ALL NOVEL Chapter 3 – Newly minted
“The exact criteria by which the Protectors select new Vanguard are not known, although they have been quite open about the fact that they are looking for individuals who would protect others even to the detriment of themselves, and those that are not likely to be corrupted by the power they gain. There have been some attempts to trick the system, the most well known was by XetaCorp Inc., a corporation that tried to force some of their employees to become Samurai by throwing them into life threatening situations during active incursions. It cost hundreds of employee’s their life and when they finally did produce an active Samurai, she just went ahead and utterly obliterated the corporation she formerly worked for. To this day the bodies of multiple executives are still extant. Understandably any more such attempts have since then been declared useless.”
- “The Samurai and YOU! A corporation's handbook for handling the gods of today's world”, 2048
The voice was… strange. It was female, yes, but it sounded slightly detached. It was pleasant to listen to, but most certainly not a normal human voice.
For a moment I was just dumbfounded, before I even noticed it had addressed me. By name.
“What?” It wasn’t the most coherent question, but I also wasn’t in my most coherent state of mind at just that moment.
You are now a Vanguard. That means you can earn points by defeating antithesis and saving humanity. You can use those points to acquire better tools to better fight off the adversary. Speaking about points.
Targets eliminated!
Reward: 105
New total: 205
In that moment, I wasn’t quite sure if I was still awake or already passed out and dreaming. I blinked, trying to push past the haze of exhaustion and drunken stupor.
There wasn’t anyone who didn’t know of the Vanguard, or Samurai as they were normally called. All powerful people who had been chosen by some weird alien race to protect humanity against the antithesis threat, capable of getting vastly powerful alien bullshit tech from killing the invaders.
There was no way in the universe that I was one of them.
“You’re fucking with me, aren’t you?” I asked, looking around and trying to find whomever was trying to prank me. “Right now is not the fucking time for pranks.”
I found… nothing. The others had long since closed the door and probably locked it.
I am not. Nor is this a prank. I realise that you are under quite the heavy influence of a number of narcotics, but please at least try to focus on reality.
“But I’m a fucking whore!” I protested, still trying to figure out if I wasn’t tripping my tits off after all the excitement.
That you are, but that doesn’t mean you can’t also be a Vanguard. Your occupation doesn’t matter to us. Not that there is anything wrong with being a sex worker.
I shook my head, finally lowering my dildo and using one hand to rub my face, “I’m not tripping, am I?” I muttered, not believing the words coming out of my own mouth.
You are not hallucinating, no. It is quite fortunate that you are high functioning under the influence, otherwise chances are good that you would be dead already. Might I suggest not taking any drugs? Or at least, not this many different ones at the same time? Your internals will thank you for it.
I snorted, then chuckled, before breaking out in full on laughter. This was surreal, utterly surreal. Then again, it didn’t matter really. Either I was a Samurai and I would be able to buy my way out of this situation, or I’d be mauled by aliens for trying to use imaginary weapons against them.
“Well, nothing for it”, I mumbled, “if I really am a Samurai, what should I do? There’s a room full of people I need to protect and Chloe is still not here.”
Vanguard Chloe is currently cleaning out the last group of antithesis between this brothel and the shelter. She should be arriving here shortly. I advise that you obtain some weaponry and make your way into her direction.
Weapons, yeah… Samurai could just get them out of nowhere, right? This entire thing was utterly ridiculous, but then again, if it saved my life then I’d roll with it. And, if I was honest with myself, some small part of my mind was insanely giddy about this new development.
“Yeah, I need weapons… Not sure what I should go with though. I mean, I guess most new Samurai start with guns?”
The door to the room with all the people inside opened a bit and someone poked their head out, looking around. It took me a moment before I recognised Tina, who looked at me wide eyed.
