“Who’s that skank on the dance floor?”

  “I don’t know, but she looks familiar.”

  “She obviously bought that body. Just look at the guys drooling at her.”

  “Now I remember. She’s one of the new Samurai from the recent attack?”

  “Samurai? Hurry, we need to get her autograph before she leaves. Faster! Faster!”

  “I’m coming.”

  – Two young ladies smack talking to each other while watching a Samurai dance.

  A week later, I went to my first paid party. It felt odd to get paid just to be seen. The pay wasn’t great, but was better than the average citizen of the city could earn in a week. A few days later, I contacted Richard to let him know that I liked the job of party girl. So we set things up for me to go to one party a weekend for a few hours, unless an incursion happens.

  I was still considering about how I could help the city. I was already on call for incursions, so the city was satisfied. But I wasn’t. I thought that would be my next big point spend, but it turned out I got a gig from Grizzly Enterprises that caused it. In this case, it was some corporate espionage. I would head there after my next paid party.

  I arrived at Snider’s Automation, and realized there was no way I could get in without being seen. Even the blending clothes I bought earlier would not be good enough to pass the entryway.

  “Ysys, there’s no way I’m getting in there without being spotted. Do you have something I could use to get in without being noticed?”

  Sure. Your stealth catalog has a nice cloak for 50 points that can hide you quite well from ordinary sight. It also dampens your electronic signature, making it hard to localize you electronically.

  “Let me get somewhere private…” I headed to the restroom at a nearby food court. Once clear, and in a stall I had her send it.

  Stealth Overcoat – 50 points

  New Total – 948 points, 3 tokens

  Putting it on in a stall took a few moments, but when I activated it in front of a mirror I seemed to disappear.

  “Nice. I’m invisible.”

  Not quite. Look closely, and you can see a slight blur where you are. The faster you move, the more pronounced it will be. But from a distance it will be hard to spot.

  “Close enough. Now to test it.”

  I scrunched up the box it came in, and tossed it into the trash, before leaving the restroom. When I headed into the entry, no one noticed me. I did have to watch out for people trying to move through where I was, since they didn’t see me.

  While there was decent security at Snider’s, the R&D section’s security was beyond what I could handle. As this was a rather lucrative job, I decided to spend more points to complete it.

  “Ysys, what do you have that can get past this security? It’s tougher than the other that I already passed.”

  That would require you to open a Cyber Warfare catalog, and get your augs upgraded with some new abilities. The catalog is 100 points, and the upgrade another 50 points. Shall I get it for you?

  I nodded, and held out my hand.

  Opened Class I Basic Cyber Warfare Utilities — 100 points

  Mark II Cyber Warfare Augmentation — 50 points

  New Total – 798 points, 3 tokens

  Suddenly a small box appeared there. Opening it, there were two disks. I placed them over my eye and on the back of my neck. I got dizzy for a moment, but then it cleared up. I placed the box in a pocket, and then looked to the security again. When I tried to get past it, it was far easier, and I slipped in without trouble. Now I was inside the R&D space, and had to find the project I was looking for. My earlier checking indicated this area was off the grid, so my first order of business was to connect into the local system.

  I found the local server and hacked into it. Since I had superior tech, I was able to essentially duplicate the server’s data for my boss. But the data I wanted wasn’t there. I did some investigation, and determined there was a physical hard drive I needed. Based on the little info I had and had found, I searched the area for where the work lab was.

  It took nearly half an hour to find, as it was the fourth one I checked out. But I found it. More hacking, and I was able to connect the drive to the workbench, and so to my utilities. Copying that took nearly an hour, and I was concerned someone would come by. In fact, someone did, but they didn’t notice me. Once I was done, I erased all signs I accessed the lab and drive before returning things where they were. If I took it, or wiped the disk, someone would know it was taken. This way, they wouldn’t be worried.

  Five minutes later, I was getting in another taxi, heading to another part of town. Three more taxis, and I was finally free to head home. The next day, I made my way to Grizzly Enterprises and turned over what I had.

