Chapter Twenty - Nanomachines, Son
“Fuck logistics.”
Corporal Dimitry, Russian Eastern Incursion Front, 2029
***
First, nanomachines. Specifically nanobots that can be used in an offensive capability.
“I need a catalogue for that?” I asked.
The only nanomachines you’ve used previously were specifically designed to dispose of antithesis corpses. This is an entirely different use-case.
“Yeah, but those were also nanostuff,” I pointed out.
Cat. The ones you want to buy for this hive are as different as a doorhandle is to a spacecraft. While both could technically be called machines, the degrees of complexity between them makes keeping both in the sa general categorization idiotic and misleading.
I raised my hands in surrender. “Okay, yeah, fair enough.” I imagined the nanobots we were preparing to deploy were going to be sowhat more complicated than those I’d used before. They needed to travel to specific places and wait for a specific signal before they started anything. “Any other catalogue I should look into?” I asked.
Two co to mind. Basic Defensive Infrastructure for quick-to-install defences. Then, Civilian-Grade General Combat Equipnt. That last one is for the civilians, obviously.
“What does Civilian-Grade an, exactly?” I asked.
The catalogue mostly has helts and armour that’s relatively cheap, capable of keeping a civilian inford and connected while also keeping them safe from the weakest antithesis. These are not rated for the level of combat a Vanguard would expect to face, and aren’t designed to last very long. The catalogue includes weapons that are ant to be so easy to use that a child could operate them with barely any instruction without harming themselves or others.
I reached the top of the escalator, then nodded along. “Alright, fine. Grab the catalogues.”
New Purchase: Class I Nanochanized Warfare
Current Points: 94,564
New Purchase: Class 0 Civilian-Grade General Combat Equipnt
Current Points: 94,464
New Purchase: Basic Defensive Infrastructure
Current Points: 94,264
“Nice,” I said. “Hold off on buying stuff for a minute, though,” I said. There was a predictable number of militia n loitering around a set of shops that had been taken over. Soone installed steel plates before the windows and blocked the rest off with planks, leaving only one way into the area, with hip-high sandbags stacked up around it. Anyone coming in would have to get past the guys with rifles by the entrance.
Fortunately, I had soone running out to et already. A fresh-faced woman, maybe three or four years older than , who ca to a stop next to and snapped a salute. “Second Lieutenant Smart, ma’am,” she said. “The General said you would need so assistance.”
“Hey Smart,” I said. “I think we all need a bit of help right now.” She laughed and I stared at her for a long couple of seconds. That hadn’t been funny. Was I dealing with my own yes-man? Yes-woman? Yes-cute-girl-in-tight-uniform?
I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. I preferred it when corporate stooges were angry at , that ant I was doing the right thing.
“Did the General give you an outline of what’s going on?”
She nodded. “Yes ma’am. We’re looking for volunteers for your high-risk mission now. It might take a few minutes to gather everyone. The vehicle for their transportation is being readied as well. We just need the equipnt they’ll be using.”
“Good,” I said. Then I looked at the shops they’d taken over. A clothing place and a sporting goods store. The shelves had been pushed around and it was pretty clear that they’d done so last-minute renovations to make the place more suitable to their needs. It also looked like they’d set up a clinic of sorts and so spaces for their people to sit down and relax in.
That was all fine, but I needed more room than they could afford.
“Smart,” I snapped. She straightened up as if I’d pinched her. “I need tables. All across here. Get every nice flat surface you can find. It’s not ti for sitting around and looking clever, so get those guys over there working too.”
“Uh, yes ma’am,” she said as she followed my gesturing hand. I was just making a vague wave across the floor we were on. Half of the area was taken up by one of those open spaces that looked onto the floors below and above that malls liked so much because it made them look so much bigger.
The Second Lieutenant ran off to do as I’d asked, which was sothing I could get used to. In the anti, I turned my attention towards Myalis. “Nanobombs first,” I said. “Enough to ss up the hive. I think price is a secondary concern here. Besides, they should pay for themselves.”
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringent.
