“Psychology tells us that when a crowd of people forms, they begin to exhibit what is known as herd, or sheep, mentality. This is especially dangerous when that crowd is faced with something that causes panic. Crowds have been known to run into dead ends, or right at the thing they are panicking over. All, because one person in the crowd decided to head that way, and the herd* followed. How does this relate to our class, I can see you wondering. Well, lads and lasses, when it comes to Samurai and antithesis; herds, sheep, crowds, whatever you want to call them, are especially stupid. I have seen more breakdowns and had to annotate more reports of civilian casualties than any one man ever should. Simply because the crowd followed one idiot like a bunch of bumbling sheep and it caused them to all get eaten or turned into zombies. So next time you are in a crowd, or there are aliens trying to eat you nearby, remember your basic human psychology.“
*Princeton University in no way endorses any argument or way of thinking that considers people to be a herd. The word used in this class is to be understood as merely a turn of phrase to indicate a point being made by the author.
* Professor Jeremiah MacLeod, Princeton University during a transcribed lecture for Psychology and Samurai, 2041
The group was still very tense and a bit jumpy. Many of them looked like they were just about to bolt, only stopped by the fear freezing them in place. Not that that was too surprising. Civilians often didn’t handle danger well, and with antithesis that was even worse.
Fighting a person, or seeing a person with a weapon, was one thing. You generally knew what to expect, even if you never trained a day in your life. Media depictions of actual fights, both armed and unarmed, were quite often complete shit. But at least they were good at getting across the basics of the possible threat any armed person would pose.
And with how often shit like this went over the feeds, most had at least a somewhat passable understanding on what to do in such situations.
Antithesis were different. Not only were they dangerous, they were alien. It was hard for anyone not trained in fighting them to understand just what exactly to look out for. Even for trained soldiers it wasn’t always easy. It made wrangling the group a lot harder, although Zuri and the elderly man did a good job of it.
So far I hadn’t had the chance to pay attention to it, but from the little I saw now, they seemed to have split up the responsibility quite nicely. She was the nice one, the one with soothing words and an open ear, while he was a bit more strict. Acting as a leader for others to flock behind. Maybe not a perfect approach, but it worked, and that was all that mattered to me.
Dismissing the thought, I focused back on getting to the shelter. We were just about to get ready to move out, when Stryx spoke up once more.
If I may, I would advise you to destroy the biomass left behind. It is only a couple of points and can be done without any time wasted. Not doing so may allow the antithesis to reclaim the bodies, repurposing the biomass to birth more models.
I frowned. At the moment I was still very unhappy with Stryx. While I didn’t think they’d try to get me killed, I didn’t like that they had taken on Zuri so suddenly. It might be an overreaction. Very likely even. And I was aware that my worry might be a bit over the top.
But after my time in the Clan, a life that was basically enslavement, it was hard for me to not see the immediate dangers of manipulation there. Maybe it was just that I was too sensitive to it, but it didn’t change the current situation.
Still, I couldn’t keep thinking that way. At least not right now. I had no way to change it, and having someone else here that could help keep the group safe was very helpful. I had to concentrate on getting everyone to safety first, before I could start worrying about the rest.
Life didn’t stop for nobody. And the antithesis wouldn't just leave us be, just because I was having a mental hang up. With a conscious effort of will, I dragged my mind away from all of those thoughts.
Stryx did have a point with their comment. And if it was as inexpensive and quick as they led me to believe, it would be a good idea.
“What do I need?”
In this specific case, the Mark I Flesh Melter. It is a nanite based grenade from your Class I Shadowstalker Utilities Catalogue, and is purpose built for biomass removal, costing you 5 points. This specific grenade is slow acting and not meant to be used in direct combat; however, you do have some that fulfil such a niche. The cheapest combat capable flesh melter is the Mark II Deatheater for 10 points a piece, which is far faster acting and more aggressive, although for the current task at hand it would be decidedly overkill.
“Fuck it, get one of those cheap ones,” I muttered.
Open your hand. Toss it into the middle of the pile, and it will slowly disintegrate the biomass left behind.
I did as I was told, and a moment later a ding rang out, a small orb appearing in my hand. True to Stryx’ words, it was very slow acting. Enough for corpse removal, but not enough to be useful in any sort of confrontation. Apart from perhaps the intimidation factor of it. Not that I planned to actually use it against people.
Zuri took another moment to catch her breath and Leah came over, helping her walk again. We continued along, our pace slow. The low mumble made it hard to keep my ears on the surroundings, forcing me to rely more on my sense of smell and my sight. I couldn’t detect any aliens yet, but again, it made me feel more antsy than the converse.
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Only a couple of aliens seemed too good to be true. The tales I heard from incursions told of thousands of aliens within moments of it beginning. And even with the fact that most of it landed in different parts of town, I didn’t think it was normal.
Finally, a few minutes after we got moving, I spotted some aliens in the distance. It made me feel much better. Not that I was going to let my guard down because of it, but at least this way I had a tangible idea of where our adversaries were.
It was clear to me that the aliens hadn’t spotted us yet. A small group of model Threes, four in number, if I didn’t miss any, were happily munching on some of the brushwork. Next to them a flock of weird, bird-like creatures were also doing likewise. I wasn’t sure if they were model Ones or model Twos, although from their size I would guess them to be model Ones.
