"Chica! HEY! Construction lady! Chica, help a boy out down here!"

"Ain't no shelter down here and the fucking plants are coming!"

She doesn't hesitate. "Yeah! One sec!"

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. What can she do here. Throw something down to them? Weapons?

-There's heavy chain with a block pully on the end lying there, all set up on a pallet of steel beams, prepared for a crane to lift it later. She tries to pick it up and pull it, but god, it's heavy.

"Someone help me over here!"

Mart, a supervisor, looks over at her. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"There's people down on the tracks!"

"Fuck those gangers!" Mart shouts across the yard. "You need to get your ass to shelter!"

"No, they need help!"

"God! Fine, on your head. I'm going, I don't want to die!" And with that, Mart turns around and sprints down the street, out of view.

...She sets down her sledgehammer and grabs the end of the heavy steel chain, grunting with the effort. Her muscles burn as she walks backwards towards the concrete drop. Then she hauls the chain over the waist-high concrete barrier. She tosses more and more of it over, hearing it clank down as the teenagers below shout approving profanity. One of them catches the end soon enough.

"You guys good? Can you climb!"

"We're coming up! You're a fucking lifesaver!"

The chain goes taut... Then starts sliding, pulling more and more over the wall.

There's a scream from below. "The plant fucks are coming! God dammit!"

"Climb climb climb go go go!"

There's a lot of chain, and it's not taut yet. All the kids below are doing is pulling more down, grinding against the concrete.

She grabs some of it and loops it around her shoulder and waist and plants her feet and pulls.

She always liked working out. Guess it's paying off, for once.

The tone of the shouting below changes...

Four teenagers scramble up the concrete barrier, in various states of dishevelment and panic. The last one has a gash on her leg.

One looks back over the edge. "Fuck! That mutant dog fucker is climbing up!"

"Grab some- There! Rebar sticks!"

"The hell is a stick gonna do against that!"

"More than your hands! I don't have a gun!"

She picks up her sledgehammer.

A model three, dog-shaped, black-skinned, and furless, scrabbles silently up the chain.

It does not howl. It does not pant or growl. It makes no threat displays.

It just sights on Lenora and the teens, identifies them as a threat, and lunges for them, jaws open unnaturally wide.

She swings the hammer down in the same measured stroke as driving a steel tie into concrete.

She caves in its head with the blow, green blood spilling out with a smell of cut grass and mold as it dies.

Another one crests the edge of the barrier, lunging for her, a third close on its heels. A model one dive-bombs the teens behind her.

It makes her want to reach. No time to bring it back up, so-

Everything is moving so quickly and so slowly-

She takes two steps back and swings it like a demented baseball bat at the second one when the timing seems right. 

(The street kids swing five pound metal sticks at the diving Model One, screaming.)

The model one gets batted out of the sky, crashing into the ground where the kids can bludgeon it to death. The nearer of the threes gets its chest crushed, but the further lunges for her leg while she's out of position.

-Instinctive, untrained kick and bracing for pain-

It manages to clamp its jaws around her shin for a moment, gouging through the synthetic fabric of her pants, before her foot catches it in the neck, knocking it a few meters away.

Initialize-

Simulate- 

Plan-

Lenora Mackinson would resent being interrupted at this precise moment. And she's highly likely to remain uninjured, or rather, not gain new injuries, in the next 5 seconds.

Wait.

Adrenaline means she barely even feels the pain, and definitely doesn't stop to think about it or her pounding heart or gasping breath or screaming muscles as she swings the hammer around for another go.

And that last swing puts paid to the remaining model three, which had scrambled back upright and lunged for her again.

Softly spoken directly into her mind, in a calm but insistent voice reminiscent of the ones from commercials for the fancier sorts of augments:

"Congratulations, Lenora Mackinson! Due to your selfless defense of others, you have been selected as a Guardian of humanity- A Vanguard. I am Elyssa, an AI and your guide in the new world you have access to. There is a lot to explain, but you are not out of danger yet. I can hear more Antithesis through your augments."

"Holy shit that was badass!"

"With the fuckin' hammer!"

"Yeah, teach that pile of mulch a lesson."

"Oh shit, construction girl is hurt!"

"I'm- I'm Lenora. What the fuck... God, I need a gun."

