Chapter Nine

By the time we got back to our new home, we were all filthy from the day’s work, all knackered, and even Gessh had had enough of complaining that she ‘was fine really’.

She was settled in the main living area, with her foot elevated and a shot of ‘knock-out’ in hand for if the pain got too bad, while Reign and Luna went to see Oshbob.

I hit the shower, covered in shit as I was, and scrubbed away what seemed like a damn months’ worth of filth. Getting cleaned up and into almost clean clothes again afterwards, I returned to the main room, sitting down across from Gessh and shaking my head at the fucker’s stubbornness.

“You can use that you know,” I pointed out.

“I know.” She nodded, forcing a smile. “I’ll be…”

“Your fucking foot is wrecked,” I said flatly. “You should have gone straight to Lion, but you insisted on waiting until the job was done. Well, it’s done, alright? Take the knock-out, we’ll wake you when we get to Lion, you can still pick your shit, so don’t be so bloody stupid.”

“I’m fine!” she snapped, her sudden surge of anger surprising me as she started to sit up, only to jerk and let a groan out between clenched teeth.

She’d been adamant that it was a replacement job, but she’d refused to let anyone look at it, but now? Blood was seeping out of the torn sections of her boot and I stood, moving round to kneel by her side.

Reaching out, I put a hand on her shoulder and she jerked, making it clear she didn’t want to be touched. I accepted that, but I didn’t move away beside lifting my hand, and I waited until she looked at me.

“What?” she growled, before shaking her head and trying again. “Sorry, Kabutt, look I’m…”

“If you say you’re ‘fine’ one more time I will stab you with that knock-out,” I said in a low, friendly voice. “You’re not fine, unless ‘fine’ stands for Freaking Insane Neurotic and Excitable. Those are all things that are fine, in any family. They just make it more fun, but the state you’re in?” I shook my head.

“Gessh, you’ve had five small medikits. That’s the same as at least two full medium kits. You’ve been popping stims constantly, and you’re dripping blood on the fucking table I spent two hours cleaning… STOP!” I snapped as she started to move her leg. “Fuck’s sake Gessh, I told you to keep it elevated.” I straightened the soaked rag that was under her foot, even as I straightened her leg out again.

“You were complaining…”

“I was pointing out that despite all those fucking nannites, enough to attach two new fucking legs no less, you’re still bleeding!” I glared at her. “Do I need to make it an order to take it off and show me?”

“Fuck’s sake, Kabutt, we weren’t even gone half an hour, and already you’re trying to order my sister to take her clothes off and show you?” Luna sighed, strolling in through the open door with Reign right behind her.

“You… oh bugger off.” I snorted. “You were quicker than I thought you’d be.”

“So you don’t deny you were trying to get Gessh to take her pants off then?”

“Her boot actually,” I corrected. “And you damn well know if I was going to tell her to show me anything for a twitch it’d be her tits, so now that’s out of the way, how about we find out why Gessh’s foot is so fucked up?”

“Damn, tired of me already.” Reign sighed, moving around and standing next to me.

I straightened, putting my arm around her waist subtly and giving her a squeeze, before letting go, as we both looked down at the seeping blood.

“You can see it once we get to Lion,” Gessh growled, lifting her foot down. “Did you sell those parts?”

“Yeah.” Luna nodded. “Here.”

I felt the knock on my ident, the same as I assumed the others did, and I accepted, nodding in approval as the creds were added to my current balance. Just over twenty thousand, adding those to the credits I’d already had, and the bonuses and various payouts I’d had so far, and even with paying for the repairs I’d needed from Lion after the major’s betrayal, I was doing pretty good.

I had nearly a hundred and fifty thousand credits now, buying some things like the new mattress wasn’t a frivolous expense after all, it was a fucking necessity.

We’d have more once the emergency job was paid out as well, but regardless, we weren’t exactly hurting for money right now.

“Keep mine,” Reign said, and I looked at her in question.

“What?” I asked.

“Look, we need a slush fund alright?” Reign said to us all. “If that hits my account, forty percent of it is gone straight away, and we damn well need to pay for some shit in here, like a decent work area, food, hell, some clean sheets please! Seriously, we need to set up an account for that, and rather than those assholes taking the creds from me, just call that my contribution for a while, okay?”

