Sharron’s new armor was impressive. An extra two feet of height, two extra tentacles, shoulder mounted launchers. She also had absolutely no way to transport it, besides my truck, so she was bumming a ride to the rendezvous point. I packed the remaining space in the trailer full of bears. I wanted to be prepared for whatever we ran into.

  Since it was quite a way to the Seattle staging point, and I was stuck in the cab, Nyx decided to use this time to give me a lecture. They were using Spooky as a proxy, while Sharron laid down in the back. “Your gear may be sufficient to deal with the lower models, but you should definitely consider which upgrades to work towards before we arrive. The models in the twenty range are a whole other level compared to what you’ve faced so far. If nothing else I recommend some body modifications to improve your stamina, and better armor.”

  I frowned, “My stamina is fine, thank you very much.”

  “You ran out of energy while hunting the hive last week, and this is expected to take several days, at minimum.” Sharron said from the back, she didn’t even bother to sit up.

  “I would also recommend improving your musculature so you can move faster, and investing in a way to heal without requiring a nano-regenerator.” Nyx continued.

  “I’ve been doing fine so far,” I huffed. "Is all this necessary?”

  “Most of the threats you’ve been facing have been single digits, with the occasional double digit backup. If reports are to be believed there are multiple twenties roaming the streets of seattle.”

  “So?”

  “A fully grown Model Twenty-Three is over twelve feet tall and forty feet long, and looks like a giant bipedal lizard. Its mouth alone is four feet long and can bite through a tank. Your armor won't protect you from a bite from one of those, nor will a nano-regenerator put your two halves back together,” Nyx explained.

  I tried to imagine something like that barreling down on me and shivered. “Spend less on bears, more on improvements, got it. Suggestions?”

  “Unfortunately you’re almost completely out of points, I can flag some things to buy when you have more. You can either replace your limbs with cybernetics, enhance them with bionics, or change them with genetics. Do you have a preference?”

  “I’m not cutting off my limbs un-necessarily.” I replied.

  “Yeah, good choice there.” Sharron’s voice once again echoed from the back. I looked over the back of my seat, she hadn’t even opened her eyes.

  “Flag a couple muscle upgrades to look through when I have the points, then some healing, and finally some armor. Feel free to recommend anything else that may keep me from getting eaten.”

  “Noted,” Nyx replied.

  I slumped down into my seat. I was suddenly feeling a little more nervous about this operation.

  —

  It was hard to miss the rendezvous point, considering it was surrounded by a sea of military tents and vehicles. I couldn’t imagine hiding such a huge operation from the public, there must have been a samurai enforcing a media blackout with their tech. As we approached the camp an army jeep flew up to meet us.

  “They’re not going to try and shoot us down or anything, right?” I asked.

  “I’ve already flagged your truck as a Samurai vehicle, anyone with the ability to check will leave you alone, it’s not like anyone has the authority to stop you anyways.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Seriously, you don’t know?” Sharron sat up in the back, startling me. She’d been so quiet I’d forgotten she was there. “Due to the importance of Samurai we have blanket immunity from pretty much everything. No one’s stupid enough to try and arrest someone that can level a city, the governments just do whatever they can to keep us happy. We don’t even pay taxes.”

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “What if a Samurai, you know, goes off the deep end?” I asked.

  Sharron’s expression turned serious, “Then another Samurai deals with them. Our job is too important to risk rogue members making things harder for everyone.”

  I considered that for a second, then nodded.

  As we were talking the jeep pulled up to the driver side, so Bob put down the window. I had to lean forward to see the two men in the jeep, they seemed quite confused by the giant teddy bear.

  “You’re a samurai?” one asked. Maybe he thought Bob was some sort of exosuit. I sighed, took off my seat belt, and stood on the seat so I could talk to them.

  “I am, and there’s another in the back.”

  “Yo!” Sharron yelled.

  I shot her a quick look, “Can we help you with something?”

  The two of them straightened up. “The rest of the samurai are gathering on the west side of the camp, we can escort you there if you’d like.”