  “Hello, Sid. Can you seal the office?”

  A few moments later, he said, “Done. How well did you succeed?”

  “I had to spend points to get in, so I’m not thrilled with that. But I suspect I might have spent them anyway, so I’m not too worried beyond having a smaller pool of points. As to the data, here.” I turned over a handful of chips.

  “The blue chips are from the R&D server. I was able to own it completely, but your data was not there. All that was there, however, is here.” I gestured to the blue chips. “The green chips, however, are from the hard drive in the lab, and from the lab’s own little server.” There were more than twice as many green chips as blue ones.

  “That’s a lot of data.”

  “I only looked enough to verify it was the project you sent me for, but I noticed there were other projects on it.”

  “I would have thought their security setup would have wiped it before letting it be used by another project.”

  “It was wiped, but poorly. My tools was able to reconstruct a fair portion of the files. So you might have a bonus there.”

  “If it is usable, we’ll pass along a bonus to you.”

  He packed the chips in a small box, and then dismissed me.

  Nearly two weeks later, I moved into my new digs. I had the movers put all the stuff in the garage, rather than letting them inside. Once the left, I had the construction drones move it into where it belonged. I was in the middle of getting it all placed when I got a call from Sargent York.

  “Hello, Sargent. What’s up?”

  “There is an incursion over in Gillette, and they are requesting help.”

  “Can you pick me up? I don’t have my own transportation yet.” I sent my new location to him.

  A moment later, he said, “Sure. Be there in ten minutes.” Then he closed the call.

  “Ysys? Is the engine busy at the moment?”

  No.

  “How long would it take to make some Nano-Regenerative Suites?”

  You would need the blueprints for 150 points, but being small, you can make twelve packs of four in four minutes.

  “Okay. Buy it, and start making them. I can probably get two sets before my ride arrives.”

  On it. Starting fabrication now.

  Blueprints for Nano-Regenerative Suite – 150 points

  New Total – 668 points, 3 tokens

  While that was happening, I was changing into my cosplay uniform and defensive jewelry. I picked up my overwatch rifle and ammo. I set some rat drones to watch for my ride. When they saw it, I grabbed the meds and headed out the door.

  As I mounted the hover bike, I opened a call to the Sargent. “Why a hover bike?”

  “You are not on the way from our base, so we’re meeting them en route. With you on board, we can bypass the local driving laws, so hang on tight. We’re going high and fast.” With that, I heard the engine roar, and he headed up. Once we cleared the buildings, our speed increased even more. “You like?”

  “Nice. Think I should get one of these?”

  “Nah. This is a civie bike, and cannot take any kind of damage before it will fail. You need something sturdier, and faster.”

  “Faster than this?”

  “Definitely. While this is a performance bike, it is not a racing one. Also, I’m sure the protector tech can leave those in its dust. Being able to get to the antithesis quickly should be a priority for a Samurai. Also, there’s not much carrying capacity with a hover bike. Last time I saw you, you only really had the big rifle. Now, you’ve added a bag of something, and some ammo on your belt. Whatever you decide, it should be able to carry all your stuff.”

  “You’re right. Riding bitch isn’t easy carrying all this.”

  “So what’s in the bag?”

  “Well, since I’m heading into combat with you, I thought I would bring some meds, just in case.”

  “What kind?”

  “Some Nano-Regenerative Suites. I figure we might need them, so I figured I would share with you guys.”

  He was silent for a good while. “Thanks. It means a lot.”

  We were silent until we were in sight of his crew. “There they are. We’ll join them, but get ready to hop off and engage when we get to Gillette in twenty minutes. You can pass the bag to one of the guys if you want. Just let me know, and I’ll set it up.”

  I did, and he did. One of the men stuck an arm out a window, and I handed him the bag. A few minutes later, we went to the left of the city to come in from the north. Once we entered, we almost immediately reached a staging area. The PMC group of five squads and a command unit quickly set up. Sargent York and I went to the HQ and connected with the locals in charge. Our commander was assigned an area, and my squad was then assigned within that area.

