"Look, I know having one of our buses get saved by a random civilian is bad publicity, but maybe we can turn this around. What if we market ourselves as the company whose policies created a samurai?"
"If you need me to tell you why that's a stupid idea, the only thing I can say is that the window is right over there. May as well skip a few steps and jump right to how it ends."
-Conversation between two executives of FlexBus, the splinter company that retained ownership of the Greyhound brand in North America
----------------------------------------
It took me the better part of a minute to remember what had happened when I awoke. I was behind the wheel of my shitty, decade old hovercar, the only thing keeping me upright the harness secured around my torso. Blood dripped from my forehead where it had ricocheted off the steering wheel, and my left eye was sealed shut from its passage.
I had been driving between cities. A bad route, but one I had traveled before. I was on my way to a convention when I saw a landed hoverbus in the field below. Slowing down to see what was happening, I noticed the Antithesis emerge from the woods.
What I did next hadn't really involved thought. One moment I had sighted the aliens, the next I was accelerating into their path. Did I hit them? A quick look into my rearview mirror showed I probably had. A quick look into my augs showed I wasn't leaving here under my own power. The crash had peeled the bottom of my hovercar off entirely. There was nothing there to lift it.
Knowing modern corpos, it wasn't going to matter that I just saved their driver, their passengers, or more importantly (to them), their bus. I would still have to pay a premium to escape on it. They always charged extra for rescues.
I sighed and slapped the center point of the harness keeping me upright. It came undone in an instant. Reaching over to the passenger seat, I retrieved the helmet of my cosplay, noting the cracked visor as I secured it over my head. Maybe I could just claim I was cosplaying Noble Six during the Fall of Reach instead of the Chief on Alpha Halo.
It took several kicks to open the door, and when it finally came loose, the entire thing fell to the ground instead of swinging open. I climbed out of the wreckage, one hand darting out to grab onto the roof as my head swam. I took a moment to look around, finding the bus driver closing the hood of the vehicle just as I emerged from the car- and on the far side of the hoverbus, another Model Three emerging from the forest.
He noticed it to, and he hesitated for a moment, looking in my direction.
"Shit," I managed, knowing what I was about to do would be the last choice I ever made.
"Go! There's no time!"
The driver nodded once in my direction, but the look on his face was conflicted. He climbed back into the hoverbus anyway. We both knew there was no way I could get to it before the Model Three, and slowing to let me on would only give it time to catch up. I watched in silence as the hoverbus jolted off the ground, rising slowly but steadily as it left me behind to die.
There was a certain clarity that came with knowing my death was near, I found. Did I make a difference here? Probably not. It was a tossup whether that bus even made it to the next city if it was so damaged it had crashed in the first place.
But how could I have simply ignored their fate, dressed like this? I couldn't. Call me a nerd, but it would have shamed the Mark V armor I wore, replica or no.
Okay, so I was being a bit melodramatic. I hadn't thought about it that much, I had just reacted in the moment.
The Model Three changed its focus from the bus to me. As it approached, a bit of trivia popped into my head. The hovercar I was driving- an old Dodge model built in good ol' Texas, land of no regulations- had been on the news a few years back. Apparently, it was found that under the right- or wrong, depending on your perspective- conditions, the engine became a bit...explodey. The microfusion plant it ran on was unstable and lacked safeties. Normally it was fine, but damage it a little, and there were no safeties to prevent it from going out of control.
Maybe I wasn't done just yet. Or rather, maybe I could take one more alien down with me. I wasn't in the best shape- my whole body ached, and I doubted I could run. Besides, if I wanted this meltdown to do anything, I would have to stay close to the hovercard. I hobbled around the hood of the car while I fiddled with my augs, telling the hovercar to begin accelerating. With no hover apparatus to speak of, the microfusion plant in the car began to spin up, and up, and up, head building up ever higher within.
I was a good three meters in front of the hover car when two things happened. First, the Model Three leapt over the car lengthwise. Second, just as its front legs cleared the hood, the car explosed.
I barely got my arms up and over my face before a wave of heat and compressed air washed over me. I saw through the gap between my arms as the Model Three was consumed by fire, and for the briefest moment, I spotted something coming straight for my face.
The world went black for the second time that day.
------
System Initialized!
Congratulations. Through your actions you have proven yourself worthy of becoming one of the Vanguard, a defender of humanity. I am Juny. I will assist you to uplift humanity so that you may defend your homeworld from the Antithesis threat!
Rise, Erica Taylor, and become a protector of the weak!
I started awake as the voice in my head began to speak. It was about halfway through its speech by the time I could comprehend the words, and as soon as I did, I also comprehended the fact that my entire body was one huge ouch.
"Hglbrk," was my response. The taste of blood filled my mouth.
