Chapter Fifty-Eight - Gimmick

Chapter Fifty-Eight - Gimmick

Chapter Fifty-Eight - Gimmick

Not all samurai have a gimmick, but nearly all of them do. These sometimes form from necessity or preference. A samurai adopting a certain kind of weaponry might specialize in that. Others prefer taking a certain role, and will purchase equipment according to that.

Still others will find a theme, and over time, will push and develop that to its sometimes illogical extreme.

--Fa-Fa-Fashionista, On The Evolution of Trends, 2057

***

Cat?

I jumped a little at the sound of my name. It didnt take much more than a second to place the voice though. Gomorrah, talking to me through my augs. Yeah? I asked.

I was stationed just outside of the headquarters in the middle of town, watching the last of the civilians running over. A few other families, and the rare single person, had been joining the file of people filtering into the big building behind me.

That meant that there were probably still hundreds of people in the town. Id need to figure out a way to gather them all up and bring them over to the headquarters. Easier said than done, I figured.

Cat, I found the third Samurai. Hes livestreaming things from the east-end of town.

Seriously? I asked.

Yeah. Thats where the antithesis are mostly coming from. Its probably for the best, actually, the headquarters arent too far from the eastern edge of the town, so anyone who wants to find cover will have him between them and most of the aliens.

I nodded along. We still need to let people know.

Ive been working on it, she said.

Really?

Do you think Ive been sitting up here enjoying the Furys AC and twiddling my thumbs? Atyacus and I broke into all the televisions and phones and augs we could reach in Black Bear and have been directing people over to the company headquarters. I might have to swing around to escort some of the groups closer to the edges, theyre too far to be able to run over here.

Right, I said. It was easy to forget that I wasnt the only samurai around. So now what? We sit pretty and snipe at any aliens coming our way?

I was thinking you could head over to our new samurai friend. We both know how great you are at making nice with people, Gomorrah said without a hint of sarcasm. She was pretty good at the whole deadpan thing, though.

I nodded along. Fair enough. Itll mean being closer to the action too. Ill leave my cats here to guard the headquarters. Worst case scenario, none of us should be too far away. Do you think Atyacus and Myalis can work together to keep an eye on the civvies?

They should be able to manage. Especially if your drones are around to see any antithesis before they cause any trouble.

I waited until I got a few affirmatives, then minimized the chat box so that it was out of the way.

It was time, at long last, to be stealthy.

I shifted my Icarus grenade launcher so that it was tucked under my long coat, then I brought my Whisper around so that the crossbow was cradled against my chest. And then I activated all of my stealth things.

My coat warped then went invisible. I was now little more than feet and hands and a big crossbow. Presumably a head and helmet as well.

I tugged my coat on tighter and kept on walking. From the glimpses I caught in the windows of the homes and little businesses I passed, I wasnt impossible to notice, but I certainly wasnt as visible as I would have been otherwise.

Not as stealthy as Id want, I said.

You could be better, yes. Youre mostly hidden, visually, but the parts of you that arent will give away your position. You can also be identified using other senses. Many antithesis can sense changes in air pressure, others can sense heat, and of course acute hearing is quite common across many models. And that only covers some of the more basic senses.

Hmm, I muttered. Yeah, I guess thatll be the next step. Im sure theres shit for that?

Of course. The solutions that cover every possibility do tend to be a little more expensive. Unless this incursion is far more profitable than I predict, I dont think that kind of expense would be in your best interest.

Bit by bit then, I said. Well patch whatever holes we find as they come up.

I shifted Whisper so that it was tucked against my shoulder and approached the next corner a little more cautiously. The streets here were vacant, some ads behind glass storefronts still playing, and the single red light strung over the intersection blinked, but otherwise there wasnt much of note.

Black Bear felt weird. Maybe that was just me being a city girl though. The place was more open than I was used to, with no hovercar traffic and buildings that I could look up to without craning my neck back.

I kind of expected to see cows or whatever there was in the countryside, but I figured this wasnt quite that kind of place. Myalis, can you slip into the towns cameras and such?

There isnt much as far as security infrastructure goes.

Thats alright. I just want to have more eyes around us. Do you know where that other samurai is?

The Vanguard is just ahead.

My ears twitched as I started to hear something. It was... music.

Heavy metal music, interspersed by the grumble of a chainsaw.

I started to feel somewhat concerned.

***