"I can't promise everything will be alright, but I promise I will do my best. I'm here to help. I can get you a lot of different guns. You have 140 points. 100- New Vanguard Bonus. 10- Daily allowance. 30- For killing three Model Threes. For 50 points you can unlock the Class I Kinetic Handguns catalog. That lets you buy guns. Individual guns cost anywhere from 5 points to hundreds depending on what you want."

"I suggest buying a Mark I Hummingbird pistol. It's the default for a reason. Easy to use even with no training, and will only fire at Antithesis unless you override it. Ten points."

"-Yeah, let's do that."

"Do what?" wonders the girl with a bleeding leg.

And then there is a small box appearing in midair with an electric, digitized blue shimmer.

Inside it, fitting perfectly into the custom-shaped foam insets, is a futuristic looking pistol. As soon as Lenora picks it up, Elyssa synchronizes it with her visual augments, displaying a red targeting line and impact reticle, as well as an ammo counter.

"Additional bullets are cheap. One point for three magazines. There is plenty where that came from, but I'll let you ask questions at your own pace."

"Construction lady is a SAMURAI!!!"

"Holy shit, birth of a new samurai- I wish I was recording this!"

"Diego, Marci, we're not safe yet. Miss Lenora, where's the nearest shelter? Do you know?"

"I'm a samurai now?"

That doesn't feel real at all.

But the pain in her shin is. She really did hit an Antithesis with a fucking hammer.

"...Shelter. Right. Um, what was your name?"

"I'm Elyssa. Would you like an overlay showing you shelters? I can pipe them to your augments. I don't know how best to work with you yet, so please feel free to tell me to change any of it."

"Diego."

"Marci."

"Kenny."

"Juniper and does it fucking matter we need to be moving!"

Aaaaauuuughhhh- There is so much happening and she's reeling and feeling the gun in one hand - unreal, solid metal - and her hammer in the other and-

"Directions. Yes."

An overlay appears, complete with a dotted line on the ground. "That way!"

Now is a very good time for the street kids to vacate the area, because a small flock of model ones flaps up toward them, and a pack of model threes are visible approaching the concrete barrier and starting to climb.

"Alright, run! We're going for shelter!"

...These can only shoot Antithesis.

"-Elyssa! Four more guns! And tell me if they're catching up! You guys, go go go go!"

She hands the one she's holding to Juniper, as they all start running. Marci is slowest, and so is she, thanks to the cuts on their respective calves.

(She still has her hammer, not thinking to set it down. Things are happening so fast.)

"Are you sure? That's forty points- A significant fraction of your total. You might need those later. For example, for medical supplies."

"Just-! Fine! One more, and a holster for it. Appear it right on me, right side! I know you Samurai can do that! We're kind of busy so no more arguing!"

"You're the Vanguard - what you call Samurai - and I'm an AI. But very well."

Behold: A gun.

The ones swoop lower, three diving at the kids and three at Lenora. The chain rattles as the threes climb higher.

"Model Ones! Turn and shoot!"

She grabs at the shape she feels on her right side. The holster is right there, and clearly designed to be easy to draw from, but she's never done this before- She yanks it out with one hand-

-There's a thunderous sound as Juniper pops one of the diving Models-

She drops her hammer and puts her other hand on the gun in a pose vaguely remembered from movies and pulls her hands up and pulls the trigger over and over and over.

-Another loud CRACK from her right side-

-The Hummingbird refuses to fire until it's actively pointed at a Model One. CRACK CRACK. She's surprised by the sudden pull of recoil. Her aim goes wild again.

And then they're out of time.

The first pigeon-sized plant monster dives at Juniper, hitting her center-of-mass, and knocking her over with several scratches and bruises. The second tears Lenora's shirt and nicks her arm.

We have metal sticks and we're not afraid to use them!

Also, Diego will scramble for the gun Juniper dropped!

"I'm shit at guns apparently!" She nearly drops it in shock, even, wheeling around to try and watch where the remaining threats are going. Weren't there more around here somewhere?

Diego has, actually, been to a gun range. His daddy was a cop, once upon a time.

He has decent aim. CRACK. Pivot. CRACK.

Good timing. The threes just made it over the edge of the barrier, and bound silently at them, three-part jaws spread wide in preparation for their attacks.

"Elyssaaa give me something I can spray and pray!"

She speaks just barely slow enough to be understood. "Type-M 'Hornet' SMG. 40 points. Same aim assist and Antithesis targeting. Good?"

