“It only takes a few kills to get the ball rolling. One second, you’re fighting tooth and nail to survive, the next, you’re a hyper-aug’d badass with points to spare. Just gotta keep moving that boulder. It won’t fall if you don’t first.”
Chivalry, 2041, in an interview before his untimely demise
A message popped up on my augs as I exited the sitting room I was in back into the extravagant hallway. I could barely consider opening it up because I needed to focus, but hey, it was probably Nate.
“[WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!]”
Oh yeah. It’s Nate.
“I probably should message back, shouldn’t I?” I sighed, rolling my eyes.
You could, or you could not. However, my calculations say you would definitely do it most of the time. At least, that’s what I have in my betting pool on this one because you’re a good friend.
Yeah…
“[I’m on a superyacht full of xenos. What’s new with you?]”
“[How and why? You should have come back to shore!]”
“[Nate, I may have dissociated into swimming bliss a little too close to the sun this time.]” I looked off to the side, mildly embarrassed to admit that.
“[Ok, sure. But, the extra problem with that is that aliens started storming the harbor and are running amok in the city. You are essentially on an island with sharks swimming around it.]”
Oh. Yeah, that was a bigger problem.
Nate then sent another message.
“[I’m at a shelter right now. Hopefully some samurai come through and help with this because there are a LOT of weeds.]”
“[...So, I may be one of said samurai that could be able to help.]” I rubbed my arm sheepishly as I wrote the message, not letting the irony of the situation slip by me.
“[...You know, I’m not surprised, Mako.]” I could almost imagine the strongest eye-roll of all time followed by a monumental sigh.
I scoffed lightly. What did he mean, ‘I’m not surprised?’ This wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned myself doing when I went to college, much less after years slaving away at the coffee shop. Bleh, at least he can watch the show.
“[Well, you still have sight through my augs, so you could possibly be able to see what I’m seeing while you chill in your safe place.]”
“[What would you do without me watching your back, Macy?]”
“[I guess I’ll have Kyos watch it now.]”
“[Who?]”
“[Hello, friend of my Vanguard.]”
“[Ah,]” Nate said, before abruptly stopping his texts.
“Getting in on my text threads, huh?” I snarked to Kyos as I pushed further into the ship.
I thought they might want an introduction. I am sorry I could not give you yours from me in a more formal fashion, but then again, you were dying.
“That seemed like less of an introduction, and more of a way to get him to acknowledge your existence.”
It can be both at the same time.
“Like a gremlin child, I swear,” I chuckled, stealing a bit of Nate’s energy with the eye-roll that followed.
Oh come on, dear, it’s endearing and you know it.
I huffed with a shake of my head and a grin. Damn you, Kyos, being right.
I reached the end of the hall, and checked behind me before opening the door at the end of the hall. The door led into a set of stairs leading down. Along the sides of the stairs, cutesy depictions of sea creatures that had been extinct for a while were shown with little catchphrases that were probably AI gen’d. Phrases like “Enjoy a bubble bubble good time in the deep blue sea!” and “My neck got caught in a soda can ring, please help me!”. Equal parts fun and existentially terrifying, the new credo of SeaWorld.
I am detecting lifeforms ahead.
“Like humans? Or…” I hesitantly prompted.
…I would strongly suggest preparing yourself in case of Model Seven parasite zombies.
“Yeah…I was afraid you’d say that. Xenobiology class gen ed coming in helpful once again. Don’t samurai have a preventative for the parasites?”
You do. Model Seven Proofing Pills. They come in a pack of ten and they will immunize you for most of the day. However, don’t take more than one at a time since you probably want to keep your brain intact.
“Understandable. I’d appreciate those,” I grimaced, remembering scenes from class that showed what happened to people who didn’t get lucky with Sevens.
Understood.
New Purchase: Model Seven Proofing Pills, Pack of Ten
Points reduced to…9
A small box appeared next to me, a slight bit of clatter from the pill pack filling the quiet stairway. I picked up the box, opened it, popped a pill out of the pack and knocked it back. Mmm. Tangy. Neat.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, I covered my corners just to avoid ambush. After all, I had just seen a Model Four. So, it didn’t surprise me when I saw a set of shambling corpses walking toward me.
“Compartmentalize, Mako, you’ve got better shit to do,” I mumbled to myself to calm my nerves.
Note to self: Get Protector grade therapy later for killing human-looking creatures.
I rushed in and stabbed into the first corpse in the group, the rest beginning to swarm around as I did so. The worm-like creature detached from within the corpse with a sickening ripping noise, sinew and nerves snapping like fraying thread, and tried to swim its way up my arm in a quick, yet noticeable attempt to invade my body. I flailed and threw it off as I backed away from the horde, and then proceeded to stab the shit out of it. One down, seven to go.
“Kyos, I need something with a bit of AOE.”
Unfortunately, you do not have firearms or explosives catalogues yet. However, a monofilament net could be arranged. It may be difficult to wield untrained, but I am sure you’ll get the hang of it. The Stalhas Technologies Catalog you may get later has learning enhancements for these kinds of weapons.
Interesting. Very interesting. Let’s try it out for now. Hopefully that nano-regen thing can help if I somehow found a way to slice open my arms.
“Let’s do it,” I said, drumming my fingers against my harpoon.
New Purchase: Monofilament Net
Points reduced to…8
A box appeared to the side as I jumped away from a strike from one of the zombies, and kicked open the box, revealing a net. The netting, outside of the edges, was made of mono-wire. Perfect. I grabbed the net from the edges as carefully as I could, pulled my upper body up from my bent-over position, and whipped the deadly net towards the oncoming horde with all my strength, letting the net’s full surface fly against the charging parasite zombies.
Yup, ribs…still not perfect. Owie…
It did do the job though. One moment, a shambling horde, the next, sliced up and trapped zombies.
I carefully went over and stabbed into all the Model Sevens that were attempting to crawl out of the zombies, which was a number greater than the seven corpses left.
Targets Eliminated!
Model Seven x 12
Reward…60 points.
Total: 68 points.
“Alright, we’re getting somewhere.” I huffed, mildly out of breath.
Need some refreshments?
My stomach growled in agreement, doing the talking for me.
Another small box appeared next to me.
Boy, did I.