While in the grand scheme of things, the Valkyrie contribution to the production network isn't large, the stuff they do contribute is invaluable. The high-end augs, mesh-implants and various medical solutions alone ensure the population is healthy and productive to an otherwise unthinkable degree. What follows is an estimate of...

--"Scanian production overview", Chapter 4

***

I stayed in bed for a while longer, but eventually the lure of the large boxy shape sitting next to me meant my curiosity grew larger than my desire for comfort. So, I moved over and inspected it. It was rather large at fifty by fifty by thirty centimetres, and had quite a bit of heft to it.

Say, the ones in the Valhalla production hall all seem a lot larger. What gives?

[I figured I'd save you some points and get you one specifically tailored for small drone production. The larger the fab area and the more generic the machine, the more expensive it is.]

Thank you, I guess.

The machine had a hopper at the top, presumably for material intake, and a hole along the bottom where it looked like drones could fly out. It also had a display at the front, currently blank, and a cord with what looked like a standard electrical plug.

It runs on electricity? That seems rather low-tech for Valkyrie gear.

[The alternative was to include a power generator, or require regular power pack purchases. I figured I would save you the points since this is a stationary setup.]

I hummed in agreement, and searched for a place to put the thing. Soon I settled on a spot on top of a chest of drawers, and went to heave the machine over only to find it weighed less than I'd thought. Or maybe I was stronger now? Either way it went in place easily enough, and once I'd plugged it in I excitedly went back to poke at the now lit up front display. It had a menu for blueprint selection, with so-far only two options: Wasp drones or ECM hardening modules. I selected the latter, and the machine burped up a box requesting various raw materials.

I guessed that was fair.

Eyon, can I purchase raw stock for points?

[You can, and it isn't that expensive either. But before you do so, I'd encourage you to explore the in-house production facility. It also has material deconstruction machines, allowing raw materials to be obtained from rubble, trash and other feedstock, as well as a healthy stock of raw materials stockpiled.]

That seemed like a sensible place to start. I went there and looked around, and soon found stacks of bars of various metals, as well as canisters of what I presumed were gasses and liquids. It was... quite a lot of stock, honestly.

I sent a message to Val, asking if I could grab what I needed, and what the procedure was if there was one.

She replied, letting me know I could take what I needed, and just have Eyon update the stock manifest so they knew if and when they were running low on anything. She also promised I'd pay back for what I took with eventual gopher work, since I was now officially the newest Valkyrie in the place, which was both a bit frightening but at the same time very exciting.

I thanked her, then set to gathering what I'd need into a basket I assumed was there for such tasks. It felt a bit like shopping, only instead of groceries I was grabbing bars of titanium, gold and copper.

In the end I didn't need that much stuff, so I only needed the one trip to load up the hopper with the requested materials and queue up thirty-five ECM hardening modules for my remaining drones, as well as five new Wasps. It looked like it'd take a few hours to chew through that much, which I didn't quite have the patience to wait for, excitement or not. Then I had a realization, and set a drone to watching the machine while I went for breakfast. Or was it lunch? Lunch, definitely lunch. Seems I'd been lazing around in bed for rather a long time. Oops?

I went down to the kitchen to find it empty, and decided that I'd have breakfast whatever the clock said, so there. I was once again rather famished, so began eating a bowl of oats with nuts and fruits while preparing some pancake batter. In the process of making pancakes I attracted Val, so I made her some pancakes as well, then Rian showed up, and soon it was a minor Pancake Party. We ate them with jam, with fruits, with chocolate and with whatever else was around and struck someones fancy. Val had one with potatoes and mustard, and claimed it was quite good. No one else took her up on her offer to try it.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Meanwhile, I had my Wasp on production overwatch ferry ECM hardening modules over to my backpack for installation, and added the new drones to my swarm as they appeared.

***

The next few days went by in a rather relaxed fashion. I picked up a few plants and a few other odds and ends, ran some errands like returning my borrowed uniform and backpack to Herb, hung out with the other Valkyries and got to know them, and generally fell into a bit of a groove. Dinnertime was often busy, with the residents showing up to hang out and socialize, and, of course, get some food. Most often someone had made a big batch of something or other, but there wasn't a strict schedule or rotation. And if not, there was always something available for a point in the Valkyrie shop. I also continued to make Wasps, at a rate of about fifty per day, and soon had an actual swarm of them hanging around.

