I needed a nap. It was all too much, and there was so much to do. With everyone gone, I made the most of the time I had. I napped for an hour, then spent some time rigging a webcam out into the hallway, pointing at the door.

Eventually, Trent and Jeff came back. Jeff was a dick, "Good to see we have optics on the target." Or perhaps I was a bit harsh, and he was just trying to use his skills and knowledge.

"Really? How about we use normal talk? I would have called in my friends if I wanted to run a military operation."

Eddy: Why didn't you?

Because they are Empire, as much as I love them until we get established, I don't want to be accountable to another alien society. Not that IPC is much better. Damn, Allen and Harold. We need to rename them both.

Eddy: Harold chose his name. Let him be.

Well, he could have a 2nd, more fabulous name, just like you. You did not always go by Eddy Hip Wo.

Eddy: I can discuss it with him. Maybe a Title.

The rest of the day passed without too much incident. We managed to ferry many of the materials to the carpark loading dock. We arranged to deliver large quantities of goods. Sylvia struck gold when she found a catering wholesaler who could provide goods for 1000 people for a big function. She spent the afternoon ordering express delivery on everything and anything. The only stipulation was it had to be delivered tomorrow. I am sure Luke's friend Mike would have done much better, but I had never done anything like this before. We emptied camping and sporting stores of their goods, tents, blankets, and the works.

Luckily, Flex Tech had a fair bit of storage space near the loading docks. It also helped that the area around the building was a ghost town—really, really weird.

I ignored the rest of the group for the most part and tried to stay away from the walking zombie that Noah had become. It, or he, was so creepy.

I was not leaving the energy room, as I was comfortable and trusted the locks there, and I was not ready to face everything quite yet. The others all went and stayed in the executive penthouse. I didn't trust them 100%, but I was leaning towards them being ok, just misguided by Noah. I went through the stockpile of weapons before I went to sleep. It was an assortment of modern and medieval weapons. After consulting Eddy, I decided to go with a light mace and a short stabbing dagger. I found some leather gauntlets that fit me and also a lightweight tactical Kevlar vest.

I found it strange that Harold, The Empire and Prism favoured direct action over large-scale, impersonal action. Stabbing someone was rewarded more than dropping a bomb on them. Seeing the whites of their eyes up close and personal. The more risk, the higher the reward. Harold didn’t know why or was not saying.

I let Jean and Jed know things were weird in Brisbane and that we should be OK. They would have enough of a headache dealing with Min Min, Port Douglas, and, I guess, Cairns.

Eddy: You have three visitors coming tomorrow at 9 am. They are expecting to see Noah. I suggest you meet them at the carpark and bring them here.

Yeah, then we hit the other Lab afterwards.

It was late at night before we had everything in place ready.

I slept fitfully on an expensive leather couch with one eye open, not trusting myself to sleep in one of the bedrooms here. I wanted to be able to react quickly if needed.

At 8:55 in the morning, I was waiting at the car park elevator. I had found a business suit to present well for the meeting. Sylvia, Jeff and Trent were on the lookout in the corridor and the elevator in case any void beasts made it out. There has been no action from the lab. We had no optics, as Jeff would say. It was unnerving. They knew we were out here. There was nothing we could do until we made our move.

I was very nervous. I was meeting the Premier of Queensland, the Chief of Police, the Chief of the Army and the Lord Mayor of Brisbane. The Premier was a somewhat fearsome lady. She was an on-again-off-again hero of mine. She had bullied her way into power, well that was what the media portrayed her as, and was first to arrive with her three assistants. Despite some negative press, I had a fair bit of respect for her. If she had been male, she would have been seen as business as usual.

I shook her hand, "Pleasure to meet you, Sue; my name is Amy Walkden, and I will be your Flex Tech liaison today."

"Nice to meet you, Amy. We don't have a lot of time this morning. We squeezed you in, so 20 mins. Is that enough time?"

"I am sure it will be a start. But what you see today may make you want to clear your calendar," I smiled.