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  Two minutes later, we were facing antithesis. On the way, each of the members was given a four-pack, and I took one myself. The rest we left in the APC.

  At first, I had nothing to target, as everything was small stuff. But that didn’t last. Once a five was spotted, I changed my facing, and shot it. This time, I had instinctively leaned into the weapon, so the kickback didn’t move me much. It died to my shot. So I looked further, and saw another five heading this way. More points for me.

  When a swarm of ones came by, I headed back to the ground, so I wasn’t an obvious target. After they were killed, I went back up to my usual ten feet high position.

  “Oh shit! There’s a twelve on our left flank!”

  I looked over to see what was going on. I doubled my height to get a better view. With my enhanced vision, I could spot it.

  “Ysys, do I have the range for that thing?”

  Yes. However, your current bullets don’t have the needed stopping power for that distance.

  “Get me something appropriate.”

  Class I Long Range HE Armor Piercing bullets, magazine of 10 – 2 points

  New Total – 666 points, 3 tokens

  I quickly swapped out the magazine, and then took my time to steady my aim. After I shot, I took a quick breath and shot again. I took a third shot just in case.

  While I didn’t quite kill it, I nearly did. Before I could line up another shot, it fell over, dead.

  Sargent York said, “Nice shot. How’d you even see it?”

  “One of my upgrades was to sight. I don’t know how far away that was, but Ysys said I had the range, so I took a chance.”

  That was nearly a mile and a half. Two of the three shots hit. The other missed, and took out a model three with sufficient force two more model threes were also killed.

  After that kill, I swapped out the magazine in case I would need it later. It was two more hours when I was recalled to HQ. An APC came for me, but the squad remained.

  Just outside HQ, before I could get out, commander Pembrook came to the APC. I rolled down the window.

  “Calamity, the local Samurai are ready to go for the hive, but they don’t quite have the firepower. They’ve requested your help.”

  “Sure. Where is –” I was interrupted by the commander.

  “Driver, go, on the double. Calamity, call Double Fist.”

  Before I could speak, the APC rushed off. The driver then told me she already had the location. So I called Double Fist.

  “Hey, you the neighbor Samurai?”

  “Yeah. Calamity Jane. What’s up?”

  “Well, me and Whiplash are more close combat. Not the type to need big explosions.”

  “I don’t have those either. But I can get Class II ammo. How are you with scouting?”

  “The hive is in an old abandoned industrial complex. We have the original blueprints, but they’re out of date. While our senses are upgraded, we can’t really see around corners.”

  “I have a drone catalog. I think I can cover that. Can you send the existing blueprints?”

  “Sure.” Moments later, I got them.

  “Ysys, how many spider swarms would I need to cover the complex?”

  A minimum of three, but you will lose some on the way in. So I suggest six. You have the points.

  “Get them.”

  Mark I Stealth Drone Mini Swarm X 6 – 600 points

  New Total – 912 points, 3 tokens

  “I have the drones. I’ll send them out as soon as we head in. Oh, Ysys, please introduce yourself.”

  Hello Double Fist and Whiplash. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Shall we set up a virtual common room?

  Both agreed, and they introduced their AIs Myrtle and Salyna.

  Moments later, we stopped, and I met them in person.

  “I’m Whiplash. I specialize in movement and close combat.”

  “And I’m Double Fist. Your basic body builder turned Samurai. I’m close combat and a heavy hitter. Neither of us have much in the way of range.”

  “And I’m Calamity Jane. I don’t have close range. I do have a big boom stick.” I held up the overwatch.

  Double Fist said, “You may have difficulty swinging that around in there. And you shouldn’t be without a good backup weapon.”

  “Ysys, do you have something good for short range hive busting? And what do you have for area suppression?”

  Well, a shotgun is the classic short range area suppression. The Mark IV Scattershot for 30 points with some incendiary ammo should be good for area suppression. As for hive busting, the Bio Force Gun Mark 9000 for 40 points shoots biologic bullets designed to take out antithesis into the twenties.

