From: Sarah Corriveau of Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Calais
To: Adolphe Beauchamp of Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Calais
RE: Fulfillment Department Order 83Y7456H5
Date: 19-6-2188
Adolphe, I realize that this is a duplicate order. The client is upset that the last one was seized on Neu Holgaard because the paperwork wasn’t correct. It was our mess-up. In addition, the product wasn’t shipped correctly, leading the authorities to think they were illegal. These Storm League types are even more exacting and pedantic than the Germans here on NewHome.
That last order financially brought our company in the red, which the sales department has repeatedly apologized for. This time I received half the payment upfront in GmbH Marks. The rest will be released when the shipment arrives in Neu Holgaard with PGSH Ltd. I’ve been assured they are a reputable security company.
From: Adolphe Beauchamp of Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Calais
To: Sarah Corriveau of Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Calais
RE: Rep: Sales Department Order 83Y7456H5
Date: 20-6-2188
Sarah, why would a security company dealing with other Realities want to buy our products? We went along with the first order because we were delighted to have a sales contact in other Realities. Last year the UE stopped buying ours in favor of GmbH-produced weapons because they are cheaper and more reliable. We will have to talk to our Celari technicians to see if they can reverse engineer the GmbH battery technology and magnetic bottles.
I concede that the pre-payment has saved the company for the time being. Therefore, I will allow this transfer of forty Model 75 Plasma weapons to be shipped to Phoenix Guardian Security Holdings Ltd at Neu Holgaard In the Sky Hurricane. Naturally, I have suspicions about their use, but we are only a supplier, not a government.
Somewhere in Umbria
Reality of Erde
December 19 th, 2188 ESC
“Fuck!” Limbikani cursed when he saw the patterns in the data streams. Not only did he have to contend with the infowarriors that the Storm league was employing, but Althea had also made her appearance. She kept him out of a peer-to-peer network made of drones, vehicles, cameras, and people’s cyberware. That last bit was nasty. If he sent a kill order to the system, there was no telling how many people he would kill by mistake. He tried to send one to her directly, but it was immediately refused, and one was sent back that almost blew out his datacore.
“She’s impressive,” he heard nearby him. He was running on screens and partial virtual to bypass any retaliation by Mechanon itself. That plus, they had relocated to a warehouse in the middle of nowhere with only a single anonymous connection to The Network. Furthermore, neither of his two minders had any cyberware, so they were perfect for guarding him as he poked at one of the computer’s pets.
Khloris and Iwai watched the few camera feeds he had managed to take control of and the few on his allies. The Kondarrian woman rubbed her nose. “She’s fighting you and managing to attack and fight the people on the ground.” The Kondarrian paused. “I want to fight her,” she said under her breath, shivering oddly.
Iwai grinned at her, her teeth white against her brick-red skin. “I wish that as well, but do not let out enough magic to fry the Young Master’s equipment. It’s delicate.”
Khloris snorted. “My physical enhancement spells do not leak, like yours. Lightning and fire effects surrounding you may look cool, but it’s not good around this stuff either.”
Limbikani tuned them out and went back to the task at hand. Unfortunately, the two physical mages often went on tangents like this extolling the virtues of their techniques to one another. He often joined them in workouts that kept his body fit so that he could withstand the burden so much cyberware inside him took on his system. Unlike what was shown on the vid with anemic-looking losers being infowarriors, most infowarrior dens had gyms. You didn’t want the people doing the work having heart attacks, or a system shut down while working. It was just a bonus that the body he earned in the gym also helped out with the ladies.
He grunted and sent subtle signals through the Network as he fought the subroutines Althea had running that were trying to shut down his signals or turn off his commands. Then, abruptly, one of his radio interference subroutines was cut off at the base. He suspected the soldiers had just gotten sick of his interference and unplugged the offending equipment. “Well, crap,” he said quietly. “They’ll probably start communicating soon.”
“What about the malware in their equipment?” Khloris asked offhandedly.
Limbikani shrugged. “They can probably get it working soon, but the targeting systems will be fucked.” Then, he smiled and added, “We’ll have to see what happens if fire support is called for.”
Teerstadt
Reality of Edelweiss
December 19 th, 2188 ESC
Ticualtzin was having a tough time controlling the battle net’s interface. Of course, it didn’t help that only a few of the restaurant’s patrons could see what she was doing. The area map showed several city blocks of one- to three-story buildings laid out in a grid pattern. The animals were clogging most streets with predators running patrols that seemed somewhat regular. They had discovered this somewhat unhappily by one of the patrons trying to leave the restaurant the way Althea had, only to be attacked by a dire wolf.
