Nuclear Fire 19
Today's the day! In just moments Taylor will be leaving for Arcadia, and like any teenager on the morning of her exams, she's a total wreck.
"Where's my pencil sharpener?!" She cries out, turning the sofa upside down.
"Here, take mine." I offer, taking it out of my bag.
"Won't you need it?"
"Not more than you."
She snatches it out of my grip. It's getting a bit late for me to leave for Clarendon but this is more important.
"Pen, ruler, pencil--" She lists while checking the inside of her pencil case. "Maybe some colors?"
"Take them. Better to have them and not need them."
"Yes, yes." She stands up and spends a moment just looking down at her school bag in silence. "Okay, I think I have everything. I'll get there earlier and use the chance to check my notes."
"Taylor, breathe," I tell her slowly, taking her hands between mine. "Getting too nervous can be just as bad as forgetting a topic. Trust in yourself, trust in what we studied, and you'll do fine."
She nods, trying to retain her composure. She fails, but the intention is what counts. "Thank you."
"And remember. It isn't what you know, it's what you seem to know."
I manage to get her to crack a smile that way.
"I wished mom was here to see me."
I pat her back. "Wherever she is, I'm sure she's proud of you. Now go get'em, tiger!"
I follow her to the bus stop and stay with her until she has boarded her transport to Arcadia.
"Vaya con Dios." I say as I wave at the bus which is slowly becoming smaller in the distance.
I do get yelled at once I get late to Clarendon, but who gives a fuck? It was totally worth it.
I wonder how Taylor is doing.
Did she bring enough pencils? We could have looked over what the mitochondria was one last time.
Shit, was her calculator in radians or degrees? Lives have been lost because of that!
I did teach her how to check for that, but what if she forgets?
Fuck it! If she fails we're breaking into the biggest bank we can find and we're getting her a GED.
My train of thought gets violently interrupted when I feel a cold, wet thing getting into my ear.
"Agh!" I yell, falling to the floor.
The other children at the cafeteria start laughing at my misery as I crawl my way up to my seat. I search for my attacker and see the grinning face of Aisha staring back at me. On one hand, she has a drinking straw and a sheet of paper. One of the corners of the sheet has been bitten off and is covered in saliva. On the other hand, she carries her tray.
"My vengeance will be terrible," I tell her as she takes a seat across my table.
"I don't know," She waves a finger in front of me. "You look like the kind of guy who's all bark and no bite."
No bite? She will see!
They will all see!
Maybe. Eventually. I'd need to think about something. Maybe an enhanced jaw with saw-teeth? No, no. Hypodermic teeth with an acid payload.
How would I even use that in a safe way?
"So, what got your panties in a twist?" She asks, grabbing her fork in a closed fist and stabbing that innocent piece of meat. Damn, are her manners bad. As in, actually distracting.
"It's my sister."
"Locker girl?"
The table groans in pain as I stab my own meal. I look at her directly in the eyes as I speak, "You call her that again and I'm punching your teeth in."
"Ha! You'd have to catch me first." She takes a bite and continues talking with her mouth full. "Look, sorry, I suck at names. I just remember that your sis is a T-something."
Oh, well. Let no one say that I don't understand the difference between malice and mere stupidity. Recognizing it is another matter altogether.
"Taylor. Today's her entrance exam for Arcadia. If she doesn't do well, she'll have to go to a school that might even make Winslow look nice."
"Uff, harsh. Is that why you were late today?"
"Yeah, I was seeing her off."
"You don't give a fuck about school, do you?"
I shrug. What else am I supposed to do? It's not like I'm trying to justify myself here.
"Good. For my part, my bro's boss dragged me here."
My heart skips a beat.
Did Coil put Aisha in Clarendon? I don't think it was to spy on me, he shouldn't know yet. And Aisha would suck as a spy, she's too much of a scatterbrain. A plan to win more of Brian's loyalty? He might need that if the PRT is putting more pressure on him.
Whatever the case, I'll need to do something about him fast.
"How does Clarendon compare to Winslow?" I quickly ask to change the topic.
She shrugs. "No gang colors, the children don't carry knives for self-defense, and the bathrooms aren't stained in shit and piss. I haven't even gotten into a fight yet! And not because I don't want to. It's just that there are no Empire kids talking about what the Empire will do to my family once they are in charge, and no mules selling drugs in the girl's locker room."
They totally deserved what happened to them in canon.
Should I look into attacking the merchants next? God knows that Skidmark deserves all the fire and brimstone I can provide, and getting to one of Squealer's labs would be useful for my future projects.
"Give it some time," I tell her. "Everyone deserves a good kick in the ass every now and again."
"I know, right? That or a bullet to the head. It's amazing how many problems one of those can solve. Not like I ever shoot anyone, mind you, but I'm not sure about you." She adds with a grin and a dismissive wave of her hand.
She's joking.
She has to be joking. But I have. I shot one of the mercenaries who was shooting at Taylor. The laser rifle left a smoking hole the size of my fist in his back.
