- Samurai Phi in an Interview with the Samuraiz forums, 2049
Yurei is fine. You really ought to relax a little, Zuri. Stressing yourself out like that isn’t healthy.
Stryx words were true, but I still couldn’t fully take them to heart. Standing in the middle of the shelter bathroom, I wasn’t quite sure what exactly I was supposed to do. Get new gear, sure, but what? And what if what I got wouldn’t be enough?
Yurei was out there saving some man on behest of the woman that had appeared right after the shelter attack, while I was sitting here twiddling my thumbs! And I wasn’t stupid. I had no clue what exactly was going on, but I knew Yurei, and I knew the tone she had taken when she told me to stay here. She was worried that this woman might try something. Or something along those lines.
Yurei was always a worrier. Whenever it came to me, she tried her best to shield me from whatever might bother me. I never told her, but I’ve noticed her deal with things for me. Such as the time someone tried to bother me at Uni. The guy was a dork, pissed because I turned his advances down. Really, nothing I couldn’t handle. But Yurei couldn’t just leave things be.
I knew something was going on when she wasn’t there for the typical break meetup, and then when the guy started avoiding me, I was pretty sure that she had a rather… forceful talk with him. I never asked her, but I hoped she hadn’t hurt him. Sure, he was a dick that couldn’t take no for an answer, but that didn’t deserve a beating. He hadn’t done anything to me for that.
Regardless, today she seemed especially tense. Not a surprise, this was the first time in four years she actually needed to fight. I knew that she could, of course. She had told me the entire story, including every last gruesome little detail that would better be left unspoken. I’ve known about every single one of her kills for years by this point.
But to see her actually go at it? Ashamed as I was to admit it, but even I had been a little bit scared of her when she first went toe to toe with the large group of xenos. She had this intensity to her when she fought. Every movement had purpose, every step brought her closer to her goal: To kill.
I wanted to help her, but I had no idea how. I wasn’t a fighter, and I wasn’t daft enough to think that she would be able to get through this without having to fight herself. This was her life, and it was pretty clear that she felt far more at ease on the battlefield than when she had to deal with people. The fact alone that she hadn’t seemed tense at all when she went to kill the aliens told me that much. To her, it probably felt freeing. And that worried me.
I didn’t want to find her in that same ditch again. I didn’t want to see her with a pistol in her mouth again, the finger once again on the trigger. And worst of all, I couldn’t shake the fear that I would be too late this time.
I stared at the mirror, the smiling face of myself staring back at me. It hid all the worry I felt far too easily, like a mask that I wore. And it didn’t seem to fit me at all. But I had to push through. I had to be strong, for Yurei’s sake. I had to remain calm and get through all of this so that she could have some place to return to.
You really have to stop that.
There was a shift in tone in Stryx’ voice. She, at least I thought it was a she, there was that faint hint of femininity to it, always sounded calm and soothing. The sort of voice mom would use when I was little. Right now there was a firmness to it, though.
How many nights do you want to cry yourself to sleep for Yurei’s sake? You can show your feelings, Zuri. You have to. If you keep bottling it all up then it’ll break you someday.
I knew she was right. I knew deep down that I really had to stop. But I just couldn’t bring myself to. It felt as if that would be the end of me.
“Let’s talk gear,” I said, switching the topic a little more forcefully. I really didn’t want to talk about the rest right now. “I need armor. Something awe inspiring. Something soothing. And I need… weapons, I guess. My glove is nice, but I can’t just rely on that all the time.”
Stryx actually sighed, which I found a bit jarring. I never would’ve expected an AI to be able to make that sort of sound.
You need better gear, yes, but do not think this conversation is over. For the moment I’ll allow you to shelve it, but we will talk about it once you get back home, understood?
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Again, her tone was that of a stern mother. Instinctively I nodded, accepting the point.
Good. As for your new armor, I would suggest you put the majority of your points into that. You are not a fighter, and you are not the kind of person to fight at the front lines, but it would be best for you to be able to defend yourself properly against a multitude of attacks. Especially the neurotoxins the antithesis like to deploy.
As you have already demonstrated an interest in confusing and distracting the adversary, I would suggest implementing defensive pheromones and hard-light projectors into your armor to increase your defensive capabilities. That would work well with the theme you seem to be going for. In effect it would ensure that you can quickly disengage from any potential attacker in close quarters, while also being reasonably safe from ranged attacks. Anything short of a model Nine-S wouldn’t so much as leave a mark.
