Chapter Forty-Five - Air Superiority

    Chapter Forty-Five - Air Superiority

    The field of psychology has always been keen on studying Samurai, not just because of their celebrity status, but because their entire way of life is so different from the norm. Theyre normal humans until something triggers and they gain the ability to become more.

    The most interesting cases, though, usually revolve around the younger Samurai. Children, young teens at best, who gain powers and abilities that set them apart from the rest of humanity.

    Whats a parent to say to a child to whom the law doesnt apply? Can you force them to go to a normal school when theyre essentially celebrities? And when they reach the end of the second phase and their ties to humanity, as demonstrated by the Petra-Karpov effect, start to break down?

    Its a murky, and rather terrifying scene to behold.

    --Cynthia Eastwood, head psychologist, New Burkely U. 2051

    ***

    I stared at the sleek platform, then at the girl standing with hands on hips before it. You want me to what? I asked.

    She flicked a thumb over at the hovering machine. Sit your ass down on that, and hang on.

    That doesnt seem safe, I countered. Id just gotten a new limb, I didnt want to have to replace the rest of them when Little Miss Pouts-a-lot crashed into the side of a skyscraper. Do you even have a drivers permit?

    She blinked. No, no I dont. I dont have a permit for the anti-tank laser cannons either, but most cops are too busy shitting themselves to ask. I know youre a total newb, but seriously, what gives? Her eyes narrowed. Are you afraid of heights?

    Nah, Im just, uh. I looked at the platform she wanted me to sit on. It looked like the rear end of an old F1 racecar. All sleek, molded metal and not a handhold in sight. How do I hold on?

    She sighed, then a few sections slid open on the back of the platform and a pair of wrist-thick tentacles slid out. Theyll hold onto you, she said.

    That is less reassuring, not more. How old are you to be going around with a tentacle machine?

    For a moment, Deus Exs expression shifted into the sort of juvenile disgust I was used to seeing on the kittens whenever Lucy and I did a bit of recreational tongue jousting. Longbow said you were a newbie, not a fucking perv.

    No worries, youre not my type, I said.

    I think I reached the end of her patience because she stomped--cutely--over to me, tugged my wrist forwards, and bodily flung me onto the platform. There was no way a pipsqueak that small had that kind of strength, but Deus Ex seemed to give no shits about my expectations as she pushed me into the arms of a couple of mechanical tentacles. Ill make it easy on you, she said. So shut up, and you get to sit down and enjoy the flight back. You mouth off like some punk, and Im delivering you to the FOB gift-wrapped. Your choice.

    Fine, fine, I said. I didnt want to admit that the girl scared me, but, well, she scared me.

    Good. She huffed, arms crossed over where her suit said her chest should have been. I cant stand folks who talk shit without being able to back it up.

    I wanted to point out that I could totally back it up, but a pair of tentacles grabbed my arms just above the elbow and then wrapped around my waist. In no time, I was pressed, sitting up, onto the hood of her platform thing. Uh, I surrender? I tried.

    Dont try being cute, she warned.

    Thats your corner of the market? I asked.

    She glared.

    Deus Ex sigh, spun around, and brought her legs up to her chest. Lock on--fire, she said. Her clunky boots unfolded and a hundred-off beams of light flashed across the road wed just flown down, frying every last alien there. Hurry up, she said.

    Two grenades popped into existence in my hands just as we rounded the corner. Simple things, which only needed a flick of the thumb to activate. I flung both towards the biggest gathering of aliens, then, because I could, I let loose with my shoulder-mounted guns. They had ammo to spare still, so it wasnt a loss.

    The Hyper Compressor grenades beeped once before sucking everything around them into a ball the size of a melon. Id seen vacuum seals at work before, and these seemed similar, if a whole order of magnitude more bloody when they caught a few aliens.

    Keep going, newbie, Deus Ex said. She folded her hands at the small of her back and began sliding her legs back and forth as if she was figure skating over thin air. So, pick out a specialty yet?

    I, I dont know? I said. Myalis... my AI said I should go for explosives and stealth? I flung a few more bombs down and marvelled at the glory of having aerial superiority.

    Huh. Not something you see often.

    A stealth bomber? I asked.

    Stealth period.

    If you saw it often, it would defeat the point, I said.

    She giggled, caught herself, then chuckled in a faux-mature fashion before looking over her shoulder at me again. I couldnt see her face under the mask, but I swore she was glaring. We dont have a lot of stealth specialists in the region. You might fill a niche.

    Whats the region? I asked.

    Hrm? Im part of The Family. Were about five, maybe six hundred members. Not the biggest, but were up there in numbers. You should look into joining.

    Ill think about it, I said. There was no way I was joining something called The Family.

    She shook her head. Youll figure it out. Or die. Or get stuck with some corp thatll hound you for years.

    I just want to make sure me and mine are safe, I said as I tossed out more grenades off the side. Myalis was giving them to me almost as quickly as I could fling them.

    You were protecting that caravan, right? she asked.

    My heart seized. Yeah, I said.

    She nodded. Ill get Lynus to make sure theyre set up well. Least I can do, since youll be busy the rest of the day.

    What?

    But instead of answering, the girl bolted ahead and took a corner so fast I was afraid Id get whiplash.

    Ahead of us, blocking off the entire road, was a barricade of soldiers and tanks, and a sea of dead aliens.

    We were safe.

    ***