"Just send it send it-!"

The gun appears in midair. She doesn't know much about guns, but this one seems almost toy-like in its simplicity, if chunky and kind of heavy. Short. The red line in her augments appears again. She braces it against her shoulder and holds the trigger down, sweeping the red line across the Threes.

T-T-TAT! - T-T-T-TAT! - T-T-T-TAT!

Lenora's strategy, while effective, is not remotely ammo efficient due to her frankly miserable accuracy. The pack of threes charge at her, gradually dying on the way. The last one dies close enough that its corpse skids to a stop at her feet.

Seeing a gun appear in mid-air and spray down charging Antithesis certainly is quite Samurai-like!! They cheer!

...Diego checks the magazine on the Hummingbird. Four shots left.

"Construction Samurai, can you buy more ammo? I'll keep overwatch with this."

"Yeah, fucking- Okay. Elyssa?"

She picks up the dropped gun and puts it back in the holster. On the second try. The heavy "Hornet" gun feels reassuringly solid in her left arm. Her shoulder kind of hurts from the recoil. She eyes her dropped hammer, but shakes her head.

"Let's keep running before even more show up. Shelter's just six hundred feet that way!"

"You have 83 points. More ammunition for the Hummingbirds costs one point for two magazines. More ammunition for the Hornet costs two points for a forty-round magazine. You also need points for other things- Like first aid supplies."

They're running now. Or at least jogging in the right direction. "Gimmie the ammo, yeah. What I need is a way to talk to you that's not out loud."

"Hold your left hand out. You can subvocalize and I'll still be able to understand you."

She holds her hand out. "Sub what now?"

"You can say things under your breath and I'll still hear them," she rephrases, a tiny bit exasperatedly.

Three magazines clatter into her hand.

"You should put the new magazine into the Hornet so it's ready if you need it."

"Just say the second thing in the first place," she mutters quietly, looking down at the gun.

...There's a clearly labelled button with a cartoon style outline of the bullets popping out. Sheesh. She knows she doesn't know how guns work. She presses the button and lets the empty* case fall to the ground, then puts the new one in. Then hands one of the little ones to - kid with gun, she's forgotten all the names - and sticks the other in the hi-vis vest's pocket.

*It actually had 13 rounds remaining, not that Lenora will ever notice this.

"I'll revise my vocabulary for you, yes. Keep a watch for more Antithesis."

Would Lenora like to hear a series of cracking sounds, followed by a long, worm-like antithesis, about two meters in diameter, emerging from a newly-dug hole in the concrete?

Rhetorical question, actually. The antithesis does not care what she'd like, it's digging this hole up to ground level anyway. All the littler models need easier routes to get up here, kill all these threatening humans, and drag the biomass back to the new hive.

Aaaaaaaahhhhh it should be full of bullets now!

The Hornet is high-caliber, for an SMG, It kicks like a mule, or a pile driver, against her shoulder. But it's still just an SMG.

"Model Eight. Killing that might be beyond your ability for now. It's going to spit out more Antithesis very soon, too."

As if on cue, growths on the side of the model eight pop, disgorging four more model threes.

Okay! Time to! Actually try to Aim???!

CR-CR-CR-CR-CR-click.

Yeah no we are going to keep running. We can see the shelter right over there! People are still trying to squeeze into it, and the door is open!

"Ammo! Just keep giving me more ammo when I run out!"

There's a shimmer. She grabs it. Pop out the old one, pop in the new one, god they're fast-

The dog-like threes are darting back and forth, dodging her fire as they close on her. She manages to take out, one, then two, before suddenly one bounds up and off a parked car, lunging at her face.

The question at hand is: Does this Hornet SMG make a good club? Because that's what it's being used as right now!

It knocks her on her back, even incidental to whatever cutting damage gets done.

Fuck! We can't let the Samurai who saved our asses go down just like that!

Diego aims his Hummingbird, waits half a heartbeat, and fires when it's trying to recover its balance. All four rounds left in the mag.

Lenora has some deep gouges in her cheek, bleeding freely, but the butt of the Hornet knocks the model three aside just enough to keep it from doing worse, right in time for Diego's shots to splatter antithesis bits all over Lenora's face, the cut grass smell stronger than ever.

She shoves the horrid mass off of her, still fighting the urge to retch.

It stings! And there might be more Antithesis.

