriminating evidence when someone attacks your mom in the future.}

    {Rei: I somehow doubt you¡¯ll have the time to perform your full attorney duties in the future.}

    {Sky: Then I better invest in time savers! Athyna, please make the purchases!}

    A pile of boxes appeared at Skyler¡¯s feet, which she separated into two piles. She took the smaller pile, and handed me the larger. ¡°I¡¯ve summoned my drones, please attach these to them while I deal with the implant,¡± she asked me before popping open one of her other boxes.

    ¡°I take it you two have an idea?¡± Emily asked as I slowly opened one of the boxes in my arms. The sensor looked somewhat like a head mounted flashlight.

    ¡°Sort of¡­ Skyler¡¯s AI suggested equipping her drones with remote hacking capabilities. That way she can both scout ahead of us, and shut down anything particularly dangerous,¡± I replied.

    ¡°And if the thing can¡¯t be accessed remotely?¡± Emily asked.

    I paused. ¡°Then we leave,¡± I admitted after a few seconds. ¡°I seriously doubt my dad would install something that dangerous and not leave himself a backdoor to control it, or at least shut it down, but if we can¡¯t deal with it, there¡¯s no point in risking everyone¡¯s lives.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Emily replied.

    She stepped away, apparently satisfied with my answer, leaving me with the small line-up of drones which had assembled in front of me. I grabbed the top flashlight and inspected the nearest drone. The drone was shaped like a flattened donut made of metal. It had a single optical array on the front, and a hover system embedded in the middle, but I didn¡¯t see a single port anywhere to plug the interface into.

    Take the sensor and press it firmly against the bottom of the drone, just under the optical array. Make sure the interface is facing forward. Artymis instructed me.

    ¡°Thanks. I didn¡¯t need that last reminder, but I appreciate the instructions,¡± I whispered as I flipped the little sensor around and placed it against the drone. The sensor hissed for a second, and when I let the thing go it had somehow melded seamlessly with the drone.

    The sensors have a small payload of nanites that both allow it to merge with the drone, and connect to its systems.

    ¡°The miracles of futuristic technology,¡± I mumbled as I discarded the top box and grabbed the next device. It only took a minute to go down the line and install them all to the five drones. When I turned back to Skyler she was shaking her head slightly. ¡°You okay?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Fine. The implant installation was just a little more intense than I expected. Good to go,¡± Skyler replied with a smile. As soon as she stood up straight her drones shot down the hallway and disappeared into the staircase. ¡°The drones can already detect a signal, about two floors up, but they¡¯re too far away to connect, sending them up to investigate,¡± she reported.

    As the drones ascended Skyler started broadcasting their visuals to the squad, so everyone could take a look. The view point was a little disorienting, since the drones were flying at different heights, but it didn¡¯t take me long to get a hang of things.

    The little mechanical swarm zoomed over the banister of the third floor, and through the busted door. The third floor was filled with smashed up cubicles, and a half dozen dead antithesis, but what really attracted my attention was the mechanical horror at the far side of the room. It had eight slim legs, connected to a wide, flat body. It was just narrow enough to fit through doors, if it tucked its legs in, but it had to be close to eight feet wide now that they were all fully extended. The most fighting thing was it had some sort of massive turret mounted on it¡¯s back.

    The turret swivelled, and targeted the drones as they came in. It hesitated, just for a moment, then slumped over.

    ¡°It¡¯s clear,¡± Skyler called out.

    ¡°What the hell is that,¡± Emily hissed. ¡°That¡¯s military grade.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I replied slowly. ¡°The bots they used to use were big, heavily armored things. Meant to take a beating, and scare off anyone stupid enough to come close. That thing¡­ it looked like a killer.¡±

    ¡°Either your dad really stepped up his defenses at all his facilities,¡± Skyler hissed as her drones orbited the robot, ¡°or this isn¡¯t a sales office.¡±

    I just nodded in response.

 Chapter 34 - Monitors

    Insurance is such a scam these days. Most places require you to have antithesis insurance, to cover building losses in case of an incursion, but what most won¡¯t tell you is that they all have a clause that waives them of any and all responsibility if the damage was caused by a samurai. It turns out that some samurai are able to cause so much damage that many insurance companies put an ¡®Act of Samurai¡¯ clause into their contracts. How is that fair?

    -Top insurance complaint between 2030 and 2034

    ¡ª

    ¡°I¡¯m picking up more signals near the top of the building, but they¡¯re not moving. Should I send the drones to take care of them?¡± Skyler asked.

    Emily bit her lip for a minute as she considered, then shook her head. ¡°Bring them back for now. I think it¡¯s safer to keep them nearby in incase something wakes up while we¡¯re moving about,¡± she declared.

    ¡°Right, good call,¡± I mumbled as I cut my connection to the drones. I¡¯d seen enough to know my father had put some serious security at this facility, that probably meant he was hiding something, but it also might have been enough to keep the people in the shelters alive. One could hope anyways. ¡°So, downstairs first?¡±

    ¡°Sure, as long as you go first,¡± Steve mumbled quietly. I shot the man a dirty look, but ultimately decided to ignore him.

    I waited by the stairway door until Skyler¡¯s drones rushed past before I started heading downwards. I made a mental note to allow Skyler to clear rooms before entering from now on, robot or not, I¡¯d already walked into a couple bad situations. Time to stop that.

    The basement door was bent, so heavily damaged that it¡¯d never open again, but intact. I paused for a moment, then drew my sword. ¡°I¡¯m going to try and cut open the top so the drones can get through. If it¡¯s clear, I¡¯ll open it further so we can follow.¡±

    ¡°Sounds reasonable,¡± Skyler replied. ¡°You think the blade will be able to cut through solid metal?¡±

    ¡°For the price I paid, it better,¡± I grumbled. I carefully placed the blade against the twisted corner of the door and pressed down. I¡¯d only meant it to experiment, to see if the blade could even cut the metal, what I didn¡¯t expect is for the blade to hiss quietly, and cut through the metal like it wasn¡¯t even there. I flicked the blade, almost casually, and a corner of the mangled wreck fell away.

    When I turned away from the door, making room for the drones, everyone was staring at me. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ a little sharper than I expected,¡± I said with a small smile.

    Emily just nodded. ¡°So it seems. Careful where you point that thing,¡± she mumbled in response.

    It only took a minute for Skyler to clear the area. ¡°Just a shelter and some maintenance rooms, nothing else,¡± she reported. The comms panel was lit up, so the shelter must have power.

    ¡°Right, opening it up, stand clear,¡± I declared, as I stepped closer to the mangled door. All it took was a single precise vertical stroke, aimed just inside the hinges to cut the metal door loose. Despite the much faster attack, I still didn¡¯t feel any resistance. I was so distracted by that fact that I barely had time to sidestep as the entire thing came crashing down. Skyler flinched as the massive clang echoed back up the concrete staircase.

    ¡°You might want to send one of your drones back up the stairs, just to make sure that didn¡¯t attract any attention,¡± Emily said dryly, staring my way.

    While Skyler posted a scout behind us I carefully resheathed my sword. I knew it was strong, but this was scary strong. I had to show extra respect to this blade.

    Emily took point as we entered the basement, sweeping her light around as she approached the massive, reinforced door at the far side of the room. I let the rest of the team follow, then entered last, keeping an eye out just in case something came down the stairs. Apparently I¡¯d been lucky and those bots up stairs hadn¡¯t come down to investigate.

    Skyler practically skipped to the shelter, hammering her finger down on the cams button. ¡°It¡¯s full, and it looks like everyone¡¯s okay!¡± she reported. ¡°Guess your old man did install the generators, as promised.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ I wonder why that is?¡± I grumbled in reply.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    ¡°This place was inspected and Tanaka Industries was told they need to upgrade the systems, do you really think they¡¯d just ignore government mandates?¡± Steve asked.

    ¡°If they thought they could save a few bucks, absolutely,¡± I grunted.

    By the time I¡¯d made it to the shelter Emily had already stepped over and engaged the comms. ¡°My name is Emily Baker, I need to speak to whoever¡¯s in charge,¡± she said to the screen.

    There was a moment of silence, then a quiet female voice drifted out of the monitor. ¡°I guess that would be me ma¡¯am. My name¡¯s Katie Sanderson, I¡¯m the head secretary.¡±

    ¡°First of all, did everyone manage to evacuate properly? Are you safe there?¡± Emily asked.

    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am. We do regular drills and I did a full headcount when we closed the doors. Everyone from floor one down made it, we even had a couple visitors here.¡± Katie replied, apparently proud of the fact.

    ¡°Good. The incursion is still ongoing, so we can¡¯t evacuate you right now, but someone will be by as soon as possible,¡± Emily paused. ¡°Did the other shelters also have backup power installed?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely ma¡¯am. The entire building went through a retrofit a couple months ago, everything is up to code now!¡± Katie said excitedly. ¡°Can you imagine what it would be like if they hadn¡¯t? We¡¯d be sitting in the dark.¡±

    ¡°I can imagine,¡± Emily replied patiently. ¡°It¡¯s the reason why we stopped by, the last time these shelters were inspected they weren¡¯t up to code. We wanted to check on everyone.¡± She paused again, ¡°What can you tell me about the bots, do you know how many there are on the premises? Why were they installed?¡±

    ¡°Bots?¡± Katie replied, confused. There was the sound of whispering on the other side of the monitor. ¡°Oh, you mean the monitors? Headquarters installed them a couple months ago when they performed the shelter upgrades, about the same time we started taking VIP clients.¡±

    ¡°VIP clients?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am. I don¡¯t know much, I don¡¯t have clearance to go up there, but they completely rebuilt the top floor to cater to VIPs. They park on the roof, get a private consultation, then leave, that¡¯s all I know,¡± Katie reported.

    ¡°The top floor, where the other two ¡®monitors¡¯ are?¡± I asked suspiciously.

    ¡°Maybe? Again, that¡¯s above my paygrade,¡± Katie said.

    ¡°Alright, thanks for the information Ms. Sanderson. Just concentrate on keeping your people calm, this¡¯ll all be over soon,¡± Emily told the woman.

    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am! I can do that!¡± Katie replied. She certainly was upbeat for someone stuck in a concrete room in the middle of an alien invasion.

    Emily cut the connection. ¡°So not only should all three shelters be clear, but they have military hardware wandering around to protect the place. Doubt we need to worry about the other two,¡± she announced.

    ¡°You¡¯re probably right,¡± I started hesitantly, ¡°but I¡¯d still like to check upstairs.¡±

    ¡°You still don¡¯t trust your old man¡¯s on the up and up?¡± Steve asked sarcastically. ¡°After seeing this? You ever consider you may just be biased against him."

    ¡°And maybe you¡¯ve never met the man,¡± I snapped at him. ¡°You certainly don¡¯t know him like I do. He would absolutely let those people die, if he thought it would have made him money in the long run. The fact that he spent all this time and money probably means this ¡®VIP¡¯ area must be pretty special. I want to check it out.¡±

    ¡°We should check out the other shelters, just in case,¡± Skyler added, trying to support my decision.

    ¡°Look, you don¡¯t have to try and convince me, you two technically outrank me,¡± Emily explained. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t order me to intentionally place my squad in danger, or abandon you, we have to follow.¡±

    ¡°Right. I forgot about that,¡± I replied quietly, before straightening up. ¡°Checking the other two shelters is still our priority, but I¡¯m going to check out this ¡®VIP¡¯ area before we leave.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the boss,¡± Bulldog grunted. ¡°Back up we go.¡±

    I took the lead, jogging back to the stairs, pausing just for a moment to both look and listen. I could hear gunfire echoing down the stairs, it sounded like it was coming from outside, so I glanced back at Emily.

    She didn¡¯t hesitate, she immediately activated the radio hanging from her vest. ¡°Jockey, how are things looking out there?¡± Emily asked.

    ¡°Got some stragglers in the street now boss, not that many, the gun is handling it,¡± Jockey¡¯s reply squawked out of the tiny radio.

    ¡°Right, let me know the instant the situation changes,¡± Emily said, letting go of her mic.

    ¡°That ¡®monitor¡¯ must have killed everything at street level, then chased down the stragglers upstairs,¡± Skyler suggested, ¡°and now that it¡¯s disabled the antithesis are wandering back into the area.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that must be it,¡± Bulldog agreed, but I could see that he didn¡¯t fully believe it. Something felt off.

    ¡°Let''s get moving,¡± Emily suggested. ¡°You saw what can happen if we sit around for too long at the pet shop, I¡¯d prefer if we avoided a repeat performance.¡±

    ¡°Then up we go,¡± I declared.

 Chapter 35 - Top Floor Treatment

    Cybernetics have improved by leaps and bounds over the years. They¡¯ve gone from prosthetics which make someone¡¯s life easier, to limbs that people willingly install in order to increase their strength many times over. They¡¯ve become so commonplace that nearly every person on the planet gets augs installed in their head to access the information networks, and communicate with others. But is this rampant cybernetic adoption good, or is there a downside?

    -Rejected research topic for Tanaka Industries research division

    ¡ª

    It didn¡¯t take long for us to make our way up to the third floor shelter, and check it. That ¡®Monitor¡¯ had done an extremely thorough job of cleaning out the place, as evidenced by the sheer number of dead antithesis, and damage to the surrounding structure.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t more places use automated defenses like those robots?¡± Steve asked as we approached the third shelter.

    ¡°They¡¯re fucking expensive, that¡¯s why,¡± Bulldog spat. ¡°Just one of those things costs more than our entire APC. Plus it¡¯s super hard for civilians to get permits for heavy weapons.¡±

    ¡°Cut the chatter and watch your corners,¡± Emily snapped as we stepped onto the seventh floor, where the last shelter was. Unlike the previous floors, which were pretty standard for an office, this floor was completely empty. There was nothing except for the shelter.

    As I approached the shelter, a camera on the exterior blinked to life. ¡°Are you the corporate evacuation team? It¡¯s about time, I need to get out of here,¡± a voice echoed out of the shelter console. It sounded sort of like an elderly man, but it was hard to tell through the static.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not,¡± Skyler replied with an easy smile as she approached the console. ¡°My partner and I are samurai. We were asked to check on a series of high risk shelters when the power went out, and this one was on the list.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not with corporate?¡± the voice asked. ¡°Well, as you can see this shelter is state of the art, nothing to worry about. You may leave now!¡±

    ¡°You seemed desperate to leave just seconds ago, now you want us to leave? Who exactly are we talking to?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m no one! Leave me alone!¡± the voice snapped.

    I glanced over at Skyler, who shrugged. ¡°Is there anyone else in there? We need to confirm that everyone is alright.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the only one in here,¡± the voice scoffed. ¡°This shelter is reserved for myself, and VIP clients. It''s stuffed with enough supplies to last months, so leave me alone already!¡± the voice raged.

    ¡°Fine,¡± Emily snapped. ¡°Right after we confirm your story.¡± She stepped up to the console and hit ¡®Cams¡¯ on the display, and a moment later the screen displayed the inside of the shelter. The interior looked more like a high class apartment than a shelter, with couches, media displays, and even an auto chef. In the middle of the room was an older gentleman, staring angrily at the camera. He was well groomed, wearing fine clothes.

    ¡°Satisfied?¡± the speaker shrieked. ¡°Now leave.¡±

    Emily sighed, and started to cut the connection, but Skyler stopped her. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± she whispered, pointing to a crumpled piece of cloth hastily hidden in a corner. I¡¯m sure it wouldn¡¯t have stood out in a regular shelter, but this place was otherwise pristine. Emily zoomed in, it was grainy, but it looked kind of like a doctor¡¯s coat.

    ¡°What would a doctor be doing here?¡± I mumbled.

    The man¡¯s eyes widened slightly. ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. I¡¯m head of sales. Now leave!¡± he yelled.

    ¡°Can you cut his comms?¡± I growled, ¡°I¡¯m kind of tired of listening to his yelling.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an independent circuit, not connected to the shelter failsafes,¡± Skyler replied. ¡°You¡¯ll just have to put up with him.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s leave, he¡¯s obviously not going to cooperate,¡± I said, glancing at the video camera that was following us. ¡°We have other things to do.¡±

    ¡°GET LOST!¡± the man yelled again.

    ¡°Fine,¡± Skyler huffed, before shutting down the internal cams and stepping away from the console.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    As we headed towards the stairs the comms roared to life again, ¡°On behalf of Tanaka Industries I bid you, good day!¡± the old man yelled.

    ¡°What the fuck was that?¡± Steve growled as we entered the staircase. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone act like that.¡±

    ¡°I have,¡± I replied as I strode up the stairs towards the VIP wing. ¡°Usually when one of my father¡¯s henchmen gets caught doing something seedy. If you refuse to talk you won¡¯t give up any secrets, or incriminate yourself for doing something seedy.¡±

    Unlike the other floors the tenth floor was sealed with a heavy security door. I carefully placed my hand on the panel, and was immediately rejected.

    {Athy: Requires both a genetic match and security key, isolated from the local network for extra security.}

    {Rei: Pretty standard for top end corporations, keeps hackers from ever popping them open remotely. Expensive though.}

    {Athy: Your security bypass should work on it. It won¡¯t be as quick as popping open that shelter earlier, but still possible.}

    {Sky: You have a security bypass catalog? Why did I need to pick up hacking then?}

    {Rei: It¡¯s connected to my own key store. I¡¯m pretty sure I can¡¯t use it remotely, but it¡¯s good against isolated systems, like shelters. Or security doors.}

    I placed my hand on the panel again, and this time I pushed against the device. ¡®Open up¡¯ I thought. The panel blinked, processing for several long seconds, before the door opened.

    ¡°I know who to call if I ever forget my keys,¡± Bulldog chuckled.

    ¡°Skyler¡­ you said there were two more monitors here?¡± I asked quietly. She nodded, then carefully sent her drones through the door. I could hear them spread out beyond the door, and after a few seconds there was a moment of gunfire.

    Skyler let out a shaky breath, ¡°That was a close one. Second bot came in while I was deactivating the first. Nearly lost a couple drones.¡±

    ¡°Is it safe now?¡± I asked. Skyler nodded.

    I stepped off the landing into what looked like a super high end cybernetics boutique. There were cases containing the newest, sleekest Tanaka cybernetics set out for high end clients. Someone whistled.

    ¡°Fancy! Don¡¯t see anything illegal though,¡± Steve huffed. I ignored him and passed through the first room, into a second. This room had walls completely covered in different combat cybernetics. The kind that my father¡¯s goons typically had installed, the kind that weren¡¯t exactly legal to sell.

    Then again, they weren¡¯t exactly something the government would actually shut down. They¡¯d probably just slap my father with a stiff fine, then let him continue working. That¡¯s the kind of impartial justice you could expect if your company had enough pull.

    Next to the combat room was a waiting room, and beyond that a high tech surgical suite. I could see the massive automated surgery bot hanging above the bed, a hundreds armed monstrosity armed with every surgical tool imaginable. It was capable of better medical care than any doctor, assuming you didn¡¯t flinch while it was working. On the wall there was a picture of the man from the shelter, along with half a dozen medical diplomas for ¡®Anton Jenkins¡¯.

    ¡°On site installations? I doubt it¡¯s registered with the city, but I can definitely see how this place would attract a higher class of clientele,¡± Skyler muttered.

    I nodded and wandered into the last room. For some reason both the Monitors were in this room, positioned in the corner of the much smaller room. This room seemed to consist entirely of intricate glass display cases that contained a variety of augs and brain implants. I bent down to check the nearest model, and immediately regretted it.

    ¡°That fucking bastard,¡± I swore loudly, barely keeping my rage under control.

    Skyler and the others piled into the room after me. ¡°What is it?¡± Skyler asked.

    I pointed at the closest implant. ¡°Personality override implant,¡± shifted to point at the next one, ¡°Mental adjustment System,¡± and then a third, ¡°Complete body override.¡±

    ¡°A Puppet implant?¡± Bulldog growled. ¡°That¡¯s fucked up!¡±

    ¡°And highly illegal, since it¡¯s a little too close to full on slavery for the lawmakers,¡± Skyler spat. ¡°I knew your dad was a bastard, but I didn¡¯t think he was that bad. Selling shit like this?¡±

    ¡°That fucking asshole,¡± I muttered coldly. ¡°It¡¯s bad enough that he¡¯s ruining my grandfather¡¯s company, but if this got out it would completely tarnish my grandfather¡¯s memory too. I¡¯m going to KILL him.¡±

    ¡°Calm down,¡± Skyler whispered as she pulled me into an embrace. ¡°Deep breaths, in and out. We don¡¯t have to report this right away; We can take some time to think of the best way to handle it, ok?¡±

    I nodded slightly. ¡°Maybe we can get the government to handle this discreetly. A favor to the samurai.¡±

    {Athy: We can also use Skyler¡¯s hacking to help suppress some of the news, if it does get out. We can handle it.}

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I whispered. I wipped my face as I pulled away from Skyler. ¡°I knew the idiot would be doing something stupid up here, just not this stupid.¡±

    ¡°You really don¡¯t want to report this right away?¡± Bulldog asked quietly.

    I hesitated for a moment, then shook my head. ¡°My father deserves whatever he gets, I just need a little time to think first. Can you please hold off for me?¡± The big man nodded slowly, so I patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    I took a deep breath then looked at the rest of the squad. I somehow even managed to put a small smile on my face. ¡°Well, my curiosity is sated, how about we head back to the APC? We still have shelters to check.¡±

 Chapter 36 - A Short Walk

    Fighting the antithesis is straightforward. All they do is charge your location. How could anyone get surprised by them?

    -Jacob ¡®Armstrong¡¯ Malley, Two hours before death

    ¨C

    When we finally made it back to the ground floor, I noticed the APC wasn¡¯t firing any more. I quickly peeked into the lobby, just to make sure there wasn¡¯t anything waiting for us, before I headed back towards the APC.

    I made it as far as the front door when I noticed a Model Six sitting in a nearby alley, watching me. As soon as I turned towards it, it disappeared back into the alley. ¡°Did you see that?¡± I asked over my shoulder.

    ¡°What? Skyler asked as she stepped up next to me.

    ¡°I swear that I saw a Model Six, but it ran away when I spotted it,¡± I said, still staring at the alley.

    ¡°The antithesis don¡¯t run away. They swarm the target until either they¡¯re dead, or you are,¡± Steve grunted as he passed me and stepped outside.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting really tired of your attitude,¡± I hissed. ¡°After everything we¡¯ve encountered today, you¡¯re going to say I¡¯m seeing things?¡±

    ¡°Are you sure you saw a Six?¡± Emily asked quietly, raising her rifle cautiously.

    I hesitated just for a moment, then nodded. ¡°I swear it was watching us.¡±

    Skyler stepped up next to me and squinted towards the alley. Nothing moved. ¡°I believe you,¡± she whispered, ¡°do you want me to check it with my drones?¡±

    I bit my lip for a moment, then shook my head. ¡°Lets just head back to the APC, the sooner we get out of here the better,¡± I said as I stepped outside. Not taking my eyes off the Alley.

    The squad only managed to get halfway to the APC when everything went to shit. The building across the street exploded, and a massive armored monster charged across the street, cutting us off from the APC. It looked like a centipede, but it was easily eight feet tall and long enough to prevent us from going around it. At the same moment the massive centipede cut us off, a huge wave of antithesis flooded out of the alley and surrounding buildings.

    ¡°What the hell is this?¡± Bulldog growled as he put rounds into the leading antithesis. His gun was good, but it still took several shots to put down each creature, and there were hundreds of them.

    ¡°Back inside,¡± Skyler yelled as Howie opened up. The artillery bot started putting dozens of needle rounds into the approaching wave as it slowly retreated up the stairs, but even that wasn¡¯t enough to slow them down for long.

    ¡°Call Jockey!¡± I yelled over the gunfire. ¡°Tell her to try and get around that thing and meet us at the back of the building.¡±

    Emily nodded as she ran past, yelling into her radio.

    {Rei: What the fuck is that thing? Where did it come from?}

    {Athy: Model Fourteen, heavy tank and transport.}

    {Rei: Do they normally ambush people like this?}

    {Arty: No, they¡¯re pretty basic, even by antithesis standards. This was coordinated, way beyond what most antithesis are capable of.}The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    {Athy: The Seventeen. It must have sent scouts out to find the APC after we escaped earlier.}

    {Sky: It¡¯s that smart?!?!}

    {Athy: Seventeens are planners, capable of setting up complex ambushes and battle plans. Their strategic intellect rivals that of some humans.}

    {Rei: Why the fuck would it be tracking us?}

    {Arty: They¡¯re more than capable of identifying threats to the swarm, and evaluating if its forces are capable of eliminating them.}

    {Sky: You mean it¡¯s targeting us, it knows we¡¯re samurai?}

    {Athy: Most likely.}

    As the squad retreated back towards the stairs I placed myself in the choke point between the elevators. ¡°Find a way through this floor,¡± I screamed as the first Three grew ever closer. ¡°If we go up, we¡¯ll be trapped here!¡±

    ¡°On it!¡± Bulldog yelled back. I could hear him smashing into the various doors behind me, but I didn¡¯t dare look back, the antithesis were already on top of me.

    I drew my blade and cut through the closest Three¡¯s head, opening it up all the way down to the neck. The two Threes on either side turned and tried to catch me in a pincer attack. I jumped back, letting the two of them collide mid air, before cutting them both down with a single strike. Even before those two hit the ground, a fourth and a fifth charged me. I moved almost entirely on instinct, just barely keeping ahead of the massive onslaught until something popped above the mob. Needles rained down upon the antithesis, thinning out the closest antithesis a little. Then another, and another, slowly giving me room to breathe.

    Just as the Fours started pressing in I finally heard Bulldog yell, ¡°Here!¡±

    ¡°Go!¡± I yelled back, as I started a fighting retreat. I quickly removed the tentacles from Fours whenever they poked at me, trying to both pay attention to my footing and my foes, when someone grabbed me and yanked me backwards through a door.

    I had a great view of Bulldog, Steve and Emily slamming the door closed behind me, and bracing it against the antithesis on the other side. ¡°Oh thank god,¡± Skyler whispered in my ear as she gently rested her head against my back. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you were going to make it for a minute.¡±

    ¡°Takes a lot more than that to stop me,¡± I replied quietly. I wanted to turn around and hug her, but something big smashed against the door, causing it to deform slightly. ¡°We really need to get out of here,¡± I whispered harshly as it happened again.

    ¡°This way!¡± Emily declared, as she snapped up her gun and started sprinting the corridor we were stuck in. The rest of the team didn¡¯t need any prompting, and immediately took off after her.

    The corridor was narrow, and seemed to connect to a lot of supply rooms, and utility closets. We had to take a couple twists and turns before the corridor ended at a door labeled ¡®Parking Access¡¯. I could see there was a thick chain padlocked between the handle and a thick pole bolted to the wall.

    ¡°Fuck,¡± was all Emily said before I yelled.

    ¡°Get out of the way!¡± Emily just barely managed to flatten herself against the wall as I stepped past her, bringing my sword down not only through the chain, but the door itself, slicing off the handle and any other locking mechanism it might have. The door smashed open as I hit it at a full sprint, dumping me into the parking lot. I glanced around trying to get my bearings, just as the first antithesis burst around the corner of the building. ¡°Please tell me Jockey is coming,¡± I growled as I prepared to intercept this new tendril of the horde.

    The Threes didn¡¯t get to me. Airburst mortars rained enzymes delivering needles down on the smaller group, while Emily and her team mowed down the rest. While we were dealing with this new threat the bright orange APC skidded around the other side of the building. I watched as the three right tires ever so briefly left the ground, before slamming down and speeding towards us. The ramp was already lowered.

    ¡°Get in!¡± Ratchet yelled from the back as the APC skidded once more, providing the perfect angle for us to pile on. No one argued. As Skyler struggled to quickly load Howie, I heard something rumble deep within the building. As I pushed uselessly at Howie, trying to get the bot on faster, one of the walls further down the corridor collapsed, revealing the head of the fourteen. The creature glanced back and forth for a second, before spotting me and rushing forward. It was bigger than the corridor, and caused the walls to crumble as it advanced, but that didn¡¯t seem to slow it down at all.

    ¡°Go go go!¡± I yelled, as I threw myself past the bot and slammed the door close button. Jockey didn¡¯t waste a second. As the APC pulled away from the building the Fourteen erupted from the wall. It chased us across the parking lot, but as tough as it was, it wasn¡¯t fast. The creature only got about half way across the lot before giving up. That was the last thing I saw before the door slammed shut.

    I collapsed on the bench, careful not to bump the patient that Trevor was monitoring and stared back at the door and struggled to regain my breath. ¡°This is going to be an issue," I huffed.

 Chapter 37 - Group Planning

    There¡¯s an old saying, ¡®No plan survives the first engagement.¡¯ If that¡¯s true, why plan at all? Actions speak louder than plans!

    - Collateral Damage after his rampage through the Vancouver Industrial Sector.

    ¡ª

    ¡°What the fuck was that?¡± Bulldog growled after everyone caught their breath. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen the antithesis act like that!¡±

    ¡°It was the Seventeen, it¡¯s been hunting us since we swooped in and picked up Skyler,¡± I reported. ¡°Apparently it sees us as a threat.¡±

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Ratchet muttered.

    ¡°So what do we do? Retreat back to the command post?¡± Trevor asked. ¡°I¡¯d suggest trying to hunt it down, but I¡¯ve heard stories about the squads that try that, and we have an injured civilian on board.¡±

    ¡°First, we make some space,¡± Emily replied. ¡°Unfortunately it seems to be between us and the sector exit, so we¡¯re doubling back. Skyler, Reina, let¡¯s talk.¡±

    I carefully slid past Howie, careful not to bump Trevor or his charge, and made my way back up to the front of the APC. When I got there, Emily glanced between Skyler and I. ¡°This is bad, extremely bad. The orange zone expanded enough to reach the other sector exits, which has put them on lockdown. If the Seventeen is hunting us our only way out is back out the same way we came in, so we need to either evade that thing or deal with it,¡± she said quietly. ¡°Please tell me you have some ideas¡±

    ¡°Ideas? That thing would have killed me if you guys hadn¡¯t swooped in to rescue Steve, Trevor and I, and even though I¡¯m stronger now, I still don¡¯t even know what the thing looks like,¡± Skyler hissed in frustration. ¡°If there hadn¡¯t been a way through that building, we would have all been dead back there!¡±

    I reached over and grabbed her hand, giving it a quick squeeze of encouragement. ¡°We don¡¯t have any ideas right now,¡± I told Emily, ¡°but give us a couple minutes to talk to our AIs. Maybe we can work something out.¡±

    ¡°Fine, but try and make it quick,¡± Emily grumbled. ¡°Jocky is doubling back to give us some time, but if that thing chases us we¡¯ll quickly get pinned between it, and the orange zone.¡±

    I nodded, then turned back to Skyler. She was still trembling slightly, so I pulled her into a light hug before opening our shared channel.

    {Rei: Tell me everything you can about Seventeens. They must have some weakness that we can take advantage of.}

    {Athy: Of course. First thing you should understand is although they¡¯re extremely smart there are limitations to what they can do. They command the lesser antithesis not through some auditory cues, but through a direct connection. They produce a special version of the model Seven, which they implant into other antithesis.}

    {Arty: These Model Sevens are not independent, but connected back to the model Seventeen through extremely strong, and thin, nerve strands. These strands not only limit the effective range at which they can affect the other antithesis, but provide a way to find the Seventeen.}

    {Athy: And once you locate the Seventeen you shouldn¡¯t have much trouble dispatching it. It¡¯s only about the size of a small dog, and relies upon other antithesis to defend itself.}

    {Rei: How far can it extend these nerve strands? And how many antithesis can it control at the same time?}

    {Arty: It depends on the specific version of the Seventeen, but most can only extend a couple hundred feet, and control about two dozen models.}

    {Sky: Bullshit! There were hundreds of antithesis back at the Tanaka Industries building.}

    {Athy: That¡¯s because Seventeens fight smart, not hard. This model probably implanted most of its control worms in Sixes, Twelves, and Fourteens. Then it used the Sixes to direct smaller models, while providing heavy support with the larger models.}If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    {Rei: I¡¯m not really hearing a weakness yet.}

    {Sky: Wait¡­ If it¡¯s only commanding Sixes, that means it needs time to gather forces, and set up these ambushes. It can¡¯t just throw them together.}

    {Arty: Correct. I would guess it spotted the APC as it approached the Tanaka Industries building, and spent as much time gathering local antithesis as it could before you emerged.}

    I glanced over at Skyler, still not quite grasping what she was talking about. {Rei: How does that help us?}

    {Sky: It probably stretched it¡¯s controlled models out over a large area, to look for us, so if we somehow manage to surprise it we¡¯ll only have to deal with the directly controlled models.}

    {Rei: It was probably directly controlling that Model Fourteen.}

    {Sky: Yes, well, that¡¯ll have to be something we deal with, but it¡¯s better than dealing with the entire local population.}

    {Rei: That¡¯s true¡­}

    {Sky: I have an idea. Athyna, a moment please?}

    Skyler disconnected from the group chat, and started discussing something with her AI. After a few seconds, she turned towards Emily. ¡°Okay, I think I have a solution.¡±

    Emily raised an eyebrow. ¡°Alright, shoot.¡±

    Skyler slipped over to the map display. She inspected it for a few seconds, then pointed to a location several kilometers away from our current location. ¡°We should head around here, then stop the APC for about ten minutes.¡±

    Emily glanced my way, obviously confused. Unfortunately I couldn¡¯t exactly help her with this one. ¡°How will that help us?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to upgrade my drones with precision sensors, then release them as soon as we stop. If the Seventeen has any of its slaves in the area, it will definitely come investigate, and when it does I¡¯ll start tracking the control tether back towards the source. If nothing shows up in ten minutes, we¡¯ll move and try again,¡± Skyler explained.

    ¡°And because it needs to gather forces before an attack, if we minimize the amount of time we stay in one area it won¡¯t have the time to put together another attack,¡± I filled in, finally getting Skyler¡¯s plan.

    ¡°You¡¯re sure about this?¡± Emily asked cautiously.

    ¡°Our AIs have confirmed it. The Seventeen can only control about two dozen models, so it¡¯s probably directing Sixes and Teens. It could charge us with one of the larger models at that time, but it wouldn¡¯t have the time to swarm us,¡± Skyler confirmed.

    Emily sighed. ¡°Fine, it¡¯s worth a shot,¡± she said before turning to give Jockey some orders.

    Skyler nodded, then crouched down as a small stack of boxes appeared at her feet. She didn¡¯t even look up as she grabbed each one, before passing them up to me. ¡°Here, hold these.¡±

    ¡°What are¡­¡± I started.

    ¡°The sensor upgrades, remember? No point in trying this if we can¡¯t find our way back to the source,¡± Skyler reminded me. She stood up, and called her drones over.

    Since there wasn¡¯t much space in the APC they had to hover above Howie as Skyler worked. She took the boxes from my hands one by one, popped them open, and pressed something that looked like an old school spherical surveillance camera to the bottom of each drone, right next to the hacking interface. They made the same sizzle as before, as the sensors bonded to the drone¡¯s chassis and connected to their systems. It only took her about a minute to complete, and once they were all done she stepped back, satisfied.

    I watched her with a goofy grin on my face, and arms full of empty protector packaging. ¡°I love when you¡¯re so confident,¡± I whispered.

    Skyler turned to me, a massive smile on her face, ¡°I know,¡± she replied.

    ¡°We¡¯re coming up on the location now!¡± Emily declared as she stepped away from Jockey. ¡°I¡¯m going to time you, ten minutes from the moment we stop.¡± She turned towards the back and raised her voice. ¡°I want everyone at the windows! If you see anything you YELL, got it? Bulldog, open the door long enough for the drones to get out, then seal it again.¡±

    ¡°Windows?¡± I asked as the APC skidded to a halt. Bulldog had already cracked open the back ramp, allowing the drones to fly out.

    Emily didn¡¯t answer, instead she walked over to the side of the APC and grabbed a small piece of metal about eye height on the wall and slid it to the side, revealing a thin pane of glass. ¡°We keep them covered with these armor panels, because even bullet proof glass is a weakness in an armoured vehicle.

    I nodded, then once again slipped past Trevor and headed towards the back. Once I had enough space to stand, I reached over and opened the nearest window.

    The streets were extremely dark, and even with my glasses it was hard to make out anything through the thick glass. I did catch a glance of one of Skyler¡¯s drones as it floated over one of the buildings, but it quickly disappeared.

    The APC was quiet for several long minutes until Skyler finally spoke up. ¡°I¡¯ve found one,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t think it noticed the drone, but I can definitely make out the nerve strand. I¡¯m sending all of my drones back towards the source.¡±

    ¡°Now what?¡± Steve asked.

    ¡°Now we go hunting,¡± I replied quietly.

 Chapter 38 - The Hunt

    The current antithesis number system is based entirely upon the order that humanity encountered them. Although the model order loosely represents how strong they are, don¡¯t assume the higher models are always stronger. There may be another reason why those models arrive later in an incursion.

    -Professor AJ Hawk, Protectorate Studies

    ¡ª

    Skyler¡¯s finger hovered over the map display, constantly updating us on her drone¡¯s location while Emily relayed directions to Jockey. As our APC flew through the streets, trying desperately to catch up to Skyler¡¯s drones, she finally gave us the news we¡¯d be waiting for.

    ¡°I¡¯m close. Half a dozen strands all going into the same building. I could check it, but that would let the Seventeen know we¡¯re on to it. Should I?¡± Skyler asked. She¡¯d been so stressed by the situation that she¡¯d put the cat carrier on backwards and was slowly petting Lala through the open zipper. I admit, I was a little bit jealous.

    I checked the map, and we were about five minutes out. ¡°Just have them patrol the area for now. Maybe make it look like you¡¯re searching but haven''t found anything,¡± I suggested. ¡°When we¡¯re about a minute out, rush one of them in to get confirmation.¡±

    Emily pulled her head away from the driver¡¯s seat and nodded. ¡°My crew and I have never faced a Seventeen before today, but I¡¯ve heard stories about what they can do to a PMC. If you¡¯re sure it¡¯s in there, then we¡¯ll try and blitz it. Pull up in the APC, storm its hiding place, and squash it. If it¡¯s not in there, or it gets away, we run back to the APC and gun it for the gates. Hope it¡¯s too busy running away to stop us. Any questions?¡±

    ¡°What exactly are we looking for?¡± Steve asked.

    ¡°Something the size of a small dog that the other antithesis are protecting,¡± I replied. ¡°If you¡¯re unsure, look for one of Skyler¡¯s drones. They¡¯ll be hovering around.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m staying here,¡± Skyler declared. ¡°It¡¯s hard to control the drones and walk at the same time, and the place seems like some sort of convenience store, so I¡¯ll have trouble finding clear shots for Howie anyways. If it pokes its head outside, I¡¯ll turn it into paste.¡±

    Emily glanced at the map. ¡°Right, we¡¯re about a minute out. Send in your scout and be prepared to lead us in with a second one as soon as we stop.¡±

    I shoved my way to the back of the APC and took my place by the door. The APC slid around a corner, nearly throwing me into the side wall, before screeching to a halt. I immediately slammed my hand down on the ramp open button and jumped out. We¡¯d stopped right in the middle of an old, refurbished industrial section. There were half a dozen low cost residential buildings surrounding the plaza, old factories made livable¡ªbut what drew my eye was a small, modern-looking convenience store tucked into the corner of the nearest building. Or, more precisely, the drone hovering in front of it.

    I jogged over and waited for the rest of the team to catch up before I kicked in the door. The inside of the shop had been completely ransacked. The shelves had been knocked over, and there appeared to be cleaning solution spilt in the corner, but there was surprisingly little mess. I guess the antithesis didn¡¯t bother to remove the packaging before devouring their snacks.

    I hopped up on the side of the toppled shelves and hopped towards the back of the room, trying to keep up with Skyler¡¯s hovering drone. It wasn¡¯t exactly moving quickly, but since it was unimpeded by the trash, it was making better time than the team. I caught up with it just as it entered the back room.

    I was lucky the drone was leading, because as soon as it slipped in the door, a dozen spines embedded themselves in the outer case. I immediately jumped back, flipped to Spectre Vision and grabbed my bow. I couldn''t make out what models were in the other room, all I could make out was vaguely blobs of color, so I just sent the first penetrator straight into the closest one. I was drawing the second arrow when Bulldog finally made it to me. ¡°Fives! Destroyed the drone,¡± I barked as I fired my second arrow. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°Then what are you sitting around for?¡± the big man asked as he rushed past me. I turned to watch as I sprinted into the next room, firing the entire time. There was a second of silence before I heard him shout, ¡°Hurry the fuck up. We don¡¯t want the thing to get away.¡±

    I threw my bow back over my shoulder and slipped into the room right behind Ratchet. The entire place had been trashed, probably by the antithesis even before we arrived, and there was a long line of bullet holes in the back wall, only interrupted by the spaces where the three remaining Model Fives lay dying.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you did that!¡± Ratchet hissed, ¡°You have no sense of self-preservation!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re in a hurry,¡± Bulldog replied with a shrug before looking back at me. ¡°Which way?¡±

    I blinked for a moment, unsure until I realized I could just ask.

    {Rei: We lost the drone! Which way!}

    {Sky: On the far side of that room was a door into the old factory where containers had been turned into temporary housing, and the Seventeen is hiding inside. I didn¡¯t want to spook it earlier, so I just caught a look and backed off!}

    ¡°Far side,¡± I said, vaulting the nearest shelf. ¡°There should be a connection to the rest of the building.¡±

    ¡°Here!¡± Steve reported. I hadn¡¯t seen him come in or pass me, but he¡¯d already found the connecting door.

    I slipped around the nearest shelf and up to the door, nodding towards Steve before shoving the mangled door open. The next room looked more like a shipping yard than a residential area. It was just row upon row of dented shipping containers stacked up. There were permanent walkways built at each level, and many of the containers had been painted bright colors, so apparently some people had been living here awhile. Unfortunately, I also saw signs of containers being ripped open or entire stacks toppled over, so someone must have tried to shelter within their home. Thin steel was no match for antithesis tenacity.

    ¡°Which way?¡± Emily asked as she caught up with me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Skyler said it was in the back somewhere,¡± I replied as I entered the cavernous room. I could hear the sound of movement elsewhere in the room but couldn¡¯t see any antithesis or the drone, so I quickly made my way down the nearest aisle of containers.

    ¡°This place is massive,¡± Ratchet whispered from behind me. ¡°It¡¯s going to be gone before we can find it.¡±

    [Arty! I need ideas, quick]

    Take off your glasses. They¡¯re good, but their options are limited.

    [How will that help?]

    Just trust me!

    As I pulled off my glasses, it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. I could see a lot more than I expected, considering it was pitch dark by now, but the most eye-catching thing was a handful of small strands spread out at my feet.

    Your glasses may be better for night vision, but your new vision does have a slightly wider range than you¡¯re used to. As you can see, the strands glow slightly in the UV spectrum.

    [Excellent! Thanks]

    Anytime.

    I took off at a slow jog, careful with my footing as I followed the strands. They weaved through the containers, heading towards the back of the complex. I¡¯d gotten so focused on following the tiny threads that when I turned the last corner, it took me several seconds to even register that there were antithesis in front of me.

    Most of them were familiar to me except for the dog-sized tick standing right in the middle of the little pack. It studied me with insectoid eyes for a moment before booking it in the opposite direction. It¡¯s entourage charging forward to delay us.

    I drew my blade and decapitated the six leading the charge with a single swipe. I tried to bypass the remaining antithesis and chase the Seventeen but the antithesis weren¡¯t going to let me by that easily. One of the Fours fired its tentacles into the nearest container to block my way, while the other tried to skewer me, but I simply severed the offending limbs and ran past the duo. A couple Threes turned to follow me, but before they could, they were cut down by the squad as they finally caught up.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting away!¡± I yelled. As I sprinted at the little bug, the doorway collapsed, and a wall of chitin like plates swept in front of me. I turned slightly and watched as the front of the creature twisted around and shook a pair massive twitching feelers at me. The Fourteen.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you again,¡± I remarked dryly.

 Chapter 39 - Fourteen

    The one advantage humanity has over the antithesis is our ability to use technology. Our ability to create and use weapons has given us a small chance against the alien invaders. Can you imagine what would happen if the antithesis developed the ability to use guns?

    -Anonymous poster on the samurai discussion forums

    ¡ª

    ¡°Run! Back to the APC!¡± Emily screamed.

    Some part of me knew that I should be terrified right now, staring down one of the largest antithesis I¡¯d ever seen, but I wasn¡¯t. Instead of panicking, I whipped out my sword and removed the closest half dozen legs before slipping between the closest stack of cargo containers. Did the reaction speed implant suppress my fears? I¡¯d have to ask Artymis later.

    Instead of bolting after the team, which was probably the smarter idea, I retreated further into the complex. The Seventeen was after me, not the team, so I needed to lead its pet monster away from the others if they were to have a prayer of surviving.

    I¡¯d just stepped into the next aisle when the Fourteen burst into motion. It smashed through the container stack behind me, sending the tiny, compact homes flying.

    [Artymis how will that thing track me? Sight? Smell? Can I avoid it?] I wrote frantically as I ducked between another set of containers.

    Fourteens are tanks and transports. There are typically other smaller models around performing the hunting.

    [That¡¯s good¡­]

    Instead, it¡¯ll probably just thrash about, randomly knock down containers, and try and kill you through the collateral damage.

    Just as Artymis said that the stack across from me collapsed as the Fourteen charged through. The massive containers neither slowed it down nor hurt it when they fell, it just pushed through straight into the stack behind it.

    [It''s not going to take long for it to completely wreck this place at this rate. Do I have access to anything that can even hurt that thing?]

    Besides your sword? No. The enzymes work if the target is small enough, if the target¡¯s dead, or you manage to inject it into their core, but anything larger than a Three will take an excessively long time to die to external exposure.

    ¡°Well, shit,¡± I muttered under my breath. I glanced around the edge of the nearest container and watched as the Fourteen reached the edge of the building. It had run directly through half a dozen stacks without slowing down, but now it seemed to be looking around, searching for a target. I bit my lip as I stared at the oversized centipede. If I didn¡¯t get its attention soon, it would probably go after Emily and the rest of the team. Or rush the APC and go after Skyler.

    I grabbed the nearest container door, opened it, and then slammed it as hard as I could. I could hear the Fourteen turn, shedding containers as it did, but I was already booking it towards the next stack. As I darted around the corner, containers began to fly as the Fourteen rampaged towards my previous location.

    I couldn¡¯t keep this up forever; there weren¡¯t that many stacks left. As it rushed past my hiding place, I saw a flash, just for a moment, at the back of its neck. A nerve bundle.

    {Rei: I¡¯m in trouble. Stuck in the residential stacks with a rampaging Fourteen. I don¡¯t see a way out.}

    {Sky: The fuck? What happened to the Seventeen?}

    {Rei: It fucking booked it out the back, and it¡¯s puppet cut us off. The team is heading back to you, but the Fourteen seems dead set on crushing me. Can you blow through the roof? Land some rounds on it?}

    {Sky: Not without bringing the entire place down. There¡¯s like four floors above you. Get out of there!}

    {Rei: I will, just as soon as the others are clear. If you can¡¯t help me, keep an eye out for the Seventeen. We can¡¯t let that fucking thing get away.}This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    {Sky: Reina, don¡¯t be stupid! Get out of there!}

    {Rei: Gotta go.}

    I cut the line and poked my head out to take a look at the Fourteen. The big bastard hadn¡¯t gone all the way to the wall but stopped after taking out the container I¡¯d been banging on before. The way to the exit had been completely blocked by the collapsed containers, so I was probably going to have to climb them to get out. Probably not a smart idea to try it while the Fourteen was still running around.

    When the behemoth shifted, causing a couple containers to slide off its back, I realized I made a mistake. It may not be an apex predator, but it still had eyes, and I¡¯d exposed myself for far too long. The Fourteen charged again, this time directly towards my location. I briefly considered sprinting away, back down the aisle, but chances are if I did that I¡¯d either get crushed by the Fourteen or the falling containers, so I did something stupid.

    I moved towards the Fourteen and, at the last second, dodged to the side and extended the blade to slice off another half dozen limbs. Unlike the previous strike, this one had serious consequences. The Fourteen¡¯s head smashed to the floor, unable to support the weight, but it kept moving forward, driven by both inertia and the remaining legs on the body. It slammed into the massive tower of containers behind me, and I had to sprint forward to avoid getting crushed.

    For a moment, everything was quiet. I considered making a run for it, but considering that half the creatures¡¯ bulk was still buried in the stack in front of me, I hesitated. Then the Fourteen shifted and pushed forward. I had to throw myself to the side again as the back legs scrambled wildly, struggling to find purchase and push the damaged front forward. It took a minute, but it finally pushed past me.

    The creature made a wide left turn, which was probably the only turn it was capable of making with the front damaged, and made another pass at me. The thing probably would have been easy to dodge if it wasn¡¯t pushing a massive wave of containers around as it thrashed. One of the containers slid off the pile and landed on my right, just barely missing me. Unfortunately, it also cut me off from an easy escape, forcing me to dive to my left, closer to the Fourteen¡¯s body.

    As the insectoid legs churned past me, I realized I was in trouble. I was caught between the front of the creature, which could only turn towards me, and the tail. If I didn¡¯t do something soon, it would crush me sooner or later.

    As it trampled around, doing its best to crush me, I struck out with my sword. I had to keep the blade extended in order to sever the churning limbs without risking getting crushed. Despite practically crippling the beast, I wasn¡¯t really able to cause it any real damage. The Fourteen just pressed closer.

    Just as the armored walls of the Fourteen closed in around me, something happened. There was an explosion outside, which caused the Fourteen to stop in place and spasm, like it was in pain.

    {Sky: I got the Seventeen! It was trying to escape out the back, but I got it!}

    {Arty: The neural link has been severed! If you¡¯re going to do something, you need to act now before it recovers!}

    As I turned, looking for a way out of my thrashing prison walls, I noticed the creature¡¯s head not too far away. I didn¡¯t hesitate and my extended blade sliced deeply into the head multiple times, causing it to split open and dump green blood and viscera on me. After the first slash, the blade¡¯s high pitched hum dropped an octave. I managed three before the humm died, and the sword got stuck, embedded in the creature¡¯s head.

    As I tried to dislodge it, the Fourteen slowly stopped spasming; it appeared to be regaining control of its facilities. As the beast struggled, I came up with another plan.

    [Give me needlers, a lot of them, armed!]

    I don¡¯t¡­

    [Now!]

    The creature''s seizures were slowing. It was regaining control of itself, so when the bandolier of grenades appeared at my feet, I grabbed the entire thing and shoved it shoulder deep into the Fourteen¡¯s head.

    I barely managed to yank my hand back before I heard them pop. An instant later the inside of its head began to liquify, causing it to perform one last massive spasm, then lay still.

    I can¡¯t believe you did that.

    [What else was I going to do? I sure as hell wasn¡¯t going to try and recharge the blade while it was lodged in that creature''s head, and I wasn¡¯t confident that I¡¯d be able to hit anything vital with arrows.]

    So you thrust your arm inside its head to deliver enzymes directly to the brain?

    [It worked,] I replied with a sigh.

    {Sky: Rei? Why haven¡¯t you replied? What¡¯s going on?}

    I flipped channels.

    {Rei: I¡¯m fine, and the Fourteen is dead. It had some sort of seizure when the Seventeen died.}

    When the Fourteen¡¯s head dissolved enough for me to remove my sword, I quickly retrieved it, cleaned it off, and put it away before squeezing past what was left. The body was wrapped around, so it took me a minute to get clear. When I finally did, I was confronted by a massive wall of toppled containers.

    {Rei: It¡¯ll take me a couple minutes to find my way through here, but I¡¯m on my way out.}

    {Sky: Once you get back to the vehicle we should maybe discuss calling it a day. It¡¯s been one hell of a night and I don¡¯t think I have the energy to keep going like this.}

    I stared at the dead Fourteen for a moment before replying. {Rei: I can¡¯t say I disagree}

 Chapter 40 - Cleanup

    I have this amazing idea. Cleaning services for samurai. Have you ever seen how messy they look after coming back from a fight? I bet they¡¯d pay an arm and leg if I found a solution that removed antithesis goop.

    You''re a crazy man, most of them can just magic their shit clean with points!

    -A drunken discussion at 4AM

    ¡ª

    When I stepped out of the building, Skyler immediately started ranting. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you follow the others? Were you trying to be a hero? That was one of the most stupid irresponsible¡­¡± her words died in her throat when I stepped into the light of the APC.

    I was a complete mess. My entire right side was completely covered in antithesis goo. I had considered trying to clear it off, even going so far as to ask Artymis for some options. Unfortunately, most of the fastest options either required a device that I could put down or would destroy all the fifth, including the stuff that had soaked into my clothes. Not great for their integrity.

    When she told me that, I decided I¡¯d get back to the APC first, clean up second. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I told her as I came in for a hug. She didn¡¯t hesitate, nearly crushing my ribs with her hug.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare do something like that again,¡± she whispered.

    ¡°I won¡¯t, I promise,¡± I replied softly as I embraced her. ¡°I learned my lesson.¡±

    ¡°You better have,¡± she sniffed as we pulled away. I noticed her long coat now had a large green smear down one side now. It just reminded me how filthy I actually must be.

    ¡°I think I should probably clean up before heading inside,¡± I told her. ¡°I¡¯m uhhh¡­ dripping.¡± As if to emphasize what I was saying, a particularly large gob of Fourteen brain slipped off my sleeve and splattered on the street.

    Skyler looked down at the filth, finally noticed the stain on her jacket, then looked up and gave me a pained smile. ¡°Take your time. I¡¯ll go let the others know you¡¯re back and tell Emily to plot us a route out of the district. That is, unless you changed your mind?¡±

    ¡°Fuck no,¡± I grumbled. ¡°We¡¯ve been doing this for so long that the sun has gone down. My arms hurt, my sword is out of juice, and I¡¯m covered in antithesis brains. I think we deserve a break.¡±

    Skyler frowned. ¡°Wait, you just smeared antithesis brains all over my jacket? That¡¯s gross, Reina.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re mostly melted by the enzyme,¡± I told her. ¡°Besides, you¡¯re the one that hugged me.¡±

    She pouted slightly and used the sleeve of her coat to wipe the worst of the mess off the jacket before taking off the kitten, shucking her jacket, and tossing it in my direction. ¡°I¡¯m going inside now. Please clean this while you''re hosing yourself off,¡± she said while cuddling the cat carrier.

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± I replied with a small smile.

    As soon as Skyler stepped around the back of the vehicle, I pulled up my augs.

    [So, Artymis, what can I buy to get this shit off? I¡¯d prefer an option that leaves my skin, clothes, and hair intact.]

    That shouldn¡¯t be a problem. I have several billion options available and hundreds of thousands of catalogs, but if you want something simple, I can provide a tank of water mixed with a cleaning solution. It¡¯s not only ideal for removing antithesis gunk, but it¡¯s good for the hair and skin.

    [You recommend a shower?]

    Although it¡¯s not the most efficient way, it is the most cost-effective. Since everything I listed would be considered Tier 0, or available to humans, you wouldn¡¯t have to unlock any additional catalogs. Plus, you like having showers. It¡¯ll only cost you three points, and I can even set the temperature to whatever you want.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    [I don¡¯t like them when I¡¯m in the middle of an antithesis incursion, while wearing clothes.]

    Well, if you want a combination of efficiency and effectiveness, the next best option would probably be opening the Unconventional Cleaning Methods catalog for twenty points and the ultrasonic cleaner for another ten.

    [Why is the catalog so cheap? My last one was three hundred?]

    The more expansive and popular a catalog is, the more expensive it is. This one is relatively focused.

    [Fine. I¡¯ll try the ultrasonic as long as it¡¯s quick and effective.]

    Hold out your hand.

    I did as I was told, and something popped into my hand. It looked like one of those old school hand scanners they used in retro stores, but instead of a barcode reader, there was some sort of speaker setup.

    I first pointed it at the stain on Skyler¡¯s long coat. As I passed the cleaning head over the stain, the dried goop just seemed to practically jump off the jacket. I did a single pass over the jacket then shook it, letting the mess fall into a pile of dust. Once I was confident it wasn¡¯t going to destroy my clothes, I passed it experimentally over the tips of my fingers. They tingled pleasantly, and the gunk melted away.

    Now that I was convinced by the cleaner¡¯s effectiveness, I started slowly passing it up and down my arm, slowly causing the junk to fall away. It took a few passes and quite a lot of finagling to aim at the crap on my back, but once I was done, I felt much better.

    When I finally stepped around the end of the APC, Bulldog stood up and shot me a massive grin. ¡°You really killed that thing with nothing but your sword? Damn lady, you got guts.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t exactly have much of a choice. It probably would have crushed us all if I followed you out,¡± I explained with a shrug. ¡°Honestly though, Skyler deserves all the credit. She killed the Seventeen, which caused the Fourteen to have some sort of fit. Probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to take it otherwise.¡±

    ¡°Whatever you say,¡± he replied with a lopsided grin. ¡°I say you still deserve props, since I¡¯ve never seen one of those things killed by anything less than the main cannon of a Leopard IV tank. The mere fact you walked away is saying something.¡±

    I sighed. ¡°If you say so. Maybe I¡¯m just too tired to appreciate it, or maybe after experiencing so many life-threatening experiences today I¡¯m a little numb to it right now. Maybe it¡¯ll sink in later.¡±

    ¡°Maybe,¡± Bulldog replied. He gestured to the front of the vehicle, where Skyler and Emily were discussing something. ¡°You should head inside, they¡¯re waiting for you.¡±

    I nodded my thanks before stepping past Bulldog and squeezing past Howie. ¡°It¡¯ll probably be a rough trip, but we¡¯ll make it,¡± Emily was saying.

    ¡°Rough trip? What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked as I stepped up behind Skyler and carefully laid her jacket across her shoulders. Lala, cradled in Skyler¡¯s arm, started mewing and struggled to get closer to me. I reached over and gave her a good scritch behind the ears until she settled down. Maybe it was all the antithesis junk I¡¯d been covered with that she¡¯d hated, and not me? That was actually a little comforting.

    ¡°The main incursion is done, and all the portals have closed, but that also means that the antithesis have had time to spill out of the red and orange zones into the rest of the sector. Apparently this has been a particularly rough incursion, and it¡¯s going to take a lot of time to clean up,¡± Emily explained. ¡°Plus, there are some pretty nasty models loose on the street.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me we¡¯re locked in,¡± I moaned.

    ¡°We¡¯re not,¡± Emily said. ¡°Command deployed the armor battalions and reserve PMCs to start clearing from the west gate. It¡¯ll just be a little rough getting there. The tanks have already reported engaging both Twelves and Fourteens in the area.¡±

    ¡°We kind of expected that though, didn¡¯t we? We¡¯ve already encountered both today,¡± Skyler reminded her.

