Special mention must here be given to Valkyries Lionheart and Red Star, who spearheaded the effort to construct the new city on a foundation of Protectorate Technology. The acquisition of points for the endeavour became a national priority, and little effort was spared in assisting the Valkyries in...

--"Scania, the early days", page 47

***

The car, when it arrived, was a sleek black thing flying small flags of Scania, the Red and Blue Squares with the White cross inlaid in the Yellow one. I'd learned that it was a highly meaningful combination of the previous Danish and Swedish flags, but to me it'd always looked just a bit garish. The rooftop was mostly empty, being reserved for gun emplacements and service vehicles.

Anyway, the car landed and a man stepped out of the drivers side door and saluted me.

"Valkyrie Hornet, ma'am. I'm here to take you to Military HQ."

I wasn't quite sure what the etiquette was here, so I saluted him back, at which I thought I detected a twitch in the man's left eye. Okay, so maybe I'd have to practice my salutes a bit...

Ignoring that, I walked up to the man, and he turned and opened the door to the rear compartment, ushering me in. I nodded and complied, settling into the rear seat of the spacious compartment. Not quite as good a seat as Red Knight's, but it was close.

"So, why the car?" I asked once we had lifted off and gotten under way.

"Ma'am, it is policy to keep Valkyries out of public transit vehicles, wherever possible. For public safety reasons, ma'am. Your fellow Valkyries tend to carry around large amounts of weapons, after all."

I thought I detected a bit of reproach in the man's voice. Was I not armed enough for him? It's true I was only carrying a single Hummingbird today, aside from my drones.

"I see. Well, thanks for the lift, anyway. It was a bit of a circus, riding the train back home earlier."

"Ma'am."

After that, I let the man focus on his driving while I enjoyed the novel view of the city from above. The deep valleys between the massive buildings, all the way down to the green parkways between them with people walking about, crisscrossed by sky-bridges and -trains going every which way. It was kind of magical seeing so many angles of so much activity. I looked up at Valhalla, the flying Valkyrie base floating above the city. Maybe I'd get to go there, one day soon?

We arrived at a squat megastructure, one of the only ones cut off entirely from it's neighbours with no skybridges leading to it, flying an excessive number of Scanian flags from flagpoles up the facade and along the edge of the roof. It turned out to be our destination, and we landed on the roof in the biggest collection of cars I'd ever seen. Many of them were the same black things I'd arrived in, but there was a row of what I now recognized as IFVs, and a few were more eclectic. I recognized some, like the massive black and silver spider and the red and white rocket ship, from various newscasts.

Wait, Ghost Widow was here? I shut down for a while, then shook myself to clear my head.

Eyon, how much would my own vehicle cost?

[They start at a few hundred for a hoverbike, but you can spend practically as much as you want on them. It would be a minimum of a few thousand if you want something that can double as a mobile base.]

I see. Something for later, then

While I had been musing, the driver had stepped out and opened the door for me, so I disembarked and looked around curiously.

"This way, ma'am." He gestured towards a staircase leading down into the building.

He led me down into a heavily fortified foyer, then from there deeper into the building, past any number of offices and people in uniforms until we arrived at one with a plaque reading "Lt. Col. L. Ancker". He knocked, then stepped to the side.

"Come in" came the call from inside, so I reached for the door handle at the same time as my escort did, then quickly straightened back up as he opened the door for me and stepped aside again.

I was mildly surprised when he didn't follow me in.

"Please, close the door and come inside." said the woman getting up from the reclining chair in the corner, and removing a mesh-cap from her head. Jacking out of the mesh to meet me, then. She had short cropped hair and quite a few of those shoulder and chest ornaments that probably means you're important.

She stepped closer and extended a hand, smiling.

"Laura Ancker, pleasure to meet you, Hornet."

I shook her hand.

"Likewise, likewise."

She gestured towards a pair of couches. "Please, have a seat. Would you mind buying us a drink? Your AI should know what I mean."

I was a bit puzzled by the request, but sat down.

Eyon?

[I can give you a pair of nutrient juices for two points. She is most likely trying to establish whether you are actually a Vanguard or not. That or she just really misses the taste of Protector drinks.]

