Bornholm was chosen as the site of the new Megacity mainly for one reason: Its rocky nature made it defensible. All other concerns and objections in the end gave way before this one overriding objective: There would NOT be another Stockholm incident.

--"Scania, the early days", page 31

***

Red Knight was not quite done with the boring stuff, as it turned out. I found him by asking the military people standing guard for directions, then heading over. On the way, I might have preened a little at the way the military people looked at me in my new armour. That's right, Valkyrie coming through!

I found him finishing a discussion with a stern looking woman who looked to be in charge of the local military. I was pretty sure I'd seen her around before, maybe at the security orientation? Anyway.

Red Knight and the boss lady both acknowledged me with a nod.

"Sylvi, welcome back. I see you've geared up some." Red Knight greeted me.

"Yes, I think I'm ready to head out. Unless..."

"Yes? Please make sure you're properly ready, we'll be some hours without much time for breaks after this."

"In that case I could definitely do with a snack. Do we have any around?" I looked at Red Knight, who looked at the military lady, who smiled and fished a granola bar out of one of her many, many pockets, and handed it over.

"Always bring a snack, is what being a mom has taught me. Goes for soldiers as well, and apparently Valkyries, too."

I blushed and accepted the bar, then paused, before taking off my helmet so I could start stuffing my face.

"Helmets are cool, but inconvenient." I muttered around a mouthful of granola.

I was pretty sure Red Knight was smiling at me indulgently, although the power armour made it hard to read his body language.

"So, I think you're safe here, but it'd be good to stay on high alert until we've verified where this scout excursion came from. You can let people out of the shelter, too, although I'd recommend staying close in case more Antis show up." Red Knight summed up. "We'll get right on finding the source of the problem and get out of your hair."

"Yes, thank you. And thanks for the help, again. Ah, Sylvi, was it?" I nodded. "I understood you were chosen as a Valkyrie just now? Have you notified your supervisor and let them know that you'll be stepping out of the chain of command and will be missing, assuming you will be?"

Oh damn, hadn't considered that.

I finished chewing. "I'll let him know."

I quickly typed out a message to Jens, my erstwhile supervisor, letting him know not to expect me back to work now that I was a Valkyrie. A Valkyrie! Me! It still felt a bit unreal. Anyway, once I had sent the message I turned to find Red Knight looking at me.

"Shall we?" He gestured towards the northern exit of the shelter area. "I'm parked right over here."

I nodded, then hurriedly put on my helmet and followed Red Knight. He led the way out of the walls and turned left along them. A ways down was what I assumed to be his vehicle, a large armoured hover... it wasn't a truck, nor a tank exactly, but something in between. It was, of course, quite red.

"It pays to be prepared and bring a variety of tools with you, I find. Which of course means you have to have something to bring it all in, too." he explained as he approached the vehicle. It opened up for him, and he got in the front. I went around the side to find the door open for me and got in, too.

Inside was a rather large compartment, with what looked like an armoury at the back, a number of power suits ready for entry and guns in racks, ready and available. The front had three large seats and single big button labelled "Start". I sat down in the nearest seat.

"The button is a bit of a joke from Gyaron. Says we humans have a need to press things to feel important. He's... not exactly wrong. Anyway, all of the actual controls are handled via augs and implants. Here, I'll link you in so you can see the instruments."

I got a ping in my augs, and some stuff showed up. Various gauges showing speed and altitude and stuff, as well as a map. I then settled into the seat. It whirred softly, adjusting itself to me as I moved around. Very fancy.

Red Knight punched the button to start up his truck-tank thing... "What is this thing, anyway?" I asked.

"The vehicle? I guess it's technically an IFV, Infantry Fighting Vehicle. Although in this case it's closer to an I Fighting Vehicle, with how few seats it has." he chuckled.

So, Red Knight started up his IFV, lifted off and set off to the north over the greenhouses. The surrounding area was fields of various grains, mostly wheat I knew, although it was hard to tell the difference from how high we were and how fast we were flying.

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

"How are we going to find out where these Antis came from?"

"Well, now that I know which area to look in, thanks to them showing themselves, I should have the sensors to allow us to locate any nearby hive. Which is almost certainly were they came from, given their numbers. Or we might have a twenty-two somewhere in the area. Either way, we'll scan the area from the sky, find the problem and burn it out."

"A twenty-two? The ones that turn invisible?"

"No, that'd be a twenty-one. Model Twenty-twos are mobile hives, big lumbering things with six legs. They sometimes settle down and turn into actual hives. Speaking of, do you know your models and what they do? We shouldn't meet anything here above a 10, but I'd like to make sure you know what those are, so you're prepared."

"I know the common models, those were covered in basic training. Uh, I'm a bit fuzzy on number 10 though, not sure those were mentioned."

