“Right, good call.”
I climb out of my bath, grab one of my super plush towels for my hair, and one for my body.
I dry off, toss on my underwear and head into the living room where my nanite armor is sitting neatly folded on the table.
I reach down and activate its armor form; it slithers across my body like a river of sand.
“Okay purchase please Merlin.”
Loot inbound!
Class I Enhanced Augment Neural Processing unlocked!
Points reduced to: 11,120
Class II Enhanced Augment Neural Processing unlocked!
Points reduced to: 10,520 and 1 Token
Class II Advanced Sensory Technologies unlocked!
Points reduced to: 9,920 and 0 Tokens
New Purchase: Class II Multi-Spectrum Sensory Suit Nano Armor Upgrade:
Points reduced to: 9,420
New Purchase: Mk IV Hive Mind Neural Processing Upgrade:
Points reduced to: 8,420
New Purchase: Class II Tempest Staff of Storms:
Points reduced to: 6,420
Three boxes drop onto my dining room table; two small ones about the size of a shoe box, and the third is long and skinny, maybe seven feet and a foot wide.
I open the two small boxes; inside I find, to no one’s surprise, two small bottles, probably full of nanites! I go ahead and stick my finger in one for my armor and inject the second into my thigh.
“Merlin, the aug upgrade will it mesh with the one currently upgrading now, or how will that work?”
I went ahead and charged a few extra points to speed up both, you should feel a bit of vertigo in a few minutes when both upgrades meld and take effect.
“Fantastic.” I roll my eyes and sit down before it hits.
While I’m waiting, I reach over for the last box. Removing the lid, I peek in to see a beautiful staff sitting in red velvet.
The staff is an otherworldly dark purple with glowing cyan lightning swirling from the top to bottom in an ever-shifting display of natural arcing lightning. At the top is a crescent moon shaped receptacle that has lightning swirling in a contained ball. The staff is roughly five and a half feet tall and just the right size to wrap my hands around comfortably.
“It’s so beautiful Merlin, I’m impressed.”
I am glad you approve; I went through six thousand seven hundred and forty-two variations before selecting that design.
I pick it up and caressed it with both hands, smiling in awe.
As I looked at the swirls, a wave of vertigo and nausea hit me. I fell back into my chair and tried to stop myself from throwing up.
“Ugh.” Is all I get out before throwing up all over my table.
I really need a cleaning bot.
Once the vertigo passed the world around me come into sharp focus. I could see and sense everything around me in vivid clarity. What’s weird is that it felt natural, like I’ve been blind my whole life and now I can see.
I could even sense people on floors around me, doing various activities, people above me were watching a movie and eating, the guy below me was enthusiastically watching porn, gross.
“Merlin, can I dampen down this…” Before I could finish, my hive mind augs interpret my thoughts and instantly reduce the sensory inputs down to just my current surroundings.
“Never mind.”
Also, Morigana, with your new augs you no longer need to speak out-loud to me. We can communicate almost instantly without words.
It is not, it’s just a super sped up direct connection between the two of us that moves faster than thought. It converts thought and intent into direct communication.
Using my new augs I sent a call to Hank, who picked up in just a few rings.
“Ah, afternoon, Morigana. I was about to call you. Bobby says that Devoy is about ready to wake up and you should head on over when yah can.”
“Oh good, I’m glad he’s recovering and yeah, I was just about to ask! I’ll be over in a bit.”
I drop the call, clean up my mess, and gather up my new staff. I form a back attachment using my nanites without even thinking about it so I can carry it hands free and head to my car.
As I’m reaching for my car door, a monstrous gurgle emanates from my stomach. Darn bodily needs, I should pick up some food on the way over, I’m guessing Devoy might be hungry, and Hank fed me last time so I should return the favor.
What is even open this late, it’s hitting 10 PM.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Pulling up the net with my augs I search for something on the way that I think a Texas BBQ lord and a soldier I know nothing about would both eat. Pizza, no, too generic, Mexican, no thanks, burgers, too many options, ooh, I know. Who doesn’t like some Korean BBQ!
I know a little mom and pop place that has the best bulgogi! I set my car's autopilot to Juhnes Korean BBQ.
I watch out my window as the city flew past, idly thinking about what sort of projects I should work on once the materials for nanite production show up at my new lab at TotST. Obviously, the armor I demonstrated but in a way that’s easily mass produced and affordable but functional. But what else though? Perhaps a healing nanite injection for wounds, or even to counteract the gas effects of model Fours, or the parasite worms from model Sevens.
My musings were interrupted by a call.
It’s Mr. Brunswick from the Family.
I send it to the car’s screen, so I can see him squirm. But not before I adjusted my armor nanites to make my cleavage dip down to my navel and push up the girls.
Grinning like a mad woman I let the call through.
“Good afternoon, M-Mori! Congrats are in order for destroying your f-first hive. I have the after-action report from the D-Desert Fox PMC here, and after reading it I have to say it was a r-resounding success.”
He tries to stammer out as his eyes bulge out of his head and his face turns scarlet red. I can see him straining his eyes trying to keep them looking at mine.
My mood instantly changes. Resounding success? Does he not know about me nearly killing the Major? I can feel my face warp into a scowl.