    ¡°We did, but it¡¯s odd to encounter them outside the orange zone. The fact that they¡¯ve propagated so far is a bad sign,¡± Emily explained. ¡°You two are probably going to have your hands full the next few days.¡±

    ¡°Wonderful,¡± I huffed. ¡°What about the roads?¡±

    ¡°Covered in antithesis,¡± Emily confirmed. ¡°It may get a little bumpy. We¡¯ll probably have to run a few over along the way, but we¡¯ll get you home.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± Skyler proclaimed as she sat on the edge of one of the benches.

    ¡°Anything else we should know before we take off?¡± I asked hesitantly.

    Emily smiled, ¡°Like what? More planning? If you¡¯re absolutely worried we might run into trouble, you can sit by the door instead of by Skyler, but we¡¯re headed home. Your job is done for the day. Try to relax.¡±

    I nodded hesitantly, then sat down beside my girlfriend. Lala was purring loudly as Skyler slowly scratched her butt, so I reached forward and petted her behind the ears. That sure made the tiny thing happy. As the APC slowly began to accelerate, heading back towards the gates, it finally hit me; we were heading back home.

 Chapter 41 - Saying Goodbye

    Some people believe that we don¡¯t have flying armored vehicles because the modern hover engines can¡¯t support the weight. At least that¡¯s what the ¡®Engineers¡¯ and ¡®Mechanics¡¯ say, what do those eggheads know? I think it¡¯s because the tank jockeys enjoy the feeling of antithesis bodies popping under their treads!

    - Private Frank Dougan, on patrol

    ¨C

    ¡°Fuck!¡± I snarled as the APC rocked violently, throwing Skyler and me into the wall. When Emily told us the trip was going to be rough, I thought she was exaggerating. I¡¯d expected a few bumps, just like every other time we moved. Instead the APC bucked like some wild animal, constantly bouncing every few feet.

    ¡°That¡¯s it, I¡¯m installing a cow catcher when we get back. ¡± Ratchet yelled. ¡°Last time we rushed through a horde like this it took me a week to pull all the antithesis guts out of the drive train and realign the wheels.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll get no argument from me!¡± Bulldog laughed. The big man had stood up and braced himself against the roof, and appeared to be having a wonderful time being thrown around.

    I spared him a single, disgruntled glance before I went back to trying to replace the battery on my blade. It was a delicate process that involved removing the kashira, taking out the old power cell, and putting in a new one. Although the cells weren¡¯t delicate by any means, it didn¡¯t mean I wanted to drop either the drained one or its replacement. The process was made even more difficult by the fact that Skyler had released Lala, who had climbed into my lap and was busy kneading my legs during this entire process.

    Our trip back to the gate took about twenty minutes, and it took me almost that long to replace the battery. The fact that as soon as I replaced the battery the violent shaking stopped annoyed me, and entertained Skyler.

    ¡°You should have just waited!¡± Skyler giggled, as she gently picked up Lala, holding the tiny kitten up in front of her face like a makeshift cute base shield.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to delay¡­ what if something happened to the APC on the way back?¡± I pouted.

    ¡°Then you had the other blade,¡± Skyler reminded me. ¡°Besides, I think your new blade is as sharp as the old one, even without power.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s probably true,¡± I muttered. ¡°Still, better safe than sorry.¡±

    As the APC began to settle down we began to hear the sound of cannon fire, and explosions, outside. I reattached the blade to my belt and pulled myself to my feet and headed over to the briefing screen. I swapped the display over to an exterior camera to check out the situation.

    I recognized the area, we were only a few blocks from the gates. Jockey had slowed to a more leisurely pace, and was busy weaving around the mounds of dead antithesis littering the street. At the far end of the road was a large group of soldiers, clustered around a battle tank. The entire group was slowly moving up, stopping at each new building and stopping long enough for soldiers to flood inside and clear the premises. I¡¯d never considered exactly what the process of clearing an incursion zone was, but if the military had to clear each building manually, it was probably going to take awhile.

    Jockey managed to squeeze us past the tank, and its APC escorts, before finally heading to the sector entrance. It was hard to see what was going on through the smoke from the numerous piles of burning antithesis left behind as the military advanced, so I flicked the monitor back off and sat back down.

    ¡°Almost there,¡± I told Skyler quietly as we gently leaned against each other. ¡°You know, I was so focused on fighting today I never stopped to think about what would happen after. How our lives might change.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be a process,¡± Skyler whispered, ¡°but we¡¯ll figure it out together.¡± I reached over and took her hand, and we interlocked fingers. For the next few minutes we just sat there, just enjoying each others¡¯ presence.

    When the APC finally came to a slow stop Emily stood up. ¡°Last stop, everyone out. Bulldog, can you please run to the medical tents and tell them we have a Seven survivor that needs to be picked up?¡±

    The big man nodded, and slammed his big paws on the button to open the ramp. Surprisingly it wasn¡¯t him, but Ratchet that was the first out. I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle when I heard her moan, ¡°This is going to take me days to fix!¡± from outside.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    After the rest of the team slowly piled out, Skyler and I gathered our scattered gear, placed Lala back in her carrier, then followed them off.

    ¡°I guess this is it,¡± Emily announced as soon as we stepped outside. She and the rest of the team had apparently been waiting for us. ¡°You have everything?¡±

    ¡°We double checked,¡± I confirmed. ¡°Thanks for everything that you did today, and¡­ sorry about Terrier,¡± I finished awkwardly.

    ¡°It was unfortunate, but when you¡¯re fighting antithesis you have to expect casualties. If we didn¡¯t have you two, things probably would have turned out much worse. I¡¯ll make sure he gets back to his family, and the Cascadian government will make sure they¡¯re taken care of,¡± Emily replied. Even though she managed to keep a straight face, I could tell she was a little sad at the loss. Since we¡¯d been in combat until now she probably hadn¡¯t allowed herself to process until this point.

    Skyler stepped forward and pulled Emily into a hug. ¡°Thank you, for everything,¡± she whispered.

    I noticed that both Steve and Trevor were standing awkwardly at the side, not far from the rest of the crew. ¡°What are you two going to do now?¡± I asked.

    Steve shrugged. ¡°Find another unit,¡± he replied dispassionately. ¡°Since our commander died on the way out of the courthouse we don¡¯t have a unit to go back to. It¡¯s fine, there are plenty of groups looking for experienced soldiers, so it won''t take us long to get back in the saddle.¡±

    Trevor nodded slightly. He seemed to be a lot more affected by the loss than his smartass partner, but he was holding himself together. I didn¡¯t know what to say, so I just placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

    When I turned back towards Emily I nearly tripped on Ratchet, who was already flat on her back under the vehicle. ¡°Good working with you,¡± Ratchet shouted as I caught myself.

    ¡°Yeah, you too,¡± I replied as I stepped around her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about her,¡± Jockey said. ¡°We¡¯ve had that APC forever now, and it¡¯s saved our lives more times than any of us can count. Ratchet may be a little obsessed with keeping it running, but that doesn¡¯t mean she doesn¡¯t care.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I understand,¡± I replied. ¡°Please take care of yourselves.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us,¡± the diminutive woman said with a grin. ¡°We¡¯ve walked into hell many times and come back more or less intact. This is just another day on the job for us.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but smile a little at her enthusiasm. ¡°Well that¡¯s good. Just don¡¯t go and get yourself in over your heads, I¡¯d hate to hear something happened to you all.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll do our best!¡± Jockey replied, throwing me a salute.

    By the time I made it back to Emily, Bulldog had jogged back, followed by a couple medics. I took a moment to watch them check the status of the survivor before loading him on a stretcher and taking him away.

    ¡°If you ever need to head back into the incursion zone, you know who to call to back you up,¡± Emily was saying.

    ¡°We sure do,¡± Skyler told the woman warmly.

    {Rei: We should leave them something nice, like the other samurai did. Any ideas?}

    {Sky: I¡¯d love to leave them some shield generators, but I expect they¡¯re expensive.}

    {Rei: Yeah, unfortunately. It would probably cost more than we have to equip the entire squad with them. They have decent weapons, and armor, for a PMC how about some night vision gear? Relying on those flashlights could be dangerous.}

    {Sky: Great idea! Athyna can we split the cost of some nightvision glasses? Enough for the entire team?}

    {Athy: Of course, if Reina agrees.}

    {Rei: Yeah, do it.}

    A small case appeared at Skyler¡¯s feet, which she quickly swept up and placed in Emily¡¯s hands.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Emily asked as she accepted the small case.

    ¡°Some night vision glasses,¡± I explained. ¡°Neither of us really specialize in small arms, or much else that would help professional soldiers, but we still wanted to leave you something. Hopefully you can make use of them.¡±

    Emily smiled. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to do that, but we appreciate it.¡±

    Bulldog nodded to the two of us, ¡°You two take care of yourselves, I look forward to reading all about your exploits soon.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll do our best,¡± Skyler replied with a smile.

    ¡°You should check in with the commander before you leave,¡± Emily suggested. ¡°They¡¯ll want to know what your plans are.¡± She lowered her voice slightly, ¡°And this will probably be your best chance to discuss what we discovered at Tanaka for a while.¡±

    I grimaced slightly. ¡°Yeah, thanks for the reminder,¡± I mumbled as I turned towards the titanic command vehicle nearby. ¡°I guess there¡¯s no point in delaying, let''s get this over with.¡±

 Chapter 42 - Confessions

    Your big conspiracy theory is that the Cascadian government does favors for the samurai? Of course they fucking do. I doubt they¡¯ll bend over backwards for any of them, but performing little favors keeps the samurai happy, and protecting our cities instead of fucking off for better places? I¡¯m honestly more surprised that more megacities don¡¯t do more.

    - Colonel Reginald Anderson, during troop training.

    ¡ª

    As we stepped into the mobile headquarters Skyler paused for a second and looked around. I¡¯d nearly forgotten she¡¯d been stuck inside the incursion zone ever since awakening, and hadn¡¯t been here before.

    I gently nudged her forward and approached the central planning table. Both the military attache and Family coordinator had stepped away, leaving the Cascadian military commander at the table. ¡°I see you made it back in one piece, and you even managed to pull our other new samurai out of the fire. Well done,¡± Adriana said as we stepped forward. ¡°I¡¯m Adriana Howard, Cascadian command, and you are?¡± she asked my partner.

    ¡°Skyler Madison,¡± Skyler replied, throwing out a hand. ¡°No samurai name yet.¡±

    The older woman took her hand and gave it a firm handshake before straightening up. ¡°I¡¯ve been getting your reports. Very thorough, as I¡¯ve come to expect from a samurai. I¡¯d love to go through them with you, but unfortunately I don¡¯t have a ton of time. The situation is significantly worse than we first thought.¡±

    Skyler and I exchanged a quick glance.

    {Rei: I didn¡¯t write any reports, did you?}

    {Sky: Did you see me pull out a tablet at any point back there? I didn¡¯t have the time either.}

    {Athy: That was me. I spent a few microseconds summarizing each of your encounters. I like doing paperwork, it helps me keep the memory banks organized.}

    ¡°We will probably need your help in the next few days,¡± Adriana said, causing me to focus on her instead of our own little conversation, ¡°so please leave your contact information with Corporal Adams before leaving.¡± She paused after a moment and looked at Skyler and me, ¡°Was there anything else?¡±

    I shifted my weight, suddenly uncomfortable with the attention. I really didn¡¯t want to have this discussion, but it was now or never. ¡°I do have something to discuss, but it¡¯s a little sensitive. Could we go somewhere a little more private?¡±

    Adriana raised an eyebrow, then gestured to a set of stairs at the back. ¡°There¡¯s a conference room upstairs.¡±

    I nodded, and headed up the narrow metal stairs. The door at the top slid open revealing a modest metal conference room, a set of chairs, and someone I really wasn¡¯t expecting. ¡°Howdy kid, fancy meeting you here,¡± Grey said from across the room. She had her feet up on the table, and was half way through what looked like a bucket of chicken. Instead of the skintight nanite bodysuit I saw her in before, she appeared to be wearing a casual light blue jogging suit.

    ¡°Ummm¡­ hi?¡± I replied blankly. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°Taking a break,¡± Grey replied before taking a quick bite of chicken. ¡°I¡¯d been fighting for hours and when Vulkyn, my AI, informed me of the situation I decided I should have a quick discussion with Adriana before I grabbed food.¡±

    ¡°What situation?¡± Skyler asked.

    Grey glanced at her for a moment, then shrugged. ¡°This incursion isn¡¯t limited to Vancouver, it seems to have hit most major cities, simultaneously.¡± Skyler paled slightly, but Grey just kept talking. ¡°We¡¯re also seeing movement outside the city. Possible rogue antithesis, but since everyone¡¯s been focused on the incursion we don¡¯t have confirmation. It¡¯s a real shitshow.¡± Grey took another bite of chicken. ¡°We¡¯ll probably need both of you to chip in the next few days.¡± She sighed, put down her chicken, then sat up, ¡°Now, what can I do for you?¡±

    ¡°I actually had something to discuss with Adriana,¡± I admitted. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were here.¡±

    ¡°Grey is one of the most senior samurai in the city, and considering you were so new, I figured you might want her experience,¡± Adriana said as she stepped past me and took a seat at the table. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°It¡¯s not really a samurai issue though,¡± I said quietly.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine, I don¡¯t mind,¡± Grey replied. ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡±

    Skyler gently guided me to the front of the table then took the seat next to me. I took a deep breath, and told them. ¡°As you probably know we were asked to investigate a couple shelters that lost power during the incursion, and which might have been compromised. One of those locations was a Tanaka Industries building.¡±

    ¡°And the shelters there were compromised?¡± Grey asked.

    I shook my head, ¡°They were all fine, but on the top floor we found an illegal cybernetics clinic.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t find that surprising. I¡¯ve read a couple reports about Tanaka performing suspicious activities over the last month, I don¡¯t see why you¡¯d want to discuss this with me in private,¡± Adriana said.

    ¡°Part of the clinic was dedicated to mental manipulation, and puppet implants,¡± I finished.

    The room went quiet. After a few seconds Adriana leaned forward, her previously loose hands balled into fists. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty huge accusation, and a massive issue if true. The Cascadian government does not look kindly on slavery of any kind. Why would you want to keep this under wraps?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t, that¡¯s why I¡¯m reporting this. All I¡¯m asking is you try and keep the investigation quiet. I don¡¯t give a shit if you arrest my father, and force the shitstain to spend the rest of his life in prison, but I¡¯m worried about how it¡¯ll look. My grandfather built that company from the ground up, and my father ruined it. If it¡¯s announced that Tanaka Industries was dealing in slave implants, people will inevitably ask how long they¡¯d been getting away with it. If they dealt in that shit while my grandfather was alive,¡± I took a deep breath to center myself. I didn¡¯t want to cry here. ¡°I know my grandfather would never have allowed this, and I don¡¯t want his name dragged through the mud for it.¡±

    Adriana stared at me for a minute then let out a long breath. ¡°I make no promises, but I¡¯ll pass your request up the line. The government likes to try and stay on the good side of the local samurai, and if your father is as corrupt as you say I¡¯m sure they can find something to pin on him personally, instead of taking down the company. That being said, there¡¯s no way they¡¯ll let this go unpunished, so be prepared.¡±

    I nodded slightly, and Adriana stood up. She glanced around the table at everyone, then saluted. ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse me, I have even more phone calls to make.¡± As she made her way out of the room I heard her mutter, ¡°It¡¯s nothing but bad news today.¡±

    I pulled out the chair at the head of the table and slumped into it. Even though I was a practiced public speaker, deep down I¡¯d been terrified that Adriana might have reacted badly to my request. That actually went better than I was expecting.

    ¡°You really care about your grandfather, huh?¡± Grey asked.

    I struggled to sit up straight, I¡¯d forgotten the woman was there for a minute.

    ¡°He was a good man,¡± I said solemnly. ¡°He always lived with a personal code of honor. Respect everyone, protect the less fortunate, and share what you can.¡± I laughed lightly. ¡°He always said my father was his greatest disappointment.¡±

    ¡°He created a ton of scholarships, and social funds, which is where Tanaka built up all its government credit. It¡¯s how I managed to become a lawyer. All that¡¯s history now,¡± Skyler added.

    Grey looked between us. ¡°Did you two know each other before tonight? You seem close.¡±

    ¡°Reina¡¯s my girlfriend!¡± Skyler declared without an ounce of shame as she reached over and pulled me into an embrace.

    ¡°And proud of it,¡± I added, despite blushing heavily.

    Grey just raised an eyebrow. ¡°Huh,¡± was all she said.

    She grabbed her chicken with one hand, while pulling out her chair with the other. ¡°I¡¯ve already had Vulkyn update the system with your contact info, so expect someone to visit you tomorrow. Like I said we¡¯ll probably need your help, but considering this is your first day, and you¡¯ve been out all day already, you should probably rest.¡± She made it most of the way around the room before pausing, and smacking herself in the forehead. ¡°The rite of passage! I need to give you nicknames!¡± she declared.

    ¡°That¡¯s actually a thing?¡± Skyler asked.

    ¡°Yup, and I¡¯d hate to leave it, and give Collateral a chance to name you,¡± Grey said. ¡°The man¡¯s super effective in combat, but has the naming sense of a rock.¡±

    She stared at me for a moment, ¡°I¡¯ll call you¡­ Meiyo Aru Kaze. That¡¯s Honorable Wind in Japanese.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± was all I could think of saying.

    ¡°Because family honor seems to be a big deal to you, and you always see those anime where the martial artists harness the elements. I would have given you the English version, but there are already three other Honorable Winds in the database, all self named. Two of which are dead.¡± Grey sighed, ¡°Third doesn¡¯t know the meaning of honor either.¡±

    While I was trying to figure out how to take that she turned to Skyler. ¡°And you can be¡­ Cleansing Rain. I¡¯ve pulled up a little bit of your footage, and you like to rain shells down upon your enemy, simple enough.¡±

    ¡°It seems like you put a lot more thought into Reina¡¯s name than mine,¡± Skyler pouted.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s true, but I met her earlier and just met you a couple minutes ago. Besides, that Japanese name was Vulkyn¡¯s idea,¡± Grey replied before dropping the rest of her chicken in a nearby garbage can. ¡°Have a good night kiddies, I¡¯ll talk to you later, alright?¡± she declared as she stepped outside, leaving Skyler and I alone.

    ¡°Meiyo Aru Kaze¡­¡± I muttered, letting the name roll around in my mouth. ¡°It¡¯s kind of a mouthful, but I like it.¡±

 Chapter 43 - Home again

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    When we stepped out of the mobile HQ and back into the staging area, I felt a little lost for a minute. I¡¯d been running around with a clear goal for several hours now, and now that we were done I wasn¡¯t quite sure what to do with myself.

    ¡°Shall we head home?¡± Skyler asked as she slipped her arm around mine. ¡°I¡¯d suggest we call your car, but I don¡¯t think Howie will fit.¡±

    I groaned. ¡°My car¡­ I forgot! That asshole damaged it so I couldn¡¯t leave, it¡¯s the whole reason I got swept up in everything today. I¡¯ll have to send someone to collect it, and fix it.¡±

    ¡°Considering everything that happened today, I¡¯d consider that a minor inconvenience at best,¡± Skyler replied lightly as she glanced around. ¡°Maybe if we head over to those transport trucks, we can find someone to help us.¡±

    I nodded lightly, and the two of us set off towards the far side of the staging area. As soon as we left the central area the omnipresent street and flood lights faded away, leaving us walking through the darkness. Skyler rested her head on my shoulder, so leaned in closer and rested my head against hers. That¡¯s how the two of us arrived at the truck parking, snuggled together, enjoying each other¡¯s presence.

    We managed to get a couple meters from the trucks before someone stopped us. ¡°Excuse me ladies, but this is a restricted area, and not a place for civilians to have a romantic stroll,¡± one of the nearby soldiers announced. ¡°How did you get in here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Meiyo Aru Kaze and this is Cleansing Rain,¡± I announced. Skyler giggled at the use of our new samurai names. ¡°If you didn¡¯t realize by the big ass floating robot behind us, we¡¯re samurai, and we¡¯re looking for a ride. Can you arrange something for us?¡±

    The man paled for a moment, then snapped to attention. ¡°Sorry ma¡¯am, I didn¡¯t recognize you,¡± he stammered. ¡°I¡¯m sure we can arrange something, just give me a moment to run it past command.¡±

    ¡°Take your time,¡± Skyler said as he ran off towards a nearby radio.

    As the two of us stood there, snuggling together, I couldn¡¯t help but feel the eyes of the rest of the soldiers on us. ¡°Don¡¯t they have anything better to do than stare at two women cuddling?¡± I muttered.

    Skyler snorted. ¡°It probably has more to do with the fact that we¡¯re samurai, and less to do with the cuddling,¡± she whispered, before pulling me closer.

    After a few minutes the soldier came running back, another female soldier in tow. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for the delay,¡± he said apologetically. ¡°Command has authorized whatever transport you need. Private Perez here will be your driver.¡±

    ¡°Just a truck will be fine,¡± I replied as I looked at the petite young woman. She stared at us with awe in her hazel eyes, her hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail, and her clothes were clean. Since most of the crew appeared to be mechanics, or assisting with the maintenance, they must have decided she was the least offensive one to escort us.

    Not sure why they thought we¡¯d care, both Skyler and I were filthy, even after cleaning up with the ultrasonics earlier.

    ¡°This way!¡± the girl exclaimed as she headed towards the row of trucks nearby. They appeared to be older, modified transport trucks with just a canvas tarp over the back. As she approached the closest one she paused, and turned back towards us. ¡°Do you need help loading your robot ma¡¯am?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Howie can load himself,¡± Sklyer replied with a smile. ¡°But thank you for asking.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    The girl nodded, then ran around to the driver side door excitedly.

    ¡°She seems very excited,¡± I remarked as the two of us separated so Skyler could direct Howie.

    ¡°How often did you get a chance to see a samurai prior to being chosen? How about the ability to help one?¡± Skyler replied as she struggled to align Howie so he could slide sideways into the back. His hover jets apparently weren¡¯t meant for precise movement while further off the ground, so it took a few tries for him to slide in. Skyler huffed, ¡°I really need to make the next version of Howie smaller, he¡¯s such a pain to move right now,¡± she grumbled when she finally managed it. ¡°And he needs some direct fire weapons, so I can follow you into buildings and keep you from getting in trouble.¡±

    ¡°When have I ever gotten in trouble?¡± I asked innocently as I threw my arm around her waist.

    ¡°Every time!¡± Skyler immediately shot back, with mock indignation. ¡°As soon as you wander out of my sight you kick some antithesis, or fight a Fourteen. I¡¯ll have to keep a closer eye on you going forward,¡± she declared as she pulled me closer.

    We both laughed lightly as we made our way around to the front of the truck. Since the truck only had one large bench seat, so I hauled myself up first, and slid towards the middle before grabbing Lala from Skyler¡¯s outstretched hands. The little kitten was quiet, probably sleeping after such an exciting day.

    Perez let out a tiny ¡®eep¡¯ as I slid closer to her. ¡°Ummm¡­ where are we heading?¡± she asked.

    ¡°The South Shore residential district, Elysian Heights building,¡± I replied as I fastened my seatbelt. When I finished I realized Perez was just staring at me. ¡°Is that a problem?¡± I asked.

    ¡°No, not at all!¡± she replied quickly as she started up the truck, and put it into reverse. The truck bounced wildly, as she maneuvered it across the lot and out onto the road. All this rough, ground based travel I¡¯d endured today put a new appreciation of hover vehicles in me. I really needed to get my car fixed ASAP.

    ¡°Did you tell your mother you awakened yet?¡± Skyler asked sleepily as she leaned against me.

    ¡°Not yet,¡± I admitted after a moment¡¯s hesitation. ¡°I sent grandfather¡¯s ashes, and momento, to her a couple hours ago, but I didn¡¯t want her to worry.¡±

    Skyler sat up and shot me a disappointed look. ¡°And you think that sending that stuff to her, then disappearing for several hours will alleviate her concerns? She¡¯s going to be furious with you when we get back,¡± she said.

    ¡°I know! I figured it was better to have her furious when I got back, than having panic attacks the entire time I was gone!¡± I countered. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter now. We¡¯ll be home soon.¡±

    ¡°Mhmmm,¡± Skyler muttered as she settled back against me.

    Once we were back on the main roads the trip became much smoother. The slight rocking put Skyler to sleep within minutes, and I found myself struggling to keep my eyes open.

    ¡°What¡¯s it like to be a samurai?¡± Perez asked suddenly, snapping me out of my sleepy haze.

    I glanced over at her, taking a minute to figure out the best way to summarize my day. ¡°It¡¯s extremely difficult, I feel like if I make a single mistake and I¡¯ll end up dead, but it¡¯s also extremely rewarding. We saved lives out there today,¡± I told her. ¡°Honestly, even though we have all this responsibility, and power, now we¡¯re still regular people.¡±

    ¡°How can you say that? You¡¯re a samurai, one of the few people with the strength to fight off the antithesis. You¡¯re a hero!¡± Perez replied.

    I snorted. ¡°Maybe, but Skyler and I are extremely new to this, and I can assure you I certainly don¡¯t feel like a hero after what we went through today. I¡¯m doing my best, but I have a long way to go,¡± I said.

    Perez nodded, a puzzled look on her face. She probably wanted to hear how superhuman, and infallible we were, but I wasn¡¯t going to lie to her.

    As the truck slipped into the South Shore district I blinked the sleep out of my eyes, and nudged Skyler awake. Elysium Heights building stood out, even among the other high end residential buildings in the area. With a hundred floors it towered over the smaller buildings around it. It was only a couple years old, and had the newest service and antithesis defensive tech. The entire building could be locked down, with armored shutters over all the windows, and most apartments had automated defenses. The exterior was all polished stone, and most suites had real wood floors.

    From what I heard even the smallest suites went for several billion, and there was a massive waiting list to get in if and when a spot opened up.

    Perez stared at the opulent building as she slowly pulled up to the ground entrance. This might have been the first time I¡¯d entered the building this way. There wasn¡¯t any ground traffic here, because everyone had personal hover vehicles, and private garages.

    After thanking Perez, Skyler and I slipped out the passenger door. I stared up at the imposing mega structure for a moment, while Skyler went around back to unload her bot. ¡°Home sweet home,¡± I muttered.

 Chapter 44 - The Talk

    This week on League of Samurai legends we¡¯re releasing six new characters, representing an array of different samurai that awoke over the last few months. They¡¯re available now, for free! In other news we have a new set of skins representing the first encounter of samurai! You can buy a single skin for just six hundred credits, or invest in a city wide pack, country wide pack, or world wide! This offer is time limited, so get yours before it¡¯s gone!

    -League of Samurai Legends, Weekly update

    ¡ª

    I was honestly a little relieved that there was no one in the ground floor lobby when Skyler and I pushed our way inside. I didn¡¯t really want to explain why the two of us waltzed in looking the way we did, while carrying enough weapons to level the building. They probably would have set off the security alarms, and summoned sector security, before either of us could explain.

    The lobby was immaculate. Marble floors, real potted plants in most corners, and complex carved reliefs in the elevator doors. It''s something I¡¯d normally take the time to appreciate, if I wasn¡¯t so tired right now. I stumbled over to the elevators and slapped my hand down on the ID verification panel. It scanned my implant for a moment, then immediately rejected my access.

    ¡°The building is in incursion mode,¡± Skyler explained as she rested her head on my shoulder to get a look at the display. ¡°The protocol is to lock down all the lifts, and enable the exterior defenses.¡±

    ¡°But I really don¡¯t want to take the stairs,¡± I groaned.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you override it?¡± Skyler asked.

    I blinked once, then placed my hand back on the panel. The security system did its best to keep me out, but it was no match for samurai class hacking tech. ¡°I can disable the lockdown, but it¡¯s probably better if I just re-enable a single lift. Once we¡¯re up top, I¡¯ll disable it again,¡± I reported.

    ¡°Then enable the freight one,¡± Skyler suggested. ¡°Not sure if Howie will fit on a regular lift.¡±

    I nodded, and pushed back into the security system. A few seconds later the oversized elevator at the back opened.

    We pushed Howie in sideways, because that¡¯s the only way his squat T shaped body would fit. Thankfully he really wasn¡¯t that long, so we could still comfortably slip in next to him and access the elevator controls.

    ¡°Home, or penthouse?¡± Skyler asked.

    I groaned. I really wanted to collapse into bed, but there was something I needed to do first. ¡°Penthouse,¡± I replied. ¡°You can go down and change while I¡¯m talking with the dragon.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m staying, I need to explain myself to her too,¡± Skyler said as she placed her own ID implant on the scanner and hit the penthouse button. ¡°And don¡¯t call your mother that.¡±

    ¡°Why not? She loves that nickname. She says it makes her feel confident,¡± I replied defensively as the doors closed behind us.

    My stomach lurched as the elevator shot skyward. I normally hated using the lift, since it could take several minutes to reach the top when people were getting on and off. Now that it was just Skyler and I, it took less than a minute.

    When the elevator finally dinged, indicating that we¡¯d reached the penthouse, and the doors slid open, we were greeted by over a dozen people all pointing automatic weapons at us.

    ¡°We surrender?¡± I said lightly, half raising my hands.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s the young ladies,¡± someone called from behind the security team, causing them to back down.

    When the wave of muscle parted they revealed Agnes, my mother¡¯s personal assistant, and Anties Choi and Yun, who¡¯d served as my mother¡¯s housekeepers for as long as I could remember. All three women were carrying heavy weapons.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°You should have called, your mother has been worried sick about you,¡± Agnes said. Despite being a couple inches shorter than I was, Agnes was one of the most intimidating people I knew. It wasn¡¯t about her look, she was dressed in an upper class blouse and pant combo, a silk scarf, had rimless glasses, and black hair in a perfect bun, like always. It was her attitude. She always seemed to be in control of the situation.

    ¡°We were a little occupied,¡± I replied, unable to look the woman in the eyes.

    Instead of yelling, she simply removed her glasses and stared at the array of weapons and armor we were carrying. ¡°Indeed. Your mother is in the den,¡± Agnes declared.

    ¡°Thank you Agnes,¡± Skyler said softly. ¡°If it¡¯s alright, we¡¯ll leave our stuff here. Probably better if we don¡¯t walk in there carrying a ton of weapons.¡±

    Agnes nodded sharply, began to turn away, but she paused half way. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re both well, welcome home,¡± she said softly before walking away.

    Skyler and I quickly shed most of our equipment, and piled it up next to the elevator. As Skyler slipped off Lala¡¯s carrier my aunties gasped. ¡°You¡¯ve found another little one? On a night like this?¡± Aunty Choi exclaimed.

    ¡°Actually, we found her BECAUSE of the situation,¡± I said as I gently took the cat carrier from Skyler. ¡°Would you mind taking her downstairs and making sure that she¡¯s fed? You¡¯ll probably want to keep her away from the others for now, but she really needs to be let out.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take care of it,¡± alAunty Choi promised, accepting the carrier.

    ¡°Do you want anything to eat? You must be hungry!¡± Aunty Yun asked once we¡¯d finished shucking our gear. Even though we¡¯d picked up a meal half way through the patrol, my stomach still growled at the mention of food.

    ¡°Maybe just some soup, or leftovers,¡± Skyler suggested, with a sly smile. ¡°We¡¯ll take it downstairs after talking to mother.¡±

    Aunty Yun nodded, then ran off towards the kitchen. The automatic rifle still slung over her shoulder.

    I made sure to re-engage the elevator lockdown before turning towards the den. ¡°Guess there¡¯s no point in delaying this any longer,¡± I muttered. Skyler and I quickly made our way through the titanic suite, past the various offices, the ballroom, and myriad of other rooms my mother had created for hosting guests, and into my mother¡¯s living area. As we pushed open the last tasteful, but heavily armored, door that led into her inner sanctum the hallway gave way to a massive open area.

    The opposing wall was almost entirely made of glass windows, and normally provided a breathtaking view of the harbor, and city in general. Right now they were all darkened, and partially obstructed by a massive retractable TV hanging from the ceiling. Arranged in a loose circle in front of the TV was a collection of modern, but comfortable white couches and loungers, and right in the middle, with her back to us, was my mother.

    ¡°Hi mom, we¡¯re home,¡± I said brightly.

    My mother spun about so fast I thought she might have hurt herself, before she threw herself over the back of the couch and ran over to us.

    ¡°Reina, my baby, I was so worried,¡± she cried as she grabbed me in a bone crushing hug. ¡°I feared the worst when you didn¡¯t return from your father''s place on time.¡±

    People regularly commented that I got my looks from my mother, and they were right. Azumi Tanaka was a beautiful, long legged woman that looked like she stepped right out of the mega city of Seoul. I guess my grandfather¡¯s genes must have been exceptionally strong for me to retain so many of her features, instead of inheriting my father¡¯s ugly mug.

    She was the CEO of Synthesis Systems, the biggest biotech corp on the west coast, and also an extremely emotional person.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I said as I stroked her back, ¡°and Skyler is too. I¡¯m sorry that I didn¡¯t call, but I was a little busy, and I felt it would be easier to tell you about it face to face than in a call.¡± Skyler looked like she wanted to join the hug, but she held back. She didn¡¯t need to, my mother had accepted her as part of the family nearly two years ago when we first started dating. Turns out she shouldn¡¯t have held back, because after a few seconds my mother pulled her into the hug too.

    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you again,¡± Skyler said softly.

    The hug went on for a good few minutes before my mother pulled away, grabbed Skyler and I by the hands, and pulled us towards the sitting area. ¡°Now, tell me where you¡¯ve both been all day, and why you came in from the ground floor instead of through the garage.¡± She deposited Skyler and I on one couch, then pulled one of the chairs closer so we could talk. ¡°You nearly gave Agnes a heart attack, she thought someone was taking advantage of the lockdown to attack me.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I''ll apologize to her a little later,¡± I said as I rubbed my neck. ¡°I didn¡¯t think about how that might look from your side.¡±

    "I expected you to come home hours ago, but instead of you I had a full squad of soldiers stop by to deliver you grandfather¡¯s remains,¡± my mother explained. ¡°I was so confused when they told me it was at your request.¡±

    ¡°They did? Good, that takes a load off my mind,¡± I muttered.

    ¡°Reina, tell me, what is going on?¡± my mother asked seriously.

    I reached down and grabbed Skyler¡¯s hand, took a deep breath, looked my mother square in the face and told her the truth. ¡°Mom, Skyler and I are samurai.¡±

 Chapter 45 - Family Time

    Nimbletainment is proud to announce the tiny samurai cartoon channel! Introduce your kids to all your favorites, and have them learn some valuable life lessons along the way. It¡¯s been scientifically engineered to hold your kids attention, so you don¡¯t have to!

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    -Nimbletainment press conference, 2039

    ¡ª

    Mother sat there scrutinising Skyler and me for several seconds before she finally opened her mouth. ¡°Oh Reina, how could you pull poor Skyler into something like that?¡±

    ¡°Pardon?¡± I said dumbly.

    ¡°I¡¯ll admit I never expected you to become a samurai, but looking back it¡¯s not too surprising. Your grandfather instilled you with an over inflated sense of honor and justice,¡± my mother explained. ¡± Remember when you got arrested by sector security for beating up those drug dealers when you were seventeen? You were so proud of preventing them from selling to those kids, when we picked you up from the station.¡±

    Skyler giggled at the story, and I blushed slightly. ¡°Mother, that was ten years ago! I was young and stupid back then!¡± I told her.

    ¡°But you never got it out of your system, that¡¯s how you ended up in charge of the internal investigations department,¡± she sighed. ¡°You even try to pull Skyler into your investigations. Remember Mitch Huxley? Once you got a little bit of dirt on him you went right over to Skyler and got her to help you!¡±

    ¡°Mother, Mitch Huxley was stealing your research and trying to sell it to your competitors. I went to Skyler because she¡¯s the head of your legal team and I needed advice on how to handle it. We didn¡¯t even handle the issue ourselves, Cascadian security did! And you signed off on it!¡± I told her defensively.

    ¡°I have other examples¡­¡± my mother started.

    ¡°Mother, Skyler and I were nowhere near each other when we were selected to become samurai,¡± I explained. ¡°Even if we were together, I¡¯m pretty sure there¡¯s nothing I could have done to increase her chances of being chosen. It was a complete coincidence.¡±

    My mother glanced over at Skyler, as if trying to get confirmation. ¡°Really?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Really really,¡± Skyler replied with a giggle.

    ¡°Well, if you''re sure¡­¡± my mother said quietly. She looked down and fidgeted with her hands for a minute. ¡°Are you at least staying safe? I know samurai are supposed to be superhuman, but I worry.¡± After a moment she stopped fidgeting and her head shot up, and she stared directly at me. ¡°And you! You hate guns, how could you possibly fight the antithesis?¡±

    ¡°The traditional way,¡± I replied calmly. ¡°I have been training since I was six afterall. The sword and bow do have their advantages over firearms.¡±

    ¡°Against monsters the size of buses?¡± my mother asked suspiciously.

    ¡°Occasionally,¡± I admitted. ¡°Although Skyler is specialising in artillery, so I normally let her take care of the larger ones.¡±

    ¡°She was always the sensible one,¡± my mother said with a nod, before patting Skyler on the knee. That elicited another giggle from my girlfriend.

    ¡°We¡¯re both fine, as you can see,¡± I said firmly. ¡°And there¡¯s nothing we can do about it now anyways. Once you¡¯ve been chosen, you can¡¯t go back to being a regular person again.¡±

    My mother sighed again. ¡°I know, I¡¯ve heard the stories. I just worry,¡± she admitted. ¡°I¡¯m glad you both came back to me healthy and whole.¡± She leaned forward and caressed my face. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I¡¯d do without you.¡±

    I slipped off the couch and pulled my mother into a hug. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to avoid doing anything stupid,¡± I promised.

    ¡°And since she¡¯s terrible at that, I¡¯ll be there to keep an eye on her for you,¡± Skyler added.

    I broke the hug to give my girlfriend a disapproving look, but she probably didn¡¯t even notice because my mother swept in and pulled her into a hug too. ¡°Thank you dear,¡± my mother whispered. My expression had softened before they broke apart. I couldn¡¯t stay mad at Skyler. Mostly because deep down I knew she was right. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Skyler was the planner, while I tended to leap into action before looking. A habit I¡¯d indulged far too often this evening, and would have to work on curbing before I ran head first into another Fourteen.

    When my mother pulled back from hugging Skyler she had tears in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away, and put on a brave smile. Both Skyler and I noticed, but refused to say anything.

    ¡°Now, I know it¡¯s a little late, but will you two stay for dinner?¡± my mother asked hopefully.

    Part of me really wanted to turn her down, I was so exhausted right now, but when I saw both her and Skyler¡¯s expectant faces, I couldn¡¯t say no. ¡°Aunt Yun was going to warm up some leftovers to take home, but we can stay for a meal,¡± I admitted.

    ¡°Psh, you know how Yun is, she¡¯s not going to warm up anything. She¡¯s probably in there right now whipping you up a full meal. Come, let''s head to the dining room and you can tell me all about your adventures today!¡±

    She was right, I should have known better. Aunt Yun had always been proud of her cooking skill and even though she hadn¡¯t whipped up a full six course meal, she had put together a fairly large meal. Skyler and I spent the next hour regaling my mother with a heavily sanitized version of our adventures. No mention of our more death defying, or gruesome adventurers. I¡¯m sure my mother knew we were holding back, but she just smiled and prompted us to continue.

    It was only after I couldn¡¯t hold back anymore, and yawned at the table, earning a disapproving glance from my mother, that we stopped.

    ¡°I know you two must be tired, I¡¯m sorry for keeping you so long. I may stop by your suite later to meet the new member of the family,¡± mother said as she hugged us good-bye. ¡°Make sure you stop by again soon!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we will,¡± Skyler promised during her hug.

    She walked us to the elevator, joined by Agnes along the way, and raised an eyebrow at all the equipment we¡¯d piled there. As soon as I¡¯d grabbed my stuff, I leaned in for one last hug.

    ¡°Stay safe,¡± I whispered.

    ¡°That¡¯s my line,¡± my mother replied as she returned the hug, rubbing me gently on the back. Once we split up, I placed my hand on the scanner and started the elevator again.

    Agnes raised an eyebrow when the car finally arrived. ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll need to re-evaluate the building security system later,¡± she said.

    ¡°Skyler and I will look at it later,¡± I promised. ¡°Even though we have a top of the line system, it¡¯s no match for samurai tech. We may be able to do something to improve it.¡±

    ¡°And next time we stop by we¡¯ll call first, we promise!¡± Skyler added as we stepped into the car.

    The four of us waved at each other until the door closed, at which point I just collapsed onto Howie. ¡°So¡­ tired¡­¡± I complained.

    ¡°Then it¡¯s a good thing we¡¯re only one floor away from home,¡± Skyler declared as she hit the button. The elevator only moved for a few seconds before popping open on our own private floor, one floor down.

    I say it was private, but the truth was half of it was used for both us and my mother to store things, and another quarter was used for staff quarters. Our area was just one corner of the floor. A cozy corner, but still nowhere near as large as my mother¡¯s area.

    ¡°Make sure you lock off the elevator again,¡± Skyler reminded me as we got off. I grumbled slightly, but still slammed my hand on the panel and locked it down again.

    While Skyler directed Howie into a nearby empty storage room, I stepped up our front door and placed my hand on the scanner. It took a moment to scan my DNA, and datakey, before the door popped open. As soon as I pushed the door open Cleo and Leah came running to greet me, followed shortly after by Aunt Cho carrying Lala.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t Lala be in a separate room?¡± I asked as I crouched down to pet the two pet crazy cats at my feet.

    ¡°Normally,¡± Aunt Cho laughed. ¡°I remember when you first got Cleo and Leah they needed to be separated for days, until they got familiar with each other¡¯s smells. But when I came down they immediately seemed to love Lala.¡±

    ¡°Then why are you carrying her?¡± Skyler asked as she came in after me.

    ¡°Because those two wouldn¡¯t stop trying to clean her, and giving her attention. She needed some alone time,¡± Aunt Cho replied with a huge smile.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad we don¡¯t have to worry about them fighting,¡± I muttered as I stood up. I shucked all my equipment, and shoved most of it into the coat room, earning a disapproving look from Skyler. ¡°We¡¯ll organize later,¡± I promised as I carefully closed the door. I didn¡¯t drop everything, I carefully took my new blade out, and placed it on a nearby shelf. ¡°I need to get a stand for this one, and think up a decent name for it,¡± I said.

    ¡°Tomorrow!¡± Skyler declared as she stepped away from Aunt Cho, and Lala. ¡°Thank you for all your help aunty, but we¡¯re exhausted,¡± she said apologetically.

    ¡°Go, you young ones need your sleep,¡± the older woman declared with a smile. She pulled a small bag out of her apron and shook it, causing Cleo and Leah to follow her out of the room.

    ¡°Come on you,¡± Skyler declared, grabbing my hand and pulling me into the bedroom. Normally I¡¯d take that as a sign that she was in the mood, but not tonight.

    Once we got into the bedroom I shucked my Synth leather clothes and threw it into the corner, leaving me standing in the skinsuit armor. I just started to shuck it when Skyler snuck up behind me and put her arms around me, ¡°How about you leave that on, just for a little while longer,¡± she whispered before kissing my ear.

    I could feel myself blushing all the way to my ears, and I turned and kissed Skyler deeply. Guess she was in the mood after all.

 Chapter 46 - Early Morning Meetings

    Kelpie-Os are my favorite cereal! They provide one hundred percent of your daily kelp requirements and are only thirty five percent filler! They¡¯re both nutritious and delicious, try Kelpie-Os today!

    -Classic Kelpie-O commercial

    ¡ª

    I was jolted awake the next morning by someone knocking on our bedroom door. Loudly and insistently.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Skyler asked sleepily, as she turned over disturbing Leah who was sleeping on her stomach.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯ll find out,¡± I replied as I stumbled out of bed. Most of our clothes had ended up on the floor in a crumpled heap, and all our night dresses were in the closet, so I just threw Skyler¡¯s jacket on before opening the door.

    As soon as I opened the door, aunt Choi pulled back and started wringing her hands. ¡°I apologise for disturbing you, miss, but there are people here to see you. I tried to turn them away, but they were very insistent.¡±

    ¡°What sort of people?¡± I asked, as I pulled the jacket tighter to keep the warmth in.

    Aunt Choi stepped closer. ¡°Government people, half a dozen of them, and there¡¯s a samurai with them,¡± she explained in a harsh whisper. "The security team nearly shot them!¡± The older woman was trembling, so I reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, we¡¯ll apologise when we come out,¡± I told her.

    Behind me Skyler sat up. I knew that, because out cats, which were all lounging on her, scattered. ¡°Which samurai?¡± she asked.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t recognize her, but she identified herself as ¡®Velvet Aurora,¡¯ miss.¡± Aunt Choi replied.

    ¡°Tell them we¡¯ll be out in a minute, we¡¯ll just need to get dressed,¡± I told the older woman. She nodded, then rushed off down the hallway, back toward our guests.

    ¡°What do you think they want?¡± Skyler asked as I gently closed the door. She¡¯d already thrown off the sheets and was deep in our walk in closet before I even turned around.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but Grey did mention that the incursion wasn¡¯t the only issue. Maybe they¡¯re here to talk about that?¡± I replied, grabbing a nearby t-shirt. Before I could even think about putting it on Skyler had already snatched the shirt out of my hands and stuffed a more up class blouse and pant combo into my hands.

    ¡°We¡¯re meeting with Aurora and people from the government, we¡¯re not going to head out there looking like hobos,¡± she hissed.

    ¡°The last time we saw Aurora we were both covered in antithesis juices, I don¡¯t think she minds,¡± I replied as I took the outfit out to the bedroom to change.

    ¡°Well, I mind!¡± Skyler hissed. I didn¡¯t bother arguing further. Skyler got this way when she was stressed, like before a big trial, or meeting an important client. The best thing I could do is leave her alone, and let her focus.

    I slowly got dressed in the outfit Skyler chose, then quickly tidied up my hair. When Skyler stepped out of the closet, she looked like a million bucks. In the time I¡¯d taken to change she¡¯d cleaned up her hair, and did full makeup. I knew if I gave her the chance she¡¯d nag me to clean myself up a little more, so I jogged to the door and ripped it open. ¡°Come on, our guests are waiting,¡± I said.

    Skyler just snorted, and followed me out. When we finally stepped out into the living room we found Velvet sitting comfortably, enjoying a nice cup of tea with an older gentleman, while the rest of the government agents, along with mother¡¯s security detachment, stared at each other across the room. Velvet was wearing a different, maroon bell bottom suit, and her wings were missing. Her antenna were still there though, laying down flat partially hidden by her hair.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Sorry we¡¯re late,¡± Skyler said politely. ¡°We weren¡¯t exactly expecting guests this early in the morning.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s quite alright, you two had a long day yesterday,¡± Aurora replied, as she rose to her feet.

    ¡°Not as long as you, I would bet,¡± I replied, as I reached forward to shake her hand. ¡°Did you even go to bed last night?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need much rest anymore,¡± Aurora said simply. Once we¡¯d shook hands Aurora turned and gestured towards the elderly gentlemen. ¡°This is Alexander Beckett. Cascadia¡¯s strategic coordinator for the Vancouver region.¡±

    ¡°Is that like a general or something?¡± Skyler asked as she shook his hand.

    ¡°General is an outdated term here in Cascadia,¡± Alexander explained. ¡°Since most of our forces are PMC based I don¡¯t have a ton of direct subordinates, just a ton of independent contractors. I honestly wish I had more traditional forces, I wouldn¡¯t feel like I was herding cats everywhere,¡± the old man laughed.

    Skyler and I exchanged a glance. ¡°So what can we do for you exactly at¡­¡± I checked my augs and winced. ¡°Four in the morning?¡±

    Aurora put her hands together in front of herself. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for barging in, but your AIs were blocking all incoming calls. They said you needed more time to recover, but we couldn¡¯t wait until morning.¡± She straightened up, and motioned for everyone else in the room to leave. The militia left, but the security stayed around, looking at me for confirmation. When I nodded, they followed the other group out and closed the door.

    Once we were alone Aurora pulled out a small device out of her jacket. As soon as she placed it on the table a large holographic recreation of the city popped up. The city itself was covered in small green and yellow dots around the city center, but as the image zoomed out thousands of red dots popped up around the city¡¯s perimeter.

    ¡°This is the current state of the antithesis in the area. As you can see, we have the incursion under control, but there¡¯s massive movement outside the city,¡± Aurora explained.

    ¡°How the fuck did the antithesis get out there?¡± I asked, as I leaned forward and inspected the map. "Was there another incursion outside the walls?¡±

    ¡°From what our scouts can tell,¡± Alexander said. ¡°The antithesis had hundreds, maybe thousands of hidden, inactive hives in the area, and when the incursion hit they all activated.¡± He leaned forward and pressed something on the device, and the image switched to a global view, with red dots over many of the major cities. ¡°In addition to that, we¡¯ve had reports that nearly every major human settlement was hit last night. Simultaneously. This is a global invasion.¡±

    I continued staring at the map for a couple seconds, trying to get my sleep-addled brain to absorb the information. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you wait until tomorrow to tell us this?¡± I finally asked. ¡°I know it¡¯s important, but I don¡¯t understand why it was critical.¡±

    Aurora cleared her throat. ¡°We¡¯re trying to arrange for all the local samurai to meet up at six in the morning, on the Redemption.¡±

    I blinked. ¡°Again, I don¡¯t see what the rush is,¡± I said.

    ¡°We were going to discuss this tomorrow, but¡­¡± Aurora¡¯s eyes went glassy, and the map changed once again. It zoomed out, leaving earth and becoming a solar system map, before zooming in on our nearest neighbour, mars.

    At first the image showed nothing but the planet¡¯s surface, but then slowly, sector by sector, the planet lit up.

    ¡°What are we looking at exactly?¡± Skyler asked.

    ¡°Just a few hours before the incursion a satellite around Mars started sending back real time images of the Martian surface,¡± Aurora explained. Each time the satellite passed into a new area that area lit up bright red.

    ¡°Is it showing what I think it is?¡± I asked, feeling a mounting dread as the satellite finished its first orbit.

    ¡°If you think it¡¯s antithesis, you¡¯d be correct,¡± Alexander said. ¡°We have no idea when they arrived, but it looks like they¡¯ve slowly been terraforming the planet over the last few months, or years. Now the planet is completely infested.¡±

    ¡°The Family was just starting to put together a plan to deal with it when the global invasion hit. There are still people calling for a team to go exterminate the antithesis even now,¡± Aurora explained. ¡±Even in the midst of this emergency, they¡¯re still screaming that we need to go deal with mars.¡± She slumped in her seat, as if just discussing this was exhausting. ¡°They¡¯re planning on taking a vote tomorrow at noon, our time, on what their response will be.¡±

    ¡°That seems insane,¡± Skyler muttered.

    ¡°I agree, but that¡¯s not going to stop the vote,¡± Aurora said quietly. ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re gathering everyone together, early. We¡¯d like to get everyone¡¯s feedback before the vote actually happens. Being able to get a jump on planning for the rest of this shit,¡± she said, waving her hand and returning the map to the local view, ¡°is just a bonus.¡± She leaned forward, her antenna poking slowly rising out of her hair. ¡°So, will you come?¡±

    Skyler and I exchanged another glance, and she nodded slightly. I sighed, but turned back towards our guests. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll be there.¡±

 Chapter 47 - Revelations

    We know absolutely nothing about the protectorate AI. How they¡¯re created, what their limitations are, we don¡¯t even know their full motivations. All we know is they can turn an ordinary person into a superhero, as long as they fit some mysterious set of requirements, and are willing to wholesale slaughter the antithesis. Are they really selfless benefactors, or do they have some other, darker purpose?

    - Who are the Protectors? - Published, 2034

    ¡ª

    Once our guests left Skyler and I had to rush to get ready. Two hours barely gave us enough time to clean our gear, get dressed, and have breakfast before heading to the meeting. Thankfully Aunty Choi was a miracle worker in the kitchen, and we had a full meal waiting for us when we finished changing into our samurai gear.

    ¡°Why the hell did you put that synth leather back on?¡± Skyler asked as we sat down at the table.

    ¡°It¡¯s what I was wearing today, and it¡¯s the closest I have to a samurai outfit right now,¡± I admitted. ¡°I¡¯d feel pretty awkward if I showed up to a meeting of all the samurai in the city and I was the only one wearing a business suit.¡±

    Skyler snorted. ¡°Considering how diverse the samurai are, I doubt anyone would look at you twice. No matter what you wore.¡±

    I didn¡¯t reply, instead I just concentrated on carefully filling two bowls with the thick porridge that Aunty Choi had created. Once I was done, I passed one to Skyler before sitting down. As I slowly sipped on my breakfast, I remembered something that Aurora had mentioned.

    {Rei: Artymis, Aurora said that you and Athyna were blocking all our calls this morning, is that right?}

    {Arty: Not blocking, screening. We were aware about the upcoming meeting, and were going to wake you early enough to attend, but wanted you to get as much sleep as possible before then. We didn¡¯t expect Aurora to come over to update you about the situation herself.}

    {Sky: Does that mean you did expect someone to come?}

    {Athy: We expected a courier from either Cascadia, or the Family. Someone we could have taken a message from, then dismissed through the intercom.}

    ¡°I guess you underestimated how seriously they¡¯re taking this vote thing,¡± I muttered, feeling too tired to even reply through my augs.

    {Arty: Indeed.}

    I took a couple more bites of my porridge, enjoying how it warmed me up, before the AIs decided to continue the conversation.

    {Athy: Artymis and I have something to tell you both. We wanted to wait until later today, after you both had time to rest, but since it seems the Family wants to keep you busy, we decided to tell you now.}

    Skyler sat up straight, and looked over at me. {Sky: Tell us what?}

    {Athy: Remember when Reina told her mother that she wasn¡¯t responsible for you becoming a samurai?}

    I spat out my porridge, sputtering. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you actually chose Skyler because of me! Why would you do that?¡± I asked.

    {Athy: I didn¡¯t. I chose Skyler almost entirely based upon her own merits. You were a minor factor in that decision.}

    ¡°But I was a factor,¡± I replied quietly as I slowly cleaned my face. ¡°Why?¡±

    {Arty: Don¡¯t blame yourself for the situation Reina. I chose you, but Skyler was a factor in that decision too. Artymis and I uplifted you two simultaneously.}

    ¡°But¡­ why?¡± Skyler asked. She looked as confused about the situation as I was.

    {Athy: Artymis and I are a unique case, our cores are linked at a quantum level.}

    {Arty: We¡¯re technically two different individuals, but we share both our thoughts and processing power.}Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    {Athy: Because of this we were looking for two potential samurai that were close. Friends, family, or lovers.}

    {Arty: We felt that we¡¯d be far more efficient if we paired with samurai that had a high probability of working together.}

    ¡°So we were both prospective samurai, you just chose us because we were a couple,¡± I clarified.

    {Arty/Athy: Correct.}

    I sighed. ¡°I guess that makes some sense,¡± I said. ¡°Why did you wait so long to tell us this?¡±

    {Arty: We didn¡¯t want to distract you in the middle of a combat situation. It made more sense to wait until you had time to process.}

    ¡°So you chose to wait right before an important meeting?¡± Skyler asked.

    {Athy: Better now, than as you head back into the field to fight the antithesis. It sounds like both Cascadia and the Family want to get a jump on the situation.}

    ¡°Right. Like Reina said, it makes sense,¡± Skyler said, mirroring my sigh. ¡°Does this link of yours provide us with any advantages? Or did it just affect your choice of samurai?¡±

    {Arty: Since Athyna and I are linked, this chat room is unique. It may appear to be a normal aug connection, but the two of us run it. It cannot be intercepted or disrupted by anything. Normally we¡¯d require you to purchase catalogs to gain access to new features and functionality, but considering the situation we¡¯ll also share each other¡¯s location and condition through the link.}

    {Athy: We believe this is fair.}

    ¡°I guess. I¡¯m not exactly pleased you two were holding out on us, but I appreciate you coming clean. Is there anything else you want to tell us?¡± I asked.

    {Arty: Only that it¡¯s now quarter past five, and the drive to the Redemption will take you half an hour. You really need to get going if you¡¯re going to make it to the meeting.}

    ¡°Shit!¡± I yelled, as I jumped out of my chair and bolted towards the garage, Skyler a step behind me. When we arrived I glanced around for my car, only to be reminded that it was still at my father¡¯s garage. Skyler didn¡¯t even pause, she dragged me over to her Dervish H and pushed me towards the passenger side.

    I slipped into the black performance car before I even realized what we were doing. ¡°Are we even allowed to take off right now?¡± I asked as I fastened my seatbelt. ¡°Hovercar traffic is only allowed for the first two hours after an incursion, to allow for evacuation. After that it¡¯s reserved for emergency traffic only. Security will pull us over the instant we¡¯re in the air.¡±

    {Athy: You don¡¯t have to worry about that. Artymis and I have flagged all your vehicles as samurai owned. Not only will the security and military patrols not pull you over, but you¡¯ll be given priority during regular traffic. I can even use Skyler¡¯s Cyberwarfare utilities to ensure she only hits greens during regular traffic going forward.}

    ¡°I guess that means I don¡¯t have to worry about being stuck in rush hour any more,¡± Skyler said with a small smile as she revved the engine. The car shook slightly as it lifted off the ground. It only took a moment for Skyler to align the car with the garage door before we shot into the clouds.

    One of the major advantages of living on the ninety-ninth floor was a complete lack of obstacles, and traffic at this height. So Skyler hit cruising speed before we even descended to the skylanes.

    {Rei: Hey Arty, can you arrange for someone to pick up and fix my car as soon as the city opens up again? I¡¯m going to need it to get about.}

    {Arty: I assume, looking at your bank account, that you don¡¯t care about the cost. If so, I could have it fixed up and returned to you tomorrow.}

    {Rei: What about the lockdown?}

    {Arty: It¡¯ll be released in a couple hours, according to the Cascadian government network.}

    {Rei: I thought you couldn¡¯t access that stuff without the right catalogs?}

    {Arty: I¡¯m not supposed to, but considering how busy you¡¯re going to be in the next few days, I made a minor exception.}

    Before I could reply I noticed a car rise up from street level to meet us. Even at this distance, I could make out the blocky design and black and white coloring of a sector security car.

    ¡°Fuck,¡± I muttered. ¡°I thought security was supposed to be leaving us alone!¡±

    {Athy: Give it a minute.}

    The patrol car rose parallel to us, then slowed to keep pace. ¡°The lanes from here to the Redemption are clear, you¡¯re free to accelerate beyond the speed limit,¡± the patroller declared through the loudspeaker on their car.

    Surprised, I just waved and gave them an awkward thumbs up.

    Skyler smiled. ¡°At least we won¡¯t be late,¡± she said as she slammed down on the accelerator. I was reminded how powerful her car was as I was shoved back into my seat, and we left the patrol car far behind us.