‘Thea, it seems that they are just trying to keep people out of their way. They don’t seem to be trying to kill anyone staying put , she thought in the battle net telepathic communication system.
A series of emojis and complex symbols flashed in her mind that were instantly translated into Althea’s voice. Unfortunately, I do not think whatever they plan to do will be good for anyone here. Disrupting their plans should be our priority.
There was a pause. Ticualtzin caught a glimpse of Althea using her sword to take out a sabertooth. It had leaped at her from an alley, and she had jerked back to shove the blade into the large cat’s spine just below its head in a blur of motion that was barely caught by the drone’s camera.
Ticualtzin was surprised at the number of drones in this city. They did most of the city’s repair and maintenance and were everywhere. Even compared to normal-sized towns back on Erde, the number of drones here was unprecedented.
Her thoughts must have leaked as Althea replied, This place had been considered a waste of money, and the GmbH left it automated for many years. They would only show up at the oil terminals when the tanks were full. The League only started bringing in sentient workers after the war when we needed funding.
Ticualtzin felt her eye twitch, ‘Thea, did you just rephrase part of our briefing material back to me? She watched as Althea climbed up the side of a building on one of the monitors. A lightning flash connected Althea and another roof, and Ticualtzin’s heart was in her throat. Dios! Baby, are you ok? Don’t be dead!
I am alive, came a terse reply. I used some drones as a shield— a pause. I cannot use the roofs anymore - they have overwatch. Any suggestions?
Thinking for a bit, she located Althea hiding in an alley a few blocks away. She was wedged between the buildings, her feet and hands gripping opposite walls. Thank God that these quick-set-up buildings were so close together. She began to scroll around the map in a panic when the old man who owned this place came over to her.
“Chava, is everything alright,” he asked, giving her a refill of tiste. The rice and cocoa-based drink was a very refreshing reminder of home. He tapped the side of his head, and she saw a glint of a camera in his left eye.
Pointing at the map, she asked, “Señor, can you see the map that I see?” He nodded and pointed at the enemies on the map.
“Your woman, she is being herded,” he said quietly in Texican. His finger pointed at various alleys where she could see wolved and even a freakishly long-limbed bear headed towards her. “They want to force her up to the roof so they can shoot her.”
Ticualtzin blinked at the man and looked at him in a new light. “I never caught your name, sir?”
He grinned and said, “Master Sergeant Conception Garza Sanchez of the Consortium’s Texican Army contingent.” She smiled back and shook his hand.
“Thank you for your service, Master Sergeant,” Ticualtzin said. She pointed towards the map. “Any pointers other than her shooting her way out? We’re both technicians.”
He gave a short barking laugh and sat next to her at the table. “Technicians, eh? She should be doing a lot more killing. She’s Mechanese, isn’t she?” he said slowly.
She nodded. “Yes, but she’s injured and is trying not to set the town on fire,” Ticualtzin replied.
He snorted, “That is appreciated, miss.” Then, he looked at the map and said, “I have an idea, but you’re not gonna like it.”
###
Althea disliked the Idea even more than Ticualtzin. Tiki, do you think you can make it the two kilometers ? Althea asked in the battle net.
Even Ticualtzin could tell there was a bit of fear and worry carried in the undertones of the message. She tried to put her feelings into the reply, Yes, ‘Thea. I may not be a crazed special forces berzerker like you.
I am not crazed, Althea shot back a little testily with a frown emoji.
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Ticualtzin grinned to herself, and it sent a happy emoji to Althea. Nevertheless, she continued. I was trained to be a soldier just as much as you, and I am better at working with old GmbH tech, like the central automated drone center. It’s over a hundred years old, and I’ve been trained to make that stuff work.
There was a pause, and Althea sent a curt, K. I still don’t have to like it that my girlfriend/lover/otherhalf/one - the concept thought pattern that Althea had for her was very mixed up to Ticualtzin’s perception – is going into harm’s way along while I’m trying to lead them on a wild goose chase.
As much as I love that you called me that, ‘Thea, Ticualtzin thought. She slid down into the underground maintenance tunnels that crisscrossed the city. The restaurant’s basement was used for storage and refrigeration abutted the old maintenance tunnels she would use for this mission. You have a mission to accomplish and so do I if we want to stop these terrorists from doing whatever they plan to do.
