Swarm Ascendant

"You're given these amazing capabilities, you know, you have the technology of the entire galaxy at your fingertips, and then you're given a choice: How do you manage that? Well, for me it's simple: Do the most good for the most people. And most of the time? That turns out to be by building really good sewers."

--Red Star, in interview, 2034

***

I didn't want to go out drinking in my Valkyrie gear, so I ended up borrowing one of Herb's spare uniforms and a pair of shoes, which I switched into in a bathroom. That left me with the challenge of what to do with my own gear. I ended up stuffing it into a large backpack I also borrowed, leaving out only a few Wasps.

Thus prepared, we set off towards the squad's bar of choice, which turned out to be in one of the adjacent megabuildings, a seedy looking place called the Brass Bullet. Going by the amount of uniforms and crew cuts in the place, it was a military hang out. We entered and got greeted by some oldies tune from the turn of the century, something about going to Ibiza, and the smell of stale beer. Some people turned to look at us as we stepped in, some waved and one of them, a big lump of a man, called out.

"Yo Keen! Good to see you made it back. And you brought a new cutie with you, too!" He smirked that last in my direction.

"Hah, careful Pole, this one has a bit of a sting to her. Wouldn't want to get on her bad side." Keen replied.

"Of course not, I'd much rather be on her good side. Wadduya say cutie, why don't you join us?"

Speedy stepped in, put a hand over my shoulder, and answered for me. "Why would she want to join a bunch of misfits like you when she has us?" She said with a laugh.

"You wound me, Speedy, you know you're welcome, too."

Speedy just laughed again and steered me over to a corner table. The rest followed, and soon we were sitting down. Herb and Grim headed the to bar to fetch us a few pitchers of beer and enough glasses to go around.

Soon after, I had a pleasant buzz going and we were playing a dice game about bluffing. I was winning, because no one had caught on to the fact that I was using two Wasps to cheat, and enjoying myself quite a lot.

A few hours passed like that, and the only remarkable thing that happened was that someone at some point noticed my Wasps and got into a bit of a tizzy over them, trying to catch them, shoo them out or crush them, it wasn't quite clear which, thinking they were actual wasps. I had to do some evasive manoeuvres and hide in the rafters for a bit until they got distracted with something else.

Eventually I felt like I'd had enough, both of the beer and the company. I had a slight headache coming on, so I excused myself, said my goodbyes with a few surprisingly tight hugs from Red and Pingo, who were apparently sentimental drunks, then headed towards home after promising to return the uniform and backpack to Herb.

I hadn't matched the drinking speed of the others, so was only slightly tipsy, and felt rather good about the world and my place in it.

Two train-rides and a brisk walk later, I was back in the elevator up to my parent's place.

The mission had gone okay, I'd made some friends and things were looking good. If this was the life of a Valkyrie, I could get used to it. I had even gotten a bit more used to the idea of meeting Ghost Widow, strange as it was. I still couldn't quite comprehend that that was something that might happen, mind you, but I could comprehend it a bit more than before, if that made any sense.

Putting that to the back of my mind, I entered the apartment.

"I'm back!" I called out.

"In here." Came an answering call from Dad in the shared living room.

I sent a Wasp over to have a look while putting down my backpack and untying my shoes. He was sitting at the dining table in the living room, scratching away with a pen in one of his actual paper notebooks. He claimed it was a way more authentic way to express poetry. I secretly thought it was a bit pretentious, but then so was his poetry, so I guess it fit.

I popped my head in the door.

"You busy?" I asked.

"Never too busy for my sweet pea." He answered and wrote a final word before putting his pen down. He got up and walked over to me with a smile, then gave me a big hug.

"How was your camping trip?" He asked.

"Daaad, it wasn't a..." I started before spotting the glint in his eye. Such a tease. "Anyway, it was fine. We initially had a bit of trouble, but it was nothing we couldn't handle, and we even managed to take out the Hive without calling for help!"

"Wait, Hive? I thought you were just off to hunt a few Antithesis, what's this about a Hive?"

"Well, it's where they come from, so…" I chuckled a bit nervously.

"Oh dear. You went near a hive? I thought..." I could see he was working himself up, so I quickly grabbed his hands and interrupted him.

"No no, I never went near it. We bombarded it from afar, like, really far. We were really careful, trust me."

He settled down with a sigh. "I swear you will be the death of me with this Valkyrie business. Why couldn't you just have become a Teacher or a Firefighter or something nice and safe?" He said with a weak chuckle.

"It's okay Dad, I'll be safe, trust me."

He sighed again.

"Well, your mother is coming home soon, so we should probably figure out what's for dinner."

I quickly changed into some lounge wear, then followed Dad into the kitchen, where we pulled out various vegetables for a curry and got to peeling, washing and chopping. It was a nice, relaxing routine that calmed us both down, and soon we were chatting about nothing like always, joined by some of the other residents of the place.