Her assistants didn't look too impressed, "Not going to happen."

"No press?" she asked.

"Not for this. Too delicate, and we don't want too much chaos when we make our announcement later this afternoon."

"What is Noah up to?"

"We are just waiting on Robert, Simon and Keven. They are two minutes out."

She looked surprised. "What is going on? It must be big for them. Are there no hints?"

I shook my head.

We spent the next two minutes talking about everything but the big news. She was nicer in person than in the media.

Simon Sheldrick arrived next in a large Humvee. After it pulled into the designated car park, he got out with two aids. They were all dressed in non-combat military camo uniforms.

I shook his hand. "Sir, It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Amy Walkden, your liaison today."

He shook my hand and smiled. He shook Sue's hand, "Long time no see, Sue. Hope this is worth it. The last time Noah got me involved, upgrading our drones cost us a fortune. Bloody hope it's not some new AI BS. I'm sick of all the startups trying to sell the next big clone of what we already have."

"It will be worth it, sir. As I told Sue, you may want to clear your schedule for the rest of the day." So far, so good.

"That's not happening. You are already my third meeting this morning. If it is big, I'll get the right people here."

Kevin, the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, arrived. He had some media in tow, a camera operator and a reporter, whom we managed to dissuade. We sent them back to get legal advice on our NDA. Today, our Legal team was Sylvia. Harold was assisting her. The NDA was large, complex, and full of things for them to pick at. Nothing we needed signed.

Finally, Robert Vignone-Lawman, the aptly named Chief of Police, arrived. Surprisingly, he came alone. He looked tired and was frowning when he saw Sue and Simon.

He shook my hand and nodded at the others.

As we walked, I began, "Let's go. Now, we are going to a restricted Lab, where I have some more Non-Disclosure Agreements for you to agree to.

It was a tight fit with everyone in the elevator, all the assistants and aids. It was funny that no one noticed Sylvia, who was now in stealth. I saw her quickly. Stats trumped low-level skills, it seemed.

Jeff nodded that the corridor was clear, and we entered the containment lab. I felt relief as we entered, and the energy levels stabilised.

We had moved most of our stockpiles out of the main room and into the bedrooms.

We sat on the expensive couches.

"Drink anyone?"

They all nodded.

I pour water all around. It was a bit early to start on the whisky, even if it was damn nice.

Robert asked, "Nothing harder? Shame. That single malt you have is nice."

I passed out the NDAs and waited while they read and signed them.

“It must be pretty important for this. If I had not signed the last one, I’d have to take it to legal.” Kevin said as he signed it, "Although they are not worth the paper they are written on for some things. If it's a state or national security issue, we will talk about it."

Sylvia chimed in, "That is fine, sir."

Once he signed, the others followed suit.

"Let me start. You will meet Noah shortly. My job has been to be a media liaison. I translate science so the public understands. I don't want to insult your intelligence, so please listen. Hear me out before you jump in and ask questions. Some of what I tell you is known only to several people."

They all looked excited and expectant.

"Can all your aids leave, please? This is for ears and eyes only. It is potentially top secret. There are refreshments and breakfast in the room over there." I indicated the small kitchenette with dining facilities.

Once they had left, I sighed.

Fuck, this was hard. Where to start?

Eddy: Start at the beginning.

I showed them the video of the portal punching a hole in the dimensional barrier. I showed our first contact. They were all shocked at Kristy's death.

"Noah sold out humanity to an alien species known as the Karass. They are a humanoid-based bio-engineered race geared for war."

Simon looked at me. "First fucking contact, and it is a psychotic bastard on both sides, and it sounds like we are already at war. Do you have numbers, troops?"

I held up my hand to stall them further. "It gets worse, and it's a war that we have already lost. It gets much worse. But we need to sort something out."

"The Karass have an enemy. They are human, at least as far as we know, compatible with us and are just known as the Empire. Both empires have mastered nanotech and tapped into the universe's underlying energy reality. For us, it would be a combination of String, quantum, and multiverse theories. They use advanced AI to manipulate the nanites and energy."