Well, no. Not my current fist but my previous one. The fist of a male adult.
Has Aisha noticed my discomfort?
"What?" She asks.
Oh, yes, she very much has.
She goes quiet and is now staring at me with a serious expression. I very much don't want to look at her and so I avert my eyes. That's very much not something I should be doing if I don't want to appear guilty.
Her face lights up in wild fascination. "You-are-shitting-me." She says in whispers, looking around. She only continues once she confirms there's no one nearby. "I said that as a joke, but— shit. Did you actually do that?"
Despite her deceiving looks, Aisha is tremendously intelligent. She should already have figured out that her brother Brian is Grue, and in the story she managed to figure out who Skitter was after meeting her once. Heck, she accomplished what Tattletale, Alexandria, and Jack Slash had all failed to do: actually read Taylor. And she did that because she's actually smart and good at thinking outside the box, and not fake-smart like Thinkers are.
Well, no point in lying to her then. "I did."
"Did they deserve it?"
Not what I was expecting her to ask. Not what I'd expect any normal person to ask, really. Not after learning that an 11-years old shot a person. But this is Aisha. Neither she nor I, are what most would call 'normal'. "They were trying to kill my sister."
"Then they did." Her words are-- reassuring, somehow. "You don't mess with family." In another life, she didn't just threaten to kill but downright torture Skitter if she ever harmed Brian. "Did-- did you feel anything after it?"
The fucking recoil! Yes, I'm still very much mad about a freaking laser rifle having recoil. Seriously, how does that happen? But I digress. I doubt that's what she refers to. "Not a thing. I did what I had to do, and I'd do it again if I were in the same position."
"Good."
The sound of the bell signals the end of our lunch break, and with it the end of our discussion.
Aisha jumps to her feet. "Well, talk more later. And don't worry, your secret's safe with me!"
You know, Aisha, secrets are easier to keep safe if you don't speak out loud that you have them. Case in point, Missy was walking behind you while you said that.
"What secret?" My self-proclaimed parole officer asks with a raised eyebrow.
"That the runt here popped his cherry before I did!"
What follows is the sound of me smashing my head against the table. Repeatedly.
One day, Aisha. One day I'll strangle you and I'll enjoy doing so.
When I get back home, I enter with a loud "Hello!" but only the empty silence is there to meet me.
Taylor must still be at Arcadia.
I have gotten accustomed to having her around to receive me, usually studying or training with her bugs, but she isn't here today.
Well, I guess I could-- I don't know. Get me something to drink? Yeah, that sounds about right.
Was this house always this big? I mean, it's tiny, but I'm just noticing how much empty space there's in here. Some posters and pictures would do wonders to make the walls look less naked.
It's also silent. Does Danny have a radio? Some music would do this place some good. Wait, silly me, I have one in my visor. First time using that function even.
Eh, but if I go for my visor I might as well go tinkering.
Our hideout, the one Atlas dug, is full of raw metal but that I'm saving for the Hatchery so I won't be building anything new. I could cram some more programs inside of Atlas, though. I think I know how to give Banelings an EMP option, and how to give Zerglings an invisibility cloak. Both of those upgrades will be tremendously useful once we start fighting the gangs properly.
Or I could just build the Hatchery already. Everything's set for that.
But it doesn't feel right! I don't want to do it without Taylor here! That will be a special moment for both of us, and I want her to see it. I want to celebrate it with her. The same way we'll celebrate her passing the test.
I hope.
She has to pass the test.
As it turns out, after some more programing I end up browsing PHO. I can't believe it took me this long to make an account! The site is nowhere near as interesting as I expected it to be, but I assume it's because the bay is currently stable. I don't expect things to continue that way for long.
About an hour after my arrival, I hear the sound of someone unlocking the door.
Taylor is here.
I rush down the stair just as she's walking in. The moment she sees me, she raises both hands. In one she shows me five fingers, and in the other two. "Only seven people were going to get into Arcadia. Guess who's number seven?" She's smiling like I haven't seen her smile before.
I can't contain my excitement. I yell, she yells, we hug and then start jumping around. We almost break a lamp in our excitement but who cares? Taylor did it!
"Congratulations, sis!"
"Oh, I can't wait to see Emma and Sophia's faces when they see me there! And I'll be there due to my own merits, not because of a sports carrier or because my daddy has money." We go to the kitchen and toast with glasses of juice. "And you? How was your day?"
I got yelled at for arriving late and then Aisha figured out I had killed a man. But I don't think Taylor wants to hear about that.
"It got a lot better with this news! And will only improve after I build the Hatchery." Now that she's here I can get down to that.
"You haven't yet?"
"Of course not. I was waiting for you."
"Well, here I am. So, let's do it!"
I take the lead as we march to our underground base. Fairly barebones compared to Coil's base but I hope to develop it further in the coming weeks. One of the first steps should be adding some lights because right now the only way we can move around here is with our visors.