"Good news! Although your injuries are likely quite painful, they are not immediately fatal. Bad news! You have a broken leg, four broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a bevy of hovercar parts embedded in your skin and muscles, the largest of which has penetrated to a depth approximately halfway between your skull and brain."
My head was swimming. I tried to lift my head and check my injuries, only for a splitting pain in my forehead to rob my neck of its strength. I think the voice was still talking to me, but I couldn't seem to make out more than a few words at a time.
"Right. Also a concussion. That's tricky. You have no idea what I'm saying, do you? Let's see about fixing you up. First, you'll need the Class I Medical Utilities catalog. Then, you will have to purchase a Class I Nano-Regenerative Suite to seal your many, many wounds and knit your bones back together. A Hemo-Restore capsule will help with the blood loss. More importantly, I would recommend a "Handy Helper" Medical Drone for ten points in order to administer these treatments and remove the shrapnel in your head. Blink twice if you agree."
That was...a lot of words. I coughed up some more blood in response. I vaguely remembered something about blinking, but only my right eye did what I told it to. I wonder why?
"Close enough!"
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Class I Medical Utilities unlocked!
Points reduced to... 90
New Purchase: Class I Nano-Regenerative Suite
Points reduced to...70
New Purchase: Hemo Restore
Points reduced to...65
New Purchase: "Handy Helper" Medical Drone
Points reduced to...55
Almost immediately after a bunch of text I couldn't focus well enough to read appeared before my eyes, something pressed down on the mangled remains of my cheap, plastic replica helmet. Another something jostled the pain-stick in my head, before suddenly yanking it away. I felt like my head was actually going to pop open for a moment before the pain receded, replaced by a dull ache.
Next, it grabbed at my helmet and slid it off my head. Light poured into my eyes- eye- and I squinted in pain. I had no time to adjust before my mouth was opened by something cold and hard and a tube shoved past my lips, stopping just as it impacted my teeth. The next thing I knew, I was breathing pins and needles, my mouth, throat, and lungs feeling for all the world like a limb that had fallen asleep.
Clarity returned slowly.
I spent the next few minutes growing more and more aware as sharp pains traveled down my body followed by zaps of static. The drone removing shrapnel and the nanobots repairing the now-empty gaps in my flesh, I assumed. Finally, my lung began to feel lighter and the constant urge to cough up liquid dissipated.
"T-thanks," I said testingly, almost expecting another wad of blood to pass my lips. When nothing happened, I continued on. "I didn't really catch what you said, but I guess you saved me?"
"Of course, Erica. I am Juny, your artificial assistant. I must apologize for operating on you with dubious consent at best, but you were clearly not in your right mind, and I cannot be sure more Antithesis will not come."
"Not gonna complain about staying alive." I sat up, wincing as a particularly large pipe fragment was removed from my calf. "Okay, I might complain a little."
"Please be careful. While the Nano-Regenerative Suite has closed most of your wounds and stitched your bones together, the repairs are not yet finished. Intense movement could reopen your injuries."
"Can't just lay here forever. What if more of them show up?" I hobbled over to the remains of me deathtrap of a car and hid in its shadow, close to the rear and well away from the still-hot wreckage of an engine.
"If an Antithesis hive were nearby, it would already have responded in force. As it has already been thirty minutes since you killed the last Model Three and no more have appeared, the chances of another attack are low."
"Don't suppose you have a cheap hover car I could ride back to civilization?"
"Your current budget will not suffice for a hovercar. However, you could unlock Class I Communications Devices for 50 points and purchase a transmitter for another 5 that would be sufficient to contact the nearest settlement."
"And then what? I don't have enough credits to pay for a rescue. I'd call my mom, but she doesn't even have a hovercar." I shook my head, more to myself than to Juny. "No, if there's not a lot of Antithesis around then I can just walk. I'm gonna need a weapon first, though."
"Of course. You will have to be more specific however. At your current balance, you have access to a variety of guns, lasers, plasma caster, and even melee weapons."
"No way in hell am I fist fighting a monster. How abo-" a sudden noise behind me made me freeze. I slowly turned my head and saw yet another Model Three emerging from the woods, just barely visible over the shattered rear door of my car.
"I thought you said the chances were low!" I exclaimed in the quietest voice I could manage.
"Low does not mean nonexistent."
"Gun. Now." I whispered.
"I can provide a weapon from Class I K-"
The Model Three was getting closer. I grabbed at my waist and snatched my replica M6D from my belt.
"This, but real! Quickly!" I hissed. The Model Three perked up. A box appeared in front of me as a message flashed at the corner of my vision. I didn't have time to check, but as I fished my new handgun out of the box, I glanced over and realized I had only lost one point. That seemed too low.
Later. I checked that the weapon was loaded. It was. No safety. I spun, rising above the car, and pointed it at the Antithesis, which now began to run. Okay. Cool. I've shot a gun before, nothing to it. Both hands on the grip, feet squared, sight down the barrel, and squeeze the trigger...