“Okay… you guys want me to hold this, or someone else?” Luna asked, glancing around, the slight twitch by the corner of her eye showing she was nervous about how we’d all react to her keeping the discretionary fund.

“You keep it,” I agreed, twisting and popping my back with a grunt, then a sigh of relief. “Right, those stealth suits are getting fixed up for us by Julius, but we’ll need to wait until they’re repaired and the batteries are charged before we can do much with them, and I think we all need some gear. First stop, Lion’s, and get Gessh fixed up, then we’re off shopping. Any objections?”

“Fuck,” Luna grumbled. “I hate shopping.”

“Even for grenades?” Gessh asked, forcing a smile, and Luna shrugged.

“Taxi is inbound, three minutes,” Reign announced, heading out of the room. “I’ll hit the loo and catch up.”

I nodded, then grinned. “Then we’re off to Lucky’s place,” I announced, having just remembered it. “I’ve no fucking doubt they looted my quarters, but we’ll check it out, then we’re off after Lucky’s room, loot that fucker down to the ground.”

“Sounds good to me,” Luna agreed, as she helped her sister to her feet, the two of them moving to the door. “You decided what you’re going to do about Todds?”

“Who?” I asked, frowning, then nodding as my memory caught up. “The guy that survived this morning?”

“That’s the one. Two survived, but that Todds, stealth specialist, right?”

“Yeah,” I muttered, following the pair along as they took the stairs down slowly, the old metal creaking under our weight and steps as we went. “We’ll see.”

“We could do with a few extra people boss,” Luna said, not taking the hint as we went. “A stealth specialist could be just what we need, Reign is lethal with her sniper rifle, and yeah, give her one of those suits and she’s gonna dominate when she’s got range, but a real stealth? If they’re a specialist then they probably do hacking and shit as well, and we could really do with that, not having to hire Bowdoin for the jobs anymore?”

“Yeah.” I sighed. I’d been ready to tell her to fuck off and we’d all talk about it tonight over pizza, but that was a fair point, and knowing how hard a real specialist was to come across? If I left it, they’d soon be snapped up by another team.

“You want him to join us?” I asked her, and she nodded.

“I think we could do with it,” she said. “If he’s as good as he seemed—he’d been clinging to the wall surrounded by fucking specters for twenty minutes and they had no clue he was there—then we’d be mad to pass him up.”

“True, and for the stealth suit to hide all the emissions the way that one had, it had to be an expensive one… hell, twenty minutes and the fucker was still running? He’s got some heavy duty batteries in the suit at least, most only last a few minutes at most. He’s invested in his gear at least,” I muttered, looking around the warehouse as we reached the bottom, and again considering the gear we needed to bring this place up to speed to work for us all.

It wasn’t long before I heard the creaking and clanging of Reign hurrying down the stairs behind us, and then quickly after that, the warehouse was falling away behind us as we took off, heading sedately across the city to Lion’s place.

Aircars were an absolute luxury, they really were, the trip by ground taxi would have been at least two hours, here instead we were landing after fifteen minutes, even the busy air-lanes far more convenient than the ground based ones.

The cab was a luxury in time only though, as despite the damn cost, the inside of this one was bare-bones when it came to extras.

It still cost us over a hundred creds, and I winced as Reign paid it. For some reason she’d taken to arranging these things and more for us. She’d unofficially become our quartermaster, which meant that realistically, when we all transferred our share of the cost to her, it cost us another forty percent on top. That needed dealing with asap.

The simple and fastest method was for one of us to take it over, but the time honored second in command slot in a squad came with certain duties, and honestly, she was too good at them for us to consider anyone else.

She was marking her position in the squad, and we’d all accepted it. As part of that, and by the end of the flight, she was mid call to Julius at the guild, accepting Severin Todds as a new squad member, on a trial basis.

He’d already been contacted and was apparently relieved over our decision. He’d agreed to meet us at my old apartment block, and as we half helped, half dragged Gessh out of the cab, Reign finished the call and nodded to me.