Okay, Taylor is at my side, and Atlas is patiently waiting on his spot on top of the pile of materials.
I rub my hands together. "Are you ready, sis?"
"Oh, absolutely." Taylor nods enthusiastically.
"Then let's get weird." This is it. The moment of truth. The moment I find out if all my work in the past weeks amounted to anything. "Atlas, do the thing!" A completely unnecessary vocalization, as I'm guiding him through my visor, but it still feels good to say it.
Atlas doesn't work as fast as the in-game mechanics would lead one to believe, but it's still surprising the speed at which he eats the scrap. And as he does, he starts growing. His legs and wings are gone now, replaced by dozens of tiny pincers that keep cutting the material and feeding it to the main body. Wires emerge as if they were the roots of a tree, and tubes get built on the spot, connecting the slowly expanding main structure. Beams anchor themselves to the ground, and in around five minutes the Hatchery is fully built.
It's a vaguely pyramidal structure as tall as a Taylor and a half, with a base so wide that it wouldn't have fit inside our living room. It's slightly bulbous, fitting with the mecha zerg design, but it's not identical to the original thing. I can see flaps connected to the main body by Deus Ex synthetic muscles, and the panels aren't smooth surfaces but composed of those scales that Atlas developed after I upgraded him. That means that my idea worked! It took me a month of hard work but here I have a Hatchery which is a perfect integration of StarCraft and Deus Ex tech.
I feel so proud right now.
"Wow," Taylor exclaims in amazement.
"I know, right?"
And it's not over yet.
From several openings, small creatures start emerging. They are the initial phase of any Mecha Zerg construction: the Mecha Larvas. They are about as long and wide as my arm, with bodies that end in triangular heads and pincers longer than my fingers. There are five of them, but three soon have turned into eggs with the extra resources I saved. It takes another couple minutes for the eggs to hatch, and for three new drones to emerge. They are identical to the original one, and so I name them Atlas II, III, and IV.
"Is this how you build them? I wasn't expecting it to be so-- fleshy?"
"The best of both worlds, Taylor." I give the order through my visor and Atlas II goes to finish dismantling our first construction site, while Atlas III starts digging towards the second one. Atlas IV remains here, though, as I have plans for him. "We'll be able to build them fairly fast once we get enough materials." And then we'll have an army.
Three more larvas were produced to replace the ones that turned into drones, keeping the total number at a steady five. I pick one up and-- yes, yes. It's melting into my arm. A larva doesn't give me anywhere near the strength or tools that a drone gives me, but it does allow for some light healing and extra armor. Again, nowhere near as good as a drone implant, but it's better than nothing.
I wonder what will happen once I get a Mecha Ultralisk. Food for thought.
I pick a second larva and place it on my shoulder. It links with the first one and now I have my arm completely encased in the zerg carapace, together with my shoulder and a bit of my torso.
Perfect! That means with enough Mecha Zergs I can get a full set of armor! But I'm not testing that yet. That would involve me getting naked and I don't think that Taylor would appreciate that.
Mmmm, this linking with larvas-- it sounds familiar for some reason. Didn't I see that done somewhere else? I just can't put my finger on where.
"So, what?" Taylor asks, looking my arm up and down. "Are you going to become the God-Emperor of Brockton Bay now?"
Ah, that's what it reminded me of! Of Leto Atreid--
Wait a second.
"You read Dune?" I ask her in surprise.
"It was in Mom's collection. I read most everything in it."
The inspiration for Warhammer and far more stuff than I ever bothered to learn. "I should read the sequels one of these days," I admit scratching the back of my head. I'm not accustomed to talking with other people about stuff like this. At least not without a computer screen in-between.
"I haven't read those either. I stopped after what happened to Alia."
"Oh, I hated that so much!" Ok, enough about that. Let's get back on topic. "But, yeah. Now I'll have more materials to work with." And once I get to the boat graveyard-- oh, boy, that's when things will get interesting.
"Why did you keep that drone here?" She points at Atlas IV.
"Oh, that's because of my next brilliant plan!"
"What public building do you want to break into this time around?" She asks with a cheeky smile.
She knows me so well. "A hospital!"
In her defense, she isn't immediately put-off by my suggestion. She just eyes at me warily. "Why?"
"Listen to me here. I want to take this drone to a hospital and set him to healing people. It will learn about human injuries, how to treat them, and we'll gain some karma points for a good deed done." That information I can then download into my other drones, and allow them to grow and improve.
"Is there any reason why we can't start with an animal shelter?"
"Eh?" I cock my head in confusion.
"You know, heal animals first. Something that we won't feel as guilty of hurting if something goes wrong. Or are animals too different from humans?"
That-- is an excellent question.
"Well, not really, no." There are some specific ailments that don't translate, but stuff like dressing a wound or mending a bone? Those should be mostly the same. "That would be a good idea, yes." I must admit, Taylor is a good sounding board for my crazy plans.
So, a small change of schedules. Tonight we go heal as many animals as we can find, and tomorrow we do that for humans!