  It was odd hearing Ysys in the common room. But before I could comment, Double Fist asked, “Can she use both at once?”

  Yes, but the BFG’s kick might be more than she can easily handle one handed.

  “I like the Scattershot, but having to juggle weapons sounds like a problem. Are there any wrist mounted options?”

  Of course. The wrist mounted Stryker 75 for 50 points shoots incendiary pellets that can one-shot a model twelve up to fifty feet away.

  Putting my Overwatch back in the APC, I said, “In that case, I’ll take the Scattershot and two Strykers.”

  Mark IV Scattershot – 30 points

  Stryker 75 X 2 – 100 points

  New Total – 782 points, 3 tokens

  “I’m ready. Just need to send the drones in.” I pointed to ammo belt. “These are actually drone swarms. I have six. Can you help spread them about? I’d like two sent in from one third around each way. They will go in ahead of us and map the place.”

  Whiplash said, “Give me four. I’ll take care of it.”

  As soon as I did, he sped off very quickly. He bounced off things into the distance before I lost track.

  “Yeah, he’s fast. Very good at stopping breakouts long enough for me to get to them and lay down the hurt.”

  “Great. Ysys? Will the drones be alright heading into the hive?”

  For the most part, but if there are any model twelves, their ECM will take out your drones.

  “Can you have them back off if if they start to lose contact?”

  Yes. But you won’t get any further data.

  “At least I’ll know a twelve is there.”

  Just then Whiplash came into sight from the other direction. He wasn’t even winded.

  “Ysis, can you update the blueprint of the complex as the drones search it out?”

  Yes. I’ll overlay your augs, and the full map will be in the common room.

  Double Fist said, “Looks like we are ready.” I nodded, and he added, “Let’s go.”

  Whiplash was first, darting in and out checking doorways on all the hallways we went through. But we quickly ran into antithesis, and he and Double Fist went to close combat. They went through model threes and fours easily, but the fives took longer. So I focused on the higher digits to let them keep going full speed. I used the Scattershot to the sides and behind when needed. The first time I had to reload, I asked Ysys to automatically reload for me so I could keep shooting.

  As we got deeper, Whiplash went behind me to cover my back, and I was using my Strykers almost constantly. Double Fist slowed down with the many higher digits coming at us. But he kept them bottled up long enough for me to take them out.

  When we came to the first model thirteen, Double Fist said, “We must be near the hive now.”

  This time, the Stryker took several shots to take it out. When it was down, I noticed Double Fist was bleeding from several places.

  “Hey, you need some meds?”

  “These scratches? No. Might need some later, though.” He just shoved the dead model to the side and continued fighting his way in.

  Suddenly, I got a notice that one of my drone swarms encountered ECM. Moments later, a second swarm also notified me.

  “Hey, found signs of ECM on the far side.” By the time I finished saying that, one near me signaled also. “And over here as well.”

  Double Fist pushed on ahead, and more double digit models came at us. Suddenly, a random chair attacked me. I barely got notice from my drones, so I wasn’t quite surprised, but I was deeply cut. I instinctively brought my arms up to block, but then realized I could shoot with my wrists. I blew it apart. Apparently, my hard light armor wasn’t quite up to a model nine.

  I pulled a Nano-Regenerative Suite out to fix it, even as Whiplash shouted, “Model nine. Watch out for more.”

  I picked up the Scattershot I dropped when it hit me, and asked, “Ysys, anything I got to handle a model nine?”

  Detecting them needs a Class II Advanced Sensor catalog. As to the armor, you can get a stronger model Class I hard light armor at double what you currently have, or open a Class II version. Both will block anything into the tens, but the latter will also block into the twenties.

  “We’re too busy at the moment, but I like the Class II armor option. Put that on the list for later.”

  Done.

  In fact, I was so busy I wasn’t keeping track of what models we were facing. I just shot everything big. Suddenly, my swarms notified me the ECM was gone, and they started moving in again. They were degraded, and had merged to replace losses. That’s when we got a good read on the hive and learned there were a pair of twenty-twos and three seventeens.

