Chapter 17: Never question a man’s gunhood!

  “A man’s guns are a man’s pride! Come and prove your manhood with the new line of mid-range life threatening crisis management arsenal!

  We have great long guns and massive pocket pistols!”

  – Cancelled ad for TestArsenal, 2033

  ***

  The expedition went out as soon as everyone recovered. The crying didn’t dull their edge in the slightest, quite the opposite. It felt cathartic like nothing else could. It released a lot of what held them back.

  The message had been beneficial for everyone. For the enforcers, for the civilians, for the militia. No regrets. Now I had to deliver.

  Since the announcement, activity at the corridor had been minimal. I decided to take point and thankfully, Johnny didn’t argue. I made the snap decision to go in as quietly as possible for now. The enemy had been distracted, now to keep their focus off of us for as long as possible…

  You made quite a few points in that last battle and are making a few right now, would you like to buy a few things?

  That startled me a bit but I didn’t jump. Everyone was crouch-jogging as quietly as possible. Johnny even bought something he called an ‘integrated suppressor designed’ pair of revolvers.

  Mole-Bear alloys really helped him out with his material issues, and I got great recoil control in exchange. I got the Tunneler. For him, he seemed to have replaced his guns with something much better.

  All of them had that damascus steel now. Of course, mister white hat got them all white. They were shiny, I had to admit. However, he didn’t throw out the six older ones.

  One he gave to Lila, which if he wasn’t so obviously gay I’d consider watching him for. I wanted Lila to find somebody, it’d be really good for her! However, I’d sure as fuck vet them as if they wanted to date my daughters!

  Another went to David. He said his cybernetic arm would be able to handle the recoil. Two went to his back as backups and the other two in his coat. Now, the guy had ten fucking pistols all over his body! Like an old-timey pirate! They looked cooler, and maybe a bit bigger, but I wondered…

  You are thinking of revolvers correct?

  ‘Hey, you said you couldn’t read my mind?’

  There was no outrage in the words, just curiosity and humor. Although those were hard to convey through subvocalization. Fuck I hated it, always lacked in… argh, couldn’t describe the issue, fuck it, I didn’t like it!

  I know your brain chemistry by now, and especially those related to high powered firearms.

  “Fair, you don’t think it’s a good buy?” I said, since I had a helmet that blocked sound plenty. Fuck subvocalizing!

  At the moment, no, I don’t expect that much improvement, although his revolvers have very clear advantages over yours.

  “What advantages!? Are you questioning my gunhood!?” I asked in mock outrage.

  His catalogues are quickdraw focused. You are a defensive fighter. More versatile, less single mindedly powerful with large gaps.

  I respect your gunhood. Your gunhood is very impressive. I imagine it is more impressive than the gunhood of similar vanguard. May we move on?

  The deadpan delivery was pitch perfect, ten out of ten! I smiled proudly and chuckled at annoying her. Stupidly easy accomplishment, that.

  Lila silently shook close to me and I knew Altany shared that bit. I was growing to really like my AI!

  As we got close to the center of the building, everyone slowed down. At the corner, I told them to stop and let me scout. I had a rough idea of what waited around the corner because of my ears, but not down there.

  ‘Altany, which of my guns has a built-in camera?’

  Your coilgun, detach it and move it to the edge.

  I complied slowly but still with some urgency. There were a few new ones. Some kind of massive preying mantis with something that looked disturbingly vulva-ish on their face.

  As soon as Altany sent the pictures to everyone. Johnny swore inside his helmet. On comms, he started an explanation. “I can see at least a few model fifteens, if they get an angle we’re boned.” I glared at him.

  “No we’re fucking not. Altany, explanation for the class?”

  Model fifteens are artillery models. They may fire several types of projectile, but mostly use a large amount of spines in a tightly woven ball. Those explode on impact and send very dangerous projectiles everywhere.

  They can harass and injure from long distances. This model is a danger to any defenses as they act to suppress the enemy response to a wave. I suspect this is the exact reason for their presence. The defenses not only here but at the quarantine lines seem to have held. The hive may be seeking ways of breaking the siege.

  I took a hit of my speed booster, not letting any vapor escape my helmet. I needed to protect my enforcers, the civilians and my family… How the fuck did I do that?

  I couldn’t charge at them, it would mean forgetting stealth! We’d have to leave our people for later. No, we’d stay hidden and keep the fighting to a minimum until necessary. My armor was badass enough to handle a few spines but…

  “Hey Altany… “ I asked with my mic off. “I need to armor up my enforcers. Any chance you got some self-deploying shark chain-mail or something? It needs to prevent model five spine penetration…”

  Shark chainmail had grown in popularity since the start of antithesis incursions. It could protect against bites, sure, but wouldn’t prevent your bones from being crushed.