"You have proof of all this, and I am assuming since we are all here?" Sue asked.

"Are they, the Empire, willing to trade the tech?" Simon looked greedy. He could at least see the implications of war.

"They all can enhance beings beyond our normal standards. At the moment, there are a few Empire enhanced in Queensland. We know of a couple of ex-Karass. The Empire is at least nominally pro-Human and will protect us as much as they can, but we will have to join the Empire."

"What do you mean enhanced?"

I passed Robert a bowie knife.

I sighed, "Robert, stab me, please. In the arm or somewhere."

You have taken 2 HP damage.

He shot me right between the eyes. Fuck, that hurt.

Simon jumped on him and tried to disarm him. He was effortlessly thrown across the room. In a blur, I saw Robert pull his taser.

I was having none of that.

I cast Concussive Rebuke and threw the small grenade-like energy ball that formed in my hand at his head. It homed in on his head as he tried to dodge. As it hit between his eyes, a small burst of sonic and psychic energy pulsed out in a 2-meter sphere.

He dropped the taser and grabbed something at the back of his neck, ripping a small 2-foot tall bipedal snake from his head and throwing it to the ground. It had chunks of his flesh in its mouth and clawed hands.

Stunned but reacting faster than the others, I pounced on the creature and manhandled it into submission as it squirmed around. Robert passed me zip ties and cuffs, and we managed to confine the creature.

Sue was looking at the creature, mesmerised.

Keven stood groggily.

Fuck. Mind control.

I punched the bastard snake creature until it was unresponsive, trying not to kill it.

Once it was taken care of, I went to Simon, activated Medic, and cast Heal.

Medic

Using advanced knowledge of biological systems, Medic taps into the natural energy flows of the patient. It quickly identifies major and minor disruptions to the normal functioning of the organic methods.

The severity of the injuries is prioritised. It can identify poison, disease, and parasitic infections at higher levels. It synergises with other healing. It gives Bonuses to First Aid.

Robert collapsed. I ran to him and cast Heal, Cure, Purify and another Heal.

Less than thirty seconds had passed.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

He had been poisoned, diseased and had an egg sack inside him. He was weakened but would survive. As far as I could tell, the egg sack was inert, my medic skill flagged it as probably due to low energy. It would need to come out.

He looked groggy. "I'm so sorry. It made me do it. It's chattering..." he shuddered, closing his eyes.

Sue blinked.

"That, my friends, is why I called you here. Well, not exactly, but that is part of the reason. After you leave, we have a nest of those to clean out. "

They listened.

I didn't tell them everything, but enough for them to all jump on board.

In the end, they all cleared their schedules. I smiled at that little win.

I introduced them to Harold, and despite his grumbling, he could generate enough nanites for them to connect. They became the newest members of IPC.

Harold spoke to us all over the PA.

HAROLD: I can only accommodate about 100 per day at this rate. I would need more biomass and alloys to do more. We need 10,000 before I have enough energy to make the settlement. I would prioritise Law Enforcement and any military-trained beings. I believe there are 40 Police, 40 Army, Navy, and Air Force, with 20 left over, 10 for our lottery, and 10 for nepotism.

"Nepotism?" Kevin asked. It was ironic he was asking, as he was in charge of a council that had recently been in the courts for nepotism. Maybe it was a sore point.

HAROLD: Yes. People are more likely to want to join the organisation's IPC if they know that family members can be accommodated. Each executive would be allocated some discretionary slots to fast-track family and friends. You are more likely to do your job knowing that your immediate family is cared for.

Keven asked, "So tomorrow, everyone will have this anyway?"

HAROLD: Yes, but you connect to the IPC with the nanites I produce. Without that connection and a settlement stone, people will degrade as they lose control of the nanites.

"Degrade?" Simon asked, "As in, get weaker?"

HAROLD: Yes. Or they go insane. Become chaos-driven. Some people cannot cope with the changes, and their minds get broken. Others, well, they would have connected to Prism via the settlement stone that is now in Min Min or the Prism local network based on the density of nanites -- and thus become slaves to the Karass.