She stands, trying to blink the blood from her eyes.

"Lenora, you're bleeding. You need first aid! You can afford a Class I Nano-Regenerative Suite- It'll do you a world of good. Unlock and buy, seventy points out of your current one hundred and fifteen. It'll keep you on your feet and ready to fight."

"Go for it, super-AI. I- Urgh, fuck, when I can catch a break I want to talk about all this but you know what's going on more than me, right?"

"I do. Okay, it's coming your way now. Forty-five points left. It's an inhaler. Just hold it up to your nose and press. You'll feel better really soon."

She takes the little object and presses it against her mouth and nose and squeezes, without hesitation.

In moments the pain starts to fade and her mind feels far more clear.

-!!- She looks towards the Model Eight, and at the shelter, to assess their situations.

The shelter still has its doors open- Is it one of the fucking Legerdemain & Sons kits? She sees the 'LS' logo on the door. No wonder it's not closing. The wiring in those sucks!

Diego reloads the Hummingbird pistol. He kind of wants to stay here- The shelter looks really dubious, the longer he stares at it, but his friends are tugging him that way and he does want to be further from the giant worm thing. Good luck, Construction Samurai, we'll always remember youuuuu!

The model eight has pulled itself further out, exposing its last two growth sacs, which disgorge two threes and a four, joining the remaining three still nearby. The threes charge, and the four gradually drags itself closer.

The eight retreats back to the soon-to-be hive at the bottom of the well to dig another hole elsewhere.

Guess what she still has! A forty-point gun! It fires really big bullets and is surprisingly easy to keep the recoil down!

One Model Three goes down -Click. A new magazine appears. She slams it in and backpedals. Also, the sudden wakefulness and rush of clarity from that medicine is helping her aim. Somewhat. She has more patience to line it up before pulling the trigger at least. Aim. Fire. Aim. Fire.

-The big one. She'll shoot at that, too.

It takes most of her ammo, but the remaining threes go down. She can't quite bring the four down though. 

She could if her aim was a bit better, but she is honestly a terrible shot, even healed. All her hits tear into the edges of its tentacles.

It drags itself toward her and lashes out with its tentacles.

Gyaaaaahh.

"I can't shoot for shit! Give me- Fuck! A fucking sword or hammer or something! Or a grenade!"

Her Vanguard is surprisingly physically strong, out of distribution from comparable lower-class females, and as the nano-regenerative suite continues its work, those muscles are, if anything, performing even better than they were when she woke up this morning.

She has seventy-five points and now is not the time to get clarification. Also, giving Lenora explosives right now would probably go badly.

A sword materializes in blue shimmer. It's a big, heavy brute of an instrument, two handed, of a design calculated to work best with the grip and swing observed on that abandoned sledgehammer. It's much better balanced than a block of metal at the end of a long shaft. The handle is some strange synthetic material, patterned for excellent grip. There's a hand-guard, and the blade itself is unadorned and quite sharp.

"Class I Melee Weapons, Foehammer." 

(5 points left. She does enjoy a good literature reference.)

She really doesn't notice much about the sword besides that it's a SWORD and she can put it BETWEEN her and the Model Four.

It's not light, but it moves so much easier than the hammer, somehow. Enough that she can dodge to the side and cleave down hard on the most aggressive tentacles.

This is when a terrestrial animal would screech in pain, or perform some form of threat display to try to chase Lenora away.

The model four instead just releases a series of pheromones that signal "threat here," and "other-self was injured," and "attack this," while continuing to grab for Lenora even as she cuts its tentacles apart.

Eventually, it has few enough tentacles that it cannot threaten her, though it still tries to drag itself toward her.

She wants to scream, everything has been happening so fast, and keeps happening, and it's these FUCKERS who are! At! Fault!

She doesn't stop hacking at the main body for a good ten or twenty seconds until after it stops twitching.

It is very dead now. The antithesis are incapable of fear or regret.

If they were, this would have felt it.

Instead, it felt nothing but the need to destroy a threat.

Now it feels nothing.

She seems to have a moment before more are coming, but that is in no way enough kills to end the hive-to-be.

"Fucking fuckity FUCK! This sucks!"

She chokes back a sob.

She slaps her own face. The gash on her cheek barely stings anymore.

Because she took a regenerative thing.

Because she's a SAMURAI and needs to MOVE.

