It looks like one of the new hires still has a conscience, and he left the gate open for them.
Great! Just what we need. Have Gravel take care of him later, but for now, would someone care to explain how we are going to recoup our losses this quarter? They torched our assembly line.
After the riot is suppressed, we just don't pay those that participated, billing them all for the damages. Indentured servants are outlawed in Germany, not here.
-Leaked board meeting minutes by The Purple Truth shortly before the company was raided by Laser Lasso, 2056
“How widespread is the rioting?” Shrew asked.
“Thankfully, it is contained to seven Megabuildings over three plates, but the problem is that the rioters have some pretty decent firearms, and the PMCs are too cowardly to move in and subdue them. (“U_U)”
Shaking my head, I move to call Bahamut. “Give me a moment. Let me check and see if it's possible.”
Bahamut picks up instantly, appearing in the virtual meeting room with us. “Good evening, Sire. Good evening Vanguards, Black Log and Shrew. How may I be of assistance to you today?”
“Black Log has just informed us that there is some rioting happening, and he is requesting assistance in subduing them. Do we have any troops that are ready enough to send?” I ask.
Bahamut glances between us. “Ah. No, that will sadly not be possible. While we do have five Company Commanders, they are the only people we have on hand, while the rest of this wave's recruits are set to begin training in two days. This was set to give them enough time to pack, move, and close any other contracts they had open.”
Black Log turns to Bahamut, `O.O. “Well, that is very annoying.”
“Black Log, when you mention suppression, is the goal to eliminate the heads of the rioters, capture the rioters, or just scatter them? Did you need the PMCs to intimidate or to attack with?" Shrew asks after pulling up a map of New Phoenix.
“Considering the rioters are all gangs that have rather large bounties on them, elimination and capture sounds the safest, though I would prefer capture. Like I said, those dispatched already are hiding behind barricades, taking pot shots but not advancing.”
She nods with a hand on her chin, then turns to me. “In that case, War Games, how widespread can your normal swarms be sent?”
“Current range is about a mile around me and my Commanders. Bahamut, I know the Ravens are supposed to act as range extenders, but what is that range?”
Bahamut flicked his fan open, covering his face. The heron pattern shifted to it standing on a lake, fishing. “Each Raven minion is capable of covering a range of half a mile radius. If I understand Vanguard Shrew’s intentions, then yes, we could send in our own swarms to handle the rioters. I would like to propose a different tactic, however, so as not to label us or The Family as mass murderers. We could send Defense swarms to act as mobile cover for the PMCs on the ground, while using the Scout Swarms to mark high priority targets. This way, we can be shown as protectors instead of oppressors, while the PMCs take any blame for the deaths that are certain to occur.”
I nod at his plan. “Sounds logical. Any objections?”
Black Log and Shrew both look to me, but I can only see Black Log’s mask emoting. 0.0! “Hey, kid. Are you sure you're okay with that? One of the reasons I was hoping to use your guys was because I figured that they would be able to use more non-lethal tactics. The PMCs on site will not care about casualties once they have those swarms helping them.”
I tilt my head slightly. “Yes. And? You said it yourself, these people have bounties and are gang members. Plus, the ringleaders are more than likely from Bestlé, and I have no compassion for them. I just finished sweeping this column’s attack plan data, and they had no indication that this was going to happen, only that the gates would be undefended. That leads me to believe that those inside don't know that this attack was happening now, errgo, they are probably isolated cells with no real information, considering this attack happened despite the column being destroyed. So there is no reason to not shut this riot down.”
“Then why don't you have your swarms eat the rioters, instead? Or even have them disable them like you did the kidnappers?” Shrew asks with a bit of venom in her tone.
“Because Bahamut indicated that that would be problematic for future plans and for The Family.” I answer, not understanding why Shrew seems upset.
“Those are still human lives, War Games!” She retorts harshly. “They have their own circumstances and families! We don't even know why they are rioting! Maybe they got sick of the bullshit the corpos kept throwing at them. Maybe they are being brainwashed and are forced to do this!”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“So what?” I ask, my voice flat. I see Shrew recoil slightly. “So what if the gangs decided to fight back. Black Log asked for help subduing the riots. I am offering help. He explicitly mentioned that they have bounties, indicating he doesn't care about them either, that they are only worth that number.” I chuckle darkly. “Do you even know why they have those bounties? Do you know who set them or anything about them? I know for a fact that eighty percent of every bounty is bullshit, something corpos dish out to punish people for no fucking reason. That those gangs are just trying to survive. Yet Black Log has asked for help dealing with them, not how to help them, not to negotiate with them, but to ‘subdue’ them.”
