TH - Book 2 - Chapter 46 - Undercity Aftermath

“Well, you two didn’t pull any punches, did you?” Grey asked when she finally caught up and saw the carnage on the platform below.

“I’m glad you approve,” I moaned from where I was splayed out on the floor of the catwalk. I didn’t feel that winded after I’d finished carrying Skyler, or even when I went down to deal the final blow to the SV-Seventeen, but as soon as I got up on the catwalk all the energy seemed to just drain out of me, and my limbs started screaming at me. I knew the catwalks were filthy, my body just didn’t care. Thankfully Skyler was nice enough to sit next to me, and offer her lap as a pillow, so I didn’t have to put the back of my head against that greasy grill below.

“Are you sure you got them all?”

“Unfortunately we missed a couple during the opening attack. Not all the antithesis had crossed to this support, but I’ve been keeping track of them with my scout drones and slowly cleaning them up with my combat ones,” Skyler replied quietly.

“Good, good,” Grey replied, obviously distracted by the mess below. After she was done inspecting she stepped back from the edge and crouched down next to me. “And how are you doing? Considering how much energy you had earlier, I didn’t expect you to be conked out on the catwalks.”

“I didn’t exactly plan to collapse like this,” I grumbled. “It just kind of happened.”

Grey nodded. “Probably something to do with the adrenaline. I have a friend that can go days without rest, but once the action ends he’ll almost immediately pass out. The PMCs have found him in some pretty strange places over the years.”

She looked me up and down. “Since you focus on close combat I assume you’re picking up either bionics, or genetic upgrades. You don’t seem to be using cybernetics from what I can tell. Make sure you talk to your AI when you get home, and find out if you have any additional nutritional requirements. I suspect you’ll need a little bit extra going forward. Do you want some help getting out of here, or…”

“I’m good,” I assured her. “I can feel my energy coming back, and my muscles have stopped spasming, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to limp out of her in a couple minutes.”

“Alright. In that case I’ll give the Cascadian command a call before I leave, and let them know they can pull those spotters back. Although I’m glad we got that oversized insect, I feel a little bad calling those PMCs down here, only to have them sit in the dark. Oh well, better to have them and not need them and all that,” Grey declared as she pushed herself to her feet.  “Although it was brief, it was nice working with you girls again. It’s unfortunate that I couldn’t see you in action, but I guess there’s always next time. You two stay safe.”

“You too,” Skyler replied quietly. “It was nice working with you.”

Grey turned, and began to strut away, but paused a couple steps away and turned back towards us, a smirk on her face. “Oh, and you two look cute together! I know you might feel the need to act as a professional in front of others, but don’t feel pressured to hide your relationship. You’re samurai, no one’s going to judge you for it.”

I felt my ears heat up. “It’s not that we’re ashamed, it’s just as you said, we want to be professional,” I declared. “Did the lap pillow give our relationship away?”

“Please. I knew the first time I saw you two, you’re not exactly the most subtle lovers in the world,” Grey snorted. “Don’t be afraid to be more casual with each other around other people, it’s easier for everyone involved.”

Skyler giggled slightly, and I felt the heat spread to my cheeks. 

“Anyways, that’s all I had to say. I’m sure I’ll talk to you again soon, take care!” Grey called, waving over her shoulder while she walked away.

“Bye…” was all I managed to get out of my addled brain before she disappeared into the gloom.

“I didn’t realize we were being so overt,” Skyler laughed. “But her advice makes sense… I guess we don’t have to worry about what other people think about us, and we only have to stick to our samurai names when we want to.”

I nodded, and slowly sat up straight. With a little help from Skyler. “I assumed it was just polite to refer to each other by our samurai names while in the presence of another samurai, especially the one that named us.”

“And now we know that’s not the case,” Skyler said, with a small smile. “Do you think you can get up now?”

“Yeah, I’m still sore, but it’s nowhere near as bad as it was ten minutes ago,” I admitted as I slowly climbed to my feet. “You know, after all the excitement we experienced when I nearly fell into the sludge, and all the chasing we had to do, this entire adventure ended fairly anticlimactically.”

“Honestly? I think that’s a good thing. We throw ourselves headlong into danger a lot, and we really should be trying to fight smarter instead of harder when we can. No point in risking our lives, or the lives of others, when there’s an easier way to kill the plants,” Skyler said.

“That’s true,” I grumbled. “Especially now that we’ve got a couple more drones to do the fighting for us. Once we get the antithesis under control, and things settle down, we should sit down with our Artymis and Athyna and see if we can figure out a better method of doing things.”

My muscles screamed at me as I hobbled back and forth, for a couple seconds, trying to get them to loosen up.

“I’m guessing you don’t want to walk all the way back to the truck,” Skyler whispered as she stepped up next to me and gently prompted me until I finally put an arm around her neck.

“I can make it, I just might be a bit cranky afterwards,” I mumbled.

{Arty: Your truck has advanced flight systems, including a smart autopilot. We could remotely start it, and bring it to you, instead of having you walk all the way to it,} my AI suggested.

“If that’s an option I’d one hundred percent prefer the truck come to us,” I admitted. “But what about the drones we left guarding the tunnel, and checking the walls?”

{Athy: The Cascadian government has dispatched construction and demolition crews to collapse the tunnel, and fill the hole. You could call the drones back early, but considering they have years of battery life, you could also leave them as is, and have them make their way back home on their own, once the crew arrives.}

“Will they be able to navigate all the way back safely?” Skyler asked hesitantly.

{Arty: They have better pathfinding than any human technology. They might attract a little attention, but they’ll make it.}

“Then fuck it, leave em where they are until the crews arrive. We don’t need them, and I’d rather leave my drone where it is in case an antithesis tries to sneak in, than force someone to search this entire area for  loose models,” I muttered.

“Same,” Skyler said softly.

We slowly made our way over to the surface access, which had a dark, cramped set of spiral stairs which made their way up through the solid concrete and steel plate that this block of the city was built upon. It took surprisingly long to make our way up, the plate had to be more than a floor thick, and at the top was a sealed security door.

I gently placed my hand on the scanner next to the door, and gave it a mental nudge, prompting it to open. The door slid back, revealing another, shorter set of concrete stairs, which I managed to stagger up, only to find myself streetside. I tried to ignore the various people that stared at me as I staggered around, trying to figure out exactly where we were. I couldn’t place the exact street, but it appeared to be a industrial area on the east side of the city.

“I always wondered what these shelters were for,” Skyler remarked as we glanced back towards the stairs. “I thought maybe they were subterranean shelters, like that bus shelter where we encountered the Model Nines in, I never thought they’d connect to the utility tunnels.”

“Yeah, kind of reminds me of the old pictures you’d see of subway stations from before the incursions,” I remarked. “I’m just glad they installed stairs, instead of just relying on ladders. I don’t know if I would have been able to handle a ladder in my current condition.”

“We haven’t been out that long, compared to the last couple days, but as soon as the truck gets here we’re heading straight home. I’m a little concerned about your condition,” Skyler muttered.

“No arguments with me,” I replied, with a small smile. “Maybe I just need a massage to loosen up after all the action over the last week, if only I knew someone who could give me one.” 

Skyler elbowed me in the side as our truck cleared the nearest building and slowly began hovering down towards us. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”