“That’s certainly something,” I muttered.

  Skyler and I were standing in the garage, staring at our new samurai vehicle. It had taken us about half an hour to go through the various features and decide what we wanted. A large cargo bay, back seats in case we had to evacuate anyone, and an assortment of defensive systems.

  The final product looked like some sort of extended cab truck with an enclosure mounted on the back. That enclosure had a dozen compartments designed to contain our different drones; each one could be opened and closed remotely to allow us to load and unload the drones remotely. The panels over these compartments merged seamlessly with the side of the truck, so when they were closed, you couldn’t even tell there was anything there.

  When we finalized our choices, I’d pictured something huge, armored, and imposing, but what we actually got looked like a sleek, modern-looking, black pickup truck.

  “It’s actually pretty stylish,” Skyler remarked as she slowly walked around the vehicle. “And there’s a ton of storage space for both our drones and equipment.”

  “Two large enclosures, which’ll fit my new drones, and eight smaller ones that are just big enough for Howie and the boys,” I reported as I popped the hidden compartments open one by one so we could load the drones. “That gives us room for expansion, but for now we can just fill up the spare sections with scout drones.”

  “So… Where are we going to store it? Space in the elevated parking area is extremely limited, and we only claimed two spots when we moved in,” Skyler asked.

  I paused, looked at the vehicle we’d summoned into an empty part of the common garage area, then back at our parking spots, and then sighed. “I’m sure if we asked the building administration, they’d be able to find another spot for us, even if they had to force someone else to give theirs up. I know a lot of people would jump through hoops to keep samurai happy, but doing that feels like an abuse of power.”

  “Why not call your mom or Agnes instead then? I know your mom has a couple extra parking spots for the staff. Maybe we could borrow one of those?”

  “Good idea. I’ll send them a quick message, and if they have room, I’ll move my car up-stairs,” I replied as I flipped open my augs.

  Skyler cocked her head to the side. “Your car? Why not the truck?”

  “Because the truck will probably be our primary transport for the foreseeable future. I certainly don’t plan on taking my car out to deal with the antithesis now that we have a dedicated transport. Once we’ve finished dealing with the incursion, we can swap them around or find another place to store the truck,” I explained. My augs flashed, indicating they’d already received a message.

  “Makes sense. Do you think we should wait until you hear back or…”

  “That won’t be necessary. Agnes already replied, as prompt as always. She said there isn’t enough space right now, but she’ll make some arrangements. Once a space opens up, she’ll send someone down to pick up my car. I just need to leave the keys with Aunty Cho,” I reported.

  Skyler smiled. “Great! Aunty Cho already has a copy of the access codes in case of emergencies. Just make sure you let her know someone’s stopping by.”

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  “Already on it,” I replied as I flipped the messenger app on my augs open again.

  By the time I’d finished sending that brief message, Skyler had already climbed into the driver’s seat of the truck. I quickly gathered up my equipment, shoved it all into the backseat, and then climbed in after her.

  “So, where do you think we should start?” Skyler asked as I buckled my seatbelt.

  “That depends on whether we just want to help with the search or if we want to earn some points at the same time,” I replied. “Artymis, you mentioned that several other samurai were searching for the command model. Have any of them engaged the swarm directly?”

  {Arty: It seems like most of the recon is occurring from within the safety of the city walls, but there are a handful of samurai who are harassing the swarm. I’d be cautious if you choose that route. Despite being relatively passive towards the city, the antithesis have been hyper-aggressive against anyone that attempts to approach the main horde.}

  “I doubt we’d be able to withstand a sustained attack from that many antithesis, even with all the upgrades we’ve picked up over the last week,” I said.

  “Maybe we don’t have too…” Skyler muttered. “The swarm is attempting to stay outside the range of the city’s artillery, right? Maybe we could find a place where my drones would be in range of the swarm, but we’d still be in range of the city’s defenses?”

  “That’s possible,” I agreed. “But we’d have to make sure the defenders are at their stations before we start. I’d hate to be overwhelmed, just because the PMCs on duty weren’t paying attention.”

  {Athy: There are several locations just outside the city’s eastern wall where you’d be able to strike at the antithesis while still being within range of the city’s defenses. If you choose this route, I can inform the security forces in that area to ensure that they’re both prepared for the incoming assault and know to avoid firing artillery down upon your position.}

  Skyler winced. “Please do. After everything we’ve been through, I’d hate to die in a friendly fire incident.”

  “Can you suggest a location that’s away from both the other search and harassment teams? If we’re going to help search, we might as well focus on a different area than everyone else,” I suggested.

  {Arty: There are three locations that fit your criteria. We’ll mark them on your map. When you’ve selected one, we’ll alert Cascadian security about your plan.}

  “Sounds good,” Skyler chirped as she turned on the truck.

  Skyler deftly maneuvered the truck up and out of the garage. Despite being much bigger and bulkier than either of our cars, the truck was quiet and agile. You didn’t tend to see many hover vehicles this large, because even though humanity managed to make the hover technology stable, the engines tended to struggle with heavier weights. That’s why there weren’t any hover tanks or transport trucks. The biggest skybound vehicles tended to be buses, and you needed a special license to deal with the bulk.

  Skyler didn’t seem to have any issues with the truck, though. If anything, it was as agile as our cars. Just another benefit of samurai-grade technology.

  We only had to fly for about ten minutes to reach the city wall. I expected the antithesis to be close, but surprisingly I could only catch glimpses of them on the horizon. The heavy artillery must either have had a massive range, or the antithesis were being extremely cautious.

  Skyler quickly found the position our AIs had identified. It was a small, relatively clear hill a couple hundred meters away from the wall. Since the local vegetation was sparse, only scattered trees and scrub brush, we had a clear view of the surrounding area.

  As soon as the truck touched down, I unfastened my belt and jumped out.

  “Seems like a pretty good position,” I muttered. “Arty, Athy, have you alerted the surrounding security team?”

  {Arty: It’s already done. As soon as the antithesis enters range, the artillery will open fire.}

  “Then we’re ready to set up,” Skyler announced as she jumped out the other side. “Let’s get the drones out!”

  Skyler strode towards the back of the truck, and as she did, the compartments all slid open. Dozens of small recon drones, along with her artillery drones, all simultaneously took off and began hovering around her.

  My new drones, which I’d nicknamed the twins, weren’t quite as agile. It took them a second to work their way out of their new enclosures before slowly hovering towards me.

  “The twins certainly look impressive, but are you sure they’ll be able to keep up?” Skyler asked as she eyed up my new backup.

  “I don’t need them to be as fast as your recon drones, or even Howie and pals,” I explained. “They just need to be fast enough to keep up with me and reposition in combat. Since they’re meant to be on the front line, it’s more important that they can take a little bit of punishment,” I explained.

  Skyler inspected the two drones for a couple more seconds before nodding. “They certainly look impressive… Are you ready to give them a test?”

  I smiled at my girlfriend, “Absolutely.”

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