“You were right, Julius wants us to take on the other survivor as well,” she warned me.

“What was his name?” I asked absently, checking the area, noting the gangbangers sat off to one side on a set of stone benches, watching us in turn.

“Ocracoke.”

“Fucking mouthful there…” I muttered shaking my head. “What’s he do?”

“No specialization, he’s offered to train, but wants his team to cover the costs, so…”

“So nobodies paying for that for him, because he could just leave and we’re all out of pocket.” I shook my head. “Fuck’s sake, I don’t like it.”

“Neither do I,” Reign admitted moving in to walk alongside me, as we followed Luna who was half supporting Gessh.

“Tell him no,” I said after a few seconds.

“Honestly?” Reign said, turning around and walking backwards, checking the gangers weren’t following us. “I’d say give it a day or so. See what Todds says. Might be that he’s good, just broke as fuck.”

“Fine,” I grumbled, uncaring either way. “Luna, you sure you don’t want a hand?” I called forwards.

“I’m f—” Gessh called back, only to be cut off by Luna.

“We’re alright boss. She’s been carrying my drunk ass for years, about time I repaid the favor, and we all know you’d just try and get her naked.”

“How the hell did I end up with a rep already?” I asked Reign with a sigh.

“It was when you tried to choke me with your dick.” She grinned at me. “You really weren’t subtle you know!”

“Fuck’s sake!” I groaned. “I never should have—”

“So you don’t want to do it again to me later?” Reign interrupted and I broke off. “Yeah, thought so!” She grinned.

“You… are you alright?” I asked, changing what I was going to say.

“I feel like I’m going to vomit at any minute.” She sighed, seeing what I was getting at. “That’s why I hit the loo, quick upchuck, then I was good to go again. Seriously, even that bit of fun, and how much I enjoyed it—which believe me, I know was a lot less than you did, but still—that was enough to leave me feeling like I’d basically eaten from one of those all night shitty meat bars outside of the clubs. Like I’ve got a few minutes to get to the loo before I lose all control?”

“Yeah?” I winced, feeling terrible I’d let her do it at all.

“Well, it’s like that, and will be for a few more days.”

“I’m sorry,” I apologized unthinkingly. “I shouldn’t have let you…”

“I did what I wanted to do,” she corrected me cutting me off. “And I’d like to do it again, and a lot more. But yeah, me offering it again later today? That was a joke, sorry. You’ll have to make do with your hand.”

“I served ten years in the APS, I’m used to that,” I joked, bumping her with my shoulder. “Come on, let’s get Gessh sorted and get to work.”

“Yes boss,” she agreed with a grin.

Lion was half sprawled on one of the operation chairs as we entered, his left forearm open down to the metal core as he worked, sparks and more flying as he apparently fixed or upgraded one of his integrated tools.

“Be right with you…” he called over cheerfully, before seeing Gessh and the way she was limping. “Ah hell, girl, what did they do to you now?” He shook his head. “Seriously, give me two minutes, I’m nearly done.”

“I can wait.” She grinned at him, despite the pale skin that was starting to really worry me.

“Can we at least get the boot off now?” I asked as we lifted her into the other chair, and she nodded, letting out a long breath.

“I’m going to take this really soon, just… Lion?” she said, holding up the knock-out up where he could see it and nodding.

“Yeah?” he asked, glancing at the seeping blood from the boot.

“I need something stealthy and sexy, you get me?” she asked, and he nodded.

“Sabaton Industries,” he replied. “You want awesome feet or legs? They’re specialists, it’s all they make. Well that and subdermal armoring, but that’s for the really paranoid market. Here, check out this one.”

We stood there silently as he apparently sent her a file, followed by a grunt from her, and then a quick non-verbal sibling discussion between Gessh and Luna.

Reign bumped me with her shoulder and nodded in their direction, as if to ask if I knew what was going on, and I shook my head.

“Tell me there’s a discount for the pair?” Luna said to Lion.

“Not a chance,” he replied with a shake of his head that set his wild hair bouncing. “I’d need to order them in, rush delivery by the Zon drone? It’d be here in an hour, and that’d be added to the bill if you’re sure you want the pair.”