Why do you insist on using the word Vanguard? No one says Vanguard.

[Why do you insist on using the wrong word? Vanguard is correct and humans are frustrating.]

Eh, whatever. Just buy the things.

New Purchase: Nutri-pack x2 - 2 points

Points reduced to... 928

A pair of juice-boxes appeared in my lap. I picked one up and looked at it. It was white and had a red apple on it. I shrugged, then handed it over to Laura before picking up the other one, stabbing the straw into it and having a sip. It was absolutely, mindbogglingly delicious.

I drank mine dry in a handful of seconds, then heaved a big sigh of contentment.

"Okay, I can see why you asked for this specific kind of proof. That was stupidly good." I said.

Laura, meanwhile, was taking small sips of hers.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Yeah. Sorry about asking for two, but I rarely get to taste Protector quality foods and drink. And sorry for having you prove you're a Valkyrie, I know Red Knight vouched for you, but with these things it is best to make sure."

"I understand, I think. Do you have many people pretending to be Valkyries?"

"No, thankfully not, but when it does happen it can lead to some very bad outcomes. Anyway! You're here because you're a new Valkyrie and wanted to work with us, is that correct?"

"Well, I wanted to hear you out, see what you had to offer. I haven't really made up my mind yet as to what I'm going to do."

"That sounds very reasonable. Well, to put it succinctly, we'd like to pair you up with an experienced Special Reconnaissance squad that specializes in these sorts of missions, and send you off to purge some Antithesis. The exact details depends on your specialization and capabilities, but we have no lack of places that need pruning, so to speak."

"I see. And when would this be, when would you need an answer?"

"Any time you're ready, to both. Sooner is obviously better, but we don't pressure Valkyries unless the situation is very dire. We've found it can lead to unfortunate... misunderstandings, let's say." She grimaced, likely at some remembered such misunderstanding.

"Now, would you mind sharing some or all of your capabilities? The more you tell us the better we can tailor your squad and mission, but there we can work with a baseline if we have to."

"Ehh. I've got these drones." I wiggled one, and had the Wasp crawl out of my pocket and hover into the air. "This one is quite deadly to Antithesis, or so I hear." Laura's face was a tad sceptical. "I, ehhh, I intend to buy more? Just haven't really had the need yet. Oh, and I've also got this Plasma Caster," I pointed to my other shoulder, where it sat. "Although that was a gift from Red Knight, so I guess that's not technically my capability, strictly speaking."

"I see. And these drones, are they autonomous? Anything else of note?"

"They can be, yeah, although I can control a handful of them at the same time. See what they see, too. Other than that, nothing really comes to mind." I finished a bit weakly.

"Okay. And do you have some points left over? The reason I ask is that we'd like you to supply your squad with guns, ammunition and munitions so you gain points from them killing Antithesis, and also to make your supply lines easier to manage."

Does that really work, Eyon?

[Indeed, supplying the tools to kill Antithesis also grants points, although at a reduced rate as compared to doing so yourself. The further removed you are, the more the points get reduced. You would also need to unlock the relevant catalogues to do so, of course.]

"That's clever! Yes, I can do that. I earmarked 500 points for working with you."

"That is more than sufficient. Feel free to spend what you have left over on your own progress once you have equipped your squad. Maybe keep a small pool of points for emergencies, medical or otherwise, too."

Oh. I should have thought of that. Eyon, earmark 100 points for emergencies.

[Of course.]

Points reduced to... 828

"So, would I be correct in classifying you as more of a back-line surveillance expert than a heavy-hitter? Our squads are generally well-rounded, but some tilt a bit more one way or another."

"Yeah, that sounds about right, although expert might be a bit much. I'm working on it, though."

"Excellent. And when would you be available to head out?"

"I mean, technically now? I don't really have anything important going on..."

"Really? Are you sure? I can arrange for you to meet a squad immediately and head out tonight, if you want."

I sighed. I should say hi to Mother before leaving again, but... I didn't really want to. She was always a bit much, in that slightly disappointed way. Was this a good enough reason? I was technically saving the world here, even if it was only a tiny bit of it. No, I had sort of promised.

