The hunt wasn’t what we could call success. But it was the first hunt that we’d gone on that wasn’t marred by a bittersweet victory at high cost. I loved that feeling now that I’d tasted it, and the value of information on a target had only amplified many times over. With the biotics, information could mean the difference between life and death, particularly when a unique was involved. Had we not prepped the stage against Wolven, what would have happened?
As Alice would put it, a TPK would happen. A total-party-kill, gaming terms for we’d all be dead as hell.
On that note, Alice has meshed pretty well with the group. In spite of earlier misgivings, she’s been quite friendly and has gotten over my quirks. There are still times when she’s not sure how to take my humor, but that’s all the better.
Ah, but definitely, I’m very anti-affection-mode right now. On looking closer at my face, I noticed that there’s several very vague lines like circuitry along the top of my head receding into my hair. It’s not visible without looking, but it was yet another thing to add to the growing list of ‘Things a possible girlfriend might be freaked out by.’
Wait, what am I even thinking about right no--Oh… right… two are reasons why my brain’s wandering.
You guessed it, Smith was at work again. Finishing my arm.
The second one though, I’m asleep alone in the office tonight. I’m positive that Fran and Daniel are shacked up somewhere private, and I wasn’t going to ask Alice who barely knew me to crash over here. Plus, from what I’d heard, she had a rather unique living situation right now that she’d set up, and until Wolven was dead, I think she’d be staying there. Her background dread had declined significantly after pummeling that thing, but still…
The summary. I’m lonely, because talking to Smith is still just talking to myself.
No, I retract that, that’s still insulting to Smith. It’s more like talking to someone who is expected to cause you some serious hell.
Because he is, and serious hell is what he brought me in my dreams that night.
“Young man, I wish to congratulate you on thinking out a plan that didn’t get you or your friends harmed.” Smith nodded, smiling to me.
I was jazzed, at first.
“But, you forgot rule number one for a reaper; Kill or Die.” He smiled, a cold glint in his eye, “Are you prepared for the dying?”
“Uhh… wait, what?” I blanched, mouth drying up instantly.
“We’re going to relive that fight of yours until you can think up a way to keep it from burrowing. Now that you know it can, it’s best if you leave it no option to do so.”
“W-wait… you’re serious? I have to see that thing in my nightmares? And it’s not even optional?” I grit my teeth.
“Nightmares, oh no. Come now, this is training.” He snapped his fingers, rendering the box canyon we’d been in earlier that day. “It’s oh so very much worse than simple nightmares. You may begin.”
And the chaos ensued for several hours. It only took me three days to figure out how to kill it without escaping, thirty deaths, about sixty eight half successes, and then the one, wonderful success.
I woke up the next morning barely remembering how I did it, but damned if I knew well what not to do. Glowering, I gestured to my suit, which shrank away from the rest of my body except for a skin-tight layer that highlighted my muscles and preserved my humility. The plates collapsed and merged together on my back, giving me a dense weight balance that I was strangely used too. I guessed that reaper gear flexed with the user quite a bit, otherwise it wouldn’t be convenient to have to change clothes anytime you needed to not be killing things. Since it burned anything in the way of skin contact.
The main office area had seen some renovations as well. Most people still had separate areas, but something of a communal eating table had been set up beside the middle aisle of the floor. If I didn’t know better, it looked more like the scouts had set up more around our office. We’d made waves, the scouts at the least knew that we were armed to the teeth. Daniel couldn’t hide that armor even if he wanted too, and it was clear that I earned more than a little bit of respect, and perhaps fear, from these people based on my looks alone. Fran, of course, was everyone’s big sister, though a few had harbored crushes. Luckily there's no drama on that front, it was irrefutable that Daniel and Fran are good together.
Alice was a little bit more known too after having been seen with us directly. It was almost a status symbol to be around us now, we weren’t just scouts anymore, the four of us were hunters.
I heard a ring in my head, and realized that Sis had released general information on unique’s in the area, as well as a handful of bounties. It was handy, but none of them bore the same pressing urgency that she’d had before. I was vaguely aware that the western side of the city had been attacked by a small group of biotics.
Small being about two hundred. That was small now? Weird.