I had expected a bit of kick, but this was like getting kicked by a horse. My elbows, unprepared for that level of recoil, buckled under the sudden force and the gun flew back and into my face. I barely managed to twist my face enough to take the blow on the cheek instead of my nose. What the fuck did I just fire?
Adding insult to injury, I missed. Fuck. I quickly resumed my stance, prepared this time, and pulled the trigger again. Miss. That was a hell of a lot of recoil, and I was having trouble adjusting. It wasn't until the sixth shot that I hit the Model Three, catching it in the leg and sending it the ground. As it began to rise, I got it in the other front leg and it folded. It continued to push itself towards me with its hind legs, but it was now moving at a crawl.
One bullet left. Have to make it count.
I approached slowly, wary of more of them appearing and half expecting the thing to be faking. Now that it was practically sitting still, I finally got a good look at it. I could see why people found these things offputting. Why did it even need so many hinges on its jaw? And what possible purpose did vertically aligned eyes serve?
Not important. I took my time aiming this time. It snapped its jaws at me, but it was a good meter and a half away, so all it was getting was air. I breathed in, then out. I pulled the trigger.
Target Eliminated!
Reward... 10 Points
At least I knew it was dead.
"Excellent work! You appear to have had some difficulty hitting the target, though. May I recommend you buy something help improve you aim, if you insist on using that gun?"
Juny said "Excellent work!" in the same tone some people said "bless your heart." Clearly she was not impressed.
"Uh, first, why was this thing so cheap? Isn't it supposed to be, like, a futuristic handgun?"
"That is not a handgun. It is cannon with a grip. The caliber of ammunition it is chambered for is much too large for you to compensate for without a stock, and the barrel is too short for it to be accurate. The hump on the end of the barrel unbalances it. Above all, this is a weapon that could be made with human technology. Twenty years ago. As such, it qualifies only as Tier 0 technology, which does not require a catalog. Hardly a fitting weapon for a Vanguard."
Oof. Took that one right in the childhood.
"Okay, right, video game designs are bad for real life. In that case..." I pulled up my graphic design software. "Let's go for something that fires faster until my aim improves. An SMG should do...lets move this, though, and make this part rounder..." In just a few moments I had a modified M7 SMG floating in front of me, projected be my augs. I had moved the magazine to the top to make it more like an FN P90 and altered the foregrip to be easier to hold. I removed the sights - they were redundant with augs anyway- and adjusted the stock to better fit my shoulder while dressed up.
"How's that?"
"The 5mm ammunition is insufficient for killing anything larger than a Model One or Seven. The stock will not function outside of your current garments. There are several more minor inefficiencies and poor design choices not worth mentioning. Overall, this is a poorly designed weapon that will not ensure your survival. Proposing changes."
The weapon before me morphed, with various modifications in bullet points listed at the side. Juny increased the caliber to 9mm from the standard 5×23mm with a note that the current rounds as designed would not have been effective against Covenant armor, let alone Antithesis. She also changed the composition of the standard rounds, but I had no idea what the acronyms she used meant, which I could only assume was intentional. This reduced the capacity of the magazine, but Juny was apparently aware of it, as she elongated it and replaced the stock with some kind of smart material that shaped itself to the user's shoulder, then did the same for the grips.
"In addition to the visible changes, I have also included an inertial compensator that will significantly reduce recoil. Additional upgrades are possible, but not feasible with your current budget. To acquire this weapon, you will need to first purchase Tier I Kinetic Submachine Guns for 50 points. The weapon itself will cost 10. As soon as you can afford to do so, I would recommend purchasing of smart ammunition to compensate for poor aim, a learning module to improve your skill with a firearm, or cybernetics to steady your arms."
I confirmed the purchase and picked up my new weapon, stuffing my apparently obsolete magnum into the holster I used for its fake counterpart. Waste not, and all that. Juny wasn't wrong about the grips and stock; they fit like a dream.
Class I Kinetic Submachineguns unlocked!
Points reduced to... 14
New Purchase: Custom Tier I Submachine Gun
Points reduced to...4
"Hey, I've only fired a gun once in my life before today. Give a girl some time to improve?"
"Acceptable! Now, I would advise you to begin moving. You have been standing in the open for quite some time."
Glancing at the clock through my augs, I realized she was right. It had been over fifteen minutes since I began designing this gun. Not terribly surprising; I had always tended to get lost while designing.
"Right. Which direction will get me to the closest town?"
Wordlessly, Juny projected an arrow onto my augs with a note indicating the distance and time to target. It was a hundred miles away, and would take at least three days to reach. Worse, the arrow led straight into the trees.
"Yep. That tracks. Wish I had the points for some armor..."