Swarm Ascendant

...uprooting and relocating two entire nations worth of peoples and industry is, it need hardly be said, no small endeavour. Thankfully the project was backed by two equally powerful forces: The will of their peoples, and the full buy-in of most of their Valkyries. One provided the labour, the other the ingenuity and otherworldly know-how. In this paper we shall discuss...

--"The How and Why: Scania", introduction

***

I decided that I didn't hate the name Red Knight had come up with, and since I didn't have any better ideas, Hornet it was. I found it a bit of an odd way to decide on something so important, but Red Knight assured me that it was tradition.

Well, who was I to flaunt tradition?

Afterwards, the talk fell on our plans going forward.

"Well, I've still got a few days of patrolling to do over here. You can come along if you want, but it isn't likely to be very interesting. This kind of excitement is more the exception than the rule so close to home." Red Knight offered.

I mulled it over a bit.

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'd like to relax for a bit, figure out what my plans are. My previous plans for my life are kinda shot at this point, so I'd like to think things through."

"That's fair. About your points, you should know that the military has government sponsor programs for new Valkyries, to speed your progress along some, but it might require you to be a bit flexible with your initial investments. It's a pretty good deal, honestly, they won't make you do anything bad or that you don't want to do, but they do need you to fit in a bit."

"That's... interesting."

"Look into it, okay? And keep a few hundred points available if it sounds at all interesting to you. They are quite accommodating, but you do need to work at least within earshot of their system."

"Hmm."

"If you decide to pursue it, here's someone to contact. She'll get you set up, just tell her I sent you." He said, sending me a set of contact information.

Soon after, we arrived back at the farming compound, flying back over greenhouses before landing back near the centre, where Red Knight let me out.

"Contact me if you have any questions or need help, okay?" he said.

I said my goodbyes, and he took off to resume his patrol.

I waved him off, then turned to head towards the shelter area. It was just about dinner time, so I was hoping to score a meal before finding a bunk and doing some planning, although I figured I should report in to the military leadership and let them know how it all had gone, first.

As I approached the walls near the shelter, I again had that strange feeling from people looking at me with something close to awe. The place was quite busy, but most at least stopped to look as I passed through. I went over to a pair of military personnel to ask for directions, and they pointed me across the place towards an administrative building.

I strode up to it and entered, to find the boss lady seated behind a desk, lost in her augs, presumably filling in digital paperwork. As I closed the door behind me, she looked over to me and smiled.

"Ah, Hornet, welcome back. Red Knight told me your mission was a success, to expect you back and to please find a bunk for you and possibly help you with some transportation back to Scania tomorrow?"

"I... ah..." I floundered. "I, yes, that sounds about right? Thanks. If you would be so kind."

"No problem at all. You know, you're technically the highest ranking officer here, now. I'd salute you, if I didn't think it'd scare you right off."

"What? Oh no, no salutes, please."

She smiled at me.

"Of course. I took the liberty of asking your supervisor to fill in the required forms for your transfer out of the work pool. I'm afraid you'll have to figure out the Valkyrie end of things yourself."

"Thanks, that's really kind of you. And him."

"Oh no, he was most eager to help you out. And anything we can do to help, please, just ask."

"In that case, dinner would be good. Dinner and then a bed. I've been jogging through a forest for what feels like weeks."

"That should be easy enough to arrange. Would you prefer your dinner be brought to your room, or will you eat in the cafeteria?"

"Oh. Room sounds good?"

"Of course. We have a room you can use right here in the back, if you'd follow me."

Soon I was in a room with a desk, a bed and a private bathroom, left alone with a promise that my meal was on the way. This was rather more luxurious than the bunk I had been expecting. The bunks were equally soft, but the private bath sure was nice.

I elected to make use of it right away.

After I had taken off my my armour, I poked at my bad left arm a bit. It wasn't bad any more? I tentatively removed the bandage and found unblemished skin underneath. I hadn't quite believed that prediction earlier, but it sure looked fine.

Later, after a shower and a meal, I was lying on bed in some of my spare clothes, which had been delivered to my room along with all of my other things I'd had at the bunk I'd been sleeping in up until now. Well! I could certainly get used to this kind of service.

Anyway, I was thinking about the future and what to do now, now that I was a Valkyrie.

"Eyon, what do you think about my options?"

[I think you should take a bit of time to think it through. I would suggest you take Red Knight's recommendation of the government programme seriously, however. They possess resources you do not. That is, if you intend to carry on as an active Vanguard.]

"I think I do, just, not the way we did it today. That was way too stressful. Is there really not a different way to help as a Valkyrie? Red Knight mentioned something about a cleanup crew, perhaps that might be more my speed."