“Are you okay? We heard you laughing…”
I snorted, “I’m doing fucking fantastic,” I said with enough slurring to make it hard to even parse, “Just stay inside for a moment, okay? Need to… figure shit out…”
I sighed, rubbing my face again. “Kaysa, do you have something for this fucking trip I’m on? Thinking is… hard…”
Of course. Let us start with Class I Medical Utilities, a versatile catalogue focused on medical equipment. On that catalogue we have Cleanse, a nanite infused neuro-agent that will clean your system from most of the harmful effects. It can even cure substance addictions. The catalogue and the Cleanse will cost a total of 55 points.
“Fuck it, I’ll take it. As long as it makes my headache go away.”
Class I Medical Utilities unlocked!
Points reduced to: 155
New purchase: Cleanse!
Points reduced to: 150
A small box appeared on the ground in front of me. It was made out of those cheap plastics that new shit always came in, off white with purple decorations. Printed on top of it, written in sensual cursive letters, was the word ‘Cleanse’ next to a nearly naked Image of a woman looking suspiciously like me, but with long fluffy fox-like ears and a long bushy foxtail. She held up a small sign, covering her chest, with the image of a medical cross on it and smiled seductively at me.
A gasp came from behind me when it appeared, but I ignored it.
Inspecting it for a moment I poked it with my goo-covered boots. It felt real. Bending down and probably giving Tina a perfect view of my nether regions I picked it up and held it in my hands for a moment, before I opened it. Inside was a small pill laying on what I would call some velvet cushion.
Simply swallow the pill and soon your narcotic related issues should subside.
Shrugging I did as I was told and swallowed the pill. The effect was almost instantaneous and I stumbled for a couple of steps as the world stopped being all blurry and wobbly. I blinked a couple of times, trying to get used to… suddenly being sober again. My headache was gone and my thoughts were as sharp as they could be. I didn’t even feel the familiar urge to find myself another beer. “Wow…” I muttered, then flexed my hands, “So I wasn’t tripping.”
Glad that you finally believe me.
Kaysa sounded snippy, which made me snort. She seemed to have a sense of humour which I appreciated.
“Seraphine?”
When I turned around I saw Tina, Sharon, and a couple of others all staring at me with wide eyes.
I stared back, “Uhm… Stay in the room? I’m currently working on figuring shit out.”
They nodded immediately and closed the door. I blinked, then decided not to care about that right now.
With a shake of my head I tried to focus.
“Okay, weapons. I really don’t know what to get, truth be told. Like, I can use guns, but I don’t think they’d be my best option. I need something to keep these guys safe.”
I was still feeling like a bit of an idiot for talking to myself like that, but hells, wasn’t the strangest thing I’ve done in my life.
There are many ways to keep people safe. The most effective would of course be to make sure that any antithesis that tries to harm them dies before it gets the chance. But, if you are not confident in your own ability to do that, there are other options.
Considering your profile and the preference for fashion, I would recommend Hard-Light emitters. In effect they project different Hard-Light constructs from blades, to bullets, to shields. They are quite versatile in terms of use case, especially the higher classes, although the earlier class catalogues focus more on single purpose equipment. They can be hidden quite easily on your person, while supplying both sufficient offensive and defensive capabilities to deal with most lesser antithesis threats.
I thought about it, it did sound very useful. I’ve never heard of Hard-Light before, although considering the name I was pretty sure I’ve seen some Samurai use shit like that on the feeds before. “Aha. Sounds good. What other options do I have?”
The most obvious option is of course small firearms. But if we stick to your preferences you might also be interested in Nanite Swarms. They are quite expensive upfront, but can deliver quite a bit of utility if used correctly. From healing, to melting antithesis flesh, to repairing broken equipment, and eating antithesis hive biology, there is hardly a situation that they can’t have some use in. Their main drawback is a longer time to deploy, but in exchange they can stick around longer than your typical weapons can.
“Hm, doesn’t sound exactly like the kind of thing I need right now, although it is nice to know for the future. Is there something that could like, fight for me, or something?”
