I spent the next fifteen minutes on the examination table filling Leah in on everything that happened, while receiving first aid. I went over everything, from the salvage, to the Antithesis, to the voice in my head.

  After I finished she was quiet for a minute.

  “You don’t have to go back out there, you know. No matter how bad things are out there, you don't need to sacrifice yourself for other people,” said Leah, her voice soft.

  I didn’t dare look her in the face, my resolve would weaken if I did, “You’re probably right, but if I don't, who will? The police? Other Samurai? If I don’t act, my family, and everyone else down here will probably die!” I said quietly. I let that declaration sink in for a moment before continuing. “Don’t worry, I’m not going out there half-cocked. I have a plan,” I said, trying to sound upbeat.

  Dante eyed me up from across the room, “Really? I’ve never seen you plan anything before. Enlighten us.”

  “Step one, kill aliens,” I started. Leah smacked me in the back of the head, hard. “Oww… fucking… I need to kill them in order to earn more samurai credits!” I hissed, rubbing the back of my head. Since it didn’t look like Leah was going to apologize at all, I just continued. “Once I make enough credits, or ‘Points’, as Nyx calls them, I’ll invest in a ton of defenses. Drones, turrets, mines, the works. Finally, I’ll pick up something to lure all the Antithesis back to the shelter, while they can die attacking my defenses, instead of slaughtering people in the streets,” I explained.

  The room was quiet for several seconds, then Dante grabbed his head with his good hand. “That is, by far, the worst plan I have ever heard,” he muttered.

  “I’d like to hear you come up with a better fucking plan,” I hissed. “I’ve been a samurai for like, five minutes and I doubt we’re going to get any help from above. I’m working with what I’ve got.”

  Leah gently laid a hand on my shoulder, “I know we can’t talk you out of this,” she said quietly, “but you be careful, alright?”

  I nodded, and hopped down from the examination table.

  Across the room Dante grimaced, and tried to stand from the chair he was sitting in. “I’m going with you,” he growled.

  “Fuck no,” I replied, as I hefted my new weapon. “Not with your bad arm, someone needs to stay here and protect the clinic. I promise to stop in occasionally to let you know how things are going. You can trust me.”

  Dante and Leah exchanged a glance, but for some reason neither of them looked particularly relieved.

  ****************************************

  As soon as I slipped back out the front door I realized the situation had deteriorated significantly in the last half hour. There were Antithesis openly prowling the streets now. It was mostly Model Threes, the same ugly plant dogs I’d fought earlier, but these ones were backed up by something new. It was a large predator, the size of a small car, covered in writhing tentacles tipped with bone spikes. The group was dragging bodies out of one of the rundown residential buildings down the street and piling them up not even a block away.

  Model Fours, they’re gathering biomass for the transport models to pick up.

  “I don’t suppose you have any good news for me?” I muttered as I watched the Antithesis work.

  The CAR should be able to take down anything up to the double digits with no problem.

  I brought the rifle up to my shoulder and aimed at the center of the pack, “Noted.”

  I expected a sharp crack when pulling the trigger, instead there was a pop followed by a ‘pssshhh’ sound. Then the closest Model Three’s head exploded.

  I’m not sure who was more surprised, me or the Antithesis. Considering how fast they reacted, it was probably me.

  You might want to keep firing. Those bigger ones are model fours, they can punch right through conventional armor with those spikes.

  “Right,” I replied quietly. I methodically swung the CAR at one Antithesis after another. The rockets soared, Antithesis exploded. It was easy, almost anticlimactic. Almost.

  As the Antithesis fell silent I took two steps forward, just two, before something burst through the wall of one of the nearby apartment buildings. As the concrete dust settled it revealed a creature covered in heavy armor plants. Its long neck swiveled, and two pairs of heavily lidded eyes locked onto my position.

  Model Six, heavy combat and frontline command unit. I would recommend you not let it get close.

