“What’s the safest place to be in an incursion?”

  “Behind a Samurai.”

  “I thought you said not to get too close.”

  “I did. Stay far back, but follow them.

  – Two new PMC recruits handling their first assignment.

  The witch dropped me off, and left. I forgot to ask her about my stuff, but headed to my small apartment as I still had my purse. When I open the door, I see in the main room the box with the medical unit. How did she get it in? Or even when? There was no time. I just decided to deal with it later. Instead, I stripped, and headed in for a bath.

  I woke up, cold, cramped, and wet. I was still in the bath. Given my new shape, I thought I would be too uncomfortable to fall asleep there. Guess I really was wiped. I got out, drained the tub and got dry. As I did that, I sent a message that I was delayed, but successful with my mission. I suggested a meeting tomorrow afternoon, saying I was wiped from the incursion, and would be sleeping. I didn’t bother with PJs, and just headed to bed. Five minutes later, I was out.

  I woke, feeling much better, late the next morning. When I went to get dressed, I discovered a new problem. Much of my wardrobe no longer fit. I decided to get breakfast while I thought about it.

  “Ysys, it seems I’ve outgrown my clothing. Any suggestions?”

  If you want normal clothing, that is available in the Class 0 general catalog that all vanguard have. An outfit would be just few points at most. Then you can go shopping locally later when you have time. Don’t forget, you will continue to grow for a while until you reach your target.

  “I have plenty of points, at the moment. Could you just buy a dozen outfits for my new shape, similar to what I already have?”

  Sure. Analyzing usage patterns. Done.

  Assorted outfits X 12 – 20 points

  New Total – 4108 points, 2 tokens

  A dozen boxes appeared against the wall next to the closet. After trying the first, I had to try them all. I couldn’t believe how comfortable they were, and how they exactly fit me. Curiously, they were all split into tops and bottoms, without anything like a full dress. That’s when I realized these outfits would fit the whole time I grew. I finally settled on a classy business outfit, and left a mess to clean up later.

  While in the taxi to Grizzly Enterprises, I thought about my situation. My old body, while quite noticeable, wasn’t really remarkable, so I could blend in quite well. My new body, however, did not. That would make the espionage I did harder. On the other hand, I was a Samurai, and that could make me useful to the company in different ways. But it also meant I would have to relocate if I wanted to have a secure base of operations. I’ll need to keep that in mind for negotiations.

  Getting into the building wasn’t difficult, as security was only looking for electronic information. However, once on the tenth floor, I was stopped by the company’s security, as I wasn’t recognized. I had to ask for Mr. Jackson to come and fetch me. I waited a few minutes before he came out.

  He clearly saw me, but didn’t recognize my, so I called out, “Hello, Sid. I’m here for my two o’clock meeting.”

  He instantly turned his head and focused on me. While he didn’t recognize my looks, he did recognize my voice. “Jane? Is that you? What happened?”

  “I was caught outside the city when the incursion happened. Now, I’m a Samurai, and did a little upgrading.”

  “Whoa. That’s some upgrading.” His eyes were checking me out, but nowhere near my face.

  I smiled, pirouetted, and said, “We need to renegotiate our agreement.”

  “Oh? What about…?”

  “The incursion was after. Let’s head inside first.”

  “Yeah, don’t want any leaks.”

  I must say, security was on the ball, as I got updated into their system in only three minutes. As we walked to his secure office, I was internally grinning at my new credentials that had classified me as a “Samurai.”

  Once he had sealed the office, he asked, “What happened?”

  “Things went to plan, and when my target was sleeping, I located and opened his safe. Here is a chip with copies of everything I found, and inside that bag is the prototype you wanted.” I handed over the items, and then continued. “The next morning, as we were getting ready to leave his love nest, the incursion happened. The coward ran strait to the bunker, and by the time I got there, the doors were sealed, and he wasn’t letting anyone else in.”

  “He was in there alone?”

  “No. But as soon as he got in, he locked the doors. Several people died because of his decision. So I, and several others, headed back to his nest, as we could get to his car directly from it. On the way, the men gave their lives for us ladies. The only reason we lived was because he had a weapons display.”

  “I’ve seen the pictures of it. Nice selections of guns.”

  “Real nice. They did squat against the antithesis.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. The panic and lack of training meant the ladies barely hit, let alone kill anything. The fact I was last to the display meant I didn’t get a gun, so I took a machete. Then I hid behind the door, even as they were banging on it. when the broke through, confusion reigned. Since I was behind them, I got some good hits on them. Enough, that I managed to kill all three of them. That’s when I became a Samurai. I got some meds to fix myself and the others, and then some antithesis burst through the window. After I took care of them, I bought a rifle and we went to take his fancy car.”