One day, as I was feeding materials into the drone making machine, Katherine knocked on my open door and popped her head in.

"Hey there. I was wondering if you wanted to go to the gym with me?" She asked.

"Uh, sure? Let me just finish up here and I'll come join you."

"Sweet!" She said quickly. "I mean, take your time, there's no rush."

I finished feeding stock into "the machine" as I affectionately referred to it, and ordered up another batch of Wasps. Then I went looking for some gym clothes to change into, and did so. As I pulled off my t-shirt I heard a squeek from the door and saw Katherine slam the door shut through one of my wasps. I finished changing, then went over to check what was up.

"You okay?" I asked concerned.

"Yeah. Just thought I'd give you some privacy." She was slightly flushed.

"Oh. Thanks? Ehh, you ready?"

"Yeah. Yeah, let's go." She led the way up to the small gym one floor up, near the library slash games room. We went inside, and got started moving iron around.

"It gets a bit boring, going up here alone." She said after a short silence.

"Oh yeah, I can see that. I've always needed a friend along to get anything done in the climbing gym. And now that I don't really need to go to the gym anymore, it's even harder." I said. The weights seemed lighter than usual. I moved the pin a few holes down.

"Wait, you don't need to go to the gym? Why did you join me, then?"

"Well, you asked, and I wasn't going to say no to hanging out. And I don't think so? Eyon?"

Eyon's voice came out through a speaker on the wall. "No indeed, you don't technically need to train, although doing so speeds up reaching your new equilibrium."

Katherine gave me a puzzled look, so I tried to explain.

"Eyon sold me on a gene treatment to skip having to train all the time."

"Really? What the heck Iryn, why haven't you mentioned this?" She inquired into the air.

A different feminine voice came out of the same speaker.

"You would need to unlock a few catalogues first, total cost 225 points. I considered it a poor investment due to your already excellent fitness, fondness for exercise and predilection for power armour."

It was true, Katherine did look quite fit. Exceptionally so, actually. I shook my head and focused on my exercises.

"Still, would have been nice to be given the option..." She said, a bit petulantly.

"There are so many different options in so many catalogues, I would literally not be able to reach the end in your likely lifetime if I started listing them out." Was Iryn's slightly acerbic reply. "You have stated your goals and are getting close to reaching them. Deviating is sub-optimal."

Well, this was a bit awkward. After a short silence I tried a new subject.

"So, how long have you been a Valkyrie, then?"

"Oh, just a handful of months. I've barely been doing anything, though, just exterminated a few young hives and patrolled a bit. Nothing too exciting." She replied.

"Really? I found my hive encounters quite exciting enough, thanks."

"You know what I mean. It gets less exciting when most of them can barely scratch your power armour."

I paused and looked at Katherine for a moment. "I feel like you and I had very different experiences."

"Really? You didn't immediately buy the biggest power armour you could afford, then topped it off with a couple of big guns?"

"No, I..." Why hadn't I done that?

Eyon piped up after I had been quiet for a short while. "Sylvi chose to make up for, I mean, enhance her mental faculties instead."

"You little... Why can't I think of a good way to threaten you, anyway?" I said dejectedly.

Katherine just laughed.

***

An hour or so later, after we'd finished up in the gym and headed back down to our respective rooms for a shower, I was lying in bed in quiet contemplation.

Why didn't you suggest I just get some big stompy armour and blow things up, anyway?

[Because it wouldn't have suited your personality. Not every problem can be solved with the application of a hammer, and so not every Valkyrie needs to be one. Look at Huginn and Muninn, they're far from frontline tanks, and yet their contributions are still vital to the effort of containing the Antithesis.]

If I'm not a hammer, what am I?

[A swarm of scalpels, that strike with precision. You'll find that approach to be an asset before too long, I am sure.]

A swarm of flying, toxic, stinging scalpels, I mused. Yeah alright. That's pretty cool, too.