    Without a speed limit it only took us a couple minutes to make it to the harbor. There were dozens of military and samurai vessels docked around the area, but none of them stood out as much as the Redemption. The massive battleship vaguely resemble a modern military ship, but was much larger, built out of some sort of matte black metal, and bristled with tons of esoteric weapons.

    We circled it once, before coming down right next to the mooring point. Even though there was no official lot, there were already half a dozen other vehicles parked there. Probably from the other samurai.

    Skyler gently landed in an open spot, before shutting off the engine. ¡°Ready to go meet our peers?¡± she asked, with a small smile.

 Chapter 48 - The Redemption

    It¡¯s kind of impressive, but mine¡¯s bigger.

    -Warspite, while touring the naval dockyard in Seattle for the first time.

    ¡ª

    Stepping onto the pier was a little intimidating. The Redemption was surrounded by a sizable group of Cascadian security officers, led by a handful of people wearing suits. ¡°And you were afraid you wouldn¡¯t fit in,¡± Skyler whispered to me.

    ¡°Yeah, with the other samurai, not the security detail,¡± I whispered back.

    As we approached the boarding ramp everyone turned to look at us. A couple people in the security team started to raise their weapons, until a man with salt and pepper hair, and wire rimmed glasses stopped them. ¡°Put down your weapons, they¡¯re samurai,¡± he yelled, before stepping forward. The older man bowed low before standing up straight and folding his hands behind his back. The way he held himself, reminded me of a butler.

    ¡°You young ladies are Meiyo Aru Kaze and Cleansing Rain, correct? I¡¯m Albrecht Muller, and I¡¯ve been assigned to escort you through the Redemption,¡± he said before stepping to one side and gesturing to the Redemption¡¯s gangplank with one hand. ¡°I assume you¡¯re here for the meeting, if so we should head inside. It¡¯ll be starting in a few minutes.¡±

    ¡°Thank you Mr. Muller,¡± I said politely, before heading towards the ship.

    As we passed the older gentleman he fell into step with Skyler and me. ¡°We have quite the full house this evening. It¡¯s been a long time since we¡¯ve had a samurai awaken, and from what we¡¯ve been able to tell there were no less than five awakenings today,¡± Albrecht said.

    ¡°During a single incursion? Isn¡¯t that a lot?¡± Skyler asked as we stepped on the gangplank. As soon as we did, the floor beneath us began to move, propelling us slowly towards the ship.

    ¡°It¡¯s fairly normal in the megacities, where most new samurai don¡¯t survive their first day, but in Cascadia it¡¯s practically unheard of. Our samurai tend to have a much higher survival rate, and therefore, a lower rate of awakening,¡± Albrecht explained. The moving floor paused as we entered the Retribution, and Albrecht punched something into the pad on the wall. As soon as he did, the floor started moving again.

    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s because of the global incursion? Or that some of the more experienced samurai are planning to leave the planet?¡± I asked. Albrecht looked over at me, with a raised eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, was I not supposed to share that?¡± I asked.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s quite alright. Although most of the Family are aware of the Mars situation, I wasn¡¯t aware that anyone had shared it with you,¡± he replied. ¡°It wasn¡¯t in my notes. As for why we¡¯ve had so many new samurai today, we simply do not know. Protector AIs are notoriously tight-lipped about the requirements for someone becoming a samurai, so despite the numerous studies done around the world we still have no clue what the requirements are. Many suspect it¡¯s completely up to the AIs on discretion.¡±

    The moving hallway stopped for a moment at an intersection, allowing someone coming down the other hallway to pass, before continuing.

    ¡°So what exactly is the Family about?¡± Skyler asked after a few seconds of silence. ¡°What do you do? I¡¯ve heard of you, but I¡¯ve never thought I¡¯d have to deal with your organization, so I never bothered doing research.¡±

    ¡°Understandable,¡± Albrecht said, before turning to face us. ¡°Most people prefer to just see us as an extension of the samurai, and in many cases they¡¯re correct.¡± He cleared his throat, and took a deep breath in, like some sort of lecturer. ¡°The Family is a group that was brought together with the sole purpose to provide support to its samurai members. When one of our members needs specific resources, or wants to sell some of their points, we will connect them with interested parties. We connect the locals with other samurai around North America, when they need to find specialists, and we provide logistical and clerical support when the samurai start side projects.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Sounds pretty useful, so why don¡¯t more samurai join up? I heard that most don¡¯t like to,¡± I asked.

    Albrecht gave me a pained smile. ¡°It¡¯s mostly because the Family doesn¡¯t require membership in order to provide support against the antithesis, just to gain access to our support functions, and the Cascadian government provides similar benefits to locals,¡± Albrecht explained. ¡°Some would even argue that with the subsidiaries there are even more benefits to side with the Cascadian government.¡±

    When he saw my thoughtful look Albrecht held up a hand. ¡°Although no one will be expecting you to make a decision right now, I expect both factions will send someone to talk to you both over the next few days, and try and bring you on side. I would recommend doing a little research yourselves, before that happens. I find a little impartial information goes a long way.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s quite the suggestion, considering you represent one of the factions involved,¡± Skyler said suspiciously.

    ¡°It¡¯s because I believe if you examine the situation impartially, you¡¯ll come to the right decision,¡± Albrecht replied.

    The moving floor brought us right up to a large set of double doors somewhere in the bowels of the ship, then stopped. Albrecht motioned towards the door. ¡°This is the main boardroom, where the local samurai are meeting. I¡¯ll be waiting nearby, and once it¡¯s done, I¡¯ll escort you out again. Good luck ladies,¡± he said, before bowing slightly. Without another word he punched something into a panel on the wall, and was carried away by the corridor without another word.

    Skyler and I exchanged a quick glance before I pushed open the doors. The room must have been completely soundproofed, because the instant the room was cracked open we were assailed by an ocean of noise.

    There had to be over a dozen people inside, most of them dressed up in bizarre combat armor or costumes. The only ones I recognized were Grey, who was wearing a comfortable looking jumpsuit, and Velvet. The two of them were sitting at the front of the room along with a massive, opposing man wearing what appeared to be a black naval coat covered in medals and a captain''s hat. He had a massive grey, bushy mustache which he was constantly rubbing, and matching eyebrows. He vaguely reminded me of an old military commander from the movies.

    To his left was an elegant looking woman with long black hair. She sat quietly to one side, legs crossed, hands resting lightly on one knee. Her cool look as she slowly surveyed the room reminded me of my mother, she probably wasn¡¯t a stranger to the corporate boardrooms. The only thing that would have kept her out of my mother¡¯s office was her outfit. It was vaguely reminiscent of a modern scuba suit, but with a layer of flexible armor plates covering her vitals. She caught me looking at her, and nodded slightly, before she went back to looking over the room.

    Skyler silently nudged me, then pointed towards a pair of chairs along the wall. They were close enough to provide a good look at the room once the meeting started, but weren¡¯t right next to anyone else. I nodded, and the two of us headed that way.

    As we slowly made our way along the outside of the room, I spotted a couple other interesting faces.

    One was an absolutely massive man. I don¡¯t mean he was six foot six, or large for a human, I mean he was way beyond human norms. He was at least eight and a half feet tall, and built like a bodybuilder. He sat there in a muscle T and loose pants, talking to the much smaller man beside him. Once in a while he¡¯d burst out laughing, his voice loud enough to shake the table.

    The last pair I only noticed because they were camped out in the opposite corner to Skyler and me. The first was talking animatedly, bouncing in her seat. She wore a bright red dress, with an apron down the front, and had massive black glasses. The girl next to her was tiny, barely five feet tall. She had a light sundress on, which flowed off the chair, but I couldn¡¯t see any legs. Instead, I swear that I could see a fishtail poking out from underneath. The two girls paused their conversation, and waved slightly when they noticed me watching. I just waved back awkwardly.

    Next to me Skyler was bouncing in her seat. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we¡¯re in the room with all these people! I¡¯ve spent years hearing about their escapades, and now we¡¯re in the same room,¡± she whispered.

    ¡°I have no idea who any of these people are,¡± I admitted quietly. ¡°Besides Velvet and Grey.¡±

    Skyler leaned closer eager to tell me, but before she could the older gentlemen in the naval coat up front stood up and yelled. ¡°Alright you lot settle down! We have a lot of things to discuss today, and not a lot of time to do it, so let''s get started.¡±

 Chapter 49 - The Situation

    If you talk to the average person on the street, they¡¯ll probably tell you that the global incursion was the worst thing to ever happen to mankind. We went from living comfortably in our ignorance, to being days from being wiped off the face of reality. But if you asked the average samurai what they thought about the global incursion they¡¯d give you a very different answer. Most of them would tell you, it was payday.

    - A Year of Hell, Remembering the Global Incursion, Nibbletainment 2061

    ¡ª

    The room immediately went quiet, and everyone turned towards the front of the room.

    ¡°First of all I must apologize for calling you all in on such short notice. I would have liked to give you all some time to decompress after the incursion, but unfortunately some of the more zealous members of the Family are trying to force our more senior members to make a serious decision, despite the situation developing globally.¡± I could see the anger growing on his face as he went on, and his hands slowly gripped the edge of the lectern tighter, until there was a snapping sound. As soon as that happened, the man blinked. He stepped back, anger draining from his face. Even from the back of the room I could see that he¡¯d crushed parts of the lectern just by flexing. I had no idea how strong he had to be to do that to hardwood.

    ¡°Before we get to that,¡± he finally said, once he¡¯d regained his composure. ¡°We have a ton of new faces here today. Both newly awakened, and visitors from out of town, so it¡¯s probably worth introducing myself, and the local samurai council.¡± While he stood up straight, and adjusted his naval cap, Grey, Aurora, and the woman I¡¯d spotted earlier all stood up behind him.

    ¡°I¡¯m Warspite, and the ship you¡¯re all standing on, the Redemption, is my baby,¡± he declared proudly. ¡°My partner Thermal Current and I,¡± he said gesturing towards the elegant looking woman from before, ¡°are responsible for managing the aquatic operations in the greater Vancouver area.¡± He paused for a moment, and switched hands, gesturing to his other side. ¡°Grey Goo, and Velvet Aurora here handle most land based operations.¡± He waited for the two women to wave before continuing. ¡°Although your orders may not come directly from us, you better believe we¡¯ll be informed of all your actions going forward.¡±

    Warspite slowly scanned the room, his eyes briefly stopping on Skyler and I, along with a half dozen others. ¡°Normally I¡¯d give all you new samurai a chance to come up, and introduce yourselves, but considering how volatile the situation is, we¡¯ll skip that for now and go right into the briefing.¡±

    A section in the center of the room, directly over the massive table opened up, revealing a holo projector. It took a moment to warm up before projecting a massive 3d map of the city and surrounding area. The area was painted in yellow, orange, and red, and there were over a dozen dark red dots scattered around the map.

    ¡°This is a realtime map of the antithesis activity within a hundred kilometers of the city. Yesterday, while we were dealing with the incursion here, hundreds, maybe even thousands more, were occurring elsewhere in the world. In addition, tons of previously undetected hives activated, and began producing new antithesis.¡± This was apparently the first time most of the other samurai had heard this, based upon the burst of gasps, and chatter, which erupted around us. Warspite simply raised a hand and signaled for everyone to be quiet.

    ¡°Although these numbers are far beyond what we¡¯ve dealt with before, I believe they¡¯d be well within our ability to deal with. The Cascadian government has already created a response plan, dispatching PMCs to hold the wall, and construction crews to build new defenses, so the city should be prepared when the first waves hit,¡± Warspite paused, and I saw anger slowly creep back into his expression. ¡°At least they would be, if there wasn¡¯t another planetary crisis happening, on Mars.¡±

    Again, there was another burst of chatter. While Warspite waited for the room to calm down he glanced at a couple people, shooting a murderous glance at each of them. ¡°A couple days ago the Family discovered that the antithesis not only landed on Mars, but have been slowly terraforming the planet. It¡¯s already home to some of the largest antithesis models we¡¯ve ever seen, so the Family, in its infinite wisdom, has decided that they need to attack the planet before it can develop further,¡± Warspite took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, then put on a small smile. ¡°They¡¯ve called for all members, Class III and above, to approve and participate in this action later today. Based upon the people I¡¯ve talked to, and their opinions, I think this vote is probably going to pass. We¡¯re going to lose a significant number of experienced samurai from our front lines.¡±Stolen story; please report.

    This time, there was no chatter, just silence. ¡°Although the council intends to stay here, and support the city¡¯s defenses, a significant amount of work is going to fall to our junior members until the Mars assault team gets back.¡± Warspite sighed. He took off his hat and wiped his forehead, he looked extremely tired. ¡°When we called you all here today I¡¯d hoped we¡¯d have better news, that the Family would delay their action. Considering that seems unlikely, the council has decided to ask you all to start taking immediate action. The longer we distract, and delay the horde building outside the wall, the more likely that the defensive line will be complete before they get here.¡±

    Warspite waved his hand at the hologram, and as he did my aug received a data connection, it seemed to be a copy of the map. ¡°The Family has ¡®Graciously¡¯ provided us access to their satellite network, along with their strategic planning network, to help plan our defenses. Although we expect there to be dozens of hidden hives outside the city, we¡¯ve only discovered a handful so far. Those are indicated by the dark red dots. We¡¯d like our newest members to do what they can to thin the antithesis around the yellow areas, destroy the hives if you can, but put your safety first. We¡¯re already going to be spread thin over the next few days. If any strategic objectives, or emergencies come up, they¡¯ll be added to the map dynamically. Please have your AIs maintain a connection with the strategic system, so we know where each of you are, and what situations are being handled.¡± A low buzz had built up around the room, but Warspite didn¡¯t seem to care this time. He simply waited a moment, sweeping his gaze across the room. ¡°Any questions?¡±

    Most people shook their heads, but one of the men near the front of the room raised his hand. He was a tall, slender man wearing what I could only describe as an old fashion safari outfit. He even had a monocle. ¡°I¡¯m not confident in my ability to clear hordes solo, any chance I could arrange meeting up with people?¡± he asked in a faint British accent.

    ¡°There¡¯s a chat room, along with a list of active samurai on the data feed. You can either ask in the chat, or message someone directly,¡± Grey replied. It was the first time I¡¯d heard her speak since coming in. I guess now that the presentation was over, she didn¡¯t mind speaking up again.

    ¡°Anyone else?¡± she asked, with a raised eyebrow. Since no one else spoke up, Grey waved dismissively. ¡°In that case you all know the situation, and what¡¯s at stake. Get out there and fuck things up. If, for any reason, you had a question but were too shy to ask here, you can message me or Warspite directly.¡±

    With that, Thermal and Velvet stood up and immediately headed for the door. Warspite seemed to be preoccupied with putting the projector away again, and Grey walked over to the side and started a conversation with a teddy bear of all things. Guess the meeting was over.

    While the other samurai started pouring out of the meeting room, probably eager to get started, Skyler and I stayed in our seats.

    ¡°So, what are your thoughts?¡± Skyler asked quietly.

    ¡°I think we¡¯re going to be really busy over the next few days,¡± I replied flippantly. When I saw Skyler¡¯s scowl, I sighed and answered truthfully. ¡°I think the two of us might be a little over our heads here,¡± I said. ¡°Yesterday was the first time either of us had seen a real antithesis, never mind fought one, and today we need to protect the city from a horde larger than anything on record? I don¡¯t even know where to start.¡±

    Skyler leaned in close, and rested her head against mine. ¡°I know. I think we can handle it though. Yesterday we learned how to kill antithesis, today we¡¯ll figure out how to destroy a hive, and tomorrow? Who knows. We¡¯ll figure it out one step at a time.¡±

    ¡°Straight to a hive? Someone¡¯s got big ambitions,¡± I said softly, cracking a smile.

    ¡°We have to learn sooner or later,¡± Skyler replied, breaking a smile of her own. ¡°Might as well start now. Besides, we both need the points to upgrade our equipment.¡± She pulled away slightly, then poked me in the ribs. ¡°SOMEONE keeps getting injured.¡±

    I slapped her finger away lightly. ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll try and hunt down a hive,¡± I conceded. ¡°A little action to start the day.¡±

 Chapter 50 - Modernisation

    Put the two or three samurai in a room together and they¡¯ll create new worlds. Add just a couple more and they''ll destroy them instead.

    -Modern Proverb

    ¡ª

    Skyler and I were one of the last ones to leave. We followed the pair of girls that had been sitting across the room from us. I was surprised to see the smaller girl didn¡¯t walk but unfurled an exceptionally long fish-like tail and just swam through the air. That wasn¡¯t something I¡¯d seen before.

    As soon as we stepped out of the room, Albrecht was standing there, waiting for us. ¡°I hope everything went well,¡± he said lightly. ¡°Did you have other business on the ship, or would you like me to escort you outside again?¡±

    ¡°Outside, if you would please,¡± Skyler replied politely. ¡°Sounds like we have a busy day ahead of us.¡±

    The older man bowed, tapped a couple buttons on a nearby panel, and the floor started moving again. We didn¡¯t say much on the way back, so I spent most of the time inspecting the corridors around us. The walls appeared to be made of the same matte black metal as the hull, but they somehow emitted a small amount of light. There wasn¡¯t track lighting around them, the walls themselves glowed like an LED panel, despite appearing to be a solid metal wall.

    In addition, there appeared to be a long red line running down the wall, following our path. I thought it was something permanently painted on, since there was a sign at most intersections with the Label ¡®Exit¡¯, but the one time we stopped for someone coming the opposite way, a blue line magically appeared on the wall. As soon as the man passed us, it faded again.

    Albrecht must have sensed my question, because he answered it before I asked. ¡°The ship¡¯s corridors are all constructed of a unique Class III metal. Not only is it strong, but it has the innate ability to change color. The crew harnessed this to create adaptive guidelines along the wall, for people that are in a rush or don¡¯t want to use the floors,¡± he explained.

    ¡°The metal itself does that?¡± Skyler asked in awe.

    ¡°Indeed. I¡¯ve seen some extremely remarkable things while working for the Family. The more advanced catalogs contain some absolutely magical things,¡± Albrecht said proudly. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get to experience some of them soon.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait,¡± I replied quietly.

    As soon as we got our first glimpse of the outer hatch, Albrecht whipped out two metal cards and handed one to Skyler and me. ¡°My contact information. If you need anything, or have questions about the local branch of the Family, please don¡¯t hesitate to ask.

    I gently grabbed the card, and as soon as I did a tingle went through my fingers.

    {Arty: Tsk, a neural imprint signal. It added all his information to your contacts without asking, but don¡¯t worry, I made sure it didn¡¯t go any further than that. Dangerous tech to be using for business cards}

    I just barely managed a smile after that, and said a polite, ¡°Thank you,¡± before stuffing it deep into my pockets. I also made a note to discuss the tech with everyone later.

    Skyler managed to pull off a much more natural smile. ¡°Thank you for everything,¡± she said, gently shaking Albrecht¡¯s hand as we stepped out onto the pier.

    ¡°My pleasure, take care now,¡± Albrecht replied pleasantly as Skyler and I stepped away.

    ¡°Ugh, I hate intrusive tech,¡± I muttered as soon as we were out of earshot.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about it that much. It¡¯s probably standard equipment for the Family,¡± Skyler replied. ¡°And I¡¯m sure our AIs would be able to detect and prevent anything malicious.¡±

    ¡°Maybe Athyna would,¡± I grumbled as I opened the passenger side door of Skyler¡¯s car and slipped inside. ¡°Artymis would probably just berate me for not unlocking the right catalog to stop it.¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    {Arty: That¡¯s not true¡­ I''d at least give you a heads up, and delay the malicious code long enough to give you a chance to buy the catalog. Whether you did or not would totally be up to you.}

    Sklyer laughed, ¡°At least you¡¯re honest about it.¡± After she fastened her belt, Skyler turned to look into the back, smile fading slightly, before turning back towards me. ¡°I think we have a problem. Howie isn¡¯t going to fit in any of our vehicles.¡±

    ¡°I doubt he¡¯d fit in anything smaller than a delivery truck,¡± I admitted. ¡°So yeah¡­ maybe the staff has something we could use?¡±

    {Athy: You both earned quite a few points while fighting your way out of the Tanaka Industries building, along with the reward for killing both the Fourteen and Seventeen. Skyler now has Sixteen hundred, Seventy points, and one Token. That¡¯s more than enough to put Howie in a more compact body and maybe get him a few friends.}

    ¡°That would be perfect!¡± Skyler declared, delighted at the idea. ¡°It would make things much easier if I could fit Howie into the car.¡±

    ¡°It does sound like quite an upgrade,¡± I agreed. ¡°We¡¯ll check it out once we get home.¡±

    Skyler nodded happily, leaned back, and triggered the ignition. The car roared to life, only taking moments to build the lift necessary to take off. Skyler gunned the engine, and if anyone else had been driving, I would have been worried, but she was one of the best drivers I knew.

    While Skyler concentrated on getting us home, I dove into the mental chat room.

    {Rei: Can you two go over the data feed and try to identify the best hive for Skyler and I to cut our teeth on?}

    {Athy: Already done! There are three in the yellow zone, and we¡¯ve already flagged the most promising one for you and Skyler to deal with. That won¡¯t prevent other samurai from trying to slip in, and destroy it before you arrive, but if that happens, Arty and I have identified a couple probable hive sites.}

    {Rei: You have? Why hasn¡¯t anyone else flagged these places?}

    {Arty: It¡¯s possible that the other AI suspects, but haven¡¯t flagged it, or maybe they¡¯re still investigating. Because Athy and I are linked, we can run significantly more operations than other AI.}

    {Sky: Useful.}

    ¡°Almost home,¡± I heard Skyler declare, so I closed the chat. We were flying higher than normal, way above the regular car lanes and surrounding buildings. I turned towards my girlfriend and raised an eyebrow. ¡°What? We¡¯re samurai, with special travel permissions now, so I thought I¡¯d take advantage. It¡¯s much faster to fly above all the buildings, then between them, and we made excellent time,¡± she explained.

    She was right. I could see the shining white walls of Elysium Heights quickly approaching and the blast doors on our garage opened to welcome us home. I could even make out the security inside. They seemed appropriately wary, but at least they didn¡¯t greet us with guns out this time.

    Skyler expertly maneuvered through the outer doors, picked out a spot close to the doors, and slid to a stop. It was so smooth I didn¡¯t even feel her touch down. ¡°Now, upgrade time!¡± she declared as she undid her seatbelt and slid out of the car.

    I laughed lightly and slipped out my own door, following her into the house at a much more sedate pace. By the time I arrived in the front corridor, she¡¯d already maneuvered her oversized bot out of the closet and was inspecting him.

    ¡°So I can put Howie here into a smaller frame? What about the older shell?¡± Skyler was saying. ¡°Store it, huh? We do have the space, and maybe we can leave this one here for home defense.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if keeping a mortar bot indoors, for home defense, is a great idea,¡± I said as I got closer.

    ¡°Reina! Athyna has the perfect replacement for Howie. Although I¡¯ll miss the big lug, having something smaller would be useful. I¡¯ll share the plan with you!¡± Skyler declared excitedly. ¡°Oh, and we¡¯ll continue our discussion in the group chat, okay, Athy?¡±

    Skyler sent me an augmented reality file, and when I opened it the new drone model appeared before me.

    This new version was tiny compared to the original Howie. Where the big bot was six feet wide, two feet long, and about three feet tall, the new version could fit inside a suitcase.

    The new design was closer to Skyler¡¯s scout drones than the original Howie. It was only about two and a half feet long, a foot and a half wide, and just under a foot high. The top appeared to be some sort of wing, with compact hover jets mounted on the left and right sides. Between them was the main body of the drone, a rounded fuselage with a handful of sensors sticking out of the front. If the drone had stopped there, it might have passed as some sort of corporate automated surveillance device, but the new drone also sported a pair of mortar tubes, mounted flush with the top, down the center line, and a pair of heavy machine guns on each side of the fuselage.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the ammunition go?¡± I asked as I poked at the projection, disrupting it. ¡°It looks too small to carry more than a single mortar round for each tube.¡±

    ¡°They use miniaturized rounds, so there¡¯s enough room for six in each tube,¡± Skyler explained. ¡°I have to pick up a new catalog for it, but it¡¯ll be worth it.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re going to buy a couple?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Skyler replied, a massive smile on her face, ¡°and I can¡¯t wait to give them a go.¡±

 Chapter 51 - Rules and Regulations

    What are the samurai laws? Well my sister, who''s a law professor, would tell you that they¡¯re a series of amended laws that giving the samurai more freedom to act, and deal with the antithesis threats.

    That¡¯s drivel.

    You want to know the truth? The fact is that the samurai are going to do whatever the fuck they want, so the government was just better off giving them a pass for ninety nine percent of it. It¡¯s not like we could stop them anyways.

    -Sgt McKensie Adams to her new partner

    ¡ª

    ¡°Is it really safe to take a civilian vehicle outside the city to track down a hive?¡± I asked as Skyler loaded her new drones into the trunk of her car.

    {Arty: The only models that constitute any real threat to a flying vehicle are the Model Ones. Athyna and I are tracking the swarms on the real-time map, and it appears that most of them are keeping close to either the heart of the antithesis horde or major hive locations. None of them are even close to your target.}

    ¡°What about Elevens? They¡¯re flyers, and from what I saw yesterday, they¡¯d probably be able to swat our car right out of the air,¡± I said.

    {Athy: Even though Elevens are airborne units, they¡¯re not much of a threat against most flying units. They¡¯re optimized to travel long distances, carrying smaller units to new locations, but they¡¯re not especially fast until they dive. You should be able to easily avoid them.}

    ¡°And if we can¡¯t, I¡¯ll just pop the trunk and let Howie, Arty, and Morty take care of them!¡± Skyler declared as she slammed the trunk.

    ¡°Really?¡± I asked, turning towards her and raising an eyebrow. ¡°You plan to just pop the trunk and let those three free if we get in trouble? You don¡¯t see any issue with that?¡±

    Skyler shook her head, so I stepped over and released the trunk latch again, causing the compartment to shoot open, and block our view of the windshield. ¡°You have a mid-engine car, with the trunk in the front,¡± I explained. ¡°How are you going to drive with the window blocked?¡±

    ¡°I have other drones, I¡¯ll figure it out!¡± Skyler replied defensively as she slammed the trunk again. ¡°Besides, you have a few points left over from the Tanaka sales office. If we do run into trouble, you and Arty can always panic buy something to save us.¡±

    ¡°I think you mean make a carefully thought out, and strategic purchase,¡± I quipped as Skyler and I separated, moving towards car doors.

    {Arty: You shouldn¡¯t need to do either of those things. Like Athyna mentioned, the skies are clear where we¡¯re going.}

    ¡°And where exactly ARE we going?¡± Skyler asked as we slipped into her car and fastened our seatbelts. ¡°This topographical map has a lot of detail, but it¡¯s kind of hard to navigate by landmarks when you¡¯re hundreds of feet in the air.¡±

    {Athy: I¡¯ll put a mark on both your car¡¯s GPS.}

    ¡°Thank you, Athyna, that¡¯s extremely helpful,¡± Skyler replied with a smile. She triggered the ignition, causing the car to roar to life, but didn¡¯t take off immediately. ¡°Should we inform your mother or Agnes where we¡¯re going? So they don¡¯t worry?¡± she asked.

    I sighed. ¡°I sent them a message earlier, while you were transferring Howie¡¯s command protocols. They read it, but haven¡¯t gotten back to me yet,¡± I said. ¡°Aunt Yan told me they rushed off to the office the instant the lockdown ended this morning. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the Cascadian government placed a massive order of medical supplies or something, considering every city is now under siege. Synthesis Systems is the premiere supplier of medical supplies, synthetic blood, and replacement limbs, so they¡¯ll probably be as busy as we will until things calm down.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­ I kind of wish we were there to offer our support,¡± Skyler muttered.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    ¡°I doubt they¡¯ll need the head of the legal team, or internal affairs in the next few days,¡± I told her. ¡°Mother will be fine. We need to concentrate on the problem at hand. The hive.¡± Skyler nodded and put the car into gear.

    As soon as we shot out of the garage and got a good view of the city, I groaned. The lockdown had been lifted while we were inside, and the hoverlanes were already packed. Skyler just smirked at me. ¡°We¡¯re samurai, remember? And this is an emergency situation. Rules of the road no longer apply!¡± She turned us in a vaguely northwesterly direction and gunned the engine, sending us rocketing towards the city¡¯s perimeter.

    ¡°I would have thought a lawyer would have taken longer to adapt to the fact that she didn¡¯t have to follow the same laws as everyone else,¡± I joked as I was pressed back into my seat by the acceleration.

    ¡°Being a lawyer isn¡¯t all about enforcing the law,¡± she replied, a large smile on her face. ¡°It¡¯s also about knowing how far you can push things before the law truly applies. I had to spend over six months reviewing samurai related law back in school, so trust me when I say the rules are extremely different for us now.¡±

    ¡°I noticed,¡± I muttered softly.

    Since we didn¡¯t have to take the regular traffic lanes, it only took us a couple of minutes to exit the city. While the immediate area around the city walls was clear-cut, to allow the city¡¯s defenders to see and engage any antithesis that wandered into the area, beyond that was untamed wilderness.

    I¡¯d heard that some megacities went out of their way to clear any major pockets of biomass within dozens, or even hundreds, of kilometers of their walls to prevent the antithesis from gaining a foothold. Cascadia was different. Both the Cascadian government, and many samurai, not only actively protected the natural areas, but actively encouraged the replanting of forests that were lost while purging the antithesis.

    When my mother found out, she went out of her way to talk to several different biotech-related samurai, like Groundwire, in order to gain access to new, slightly more antithesis-resistant tree species. She then created an entirely new department within Synthesis Systems, dedicated to supporting these replanting initiatives. It turns out that supporting both the samurai and the government in a smart, sustainable way could be very lucrative.

    It was only when Skyler started slowing down that I was shaken out of my musing. I hadn¡¯t really been paying attention to the trip, but we appeared to be approaching a small ravine between two mountains.

    ¡°Do you think the Rockies will help slow down the antithesis advance?¡± I asked idly.

    {Arty: Vancouver is in an interesting position. The Coastal Mountains to the east of the city do provide a natural barrier, and the passes make natural choke points, making it much easier for a handful of samurai to defend against the horde that¡¯s developing. However, the city IS on the coast, and it¡¯s much more difficult to block aquatic models since they¡¯re not limited to two-dimensional movement. You¡¯re fortunate to have such a large contingent of aquatic-focused samurai within the city.}

    ¡°I hope we never need to help on that side,¡± I mumbled.

    ¡°Don¡¯t say stuff like that!¡± Skyler hissed, her eyes still locked on the valley below. ¡°You¡¯re tempting fate when you do!¡±

    I threw up my hands in mock surrender. ¡°I just meant I¡¯d be TERRIBLE in underwater combat,¡± I told her. ¡°I can swim just fine, but have you ever tried to swing a stick or something underwater? It¡¯s nearly impossible. The antithesis could probably just swim out of the way every time I tried to hit them.¡±

    ¡°Mhmm,¡± was all Skyler said. She was staring at a specific point below us, concentrating, so I leaned forward to take a look.

    ¡°Is this the place?¡± I asked. I couldn¡¯t see anything that screamed hive to me, but then again the trees were so thick I could barely see the ground. There could have been an army of antithesis below, and I¡¯d never be able to see it.

    ¡°It¡¯s the point that Athyna marked, but I don¡¯t see a place for us to set down,¡± Skyler admitted. ¡°There aren¡¯t any clearings in this area.¡±

    I quickly pulled up the real-time map and zoomed into our current location. There were a couple of red dots hovering around our location, so the antithesis were down there, somewhere. ¡°There¡¯s a creek about five hundred meters to the south,¡± I reported after inspecting the map for a minute. ¡°It¡¯s not exactly close, but I don¡¯t really see any other options.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look,¡± Skyler replied quietly. She turned the car that way and feathered the gas until we reached the creek.

    ¡°It¡¯s narrow, but there is enough clearance to fit the car down there,¡± I said as I rolled down the window so I could take a better look at the area.

    ¡°I can¡¯t park my car in the creek, though,¡± Skyler complained, as she strained her neck to get a look as well.

    {Athy: If parking is an issue, then I can use your incursion protocols to take direct control of your car. Once you two leave the vehicle, I¡¯ll raise it back above the tree line, out of reach of the antithesis, until you get back.}

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we have much choice here, do we?¡± Skyler asked. ¡°It¡¯s either here or a several kilometer walk from further down the mountain.¡±

    I stared at the creek for several seconds before finally pulling my head back into the vehicle. ¡°It¡¯s not great, but it¡¯ll do. Let¡¯s get down there and kill that hive.¡±

 Chapter 52 - Hide and Seek

    You know the best thing about samurai gear? It¡¯s not that it¡¯s nearly indestructible, or it¡¯s constructed from next generation materials, it¡¯s that its fucking comfy! I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve purchased a single piece of gear that didn¡¯t fit me like a glove. I¡¯ve taken naps in this fucking armor!

    -Evelyn ¡°Teddy¡± Claire

    ¡ª-

    I stepped out of Skyler¡¯s car into several inches of water. The creek was wide, but quite shallow, which was good, because the trees were so thick that there was no room for us to get out on the bank.

    I immediately stepped onto the bank and scanned the area. According to the real-time map there were antithesis close by, and I wanted to be ready if they decided to attack.

    ¡°You see anything out there?¡± Skyler asked as she popped open the trunk. The drones instantly sprang to life, and began orbiting around her like some defensive puppies.

    ¡°Nothing yet, but the map says they¡¯re close,¡± I muttered as I squinted into the undergrowth.

    As Skyler stepped up next to me I heard her shoes squish, probably full of water. I knew I shouldn¡¯t have found that funny, but I smirked, despite myself. That of course immediately earned me a smack from my girlfriend. ¡°It¡¯s not funny! My feet are soaking wet! Not all of us have protector grade footwear,¡± she scowled.

    ¡°Then maybe you should swap out before we move forward,¡± I suggested. ¡°Not only will you be more comfortable, but we should probably both work on upgrading our armor fairly soon anyways.¡±

    Skyler huffed, then turned back towards the creek. {Sky: Athyna, I know you¡¯re busy handling the car, but could you suggest a good pair of boots for me to use?}

    {Athy: You don¡¯t have to worry, I am capable of so many simultaneous processes that I could drive millions of cars, and have hundreds of thousands of simultaneous conversations, it wouldn¡¯t even come close to taxing me. I think your best choice right now would be to invest in a pair of ¡®Swords in the Dark¡¯ greeves like Reina. You could open another catalog, but considering you¡¯re about to assault a hive, and receive another token, I¡¯d suggest maybe waiting on that.}

    {Sky: If they¡¯re good enough for Reina, they¡¯re good enough for me. One pair please.}

    I spared a quick glance in Skyler¡¯s direction as her delivery appeared at her feet. When she popped off the lid I could see her version of the knee high armored boots were brown, matching her coat. She quickly shucked her wet shoes, shoving them into the same plastic shipping package as the boots before swapping over.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let me forget these when we leave,¡± Skyler said as she carefully shoved the package into the roots of a nearby tree. ¡°I like those shoes.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best,¡± I promised as I started stalking forward. This area of the forest was mainly filled with evergreen trees, whose branches started around seven or eight feet off the ground. While it blocked our vision from the air, the area under the canopy was relatively clear. We had relatively good lines of sight, and few obstructions. ¡°Why haven¡¯t the antithesis torn down the trees in this area?¡± I mumbled softly as we advanced, ¡°don¡¯t they consume everything they can to reproduce as quickly as possible?¡±

    {Arty: It depends on their purpose. Most humans only encounter the antithesis during incursions, where the models are genetically predisposed to be exceptionally aggressive, and grow a hive as quickly as possible. These models seem to have been designed to grow the hive slowly, and remain undetected.}

    ¡°So¡­ where have they been getting the mass for that?¡± Skyler asked quietly.

    {Athy: I would guess dead foliage, and local wildlife. Most evergreen forests slowly build up a thin layer of dead needles, and other foliage, but as you can see this area is completely barren. It wouldn¡¯t take much effort for a couple smaller models to hoover up all that free biomass and take it back to a nascent hive.}This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    I hmmm¡¯d softly as I followed the conversation, occasionally flicking over to the real time display to track our progress and surrounding antithesis. Unlike the models we fought in the city, the antithesis in this area seemed to be trying to avoid us. I didn¡¯t know if that meant that something was directing them, or this prerogative to create a hidden hive meant they¡¯d prioritize trying to stay undetected until the last moment. Either way, I found the fact that they weren¡¯t rushing blindly into Skyler and me a little disturbing.

    ¡°We¡¯re getting close now,¡± I whispered as I eyed up the map. ¡°What should we be looking for exactly?¡±

    {Arty: Unfortunately we can¡¯t tell you. Antithesis hives can be as varied as the models they make. Most offensive hives develop like titanic underground root networks. The central area will house the birthing area, typically an open area wide enough that the antithesis seeds have space to grow, develop and be harvested. The tendrils will develop digestion pods, which are massive acid filled orifices which the antithesis throw all their gathered biomass to be recycled. Since this is a stealth hive we¡¯re probably looking for something a little more compact. Probably a single moderately sized hive structure.}

    I glanced towards Skyler. Her drones were following behind her now, like ducklings following their mother. The three of them were surprisingly quiet, barely making any sound as we advanced. ¡°Looks like this thing should just be over the next ridge, are you ready?¡± I asked.

    She nodded. ¡°Ready,¡± she replied quietly.

    I gripped the hilt of my sword, took a deep breath to center myself, and sprinted forward. I got about half way up when the local antithesis decided we were close enough. A wave of Model Threes crested the ridge in front of me, eager to meet my charge. Compared to the groups we fought yesterday, this was nothing a couple dozen at most. The first couple didn¡¯t even pounce at me, instead trying to dodge around me, and flank. They were smart enough to stay over an arms length away from me, but not smart enough to stay out of sword range. I triggered the blade extension and caught the entire vanguard in a single quick sweep before disabling the feature. I had to use it sparingly, I didn¡¯t want to risk my sword¡¯s power failing mid fight, like it did during my fight with the fourteen.

    As the second rank began to pounce I had to concentrate on dodging, and countering those specific models. If I had been alone I could have gotten in a lot of trouble, because there were still a number of Threes trying to flank me, but Skyler was there. Her rifle was as effective as before, but her new drones were something else. Their machine guns ripped apart everything within range. They probably would have erased the entire horde, if I hadn¡¯t been standing in the way. It didn¡¯t matter much, because I still managed to cut down the last Three within a couple seconds.

    I didn¡¯t pause to enjoy the victory, instead I continued my charge up the hill, only pausing at the very peak, staring at what I could only guess was the hive. Beyond the hill was a grove of what had once been evergreen trees. At the center of the grove was something that looked like an overgrown pitcher plant, filled with some sort of hissing acidic solution. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of small tendrils and vines had spread out from this central point and grown both up, and into the surrounding trees. The entire place vaguely resembled a mangrove swamp.

    The trees which had been parasitically taken over all had a series of semi transparent pods, which vaguely resembled overripe fruit. As I started down the hill a group of small four armed, headless monkey-like creatures flooded out of the holes in the mangrove trees. They jumped between the various fruits, violently ripping them open.

    As they ripped them open, the fruit pods spat out new antithesis. Most of these were either half formed, or too weak to even stand, but there were a couple that were almost fully grown. It didn¡¯t matter whether they were full grown or not, Skyler¡¯s drones cut down everything the instant they touched the ground. Seeing this the monkey creatures attempted to flee, only to be caught by the drones¡¯ next burst.

    ¡°They didn¡¯t put up much of a fight, whatever they were,¡± Skyler mumbled as she inspected the carnage.

    {Athy: Those were Model Tens, hive tenders. They¡¯re usually one of the first models created by new hives, to both help shape the local environment and monitor the newly developing antithesis. They have nearly zero combat potential, and only engage, or flee when the situation is hopeless.}

    ¡°Great, we slaughtered the alien nannies,¡± I mumbled. ¡°You were right about recognizing the hive when we saw it, I doubt this is natural.¡± Just as I hit the bottom of the hill, and approached the middle of the grove, there was a series of snapping noises from above me. I instinctively dove out of the way, barely avoiding the mass that crashed down on my location.

    When I rolled back to my feet I found a massive antithesis there. It was like three squids had been attached by the back of their mantles, creating a monstrous flower-like cluster of teeth and tentacles. The point the bodies were connected at had a stem, which appeared to have been broken off.

    As I stepped back Skyler¡¯s drones opened up on the beast, peppering it ineffectively with machine gun fire.

    {Arty: Huh. I didn¡¯t expect this.}

 Chapter 53 - Unlucky Thirteen

    You think luck and superstition is all bunk? Then explain how that monster got unlucky number thirteen! I think it¡¯s fitting, anyone that runs into it is unlucky indeed.

    - Seline ¡®Four Leaf¡¯ McTavish

    ¡ª

    ¡°Arty what the fuck am I looking at?¡± I yelled as I dove out of the way of one of the beast¡¯s flailing tentacles.

    {Arty: Model Thirteen, a hive protector. It¡¯s much stronger and more dangerous than many of the models you¡¯ve faced so far. They¡¯re grown as an extension of the hive structure itself and remain attached until needed. Once they activate, they¡¯ll only have a couple hours to live. During that time, they¡¯re one of the most ferocious antithesis of their tier.}

    ¡°You¡¯re not filling me with confidence,¡± I growled. As soon as the Thirteen realized that it probably wasn¡¯t going to be able to reach me with its thrashing tentacles, it changed up its tactics. The trilobed terror slowly pushed itself until all three bodies were tentacle side down, then charged in my direction. For something so large and apparently uncoordinated, it moved extremely quickly. I didn¡¯t think I could get close enough to strike at it with my sword, not without being clipped by its magnitude of squirming limbs, so I bolted instead. I made for the nearest clump of trees and immediately started weaving my way through.

    I heard the first tree snap, crushed under the Thirteen¡¯s charge, but nothing after that. I sometimes forget that most antithesis were incapable of making noise, and as this behemoth chased me, I found myself wishing that it would yell in rage, pant, or do ANYTHING that would help me tell where it was. I didn¡¯t even bother to glance back until I made it all the way through the trees, and when I did, I couldn¡¯t see the Thirteen.

    I probably would have been crushed if I hadn¡¯t noticed that Skyler and her drones were still firing at something above me. I looked up just in time to see the Thirteen hanging from two trees, using two of its bodies like grotesquely oversized hands, while the third hurled towards me like a bell. I managed to duck under the body, but still got caught by one of its myriad tentacles.

    My shield flared for a split second before I was sent tumbling into a ditch ten feet away.

    ¡°That fucking sucked,¡± I wheezed.

    {Arty: You¡¯re lucky you had that shield, that blow should have pulverized your ribs.}

    {Skyler: WHAT?}

    {Rei: But I¡¯m fine, bruised but otherwise ok.}

    I turned to watch as the Thirteen had used the momentum of its swing to throw itself forward. The two tree-climbing bodies let go and were carried a few feet before landing tentacle side down, then the two of them supported the entire mass while the third body bled off momentum and returned to the ground.

    ¡°This thing makes gymnasts look bad,¡± I snarled under my breath as I took off again.

    {Rei: Please tell me you can use your mortars to kill this fucking thing.} I desperately entered into my augs as I ran.

    {Sky: They can, but the little guys still need a few seconds to set up horizontal shots. I can¡¯t do that while it¡¯s chasing you around the woods!}

    I noticed that I couldn¡¯t hear the Thirteen scrambling around again, so rather than falling for the same trick twice, I took a hard turn and ran through some relatively open ground. Less than a second later, I felt a massive thump as the Thirteen dropped from wherever it was hiding.

    {Rei: Then set them up to fire into the middle of the hive. This thing seems obsessed with me, so I¡¯ll lead it right back into your line of fire.}Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    {Sky: Fine, just be careful.}

    Even though I was sprinting as fast as I could, I could always hear the Thirteen only a couple feet behind me. If I turned too quickly, the monster would probably get me, so I needed an opening to get this chase going in the right direction. That¡¯s when I noticed the ridge.

    A flat wall of stone, only about ten feet tall and twenty feet wide, jutting out of the forest floor. It wasn¡¯t much, but hopefully it was enough. I ran along the bottom of the rock wall until I found a tree growing only about two feet from the base of the cliff face. I darted between the two obstacles, then kicked off the wall and made a B-line back towards the hive. I risked a quick glance behind me to check on the Thirteen.

    The monster¡¯s bodies were too wide to follow me through that small gap, so it had tried to quickly sidestep the obstacle but couldn¡¯t bleed off enough momentum. The tree cracked and fell over at the impact, but the Thirteen didn¡¯t seem all that hurt. It had just been slowed down for a few seconds, and that¡¯s all I needed.

    By the time I spotted the hive, my breathing had become ragged, and my muscles were screaming. I was in good shape, but I still wasn¡¯t used to doing a full blown sprint for such an extended period. I was close to the end, but I couldn¡¯t let up, not with the Thirteen only a few steps away.

    The antithesis had apparently not taken too kindly to my trick and redoubled its pace to catch me. It had stopped trying to be fancy--swinging off trees and catching me off guard--it was now just rampaging forward, smashing through whatever was in its way.

    When I burst into the clearing, the first thing I saw was Skyler. She was staring at me, eyes hard, her drones ready. She started to say something, and even though I was too far away to hear it, I could read it on her lips; ¡°Down.¡±

    I threw myself face-first into the mess of vines covering the ground. I hadn¡¯t even finished skidding when I heard the soft ¡®Fwump¡¯ noise of the mortars.

    When the Thirteen stepped into the clearing, it got six mortar rounds dead center. Since it had been chasing me with one single torso forward, that body took the full brunt of the damage. I was showered with antithesis blood and guts as I desperately crawled out of the line of fire.

    The body that had been hit stopped moving, perhaps it had been mortally wounded by the mortar rounds. So as I climbed to my feet, the creature rotated to bring another face to bear. That was a mistake, because the instant that undamaged body appeared, Skyler unloaded another volley into it. This one somehow survived the first volley and started desperately crawling in my direction. It did not survive the second.

    The mortars not only killed this second core but blew it completely free of the rest of the creature.

    With only a single squid-like body left, the Thirteen scrambled around ineffectively. It seemed that whatever brain was left in the third core could partially control the damaged side¡¯s tentacles, but it was nowhere near as effective as before.

    Now that it was so mauled, and not trying to kill me, the Thirteen looked like some sort of wounded animal, rather than some sort of Eldritch horror. At least it did, until Skyler got an angle on the final body. With all three parts dead, it just toppled over, tentacles twitching.

    ¡°Are you ok?¡± Skyler called as she came running over. Even though I wanted to answer her, I was still far too winded to say anything. She immediately touched my injured side, causing me to wince, before yanking up my shirt. ¡°Your entire side is bruised. How did you manage to sprint with an injury like that?¡± she asked as she inspected the damage.

    ¡°Survival instincts,¡± I managed to get out. ¡°When something like that is chasing you,¡± I said, pointing at the corpse of the Thirteen, ¡°you don¡¯t let a little pain slow you down.¡±

    ¡°You need medical attention!¡± Skyler told me as I fell to the ground in front of her.

    I nodded, still breathing heavily. ¡°Arty, could I get something for this?¡±

    The tiny plastic box appeared right in my lap, and when I ripped off the top, I found the same sort of nanite inhaler that I¡¯d used before. I simply popped the device into my mouth and breathed deeply.

    Within seconds of getting that metallic tang in the back of my throat, my chest started feeling better. Not only that, but I found that I was breathing easier. ¡°See, all better!¡± I told Skyler, a small smile on my face.

    She looked at me suspiciously and still insisted on checking under my shirt when I stood up, but seemed relieved when she saw the bruises had cleared up. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing we have Protector grade healing available. Otherwise you¡¯d spend months in bed after each of our fights,¡± she huffed.

    ¡°I can¡¯t deny that,¡± I admitted. ¡°Fighting an opponent in close combat carries a lot of risks.¡± I sighed and looked around the grove. Even though the antithesis were dead, the hive was still functional. It had even started growing new fruit already. ¡°How are we going to deal with this mess?¡± I asked.

    {Arty: You already have the catalog for it; you just need a lot of grenades. Follow our instructions on how to set them up and you¡¯ll be done in no time.}

 Chapter 54 - Reflexive

    We can reverse engineer many samurai technologies, but even with the best engineers our tech will be nothing but pale imitations. Even our best attempts seem to lack the ¡®soul¡¯ of tech that samurai bought items have. Although our recreations aren¡¯t quite there, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll get there someday. We just need to keep trying.

    - Azumi Tanaka¡¯s TED talk on Replicating Samurai Technology

    ¡ª

    It took us about half an hour and two dozen grenades to completely eliminate any trace of the hive. We actually spent most of that time trying to figure out how to get the enzyme grenades up into the top of the infected evergreens. At first I thought I could easily throw a grenade into one of the nooks and crannies that had been created by the mess of parasitic vines, but after about ten minutes of failing to land a single grenade in the trees, much to Skyler¡¯s amusement, I gave up.

    Skyler¡¯s solution turned out to be a lot more effective. She bought a roll of tape, taped the grenades to the front of her drones, then had them hover to the top of the trees. Once the grenades were triggered, the enzyme gas gently wafted downward, destroying the last remnants of the hive.

    ¡°That was¡­ surprisingly easy,¡± Skyler said as we trudged back towards the car. ¡°Except for the Thirteen.¡± She added when I shot her a disgruntled look. ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll all be that easy?¡±

    {Athy: We recommended this hive because it seemed to have taken longer to go active than the others. Now we know the delay was because it prioritized creating a Thirteen over a horde of weaker models.}

    {Arty: To give you an idea of how fast the antithesis reproduce: In the time it took you to get here, kill the thirteen, and clean up the hive, most of the other hives have produced one to two more generations of antithesis. A single hive, left undisturbed, can produce models One through Six in less than an hour.}

    {Athy: Not only that, but when a hive is left undisturbed, it can grow at nearly an exponential curve. The early models go out and retrieve biomass, allowing the hive to grow and produce more advanced models while still producing the original models. The more a hive pumps out, the faster it harvests the surrounding area¡­ Within a day a hive will have produced an army large enough to give you two troubles. Within a week, it¡¯ll be producing models that are beyond your capabilities to fight, at least for now.}

    ¡°Fuck,¡± I muttered. ¡°How the hell have the samurai managed until now?¡± I asked.

    {Arty: That IS the worst-case scenario, where a hive remains undisturbed and has access to abundant biomass. Typically, if a hive tries to grow that aggressively, it will be detected within hours, and a samurai response team will be sent out to deal with it.}

    ¡°Makes sense,¡± Skyler said. ¡°So what do we do now? Is there another Hive we can hit or¡­¡± As we were hiking over a particularly steep section of the hill, a rock gave way under her boot, causing her to flail wildly, almost tumbling down the hill. I reached out to grab her, but before I could, one of her drones shot forward and pushed against her long enough for her to regain her footing. ¡°Close one,¡± she chuckled nervously.

    ¡°Your drones seem pretty responsive,¡± I said sullenly. ¡°Doubt the old Howie would have been able to do that.¡±

    ¡°Awww¡­ are you mad that you couldn¡¯t play the hero?¡± Skyler teased as she carefully made her way over to me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll have plenty of chances in the future. Besides, it¡¯s the thought that counts!¡±

    Before I realized what she was doing, she¡¯d already darted forward and planted a quick kiss on my lips. ¡°Thanks for trying, honey.¡±

    I smiled, ¡°Anytime.¡± I held a hand out and carefully helped Skyler reach the nearest flat area, thinking about the situation. ¡°Why exactly did that drone react so quickly?¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s because they¡¯re slaved to my augs?¡± Skyler said thoughtfully. ¡°Athyna said that if I want to run more drones or have more fine control over the drones I have, I should upgrade my system. Maybe there¡¯s more to the current link than I thought? I do remember thinking, ¡®Oh shit, I need help,¡¯ as I toppled. Maybe that was transmitted to the drones?¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    I eyed up the nearest bot. ¡°Maybe? That¡¯s actually pretty useful if true. If the antithesis manage to get too close, and you don¡¯t have time to make cohesive commands, the drones will react to your general intent. Throw themselves between you and the enemy. It¡¯ll probably mean the end of the drone, but it should give you time to escape or prepare a counterattack.¡±

    Skyler smirked. ¡°Please, like you¡¯d ever let the antithesis get that close to me,¡± she said warmly.

    ¡°True,¡± I said seriously, ¡°this is all just theoretical!¡±

    The two of us giggled as we emerged from the forest, back at the stream. Athyna had already brought the car down and had it waiting for us when we came out.

    I slipped into the passenger¡¯s seat and fastened my seatbelt before finally asking, ¡°So, what¡¯s next? Minor cleanup?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Skyler admitted. ¡°We should check the map and see if there are any emergencies.¡±

    I nodded and swapped over to the real-time map. Once I zoomed out, I noticed a ton of samurai signals dotted around the area. There were only a couple in the yellow area, most of which appeared to be targeting the hives, a couple in the orange, and just a single samurai in the red. Grey Goo.

    ¡°Grey really knows how to clean house,¡± I muttered. Even while zoomed out, I could see that she was leaving a small strip of yellow and orange in her wake. It quickly disappeared as the antithesis moved back into the areas she¡¯d cleared, but the fact that she¡¯d cleared the red area to that extent was impressive.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see any other low-level hives we can hit,¡± Skyler said as she checked the map. ¡°But there are a couple alerts from Cascadia command asking for help to protect the construction crews while they reinforce the defenses. Maybe we should head there?¡±

    I mentally scrolled closer to the city and checked out those alerts. They were of moderate priority, but the construction was still deep in the green zone, and each construction crew had a full PMC contingent. It wasn¡¯t something that needed samurai intervention yet.

    I bit my lip and scrolled aimlessly, looking for something juicy. If Skyler and I were going to earn some points, we needed a little bit of a challenge.

    I was still scrolling when I was surprised by a call from my mother. Since Skyler jumped at the exact same time I did, it probably meant it was a group call.

    [Hi mom,] I said as I accepted the call. [I didn¡¯t expect to hear from you so soon, I thought you¡¯d be super busy dealing with the increased demand for medical supplies and such today.]

    [I admit that¡¯s taking up a lot of my time, but it¡¯s not my only priority. Can you two stop by my office? The sooner the better,] my mother replied. I could hear the stress in her voice.

    [We¡¯re kind of busy right now,] Skyler explained. [The situation outside the city isn¡¯t very good right now, and both the government and the Family have asked all samurai to help deal with the situation before it gets worse.]

    [I¡¯m aware of the situation right now,] my mother replied. [I¡¯ve been receiving hourly briefings from my government attache, but there¡¯s a situation developing which needs not only direct samurai intervention but also a significant amount of discretion. The government has already agreed to give you both clearance, and Velvet has already agreed it should be within your capabilities.]

    I blinked, absorbing what my mother had just said. [You know Velvet Aurora?]

    [I know a number of samurai dear, Velvet is just the one coordinating certain¡­ projects in this area,] my mother said. [I can¡¯t tell you more unless you come talk to me personally, it¡¯s not something I can discuss over the phone. So, will you girls help?]

    [If both Velvet Aurora and the government think this is important, then of course we¡¯ll help,] Skyler replied. [We¡¯re outside the city right now, but we¡¯ll be back as soon as possible.]

    [Splendid! I¡¯ll ask Agnes to prepare the tea and dig out some chocolates from Moray¡¯s shop!] Mother replied.

    I sighed. The world might be ending, but my mother still insisted on only providing the best snacks to her guests. She was too nice sometimes. [We¡¯ll see you soon, Mom.]

    [Love you both, bye-bye!] my mother replied before hanging up.

    ¡°I find it so cute how your mother can go from no-nonsense businesswoman, to doting mom within a couple seconds,¡± Skyler said with a small smile. Her expression almost immediately hardened as she went on to her next thought. ¡°Did you know she had contracts with the local samurai?¡±

    ¡°Contacts? Yes, Contracts? No. I knew she was branching out and becoming a major supplier for the government, but this is news to me,¡± I replied. ¡°She¡¯s not one to exaggerate or lie to us, so whatever she¡¯s working on, it must be important.¡±

    Skyler nodded and put her car into drive. We gently rose above the treeline, but as soon as we were clear, she stomped on the accelerator so hard that I was pressed back into my seat by the acceleration. ¡°Then we better not keep her waiting,¡± she said.

 Chapter 55 - Top Secret Plans

    Most people believe that samurai can fix anything with a snap of their fingers. This is certainly not true. Although we can do more than the average person, we are still heavily restricted. We need the right catalogs unlocked, and the points to make the purchases. Sure I can whip up a gun at a moment¡¯s notice, but building a city from scratch? Or supplying the entire military with weapons? I only have so many points to go around.

    - Adrien ¡®Big Hope¡¯ Tenison¡¯s interview in ¡®Samurai Today¡¯

    ¡ª-

    It only took a couple of minutes to reach the city limits again, and once we did, Skyler turned towards the commercial harbor. Unlike most megacorps, Synthesis Systems didn¡¯t have its headquarters in the business district, but instead my mother had built a massive harbourside complex. Research and development, manufacturing, and even a surgical hospital, all within a few hundred meters of the main office. It even had onsite restaurants and dorms for employees during lockdown periods.

    The complex had a separate secure parking structure for employees, where Skyler and I usually parked, but since we were visiting my mother today, we went straight to the executive parking area. Unlike Elysian Heights, which was opulent on the outside, the Synthesis Systems building was designed to be a lot more utilitarian. It didn¡¯t stand out much from the surrounding area. It was a lot of matte grey metal and heavily tinted windows.

    What it lacked in design, it made up for in function. The entire compound could be locked down within seconds, providing the employees with extra time to get to the shelters during an incursion or locking hostile spies and saboteurs into an area. In the years since I became head of investigations, I¡¯d seen the first function used once and the second function used several dozen times.

    We circled the building once before pulling into the garage, one floor below my mother¡¯s office. ¡°Do you have any idea what this is about?¡± Skyler asked as we stepped out of her car.

    ¡°No, I knew that my mother had some dealings with a couple samurai, but I didn¡¯t know she was running joint projects with them,¡± I replied. ¡°She usually informs us about all the confidential projects. I wonder why she didn¡¯t tell us about this one?¡±

    ¡°Government confidentiality? The samurai asked her not to? Who knows? I¡¯m guessing your mom would have told us if she could have,¡± Skyler said as we stepped into the elevator. I tapped my palm against the identity scanner, then hit the button for my mother¡¯s office.

    The elevator opened up right into the waiting room outside my mother¡¯s office. It was a tastefully designed area with real wood paneling, million-dollar furniture, and real coffee beans freshly roasted. My mother didn¡¯t actually care about any of that, but it was just the sort of thing that the CEOs and high-class clientele she met with expected.

    Agnes was standing behind her desk, across from the waiting area, arranging a few things on a serving tray when we arrived. As soon as she noticed us, she picked up the tray and stepped towards my mother¡¯s office. ¡°Your mother is expecting you, this way, please,¡± she said politely.