  “Then what?”

  “The others waited in the elevator while I checked the garage out. It was clear, so I called out. Rather than wait for them, I worked on picking the lock and hot wiring the car. We piled in, and I took shotgun. On the way out, a swarm attacked, so I blew up a fuel truck to make a big fireball.”

  “I heard there was a big explosion at the plant. They must have exaggerated if it was only a truck.”

  “No exaggeration. Seems the truck was next to a warehouse of explosives. That was the big boom everyone felt.”

  “Why would they have that?”

  “I have no idea. I just got lucky. Oh, and it helped name me.”

  “Huh?”

  “Another Samurai decided to call me ‘Calamity Jane’, since I had a rifle, and I left a calamity in my wake. Twice.”

  “Twice?”

  “The second one wasn’t as bad, but a lot closer, and the PMCs I was with needed some quick meds. I needed some more as well.”

  “And then?”

  “After the first explosion, the PMCs rescued us from our crash site, and I returned with them to fight. After the other Samurai took out the hive, and did the large scale cleanup, they said I could leave. That’s why I was wiped last night.”

  “Well, you did complete the mission. I’ll turn this over to R&D, and have your account credited. So what’s this about renegotiating?”

  “Simple enough. My new looks won’t let me fade into a crowd anymore. Likewise, all Samurai have people documenting them, so I will be remembered. That means I can’t continue without making significant changes to how I operate.”

  “Yeah, I can see that.”

  “On the other hand, I like working here, and I figure having access to Samurai tech might be worth something to the company.” I saw sudden interest in his eyes.

  Jane, while we do want to uplift humanity, giving out everything you have may not be as beneficial as you expect. Be sure you think about giving anything to a company as… morally flexible… as your employer.

  That was unexpected. My face must have shown my surprise, as he asked, “What happened just now?”

  I had to think fast, but managed. “Ysys, my AI, just reminded me about their tech. Apparently, I won’t be able to give you just anything, as some things are blocked from non Samurai.”

  “Oh.” He seemed a little deflated at hearing that. “Still, it is their tech. I’m sure we can work something out.”

  “As am I. One of the first things I need, is a place with a lot more space I can make my Samurai base. I’ll also need credits to get set up properly. Do you think we can come up to some agreement?”

  “Sure. Let me contact legal, and get them started. In the meantime, what exactly are you looking for?”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  He unsecured the room, and made some calls. The first person to come was an R&D courier that I recognized from previous jobs.

  In the end, I sold them the blueprints for the Hummingbird, and the Pelican SMG that they intended to make for PMCs. They sold me an underutilized warehouse in a questionable area of town, and said I could fix it up however I wanted. They just would need a few days to move what little was there to another location. After the meeting, someone met me there, and gave me the nickel tour.

  Blueprints for Hummingbird – 100 points

  Blueprints for Pelican SMG – 200 points

  New Total – 3808 points, 2 tokens

  “Ysys, with my more limited ability to be sneaky, do you have something to compensate?”

  Of course. I recommend a stealth drone from the Class I Basic Stealth Systems. It has a simple AI, allowing it to operate autonomously, and can link to your augs so you can direct it. It has a data port to allow you to gain access remotely to any system you can get the drone to. Do you have a preference for a form?

  “I want something small, and natural looking. It needs to seem to be normal to be wherever it is.”

  That limits things a lot. Animals would do well here. The most notable animal people are used to seeing are rats, however, they are not everywhere in the city. Spiders, however, are. The smallest ones hide nearly everywhere.

  “Spider it is. See if you can make it appear like a local variety.”

  Opened Class I Basic Stealth Systems – 100 points

  Mark I Stealth Drone Mini Swarm – 100 points

  New Total – 3608 points, 2 tokens

  When I opened the box, at first I thought I saw a very large spider. One the size of a softball. But after it climbed out, it broke apart into dozens of smaller spiders. After scurrying all over the room, they returned to me, and reformed the large spider ball.

  As you can see, the swarm uses the large form when not actively being used. Also, its AI is distributed, with each spider having a small fraction of it. While all the spiders have some general features, a few are dedicated to special purposes. Such things as special spider senses, camouflage, and so on. As you lose part of it, the AI will become less, and the capabilities will become less. Adding more will not make it much better that what it is now, but will instead it will split into two or more swarms to mitigate logistic problems, each as capable as this one is now.

  “Nice. Can they reconfigure to any other forms when dormant?”

  Yes. A belt or a purse, or pretty much anything with the same volume. However, if examined closely, people will know they are not what they appear to be.

  “That’s fine. I can deal with that later."