There was a pause. You are right. I am letting my personal feelings get in the way of the mission, Althea replied.
Inside, Ticualtzin struggled with wanting to hug Althea mentally as it would also make it harder on herself. She amended , I still owe you a good recreation session when we get back . So please come back alive.
A happy emoji was sent back from Althea. I shall keep that promise. Contact me if you are in extreme danger, Althea replied.
You say that, Ticualtzin thought to herself, trying to keep the thought out of the battle net. But if I do, you’ll abandon the mission and save me. She had heard relationships other than casual partners were banned for biofems. This might be why. Of course, Althea was odd even for a biofem. I shall. Now give them hell. She gave a thumbs up as she put a set of old IR goggles she borrowed from Master Sergeant Sanchez on her head. Giving them a thumbs up, they sealed the basement over her, and she ran down the surprisingly dry tunnel.
Let’s just hope the Sidhe haven’t got critters in here, too, she thought.
###
Althea leaped over the backs of several Aurochs cattle, her pistol flashing in precise intervals. Each shot took out a dire wolf that was on her tail. Finally, she flipped end over and landed on the building’s wall with her feet. Toe claws slicing through her boots, she gained enough purchase to appear as if she was running on the wall for a few steps before she pushed off and fired the pistol into the face and skull of a sabertooth. It had suddenly appeared from an alleyway to her left and was now a dying springboard that she used to leap back across the street.
She spotted a Sidhe riding a mammoth down the street as he raised his hands to cast a spell. Her pistol flashed several times, distracting him into making his elemental shield of water appear. He was raising his hands again when a huge shovel on a mechanical arm came down on him and the mammoth from their right. Thank Lord Mechanon, they left a bunch of their construction equipment scattered around this half-built city, Althea thought. The construction equipment’s force crushed the mammoth and Sidhe.
She winced and almost tripped as she felt another digital attack on her. That Infowarrior is really starting to annoy me, she thought as she fired back another reply to them. This one included Reality coordinate data and a message to the League hidden in an easy-to-defeat attack protocol. It would fire off as soon as it was crushed.
A wolf appeared near her, and she went to shoot it, but the magazine was empty. The pistol was tossed, and she pulled her sword. The plasma rifle would kill them both if she used it in close quarters like this. A lunch and downward chop took the beast’s head and paws. The monocrysteel blade was impossibly sharp, and she had to be extremely careful with it.
She checked the local battle net and noted that Tiki had gotten closer to the town center. She hoped the automated defenses would be of some use as they were so old, but she had been impressed with how sturdy most GmbH Military equipment was. A few times when she had used their rifles in combat, they had never broken down. Unlike the sensors she and Tiki had put up, civilian models, the GmbH seemed to take pride in their military equipment.
Tiki said it had something to do with planned obsolescence, a concept that hurt Althea’s mind. Why would you deliberately make things that would break? Tiki had told her that it was so they could sell more of the same product, and furthermore, they were usually so cheap to buy that repairing them cost more than just buying a new one.
A blip popped up on her battle net on a building nearby. Ice formed a shield around her as several projectiles slammed into it. Twitching, she turned, seeing two Sidhe standing there with pistols that glowed red in her infrared sight. Elfshot then, she thought. She pulled the plasma rifle off her back and fired it one-handed at them. Inside the chamber, a chunk of latticed magnesium bonded with hydrogen was held in place with a magnetic field before it was flash heated to plasma by several lasers. A particle stream guided by magnetics alighted on the target for about half a second before the plasma was released.
A crack-boom that looked like fiery lightning connected the gun and her targets for a second before they both exploded into flames. Althea looked at the gun, and its ammo indicator lit up with a baleful 12 for a moment, then it turned off to save power. Twelve shots, she thought. I’d better make them count, or I am dead.
###
Song Wuying cursed as he listened to the chaos in the city. His group was in a control room in the port of Teerstadt, surrounded by dead lesser beings. His agents were slowly planting bombs here and there along the port’s junctions and killing anyone they came across. The security forces that would typically take care of people doing what they were doing were hampered by his paid mercenary. He was busy wrecking the lesser beings’ info systems that they used to communicate. In addition, his brother had large amounts of wolves, coyotes, and sabertoothed cats running around the oil terminal. They attacked anyone who wasn’t Sidhe and helped lock down the port with patrols.