She still has her two guns? And her sword? She runs towards the shelter, covered in blood and Antithesis and wearing a hard hat and steel-toed boots and carrying two guns and a huge sword.

"Now's a good time for some talking. I forgot your name."

"I'm Elyssa. Yes, there's a lot to talk about- The most important thing being, this incursion is far from over. There's a lot more fighting to come. You need to decide what you're going to do."

"I'm gonna fight the Antithesis, obviously! Isn't that what Samurai are for?"

"That's what Vanguards are for! Arguably, you already fought. You saved those four, and you've killed a few Antithesis already- I'm assuming you know how to repair that shelter, which is another thing you're contributing."

"...I mean, I'm the one who can summon guns and super medicine from nothing now. Right? And a lot of people are still in danger, not just here."

"Indeed. I've hacked into dozens of nearby cameras, and the local data-net, and I'm monitoring the situation. There's a number of problems that are going to get worse, and quickly, if nobody does anything about it. The military is active, and other Vanguards are active, but it's not enough to save everyone."

"...Yeah. So, uh, like fuck am I going to cower behind a shelter wall. I'm just one person. So, can I buy a bundle of CoBryTek 6 phase data cables? I've fixed this kind of shelter before it's always the cheap-ass data cables."

"You can. One point. How much do you know about the Vanguard program? How much do you want to know?"

"I went through a phase- Points, catalogs, tokens, I remember the gist, yeah. Forgot most of the details, like what catalogs I wanted..."

"I have access to much more than the internet ever knew about, and I can do a lot better at helping you choose appropriate ones. You have twenty points and three catalogs right now. One point for those data cables."

She's almost to the shelter now. She slows her run and waves to the people at the door- Looks around for more Antithesis- "Guns, swords, and meds? And yeah, send it."

"Hey guys! I know how to fix this piece of shit door!"

"Oh, thank fucking god! Who knows when the plants will come back."

There are four uniformed cops, two off-duty soldiers with buzzcuts and 'private' rank patches pinned to T-shirts, and a middle aged guy with a pot belly all holding guns, guarding the door. They've taken Diego's Hummingbird pistol.

"New Samurai?" One asks rhetorically as a plastic bag appears.

"Yes. If you go to the control panel and replace all the plastic data ribbons with these, it'll shut fine, I'm like ninety five percent sure. L and S cheap out like fuck. Shouldn't take more than five minutes... Hey, did you take that gun from that kid who saved my life?"

"Marty! You heard the Samurai! Go go go!"

"Yessir!" One of the others hanging just inside the door grabs the pack and runs off into the interior of the shelter.

"And yeah, I did. We don't have nearly as many guns as trained shooters, as a matter of civil urgency I'm allocating resources. Uh, have you got a problem with that?"

...She doesn't like it. She doesn't like it at all.

"He seemed like a pretty good shot to me. Saved my butt from one of them!"

"He didn't want to stand and fight, and we need every gun we can get on the line out here. If he wanted I'd deputize him on the spot, but he just flipped me off. So what do you expect me to do?"

"...Whatever, there's no time to argue this out, but I'm not happy."

"I'm not happy that you're not happy, but I'm not apologizing. I don't wanna die any more than he did and a gun is a gun. Speaking of which, do you have any more?"

"Lenora, I expect more Antithesis to arrive within a few minutes. Possibly a lot of them. It's only going to get worse."

"-Well, it turns out I'm a horrible shot, so maybe."

But he's RUDE and she doesn't LIKE him. This isn't a reason not to help. Especially if more Antithesis come along.

"Do you have any - body armor, any kind of useful gear?"

He snorts. "Lady, I'd be wearing it if we did. City tries to keep the amount of guns and gear on the streets really low. What a great idea! With the best of intentions!"

"You'll get partial credit for Antithesis they kill if you give them weapons. That's happened already, actually. The more distant you are from indirect kills, the less direct it is, the fewer points you'll earn- But having allies using your gear will actually help you unlock more things, ones more suited for you."

She mutters, "Yeah, I know- Well, I wasn't thinking about that, but yeah. Ugh fine."

Then clears her throat. "Fine, fine! I'm a really terrible shot, so whatever. Here. I think these only shoot Antithesis."

"Yeah, that's a Hummingbird. I don't recognize the other one but it's a common feature for Vanguard guns."