It was a lot for the people manning the wall, fewer people than there should have been in the first place. Luckily, they were able to fend off the attack. I don’t think a unique was behind the attack, either, just a random mob that couldn’t figure out how to deal with the wall.
Yesterday, I figured people were blowing it up as a big deal because they were scared, and they thought the obelisk’s had somehow signaled that everything was going to be just fine and dandy. I might have been a bit critical of them. But it was also clearly the truth at this moment. Not enough people were still taking the threat anywhere near seriously enough.
“Boss, that one politician looking guy asked to see you.” Someone shouted out for me, or at least I assumed it was me. They looked right at me.
“Boss? When’d that happen?” I shook my head, “Was it the guy with the prosthetic leg?”
“Uhhh, yeah that’s the one,” He pondered a moment, “Feel up for some breakfast, the market’s making some good chop, and we got extra.”
I shrugged, it couldn’t hurt. They ignored my questioning whenever the topic of who started calling me the ‘boss’ was, but from the vibe I got, it just started happening. Apparently, Bulwark had tried to negotiate with the scouts to try to get them to move further away from the obelisk when this had started. They ignored them blatantly, and when the Bulwark started getting pushy, I became the spokesman for the obelisk and showed that Fran was on my side.
I hadn’t intended that at all, but regardless, that’s what people saw it as. So, I wasn’t even remotely aware that our place had almost been snagged.
It wasn’t Bulwark’s fault or anything, they literally had no idea what was going on back then. For all they knew the obelisk could have started sucking people into it.
The other rumors I’d heard mostly circulated about how people were getting really wound up, much worse than I’d thought. Specifically, the regular people with no combat training whatsoever wanted the Bulwark to ‘fulfill their civic duties to protect and serve,’ though I started to resent that line of thought.
Daniel had called me out for that last night before we all split up. He wanted to become part of the army before all of this broke out in the first place, and had said something along the lines of “Bro, protecting people is one thing, but do you think anybody actually wants to go running around in the woods full of biotics? That’s not their job anymore, nobody even has jobs anymore.”
And that hit the nail on the head. To that point, I was thinking ‘Who better than them to go hunting?’ I’d never really considered that they were only ever here to help defend. I hoped to maybe get some kind of inspiration in my dreams that might be a quick fix to that, but then I dreamt of killing that horror far too much.
Wait… that might be the answer.
“Hmmm… Well, I’m gonna go pay a visit to that guy. Ah, actually, first off” I turned to them, “Have you guys done any hunting lately?”
They looked between themselves, “Not too much, but we don’t really need to yet.”
“Why do you think that?” I prompted, looking to the guy who spoke. He looked like he was in an interview and I’d just pitched a trick question.
“Ah, don’t worry, I don’t mind if your reason is that you’re scared, or lazy, I just wanna know.” I waved it off, knowing was the more important part.
“Then, for me, I’d have to say it’s because I’m a little wary of them.” He said slowly, “I’ve killed a few of them, but it’s still a little freaky doing it on my own.”
“Wait… are you all doing it solo?” I frowned.
“Not all of us, some of us have like two people.” Another guy prompted, “We were looking at how you guys were doing it and thought you had some reason for a lower number.”
I nearly facepalmed myself, “Guys… you realize we were being really damn stupid, right?”
“Err…” They were surprised that I’d be that candid. I guess they forgot I wasn’t some enigmatic figure, I was just some guy.
“Look, when you kill one wolf, you get six matter energy. So, you should probably go with six man kill-teams for safety's sake. It’s easy when you do that, but still keep safe. If you see something that’s not a wolf, back out quickly and quietly. Report it to me, or one of my team, we’ll keep an eye out. Whatever you do, don’t try to take it without information on it.”
One of the guys looked like he was amused, “Huh, so you can act like a Boss.”
I frowned, “You drew short straw, you get to be team lead.”
He cringed, and the others laughed at his expense, “I don’t know why you guys are laughin’, you’re going with him.”
They still chuckled, “Well, how do we prove that we went hunting, even?”
I thought about that for a moment, and then Smith provided the answer. It was convenient, too.
“Here, join my organization. I can track your progress and find you if you guys need a hand. You’ll be able to communicate long range too.” They saw a notification pop up in their windows, lit on the surface of their eyes. “I’ll give you some nice toys, too.”