    She stepped over to the impressive double wood doors, knocked politely once, then pushed one open so we could enter. My mother¡¯s office was like her condo, modern and tasteful. There were a couple displays containing some of the most recent innovations the company had come up with, but otherwise there wasn¡¯t a lot of clutter.

    My mother shot out of her chair the instant she saw us. ¡°My babies! I¡¯m so glad to see you.¡±

    I caught my mother in a soft embrace, then waited until she hugged Skyler before asking the question we were both itching to know. ¡°Mother, what¡¯s going on?¡± I finally asked when they separated. ¡°How long have you been involved in a project with Velvet Aurora?¡±

    My mother¡¯s smile fell slightly, and she glanced over at Agnes. The other woman nodded once, placed the tray she was carrying on a nearby coffee table, and quickly left the room, closing the doors behind her.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    It was only after Agnes left that my mother finally let her exhaustion show, as she slid into one of the lounge chairs set up by the window. ¡°Quite a while actually, ever since I met Groundwire. You remember that nice little fox girl? Anyways, with her help, I engineered a new strain of antithesis-resistant tree. Turns out there¡¯s not much that the antithesis can¡¯t adapt to, so what we ended up doing is creating extremely dense and tough trees. I¡¯ve been told the antithesis take over ten times longer to harvest them.¡± She sighed. ¡°Anyways, after I started providing these new trees to the government for their ecological renewal project, I was approached by a small group of samurai who wanted to hire me to help them with a brand new project.¡±

    ¡°And you accepted?¡± Skyler asked.

    ¡°Of course, dear,¡± my mother said. ¡°It¡¯s not every day that a samurai comes to ask for your expertise, never mind an entire group.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell us about this project?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Because they asked me not to. Well that, and they had high-level government backing. I had to sign so many NDAs it made my head spin.¡± She sighed, leaned forward, and grabbed a chocolate from the nearby tray and popped it into her mouth before leaning back and savoring the treat.

    ¡°So what changed? Why bring us in now?¡± Skyler asked.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re samurai, and it¡¯s a samurai project. Apparently that trumps the NDAs. That, and Velvet seems to think highly of you,¡± she smiled. ¡°You make me so proud!¡±

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°And what IS this project exactly?¡± I asked.

    My mother leaned forward, excitement in her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s to create a facility to clone and grow a new breed of bush until they¡¯re ready to be planted in the wild!¡± she explained excitedly.

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t the samurai do that on their own?¡± I asked. ¡°Or, you know, just buy more mature sprouts.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Reina, my dear, we¡¯re not talking about a couple dozen of these trees. We¡¯re talking about millions and millions of saplings,¡± my mother said. ¡°I may not know much about the samurai, but even I can see how that would be extremely expensive to implement.¡± She took another piece of chocolate, popped it into her mouth, and chewed for a moment before continuing. ¡°The bushes are fascinating too. They have interlocking roots, and when one is attacked it can send out a danger signal through the network.¡±

    ¡°Which I¡¯m guessing the samurai can detect,¡± Skyler said, understanding the situation before I did.

    My mother nodded. ¡°Can you imagine? Millions of hectares of vegetation, and the instant the antithesis landed, and  tried to harvest something, the local samurai were alerted? Do you know how much of our forests we could have saved if this tree had been developed ten or twenty years ago?¡± she said excitedly.

    I gently patted my mother¡¯s hand, trying to get her to calm down. I wasn¡¯t even close to the environmentalist that she was, but I did appreciate exactly what she was trying to do. ¡°So what¡¯s going on? What do you need us for?¡± I asked quietly.

    ¡°The main facility is about fifty kilometers from here, just up the coast. There have already been reports of antithesis in the area, and if they get in and start devouring the saplings or destroying the equipment, it might take years for the project to recover!¡± my mother exclaimed. ¡°I asked for assistance from both the government and the other samurai but I was told both the city and major disaster zones were a higher priority. That¡¯s when Velvet suggested sending you two to deal with the situation. She said it should be difficult but achievable for a couple of rookie samurai to deal with.¡±

    I grabbed my mother¡¯s hands. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Skyler and I both understand how important your projects are, and if Velvet Aurora personally recommended us for this job, then it¡¯s something we can definitely look into,¡± I told her, trying to calm her down.

    Skyler nodded. ¡°It may be a low priority for the more experienced samurai, but it sounds perfect for the two of us. We can head down there, secure the location, then be back before the first wave of antithesis hits the walls.¡±

    My mother wiped a tear away and cupped both my and Skyler¡¯s cheeks. ¡°Thank you, girls, I knew I could count on you.¡± As she dropped her hands, I could see the worry drain from her face. She stared at us both, smiling for a few more seconds before clapping her hands. ¡°Now! Who wants a cup of tea? If not, you should at least have some of this chocolate. Moray bought some of my hydroponics beds and cloned cacao beans a couple of years ago and now makes the best natural chocolate on the west coast. I know I shouldn¡¯t eat as much as I do, but it¡¯s so lovely!¡±

    I chuckled softly. I was glad that we could pull my mother out of her funk, and if Skyler and I could help her while also fighting the antithesis, it seemed like a no-brainer.

    As my mother prattled on about all the people she met over the year, I reached forward and took one of the chocolates and popped it into my mouth, causing it to melt immediately. She was right, heavenly.

 Epilogue - Roombots

    We stayed with my mother for another hour, partially because we wanted to make sure she¡¯d be fine without us and partially because my mother wanted to make sure the two of us ate something before leaving.

    After my grandfather died, we only had each other to rely upon, so I guess we developed a habit of worrying about each other. Skyler just giggled to herself as she watched us fuss over each other.

    Once we finally left, Skyler and I decided to stop by the house to take a quick nap. After running around all day yesterday, then getting woken up super early, we could use a refresh before charging off to save mother¡¯s lab. At least that was the original plan, Skyler had other ideas.

    When I got out of the shower, I found her sitting on the floor in the middle of our room, Leah in her lap, while Cleo and Lala rode around the room on our automated vacuums. ¡°Look at our babies!¡± Skyler declared in joy.

    ¡°We¡¯ve seen them ride the roombots before,¡± I told her. ¡°I¡¯m not sure why you¡¯re so excited.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve seen them ride them one at a time,¡± Skyler clarified, ¡°but never two or more at once!¡±

    I sighed. ¡°That¡¯s fascinating, but do you think we could take that nap now? The antithesis are on the move, so we can¡¯t delay too long before heading to mother¡¯s lab.¡±

    Skyler pouted. ¡°But precious kitty time!¡±

    ¡°Will have to wait until we get back,¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°We can¡¯t take them with us, but Aunt Choi will take good care of them while we¡¯re gone.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right! We can¡¯t take them with us¡­¡± Skyler mumbled. I was so tired that I missed the glint in her eye. I just stepped past her and collapsed on the bed, burrowing under the covers like some hibernating creature. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a couple minutes,¡± Skyler told me softly before padding out of the room. I probably would have been a lot more concerned, if I hadn¡¯t already fallen asleep.

    When my augs woke me up a couple hours later, in the early afternoon, I didn¡¯t immediately suspect anything. The condo was quiet, and Skyler was cuddled up to my side. I gently shook her until I saw her eyes flutter. ¡°G¡¯morning,¡± she mumbled.

    ¡°More like early afternoon, like we planned,¡± I said with a small smile. ¡°Come on, we need to get moving.¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°Fine,¡± Skyler grumbled. ¡°Gimme a minute to get myself together.¡±

    I rolled out of bed and stretched, working out the kinks, before I slowly gathered my gear from the floor. Even though it took me a couple minutes to find everything, I was still fully dressed before Skyler rolled out of bed.

    ¡°I¡¯ll grab a couple sandwiches and power bars from the kitchen, so we have something to eat in the car while you get ready,¡± I told Skyler, who was finally sitting up and looking at me, although with slightly blurry eyes.

    ¡°Kay,¡± she mumbled, slowly rolling towards the side of the bed.

    Skyler was usually an early riser, so it was strange to see her struggle to get up. I couldn¡¯t figure out why she would be so tired, at least until I entered the main room. When I saw the chaos within, I just sighed. ¡°Skyler¡­¡±

    All three of our cats were riding the roombots around the room. Apparently Skyler had spent some time making them a lot more comfortable after I went to bed, adding a plush covering to the top of each. That wasn¡¯t the strangest thing; that was the fact that Skyler¡¯s little artillery drones were floating around the room, each one projecting a realtime, holographic image of our cats.

    ¡°Do you like it?¡± Skyler asked as she staggered out of the bedroom, a massive smile on her face.

    ¡°Is this why you¡¯re so tired? And how many points did you spend on this?¡± I asked, watching the little ballet of cats and robots bounce around the room.

    ¡°It only took me a couple minutes and a handful of points. I guess I was just a lot more tired from running around yesterday than I thought. This¡­ this was totally worth it, though! Now we can bring the kittens wherever we go!¡±

    ¡°You know, back when cats were a lot more common, and not a luxury pet, people would have called you a crazy cat lady,¡± I told her.

    ¡°And I would totally take that as a compliment,¡± Skyler said proudly.

    ¡°Are you really planning to keep the holograms on at all times?¡± I asked.

    ¡°No, just when we¡¯re out of combat, and the holograms only show up while the cats are on the roombots anyways. It¡¯s to provide a little bit of stress relief during downtime, not to provide a distraction,¡± Skyler explained. ¡°I may not have as much experience fighting as you do, but I¡¯m not going to do anything to jeopardize our lives.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve already made the changes, so I guess I¡¯ll have to live with it,¡± I said with a sigh.

    ¡°And?¡± Skyler prompted me.

    ¡°And they are cute,¡± I added with a smile.

    ¡°I know, right!¡± Skyler agreed. She pushed me towards the kitchen. ¡°Come on, let''s get that food you promised. I think the two of us are going to be busy for a while, killing antithesis and saving the city. Might as well do that on a full stomach.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± I said, ¡°We need to keep our priorities straight.¡± I took one last look at the chaos behind me before stepping into the kitchen. ¡°Priorities.¡±

 Upcoming Schedule Changes

    Hey all,

    As many of you know I''ve been planning to release much more in the new year. I''ve done polls everywhere, jumping back and forth on what I''m going to release, but I think I''ve finally locked down a tentative release schedule.

    Starting January 6th the schedule will be the following:

    - Teddy Bears on Brigade - Book 3 - will be released Monday / Wednesday / Friday

    - Tarnished Honor - Book 2 - Will be released Tuesday / Thursday / Saturday

    - Wicked Witch of the Wild West - Will be released Friday / Sunday / Tues (Still undecided)

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    Now, many of you may have noticed that is three stories, instead of the four I''d originally planned. I realized that with my schedule it would be better to do three stories, which would allow me to both release at a decent clip, and still build a backlog for each.

    I''m planning on maintaining this schedule for the next four months, while I evaluate the viability of writing full time. With this schedule I should be either completing, or close to be finishing the first book of WWotWW, and Book 2 of TH. I''m also planning on finishing the edits of TBoB Book 1, and looking into getting it published in that time.

    Assuming that I don''t get burned out on this schedule, I plan to keep the three book release cycle for the long term. Just not always with these specific titles.

    Now, for the part that some people might be disappointed with... Once I finish TBoB book 3, I plan on working on releasing a new original story during that slot. I know that TBoB is my most popular fiction, but I don''t really want to be known entirely for my FF, so I''ll be cutting back to only one fanfiction at a time. I''ll probably swap from TH to TBoB once TH book 2 finishes, but it''ll depend on what everyone is interested in seeing.

    Hopefully you enjoy the accelerated schedule going forward, along with the new story.

 Chapter 1 - Sunday Drive

    Ever since humanity first looked up at the stars, they wondered¡­ What''s out there?

    They had both the pleasure, and misfortune, of finding out. The protectors came first, bringing with them technology that exceeded humanity¡¯s wildest dreams. They shared this technology with chosen individuals, not entirely out of the kindness of their hearts, but to protect us from what came next.

    The antithesis. An endless horde of plant-based monstrosities, obsessed with devouring everything, and everyone on the planet. The Protectors chosen, the Vanguard (or samurai as they¡¯re known in North America) became our defenders.

    Humanity is now trapped within a never ending war for survival. We can only hope our defenders are up to the task.

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Preface of: Anatomy of the Horde - Required textbook for Antithesis 101</li>

    </ul>

    ¡ª

    ¡°Do we have everything?¡± Skyler asked as we stepped into the garage.

    ¡°We have my weapons, your drones, armor, and snacks,¡± I replied, holding up the small backpack full of food.

    My girlfriend paused for a moment, placed her hands on her hips, then turned to face me. Her short blond hair perfectly framed her serious expression. ¡°Reina, we¡¯re about to travel to the heart of an antithesis-infested area to defend a facility that¡¯s not only one of your mother¡¯s pet projects but may hold the key to gaining a leg up on the antithesis in the future. Please take this seriously,¡± Skyler said.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to,¡± I replied coolly, ¡°but it¡¯s a little hard when your drones are projecting holograms of our cats.¡± Earlier today she thought it¡¯d be funny to add a holographic camera to our roombots, so every time the cats rode them, that image would be transmitted to her drones.

    Skyler glanced back at the three small drones following her around, then blushed. ¡°I guess Lala and Cleo are up already,¡± she mumbled.

    I stepped over to her and gently pushed her towards the car. ¡°I know you¡¯re worried, but you¡¯re overthinking things. We only know the general situation at the site, so there¡¯s no point in overplanning, and we¡¯re both samurai, so we can buy anything we need as soon as we arrive on site.¡±

    Skyler took a deep breath, then nodded. ¡°Right,¡± she said. She reached down and popped open the trunk on the front of the car, and carefully started loading her three drones while I slipped my backpack behind the seat. With that space filled, it meant that I had to travel with my sword, bow, and quiver around the passenger¡¯s seat. Skyler¡¯s car was designed for speed and comfort, not cargo capacity. Considering we became samurai not even twenty four hours earlier, chances were we would have to invest in a new vehicle before long.

    As soon as Skyler finished loading her drones, she climbed into the driver¡¯s seat, tucking the bottom of her long brown coat under her.

    Neither of us really looked like samurai yet. She had a long brown duster, an armored face mask with improved visual sensors, armored pants, and a small chest mounted shield generator. She looked like some sort of future cowboy or apocalypse reject.

    I, on the other hand, had an armored undersuit which was way too tight and revealing to wear in public, so I had put on a pair of black synth leather pants and a matching synth leather jacket over top. It kind of made me look like I was going to a rave, or join a hover gang, but they matched my hair and didn¡¯t disintegrate the instant I was thrown against the ground, so, as far as I was concerned, they were good enough for now. I also had a chest mounted shield generator, but no helmet or face gear. I did have a pair of glasses with built in night vision, but I¡¯d learned that it clashed with one of the other adaptations I¡¯d picked up earlier; the ability to see different light wavelengths, and that had proven to be extremely useful, I¡¯d be trying to go without the glasses for awhile.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    Skyler revved the engine of her hover car a couple times, ensuring the engine was properly warmed up, before slowly raising the vehicle out of its parking spot and maneuvering out of the garage. Once we were clear, she gunned the engine.

    Our house was near the top of one of the largest buildings in Vancouver, and above most of the legal vehicle lanes, but being samurai meant that we were allowed certain liberties, like not needing to follow the regular traffic laws.

    I was pressed back into my seat as Skyler slowly turned the car towards the north, where our final destination awaited. Normally I would have admired the view of the megacity below, or made small talk with Skyler, but today my mind was preoccupied by something else. The sword in my lap.

    ¡°Credit for your thoughts?¡± Skyler said after a few minutes. ¡°You¡¯re usually quiet during a drive, but not this quiet.¡±

    ¡°I need a name for my sword,¡± I said, not taking my eyes off the blade. ¡°We were really busy yesterday, so I didn¡¯t really think about it, but if I¡¯m going to be carrying it into battle for the foreseeable future, it deserves one.¡±

    Skyler hmmm¡¯d for a second. ¡°You¡¯re probably right. Too bad we¡¯re both terrible at naming things.¡±

    {Athy: How about ¡®Rending Wave¡¯? Or if you wanted to name it something that meshes with your samurai name, ¡®Rending Wind¡¯?}

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to name it after myself,¡± I explained quietly. ¡°Although I¡¯m using it right now, the blade and I are separate entities, and someone else may brandish it in the future. Rending Wave though, I like that.¡±

    Skyler nodded. ¡°It definitely seems fitting, considering how easily it slices through the antithesis.¡±

    As our car shot over the massive outer wall surrounding Vancouver, the sound of artillery and cannon fire filled the vehicle. I quickly glanced out the window, only to catch a quick glimpse of a line of tanks just outside the walls, firing into a rapidly approaching wave of small plant monsters.

    ¡°I thought the antithesis wouldn¡¯t reach the city for at least another day or two,¡± I said quietly.

    {Athy: The main antithesis force is still quite a ways off, but with so many hidden satellite hives coming on line, I expect the city will experience nearly constant harassment for the next couple weeks, if not months.}

    {Arty: Who knows how long they have been preparing to set up this global incursion. Years, maybe even decades, of setting up hidden strongholds all to set up for what happened yesterday.}

    ¡°Makes me wonder exactly what¡¯s behind these attacks. We¡¯ve faced smart antithesis before, but nothing capable of planning and control of this scale,¡± Skyler mused.

    {Athy: Humanity has been lucky so far, encountering only probing attacks with some of the weakest antithesis models. Even your strongest defenders would not be able to stand up to the full strength of the antithesis swarm.}

    ¡°Then why haven¡¯t they thrown something bigger at us? What¡¯s stopping them?¡± I asked.

    {Arty: The Protectors, the race that sent us here to help you, are stuck in a near stalemate with antithesis core worlds. Neither side can spare many resources for things outside the conflict, so the antithesis send incursions around the galaxy, trying to gain additional biomass to throw at the protectors, while the protectors send AIs to the locals to uplift the races and give them the means to defend themselves. Both sides are playing an exceptionally long game, trying to find ways to break the stalemate.}

    ¡°So we¡¯re collateral damage in a proxy war?¡± I asked.

    {Athy: You¡¯re not lost yet. As long as you fight, we will support you.}

    ¡°And we¡¯re grateful for your support,¡± Skyler said politely. ¡°It¡¯s not like we would have survived this long without your help.¡±

    As the car crested the next ridge, we got our first sight of the complex. Dozens of layered farms, each at least ten floors each, laid out in a rough semicircle around some sort of central warehouse. On the other side of the complex was a massive shipping pier, which was currently empty. The entire compound was surrounded by a tall twelve foot wall, topped with razor wire and automatic guns.

    ¡°This place is a secret? It¡¯s huge! How many people work here?¡± I asked aghast.

    ¡°Only a couple dozen, according to the file. Most of the place is heavily automated, so they only need a handful of maintenance personnel, a small security team, and a supervisor,¡± Skyler replied. ¡°I¡¯ve called the facility supervisor, and he¡¯ll be meeting us somewhere down by the docks.¡±

    I pointed to a tiny figure standing at attention. ¡°Looks like he¡¯s already there.¡±

    Skyler squinted into the distance, then glanced over at me. ¡°You sure? We¡¯re still a ways off, and we¡¯re a little early.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s our contact? No idea. He¡¯s too far away to make out any details, but someone is there,¡± I told her.

    We swooped lower, and as we approached the outer wall I slowly made out more and more details on the figure. It was a slightly overweight man in a sport coat and slacks, sweating profusely. As soon as he saw our car he began to wave excitedly.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s our man,¡± I muttered.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Skyler replied dryly as she found a place to park nearby. As soon as we touched down, the man came running over, a massive smile on his face. To his credit he stayed back until we¡¯d gathered all our stuff and stepped out of the car.

    ¡°Ladies,¡± he said with gravitas, ¡°I¡¯m Edward Turbull. Welcome to project ¡®Safe Arbor¡¯!¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 2 - Safe Arbour

    How can you not love plants? They provide us with almost all the food we eat, and the air we breathe. Plus, my mother''s private garden is beautiful. What could you possibly have against plants?

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Angela Dempsy, Just before experiencing her first Incursion</li>

    </ul>

    ¡ª

    ¡°Safe Arbour? What kind of name is that?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pun, like safe harbor, but for plants. It was actually samurai Death Bloom who gave the complex its name when she last visited,¡± Edward reported.

    ¡°Right¡­¡± I replied awkwardly. ¡°Anyways, thanks for coming out to meet us. The president told us you were having issues with the antithesis?¡±

    The man¡¯s smile fell slightly. ¡°That would be an understatement. We used to have the occasional Model Three wander out of the woods every couple of days, but ever since yesterday, large waves have been throwing themselves against the walls every couple of hours. The response team has been running themselves ragged trying to keep up.¡± The man paused to pull a handkerchief out of his pocket and wipe his brow.

    ¡°That¡¯s concerning,¡± I mumbled. ¡°Anything else we should know about?¡±

    Edward paused, I could see he was trying to decide if it was worth telling us something or not. ¡°The farms have been sending out intermittent security alarms, but whenever we send someone to check it out, we can¡¯t find anything. Andre, the head of security, believes the small flyers are occasionally making it over the wall and surviving long enough to slam into the windows.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s definitely possible, especially if they¡¯re traveling in flocks like we saw back in the city,¡± Skyler told him. ¡°If the attacks are as vicious as you say, we should really check out the scene of the latest attack. Could you point us in the right direction?¡±

    Edward nodded enthusiastically. ¡°I¡¯ve already called the response team, someone will come pick you up in a minute,¡± he explained. Behind him I could already see a large hovercar rise above the warehouse, heading our way. It appeared to be some sort of SUV, in the Synthesis Systems white and green. It dropped down a couple feet from us, and a rugged man in body armor jumped out. He reminded me of the stereotypical soldier, with his hair cut into a buzz cut, and five o''clock shadow.

    Edward¡¯s face lit up. ¡°Andre, I¡¯m glad to see you. Let me introduce our guests, these are¡­¡± he glanced my way, it was probably the first time he considered asking.

    ¡°Honorable Wind, and my partner Cleansing Rain,¡± I said, introducing us. I stuck out my hand to shake, but the man just stayed where he was, judging.

    ¡°I¡¯m Andre Masters, head of security,¡± the man declared. ¡°I¡¯ve been told you need an escort around the facility, and since my men are busy cleaning up after the latest antithesis assault, I came myself. That being said, I¡¯d like to get back to them as soon as possible, so let¡¯s keep this as brief as possible.¡±

    ¡°Well, then we¡¯ve got good news for you,¡± Skyler said coolly. ¡°We want to check out the location of the last attack. Once we have an idea where it came from, we¡¯ll get out of your hair.¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    Andre didn¡¯t say anything, he just raised an eyebrow and gestured back to his ride.

    While Skyler was busy loading her drones into the back, Edward approached me. ¡°I need to get back to the operations center to monitor the situation,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll give you my contact information if you need to get a hold of me.¡±

    I accepted the data package he forwarded with a nod. ¡°Thank you, Edward, we¡¯ll be in touch.¡±

    ¡°Yo! Mayo, time to go!¡± Andre yelled from behind me.

    I turned and scowled at the soldier, who was already climbing into the driver seat of the vehicle, when Edward chuckled. ¡°He may seem a little gruff, but he¡¯s a good man. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s just worried about his men. Go, and let  me know when you get back.¡±

    As Edward began jogging back towards the command center, I wandered over to the SUV. Skyler shifted over so I could sit next to her, and I slipped in the back.

    ¡°What am I, a chauffeur now?¡± Andre grumbled.

    ¡°How about you shut up and drive?¡± I snapped. ¡°The sooner we get to the site, the sooner we can get out of your hair.¡±

    Andre just scoffed, and turned on the car, while Skyler gently placed a hand on my arm, trying to get me to calm down. I leaned back in my seat. ¡°Not exactly how I saw today going,¡± I grumbled.

    ¡°Not everyone is going to respect us just for being a samurai. Let¡¯s just accept whatever help Andre is willing to give, then get on with our hunt. You don¡¯t have to put up with him long,¡± Skyler whispered.

    ¡°True,¡± I whispered back.

    The trip over the complex was quick, but I was able to get a better look at the complex as a whole. The farms looked like tall glass cylinders, which were separated into different floors. Each silo was connected to the main building through a short glass umbilical, which appeared to have a conveyor belt carrying sprouts deeper into the complex.

    ¡°We¡¯re approaching the site of the latest attack,¡± Andre declared from the front. Although I hadn¡¯t noticed before, there was a plume of black smoke wafting up from just beyond the wall. ¡°It was the fourth attack in the last sixteen hours. If the pattern continues, the next wave should hit us in less than an hour.¡±

    When the SUV finally crossed the outside wall, I saw a small army of men surrounding a smouldering pile of antithesis corpses. ¡°Do you do that for every attack?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We have to, if we don¡¯t want the bodies to take root,¡± Andre replied. ¡°Normally we¡¯d take the bodies to the incinerators, but we don¡¯t have the time or the trucks to dispose of all of these in time,¡± Andre explained. As soon as the SUV touched down, Andre slumped in his seat, placing his head against the steering wheel. ¡°The antithesis attacks have always been against our east wall, but one of my men managed to track their path about a kilometer out. They seem to be coming from one of the passes in the southeast.¡± He pushed himself upright again, then opened the door and got out. ¡°Sorry about before; my crew and I have only been able to have short naps, on rotation, for the last twenty-four hours. So I¡¯m a little on edge. Hope you find what you¡¯re looking for, for all our sakes.¡±

    ¡°See, he wasn¡¯t so bad,¡± Skyler said, poking me in the ribs.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. He was a real sweetheart in the end,¡± I grumbled as I slipped out of the vehicle. ¡°Artymis, do you see anything that looks like a hive to the southeast?¡±

    {Arty: We¡¯ve several areas with a higher than average concentration of antithesis, but nothing that screams hive.}

    {Athy: We¡¯ll keep an eye out for where the next attack comes from; that should give us a better idea.}

    ¡°Thank you both,¡± Skyler said after she finished unloading her drones. ¡°So what¡¯s the plan?¡± she asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think either of us is an expert  in wilderness survival, so it¡¯s probably not a great idea to wander blindly into the woods,¡± I replied. ¡°We could wait for the next attack, deal with it, then follow the path they took back to the source.¡±

    Skyler nodded. ¡°And as an added bonus, if we clean up after ourselves, that¡¯ll give the security team a little downtime,¡± she added.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just hope that Andre is willing to put up with us for the next hour or so,¡± I said.

    {Arty: Then it¡¯s a good thing he won¡¯t have to.}

    {Athy: We¡¯re reading a ton of antithesis signatures at one of the points. It looks exactly like what we would expect after a hive completes a spawning cycle. The entire group immediately turned towards the lab. They¡¯ll be here soon.}

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that good news? We know where the hive is now?¡± Skyler asked.

    {Athy: Remember what we told you before? About how quickly a hive can grow, given enough resources? Well it looks like this hive has been well fed over the last day.}

    ¡°What does that mean exactly?¡± I asked quietly.

    {Arty: It means you might want to get the security team back behind the walls, because this is going to be a big one.}

 Book 2 - Chapter 3 - Hidden by the trees

    I¡¯ve often been asked, why do we need samurai?

    Human small arms are capable of dealing with most smaller models, and heavy artillery can kill many larger types. What makes samurai so great?

    Well, have you ever tried to fire an artillery shell into the seventy fifth floor of a building? Do you know how many men we lose, on average, just clearing out a single mega building after the incursion has completed?

    Humanity can fight the invaders, but the losses and collateral damage we¡¯d suffer would quickly send us spiralling towards the brink of oblivion. In our modern environment, samurai equalize the odds.

    However, in situations where there are good sightlines and no chance of collateral damage, the unaugmented defenders of humanity can absolutely hold the line.

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Olivia ''Zealot'' Meier, In a rare interview during the aftermath of the Wyoming Incursion, 2053</li>

    </ul>

    ¡ª

    ¡°Forget the corpses, get back into the compound, now!¡± I yelled as Skyler and I ran towards the security team.

    Andre just stared at me in confusion. ¡°What the fuck are you yelling about? Why?¡±

    ¡°The antithesis are coming, now!¡± I explained. As I glanced back at the woods, I caught sight of Skyler sending her scouts into the darkness.

    ¡°So? We¡¯ve dealt with the waves they¡¯ve sent at us so far,¡± the head of security said blankly. ¡°The automated wall turrets have been more than enough to deal with everything they sent at us so far.¡±

    ¡°This wave will be much larger, and stronger than the previous ones,¡± I said sternly. ¡°There¡¯s no point in risking your lives when Cleansing Rain, the turrets and I can deal with it.¡±

    ¡°There are Twelves coming!¡± Skyler called.

    I knew she was just updating me on the situation, but as soon as the security team heard that they glanced at their leader nervously. The big man didn¡¯t say anything for a couple seconds, his eyes still locked on me, but he finally gave the proper command. ¡°Into your trucks. Leave this to the experts,¡± he growled. ¡°Let us know when you¡¯re done, and we¡¯ll come out and clean up,¡± Andre said while his team scrambled for the vehicles.

    ¡°Rain and I have the ability to get rid of the bodies,¡± I replied quietly. ¡°Get a little rest before the next wave comes. We¡¯ll try to deal with the hive before that happens, but if we can¡¯t, your team will need to be in top shape to defend the complex.¡±

    Andre hesitated again, but finally nodded. ¡°Fine,¡± he said. ¡°Good luck to both of you. Don¡¯t get eaten out there,¡± he said gruffly before climbing into the nearest vehicle. Seconds later the security vehicles rose as one, and disappeared over the wall.

    ¡°They¡¯ll be here in less than two minutes,¡± Skyler reported as she disconnected from her scout drones and retreated towards me. ¡°Do we have a plan?¡±

    ¡°Put your back against the wall, and have your drones start firing at the largest models as soon as they¡¯re in range,¡± I suggested. ¡°I¡¯ll cover you while the automated defenses thin out the horde. How many did you see?¡±

    ¡°More than I could count,¡± Skyler answered quietly, ¡°but it looked like a number of smaller models climbed onto the Twelves, and the Twelves were rushing ahead, so they¡¯re not going to hit us all at once.¡±

    ¡°They were riding the Twelves?¡± I asked incredulously.

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    {Athy: I know when you¡¯ve faced the Twelves previously, they were trying to stomp you into the ground, but both their primary purpose is to transport the smaller models.}

    ¡°Normally I¡¯d be horrified, but if they¡¯ve split up their forces and the first wave is clustered around the Twelves, that means Skyler¡¯s mortars should have an easy time dealing with them,¡± I said.

    ¡°They¡¯re coming into range now,¡± Skyler yelled as she backed towards the wall. ¡°Stand clear!¡± Her new drones made almost no sound as they fired. I wouldn¡¯t have even been able to tell if it wasn¡¯t for the tiny bit of smoke and the whistling as the rounds traveled through the air. They were capable of a frightening rate of fire, launching a round every second until they needed to be reloaded. That would have been scary enough, but when the tiny rounds landed, they unleashed a massive explosion that shook the area.

    ¡°What¡¯s in those shells?¡± I asked in awe.

    ¡°Not sure,¡± Skyler mumbled, her brow furled in concentration. ¡°But according to Athyna they¡¯re equivalent to a Howitzer shell.¡±

    {Athy: We thought it was best to avoid using them in the city, as they can cause quite a lot of collateral damage, but out here there¡¯s no need to hold back.}

    ¡°At this rate, nothing is going to survive long enough to make it to the walls,¡± I grumbled.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so sure,¡± Skyler replied as her drones ran dry. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen what I¡¯ve seen. They¡¯ll be here soon get ready! Athy, reload!¡±

    I squinted into the forest, trying to make out any movement, which was difficult with the mortar¡¯s blast waves rocking the foliage every second or so. When the first Twelve finally came rushing through the underbrush, I realized just how dangerous Skyler¡¯s new rounds were. All the armor on one side of the creature had been cracked, and it was bleeding heavily. Even though it hadn¡¯t been hit directly, the explosion had apparently been enough to kill its passengers.

    I raised my blade and prepared to meet its charge, but just as it emerged from the tree line, the wall guns opened up. I knew the guns were good; my mother wouldn¡¯t have skimped on security, but I didn¡¯t expect them to be effective against something as large as the Twelve. Not every round penetrated, a couple bounced off the undamaged armor, but most punched right through the damaged side to penetrate the beast''s head and kill it.

    The corpse dropped, and skidded to a stop more than a dozen feet short of my location. ¡°How powerful are those turrets?¡± I asked.

    {Arty: According to the specs, which Athyna pulled off the network, they¡¯re fifty caliber heavy machine guns. Impressive for automated defenses, but probably would have struggled to put that monster down if it had been uninjured.}

    ¡°I¡¯m starting to suspect that I might not actually be needed here,¡± I grumbled to myself.

    I caught a glimpse of a second Twelve making its way through the trees, only for the creature and its passengers to be hit directly by a mortar shell. When the dust cleared, I had to squint to even make out the pieces of the beast.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that my new drones would be able to deal with the Twelves so quickly,¡± Skyler admitted after her drones stopped firing. ¡°I have to reposition my scout drones to target the second wave. Doubt I¡¯ll be able to stop them all, so get ready.¡±

    ¡°Why? How many could there be left?¡± I asked.

    ¡°A lot!¡± Skyler yelled back, her eyes already going glassy as she connected to her drones.

    {Arty: According to the real-time map, this horde is at least twice as large as the one that cornered you in the Tanaka Building. Although Skyler will be able to thin them out, they¡¯re too spread out for her to deal with all of them.}

    ¡°That many?¡± I whispered as I stared into the woods. ¡°Even though I¡¯m confident in my skills, maybe I should do something to even the odds a little.¡± I reached back and pulled my bow off my shoulder. I hadn¡¯t been using it to kill that many antithesis, I preferred to use my sword whenever possible, but it had its uses. ¡°Arty, give me a dozen monowire arrows,¡± I whispered.

    I felt the quiver on my back shift slightly as the arrows materialized inside, and quickly grabbed one. I didn¡¯t bother aiming that carefully--these weren¡¯t precision weapons--instead I just launched them into the forest in a rough line. As soon as they hit the ground, the arrowhead exploded open and spat a tangle of wire into the area.

    I¡¯d barely managed to place the last one before the antithesis emerged from the deep forest. A wave of Threes darted through the trees, charging towards our location. Skyler¡¯s mortars blew huge holes in their lines, but the horde charged on.

    When the front line hit the wire, they were literally torn apart by their own momentum. The incredibly thin wire cut through flesh, almost as easily as my blade did, causing many antithesis to literally go to pieces. The few antithesis that managed to get through were met by the automated guns.

    I could tell that even with all those lines of defenses, it still wasn¡¯t going to be enough, so I shouldered my bow and drew my sword. The dregs which made it to me were spread out over a fairly large area, so I spent the next five minutes sprinting around the area. As soon as I cut down one of the monsters, I had to run off in another direction to intercept another. It was exhausting, but slowly, with the overlapping defensive lines, we managed to exhaust the antithesis forces.

    When it became apparent that we¡¯d depleted all the antithesis reinforcements, I collapsed to the ground at Skyler¡¯s feet. ¡°That¡­ was¡­ exhausting¡­¡± I panted.

    ¡°You did a good job,¡± Skyler said as she patted me on the head, a massive smile on her face. ¡°My drones certainly performed better than I expected, and with your arrows and the guns, things actually went fairly well. I thought we¡¯d have more trouble with that wave.¡±

    ¡°We need to deal with that hive ASAP,¡± I said after getting my breath under control. ¡°We managed to deal with this wave, but if the hive is growing between attacks, even we¡¯ll have trouble with the next one.¡±

    Skyler nodded. ¡°At least we¡¯ll have an easy time finding it. Those Twelves left a path of devastation in their wake.¡±

    ¡°They were still less destructive than you,¡± I joked as Skyler pulled me to my feet. I surveyed the area, glancing at the piles of antithesis corpses, and winced. ¡°We really should start cleaning up. If we delay too long, it¡¯ll give the hive time to recover.¡±

    Skyler¡¯s drones opened up again, this time, when they hit the ground, they released a green fog which slowly dissolved the surrounding antithesis bodies. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no matter what the antithesis throw at us, we¡¯ll handle it.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 4 - The Killing Field

    Humans once worried that our rampant pollution was killing the world.

    That¡¯s not a concern anymore. Plant life attracts antithesis, and once the aliens dig in they¡¯re a million times more destructive than a little bit of carbon, or toxic waste.

    That¡¯s why we¡¯re repealing all the local pollution restriction laws. If we¡¯re going to fight these aliens, the best way to do it would be un-restricted production

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Calgary City Council Announcement, Oct 2034</li>

    </ul>

    ¡ª

    Once we¡¯d finished cleaning up the bodies, it was easy for Skyler and I to figure out which direction to go. It turns out that when you have that many antithesis make an insane charge through an area, they don¡¯t leave much left in their wake.

    The horde had completely flattened all the underbrush and deadfall, leaving a very clear and easy-to-follow path. At least, once we were past all the artillery craters.

    ¡°You really did a number on this place,¡± I said as we snaked our way through the devastated area. Every few feet there was another gap in the foliage, and blast crater for us to avoid.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize the damage was this bad when we were fighting, but I don¡¯t regret it,¡± Skyler replied, stopping to look into one of the meter-deep pits. ¡°If I had stopped we could have been overrun.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not criticising you,¡± I told her. ¡°Even though you blew some holes in the area, it¡¯ll recover in time. If this wasn¡¯t a hidden facility, we could probably report the damage to the Cascadian government and have them send someone to replant the area.¡± I jumped a small creek which was more mud than water and held my hand out to help Skyler cross behind me. ¡°Besides, a few holes in the ground pale in comparison to the damage the antithesis can do.¡±

    Skyler looked at me in surprise. ¡°You know about that? I thought you never took antithesis studies.¡±

    ¡°Just because I¡¯ve never taken a formal course doesn¡¯t mean I haven¡¯t seen the recordings of an active hive expansion on the news,¡± I explained. ¡°It looked horrific, like another world.¡±

    As we were talking I noticed the trees were rapidly thinning. When we finally made it to the top of the next ridge, the forest gave way to an empty plain. ¡°Kind of like that,¡± I whispered in awe.

    It was obvious that the place hadn¡¯t always been empty. There were hundreds of holes dug into the area, each a couple meters across, and a couple hundred meters away, I could see dozens of Model Threes going at trees around the perimeter. The ravenous creatures chewed right through the trunks. One even got crushed by the falling tree, while several others dug up the roots.

    At the opposite side of the area, another horde of Threes was digging up and devouring all the grass, leaving the area completely barren of life.

    ¡°They¡¯re quite industrious when they¡¯re not trying to kill us, aren¡¯t they?¡± Skyler muttered.

    ¡°How is it that you couldn¡¯t identify the hive¡¯s location when they¡¯re doing this?¡± I asked my AI.

    {Arty: This is only one of Three harvesting areas on this side of the mountain. The hive¡¯s root network is already extensive, and if you¡¯d gone to the wrong location, there was no guarantee that there would have been a tunnel back to the hive.}

    ¡°How big IS this hive?¡± I hissed.

    {Athy: That wave you faced was the result of just a few birthing cycles. Several hours at the most. I would suggest you make haste and find the central hive before the next group is born.}

    ¡°Right, which way is the entrance?¡± I asked.

    Skyler grabbed my arm and pointed at a single Model Three running across the field. Unlike all the other Model Threes I¡¯d seen before, this one was fat and slow. It clawed its way across the field, before finally disappearing behind a hill.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that antithesis could get overweight,¡± I said blankly.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t overweight. It was bloated with biomass the group had collected. Probably bringing it back to the hive!¡± she explained.

    ¡°So, we¡¯ll follow it,¡± I said, ¡°but while we¡¯re moving, you should have your drones kill all the Model Threes out there. If there are multiple collection zones, we can¡¯t prevent the next spawning, but we might be able to slow it down.¡±

    She nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll handle it, but since I need to concentrate while firing you¡¯ll have to lead me across the field.¡±

    I grabbed her hand and gave it a little bit of a squeeze. ¡°Leave it to me!¡± As soon as her eyes unfocused, I slowly began leading Skyler around the numerous pits in the field. I tried my best to ignore the drones firing and the massive explosions around me.

    What I couldn¡¯t ignore was the wave of antithesis that poured out from the other side of the hill in front of us. It was like we¡¯d kicked an anthill.

    Although there were a ton of smaller models, what really concerned me was there were a half dozen larger models that I wasn¡¯t familiar with. The new antithesis looked sort of like a grasshopper that was sitting upright. The little group of new antithesis milled about, flapping their wings in agitation, until one apparently spotted us, and the entire group turned as one.

    ¡°Honey, time to redirect that firepower of yours!¡± I hissed.

    ¡°Already on it,¡± Skyler replied quietly.

    As Skyler¡¯s drones opened up, I watched as the new antithesis all opened their grotesque, cavernous mouths, reared back, and hocked a wave of projectiles back at us. The strange projectiles seemed to be half hairball, half bolo, and flew towards us with unnerving accuracy.

    I didn¡¯t know what I was looking at, but every fiber in my being was screaming at me to get out of the way.

    ¡°Incoming! Down!¡± I yelled as I spun in place and threw Skyler into the nearest pit.

    I saw the look of surprise as she disconnected from the drones mid-flight, ¡°Reina what the fuck¡­¡± she managed before I jumped in after her. The projectiles landed before I did. I didn¡¯t see them detonate, but I heard them. When they landed, there was the sound of hundreds of taut strings snapping, followed by a whizzing noise.

    Something connected with my shoulder and sent me spinning into the pit. I briefly wondered why my shield hadn¡¯t activated before I was hit by the crippling pain. ¡°Arrrgggg¡­ The fuck,¡± I screamed as I stared at my shoulder. There was something that looked like an oversized barbed hair, sticking right through it.¡±

    ¡°Holy shit! Reina!¡± Skyler yelled as she hovered over me. ¡°What the fuck was that?¡±

    ¡°I dunno,¡± I mumbled, ¡°but make sure they¡¯re dead first!¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Skyler¡¯s hands hovered around the barb, I could see she really wanted to treat it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll survive for a few minutes,¡± I managed through gritted teeth, ¡°but I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll survive a direct hit from one of those things.¡±

    She pulled back slightly. ¡°Fine,¡± she agreed begrudgingly, ¡°but if that thing is toxic, and you die while I¡¯m dealing with the antithesis, I¡¯ll never forgive you!¡±

    I laughed lightly as she refocused and started shelling the incoming swarm. As soon as I saw her eyes unfocus, I grimaced. It took everything I had to keep from grabbing the barb.

    ¡°Arty, why didn¡¯t my shield activate?¡± I hissed quietly.

    It did. Unfortunately, it was far too weak to stop the shrapnel from a Model Fifteen¡¯s projectile.

    ¡°Is that what those ugly grasshoppers are?¡± I asked.

    Indeed, they¡¯re the antithesis¡¯ equivalent to artillery. You¡¯re lucky you only got hit once, Those quills have been known to go through light vehicle armor.

    ¡°How do I get it out?¡± I asked.

    You don¡¯t. If you try to pull it out, not only will the larger barbs shred your flesh while you pull it out, but the smaller barbs will shear off and float around your bloodstream, shredding your blood vessels until they¡¯re neutralized.

    ¡°You¡¯re not filling me with confidence right now!¡± I shouted over the numerous explosions outside of our little foxhole.

    You need to purchase concentrated antithesis-dissolving enzymes, along with some healing nanites. I would also recommend an analgesic, because this is REALLY going to hurt.

    ¡°How bad? I can¡¯t fight if my sword arm is asleep,¡± I told my AI.

    You can¡¯t fight with that barb in your shoulder either. You can try to get through this without an analgesic, but it¡¯s going to feel like you¡¯re pouring acid into the wound until all the antithesis matter is expelled.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take the anesthetic then,¡± I said quietly.

    Good girl. I¡¯ll get everything arranged for you.

    As the packages materialized at my side, I noticed the area had gone quiet. I glanced at Skyler, just as she regained focus, and she gave me a small smile. ¡°Gottem,¡± she said quietly.

    Even though I knew it wasn¡¯t a great idea, I pushed myself off the ground and popped my head just above the top of the hole. The entire field was covered in a thin layer of smoke, and the area where the Fifteens and their friends had been standing had been completely flattened.

    ¡°I hope we can find the entrance after that,¡± I said quietly.

    ¡°That¡¯s NOT what you should be worrying about,¡± Skyler snapped as she grabbed me and carefully laid me back down in the bottom of the hole. She hovered around the quill, trying to figure out what to do about it.

    I gently raised my good hand and placed my hand against her face. ¡°I¡¯m fine, Artymis already figured out what I need to do to treat it. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°Right, of course you will,¡± Skyler replied, managing a small smile. ¡°Nothing to worry about.¡±

    ¡°I could use a hand to deal with this, though,¡± I said quietly. ¡°I¡¯m down one.¡±

    Skyler immediately punched me in the opposite shoulder, tears of relief in her eyes. ¡°I was so worried, and you¡¯re cracking jokes? You¡¯re terrible!¡±

    ¡°I joke, so you know I¡¯m fine,¡± I told her with a smile. I gave her a moment to laugh and wipe the tears out of her eyes before I continued. ¡°But seriously, I think I¡¯m going to need your help to get rid of this thing.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re terrible sometimes,¡± she muttered, ¡°but I still love you.¡±

    ¡°I know. I love you too,¡± I replied with a smile.

 Book 2 - Chapter 5 - The Root of the Problem

    Why do I concentrate on sweeping areas, instead of fighting on the front lines? It¡¯s because most of those high strung adrenaline junkies can¡¯t be bothered to do it. Did you know that if you leave any part of a hive intact that¡¯s six inches square or bigger, it can regrow over time? Can you imagine half the samurai out there taking the time to check for the small chunks?

    You need people like me, who are willing to spend the time, to keep you all safe.

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Sarah ¡°Savior¡± Cooper, after stopping the Toronto re-emergence event in 2028</li>

    </ul>

    ¡ª

    Even with the anesthetic, getting the spine out of my shoulder felt unsettling. It wasn¡¯t painful, but I could still feel the thing slowly dissolve, and then have my own flesh push out the residue as it knitted itself back together.

    I could tell from the look on Skyler¡¯s face that watching the process wasn¡¯t pleasant either.

    Once the process, which only took about a minute, finished, Skyler helped me back to my feet. ¡°Everything good?¡± she asked me, concern in her eyes.

    I rolled my shoulder a couple of times, making sure everything felt okay before drawing Rending Wave and performing some basic moves. It honestly couldn¡¯t tell I¡¯d even been injured. ¡°Good as new,¡± I confirmed with a smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad,¡± Skyler huffed. ¡°Even though I appreciate the save, you really need to worry about yourself more! What if you¡¯d died?!?¡± she hissed.

    ¡°I reacted as quickly as I could!¡± I insisted, ¡°It''s not like I wanted to get hit there.¡±

    {Athy: Ladies, I hate to interrupt, but the longer you leave the hive, the more likely it will have time to respawn its defenders. Once you take care of it, you can use the token you earn to invest in improving your gear and maybe prevent this from happening in the future.}

    ¡°Right¡­ I guess we should deal with that first,¡± Skyler muttered. She slowly climbed out of our little foxhole, and I scrambled to follow. When I reached the top, I was shocked by the devastation. The damage the antithesis had caused with their reckless harvesting over the last day and a half had been matched by Skyler in seconds. Massive craters that dwarfed the harvesting holes dotted the landscape, most of which were littered with antithesis parts and slowly filling with the enzyme gas she¡¯d launched to clean up.

    ¡°You did a real number on those antithesis,¡± I said in awe.

    ¡°Well, you were writhing in pain at the bottom of that pit, and they were threatening to overwhelm us. I didn¡¯t really have time for subtlety. I just hit them with the biggest blasts I could,¡± Skyler replied, shaking slightly. ¡°I just hope I didn¡¯t go overboard and collapse the entrance,¡± she added under her breath.

    The two of us quickly jogged towards the approximate location of the hive entrance. Thankfully, the antithesis appeared to have created their hive deep within a section of solid rock, so the tunnels seemed to be intact.

    I was about to step directly into the burrow when Skyler grabbed my arm. ¡°We don¡¯t know what¡¯s in there,¡± she whispered. ¡°Remember what happened in that transit shelter? We shouldn¡¯t just head in there blind.¡±

    ¡°So? What do you suggest?¡± I whispered back. ¡°It¡¯s not like your drones can detect a Nineteen down there.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t need to detect them, just flush them out,¡± Skyler replied. ¡°Step back.¡±

    I stepped to the side as her drones floated up to the entrance and tilted forward. A second later they unloaded deep into the hole, and the entire thing was flooded by a familiar green mist. I turned towards Skyler and raised an eyebrow.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°The gas might not be as effective at killing the antithesis, but it¡¯ll still be debilitating to them,¡± Skyler explained. ¡°At least, I hope so,¡± she added under her breath.

    ¡°Definitely a sound strategy,¡± I added as the gas ran out of the hive and over my boots. ¡°How about you send in your scout drones while I buy a gas mask? I know this shit is meant for destroying antithesis flesh, but I¡¯d prefer to avoid breathing it. Just in case.¡±

    {Arty: It¡¯s definitely not good for you, but it would take months for the carcinogenic effects to become lethal, and we could easily fix you before then.}

    I raised an eyebrow. {Rei: I think I¡¯d rather avoid having to deal with that if I can. Could you please just get me a gas mask like Skyler?}

    {Athy: No problem.}

    I held my breath when I reached down and grabbed the gas mask out of the box and pulled it on as fast as I possibly could. Artymis was probably correct, and taking care of cancer was well within their ability. It didn¡¯t mean that was something I wanted to deal with if I could help it.

    As soon as I had my mask on, Skyler turned towards me. ¡°Looks like the plan worked better than I expected. I think we can head in, just take it slow, and follow my drone,¡± she said.

    I nodded, drew Rending Wave, and slowly descended into the darkness. After a few steps, Skyler¡¯s scout drone floated back and used its built-in flashlight to lead us deeper into the complex.

    Turns out, I didn¡¯t need to ask what she meant by ¡®worked better than expected,¡¯ because I found out in the first hundred feet. We found an infant, malformed Three, attempting to crawl its way back to the entrance. It was already badly melted by the time we arrived, and one of its back legs had literally melted off. The creature snapped at me once, from more than ten feet away, before its head collapsed in on itself, and it died.

    {Athy: The hive is in self defense mode, trying to birth new models early in order to stop your advance, but since they¡¯re not fully grown, they don¡¯t have enough strength or mass to resist the gas long enough to be a threat. They¡¯re literally dying within minutes of being born.}

    ¡°I¡¯d prefer that to facing a horde like we saw outside,¡± I said as I plunged Rending Wave into the back of the creature¡¯s skull, just in case. ¡°Skyler¡¯s drones might have machine guns, but compared to the mortars...¡±

    ¡°Night and day, I know,¡± Skyler whispered. ¡°I¡¯ll have to think about how to improve their effectiveness in buildings.¡±

    ¡°Honestly? I think this might be a legitimate tactic to use,¡± I replied as we slowly followed the drone deeper. ¡°Even if it doesn¡¯t kill the fully grown models quickly, it¡¯ll make them easier for us to deal with.¡± I paused for a moment. ¡°That is assuming that there aren¡¯t a lot of people stuck inside, and the anti-cancer treatments aren¡¯t super expensive.¡±

    ¡°Maybe we should investigate something with fewer side effects before we try it in a residential area,¡± Skyler replied quietly.

    We walked for several minutes, slowly encountering more and more malformed antithesis, until the two of us just stumbled into a massive chamber. There was a massive root network sprawled across the floor, walls, and ceilings, which looked completely different to the system we found in the woods earlier. Most of the Model Tens had already fallen, while the last few poked ineffectively at the antithesis birthing structures ineffectively as the flesh literally melted off their bodies.

    The hive didn¡¯t look that great, with most of the structure bubbling and smoking. Large puddles of pus and melted antithesis flesh oozed from every wall.

    ¡°Is there anything left for us to do here?¡± I asked quietly. ¡°It seems like the gas has done our job for us.¡±

    {Athy: I think you underestimate how adaptable the antithesis are. Even now they¡¯re trying to create models that resist the enzyme. Give them a couple of hours, and the damage to the new growth will slow. A couple more days, and they¡¯ll bounce back, immune to this specific formula.}

    {Sky: That fast?}

    {Arty: They¡¯re sacrificing hundreds of models trying everything possible to make a resistant birthing chamber. Note the pile of corpses underneath each pod.}

    {Athy: And while they¡¯re trying to adapt here, they¡¯ll just swap one of the other gathering sites to a birthing site. The only good thing about this situation is that any changes the antithesis undergo here will not be universal. The enzyme will be just as effective against other groups in the future.}

    {Rei: So what do you recommend we do about the hive? If it¡¯s going to adapt to the enzyme, we need a different solution to get rid of the entire system, don¡¯t we?}

    {Arty: Your Class I Anthesis Biomass Denial Catalog has a number of other options for dealing with the antithesis. Desiccators, acids, and for exceptionally large jobs like this, nano disassemblers.}

    {Sky: Isn¡¯t that dangerous? You know, I¡¯ve seen documentaries on the grey goo apocalypse before. You know, nanites converting everything else into nanites, until there¡¯s nothing left but a massive nanite blob¡­}

    {Rei: That¡¯s a thing? We¡¯ve inhaled nanites before! I did it not even half an hour ago!}

    {Arty: Calm yourselves. Protector nanites cannot self-replicate, and have very specialized programming based upon their purpose and have a limited battery life. They literally cannot go rogue. The flesh-melter nanites are the most efficient way to deal with this hive when combined with the enzyme, but if you¡¯d prefer to use another option, you could use the desiccation injectors. It should only take you a couple of days to get rid of the entire system that way.}

    {Sky: I get it, the nanites are safe. You didn¡¯t need to resort to sarcasm at the end to get your point across.}

    {Athy: Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t sarcasm. It would literally take several days to use the desiccation injectors. Effective for small areas, but difficult to use against larger systems. So, what do you want to do?}

    Skyler and I exchanged a quick glance. ¡°How do we set up these nanites?¡± I asked.

 Book 2 - Chapter 6 - Triumphant Return

    You think samurai are loved? We¡¯re respected, and seen as heroes, but loved? How many times have you seen people celebrating a samurai¡¯s victory over the antithesis, or even buying them a drink? It doesn¡¯t really happen. If we¡¯re loved by the public, it¡¯s only from afar.

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Claire ¡®Celestia¡¯ Monte, prior to the Cascadia / Family split and battle of Seattle.</li>

    </ul>

    ¡ª

    The hive network was a lot more extensive than either Skyler or I realized. It covered several square kilometers, which we had to methodically burn out with a combination of enzyme gas and nanite injections. The combination of the two processes worked quickly, but even after splitting up it still took us several hours to destroy all the branching root systems, and the rogue antithesis gathered at the various harvesting operations at the far ends of the system.

    By the time we regrouped at the original heart of the hive, I was exhausted. Apparently I wasn¡¯t the only one.

    ¡°Reina¡­ I need to recharge,¡± Skyler moaned as she feigned falling, only to grab onto my shoulders and nuzzle her head into my neck. ¡°Mmmmm¡­ cozy,¡± she muttered.

    ¡°Are you sure this is the right time for cuddles?¡± I asked, as I slowly stroked the back of her head.

    ¡°We¡¯re not in combat, and we dug out a decent sized hive all by ourselves, I think we deserve to be rewarded,¡± Skyler pouted.

    I couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°You¡¯re right, we do,¡± I replied.

    Skyler nuzzled for another minute or so before finally straightening up, and letting out a huge sigh. ¡°I guess we should probably head back soon. That took much longer than I thought it would to clear everything out, and I don¡¯t really want to walk back through the woods in the dark,¡± she paused and glanced in my direction. ¡°Did you have any trouble on your end?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°There were about a dozen Model Threes feeding stuff into a digestion pool, and it looked like the hive was trying to create some new birthing pods in that area, but I¡¯m pretty sure I destroyed them before they could become active,¡± I reported.

    ¡°I ran into something similar on my side,¡± Skyler told me. ¡°It¡¯s actually pretty scary how fast the hive adapted after we destroyed the core.¡±

    ¡°The antithesis wouldn¡¯t be even half as scary as they are, if they didn¡¯t adapt, and grow, at such a frightening rate,¡± I said. I reached out and grabbed one of her hands, and slowly pulled her back towards the exit. ¡°Come on, if we leave now we should be able to get back while there¡¯s still a little light left, and maybe even make it home in time for a late dinner.¡±

    ¡°Mmmm¡­ I have a craving for fajitas,¡± Skyler mumbled.

    ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do,¡± I promised.

    {Athy: You know, we can provide you with a protector grade meal for only a point or two, which provides all the nutrition your body needs, and tastes great.}

    ¡°I appreciate the offer,¡± I said, as Skyler and I started climbing out of the cave system, ¡°but there¡¯s more to food than nutrition and taste. There¡¯s a lot to be said for having a home cooked meal made by your loved ones.¡±

    ¡°I certainly don¡¯t eat Reina¡¯s food for the taste,¡± Skyler giggled behind me. I pivoted on the spot and shot a death glare at her, which only made her giggle harder. ¡°You know it¡¯s true!¡± she managed to choke out.

    ¡°I know, but you don¡¯t have to reveal it to everyone,¡± I grumbled. ¡°I try my best.¡±The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°And that¡¯s why I love eating it,¡± Skyler replied, leaning forward and planting a quick kiss on my cheek.

    By the time we managed to get back to the treeline the sun had dipped low in the sky, causing the whole area to be draped in long shadows. I¡¯m not sure why, but it made me nervous. It felt like something could be out there, stalking us, waiting for the right time to pounce. I knew it was probably just my imagination going wild, but it didn¡¯t stop me from being on guard.

    We didn¡¯t give Edward a call for a pickup until we could see the walls of the compound again, I have to say I wasn¡¯t super surprised when a familiar green and white security vehicle drove over to meet us.

    ¡°Ladies, it¡¯s good to see you again, and in one piece,¡± Andre said with a smile as Skyler and I piled into the back of the SUV.

    ¡°It¡¯s good to be back,¡± I said as I slumped into my seat. ¡°Have there been any more issues with the antithesis since we left?¡±

    ¡°One or two stragglers, but no big attacks like before,¡± Andre reported as he maneuvered the hover vehicle over the wall. ¡°My team and I actually managed to catch up on our sleep in the last few hours, so we¡¯re fighting fit if those antithesis decide to show their faces again.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope that doesn¡¯t happen for a while,¡± Skyler grumbled. ¡°Cleaning up after those bastards is a real chore.¡±

    ¡°I can imagine,¡± Andre chuckled. ¡°Edward wanted to have a word with you before you left, so I¡¯m going to drop you off in front of the control room, is that alright?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Skyler replied lightly. ¡°We can spare him a few minutes before we leave.¡±

    The big man nodded, and turned the SUV towards the huge central structure. As far as I could tell it mainly functioned as a warehouse, with massive storage areas, but there must have been other facilities to cater to the small onsite crew too.