Of course. Although in that case you should probably know that in most cases there are some drawbacks to drones in general. Depending on the degree of separation any antithesis kill made will earn you less or maybe even no points. On top of that, most drone catalogues come with a bigger upfront cost, to offset the long term usability. But, of course, most drone catalogues offer quite some versatility and a sufficiently large drone swarm can cover quite the big area.
“I like the idea of that, but I don’t think it would be useful for me right now.”
Indeed. But I do have some ideas for that, should you later plan to return to the topic at hand.
“Okay, what are those options? If they’re worthwhile, I know what to work towards.”
If you want to plan for the future I would like to recommend two catalogues to you that are immediately connected to the choices discussed so far.
First we have the Class I Mythical Kitsune Catalogue. As the name implies it focuses on different mythological depictions of the Fox-like Kitsune and offers a lot of utility which would work well with both Hard-Light technologies and Nanite Swarms. In addition it has a large focus on aesthetically pleasing armor and clothing, and different forms of body modifications, such as cybernetics and gene editing. While it can supply a good baseline for both of these body modification methods, it is best used in conjunction with more specialised options.
Secondly we have the Class I Hexclaw Swarm Intelligence Catalogue, which as the name implies is based on the Hexclaw Swarm Intelligence. It offers a lot of self-replicating drones with a big focus of adaptability, tailor made to fight off antithesis, but with limited utility. It works well in conjunction with the Class I Mythical Kitsune Catalogue, as it also offers much deeper gene editing options. One important thing to note about this catalogue is that it works slightly differently from most other drone catalogues. Most of the lower class models are surprisingly resilient for their cost and don’t suffer the same power curve most other drones do, as they can grow and adapt with you. In effect that means that, should you put in sufficient effort, biomass, and materials, even the cheapest drone you get at the very beginning, will be able to keep up with you in terms of destructive force.
“Damn. Both of those sound awesome. And you said they work well with the Hard-Light stuff?” I asked.
I didn’t want to rush a decision here, but I also didn’t really have a lot of time to think about all the options I had available. And from the sound of it this sounded like something I would want to pursue in the future.
Indeed. Would you like recommendations for Hard-Light weaponry?
“Yes. They sound useful and I can’t daddle around forever.”
Very well. From the Class I Hard-Light Technologies Catalogue the Mark II General Hard-Light Emitter. It can project both a blade for close quarters combat, as well as a ranged projectile. It can also project a basic shield capable of holding off lower tier antithesis. Together with the catalogue it would cost you 130 points.
“Sounds good, I’ll take it.”
Class I Hard-Light Technology unlocked!
Points reduced to: 50
New purchase: Mark II General Hard-Light Emitter (Variant D)!
Points reduced to: 20
At my feet another plastic box appeared, this time with ‘General Hard-Light Emitter’ written on the lid. The icon the Fox-woman was holding up to cover her naked chest was also different, although I wouldn’t for the life of me know how to describe it.
Picking the box I opened it, finding the same velvet cushion, although instead of a pill I found a rather delicate looking bracelet. It was made of a silvery metal and had purple metallic accents, which made it look quite expensive.
Put it on and it will automatically connect to your augments. To activate it simply navigate the menu or use the phrases ‘Blade’, ‘Bullet’, or ‘Shield’. Of course, should you prefer, I can also activate it. To properly use it, point your outstretched arm into the direction you want the Hard-Light projection to go. Once the activation phrase is used the device will do the rest.
“Sounds simple enough,” I said and put it on, fastening it around my right wrist. Once it was on it shifted, then settled firmly and pleasantly around my wrist. Flexing my hand I couldn’t feel any discomfort. “Well, then let’s see… Blade.” I extended my arm and the moment I spoke the activation phrase a long, purple-ish and half-transparent blade appeared in front of me. When I moved my arm it followed the motion, perfectly retaining its position relative to my wrist.
I nodded and myself, then had the blade vanish with a quick application of my augs.
The emitter will need to recharge after some time, although in case of emergency there are replacement batteries available for a small point cost.
