“Most Samurai will die in their first incursion. Can anyone hazard a guess at the most common cause of death? No?

It’s carelessness.

It’s easy to think you’re invincible when you’ve just been thrown crazy alien tech. Unfortunately, the Antithesis never fail to capitalise on a weakness, and most Samurai don’t survive to learn their lesson.

If any of you ever find yourselves cursed with this gift they call uplifting, just remember; constant vigilance is key!”

--Stormsurge, local Samurai, giving a guest lecture at New Oxford University, 2031

We creep through the pipe, keeping an ear out for any enemies ahead. I don’t hear anything, but I do spot a single, malformed chunk of scrap.

I grab one of the knives at my leg and whip my arm forward, sending the knife spinning straight into the Model Nine’s centre mass.

It doesn’t die, writhing and breaking its camouflage before trying to leap towards us, but I throw a second knife that finishes the job.

Target Eliminated!

Points increased to… 190

I walk past the dead alien as my siblings retrieve my knives, tossing a Flesh Melter back at the corpse with barely a thought. After a few metres, I turn to face another loose grate, this one leading to the outside world.

However, instead of seeing a grate pressed into place, I find an open path into the undercity. I step up to the edge of the pipe and glance down, spotting the grate discarded on the floor below.

‘The plants must have knocked it out.’

My siblings climb onto me, and I jump down into the alley below.

‘Where should I be going? Am I looking for something in particular?’

You should be searching for the position of the hive, but for now I would just recommend gathering more points. It will be more efficient to upgrade your augs and let me find the hive for you.

‘Okay, plant killing it is.’

I stalk down the alleyway with my siblings creeping alongside me. There’s more light now thanks to the powerful artificial lights bathing the undercity in eternal daylight, but it barely makes a difference to me.

We make it to the end of the alley, and I peek around the corner onto an open street. There’s nothing on the street, but I can hear the faint sound of something being dragged along off in the distance.

{Something ahead. Quiet.} I tell my siblings as we step out onto the street and run forward while keeping low.

The street bends and as we follow it around, several Threes come into view, dragging along the corpse of a woman with a gaping wound where her throat should be. They spot us and drop the body, moving to attack as I run forward to meet them.

I flick a knife into the eye of the first and punch the second in the jaw, knocking its head aside before slashing its throat out. I catch the third alien as it dives for my throat, digging my fingers into its tri-hinged jaw.

Stripe leaps onto its back and scrambles up to stand on top of its head, staring back at me while triumphantly raising my second throwing knife.

When did she take that?

She drives the knife down into the xeno’s forehead, finishing my kill for me.

Targets Eliminated!

Points increase to… 217

{Thanks,} I squeak while pulling my knife out of the dead plant’s head and putting it away with the second knife that Chip collects for me.

I can hear heavy footfall and gunshots further into the twisting streets, so we quickly move on, tossing a Flesh Melter onto the bodies and creeping deeper into the undercity.

We reach the end of the street and peek around the corner to see a large crowd of plants assaulting one of the better built buildings down here, the Monkey Parade’s headquarters. There are lots of Threes, several Fours, and I even notice a few distorted shapes creeping along the edge of the street that must be Nines. However, there are also several larger Models I don’t know the names of, and there are even a few bird-like things flapping around.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

How the hell did they get down here?

I pull back from the corner quickly, not wanting to pull the mob’s attention yet.

‘Holy shit, that’s a lot of plants.’

Yes, with your current capabilities you would struggle to face them head on.

‘What are those big things? Will I even be able to damage them?’

The two largest Antithesis are Model Sixes. They are heavy combat units with reasonable intelligence, and they’re likely commanding that group. You could damage them with a strong enough explosive from your Esoteric Single-Use Explosives Devices catalogue, but you would need better Claws to get through their armoured hide in close quarters.

I nod and glance down at my bladed gloves. They’re nice, but they don’t really pack much punch. Explosions it is!

‘And the other ones?’

Model Fives. They are a ranged artillery unit that fire hardened quills that can penetrate light armour.

‘So, if I get hit by one…’

A new hole to heal!

‘Urgh. Staying out of sight it is.’

I look at my siblings waiting eagerly below me, practically bouncing in place with energy but forcing themselves to follow my lead.

‘Hey Cyon, how do points work when someone helps me kill things? I got full points when Stripe finished that doggo, right?’