  I do, but the price is rather steep. Mole-Bear technologies is focused on metal, self-augmentation and armor. The armor would be worth the cost, but equipping many people would take away a lot of your resources.

  ‘How much?’

  I was torn. Every point was critical for the future of this place but at the same time, these were my enforcers. I’d protect them with all I had and they’d do the same for me.

  Fifty points for each suit. They must be tailored slightly. They will be much lighter and stronger than human chainmail, even bullet resistant to an extent. This design should also protect very well against cutting.

  “Fuck… do it..” I said with my back to a wall.

  Are you cert…

  “Yes! For fuck’s sake, every point is critical but so are they! Honestly, I don’t care if they’d cost double. If I have the resources to keep them alive I’ll use them…”

  I was conflicted but not at the same time? Maybe just annoyed at the situation? It would protect them and they currently wore no armor, so I’d buy them. Simple as that.

  I apologize if it came across as a reprimand or judgement of your decision. I simply wished to confirm given the unclear nature of your response. Incoming, mind the boxes.

  Well, that made me feel like shit. Altany was the reason I didn’t die, same for Lila, Robin and probably my kids! I’d snapped at her for questioning me even though she hadn't questioned my decision? Fuck.

  Nine boxes appeared, one for each enforcer. They all jumped a bit but no one made noise. Good enforcers. The boxes were… fluffy. In my colors. Some fur made up a fuzzy panda head which…

  “No.” I said over comms.

  No?

  Lila bailed me out of this one. “ I don’t think that’s the right style sweetie…”

  They are noiseless.

  Lila answered calmly and gently. “Yes, they are and that is a wonderfully practical design. The giant red panda head is a bit much though. I suggest using a real logo next time, would come across better.”

  Ah! Thank you for the input. Put the suit on, I would like more in the future and dead people give poor feedback. Simply press it to your skin and it will deploy.

  Thank the mesh my mic was off because that one actually made me laugh a bit. I had something important to say to her with my mic off too.

  ”Altany, I’m sorry for snapping at you. You didn’t deserve that, especially for helping me and just fucking… confirming that I meant what I said. My family would be dead without you, and I’ll never forget that.”

  “On top of that fuck, you’re almost single handedly the hope for our future. All you do is why we can resist and even have a real fucking chance of changing things around here… Anyway, I’m sorry…”

  No apology is necessary, but it is appreciated. You are in a horrible situation and making difficult decisions. It is normal and healthy to have a few outbursts.

  I am here to assist you. If that means helping you vent without the troops having to hear, I am glad to help. If it means helping you share the burden of your decisions, I am also happy to help.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Ok, that made me feel a bit better. I looked up and saw Johnny eyeing me. He sent me a text.

  Lawesome: How much?

  The guy wasn’t dumb, plus why lie. I sent back another text.

  Pandemon: 450 points total.

  His eyes widened comically and he stared at me.

  Pandemon: They’re my enforcers. I’ll spend 10 000 to keep them alive. They may not be family, but they’re closer to that than anyone else.

  Again, he eyed me. This time, it looked more assessing. Enforcers in other gangs trended towards worse morals than most, but mine were protectors. They enforced the will of the council, which meant peace inside and show of force outside.

  All of us fought together, some of us even watched friends die in our arms together. It was a bond forged in blood, one I wouldn’t break easily. I liked all of them. I’d learned all their idiosyncrasies, their likes, wants, dreams (those were rare though).

  I at least liked all of them. Sure, some more than others, like Lila, but I learned all their names and spent a lot of time with them, on patrol or in practice.

  Johnny Law wants to initiate a direct connection between his AI and me.

  “Uh… sure, why not.”

  ”Heya Mad Panda, the connection helps with comms, keeps ‘samurai’ convos private and you can modulate a ton of shit. Little advice, let your AI deal with your mic and shit, switching convo is annoying as hell.” That got a smile from me.

  “Yeah, I feel ya, I’m used to only doing operations comms. Fuck I think I can even connect and disconnect that stuff with my thoughts.” I said while resisting the urge to facepalm.

  “With your thoughts? You got some mental augs? Most of what I got is speed based…”

  “Oh, got some speed stuff too! They’re not the best, a bit cheap compared to the rest. My good stuff is all body mods plus a decent neural wreath. It connects to everything, like my armor so it moves with me and I can control my stuff. I’d forgotten about being able to handle comms.”

  “Hey, hum… I wanted to talk to you while the civvies…”

  “Enforcers.” I corrected without reproach.

  “My bad, while the enforcers armor up. I wanted your advice. You look pretty… experienced or at least comfortable with fightin’ the xenos. I’ve been fightin’ against criminals and my first incursion was real minor. I didn’t make tons of points or fight that much.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, I got trainin’, from my grand-pappy and the police. I get the feelin’ Texas cops get better trainin’ than the mall cops around here. I’ve had occasion to farm points since and all but it ain’t the same you know?”