I nodded again, then turned to the corner leading out of the hallway. The hallway itself was soaked in alien goo at this point, not that it mattered too much. We wouldn’t be staying for much longer anyway.
Taking a deep breath I tried to center myself.
“Well… I guess it’s time to move,” I said then made my way over to the corner and carefully peaked around it.
I couldn’t see any more xenos from my position, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any.
“Any word on Chloe? Is she okay?” I whispered barely loud enough for myself to hear.
Vanguard Chloe is fine. She is currently on her way back to the brothel, although I would advise you to move ahead to try and meet her on the way. There is no telling when more antithesis show up to surprise you.
That did make sense and it also meant I could group up with Chloe faster. Taking another glance I nodded, before I turned back down the hallways. Walking as quietly as I could on my heels I moved over to the door, then knocking quietly. Not waiting for an answer I opened it and immediately found myself face to face with Tina and Sharon, while quiet whispers rang through the group inside. Both of my roommates stared at me with wide eyes, even Sharon looked like she was finally back in reality again.
“You’re a Samurai?!” Tina whispered quietly, looking at me like I was some kind of knight in shining armor.
I shrugged, “Guess so. Now, enough questions, we need to move. I hope that we can find Chloe before anything goes to the shitter and I don’t want to wait here for more xenos to show up.”
The whole hero worship was nice and all, but right now really not what we needed.
“Uhm…” someone asked from behind Tina, looking at me with equally wide eyes, “Is there like… any way we can at least get underwear?”
I blinked at him, then realised they were still naked. I wanted to say no, but I also knew that unless they had at least something on, most of them would probably baulk at going outside. And I really didn’t want to deal with that shit.
“You have five minutes. Any more and I’ll leave you behind, now move.”
With that I fully opened the door and allowed them outside. Immediately everyone started to file out and went over to their rooms, while I walked back over to the corner to stand guard. The last thing I needed was for an alien to come around when everyone was busy putting their pants back on.
To my great surprise everyone was ready within the five minutes I had given them. True, most of them were only half-dressed and had instead grabbed their most important belongings, but that was fine by me.
Waving them to be quiet and to follow me I slowly led them around the corner, arm raised with my emitter at the ready, the word ‘Bullet’ just waiting on my lips.
It didn’t take long to arrive at the second crossway, this one leading to the stairs down below, as well as to the second hallway parallel to our own. I motioned the group to wait, before I slowly and quietly made my way over to the second hallway and peered around the corner. From the open doors and silence I could hear I was pretty sure everyone there had already left. I frowned, sending a silent prayer to whatever alien overlord was watching this that they had made it safely to the shelter.
But of course Murphy, the bastard, was listening for just these wishes so he can come in and give you the shaft.
The stairs led to the main lobby, with an identical set of stairs on the other side of the big room. The lobby was two floors tall, although without any actual floor on the second floor. Instead it was a big area decorated sensually with lots of flowers that did little to brighten the room, big holographic paintings of scantily clad men and women performing various sexual services, and of course the hallway at the back leading to the bar.
The main problem was that the entire floor was littered with the corpses of at least three dozen people, some of which I recognised.
I froze, eyes wide, at the sight. I was no stranger to death. Hell, I’ve seen my fair share of shit in the gangs, and I’ve also woken up to my bed partner having OD’d before. But this was a whole new level of gruesome. Multiple aliens were strutting about the bleeding and shredded corpses of clients and joytoys. I even saw Dax, dead eyes gazing into the distance, with his throat being turned into a red mulch.
Closing my eyes I tried to calm myself down. I had to remain calm. I was a Samurai now and I could deal with this. Opening my eyes again I checked the area thoroughly, trying to spot any of the aliens about.
I could see six model Threes, most on the opposite side of the hall. Towards the entrance were two small bird thingies, similarly alien looking. And I even spotted one of those tentacle things climbing up one of the pillars that served as decoration, before it hid behind it on one of the outcroppings.