They should, though don’t expect them to be too profitable. Vanguard receive fewer points the more degrees of separation there are between themselves and a kill they score.
“Huh,” I said. “Okay, I guess.” Was it a way to keep samurai from making a literal killing without having to do any killing? I supposed that I’d been losing points here and there while using drones.
Don’t worry. Most of the drones you’ve used have been deployed in close proximity to yourself. And any trap, explosive, or mine that you lay yourself doesn’t suffer from any point-based penalties.
“Is it all there to slow progress down, or to discourage us from sitting at ho buck naked while making a fortune?” I asked.
Why not both? Besides, you’re not as interesting when you’re cooped up at ho.
I snorted. Chalk one up to the “Protectors using us as entertainnt” theory. Which honestly never sounded plausible. If humanity could have story-telling AI that rivalled the combined minds of every poet and author ever put together, then the Protectors could generate their own drama without having to involve the likes of .
“Just get us the nanowhatever we need,” I said.
Certainly.
A case appeared at my feet, about a tre long and half as wide and tall, made of dark grey plastic with... was that my logo? The cat's head with the grenade pin in its mouth was present, embossed onto the case. “Really digging that logo, huh?” I asked.
I am, yes. It is... I think Lucy would call it cute.
I snorted. Well, whatever. It wasn’t hurting , and so Samurai, like Emoscythe, had a hard-on for branding and image stuff, so that might get them off my back.
“Is that one of the nanowhatever?” I asked.
No. That’s all of them.
“Really?” I asked. The box was large, but not that big. I could fit into it if I felt like contorting myself a little.
Catherine, what do you think nano ans?
I rolled my eyes. “Right, I see what you an.”
Lieutenant Smart ran back over, with two guys behind her dragging along one of those plastic-topped tables with unfolding legs. “Ma’am, we’re bringing every table we have,” she said. “It’ll take a mont though.”
“That’s fine,” I said. “So, Myalis and I were thinking. First thing’s first, the box here is full of nano-shit that’ll lt the aliens for us. The general should have the outline of the plan already. Give this to whover’s heading out to the museum.” I tapped the case on the ground next to with the end of my boot.
“Thank you. We’ll bring it over now.”
“Good. Now, we’ll be equipping the civilians, right?”
She nodded.
“So... yeah, Myalis, ideas?”
You can either buy a few hundred samples of each piece of equipnt separately, or you could buy kits of them. There’s no real point saving either way, but the kits might make it easier to distribute to the civilians.
“I like that,” I muttered. “So, a Hummingbird, sothing that packs a bit more punch? Then armour and a helt with coms?”
That’s most of what I would suggest. I’d also like to add a small first-aid kit and to include a rig with the armour for additional ammunition and supplies.
That seed perfectly logical to . “Doesn’t have to be pretty, just needs to work and be idiot-proof.”
It should be. For a main weapon I’d suggest the Alley Purr, it’s a suppressed smart-rifle with an IFF targeting lock to prevent accidental friendly-fire. Perhaps we can add so explosives as well, since you have the catalogues for those?
I grinned. “Spread the love? Sure. But... maybe Resonators? They’re a staple of mine and they’re hard to ss up. The worst collateral they’ll deliver is deafness.”
Certainly. Each kit will cost... ninety four points.
I nodded slowly, then took into account how many points that was. “Hey, Smart, how many civilians will we be equipping here?”
“There are eighty thousand in Downtown, or close to that, we don’t have exact numbers. Only about two percent are volunteering for guard and combat duty though.”
That’s a thousand six hundred.
And a thousand six-hundred tis ninety four was... a lot. I opened a calculator app and punched into the numbers, then winced. That was way, way beyond my budget. “How many people volunteered to do guard duty already?” I asked.
“You an the green bands?” she asked. “We have two hundred of those per rotation. Three rotations a day.”
I punched in that number and liked it a lot more.
“Okay, so let’s get half of them equipped then,” I said. “We might be in this for the long haul, so let’s not go too far. Oh, and Smart, this is expensive. Let’s not have anyone running off with our gear, yeah?”
“Yes ma’am,” she said.
***
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