It depends wildly based on the circumstances. If you and a non-Vanguard both directly contribute to a kill like earlier, you get full points. However, if someone kills Antithesis with a weapon you have provided without your direct contribution, you’ll receive a reduced reward. It’s the same for independent tools such as automated drones or trained combat animals.

‘In other words, if I get my siblings to help, I’ll lose points?’

Yes, however, you will also increase the quantity of enemies you can deal with at once if you grow a force of your own, and there are several methods to help increase your point gains with these methods.

‘Really? Okay, I want to give my siblings some grenades and have them climb nearby buildings to rain explosives on the plants. What should I buy?’

In that case, I would recommend unlocking Class I Auxiliary Weapon Utilities for fifty points and buying three Mark II Grenade Bag – Raccoon Modified for forty-five points. Then purchase four Short-Range Communicators from a general catalogue for eight points. As long as they are using grenades you supplied, on your orders, within a few hundred metres of you, you should retain most points from their kills.

‘Okay, do it. Oh, and I’m gonna need some grenades to fill their bags with.’

Class I Auxiliary Weapon Utilities unlocked!

Points reduced to… 164

New Purchase: Mark II Grenade Bag – Raccoon Modified x 3

Points reduced to… 119

New Purchase: Short-Range Communicator

Points reduced to… 117

New Purchase: Short Range Communicator – Raccoon Modified x 3

Points reduced to… 111

New Purchase: Mark I Needler Grenade x 6

Points reduced to… 81

New Purchase: Mark I Volcano Grenade x 3

Points reduced to… 66

Only seven boxes spawn on the floor in front of me, three large ones covered in colourful cartoon images of raccoons throwing grenades from little brown sacks, and four smaller boxes, three of them with a single raccoon face and one of them without.

{Open the big ones,} I tell my siblings, getting more used to their strange language the more I use it.

They scramble forwards and pop the tops off the boxes, grabbing the bags from within and trying to work out how to put them on while I check on the communicators.

I open the one intended for me first and find a strange half-moon-shaped black device with a several glowing dots on the side.

Place the communicator behind your ear and press the top button.

I do as I’m told, and the device sticks to my skin.

Do the same with your siblings and you’ll be able to hear each other as long as none of you leave the undercity.

I pop open the other boxes and find similar devices, so I quickly mount them to the fur behind my siblings’ ears, checking on their bag straps as I do. The bags wrap over their shoulders and across their chests in a full harness, and the mouths of the bags sit just behind their heads, each one with a grenade poking out ready for their little hands to grab.

The grenades are already in their bags, loaded with the Volcanos at the bottom. Use them on larger models after clearing the mob with Needlers.

I nod as my siblings line up in front of me.

‘Can I have a Needler as well please.’

New Purchase: Mark I Needler Grenade

Points reduced to… 61

{Split up,} I squeak, catching the grenade as it spawns before me.

{Get high and wait.} They all nod enthusiastically.

{Twist,} I hold up the grenade and mime twisting both halves. {Then throw.}

They all give small squeaks of understanding before dashing towards one of the jaunty buildings beside us to scramble up to the roof.

I creep forward to the street corner again and wait for them to get in place. I would join them on top of the building, but it’s probably better not to give the Antithesis an excuse to collapse a building with us in it. I’ll give them a more direct target instead.

‘If we take out the Fives with our grenades, will I be able to purchase a better weapon and deal with the rest of the horde by hand if needed?’

Yes. However, I would recommend utilising explosives anyway. As long as you’re within twenty metres of your siblings, I can place purchased grenades directly into their bags for a small extra cost, so you can restock them while you distract the Antithesis from the ground. Also, there are several more focused explosives in your catalogue you could use to handle the larger models if you would like to avoid making rushed weapon purchases.

‘Oh, nice. I’ll work it out then.’

{Ready.} Stripe’s squeak sounds loudly in my ear, as if she was sitting on my shoulder.

I peek around the corner and look up, spotting Chip hanging his head over the top of the building directly behind the horde, just above a small flock of birds.

I grab one of the knives from my thigh and lean around the corner, stretching my arm back.

{Hold,} I squeak, and Chip vanishes back.

My arm whips forward, sending my knife flying through the air and straight through the head of one of the small flying Models, grabbing their attention immediately.

{Throw!}