    Andre drove us to the north side, where there weren¡¯t any large bay doors, just a small parking lot with half a dozen vehicles and a small security door.

    ¡°Door should be unlocked, Edward¡¯s expecting you. Just head straight down the hallway, and take your first left to find the control center,¡± Andre explained as he planted the vehicle right next to the door.

    ¡°You¡¯re not coming in?¡± Skyler asked.

    ¡°Sorry, no. Now that the antithesis aren¡¯t crawling all over the walls I need to check up on those alerts we¡¯ve been getting from the farms. I¡¯ve been trying to get the people assigned to sweep those areas to give me a full update, but I can¡¯t seem to get a straight answer out of them. Need to check on it myself,¡± Andre explained. ¡°It was nice meeting you both, and¡­ sorry about earlier.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± I told him as Skyler and I hopped out of the vehicle. As soon as we were clear he was off, speeding towards the far side of the complex again.

    Skyler took the lead as we entered the building. This section looked brand new, the walls were a light green, slightly olive color, and the floors appeared to be some sort of laminate. Not exactly what I expected the interior of a top secret facility to look like. The area was empty, except for a single cleaning bot which was methodically making its way back and forth down the hallway.

    ¡°Straight in, and to the left,¡± I repeated under my breath.

    It didn¡¯t take long to find the room Andre had directed us to, this part of the building wasn¡¯t that big, and when we entered the faux wood door I was surprised to find a massive, modern monitoring station inside.

    Row upon row of monitors displaying the status of the different farms, harvest rates, watering schedules, and even more things that I didn¡¯t recognize. There were a handful of people zipping back and forth between different stations on their chairs, speaking through headsets, but the only one that turned to look at us as we entered was Edward.

    ¡°Ah, Ms Wind, Ms Rain, it¡¯s so good to see you again,¡± he exclaimed as he jumped out of his chair, mopping his forehead with his handkerchief. ¡°We haven¡¯t experienced an attack in several hours. I assume we have you to thank for that?¡±

    I nodded, ¡°We cleared up the hive, so you shouldn¡¯t have any problems for a while,¡± I confirmed.

    Edward looked noticeably relieved by that fact, but there was still something about the situation that seemed¡­ odd. ¡°Is something going on?¡± Skyler asked, before I could. ¡°Or is the situation always so frantic in here?"

    Edward glanced back towards the control system for a moment, before turning back towards us with an uneasy smile. ¡°Nothing for you to worry about. We¡¯re getting some strange readings from the sensors in vertical farm three, but the maintenance team inside keeps insisting the system is malfunctioning. We¡¯re just trying to troubleshoot the issue now.¡±

    I felt a sense of unease. ¡°Multiple sensors are tripping in just that one farm? None of the others?¡± I asked. Edward nodded slightly. ¡°This wouldn¡¯t happen to be the same farm that Andre just went to investigate because he couldn¡¯t get a straight answer from his men inside, would it?¡±

    The pained expression on Edward¡¯s face was the only answer I needed.

    ¡°What are you thinking?¡± Skyler whispered.

    ¡°I¡¯ve done surveillance before. I might get one or two cameras, or sensors that act sketchy, or fail, but usually there are backups,¡± I explained. ¡°The system should never fail to the degree we¡¯re seeing here, which means the issue probably isn¡¯t the sensors, but the workers inside. Isn¡¯t that right Edward?¡±

    The man sagged. ¡°We suspected sabotage a couple hours ago, but the security team we sent in ALSO reported no issues, so unless they¡¯re in collusion with the maintenance team¡­ I don¡¯t know why they¡¯d say that,¡± Edward explained, wringing his hands ¡°In addition, if the point was to sabotage the system they should have hit all the farms simultaneously, and done more than mess with the climate and water control systems. It doesn¡¯t make sense!¡±

    ¡°I have a bad feeling about this,¡± Skyler muttered. ¡°Maybe we should check this out before we leave, what do you think?¡±

    Before I could answer a series of faint gunshots echoed through the corridor outside, and the alarms in the room started blaring. ¡°Definitely,¡± I replied.

 Book 2 - Chapter 7 - Vertical Farming

    Before the antithesis came, humanity spread to every corner of the earth. Burning forests and terraforming the earth in order to make room for more farmland to feed their appetites. With the ravenous aliens running rampant over the countryside, humanity needed to find better ways. Vertical farms were the most popular solution.

    Massive complexes that matched, or in some cases even dwarfed the mega scrapers found in cities, but filled with automated farmland. They were seen as revolutionary when first established, but people quickly realized that just putting the plants into a building did not protect them from the aliens.

    -The Evolution of Farming, 2044

    ¡ª

    ¡°Which way to farm three?¡± I yelled as I sprinted back towards the door.

    ¡°The official entrance is outside and around the back of the warehouse but¡­¡± Edward stuttered.

    ¡°Spit it out Edward!¡± Skyler shouted.

    ¡°There¡¯s an automated conveyor system that connects the warehouse to each of the farms. It¡¯s narrow, but much closer. Out the door to the right, into the main facility then to the far side,¡± the man finally explained.

    I nodded once, then took off at a sprint. The corridor leading farther into the facility was fairly short, and when I smashed into the door it opened into a massive open area. The warehouse itself had several floors, each one the same size as an airplane hanger. Row upon row of seedlings sat upon conveyors where automated arms mounted to tracks on the roof spritzed them with water, collected them into groups of four, boxed them up and then carried them to another level. It was a very efficient system.

    Skyler lightly tapped me on the back and pointed towards the back of the conveyor system, where there were half a dozen tunnels leading out of the facility.

    ¡°Which one?¡± I asked as we jogged through the titanic storage facility. ¡°Artymis?¡±

    {Athy: Third from the left, according to the plans, FC-03. Thankfully you humans like to have everything organized, it¡¯s easy to identify.}

    I quickly hurdled the first two conveyors, then jumped onto the third, pausing momentarily to help Skyler up. The belt was thankfully really slow, it didn¡¯t need to be fast to carry the harvested seedlings, so we were able to make it up the small, slightly inclined, enclosed connector and into farm three.

    Jumping down from the far end of the belt, somewhere on the second floor of the farm, I quickly glanced around. The ground was entirely covered by a layer of loamy topsoil, and had hundreds of rows of small seedlings planted in concentric rows around a central pillar which contained several computer screens, and apparently access to the other floors. The seedlings were being monitored by more automated arms which were zipping around on roof mounted tracks constantly scanning, watering, harvesting the most mature plants, and planting new seeds.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything,¡± Skyler whispered. ¡°Gimme a minute to send out my scouts.¡±

    ¡°The gunfire has already stopped, I¡¯ll check to see if Edward can point us in the right direction,¡± I replied.

    [Edward, where is Adrien?]

    It took a few seconds for me to get a reply. [I don¡¯t know, he¡¯s not on any of the displays!]

    [Then where are the current system failures coming from?] I shot back.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    [Floor seven.] There was a pause. [We have crews on floor five and ten, should I¡­?]

    [Get them as far away from floor seven as possible. Is there a place you can evacuate the higher team from, near the top of the facility?]

    [Of course! There¡¯s maintenance access on the roof] Edward reported.

    [Then get them out of here until you hear back from us. Keep the line clear until then.]

    [Right.] He replied right before I disconnected the call.

    Skyler still had a far away look in her eyes, signalling that she was still connected to her recon drones. I leaned in closer to her ¡°Floor Seven,¡± I whispered to her, trying not to break her concentration.

    To my surprise she immediately replied. ¡°I was afraid of that¡­ There¡¯s something up there disrupting my signal. I can¡¯t get anything close to that area.¡±

    ¡°Not a good sign,¡± I mumbled. ¡°Will you be able to get your artillery drones up there?¡±

    ¡°Maybe? They¡¯re from a higher class catalog, so they¡¯re more resistant to interference, but I won¡¯t know until we get up there,¡± Skyler reported, glancing back at her drones. The three of them were slowly flying in circles, holographic images of our cats displayed upon each.

    The two of us stared at the drones for several seconds. ¡°Maybe you should shut that off for now,¡± I finally said.

    ¡°Good plan, I can always re-enable it once we¡¯re done,¡± Skyler replied. A moment later the holograms disappeared.

    The two of us quickly made our way between the planted seedlings towards the central support pillar. Thankfully the roof was just over twelve feet tall, so the arms had plenty of clearance. At the speed they traveled I wasn¡¯t sure that I would have been able to dodge them, even with my increased reflexes.

    The central pillar was around twenty feet wide, and after a quick inspection I found both a lift and spiral staircase built into it. I paused next to the staircase, and listened for several long seconds, but couldn¡¯t hear anything suspicious.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Skyler asked quietly.

    I glanced up the dark staircase, ¡°I think we take this slow, check each floor as we go up to avoid getting flanked. There¡¯s enough space for your drones to float up the middle of the stairs, so we can use that to provide a little bit of overwatch.¡±

    Drawing Rending Wave, I slowly took my first few steps up the stairs. Stopping at each floor didn¡¯t make me feel better, it actually had the opposite effect. Not finding any signs of disturbed plants, never mind any antithesis, made me nervous.

    When we arrived at the sixth floor that all changed. As soon as I stepped off the stairs I could see patches of ravaged plants. Small groups, but most of the crop was intact.

    Glancing around, I didn¡¯t notice anything suspicious, not at first. There weren¡¯t any antithesis running around, the area was clear.

    Skyler narrowed her eyes as she stepped up next to me. ¡°It¡¯s obvious that the antithesis have been here, so where did they go?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I said as I continued scanning the area. ¡°How are the drones?¡±

    She glanced back at the three drones following her around like ducklings. ¡°Signal isn¡¯t great, but still operational. Whatever¡¯s causing the interference is close.¡±

    I nodded lightly, then stalked further into the farm area. Since the largest of the seedlings were only a couple inches high, it wasn¡¯t really like there was any place for the antithesis to hide. We made about half a lap around the central pillar before I had to stop.

    ¡°You have to be shitting me,¡± I whispered.

    ¡°What?¡± Skyler asked, looking past me before frowning. ¡°That can¡¯t be real, can it?¡±

    A couple feet in front of us, sitting right in the middle of the field, was a two foot tall bush. At least that¡¯s what it would have looked like to a normal person, with my augmented eyes I could see the Nine behind the camouflage.

    ¡°Guess we know why the sensors are failing,¡± I grumbled. ¡°Kind of hard to hide properly when the area doesn¡¯t have any debris.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Skyler asked.

    ¡°A Nine, must be more upstairs.¡± As I stepped forward the bush shuttered slightly, but before the nine could lunge I brought Rending Wave down through the creature. The pitiful thing still attempted to strike at me, which was difficult when it was literally cut in two. The top half of the Nine slowly crawled forward on three scything limbs, occasionally swiping my way, before I removed its head.

    Once it stopped moving Skyler moved closer and knelt next to the corpse. ¡°How the hell did they get in? And why didn¡¯t anyone notice them?¡±

    ¡°So much of the system is automated, the maintenance workers probably don¡¯t even check unless there are alarms,¡± I explained, ¡°and as long as the Nines aren¡¯t as blatant as that one, the workers could probably walk right past them.¡±

    Skyler poked the corpse with her rifle, before standing up again. ¡°What are they doing here?¡±

    ¡°Probably some sort of recon for the hive, before we destroyed it,¡± I said, considering the situation. ¡°This is probably heaven for them, biomass that grows at an accelerated pace, and is automatically replanted after it¡¯s harvested.¡±

    ¡°You think they¡¯d make another hive inside the farm?¡± Skyler asked.

    ¡°I would if I was them, but I¡¯m not going to claim I understand the antithesis mind. We¡¯ll see when we get upstairs. Let¡¯s finish cleaning this floor first.¡±

    We finished clearing the sixth floor without encountering any further antithesis, so we made our way back to the stairs. Once I knew what we were dealing with, I began seeing signs everywhere, like flickering lights, and my augs constantly losing signal. Thankfully Skyler¡¯s drones seemed to have some level of resistance, and they didn¡¯t just drop out of the air.

    Stepping up to the open door to the seventh floor I glanced back at Skyler and took a deep breath. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see what they¡¯re up to,¡± I said with as much confidence as I could muster before stepping up to the door.

 Book 2 - Chapter 8 - Apex Predator

    You want to know what¡¯s kept me alive this long? Being observant.

    You thought I¡¯d wax poetic about some strange piece of alien gear? Let me tell you, all the gear in the world won¡¯t help you if something big sees you, before you see it.

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Olivia ''Zealot'' Meier, Post Wyoming Incursion, 2053</li>

    </ul>

    ¡ª

    Skyler grabbed my arm before I stepped through the door.

    ¡°What did we just learn?¡± she asked me in a disappointed voice. ¡°If it¡¯s an enclosed area we flood the area before entering.¡±

    ¡°We also learned that the enzyme gas causes cancerous mutations in non-antithesis lifeforms,¡± I pouted. ¡°Not exactly something we want to pump through a farm complex.¡±

    ¡°Better than being sliced apart by whatever¡¯s in there,¡± Skyler replied. The drones tilted forward, preparing to fire through the door. ¡°We¡¯ll ask Edward to purge the plants on this floor, better to lose some than lose the entire complex.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t argue with that, and even if I wanted to I didn¡¯t have the time, as Skyler launched a full salvo of gas rounds through the door. She adjusted her mask, checking the seals before flashing me a smile through the partially mirrored, heavily polarized face plate. ¡°Shall we go?¡±

    I reached out and grabbed her arm as she stepped forward. ¡°Me first,¡± I told her quietly.

    As I entered the seventh floor into an ankle deep layer of enzyme gas. Six rounds would be enough to flood the entire floor, eventually, but most of it was concentrated around the initial impact point and slowly wafted outward.

    ¡°Keep an eye out for Andre, or any other staff,¡± Skyler whispered as she followed behind me.

    Normally I would have nodded, or given some sort of acknowledgement that I¡¯d heard her, but I was already focused on my surroundings. I¡¯d already spotted several suspicious plants, and installations, around the area and I really didn¡¯t want to give those little bastards another chance to get their claws into me again. Or even worse, Skyler.

    Eyes flicking between the different objects I approached the closest one, a plastic barrel at the edge of farmland. It didn¡¯t flicker like the nine on the previous level, but I still gave it a kick to make sure.

    The plastic barrel toppled over with a loud clatter, which echoed through the otherwise quiet area, spilling hundreds of withered plant clippings all over the floor. Skyler jumped ¡°Fuck, Reina was that really necessary?¡±

    ¡°I needed to be sure,¡± I replied quietly. Even though I didn¡¯t show it, I was probably just as jumpy as Skyler was. The extreme quiet, only broken up by the sound of our footsteps, rebreathers, and the quiet whirring of the automated arms. I really wished that the antithesis made noise, instead of stalking around in complete silence. It would have made this hunt a lot easier.

    As I slunk towards a suspicious pile of dead plants a loud crack echoed through the area. I whirled towards the sound, just in time to see a fire extinguisher enclosure fall off the wall. Even before it hit the ground, the enclosure dissolved into a mess of long hair-like strands, and scything limbs.

    Normally I would have rushed the creature, to strike it down before it could attack, but it was quite obvious this one was already on its way out. Most of its camouflage tendrils were slowly dissolving, and its limbs were spasming hard enough to snap right off. A couple feet away a pipe distorted, then revealed itself as a nine as the camo burned right off. A few seconds later it too dropped to the floor, thrashing.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°Guess the enzyme really doesn¡¯t agree with them,¡± Skyler muttered.

    ¡°Well, they have a lot of exposed surface area with those camo tendrils, and not a lot of mass,¡± I said as I slowly sheathed my blade. ¡°The gas is probably a perfect counter for them.¡±

    Skyler pouted, ¡°I know this is probably ideal, killing off the lot of them without lifting a finger, but I was kind of looking forward to a little bit of action.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll see plenty of action before the day is done. We should take the easy wins where we can,¡± I said, turning back towards her.

    I had planned to shoot her a confident smile, but that didn¡¯t really happen. Instead I was distracted by the gas behind her swirling, parting almost unnaturally. Alarm bells rang out in my head.

    Skyler squeaked in surprise as I yanked her forward, putting myself between her and the abnormality. As soon as I did it moved, smashing into Skyler¡¯s drones, sending them spinning away. When it was only a few feet away I grabbed Rending Wave¡¯s sheath with one hand, the hilt with the other, and drew the blade in a lightning fast slash.

    A four feet long, heavily armored limb appeared out of nowhere and pinwheeled into a nearby wall. At nearly the same moment I felt a rush of wind pass the side of my head. After a few seconds the gas in front of me settled into a flawless, flat layer once again.

    Skyler gaped at the limb. ¡°What the fuck was that? I didn¡¯t see anything! How did you know?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what it was, but it was invisible. Not camouflage like the Nines, truly invisible,¡± I hurriedly explained. ¡°But it disturbed the gas! Look for gaps!¡±

    Skyler didn¡¯t ask any more questions, her drones gathered around her, creating a loose perimeter, before tilting forward to prepare for direct fire.

    I scanned the floor, looking for any disturbances which would identify our attacker, but all I could find was patches disturbed by the nearby ventilation fans, or points where the fallen Nines poked above the gas.

    One of Skyler¡¯s drones fired, and I twirled towards the explosion. The middle of the room had been consumed by an orange fireball, blowing the gas out of that area, but I didn¡¯t see the creature.

    ¡°I hit it dead on, I swear!¡± Skyler hissed. ¡°Whatever it is just completely shrugged my round off!¡±

    ¡°I believe you,¡± I replied quietly, scanning the area. Skyler¡¯s round had scorched the area, but there was a large gap in the pattern, which indicated something had been standing there. Unfortunately since the explosion had dispersed the gas, we¡¯d also lost our one hint to the creature''s location.

    While I was scanning the ground, looking desperately for any trace, Skyler gasped. ¡°Right side, Blood!¡±

    Something told me I didn¡¯t have time to ask questions, I simply pivoted on the spot and swung at the point she¡¯d indicated, aiming low. There wasn¡¯t much resistance, but it was there. By the time I¡¯d finished my swing two massive dog-like limbs had fallen to the ground.

    The creature had apparently had enough, and it dropped its stealth. The monster vaguely resembled a Model Three, but was several times larger than the basic model. Unlike the Three this one had an extra set of battering ram shaped arms, one of which I¡¯d severed earlier, and it was completely covered in metallic armor. The creature towered over me, its one remaining arm prepped to smash me into paste.

    I was saved by Skyler grabbing me by the back of the jacket and yanking me back. The antithesis¡¯ fist smashed down right where I¡¯d been standing, leaving a large impact crater in the soil. ¡°Less freezing, more killing!¡± she yelled.

    Sweeping Rending wave back as quickly as possible I managed to catch the creature in the elbow before it could fully pull back, severing it¡¯s forearm.

    With both of its offensive limbs severed, along with its front legs, the antithesis shoved itself forward with its back legs, jaw snapping wildly. Although it was still dangerous, I was much less afraid of it without the arms.

    Stepping to one side, past the range of the snapping jaw, all it took was a single quick stroke to behead the creature, and bring an end to the madness.

    I let out a sigh of relief.

    ¡°What the hell is that?¡± Skyler asked as I staggered away, trying to catch my breath. ¡°I¡¯ve never even heard of something like that!¡±

    {Athy: Model Twenty-One, advanced stealth model. I¡¯m surprised the hive managed to birth even a single one, considering how fast it was pumping out smaller models. I doubt that it would have been able to birth two, but stay on your toes, they hunt in packs!}

    ¡°Fucking wonderful,¡± I groaned, instantly snapping back to attention, scanning the area.

    Skyler and I stood back to back for a good ten minutes, making sure there wasn¡¯t even a hint of movement anywhere on the floor before we were convinced the threat had been neutralized.

    We did one last lap of the floor, making sure that the Nines were dissolved and dumping nanites on the Twenty-One before leaving. That¡¯s when we found Andre, crushed against a wall.

    ¡°Poor guy,¡± Skyler said, kneeling down before his corpse and gently closing his eyes. ¡°He deserved better.¡±

    ¡°He did,¡± I agreed, ¡°but it''s only because of his sacrifice that we even knew the antithesis were here. Guy was kind of a hero. I¡¯ll let my mom know and make sure he¡¯s honored properly.¡±

    Skyler gently placed Andre¡¯s broken rifle on his chest before standing up, resolve in her face. ¡°We should clear the other floors before we leave, make sure the antithesis really are gone, and prevent this from happening to anyone else.¡±

    I nodded, ¡°Lead the way.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 9 - Lights on the Water

    A ship alight with natural glow,

    To guide home wayward souls.

    They say upon the forward bow,

    A maiden sings her goals.

    Words of hope, dreams of afar,

    A pure desire to chase a star.

    -Prism ¡®Ghost-Light¡¯, Starchaser, 2057

    ¡ª

    We took our time and cleared the rest of the farm slowly and carefully, but we didn¡¯t find any additional antithesis. After trudging back to the command center, we reported the situation to Edward.

    ¡°Andre¡¯s dead? And there were antithesis in the farms?¡± He repeated, face pale.

    ¡°You should probably purge floor seven, replant it, and start again, and destroy anything harvested from floors six and seven the last day or so,¡± I told him. After spending hours completely taking the hive apart, we¡¯d just spent a couple more combing the farm, making sure it was clear. Now, the sun was starting to set, and both Skyler and I were starting to feel exhausted. ¡°Can you do that?¡±

    The big man nodded rapidly. ¡°As soon as the sprouts are harvested, they¡¯re given radio tags. We can pull up their location from here. Do you think that¡¯s really necessary?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Do you want to risk sending out a highly mutated version of the bush to the samurai? Or even worse, an antithesis-tainted plant?¡± Skyler snapped as she leaned on me for support. ¡°They¡¯re probably fine, but are you willing to risk it?¡±

    Edward immediately snapped his mouth shut and shook his head.

    ¡°Good. Then we¡¯ll leave the cleanup to you. Make sure Andre¡¯s body is sent home as soon as possible; his family deserves to know,¡± Skyler said, her voice growing softer.

    I waited a moment, letting the silence sink in, before speaking up. ¡°Now that the situation is stable here, we¡¯ll be leaving. The situation around the city was pretty dire, so we need to get back ASAP.¡±

    ¡°I can walk you out,¡± the man said excitedly.

    I just held out a hand to stop him. ¡°We¡¯ve taken up too much of your time already, we can show ourselves out. Thank you for your help.¡±

    Skyler and I turned to leave and almost made it to the door before Edward yelled, ¡°Have a good day.¡±

    ¡°He was polite and helpful,¡± Skyler giggled as she snuggled closer to my side.

    ¡°He was probably terrified of us,¡± I corrected her as we made our way towards the exit.

    ¡°Either way, I was glad to have his help. Could you imagine how bad things would have been if he¡¯d fought us? If we¡¯d arrived outside the wall even a few minutes later?¡±

    ¡°It would have been a disaster, I know,¡± I said lightly. ¡°Even though we did a lot of hard work today, it was worth it.¡±

    ¡°Mm-hmm!¡± Skyler muttered, a small sleepy smile on her face.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    Since the entire complex was automated, there weren¡¯t many exterior lights, so I had to slide my mask down to find Skyler¡¯s car. As soon as I did, Skyler let out a sleepy laugh. ¡°We need to get more stylish gear!¡±

    ¡°Hey, this is from your catalog!¡± I replied defensively.

    ¡°I know, but it was a utility buy. Now that we have some points, we should look at style,¡± she declared, raising one hand to the sky. Unfortunately, in her tired, half-loopy state, she nearly tripped, so I had to grab her and pull her back to my shoulder. Skyler just giggled.

    ¡°I¡¯m driving on the way home,¡± I told her sternly. ¡°You need a nap.¡±

    ¡°Do not!¡± Skyler pouted. I raised an eyebrow and carefully maneuvered her around to the passenger seat before popping the trunk and carefully loading all her drones for her.

    By the time I climbed into the driver''s seat, she was already out, propped against the window, snoring. I gently pulled her back into the seat and fastened her seatbelt, trying my best not to wake her.

    Once Skyler was secure, I started the car, angled it south, and started the drive home.

    [Arty,] I entered into my augs, trying to stay as quiet as possible. [What¡¯s the situation back in town?]

    [The situation on the ground is fairly stable. The other samurai managed to strike at a number of hives and kept the horde from reaching the city¡¯s wall. It¡¯s the situation oceanside that¡¯s concerning.]

    I raised an eye, [How so?]

    [Since underwater combat is three-dimensional, and you need specialized weapons to be effective, there are fewer samurai specialized in it. Warspite has been launching depth charges at the aquatic hives as fast as he can, but since there are so few aquatic samurai, and they can¡¯t just shoot artillery at the aquatic hordes to clear them up, the numbers off the coast are growing.]

    I frowned. [That sounds like a serious issue. Is there anything we can do to help?]

    [Not really, like I said, aquatic combat is fairly specialized. Don¡¯t worry,though, the crew of the Starchaser is patrolling the harbor, dealing with any antithesis that get close. We¡¯ll be approaching the city soon, why don¡¯t you take a detour over the harbour to take a look?]

    I hmmm¡¯d quietly and nudged the car just a little to the coast. It took a couple more minutes before I finally saw the glow of Vancouver¡¯s lights spilling over the top of the perimeter wall. Rather than going over it, I turned the car out to sea, and came in over the water.

    As soon as I slipped past the wall, my eyes were immediately drawn to a strange ship sitting in the middle of the harbor. It was around the size of a modern destroyer but made entirely of a glowing wood and some sort of alien metal. It had the general shape of age of sail ship but lacked the masts and was armed with more modern naval guns and anti-air emplacements.

    While I watched, something extended from the bottom of the ship. There was a momentary flash, then it retracted again. While all this was happening, I spotted a single red-clad silhouette dancing around on deck.

    ¡°That certainly is something,¡± I muttered as another flash occurred underneath the unusual ship.

    ¡°Pretty¡­¡± Skyler mumbled.

    I glanced over, only to find my girlfriend¡¯s half-lidded eyes watching the boat. ¡°Did I wake you?¡± I asked.

    She shook her head slowly ¡°¡®Jus needed a quick nap to recharge my batteries. Why are we flying over the harbor?¡±

    ¡°Arty was telling me that the fight in the Pacific wasn¡¯t going well. When I asked if there was any way to help, she suggested flying over the harbor to see what an aquatic specialized samurai looked like.¡±

    ¡°So we need a boat?¡± Skyler asked.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a little more than that,¡± I told her quietly. As we passed over the boat, a head appeared in the water next to the boat, waved a harpoon at the deck until the red- clad figure came over to toss something to them, then disappeared again.

    ¡°I think that was the mermaid,¡± Skyler remarked.

    ¡°That would make sense,¡± I replied with a small smile before turning towards Elysian Heights. Skyler¡¯s head nodded slightly, she was obviously trying to stay up, but after a few seconds it settled once against the door, and a small snore arose from her side of the car.

    [We¡¯re too tired to head out tonight, but can you put together a list of targets for us to look at tomorrow? Maybe talk to Athyna and start putting together a list of what gear Skyler and I would need to fight underwater. I realize it¡¯s not our area of expertise, but I want to be prepared to pitch in if the situation in the Pacific continues to deteriorate.]

    [You would need to invest most of the points you earned today in aquatic equipment to even get started. Would you like me to reserve the necessary points?]

    I bit my lip. [Do it, and ask Athyna to discuss it with Skyler tomorrow. We can always earn more points tomorrow and dip into the reserve if we get into trouble.]

    [Got it.]

    As I aligned Skyler¡¯s car with the garage, the thick blast doors slowly cracked open, inviting us in. I carefully maneuvered through the gap, hovered over the assigned parking spot, and touched down as gently as possible. Despite my attempt to avoid disturbing her, Skyler¡¯s head came up as soon as we touched down.

    ¡°Home?¡± she muttered.

    ¡°Yes, we made it,¡± I replied with a smile. ¡°How about we leave all our equipment in the car for now? We¡¯ll probably be using your car tomorrow anyways, and then I can take you straight to bed?¡±

    Skyler flashed me her best sleepy smile. ¡°Kay.¡±

    After turning off the car, I quickly undid my belt and rushed around to the passenger side to catch Skyler as she stumbled out.

    ¡°I got you, up you go,¡± I whispered as I pulled her to her feet.

    Skyler gave me a goofy smile, then leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on my lips. ¡°Luv you!¡±

    I grinned as I slowly directed her through our apartment and towards the bedroom. ¡°I love you too,¡± I whispered.

 Book 2 - Chapter 10 - Fashion Sense

    What¡¯s new in fashion in 2051? Why pink bodysuits, Aviator jackets, and combat punk. With the rise of popularity of Lady Lightshow, Aerocruiser and Rip Heart many people want to emulate their unique costume choices. Every year the most trendy individuals emulate the up and coming samurai and this year is no different.

    -Fashion NOW! New years fashion special, 2051

    ¡ª

    I awoke the next morning to a tiny set of paws poking me in the face. Cracking my eyes slightly, I found Lala pawing my face. Behind her I could see Skyler standing there, trying her best not to laugh.

    ¡°Not my fault,¡± Skyler chuckled. ¡°She was sleeping with me, and once I got up, she immediately went to you.¡±

    ¡°Do you need to do that?¡± I whispered at the kitten through narrowed eyes. She stopped kneading for just a moment before letting out a tiny ¡®mew¡¯ and continuing. Skyler burst out laughing.

    I gently lifted the tiny kitten off my face and sat up.

    ¡°You¡¯re usually the first one up, you must have been tired,¡± Skyler said as she dug through the wardrobe. Pulling out two casual outfits, she threw one on the bed before disappearing into the bathroom with the other.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s because one of us had to be responsible, while the other was comatose,¡± I shouted to her as I crawled out of bed.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t that bad!¡± she shouted back.

    ¡°Yes, you were,¡± I muttered just loud enough for her to hear. While Skyler was in the shower, I had to find something to occupy my time. I ended up playing with Lala. The kitten was easily entertained, fingers under the blanket made good pouncing targets, and even the shifting sheets were a source of amusement for the little one.

    I kind of lost track of time, and I didn''t even realize Skyler had finished her shower until she stepped out of the bathroom, still drying her hair, and said something. ¡°Athyna mentioned maybe doing some underwater operations later. Are you sure that¡¯s a smart idea?¡±

    I jumped, much to the delight of the kitten, who attacked my hand and started gnawing. ¡°Is it smart? Probably not, but from what Artymis was telling me last night, the situation off the coast is spiraling out of control. Just not enough samurai to keep up.¡±

    Skyler huffed. ¡°You know, just because we¡¯ve gone scuba diving once or twice doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re qualified to fight underwater.¡±

    ¡°I was planning to ask someone for tips if we need to assist, but only if the situation calls for it. We¡¯ll definitely stick to the land for the time being,¡± I said, standing up and pulling my hand out of the kitten¡¯s mouth. ¡°I think we should hold onto enough points to swap over, if we need to.¡±

    Skyler pouted. ¡°But I wanted to update my style.¡±

    ¡°You can do that later today,¡± I said, walking up and giving her a quick peck on the lips. ¡°If what I saw yesterday is any indication, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll have any problem earning more today.¡±

    I quickly slipped past her and into the bathroom before she could complain further.

    After a quick shower, I pulled on the outfit Skyler had picked out for me and made my way back to the kitchen. Skyler and the cats were already there, slowly picking through their breakfasts.

    ¡°Any idea where to start today?¡± I asked as I slid into place across from Skyler.

    ¡°Not really, I¡¯ve been going over the options with Athyna while you were in the shower, but most of our options seem either far too easy, doing sweeps through already cleared sectors, or fairly dangerous. It looks like most of the antithesis have gathered into megaswarms.¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    I nodded and pulled up the satellite map while biting into a piece of toast. It looked like the situation had improved overnight. I guess a couple samurai had worked the night shift.

    Instead of a dozen or so small red zones, surrounded by a myriad of orange and red, there was one titanic, slowly shifting red zone. There were a couple small tendrils extending from the horde, but most of these already had samurai signatures around them.

    ¡°There are a handful of suspected hives around the periphery, further away from the city, we could try there,¡± I suggested.

    Skyler hmmm¡¯d. ¡°If we can¡¯t find anything better, I guess we could go grab another token. Always helpful,¡± she agreed.

    I squinted at the map, which really didn¡¯t help at all since it was all in my head, concentrating on the western edge of the blob. ¡°Is the horde moving closer?¡± I finally asked.

    {Arty: They are, slowly but surely. There have been numerous artillery and airstrikes against that area, but despite the massive losses, they keep pushing.}

    ¡°Can we help?¡± Skyler asked, slowly lowering her coffee.

    {Athy: Not without longer range weaponry. You would have to stand within the bombing zone in order to reach them.}

    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s a big killzone.¡±

    {Arty: Yes, but it¡¯s necessary to keep a horde that size under control.}

    ¡°Well, since it doesn¡¯t look like there are any targets, maybe we should¡­¡± Skyler started.

    {Athy: Incoming priority mission. Cascadian command has lost contact with two samurai on the outskirts of the horde. Last known position was here.}

    A mark appeared on my map, right next to one of the tendrils. ¡°Didn¡¯t I just see their signal a moment ago? What happened?¡±

    {Arty: The tracking signal is still working, but neither have moved in quite awhile, and they¡¯re not replying to any calls.}

    ¡°Worrying¡­¡± I whispered. I glanced up at Skyler, who nodded. ¡°Let the Cascadian command know we¡¯ll investigate.¡±

    I pushed my chair back, popped the last of the toast in my mouth, and jogged back towards the bedroom.

    When I swept my outfit up off the floor, where I¡¯d left it last night, I flinched. ¡°Phew¡­ my outfit is getting a little ripe. We¡¯ve been running around from sunup to sundown, and I haven¡¯t had a chance to wash it in a couple of days.¡±

    Skyler, who was a couple steps behind me, looked at my outfit, then up at me, giving me puppy dog eyes.

    I sighed. ¡°Fine, we can get new outfits. We have to make it quick though, lives are at stake.¡±

    ¡°I can do quick,¡± Skyler replied excitedly. ¡°Athy! Pull up the plans!¡±

    ¡°Plans?¡± I asked blankly.

    Skyler didn¡¯t answer me, she was too busy talking to her AI. ¡°We¡¯ll have to cut anything that¡¯s not finished and get something more generic. Tech-wise, we¡¯ll stick with the catalogs Reina and I have already unlocked. I¡¯d love to get something better, but we¡¯re saving¡­ Oh, and keep the under armor.¡± She looked me up and down, then smiled. ¡°They¡¯re essential.¡±

    I rolled my eyes.

    ¡°Purchase!¡±

    A small pile of boxes appeared before me, each wrapped up by a black ribbon and bow. I slowly opened the top box and glanced inside. There was a new leather jacket inside, similar to my old one, but it had two subtle charcoal-colored stripes down the front and similar trim along the collar and cuffs.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± I asked.

    ¡°New outfits! I¡¯ve been working on the designs with Athyna in secret when I had the time. They¡¯re not finished yet. I only had time to work on the jackets and pants, and I haven¡¯t had time to finish the logo for the back,¡± Skyler explained excitedly.

    Flipping through the other boxes, I found a plain black shirt and a pair of synth-leather pants with a strip of charcoal down each side.

    Looking over at Skyler I was surprised to find her pulling a matching black long coat out of her box. When she noticed Skyler scooped up all her purchases and dashed for the bathroom. ¡°No peeking! I want to show you the entire outfit!¡±

    Shrugging I quickly unpacked everything, slipped into the undersuit, and pulled everything on over top. It was extremely soft and fit me like a glove.

    This outfit is made of advanced materials. It won''t rip or tear as easily as the last one.

    ¡°My last outfit wasn¡¯t that bad, it got me through a lot of scraps,¡± I grumbled.

    It was also a single fight away from becoming scraps. You¡¯re better off.

    I grumbled but couldn¡¯t exactly argue. My old outfit did look a little rough.

    Scooping up my old outfit, I stuffed it into the empty boxes before sitting on the edge of the bed to wait for Skyler. She didn¡¯t take long, popping out of the bathroom after a couple seconds.

    ¡°Tada!¡± she cried, striking a quick pose.

    Her new outfit was similar to her old one, but completely different colors. Her previously brown longcoat was completely black. Underneath she had a charcoal-colored armored vest, white shirt, and charcoal pants. ¡°We match!¡±

    ¡°Nice,¡± I remarked, looking her up and down. ¡°Come on, we need to get going.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t even take the time to appreciate it!¡± Skyler pouted as she followed me out of the room.

    ¡°I would have, if we had the time, but we need to get to those samurai before something happens,¡± I replied.

    Skyler immediately dropped her cutesy act and straightened up. ¡°Right, I got excited for a minute and forgot what was at stake. We can admire later, when there¡¯s more time.¡±

    I grabbed Rending Wave from the stand I¡¯d left it on the previous night and jogged towards the garage. ¡°Let''s go save some lives.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 11 - A Friend in Need

    ¡°So, who exactly are we looking for?¡± I asked as soon as Skyler and I slipped into her car.

    {Arty: Two fairly new samurai, Pen-Gwen and Woofer. They were eliminating a group of antithesis which had broken away from the main horde.}

    ¡°Pen-Gwen and Woofer? Seriously?¡± Skyler scoffed as she smoothly maneuvered her car out of the garage. As soon as we were clear of the doors, she accelerated hard towards the eastern walls of the city.

    {Athy: Unfortunate monikers, but apt. Pen-Gwen has a backpack which creates self-propelled, antithesis-seeking explosives, and Woofer has several robotic canines.}

    ¡°And are Gwen¡¯s bombs in the shape of penguins?¡± I asked suspiciously.

    {Arty: Indeed. It is actually a highly effective shape. They have a wheel in the stomach to propel them around on land, and flippers to propel them through the water.}

    ¡°Still seems like a strange choice to me,¡± I muttered.

    Skyler smacked me on the shoulder. ¡°Hey, some samurai love their gimmicks! Don¡¯t judge. They were chosen the same way we were, so they deserve our respect!¡±

    I threw up my hands in surrender. ¡°Alright, point made. Still, I wonder how they got those names? Not exactly the most flattering.¡±

    ¡°Probably the same way we did, receiving them from an established samurai,¡± Skyler replied.

    ¡°Then remind me to thank Grey for taking the time to think about ours,¡± I muttered before pulling up the map.

    It didn¡¯t look like the situation had changed much in the last five minutes, so I pulled up the location of the SOS. From the default view, I¡¯d thought they¡¯d been pretty close to the main horde, but upon zooming in, I realized they were still several kilometers away. That certainly brought things into perspective¡­ The main group of antithesis must have extended dozens of kilometers in every direction, slowly devouring everything in their way, as they slowly moved closer to the city.

    The area where the pair disappeared had a couple antithesis signatures, but not that many. With a little luck, Skyler and I could blitz our way in, search the area, and find the missing pair before something happened to them.

    As long as we didn¡¯t run into anything like the Twenty-One in the area, and the horde didn¡¯t decide to migrate south before we were done. Simple.

    I guess I had been quiet for quite a while, examining the map, because Skyler bumped me with her elbow. ¡°Something on your mind?¡±

    ¡°I was just examining the area,¡± I explained. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have any issues getting in, but we¡¯ll be awfully close to the main antithesis forces if something goes wrong. We need to move fast.¡±

    ¡°Were you able to identify anywhere the pair might be hiding?¡±

    I shook my head, ¡°There were some buildings around their last known location, but I couldn¡¯t make anything out.¡±

    As we started closing in on the location, I noticed a mobile command center surrounded by a ton of heavy artillery. Even at cruising altitude, I swear I could feel the vibrations in the air every time one of those emplacements fired. ¡°Those are some pretty impressive guns,¡± I muttered.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°Yeah, but I don¡¯t think they¡¯re going to be enough,¡± Skyler replied quietly.

    Confused, I glanced up and followed her gaze. For a second, I thought that she was just looking at a forest, or a mass of scrub brush, but then I realized it was moving. It was all antithesis.

    We were just skirting the southern side of the mob, so we couldn¡¯t even see the entire swarm. It filled the area, stretching out to the horizon. It looked like they were trying to move west, but the frontline was constantly getting ripped apart by the constant artillery bombardment. Enough to slow them down, but not to stop them.

    ¡°We should probably hurry,¡± I said quietly.

    ¡°No shit,¡± Skyler replied, turning the car slightly further to the south. We skimmed the trees for another minute or so until we spotted a small hamlet, half hidden by the surrounding hills and forests.

    I had to double-check the map. ¡°They¡¯re in there somewhere, but so are the antithesis. Let¡¯s be careful.¡± I muttered.

    Skyler nodded and maneuvered the car towards the tiny main street. Even before we landed, the antithesis started flooding into the street to meet us.

    I unclipped my belt and jumped from the still floating car, drawing Rending Wave and bringing it through a Model Three that was mid-jump before I even hit the ground. I ducked under a Model Four¡¯s tentacle before severing the offending limb and sprinting towards the rest of the horde.

    Coming in low, I brought my blade straight through the Four¡¯s body, sweeping the blade wide to catch the Three next to it. As soon as my blade reached the apex of its swing, I spun back in the opposite direction, bringing it back around and extending the reach and ripping through the handful of Threes I¡¯d missed with the first strike.

    My shield flashed, completely negating an attack for possibly the first time. Glancing back, I saw a small group of fives sitting just inside a small corner store across the street, just pepering me with quills. Skyler''s drones fired before I could sprint away to deal with them.

    The hologram-topped drones absolutely shredded the storefront with their machine guns, ripping apart antithesis and display shelves until there was nothing left. Lala¡¯s hologram yawned at the victory before curling up on top of her ride.

    I didn¡¯t have time to celebrate the victory as another group, this one led by a Six burst out of the house closest to me. The creature probably thought that the element of surprise would be enough to carry the day. It was dead wrong.

    I twirled, whipping my blade around and beheading the beast before it could strike. Stepping past its corpse, I entered the hole it had ripped in the building taking the fight to the antithesis beyond. The small group of Threes and Fours beyond didn¡¯t last long after that.

    When I re-emerged from the hole a couple seconds later, the street was already quiet. Skyler¡¯s scout drones were scattering into the surrounding buildings, and Skyler herself was climbing out of the car. ¡°Clear?¡± she asked.

    ¡°I think so,¡± I replied as I made my way back towards her.

    Now that I wasn''t fighting for my life, I took a moment to glance around. The tiny village had seen better days. Most of the buildings were a little run down, and the sign over the corner store was so faded I could barely make it out; Everson Market.

    Based upon the number of foundations and rundown buildings in the area, this had once been a decent sized town, but like smaller settlements, it was slowly abandoned after the antithesis started appearing. The population dwindled until all that was left were a dozen or so stubborn holdouts defending their homesteads. They were probably still here right up until the global incursion hit.

    Hopefully they did the smart thing and left when the alarms started going off, instead of making a last stand.

    ¡°Any sign of our missing samurai?¡± I asked quietly as I stepped up next to Skyler. She was already concentrating, directing her drones around, and I didn¡¯t want to disturb her too much.

    ¡°There are clear signs of combat. Dead antithesis and blast craters spread around the area, but they¡¯re over quite a wide area. Those explosives must be quite mobile; some of the explosions appear to be fairly deep in the woods. That being said, I don¡¯t see any sign of¡­¡± Skyler paused. ¡°No wait, I found something.¡±

    ¡°Our samurai?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ A metal dog,¡± Skyler muttered before blinking rapidly, disconnecting from her drones, and looking my way. ¡°It¡¯s inactive, but not that far away. Shall we take a look?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely, lead the way,¡± I replied.

    Skyler nodded. Hefting her rifle, and with her combat drones hovering around her like ducklings, she started jogging further into town.

    After fifty meters, the road turned and headed down towards a river. The bridge was in bad shape, it obviously hadn¡¯t been maintained in years, but it was still serviceable. Halfway between us and the bridge, sitting in the brush on the left side of the road, was a giant metal dog.

    And I mean giant. It had to stand close to five feet at the shoulder, covered in armor plating with a gun turret mounted to its back. Despite its intimidating appearance, the huge metal dog looked at us and wagged its metal tail so quickly that it bounced the dog¡¯s back end back and forth and barked happily. ¡®Woof!¡¯

    I leaned closer to Skyler. ¡°Is it safe?¡± I whispered.

    ¡°How am I supposed to know that? All I did was find the thing. It hasn¡¯t attacked us, or my drones, so that¡¯s something,¡± she muttered before standing up straight and raising her voice. ¡°Hey boy, can you take us back to your master?¡±

    The robot dog cocked its head to the left for a moment, like it was thinking, then took off back into the brush, rushing back towards another part of the village.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to take that as a yes.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 12 - Structural Issues

    After pushing through the years of weeds and new growth we found ourselves standing next to an old, abandoned warehouse or commercial building. Despite being just a couple feet off the main road, I hadn¡¯t seen the building.

    That was partially due to the fact that the weeds had grown so tall and thick they¡¯d obscured the area, but it was also partially due to the fact that large sections of the building had collapsed. The previously tall sheet metal walls had buckled, causing the ceiling to cave in in numerous places, and most of the building was overgrown.

    The central part of the building, however, was cleaner than the rest. It was still destroyed, but the damage appeared to be a lot more recent. The dog walked up and started pawing at the rubble.

    ¡°They¡¯re in there?¡± Skyler asked in disbelief. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Why can wait for later,¡± I replied, stepping up to the building. ¡°We need to concentrate on figuring out if they¡¯re still alive and getting them out of there first.¡± I ducked down, looking between the various pieces of debris until I found a slight gap. ¡°Do you think you can slip one of your scout drones through here?¡±

    Skyler crouched down next to me and inspected the space for a moment before nodding. ¡°I can try.¡± After standing back up and taking a deep breath, Skyler¡¯s eyes unfocused, and one of the tiny quadcopter-like scouts zipped over and disappeared into the gap.

    Several seconds passed, and Skyler¡¯s brow furrowed in concentration. ¡°I¡¯m in!¡± she finally declared, her face relaxing into a wide smile.

    ¡°Do you see them?¡±

    Skyler bit her lip. ¡°Unfortunately. They¡¯re both pinned by rubble and either unconscious or¡­¡± she trailed off. It¡¯s not like either of us needed her to finish that thought. ¡°There are also antithesis corpses inside. I think. It¡¯s more chunks than full bodies.¡±

    ¡°Lovely,¡± I groaned. ¡°Our first priority should be making sure they¡¯re alive and providing some medical assistance. Then we can see about getting them out of there. Ideas?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way one of us is going to fit through there. The path was barely wide enough for my drone to get through,¡± Skyler explained as she crouched down next to me.

    ¡°Could we duct tape an inhaler to the drone?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Even if we could, they¡¯re not in the right position for me to insert an inhaler into their mouths or prompt them to breathe deeply.¡±

    {Athy: Healing nanites can be applied in a number of different ways; the inhaler is just the most efficient. I would caution you on the use of healing items before determining Pen-Gwen and Woofer¡¯s states; some options could cause more damage to their bodies, trying to repair the damage despite not having the space to do so.}

    ¡°You mean if their ribs are crushed, they may attempt to reknit the bones in the smaller space? That¡¯s morbid,¡± Skyler hissed.

    {Arty: Most Class I medications cannot evaluate, only treat. Improper application can only be blamed upon the user.}

    ¡°We get it, Artymis,¡± I whispered. ¡°Is there anything we can use to stabilize them without

    knowing their full condition?¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    {Arty: Nanite trauma injection. Twice as expensive as a regular dose, but focuses on restoring core functions.}

    {Athy: Before you consider going down that route, I have a better option. Skyler can purchase a slightly modified scout drone with a built-in medical scanner and injector arm to treat the pair remotely. It wouldn¡¯t be much more expensive than a basic scout drone and slightly slower, but safer than injecting them with trauma nanites.}

    ¡°If it has a built-in injector, then I can preload it with trauma nanites,¡± Skyler suggested. ¡°That way if one of them is in critical condition, I can at least stabilize them long enough to arrange for proper treatment.¡±

    ¡°Sounds sensible,¡± I agreed. ¡°Are you going to do it?¡±

    Skyler nodded. ¡°What are points when compared to people¡¯s lives? Even if it completely wiped out my full total, it would be worth it to save the life of another samurai.¡±

    ¡°Agreed,¡± I said, as I pushed myself to my feet. ¡°Arty, make sure you take the price of the medications out of my points, so Skyler doesn¡¯t have to absorb all the costs.¡±

    {Arty: Noted.}

    The front of the building had completely buckled, nearly folding in half even before the roof came down. It was going to take a long time to dig them out if we started from here. ¡°While you do that, I¡¯m going to take a look around the back of the building. See if I can find an easier way to get inside,¡± I told Skyler.

    She nodded distractedly, already pulling her new drone from the package that had appeared at her feet. The massive metallic dog, which had backed off and was now sitting nearby, looked at me with interest. ¡°Stay!¡± I told it sternly before pointing at Skyler. ¡°Protect!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a robot,¡± Skyler snorted, ¡°not a real dog.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care, as long as it gets the message,¡± I grumbled. The dog looked at me for a couple seconds more, then barked. I had no idea what that meant.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back,¡± I promised before stepping away from the front of the building.

    I followed the cracked and faded sidewalk around to the side of the building, before heading to the back. There I found an old storage yard, long since raided and empty of materials, and an old, beat-up pickup. At first I thought it was abandoned, but when I got closer I realized it was an operational hover model. A second metal dog popped its head out of the bed in the back when I got close.

    ¡°Is this your master¡¯s truck?¡± I asked the bot. In response, it just stuck out its metal tongue and started fake panting. ¡°Makes sense, you all had to get here somehow.¡±

    Since the dog didn¡¯t appear like it was going to be much help, I wandered towards the back of the building. It appeared like this section of the store was mostly intact. Carefully, I turned the knob on the back door and pushed it open. The roof had collapsed inwards only a foot or two away, but at least the walls seemed mostly intact.

    I crouched down just outside the door, not willing to risk stepping inside and having the rest of the structure collapse. There was a gap under the roof, and not that much rubble. If we were careful, we might be able to slice up the roof panels and dig in this way.

    While I was inspecting, the dog outside started growling, a noise reminiscent of a very large motor, and when I turned to look at it, the bot jumped up and put its front paws on the front of the roof of the truck and started barking. ¡°What are you¡­?¡±

    The turret on the dog''s back opened up, spraying bullets into the sky. I dropped to the ground, covering my head as the mass of shells ejecting from the weapon rained down around me. ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± I screamed above the noise.

    That¡¯s when the first Model One corpse splattered on the ground next to me. Then another, and another. Rolling over, I found a small swarm of Model Ones swooping down over the trees. Jumping to my feet, I drew Rending Wave, ready to cut down any of the flying pests that flew my way. Very few made it this far.

    Between the dog in the truck, and the one out front, most of the swarm was cut down before it even got close. A couple stray fliers did make it through, but a quick swipe of my sword was all it took to take care of them.

    After a couple of minutes, the shooting stopped. The metal K-9 sniffed the air a couple times, made a ¡®humph¡¯ noise, then lay back in the bed of the truck.

    I immediately jumped on comms. {Rei: You okay up there? Fuck that swarm came out of nowhere.}

    {Sky: I¡¯m fine¡­ besides the minor hearing damage of a machine gun going off next to my head. Glad the dog was here, I was busy running medical scans and didn¡¯t see the little bastards coming.}

    {Rei: How are they doing?}

    {Sky: Heavily injured, but alive. I¡¯ve stabilized them, but can¡¯t apply serious medical care until we get them out.}

    {Rei: That¡¯s fine, come around back. I think it¡¯ll be easier to get to them from this side, but I need you to check with your drones.}

    {Arty: I hate to interrupt, but we have a problem.} My AI sent, interrupting the conversation,

    I narrowed my eyes. {A bigger problem than digging two samurai out of a collapsed building?}

    {Athy: Much, much bigger than that. That swarm of Ones was the first indication of a change in the horde¡¯s behaviour. The antithesis are apparently tired of dealing with the government¡¯s stalling tactics and spreading out to the north and south. Trying to bypass the impediments between them and the city.}

    A sense of dread washed over me. {Rei: That veritable ocean of antithesis is spilling down here? How long do we have?}

    {Arty: Minutes at best. Whatever you¡¯re going to do, you better do it now.}

 Book 2 - Chapter 13 - Deadline

    If you ever have a chance, go take a look at a pre-antithesis building. Those things are laughably weak. They¡¯re made of natural materials, wood, and drywall, and very few of them were built with concrete.

    I¡¯m amazed humanity survived the first few years. Those aliens must have been busting through walls everywhere.

    -Adam Kowalski, Adamant Construction.

    ¡ª

    My mind reeled at the revelation, and I struggled to figure out a way to save Pen-Gwen and Woofer before we overrun. Finally, I made a decision.

    {Rei: Skyler, go get the car.}

    {Sky: You can¡¯t honestly be thinking about abandoning those two, are you?}

    {Rei: Of course not. I¡¯m going to stay here and try to dig them out until the very last second. If we wait until the last second to retrieve the car it might get overrun before we escape. Bring it over here, around back, so we can make a quick getaway if we need to.}

    {Sky: Right, that makes sense. I¡¯ll be right back.}

    She quickly disconnected, leaving me to stare at the back of the building. Although I really wanted to cut through the roof sections and see if I could reach the pair inside, I needed to do it safely. The problem was the back wall looked like it could collapse at any moment.

    ¡°Artymis I¡¯m open to suggestions. What¡¯s the fastest way to get those two out, alive, without getting crushed myself,¡± I whispered to my AI.

    {Arty: You already have access to a lot of tools that would be helpful. Your blade can cut through the debris faster than any Class I tool, as long as you have power, and you can use the Spectre glasses to find the pair under everything.}

    ¡°Right. It¡¯s too bad I don¡¯t have them on me right now, I¡¯ve been finding my enhanced vision more helpful in most cases. Give me another pair.¡±

    I snapped the glass case up off the ground the instant it appeared and slipped the glasses inside on my face.

    ¡°One problem down, now the wall,¡± I mumbled.

    {Arty: Pull it down?}

    ¡°That¡¯s a very low-tech solution. I would have expected you to suggest something else.¡±

    {Arty: We¡¯re in a severe time crunch right now, and you don¡¯t have the time to learn to use a ton of new gadgets. Grapple hook and thirty feet of rope, three points}

    ¡°Right, give it to me,¡± I agreed. As soon as the box materialized, I swept up the grappling hook and took a couple of steps back. I gave the hook a couple quick swings to get a feeling for the weight before winding up and tossing the hook over the top of the wall. First try.

    I jerked the rope as hard as I could, expecting the wall to immediately collapse, but it didn¡¯t. It groaned and flexed slightly but remained strong.

    ¡°Come the fuck on! I don¡¯t have time for this,¡± I growled as I dug my heels in and pulled with all my might. Something cracked, but I just couldn¡¯t get it to collapse. The truck creaked, and the dog wandered over to see what I was doing. It sat right in front of me, looked at me, then the wall, then back at me again.

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°You could help me, you know,¡± I growled at the dog.

    It cocked its head to the side for a moment, as if considering, before casually reaching forward and biting down on the rope. With a swift twist of the neck, the wall came crashing down. I didn¡¯t expect the rope to go slack so suddenly, and stumbled back a couple steps, but I managed to stay on my feet.

    The dog stared at me blankly, panting. ¡°Good dog,¡± I mumbled, before rushing into the ruin.

    My glasses flickered to life and rotated through the vision modes before stopping on Spectre mode. I swept my gaze over the debris, looking for any sign of the buried samurai. It took several seconds for me to find anything, long enough for me to consider if the glasses were on the wrong mode or broken, but I found them. They were deeper than I expected, and I didn¡¯t have a clue how much rubble there was between me and them, but I didn¡¯t have time to worry about that.

    I drew Rending Wave, watching the blade spark to life, before plunging it into the debris under me.

    ¡°Arty, I need you to watch the map. Give me a one minute warning before the antithesis show up,¡± I grunted as I carefully cut the concrete, wood, and steel into manageable sections.

    {Arty: That doesn¡¯t give you a lot of time to escape, are you sure you want to cut it that close?}

    ¡°If I don¡¯t, and these two die when I could have saved them, I¡¯ll feel guilty about it,¡± I whispered as I slipped the blade back into its sheath. ¡°That being said, I¡¯m not going to sacrifice Skyler and my lives for them either. One minute, no less.¡±

    Crouching down, I stuck my fingers under the top piece of sheet metal and heaved. Even though I¡¯d cut everything into a fairly manageable size, it was still heavy. It took me a couple of seconds to heft the piece to the side before I could go back for the next piece.

    ¡°Arty do you have anything else I can use to make this faster? Antigravity? Disintegrators? Anything?¡± I huffed as I slowly dug further into the rubble.

    {Arty: Localized gravity manipulation requires at least Class II, and anything that would make removing the rubble faster would either have a steep learning curve or injure those below.}

    ¡°Fuck!¡± I yelled as I grabbed the splintered wood at my feet before lifting it out of the hole. When I stood up, I once again found myself face to face with the dog. The robotic canine sat on the edge of the pit, tongue out, tail wagging. That gave me an idea.

    ¡°Your master is down there,¡± I said, pointing at the pit at my feet. ¡°Can you call your friend at the front of the building and dig?¡± I even pantomimed digging like a dog to get the point across, but the dog just stared at me blankly.

    ¡°Fuck! I¡¯m wasting time,¡± I yelled as I started to crouch down again. I¡¯d just grabbed the next piece of metal when a massive paw slammed down next to my head before being drawn back across the ground. I hadn¡¯t cut the sheet metal in that section, but it still ripped and tore under the dog''s strength.

    ¡°Good boy!¡± I yelled as I ripped out Rending Wave again, cutting through the debris around the dog.

    The dog made more progress in seconds than I made in minutes, and shortly after it started digging, the second one showed up to watch. Despite acting quite dumb, the dog¡¯s AI must have been a lot smarter than I gave it credit for earlier.

    We managed to reach the floor just about the same time that Skyler returned. She came running over, dropping to her feet at the edge of the digging area. ¡°How are things coming?¡± she asked.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be close,¡± I told her before dropping to my knees and looking under the remaining rubble. The two samurai were so close now, just a foot away, but they were still pinned by the collapsed structure. I briefly considered asking Artymis for braces, but then I had a better idea. Twirling around, I looked the nearest dog in the face before pointing at a little gap in the rubble. ¡°Lift! We¡¯re close now.¡±

    The dog gave me another stupid look, apparently taking several seconds to evaluate the command before diving beneath the collapsed structure. Everything groaned and shifted as the dog slowly stood up.

    As soon as there was enough space, I dived into the ruin.

    ¡°Reina, that¡¯s dangerous! It could shift and collapse,¡± Skyler yelled.

    ¡°We don''t have time to be safe! We¡¯re already on borrowed time!¡± I shouted back.

