We still don’t know the full requirements for being selected as a samurai, or how many samurai are uplifted during an incursion. Why? Well we don’t know the requirements because protector AI are notoriously tight lipped about the requirements. That hasn’t stopped some people from buying a rifle and wandering into an active incursion zone, seeking glory. We do have a rough idea of how many people are successful in those attempts, and let me tell you, those numbers are not pretty.

- Professor AJ Hawk, Protectorate Studies

—

I stared at my girlfriend for several seconds, my brain struggling to process the situation. “Aren’t you supposed to be in court right now?” I finally asked, like an idiot.

“There were extraneous circumstances, the sky opened up and rained aliens. That usually takes precedence,” Skyler laughed. “What about you? Aren’t you supposed to be meeting, and I quote, ‘an unscrupulous jackass that doesn’t deserve any more chances, but I’m still going to give him one’?”

“He threatened to trash my grandfather’s shrine, so I took the remains, threatened my father with a sword, and ran away,” I admitted.

Skyler just sighed. “I told you that you should have let me come with you, or at least taken a bodyguard with you.”

“Why? It turned out fine,” I mumbled. My head was getting a little fuzzy. Were there painkillers in those nanites?

“You ended up on the street trying to kill aliens with a sword. I’d say that’s a long way from ‘fine’” Skyler huffed. She managed to pretend she was mad for all of two seconds before her eyes and tone softened. “You have no idea how surprised I was when I saw you sprinting down the street towards me.”

“I’m pretty sure I do,” I countered. “You want to tell me exactly what happened? And why do you have this giant hunk of junk?” I said kicking the hoverbot. It didn’t move, but I hurt my foot.

Skyler snickered at my antics, then slowly leaned over and put her head on my shoulder. “I was in one of the upper courtrooms when the incursion happened. I didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary, until the first seed pod struck the top of the courthouse. Collapsed the roof on top of that nuisance that’s been trying to sue your mother. Antithesis spilled into the courtroom, and ate most of the jury before I managed to shove the judge and a couple other survivors out the back. I managed to kill a couple of the Threes with my holdout pistol before we blockaded the door. And you said I’d never need it!” She announced, poking me in the ribs.

“I’ll never complain about it ever again,” I promised.

“Anyways, between the courtroom and getting the survivors down to the lobby, I somehow managed to be chosen as a samurai. Although Athyna won’t tell me exactly why…” she added with a mumble. “Most of the building security was already dead, and antithesis were starting to gather in the park across from the courthouse, so Athyna suggested some heavier firepower. Well, it worked, and I just kept scaling up until the reinforcements arrived. That’s how I ended up with Howie.”

“Howie?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. I felt a pun coming on.

“Short for Howitzer,” Skyler clarified.

“Of course it is,” I mumbled. “And you wonder why I didn’t let you name the cats.”

Skyler sat up and pouted, “Professor Meowington was a perfectly valid name!”

“Perfectly valid, but not very …,” I countered with a smile.

She elbowed me before snuggling up to me again. “How did you end up in this mess?” she asked.

“I stabbed a Model Three with a sword,” I explained.

There was a pause. “That’s it?” Skyler asked.

“Pretty much. Apparently I was just the best choice in the area,” I said. “That, and my father fucked up a local shelter and almost got everyone in that building killed.”

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“Of course he did,” Skyler moaned. “I really wish I’d managed to completely ruin that man during the divorce instead of just getting your mother full control of her company.”

“It’s what she wanted,” I said quietly, “and the jokes on him anyway, Synthesis Systems is worth more than twice what Tanaka Industries is now. People just completely lost any trust in the company after the family fell apart.”

“Good riddance,” Skyler muttered. “So… what? You’ve been running around just cutting up things with a sword since this thing started. I know you don’t exactly like firearms, but you scared the shit out of me when you ran straight up to those antithesis to engage them.”

“I had a bow,” I insisted. “I just dropped it after securing the area, when I nearly fell off the APC.”