[If I may, it seems to me that you would prefer to stay in control of the situation, and not end up in the middle of a fight. There are ways to achieve this and still fight the Antithesis.]

"Oh?"

[One way is to fight from a distance. While not ideal in all situations, especially urban, you could specialize in either sniping- or artillery-strikes and achieve excellent lethality while staying safe. Alternatively, staying airborne, as you have observed, goes a long way towards staying away from most Antithesis, although not all.

I mention these mostly for completeness. A route I think you might want to consider, and which I think would suit you well, is one of battlefield information superiority and remote combat.]

"That does sound better than being ambushed. By remote combat do you mean drones?"

[Exactly. I mentioned before that there are implants that will allow you to sense much more intuitively through your drones, as well as guide and order them around as an extension of yourself. It works rather like the mesh implants used to drive certain combat vehicles, only much more sophisticated.]

"Pretty appealing. And I can afford this?"

[Indeed. Rather, the question is how much you want to spend on it. You have enough points and a token, and could get something rather sophisticated immediately from a Class II catalogue, or you could get something sufficient for now from a Class I catalogue with a view to upgrade later. Spending more here leaves you with less points to purchase the actual drones. The totals are on the order of 1000 points and a token compared to 350 points. Either option includes a substantial upgrade to your current augmentations.]

"That is a rather large difference. Let's talk drones. What can I get?"

[The options aren't quite limitless, but it is a close thing. Could you limit the choices a bit by stating some preferences?]

"Flying, I like flying, and I think I prefer small if I am to conduct surveillance with them. Stealth would be good, but I don't think I need it against the Antis, really? Oh, and it'd be nice if they could kill the Antis, too."

[In that case I would suggest the Harmonious Swarm catalogue, which contains both a good number of flying drone chassis as well as a selection of neurotoxins specifically engineered to be effective against various Antithesis models. It would cost 150 points. It is a collection of technologies developed by a physically frail race of Jellyfish-like beings who fought using drones as a delivery vehicle for their naturally generated, genetically engineered toxins.]

"Oooh. And how much for a drone afterwards?"

[That depends on your choice in the previous matter. The more sophisticated and capable you are, the less capable the drones need to be in terms of autonomy, which means a rather substantial points saving. 30 points per drone in one case, 50 points per drone in the other. For small drones the cost of the AI and the substrate it runs on makes up much of the cost. The difference will be relatively smaller for larger models.]

"AI? How smart are we talking, here?"

[The cheaper drones have basically no autonomy, while the more expensive ones could be compared to insects.]

"Hmmmmmm. How many points will I waste if I go with the cheap implant now, then upgrade soon after?"

[Somewhere on the order of 400, depending on how many drones you buy.]

"That's... Not actually that much. And I'd keep my token, in case I change my mind. Are there any other things I could spend my points on, that'd make a big difference?"

[Most Vanguards find it useful to upgrade their bodies at one point other another, either through Cybernetics, Bionics or Genetics. The human baseline is rather frail and limiting, after all.]

"Hey, who are you calling frail?!"

[Need I remind you you almost had your arm gnawed off?]

"Hmph. Well, I guess. Put it on the list for now."

[Certainly. Many Vanguards also find it helpful to invest in a personal vehicle to help their mobility. Alternatively, you could invest in a personal production facility. It would be expensive upfront, but would confer significant savings on drone production over the long run.]

"I don't have anywhere to put such a facility, assuming it is big as I'm thinking."

[True, it is rather large. The two could be combined into one, but the cost is a bit prohibitive for now.]

"Something to think about if I decide to go further down this route. So, Class I Brain implant and a reasonable amount of drones, how much would I have left?"

Class I Command and Control Cybernetics - 100

Monolith Mk 3 Mesh Implant - 300

Class I Harmonious Swarm - 150

Wasp Mk 1 Recon Drone x 10 - 500

Total: 1050

Remaining: 892

"Wait, Wasp drone? I thought you said Jellyfish. Are you pigeonholing me?!"

[It is important Vanguards be recognizable and a memorable theme goes a long way towards ensuring that. I thought your colour scheme lent itself well to this.]

"Well, whatever. As long as you don't take it too far and let it impact performance... too much. I guess wasps are pretty cool."

[I will make a note of it.]

"Anyway. I should keep at least 500 points in case I do want to work with the military... Eyon, what's the most useful thing I can do with the remaining 400?"

[I would say a genetic or bionic upgrade to your nervous tissue. It would simultaneously boost your processing-speed and -capability, helping with drone control and multitasking, and your reaction speed and reflexes, helping to keep you safe.]

"What's the difference between genetic and bionic?" I asked, curious.