"Yeah, they wouldn't be. They're not too dangerous, child-sized monkeys, basically. They tend to the hives and don't stray far from them under normal circumstances. We're likely to find them once we get close, but they shouldn't pose a problem."

We flew in what I imagine was some sort of fancy search pattern for a while, over what was basically meadows, lakes and scattered trees before I spotted a highlight on the map that looked important. It seemed to be located in a decently sized forest.

"Ah, found it. That looks like our hive. Now, normally I'd just blow it up from up here, but I think I'll let you get some hands-on experience first. What do you say we land and head in to have a look?"

I swallowed nervously.

"Eh, sure? As long as you're not sending me in alone...?" I asked uncertainly.

"Hah! Naw, we look out for our own. Don't you worry, this'll be be a walk in the park."

Oh shit. Now he went and jinxed it.

Red Knight put down the IFV on a rocky bit a kilometre out, then went into the back of the IFV.

"Now, you're going to need a bigger weapon than those Hummingbirds you've been using! Got any preferences?"

"No, I'm, uh, not very good with firearms. I scored abysmally on the firing range. I, uh, tend to, uh, close my eyes when shooting them." I finished in an increasingly small voice.

He looked at me for a moment.

"I see. Well, that'll certainly make it a challenge to hit things. But don't you worry, that's nothing some points cannot solve."

[If I may, do you mind if I have a chat with Gyaron and see if we cannot find something suitable?]

"Oh yes please."

"I see! Well, I do have a Hummingbird Mark II-A." Red Knight grabbed a large, boxy rifle thing in various dark reds from one of his racks. "It shoots the same kind of micro-missiles as the ones you've been using, but has a lot more of them. And a mounted Plasma Caster you say?"

He handed me the... dammit, same name, that's confusing. He handed me the Mark II, then a moment later a box appeared at his feet. It had gold filigree and was decidedly red.

"They come in colours?" I asked a bit lamely.

"Heh, yeah. Costs an extra point. Makes for great collectibles. Anyway, that's for you, it should mount onto your armour."

He gestured for me to open the box, then turned to look through his weapons.

I opened the box, and inside was a black and yellow arrangement of arms I couldn't quite make head nor tails of. I put down the Mark II on a seat, then picked up the weird arms.

[It attaches to your back, then clamps on and holds a gun over your shoulder. Just turn it right side up, then move it towards your back.]

I turned it over, then did as instructed. The arms came alive and gripped onto the sides of my chest and waist, then adjusted themselves into position. A stubby little nub was now sitting over my shoulder, swivelling back and forth. I moved around a bit. I could barely feel it there at all.

Meanwhile, Red Knight had found what he was looking for, and now held a roughly 40cm long red and black futuristic looking tube with a few protruding blobs and various bits on it.

"Here we go. A plasma caster. It should go..." he held it up over my shoulder, where the little nub excitedly slotted into place and clamped on. "...right there. Excellent. Sorry about the colour. I'll let Eyon do the explaining."

[The Spitfire Plasma Caster heats then fires pellets as concentrated plasma. It connects to the firing system in your helmet, and shoots autonomously at enemies identified in your field of vision. The recoil should be negligible, and it should prove effective against Models One through Ten.]

A ping and a new reticle let me know I had a new toy connected.

[Your augs are approaching computational capacity, by the way. They are pretty good for human tech, and the lack of malware was a nice surprise, but I thought you should know. Anyway, the Hummingbird Mark II-A functions almost exactly like the ones you've been using so far, which was why I suggested it.]

I picked up the Mark II, and noticed the reticle moving as I moved it around. Splendid.

[The biggest difference between the Hummingbird Mark I and II is that the Mark II can be reloaded. See that box here?] A box on the underside of the Mark II flashed in my vision. [Just pull that out, then replace it with a new cartridge. While you are with Red Knight he has graciously allowed you to make purchases using his Class I Kinetic Handguns catalogue for additional ammunition.]

I looked up at Red Knight, and saw him looking at me with what I imagined to be an expectant look.

"So, ready to head out and clear your first hive?" he asked.

"If I say no, will you let me stay here while you handle it?" I asked jokingly.

His helmet slid up, and I saw his face for the first time. He looked at me with serious blue eyes.

"Sylvi, of course. Being a Valkyrie is a job and a calling, not a sentence. If you feel uncomfortable or don't want to do this, of course you can stay here."

I was a little shook by the turn the mood had taken all of a sudden.

"I didn't mean it like that. I want to do this. Thank you, though."

He looked at me for a moment longer.

"Don't mention it. Remember, you're not alone in this. Okay?"

I choked up a little.

"Okay."

"Now, let's go and blow up this hive."