  That’s the only prompting I needed. I brought the CAR up, and immediately fired a quick burst. CAR spat three missiles, striking the model six in the neck and front leg, blowing holes in its armor. The thing just glowered at me for a second, then put its head down and charged. It was fast, even with one leg crippled it had five more to drive it forward. I threw myself to the side, just barely avoiding the creature’s massive feet, before rolling back to my feet.

  “Nyx, you said the CAR would drop anything under double digits,” I yelled as I sprinted down the street, away from the monster.

  If you’d hit it in the head you would have. Even the CAR would take multiple shots to chew through something that size. To the left, there’s a fire escape.

  I trusted Nyx’s directions and skidded around the corner of the nearby alley. The ladder was there, just a couple feet away. I leapt for it, scrambling to get some height before the Six could catch up. The rumbling told me I had seconds until the second charge connected. I just managed to get my hands on the first floor landing when the Model Six connected with the ladder below me, ripping it clean off the building.

  “Fucking FUCK!”

  My arms barely held as my body was swung by the momentum of the charge. I couldn’t let go, that only led to death. Slowly, inch by inch, I clawed my way upward, pulling myself out of the range of the rampage.

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  The Model Six was not going to let me go easily. It smashed into the building’s walls, trying to bring the fire escape down. I let it. I swung the CAR over the fire escape’s railing, aimed straight down and sent two missiles directly into Model Six’s face, removing its ugly head. It’s body took an agonizingly long time to slump to the ground.

  This is no time to relax, I did just tell you the sixes are command units. It’s likely to have summoned additional…

  A bone spike embedded itself in the wall, less than a foot from my face. I staggered back, looking back into the street for the first time. The entire area was slowly filling with Model Threes and Fours. There were dozens of them.

  Reinforcements! You’re not safe up here from the Model Fours, they can climb the walls to reach you.

  “Safer here than down there,” I shouted over the exploding Antithesis. I concentrated fire on the Model Fours first, killing them as fast as I could. Unfortunately it didn’t seem to help thin out the crowd, if anything there were gathering faster than I could kill them. “Any ideas?” I yelled.

  A Model Three pounced, missing the landing by a few inches, it was still closer than I was comfortable with.

  If you keep the Model Fours under control this is the perfect place to work on your plan, assuming nothing comes through the building and gets you from behind.

  “That’s not funny,” I growled, taking down another Four.

  It wasn’t meant to be, more of a warning. You currently have 110 points, that’s enough to purchase a number of automated defense catalogs. However, if you’re planning to move from this location I recommend taking drones instead of turrets.

  “Get to the point, I’m kind of busy here!” I barked as another Model Three pounced, sailing just a few inches under my feet.

  I recommend Class I modular combat robotics. The basic unit is fairly robust, highly adjustable, and fairly mobile. Unfortunately to buy an autonomous combat unit with appropriate upgrades you’ll need 150 points, and then you’ll need to arm it.

  “Other options?”

  You could unlock a Class I heavy weapon emplacement catalog for 250 points, that would also work towards your end goal, then buy a Ripper Heavy Machine gun for 50 more. That would throw out more than enough rounds to clear the street. I'm not sure now would be the greatest time to learn how to deploy and use it though. You could also purchase collapsable, automated turrets, but you’d have to carry them between locations, and rearm them yourself.

  The repeated explosions were starting to give me a headache, making decisions in the middle of a firefight was more difficult than I expected. Not that I ever expected to be in this position in the first place.

  “Queue up a bot, as soon as I have the points buy it and give it a rifle, something in the 10 point range,” I yelled at my AI. “And get me a reload.”

  Got it. You’re almost there.

  Without practice I fumbled swapping the ammo drums, and the Antithesis took advantage. The corpses had started to pile up in a few places, and the Model Threes were using the dead as elevated platforms to leap from. One even managed to clip the fire escape. Its claws screeched as they connected with the metal, causing the entire structure to shake wildly. As soon as the drum was in, I sent a few shots into the piles, disrupting their efforts.

  It’s done.

