Both no longer exist, the former due to the exclusion zone forming next to them, the latter due to ego and incompetence. They will be examples to all Samurai as to why, while we may lead small companies, we should never decide to rule. It will only end in death.
-Vanguard Doma in an interview with PolySci Monthly, 2057
Do you wish to talk?
I won't force you
I took a deep breath, then let it go. My eyes eye were burning, and I felt gross. I took a deep breath, then shifted my helmet to open my face. I let the cold water rush over my face and rubbed it clean. Afterwards, I re-engage my helmet.
My eyes still felt warm, but the snot was gone.
I release my breath.
I stayed silent after that, laying on the bottom of the pool, letting my armor cool me.
Will you be okay?
I say after a moment.
I will let them know. Now, I do have to ask. For how long do you desire to languish at the bottom of the pool?
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Do you know how to get out?
<......no……>
The floor beneath me slowly raided me up, pushing me above the water. I stood up, then did a short hop to the edge, fully dry by the time my foot hits the ground. The nanite infused water simply going back fo the water.
I walked to the kitchen, going to use a food processor to make something, when Morrigan arrived from the garage.
I move into the kitchen, waving for her to follow. I see Baba Yaga left a soup pot full of soup on the stove. It was still warm, and it tasted good earlier, so I made two bowls, handing one to Morrigan. We stood in the kitchen, eating soup in silence.
Morrigan broke the silence first. “I'm sorry, General.”
“Victor. When at home, call me Victor.”
“Right, Victor. I should have let you know the moment I got the information from Rogal. We could have notified The Family. It was pride, in my case, as to why I didn't. I wanted us to be able to handle this alone, to prove that we could.”
“You wanted to replace The Family, didn't you?”
“I cannot deny that that thought didn't cross my plans. I was dissatisfied by how they were running things here, how unsafe it was for you. So many corporations plotting, incompetent defenses, yet there are over a dozen extremely strong people who could simply fix things but don't…”
“But we could.” I finished her thought.
I sigh, placing the empty bowl in the sink. “Do you know why most Samurai don't end up taking over the cities they live in? Hell, there's a damn good case study in Brazil of a Samurai turning a city into a prosperous place to live. But do you know why that's the only one?”
“Basic online consensus agree that it's because it would be too much work.”
“Well, that's not wrong. But from what I've seen while living my life as I have till now, it's because there are too many problems and too many egos with different opinions and methods on how to fix those problems. Bub works on the infrastructure and buildings and architecture, but he didn't do his due diligence in vetting where most of his stuff goes, just so long as it doesn't go to certain corps. Black Log maintains a news aggregator with his friends, instead of highlighting areas of problem and sharing that with the world. Any Samurai could bankrupt every Fortune five hundred company at will, but then they would have to deal with the aftermath of designing a new system to live in, for everyone. And it's so much easier to just kill aliens, earn bigger guns, and fix only what they can see in front of them.
“Then there is The Family. A Corporation run for the express purposes of helping Samurai, and helping aim Samurai at the ‘correct’ problems. They gather political power. Financial power, and Samurai power all in order to expand their own power under the banner of ‘Humanity First’. And I'll be damned if they don't do good with that work. But even they cannot fight all of human greed. Otherwise, corporations like Beatlé wouldn't exist.”
“But we could, with the nanites.” She starts.
I nod, cutting her off, “We could. We could turn this city, this state, into a utopia. But I don't want to. Not because it is simply easier to ‘kill aliens, get bigger guns’, but because doing so would go against who I am, and the life I want to lead.”
“I don't want power. I don't want to rule over people who will be afraid of me. I don't want to be a dictator. I don't want to deal with politics. What I want is to make sure my family is safe, to make sure they can pursue their goals, and to be their umbrella, making sure they always have a backer who can protect them. You already convinced me to get the PMCs, and I hate to admit it but I cannot trust the city to defend itself. I will allow you to make this megabuilding the utopia you wanted it to be, on the condition that you are not a dictator. An HOA president at most.” I feel myself taking internal damage saying that last part. “Do you understand?”
She nods l, then places her bowl in the sink. “I think I do. I have passed this conversation along to the others, since they also need to know. Uh, that was okay, right?”
She was actually nervous, I could tell. “Yeah. That's fine. Tell the others I want to see them, yeah? Oh, and before I forget. Synaptic, three Hero packages please.”
Purchased Class II War Swarm Hero Unit Ascension Packaged 3x
Points reduced to 44578
Three boxes appear on a kitchen counter. Morrigan scoops them up and turns to leave.
“One more thing. What Synaptic told you, about Jill and the others. Do not bring it up to them. You all are to pretend you never heard it around that. And if they bring it up, thet will be the first time any of you heard it. Period.”
She nods, then heads out.
A few minutes later, Rogal, Leman, and Outsider file into the kitchen. I had made myself another bowl of soup. Crying drained me something fierce, and this soup was really good.
I sighed. “You all know now why I reacted that way, and I do not wish to rehash it. Don't do it again, and all will be fine. I will make sure you each have a Command Pylon going forward, so if you ever believe you have a mission critical idea, you are to report it to me, and only act on it once you have my express permission. Understood?”
“Yes, General.” They respond.
“Good, now, please explain to me what you discovered and if it was worth the risk. I will not explode again, I am… far too drained for that.”
They look to Outsider, who takes a small step forward. A holographic map of the area south of New Phoenix. “As you know, we discovered a tunnel system similar to what you encountered in the Tonto State Reserve. Using a method to drill silently into the hive, I mapped out as much as I could, which I estimate is over ninety percent of the tunnel system, of which was the entirety of the exterior tunnels. I can confirm with absolute certainty that this is the only hive structure in the south, and that there are no others within a mile of this one.”
The tunnels appeared on the map. Twenty two miles across, eight miles deep. Notes show confirmed sightings of Fourteens, Fifteens, Eighteens, Twenty Ones, Twenty Threes, Twenty Fives, Twenty Sixes, Twenty Eights, and Twenty Nines.
“I was unable to enter the birthing chambers, so I was unable to verify if there were any Thirties and above. However, it is all but confirmed that there is a Seven-Series-Commander type organizing the hive. Based on the comments of Samurai Senestero at the scene of the Tonto State Reserve, it is highly probable to be a Model Thirty Seven, as these strategies are similar, if not identical, simply on a larger scale.”
I nod wearily. “Yeah, that's all pretty important. I have passed along the information to Doma, and requested a day to build up the swarms. Go, organize your troops. I will confirm with The Family on when they wish to march.”