Wary, they did accept the invitation. I was surprised at that. Later, I would come to know that the reason they did so was because they wanted to do something, anything, about the situation, but fighting with the Bulwark didn’t make sense, and just a few guys out in the wilds didn’t seem like it’d be important. Also, it helped that I gave them each reaper modified rifles, those would go a long way. I didn’t mention anything about how I’d literally just made my organization and had it approved by the obelisk system on the spot.
After that, I made my way to the command tent, dawning the full outfit. The black plating crawled over my body as I walked, and more than a few people looked at with in amazement. When the helmet fully formed, some of those individuals gaped at the look. The cape was a great look, too.
All of a sudden, when I walked, I drew a different kind of attention from Daniel. They moved away from his mech body when he walked because they didn’t want to get stepped on.
They moved away from me because they felt a sense of danger. Different, but categorically the same. Just like when you looked at a large carnivore and seemed to instinctively move gentler, as to not disturb it.
It was a novel sensation, this outfit made me iconic. And for once, I actually wanted to do that. There was no urgency to my steps, I watched the people around me, surveying them with my reaper eye. Plenty of stalls were still set out, but it seemed like more than a few people were gathered up, their petitions for the Bulwark to do something about the biotics the biggest topic. All of their pent up emotions, their fear, was spilling over. Bulwark had kept the peace for so long, they didn’t seem to know how to deal with it.
When I reached city hall, I was stopped out front. A small cluster of people were sitting on the front steps with their loud voices, repeating over and over the same kind of line like a petition rally. It was difficult to move through them at first, until I opened up with my own voice, louder and deeper because of the speakers built into my helmet.
“Move.”
It’s impact was priceless. I’m sure I looked as commanding as my voice sounded, because eyes widened as they saw me. A path parted, silence reigned as I moved up the steps. The guard only managed to hold a hand out, swallowing hard as he struggled to talk.
“Relax,” I told him, “I’m not here for trouble. I’m here because Doug Vanderhew said he wanted to speak with me.”
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
The guards, all four of them, looked at me. Then the three I hadn’t spoken too cleared themselves of the conversation by looking straight ahead. I laughed with a muted microphone.
“T-then this way,” He opened the door and walked in before me, quite spry on his steps. “I’ll get him for you if you don’t mind waiting.”
“Take your time.” I nodded, watching him quickly rush off. That was still a little odd that people were freaked out by the suit so much. Then again, I was playing off of it quite well.
After a few minutes of me standing impassively in the middle of the room, recounting my thoughts on the subject that I was going to be breaching, Doug finally arrived. He was wearing a rather impeccable suit this time, and his fake leg was almost completely concealed behind the dress pants. Black with just the slightest maroon cloth were the dominating themes of his suit. When he saw me, he did a double take.
“Matthew?” He asked, and the guard beside him tensed at the thought that maybe I wasn’t actually someone welcome there.
“Yup, you have a minute? I think I’ve got an answer to the little problem that’s been going around.”
“Certainly. Ah, thank you,” he gestured to the guard who gratefully, and quickly took his leave. Doug stared after him and shrugged, “I guess your new look is a bit extreme.”
I chuckled and followed him as he led the way to a side room down the hall. In the next room, my enhanced sense of hearing gave me the general state of how the Bulwark was handling things.
The bottom line was; not well at all. Some sounded like they agreed that they need to take a harder stance on the biotics, others seemed to think that the people should be drafted then if they were so keen on it. More often than not, they said that the Bulwark would best use its manpower for defense. A not insignificant, and growing, number said that the people should feel grateful for what the Bulwark had been doing for them.
My gut wrangled. I didn’t want to talk to them at all.
I liked the idea that people would start fighting each other less. At worst, it’d be a coup d'etat with nobody competent on top, then it would just self perpetuate. If someone tried to take advantage of growing discontent and created a rival faction, that’d be just as bad. It’d eventually boil down to conflict.
Doug had likely thought that we could simply use mercantile principles to try to coax the Bulwark into action. He probably wanted me to make that rival group. But that probably wouldn’t work. Coercion like that would complicate the situation.
“So, you wanted to talk to me about this situation?” Doug huffed, “It’s more of a mess than I thought it’d become. That last attack from the biotics has everyone ruffled.”