The Jīmó was systematically killing his people and turning the normally dead machines into occasional golems that obeyed its commands. The problem was that you couldn’t avoid them because these damned humans left the devices everywhere. His people didn’t have enough ammunition to destroy every vehicle or flying golem in the city.
He turned to his brother, Xifeng, sitting, legs crossed and hands on his lap, facing away from the technicians’ bodies. He clicked his tongue. He thought , If his talents weren’t so valuable, I’d force him to toughen up on the front lines . Then, out loud, “Xifeng, have you managed to kill that bitch yet?”
His brother grunted and shook his head. “She is very elusive.” Then, opening one eye that glowed the red of his animal control spell, he said, “We’re keeping her distracted from what we’re doing here, so maybe that’s good enough? Destruction of the port is the real mission, isn’t it?”
Wuying looked away and nodded, “Yes, but we’re losing too many soldiers. So we’ll have to begin recruitment again.”
“I still can’t channel my magic through the animals,” Xifeng said, closing his eye again. “If I could do that, maybe we would have an easier time of it?”
“You’re right,” Wuying said. “I believe I can make Pan train you, but you’d have to live among the lesser beings, and I do not want you getting soft.”
A snort of derision came from his brother. “I feel the death of every one of these animals as if it were my own,” he said. “That woman is making me experience death over and over again. I doubt I will go soft just doing some training.”
Irrational anger gripped Wuying. He reached out with his hands to do… something… he stopped and looked at his hands which trembled and twitched like they were going to grasp or choke someone. Then, he shoved them into his pockets with a visible mental fight. Breathing shakily, he looked back towards the oil terminal and away from his brother.
About twenty large skyships were berthed in the mudflats that lined the shore. They were huge and contained large compartments filled with the oil the Storm League was pulling out of the ground. On most versions of Earth, this area was underwater, but since this version was still in an ice age, the water was at least a hundred and twenty meters below that. This exposed the tidal flats and made the oil easier to get at. As a result, the coast was ruined, and crude oil was choking the beach and killing wildlife underwater where it snuffed out the kelp beds.
“The Emperor was right, you know,” Wuying said quietly. “The lesser races despoil the planet with their mere presence.”
Xifeng nodded, “I have seen pictures of their primary Reality. It is a nightmare.”
A chime sounded in his ear. Xi Yong’s feminine voice came through the communication gem, “Commander, the bombs are set. Shall we regroup and pick up our comrades?” There was a pause before he continued, “Can we at least kill that bitch? Unfortunately, the human mercenary doesn’t seem to be able to kill her with his techno-spells.”
He responded, “Gather the troops at the ship. We’ll rendevous with the forces in the field. If we run across….”
There were several explosions in the city a few kilometers away. Then, a vast amount of gunfire began to reach his ears.
“Jǐnyīwèi forces, report,” he said curtly.
“Lightning three, reporting!” a panicked man called. “We’re under attack by hundreds of Golems!”
Wuying narrowed his eyes in annoyance. “Xi Yong, get everyone on the ship and prepare for combat!” he yelled into his wrist bracelet. “As soon as we are in the air, start the timer on the bombs. We don’t need to be killing ourselves in the firestorm.”
Xi Yong’s voice came back, husky with bloodlust, “Yes, Commander.”
###
Ten minutes earlier—
Ticualtzin ran down a tunnel in the dark under the city of Teerstadt. She had to contend with rats, possums, and raccoons. Apparently, the megafauna had left this portion of the town alone. She had heard of giant beavers that dug corkscrew-shaped burrows that breached tunnels like this. She was glad that none of them were present. She pulled out a small map that former Master Sergeant Chavez had given her. She stopped at the next junction and turned right. This should be near the city center where the drone maintenance facility was located.
Carefully she looked around and found a maintenance ladder. Chavez had said he was part of the crew stationed here before the war broke out and had returned to open his restaurant after the war ended. They mainly had relied on repair drones and automated defenses before the war began. This outpost was one of the main facilities that had kept the war going with oil to manufacture the war supplies that the Consortium and then the Storm League had needed.
