Would you like something inexpensive, or something more effective?
It was phrased as a question but it didn’t feel like there was much of a choice between the two.
I hesitated for a second before speaking. “I feel like you’ll think I’m stupid if I say cheap is fine, so yeah. The mask worked pretty well so something like that?”
You are correct, but your mask was not designed to be used as armor even if it works against the lower digit models.
If you would like something similar, you could purchase a defensive cloak. With your Utility Garments catalog I can add more useful features similar to your mask as well.
Another hail of quills flew overhead, and the sound of a popping tire came through the wave of gunfire. The truck began to slow down as the drones doubled their efforts to fight against the horde.
“Alright yeah, that sounds good. Would it help against the Fourteen?” I asked.
No, it will delay the rate at which it kills you however.
“Good enough for me.” I admit.
No box this time as a dark cloak appeared right in front of me, I grabbed it before it flew off and sat up crouched to pull it on.
It was a fairly plain black robe looking thing with a big hood. The only part of it that stood out besides its immaculate craftsmanship are three patches placed seemingly at random.
The first was a purple swirling pattern, like a swirling hurricane. That was around where a breast pocket would be on my left side.
Next was a spider web patch done in a near-glowing white, sitting along the right hem which went down past my knees.
Lastly was a familiar jester mask logo, though this time in a neon red. This one was hiding on the inside of the cloak inside of the hood.
The next volley was much more accurate, with a lower volume. It stabbed into the drone with the two smallest pistols. Sliding right between the armored plates to hit his neck. His body and my guns both went over the side.
Some were on track to strike me too, but they just kinda fell out of the air when they got close to me. Falling with a sudden change of direction like they forgot which way was up and which was down.
“Cool.” I smirked, really felt like a badass when stuff didn’t even get a chance to hit you.
Very cool, yes. A gravitational defense system. It was on the expensive side but well worth the points. Superb at stopping projectiles though it can still be bypassed with enough force.
It took the pursuers a moment to catch up, the foam bullets doing their job. The Fourteen must have had some good hearing cause there was no way it could see us at this point. You couldn’t see any of its face (thank god), and it was using the foam appendages attached to its legs to give chase ineffectively. Only a few of the smaller beasties were still around, and they weren’t gonna last long with the drones on the job.
They will start to fire the fleshmelters, though I will say again that it is very slow acting. Estimated at least half an hour to fully kill it.
“Finally some good news. Uh, on the topic of news, is the net still down?” I knew the PMC headquarters was all the way on the other side of town next to the hospital, but who knew if the plants had spread out or some of the flying ones could have made it over there. Probably not the best time to ask, but it felt like the Fourteen was more or less handled.
“Also, where is the PMC? I know they must have stopped by the southgate, since the trucks were there but I haven’t actually seen any of them yet.”
The local network is still mostly inoperable, yes.
It is unclear where the majority of the local military group is, there isn’t anything on the networks I have access to about their movements after the antithesis arrived nearly two and a half hours ago.
There is a smaller force still protecting the hospital and headquarters, but there are not enough to account for even half of its members.
That wasn’t the worst case scenario, if there were still troops protecting the civilians. But half of a PMC just disappearing is fucking unnerving. The thought alone sent a cold shiver down my spine.
In all honesty there was very little possibility that any of them were still alive if they went missing during an antithesis attack. Unless they ran away, which didn’t seem likely for PMC meatheads.
Another barrage of gunfire went out, then a sound like a building being demolished. I peeked over the edge of the truck bed and saw that the giant centipede had finally collapsed under the mountain of foam.
It was still trying to move, squirming around and thrashing. All that did was crush its tag alongs, more of which were pouring out of some sort of organic troop bay that opened up along its sides. Its armored hide peeled back along each segment to reveal even more reinforcements.
Not all of its allies were pasted and a second wave of aliens were rushing at us. A lot more of the bigger models that survived or escaped its ally. More fives, sixes, and some fours.
“Ashlyn, I think we need a few more drones.” I shouted. The antithesis were a lot closer than I’d like, we had only stopped maybe thirty feet from where the living truck was glued to the dirt.
Your new catalogs will very much help, one moment.