“Listen here Adam.” I said spitting his name out like a rotten egg. “That was a disaster, I destroyed the mine beyond use, and nearly killed the PMC’s commander. What’s worse, he was trying to save my stupid life and now he’s in critical condition.” I practically yell at him, pointing my finger at him venomously.
I also reset my armor to its full setting, I’m no longer in a playful mood.
“B-b-but he did not die, and he was selected to be a S-Samurai!” He says trying to defend himself and the report.
“Even if everything turned out okay, it does not change the fact that I screwed that up and it could have killed him. It was lucky I had a teleportation device from Hank that dropped him into a Vanguard medical station, or else he would have died, Samurai selection or not. So, DO NOT come at me with this garbage!” I scream at him!
I wish I had a phone to slam down to hang up on him, so instead I slap the screens hang up button instead, breaking the glass.
My mood is ruined causing me to brood over my mistakes during the mine raid until I arrive at Juhnes.
The place is a little hole in the wall, set into one of the small side streets in ChinaTown. I know it’s Korean, not Chinese, but I nor anyone else really cares, it’s more like Asian Town really.
The streets are dirty, and trash strewn, and holographic ads pop up all over in Chinese, which I don’t understand a single bit of. But it all adds to the vibe of the place. The more of a dive the place is the better the food is going to be.
Stepping in, it’s not very big, maybe a twenty-by-twenty room with some tables pushed up against the wall, occupied by a few people eating. There is a Korean woman behind a small counter cooking, and her husband standing just off to the side taking an order. Even though I’m in my full Samurai armor, no one even bats an eye. Do they just not care, too busy eating, or maybe trying to ignore it in case I react poorly to being gawked at? No idea, but I guess I’m fine with it.
I get in the short line and look over the menu. I think two pounds of beef, two large sides of rice, and two pounds of chicken bulgogi should do the trick.
After placing my order, I wait in the corner away from the door, watching the people in the street walk past.
A group of three young men strolled into the restaurant, and immediately I could tell they were here for trouble.
Focusing my sensory suite on them I could detect three knives and a high-point revolver. How do I know that? Well, my augs detected the lump of metal, scanned the net for matches, compared the data and spit out a ninety-eight percent likelihood of its identity.
Technology is wild.
I am unsure. Clearly, they saw you upon entry, maybe they think you’re some sort of weirdo doing cosplay? Who would expect to see a Samurai in this dump?
The three youths go up to the Korean man at the counter who took my order, swaggering up to him with a smirk.
“You going to finally pay your monthly subscription old man? You’re two months behind.”
The Korean man puts his hands up and in broken English responds.
“We paid already, you ask too much now, please ask no more.”
Two of the group pull out their knives and keep them low at their waist.
You give them a beating, and bluff saying you can essentially watch the place and react from any distance kind of thing.
I calmly stroll up behind the group quieter than an owl.
My physical upgrades are not quite done yet, but I can tell I’m stronger than I could ever be normally. I’m fairly confident that I can outmatch them in strength individually, and I know I’m at zero risk of being stabbed by a knife, plus I can vent some of my frustration.
I reach up to youths in the back who have the knives out, grab them by the side of the head and try to bring their heads together.
It kind of works. They react fairly quickly, turning their heads to look and end up headbutting each other. They slump to the ground, knocked out.
The leader spins around.
“What the hell! Who are you, cosplay bitch?”
Well, that settles that question.
Seeing his two buddies drooling on the floor he reaches into his pants for the revolver. In his panic he grabs the trigger, and the gun goes off still in his waistband. The bullet shoots through his pants, and stops about a centimeter from my shin, intercepted by a thin blue hexagonal shield disc.
Neat!
I grab the arm with the gun and push it into his body, stopping him from drawing it the rest of the way up, with my right fist I punch him awkwardly in his gut.
I’m not exactly a fighter so it’s a garbage punch only effective because of my enhancements.
An oof escapes his lips and he lets go of his gun, dropping it down his pants, clattering on the ground. I let go of his arm and use both hands and slap them over his ears as hard as I can. I saw this move in a women’s self-defense course once and it seemed to work. It’s supposed to cause disorientation by over pressurizing the ear system.
Not sure if it works or my greater strength did the trick, but the youth crumpled to the ground and was knocked out.
You may have overdone it a bit with that last one.
I grab all three by a leg and drag them out of the establishment, propping them up against the building across the street. As late as it is, I doubt anyone will mess with them.
I go back to Juhnes, not sure what to expect from everyone or what to do.
The Korean man is waiting for me by the door.
“Thank you miss, but now more trouble will come.” He says with a weary sigh.
“Morigana.” I say filling in my name.
“I’m sorry, I did not want to see you get hurt, is there anything I can do to help prevent backlash?”
“I am Ji-Ho and my wife is Juhne, if you take out the whole gang maybe.” He says sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
Taking out a gang of miscreants is definitely not in my wheelhouse of expertise. But I just happen to know someone who made me grumpers lately and would love to make some extra work for them.
“I’ll figure something out. Until then, call me if they come back.”
I send over my contact info to him and walk back out into the night air with my food.
I stand over the three miscreants pondering what to do before I go.
Of course, what message would you like to leave?
Understood, message left!
Hopping back into my car, I continue on to Hank’s and use my augs to make a quick call to my favorite Family member.