Luckily I had seen it climb up, no way I could have spotted it without knowing it was there.
That is a model Four. They are often used as ambush predators, but are also found even quite late into any incursion. It has quite the potent neurotoxin in quills behind its neck, but the most dangerous weapon to you are its tentacles.
Nodding I raised my arm and pointed it at the model Four, carefully stabilising it with my other hand. “Bullet,” I whispered and shot a projectile directly at it. I didn’t know if it was beginner's luck or skill, but I hit it dead center and killed it instantly. Of course that meant it did fall back down again with a loud and disgusting sounding splat, which immediately alerted all the xenos in the area.
Not wanting to waste any time I pointed to one of the closer Threes and repeated my whisper, hitting it straight in the head and killing it before it had a chance. The next bullet also killed its target, although this time it was a bit close. The problem was that by now the aliens had figured out where I was shooting from and immediately they started to make their way over. Sharp claws scraped across the blood stained floor.
With one quick motion I tried to hit the two bird thingies that had just taken off. The first projectile hit, clipping the head of the thing and having it fall and crash, dead, but the other one was too quick.
I couldn’t worry about that though, the remaining four Threes were on their way over to me. Firing my projectiles as quickly as I could I managed to kill two, but the last two were too close to comfort. “Shield!” I said and raised my hand to the one Three that was already halfway up the stairs. With a strange crunching sound it crashed straight into a wall made of purple Hard-Light. “Bullet!” I said, still aiming at the same Three that had just crashed. The projectile formed and flew off, only to crash into the Hard-Light shield, shattering it. It did still kill the Three, which was good.
I didn’t have time to think about how I could have done that one better, the last Three was almost upon me, and I stepped back, “Blade!” A crescent shimmer made of purple Hard-Light followed my panicked swing of my fist and cleanly split the Three in two, raining alien goo down on me while the corpse crashed into the ground, stopping right in front of me. I took a sharp breath, then checked around for the last bird. I found it on its way to me and swung again, splitting it in two in such a way that both parts flew past my sides and crashed into the wall behind me.
I stood there, breathing heavily, trying to calm my racing heart, then I heard Kaysa’s voice.
Well done. You are getting better at eliminating the adversary.
Targets eliminated!
Reward: 87 points
Point total: 107 points
All the xenos I had seen so far were dead, but I still kept my guard up. After a couple of moments with no more activity I relaxed slightly, then looked over to the group who were all looking at me with panic. “Let’s go…”
I didn’t have problems with death, well, not major problems anyway, but the same couldn’t be said about the people behind me. Quite a lot of them seemed shell shocked, some vomited, some nearly passed out. I kept my guard up the entire way outside, but made sure we moved fast to get them out as quickly as possible.
Once on the street I checked around, not seeing any immediate threats, although in the distance I could see strange flocks flying around. The streets were… a mess. More so than usual I mean. Half dilapidated buildings, barely functioning cars, dirty roads, and utterly broken asphalt, that much was normal. But now there were signs of alien everywhere. Luckily though this area didn’t seem too bad.
Not wanting to waste more time I turned towards the direction the shelter was in and started to walk, motioning the group behind me to follow.
Just when we were halfway to the corner we had to take, I heard steps and immediately raised my hand. My worries were unfounded though, as a moment later Chloe came running around the corner, weapon at the ready, eyes immediately locked onto me.
WIth a big sigh of relief I dropped my arm, then collapsed to my knees, a tension I hadn’t even realised I had felt vanishing from my limbs.
“Thank fucking god…”
Originally I didn't plan to post until next Wednesday, buuuuut... You lot seem to enjoy it and I have enough of a backlog that I feel like I can give you some more. Over the course of today I will release all the way to chapter 5, then switch back to our regularly scheduled program for next week.
Oh, and I will also change the release from Wednesday and Friday to Tuesday and Friday, just to spread it out a bit more evenly.
Thanks for reading! <3
I have a Discord! https://discord.gg/8he9MGR