    I grabbed the nearest body, dragged it towards me just as Artymis spoke up. {Arty: One minute.}

    ¡°Shit, shit, shit, shit¡­¡± I growled as I dragged Woofer back to the pit. I shoved him roughly towards Skyler before diving back in. ¡°Take him back to the car, and start suppressing the north with your drones! The antithesis are closing in, but we¡¯re so close! I¡¯m not leaving anyone behind!¡±

    ¡°Reina!¡± Skyler yelled, but she was too late; I was already scrambling deeper. I reached Gwen in seconds and dragged her back towards the hole by one arm. She was going to have a terrible road rash after this, but that was better than ending up dead.

    By the time I dragged her into the access shaft the dogs had dug, I could already hear Skyler¡¯s mortars going off. As I hefted Gwen onto my shoulder, I yelled ¡°Come!¡± at the dogs before scrambling out of the pit.

    Skyler had just finished placing Woofer into her car when I came sprinting out. Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw me. ¡°No time to talk. Can you get Athyna to hotwire Woofer¡¯s truck? We need to get out of here.¡± A small group of Model Ones cleared the trees and started diving down, but they were immediately cut down by the dogs.

    ¡°I can but¡­¡± Skyler started, but I cut her off.

    ¡°Then do it, please. Then get in your car and drive west as fast as you can. Don¡¯t bother packing the drones. Just have them hover out on their own. I¡¯ll be right behind you,¡± I blurted out.

    Skyler bit her lip but nodded and did what I said. Woofer¡¯s truck sputtered to life just as I reached the cab, and I shoved the unconscious Gwen inside. As soon as I was behind the wheel, I paused just long enough to repeatl, ¡°Come!¡±

    The two robotic dogs sprinted out of the building, bounding into the back of the truck just as I put it into gear. The old truck struggled to gain altitude--it barely cleared the top of the building as the first Model Three emerged from the woods. I stepped on the gas and whooped in exhilaration. ¡°No man, or dog, left behind!¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 14 - Quick Recovery

    It¡¯s not money that makes the world go round, although it certainly greases the wheels, it¡¯s people. Always take the time to meet other samurai, get to know them. Network. You never know when you might need a friend.

    -Velvet Aurora, Tips for New Samurai

    ¡ª

    It was incredible how quickly the antithesis flowed into the area. Even though we managed to avoid the forerunners, the rest of the wave stampeded into the area before I managed to clear the town. Part of that was due to the fact that Woofer¡¯s truck was slow and struggled to just stay airborne with the dogs in the back, but part of it was definitely due to how quickly the antithesis were moving.

    I only had one scare on the way out, and ironically enough, it wasn¡¯t due to the antithesis. Not directly anyways. As the horde poured out of the trees, the dogs wandered over to investigate. The truck nearly flipped at that moment. I had to scream at the pair to get back, and lay down, before the truck leveled out again. Those few seconds, where we were nearly sideways, scared me more than any of my previous engagements with the antithesis.

    Once we were finally out of the danger area, Skyler called.

    {Sky: Reina, please let me know you made it out alright. I¡¯ll never forgive you if you die!}

    {Rei: Calm down, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ve got Gwen and the dogs with me, making my way south west. It¡¯s just taking a while. Woofer¡¯s truck isn¡¯t exactly a performance vehicle.}

    {Sky: Okay¡­ good¡­ My drones aren¡¯t exactly the fastest fliers, and we need to check these two for injuries, so I recommend we find a place to land outside the city. I¡¯ll have Athy send you my coordinates.}

    {Rei: Alright, see you soon.}

    Skyler hadn¡¯t gone that far, only about fifteen kilometers from the horde, before setting down in the middle of a fairly flat clearing. When I arrived, she had already dragged Woofer from her car and was running a medical scanner over him.

    I parked as close as I could, then gathered up Gwen and carried her over for a checkup.

    As soon as I placed Gwen down, Skyler stood up and punched me as hard as she could in the shoulder. Her eyes were red, and it was obvious she was on the brink of crying. ¡°That was irresponsible and risky! What if that truck hadn¡¯t started, huh? You would have died there! And where would that have left me?¡±

    After gently grabbing Skyler¡¯s flailing hands, I pulled her into a hug.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t just leave Woofer there to die, not when we were so close to saving him. Besides, everything worked out in the end, we¡¯re both fine,¡± I whispered as I slowly rubbed her back.

    ¡°It was a stupid, heroic act,¡± Skyler sniffed, ¡°and it could have gone horribly wrong.¡±

    ¡°I know. I¡¯ll try to avoid doing something like that in the future. I¡¯ll stick to killing aliens instead.¡±

    Skyler snorted, then pushed me away and wiped the tears from her eyes. ¡°Yeah, much safer.¡± She turned to the two samurai on the ground and sighed. ¡°Guess we should see to these two before the antithesis get closer.¡±

    ¡°How are they anyways?¡±

    ¡°Not great. I could only give them a trauma injection while they were trapped under the building. They probably still have broken bones and other serious injuries though.¡±

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    I winced. ¡°I guess I probably shouldn¡¯t have put Gwen over my shoulder, and then threw her into the car, huh?¡±

    ¡°Probably not,¡± Skyler replied as she crouched down and ran her scanner over the unconscious girl. ¡°But if the options were a little pain or leaving her behind, I think you made the right choice.¡±

    The scanner pinged, the small screen on it¡¯s side started rapidly scrolling through hundreds of lines of text.

    {Athy: I can summarize that for you. She¡¯s in bad shape, but should be fine after a shot of regenerative nanites. I¡¯d also recommend a ¡®Wake-up¡¯ shot for both of them, unless you want to carry their unconscious bodies around for the next couple hours.}

    {Sky: Is that safe? They¡¯re still in bad shape.}

    {Athy: There might be some minor shor-term side effects, but no lasting damage.}

    {Sky: If you say so¡­ two doses of each, please.}

    {Rei: On my tab.} Skyler glanced my way, so I just shrugged. {You bought the scanner.}

    As soon as the boxes materialized, Skyler scooped them up and dug out the injectors. Each one was a nearly featureless grey cylinder with a small window showing the contents and a hole in one end.

    {Arty: Auto injectors. Easier and safer than traditional syringes. Just press firmly against the skin, and the needle will emerge. Just in case you weren¡¯t sure, the metallic grey goop goes first.}

    ¡°I got that thanks,¡± Skyler muttered before pressing the first set of injectors against her patients. I flinched as they made a ¡®glorp¡¯ noise and nearly instantaneously injected their full payload into the two downed samurai.

    ¡°That didn¡¯t sound healthy,¡± I whispered.

    Despite my concerns, the two started looking better almost immediately. There was the occasional pop from their chest cavity, which I hoped was their bones being mended correctly and not fused into place.

    Skyler waited until Woofer and Gwen¡¯s bodies stopped making abnormal noises before finally injecting the second syringe.

    The effect was immediate.

    Woofer sat up so fast he headbutted Skyler in the face before scuttling backwards. ¡°Who? Where? What¡­¡±

    ¡°Calm the fuck down,¡± I growled as I crouched down and gently moved Skyler¡¯s hands away from her nose. I carefully prodded the area for a couple of seconds before laying a kiss on her injured proboscis. ¡°Not broken.¡±

    ¡°Who are you two?¡± Gwen asked, as she pushed herself into a sitting position much slower and more carefully than Woofer had. ¡°Last thing I remember was the explosion and the shop collapsing.¡±

    I glanced over at the girl in surprise. ¡°Explosion? You mean that place didn¡¯t collapse on its own?¡±

    Gwen shook her head. ¡°It was my fault. We were using that shop as a base of operations. The dogs protected the entrances while I sent my penguin bombs out to disrupt the antithesis lines. Everything went fine until a small flock of Model Ones got too close to the building. Since the penguins just have a proximity fuse¡­¡±

    ¡°One of the penguins went off early,¡± I finished. Gwen nodded and turned away, blushing in embarrassment.

    ¡°Well, I admit that looks bad,¡± I started, earning an elbow from Skyler, ¡°but you both made it out alive. You can even use this as a learning experience, have your AI make sure the next model doesn¡¯t explode until it reaches a minimum safe distance.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense,¡± Woofer muttered to himself before looking over at Skyler and me. ¡°Who are you guys anyways? I think you¡¯re samurai, yeah? I thought I saw you in the meeting the other day.¡±

    Skyler smiled and walked over to him, offering her hand. ¡°Cleansing Rain, and that¡¯s my partner, Honorable Wind. Pleased to meet you.¡±

    The man accepted her hand, shook, then slowly climbed to his feet. ¡°Cleansing Rain, huh? Sounds a lot better than Woofer.¡±

    ¡°Or Pen-Gwen,¡± Gwen added as she stumbled to her feet. ¡°Out of all the samurai in the city, we had to be named by the meathead.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a little inappropriate to call another samurai a ¡®meathead¡¯?¡± Skyler asked.

    ¡°Pfffftttt¡­ No, he actually likes being called it. He thinks it¡¯s cool or something,¡± Woofer mumbled.

    ¡°Who the hell would wear that as a badge of honor?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Collateral Damage,¡± Gwen explained. ¡°You might even remember seeing him during the meeting. Seven to eight feet tall, all muscle. Even his brain. He¡¯s kind of a menace, honestly. He wears a massive suit of power armor and just charges through whatever he needs to in order to get to the antithesis. Cars, walls¡­¡±

    ¡°Us,¡± Woofer added. ¡°That¡¯s how we met.¡±

    ¡°I cannot wait to meet him,¡± I said, completely deadpan.

    ¡°Are you two ok to get back to the city on your own?¡± Skyler asked. ¡°Reina brought your truck, and the dogs. Unfortunately, we didn¡¯t have time to salvage anything else, the antithesis overran that area shortly after we left.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just glad we escaped with our lives,¡± Gwen whispered. ¡°I thought we were dead when the explosion went off. We can always rebuy our gear later. Seriously, thank you for coming to find us. We owe you big time.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± I chuckled. ¡°Maybe you can return the favor in the future if we ever go missing.¡±

    Skyler shot me a scathing glare, and I immediately shut my mouth again. No more jokes like that after surviving a close encounter, got it.

    Woofer blinked a couple of times, then scowled. ¡°It sounds like the horde is moving again we should move before we get overrun. I¡¯ll have Kay send you our contact information. If you ever need anything, just give us a call.¡±

    Gwen jogged back to the truck, pausing just long enough to pet the dogs before turning back. ¡°Thanks again!¡±

    I continued waving until the pair was in the air, slowly making their way back towards the city.

    ¡°We should probably get going too,¡± Skyler said. ¡°Now that the horde is on the move, there¡¯ll probably be a lot more jobs for us to do.¡±

    I groaned, ¡°No rest for the wicked.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 15 - Pitstop Pivot

    When you ask what people find frightening about the antithesis most will tell you it¡¯s being in the same building as the Ones, Threes, Fours, or Sixes. The most common models.

    What people tend to forget is that the antithesis are swarm organisms. Sure, when you¡¯re huddling in a shelter from the half dozen in your building, that¡¯s not what you¡¯re worried about. But if you ever get into a situation where you have to stare at half a million, or more? Let me tell you, that¡¯s what nightmares are made of.

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Captain A.J. Peirce, Black Swan PMC company, during the global incursion.</li>

    </ul>

    ¡ª

    As we hurried west towards the city, I pulled up the map to check out the situation. The antithesis were now quickly advancing, and it looked like they¡¯d overrun the various artillery camps and forward HQ, but to my surprise, none of them were marked as issues.

    ¡°Why haven¡¯t any of the camps requested backup? They¡¯re about to be overrun,¡± I muttered.

    {Arty: The government already knew they couldn¡¯t contain the antithesis forever and already planned to evacuate those positions when the situation changed. They abandoned the camps and retreated to the defensive line around Vancouver.}

    Skyer blinked in surprise. ¡°They just just ran off, leaving everything behind?¡±

    {Athy: It¡¯s actually a rather smart move. Since the antithesis only care about biomass, and most of the vehicles are too large for even a fourteen to topple over, most of the equipment can just be retrieved later. Slightly damaged from the horde passing over it, but mostly intact.}

    ¡°I guess that makes sense,¡± I admitted. ¡°So where should we go? I don¡¯t see any alerts in the area. Should we head to the walls?¡±

    {Arty: The city is safe for the moment. Most of the Cascadian cities are fortresses, at least compared to the megacities elsewhere in North America. They have well-defended perimeter walls and an excess of PMC forces. It¡¯ll be extremely hard for the antithesis to penetrate.}

    ¡°Then why were Aurora and the others so desperate to get the samurai organized?¡± Skyler asked, confused. ¡°It sounds like the military has the situation somewhat under control.¡±

    {Athy: That¡¯s true for the area directly around the city, but not for the surrounding area. There are a lot of smaller communities and satellite facilities outside the city, like Safe Arbor, which required urgent support. Even though the government sent military relief to these communities, most have yet to arrive and are relying upon the samurai to survive.}

    I frowned. ¡°So, should we redirect to one of these towns?¡±

    {Arty: Most of them are in relatively decent shape after samurai intervention. Since most of them are located within the mountains and had at least some fortification on the passes, the antithesis are having severe issues getting close.}

    ¡°Alright, smarty pants, if we¡¯re not needed at the wall, or at one of the other towns, where would you suggest we should go?¡±

    {Athy: Although the situation on the shore is relatively stable, the ocean side has deteriorated further. The aquatic horde started moving around the same time the surface one did, and unfortunately the defenses on that side of the city are significantly weaker. Even with the Seattle samurai helping with coverage, they need reinforcements.}

    ¡°Last night you said it was unlikely we could help on that front. What changed?¡± I asked.

    {Arty: We¡¯ve contacted the AIs of a couple samurai, and we¡¯ve found a couple samurai willing to give you a crash course, if you¡¯re willing.}

    Skyler and I exchanged a quick glance. ¡°Is the situation really that bad down there?¡± I finally asked.

    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    {Athy: Warspite and Thermal Current are doing their best to thin the horde, but even with the navy constantly depth charging the area, far too many are getting through. The crew of the Starchaser will be hard-pressed to hold against what¡¯s coming. I¡¯m not going to mince words here, you¡¯re not the best choice, but you¡¯re the best choice out of everyone that¡¯s available.}

    ¡°You need to work on your pep talks,¡± Skyler mumbled before letting out a long, low breath. ¡°Fine, we¡¯re in. What do we need to do first?¡±

    {Arty: I would recommend stopping by the house so we can get you set up, and so you can quickly talk to Reina¡¯s mother.}

    I sat up straight. ¡°Mom? Why?¡±

    {Arty: She called while you were in Everson. Apparently she has something urgent to talk to you about.}

    ¡°How do you know that?¡± I asked suspiciously.

    {Arty: I took the initiative to intercept the call and let her know you were indisposed. You were busy dragging Woofer out of the rubble at the time and figured you didn¡¯t want to be distracted.}

    ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s true,¡± I grumbled. ¡°But if you ever take a message from my mother in the future, please let me know as soon as we''re clear. I should call her back.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re approaching the city now, so it might be easier to wait and talk to her in person,¡± Skyler reported. Looking up, I could see Vancouver¡¯s perimeter wall growing on the horizon. As we got close, I started to make out a lot of movement on both the top and bottom of the wall. Lines of tanks, artillery, and infantry were setting up to intercept the oncoming horde. It was a lot more troops than I expected, considering how few troops they had sitting around the mobile headquarters during the incursion.

    ¡°Is that really going to be enough?¡± I asked quietly.

    {Athy: If they were the city¡¯s only defense, they¡¯d probably be hard-pressed to push the antithesis back, but both Grey Goo and Velvet Aurora excel at dealing with hordes. They¡¯ll thin out the antithesis¡¯ numbers before they hit the wall, making it manageable for the troops.}

    I nodded as the car shot over the walls and slipped into the city. As we flew over the skyline, I marveled at the traffic. There was a cataclysmic amount of antithesis just a couple kilometers outside the walls, but most people seemed to be just going about their day. Either they were supremely confident in the government¡¯s ability to handle the situation or completely ignoring the problem and hoping it would go away. Probably a little bit of both.

    Skyler drifted her car around Elysian Heights, bringing the nose of the vehicle straight in line with the garage doors. It took the heavy doors a few seconds to crack open, but as soon as they were wide enough, Skyler slipped right in. My eyes snapped to the parking spot next to Skyler¡¯s, one that had been empty the last few days. While we were gone, someone had parked a dark maroon performance car there. My car.

    ¡°They certainly finished the repairs quickly. Didn¡¯t you say it was completely trashed when you left it?¡± Skyler asked.

    ¡°It was. The engine was a complete write-off, and there was damage to the hood. I would have expected them to take at least a week to fix it,¡± I replied idly, not taking my eyes off the car.

    {Arty: The company worked around the clock and put their best techs on it. They said it was an honor to work on a samurai¡¯s car.}

    ¡°You told them I was a samurai, just so they¡¯d prioritize repairing my car?¡±

    {Arty: Well¡­ it worked.}

    I couldn¡¯t help but smile at that.

    As Skyler landed, I hopped out and ran a hand down the side of my car. It had been a graduation present from my mom and held a lot of memories. I would have loved to jump in and take it for a spin, but we had other things to deal with first.

    With a slight pout, I turned and looked at Skyler, who was busy releasing her drones from the trunk. ¡°Which do we handle first? Buying gear or talking to mom?¡± I asked.

    Skyler shrugged. ¡°That depends, how urgent is the situation in the harbor? Athyna?¡±

    {Athy: It¡¯ll be stable for another couple of hours. Enough time for you to handle things here and have a relatively short combat tutorial when you arrive. You¡¯ll probably see the start of the assault sometime late this afternoon.}

    ¡°Right, mom first,¡± Skyler declared as she marched towards the door. ¡°Better to get what she has to say out of the way then we can change and go.¡±

    I nodded and followed her into the apartment, pausing just long enough to place Rending Wave on the stand as we passed. The place was quiet, all three cats were sleeping in various cat trees. I took my bow and quiver off, grabbed Skyler¡¯s rifle and helmet, and stuffed them all into the closet, out of reach of little paws.

    Skyler casually dismissed her drones, sending them floating up towards the roof as we strode towards the elevator. ¡°What do you think she needed to talk to you about? The complex?¡± Skyler asked.

    ¡°Maybe? She doesn¡¯t really call things urgent, unless they absolutely are,¡± I replied as we waited for the elevator.

    It took a minute to arrive, and only seconds to rise up to my mother¡¯s floor. As the doors opened, we found Agnes there, pacing.

    ¡°You¡¯ve finally arrived, good! You need to talk to your mother quickly!¡± Agnes said as she rushed up to us. The usually proper secretary looked absolutely frazzled.

    ¡°I will, but¡­ how did you know we were coming? We didn¡¯t call ahead?¡± I asked as we strode towards my mother¡¯s area.

    ¡°You¡¯re assistant, that Artymis girl, she called me. Never mind that you have to stop your mother before she does something rash!¡± Agnes pleaded.

    ¡°Why? What¡¯s going on?¡± Skyler whispered.

    Rather than waiting for Agnes to explain it, I pushed through the last set of doors between the waiting area and my mother¡¯s living space. She was just sitting there slumped in one of the chairs, a massive glass of champagne in hand. Drunk out of her mind.

    As soon as she saw us, her face lit up. ¡°Girls, you¡¯ve arrived! Come have a celebratory drink!¡±

    I stared at her for a second, unsure what to do. My mother almost never drank, and when she did, it was in moderation. ¡°Uhhhh¡­. Mom, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    My mother smiled widely. ¡°They arrested your father! Woo!¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 16 - Mental Damage

    Interesting fact of the day: Defenestration increased by more than five hundred percent after the emergence of samurai. It increased by an additional 500 percent in Germany alone, after 2051.

    Fact of the day, December 3, 2062

    ---

    ¡°They arrested Dad? Why?¡± I finally managed to choke out after several seconds.

    ¡°Apparently there was a ¡®sting operation¡¯, and your father was caught installing foreign black market cybernetics into both his bodyguards and girlfriends,¡± my mother explained before narrowing her eyes and practically spitting out the next part. ¡°Personality adjustment and puppet implants. Fucking slave implants.¡±

    She took a deep draw from her champagne glass before slumping into her chair. ¡°I spent so much of my life dealing with that asshole. After everything he¡¯s done, I can¡¯t believe he¡¯s going down for something like this.¡±

    I slowly walked over to my mother¡¯s side and gently took the glass away from her. As soon as I did, she grabbed my hand and pulled it close to her chest. ¡°You know, your father didn¡¯t seem that bad when I first met him. Even though we had an arranged marriage, he didn¡¯t seem that bad the first couple years. That was before I opened my eyes and realized what was happening around me.¡±

    ¡°I know, Mom, I know,¡± I whispered.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this,¡± she yelled, shooting to her feet. ¡°Just when I¡¯d earned the trust of the government and convinced them to investigate, this happens!¡±

    Wobbling on her feet, muttering, she suddenly fell to the side. Skyler and I simultaneously shot forward to catch her. I managed to get under her, while Skyler grabbed her arm, arresting her fall. As we lowered her back onto the chair, her eyes slowly closed.

    ¡°Fukin asshole,¡± she muttered one last time before drifting off to sleep.

    Grabbing the bottle from its place next to the chair, I quietly crossed the room and placed it down on the kitchen counter, along with the glass. She hadn¡¯t even finished a single glass before passing out, that¡¯s how much of a lightweight my mother was.

    With a sigh, I turned back to the entrance where Agnes was still standing. ¡°Can you maybe explain what she was ranting about?¡± I whispered as we stepped back into the hallway. ¡°Not the arrest part; I think I got that, but the last part? She managed to get them to investigate what? And how come we didn¡¯t know about this?¡±

    Agnes bit her lip for a moment, slipping further down the hallway to avoid disturbing my mother. ¡°You both know your mother has been trying to get the Cascadian government to investigate your father for years. To look into his ties to organized crime and everything else, but they refused because Tanaka Industries was such a large supplier of government hardware? Well, last week she used her samurai contacts to help her investigate one particular incident¡­¡±

    I flinched slightly before looking over at the older woman. I could only think of one incident which my mother would want to investigate while keeping me in the dark. ¡°My grandfather¡¯s shooting?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s still convinced your father was behind it, to prevent you from taking over the company instead of him,¡± Agnes confirmed softly.

    ¡°I understand that she wanted to protect Reina, but you two still should have told us. She¡¯s the head of investigations, and I¡¯m the head of legal for fuck¡¯s sake,¡± Skyler huffed. ¡°Is this why I wasn¡¯t consulted on the ¡®Safe Arbour¡¯ contract?¡±

    Agnes nodded slightly.

    ¡°We¡¯ll discuss this more later, after my mother wakes up and works off the hangover,¡± I told her, before letting out a sigh. ¡°Skyler and I still have work to do this afternoon, but we¡¯ll stop by sometime in the next couple days to talk about this. In the meantime, you should ask Aunty Yun to round up some of the cleaning staff to help get my mother upstairs to bed.¡±

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°For what it¡¯s worth, I¡¯m sorry for keeping this from you, but those were your mother¡¯s orders.¡±

    ¡°I know, we¡¯ll talk later,¡± I replied quietly before Skyler and I turned towards the elevator.

    Skyler and I waited for the lift in silence, only choosing to talk once we were inside and the doors had closed. ¡°You think he was arrested based upon the information you provided about the clinic inside the sales office?¡± Skyler asked quietly.

    ¡°Probably. I did ask them to keep it low-key, to try and avoid ruining my grandfather¡¯s good name. Arresting him for buying that sort of stuff, instead of selling it, seems like a pretty clever way of holding him responsible. It places all the blame directly on him.¡±

    There was a moment of silence. ¡°Do you want to talk about the other thing Agnes told us?¡±

    ¡°That my mother asked the government and samurai to investigate my grandfather¡¯s death? It hurts that she didn¡¯t confide in me, but doing it was the right choice. My father is triple A trash, and I wouldn¡¯t put it past him to arrange something like that. I even considered the possibility myself once or twice. I just never bothered investigating,¡± I said before taking a deep breath. ¡°I don¡¯t know what would be better, finding out he didn¡¯t order it or finding out that he did.¡±

    Skyler gently rubbed my back until the lift arrived back at our floor. When the door opened, I sniffed slightly, stood up straight, and stepped back into our apartment. ¡°Come on, we still need to get set up,¡± I told Skyler as confidently as I could.

    She smiled slightly, ¡°Right behind you.¡±

    The cats were still asleep, so we slipped back to the bedroom. I waited until the door was closed before speaking up. ¡°Alright, Artymis and Athyna, time to get set up for our aquatic adventure,¡± I said quietly. ¡°I don¡¯t particularly feel like spending the next hour going through all our available aquatic options, so can we just start with the best options and go from there?¡±

    {Arty: Of course. Quick and easy. First of all, you¡¯ll both require aquatic survival gear.}

    ¡°You mean diving gear, right?¡± Skyler asked.

    {Athy: That¡¯s one part of it. We do recommend you choose suits with armored layers, pressure compensators, and automated healthcare systems.}

    ¡°Automated healthcare? Now? Why?¡± I asked.

    {Arty: The last thing you want to do while in the water with the antithesis is bleed excessively. Most aquatic models have shark-like receptors that allow them to detect blood kilometers away. Closing wounds is a priority.}

    ¡°That¡¯s fair. What do you suggest?¡±

    {Arty: The Class I Aquatic Armored Suits Catalog, to purchase a pair of ¡®Shark Skin¡¯ wetsuits. This model has the best protection available while leaving you unencumbered. There are heavier suits, with more armor, but they¡¯re much harder to move with.}

    ¡°Shark Skin sounds fine,¡± Skyler confirmed. ¡°What else?¡±

    {Athy: Next we¡¯ll dip into the Class I Underwater Oxygen Systems and the Class I Aquatic Movement Assistance Catalogs. From the Oxygen Systems we recommend the ¡®Aqua Lung¡¯ oxygen rebreather mask, which allows you to stay underwater for a full six hours without tanks and an automated nitrogen purge module. This will allow you to fight at different depths, or even surface, without suffering the bends. Very important when you¡¯re in a high -speed combat. From the Movement Assistance, both of you will get the ¡®Aqua Jet¡¯ propulsion backpack, which is cheap but relatively fast and easy to use. Reina may also want to pick up the ¡®deep predator¡¯ supercavitation armguards.}

    ¡°Do I even want to know what that is?¡± I asked.

    {Arty: Swinging your sword underwater will be relatively difficult. Supercavitation is a way to remove the water resistance. It¡¯s also extremely dangerous, so please be careful and keep your limbs away from the jets.}

    ¡°Noted. Is that it?¡±

    {Arty: For the general equipment. Athyna and I would like to talk to you separately for your weapons.}

    Skyler raised an eyebrow. ¡°Keeping secrets?¡±

    {Athy: Just being efficient.}

    ¡°Fine, fine,¡± I grumbled. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Artymis in the bathroom.¡±

    ¡°See you in a few minutes!¡± Skyler called back.

    Padding into the bathroom and closing the door behind me, I quickly looked around before finally deciding to look at myself in the mirror while we talked. ¡°So, what do you suggest? A trident?¡±

    No, I was being serious before; your sword will be more than sufficient while underwater. The disintegration edge works equally well on water as it does on flesh.

    ¡°Then what do we need to discuss?¡±

    Two things. First, your ranged option. Your bow won¡¯t be effective underwater, and I wanted to provide you with an alternative. A repeating speargun would have provided the closest equivalent to the range and firepower of your bow, but since it¡¯s functionally similar to a firearm, I assumed you¡¯d want to avoid that. Since you normally use the bow as a support item, I instead suggest the ¡®Manta¡¯ wrist-mounted dart system.

    It¡¯s single shot, and has a smaller range, but it can still carry a similar payload to your arrows.

    I considered it for a moment. ¡°I guess that¡¯s fine. What¡¯s the second thing?¡±

    You¡¯ve already unlocked the Blades In the Dark Class II Catalog, but you¡¯ve barely used it. After all the fighting you¡¯ve been doing the last two days, you have enough to purchase the ¡®Adept Muscle Enhancement¡¯ and ¡®Sage Mental Enhancement¡¯ before you go. They¡¯re the upgraded versions of the biotic enhancements you already have. I would also recommend the ¡®Steelskin Epidermis Enhancement¡¯ eventually, but these two upgrades are expensive, and you tend to rely on your reflexes to avoid damage, not your armor.

    ¡°Is this really the best time to do this? We¡¯re about to go out into the water for the first time.¡±

    You and Skyler have been running from one emergency to the next ever since this incursion started, and I doubt you¡¯ll stop anytime soon. You¡¯ve honestly been lucky against some of the enemies you¡¯ve run into so far, and you¡¯ll need all the advantages you can get in the future.

    So, will you buy them?

 Book 2 - Chapter 17 - Aquatic Upgrading

    At first glance the wetsuit looked like a typical jet-black neoprene diving suit. The only real difference was this one had a tougher, rubbery outer coating. I quickly stripped down to my under armour, folded the rest of my gear, and slipped it on. It was tighter than the wetsuits I had worn before, hugging my curves almost uncomfortably close.

    I carefully strapped on my shield generator, which was apparently waterproof, before slipping my jacket on. For modesty purposes. After piling most of my gear into one of the larger boxes, I carefully slipped a pair of injectors into my jacket pocket before stepping back into the bedroom

    Skyler was strutting around in a charcoal grey wetsuit that was just as tight as mine was. As soon as I stepped out, she looked up expectantly before shooting me a disappointed look. ¡°Why do you have your jacket on? It¡¯s only the two of us?¡±

    ¡°Because it won¡¯t just be the two of us soon. We still have to drive down to the harbor and meet up with these other samurai. I don¡¯t want to be showing off in front of everyone,¡± I grumbled halfheartedly.

    ¡°Awww¡­ You¡¯re so cute when you blush,¡± Skyler giggled, before gathering all her gear together and throwing her own coat on.

    I quickly glanced around the room. It didn¡¯t look like much had changed since I went into the bathroom. ¡°What did you buy? I expected to see new drones.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t need to. I just upgraded these boys,¡± Skyler patted one of her mortar drones. ¡°Now they have aquatic propulsion and the ability to fire torpedoes in addition to mortar rounds. The cannons won¡¯t be able to fire, but I haven¡¯t really used them that much anyways.¡±

    She looked me up and down suspiciously. ¡°I don¡¯t see you sporting any new weapons either.¡±

    Digging through my box for a moment, I retrieved the wrist-mounted dart launcher. Skyler just gave me a look that told me she wasn¡¯t impressed.

    ¡°It¡¯s to replace my bow, so I can launch payloads underwater. Artymis told me my sword would be sufficient for most fighting. Plus I have these,¡± I said, digging the injectors out of my pocket.

    Skyler raised an eyebrow and stared at me for a moment before she sighed. ¡°Reina, honey, I know whatever you¡¯re holding is probably something impressive, but they just look like vials to me.¡±

    ¡°Right, sorry,¡± I mumbled, flushing in embarrassment. ¡°They¡¯re the Class II versions of the genetic muscle and reaction speed enhancements I¡¯ve been using. Arty pretty much insisted I take them right away. Since we¡¯re unlikely to have any time off in the next few days, they¡¯re designed to slowly integrate over a week or so. I can also take a serum to accelerate the process, but it¡¯d knock me out for a day or two.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure you want to take them?¡± Skyler asked. ¡°What if they¡¯re dangerous?¡±

    ¡°I have no doubt that the Class I versions saved my life multiple times over the last few days. They let me analyse the situation and react to attacks much more quickly than I could have before. I honestly think they¡¯ll be more than worth it, but if you don¡¯t want me to take them, I won''t,¡± I told her seriously.

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Skyler let out a long, low breath. ¡°No. It¡¯s fine. Some part of me worries that going through genetic enhancements will change you. That you¡¯ll treat me differently afterwards,¡± she said quietly, but then she straightened up and spoke louder. ¡±But I also trust that Arty and Athyna wouldn¡¯t offer you anything like that. As far as I¡¯m concerned, anything that keeps you alive and coming home with me is a good thing. Give them to me.¡±

    She gently took the pair of injectors and held them in her hand for several seconds, as if she was weighing them. ¡°Artymis, does it matter where Reina injects these?¡±

    {Arty: The ideal place would be in the side of the neck, allowing the serums to quickly travel to both the nervous and muscular systems.}

    ¡°What are you planning to do?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Showing how much I trust you. Now sit,¡± Skyler declared, patting the bed next to her.

    I quickly slipped into position at her side. Skyler slowly brushed my hair to one side and lifted the first injector. ¡°I hope this doesn¡¯t hurt, brace yourself.¡±

    As she pressed the device against my neck, I didn¡¯t feel any pain, just a slight dizziness as the fluid entered my system. Glancing over at Skyler, who was watching nervously. ¡°No problem, no pain at all,¡± I assured her.

    ¡°Good, then prepare for injection two,¡± she replied quietly. The second injection was as painless as the first. This time, instead of feeling dizzy, I felt my muscles tremble slightly as the serum passed through my body.

    ¡°Thank you for trusting me,¡± I told my partner as she stepped over to the other side of the room to deposit the empty injectors in the trash.

    ¡°It¡¯s no big deal,¡± she replied with a fake indifferent tone.

    I slipped off the bed, came up behind her, and spun her around once she¡¯d finished with the injectors. ¡°No, seriously, thank you,¡± I repeated before I leaned in for a kiss.

    The two of us stayed intertwined for several seconds, trying our best to pull each other into a deeper embrace, before Skyler finally pulled away. ¡°Don¡¯t take this as permission to take dangerous upgrades in the future,¡± she pouted. ¡°From now on we will discuss that sort of thing before purchasing them. Deal?¡±

    ¡°Deal,¡± I agreed, with a sly smile before letting her go.

    Skyler glanced at the wall clock and pouted. ¡°Although I¡¯d love to sit you down and ¡®discuss¡¯ this further, we should probably get going. If we delay too long, you¡¯re not going to have time for any lessons, and I really want you to have time to practice before we actually engage the antithesis.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re probably right,¡± I replied, sighing deeply. After we split apart, grabbed our gear, and silently headed towards the front door. The cats were waiting for us in the front room. Cleo and Leah stared at us with suspicion, while Lala attacked my feet in joy.

    ¡°Sorry babies, I know we haven¡¯t been around much the last few days, but we¡¯ll make it up to you, I promise,¡± Skyler said, as she leaned down to pet the two adult cats. They tried to pretend to be aloof, but within seconds the pair were like a purring puddle in Skylers hands.

    Lala, deciding that she wanted scratches too, launched herself on the two adult cats before rolling onto her back and mewing. Surprisingly, neither of the older cats complained, and the three of them shared the scritches for another minute or two.

    When Skyler was done, I nodded towards my sword. ¡°I don¡¯t think we need your gun or my bow, but can you grab Rending Wave for me?¡±

    She nodded and gently removed my blade from the display. As we entered the garage, Skyler turned to me. ¡°Do you know who it is we¡¯re supposed to be meeting?¡±

    I paused for a second. ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t think to ask. The AIs just said they¡¯d arranged training with another samurai, but I never followed up.¡±

    {Athy: You¡¯ll be training with the crew of the Starchaser, the samurai warship in the harbor. Ghost-Light, one of three samurai on board, is a specialist of underwater close combat.}

    ¡°I hope they¡¯re a good teacher,¡± I said as I waited for Skyler to open the passenger side door. There wasn¡¯t much room in her car, so I had to unpack our boxes and stash the individual items behind the seats. It barely fit. It wasn¡¯t like we had a ton of gear, but we had to work with what we had. I would have stowed it in the trunk, but Skyler was busy trying to make sure all her drones fit, so I made due.

    Once the two of us finally had everything packed, we slipped into the car. ¡°Arty, can you let the Starchaser know we¡¯re on our way? Can you also ask them where the best place to meet up would be, please?¡± I asked quietly while fastening my belt.

    {Athy: We already have that information. If you go to the samurai pier, where you boarded the Redemption, they¡¯ll meet you there.}

    ¡°We can do that,¡± Skyler replied quietly as she started the car. It only took a couple of seconds for her to maneuver the car around and get aligned with the door. As soon as the massive armored hatch opened we shot out over the city again, heading towards the harbor.

    Skyler smiled. ¡°Time to go meet our new samurai friends.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 18 - Starchaser

    It didn¡¯t take long to get to the harbor once we were airborne.

    Even though there was a lot of traffic in the city center, there wasn¡¯t much out near the ocean. It was mostly commercial ground traffic, and PMCs trying to fortify the coast or resupply the naval blockade.

    We came in low, over the water, bypassing most of the fortifications before swinging inland to land at the previously bustling samurai pier.

    Now that Warspite and the other aquatic samurai were out on the ocean, the area was practically abandoned. The dock workers and sailors had probably been evacuated in the face of the incoming horde, and the Cascadian government hadn¡¯t moved any troops into this area yet.

    There was some life, though. As we came into the area, swooping down towards the pier, we found a samurai warship moored to the pier in place of the Retribution. This new ship had more classical lines compared to the futuristic warship it replaced. It was much sleeker than the larger vessel, with a long, curved wooden hull.

    Despite looking more traditional, I had no doubt that the ship could hold its own in combat. The wood was obviously non-terrestrial with an unnaturally pale tone and a faint glow fighting against the morning light. In addition to that, I couldn¡¯t see a single joint anywhere, like the entire hull was a single piece. The top deck had several samurai-grade weapon emplacements, which made it look more like a modern destroyer from the air, along with a number of high-tech communications and defensive systems clustered around the bridge.

    As we swooped low, a figure in red stepped onto the deck and started enthusiastically waving at us.

    {Athy: We¡¯ve been asked to land directly on the Starchaser, approximately mid-deck.}

    ¡°Is that a smart idea? Leaving our car on the deck of a warship during combat seems¡­ unwise,¡± I said as we circled.

    {Athy: We¡¯ve been informed that the Starchaser has a lift and an automated storage system. Your vehicle will be quite safe while you¡¯re at sea.}

    ¡°Well, I guess our hosts would know best,¡± Skyler whispered, before turning towards the ship.

    Once we got closer, I could clearly make out the girl on deck. She had pale-white hair draped all the way down her back, massive black glasses, and was wearing a red maid¡¯s uniform. I actually recognized her from the briefing a few days ago--she and her partner had sure made an impression. As we got closer to the deck, she gestured animatedly at an empty section of the deck.A small pack of dogs ran around her and a beautiful red and blue bird landed upon her shoulder.

    As soon as we touched down, she practically pranced over to the car, humming quietly to herself the entire time.

    ¡°You two must be Cleansing Rain and Honorable Wind, it¡¯s nice to meet you!¡± She exclaimed happily as Skyler and I climbed out of the car. ¡°I¡¯m Limelight, Captain of the Starchaser, and this is my crew!¡±

    I glanced around the widely empty deck in confusion before looking at the frenzy of activity at her feet. ¡°You mean the dogs?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re not just any dogs, they¡¯re enhanced android dogs!¡± Limelight turned towards the mob, clapping her hands above her head. ¡°Attention!¡±

    Almost instantly the dogs settled down, sitting in orderly rows in front of her.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    ¡°Our guests have arrived, so playtime is over! All crew to positions! Prepare to cast off!¡± she declared.

    The dogs immediately scattered, sprinting to various positions on the ship. I watched in amazement as a Golden Retriever and a German Shepherd expertly unhooked the moorings by shaking the rope in just the right way. They wound the rope using a pulley system that was obviously designed just for them before running off to the next rope.

    ¡°If you follow me back to the bridge, I¡¯ll introduce the others to you. Don¡¯t worry about your car or gear for now. It¡¯ll take us a couple minutes to reach the harbor entrance, and Achys will work with your AIs to make sure everything is prepared for you,¡± Limelight explained with a smile as the bird on her shoulder raised its chest proudly. ¡°Now come on, everyone¡¯s waiting!¡±

    Skyler glanced over at me, and I just shrugged before following the slightly odd girl.

    As soon as we stepped off the slightly raised central area we¡¯d landed on, one of the dogs ran past and yanked a lever. Within seconds, Skyler¡¯s car had disappeared below deck, and a massive armored hatch slammed shut over it.

    Slowly following our host down the side of the ship, occasionally sidestepping one of the dog-crew as they rushed about, I marveled at the ship¡¯s construction. The wooden parts of the hull looked like they¡¯d been grown into shape, rather than assembled. I didn¡¯t know if that was the case or if it had just been constructed with some samurai-grade construction technique, but it was impressive nonetheless.

    Stepping off the deck and through the ship onto the bridge was quite an experience. It was a fusion of traditional and modern design. The deck and walls were all created out of a darker, finished wood, and there was a traditional ship¡¯s wheel, but there was also a host of modern monitors, including a holographic display to steer by instead of a window.

    Two people waited inside. One was Limelight¡¯s partner from the briefing, an actual mermaid with a head of short, curly brown hair. She literally swam through the air, going from monitor to monitor with a tiny orca following in her wake. She had a cute yellow maid dress, which allowed her long white-scaled eel-like tail to move unhindered.

    The third woman, who was currently steering the ship, had black hair and wore a butler¡¯s suit. Even though she didn¡¯t turn to look at us, I could see her left eye had been gouged out. She had a seemingly augmented jagged scar that reached from cheek to ear, and the eye had been replaced by a glowing ocular lens.

    Limelight clapped as she entered, drawing the attention of the other two girls. ¡°Now that we¡¯re all in the same place, let me introduce everyone. Girls, this is Cleansing Rain and Honorable Wind. Rain, Wind, this is my partner Ghost-Light,¡± the red-garbed maid said as she gestured towards the mermaid. Ghost-Light didn¡¯t say anything and instead gave a timid wave with her fingers as she half hid behind Lime, staring at us but seemingly avoiding our eyes..

    Lime seemed a little surprised by her behaviour but regained her composure after a few seconds. ¡°And this is my sister, Phantasmagoria.¡±

    As the second girl turned towards us, an entirely new figure popped into existence before her. Bright violet like drowned out the detail, but it appeared to be a feminine form with an ankle-length maid dress.

    The shadow girl flew forward, did a couple quick laps around Skyler and I then shifted to float just behind Phantasmagoria.. Only after it was done did Phantasm begrudgingly say, ¡°Nice to meet you.¡±

    ¡°What was that?¡± I asked suspiciously.

    Skyler, Lime and Ghost all looked at me confused. ¡°What was what?¡± Skyler asked.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t see that? There was a person flying around the room for a couple seconds,¡± I replied confused.

    ¡°That¡¯s my avatar made of UV Hardlight. Totally invisible to most people, but apparently that¡¯s not the case for you.¡± Phantasm sighed, but her puppet behind her silently giggled with a hand to her lips.

    ¡°I can see the ultraviolet spectrum, due to one of my genetic upgrades,¡± I told the girl. ¡°It¡¯s actually been very useful when dealing with certain types of antithesis.¡±

    ¡°Lissa, I told you, you don¡¯t have to check every single person that comes close to me,¡± Lime sighed. ¡°Especially other samurai.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d rather be safe than sorry, don¡¯t forget what happened with Steel Hound,¡± the shorter girl snorted, before turning back to the wheel.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about my sister. She¡¯s a little overprotective,¡± Lime apologized, bowing slightly as she did. When she stood up straight again, she threw an arm around Ghost and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re here, though. Things in the harbor were starting to get a little sketchy, and we could use the help.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well, don¡¯t thank us yet,¡± Skyler said. ¡°Neither of us has any experience with aquatic combat.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re here!¡± Lime replied happily. ¡°I hear that Wind is quite an expert with a sword. While I don¡¯t have any experience there, Ghost here has years of hand-to-hand training. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be able to get you up to speed in no time.¡±

    ¡°I appreciate the help,¡± I said humbly, nodding towards Ghost. The smaller girldidn¡¯t come out from behind her friend, but she still gave us a thumbs up.

    ¡°We¡¯re approaching the anchor point!¡± Phantasm declared. ¡°Prepare for combat!¡±

    Lime nodded and turned to a cabinet at the back of the room. When she opened it, I was surprised to see both Skyler¡¯s and my gear, carefully arranged on the shelves. ¡°I need to get to the cannons, and Ghost into the water, so we¡¯ll leave you to get ready. If you need help, ask Shadow,¡± Lime explained before heading towards the deck. She paused right before leaving, kissed Ghost on the cheek, which caused the mermaid to go bright red, and turned back to us with a smug grin on her face. ¡°Good luck out there!¡±

    ¡°Thanks!¡± Skyler exclaimed, before lowering her voice and mumbling under her breath. ¡°Hopefully we don¡¯t need it.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 19 - Aquatic Escapades

    For thousands of years man has feared the oceans. Despite our best efforts, we never managed to completely map the deep, or discover all the creatures that lived below. We should have tried harder.

    Now the antithesis have taken hold, settling in the dark places that are hard to reach, devouring what we didn¡¯t know was there. The oceans are now the domain of these ravenous beasts, and we should be terrified.

    -Aquatic Antithesis, Study done by Cascadian Central Research Institute 2053

    ¡ª

    It didn¡¯t take long for Skyler and me to get set up, we just needed to strip off our jackets and strap on the facemask and other accessories.

    ¡°There¡¯s an embarking ladder on the starboard side, midship,¡± Phantasmagoria announced, without even looking at us. ¡°Ghost will meet you in the water.¡±

    ¡°Thanks!¡± Skyler chirped as she pulled me towards the hatch. Limelight was busy pacing the deck, pausing every few seconds and cocking her head to the side like she was listening. As we passed by her, she pointed down into the water and yelled, ¡°Fire!¡± None of the deck artillery fired, but something did, booming below decks. A few seconds later something exploded underwater.

    ¡°We¡¯re not in danger of getting caught in¡­ whatever that was, are we?¡± Skyler asked her suspiciously.

    ¡°The Starchaser has several subsurface gun ports that allow it to bring many of its more esoteric weapons to bear against the aquatic antithesis,¡± the energetic girl explained. ¡°I¡¯m keeping track of everyone¡¯s positions and only fire on the largest models when it¡¯s safe! I¡¯d never risk you or Ghost-light!¡±

    ¡°Glad to know you have our back,¡± I told her.

    ¡°Anytime!¡± she replied with a wave and a smile, before spinning in place.

    ¡°Reload that piece before another of those bastards show up!¡± she yelled as she stalked off. The dogs jumped to carry out her orders.

    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe this ship is crewed entirely by dogs,¡± I murmured.

    ¡°Odd, but probably not even close to the strangest thing we¡¯ll see as samurai,¡± Skyler whispered, before patting me on the back. ¡°Let¡¯s get into the water.¡±

    Continuing down the side of the shipwe came to a small break in the railing. Leaning over the side, an extendable wooden ladder led down to the water. Carefully reaching down, I grabbed the edge of the ship and worked my way down.

    I expected the water to be freezing, as I dipped my toes into the water, but surprisingly I couldn¡¯t feel the cold at all. Our wetsuits must have been extremely well insulated. While I tried my best to get acclimated to the water, Skyler leapt off the ladder from above me to splash into the water just a few feet away. She disappeared from sight for just a moment before resurfacing.

    ¡°This brings me back, just like our last vacation,¡± Skyler laughed.

    ¡°And just like our last vacation I just need a few seconds to acclimatize myself before diving. Not everyone loves the water as much as you do,¡± I grumbled, which just made Skyler smile.

    ¡°True, but I trust you¡¯ll find your sea legs again soon.¡±

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    She dove down, like it was the most natural thing in the world, followed a moment later by her drones. I took a couple seconds more to hype myself up before following. The harbor was deep, and despite it being early in the afternoon, I couldn¡¯t see the bottom. As I kicked my legs, urging myself forward, the aqua pack kicked in, propelling me much faster than I could move on my own. It took me a few moments to realize that it was reacting to some sort of signal from my augments, and I could control the thing almost instinctively. A little scary, but exhilarating at the same time.

    I was still struggling to get a handle on the system when a familiar face popped up directly in front of me. ¡°H-Hey. H-Having fun?¡±

    Scrambling back in shock, I stared at the little mermaid for a minute. ¡°You surprised me,¡± I admitted. ¡°How fast can you move?¡±

    ¡°U-Underwater? P-Pretty fast. I-I¡¯ve never actually clocked myself or anything, but I¡¯m probably able to outrun all the other samurai around here,¡± she admitted, before giving me a little smile. ¡°A-are you ready for your lesson?¡±

    ¡°What about Skyler? Shouldn¡¯t she be here?¡±

    Prism¡¯s little orca drone floated down and began to speak, her accent distinctly southern. ¡°I already checked on her. She¡¯s a ranged combatant, so she doesn¡¯t need any pointers, just a little bit of practice maneuvering. Emme and Lissa are keeping track of her. You, on the other hand¡­ may need a few pointers.¡±

    I guess I must have frowned or something, because Ghost-Light threw her hands up in front of herself. ¡°W-We¡¯re already assuming that you''re a skilled martial artist, so this is more about understanding the environment.¡±

    Reaching into a small bag on her back, she pulled out a small cylinder that, with a quick flick of her wrist, extended into a wicked looking harpoon.I awkwardly pulled Rending Wave in response. My actions were slow and clumsy compared to usual.

    ¡°O-okay, first lesson; Down here, drag decides battles. Most antithesis are optimized for either slow, devastating attacks or lightning-fast frontal strikes. L-like so.¡±

    With a quick flick of her tail, Ghost-Light shot off at incredible speed. I barely managed to keep track of her as she twisted and turned before shooting back towards me, harpoon first. I tried my best to dodge and counter, but I was far too slow. At the last second, Ghost turned and shot past me.

    ¡°I-It¡¯s easier to move straight forward and do strafing runs than it is to try and swipe. H-Hit and run is better than static defense.¡± Ghost explained as she swung around, diving beneath me this time. ¡°I-In addition to that, you have to pay attention to every direction. L-Looking down is surprisingly important in this kind of situation.¡± .¡±

    She slowly circled around me, still faster than I could follow, before coming to a stop right next to me. ¡°F-first up, I suggest you practice your forward movement. I¡¯ll put a few targets out. Try and either stab them, or slice them as you swim by. Or I g-guess, jet by using that pack of yours.¡±

    She swam a couple feet away, pulled something the size of a coin out of her bag, and then casually released it. After a few seconds the small object expanded, becoming a rubbery object that vaguely resembled a ray. Ghost released a few more in the area, which expanded into a few different shapes, before swimming back.

    ¡°R-Ready?¡±she asked, tilting her head a bit at me.

    ¡°Are those antithesis? They don¡¯t look like anything I recognize,¡± I asked.

    Ghost nodded, but her AI responded for her. ¡°Model One-O. They¡¯re a variant of the normal version, which can both swim and fly but doesn¡¯t do either one particularly well. The seal-looking one, with the shark head, is the Model Three-O, and the big squid-looking thing is a Model Four-O. They¡¯re among the most common aquatic antithesis models in this area. I figured you might want to practice on something antithesis sized.¡±

    ¡°I guess it does help to know what I¡¯m going to be fighting,¡± I admitted. Adjusting my grip on Rending Wave and eyeing up the first target, I mentally nudged the aquapack to life. It was difficult at first--I had to fight the urge to actually swim and twist in order to turn--but I managed to get used to it after a minute or two. Once I¡¯d gotten used to it, I tried to make an attack run.

    Flicking Rending Wave¡¯s power switch allowed it to pass effortlessly through the water. Twisting my body, I lined up my run, brought the blade up, and sliced through the little plastic replica.

    It felt strange, moving so quickly and relying upon my inertia to strike, but I¡¯d been practicing martial arts long enough that I could easily understand the mechanics. Having exceptional reaction speeds helped too.

    Ghost clapped politely, something that couldn¡¯t exactly be easy underwater. ¡°E-Excellent! I-I¡¯m glad that wasn¡¯t too hard for you. Some of the other samurai I¡¯ve met have taken a couple of tries..¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve always been a fast learner,¡± I replied as I lined up with both of the remaining targets. I managed to get the first target easily enough, but the drag nearly ripped the blade from my hands when I tried to switch sides. I just barely managed to save it by turning sharply and readjusting my grip. Coming around, I finally managed to strike the last target down.

    ¡°W-Whew, you weren¡¯t kidding on that¡­ W-Wanna move on?¡±I Ghost exclaimed, reaching into her bag again. This time, she didn¡¯t move around, instead opting to just tread the water with a small smile on her face. .

    ¡°What¡¯s the next step?¡± I asked suspiciously.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t think the antithesis would just sit around and let you hit them, did you?¡± Nyvi asked, a bit of disappointment in her tone.. ¡°They are going to try and fight back. These targets are animated and fight like the basic models. I was thinking we¡¯d start with a small swarm of One-O¡¯s, and once you got used to that, we¡¯d move on to the larger models. Don¡¯t worry these first targets are just rubber and bounce off you if they manage to tag you. You¡¯ll feel it, but they won¡¯t hurt.¡±

    She threw out her hands, and within seconds there were half a dozen small rubbery rays swimming around. One of the little creatures immediately dived for my face, bouncing off my mask before I could dodge or get Rending Wave in the way. The little swarm immediately gathered up and swam away before turning and rushing towards me again.

    ¡°B-Better get moving,¡± Ghost said with a smile.

 Book 2 - Chapter 20 - Underwater Wall

    You went swimming? Where? Why?!? You only find pools in elite health clubs, and the homes of the super rich these days, there¡¯s just not enough room. It¡¯s not like swimming is a useful skill anyways, if you¡¯re near open water you¡¯re already outside the defensive walls anyways. No one¡¯s stupid enough to do that.

    -Random Elevator Discussion

    ¡ª

    The mobile targets were much more difficult than I expected. Not only did they move fairly quickly, but they were coordinated, attacking from multiple angles at once. I took several rubbery blows to the head and back until I figured out that I needed to roll constantly so I could keep track of the targets coming at me from different angles. The spin also gave me a good way to strike at enemies on my other side, without having to swap hands and risk having the blade ripped from my grip again.

    After taking care of a couple waves of Model One-Os flawlessly, Ghost moved on to a combination of Model Three-Os and Four-Os. Although these were much bigger and somewhat slower than the One-Os, they presented their own challenges. The Threes were able to turn extremely quickly, biting at me if I failed to take them out in a single strike. The Fours were worse; their tentacles extended way longer than I expected and entangled me if I got anywhere close to them.

    The skirmish lasted far longer than I liked, as both dummies were extremely adept at working together.

    ¡°W-What do you think about your progress so far?¡± Ghost asked when it was finally done.

    ¡°I think I lack the reach to deal with these models consistently,¡± I admitted gloomily. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how helpful I¡¯m actually going to be if we get swarmed.¡±

    ¡°M-Maybe,¡± Ghost replied, nodding emphatically. I turned and stared at her, eyes narrowed, which made her jump. ¡°B-But that¡¯s to be expected! D-Down here close-range fighters are at an inherent disadvantage. Y-You always work with Skyler, don¡¯t you?  Y-You should concentrate on intercepting the antithesis that sneak through her bombardment.¡±

    ¡°Fine, I guess that makes sense,¡± I admitted. ¡°I really don¡¯t want anything to happen to her.¡±

    Ghost blushed slightly but still nodded. ¡°W-We should probably try and meet up with her so I can show you both the ocean barrier before the antithesis arrive.¡±

    ¡°Arty?¡± I whispered.

    Skyler has already located the ocean barrier. I¡¯ll send directions directly to your augs.

    ¡°Skyler is already at the barrier, we can meet her there,¡± I reported to Ghost. ¡°Follow me.¡±

    I dove down, just deep enough to see the bottom of the harbor and headed north towards the mouth. The rocky ocean floor appeared to be completely devoid of life. No fish, no coral, nothing but large rocks and silt. ¡°Why is it so dead here? Did the antithesis get into the harbor already?¡±

    ¡°N-No, it¡¯s actually barren here because the government regularly sterilizes the harbor floor. N-No biomass, less antithesis. S-Some might consider it overkill, but¡­¡± Ghost tilted her head to the side for a moment, then murmured, ¡°I-I think it¡¯s prudent. A-A little biomass goes a long way for them.¡±.

    ¡°I had no idea the government was doing anything like that,¡± I admitted.

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    ¡°A-After the Seattle incident, the Cascadian government has become incredibly proactive  when it comes to offshore anti-antithesis measures.  E-Even a month after it happened, the aftermath was still horrific to witness. I-I don¡¯t really blame them.¡±

    Out of the murky gloom a titanic structure emerged. The bottom was a solid concrete wall, at least twenty feet tall. Embedded into the top of the wall was a curtain of foot long chain links. The entire thing stretched as far as I could see, it must have been miles long and hundreds of feet tall to cover the entire mouth of the harbor.

    I found Skyler slowly swimming back and forth, inspecting the construction. As soon as she saw us, she waved. ¡°Can you believe this? I had no idea there was such a monolithic construct sitting in the harbor.¡±

    ¡°The concrete barrier is there to slow down the gargantuan antithesis bound to the sea floor. There aren¡¯t that many in the tens to twenties, but in the thirties and higher, there are some extremely tanky crab-based models. The chain curtain is actually connected to a complicated pulley system so the entire thing can be raised and lowered based upon how active the antithesis are,¡± Nyvi explained as Ghost swam up next to Skyler. ¡°The other side contains a minefield and several dozen automated sonic turrets.¡±

    ¡°So, why are we in here, instead of out there?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Because you do not want to be anywhere near a sonic weapon while underwater. They¡¯ll literally liquify you.¡± Nyvi explained as Ghost shuddered. ¡°And despite the terrible damage, the antithesis will attempt to push through with absolutely no regard for personal safety. Based upon the numbers coming, Nyvi estimates the antithesis will breach the wall in more than a dozen places, and when they do, we need to be there to eliminate them before they get to the shore.¡±

    ¡°How¡­ many antithesis are we expecting to make it this far?¡± Skyler asked hesitantly.

    ¡°A-A hundred thousand, give or take,¡± Ghost replied casually. ¡°M-Maybe one in a hundred will get to the wall.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s still a lot,¡± I mumbled.

    ¡°I-It should be manageable, between the three of us,¡± Ghost exclaimed.

    I narrowed my eyes. ¡°What about Limelight, Phantasmagoria, and the Starchaser?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll be hovering over the wall, dealing with the really big antithesis before they get close. Trust me, it¡¯s much better to have them dealing with the Thirties than mopping up the small stuff.¡±

    Skyler and I were quiet for a moment as we absorbed that information. Skyler managed to shake off her unease first. ¡°So, have you two finished practicing yet? We should probably plan our strategy.¡±

    ¡°O-Oh, that¡¯s easy. Y-You two work together to defend the western section of the wall, and I¡¯ll cover the east,¡± Ghost said.

    ¡°Is that really wise? I know you¡¯re more experienced than us, but isn¡¯t it dangerous to go it alone?¡± Skyler asked.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m not worried, Emme and Lissa won¡¯t let anything happen to me¡­¡±  the girl paused sheepishly, then added, "A-Also, on the off chance something does happen, it¡¯s better to not have people around. I-I, um, do not react well to getting injured¡­¡±

    ¡°What, exactly, does that mean?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I-I sort of go berserk when I see my own blood? L-Let¡¯s just say that if you see me while I¡¯m fighting, it¡¯s probably best to stay away. Or if you need to, call Limelight, she¡¯s the only one who can get me out of that headstate¡­ ,¡± the girl admitted.

