Samurai are like fish! There’s always a bigger one! Until there isn’t.

- Sarah ‘Dreamer’ Connor during a rare live interview

—

The squad snapped to attention and saluted. “Good to see you again Ma’am,” Emily said.

“Emily. I see you still volunteer for cat herding duty,” Velvet replied with a smile. “It may be good for the bank account, but it’s bad for your health.”

“I’m aware,” Emily grumbled, glancing in my direction. What did I do?

As I watched Velvet’s wings folded down, collapsing into a small bag on her back. “You’re lucky I decided to come and investigate this outbreak in this area,” she said, stepping into the broken shop front. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to find our newest two samurai sitting right in the problem area, but you might want to move to a safer area.”

“You’re not surprised to find us here?” I asked blankly.

Velvet laughed. “Of course not, you wouldn’t have been chosen as samurai if you played it safe. Almost all of us dive into the orange zone during our first incursion,” she explained. “Although… it is a little odd to see two awakenings at the same time, usually we only see one new samurai every few months.” She stepped a little closer and looked me up and down, her feelers twitching the entire time. Once she’d finished with me she turned to Skyler, who smiled at her nervously. “Close combat and artillery, good combination,” Velvet finally declared with a nod of her head.

The petite samurai bounced into the air and twirled back towards the entrance. “Even though I know you want to help, I recommend heading back to the yellow zone,” she declared as she headed towards the door. “This isn’t an average incursion. We were hit by nearly five times as many pods as usual, so all the veterans are tied up just trying to keep the antithesis under control. Normally we’d have someone on standby, just in case you two got into trouble, but we can't afford it today.”

“But you showed up,” Skyler pointed out, “Just when we needed you.”

“Only because I needed to clear this area and push back the swarm,” Velvet replied. “It was a coincidence. I won’t be around to save you next time.” As she strode back into the street her wings shot out, unfurling behind her. I found the pattern mesmerizing.

“Well, even if it was a coincidence, we appreciate your help,” I said politely. “I guess we’ll see you around?”

Velvet smiled again. “Indeed. Just don’t go getting in over your head again. I’d bet that even the regional command is feeling the pressure, and won’t have reinforcements to send you. Stay safe.” She pulled the massive black goggles down over her eyes, bent her knees, then rocketed into the air. I stepped forward to watch as she flew down the street, much faster than I would have expected, leaving a trail of dust which shimmered in the dying light.

“You heard the lady,” Emily barked as soon as Velvet was gone. “If this incursion has gone sideways we need to clear this area before something bigger heads our way. Into the APC, double time!”

The team practically sprinted out of cover and over to the armored vehicle. Skyler and I jogged out a second or two behind. Jockey apparently saw us coming, because she’d lowered the ramp before we arrived, allowing everyone to pile in.

“Where are we headed?” Emily asked before Skyler and I had even taken our places near the monitor.

“Shouldn’t we head back to the yellow zone, like Velvet suggested?” Skyler asked, “She has been a samurai for years now.”

“Ideally yes,” Emily replied with a frown. “But since you two outrank me, it’s technically up to you whether we take her advice or not.”

“We may outrank you, but you have vastly more experience,” I reminded her. “Velvet made it sound like the situation was dire. Maybe you should contact the command post and check what the situation is there. Until then… maybe we could head back towards the park? Try and avoid any more of those oversized turkey vultures?”

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Skyler nodded at my assessment, and Emily cracked a little smile. “Seems like a smart plan. I’ll make the call, see how much the situation has changed. While I’m doing that you two can look over the map, try and figure out where we could head next.” She leaned down next to Jockey, said a couple words to get us moving, then sat down on one of the benches, eyes going glassy.

“Do you think things are as bad as Velvet said?” Skyler whispered to me.

“I don’t know why she’d lie,” I replied quietly. “Even though I’d like to investigate, if we do anything reckless we may put the squad in danger again.” I glanced towards the back of the APC at everyone. We’d be out and about for a couple hours now, and they were starting to look a little run down. “How are you feeling?” I asked as I turned back towards Skyler.

“A little tired, and hungry,” she admitted. “I may keep myself in shape, but that doesn’t mean I was prepared to spend most of the day fighting aliens.”

{Athy: You can purchase a range of meal replacements, and stimulants, for just a handful of points. Although I wouldn’t recommend a stimulant at this point, a meal would do you good. A custom sandwich set will only set you back one point.}

“That’s it?” I quietly blurted out.

{Athy: It’s a sandwich, side and juicebox, not an alien superweapon. Samurai need to eat too, and there’s no point in gouging you on the essentials.}

{Sky: Fair} I replied, remembering to reply in the chat group this time. {Can we get one for everyone here?}

{Arty: Of course, we can even customize them for each member of the squad. Since we have a little downtime I would also recommend Reina purchasing the Class II Blades In The Dark catalog, and the Mark four Swift Step Greaves, before Skyler berates you again.}

I heard Skyler giggle at that.

{Rei: What about the sword?}

{Arty: After dealing with the Elevens you could buy both, but it would leave you next to no points in reserve if something goes wrong}

“You’re thinking about upgrading to the next tier of equipment already?” Skyler asked, surprised.

“It was Artymis’s recommendation. Since I rely so heavily on my sword, and I’m already having trouble cutting through some of the heavier models, they suggested getting the next blade as soon as possible. The catalog also has access to a number of enhancements, and apparently armor, which I could use,” I explained.

Skyler was quiet for a moment. “Do it,” she declared after a minute. “It’ll take me a while to save up the points to upgrade Howie, and I can cover the emergency costs in the short term. When it’s time for me to upgrade, you can do the same for me.”

“You sure?” I asked cautiously.

“Am I sure I’d rather have my girlfriend able to defend herself, and not get dragged around by an alien the size of a semi? Yes, absolutely,” Skyler replied seriously. “If getting an upgrade means you can better defend both yourself and others, then you should do it.”

I leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on her lips, causing Skyler to blush, “Thank you,” I whispered.

“I thought you didn’t like public displays of affection,” she whispered back.

“I’m warming up to them,” I said with a smile. “The entire world should know how wonderful you are.” Skyler’s blush grew a little deeper.

“If you two done,” Emily interrupted as she stood up from her seat, sliding over to her regular place beside the strategy monitor. “I have an update for you.”

“How bad are things?” Skyler asked, switching to business mode to get herself under control.

“Pretty bad. They had to double the number of response teams, because the antithesis reached the sector wall in multiple places; They’ve had to call up the reserves just to keep up,” Emily replied as she swapped the display to a sector view. The area we were in was relatively clear, but I could see the orange zone had pressed up against the north and west walls at multiple points.

“So has our mission changed?” I asked after a second.

“No. They considered sending us further in, but when I told them what Velvet said they decided it was safer to continue the current mission. We’re probably too late to save anyone in any of the compromised shelters, but we can still check them and thin out the horde,” Emily reported.

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” I declared quietly. “We’ll head back to those shelters we bypassed earlier. Hopefully that Seventeen has left the area, but even if it hasn’t, we’re better prepared to deal with it now.”

“Right,” Skyler agreed. “But first, we’ll eat and upgrade.” She waved her hands and a stack of food trays appeared on top of Howie. “There’s one for everyone, and they’re labeled,” she announced to the crew. “Eat up! Sounds like we still have a lot of work to do.”