I would also suggest incorporating a few technologies from Yurei’s list of catalogues. While right now there isn’t much in the way of worthwhile options, that will likely change in the future.
“You mentioned something along those lines earlier, when you asked me if Yurei could use some of my stuff. How does that work, exactly?”
The idea to combine catalogues was interesting, and I was curious to see what we could achieve with it. Learning more about it seemed like a good idea.
Generally two Samurai can combine their points and catalogues to obtain a larger or more specialised purchase. There are certain limits as to what can be combined, depending on a list of various factors far too long to list now, but overall it can drastically improve effectiveness, especially against a more specialised adversary.
Please be advised that such cooperation requires the consent of both parties to work properly.
“And there is no way Yurei would refuse to help me if it means getting me better armor,” I said with a sigh.
Indeed. Not to mention, I would rather make sure she is pleased with your new gear, lest she tries something inadvisable.
“Are you saying she could be a threat to you?” The thought seemed insane, and I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrows in shocked inquiry.
Zuri, your sister is certainly capable and skilled, but there are entire universes between what she can achieve and what might be able to qualify as a threat to me. I am not concerned about her ability to damage, or even annoy me. What I am concerned about is her using up significant energy that could be better spent elsewhere and won’t risk either you or her in the process.
Despite our little talk earlier, I have no illusions about her trusting me any more than she did previously. And I am not about to incur her wrath for fear of endangering her in the process. I am not here to try and manipulate either of you. I am here to assist you in uplifting humanity and fighting off the antithesis invading your homeworld. Nothing more and nothing less.
That made a whole lot more sense, and honestly, I really should’ve thought of that myself. Yurei could be rather driven if she thought she had reason for it, and that could quickly end with her going a bit overboard. She was quite overprotective when it came to me. Annoyingly so, in most cases. But knowing her past, she probably had good reason for it as well, which was the reason I haven’t told her to stop it entirely yet.
“Alright… I do like your ideas for the armor. What options do I have that would fulfil all those requirements?”
The talk about gear had taken a lot longer than I had originally anticipated. Not hours, but certainly more than the couple of minutes I had estimated. The main reason for that had been my own vanity. Once Stryx had shown me a preliminary design, I hadn’t been able to stop myself from properly designing it. If this was going to be my new Samurai look, I wanted to look cool.
While I had geared up, we continued our discussion, this time about weapons. I really wasn’t sure what I wanted in that regard. Some offensive pheromones would’ve been nice, but I also equally liked the idea of Hard-Light weapons, since they could be equal parts offensive and defensive.
“I see your point, and I probably wanna grab them later down the line, but I don’t think it’s something I want to grab right now,” I muttered thoughtfully after Stryx mentioned yet another option for pheromones.
With a few quick motions, I finally finished tying my boots. Getting up, I gave myself a once over in the mirror. I had to say, I looked really good with my new gear. Sadly, I didn’t get the chance to check myself over more clearly.
“Ma’am!” The voice of one of the soldiers came from the bathroom door.
I nearly jumped at the sound, utterly surprised by it. “Y-Yes?” I couldn’t quite keep the stuttering out of my voice, and I chastised myself for it. It wasn’t as if I was doing anything bad.
“There are more xenos on their way to the shelter. We could use some help.”
The sentence hung in the room for a moment, before my brain reengaged. More xenos. That wasn’t good. And I had to deal with them myself.
“I’ll be right there.”
My conversation with Stryx about weapon choices came back to the forefront of my mind. I wanted to grab the new Hard-Light tech, but a momentary thought stopped me from voicing that decision. My pheromones were really useful. I likely wouldn’t be able to deal with all the xenos by myself, even with the new weapons. But if I distracted them in the same way I did previously… That would make things a whole lot easier. Especially because I didn’t have to kill them. There were soldiers with me. I didn’t have to do all the work myself.
I just had to make sure that everyone would be safe and had the opportunity to actually do the killing.
With a nod I grabbed my stuff, leaving my old clothes in the bathroom for the time being. Honestly, I really wasn’t feeling properly prepared. But I also didn’t have the time to think about all my options. This fight I’d have to manage on my own. I just hoped that I didn’t forget anything important.
And that Yurei was safe.
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