  I spent most of the next week supporting the PMC with their cleanup. While there wasn’t that many points gained, I did earn another token. Seems cleanup duty is also rewarded. I guess that’s how some Samurai handle their desire to not fight. Doing it, however, gave me a better understanding of just how poorly the city was defended against the antithesis. I was also introduced to the other two Samurai that call this place home, Flamer, and Soundbite.

  Neither one was a powerhouse like the Witch of the West or Mordred. Flamer, of course, liked to burn things. He was geared for close combat. Soundbite, however, specialized in sonic attacks. Often he would launch rockets that would blast out sound where they landed, and if close enough, would shake the antithesis apart. I met them when the Family introduced us. They also offered to assist me, should I need help. I spent some of my down time asking them lots of questions. I decided that what they were doing was good for this city, so I became a member of the Family.

  Another thing I learned during that week was the vids of me. Both the great publicity type, some of which I posed for, but also of my initial disasters. The ones where I was on the ground with my skirt up, showing everything. Oddly, the public’s reaction wasn’t that bad. Given that the VR game character Sheena was designed as fan service, I suppose it should be expected. What surprised me, was my own reaction to being seen in such a state.

  I met with a Family PR rep in the mesh, and we spoke at length about publicity.

  “Richard, thanks for taking the time to talk with me.”

  “We are here to support you. How is it I can help you?”

  “I’ve already had some advice on ways to promote myself. I’ve even signed a promotion deal for Safari Hunter. But I want to do more, so I can earn lots of credits.”

  “You can actually sell points for credits.”

  “I had heard that, but I can’t really spare points just yet. I need armor, weapons, transportation, and a strong base. Until I have that, I won’t really have anything to spare.”

  “Some Samurai live stream their fights. Others host a talk show. Then there are the ones that do the interview, sponsoring, posing, or speaking circuits.”

  “Oh? I don’t think I would be too good with the talking bit, but sponsoring or posing could work. But if I sponsor, I would want to actually know that what I sponsor is not below par or bad for you. What is the posing?”

  “Fake action scenes, softcore porn, and celebrity appearances. Some folks like to be at the same party as a Samurai.”

  “I can get paid to go to a party?”

  “Oh yeah. As long as people don’t dislike you up close, it can happen.”

  “What does that even mean?”

  “Some Samurai can be, shall we say, difficult, when interacting with the public. That difficulty can actually be a draw for a certain segment of society.”

  “I don’t think I want to be that Samurai. Of the others, why did you mention the porn?”

  “Well, that initial video that got out briefly showed adult content. Later videos that documented the cleanup indicated you hadn’t changed your choice of clothing. One can only assume that exposure was not too embarrassing for you. If so, and you want to take advantage of it, there are adult entertainment options. Even if you don’t specifically go there, such outfits can increase sales. You know, sex sells.”

  “I see what you mean. I do like that idea, but I’ll need to think on it. What is sponsorship about?”

  “Basically, you get paid to wear identifiable stuff, or you make ads saying you use some product. Don’t worry about what to say. It’s all scripted, so you just need to follow the text on your augs.”

  “Lets start out seeing if I can get paid to party. That sounds simplest. And while that is percolating, perhaps you can help me find sponsorship stuff.”

  “Okay. I’ll look into that and send you the information and contact info for some parties, including what kind of party they are. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  “Sort of. Being a Samurai will affect my ability to do my current job. I’ve already discussed it with them a bit, but it will leave me with a lot of free time.”

  “It shouldn’t affect your job that much. While an incursion happens, and immediately after, everything is disrupted, so no one’s going to care much about you not being at work. The rest of the time you can work easy enough.”

  “That might be true for most jobs, but the kind of work I do tends to need discretion. Being famous make that difficult.”

  “Oh, I see. So what do you plan to fill your time with?”

  “We’re a small city, strained for resources. I am a Samurai. Is there some problem the city has, that I might be able to solve or mitigate?”

  “There are many such problems.”

  “You are more familiar with protector level technology. Can you send me a list of stuff I might be able to handle with Class I tech? I don’t have many points now, but I will be getting some eventually.”

  “I see, and I thank you for your desire to help. I will discuss it with others here, and get you a list for that as well. If you could send us a list of catalogs you have unlocked, and your intended development path, we can try to tailor the list to suit you better. You don’t need to tell us everything, but the more you tell us, the better we can match up the city’s needs with your abilities.”

  “I think that about covers the topics I wanted to touch on. Thanks for your guidance.”

  “We’ll get those lists out to you later today.”

  “Thanks.” I ended the call with that. I would look over the initial lists in a bit.

