Most Samurai won’t so much as look at a tool box when it comes to maintaining their various forms of weaponry. Instead they either just buy new gear, or buy a drone to do it for them.
A few Samurai diverge from this trend, and consistently maintain their equipment themselves with, or without drone help.
Finally a small fraction of Samurai will actively try to build their own equipment. This has led to incredibly dangerous Samurai grade equipment failing in ways that have widespread consequences. (See Champaign, Illinois Tragedy of 2039)
It is advised that when operating in proximity to one of them, to be very wary of anything damaging their equipment, and put an immediate stop to anyone from interacting with that equipment who is not authorized by the Samurai themselves.
-Excerpt from Cleanze PMC Group Samurai Field Guide
As a warning, please be careful with these components. They can reach temperatures hot enough to leave 3rd degree burns on contact.
My hand and the wrench it was operating froze. “That is a hell of a warning to give me when my hand is gripping the parts tightly Pyridae!”
Autumn spoke from the side of the table, “What’d she say?”
“I think she’s screwing with me,” I finished tightening the valve connecting the backpack unit to the wand hose, “but I can’t tell.”
I am giving you important information while also messing with you. It is quite enjoyable. Rest assured that I will not risk actual harm to you or anyone else when something you are working on has actual dangerous components in that moment. I do, however, advise double checking the power is turned off for most components I sell you. Safety First!
“She’s being a little shit like Evie,” I mutter with a small grin.
Before Evie could swear revenge ‘upon my entire lineage’, the door we had entered from rattled.
Time is up, and not a moment too soon. Your new weapon is complete.
Sitting on the bench in front of me was two small tanks of water strapped to each other with a hose extending out from its left side. The hose ended with a fancy new spray wand that was swiftly becoming illuminated in a dull orange glow.
Turn on the heating element and the built-in motor, then open the valve connecting the primary and secondary tanks and it will be ready to fire uninterrupted for twenty minutes.
As the door cracked, barely staying in its frame, I quickly flipped up the orange valve lever and slipped the backpack on. After several quick adjustments to the straps later, I was ready.
“Away from the door now!” I command, raising the spray wand.
With one final smash the door toppled inward, the Three responsible awkwardly crashing down on top of it. It looked up, just to see me pointing the wand right at it. With a squeeze of the trigger, a pressurized jet of electrified water shot through the air towards the thing’s eyes with a dull thrum.
The eye I hit practically boiled away under the heat and pressure, the electricity cooking it from the inside out. It didn’t take long for the plant dog to fall onto the ground dead with a face half melted off. Stepping over it with a renewed fire in my chest and a satisfied smirk on my face, I began hosing down the rest of the Models that were outside my workshop.
The washer practically melted through whatever it hit, each Model only took about a split second before collapsing from the electrical overload to their nervous system or the downright nasty burns it was inflicting on them. Even a glancing hit locked their muscles up with electricity, peeled away a layer of whatever kind of skin they had, and then scalded the living daylights of anything beneath.
Unfortunately the weapon did have some drawbacks. While I was focusing on hosing down a few Threes rushing up from the left of the door, a duo of the same Model closed in from the right. Unable to quickly finish off the group, I was about to ask for an emergency grenade or something, when Evie jumped out of the doorway and practically blew both their heads off with her shotgun.
“I thought I told you that you weren’t allowed to get mauled again.” Evie pumps her shotgun, raising it up to take another shot.
After finally finishing off the first group, I aimed skyward to cut off the small flock of Ones that were preparing to swoop down on us. The flock didn’t last long with the steam boiling away their skin and feathers while scalding everything underneath.
Using this thing on antithesis was as easy as hosing down a cement pad.
“You never said that Evie,” I whine before my voice took on a fake somber tone, “I can’t believe you don’t like me anymore!”
The unmistakable ker-chunk of the shotgun’s pump action rang out, followed instantly by the bang of a shell spent.
“Oh screw off,” she responded as she loaded a slug, “it shouldn’t need to be said in the first place!”
The roaring buzz of my wand cut off as I released the trigger, having seemed to have cleared the last of the antithesis from the area. I motioned behind me to get the kids out the door and heading towards the house, and more importantly into the basement shelter, when heavy crunching footsteps sounded out from across the small lot we were in.
Turning, I squinted as I locked- well I couldn’t exactly see their eyes to match them, but two more Fours had decided to make an appearance. My wand was already moving to meet their approach with a jet of scalding water.
Instead of quick results like I had found with the Ones and Threes, the tentacled creeps were able to ‘cushion’ their bodies from the jet by blocking with their tendrils. By the time I had rendered one unusable, another would take its place.
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Backing up while keeping the heat on the pair I called out, “Evie! A little assistance here would be nice!”
“On it!” Her shotgun barks right after she does.
While I wasn’t able to cut through the tentacles and hose the fuckers down, I was able to soften up, or cut away a majority of them.The first shell ripped through the left Four’s tentacles and head with a squelch, a quick pump and squeeze of the trigger by Evie dropped the right one just as quickly.
