Sharron’s new armor was impressive. Ara two feet of height, two extra tentacles, shoulder mounted unchers. 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 spa the trailer full of bears. I wao be prepared for whatever we ran into.

  Si was quite a way to the Seattle staging point, and I was stu the cab, Nyx decided to use this time to give me a lecture. They were using Spooky as a proxy, while Sharron id down in the back. “Year may be suffit to deal with the lower models, but you should definitely sider which upgrades to work towards before we arrive. The models iwenty range are a whole other level pared to what you’ve faced so far. If nothing else I reend some body modifications to improve your stamina, aer armor.”

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

  “You ran out of energy while hunting the hive st 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 reend improving your muscuture so you move faster, and iing in a way to heal without requiring a naneor.” Nyx tinued.

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

  “Most of the threats you’ve been fag 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 bite through a tank. Your armor won't protect you from a bite from one of those, nor will a naneor put your two halves back together,” Nyx expined.

  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 pletely out of points, I fg some things to buy when you have more. You either repce your limbs with cyberics, enhahem with bionics, or ge them with geics. Do you have a preference?”

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

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

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

  “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, sidering 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 enf a media bckout with their tech. As roached 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 fgged your truck as a Samurai vehicle, ah the ability to check will leave you alo’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 fotten she was there. “Due to the importance of Samurai we have b immunity from pretty much everything. No one’s stupid enough to try and arrest someohat level a city, the govers just do whatever they to keep us happy. We don’t even pay taxes.”

  “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 sidered that for a sed, 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 fused 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, “ 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 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 poi something outside the window. “Check that out.”

  In the middle of the camp were a colle of gigantic vehicles. Six tanks, which towered over the surroundis, each had a on that must have been thirty feet long. Their frames sported half a dozen smaller on sponsons, carrying everything from heavy mae guns to autoons. “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 aers,” she poi 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 approag a clearing, a dozen or so eclectic vehicles were parked around the perimeter. I directed Bob to park down in the first avaible space.

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

  “The twins, Alise and Cire Monte, AKA Atntid Celestia. They’re Seattle locals who moved out temporarily when the flict happened. I ’t imagihey’re happy about the oute,” Sharron replied.

  “Wonderful. Nyx, you point them out?”

  Middle of the clearing, at that tent.

  “Thanks.”

  As roached I heard yelling. “I khe man was a moron, I didn’t realize he was this inpetent. He couldn’t have screwed up harder if he tried.”

  Sharron and I exged gnces, and knocked on a support to announce ourselves before stepping ihere were four people crowded around a holographic map projected by some sort of spherical dro the back of the table were the twins, both had short bck hair and they were wearing something like a high tech wetsuit. The one in blue ag bad forth while her sister, in e, tried to calm her down. They stopped talking and looked our way as we entered.

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

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

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

  “What 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 st to arrive, we were just putting the final pns together.” The blue oi the twins, first the one in e then blue. “You’ve probably been told, but those two are Celestia and Atntica. I’m Hel, and that gentlemahere”, she motioo the man, who was fairly nondescript except for his thick bck hair and beard, “is Brutale. We’ve been asked tahe initial assault.”

  Celestia poi a couple lines marked on the map. “We’re pnning oering the city from three different points. First from the shore, sed from the upper city highway, and the final through the uy supply roads. Ean will be escorted by six Samurai. You two will be in the lower n.”

  She swept her hand over the drone above the table and the image ged to the lower city. “There are fewer shelters down there, because it only has a few residential areas. One of our main s down there is the kelp farm. It’s built around the tral 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, the. If you enter any of the Samurai left iy, bring them out too, so we figure out what happened.” She g a small tdown sitting on the er of the dispy. “We’re pnning to move out in four hours. You meet up with the other Samurai you’ll be w with on the south side of the camp. Hel will be with your n, just make sure you’re prepared.”

  She waved her hand over the ain and the inal map was restored. “Do you have any questions?”

  Sharron and I exged a ghen shook our heads.

  “Alright, then good luck.”

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