Xeriko

I hate to admit it but Akari turned out to be a fantastic…well she hasn’t made any laser or shock weapons so I can’t call her a weapon tech, but her packet of terran knowledge would call her a gunsmith, which I suppose is more fitting than weapon tech. After doming the Back Alley Doctor as Akari put it, we moved onto the main thoroughfare of the shopping center and it was just…empty of people well, living ones anyway. It really hurt to see all of the civilians just piled up in heaps like some third planet mass grave. It made me sick to my biotic stomach as we kept walking deeper into the shopping center.

“I wish we could’ve done more for these people…” Akari moaned while resting her head against the front of my visor looking down.

“I know Malware, but its just what it is…if it helps, some people might have taken the NuU approach and had a cerebral implant that will digitize their mind and imbed it into an android chassis…saying that out loud, that sounds like a sketchy prospect.” I lamented.

Akari then accessed my datanet from her…I think she called it a notebook.

“Hmm…this says the NuU program came about at the beginning stages of the AI mutiny and the NuU facilities are in strategic black sites with plans to include underground subsidized living all controlled by in person staff and low tech automated drones and ground robots…well that’s better news than I hoped, although my concern is this says a basic NuU package is prohibitively expensive at 30,000 credits.” She commented.

The price caused me to wince as I nodded defeat at her knifepoint retort trying to…why am I even trying to comfort Malware.

“Yeah, its not ideal...but its better than full death, and they have made it where the system shuts down the body before they experience death so they don’t have irrevocable psychological damage.” I explained.

“Oop, enemy on our 11 o’clock!” She exclaimed, pointing forward and to the left.

“I got it.” I said before something clocked my shoulder.

“Nngh…what was that?”

“Pauldron integrity at 89% device used was modified meat tenderizer.” Akari reported while looking like a scientist in a lab coat looking over a clip pad.

Looking up at the android I saw what she was getting at, the android was made to look very heavy and was holding two modified throwing hammers. They were about the size of a sledgehammer so I can see why Akari called them modified meat tenderizers.

“This one looks heavily armored, might want to aim for ancillary targets like limbs or find a weak point, where I’m from most heavily armored units have their weak points in their backs.” She explained, and made a pop up on my visor pointing towards the back of the android.

I then started running around dodging and ducking around the hammers it threw at me. It started hitting the holo projectors and plant life as I was running around it but I could hardly worry about the scenery when I had the back of the unit to check.

“I still think there’s no way it has a..you gotta be kidding me.” I deadpanned while I was running and I saw a glaring weakness, it had an external power source.

“Guess some things don’t change.” Akari chuckled. “I’m going to call these…Hammer Batteries.”

“Little bland but it works." I commented before unloading two bullets into the battery pack.

The Hammer Battery then fell down with a rumbling clatter as it dropped its hammers on the floor.

"I'm definitely having you salvage that on the way out, I need to find out how that works and I want to see if I can get a battery intact" She ordered.

Stolen novel; please report.

She then did something completely weird, she generated a text output.

"Quest Activated: Kill one Hammer Battery without puncturing the battery pack. Reward: 100 Akari Dollars and progress towards an upgraded Power Core" she intoned.

I growled as I really didn't have time for her games, but I suppose an upgraded power core is something that could be helpful. Just what the hell is an Akari Dollar though, as I’m thinking this, another inane pop up was shoved in my face.

"Akari Dollar: An Upgrade currency that your generous benefactress has devised to incentivize cooperation between both parties."

"Gods dammit Akari, now isn't the time!" I shouted into my helmet

"Look this is to help you, I'd hardly complain, besides, how can it feel like you earned something without seeing the progress towards it." She tried reasoning with me.

"Fine whatever, play your dumb games." I groaned as I shot another back alley doctor and put more bullets into my damn gun that I owe malware for, man I hate that I have to be indebted to her.

After my grumbling I kept going forward into the deeper parts of the mall where the weapons and armor are stored. I then looked at a few roving Androids holding Gadgecorp laser blasters and plasma casters.