Not even half a second later two new drones appeared. One was a similar build to the others, super muscular without going far enough to be grotesque and spawned in naked of course. Though it was quickly armored up in some shiny white armor with gold gilding.
He kinda looked like a paladin, especially when a huge shield of similar colors was caught out of the air by them. To match was a longsword that looked pretty normal, no fire, lightning or weird parts sticking out just a big hunk of sharp metal.
The other was the first female drone I’d seen, built a lot more lithe like a professional runner. Still naked of course, and just as before she was quickly covered up. It was quite different from the others, black dyed leather armor with a deep maroon lining.
Now that was a rogue if I ever saw one. That image was only helped when they pulled out a dagger in one hand, a twisty thing that looked more like an occult item than actual weapon. The metal of it was dark and reflective, a paradox that seemed to let no light escape yet had a distinct glimmer.
In her other hand was a needle sharp rapier with a bulky canister of something sitting behind the handle. The rapier was mostly transparent, though it was quickly filling up from the bottom with a bright green liquid.
It was all quite intimidating.
I didn’t get to admire the aesthetics too much before they both shot off to meet the horde. The paladin went straight to the front, acting as a solid wall between the ranged drones and the green horde.
And the rogue completely vanished right in front of my eyes. I couldn’t even see the weapons she was holding. I winced at how much that probably cost, but I’ll save my complaints for after we survive.
And if we didn’t then I can’t complain either I guess.
Speaking of, the black-green swarm had clashed with the melee drones. The paladin easily held back a Model Four, bashing against the shield with its heavy forelegs and ineffectively trying to stab them with needle tipped tentacles. He didn’t even budge, which shouldn’t have been possible with only loose soil as footing.
Stolen novel; please report.
Quick efficient slashes cleaved the tentacles before plunging the tip of the sword into its brain. The sword itself was insanely sharp, seeming to cut through the overgrown weeds like butter. It gave off a soft high pitched buzzing sound that was barely audible over the cacophony of the rest of the cogs fighting off the foes.
The rogue to nobody's surprise remained hidden, though I did catch flashes of their invisibility failing whenever they stabbed the rapier in between the plates of the sixes, melting them from the inside. Some kind of super acid it looked like.
The last mass of antithesis was already halfway dead, then we might actually catch a break for a few minutes. The horrible energy drink I had earlier was still wrecking havoc through me but it didn’t help with the mental exhaustion. But there is still a breach in the wall to secure. And I need to check in at the PMC headquarters to make sure everyone else is safe.
Sigh.
I guess there truly is no rest for the wicked. For now though there wasn’t really much for me to do personally, so I just layed back in the truck bed and listened to the sound of war around me.
It was calming, in a puzzling way. It was… simple, easy to understand. One force against another. But it looked so chaotic I probably couldn’t follow it even if I was watching it at half speed. So why bother trying if I didn’t have to.
I took a deep breath in, smelling cut grass, fresh earth, and gunpowder. With an equally deep exhale I sat up to see the rest of the antithesis were down and the rest of the drones were all focused on the Model Fourteen, the melee units were staying back as the ranged ones used the fleshmelting ammunition.
“Are we far enough away from that stuff? I don’t think anything called a ‘fleshmelter’ can be good for my complexion.”
We were still maybe ten yards from the trapped bug plant thing, with its size that hardly seemed far enough away. I can still feel the shockwaves from its angry protests after all.
You should be quite fine from where you are. To be safe I wouldn’t recommend approaching for another hour at the very least.
“So you said it would take about half an hour to kill that thing right? Should we go check on the townsfolk then? Or maybe try and cut the plants at the source? Really find the root of the problem?”
Nipping this problem in the bud, as you might say, would only make your other tasks less dangerous to yourself and the Traverse’s residents. Finding the hive may not be easy, but with certain purchases it will be more than achievable.
“Yeah yeah, I know we have to destroy the hive. You don’t have to convince me, but can we at least send some drones to check on the survivors?” I argued.
Send them over and ask how they’re doing. Not just an excuse to check on Rodger and them.
Nope.
“Wait a sec, can they even talk? They should be able to yeah?”
As far as I knew they were still mostly human genetically, just with a cyber brain.