Sue took charge: "So we need to convert 10,000 people. You can do 100 per day, and until then, people will degrade or go insane?"

HAROLD: Yes. However, I could ramp up production with more biomass, say several tonnes and some alloys. Also, we could purchase a stone from Min Min, although it would need upgrades. If we do it my way, we bypass a lot of upgrades and will be able to save more people.

"My intelligence says that we can expect to lose at least 50% of our population. I said, " Globally, " I lied to them to minimise the shock. There was a big difference between 50 and 80% of the world's population.

"Unacceptable. How can we improve that?" Simon asked.

HAROLD: Normally, it would be much higher for an uncontrolled integration, which is why they do not happen often. I would say it is a breach of the Accords. Once I have the 10,000 minions, I can get a seat at that table and negotiate on behalf of Earth Humans or their derivatives."

Um, Harold, can we not call people minions?

HAROLD: why not? Oh, Allen explained it to me.

That was new.

Inspiration hit me.

"Sue, can you ensure that a few waste transfer agents get enhanced today? I'll hook them up to an inventory, and we can send them to the dump, e-waste, and green waste. There should be loads of that."

She was on her tablet, "45 tonnes of contaminated landfill, 11 tonnes of e-waste and 129 tonnes of green waste."

HAROLD: Perfect.

I could hear the salivation in his tone.

It took a bit longer for us to work on our operation, we called in the police officers and then the army people to get enhanced. Family members would wait until after the infestation was taken care of.

We decided that ten soldiers, all of whom Harold bumped into level 5 fighters, would be enough for us to take the nest in the Lab. He also ensured they had enough mind resistance to fend off the expected mind control. They surprisingly took it all in stride. I guess it was no different to the rumoured experimentation on soldiers during Vietnam.

It was amazing. I could see every new IPC member come on board. They all agreed to the IPC Contract, which was good. They were all sold the program as a fast track into a new Flex Tech Super Soldier program.

I didn't tell anyone that I had not agreed to the contract, despite being the Chosen of Harold, a free agent, sort of. We really needed to get more classes, skills and spells.

Are you tampering with people, Harold? There seems to be a fair bit of cooperation, even though these people are typically not the most cooperative.

HAROLD: It is funny. The ContrContractly does make a difference. There seems to be a good balance between cooperation and individual power. The don't be a prick clause may be causing some of them some discomfort. I have calculated a 23.4% decrease in efficiency if people try to be selfish, rude or obstructive. I am also modifying the nanites to make people more accepting of the change by increasing the levels of dopamine being released. The amount will drop slowly as they gain levels and return to normal by level 5. This will make people more likely to accept the integrations and everything it brings, and reduce long term trauma. Once their willpower and intellect are sufficient, dealing with trauma is something that becomes almost automatic.

Sounds good in practice, but free will and all that.

HAROLD: Noted. Allen is helping me balance things. Free will and agency are the primary directives of the Accords, which I will be signing shortly.

It was 2 pm, but by that time, we were finally ready. Simon, Robert -- whom I had given an all-clear with my medic skills -- and I were included in the assault force. I was included because no one would turn me down after I demonstrated being shot, stabbed, and blew something up with a spell. I even got a proposition from their squad leader, a cute army guy named "McTaggart". I smiled, turned him down, and suggested I was like his older sister. It worked perfectly.

The army unit was decked out with night vision, combat vests, fully automatic machine guns, knives and grenades. We had a medic in the back and a comms guy coming with us.

McTaggart was in the lead as I hit the biometric handprint and cleared all the security. The door did not open.

McTaggart called, "Heidie, get up and clear the door."

We stepped back as Heidie, a tall, NBA-sized soldier, crouched at the door, drilled holes, placed charges, and stepped back. He looked Samoan and had a bright, friendly smile.

We all stepped further away. "Fire in the hole.", his surprisingly nasal voice called out.