  “It might’ve been just a few hours for ya but you survived. I can admit I ain’t the best of the best and I need to get better at the job…” The admission looked painful in many ways.

  I could understand. Was this one of those samurai things? The question required a lot of thought. Johnny Law did quickdraw and stuff like that… wait…

  “Well, my specialty is CQC, and in a megabuilding it’s what you want to focus on in general, although if the artillery vulva down there gets pissed I’ll be happy to have you shoot it.”

  “However, you ever seen one of those old samurai movies? Like, real samurai?” As he shook his head, I continued. We had movie nights and they became public domain a while ago.

  “They have a lot in common with westerns and probably influenced them. Their thing was similar, they could draw and slash in literally less than an eye blink!” Johnny looked inspired so I kept going. “Your thing is speed right? Well, focus on that. My thing is… essentially weight.”

  “Ready boys…” Lila murmured. I really needed to get her a helmet. I sent everyone a quick let’s go. We kept going with the discussion while moving towards the first point on our route.

  “See, weight is important, more than the whole E=MC squared thing would indicate. Weight is important for follow-through, it allows for bigger payloads in bullets and it’s necessary if you want to stop something.”

  “Speed is high energy, it’s great for penetration and if you don’t want to get hit in the first place. Also allows you to hit quicker and more often too. I recommend that you play to your strength!”

  “Get a super sword that can cut through anything or something. Things that don’t require strength, just speed. If you don’t know how to use a sword, well, there are brain mods for that.”

  I stopped talking as we arrived at the first hiding spot.

  ***

  Alana looked at her kids again without seeing them. They were too young. Too young to understand, too young to die...

  She fingered the knife. Someone left it in some drawer when the kais burned down the coffee shop, something like eight years ago?

  She’d grabbed it on the way to the walk-in fridge. No one could see anything in the pitch black interior.

  Sure, someone had light or a lighter. No one dared make any light or sound. They could still all hear the little bits of shuffling, coughing and each other’s breathing.

  And the message, and no one wanted to believe it.

  False hope was a common occurrence. People made promises, then died or flaked. Cults passed through every so often. Everyone got used to it but…

  Hope always hurt. Every fucking time it hurt but… Well, what the fuck other option did they have?

  Alana’s other option for her kids was the knife and… Her kids wouldn’t get eaten alive. She’d been a prostitute, a low earning one at that, and couldn’t give her kids the lives they should have but…

  Alana couldn’t let them die like that. She wouldn’t let them get torn apart. She’d be a good mom, yes, one final time, if it came to it. Quick cut to the jugular, it would barely hurt. They’d go easy, she…

  Shuffling. Something walked quietly out there. One of those dogs? Pierre could do something maybe? That enforcer had a gun, even if he couldn’t walk, or did he bleed out?

  It was coming closer. She’d have time, right? Yes, there’d be time… time to get the guts, to do the right thing. She wouldn’t let them die like that! She couldn’t. When they started to break in, yes, they’d have to, the door was solid.

  She’d have time, enough time. It was coming closer, fuck… Everyone tensed up, became extra quiet, extra still, all muscles ready. Her grip was white knuckled on the knife.

  Not like that… not like that. Why? Why the fuck did this happen they didn’t deserve this shit fuck no no…

  Knock-knock knock knock-knock- - -knock knock.

  “No fucking way” Someone younger and less used to hiding said. It could be the Kais… but why the fuck would they come here and save them? To get more slaves? That message… Light flooded in and she gripped the knife tighter than ever!

  “Hey, everyone stay quiet. We’re busting you out of here, we retook a section nearby, come on…” It was Lila. Fucking Lila. What the fuck was she wearing? Her shirt revealed stomach but instead of skin it… shined? Some dark metal? With tiny little hexagons? That gun too, big and all steel but with those wavy things…

  “There’s no fucking way…” Escaped her lips as they all moved out quietly. Normal people might have made more sound but they were all used to hiding, from corpos or Kais. They all had to at some point, a sort of fucked up right of passage in these parts.

  No one made a peep. The enforcer that brought them here smiled like a maniac but Alana couldn’t process. No fucking way…

  As the last one out with her kids, Lila stayed with her. She just had to ask. “Lila, what the fuck happened? That message, that was just so we wouldn’t… you know, right?”

  Lila had been a big help after they kicked out the Kais. Alana chose to be a joytoy, but not here and not like that. This place somehow became home since then and she always expected shit to go sideways.

  The Kais would take back the territory, or the corpos would destroy the building, whatever. On the other hand, giving her kids a few years of mostly peaceful life here? Worth it a thousand times over.