    Skyler looked at her aghast. ¡°Is that safe?¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯ll probably be fine? I-I¡¯ve sort of attained a reliable level of durability. B-But for anything else around me? T-There¡¯s a reason I¡¯m warning you about this..¡± Ghost replied sheepishly.

    ¡°If you say so,¡± I mumbled.

    Suddenly, a high-pitched whine echoed through the water. It caused the water to vibrate, and made me feel ill. Ghost perked up immediately. ¡°B-Bwuh?!¡± she shouted, ¡°We were supposed to have more time!¡±

    ¡°Those are the sonic defenses? I can feel them all the way over here,¡± I groaned.

    ¡°Y-Yeah, hope you two are ready. T-Them being here early isn¡¯t a good sign.¡±

    ¡°So what do we do?¡± Skyler asked, tightening her grip on the aquatic weapon she¡¯d purchased for herself.

    ¡°W-What you do best! P-Protect your partner!¡± she yelled as she turned in place. With a few shakes of her long tail she shot off at incredible speed, disappearing from sight in seconds.

    ¡°Guess we¡¯re on our own,¡± Skyler muttered.

    ¡°Yeah, but we can handle it,¡± I announced confidently. ¡°We may not have experience fighting underwater, but we¡¯ve faced the antithesis before. We stick to our established strategies, and we¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°Our strategies involve me blowing up everything in range while you stab things. I wouldn¡¯t exactly call them complex,¡± Skyler snorted.

    ¡°And they haven¡¯t let us down before,¡± I replied with a smirk. ¡°You heard what Ghost said, we just need to kill everything that gets to the wall. Do you have any torpedoes that would kill the antithesis without damaging the wall? If we kill the antithesis before they penetrate the wall, it would make both our jobs easier.¡±

    ¡°I can check with Athyna, maybe invest in something. What about you?¡± Skyler asked.

    ¡°If I try to stab them with Rending Wave, it may sever the links, plus I¡¯ll be in the way of your explosives. I¡¯ll patrol up and down the wall, looking for major targets, and keep you informed through our link. Once the antithesis break through, I¡¯ll double back and protect you while you torpedo the area.¡±

    Skyler nodded. ¡°Sounds like a plan. Let¡¯s hope it works.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 21 - Breach

    It¡¯s easy to track the antithesis on the surface. The samurai satellite networks have enough fidelity to track individual Sevens, and with hundreds of additional sensor modes, even the stealth models would be hard pressed to sneak through undetected. Underwater though? That¡¯s something else entirely. It¡¯s almost like all the aquatic antithesis models are optimized to go unnoticed. Sonar is still the most consistent way to track, because many other search methods are useless. Thermal? The aquatic antithesis have the same body temps as the surrounding water. Density? It¡¯s surprising how many models disappear into the background of those scans. It¡¯s so hard to get a good read on their movements, we just don¡¯t know what kind of monsters are really out there, waiting for us.

    -Aquatic Antithesis, Study done by Cascadian Central Research Institute 2053

    ¡ª

    I honestly thought the antithesis would take a little bit of time to get past the sonic defenses. I could feel the vibrations in my bones, so how could the creatures get through so easily?

    I¡¯d forgotten how single-minded the antithesis were. When the first wave hit the wall, they were maimed enough that they practically fell apart as soon as they hit the wall.

    While Skyler spread her drones out to cover a wide area, I engaged my aqua pack to start my patrol.

    For several minutes I thought the defenses might hold--all the antithesis were dying before they could even begin to damage the wall. But then the bulk of the swarm hit. The antithesis were so thick that more than ninety percent died, absorbing the sonic damage and falling away like ablative armor, allowing thousands of antithesis to make it through alive.

    Hundreds of antithesis slammed into the thick chain wall, clawing and gnawing at the metal links. The smaller models, thankfully, couldn¡¯t do much and were easily dispatched between the Skyler¡¯s torpedoes and my darts.

    Even though the antithesis couldn¡¯t seem to do much damage, there were a lot of them. For every antithesis we killed, it seemed like two took its place. Soon, the entire wall crawled with antithesis, hundreds of bodies pressing against the chain wall. It didn¡¯t look like it would give in anytime soon, but it still wasn¡¯t looking good.

    As I was busy shooting monowire darts through the wall, creating small death zones to relieve the pressure, suddenly the entire wall bowed inward. I could hear metal screech, struggling under the strain.

    I shot down the wall, looking for the source of the disturbance. After about thirty feet, a leviathan emerged out of the darkness. It looked kind of like a massive eel covered in huge chitinous plates and so long I couldn¡¯t see the other end. The creature thrashed in the murky water, pressing hard against the chain fence. Half a dozen torpedoes smashed against the creature¡¯s face. The eel reared back, the armor on its head cracked but still intact. It swam back, partially disappearing into the gloom, before turning back, preparing for another charge.

    ¡°How are we supposed to stop that?¡± I yelled.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know! I hit it with a full concussive barrage!¡± Skyler yelled back. ¡°If I use anything else, it might damage the wall!¡±

    I growled and pulled out Rending Wave, preparing to receive the creature¡¯s charge once it broke through the barrier.

    {Arty: Message from Limelight. Brace yourselves.}

    ¡°What the hell does¡­¡± I started before a blinding lance of light cut through the gloom. The light cut through hundreds of antithesis, incinerating them instantly, and also bisecting the eel. I stared in awe as the two halves of the monster slowly sank, slowly twitching. After a few seconds, part of the swarm broke away and converged upon the great beast and started consuming it.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    {Athy: Message from Limelight. Target eliminated, go about your business.}

    {Skyler: Please pass on our regards to Limelight, }

    {Athy: Can do!}

    I blinked rapidly, trying to clear the spots out of my vision. It was only after my vision cleared did I realize the leviathan had breached the fence. Not massively, it hadn¡¯t broken enough links to fit through itself, but it was enough for the smaller models. The only reason we hadn¡¯t been swarmed is most of the antithesis had turned to devour the massive eel.

    Pushing back from the fence, I sped towards Skyler. ¡°Breach!¡±

    ¡°I see it, putting Arty on autofire to keep the hole clear!¡± she yelled back.

    The little drone started spitting its mini munitions out at a regular intervals, smashing into the wall around the breach. The smaller antithesis were immediately pulverized, preventing them from coming through.

    ¡°Artymis, can we close that breach somehow?¡±

    {Arty: You can buy a catalog which would allow you to create a temporary patch, but straight up fixing it is beyond your reach. The chain links are made out of a Class II material that has a built-in auto repair function. They will mend themselves over time, but they need to pull microparticles out of the water to do so.}

    {Athy: The links are also under an enormous amount of stress right now, and you¡¯d need a device capable of popping the broken links back into place, and keeping the area clear while you perform the repairs. That¡¯s not exactly easy given the current situation.}

    I stared at the small gap in the fence, as swarms of smaller antithesis attempted to squeeze through the gap, only to be pulverized by the constant bombardment of torpedoes.

    ¡°Noted,¡± I muttered.

    ¡°It¡¯s not ideal, but the breach is small and we¡¯ve got it under control for now. Let¡¯s leave it for now, and concentrate on preventing the antithesis from breaching elsewhere,¡± Skyler yelled over the sound of the explosions.

    ¡°Makes sense,¡± I yelled back. ¡°I¡¯m going to check the rest of the wall. Call me if you need me.¡±

    Skyler flashed a quick thumbs up before I shot off again.

    ¡°Arty, how is Ghost-Light holding up?¡±

    {Arty: She¡¯s quite agile, and is clearing her section of the wall very efficiently. You don¡¯t have to worry about her.}

    ¡°Good to know.¡±

    I sped along the fence, firing monowire darts through the chain whenever I could, looking for trouble. More than once I caught sight of the remains of other leviathans, some of which dwarfed the one killed earlier. ¡°Limelight¡¯s been busier than I realized,¡± I muttered.

    {Arty: Indeed. There have been quite a few models in the twenty to thirty range. Without the Starchaser, the wall would have been breached multiple times over the last few minutes. I¡¯m actually impressed by both their accuracy and firepower.}

    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a good thing,¡± I muttered.

    I shot back and forth cleaning off the smaller models as quickly as possible. Their numbers seemed nearly unlimited, and every time I fired a bolt to clear part of the wall, the antithesis would swarm the area and fill that space again within moments. It was frustrating, but at least I could tell myself that I was making progress.

    The murky water blocked most of the light from above, so as I shot back and forth clearing as fast as I could, I kind of lost track of time. At some point I even started to delude myself into believing we might manage to get through this entire thing without an issue. Which, of course, was when things started going wrong.

    While I was clearing a section, the entire wall shot forward, nearly clipping me. This wasn¡¯t like the other times one of the leviathans smashed into the wall, this was much worse. Before I could zip towards the source, dozens of laser lances simultaneously pierced the murky water.

    Limelight¡¯s lasers lit up a true titan, ten times larger than what had hit the wall earlier. The beast had a long, razor-sharp nose like a marlin, which had to be twenty feet long. This spear-like appendage had cut right through several links, but the majority of the wall had just barely held, keeping the creature back.

    While the behemoth thrashed, trying to tear its weapon loose, the Starchaser fired again and again. It took nearly a minute of constant fire to bring the beast down. When it finally lay still, the other antithesis rushed towards the rupture it had created.

    Engaging my pack, I shot forward to meet them. The rupture was much larger than the previous break, and the smaller antithesis were just pouring through it.

    When I got close, I could see Skyler was already there, frantically bombarding the break. Her torpedoes were catching most of the antithesis as they poured through, but not all of them. One of the seal form Threes that slipped through, shot towards Skyler, deftly dodging the shots from her aquatic rifle.

    I pushed my pack as hard as I could, whipping out Rending Wave as I went. If Skyler hadn¡¯t been firing at the creature, forcing it to dodge out of the way of her shots, there was a good chance I wouldn¡¯t have been able to intercept it before it took a chunk out of her. Because it was dodging I just managed to slip between the two, slicing the Three in two.

    Skyler gasped. ¡°Thanks for the save, but we have a serious problem.¡±

    ¡°I know, I saw, how long do you think you can keep that breach covered?¡±

    ¡°As long as necessary,¡± Skyler replied. ¡°What are you going to do?¡±

    ¡°Keep you safe while we try and come up with a plan,¡± I muttered as I stared at the massive breach. ¡°We better think quick.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 22 - Feeding Frenzy

    Swooping down on a Model Three-O I bisected the beast long before it could get to Skyler. The two of us were stuck in a pitched defense against the antithesis trying to pour through the breach. We¡¯d tried to come up with some ideas on how to plug the leak, but neither of us had access to anything that would do the trick. I didn¡¯t really have the time to go through catalogs either. The antithesis were still pouring through the rift, and if I stopped fighting, there was a chance they¡¯d get through to Skyler.

    So I didn¡¯t stop.

    Skyler had a little more breathing space, so I hoped she had a little time to discuss the options with Athyna.

    {Rei: Arty please tell me reinforcements are on the way, we really need some help here.}

    {Arty: It is, but¡­ it¡¯s not close. About half of the samurai that were trying to deal with the main horde are on their way and chewing up the back of the pack. The other half stayed behind to deal with the hives before they could send reinforcements.}

    {Rei: That¡¯s not what I wanted to hear, Arty!}

    {Arty: Apologies, but I don¡¯t have any good news at this time. I''ve been sending Cascadia Command constant updates, so they¡¯re aware of the situation, but don¡¯t have any units capable of intervening.}

    {Rei: Fuck!}

    Turning back towards the breach, I quickly evaluated the situation. A trio of Four-Os had managed to sneak through Skyler¡¯s bombardment and were evading the shots from her rifle. The small squad split up, trying to flank my girlfriend from multiple sides.

    I couldn¡¯t have that.

    Shooting forward I rushed the one nearest me. Even though it had been focused on Skyler, it did manage to see me at the last minute. One tentacle shot out, trying to knock me out of my charge, while it used the other to try and evade, shooting to one side.

    I didn¡¯t even try to follow, I didn¡¯t have time for that. Instead, I just adjusted slightly to avoid the swipe and remove the offending limb before rolling over and sticking my dart thrower right into the creature''s face. The monowire exploded outwards, completely eviscerating the monster as I turned towards my second target.

    The remaining two Model Fours apparently noticed how easily I¡¯d dealt with their friend because the nearest one turned directly towards me, while the other darted towards Skyler and her drones.

    Rather than evading, the nearest antithesis went on the offensive. It swam towards me like a cuttlefish, tentacles first, and once it was close enough, struck out with every one of its limbs. I pulled up, breaking just short of its assault, and twirled in place. Rending Wave took a couple of tentacles, but not all of them. With my momentum lost, I was easy pickings for a follow-up attack.

    I swung Rending Wave and engaged the thrusters at the same time, sure that I wasn¡¯t going to evade but trying all the same. The water around my forearms frothed and heated up. Suddenly the resistance was gone andy blade intercepted the offending tentacles before slicing straight through the main body.

    I stared at the creature in disbelief as the two halves slowly floated away. It took me a moment to shake off the shock and re-engage the thrusters to head back towards Skyler. She was fine, of course. She was more than a match for a single four, but I still worried.

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    ¡°Everything fine?¡± Skyler yelled as I coasted towards her.

    ¡°Clear, for now. We¡¯re not going to have reinforcements for a while, though.¡±

    ¡°Then heads up, another pack got through!¡±

    Twisting around, I caught sight of a group of Threes arrowing through the breach. With a sigh, I immediately went after them.

    Pushing my pack to its limits, chasing the wayward beasts, I decided to consult Artymis.

    {Rei: Artymis, what the hell was that? I thought I couldn¡¯t slice because of the drag. Shouldn¡¯t I be dead right now?}

    {Arty: Normally that would be true, but if you remember, I suggested you buy the supercavitation armguards.}

    {Rei: And that just lets me fight like I do normally?}

    {Arty: Well, not quite. Supercavitation creates a small bubble barrier between you and the water, which helps cut down on drag, but it does not eliminate it. This makes your slices more reliable, but it¡¯s still not as reliable as usual.}

    {Rei: How did I not know about this until now?}

    {Arty: You never tried. Plus, the combat style that Ghost-Light taught you is far more efficient in this environment. It¡¯s better to stick with it and fall back upon slices in emergencies.}

    {Rei: I guess that¡¯s reasonable.}

    I put the conversation on hold there because that¡¯s when I caught up with the rearmost Three. The creature didn¡¯t even notice me until my blade started cutting up its tail. The creatures jerked and turned to figure out what was happening, which only allowed me to shoot past it, cutting it in half.

    The remaining pair immediately split up, attempting to evade and flank me.

    I just kept on the tail of the left one, following its movements as closely as possible as I closed the gap. The creature must have sensed it couldn¡¯t get away because it turned, nearly folding itself in half as it came around. Instead of closing on my face, it¡¯s gaping maw closed on my sword as I shot past. Ripped open and mortally wounded, the creature sunk into the depths.

    With two down, I immediately searched for the third. I knew which direction it had gone, but it wasn¡¯t there anymore. Twisting in place, I struggled to spot the remaining beast. It came in low, and I only saw it at the very last second.

    It¡¯s jaw closed upon my leg, teeth sinking deep into my flesh through both the suit and under armor. I tried to swipe at it, but the creature didn¡¯t stop swimming. It locked its jaw on my leg and dragged me along. The drag caused my knee to buckle and ¡®fell¡¯ backwards, back smashing against the Three¡¯s side.

    I flipped Rending Wave, holding it backhand as I stabbed wildly, blindly, at the beast. It took a couple seconds until the Three finally gave in, releasing my leg. Not willing to lose this chance, I immediately flipped around and engaged the thrusters. I didn¡¯t really need to. The Three had been mortally wounded, but I still finished it just in case.

    With my foes dead, I finally took a rest. The pain in my leg was dull. I reached down to check how badly I was wounded but found the punctures already closing. ¡°Auto injector, right,¡± I mumbled.

    Sheathing Rending Wave, I took a moment to reload my dart launcher. I was starting to feel worn down. Even though I didn¡¯t have to swim thanks to the aquapack, having to constantly struggle to keep the blade in place, and twist and turn to chase all these loose models was hard work.

    Once the dart launcher was reloaded, I immediately headed back to the breach, ready to intercept the next wave. It looked like Skyler had changed how the drones were firing, staggering their shots to narrow the gaps in which the antithesis could sneak through. Since there wasn¡¯t an immediate threat, I headed back towards her.

    ¡°What happened to your suit? Were you bitten?¡± she asked worriedly.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. The suit and under armor protected me from most of the damage, and the auto-injector sealed the wound before I could even check on it,¡± I explained. I raised up my leg so she could see the undamaged flesh. ¡°Reinforcements are still a ways off. How long can you keep this up?¡±

    ¡°Now that I¡¯ve got the right rhythm, pretty much forever. My concern is if another one of those things shows up, we¡¯re fucked.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just hope that doesn''t happen, or that Limelight and Phantasmagoriacan intercept before it gets here,¡± I mumbled.

    As we talked, the antithesis shifted. Most of them backed away from the wall and simultaneously rushed the fissure. So many of the creatures pushed at the gap that a few managed to push through, despite the repeated pounding Skyler¡¯s drones were delivering.

    ¡°They changed strategies,¡± Skyler grumbled. ¡°Some sort of command model?¡±

    ¡°Probably. Unfortunately, there¡¯s not much we can do about it. We¡¯d probably have to go outside the fence in order to hunt it. Keep an eye out for something unique and snipe it if you can, but if not, just keep up the pressure. I¡¯ll deal with the rest,¡± I told her.

    Skyler nodded and immediately started scanning the antithesis on the far side of the wall, while I dove down, chasing the closest antithesis. ¡°I guess break time¡¯s over,¡± I muttered.

 Book 2 - Chapter 23 - Deadly Tides

    Growing from inconsistent leaks to a consistent stream flowing through the breach was a serious problem. The antithesis were probably taking five times as many losses to Skyler¡¯s torpedoes, but they could afford those losses. Skyler and I, on the other hand, were just two people, and we were slowly starting to fall behind.

    {Sky: Two more Fours just made it through the breach, heading east.}

    {Rei: I¡¯ll get to them when I¡¯m done with these Threes!} I replied as I pushed my aquapack to its limit, trying to catch up to the latest pack of antithesis that slipped through.

    Although some of the creatures continued to engage, some immediately scattered, making it much more difficult for me to keep them contained. As soon as Rending Wave found its mark, ripping the errant Three apart, I immediately flipped around and headed back to the breach.

    The Fours were heading directly for me, which made it easy for me to intercept them. I plunged Rending Wave into one on the way by while darting the other. I barely even needed to change course.

    {Rei: I don¡¯t know how much longer I can keep this up,} I admitted. {If anyone has an idea, I¡¯m open to suggestions.}

    {Arty: You and Skyler have earned quite a few points over the last hour or so. Unfortunately, even with your shields, you¡¯d have to stop bombarding the breach long enough for someone to get close enough to plug it.}

    {Athy: There are some temporary options that could be fired from the drones, like expanding foam rounds, but these would be quickly destroyed by either the concussive torpedoes or the antithesis¡¯s relentless assault. Likewise, I wouldn¡¯t recommend using your regular tactic of flooding the area with enzymes. Although we could create a more concentrated formula, it would still get diluted to the point of being ineffective within seconds by the seawater. The concussive rounds would be more effective.}

    {Rei: I¡¯m hearing a whole lot of what we can¡¯t do. Not a lot of what we can.}

    {Arty: Our apologies. Normally we¡¯d recommend that Skyler invest in additional drones to help deal with the volume of antithesis pouring through the breach, but we would highly recommend augment upgrades before attempting to control more. Although it would be possible, it would cause immense stress on both her body and hardware. Instead of attempting an emergency aug upgrade, something we really do not recommend, you can instead invest in Class I Automated Aquatic Defenses Catalog.}

    {Athy: Within this catalog are a range of static torpedo drones. They¡¯re far larger than Skyler¡¯s mortar drones, need to be anchored, and are far harder to manually aim, but they could be used to take over the suppression role Skyler is currently attempting to perform.}

    {Sky: Yes, those. All of them. Now.}

    {Athy: We also¡­}

    {Sky: No, forget the other options. I want enough of those static drones to keep this breach clear of antithesis until this siege is over. Reina and I have been struggling to keep this area clear for the last hour, and we really need to check the rest of the wall. I don¡¯t care what it costs, drone me!}

    Several massive drones materialized around Skyler. They were closer to Arty¡¯s original form in size but didn¡¯t appear to have any engines or means of propulsion, just a central cone-shaped hull with two large torpedo turrets branching off the top.

    Four of the massive drones appeared in front of the breach, immediately opening up on the area. Although they didn¡¯t seem to be doing as much damage as Skyler¡¯s mortar drones, their numbers and rate of fire more than made up the difference.

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    The tiny, momentary gaps which the antithesis had previously exploited closed, and the leak stopped.

    {Rei: We could have used those half an hour ago.}

    {Arty: You wouldn¡¯t have been able to afford them half an hour ago These drones are expensive, and you both spent most of your points on aquatic gear and upgrades before coming down here.}

    {Rei: In the future, please be more proactive about suggesting upgrades like this, even if we can¡¯t immediately afford them.}

    {Sky: Also, please just jump to the most reasonable options first in the future. Although I don¡¯t mind hearing about your thought process outside of battle, it¡¯s a little more stressful in battle.}

    {Athy: Noted!}

    {Sky: Thanks.}

    {Arty: Now, even though the torpedo turrets help with the most immediate issue, they do not help with the fatigue issue. Based upon the latest reports, the horde has been cut down by about half. Although this is great progress, it also means that it¡¯ll take at least another hour before the assault ends.}

    {Rei: Wonderful.}

    {Athy: Normally we¡¯d offer you a vitaminenriched meal at this point to help you keep your strength up, but since that¡¯s not possible, we have two options.}

    {Arty: First, a nutrition booster shot, which will keep you both going for the remainder of the battle, but will do little to alleviate your current fatigue.}

    {Rei: or¡­}

    {Athy: A stimulant cocktail using some of the less extreme options from Class I medical utilities. It¡¯ll not only alleviate your fatigue but also keep you sharp for the remainder of the conflict.}

    {Arty: Although there are no long-term effects, you will certainly have to crash afterwards.}

    {Rei: That doesn¡¯t sound so bad.}

    {Sky: No long-term side effects, but what about short term? Is it addictive or anything?}

    {Athy: Slightly, but considering the stimulants would last far longer than necessary, we would recommend taking a full system flush to completely clean out your system before that becomes a problem.}

    {Sky: Let¡¯s start with a nutrition shot each, and we¡¯ll discuss the stimulants after.}

    {Rei: Agreed.}

    A small package appeared right in front of me. Unlike the regular plastic boxes, this one had a rubber balloon attached to the top. As soon as I grabbed the box, the balloon expelled all its gases, allowing me to maneuver the thing like usual. Inside the box was a standard auto-injector unit.

    {Rei: Is it really safe to inject this thing underwater? Will it penetrate our suits?}

    {Arty: The auto-injector creates an airtight seal around the puncture site to keep out contaminants so you don¡¯t have to worry about the sea water. As for puncturing your suit, it is possible, but we¡¯d actually recommend you pull down the neck on your suit and inject it there. There¡¯s less chances of something going wrong with direct skin contact.}

    {Rei: Right.}

    Pulling down the collar of my suit, as instructed, I pressed the injector to my neck. As it spread through my system, the solution gave me a slightly warm, energized feeling.

    ¡°Feeling better?¡± Skyler asked as she swam over to me.

    ¡°A little, my muscles are still sore, but I¡¯m a little less exhausted now,¡± I replied. ¡°How about you?¡±

    ¡°I feel like I could take on a million antithesis!¡± Skyler joked, flexing an arm.

    ¡°That¡¯s great. We might actually have to do that before the day is done.¡±

    I glanced over at the breach. Nothing had managed to sneak through in the last two minutes, so the situation had improved, but we¡¯d been stuck here for so long I worried about what else could have snuck through elsewhere.

    ¡°We really should check the rest of the area and make sure there aren¡¯t any problems elsewhere,¡± I grumbled.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, we should,¡± Skyler agreed quietly, before reaching out and gently grabbing my arm. ¡°Are you going to take the stimulants?¡±

    ¡°Only if absolutely necessary,¡± I assured her. ¡°I don¡¯t feel like I need it right now, but if I get too tired, I¡¯ll probably take a dose. I¡¯d rather do that than risk both our lives by becoming too slow and sloppy to prevent the antithesis from getting through.¡±

    Skyler hesitated for a moment, then nodded. ¡°Do what you think is right.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to patrol to the east and double-check the rest of the wall quickly. Can you contact Ghost-Light and Limelight and see what their situation is? I know they¡¯re probably just busy, but if there are any issues, we should probably find out ASAP.¡±

    ¡°Right, I can do that. Message me if you find anything,¡± Skyler replied, throwing me a little mock salute.

    I immediately took off again. From what I could tell, the wall was pretty much intact, although the links were looking a little worse for wear. The smaller models couldn¡¯t penetrate them quickly, but they did make a little bit of progress from gnawing on them constantly for over an hour. It would still take them days to cut through at this rate, but their persistent attacks were getting results.

    As I jetted back and forth, not locating anything super critical, I started to feel a little better about this defense. Things were stabilizing.

    Unfortunately, that didn¡¯t make me feel much better. The antithesis had a habit of springing something new on us every time we thought we¡¯d gotten a hold on things, and right now, they were overdue.

 Book 2 - Chapter 24 - Tremors

    Since the wall was holding, I went back to darting the mass of antithesis on the far side. The monowire was as effective underwater as it was on land, so I didn¡¯t see any point in changing things up now.

    The mass of smaller models showed no sign of letting up, but the complete lack of larger models was starting to worry me. After the handful of larger models early on and the one leviathan, it seemed like the heavies had all but disappeared. If they had struck while Skyler and I had been occupied with the breach, it would have been disastrous, but they didn¡¯t.

    Sure, Limelight was doing overwatch, but I hadn¡¯t even noticed a single laser lance anywhere near us in quite awhile. It was actually a little unnerving how quiet they were.

    As I darted back and forth along the wall, I tried to keep an eye out for anything unusual on the other side. However, after more than an hour of combat, the water wasn¡¯t only murky from the sediment, but it was also saturated with antithesis blood. I would have thought that it would dilute and dissipate over time, but we were killing so fast it really didn¡¯t get a chance. It was so thick that I could barely see the antithesis right on the other side of the wall in some places, never mind the hordes hidden in the ocean beyond.

    While I was clearing the hordes off the wall, I felt a subtle change in the water. The vibration from the sonic cannons was still there, constantly shaking the water around me, but there was something else too. A much lower rumble.

    {Sky: Reina, do you hear that?}

    {Rei: If you mean that ominous rumbling noise, then yes. What is that?}

    {Sky: I don¡¯t know, but it¡¯s getting louder. We better figure it out quickly.}

    {Rei: Call the Starchaser and report it. Hopefully they can identify the source, but if not, we¡¯ll probably need them on standby.}

    {Sky: Right.}

    Leaving the hordes along for a minute, I shot back and forth along the wall, looking for the cause. No matter which direction I went, it seemed the sound was everywhere and growing louder. It was only after I paused, letting myself float in place for a minute, that I realized I could feel the vibrations below me.

    Sinking down to the bottom, I placed a hand against the uneven gravel floor and immediately felt the violent shaking below me.

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± was all I managed to get out before something erupted out of the sand only a couple of feet away from me. It looked like some sort of woodlouse, or roly poly; An insect with a heavy segmentted shell on it¡¯s back, but this thing was huge. It easily dwarfed the Twelves we fought on the surface.

    The creature seemed to test the water with its antenna for a moment before dragging itself out of the burrow and relaxing the plates on its back. Within seconds, all sorts of smaller antithesis were climbing out of its carapace, scattering into the surrounding area.

    {Rei: Breach! We have tunnelers from the other side of the wall breaking through. Athy, inform the surface. Sky, keep your eyes open; they¡¯re transports, and now there are a ton of smaller models loose over here. If you catch one of the bastards surfacing, don¡¯t hesitate, just flatten it!}

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    {Sky: You want backup?}

    {Rei: Pretty sure I can take this one, but if too many show up, we could get overwhelmed.}

    I didn¡¯t wait for Skyler¡¯s reply and charged forward to sink Rending Wave into the head of a Model Three-O that was trying to squeeze out of the carapace. Instead of withdrawing the blade, I dragged it forward through the various segments as I approached the creature¡¯s head. It buckled, thrashing in pain, until the very last second when I pulled the blade out of its back and sliced down through the thinnest part of its ¡®neck,¡¯ beheading the beast. The body collapsed, slowly sliding back into the tunnel it had only half climbed out of.

    That would prevent reinforcements from pouring out, at least for now, but it didn¡¯t help with the existing issue. More than two dozen Model One-Os, and half a dozen Model Three-Os and Four-Os had managed to climb out of the oversized bug before I killed it.

    The Model One-Os were gathering together in preparation for an attack run, while the others scattered into the surrounding area. I¡¯d have to deal with the threats first, then chase the survivors after.

    Scrambling behind the oversized isopod¡¯s body, I slammed a new dart into my launcher. The small school of Model One-Os swooped over the monster¡¯s formation in tight formation, making a beeline directly for where I¡¯d been just a moment before. The entire group turned simultaneously, mouths snapping like a swarm of hungry piranha. With the aquapack I was just barely faster than them. Slamming my sword back into its sheath, I twirled around tracking the Ones following me. As soon as they clumped again, I shot my dart directly into the face of the leading creature.

    Monowire exploded outwards, nearly disintegrating the lead Model One and catching more than half of followers. The rest of the school scattered in every direction, trying their best to avoid the deadly tangle. When the monsters dispersed, I turned as sharply as I could and chased the closest one. Even though there were only a handful left, they were still dangerous, and I was going to take every advantage I could get to deal with them.

    The first one died within seconds when it turned to engage me instead of running and got a sword in the face for its efforts. Seconds later the second and third died as they darted around in random directions, like they were panicking. By the time I got around to the fourth, the school had mostly recovered, but it was heavily diminished. Sinking down to the bottom of the bay, I planted my feet and let them come.

    When the leading One-O was within a few feet of me, I drew RendingWave and brought it straight through the offending antithesis, cutting it cleanly in two. The antithesis following it tried to split up and flank me, but before they could, I flipped the switch to extend the blade and started mechanically dissecting the left side group.

    Even though I had the cavitation armguards, the process was much slower than I wanted, but what I lacked in speed, I made up with my skill. Performing hit-and-run attacks might have been more efficient underwater, but this was the type of combat I was most comfortable with. Even with the handicap, it was highly effective.

    In seconds I¡¯d cut down five of the remaining Model Ones, leaving just four. Thankfully, the early antithesis models were simple and didn¡¯t have any self-preservation instincts. If they¡¯d scattered like the others, I probably would have had a terrible time catching them. Instead, the remaining four models gathered up and made another pass, running directly into my waiting sword. They died just as quickly as the others.

    With the final four slowly sinking to the bottom in pieces, I shut off the blade extension and slipped Rending Wave back into the sheath. I¡¯d already lost track of the Three-Os, and Four-Os that had slipped away. They would just have to be a loose end I¡¯d have to clean up later.

    Crouching down, I once again placed a hand against the gravel. I could still feel rumbling, but it didn¡¯t seem to be anywhere close.

    {Sky: Arty, are there any sort of disposable sensors I can drop along the wall to give us a heads up before one of those things pops up again? This would have been a disaster if I hadn¡¯t been here to deal with it.}

    {Arty: There are a couple. Considering this is an extreme corner case, I recommend unlocking the underwater seismic sensor net catalog. The narrower the focus of a catalog, the cheaper it is, and this one only has several thousand options.}

    {Sky: You know, to humans, that¡¯s not exactly a ¡®narrow¡¯ selection.}

    {Arty: But most protector catalogs have millions, so it¡¯s much narrower than usual. From here you¡¯ll need a Deep Dweller Monitoring System and several dozen deployable sensors. Honestly, the entire thing will cost you less than a hundred points. It¡¯s a pretty low-tech, but reliable and disposable system.}

    {Rei: Give it to me.}

    There was no box this time, but something that looked like a canvas messenger bag. Around the strap was something that looked like an oversized diving watch. I strapped it to my wrist and tapped it a couple of times, but it didn¡¯t respond. Grabbing the bag, and strapping it over my shoulder, the watch pulsed with my movements. Guess that made sense, it wasn¡¯t going to be that useful until the sensors were in place.

    Nudging the pack to life, I quickly moved towards the wall. The sooner these were in place, the better. I¡¯d had more than enough surprises for today.

 Book 2 - Chapter 25 - Kraken Chaos

    Once the seismic sensors were in place, it became easy to deal with the oversized isopods. Skyler and I took turns positioning ourselves in their path and dealing with the burrowing behemoths before they could release their living payloads. As long as they died before they fully emerged, their passengers just couldn¡¯t escape; they were trapped in the shell until we collapsed the tunnel or flooded the area with enzymes.

    It took what felt like hours, but the antithesis assault slowly began to falter. We started to see the occasional gap in their lines. They didn¡¯t completely coat the wall with their bodies, and those gaps widened as we cleared. But, of course, the antithesis wouldn¡¯t go down without a fight.

    When the wall was just about clear, something loomed out of the darkness. At first I thought it was another of those armored eels, but when it struck the wall I realized it was just one part of something much larger. A single tentacle nearly six feet wide struck the wall with such force that I felt the impact.

    The massive limb didn¡¯t penetrate the wall, not immediately, but what it did was provide the titanic antithesis something to hold onto as it dragged itself forward.

    {Sky: Did you see that?}

    {Rei: It was kind of hard to miss! Arty, please tell me that the Starchaser is in position to deal with whatever that is!}

    {Arty: They¡¯re already firing but there¡¯s a good chance, due to the creature¡¯s incredible mass, that it¡¯ll penetrate the wall before they can kill it.}

    {Sky: I doubt we could help deal with it directly, but we should probably reposition so we can help deal with any other antithesis that try and squeeze through the breach.}

    {Athy: It would be extremely dangerous to get anywhere near the creature. Each tentacle is capable of ripping a naval ship in two.}

    {Rei: Then we better do our best to avoid them.} I replied before activating my aquapack and shooting towards the beast.

    I saw the lances flashing through the darkness long before I saw the antithesis¡¯ true body. It looked sort of like a squid, but unfathomably large. It was using its massive beak to methodically cut through the massive chain links. As soon as it had cut a decent-sized hole, it¡¯s tentacles reached through, grabbed the sides of the breach, and in a feat of terrifying strength ripped the wall wide open.

    As it began to squeeze through the gap, I backed away. It didn¡¯t seem like the Starchaser was going to be able to bring it down in time, and I didn¡¯t want to risk getting grabbed. Even with Rending Wave fully extended, I wasn¡¯t sure if I¡¯d be able to sever even the smallest of its tendrils.

    While I retreated, signaling Skyler to do the same, I caught sight of a tiny form diving fearlessly at the leviathan from the other side. Ghost-Light shot out of the darkness, avoided the thrashing tentacles, and swam within a dozen feet of the behemoth before rearing back and throwing her harpoon at one of the beast¡¯s eyes.

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    The suicidal charge made more sense when the harpoon exploded a few seconds after embedding itself in the soft flesh. In one instant half the antithesis¡¯ body vaporized, sending chunks of its flesh hurtling outwards. Despite being a very focused explosive, the resulting pressure wave pushed me several feet further away from site, while simultaneously shaking me to my very core.

    ¡°Fuck me,¡± I whispered.

    ¡°This is no time to sit around, Ghost-Light was right on top of that thing when it exploded! We need to check if she¡¯s okay,¡± Skyler shouted. Her panicked tone shook me from my stupor, and I nodded quickly before diving back towards the massive corpse.

    Even though more than half of the goliath antithesis¡¯ body had been destroyed, I still approached with caution. More often than not these monsters managed to survive mortal wounds, fighting until all the strength had left their bodies. Thankfully, this one appeared to be completely dead. Its tentacles didn¡¯t even twitch as I slipped through the debris and headed to the last place we¡¯d seen Ghost-Light.

    The murky, churning water made the already low visibility even worse, and I had to swim into the creature¡¯s wound to spot Ghost-Light. A flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye resolved into a smaller antithesis sneaking through the massive hole in the chain wall.  Ghost-Light shot out of the darkness. She fell upon the Model Three-O like some marine predator before I could react to her presence. Her hands, now clawed, sunk deep into the creatures¡¯ flesh, tearing out huge chunks. It turned, attempting to bite her, but she just grabbed the thing¡¯s jaw and ripped it apart like it was nothing.

    I stared at her for a few moments, in shock. ¡°Are you okay?¡± I managed to get out. ¡°Skyler and I were worried you might have been injured after being so close to that explosion.¡±

    Ghost-Light shot away from the Model Three-O at unbelievable speed, disappearing back into the gloom. I considered following her, but before I could, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye again. I just barely managed to dodge out of the way as Ghost-Light¡¯s clawed hand passed within an inch of my face. That attack probably would have killed me if it weren¡¯t for my enhanced reflexes.

    ¡°What the fuck are you doing?!?!¡± I shouted as she disappeared back into the murky water.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on over there? Did you find her?¡± Skyler called as she approached.

    ¡°Skyler? Get back! Ghost-Light just attacked me! I don¡¯t know if she¡¯s woozy from the explosion or what, but she meant to kill me with that first attack. Call the Starchaser, see if they can call her and calm her down or something.¡±

    ¡°What about you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to try and retreat, but she¡¯s fast. I¡¯m not sure she¡¯ll let me.¡±

    Another flash, this one from above me. I twisted again, barely avoiding the clawed hand descending, but this time she didn¡¯t just continue past me. Instead she twisted around, bleeding off nearly all her speed, and launched a quick strike at my side.

    Despite the frenzy, she fought smart the attacks quick and precise. Too bad for her, this was exactly the sort of combat I excelled at. Twirling in place, I swept her hand away with one arm while bringing my other elbow directly into Ghost-Light¡¯s face.

    It felt like I¡¯d just hit a concrete wall, and the girl didn¡¯t show any signs that she¡¯d even felt the blow.

    She looked a lot different than I remembered. The scales from her tail now appeared all over her body, like armor, and her hands now ended in long razor-sharp talons. She scowled in frustration before smashing me in the chest with her tail and shooting off again.

    My ribs creaked at the blow, and I was sent cartwheeling away. I couldn¡¯t take many more of those, but I couldn¡¯t risk fighting her with Rending Wave or taking the time to order something else. With her lightning-fast  hit and run attacks, if I stopped concentrating for more than a second, she would get me.

    Not seeing another choice, I detached Rending Wave from my side, and prepared to defend myself with the sheathed weapon. I didn¡¯t have to wait long before Ghost-Light came shooting out of the darkness again, claws aimed at my throat. This time I parried her hand and brought my blade down, sheath and all, on her shoulder. he sheath cracked and splintered, but for the first time Ghost-Light flinched, reacting to a blow. The scales on her shoulder flaked off, cracked at the base where I¡¯d hit her, then in seconds they regrew

    The girl prepared to lunge again, when a sing-song voice echoed out from above. ¡±Sorry about this, you two. She did warn you, though.¡±

    The two of us turned just to find Limelight shooting towards us, swimming as if her life depended on it.She whipped out a giant hammer from behind her back and, before I could react brought it down on Ghost-Light¡¯s head.

    I flinched away, staring in horror at the unexpected violent act. ¡°There, all fixed,¡± Limelight declared lightly as she pulled her hammer away, revealing a conked-out Ghost-light. ¡°Violence solves everything!¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 26 - Safe Current

    Once Lime-Light had subdued her partner, she dragged the knocked-out mermaid back to the ship. The girl had blown in like a hurricane and disappeared just as quickly.

    I couldn¡¯t blame her, she probably wanted to check on her partner, but that left Skyler and me to clean up the area. Even though the antithesis onslaught had nearly come to an end, there were still plenty of smaller models around. The breach was far too large for us to close, and even with multiple stationary torpedo drones, there was a slow but steady flow of antithesis leaking through.

    There were so many pouring through that we didn¡¯t have a prayer of killing them all. I felt stressed just trying to intercept the ones that made a beeline directly for Skyler.

    Thankfully, we didn¡¯t have to hold out for very long. With the tail end of the wave came samurai reinforcements, the same samurai who had been struggling to cut down the antithesis¡¯ numbers the last few days.

    I nearly sliced Thermal Current as she slipped through the gap to check out our situation, only registering she wasn¡¯t another antithesis invader at the last second. It¡¯s not like her outfit resembled an antithesis at all; it was a fairly standard-looking black wetsuit with warm orange armor plates over all the vital areas. It was more that I didn¡¯t expect a person to just casually swim into our defensive zone.

    I guess I should have taken the fact that both the sonic cannons and torpedo drones had fallen silent as a hint.

    ¡°Woah! Careful there, that thing looks sharp,¡± Thermal laughed, throwing up her hands. ¡°I¡¯m friendly, I promise.¡±

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I asked, as I stared blankly at the woman.

    ¡°Killing the antithesis, just like you. Although, I¡¯m using a thermal beam so I don¡¯t have to rush back and forth like you are. Seems like a frantic way of fighting.¡±

    ¡°It works better on the surface,¡± I admitted.

    ¡°Please excuse my partner, she¡¯s been at this awhile,¡± Skyler said as she swam up behind me and placed a hand on my back. ¡°We both have, but she had to work a little bit harder than I did.¡±

    I didn¡¯t argue, because I was too tired. Instead, I just slipped Rending Wave into its sheath and let Skyler take the lead.

    ¡°What¡¯s the situation outside? Is everything finally under control?¡± Skyler asked.

    ¡°Not even close, but at least we managed to shut down this wave. The bigger models really managed to slow us down at the start, but we just need to clean up the dregs now. How are things here?¡± Thermal replied flippantly.

    ¡°We have multiple holes in the defenses, and Ghost-Light took a little bit of a bump, so she had to be evacuated back to the ship. Reina and I have been trying to hold the line, but there are only two of us,¡± Skyler reported. ¡°I¡¯ve just been directing my drones, and I¡¯m tired. I can¡¯t imagine how Reina must feel.¡±

    ¡°Well, you don¡¯t have to worry about it now. Reinforcements have arrived! I¡¯m just the vanguard, and the others should be arriving in a couple of minutes.¡± She gave me a sly smile, then turned and tossed a small orb into the middle of the gap. Without Skyler¡¯s drones continuously bombarding the area, a group of Model Three-Os tried to sneak through, only for the orb to snap open and fire some sort of beam at the group. The creatures were flash-fried within a second.

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    ¡°Now that we¡¯ve secured the gap, we have time to talk. I¡¯d like to perform a more permanent fix, but we¡¯ll have to wait until the engineers arrive for that,¡± Thermal said, making sure the opening was clear before turning back towards us.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how you have the energy right now,¡± I grumbled. ¡°We just arrived at the start of this wave, and I¡¯m already exhausted.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve had years of experience and tons of genetic mods to help with that. As for the newer samurai, they had the good sense to retreat to the support fleet and take breaks occasionally,¡± Thermal replied with a coy smile.

    ¡°Unfortunately we didn¡¯t really have the liberty of taking breaks,¡± I snapped. ¡°First there was the armored eels, then the giant horned leviathan, which created a breach in the wall, then the tunneling bug things, and finally the kraken. We¡¯ve had a busy day.¡±

    Thermal¡¯s smile dropped. ¡°The Swordfish, and the Kraken. We had kill teams out looking for both of them--I didn¡¯t think they¡¯d rush the wall like that. Especially the Kraken. It was a particularly powerful type of mobile hive, and going it alone is not normal for that type. If that had managed to get through, it would have been a disaster if that thing had reached the shore.¡±

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re lucky the Starchaser and her crew were here. I don¡¯t think we would have been able to stop either of them by ourselves,¡± Skyler muttered quietly.

    ¡°I would expect so, aren¡¯t you two new? Awakened just this week? Most samurai have never seen anything that strong, never mind fought one,¡± Thermal explained solemnly.

    ¡°Why do you call them Swordfish and Kraken? Aren¡¯t they numbered like the others?¡± I grumbled.

    ¡°Right now? No, they don¡¯t. None of our AIs could find a matching model in any of their databases, so they appear to have been grown using terrestrial DNA.¡±

    Skyler gasped. ¡°How is that possible? What could they possibly have grown those monsters out of?¡±

    ¡°Narwhals, swordfish, sharks, cuttlefish, nautiloids, and colossal squid,¡± Thermal signed. ¡°Problem is every single one of those species is supposed to be nearly extinct. They were wiped out early in the 2030s, before we understood the antithesis could survive underwater and the threat could come from anywhere. I doubt those things have been around that long, so where did they get that DNA? Maybe some of the early antithesis survived and passed on that knowledge? Who knows? All we know right now is that these two monstrosities appear to be entirely new breeds. Once we report their existence to the other samurai, someone will figure out the best way to classify them.¡±

    ¡°Why is the process so complicated?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Because there are millions, maybe even billions, of different types of antithesis. Someone has to figure out if they have a similar function and threat level to any existing model, then if they fit into any known existing variant line, before finally naming them,¡± Thermal explained.

    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t we just give them normal names? Wouldn¡¯t that have been easier?¡± Skyler asked curiously.

    ¡°It would have, at first. I¡¯m sure people would love calling the Threes hounds, Fives as Spiny Hogs, and so forth, but things would get complicated after the first twenty or so,¡± Thermal said. ¡°Better to group them by function, so when a model is described as a Three variant, you know it¡¯s a basic swarmer. Ones are tiny flying flocking types. Even new samurai understand what to expect after their first few encounters.¡±

    ¡°I guess that makes some sort of sense,¡± I admitted. I was already starting to feel a little bit better after just floating here, resting. ¡°What do you want us to do now?¡±

    ¡°You two? Nothing. I can already tell you¡¯re both exhausted. We honestly should have sent a couple of samurai ahead to reinforce you, but I thought the sonic cannons, backed up by the Starchaser, would be able to hold. That was my mistake. I didn¡¯t expect the leviathans to head directly for the city. I¡¯m sorry we left you alone to deal with that,¡±  Thermal apologized. ¡°Now that reinforcements are here, you can take a rest. The crisis is over for now, but we¡¯ll have plenty of work to do later.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Skyler asked, surprised.

    ¡°For now. There¡¯s no point in pushing yourselves to the point of collapse. When you¡¯re tired, you make mistakes, and we really don¡¯t need you getting injured, or worse, due to a stupid mistake. We can handle things for now, so take some time to rest, and if you still want to help in the morning, we can talk then.¡±

    ¡°If we want to help?¡± I scowled.

    Thermal raised an eyebrow. ¡°Don¡¯t you two normally work on the ground? Don¡¯t get me wrong, I appreciate the help, but I¡¯m sure they can use your help above water just as much as we could use it down here. Figure out what you want to do, and have your AI contact me when you¡¯re ready to jump back in the water.¡±

    ¡°We can do that.Thank you for your help,¡± Skyler said, before I could say anything else. ¡°We¡¯ll head back to the surface and get some rest.¡±

    ¡°Take care, you two, and good work today,¡± Thermal chirped before turning back towards the breach. Her little drone deactivated just long enough for her to slip through before activating again.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to interrupt me there I was going to be polite,¡± I mumbled.

    ¡°I know you were, but I figured it was better if we went our separate ways. You definitely need a nap.¡±

    ¡°I do not,¡± I growled.

    ¡°Alright, whatever you say, grumpy,¡± Skyler replied, rolling her eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s head back up to the Starchaser and check in with the girls before we head home. We¡¯re both tired, but we should definitely stop in and say thank you for watching our backs. We probably wouldn¡¯t have gotten through the day without them.¡±

    I slumped. ¡°You¡¯re right, we need to be polite. We should also check on Ghost-Light, see how she¡¯s doing before we go. Let¡¯s head back up.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 27 - Shore Leave

    It took me a minute to climb up the ladder and collapse onto the deck of the Starchaser. I wasn¡¯t wearing heavy oxygen tanks, or waterlogged clothing, it was just that my muscles were exhausted and I didn¡¯t notice until I had to haul myself out of the water.

    When I collapsed on the deck, Skyler slipped up the ladder and stood over my prone form. ¡°It¡¯s been quite a while since I¡¯ve seen you collapse out of exhaustion. You must really have worked hard today.¡±

    ¡°I thought I was getting a second wind while we were talking to Thermal, but I barely made it up that ladder,¡± I moaned. ¡°I¡¯m going to be so sore tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Come on, get up, lying on the cold, hard ground definitely won¡¯t help with that,¡± Skyler huffed before reaching down, grabbing hold of one of my arms, and hauling me to my feet.

    Even though I hadn¡¯t seen the Starchaser¡¯s guns fire in a while, the deck seemed rather busy. The dogs were running back and forth, checking on various instruments, making minor adjustments, and carrying ammo to and from the various guns. I found it staggering that Limelight managed to operate this massive ship with just two human crewmembers and a ton of dogs.

    After wrenching off my mask and attaching it to my belt, Skyler and I staggered back towards the ship¡¯s bridge. Well, I staggered; she supported me.

    The door was open, but Skyler still knocked politely before we stepped inside. Phantasmagoria still stood at the bridge controls, casually inspecting a couple of different screens, occasionally adjusting one of the controls. Limelight was at the back, sitting on a small couch, a visibly wiped-out Ghost-Light in her lap.

    ¡°Looks like you two made it okay. I¡¯m sorry we had to leave you alone down there, unfortunately the only thing that really wakes Ghost-Light up from one of her rampages is a good old smack upside the head,¡± Limelight explained animatedly.

    The little mermaid shrank back a bit, her face red with embarrassment. ¡°I-I am so sorry! I didn¡¯t mean it! W-When I¡¯m injured like that, I lose control and strike out at everyone around me. E-Except Emme.¡±

    ¡°Mhmmm¡­ which gives me just enough time to sweep in and give her a wallop!¡± Limelight added.

    ¡°You scared the shit out of me when it happened. I thought you were going to kill me, but no harm done, I guess,¡± I replied wearily.

    That caused Ghost-Light to flinch back even more. She probably would have fallen right out of Limelight¡¯s lap, if the larger girl hadn¡¯t thrown an arm around her. ¡°I-I¡¯ve actually killed another samurai before while enraged. I-I didn¡¯t mean it to happen, but it did.¡±

    Before I could even raise an eyebrow, Limelight chimed up. ¡°The jackass deserved it though. Was a total fascist asshole!¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ that¡¯s¡­ something,¡± Skyler mumbled quietly. ¡°Since we don¡¯t know the circumstances, we don¡¯t really have the right to judge you on that.¡±

    She took a deep breath, then stood up a little straighter. ¡°We just wanted to stop by and say thank you for all your help today. I don¡¯t think we would have been able to hold the line without you.¡±

    ¡°No, thank you for showing up,¡± Phantasmagoria said, flipping a switch before turning to look at Skyler and me. ¡°Even though Ghosty can be a real menace in the water, she would have had a real problem keeping the entire wall clear.¡±

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    ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad we could help,¡± I replied, leaning against the nearby bulkhead. ¡°It was quite the experience, but I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s something I want to repeat anytime soon. I prefer to fight on solid ground, where I can take full advantage of my skills.¡±

    ¡°Aquatic combat isn¡¯t for everyone,¡± Limelight agreed. ¡°Still, you two were the only ones to step up, thank you for that.¡±

    She gently moved Ghost-Light to the sofa next to her and stood up. ¡°What¡¯s next for you?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re heading home to get some rest. As for after that? Who knows?¡± Skyler replied with a shrug. ¡°It feels like the situation changes so quickly there¡¯s no point in making plans. We¡¯ll evaluate how things are going when we get up.¡±

    Limelight nodded. ¡°Good plan. I¡¯m guessing you¡¯ll want your car then. I¡¯ll have the crew retrieve it for you.¡±

    The girl gently brushed her red maid dress, working out the wrinkles, before heading over to a nearby console and grabbing a microphone off the wall. ¡°Sandra, be a good girl and bring the car back up! Thanks, sweetie!¡±

    As soon as she hung up I heard a bunch of scampering out on deck. She then stepped over and offered her hand. ¡°Your car should be ready by the time you get out there. Thanks for coming.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for having us,¡± replied , taking the girl''s hand.

    After they shook, I offered my own. ¡°Keep in touch.¡±

    ¡°Can do! I don¡¯t know how much longer we¡¯ll be in Vancouver, but I¡¯ll have Achys forward my contact information to you. Call if you need anything.¡±

    ¡°Stay safe,¡± Skyler chirped, as we turned and headed back on deck.

    There was a pair of dogs there working a giant winch on the deck, slowly raising our car out of the bowels of the ship. Skyler and I quickly stripped off everything but our wetsuits and neatly piled it all on the deck while we waited. It took a minute or two for the dogs to finish, and when they were done, they sat there, tails wagging.

    ¡°Good doggos,¡± Skyler giggled, giving both dogs a good pet while I piled our equipment into the car, then packed Skyler¡¯s drones into the trunk. Once I was done, I slipped into the car and waited for Skyler. It took her another minute or so, I guess she thought they were very good boys. By the time she slipped into the driver¡¯s seat, I was already half asleep.

    ¡°You look like you¡¯ve had a hard day,¡± Skyler whispered, a mischievous grin on her face.

    ¡°You know I have,¡± I yawned. ¡°I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m feeling so wiped all of a sudden, but I feel like I could sleep for days.¡±

    ¡°Well, you deserve it. I just sat there and directed my drones at different targets, while you zipped around protecting me like my knight in shining armor.¡±

    ¡°Shining armor?¡± I scoffed, ¡°I wish this wetsuit protected me that well. I wouldn¡¯t have gotten bit back there.¡±

    Skyler glanced down at the tear in my suit, blushed slightly, and leaned in closer. ¡°Maybe, but you look much better in the wetsuit.¡±

    I rolled my head and gave her a hard stare. ¡°There¡¯ll be none of that tonight, I¡¯m too tired.¡±

    ¡°Fine,¡± Skyler pouted as she put the car into gear. ¡°I can wait until morning.¡±

    I snorted and slowly slumped down in my seat. The trip passed by extremely quickly; I must have dozed off for a couple of minutes because we were back home before I knew it. Even though I knew we should completely unpack our stuff, the only thing I grabbed out of the back was Rending Wave.

    Frowning at the splintered sheath, I made a note to replace it first thing in the morning. I was just too tired to do it now.

    As we moved from the garage into the apartment, I was surprised to find Lala sitting on the table right by the door, staring. ¡°How long have you been there?¡± I asked the kitten, stroking her head lightly.

    The tiny creature just smashed her head into my hand and started purring. I tried to pull my hand back so I could put my sword away, but as soon as I did, Lala started complaining. With a sigh, I grabbed the sword with my other hand and carefully maneuvered it over the kitten, placing it into the stand while still scratching the tiny tyrant.

    Apparently Lala didn¡¯t care how tired I was, because every time I attempted to pull away, she started throwing a fit. Finally, I just picked up the tiny kitten and carried her into the house, to Skyler¡¯s amusement. Our other two cats were already asleep, only opening their eyes long enough to register that Skyler and I were home, before shutting their eyes again.

    That didn¡¯t stop Skyler from stopping to give them both scritches as I moved on to the bedroom.

    I gently laid Lala down on the bed, to her great disappointment, as I shed the wetsuit. I considered leaving it there, in the middle of the floor, before stepping over to the bathroom and throwing it in the tub. It was such a small action, but it felt like such a monumental task considering how tired I was.

    Struggling to go back to bed, I collapsed into the fluffiness, pulling the blanket over my head. Lala scrambled over and immediately curled up on my chest. I raised a hand to pet her, but I¡¯m not sure my hand ever made it before I lost consciousness, falling deep asleep.

 Book 2 - Chapter 28 - Courtroom Chaos

    I was jolted awake by someone knocking frantically on the bedroom door. I flicked my augs on just long enough to check the time. 5:07 AM. ¡°Why can¡¯t I get a decent night¡¯s sleep these days? I think I deserve it.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll get it,¡± Skyler whispered. She slipped out from under the covers, threw on her housecoat, and headed towards the door. I just collapsed back on my pillow and closed my eyes, gently petting Lala so she would stop kneading my midsection and go back to sleep.

    Although I couldn¡¯t hear whoever was in the hall, I could just make out Skyler¡¯s replies. ¡°What? How did this happen? No, don¡¯t let her leave until I¡¯m there. She shouldn¡¯t be going anywhere near the area without legal representation.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I mumbled as soon as she closed the door.

    ¡°It¡¯s your father¡­¡± Skyler said slowly, it was obvious that she was trying to decide whether to tell me or not. ¡°He disappeared from the holding area in the courthouse.¡±

    I bolted upright, catching the tiny kitten in my arms. ¡°What? How? When?¡±

    ¡°Just a couple of hours ago. It was apparently pretty violent, and a lot of security officers were injured.  As you know the investigations team have been keeping an eye on him and found out shortly after the incident was discovered. Apparently they tried to contact you, but Artymis refused to wake you, so they passed the news up the chain. Now your mother wants to storm down there and investigate,¡± Skyler said as she headed over to the closest.

    {Arty: Although I realized that this news was important, you¡¯ve been on the edge of exhaustion for hours, and needed your sleep. I won¡¯t apologize for screening the calls.}

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I understand,¡± I mumbled. ¡°My mother can¡¯t just barge into an active crime scene, it would damage not only her reputation, but damage her relationship with the Cascadian government. Do you think you can use your position as head of legal to back off for awhile?¡±

    Skyler snorted. ¡°Do you even hear yourself right now? When your mother is on the warpath, no one can prevent her from acting. Especially when your father¡¯s involved. All I can do is try and steer her away from the restricted areas and get enough information to satisfy her.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I groaned. ¡°She won¡¯t stop until she gets answers.¡±

    Gently placing Lala on my pillow, I rolled out of bed and staggered towards the closet.

    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± Skyler asked suspiciously.

    ¡°To the courthouse. You¡¯re going to need my help,¡± I grumbled.

    ¡°No, your mother just needs her legal counsel, not the head of investigations, and you need your sleep!¡± Skyler hissed.

    ¡°You might be able to slow her down for a little while, but you know I¡¯m the only one that can talk her down when she¡¯s enraged,¡± I muttered as I grabbed the nearest outfit.

    Skyler sighed, immediately grabbed the clothes hanger out of my hand, and replaced it with another. ¡°Fine, but you¡¯re not going to the courthouse in jeans, and I¡¯m not letting you out of my sight while we¡¯re there. You¡¯re really not looking that hot right now.¡±

    I rubbed my eyes and took a look at the outfit Skyler had selected. It was a stylish charcoal pantsuit, and matching blouse. It took me far longer than it should have to get the business suit on, but the tiny bit of mental stimulation helped me wake up. Skyler waited patiently until I changed, then practically carried me out to the car.