I scoffed, “That wasn’t even an attack. They practically just bumped the wall and ran away.”
“You try to tell that to a bunch of angry and scared people. Some of them are in that room.” He thumped the wall.
“Hmm? Not just the council?” I tilted my head.
“There are a few generally recognized heads of the community that brought their ‘grievances’ to bear against the Bulwark.” He shrugged, “What can you do? It’s just another day for a politician.”
“That’s good that they’re there then. Might help catch it before it blows up in our faces.”
“If they don’t push it off the edge, yeah. They’re talking like the people own the soldiers.” Doug chewed his lip a bit, “They should be out there, fighting biotics, but they’re not. They’re sitting on the walls and playing it safe.”
I sounded like that? Jeez… it almost sounds like an excuse now.
“Ready for the fix?” I smiled, my helmet light cracking across like a grin.
He flinched seeing that, “What do you have in mind?”
After we talked, he went back into the room, and shortly managed to call some measure of order to make his pitch.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, it is clear that we’ve come to a sort of impasse. To sum, I would state that our general conditions are as follows; the people wish the Bulwark to organize better and to engage the biotics outside of the city. Bulwark, on the other hand, insists that their task has ever only been defensive in nature and that organizing the people should still come as a priority. Does anyone have any rejection of these suppositions, or any meaningful details to add?”
He waited, a few people in the room that were a part of the council gave him very quizzical looks. They wanted to know what he’d planned behind closed doors, what was going to hit them would hit them broadside at this rate.
“I do not pretend that I am someone who can fix these issues. I’m a financial administrator at best, and I work with the flow of this matter energy stuff and credits, balancing it out.”
“Then why are you even bringing it up?” Someone on a seat above, the ‘U’ shaped chamber with adapted use hosting a few dozen people.
Doug didn’t miss a beat, “Of course, because I believe there is another option. I can’t take credit for it, but I wished to set the tone for his introduction. He’s someone whom has sat before the council before, and one of, if not the first person to use the obelisk systems. A man who is intimately aware of the situation outside of the city, and has been relentlessly hunting down horrors the likes of which you cannot imagine.” He finished with a rather flattering note. It was the truth, though, I’d shown him the video of Wolven, our battle with it, to show him that I wasn’t just a pretty face, so to speak.
“Please, welcome Matthew Todd,” he gestured as I strode through the door. A few people looked like they were doing to make a token gesture of clapping.
The room went dead silent as they saw me, though.
I stood at the front, nodding to Doug as he left me the floor. He retreated back a few steps, but did not return to the chairs. A show of support, to give more weight to what I wanted to say.
I really, really hoped you were going to do this, damnit.
I wanted to say that. I really didn’t want to talk to these people.
Then I saw the looks on their faces, frozen in anticipation. Song, the Commander in Chief of Bulwark, sat near the front, as did the Mayor, Alan Dietriet. My gaze landed firmly on them.
“The Bulwark’s efforts are not incorrect.” My first statement was directed more to the people who harassed them. They almost found bravery enough to retort. “But, at the same time they’re doing their job ineffectively.”
Good, both sides were pissed at me now.
“Charlie Song, is it true that there is very little input into the Bulwark’s stock of matter energy beyond what the people have been exchanging from the first and only one hundred matter energy they may ever have?” I hit the man I had respect for with a hard question.
He grit his teeth, “The Bulwark is very carefully utilizing the matter energy that has been provided us through the understanding that exchanges for credits would be used as a means to purchase goods with more efficiency. We are exploring means of obtaining matter energy as safely as possible.”
“You haven’t done anythi-” Someone else tried to speak. I hum of energy rang off of my body. The people nearest to me flinched.
“Ah, sorry, you surprised me, I’m a little too used to murdering biotics. Please wait until you are called to speak, or until the forum is open.” I smiled with my helmet, the red light beneath the black surface forming a jagged smirk, gleaming.
They sat down, quiet, a little frustrated. “I believe what that person was going to point out, I hope, was that matter energy can be obtained in one, and only one, way. This is by killing biotics. No other method exists within our grasp.”
“So you say, where have you gotten this information?” Alan Dietriet spoke up, seeking to check my advance.