“Um…Xeriko?” Akari asked.

“Yes Akari?” I replied.

“They shouldn’t have those should they?” She questioned.

“No, they should not, but here we are.” I sighed.

“How effective will our suit be against those laser guns?”

“We should be able to hold them off pretty well for what its worth, and my suit does have a decent energy shield.” I explained to her.

“It’ll have to do, once I get the power core upgrade figured out, I can probably work on a better energy shield.” Akari noted.

I just nodded and got ready to move to hide behind a planter as I dimmed the lights on my suit to better fit my sneaking around. Leaning out from behind the planter I saw more appliance robots with the added armaments. One of the bots is a roving vacuum bot that has blades attached to it and a turret mounted to the top.

“Yeah…Murder Roomba.” She commented on the vacuum.

“I have no idea what that is but it sounds oddly appropriate.” I observed while peering out at the laser back alley doctors and a new bot. It was sleek and held the bearing of a higher station. It had multi-jointed arms and a plasma caster. The bot then pulled one hand off of the caster and opened its limbs before spinning them in a circle like a shredder.

“Blender caster.” Akari said while writing down the bot’s specs.

“Agreed, and we need to get rid of it.” I noted before aiming down the sights and focusing on Akari’s reticle thing.

“Quest Activated: Harvest the mechadendrites and internal actuators of the Blender Caster intact. Reward: 200 Akari Dollars, and progress towards lateral movement augment.” Akari incanted flatly again.

“I’m gonna put you in a tungsten box and drop you onto an ocean planet.” I threatened growling.

“Focus on the mission maggot!” General Akari shouted as she pointed a riding crop at my visor.

Her constantly changing appearances are starting to get old but we’ll deal with that later.

I then dove out of cover and fired at the roomba before running to the side to get behind some cover. The other back alley laser surgeons took pot shots at me and I leaned out from behind cover before firing at the surgeons. I had to reload my revolver with the speedloader Akari included.

I then felt this great heat in my torso and I got knocked off course and crashed into a tree that breaks under the suit’s weight.

“Ow…” I groaned while waiting to regain my wits.

“Torso hit with standard class 3 laser projectile, breastplate at 83% integrity, backplate impacted tree, 94% integrity, torso energy shield generator compromised for cooldown.” Akari rattled off.

“Thanks for the update Malware…didn’t need it.” I griped.

“Xeriko hit with an asshole beam, manners integrity at .02%” she sniped back while looking pointedly at the robots. “We may want to move.”

Ceding the point I hopped up and ran for more complete cover before diving off behind the rotating platform to get to the second floor. Then I heard it…the spooling of a plasma caster. Looking behind me I noticed the Blender Caster pointing his weapon at me while it charged.

“Shoot the barrel! I can make you better crap anyway!” Akari shouted before I blasted the barrel on the gun and we hoofed it and the plasma gun went haywire and vaporized everything in front of it including itself and the BC had to drop the gun.

“Wow, that’s a tad spicy.” Akari noted while shuddering.

“What would you expect? Holo-confetti?” I asked her with a flat look.

“That’s a thing?” She inquired back.

“Irrelevant!” I shouted before running and doming the last few BALS and MRs that were around.

“Before the higher ups and bean counters get to this place, we should scrap the machines for parts and make it look like they were crushed by other means than my guns, no doubt someone would try and use my technology to seize a planet or a whole transit center.” She lamented.

“Transit Center…oh galaxy spanning space way hubs…yeah your nomenclature is better.” I admitted before spotting an elevating platform.

“That must be our ticket to the next level, once we get down to manufacturing…we’ll be where the AI is strongest, so we’ll need to make sure you’re ready.” Akari commented.

Another Pop-up came in my vision.

“Are you sure you’re ready to continue? Yes or No?”

I just smiled, shaking my head at Malware’s antics.

“Yes” I said to the little spaz.