Chapter Twenty - Nanomachines, Son

“Fuck logistics.”

Corporal Dimitry, Russian Eastern Incursion Front, 2029

***

First, nanomachines. Specifically nanobots that can be used in an offensive capability.

“I need a catalogue for that?” I asked.

The only nanomachines you’ve used previously were specifically designed to dispose of antithesis corpses. This is an entirely different use-case.

“Yeah, but those were also nanostuff,” I pointed out.

Cat. The ones you want to buy for this hive are as different as a doorhandle is to a spacecraft. While both could technically be called machines, the degrees of complexity between them makes keeping both in the same general categorization idiotic and misleading.

I raised my hands in surrender. “Okay, yeah, fair enough.” I imagined the nanobots we were preparing to deploy were going to be somewhat more complicated than those I’d used before. They needed to travel to specific places and wait for a specific signal before they started anything. “Any other catalogue I should look into?” I asked.

Two come to mind. Basic Defensive Infrastructure for quick-to-install defences. Then, Civilian-Grade General Combat Equipment. That last one is for the civilians, obviously.

“What does Civilian-Grade mean, exactly?” I asked.

The catalogue mostly has helmets and armour that’s relatively cheap, capable of keeping a civilian informed and connected while also keeping them safe from the weakest antithesis. These are not rated for the level of combat a Vanguard would expect to face, and aren’t designed to last very long. The catalogue includes weapons that are meant to be so easy to use that a child could operate them with barely any instruction without harming themselves or others.

I reached the top of the escalator, then nodded along. “Alright, fine. Grab the catalogues.”

New Purchase: Class I Nanomechanized Warfare

Current Points: 94,564

New Purchase: Class 0 Civilian-Grade General Combat Equipment

Current Points: 94,464

New Purchase: Basic Defensive Infrastructure

Current Points: 94,264

“Nice,” I said. “Hold off on buying stuff for a minute, though,” I said. There was a predictable number of militia men loitering around a set of shops that had been taken over. Someone installed steel plates before the windows and blocked the rest off with planks, leaving only one way into the area, with hip-high sandbags stacked up around it. Anyone coming in would have to get past the guys with rifles by the entrance.

Fortunately, I had someone running out to meet me already. A fresh-faced woman, maybe three or four years older than me, who came to a stop next to me and snapped a salute. “Second Lieutenant Smart, ma’am,” she said. “The General said you would need some assistance.”

“Hey Smart,” I said. “I think we all need a bit of help right now.” She laughed and I stared at her for a long couple of seconds. That hadn’t been funny. Was I dealing with my own yes-man? Yes-woman? Yes-cute-girl-in-tight-uniform?

I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. I preferred it when corporate stooges were angry at me, that meant I was doing the right thing.

“Did the General give you an outline of what’s going on?”

She nodded. “Yes ma’am. We’re looking for volunteers for your high-risk mission now. It might take a few minutes to gather everyone. The vehicle for their transportation is being readied as well. We just need the equipment they’ll be using.”

“Good,” I said. Then I looked at the shops they’d taken over. A clothing place and a sporting goods store. The shelves had been pushed around and it was pretty clear that they’d done some last-minute renovations to make the place more suitable to their needs. It also looked like they’d set up a clinic of sorts and some spaces for their people to sit down and relax in.

That was all fine, but I needed more room than they could afford.

“Smart,” I snapped. She straightened up as if I’d pinched her. “I need tables. All across here. Get me every nice flat surface you can find. It’s not time for sitting around and looking clever, so get those guys over there working too.”

“Uh, yes ma’am,” she said as she followed my gesturing hand. I was just making a vague wave across the floor we were on. Half of the area was taken up by one of those open spaces that looked onto the floors below and above that malls liked so much because it made them look so much bigger.

The Second Lieutenant ran off to do as I’d asked, which was something I could get used to. In the meantime, I turned my attention towards Myalis. “Nanobombs first,” I said. “Enough to mess up the hive. I think price is a secondary concern here. Besides, they should pay for themselves.”

