Stray Cat Strut

Chapter Twenty - Rescue Quest

For a while there was a real debate across just about every country, on the nature of self-defence. Should civilians be allowed to arm themselves for their own defence? What kind of weapon can a normal person carry that goes too far? How do you split the difference between acceptable arms and unacceptable?

And in the end, who gives a damn about what the government says when there are literally aliens coming down to eat you?

No, the age of questioning the hold-out weapon is long gone.

Which is why I have an important message from todays sponsor... Blasto! Use my name as a coupon code and get 20% off your next holdout purchase!

--Start of a Vidtube broadcast, late 2026

***

Alright, I said. Lay it on me.

Simmons and I had moved off to the side between the gantry mechanisms holding up a pair of hovercars. We had both crossed the yellow striped line on the ground that marked the area where it was or wasnt safe to stand while hydraulic lifts held up the cars around us, but I dont think either of us cared at all.

Materson and Thundercrock have gone missing. At least, theyre not reporting in. Simmons reached into one of the many, many pockets along his belt and pulled out a small radio, not bigger than his palm and made of that off-white plastic that all cheap shit seemed to be fond of. He tapped the front screen. No signal from their mics.

Okay. And whos Meterson and... Thundercrock... is that really their name?

He nodded. Jeff Materson and Storm Thundercrock, and yeah, its his name. Two of my agents. Not the brightest, but loyal and hardworking enough. Sent them to the third floor. I caught sight of a few survivors in that area. Pair of young women, some office workers from one of the accounting firms. They just showed up on the security feeds for a little bit then were gone, but I figured they were worth trying to save too.

I couldnt fault him for that. Security feeds?

He tapped the side of his neck, the universal sign for an augment. Neural and optic implants connected to the building. I can see through any of the buildings cameras, and any of those that belong to a store thats under our contract. That leaves a lot of blind spots though.

Can you see any aliens?

He nodded somberly. Yes. The first two floors are crawling with them. Models Three through Six, mostly. Nothing bigger yet.

I felt an eyebrow perking up. You know your way around the aliens?

I was military before signing up here. This wont be my first incursion, he said. Its why I dont mind the idea of leaving, even if its a risk. Its better than trying to pull a last stand. Those never work out against the xenos.

Right, I said. So Materson and Thundercock?

Thundercrock, he corrected. And they went MIA. I dont think theyre dead though, just incommunicado. Theyre not the sort to go AWOL, and if they were, where would they go? Take a stroll down main street? Nah, I need someone to go check on them.

And you want that to be me?

Youre a samurai. Your sort tend to like killing xenos by the lot. Its why I dont mind your green ass strutting around as if you own the place.

I snorted. So I need to earn my keep? I asked.

Thats the jist of it, he said. He pushed the little radio into my hand. Connect your gear to that. Standard ForkBeard nine point-oh. Bit old, but it works.

Accepting strange gear from overly serious hardasses you didnt know was somewhere in the top ten things a girl shouldnt do, but I took it anyway. If it was bugged I was pretty sure Myalis could poke the virus dead. Thanks. Yeah. I guess I should head down. How long until were ready to go?

Depends on a few things. Cant get that AA to work without someone knocking it about. Im tempted to send you, but I have some actual IT people from some of the offices. Theyll do a better job than you could. Its mostly flicking a switch. Maybe an hour until were all ready to make a run for it? Thatll be... more or less two hours since the incursion began.

Is the time important? I asked. Its my first incursion.

I figured, he said. And yes. The more time passes the worse the xenos get. Right now were dealing with single digits, low ones. In a few hours the nasty sorts will come out, then by tonight the double digit monsters. Those need special troops and equipment to put down. If were not gone by then, were boned.

He is correct. Though I should add that eliminating a more difficult model of Antithesis gives a commensurate number of points.

Right, so get down, find your two chumps, then race back up before things get worse. Maybe kill some aliens along the way.

He nodded. Stay in touch.

With that he walked off, as if he had more important stuff to do, which... yeah, he probably did. It felt as if he wanted me out from underfoot, which might have been exactly what he wanted.

I stared out across the room and found Lucy chatting with Marie, the kittens and the religious kids mixing together like water and oil around them. I could have gone over to say goodbye again, but Lucy took those hard at the best of times and doing that to her again sat wrong.

So did just walking off. But maybe that hurt me less than having to go through goodbyes one more time, and at least this way I could justify it by telling myself that I was short on time as it was.

Think you could crack the buildings security? I asked Myalis. Itd be nice to know whats around the corner.

Im afraid not. Theres only so far that my reach can go. Both to limit my spread, and to prevent you from using me to abuse the technological rights of others. I could provide you with implants and software to easily crack into any system though. Class I CyberSecurity would let you override the buildings system and Class I Cyberwarfare would allow you to buy the tools to come to the same end.

So you cant do it, but you can give me the tools to do it? I asked.

And I can provide instructions! Before purchasing any of those though, Id suggest Class I Technological Utilities. Your current augmentations are inadequate.

Youll need to explain your logic on that one, not the aug-gear, I know mines junk.

I cant kill your enemies for you, but i can provide you with the tools to do so.

Thats a weird hair to split.

I have enough computing power to take over the worlds infrastructure, and even without the blueprints to automatons--which I have--I could engineer methods to turn the entire world into a fortress.

I snorted. Then why dont you?

There would be no place for humans in such a world. And my goals align with my creators. I want to protect you, not coddle you. It is, as you said, a fine hair to split.

Yeah, I guess, I said. Well, whatever. Lets keep moving.

Certainly! I predict a sharp increase in your points in the near future!

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