Chapter Fifty-Eight - Hot Stuff

    Chapter Fifty-Eight - Hot Stuff

    You want the best? Theres nothing humanity can make that the Protectors cant make, but better. Cars? Theyve got, but they fly. Books? They have electronic books which are written on the spot by an AI. You want renewable energy? Spaceflight? Secure electronics?

    Its humbling. And its an opportunity.

    Im just happy that Ill get to see some real life catgirls before I die.

    -- Melon Usk, 2028

    ***

    Monroes driving was nothing like Speedys. For one thing, he didnt wait until the last second to move out of the way of every obstacle in our path, for another, he wasnt driving with the pedal stuck to the floor.

    Myalis, can you tell me anything about this next shelter? I asked.

    Certainly. There are public records available for this one. It was created by the Blue Shade and Tennison Foundation for Canada. The main shelter was funded by a Samurai, though it doesnt seem to have any non-human components in its construction. It is technically a municipal shelter, though the foundation oversees supplying it.

    I nodded. Cool, what about its location and such?

    Its built over two floors, one on ground level, the other beneath. There is a building above it, a tenement house also run by the foundation. The shelter has a standard capacity of one thousand, but can hold twice that many for a short duration. With standing room, it can hold four thousand average humans for no more than six hours.

    Six hours? I asked.

    Monroe glanced my way. To him the conversation had to sound entirely disjointed.

    The shelter has limited supplies of breathable air and its recycling system can only do so much before the carbon dioxide levels in the shelter begin to reach dangerous levels. Some people would die from what is essentially asphyxiation. After a sufficient number have died, the system would most likely catch up.

    Well... thats pretty fucking nightmarish, I said. Better than turning into a zombie though.

    The main entrance is the least fortified part of the shelter. It opens into a killbox with fixed gun emplacements designed to hold out against a decent number of antithesis of lower ranks. There are other passive systems in place, such as floor-to-ceiling bars that prevent large models from entering the shelter.

    I nodded. Got it. That sounded simple enough. If the shelter was meant to be used properly, then it probably had an easy way to exit too. Access from the street to the shelter would probably be easy too.

    Maam? Monroe asked.

    How many of your guys would you need to keep the truck and the two cars safe while also bringing a few other vans closer?

    More men than I have, he said.

    I chewed on my lower lip. How are you in terms of weaponry?

    We only have what were equipped with and the roof guns. SOP when going with a Samurai is to leave all extra non-mission-critical equipment behind. Ammunition-wise... Squad, ammo check.

    I waited as the soldiers in the back seat and presumably in the other car checked over their gear.

    Were down to about one extra magazine each, not counting what weve got loaded.

    Certainly. Perhaps waiting until youve stopped would be best.

    Uh, yeah. I turned to the guys in the back. You guys ever play with explosive plasma guns before? I asked.

    They shook their heads.

    Then its your lucky day.

    The car shifted over to one side and slowed down before it turned into the opposite lane and came to a stop. The truck behind us squealed as it braked and the other car pulled out around it to park itself behind some cover provided by two normal cars that had smashed together.

    Monroe didnt have to tell me that wed arrived.

    I jumped out of the car and took in the area. We were in an area with two rows of tenement buildings. Porches sprouted out of the walls and grew to the top of the thirty-odd floors of the buildings. The area was so shit that the billboards were unanimated. There was even a ground-level parking garage for ground-bound cars across the street.

    Spotting the shelter was easy. There were big signs above the entrance extolling the virtues of the corps that had shelled out for it. They were missing most of their letters, but the missing paint left it legible enough.

    No aliens around. Not yet. Wed only moved a few kilometers from the last shelter, and at the speed Model Threes moved... I guesstimated five minutes.

    Myalis, the guns, I said.

    New Purchase: Mark I Shooting Star. Nine Units

    Points Reduced to... 1013

    A neat three-by-three stack appeared by my feet. The boxes were shorter than I thought.

    Popping the topmost open revealed a boxy gun with a short stock, a square frame around its barrel filled with what looked like liquid cooling pipes, and a grip near the front. The top had a big square holographic scope on it.

    I picked it up and spun it around to point at a car some hundred meters away. There was a safety right next to the handle that I flicked off.

    The trigger was a bit stiff, but the moment I squeezed it the gun barked three times. A little counter next to the scope dipped down three times.

    A trio of explosions kicked up dust around the car Id aimed at. When it cleared, there was a fist-sized hole in its side.

    One out of three. That gun barely has any recoil and you have a full targeting suite. Your lack of aim is impressive.

    I turned to Monroe and kept my face stoic. Careful, they have no recoil, so dont compensate for it.

    Yes maam! he said.

    I cant decide whether to be disappointed or impressed.

    Always impressed Myalis, I said as I finally allowed a grin to grace my features. Now lets go convince a thousand or so people that I have their best interests at heart.

    Joy.

    ***