Daniel leveled the end of the small pistol at the second Model 3 that was considering forcing its way into the armored vehicle, and pulled the trigger. The Foxteeth kicked harder than he’d expected, and he squeezed the trigger again out of surprise. *Bang. Bang.* Once he opened his eyes to look, he saw the Model 3 slumping in the hatch frame, two holes in its big, ugly head that weren’t there before.
? “Holy shit,” Maeve said, her voice hushed. She looked from his face to the gun, then to the dead alien, then back to the gun. “Can I get one of those?”
? He turned around to stare at her, blinking slowly. “Uh… no.”
? She scrunched up her face at that, but went back to looking at the alien. “Really? I could help you, ya know. I’ve taken hunting classes.”
? Oh, he thought. That could be useful. Then he shook his head. “No, thank you. I’m a trained safety professional. I can handle this.”
? Her little scrunch turned into a smirk, and he could *hear* how much effort she put into not rolling her eyes. “Right, right. So how are we going to get out of here, trained safety professional?”
?
?[I do believe her question is prudent. This rescue vehicle is no longer capable of returning you safely to Fairbanks.]
?
? “I know *that*,” Daniel sighed. “The damn thing told me itself. But we’ll have to worry about that later. There’s still two Model 3s out there, remember?”
?? “Uhh, not to make you sound crazy or anything,” Maeve said tenderly, “but who are you talking to?”
? Daniel tapped the side of his head. The fact that he did it with the hand holding the Foxteeth probably didn’t help his insanity case at all, but he had bigger fish to fry. “AI in my head. His name is Sylas. Protector Assistant, cuz I’m a Samurai now.”
? Seventeen mouths dropped open in surprise. Did they just let out sighs of relief? They were still fucked for a rescue option even if he managed to kill the last two beasts, and he wasn’t still one hundred percent confident he could. Not the hero treatment…
[My ability to judge your surroundings is severely limited with the rig’s radar destroyed. Could you get me a view of the area outside the vehicle? I may be able to better assist you then.]
?
? “Sure. Just as soon as I want to get my head bitten off.”
[You are currently in possession of a weapon. I have faith in you.]
? “That makes one of us,” Daniel muttered. Turning to the others, he said, “Just stay put a second. I’m going to kill the other antithesis real quick… I think.”
? Okay, Maeve actually rolled her eyes that time. But she went back to stand by the others, helping some of them out of their harnesses. Deciding that should be fine for now, Daniel turned to the hatch, only to realize that the Model 3’s bulky body was still lying there. “Fuck. Right, I should probably get rid of that first.”
[May I suggest pushing it out?]
? “That’s not helping.”
[It is the most logical action to take to achieve the goal you desire.]
?
? Huffing, Daniel moved forward and put a boot against the dog-like monster’s head, shoving it out of the open hatch. There was no sound of the two other antithesis, but he knew he wasn’t lucky enough for them to have run off. Taking a deep breath, he got on his hands and knees, holding the weapon as steady as he could, and peeked his head out. Looking left and right, he saw… nothing.
? “Did they actually leave?”
? [Doubtful. The antithesis have only one goal in this situation–to acquire more biomass. They wouldn’t leave such a plentiful harvest here just because two of their number have died.]
? Daniel crawled out of the hatch, doing his best to avoid putting his hands in the growing puddle of sticky green blood that was leaking out of the Model 3’s head. Once he was clear, he slowly peeked over the vehicle, past the wrecked bottom that was little more than twisted pipes and rent metal. And there were the last two Model 3s. They’d gone back to picking over the sergeant’s body. Either that or they’d never given chase the first time.
? “Right,” he said, keeping his voice low. Definitely gotta get rid of those.”
?
[There is also a Model 1 in the air above you.]
? He glanced up and, sure enough, saw a small, bird-like speck circling above. He immediately ducked down to get out of its sight. “Shit. Should I kill that one first? What if it signals for more Anithesis to come?”
?[While I cannot comment on any decisions it might make, I can model antithesis behavior with excellent accuracy. I can also state that the Model 3s pose a much greater threat.]
?
? “Right.” He wished he could think of something else to say and convince his new head friend that he was a perfectly literate, intelligent human being. Leaning back through the hatch, he looked to the students and saw that most were free of their harnesses and sitting on the floor. “Stay here, and stay quiet. I’m going to try to sneak up on the last two.”
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? “Don’t be an idiot,” Maeve said, moving toward him. “You can’t kill two of those monsters by yourself!”
? “Uhh.” Daniel jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Just did. Now wait here.”
? He crept around the rescue rig to its front and peeked over at the antithesis again. One had lifted its head, appearing to sniff the air. Could they smell? He rested his arms against the vehicle to steady them, pointing the Foxteeth at the one sniffing. This was so different from his training sims with the fire extinguishers, he thought. Even the guns that launched canisters of foam to put out bushfires didn’t feel the same.
? He squeezed the trigger, the crack of the gun firing rippling through the air. He missed the antithesis. Not because its head had suddenly moved at the noise, but because he’d jerked his arm. At once, the two monsters charged toward the crashed rig, their meal forgotten in favor of the living snack. He fired again and again, quickly losing count of just how many times he pulled the trigger until he saw a little magazine appear on his augs, along with an alert that the magazine was empty.
[Magazine is empty. Would you like another one?]
?