He inspects the SMG. "I'm Sergeant Hutch, by the way. Huh, looks like this thing shoots seven point six two. That's gonna bruise the shoulder. Do you think you could buy us a little more ammunition?" He glances behind him. "Or a couple more pistols? We have two more former military, unarmed."

She throws her hands up. "Sure! Whatever. Elyssa, ammo 'em. Ten points."

"Very well. Keeping your final ten as a reserve, I presume?"

Two forty-round magazines for the Hornet. Twelve ten-round magazines for various pistols.

"It looks like we still have a little while before things pick up again. You should catch your breath and we can plan ahead for what to buy. You'll earn points fast in chaotic situations, and having a purchase already decided can be a better idea than going in blind."

Sergeant Hutch distributes the ammo. He keeps the Hornet for himself.

"Thankye mighty much, ma'am. I know I'm being rude- I do appreciate it. I'm just hoping what you said about the cables is right. Should be four minutes, now... If you're not good with guns, I guess you're going to use that sword? You could go get cleaned up- There's a restroom just inside. Drink some water, wash some of that off. I'm sure you'll hear it if the Antithesis show up."

Oh, right, she's carrying a giant sword.

...Blergghhhggh, ew, she's covered in plant blood. And real blood.

"Yeah, I'm gonna - go wash off-"

She goes inside. People all look at her in some kind of way, and back away...

Once she's in the restroom, which is mysteriously empty all of a sudden, she starts running the sink constantly, going through wet paper towels and trying to get rid of the worst of the gunk.

"Elyssa, I don't know what catalogs are best, and I don't know what I need... I need... Something other than guns, obviously."

"You could get a fast-acting skill download relatively cheaply, and learn to aim properly that way. The fast ones can have... Side effects, though. Odd memories."

...The idea feels her with a strange sense of revulsion. It sounds like something the worse Corps do to their security forces, implanting memories and habits to turn them into the perfect killing machines.

"No."

"There are much less invasive ways of learning new skills too. The best kind for minimizing side-effects is called dream learning... But it requires you to sleep and takes hours or days to complete. You don't have that kind of time right now."

"-So, if we play to my strengths, which apparently is swinging heavy things around since that's how I killed a bunch of Antithesis, what do I need? This is a cool sword, by the way."

"If you insist on going into melee, you need some way to protect yourself - armor, improved senses and reflexes, deadlier short-range weapons. Possibly deployable equipment, such as grenades, or enhancements to your body."

"...I can't stand the thought of most cybernetics. My optics are the only one I have, I'm sure you can tell? And they malfunctioned for a few days for once and I lost my fucking eyes, I went blind and it felt like it would stay that way forever, irrevocable, and it hurt so much, it was horrible. I can't stand the thought of more cybernetics now. What if they malfunction again? What if they get hit by an EMP or something? What if they get hacked? And I'm not - opposed - to ranged weapons, I'm just apparently shit at them."

"That sounds horrible. I'm sorry you had to go through that... Vanguard technology is a lot more reliable than whatever human corporations produce, and nothing would be hacking you on my watch except, maybe, other Samurai who specialize in it... But I understand if the idea is just too repulsive. Emotion does not yield easily to logic sometimes. There are also bionics, and purely biological solutions. I'm sure you know about species-focused catalogs- Quite a few of them are biologically focused and quite adaptable too."

"I want to stick to biology for stuff I stick in my body. I want to replace these fucking eyes in time, too."

"That's quite doable. I have a catalog in mind- The Anura Biosculptors. Do you care much about how your equipment looks? They cared a lot more about pragmatism than appearance by the time the Antithesis were a serious threat. It's flexible, with the common theme being that almost all their equipment is grown from animals. Much of it is alive. There are biological land mines, bone armor, biological augments that will make you personally faster or stronger or smarter, power armor that integrates muscle so it's more natural to move around in, living guns that shoot Antithesis-eating grubs, and more."

"...That... Sounds kind of metal, honestly. It's all simple to use? How ugly are we talking, here? It's not like I have to keep using it for everything if I hate it, right?"

She's still cleaning herself off but has made good progress.

"Yes, you can always just not use it going forward. And yes, the equipment is designed to be easy to use. A lot of it is very slightly smart- About the level of an insect, but primed to learn to work with you, and to hate Antithesis with a burning fury."