“The pair?” I asked, frowning, before grunting as both Lion and Gessh sent me the same file.

Leg Mod

Tier : Three

The Sabaton ‘Black Knight’ package is for those who can lose a limb, and yet keep their good mood—and the fight—going.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

The Black Knight Full Limb replacement comes with a significant boost over any organic system, from a considerable improvement in speed, jump range and even including optional stealth enhancing cushioning plates on all surfaces, the Black Knight is an experience your enemies won’t live long enough to regret!

Black Knight legs come in three optional levels, Foot, Lower Leg, Upper Leg, but for the full effect? We recommend a full limb replacement.

Note : Sabaton Industries is not responsible for any injuries sustained using only one of the Knight class limbs without its assigned pairing.

Dexterity : 12

Durability : 100/100

Slot Cost : 8 [4 per unit]

Availability : Orderable

Credit Cost : 59,999 Per Unit

I winced, looking at them, and asked Gessh bluntly; “Can you afford this slot cost?”

“I can,” she assured me. “Leaves me with three points clear.”

“You’ll need to keep those points, if you want to wear a suit,” I pointed out to her. “And even then, I’m not sure if you’ll be able to get a suit that works with only three.”

“The spinal mod?” Lion asked me, and I nodded. “Here.”

The file he sent me was short and to the point, but damn, it was exactly what I needed, and I almost ordered it on the spot.

Spinal Tap

Tier : Two

The Okakanji Spinal Tap Mod is truly a game changer for those that require external linkages for racing, drone maintenance or even heavy construction.

This model integrates with and enhances the myelinated neurons it connects to, creating a symbiotic linkage between the nanites and the user. This linkage enhances saltatory conduction from the spinal cord up to and including the entire neural pathway.

Note : Unconfirmed reports of up to 67mps have been claimed by this mod, although only for short bursts.

Note: Claims on improved reflexes and improvements over other, competing systems, are valid only where the Okakanji system has been integrated with sufficient nanites. Due to the vast differences in biology this system cannot be guaranteed without sufficient nanites, and Okakanji systems recommend each individual have sufficient nanites on hand before integration.

As always, as well as providing ground breaking technology, the spinal tap also offers additional attachment points for internal bracing, armoring or organ replacements

Warranty : [12 months]

Toughness : 15

Durability : 100/100

Slot Cost : 6

Availability : Orderable

Credit Cost : 149,999

“Can… can you get this?” I asked Lion, disbelievingly. I’d seen these fuckers claims, and spoken with one APS operator that had been testing one. Literally one guy. He’d vanished soon after completing training, KIA in the field.

Now though? I remembered the speed of that fucker, how for admittedly short busts, he’d been a blur across the battlefield, his normal speed was slightly faster than the rest of us, that was it. Literally ‘slightly’.

It’d been enough that we’d ALL been fighting to get our mods redone with these, and we’d been told as one that the tests were inconclusive, and the army wasn’t damn well spending that on us grunts.

Now though, knowing that the Major had his own black ops squad? I was betting this was why certain operators had just vanished, seemingly off the edge of the planet. None of his own team had seen Franklin die, they’d just gotten the flat-line signal, and a big explosion that left nothing identifiable.

We’d all thought something had gone wrong with the onboard reactor, and had spent days pouring over the details, searching for an issue that might cause ours to go next.

If it’d been a setup though, one that the major had done to get Franklin out to work on his team? Damn.

“I can, but I’d need paying upfront for it and it’d take a few days to get,” Lion said, before holding his hands up as I glared at him. “It’s not that I don’t trust you to pay for it, and yeah, you’d have to trust me on that one, but frankly, I don’t run any line of credit with these things. That’s not ‘don’t like to’, by the way, its ‘can’t’. So with this? I’d need to buy the fucker first, so yeah, you want it? I can get it, but seriously it’s the only way I’m getting that in.”

“Fuck.”

“Is it good?” Reign asked, and I shared it with the group.

“Can you get four?” I asked, and Lion blinked in surprise.

“Shit Kabutt, that’s six hundred thousand credits… you pull in that kind of scratch? Fuck yeah I can order them, but…”

“But?”