? “Yes, please!” A fresh magazine appeared resting on the vehicle beside him, thankfully without the box. One of the antithesis was on the ground, feebly trying to rise on badly damaged front legs. The other had only taken a glancing shot and was closing in quickly. He snatched the magazine up and tried to find the release on the Foxteeth. “Come on, come on, come on!”
? The Model 3 jumped in the last ten or so feet, its claws extending. He ducked, but still felt a searing pain in his right shoulder, and even that glancing blow was enough to knock him down. Screaming in pain, he tried to roll away from the monster as it slid, claws digging into the cold earth, to attack again. Only too late, he realized he still had the gun in his right hand and leveled it. He lifted it and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened.
? The Model 3 dove for him again, and he threw himself back. The upside-down hood of the vehicle checked the rush of the monster, but the entire rig still spun, slamming into him and knocking him down again. Warnings flashed across his augs telling him that his oxygen tank was compromised. The Model 3 was scrabbling around the vehicle. If he’d had the time to think, he might have wondered why it was working so hard to get under the gap the hood had left, rather than just going around. But he didn’t. He just ran around the rig, trying to find his gun once more.
? *Bang! Bang! Bang!*
? He whipped around, but saw no sign of the Model 3. The area was… quiet. Well, save for the sound of someone swearing. His panic spiking, thinking that the Model 3 had hurt one of the field trip group, he ran back around. The Model 3 was dead. And, standing just over a foot away, the pistol still raised in her hands, was Maeve.
—
Maeve
? Maeve stared blankly at the gun in her hands, her mind stuck in place. She’d acted without thinking when she saw the alien give up on chasing Daniel and go for her classmates instead. If she hadn’t crawled out after him and seen where the gun and magazine had dropped, they would have died. *I could have died*, she thought, her hand trembling at the realization.
[System Initialized!]
[Congratulations. Through your actions, you have proven yourself worthy of becoming one of the Vanguard, a defender of humanity. I am Lyra. I will assist you to uplift humanity so that you may defend your homeworld against the antithesis threat!]
[Rise, Maeve Aiken, and become a protector of the weak!]
? She let out a little squeak of fear at the unexpected voice in her head, nearly dropping the gun as she jumped back. For half a second, she thought the alien had survived and started talking to her. But no, the voice was feminine. She sounded cute, she thought, then shook her head.
? “No way,” she muttered. “Me too? A Samurai?”
?[Technically, the proper term is “Vanguard”. “Samurai” is a term created by humanity, paying homage to the ancient warrior caste from feudal Japan. But, yes. You have been selected as a Vanguard, thanks to your selfless action taken to protect your classmates.]
?
? She let out a squeal, this time of excitement, and heard a startled swear from behind her. She turned around and saw Daniel standing there, his mouth open and staring at her. Ha! Now *that* was how she wanted to be looked at. Pity he wasn’t a cute nerdy girl. She put her hands on her hips and tilted her chin up as he moved closer. “Told you I could be useful. Maybe you should have listened to me, and you wouldn’t have gotten hurt!”
?[Sorry to interrupt, but it seems there is still one antithesis remaining in the air above you. Would you like to take care of it before I explain the rest of what is happening?]
?
? “Huh?” Maeve looked up, squinting against the bright sunlight to make out the speck. “Oh, sure! But… I don’t think this pistol will be able to hit that. You got anything with a longer range?”
? “Who are you talking…” Daniel’s face fell slightly. “Oh. You just became a Samurai too, didn’t you?”
? “You betcha,” Maeve shot back, giving her best cheeky grin. “So? Lyra, was it? Anything that could actually let me shoot that thing?”
[Certainly. As you are now, you have 119 points. 100 from your intialization–consider that a freebie– and 10 for defeating the Model 3. Also, you have been awarded 9 points for saving the other members of your field trip.]
? “Is that one per person?” Daniel asked. At first, Maeve thought he could also hear Lyra. But no, he was touching the side of his head, the same way he’d done when he spoke to his AI companion previously.
[As my fellow AI Sylas is explaining to Daniel, the points are increased because you cooperated with another Vanguard. The points have been split between you two, with an additional five percent added on. This ensures that Vanguard are fairly compensated for working together to save their fellow humans. That total has been rounded up from 8.4 to 9, to make things simpler.]
? “Oh, sweet,” she said, grinning. She flipped the pistol around in her hand and held it back out to Daniel, who took it, looking doubtful. “So, back to the points. How much would a basic rifle cost me?”
?[To start, you would have to purchase a Class I catalogue. I would personally recommend the Class 1 Military Weapons Catalogue. It contains the LR-Precision Rifle Model M for 15 points, an entry-level marksman rifle that will suit your needs.]
? “Sweeet,” she said. “Let’s do that.”
[Understood.]
[New Purchase! Class I Military Weapons Catalogue Unlocked! Points reduced from 119 to 69.]
[New Purchase! LR-9 Precision Rifle Model M! Points reduced from 69 to 54!]
? She gleefully caught the much longer weapon as it dropped into her arms. Her augs now displayed an aiming reticle that followed wherever she pointed the weapon, and an ammo count now displayed in the top-right corner of her vision. Eight out of eight. Her grin widened, and she hefted the weapon a little more comfortably, taking aim at the flying antithesis. “Now *this* is how you shoot!”
?
[Target Eliminated!]
[Reward… 1 point. Your new total is 55!]
? “What?” She gasped, flabbergasted. “That one was flying! And it’s only worth one point?”