“Nearly what?” Skyler growled, spinning around to look at me. “Repeat that last part for me.”

“I plead the fifth,” I replied quickly.

“That’s not a thing in Cascadia, you know that!” my girlfriend snapped.

“I hate to break up you two lovebirds, but we need to discuss our next steps,” Emily called from the front of the APC.

Skyler looked at me questioningly. “That’s Emily, she runs this unit. Then you have Jocky, Ratchet, Terrier, and Bulldog,” I explained, pointing out each person in turn.

“Oh… That’s Steve and Trevor,” Skyler said, gesturing to the two worn-down men. “The rest of the squad… uh… didn’t make it.”

“Happens more than many would like to admit,” Terrier muttered. “That’s the risk of entering the incursion zone.”

“Yeah, well you don’t have to rub it in moron,” Ratchet snapped before looking over at the two men. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“It’s fine,” Steve muttered. “It’s not like what he said was wrong.”

The APC fell into an uncomfortable silence, so I stood up and then hauled Skyler to her feet behind me. The two of us shuffled around the oversized bot and back up to the front.

“Emily this is…” I started.

“I know,” she groaned. “If you haven’t noticed, this isn’t exactly the biggest vehicle. The entire squad heard your talk, whether we wanted to or not.” I blushed as she turned towards my girlfriend, “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Skyler replied, shaking Emily’s hand.

When the pair separated, Emily stepped closer to the pilot seat, reached up, and unfolded a small screen from where it was hidden in the roof. The screen flashed, then displayed the area affected by the blackout. “Our original plan was to check shelters that may, or may not, have been compromised, but that Seventeen complicates things. If we stick around, it may come for us again,” Emily explained.

“And if we don’t, a lot more people may die,” I said.

“Yes, us included!” Emily countered. “Look, my crew and I aren’t cowards, but a Seventeen is bad news. It’s not uncommon for them to completely wipe out patrols with their ambushes.”

I glanced at the map. The blackout didn’t cover a massive area. It was just a small portion of the district, but it still covered hundreds of buildings and shelters. So, I pointed at the far side of the blackout. “We can start at the other end of the area, and work backwards. Hopefully that’ll be far enough away for the Seventeen to lose interest, and move on,” I suggested.

Skyler nodded. “If your original mission was to check on shelters and help civilians, then we can’t just abandon them.”

Emily sighed. “Fine. I doubt the Seventeen will abandon the area, based upon my experience, it’ll probably start hunting around the area for us, but if we start far enough away, we should be fairly safe.” She turned and tapped Jockey on the shoulder. “Head to eighth street, but take the long way. We don’t want to attract that monster’s attention if we can help it.” The driver nodded, and immediately turned onto the next road, causing the APC to tilt wildly.

“It’ll take us about five or ten minutes to make it over to the other side of the blackout,” Emily said as she examined the map. “The roads are fairly clear, so I would recommend taking that time to prepare yourselves.” Skyler nodded and started pulling me back towards the rear of the vehicle, where we’d been seated before.

“Do you have anything you need to buy?” she whispered excitedly. “Most of my points went into Howie earlier, but I earned quite a few in that skirmish on the street.”

I shrugged. “I purchased some enhancements from something called the ‘Blades in the Dark’ catalog earlier, increased reaction speed and reflexes, but beyond that, I’ve been letting Artymis make suggestions. It’s worked so far.”

“I can’t believe how boring you can be sometimes,” Skyler scoffed. “You have the universe at your fingertips, and you’ve bought a sword, bow, and handful of nicknacks you didn’t choose yourself. Come on, I’ll help you choose something interesting.” She said, pulling me further into the back.

“Fine, but we’re not playing dress-up,” I conceded, letting her pull me forward. “I’m not changing in the back of a vehicle full of other people.”

“That’s fine,” Skyler said with a sly smile. “We can leave the dress-up until later.”