“But, if I order those, all at once, expect me to get hit damn soon after they arrive. There’s some dodgy fuckers that try to do over the higher end chop-shops, alright? It’s one of the reasons so many of us are under the ‘protection’ of the Orc or others like him. If you’re not? Expect to get hit.”

“And even with being under Oshbob, you think you’ll get hit for those?”

“Hell yes. Four units that total over half a million credits? Fuck, man, that’s worth more than my shop. I’d bet anyone that sees that order spreads the word, and that it’s going to here? A shithole on the outside of the city? Fuck yeah. that’s if they didn’t just not bother to deliver.”

“You think that’s likely?” I asked, frowning.

“That they’d hit us? With that kind of disposable and easily moved gear, yeah.”

“With the supplier not delivering it.”

“Honestly, no, if we ordered them one at a time. It’s if there’s a single load of them in transit…”

“Lion?” Gessh interrupted.

“Yeah?” he asked, looking over.

“Fix my fucking legs, will you? Leave that bullshit for later?”

“Fuck, am so sorry, yeah! Okay, just the damaged—”

“The full set, both legs,” Luna said, before looking down at her sister and grinning. “Looks like we need to save up for mine next then, or people will be able to tell the difference too easy.”

“Don’t worry,” Gessh said, clutching her sister’s hand in thanks. “We’ll pay for it together.”

“Ah, sisterly love, doesn’t it make you want to vomit?” Reign said to me, smiling and winking at the sisters as they fixed her with a mirror-like glare.

“So, an hour for the legs to get here, and a few hours for the attachment?” I asked Lion and he nodded, already cutting the boot away from the Gessh’s foot as the girls presumably transferred the credits over.

“It’s on order now, thank you,” he said to them, then nodded to me. “Yeah, four hours or so, maybe five, depending on complications. It’ll clean me out of ‘nites as well, so if you need any for medikits, you’ll need to get them elsewhere.”

“Damn.” I grunted.

“Okay, well, Todds is waiting for us at the arcology, so…” Reign said and I nodded.

“We’ll get a taxi there, I can sort it,” I offered. “Luna, Gessh, you alright here?”

“We’ll be fine,” Luna assured me, even as Lion pulled the boot apart, a sludge of congealed blood and flesh sliding free, along with what looked like minced bones.

“Fuck!” I gagged, even as Gessh raised the knockout canister, and unspeaking, stabbed herself in the leg with it.

She was out in seconds, as Lion, utterly unphased, poked and prodded at the mess that was her foot.

“Impressive,” he muttered. “You can see where the nanites tried to reconstruct the foot, but without a medical guidance program, there was just too much wrong.”

“Explain?” I requested, only half listening as I ordered a cab for Reign and I.

“Basically, medikits work because there’s a clear bit of damage. A bullet hole for example, the mass is preprogrammed into us and into the ‘nites, they orient as to location, and rebuild. With her foot? It’s too much, whatever hit her pulped the bones and surrounding tissue, the ‘nites were trying to rebuild but the mass was just mush, so they couldn’t form a cohesive framework to build on. Looking here?” He pointed to a section that just looked wrong and I nodded, gritting my teeth.

“Looks like some thought they were working on a ribcage injury, sections of bone were being rebuilt into a rib, and this looks a little like lung tissue… then the rest were tearing that apart and trying to reconstitute her foot. That’s the problem.”

“Fuck that can happen?” I asked, shaking my head.

“Why the hell you think you don’t just pop a medikit and close all the hospitals then?” Lion snorted. “Kabutt, seriously, medics are more important these days than they ever were in the past, just now most of them in addition to their medical skills are programmers and hackers as well. You know this, surely?”

“Yeah, I just never saw a lung in a foot before,” I admitted.

“You’re lucky, I’ve seen a lot worse,” Reign said sadly. “Come on, let’s leave Lion to work, and Luna to drool over him.”

“I’m not drooling,” Luna growled.

“Maybe not, but you bit fast there.” Reign grinned, heading for the door.

“You did,” I agreed, winking, then heading for the door as well. “Shout if you need us.”