[Bionics are a wholesale synthetic replacement and will see results a lot faster, but can only be performed in an appropriately outfitted facility. Genetics would happen over a longer time as it needs to grow in, but can be initiated with a simple injection and will eventually lead to better results, especially since you'd already have the Harmonious Swarm catalogue unlocked, which has an excellent genetic candidate. In either case the cost would be 300 points.]

"Well, I'm in this for the long haul, so I guess genetics. Say, I won't come to regret this somehow, right? I'll still be... me?"

[Your perception of self will remain entirely inviolate. The only thing that will really change is that you will be mentally superior. It will also leave your reproductive cells, your eggs, as is.]

"That doesn't sound so bad. Okay."

[For the rest of your points, you could consider a way to take advantage of already existing surveillance equipment and other information technology.]

"Take advantage of... you mean like hacking?"

[I would hardly call it hacking. There would have to be reasonable defences in place for it to count as hacking. Let us say, alternate access paths.]

"That sounds suspiciously like hacking to me. Not that I'm against it, as long as I'm the one doing the hacking. How much?"

[120 points would see you become competent against most human-made systems.]

"Okay, put it on the pile. Am I missing anything? Any alternate plans that'd make me much happier?"

[You could spend it all on really, really good chocolate.]

"Oh no, don't tempt me like that. No, must stay strong. Okay, do it. Buy it all, before I succumb to temptation."

Catalogue Unlocked: Class I Command and Control Cybernetics - 100 points

Catalogue Unlocked: Class I Harmonious Swarm - 150 points

Catalogue Unlocked: Class I Viral Editing - 50 points

Catalogue Unlocked: Class I Genetics - 50 points

Catalogue Unlocked: Class I Basic Cyberwarfare Utilities - 100 points

New Purchase: Monolith Mk 3 Mesh Implant - 300 points

New Purchase: Wasp Mk 1 Recon Drone x 1 - 50 points

New Purchase: Library: Human Genome - 25 points

New Purchase: Harmonious Swarm Nervous System Viral Gene Treatment - 175 points

New Purchase: Mark I Decryption Protocol - 20 points

Points reduced to... 922

A trio of white boxes appeared on the bed next to me, all quite small for their price. But then, they did say that good things comes in small packages. I excitedly started to open them.

[I took the liberty of only buying one Drone for now, as a teaching aid, until you get the more comfortable with your new implant and augmentations.]

I first picked up the Wasp drone. It was pretty big, a bit longer than a finger, and a sleek black with yellow highlights with a pair of translucent wings and what looked like a wicked sharp stinger at the back end. Nice. I put it back in the box, I'd play with it later, but first!

[The Viral Gene Treatment can be injected anywhere with major blood flow. I'd suggest an arm or a thigh.]

I rolled up my sleeve, grabbed the injector and pressed it to the inside of my arm, where I felt a slight pinch as the injector hissed.

"How long will this Gene Treatment take to kick in, anyway?"

[You'll feel minor improvements increasing exponentially until it should be done in four weeks. The Mesh Implant goes on your temple and neck.]

I tossed the now empty injector back into the box, then looked at the black discs in the other box clearly labelled 'NECK' and 'TEMPLE' respectively. Easy enough. I grabbed them, then held them to their respective spots. For a moment, nothing happened, then they both suddenly heated up and I felt as if tiny ants crawled all over my body, a wave of cold washed over me and I felt as if the room tipped over, then righted itself. My vision went crazy, all the HUD elements flashed, disappeared, then blinked back on.

"What the hell?!" I flung the two discs across the room.

[Installation successful. It will take you some time to acclimate to the Neural Mesh and for it to integrate with your neural pathways, but the improved augment should be available to you already. Try connecting to your drones.]

I grumbled, but quickly relented and connected to one of my old drones first. Well, in as much as a couple of hours qualify as old. It was much easier to navigate with now, and the camera wasn't as much a separate view-port I had to switch my attention to as it was like... I was seeing the world from two places at once? It was weird. Okay, so admittedly the... resolution, I guess, was kind of bad? Wasn't sure how to describe it, it felt like I'd been stuffed inside of something that was too small. I connected to another drone, and felt some mental strain at the load, but now I was in three places? Wild! I spun the drones and jumped up and down, trying to mess with my vision to find the limits, and soon lost control. I fell over onto the bed as the drones wobbled drunkenly in the air. I hurried to disconnect from their cameras to try and stabilize myself.

[Your capability will improve with practice and as the Neural Mesh settles in. Eventually you should be able to control ten of them at once, and experience all of their sensors simultaneously with no more than mild strain.]

Wild!

"Oh, Eyon!"

[Yes, Sylvi?]

"You mentioned chocolate...?"