“The obelisks. Here, let me see if I can get that for you.” I looked to my hand, sending my thoughts to Sis. Her automated responses came up, and I prompted the simpler A.I. with a question.
[Query response to, “What are the methods of gaining matter energy for our (humans) current level to technology and skills?” Fetching.] The voice rang out aloud, startling some people as it blasted through my speakers.
[Answer: matter energy is a unique energy form that is obtainable only through biotics. Harvesting this energy requires a biotic to perish, that energy will be collected by the nearest obelisk for use. Would you like to know more?]
“That’s enough, thank you. Say hi to Sis for me,” I gestured to the voice reflexively. “So, there you have it. Proof from the system. Feel free to try it out yourself. May I continue?”
No one said not to. Good, I’d have to shoot them. I’m joking. Mostly.
“So, the only way is to kill biotics. Therefor, hunting biotics is namely the next best thing. So, I ask the people’s representatives… what’s stopping you?” I glared at them.
They floundered for just a moment, “We’re not soldiers! It’s unsafe for us to go hunting them!”
“It’s unsafe for everyone to go hunting them. Even me.” I gestured with my left arm, and everyone got to watch as my armor entirely receded from me. Smith had finished it, leaving nothing but biosteel there. “I’m still out there. I’m still hunting. Ah, but I’m sorry, that’s not fair, right?”
They knew it was bait, but they couldn’t not take it, “Its… it’s not fair, no. We don’t have any training at all.”
“And you’d probably die because you wouldn’t bother practicing. It’s okay, I understand.” I dismissed the argument, “Even so, I’m not going to force anyone to fight. That’s just going to result in diminished results and you’re going to end up getting everyone else killed by being so bad.”
They didn’t like the way I said that. Hell, I know I wouldn’t.
“Now, the big picture look, you’re trying to force the soldiers to do what you won’t. If you think about it, you may as well be the ones getting forced to go out there. They have the skills, the guns, the organization. Yet, the positions of the ‘Can’ doesn’t mean they should ‘Do,’ right? On that same note, just because they ‘Can’ fight, doesn’t meant they should ‘Do’ it.” I took a moment for the room to catch up.
“That said, there are no better people than those with combat experience to go out and fight biotics. That’s a simple truth. It’s also a simple truth that anyone can learn how to fight biotics. The real issue you’re looking at is desire. Who wants to fight biotics just for a pat on the back?” I opened my hands, “Not a damn soul. I wouldn’t fight a biotic for you if it was standing over you and wanting to tear your skull open with its steel-crushing jaws.” I kinda lied there, but it was to set up.
“Why? Because wolves are nothing compared to other things out there. We’ll see more of them as time goes on. And because of that, if someone isn’t going out there prepared to fight with their lives on the line, then I don’t want them out there.”
At that, I saw Song’s eyes light up. Yes, old man, I said ‘I’ don’t want them out there.
“And so, I formally wish to put forth the motion that a new organization is recognized. And,” I quickly added, “Before anyone says anything, I do not intend on creating a competing organization with the Bulwark. Up until now, the Bulwark has functioned… well, its functioned,” I gestured helplessly, “I won’t pretend to be an expert in your field if you won’t pretend to be an expert in mine. And so, I suggest the the Bulwark Red undergoes a transformation, get better at what you do. You need to defend the people against biotics, and organize the people for civil order. Specifically because I expect my Reaper’s to be well cared for.”
“Reaper? Isn’t that a little… ambitious, for a young man?” A military man spoke up, and I could see a note of agreement across the room. “Moreover, what makes you think that you’re any better at fighting than a soldier? You seem to have the idea in your head that you’ve got all these toys and that makes you my equal when you haven’t seen a day of training in a boot camp.”
I glared at the man at that. “Hmm? I hoped that I wouldn’t have to show any of you this, it’d let you sleep better at night. But since you seem to think that a soldier magically has more say in killing biotics than the guy who has been killing biotics, let me show you what you’ll be dealing with. In my place of course.”
At that, I directed Smith to send the footage of Wolven to everyone in the room.