Yes, they can speak, though their AI currently isn’t advanced enough to have independent thoughts.
The paladin then turned his head to stare right at me and say. “I can instruct them to speak any messages you would like. There just hasn’t been any use for this feature yet.”
Okay that was pretty creepy, it was all monotone. Sounded like one of the better text to speech voices corps loved using in ads honestly.
If you wish to send drones to the survivors, the paladin alone should be sufficient. There should not be any large force of antithesis in that area, and if there is it would have a higher chance at victory than any other drone you currently have.
“Ehh, I don’t know. You think they’ll let him in? And how will I know if they got the message?” I questioned.
The drones are pre-built with a basic communications suite. It is not good for much, but is able to send messages to your augs to allow you to talk to your family vicariously.
“I thought the network was down?” I hadn’t received any messages that were sent while the attack was happening after all.
You can lavish your thanks upon me for that, I can act as a temporary replacement for many of the local networks functions though do not expect too much from me in this. I can only help with the more intangible problems, any damaged infrastructure is beyond me.
It is also how I knew your brother and his family had attempted to contact you.
That made sense now that I thought about it.
I supposed the paladin would be a better choice than the rogue, the corpo goons might just shoot first and ask questions never.
“Okay, we’ll send the paladin, uh let's call him Paul for now. I do think we should add something to let people know that he's a robot. Folks might get uh, a bit panicked otherwise.” I told Ash. I wasn’t sure how well they really understood how humans thought and reacted, beyond samurai anyway.
Robot isn’t quite the right term. But it is close enough. You can apply a sticker decal to his armor, you won’t even need a catalog for that.
“Yeah that works.” I agreed. It was simple, elegant and probably pretty cheap.
New Purchase: Custom Sticker x10
Points reduced from… 906 to 905
“Cheap.” I stated, while opening the small plain chest that appeared on the ground nearby. Still sitting in the back of the truck I opened it up and yep, there was a small stack of stickers.
Inspecting one I saw it was some sort of heraldry like all good fantasy nobles had. This one was a bit stranger than those usually were, the shape was still the standard kite shield. The top of the shield was an icosahedron surrounded by a pair of jester themed comedy and tragedy masks. The bottom of the heraldry had two crossed guns, muskets I think. The center was nice and simple, just a three letter word.
“BOT”
Very subtle, I can feel the nuance wafting off it.
The decals are small and simple enough that the point cost is more of a formality.
I should mention that the points you earn are reduced. It hasn’t been a significant amount yet, since you remain near your troops, but any that are sent away from you will gain fewer points per antithesis kill.
“Shame, but this is probably better anyway. I’m not much of a fighter.” I replied.
You did very well up to now, I wouldn’t discount your skills or instincts. They may not be polished but they have served you well.
“I thought the whole reason the Protectors are helping humanity is because human skill and instinct isn’t good enough?” I wondered.
That is only partly true, the Protectors do not want to rule Earth or be its shield. They want humanity to use their talents in conjunction with the gifts they are given to defend against the true adversary.
The Protectors, the all powerful aliens with technology that could destroy the world needed humanities talents? I didn’t know AI could be sappy or naive or whatever, but I wouldn’t ruin their dreams.
Changing the topic I asked, “What’s up with the stickers anyway? I can’t tell if you’re trying to turn me into a pirate, a cultist, or a king.”
It is merely a crest you can use to designate your drones. Humans do like when things are neatly labeled and categorized after all.
“So it's not just an excuse to make them wear silly stickers with clowns and guns?” I pressed.
You should pass out the stickers, I have two more vehicles arriving shortly.
Ashlyn deflected, but I let it slide with a snort. I handed the stack of stickers to the nearest drone, the one with my Privateer. They quickly and efficiently handed them out, and each drone with near identical motions. The last sticker I just put in my pocket.
It was more easily missed in the heat of battle but they really were kind of clunky. Maybe that wasn’t the right word, they were efficient and precise, just very robotic. It was easy to forget, with how they looked but there is just a computer in their skulls. Made them predictable, only using the most optimal options. Guess it could be worse, could have been stuck with a bunch of scared humans. What a disaster that would have been.