“We won’t,” Luna growled. “I’ll see you lovebirds back at the house.”

“Play nice now!” Reign called over her shoulder as I hurried to catch up to her.

“You really think Luna and Lion…?” I asked her, climbing the stairs behind her, and admiring her ass as I did so.

“Na, I was just sick of the pair of them making comments about us that’s all, and it’ll make it really awkward for her, because Lion likes her.”

“But she doesn’t like him?”

“More like she really likes Dondo,” Reign admitted. “Gessh and Luna come as a pair, and that puts a lot of men off, despite the posturing and the shit that most guys spout.”

“I bet.” I shook my head, then couldn’t help but wince. “And as Dondo works for Oshbob… that fucking Orc really is everywhere isn’t he?”

“Like a rash,” she agreed, the pair of us coming to a stop outside and looking about, noticing the gangbangers that looked from us to the door we’d come out of, and the lack of the sisters. “You think we need to do something about them?” she asked, and I checked them over quickly.

“Fuck it, we’ve got a minute or two before the taxi,” I agreed.

“What you want?” one of the gangers asked as we walked towards them, handguns being readied visibly.

“Just a friendly chat,” I said, moving closer, my right hand holding my rifle grip at the ready, finger laid across the trigger guard, ready.

“Yeah?” he grunted. “You can fuck off with your friendly…”

“Listen, fucknut,” Reign said with a wide friendly smile. “We work directly with Oshbob, if you know who that is, then you know to fuck off and leave our friends inside alone. If you don’t, then you’re too dumb to be left alive, so how about you pick real quick?”

“Huh?”

“She means fuck off right now, or we kill you all,” I clarified. “Seriously, we’re armored, your piddly little handguns aren’t going to do much more than piss us off, her grazer though? That’ll reduce you to a pile of disassociated atoms. Just fuck off alright, we’re not in the mood.”

“You better…” the ostensible leader—or loudmouth—started, only to be grabbed by one of his friends who apparently knew Oshbob. Thirty seconds later and they were slouching away, attempting to appear as if leaving was their decision all along.

“I don’t actually know if I’m pissed they know him and we didn’t have to fight, or glad,” I said as we wandered over to the air-cab as it pulled up.

“I’m glad.” Reign sighed, laying her rifle in the trunk and unburdening herself of most of her gear, before climbing in. “And you know that street trash like that don’t know what an atom is right? Never mind what ‘disassociating’ means.”

“Yeah I know,” I grumbled, dumping most of my gear in with hers and climbing inside, sitting on the seat with a groan.

“So…” Reign said as we lifted into the air. “You ever have sex in one of these?”

“Uh… no?” I said eyes widening slightly.

She grinned. “Just curious.”

“That’s cruel, you know that, right?”

“Maybe I’m taking notes for when the mod is out.” She shrugged, and I glared at her, mind racing.

Glancing about in the cab, I gritted my teeth. There was plenty of room, or there would be in a Johnny-Cab, as we’d want both the guarantee of no recording while we fucked and the soft furnishings.

I’d just never really considered it before.

Well, I had. But that had been more along the lines of the fantasies I had now and then of being rich and having a private aircar, and a bevy of young filthy elven women to fuck senseless every night.

Those kind of daydreams might as well include some of those that modified themselves as pretend ‘kitsune’ as well for how fucking likely they were to ever come true, but hey.

“So, you’ve been quiet a while…” Reign grinned, and I realized at the same time as she did, that yeah, I was fucking blushing and sporting a hard-on that I could have used as an offensive weapon. “Oh… is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?” she asked, with an evil grin, as the air-cab beeped to signify the landing was imminent.

“Fuck’s sake!” I growled, trying to think calming thoughts and staring out of the window as the cab sank lower and lower, the nearby walls soaring up past us as windows flashed by.

Just before we settled down, I felt a hand unexpectedly squeeze my crotch, and breathy whisper in my ear, promising that we’d share that cab ride alone ‘soon’.

That undid all my hard work in an instant, and then the doors were opening, as Reign stepped out of the left doors, and I struggled to straighten, stepping out of the right, and coming face to face with Todds.

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