Video was a funny thing in thanks to the obelisks. They would be seeing it as though through my own eyes. And what they saw was the abomination, the rolling, snarling, agonized mass of wolves. They watched Daniel outpace it, barely, moving fast, and Fran’s timely intervention as she pulled him up and out of reach and set him on the rocky shelf. Bright flashes of the mines, and a few people at this point were panicking.
I intentionally showed Alice desperately hammering shot after shot into the thing, dread clear on her face. The explosion, and then its hesitation as it looked at me. In hindsight, I showed control, a monster dancing in the palm of my hands as I pointed at the creature, mines exploding beneath it. We shredded into it.
I cut the video before I launched grenades into it, but just long enough for everyone to see the figure that was in the center of the mass, gaunt and hollow looking.
When I looked back up to the room, I could see many unsettled people. Those who had even the slightest fear of biotics had recoiled, and wretched. Some had even devolved to weeping. The man who had claimed to have more experience than me was still shellshocked.
“That was inappropriate, Mr. Todd.” Alan Dietriet managed to break from the imagery first.
“No. Challenging my field of expertise was inappropriate.” I didn’t yield on that point, “The only thing I did was show you what is out there. Deal with it. It’s real.”
“Now, if we’re done checking the sizes of our egos,” I prompted, “Let’s talk conditions.”
Charlie Song had his eyes closed for a moment, a look of contemplation on his face. “Let’s hear it.”
No one else spoke up, so I nodded, “First, as you can see, killing those things takes some resources. However, we’re in luck. We’ve only had to deal with a nightmare like that once. The were two that we found were much more manageable. The system refers to them as unique biotics, and each one requires a certain finesse to deal with. If we let them attack the city, it’d likely be on their terms. Casualties would be all but guaranteed.”
“You make them sound… sentient?” Charlie frowned.
“They are, to some extent. They are the reason why the wolves have any intelligent movements at all, otherwise they’re dumber than most animals.” I nodded, “My organization, ‘The Reaper’s Legion’ will move to check these threats and eliminate them before they have the opportunity to become a problem. Already we’ve culled three such threats, and I have information on more. We would then supply a sum of matter energy to Bulwark Red for continuing operations in return for rights to goods produced by the city and credits.”
“That sounds… good so far.” Charlie Song blinked in surprise, “I expected a… harsher arrangement.”
I shrugged, “Of course, you’re responsible for protecting the city, and on paper the Reaper Legion won’t help at all with that front. So the walls need to be better to start, but I’ll leave your business to you… unless it looks like you’re wasting our hard earned resources.”
“Hmm… that’s acceptable so far.” He nodded, though some on the council didn’t like the idea of someone looking over their shoulder.
“Moreover, that also leans into my next requirement.” I looked at the representatives of the civil sectors, financial divisions, and the people themselves, “I’m not going to pretend that all of you are somehow innocent lambs. But, what I need from everyone else is to not sit around doing nothing. What’s required more than anything else right now is a backbone, a stable foundation so that all of us can start to rebuild.” I shook my head immediately afterwards, “I have to leave that entirely to you guys and the Bulwark. Not my expertise.”
“Ah, and in terms of specifics,” I gestured over my shoulder, forcing Doug into the limelight, “Check with him. He’ll be responsible for sorting finances between the Legion and the Bulwark.”
Doug stiffened but managed to remain cool in spite of me putting him straight into the spotlight.
I turned and looked at him, chuckling as I wondered if he was expecting that.
“I have no objection to this, for now.” Charlie Song stated, “But we’ll need to hammer out specifics as they come.”
“It’s good that I’m familiar with working with all of you, then.” Doug Vanderhew smiled.
“I have no objection.” Another man.
“Nor I,” A lady spoke up.
One by one, even those begrudging holdouts decided to go with the process.
They didn’t have any reason not too, yet. We would be responsible for taking care of their problems and solving the issue with the supply chain having no input. It was a double positive.
I planned on making them work for every sweet point of M.E. And, of course, The Reaper’s Legion would be given a sum of credits equivalent to our Legion’s contribution.
Given that there were no points coming in at all otherwise, I suspected that we would have quite the sum before long.
After all of that, I felt drained, and made my way straight back to the office. An hour or so had passed, but it felt like twelve.
As soon as I hit the bed, my armor shaped itself to be as comfortable as possible. I was asleep, without nightmares, as soon as I hit the cot.