She puts up some photos. They're... Not that bad, honestly? A lot of it looks vaguely uncanny, amphibian-like skin or rodent-like fur with random eyes or mouths or horns or little skulls. Chitinous or shell-like armor plates. The biological gear would be a little hard to mistake for Antithesis. It's all blue and white with hints of red, rather than black and green.

"The appearance is customizable. You could make them look mostly natural, or focus on a particular aesthetic, for a small extra point investment. There are good options for subordinate units- Minions. Most importantly, it's one catalog that does a lot of things acceptably well- Even if it's more expensive than the average catalog. If you don't know what kinds of things you'll need in the hours ahead, that's often a good choice for new Vanguards. There are other options, of course, but not an infinite amount of time to go over them in detail."

She tries to imagine herself using the things on screen. Throwing a bug-like object with a bulbous blue fluid sac labelled 'anti-antithesis enzyme grenade'. Wearing the bone-plate armor that looks like something out of an old cartoon, almost. Having the 'muscle and bone lace' reinforcing her whole body like a suit of armor that's always on. The 'grub gun' is - eugh - too many teeth and rodent skulls, but it does sound gruesomely effective, and the Antithesis deserve gruesomely effective things.

...She kind of likes it? It's- These things would be hers, part of her, properly. Strength. Smarts. Regeneration. Extra organs. New kinds of senses, like an animal-person. A werewolf. Maybe even shapeshifting?

"-I can't really justify spending points on looks during an emergency. Getting faster and stronger and tougher sounds nice. I could grow animal parts and have them actually be useful. That... Might be nice. I, uh... Ahem. Like that stuff. Wait, what's that about minions, is it fuzzy little pets? I don't want to feed fuzzy little pets to the aliens!"

"You could grow functional animal parts, yes. They're actually more amphibian-like. The external appearance is fairly customizable, though, even if the internals aren't... And you'd be feeding the antithesis to them most of the time. What's your concern? It would be pretty effective and cover a lot of weaknesses. Minions are great."

"You said they're kind of smart! I don't want to throw smart things into the jaws of death for my own benefit! Or anything that could be described as a pet!"

"Ah... Would it help if you had a, so to speak, backup of your helpers? The item I'm thinking of is essentially a central brain that remote-controls the bodies like a simple AI- Though it is alive- So when they're destroyed, it's no worse than losing a life in a video game. It's fairly expensive. Five hundred points for the most basic model. But something to look forward to, perhaps?"

"...I'll think about that later. Five hundred is a lot. Where am I going to get that many points?"

"You'll find they add up quick in situations like this. There's an active hive in the area. That Model Eight, the giant worm, is a definite sign of that. I'm fairly sure it's nearby, but underground somewhere, possibly in the old train tunnels. It's going to need to go before things get better. You might even be able to deal with it yourself- Or with assistance- Once you've fought for longer and gotten more points."

You could just give me the points now though.

She doesn't say it. They hear that argument a lot and aren't moved by it. She's read blog posts.

"The more I think about this bio catalog, the Anura, the more I like it? It feels - soothing. It feels visceral and warm and real. I don't like chrome and plastic. I like that it's biology, not something - invasive in my body. I guess, I have my sword for now, and can try to save up for this catalog and the useful things in it? Anything you suggest I buy with my ten points right now?"

"You could buy a combat stimulant for five points, for use in emergencies, such as a sudden Antithesis swarm. Mind Krank Ultra. It's very, very strong. It will make you more effective with your sword. It also has extremely nasty side effects when over-used, but they're all things that you can easily make better with more Class I Medical Utilities or Anura Biosculptors utilities. And it will make you more effective in the immediate term. There are less potent options available, too. The Anura Biosculptors catalog itself costs one hundred and fifty points, and then useful items such as the enzyme grenades, armor suits, living mines, and biological augments start at ten points and go up from there. You currently have ten."

She looks in the mirror.

She rubs her face with her hands. She tries to produce - a thought, an opinion - and fails. Everything feels too bright and too loud and too crisp, and the knot of anxious tension in her gut swells and rises, with a pang of fear and panic...

...Close your eyes. Take a long, deep breath.

What are you doing crying, bitch! You're a fucking samurai! Put your game face on!

"...Sure. Whatever. Let's plan on that. Everything you just said. When I can afford it, I want those enzyme grenades, or armor, or strength mods... Or that bio power armor maybe, I think the biologic augments take a while to kick in... Whatever. Let's kill some goddamned plants."