Reaching the top, Ticualtzin pushed the button to open the access hatch. It popped open with a slight hiss and a clunk. Looking up, she didn’t see the heat signatures of animals directly blocking the hatch. Chancing it, she climbed up and stuck her head out. A small plaza with an abstract fountain presented itself to her with a few buildings at the edges. A brutalist city hall was directly in front of her. It looked like a squat upside-down pyramid with exposed concrete held up by ugly bare pillars. Another square building to its left merely said “Trade Center.” The third was two stories and looked like a squat concrete rectangle with regularly spaced doors. Faded lettering that said WS-17 was on the corners of the building. That was her destination.
There were a few aurochs around the area, but she didn’t see any of the wolves yet. She climbed out of the manhole and pulled her pistol carrying it in a double handhold, barrel pointed down. Running toward the building, she heard snarling and skittering as a dire wolf ran towards her, its eyes glowing with reflected infrared light. It was headed from the corner of the maintenance facility in an intercept to stop her.
They can’t know, can they? she thought as the pistol came up and she fired it three times. The animal was stitched with bullets across its barrel chest and fell forward to slide dead about ten meters away. She ran for the door as she heard other howls and saw a pack of the animals come from the same direction as this one had. “Ay, chingados!” she yelled and poured on speed towards the one human-sized door closest to her. They were closing in on her as she reached it and started typing the code.
She paused and shot into the pack as they were about five meters away, and they scattered, going to the sides to hunt her. She turned and hit the open button on the door, but the code was incomplete, only giving her a buzzing sound. One wolf lunged for her leg, and she nailed it in the face, its heavy corpse sliding and hitting her left ankle. Then, she fired at the wolves as they circled her, making them scatter.
Back against the door, pistol in her right hand, she typed in the code with her left hand. Unfortunately, the animals saw this as their opportunity, and two of them came at her at once. One she hit in the leg and chest, and it yelped in pain. The other managed to bite her right calf. She screamed before pumping two bullets into its head at point blank range. The animal’s head exploded, tearing her leg a bit more as she heard more answering howls.
There was a soft beep, and the door slid open behind her. She fell into the warehouse, hitting the concrete floor with her bottom and back. Looking up, she saw two more dire wolves heading towards the door at a sprint. Pushing past the pain, she rolled to the side, got up, and slammed a button that slid the door shut. Two thumps against the metal greeted her ears and then muffled snarling sounds. Wincing, she felt around for the lights button, carefully avoiding the door controls. She found the standardized light toggle switches that had been used for over two centuries and flipped them up.
There were clunking sounds throughout the building that started at five-second intervals. Soon afterward, an orange glow began to Ticualtzin’s left, gradually becoming brighter in each section as the sodium lights turned on. Then, rows upon rows of drone racks presented themselves to her. They were about half full, but what was left looked like tracked and gravitic weaponized drones.
“Oh fuck yeah!” Ticualtzin yelled as she limped towards the control room. A rolling security bot came rushing out towards her with an electronic challenge. The three-wheeled trashcan began unfolding itself, growing taller. Sonic weaponry on folded arms popped out and tracked her. She transmitted her current Storm League credentials and Master Sergeant Chavez’s maintenance codes as the damn thing trained its weapons on her. Tense seconds passed before it beeped softly, folded back upon itself, and turned to patrol the warehouse.
“Cheeky little motherfucker…” she said as it wheeled away. The bot paused and turned its rounded head back towards her. She waved and smiled at it, and after a few moments, it made a beep that suspiciously sounded like a tongue click. It then turned its head back, rolling away.
The controls were a bit dusty in the control center, but they were built on a pattern that had been used for two centuries. Monitor, keyboard, trackball, numeric pad. Ticualtzin turned on the equipment and keyed in the sequences that Chavez had given her: Emergency – Wildlife Purge – Lethal Protocols – Execute.
The warehouse behind her came to life as robotic arms built into the walls reached out and began pulling weaponized drones off racks. A loud humming started behind her, and drones came to life to leave through hatches on the roof. A rumbling vibration was felt as tracked drones began to roll up to the small doors on the floor. Ticualtzin reached up and slammed the door to the control center closed and locked it just in case any of the wolves came in as the drones were leaving. She finally relaxed and sat heavily on one of the chairs, taking shaky breaths as she felt the throbbing in her leg where the wolf had mauled her.
Looking around, she spotted a first aid kit and an old radio. “Let me try to contact the base,” she said as she began to hear the chattering of machine gun fire through the walls. “Gonna be a lot of carne asada if we make it out of this alive,” she laughed, half delirious.