  However, there was no fucking way…

  Lila fucking smiled at her! The closest thing to an unreserved smile Alana had seen from her… ever. Hell, maybe she just didn’t know what those looked like anymore. “No bullshit sis. You’ll see him soon.”

  “Louis? You’re shitting me right?” Lila chuckled quietly.

  “Yeah, I know. We got a samurai sis, believe it.”

  There were a ton of people outside! The fact that the xenos hadn’t gone searching for them was a miracle. At the end of the corridor, there were dead aliens, cut to pieces. Quite cathartic to see, really.

  “Kids up front, outta get to shelter faster.” Someone murmured. Alana turned her head to see… Some idiot in a cowboy hat with tons of pistols all over the place. Definitely not Louis. Another samurai? At her stare, the man smiled at them.

  “Howdy ladies…” He said, inclining his head to her and her daughters. “I’m Johnny Law. Here to protect you. Now, please go to the front, quick-like.”

  Not an order, just a polite request. It took her a second or two to process but she stepped to it.

  The scary as fuck samurai covered in guns asks you to do something? You fucking do it, quick-like.

  Everyone crouched close to the wall, away from the central area. Up front, Alana found someone in armor. Real, heavy, glowing, plate armor! Hard to differentiate between man or woman from the back. Then he turned around and looked at her.

  She almost wanted to laugh. The helmet was some kind of angular, stylized red panda, with the fucking ears! The eyes were red and… animated? As they approached, Sela, her oldest, looked awestruck, resulting in a little wave and those eyes going ‘^ ^’.

  Then the mask folded back into itself and she saw… Louis… or Mad Panda now, apparently!

  “Louis… Mad panda?” She said, in a daze but still crouched and quiet, of course. Survival instincts always won.

  “Hey Alana, are you guys alright? Do you need meds?” The new samurai said that like he had spares. Like those weren’t a precious resource to be hoarded and used in only the worst of emergencies! Although, this might’ve very much counted.

  “No, no, we’re alright… is this… real? Did you steal some samurai’s shit?” He winked and a box appeared in front of her. She almost, almost, yelped.

  “For your kids. If they have any cancers, toxins, heavy metals, whatever, that should take care of it. Just give each of them a puff. We gotta move, quietly, the freed section’s not far. Can you do that?”

  Again, she chastised herself for inaction and grabbed the box. They’d do it later, what if it made noise? Everyone started walking, parents and their kids first.

  People had a lot of kids around here. Maybe it was one of those situation related things? Alana always wanted to leave something behind.

  Their path had just a few corpses. When they got to the cleared section though…

  “Oh my god…” escaped her lips before she could stop herself. The floor was covered in alien bodies. Big ones, small ones, shitloads of dogs, giants and tentacles!

  You could only walk in the middle, sort of like a funnel. She looked down the passage at the other end’s… barricades? Shields? Behind those, people started waving. The militia? “Get your kids to safety, come on.” Alana hopped to it, but…

  “I’ll help make sure the other kids get there…” Louis looked at her for a moment, before nodding.

  Alana passed off her youngest to Mara, one of the newer joytoys, and sent Sela to walk down with the box. It took quite a bit to usher every young one down the passage with all the bodies quietly.

  She could see Mara reach the other side where the militia helped everyone get behind the barricade. There were at least sixty kids. Sixty kids that would’ve died! Now that the older folk started to head down, she turned to Louis.

  Louis, the guy they’d followed, who’d given them a few years of calm. Not real hope, just less suffering, and he’d delivered on his promises. The man hadn’t lied or bullshitted about the cost in lives it would take to kick the Kais out.

  Lila had organized them, and Alana even fought a bit herself. Life hadn’t been as shitty since then. Now? The damn message… It played on a loop in her head. She looked at Louis, the new samurai, which felt so fucking weird to say, and…

  Boom! It took a moment or two for her to process what just happened. Louis’s head had snapped to the side, like he’d noticed something? Then he’d jumped towards the center, somehow, from his crouched position.

  After that a weird explosion or something had thrown him back at the railing. A little concrete broke off where his back hit the landing. He was only half on this floor, on the other side of the railing, so he fell. She had to look.

  There was a damn carpet! Some massive preying mantis or something with vagina faces were spitting something at his falling corpse. The projectile exploded on the floor below.

  Did he jump in front of one of those? To protect her? Probably the kids, if that thing went down the hallway it’d be dangerous. Now he was dead…

  She knew it! She fucking knew it! Why the fuck did she let herself get hurt like that!? She knew it would happen! some real fucking hope and it…

  “I’m fucking fine! Evacuate! Go! I’ll take care of the fuckers!”

  That other samurai at the back started shooting down into the mass. Did he have a machine gun?

  “Don’t you fucking die… please, for once…” Alana murmured to herself as she ran with everyone else, eyes damp.