  I needed to think about relocating. My current place won’t stand up to the scrutiny a Samurai would be subjected to. But it would be okay for a little while. Long enough to set up the warehouse as my new secure place. As it was still before lunch, I decided to do a little recon, and get lunch from a vendor or machine near it. Since I had a stealth catalog, I bought an outfit for 5 points that was designed to make me blend more.

  I took a cab to the area, and started wandering the area. Half an hour later, I stopped at a street vendor and got lunch. While eating, I had my mini swarm check the warehouse out. I wandered another hour to complete my initial assessment of the place. Satisfied it wasn’t a trap, I finally headed there, and entered the warehouse. It was clear that it hadn’t seen much use, as there was a lot of scrap and trash about with only a few tracks showing stuff recently being moved out.

  “Ysys, I don’t have that many points, and I need to make this my stronghold and home. I don’t want it obvious that I’m starting up here. Suggestions?”

  Well, the swarm’s initial scan shows that the exterior will hold against lesser antithesis, but may not handle a five or six. It won’t stop anything in the double digits. You would need to enclose it with something sturdier. However, you could replace it, and keep the general appearance. The Class I Defensive Structures catalog can get you a construction drone to do all the work you need. With some support of your stealth catalog, it could be quiet and less noticeable. If you further limited its outdoor activity to the dead of night, you might even manage to complete the exterior without anyone noticing.

  You will also need materials. With only Class I materials available, it might be cheaper in the long run to open the Class I Matter Reconfiguration Machines and buy a Mark I Creation Engine. If you buy the blueprints for drones, it could make them as well.

  “I like the idea so far, but won’t I need a lot of material to remake the warehouse?”

  You will, but you can recycle all you replace. Also, this area is close to some run down areas where you could source raw material. Likewise, you could scavenge material from damaged structures.

  “There is enough close by for that?”

  More than enough.

  “How much for all that?”

  That would total 2425 points, leaving you with 1303 points. You have more than enough to get some form of transportation. Currently, your armor and weapon are up to what you have recently dealt with. You might want some backup weapons.

  “You’re right. I’ll think about that. In the meantime, lets buy the Defensive Structures and stuff, and get this place going.”

  Opened Class I Matter Reconfiguration Machines – 75 points

  Opened Class I Defensive Structures – 400 points

  Mark I Creation Engine – 1550 points

  Mark II Motherlode Construction Drones, stealthed – 400 points

  New Total – 1803 points, 3 tokens

  Two large boxes appeared in front of me, each with a logo of a jungle woman carrying a long gun. The larger one opened itself, and rising from within was a large drone. Once clear of the box, it started spewing out some smaller drones. They then opened the other box, and pulled out a rather solid brick shaped object, with a holographic panel. A small drone plugged it in, and the other drones started feeding it the nearby scrap. Soon it spit out what appeared to be a large brick. The large drone took it and set it by the door. By the time it came back, another brick was taking shape.

  “How long will this take?”

  Depending on the supply of material, and the time available to work outside, perhaps two or three months.

  “Ouch. Is there a way I can speed it up?”

  The quickest method is to collect material and feed the hopper for the engine. That is the tightest constraint on construction time.

  “Can I buy a few drones to do the scavenging for me?”

  Sure. But if you buy blueprints, for ten times the price of one drone, you can print any number of drones. You have a number of drones in your stealth catalog that could serve.

  “Oh! I like. And since most of the readily salvageable stuff would be down here, I could go with rats. But how much could they carry?”

  You might be surprised. As they are machines, they are stronger than animals. However, the bulk of what they can carry will be the limiting factor. Likely only three or four times their weight, if it is dense. While they can carry something bigger than themselves, doing so would be problematic.

  “Is there a way to mitigate that?”

  Well, If you can break down the matter at the source, then contain the resulting dust, they could easily carry nearly ten times their weight. All you would need is a Class I Molecular disassembly catalog, and the Blueprints for a Mark I Resource Collection Rig and for a Stealth Rat Drone. All for 875 points, leaving 928 points. The rats would be able to come and go easily, ensuring a constant flow of material. That would reduce construction time to less than a month.

  “That’s a lot of points. It will probably push off armor and weapon upgrades. But as you said, I’m doing well enough at the moment…. Let’s do it.”

  Opened Class I Molecular disassembly catalog – 75 points

  Blueprints for Mark I Resource Collection Rig – 500 points

  Blueprints for Stealth Rat Drone – 300 points

  New Total – 928 points, 3 tokens

  “Do I need to be here to oversee everything?”

  Not really. The drones have a limited AI that is more than enough to handle simple scavenging. But until they have built up sufficient examples, expect them to frequently ask if something can be scavenged. If you want, we can go around the area and identify stuff ahead of time.

  “That’s probably for the best.” We spent the rest of the afternoon doing just that.