Welp, nothing better to do right now, I hopped down from the truck bed and stretched. My back let out a most satisfying pop.
Looking back at the truck it was amazing it had taken us so far, as I heard earlier the back left wheel had popped but there were also quills dotting the rest of the vehicle. I don’t know how more drones hadn’t been taken out when I saw the truck was more pincushion than vehicle. Guess I could thank Ashlyns driving.
Now to check out the new gear. I was doing that a lot today huh. That's just part of the samurai life I figured.
I flicked through my augs to the new tab for my robes.
The first option just seemed to manually activate the gravity force field around me. I couldn’t feel anything myself, but I saw the bits of grass around flatten in a five foot radius or so around me.
The web shaped button surprised me as the robe stretched at the bottom like tentacles. With a small effort I could move them clumsily but it felt strange, a new set of limbs not quite attached to my body. They could grab onto things, and even lift me up like a spider. Like a spider, I could also climb onto walls by making the tentacles adhesive. which I tested on the truck.
Not sure if it would work on the ceiling but it's a fun thought. Spider Ness, heh.
The only one left was the jester logo, and while I had an idea of what it did I was still surprised with the additional features.
The robe could change colors and textures just as the mask could. It could also change its shape by stretching, shrinking and contorting. Basically a whole wardrobe in a single outfit. I didn’t bother stopping myself from rubbing my hands together like a BBEG at the possibilities.
That didn’t even start on the fact that it didn’t just replicate the look and feel of fabrics. It could make me look more muscular, fatter, or curvier too. I really wanted to mess around with that more, but held back. Didn’t want to distract myself too badly.
I still took a moment to make myself taller, wobbling around at the weird feeling of having longer legs. It didn’t change my actual body so it didn’t seem like it would make me graceful at this height.
It also couldn’t make me shorter or thinner, since it was an additive process only. A bit disappointing but I may be asking for too much, at least as a new samurai.
Sorry to interrupt your… inspection of your newest gear, but the vehicles have arrived.
Turning around to where the drones were loitering there were indeed two cars now waiting in the empty field our chase had ended in. It was shockingly easy to forget that there was still a giant antithesis now weakly struggling as its flesh poured out from between its black armor plates like a thick syrup. Gross.
Anyway, the cars. There was a very well used minivan complete with way too many bumper stickers. Didn’t even know people made those things anymore. Also surprising that thing has an autodrive with how old it looks, maybe early 30’s? The other was a tiny European car, the kind that could fit two people in the front and my hopes and dreams in the backseat.
“Really finding the cream of the crop huh? Did you drive that van out of the junkyard or a museum?” I joked.
They both belonged to citizens that have been confirmed deceased. The enemy does not discriminate in its targets, whether it is a wealthy car collector in the wrong place at the wrong time, or a mother of four on a late night errand.
That… definitely brought the mood down, though it was my fault for speaking before my brain realized what it was saying.
“Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.” I mumbled, head dipping down.
You are fine, Ness. I just wanted to remind you that even in an antithesis attack as small as this there is always danger.
Ashlyn said in a soothing, but somber voice. I just nodded in response, not sure what else to say. Not sure I wanted to see what a larger attack was like if this was a small one.
After that bit of rain on my parade, the paladin performed his best clown routine and managed to squeeze his bulk into the smaller of the cars. His equipment sat on the passenger seat while his knees barely avoided bumping into the steering wheel.
The miniature car wasted no time speeding off to the east, almost tipping over as it took a turn too fast. I guess we’ll wait and see if he makes it in one piece.
“Should I blame that driving on you, or the drone?” I wondered.
That would be me, though I thought you’d appreciate expediency.
“Ah yeah, true. Thank you Ash.”
A fine nickname, I approve. And I am here to assist you, mainly in fighting the antithesis but I certainly won’t begrudge you for protecting your family.
A side note, it should be less than five minutes until the fleshmelting nanites are able to destroy enough of the Model Fourteen to terminate it.
With that bit of info and a smile on my face we just waited around as the twitches from the soon to be corpse grew fainter and weaker. It was getting pretty awkward watching it wither until the notification finally popped up in my mind.
Target Eliminated!
Points earned… 70
New total… 975