Mother came home, came in to greet us and observe us in the kitchen for a bit, then left to watch the news in the living room. Soon after, dinner was ready, and we ate while talking about our days. Dad was talking about some themes he was composing on, while Mother was uncharacteristically quiet, only adding the occasional comment. I, meanwhile, made sure to downplay my activities over the past few days, making it seem as boring and uninteresting as possible. Dinner was just about over when I finished off.

"And then we kinda just bombarded the Hive for a long while, from a safe distance. It killed a lot of Antis, but they couldn't really figure out where we were, so they couldn't get to us."

Mother perked up at this. "Killed a lot of Antithesis, you said? So you have a lot of points right now, right?"

"Yeah, I guess I do." I confirmed a bit noncommittally. "Why do you ask?"

"Why do I..." she said a bit incredulously. "Well, because I think it is about time we talked about what you're going to buy for us, don't you?"

I squirmed a bit. "Can it wait a few days? I'd like to take stock, talk to a few people, figure out what I'm going to do before I make any concrete plans."

"You never make any plans, that's why you... Never mind, who are you going to talk to, and why are they more important to your decision than your own mother?"

"ghost widow" I mumbled.

"What? Speak up."

"Ghost, uhm, Ghost Widow."

Mother fell silent for a bit at that. "I can see how that might be pertinent." She finally said, reluctantly. "Well, I'll make an ordered list of things that I require, and you can discuss it when you talk to... her." It seemed even Mother was a bit cowed by that name.

We cleaned up after the meal, and I disappeared into my room where I flopped down onto my bed.

I bet Ghost Widow doesn't have her mother harassing her like this.

[I believe that is a safe bet. I doubt Ghost Widow even knows who your mother is.]

I snorted.

[Now, do you want to talk about your plans going forward?]

Not really. But I guess I have to. I sat up. Can I do something to make controlling my drones less of a hassle?

[You can do several somethings. You can increase the autonomy of your drones, distributing intelligence to make them better able to make decisions on their own. Note, however, that this comes with the drawback of them making decisions on their own, and being generally more wilful and autonomous.]

Yeah, that doesn't sound too great. Don't need a swarm of killer wasps on the loose

[The chance of it coming to that are very, very remote. The more realistic scenario is them developing and displaying personalities of their own and acting accordingly.]

But that's even worse! Then they'll be... I don't know, pets! I cannot throw pets at the Antis!

[Very well, you have expressed your displeasure with the idea.]

And the alternatives? You said several.

[You can increase your mental capacity to better handle the multitasking load, or you can go with the half-way option and invest in a single dedicated, intelligent control unit to delegate responsibility to.]

I still don't like the idea of not being in control. I need to be responsible for these things, they're dangerous. I then remembered something. What about what happened with that Twelve? Are my Wasps really that easy to shut down?

[Not easy, no, it takes very dedicated effort to achieve. I didn't expect you to encounter such a Model in a forest, they are usually only found much nearer to cities. Regardless, the solution is a simple upgrade from the Robotic Environmental Hardening Catalogue.]

Put that at the top of the list, I really don't want that to happen again.

[Noted. What about your other plans? Transportation, construction and so on?]

We'll get there when we get there. I'm guessing I still don't have enough points for all of it?

[Indeed. Both Mental Capacity, Transportation and Construction are high cost options, either one is achievable but combining them will require severe compromises.]

I thought you said I already had the points for a Class II Mental option last time we talked about this?

[That was a good option. Now that you have the points, I think it prudent to get a great one instead.]

That... I won't argue with that.

[A most wise decision.]

A ping in my augs indicated I'd gotten a message. It was the list from Mother. Ugh, well, let's see what she wants.

1. Higher grade optical augmentations.

2. Increased mental acuity.

3. General health repair.

4. Increased longevity.

Well, at least it was shorter than I expected.

Eyon, am I even allowed to hand out some of these things?

[Indeed you are. We trust our Vanguards to make such decisions with deliberation and care. I would, however, be careful not to advertise the fact that you do so. The additional attention could prove... unfortunate.]

This was so bothersome. And that extra wrinkle about people possibly using me as a glorified meds dispenser was a headache I definitely didn't need.

What do you think of this list?

[The optical augmentations are available through your Command and Control Cybernetics catalogue for fifty points. A Nano Regenerative Suite for twenty points should take care of any health concerns, although a health scan would be required to make absolutely sure. Does she have any specific concerns? The increased mental acuity and longevity are trickier, and would probably require some discussion to explore exactly which direction she wishes to take. Regardless, it should be possible to buy something that fits her needs for no more than five-hundred points.]

I sighed.

...

Eyon?

[Yes Sylvi?]

I think I deserve some chocolate.

[I agree.]