The boom and flash of plasma blinded and deafened me for a second. I was left behind as the soldiers rushed through the smoke, and I heard the door clanging open.

"Fire at will." I heard McTaggart call. Explosions rocked the Lab. I finally cleared the smoke and looked into a hellish landscape.

Eddy: It is a foothold. An invasion. We need backup.

Easy there. Remember our mission. We get the cases with your vat mates and then deal with the invasion.

The room was not recognisable. The once pristine, clean Lab was now a horror room. The walls looked like the ribs and internal organs of a vast beast. Embedded in the walls were the remnants of my former colleagues, with pseudopods covering their eyes and mouths. Deep within the back of the former Lab, behind mounds of pulsating flesh, I could see the rip in reality.

Through the tear, I could see the invasion force. It was a scene right from an HR Geiger art book. At least one of the soldiers threw up.

I felt fear for the first time since I had been enhanced. The snake larvae were the least of our worries. Looking through the portal to the waiting invasion force, I saw they came in two other sizes. Luckily, they seemed too big to get through the tear in numbers, or the tear could not accommodate many at once.

Machine gun fire ripped through the flesh.

"Reloading" was being called, and as each soldier reloaded, a grenade was sent towards the portal.

Fuck, Where is the Broodmother?

Eddy: I think we are inside her. Lookout, the egg-laying proboscis.

I leapt and sliced through it with my stabbing dagger, shoving a soldier aside as it nearly injected some green venom and an egg into his back. I should have rethought my weapon choices. I pointed to the twitching tube as I helped the soldier up.

"Watch for tubes," He yelled, nodding at me, "Thanks."

"Proboscis, it was trying to lay an egg in you."

He went pale, remained professional and yelled, "Watch for probos... probosucsses, Watch for the tubes. They are trying to lay eggs in you."

Those were the least of our worries, and there were hordes of small snake creatures. Individually, they were weak and no match for the soldiers, but they were quick, stealthy and could quickly swarm. They also could stun and daze soldiers at close range. The unit's discipline kept them alive. Bursts of fire, reloading and moving, covering each other and making sure they called arcs of fire. Eventually, there was a slight reprieve as the number of creatures slowed to a trickle.

Eddy: The cases with my vat mates are over there.

He highlighted the area in my vision. It was like a HUD. Very cool.

I cautiously made my way across the floor. It was pulsating and unsteady.

I called to McTaggart, "McTaggart, just retrieving some equipment."

"Be careful. If I rescue you, will you go out with me?"

The suggestion was short-term.

"I'm like your sister, remember." I cast suggestion again. Poor bastard.

Eddy: the adrenaline and heightened combat action have reduced the effects of your previous suggestion.

The rest of the squad laughed at his rejection.

I crossed the floor to the former alcove where the symbionts were.

Eddy: Where is the 3rd case? There should be more. The third case is missing.

I have no idea, Eddy. Let's grab these, and we can get the rest when we clean this out.

Eddy: We must look now.

Too dangerous. Once we clean it out.

Eddy: I hate that you are right. I feel very strongly about this. We must find them.

I shoved the two cases into my inventory.

I pinged Harold.

HAROLD: Chosen?

Stop with that crap, man. Can you see through my eyes?

HAROLD: I can see now. What am I looking at or for?

Biomass. How do we convert it?

HAROLD: I now know why I like you as my chosen.

You have gained the class Wizard.

You gain 3 Wizard Levels.

You have gained the ability to cast Wizard Spells.

You have 3 1st level wizard spell slots.

You have 2 2nd level wizard spell slots.

You have gained the Spell: Nanite Spray (2nd level Technomancy).

As you hold your hands with thumbs touching and fingers spread, a thin sheet of nanites shoots forth from your outstretched fingertips in a 15-foot cone. The nanites coat any object in the area.

Eddy: He just rejigged Burning Hands.

I guess that answered my question.

I could cast it twice.

I held my hands out before me in a clear arc and cast.

Nanite Spray

Nanite Spray

It was a little disappointing, but a fine mist of nanites spread out of the Lab.