  Purchased - Class I modular combat robotics - 100 points

  Purchased - Class I modular autonomous combat unit - 150 points

  Purchased - T-22A Blackpaw assault rifle - 10 points

  Points remaining - 3

  Two packages appeared on the landing, one immediately started humming faintly as it unpacked itself. I didn’t dare look at it yet, too busy for that, but I caught a glimpse of it. Small, maybe three feet tall, dark polished metal.

  The bot reached down, grabbed the rifle out of the second package, and opened fire. Within seconds, the situation changed. For every kill I made, the bot killed two or three. For the first time since I stepped on the fire escape, the Antithesis started to thin out. Not only was I killing faster, but fewer Antithesis arrived. Soon enough, the crisis was over.

  The ground was coated with the blood and bodies of the dead, dozens of Antithesis, more than I thought I’d encounter at this point. I collapsed heavily to the ground, and dangled my legs off the edge of the fire escape, staring at the carnage.

  “How many people do you think have died so far?” I asked quietly.

  It depends how many made it to the local shelters or evacuated the area. In a typical Incursion you can expect five to ten percent of the population as casualties.

  I scoffed. “You’ve seen the local ‘shelter’. Down here people don’t expect an incursion,” I said, leaning against the railing. “At most they have a bolt hole or escape plan. And even if someone did take the warning seriously, look at how many Antithesis are here. I can’t imagine how many people those things have already killed.”

  You’re doing your best.

  “I need to do better,” I replied solemnly. As I pulled myself to my feet I turned towards the bot, getting my first good look at the thing. Words escaped me for a minute, and it took me awhile to figure out the right thing to say.

  “It’s hideous,” I finally managed.

  It’s not that bad.

  I looked at the bot again. Barely three feet tall it had visual sensors protruding from a featureless head, the body and limbs were almost skeletal.

  “It looks like someone skinned a kid and dipped the bones in metal,” I replied, taking a step away from the thing.

  Well, you were in a bad situation. 150 points only bought you the essential upgrades like targeting and combat reflexes. It would have been another 50 points for the armor plating, and who knows what the situation would have been if we waited.

  “True…” I muttered. “Still, it’s a spooky fucker.” I waved a hand in front of its ‘face’, It didn’t move. Waiting for orders I assumed. “You follow me, engage Antithesis when possible, got it?” I asked. The bot nodded slightly, but remained otherwise motionless. I sighed.

  Getting off the fire escape was a lot harder than getting up. I had to hang off the side of the fire escape, several feet off the ground, before dropping into a relatively clear area. Unfortunately I still landed in a pool of Antithesis juices, slipped and ended up on my hands and knees, covered in god knows what. The bot simply stepped off the railing, landing stably, alert, and prepared to move.

  “Showoff,” I mumbled as I stood up, scraping the Ichor off best I could. “Nyx, give me reloads for both weapons, and what’s my point total at?”

  185 points - 159 after reloads.

  “Why the hell are the bot's reloads so cheap?” I asked.

  It’s not so much the bots ammo is cheap, it’s that yours is expensive. You’re using a high-end weapon firing missiles at everything. I’d say it’s overkill, but I’ve seen you shoot and we’ve already encountered a model six.

  “Everyone’s a critic,” I grumbled. “How long until I can buy some lures?"

  The Class I Antithesis lure catalog will cost you 500 points, and a token.

  I stopped. There was an urge to turn and look at Nyx, unfortunately they only existed in my head, “How much?” I asked, “And what the hell is a token?”

  You can earn tokens through achievements and milestones during your Vanguard career. Saving a certain amount of people, destroying Antithesis lairs, etc. They’re used to limit a guardian’s access to dangerous technology until they’ve proved themselves, all tier two and above catalogs will require them.

  I threw my hands up, “So why would I need one for the lures?” I yelled into the empty alley.

  To make sure you weren’t the kind of person that would drop one in the middle of a crowded area, or a closed shelter.

  “That… makes sense,” I conceded, dropping my hands again. “Fine, I’ll figure something out.”

  Marching back into the street I took a quick moment to stare at the bodies the Antithesis had piled there. I could feel bile rising into my throat, but I managed to keep it down. Barely. My next words came out shaky, “The sooner the better.”

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