“That may be one hell of a new toy you have there,” Evie nervously chuckled, “but I think we should get to the shelter sooner rather than later.”
I gave a nod in return, “Same formation as always, but I’ll swap with you to take them head on.”
If I may cut in.
Targets Eliminated! Model One x9 9 Model Three x14 140 Model Four x2 30 Total 182
“Uhhhh thanks? Why the swap to a table?”
You’re very welcome! And I decided condensing the information would be better for readability.
"Fair enough."
“Spark! That was so cool!” Benny rushed up and hugged my leg sending a flare of pain from the still healing gashes, “What’s it’s name? You told me that the Number Four Rule of Inventing is that all inventions need a cool name!”
That was actually a good point, thinking about what I could name it also brought a few potential growing pains with the weapon up as well. Motioning the group to start moving I spoke up,
“It’s called The Powered Washer.” Naturally, I paused for dramatic effect while ignoring Evie’s groan at my showboating, “And I have a few improvements I want to make.”
I cut myself off as I realized that the other four couldn’t hear Pyridae, “Before that however, Pyri can you talk out loud for us?”
I can talk to them through their augs, except for Benny who doesn’t have any.
“Can you just buy a small speaker instead? Excluding him would be rude.”
Certainly!
New Purchase! Class 0 Communication Unit 3 Points Reduced To: 179
A small plastic box dropped into my hands. Opening it, I found what looked like an old-school smart phone, and I passed it to Autumn.
“Anyways, first off I need actual protective equipment with this so I don’t burn, or shock myself. Next up, I want something to give this weapon more options. Something more suited for groups, and something with more punch.”
[I do believe there is a solution to this. The Class 0 Multi-Beam Opti-Nozzel will give your jury-rigged weapon those options while remaining cheap. It has a ‘Flat’ mode which will allow the water to connect with multiple units more easily at the cost of reduced range, and a ‘Steel Cutter’ mode which will release a stream that can cut through all low tier antithesis flesh with ease.]
“Get it, and some proper gloves. I’d rather not scald myself while replacing the thing.” As I looked around, I saw all the half bodies we had left behind and grimaced. “Do you have anything for corpse removal? Might as well get rid of them while we’re still here.”
[Class I Esoteric Single-Use Explosive Devices contains a few options. A common choice for newer Vanguard is the Mark I Flesh Melter. It carries a nanite payload that seeks out and destroys biomass. It will cost twenty-seven points to cover all the bodies at three points a piece, after fifty points for the catalogue.]
“All of it please.” I mutter, trying not to gag at the smell.
New Purchase! Class 0 Multi-Beam Opti-Nozzel 4 Class 0 Insulated Rubber Gloves 1 Class I Esoteric Single-Use Explosive Devices 50 Mark I Flesh Melter x9 27 Total: 82 Points Reduced To: 96
Two plastic boxes plopped onto the ground in front of me, the first one being white topped with the images of gloves, and a garden hose nozzle on it. The second is a sleek black with a stylized red Model One with x’ed out eyes appearing to melt into the ground.
I crouched down and placed my wand to the side before handing the box of grenades to Evie, “I’d do it myself, but I’ve got a weapon to modify. I think Pyri can tell you where to put them?”
[I certainly can.]
Evie didn’t say anything as she grabbed the box with a grimace, and rushed off to plant them among the bodies. Opening the first box I was met with a slightly bulkier version of my current nozzle, and a pair of dark purple gloves with lighting arc motifs running over where the seams would be.
I snort as I begin to pull them on. “Cute.”
The gloves slipped on easier than I’d expect for gloves this snug, and they practically felt like they didn’t exist on my fingers! Hooray for precision friendly gloves! I reached for my wrench to find it missing from my toolbelt, and looking down I then realized my toolbelt was missing in its entirety. A curse half slipped out of my mouth before a small finger tapped on my shoulder.
Turning, I found Autumn standing there with a wide smile, and also my missing toolbelt.
“I noticed that it fell off after you got put back together, so I grabbed it when you and Evie were fighting the monsters.” The girl held it up with both hands, one of the clips clinking against another with the movement.
I ruffled her hair and pulled the wrench out its spot, and with a flick of a switch on the washer’s pistol to kill the electricity and heat, I got to work on the now outclassed nozzle. A few sharp tugs on the wrench to pull the nut loose, along with a few quick twists of the nozzle had it falling off and a bunch of steaming water draining from the barrel.
A repeat of the process in the reverse had the new part secured and the powered elements powering back up. Before I could ask Pyri how the mode swapping would work, my glasses gained a new symbol of the washer strapped to my back with a line, a triangle, and a line going through a wall appearing next to it.
The controls act as either a toggle or a fine select. As a note, I do recommend better ocular equipment as a later purchase as well.
Before I could respond, Evie returned with an empty box she tossed into the gravel next to the part box.
“While planting grenades is incredibly fun, I’d rather do it from the other side of a grenade launcher. Evie nervously looked behind her, a bit of an uncharacteristic jerkiness in her movements. “Let’s get to the house now please.”