I could see the biomass starting to dissolve into an eerie green mist.

I backed up.

Um, are we safe?

HAROLD: Maybe. I will work on safety protocols. I would leave the area as soon as you can. RUN.

Crap

"Back up, bio-hazard," I yelled as I approached the door.

We all fled and sealed the room.

This time, we had 'optics'.

We had zero casualties.

I poked Harold again. I was going to shit stir him.

HAROLD: Chosen?

So. Quests. XP. Levels.

Disconnected.

Quest Received: Clear the Void Incursion.

Rewards: Various.

Lame Harold.

HAROLD: I am busy.

Disconnected.

There were exclamations of surprise as I expected everyone to get the quest.

"So, how do we defeat the incursion?" Simon asked.

"Shut the portal down."

I groaned.

Eddy cut the power to the Lab.

After a brief moment, we got an update.

Quest Updated: Clear the Void Incursion.

Quest Completed.

Rewards will be calculated once a settlement has been established.

There were cheers and some confusion.

"I shut down the Lab's power. The portal was powered from here, so the incursion had not established a permanent bridgehead."

HAROLD: You will be pleased to note that with the injection of rich organic material from the incursion, the 'dump' and the e-waste, we should be able to generate enough nanites to accommodate 10000 people in under a week. This is down from an estimated 100 days.

"We are still going to lose too many people. And it is going to be worse elsewhere."

HAROLD: Cairns, Port Douglas and Min Min will have some capacity, but not on the needed scale. I suggest expediting a portal to Min Min, as it can save the most people. They will not be IPC but Empire unless we can convince Luke to join us.

"Sewerage treatment.", I yelled.

Sue looked at me, "I should have thought of that. Over 1000 tonnes of biomass. We can also send people to the mines for their tailings, but I am unsure if that helps. Then we send people south and north to other centres. We can get you as much biomass as you need."

HAROLD: 1000 tonnes would allow me to meet the quota. It would take me over a day to process and convert to nanites. Distribution will become an issue. I will synthesise them into a pill form, which will speed up the process. 1 pill per person. Once they connect, they will be offered the contract they sign and provided with the class choice. I will allow people to re-choose at the 5th level as more classes come online. If anyone needs anything else, please go away. I am busy. Amy will deal with you. She is my Chosen One.

Great. I spent the rest of the day doing things I hated.

I had meetings with people who needed things. I made the Lord Mayor, Chief of Police, and Army Chief senior officers in what was essentially our guild.

I set the Premier above them as she seemed to have the best balance of doing what was right for the people and managing difficult situations.

We spent the night distributing pills and getting as many people as we could on board. About 95% of people agreed to the Contract; others were enhanced but not offered any classes or skills. They could level but without benefits. By the time the clock rolled over to 10:37 on Thursday, we had 3783 people contributing to our energy pool. The number would hit 10000 by 4 pm.

We all felt it. A pressure wave. Pain and Joy.

HAROLD: Welcome to the Multiverse.

For the first few hours, not much changed, but just after 4 p.m., I watched my interface numbers.

IPC: 10000

You have met the requirements to form a settlement. Do you accept the responsibility and authority for the settlement of Brisbane?

Yes.

Congratulations.

Title acquired: Baroness.

You have received 2% tax. 1 Portable Shop Stone.

Crap.

IPC-WIDE ANNOUNCEMENT:

Amy Walkden has accepted the position of Baroness. May she rule with wisdom and prosperity.

WTF, but thanks, Harold.

HAROLD: You are officially the leader of a faction and owner of a regional centre. In two days, we will become a capital, and in 1 month, we will be a Regional Capital.

IPC: Barony of Brisbane is Neutral with the Empire. Barony of Brisbane is at war with the Karass Collective.

Quest Reward:

For closing the Void incursion, you gain 1000000 credits, 25000 XP. 1 Rare Weapon Token, and 1 Rare Armour Token.

My only saving grace for the first little while was that regular communications went down, and I could hide and let Sue deal with the crap.