I turn to Black Log. “If you want my help, ask Bahamut. I give him the authority to dispatch the Swarms.” Turning back to Shrew. “But don't you dare moralize at me when we both just eviscerated this entire column of people, of human lives. If you want to play Saint, do it on your own.” I exit the call and walk back to my shuttle. I see Shrew standing there, watching me go. I can feel her heart rate spike, the biomonitoring of the Scouts telling me she feels some shame, but that it is being overwhelmed by anger.
I load into my shuttle and take off home. I feel my stomach growl in protest, the adrenaline of the last two hours having faded, leaving me exhausted and starving. I don't want to think right now, but it will take me less than ten minutes to get home, so I can't nap, and I don't want to eat now cause Buddy sent me a picture of this pasta dish he whipped up with peanut sauce, with a message saying ‘Just waiting for you, Vic. Stay safe.’
Easily. You have most of the hardware for it already, as the software is basically a mesh room, so there are two ways we could go about this, and both of them require an implant. The first is an addition to your network as a whole, building a framework that allows you to manipulate your deep network to be more than a monitoring and guiding center. The second would require a separate augment, building a separate space away from your network.
Using your network would be much more secure, as it is hosted in yourself rather than hosting it in Mesh-nodes. While a few, more specialized Vanguard could probably still enter it, no one else would be able to interact with it without your permission. The downside is that you commanders would be able to enter it at any time as they are already intrinsically tied to your network. This would make it easier to share information and orders at range, but also would mean you would never have the ability to be truly alone if you desire that.
Fifty points, as this is simply filling in some gaps. It will be finished by time you return home.
Purchased Deep Network Conscious Connection and Manipulation
Points reduced to 79625
A small box landed on my lap, inside was a disk that I placed on the back of my neck as per the picture under the lid. I felt the disk meld into my skin and move through my implants. It was not very pleasant, but the feeling faded in a few moments. I was still a few minutes out, so I decided to simply stare at the fading sky. The sun had set a bit ago, yet the sky still had a bit of red on the horizon, fading rapidly to dark blue, then black. I smirked a bit, thinking it fit accurately with my mood right now.
**************************
Walking into the kitchen, Buddy hands me a plate of this pasta smothered in peanut sauce, with fried tofu and plenty of steamed veggies. It was heavenly and extremely relaxing after today.
I don't see anyone else in the dining area, so I ask. “Where is everyone?”
Buddy nods and smiles. “Jill decided to bother Morrigan to ask about body upgrades, so she's in the Mesh training room testing out different things. Roger is in his room resting since he lost quite a bit of blood, while Cody is working with Bahamut and Outsider to dispatch swarms and make sure the locals don't do anything stupid with them.”
“And Cari?”
“With Aunt Cass, doing something. They said girl things and walked to the bedroom area.”
I nod, taking the final bite of the pasta before Buddy swaps the plates, giving me another full one. He taps the table twice. “Two questions.”
I stiffen a bit, remembering that it's been well over two weeks since he last asked. A tradition born of necessity to prevent us from burning out quietly. Something that we all always answer honestly, since the last time one of us didn't, Roger got an infection so bad he almost lost an arm.
“Physically, I'm good. Adrenaline dumped out of me, so I'm tired. Plus, you gave me this,” I wave my fork at the now half empty second plate, “So I just need to sleep.” I sigh heavily and lean back in the high chair. “Mentally? So much has happened, Buddy. In the last day alone I feel both more secure in my relationship, but also I feel some slight hypocrisy after dealing with Shrew and Black Log, which leads me to want to question a lot of things. Not to mention the last two weeks worth of near death experiences...” I look away from the ceiling and look Buddy in the eyes, not bothering to hide how tired I am. “I just don't want to think right now, brother. I have an appointment tomorrow with Augustus and I'm sure we will dig a bit deeper into me, but for now, I don't know.”
He nodded in understanding, passing over a small bowl of blue ice cream. “Good. I can guess a bit about the others, but I know I have spoken with Abigail about our past missions while training under her, and it has helped a lot. Maybe you should talk to someone as well, either Augustus or Cari or Cass, or even one of our new family members. A third party who can help you discover some learned conditions that should be unlearned.”
I look at Buddy with confusion. “And what conditions should those be?”
He sighed. “You said something while drugged that Aunt Cass thought problematic, so she asked us about it. You said that the biggest reason you trusted Cari was that Jill and Roger didn't signal you that she was a problem.”
“Oh.” I say, looking down at the empty bowl of ice cream. I suppose I did say that, didn't I?
Buddy wraps me up in a hug, and I lean into him. “It's alright, brother. You… you never really recovered well after that mission. We just didn't know you were still looking for those signals, nor how deeply you relied on them until it was pointed out. But now we know, and we can talk about what to do next. But first you have to heal, brother. Because you have more to look forward to than just waking up the next day, now.”
I nod into his chest, relaxing in his arms. I guess tomorrow was going to be a long appointment.