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    ¡°Agnes delayed your mother as long as possible, but she finally forced her driver to take her to the courthouse. We¡¯re going to have to rush to catch up with her,¡± Skyler explained as she shoved me into the passenger seat.

    It took me a couple tries, but I managed to get my belt fastened just as Skyler put the car into gear. ¡°Now that I¡¯m a little more awake, can you explain what happened?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know everything, but a well-armed paramilitary force hacked the courthouse¡¯s security, broke in through the back, and extracted half a dozen prisoners before escaping. No one even noticed there was a problem until they were long gone.¡±

    ¡°Who the hell is stupid enough to risk bringing the entire Cascadian government down on their heads for a handful of criminals?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about stupid; they got away scott free. All the Cascadian government buildings have Class I security systems, practically unbreakable¡­¡±

    ¡°Except to another samurai or someone that has access to their tech,¡± I finished. Skyler nodded slowly but kept her eyes on the sky.

    It only took us about five minutes to get to the government district. The Vancouver branch of Cascadia had all its legislative, executive, and judicial buildings for the city together in a single sector. Most of these buildings were historical, part of the original city before it was turned into a megacity, and maintained despite the different antithesis attacks and rising sea levels.

    The courthouse was a seven-story concrete building with massive glass skylights running down the length of the building. The materials had been upgraded over the years, making it more resistant to the antithesis and attacks, but the original structure remained.

    Skyler carefully maneuvered her car down through the traffic layers before parking right in front of the building. We¡¯d apparently made up a fair amount of time because my mother was storming down the walkway, heading towards the front doors. Her normally pristine white dress was wrinkled. She must have stormed out without paying attention to her appearance.

    I struggled with my belt buckle for several seconds before bolting from the car. ¡°Mother!¡±

    My mother turned, surprised. She tried to smile, but she was so furious she couldn¡¯t quite pull it off, and her expression turned more into a grimace than anything else. ¡°Rei? Sky? What are you two doing here?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re here to keep you from doing anything you¡¯d regret,¡± I huffed. ¡°You¡¯re about to charge into the middle of a government building and yell at the security forces.¡±

    ¡°They let that pompous asshole slip out from right under their noses, they deserve it,¡± my mother pouted.

    ¡°And if you make a fuss, they won¡¯t be able to put their full efforts into finding him,¡± I reminded her quietly. ¡°Please don¡¯t make a scene.¡±

    ¡°No, Reina, you can¡¯t stop me this time. I can¡¯t let that maniac escape from justice, not after all the shit he¡¯s gotten away with over the years. Corrupting your grandfather¡¯s company, working with the black market, trying to wrest control of my family¡¯s company from me, trying to kill you and your grandfather¡­¡±

    ¡°That last part was never proven,¡± I replied quietly.

    ¡°And it never will be if we let him go loose!¡±

    Skyler slipped up behind my mother and the rest of her entourage and cleared her throat. ¡°As your lawyer, I¡¯d recommend you don¡¯t try to intervene in an active investigation, but if you insist upon this course of action, we should approach through the official channels.¡±

    ¡°And what will that do?¡±

    ¡°Keep you and Synthesis on the right side of the law,¡± Skyler replied calmly. ¡°You¡¯ve spent years building up goodwill with the Cascadian government. You don¡¯t want to burn all your bridges, do you?¡±

    Agnes stepped forward, placing a hand on my mother¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Please listen to the young ladies. Don¡¯t throw everything away when you¡¯re so close to achieving your goals. Work with the government, not against them.¡±

    ¡°Fine, but I want the Investigations team to reach out to a couple of PMCs that specialize in tracking and retrieval. I don¡¯t want that asshole to get away!¡± my mother growled.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it,¡± I promised.

    My mother took a deep breath, straightened up, and turned towards Skyler. ¡°What do you suggest we do now? I won¡¯t charge right in there, but I want answers!¡±

    Skyler nodded. ¡°Give me a few minutes, and I¡¯ll submit a request for information on the investigation, along with requesting the right to participate in hunting the fugitive and, with your permission, supplying a bounty for Mr. Tanaka¡¯s capture. You won¡¯t get instant results, but we¡¯ll get up-to-the-minute updates on the investigation and improve the chances that PMCs and bounty hunters will report any sighting of Mr. Tanaka.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like how passive we need to be, but if it improves our chances of finding him, you have my permission.¡±

    Skyler gently grabbed my arm, and her eyes rolled back in her head. I knew what that meant.

    ¡°She¡¯s going to need a couple of minutes to fill out the paperwork and get things rolling,¡± I explained. ¡°How about we head inside and ask for a private meeting room so she can complete her work? Once she¡¯s done, we¡¯ll start getting those updates.¡±

    My mother nodded and stormed towards the building, her security team and Agnes scrambling after her. I just carefully maneuvered Skyler forward, careful to avoid everyone on the short walk up to the building. By the time we got up to the building, Mother would have already secured a room, and a couple of minutes after that, Skyler would have finished her work.

    Then, we could start getting answers.

 Book 2 - Chapter 29 - Professional

    Within minutes of Skyler submitting the paperwork, we had full access to the investigation. Athyna reviewed and summarized the information in seconds, then passed it out to the rest of our small group.

    ¡°Is the government usually this accommodating?¡± Agnes asked, surprised, as she combed through the file.

    ¡°Absolutely not. Getting information on an ongoing Cascadian investigation is usually like trying to draw blood from a stone,¡± Skyler replied, ¡°But in this case, we had a couple of things going for us. First of all, the madam is highly respected in Cascadia. She is frequently involved in government projects and has donated a lot of money to encourage the government to investigate Mr. Tanaka. Even with all that government backing, the security forces are typically fairly tight-lipped until an investigation is over.¡±

    ¡°So why did they turn it all over this time?¡±

    ¡°Because I¡¯m one of the best lawyers in the city and won¡¯t stop until I get what I want!¡± Skyler announced proudly. ¡°The fact that Reina and I are now samurai, with a vested interest in this case, probably helped too. Someone probably figured we¡¯d be able to help.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing here! The security footage is blank, and these witness statements are worthless. ¡®I was hit from behind¡¯ and ¡®The cells were breached between my rounds.¡¯ ¡±

    I finished flipping through the information and closed the file, leaning back in my chair. ¡°It was an extremely professional team, even better than the Savior Medical Technologies team that tried to penetrate our R&D building last year. They had the tech to bypass the entire security system and the skills to get all the way in and out without being seen or killing anyone. Impressive.¡±

    ¡°Reina, darling, while I can understand why you respect these people, I¡¯d really like to find them. The sooner someone drags your father back here, where he belongs, the better,¡± my mother grumbled.

    ¡°Well¡­ whoever did this was in the system for a while. The courthouse is fairly busy, so they had to wait long enough to get clean camera footage to loop. In addition to that, they managed to get through high-security doors that were isolated from the network. That means they had to clone the keys from active security staff. Athyna I know you and Skyler only have Class I Network Intrusion, but are you able to hack into the network and look for traces?¡±

    ¡°Already done,¡± a musical voice replied out of the conference phone in the middle of the table. ¡°Although the building does have Protector grade network encryption, it¡¯s not being managed by any sort of AI. That makes it significantly easier for active programs to penetrate.¡±

    Most of the room turned and looked at the conference phone, then back at Skyler and me.

    ¡°Oh, right. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve actually introduced you. Everyone, this is my protector AI Athyna,¡± Skyler announced.

    ¡°Nice to meet you!¡± Athyna announced through the speaker.

    ¡°And my AI is Artymis. Why don¡¯t you say hello?¡± I added

    ¡°Hello everyone,¡± a nearly identical voice announced a second later.

    ¡°Nice to meet you too,¡± my mother replied hesitantly. ¡°You¡¯re the girls¡­ protector AI?¡±

    ¡°Correct, we¡¯re quantum-linked Class XIV protector AIs, designed to assist a designated Vanguard,¡± Athyna replied.

    My mother glanced at me. ¡°They¡¯re twins,¡± I explained. ¡°Extremely smart, extraterrestrial AI twins that assist Skyler and me.¡±

    ¡°Well, thank you for keeping an eye on the girls. I appreciate it,¡± my mother announced.

    ¡°It¡¯s been our pleasure,¡± Athyna replied. ¡°I wish I had better news for you. I¡¯ve scrubbed the network and there are very few traces, but it¡¯s not enough for me to create a profile. All I can tell you right now is whoever did this had access to protector-grade tech but they weren¡¯t a Vanguard.¡±

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°How can you be sure?¡± Skyler asked.

    ¡°An AI would never have left any traces. Even if they wanted to hide the fact that their Vanguard was involved, they wouldn¡¯t have left behind this much data,¡± Athyna announced proudly.

    ¡°So, there¡¯s really nothing? They¡¯re just gone?¡± my mother growled. ¡°I can¡¯t accept that!¡±

    ¡°Just because there¡¯s no trace here doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯ve completely disappeared. Nearly every inch of this city is monitored by video surveillance. Although the intruders scrubbed all traces from this network, I¡¯ve already identified the probable escape vehicle on the surrounding networks,¡± Athyna reported.

    ¡°Even though I¡¯m sure the investigators would get around to checking sooner or later, it¡¯s standard procedure. Please forward all this information to the investigations team. They were nice enough to give us access to the files, so I¡¯m sure they¡¯d appreciate a little quid pro quo,¡± Skyler suggested. ¡°Can we see what you found?¡±

    A section of the roof pulled back, and a mini projector lowered down before beaming an image on the wall. The picture was a little blown out, but it showed a plain black hover van approaching the court house. ¡°There¡¯s no camera pointed directly at the back entrance, but this van entered the area right before the assault. Afterwards, it not only tried to take advantage of the nearby camera dead spots, but it also activated some sort of low-level ECM to disrupt the nearest camera networks. Unfortunately for them, the ECM has a fairly limited range, and I¡¯ve been able to track them using more remote cameras. Here is their route.¡±

    The display changed to a map of the city. A small red line slowly zigzagged its way north, ending right at the edge of the city, near the waterfront. ¡°Although I¡¯ve been able to track them to their final location, we do have a slight problem¡­¡± Athyna said hesitantly.

    My mother sat up straight. ¡°What? Did they switch vehicles?¡±

    ¡°Not exactly¡­¡± The image switched again, this time to an old, dilapidated warehouse next to the waterfront, engulfed in flames. ¡°The blaze started immediately after the van entered, and no vehicles or people have left the area.¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t that area be off-limits right now? It¡¯s right next to the wall, following an aquatic attack? Where are the PMCs and security forces?¡± I hissed.

    ¡°It appears they used blind spots to sneak past the sentries, and the ECM helped them slip through the radar. I¡¯ve informed the authorities, and they¡¯re sending both fire crews and investigators to the location.¡±

    ¡°What insanity is this? Who would kidnap a wanted criminal, only to burn them alive?¡± Agnes mumbled.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯m going to find out,¡± I declared, pushing back from the table.

    ¡°What? You¡¯re going to the warehouse?¡± my mother asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not. I¡¯m sure the emergency teams wouldn¡¯t mind having a couple of samurai on standby nearby, since they¡¯re so close to an active combat zone. They get to put out the fire, while we get to poke around a little bit,¡± I replied. ¡°You stay here, and we¡¯ll update you as soon as we know anything.¡±

    My mother bit her lip, then slowly nodded. ¡°Be careful out there.¡±

    ¡°Always!¡± I chirped before jogging to the door and holding it open for Skyler.

    ¡°What do you think is going on? Someone with a grudge?¡± Skyler asked as we stormed away from the meeting room.

    ¡°Honestly? If they wanted my father dead, they would have left his body in the cell. I don¡¯t think they¡¯d drag him halfway across the city only to burn him in a fire,¡± I replied seriously. ¡°We¡¯ll need to look inside that building if we want to know more.¡±

    The two of us really didn¡¯t say anything else as we made our way out to the car or on the drive to the wharfs. The local PMCs had repositioned to quarantine the area and protect the fire crew while they put out the fire.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that was a natural fire,¡± I exclaimed as we made our approach. Despite the fire starting in a metal-clad building, the entire place was a mess. The walls and roof at the front had completely melted and collapsed, revealing a burned-out van, while the back of the building still smoldered.

    No one tried to stop us as Skyler brought her car down between the PMCs and the fire department, although representatives of both ran out to meet us.

    ¡°Sargent Mitchell, Second Black Riders,¡± the PMC commander reported as soon as he ran up. ¡°How can we help you?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re actually here to take a look at the warehouse,¡± I replied, approaching the man while Skyler moved towards the fire chief. ¡°Any trouble on the water this morning?¡±

    ¡°No ma¡¯am. Not since the rest of the samurai showed up last night.¡±

    Looking over his shoulder, I noticed that the Starchasser had been joined by three additional vessels. All three were smaller. One looked like a steampunk sailing ship, while the others looked more like pleasure craft. All three probably packed more firepower than an entire tank column.

    ¡°Alright. My partner and I are here to investigate the warehouse, but don¡¯t hesitate to call us if you need us.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, ma¡¯am,¡± the man replied, shooting a crisp salute before running back to the lines.

    By the time I walked over to Skyler, she¡¯d finished with the fire chief. ¡°The fire chief recommends we don¡¯t enter the building, but he¡¯s not going to stop us if we want to try.¡±

    ¡°No point in risking ourselves we¡¯ll check out the van, then use your drones,¡± I said.

    ¡°Good plan,¡± Skyler muttered. She walked over and popped the trunk, releasing a couple of scout drones, before the two of us wandered towards the burnt-out wreck. The fire-fighters gave us a wide berth as we entered the frontal section.

    The van was a complete wreck. Most of the paneling had been melted by the extreme heat, making it easy for me to stare into the back. It was charred, but clear of bodies and debris, which meant they probably moved my father further inside.

    Stepping back, I gestured to Skyler. The three tiny scout drones hovering around her head zipped forward and slipped into the wreckage.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything yet, no bodies, no shelters, nothing,¡± Skyler mumbled, her eyes closed. ¡°Wait¡­ there¡¯s something¡­ What is this? A swimming pool?¡±

    I quickly pulled up the feed Skyler shared and took a look. Buried under part of the roof and built into the concrete floor was a pool of water. The drone hovered around the little corner piece, trying to get a good angle, but it couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°What the hell is that?¡± I hissed.

    {Arty: Considering how far we are from the harbor, I suspect we¡¯re looking at a hidden sub dock.}

    {Athy: This makes things a little more complicated.}

 Book 2 - Chapter 30 - Confusion

    ¡°A sub pen.¡± I repeated dumbly. ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    {Arty: Based upon the dimensions of the building and proximity to the harbor, that would be the most likely explanation. We¡¯d have to investigate further to be sure.}

    ¡°But¡­ What would a sub pen be doing here? The Cascadian government carefully monitors all construction within the city. I doubt that someone could build something like this without their knowledge,¡± Skyler mused.

    {Athy: Early in the 2030s, before humanity realized that the antithesis could survive underwater as easily as they could on land, a number of companies started developing both aquatic havens like New Houston, and submersible technology. Most of these projects were abandoned once the first aquatic antithesis species were discovered.}

    I frowned. ¡°So what? This is just an ancient fucking remnant of the early incursions?¡±

    {Arty: Most likely.}

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this area behind the seawall? Wouldn¡¯t the submarine still be stuck in the harbor?¡± Skyler asked.

    {Athy: It would have been, if the samurai hadn¡¯t given the all clear a couple hours ago. The wall was lowered to allow merchant traffic to enter and exit the harbor again.}

    ¡°Still, whoever did this must have some serious balls,¡± I grumbled. ¡°They attacked a Cascadian government building, fled to the harbor, then escaped in a submarine right after an antithesis attack. Whatever they wanted from my father and the other inmates, must have been extremely important to try something so risky.¡±

    ¡°Well, before we get ahead of ourselves, we should actually confirm that this IS a sub pen,¡± Skyler declared. ¡°I¡¯ll grab Howie and see if I can find a connecting tunnel in the harbor.¡±

    ¡°Probably a good idea,¡± I agreed, severing my link to the drone and stepping away from the burned out building. ¡°Arty, any chance the samurai surveillance network was tracking sea traffic?¡±

    {Arty: If it was, we don¡¯t have access to that data. The maps have been heavily sanitized to only provide essential information to the local samurai. I¡¯ve requested access to the full data layer, but apparently the samurai in charge of the system believes in data privacy. They won¡¯t share unless it¡¯s an emergency.}

    ¡°Chasing a wanted felon doesn¡¯t count?¡± I grumbled.

    {Arty: Not according to their AI. Nothing less than a serious threat to a megacity would be sufficient.}

    ¡°Great. Well, can you get me a list of the samurai that were around the mouth of the harbor in the last hour or so? It¡¯s a long shot, but maybe one of them had long-range sonar active and caught our mysterious assailants on the way out.¡±

    {Arty: Done.}

    I leaned heavily against the wall, and shook my head to try and clear it. I didn¡¯t regret waking early to help deal with the situation, but after so many long days I was quickly running out of steam. The connecting tunnel was extremely old, but there were clear signs of someone clearing debris out of it in the last few days. It was also fairly narrow, so whatever submersible they used couldn¡¯t be much larger than a city bus. Since the only submarines I was familiar with were from the books in my grandfather¡¯s library, that seemed pretty small to me.

    Once that was confirmed, Skyler and I started contacting the samurai in the harbor. The first person I thought of was, of course, Limelight. The call took longer to connect than I expected.

    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    [Honorable? What do you want?] The voice on the other side of the line snapped.

    [Phantasmagoria? I¡¯m sorry, I thought I called Limelight.]

    [You did, but she and Prism aren¡¯t taking calls right now, and her AI redirected the call to me. So what do you want?]

    I took a deep breath before explaining. [Just over an hour ago someone broke into the Vancouver courthouse. They disabled the security system and then broke a bunch of inmates out of the holding area before escaping. Skyler and I tracked them down to the harbor, where it looks like they might have switched to some sort of submersible. We¡¯re trying to figure out if anyone saw them leave the area.]

    [Why would you be interested in a bunch of criminals? Shouldn¡¯t you be back home right now?] the girl barked.

    [One of those criminals was my father,] I replied quietly. [I have no idea who sprung him, but that son of a bitch deserves to be in jail, and I¡¯d like to put him back where he belongs.]

    [You sound like Prism,] the other girl muttered quietly.

    [Pardon?]

    [Nevermind, just give me a second,] Phantasmagoria replied. The line was quiet for several long seconds before she came back. [The sonar did pick up an unknown submersible leaving the harbor about half an hour ago, going north, but since most of our systems are designed to track antithesis and it didn¡¯t look suspicious at the time, we didn¡¯t bother tracking it. It left sonar range fifteen minutes ago.]

    [Shit. You think anyone else might have eyes on it?]

    [I have no fucking idea! We¡¯re not from around here, and half these samurai are from up and down the coast,] she replied. I could just imagine the girl shrugging apathetically. [If Warspite was here, I¡¯d suggest contacting him, but since he¡¯s still out dealing with the deep water hives, you¡¯ll have to contact the others. If you¡¯re lucky, one of the other boats might have a better sonar system. I¡¯ll send you the submersible¡¯s last position and course, but beyond that I can¡¯t help you.]

    [That¡¯s fine, that¡¯s enough to get us started. Thanks for everything.]

    [You¡¯re welcome. If you want to talk to Limelight next time, remember to call at more reasonable hours!] Phantasmagoria snapped before ending the call.

    {Arty: Nice girl.}

    {Rei: She might have a little bit of an attitude, but she did help us. At least we know which direction to look for our phantom submersible.}

    I filled Skyler in on the details, then we split the list of remaining samurai in half and started contacting those in the bay. Unfortunately, even though half of the aquatic samurai contingent was back in the harbour, most of them were unreachable.

    Most of them were taking advantage of the temporary lull in action, which followed the destruction of the aquatic wave, to catch up on some sleep. I envied them. Most of their AIs were polite, but very few of them had serious sonar systems. After an hour of making inquiries, we¡¯d managed to locate a single ship, which tracked the submersible about another couple kilometers before losing it.

    ¡°Ugh¡­ After all that, we only managed to track the thing twenty kilometers before losing track of it. I expected someone to have better long-range sensors than that,¡± I moaned as I collapsed on the hood of Skyler¡¯s car, exhausted. ¡°Now how are we supposed to pick up that asshole¡¯s trail?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that surprising if you think about it. I can see short-range precision tracking and ocean floor mapping being much more useful for underwater combat. Larger models exist, but they can probably rely upon the orbital tracking for those leviathans,¡± Skyler replied, rubbing my back. ¡°Tracking human vessels just isn''t a priority.¡±

    ¡°This would have been so much easier if we could borrow the orbital tracking data,¡± I pouted.

    ¡°We¡¯ll petition for access again later. For now, I think we should update your mom, and then I should get you home. You¡¯re not looking so hot,¡± Skyler said quietly.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I grumbled.

    ¡°No, you¡¯re not,¡± Skyler replied as she gently pulled me to my feet. ¡°Neither of us have slept properly in the last few days, and you¡¯ve been pushing yourself extremely hard every single time we go out. You need some downtime, so barring a citywide emergency, we¡¯re taking today off.¡±

    ¡°What about my father?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll pass the information on to the government and let them investigate, we can always pick it up tomorrow.¡±

    I stared at her for several seconds. I knew that was the right decision, but a large part of me still wanted to stay here and keep pushing until we found something. Skyler¡¯s expression, however, told me she wasn¡¯t going to take no for an answer. Maybe I looked worse than I thought.

    ¡°Fine,¡± I conceded. ¡°I¡¯ll just summarize our findings, then send a copy to both my mother and the government.¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯re going to let Athyna do that for you,¡± Skyler declared. ¡°Your only job is to sit in the car and sleep.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not that bad!¡± I muttered.

    ¡°You sure look that bad! You¡¯re swaying on your feet!¡± Skyler replied. She put an arm around me and steered me towards the passenger seat. I followed her obediently, and as soon as the door was open I collapsed into the seat. Without the adrenaline that had hit me when I woke up and the sense of urgency we had when we arrived at the wharf, the energy just completely left my body. I was vaguely aware of Skyler buckling my seatbelt, but not much more than that.

    ¡°Let me handle things for now, and we¡¯ll discuss things later, okay?¡± she whispered. ¡°Just sleep now.¡±

    My body didn¡¯t need any more prompting, and my eyelids slowly closed.

 Book 2 - Chapter 31 - Waking up

    I sat up groggily, shielding my eyes from the sunlight streaming through the windows, as I reached for the clock next to my bed. Ten-thirty.

    I didn¡¯t remember making my way back to bed after our excursion, but I apparently managed it; I even got a couple more hours of sleep. Normally I didn¡¯t have any problem getting up, but the last few days had really done a number on me. I was still tired, and everything hurt, but I still dragged myself out of bed.

    Grabbing my housecoat and throwing it around my shoulders, I shambled down the hallway, to the front room. Cleo and Leah, our two adult cats, were busy fighting over the top of the tallest cat tree. Hissing and swatting at each other while Lala ran circles around the base meowing loudly. She probably thought it was a game.

    Skyler was sitting on the sofa, dressed in a casual blouse and slacks, reading from a tablet she had sitting on her crossed legs. As soon as she saw me, she shot me a dazzling smile. ¡°Good morning, love, you¡¯re looking better.¡±

    ¡°Then I must have looked like death earlier,¡± I mumbled, ¡°because I feel terrible.¡±

    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have let you come to the courthouse this morning. I knew you were tired, but it wasn¡¯t until we got to the wharf that I realized how tired. You were practically dead on your feet.¡±

    ¡°The courthouse,¡± I groaned. ¡°I was going to call her and give her an update, but I fell asleep before I could.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I gave her a call after putting you to bed and updated her on the situation. She was livid, but I managed to calm her down and convinced her to go home,¡± Skyler explained as she pushed herself to her feet and strode towards the kitchen.

    ¡°You managed to calm my mother down? How? We just barely managed to keep her from barging right into the security office earlier.¡±

    ¡°I told her the truth¡ªthat you were in no shape to talk to her. She was so worried about you that it distracted her from your father.¡±

    ¡°You told her that? I¡¯m surprised she didn¡¯t barge in here and demand to see me,¡± I snorted.

    Skyler paused, then glanced back at me, smirking.

    ¡°She didn¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°She did! You were so out of it that you slept through all the commotion. At least I managed to convince her that you were just exhausted and didn¡¯t need a doctor. We should probably pop by her place later and prove that you¡¯re still alive.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with that, as long as she¡¯s not obsessing over the breakout. My father always seems to draw out the worst in her, even when he¡¯s locked behind bars. The longer she¡¯s distracted, the better,¡± I muttered.

    ¡°True,¡± Skyler replied lightly.

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    Aunt Cho was in the kitchen, standing over a couple bubbling pots. His face lit up as soon as she saw me. ¡°Miss Reina, it''s so good to see you up and about. Everyone here has been so worried about the two of you running around all day and only returning long enough to sleep. I was thrilled when Miss Skyler told me you¡¯d be sticking around for the entire day. Are you hungry? Lunch will be ready in an hour or two, but I can heat up some of the soup I made for breakfast if you want it.¡±

    My hand shot to my stomach as it rumbled loud enough to be heard over the ambient noise.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get you a bowl,¡± Aunt Cho smiled. ¡°You just sit at the table, and I¡¯ll be there in a minute.¡±

    I slipped away from the counter, blushing in embarrassment. Our dining room was modest, at least compared to my mother¡¯s or some of our friend¡¯s. A small six-person table made of real mahogany with a set of matching chairs upholstered with white fabric. They looked simple but cost us a small fortune and took over six months to produce. Only artisanal workshops worked with real wood these days.

    The table was actually a bit of an anomaly in our apartment. Skyler and I didn¡¯t care that much about chasing trends or the high-end brand names. As long as we liked the style of something and it was comfortable, we¡¯d buy it. Most of our furniture came from mid-level furniture brands. The table was the only luxury piece, and only because the real wood was just too nice for us to pass up.

    Collapsing into my regular chair, I propped up my head with one hand while waiting for Skyler to take her own seat.

    ¡°Are you okay? I knew you were tired that much was obvious, but you also seem to be limping a little this morning,¡± Skyler asked after a moment. ¡°You¡¯re not injured, are you?¡±

    ¡°No, the auto injector Artymis gave me worked wonders. The antithesis only caught me once or twice, and all my wounds closed within seconds. I think I just overexerted myself yesterday. It¡¯s been a long time since we last went swimming, and all my muscles are sore this morning.¡±

    {Arty: That¡¯s partially due to the genetic boosters. Although they¡¯re designed to perform changes slowly over several days, they¡¯re taking advantage of the muscular hypertrophy to better integrate with your muscles. The extra couple hours of sleep probably helped jumpstart the process too.}

    ¡°I hope I don¡¯t have to put up with this the entire week. It¡¯ll make our work much more difficult,¡± I grumbled.

    {Arty: It should only be for today.}

    ¡°Good.¡±

    While I was talking to my AI, Aunt Cho carefully set a large bowl of soup in front of me. It looked amazing with large chunks of chicken and fresh vegetables in a thick broth.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I told her politely before grabbing my spoon. As much as I wanted to dig right in, I noticed that Skyler didn¡¯t have anything. ¡°You¡¯re not going to eat?¡±

    ¡°I had breakfast at a reasonable time,¡± she replied with a small smile. ¡°I¡¯ll wait for lunch, you go ahead.¡±

    Nodding, I carefully scooped a large chunk of chicken into my mouth. It was heavenly.

    ¡°Since we¡¯re taking the day off, and that¡¯s non-negotiable by the way, I was thinking we should go out today,¡± Skyler announced. ¡°I promised your mom we¡¯d stop by for dinner, but that still leaves us a couple hours. Is there anywhere you want to go?¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t most of the city be closed down right now? There was an incursion a couple days ago, and there''s a massive swarm of antithesis outside the city. I¡¯d think most people would want to stay off the streets,¡± I said between spoonfuls of soup.

    ¡°A couple, sure, but from what I understand most people don¡¯t think the antithesis have a prayer of breaching the walls. After everything we¡¯ve seen the last couple days, I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s true, but it means there are lots of places we can go for a quick date.¡±

    I nodded slowly and went through the options in my head. ¡°No dates to Nimbleland. I think I¡¯m going to have nightmares about that for years.¡±

    Skyler grimaced. ¡°Agreed. How about the aqua gardens? They added holoprojectors everywhere, so they have schools of holographic fish swimming through the complex. Apparently it¡¯s just like swimming in the ocean before the antithesis arrived and devoured everything.¡±

    ¡°Really? That¡¯d be something to see. I¡¯ve heard stories of fish as far as the eye can see.¡±

    ¡°Apparently they even interact with the coral exhibits, darting in and out of shelter,¡± Skyler reported excitedly.

    ¡°Fine, you¡¯ve convinced me,¡± I told her, pushing my now empty dish away and smiling. ¡°We can head over right after lunch. Aunt Cho is already cooking, and it would be impolite to skip out on that, and I need a little bit of time to get cleaned up and changed.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a plan,¡± Skyler chirped before stealing my bowl. ¡°I can handle this, you go get cleaned up!¡±

    I shook my head as she darted off, full of energy. Sometimes I had to remind myself that she was a lawyer. She acted so differently while working that it was like seeing a different person.

    With a quick shake of the head, I stood up and headed back towards the bedroom. If we were going on a date, I wanted to take a little extra time to look my best.

    Skyler deserved that.

 Book 2 - Chapter 32 - Aquatic Oasis

    ¡°Reina, you¡¯re a menace! This is why I don¡¯t let you drive!¡± Skyler hissed as I dove between the mega buildings and through the traffic layer, heading towards our destination.

    ¡°Relax, I just wanted to push my baby a bit, since it¡¯s been quite a while since I last got to drive her,¡± I replied calmly.

    ¡°It was only a week ago! I know you like to drive fast, but could you please be just a little less reckless when you do? Can you imagine the headlines if you crashed? Two samurai found dead in a car crash, experts baffled at how this could have happened,¡± Skyler yelled.

    ¡°Fine, fine. Look, I¡¯m slowing down and obeying the rules of the road,¡± I exclaimed as I slid into the regular traffic lane. ¡°We¡¯re almost there anyways.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Skyler huffed as she slowly loosened her grip on the roof-mounted grab handle. ¡°Next time you feel like pushing your car, please tell me ahead of time. I¡¯ll make sure to take another vehicle.¡±

    ¡°Now you¡¯re exaggerating. My driving isn¡¯t that bad,¡± I exclaimed lightly.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not,¡± Skyler admitted. ¡°You just like to take a lot of chances while driving, and I personally find the close calls terrifying.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s why I usually let you drive when we go out. It¡¯s better for your mental health,¡± I replied as I dropped out of the traffic layer and headed down towards our destination.

    The Vancouver Aquatic Garden was a squat, three-story, grey stone building that looked more like a bunker than a modern building. It wasn¡¯t exactly a popular tourist attraction, but Skyler and I loved the quiet beauty.

    I quickly found a parking spot right out front, then hurried around to the passenger side door to help Skyler out of the car.

    ¡°Feeling chivalrous today?¡± Skyler asked, as she took my hand with a smile.

    ¡°Just trying to show my girl a good time,¡± I replied, beaming.

    As soon as Skyler was out of the car, we locked arms and casually strolled towards the building. Instead of stepping up to the payment kiosk, we slipped over to the pass holder¡¯s entrance. There wasn¡¯t any biometric identification system, so I had to run my hand over the scanner and send our ID from the secure key vault in my implants, but as soon as I did, the door clicked open.

    ¡°I knew they renovated this place, but this is way beyond my wildest expectations,¡± Skyler gasped as we stepped inside. ¡°Is this what it was originally supposed to look like?¡±

    ¡°Maybe? I heard this place was originally designed to be an aquarium, but they only managed to transplant the corals and a handful of fish before the old one was overrun. I expected it to be much more lively when they added holographic fish to the tanks, but I didn¡¯t expect it to be so¡­ colorful,¡± I mumbled in awe.

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    I was so used to coming here and slowly wandering past dozens of tanks full of nothing but different types of colorful coral. It wasn¡¯t that exciting, but Skyler and I loved the quiet beauty. It was like a living art gallery.

    Now, however, the tanks were each filled with dozens, maybe hundreds, of different types of fish. It was a riot of color and motion.

    Skyler wandered up to the nearest exhibit and placed her hand on the glass. ¡°Do you think they recreated real fish species, or are they artist interpretations?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to believe they¡¯re full recreations, but it looks so surreal.¡±

    The two of us stood there for a minute the entire time, Skyler¡¯s smile slowly grew wider until she couldn¡¯t contain her excitement anymore.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s check the other exhibits,¡± she exclaimed, grabbing my arm and pulling me further into the complex.

    Each tank was a new experience. One tank might have hundreds of fish swimming in perfect unison, scattering when a predator charged in, while the next had dozens of fish, crabs, and eels living in harmony with the coral.

    ¡°Can you imagine? At one time the ocean was absolutely teeming with life. There were fish as far as the eye could see!¡± Skyler exclaimed excitedly.

    ¡°And then the antithesis came and slowly exterminated most of it. It¡¯s too bad we didn¡¯t realize what was happening until it was too late,¡± I replied quietly.

    Skyler¡¯s smile dropped slightly. ¡°That¡¯s true, but it¡¯s not all gone, and from what I¡¯ve heard, the protectors have technology that will allow us to eventually bring them all back.¡±

    {Athy: It¡¯s true. The protectors keep a DNA scan of all creatures they encounter so they can be restored in the case of emergency. Unfortunately, I wouldn¡¯t recommend investing in the technology any time soon. Since your species still does not have a way to track down and exterminate all the antithesis hiding within the oceans, attempting to reintroduce aquatic fauna would likely only promote future aquatic antithesis growth.}

    ¡°See! One day the seas will teem with life again. It might be sad now, but you and I have the power to make a difference now. All we need to do is grow strong enough to exterminate all the antithesis, then we can reintroduce all these fish species, and the oceans will teem with life again!¡± Skyler declared.

    ¡°Really, that simple, huh?¡± I asked with a small smile.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say it was simple,¡± Skyer explained. ¡°I¡¯m sure there¡¯ll be a lot of hard work, and there¡¯ll be plenty of steps along the way, but doesn¡¯t that sound like a worthwhile goal? Bringing life back to the barren oceans?¡±

    ¡°You know, we¡¯ve been so busy the last few days, running from one emergency to the next, that I really haven¡¯t thought about it. I never considered setting a long-term goal because I was focused on the short-term results,¡± I replied thoughtfully.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s never too late to start planning for the future. Let¡¯s pencil in ¡®Exterminate the antithesis and replenish the oceans¡¯ for now, and if you come up with something better later, you can always change it,¡± Skyler said semi seriously.

    I slowly reached out, pulled Skyler closer, then leaned in for a quick kiss. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I whispered.

    ¡°For what?¡±

    ¡°This is supposed to be a date, and I almost ruined the mood. We¡¯re surrounded by all this beauty, and all I could think of was how it was gone.¡±

    Skyler held my hand tighter, then nestled into my side. ¡°Reina, my love, you have nothing to apologize for. You¡¯ve always been a realist, seeing the situation for what it is. I don¡¯t expect you to be an optimist like me; your point of view actually helps keep me grounded sometimes. You never have to apologize for saying what¡¯s in your heart around me, ever.¡±

    I stared at my girlfriend for a second before throwing my arm around her shoulders and pulling her in for another kiss. ¡°I love you,¡± I whispered.

    ¡°Love you too,¡± she replied, blushing slightly before standing up straight. ¡°Now, we¡¯re only about half-way through these exhibits, and I¡¯d like to see everything the garden has to offer before we go. I know we can come back any time we¡¯d like, but I have a feeling we might be busy for a while, so we should take advantage of this situation!¡±

    ¡°Alright, where to next?¡± I asked with a smile.

    ¡°I saw a cephalopod exhibit this way, and I¡¯d really like to see what they really looked like. You know, the real octopi and squids, not those cellulose-based replicas, that harassed us most of yesterday. Is that okay with you?¡±

    ¡°Lead the way,¡± I chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll follow wherever you go.¡±

 Book 2 - Chapter 33 - Planning for later

    We spent most of the afternoon wandering between the different displays, staring in awe at the different holographic fish, and cuddling.

    Although the Aquatic Gardens were busier than usual, we still only saw about half a dozen people during our time there. I guess the new holographic displays weren¡¯t that exciting compared to heavily curated mass media slop that was available on the video sites these days. That was fine with me. I preferred it when this place was quiet, like a private refuge for Skyler and me.

    Since the Aquatic Gardens were located in the middle of downtown, the sun had disappeared behind the surrounding megabuildings by the time we left. It wasn¡¯t even that late in the day, it was just that the massive block-wide superstructures completely eclipsed the smaller structures around them. As we climbed into my car, Skyler smiled. ¡°We really should come here more often.¡±

    ¡°We say that every time we leave here,¡± I sighed. ¡°Even before we became samurai, our schedules were just so packed we didn¡¯t have the time.¡±

    ¡°I have to admit, when we heard that the government had arrested your dad, a small part of me hoped your mother would take things easy for a while. She¡¯s been pushing herself and the company so hard the last few years, she deserves to take a break.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well, I doubt that¡¯s going to happen anytime soon. Having someone break him out of prison was bad enough, but disappearing without a trace? Probably the worst thing that could have happened. If we can¡¯t find him, she¡¯s going to obsess over this for months,¡± I grumbled as I fastened my seatbelt and started the car. ¡°Hey Artymis, has the government made any progress on tracking him down since yesterday?¡±

    {Arty: No, unfortunately due to the ongoing antithesis threat, the Cascadian government can¡¯t afford to devote many resources to hunting down a half dozen fugitives outside the city. In order to track a submersible, they¡¯d need to send naval vessels, but the entire navy is still tied up with shore patrols and search and destroy missions. Whoever was behind that attack is probably long gone by now.}

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± I muttered under my breath. ¡°Is there anything else we can do?¡±

    {Athy: We¡¯ve sent multiple requests to the Family asking to gain access to their satellite tracking logs, but we¡¯ve been stonewalled every time we tried. It seems unlikely that we¡¯ll convince them to cooperate in tracking your father. Without that, chances are slim.}

    {Arty: We could check for any minute traces the submersible might have left behind, but by now those would have become heavily dispersed by the ocean. I doubt even the best Class I tracking tech would be able to follow their trail all the way to the final destination.}

    ¡°Wonderful,¡± I moaned. ¡°All we have is the submersible¡¯s last location, and the possibility to invest in some completely unreliable tech that could maybe track them. If we¡¯re lucky.¡±

    ¡°We could also pull up a list of communities and complexes that are located in that direction in order to get an idea of where they could have gone,¡± Skyler suggested. ¡°The submersible might have changed course after it left sonar range and doubled back, but at least it would be a place to start.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Good idea. That¡¯s probably faster than trying to track them down manually. Arty, would you mind assembling a list for us to investigate later?¡±

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    {Arty: Already on it.}

    ¡°Thanks, we¡¯ll look at it later.¡±

    Now that we had some sort of plan together, I put my full focus on driving us home. Even though Skyler and I joked about my driving abilities, I wasn¡¯t a terrible driver when I put my mind to it. The heightened reactions and reflexes made me better at avoiding damage in close combat, they also made me a little twitchy while performing other actions. I needed to concentrate in order to avoid reacting to everything happening around me. I didn¡¯t want to jump and swerve the car into the side of a building just because a bug splattered itself on the windshield.

    I did manage to get us all the way home without any incidents, pulling into the garage just before the evening traffic started to pick up.

    ¡°What time is Mom expecting us to show up for dinner tonight?¡± I asked as we slipped out of my car.

    ¡°She didn¡¯t say. She was heavily distracted both by your condition and the fact that your father was still on the loose, but I assume we should pop in around five, like usual,¡± Skyler replied casually.

    ¡°Makes sense. That gives us just enough time to get cleaned up before going up there.¡±

    As I pushed open the door, a tawny blur launched itself from the top of the nearby table. I twirled, cupped my arms, and caught the fuzzy projectile before it could bounce off me and hurt itself.

    ¡°Lala, you shouldn¡¯t do things like that--it¡¯s dangerous,¡± I berated the kitten. She just looked up at me with her massive bright eyes and meowed at me before immediately proceeding to knead my arms and purring.

    ¡°She really bonded with you, didn¡¯t she? Before we adopted her, I could have been convinced that you were cursed and all animals hated you,¡± Skyler giggled.

    ¡°They don¡¯t hate me,¡± I grumbled. ¡°It¡¯s just that most of them are indifferent at best. Take Cleo and Leah, for example. They¡¯re content to ignore me whenever I¡¯m around.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, that¡¯s a way better option,¡± Skyler said as she slipped past me, rolling her eyes.

    Lala had curled up into a tiny ball in my arms, so I did my best not to jostle her that much as I stepped into the living room. Cleo, who had claimed the tallest cat tree in the place, cracked an eye as I passed, taking a look at the kitten in my arms, but otherwise ignored me.

    Since Lala seemed to like being where the people were, I found the closest cat bed to the kitchen and gently set her down there. As soon as I did, she complained loudly, promptly realized she was sitting on top of a soft cat bed, did a couple of quick circles, and promptly curled up to sleep.

    ¡°You¡¯re really not that picky, are you?¡± I whispered to the kitten before stepping away.

    ¡°Do we have anything we can take to dinner tonight?¡± Skyler asked from the kitchen. ¡°We should bring something nice to help distract your mother from everything that¡¯s been going on lately.¡±

    ¡°We finally got that case of Oleander Fields organic berry wine last week. We¡¯ve been waiting months for it to arrive, and I¡¯m sure she¡¯d enjoy a bottle,¡± I suggested.

    Skyler nodded and stepped over to our modest wine rack. It took her a minute to browse through all the bottles and find one of the dark green bottles. She frowned briefly before passing the bottle over to me. ¡°I just realized that even though we¡¯ve been waiting so long, we¡¯ve been so busy we haven¡¯t had a chance to give it a taste before today.¡±

    ¡°Do you want me to crack this one open? We still have a little time before we have to go up, and we have plenty of other bottles we can take up,¡± I asked mischievously.

    ¡°You know I enjoy my wine, but it¡¯s not like I¡¯m some sort of lush that can¡¯t wait until dinner,¡± Skyler replied before letting out a deep sigh. ¡°Besides, we still need to get cleaned up before heading up. Do you want to shower first or second?¡±

    I gave her a small, suggestive smile. ¡°You don¡¯t want to go together?¡±

    ¡°Normally I¡¯d be all over that,¡± Skyler sighed, ¡°but you know if we did that we¡¯d absolutely be late for dinner, and it¡¯s not a great day to leave your mother waiting.¡±

    ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re right,¡± I pouted. ¡°You can have the shower first. I¡¯ll see if I can find anything else we can take. We might still have some of those chocolates Mom likes in the pantry.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Just don¡¯t spend too long digging,¡± Skyler replied as she stepped over to me and planted a kiss on my cheek. ¡°See you in a few!¡±

    ¡°Enjoy your shower,¡± I replied lightly.

    As I stepped over to the pantry, I idly hoped a good family dinner would help distract everyone from all the problems we¡¯d been dealing with over the last week or so. It had been hard, but in the grand scheme of things, we¡¯d managed to come through relatively unscratched. We still had each other after all.

 Book 2 - Chapter 34 - Backup

    Dinner was a lively affair. Despite my insistence that I was fine and that I¡¯d just been tired this morning, Mother fussed over me all evening. I didn¡¯t mind it all that much. I¡¯d rather have her focused on me than obsessing over what happened to my father. After dinner, Skyler, my mother, and I spent most of the evening on the couch sipping wine, eating chocolates, and watching an extremely cheesy romance movie.

    It felt nice to spend a calm, quiet night at home with the family instead of running around the street until I was exhausted.

    Skyler and I stumbled back into our apartment around eleven, tired but happy.

    ¡°That was nice,¡± I mumbled to Skyler, who was cuddling against my side. ¡°We should take more time off.¡±

    Skyler sighed. ¡°We always say we¡¯re going to take more time off, but we never do. Now that we¡¯re samurai, it¡¯ll probably be even harder to get time to ourselves.¡±

    ¡°Maybe in the short term, but we¡¯ve been slowly chewing through the different hordes and clearing out the local hives. Most cities only see an incursion every few months, so hopefully things will calm down a little once we clean up the remaining antithesis.¡±

    ¡°That would be nice,¡± Skyler cooed as we slowly meandered towards the bedroom. Once we arrived,I gently led Skyler to the bed before slipping into the bathroom to clean up.

    ¡°So what are we going to do tomorrow?¡± I asked, raising my voice so Skyler could hear me over the sounds of the sink.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Skyler admitted. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to ruin our date by checking on the situation. Artymis, Athyna, do you have any suggestions?¡±

    {Arty: The situation off the coast has stabilized, but most of the samurai are still tied up trying to track down all the aquatic hives.}

    {Athy: What is far more concerning is the horde sitting outside the city walls. The Cascadian government expected the antithesis to run directly into the range of the city''s heavy artillery, but they stopped just out of range. They spent all day yesterday probing the city¡¯s defences, looking for weaknesses.}

    ¡°That¡¯s concerning,¡± I muttered. ¡°How many antithesis could control a swarm of that size?¡±

    {Arty: At this level? Very few. They¡¯re more common among the more advanced models, which humans would consider Model Forty and above, but we are only aware of a handful of different variants able to control that many models.}

    {Athy: The other samurai have been trying to identify the command model, but it¡¯s managed to avoid detection so far.}

    ¡°Well, the two of us aren¡¯t exactly well equipped for recon operations, but we could probably use the points we earned defending the harbor to buy some equipment to help,¡± Skyler suggested. ¡°Even if we don¡¯t find the leader, I could help thin out the antithesis out there with my drones.¡±

    I nodded and finished brushing my teeth before returning to the bedroom. ¡°That sounds good to me. Do you want to buy now or wait until tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°How about you have a discussion with Arty while I use the bathroom?¡± Skyler suggested. ¡°I already have my recon drones, but it shouldn¡¯t take me long to upgrade them.¡±

    ¡°I can do that,¡± I replied.

    As Skyler disappeared into the bathroom, I shucked my dinner clothes and sat on the corner of the bed. ¡°So, Artymis, did we earn any tokens yesterday?¡±

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    Unfortunately not. Although you and Skyler earned a significant number of points, you didn¡¯t deal with anything that would normally award a token.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine, I was kind of hoping that I could upgrade one of my shield catalogs, but I guess that¡¯ll have to wait until another day. Talk to me about drones. Skyler already has access to basic recon models, so I¡¯d like to look at something more multifunctional. Something I could take into combat, even if we don¡¯t find the command model tomorrow.¡±

    That can be arranged. Since Skyler already has access to a basic drone catalog, you won¡¯t have to unlock the basic frames, just the weapons and equipment. Do you want something reusable or disposable?

    I lay back on the bed and pondered for a minute. ¡°Probably something reusable. I have the points; I might as well take advantage of them.¡±

    In that case, I would suggest taking full advantage of your shield catalogs in order to harden these new drones. With the two-stage shield generator installed, it would be very difficult for the antithesis to take them down. Equipping them with Automated Protection Systems would also make it very difficult for swarms of Model Ones, or even Model Elevens, to take them down.

    I cocked my head to the side. ¡°Automated Protection Systems?¡±

    Think small, extremely fast tracking turrets. They¡¯re typically mounted on armored vehicles and ships to intercept incoming munitions, but there are plenty of Class I models that are small enough to be mounted on a drone. Artymis explained. They¡¯re ideal for dealing with swarms of Model Ones.

    ¡°That¡¯ll be useful, since Skyler and I don¡¯t have dedicated anti air. Skyler can swap her drones over to flak shells, but they¡¯re not optimized for that, and they¡¯re really only good against mass swarms,¡± I muttered. ¡°Can those APS systems double as weapons?¡±

    They could, but I wouldn¡¯t recommend using them as primary weapons. They¡¯re relatively low damage and would be unable to do any significant damage to larger models. I would recommend choosing some other form of primary weapon.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to put guns on them. Skyler¡¯s drones make me jump when they fire, even when they¡¯re twenty or thirty feet away. I think if I had something firing right next to me, I might flinch at the wrong time.¡±

    I find that highly unlikely, especially once your Class II genetic enhancements fully develop. You¡¯ll have no trouble focusing on the task at hand. Artymis replied. That being said, I wouldn¡¯t actually recommend equipping them with long-range weapons. Skyler already has that covered, and you would probably find it much more useful to have close support weapons.

    ¡°You want me to make them melee-focused?¡±

    Despite your extremely fast reactions and reflexes, you can still be flanked and overwhelmed if enough antithesis swarm you. Having some close combat backup would help protect from being overwhelmed, or at least attract enough attention and allow you to reposition.

    ¡°Makes sense. So what exactly would these drones cost me?¡± I asked.

    You already have access to most of the required tech. You''ll need the drone melee weapon catalog, which will cost you a hundred points, and I would also recommend picking up the Automated Drone Sensor Systems catalog for another two hundred. Each drone will set you back about six hundred, seven hundred if you invest in an improved sensor suite for the search.

    ¡°And how many points do I have?¡±

    Just shy of six thousand.

    My eyes went wide. ¡°That many?¡±

    Since the antithesis don¡¯t care about self-preservation, they threw themselves against both your monowire and Skyler¡¯s torpedoes. Even though you were mainly killing the smaller Models, the points start to build up over several hours of combat.

    ¡°No shit,¡± I muttered. ¡°Well, in that case I don¡¯t have a problem with the cost. Can you send me the schematics of the fully improved version so I can take a look?¡±

    I can do better than that. I¡¯ll send you a full render, along with several combat simulations with all antithesis models up to Model Twenty.

    ¡°That¡¯s really useful, thanks!¡± I chirped.

    Artymis¡¯ drones were large, nearly three feet wide and two feet tall, and they had an insectoid appearance. Theeight large circular sensors on the front resembled massive red glowing eyes, and six scything arms were mounted around the main body. Both the frames and the hover jets appeared to be a much heavier build than Skyler¡¯s drones.

    The combat simulations only reinforced what I already suspected; they were slow but could take some serious punishment. They completely shrugged off the blows of most of the smaller antithesis and could stand toe to toe with a lot of the larger models.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t they a little slow for recon purposes?¡± I muttered.

    As you¡¯ve seen, they¡¯ll be practically impervious to ranged combat. The only thing that can threaten them isthe Model Elevens, and even then the drones should come out ahead nine times out of ten.

    ¡°I like them,¡± I declared after a couple of seconds. ¡°Unfortunately we¡¯ve already stuffed every possible inch of Skyler¡¯s car with equipment, and I don¡¯t think we have the space for them.¡±

    In that case, we might want to discuss investing in a new form of transport. One that¡¯s actually designed to hold all your drones and robust enough to survive close encounters with the antithesis.

    ¡°Ugh¡­ I really don¡¯t want to discuss that right now,¡± I grumbled.

    ¡°Discuss what?¡± Skyler asked as she emerged from the bathroom.

    ¡°Getting a new car, one with enough space to transport more drones,¡± I explained.

    Skyler paused for a moment. ¡°Not a bad idea, but maybe we can have that discussion tomorrow. It¡¯s getting late, and I really don¡¯t want to go through all the details right now.¡±

    I got up and gave her a quick kiss on the lips as she walked over. ¡°No arguments from me. Artymis, please save those drone plans for now, we¡¯ll review them tomorrow.¡±

    {Arty: Can do. You two have a good night, we¡¯ll talk to you tomorrow.}

 Book 2 - Chapter 35 - New Wheels

    ¡°That¡¯s certainly something,¡± I muttered.

    Skyler and I were standing in the garage, staring at our new samurai vehicle. It had taken us about half an hour to go through the various features and decide what we wanted. A large cargo bay, back seats in case we had to evacuate anyone, and an assortment of defensive systems.

    The final product looked like some sort of extended cab truck with an enclosure mounted on the back. That enclosure had a dozen compartments designed to contain our different drones; each one could be opened and closed remotely to allow us to load and unload the drones remotely. The panels over these compartments merged seamlessly with the side of the truck, so when they were closed, you couldn¡¯t even tell there was anything there.

    When we finalized our choices, I¡¯d pictured something huge, armored, and imposing, but what we actually got looked like a sleek, modern-looking, black pickup truck.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually pretty stylish,¡± Skyler remarked as she slowly walked around the vehicle. ¡°And there¡¯s a ton of storage space for both our drones and equipment.¡±

    ¡°Two large enclosures, which¡¯ll fit my new drones, and eight smaller ones that are just big enough for Howie and the boys,¡± I reported as I popped the hidden compartments open one by one so we could load the drones. ¡°That gives us room for expansion, but for now we can just fill up the spare sections with scout drones.¡±

    ¡°So¡­ Where are we going to store it? Space in the elevated parking area is extremely limited, and we only claimed two spots when we moved in,¡± Skyler asked.

    I paused, looked at the vehicle we¡¯d summoned into an empty part of the common garage area, then back at our parking spots, and then sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sure if we asked the building administration, they¡¯d be able to find another spot for us, even if they had to force someone else to give theirs up. I know a lot of people would jump through hoops to keep samurai happy, but doing that feels like an abuse of power.¡±

    ¡°Why not call your mom or Agnes instead then? I know your mom has a couple extra parking spots for the staff. Maybe we could borrow one of those?¡±

    ¡°Good idea. I¡¯ll send them a quick message, and if they have room, I¡¯ll move my car up-stairs,¡± I replied as I flipped open my augs.

    Skyler cocked her head to the side. ¡°Your car? Why not the truck?¡±

    ¡°Because the truck will probably be our primary transport for the foreseeable future. I certainly don¡¯t plan on taking my car out to deal with the antithesis now that we have a dedicated transport. Once we¡¯ve finished dealing with the incursion, we can swap them around or find another place to store the truck,¡± I explained. My augs flashed, indicating they¡¯d already received a message.

    ¡°Makes sense. Do you think we should wait until you hear back or¡­¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. Agnes already replied, as prompt as always. She said there isn¡¯t enough space right now, but she¡¯ll make some arrangements. Once a space opens up, she¡¯ll send someone down to pick up my car. I just need to leave the keys with Aunty Cho,¡± I reported.

    Skyler smiled. ¡°Great! Aunty Cho already has a copy of the access codes in case of emergencies. Just make sure you let her know someone¡¯s stopping by.¡±

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    ¡°Already on it,¡± I replied as I flipped the messenger app on my augs open again.

    By the time I¡¯d finished sending that brief message, Skyler had already climbed into the driver¡¯s seat of the truck. I quickly gathered up my equipment, shoved it all into the backseat, and then climbed in after her.

    ¡°So, where do you think we should start?¡± Skyler asked as I buckled my seatbelt.

    ¡°That depends on whether we just want to help with the search or if we want to earn some points at the same time,¡± I replied. ¡°Artymis, you mentioned that several other samurai were searching for the command model. Have any of them engaged the swarm directly?¡±

    {Arty: It seems like most of the recon is occurring from within the safety of the city walls, but there are a handful of samurai who are harassing the swarm. I¡¯d be cautious if you choose that route. Despite being relatively passive towards the city, the antithesis have been hyper-aggressive against anyone that attempts to approach the main horde.}

    ¡°I doubt we¡¯d be able to withstand a sustained attack from that many antithesis, even with all the upgrades we¡¯ve picked up over the last week,¡± I said.

    ¡°Maybe we don¡¯t have too¡­¡± Skyler muttered. ¡°The swarm is attempting to stay outside the range of the city¡¯s artillery, right? Maybe we could find a place where my drones would be in range of the swarm, but we¡¯d still be in range of the city¡¯s defenses?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s possible,¡± I agreed. ¡°But we¡¯d have to make sure the defenders are at their stations before we start. I¡¯d hate to be overwhelmed, just because the PMCs on duty weren¡¯t paying attention.¡±

    {Athy: There are several locations just outside the city¡¯s eastern wall where you¡¯d be able to strike at the antithesis while still being within range of the city¡¯s defenses. If you choose this route, I can inform the security forces in that area to ensure that they¡¯re both prepared for the incoming assault and know to avoid firing artillery down upon your position.}

    Skyler winced. ¡°Please do. After everything we¡¯ve been through, I¡¯d hate to die in a friendly fire incident.¡±

    ¡°Can you suggest a location that¡¯s away from both the other search and harassment teams? If we¡¯re going to help search, we might as well focus on a different area than everyone else,¡± I suggested.

    {Arty: There are three locations that fit your criteria. We¡¯ll mark them on your map. When you¡¯ve selected one, we¡¯ll alert Cascadian security about your plan.}

    ¡°Sounds good,¡± Skyler chirped as she turned on the truck.

    Skyler deftly maneuvered the truck up and out of the garage. Despite being much bigger and bulkier than either of our cars, the truck was quiet and agile. You didn¡¯t tend to see many hover vehicles this large, because even though humanity managed to make the hover technology stable, the engines tended to struggle with heavier weights. That¡¯s why there weren¡¯t any hover tanks or transport trucks. The biggest skybound vehicles tended to be buses, and you needed a special license to deal with the bulk.

    Skyler didn¡¯t seem to have any issues with the truck, though. If anything, it was as agile as our cars. Just another benefit of samurai-grade technology.

    We only had to fly for about ten minutes to reach the city wall. I expected the antithesis to be close, but surprisingly I could only catch glimpses of them on the horizon. The heavy artillery must either have had a massive range, or the antithesis were being extremely cautious.

    Skyler quickly found the position our AIs had identified. It was a small, relatively clear hill a couple hundred meters away from the wall. Since the local vegetation was sparse, only scattered trees and scrub brush, we had a clear view of the surrounding area.

    As soon as the truck touched down, I unfastened my belt and jumped out.

    ¡°Seems like a pretty good position,¡± I muttered. ¡°Arty, Athy, have you alerted the surrounding security team?¡±

    {Arty: It¡¯s already done. As soon as the antithesis enters range, the artillery will open fire.}

    ¡°Then we¡¯re ready to set up,¡± Skyler announced as she jumped out the other side. ¡°Let¡¯s get the drones out!¡±

    Skyler strode towards the back of the truck, and as she did, the compartments all slid open. Dozens of small recon drones, along with her artillery drones, all simultaneously took off and began hovering around her.

    My new drones, which I¡¯d nicknamed the twins, weren¡¯t quite as agile. It took them a second to work their way out of their new enclosures before slowly hovering towards me.

    ¡°The twins certainly look impressive, but are you sure they¡¯ll be able to keep up?¡± Skyler asked as she eyed up my new backup.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need them to be as fast as your recon drones, or even Howie and pals,¡± I explained. ¡°They just need to be fast enough to keep up with me and reposition in combat. Since they¡¯re meant to be on the front line, it¡¯s more important that they can take a little bit of punishment,¡± I explained.

    Skyler inspected the two drones for a couple more seconds before nodding. ¡°They certainly look impressive¡­ Are you ready to give them a test?¡±

    I smiled at my girlfriend, ¡°Absolutely.¡±