  “Sure, lead the way.” The two of them saluted, then drove off towards one side of the camp, the truck slowly followed.

  As we passed over the camp Sharron tapped me on the shoulder, then pointed at something outside the window. “Check that out.”

  In the middle of the camp were a collection of gigantic vehicles. Six tanks, which towered over the surrounding tents, each had a cannon that must have been thirty feet long. Their frames sported half a dozen smaller weapon sponsons, carrying everything from heavy machine guns to autocannons. “The army pulled out all the stops, I’ve heard about the super heavy tanks, but I’ve never seen one before. They even brought mobile command centers,” she pointed at a different location where a pair of metal two story buildings, on wheels, were sitting.

  I nodded. “I’m not surprised, there’s a lot at stake here.”

  As I turned away from the window the truck started approaching a clearing, a dozen or so eclectic vehicles were parked around the perimeter. I directed Bob to park down in the first available space.

  The area was a hive of activity, samurai checking gear, discussing the situation, and in one case, barbecuing. I jumped out of the truck and pulled my hood low, “Who are we supposed to talk to again?” I asked.

  “The twins, Alise and Claire Monte, AKA Atlantica and Celestia. They’re Seattle locals who moved out temporarily when the conflict happened. I can’t imagine they’re happy about the outcome,” Sharron replied.

  “Wonderful. Nyx, can you point them out?”

  Middle of the clearing, at that tent.

  “Thanks.”

  As we approached I heard yelling. “I knew the man was a moron, I didn’t realize he was this incompetent. He couldn’t have screwed up harder if he tried.”

  Sharron and I exchanged glances, and knocked on a support to announce ourselves before stepping inside. There were four people crowded around a holographic map projected by some sort of spherical drone. At the back of the table were the twins, both had short black hair and they were wearing something like a high tech wetsuit. The one in blue was pacing back and forth while her sister, in orange, tried to calm her down. They stopped talking and looked our way as we entered.

  “From Calgary right?” the one in orange asked.

  “Yup, how’d you know?” Sharron asked.

  The woman on the right side of the table laughed. I noticed for the first time that she had completely white hair and slightly blue skin. “Most samurai are unconventional, but even among this lot ‘has an army of teddy bears’ is a pretty unique setup.”

  “What can I say, I like bears,” I said with a shrug. “I’m Evelyn, and this is Sharron, we were asked to report here when we arrived.”

  “Good, you’re some of the last to arrive, we were just putting the final plans together.” The blue woman pointed at the twins, first the one in orange then blue. “You’ve probably been told, but those two are Celestia and Atlantica. I’m Hel, and that gentleman over there”, she motioned to the man, who was fairly nondescript except for his thick black hair and beard, “is Brutale. We’ve been asked to organize the initial assault.”

  Celestia pointed at a couple lines marked on the map. “We’re planning on entering the city from three different points. First from the shore, second from the upper city highway, and the final through the undercity supply roads. Each column will be escorted by six Samurai. You two will be in the lower column.”

  She swept her hand over the drone above the table and the image changed to the lower city. “There are fewer shelters down there, because it only has a few residential areas. One of our main concerns down there is the kelp farm. It’s built around the central support, and is massive enough to provide nutrition for most of the city. If the Antithesis got in there…”

  “Bad news,” Sharron finished.

  Celestia nodded. “You’ll evacuate three shelters then escort the civilians out of the city, pick up more transports, then repeat. If you encounter any of the Samurai left in the city, bring them out too, so we can figure out what happened.” She glanced at a small countdown sitting on the corner of the display. “We’re planning to move out in four hours. You can meet up with the other Samurai you’ll be working with on the south side of the camp. Hel will be with your column, just make sure you’re prepared.”

  She waved her hand over the orb again and the original map was restored. “Do you have any questions?”

  Sharron and I exchanged a glance, then shook our heads.

  “Alright, then good luck.”

  Her sister piped up for the first time, “You’ll need it.”

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