"How long will we be gone?"

"It should only take a few days, but might take up to a week, depending."

I thought about it.

"Can I meet a squad now, then leave tomorrow or something?"

"Of course. Now, remember, while you technically outrank them all, and are nominally in charge, we'd appreciate it if you didn't abuse that fact. They know what they're doing, and have been doing it for years, so please listen when they tell you something or lay out a plan."

I nodded. I wasn't much for telling people what to do at the best of times, anyway, and fighting Antithesis didn't seem like the time to experiment.

"Great. I'll have them meet us at the cafeteria for an introduction." She said with a smile.

She led me out of her office and down the hallway, then down some more stairs and into the cafeteria where she led us over to a free table for us to sit at. It was in the middle of the afternoon, so the place was fairly empty.

"Do you want something? A muffin, a cup of tea?"

Still riding the high from that juice-box earlier, I declined her offer.

We waited for a few minutes in silence before the cafeteria door opened to let in a group of boisterous people. Laura got up, so I followed her lead.

The group made their way over to us and saluted Laura. I caught a few of them stealing glances my way. They were a varied bunch, nine in all, five of them men, four women. One of the men had a cool cybernetic eye, and an arm to match. He winked the other eye at me.

"3rd Squad, 2nd Special Reconnaissance Ranger Company, reporting in as ordered, ma'am." snapped who I took to be the leader of the group. She had more fancy shoulder ornaments, anyway.

Laura returned the salute, a bit more sloppily. "At ease, Lieutenant, squad. I'd like you to meet Hornet, the Valkyrie I'm attaching to your squad for your next operation. She's a recon specialist, but can throw a punch or two as needed."

"Ma'am." This directed at me, with another salute.

"Please, Hornet will do just fine. Pleasure to meet you!" I said and extended a hand. No way I was getting into another salute-off.

The lieutenant looked at my hand with a bit of a miffed expression, then relented and shook it. I got a few sly smiles and looks from the rest of the squad.

"As you like, Hornet. And likewise. We'll be in your care."

"Do you mind introducing the squad, Lieutenant?" Laura prodded.

"Of course, ma'am!" and rattled off names, ranks and functions in a fashion I had no hope of remembering.

Eh, little help here?

[Of course.]

The information appeared as little tags over the heads of people in my augs. Okay, this I could work with.

I glanced over them. We had a Bear, a Grif, a Pingo, a Speedy and a bunch more call signs like them. Seems I had some studying to do.

"You're slated to set off tomorrow morning. Lieutenant, you have the mission profile, and can fill in Hornet on the trip north. Any questions?" Laura said after the introductions were over.

I didn't have any, so I stayed quiet. After a moment of silence, one of the men, Bear, a tiny mouse of a man, piped up. "Can we see your face?"

The woman next to him, Speedy, elbowed him. "Way to make a first impression."

"I was just curious," Bear grumbled.

"Sure you were. Pleasure to meet you, Hornet, looking forward to working with you." Speedy said, directing the last at me.

With that, after another beat of now awkward silence, Laura nodded at me, then gestured for me to follow her out of the cafeteria, which I did.

Once we were out of the cafeteria, she started walking back up towards both her office and the roof.

"Would you like me to have a car drive you home now, or do you want to stay here, ask some questions, maybe visit our firing range or armoury?" she asked.

"I think I'd like to go home. Will I be picked up tomorrow as well?"

"Of course. I'll have a car at your place by eight hundred hours?"

I nodded. "Thanks, that sounds good. Oh. Do I need to bring food and camp equipment and so on?"

"The IFV will be stocked with those kinds of things, and if you tire of the rations, you have your Valkyrie foods and things to fall back on. Do you have any other questions?"

"No, I guess if all I need to bring is myself, I cannot really mess it up."

"Excellent." She then walked me to the roof, where the same driver was waiting for us.

"It was nice meeting you, Hornet. I hope your trip north is a fruitful one." She said and stuck out her hand. I shook it. "And I hope this is just the first of many."

"Let's see how this one goes first." I hedged.

"Fair enough." She chuckled. "I'll let you go now. Have a pleasant rest of your day."

I nodded, then turned to head over to my lift home.