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They should, though don’t expect them to be too profitable. Vanguard receive fewer points the more degrees of separation there are between themselves and a kill they score.

“Huh,” I said. “Okay, I guess.” Was it a way to keep samurai from making a literal killing without having to do any killing? I supposed that I’d been losing points here and there while using drones.

Don’t worry. Most of the drones you’ve used have been deployed in close proximity to yourself. And any trap, explosive, or mine that you lay yourself doesn’t suffer from any point-based penalties.

“Is it all there to slow progress down, or to discourage us from sitting at home buck naked while making a fortune?” I asked.

Why not both? Besides, you’re not as interesting when you’re cooped up at home.

I snorted. Chalk one up to the “Protectors using us as entertainment” theory. Which honestly never sounded plausible. If humanity could have story-telling AI that rivalled the combined minds of every poet and author ever put together, then the Protectors could generate their own drama without having to involve the likes of me.

“Just get us the nanowhatever we need,” I said.

Certainly.

A case appeared at my feet, about a metre long and half as wide and tall, made of dark grey plastic with... was that my logo? The cat's head with the grenade pin in its mouth was present, embossed onto the case. “Really digging that logo, huh?” I asked.

I am, yes. It is... I think Lucy would call it cute.

I snorted. Well, whatever. It wasn’t hurting me, and some Samurai, like Emoscythe, had a hard-on for branding and image stuff, so that might get them off my back.

“Is that one of the nanowhatever?” I asked.

No. That’s all of them.

“Really?” I asked. The box was large, but not that big. I could fit into it if I felt like contorting myself a little.

Catherine, what do you think nano means?

I rolled my eyes. “Right, I see what you mean.”

Lieutenant Smart ran back over, with two guys behind her dragging along one of those plastic-topped tables with unfolding legs. “Ma’am, we’re bringing every table we have,” she said. “It’ll take a moment though.”

“That’s fine,” I said. “So, Myalis and I were thinking. First thing’s first, the box here is full of nano-shit that’ll melt the aliens for us. The general should have the outline of the plan already. Give this to whomever’s heading out to the museum.” I tapped the case on the ground next to me with the end of my boot.

“Thank you. We’ll bring it over now.”

“Good. Now, we’ll be equipping the civilians, right?”

She nodded.

“So... yeah, Myalis, ideas?”

You can either buy a few hundred samples of each piece of equipment separately, or you could buy kits of them. There’s no real point saving either way, but the kits might make it easier to distribute to the civilians.

“I like that,” I muttered. “So, a Hummingbird, something that packs a bit more punch? Then armour and a helmet with coms?”

That’s most of what I would suggest. I’d also like to add a small first-aid kit and to include a rig with the armour for additional ammunition and supplies.

That seemed perfectly logical to me. “Doesn’t have to be pretty, just needs to work and be idiot-proof.”

It should be. For a main weapon I’d suggest the Alley Purr, it’s a suppressed smart-rifle with an IFF targeting lock to prevent accidental friendly-fire. Perhaps we can add some explosives as well, since you have the catalogues for those?

I grinned. “Spread the love? Sure. But... maybe Resonators? They’re a staple of mine and they’re hard to mess up. The worst collateral they’ll deliver is deafness.”

Certainly. Each kit will cost... ninety four points.

I nodded slowly, then took into account how many points that was. “Hey, Smart, how many civilians will we be equipping here?”

“There are eighty thousand in Downtown, or close to that, we don’t have exact numbers. Only about two percent are volunteering for guard and combat duty though.”

That’s a thousand six hundred.

And a thousand six-hundred times ninety four was... a lot. I opened a calculator app and punched into the numbers, then winced. That was way, way beyond my budget. “How many people volunteered to do guard duty already?” I asked.

“You mean the green bands?” she asked. “We have two hundred of those per rotation. Three rotations a day.”

I punched in that number and liked it a lot more.

“Okay, so let’s get half of them equipped then,” I said. “We might be in this for the long haul, so let’s not go too far. Oh, and Smart, this is expensive. Let’s not have anyone running off with our gear, yeah?”

“Yes ma’am,” she said.

***