  “Um, Ysys? I think I need that BFG you mentioned earlier.” I slung the Scattershot over my shoulder, and opened my hands.

  BFG9000 – 40 points

  New Total – 2934 points, 3 tokens

  It dropped into my hands and as soon as we entered the main chamber I was firing at the seventeens. I missed a number of times because some other antithesis got in the way. But I got the first in only seventeen shots. Huh, seventeen shots for a seventeen. I did take out a number of others as the premature hits took out a fair number of other antithesis.

  I decided to ascend to get clear of the crowd on the ground. I had to go thirty feet up, and had a bunch of model ones attack, but the hard light armor kept me safe from them. I used the Strykers to clear the immediate volume before firing the BFG several times in succession. I had to aim from the information my drones sent, because there was way too much in the air to really see.

  I prioritized taking the other seventeens down. By the time I managed that, one of the twenty-twos was also down. I made the other one my new priority. When it was down, I looked at the other Samurai, and both were in poor shape. So I started to use the Scattershot to reduce the pressure by blowing away swarm of ones and the small clusters of antithesis near the others.

  If I hadn’t thinned out the ones, I would have totally missed the model eleven. But I swiveled and shot it with the Stryker before it could close. It went down in one hit. There were still a lot of model ones in the air, but they were minor obstacles to me since they couldn’t get past my armor.

  Twenty minutes later, we killed the last of the big models, and I could turn the BFG on the hive itself.

  “Ysys, I don’t know where to aim. A little help please?”

  When I raised the BFG up, my HUD lit up with a number of markers. I took them out, but needed more than one magazine to get them all.

  While that was happening, the remaining antithesis continued to attack, but they lacked the large number models. I swapped back from the BFG to the Scattershot to aid with the cleanup.

  Once the hive was dead, we were notified about earning another token. We took a breather for a minute, and then Whiplash started gathering the dead into piles, and Double Fist started hitting them with flesh melting grenades. I offered each the nano suite, but they both declined saying they would take care of themselves.

  “Hey, Ysys, can I get some of those flesh melting grenades as well?”

  You would need to open a catalog for them. However, your Defensive Structures has Sonic Disruptors for 5 points, almost the same effect as a flesh melter grenade. You would need to provide power, and attach them to a wall to use. Or… you could combine them with your drones to make them mobile.

  “Well, there are is lot to clean up. How many drones would you suggest? I don’t want this taking too long.”

  Well, since there is still power available in this structure, one could handle the job, but it would take weeks. On the other hand, seven would clear it in a day or two, depending on how much the others do.

  “Get eight.”

  Zin Spider with Sonic Ray X 8 – 560 points

  New Total – 3827 points, 4 tokens

  Eight boxes appeared around me, and all suddenly opened up. At first they looked like black softballs, with rods emerging from the top and pushing the lid open. Then the rods open up and bent down and extended more. The rods became legs, and the ball was lifted up. I linked my augs to them, and told them to clean up. They scattered, some climbing the wall, and I saw they each had a single red eye. When they came to an untreated antithesis body, they stopped, and a hatch opened. The Sonic Disruptor came out, and made short work of the body. When it finished, it pulled back and the hatch closed, then it went on to find the next one.

  I kept an eye out for living antithesis so the others could do what they knew best. Meanwhile, my spiders went out into the complex, cleaning as they went. After a while, I realized they were taking a break getting recharged. It took hours, so we also took a break to rest and eat protector food. We finally called it a day, but my sonic spiders were still going.

  Back at HQ, they set us up at a nearby hotel that was still operational. It felt good to relax in the bath for an hour. The next morning, I reported in.

  “Good morning, commander Pembrook.”

  “Morning, Calamity. Thanks for yesterday. Your help put down the incursion a lot faster. Now, we just have the cleanup.”

  “About that. Might I join in? I can always use some more points, and I don’t mind helping.”

  “Sure. Whiplash doesn’t have the patience, so I am sure Double Fist will appreciate your help.”

  Soon, Double Fist arrived, and we planned out how to clean up the area.