Keeping my pace measured, I walked over to Zuri, gesturing to her to slow down. “I see some aliens ahead. Seven total, four Threes, three Ones. We might be able to get the jump on them.”
She nodded, following my gaze, but evidently not spotting them. “Okay. How do you want to do this?”
I thought about it for a moment. The easiest approach would be for me to sneak up on them and kill them as quickly as possible before they had time to react. But they had a rather large advantage in numbers, and the model Ones could fly. Not to mention that by going there, I’d leave Zuri and the rest open to attack. I trusted my senses, but I couldn’t be 100% certain that there were no other aliens around.
“How confident are you with fighting off any aliens coming your way?” I asked her instead, eyes not moving away from the group of xenos.
“I should be fine, with Stryx help. If my glove isn’t enough, I could always grab more stuff, right?”
I didn’t reply immediately, a small frown forming. I really didn’t want to leave Zuri alone. But at the same time, it was better to strike the aliens now before they spotted us. At the same time, we also couldn’t just stand here forever to think about it. The group was still tense, and just standing around would just make it worse.
“Okay. You stick to the group, I’ll try to surprise them. If anything goes sideways, try to get to the shelter without me. I’ll follow after.” I knew she wanted to object. A part of myself wanted to object. But we didn’t have much choice, and I wanted to make it quick.
Pulling out two of my throwing knives and holding them at the ready with my left, I gave Zuri a nod. Without any more words, I started to slowly jog towards the aliens, keeping light on my feet and downwind. The underbrush gave me enough cover for me to get close.
The only way I had to deal with model Ones, or any flying model for that matter, were my throwing knives. And while I was rather confident in my skills, I couldn’t guarantee a hit, once they had time to take off. So my best bet was to try and kill the model Ones before they could flee, then deal with the model Threes.
Pushing as close as I thought I could get away with, I found myself not far from the group. If I aimed correctly it would only take two throws. I took a long breath, making sure to not make a noise with the motion, and put away my dagger. With one last throwing knife in my right hand, I waited for the perfect moment, observing the aliens closely.
Then a short lull in the breeze and I struck. Three flashes of silver, the throwing knives flying through the air one after another. I jumped up, rushing out of the underbrush before they had even landed. With both daggers at the ready, I reached halfway towards the first model Three when my blades found their targets and the alien birds collapsed.
Not all were dead, at least one was still moving, but it didn’t seem to be able to fly and that was all that counted. Rushing over, I stabbed the model Three in the eye, sinking my blade in deep before it could react.
Vaulting over it, I slashed at the second, rendering its front leg useless, before my second blade found its throat and leaving a deep gash. By the time I hit the third Three, the xenos were finally getting into gear. My blade pierced the Threes skull and it fell to the ground, quickly followed by the one I had wounded before, also now dead.
Kicking at the surviving one, I pushed my throwing knife deep into its body, before I turned to the last model Three that had just started to move towards me. I stepped to the side, letting it jump past me, cutting into its side. I turned with the movement, taking two steps forward before I brought my second blade down onto its skull, piercing the eye and killing it.
Not even five seconds had elapsed. I took a deep breath, both to calm myself and to search for more aliens. I couldn’t find any, and the rising stench of dead xeno quickly rose. We had to move quickly.
Collecting my weapons, I turned and made my way back to the group. Some of which had watched me, looking at me with wide eyes and a bit of fear in their gaze. I ignored them, turning to Zuri.
“Let’s go. We can’t linger too long.”
She nodded, waving at the others and signalling them to continue on.
“One day I’d like to be able to fight like you can,” Zuri muttered as we walked, eyes glancing around in search of more threats.
Her statement made me tense up. “I’m not sure you should.”
“Oh, I don’t mean exactly like you,” she quickly explained, realising how her comment sounded, “I mean just being able to fight at all. If I’m going to be a Samurai, I need to learn. Can’t protect people if I don’t know how to kill aliens.”
“Maybe… I still don’t like the idea of you fighting at all.”
She glanced at me. “I’m not a kid, Yurei. I know you worry, but I’m an adult. And with you nearby, I don’t think I need to worry too much. Not to mention that Stryx can also help me get out of a bind.”
“I know…” I sighed, grimacing. I understood her, of course. But it didn’t make it easier to accept. “It’s just… Fuck… I’m not sure what I’ll do if you ever get wounded. Earlier was already enough.”
“Is that why you nearly tore Leon’s throat out?”
“Maybe… The fuck is a bastard. Always acting like this bigshot, but the moment trouble comes along for him to prove himself, he hides behind someone else.” I shot Leon a glare. He wasn’t too far away, still looking highly awkward.
“Be that as it may,” Zuri said, getting my attention, “I don’t like how you threatened him. That was uncalled for.”
“He deserved it.”
“No, Yurei, he didn’t.” I flinched at the tone in her voice. Not that she was aggressive, just worried. “You aren’t that person anymore. Stop acting like you are. Today kind of sucked, but that is no excuse for you to go back there, okay? I’m not sure I can get you back out of that ditch a second time, if you end up there again. Please be more careful, okay?”
I knew she was right. And I might have overreacted a bit. With a sigh, I surrendered. Today really did kind of suck, and I wasn’t in the right mindset to think about all of that.
“Okay… Sorry, Zuri. I’m just a bit tense.”
She grabbed my hand, gently squeezing it. “It’s okay… Let’s just get to shelter for now. The rest can wait until later.”