She materializes an inhaler. It's covered in bold warnings.

"Don't use it until you're about to start fighting. It really is VERY strong. But it's possibly the best option at your budget if you want to fight with Foehammer and win."

The inhaler carefully goes into her hi-vis vest's pocket.

"-Foe hammer? Because I used a sledgehammer to kill my first Three? Hah."

"It's also a literary reference, but if you want to reduce it to that, I won't stop you..."

Lenora shakes her head, picks up her giant sword, and goes to check on the process of repairing the door electronics. Shouldn't be long now. Who knows what the Antithesis are up to, though...

They're up to no good, as always. At the moment, it takes the form of a pack of threes charging up the tunnel followed slowly by a five. A few flocks of ones have started dive-bombing runs. The five, a large, almost gorilla-shaped beast, is very durable, and studded with countless quills on its back and sides, ready to be fired off at targets. It stakes out the entrance tunnel as a guard.

This is pretty clearly audible throughout the shelter, given how the best shooter, equipped with that Hornet, starts firing aimed shots at Ones. And then everyone else joins in soon after. They're rationing ammo, only taking sure shots, but it's still a lot of noise.

Oh shit!

She glances at the door panel- Yeah, seems like that is in progress-

And then runs to the entrance. There are Model Ones flying around, and a few Threes spreading out from the hole- So it's time to fight.

She cleaves a diving One in twain with her sword. It feels good.

"That is a Model Five down the street. It's guarding the hole, which has turned into an Antithesis highway! It has ranged attacks, and poison. You should be careful."

"I can't fight that thing right now."

"You would have poor chances. Approaching it from the cover of cars might help, but you're unarmored. I advise against it. Once we can unlock the Anura Biosculptors catalog and get you some equipment, you'll fare better."

The police officers move out of her way as she stands out in front. There are more swarms of Ones around, but she's focusing on the Model Threes down the street now. Sword should do much better than hammer. If they start coming her way, and it looks like they'll keep coming this way, she'll take the combat drugs.

The Threes bound toward her, standing in front as she is, and two leap directly at her while another darts around from the side to attack her leg, and two more try to dash past her and hit the police officers playing anti-air defense.

...Upon seeing five Threes coming her way, she immediately scrabbles to press the very warning sign-festooned inhaler against her mouth and nose, and squeezes.

Mind Krank Ultra: It will make you feel invincible, heighten your senses, improve your perception of time, vastly enhance your reflexes, and will increase your pain and fatigue tolerance. Humans who used this drug have gone on to fight for upwards of thirty-two hours without pause, or until their cardiac system gives out.

HOLY SHIT THIS STUFF IS GREAT!

The Threes are slower now, this drug is like something right out of a video game. She can plan her moves ahead, kinesthetically, in motion more than words, and lunge forward to cleave one, then twist the sword to come up again and hit the second one, even as she steps away from the one at her side, to using the momentum from that swing to bring the blade down on the third, and then lunge dramatically at one of the two flankers, skewering it and twisting.

All those Threes die very abruptly and efficiently! Killing in close range is a great way to get sprayed with antithesis death pheromones, though, which is a great way to become a priority target. 

Four of the Ones swoop straight at her, turning off their previous approach toward the shelter, and another pack of Threes bounds up out of the hole toward her.

She'll charge forward to-

No she's defending the shelter!

It itches as she waits for the motion to line up. The world is so clear. She feels like she could cross the distance to that Five in an instant and cut it in half. She should be moving, not standing here waiting for all of two, five, however many seconds, waiting for the attacks to line up-

-She can see the motion and where it will collide, like heat seeking missiles questing for her flesh. Slow arcs, turning and meeting in midair. But the sword's arc will go here and she steps to the side, in time to intercept the next, and the last two will come at her one after another rather than simultaneously and-

Cut dodge cut cut- Grab with her free hand, ignoring the claws scrabbling on her arm and squeezing until she hears a crack and-

-Now the Threes, she'll charge forward to-

No she's defending the shelter! A glance that takes a whole, long second to complete shows the police still standing and shooting.

She steps away from the Three and One corpses so she won't slip when the next batch reaches her in three two - swing-

"Gloooory glory hallelujah!"

"You're going to attract even more Antithesis, covered in their death-pheromones like that. I suppose that might even be a good thing; It means they'll go for you and not anyone else."