What Do You Mean I'm The Captain Of A Yandere Mercenary Company?

After that little explanation on AI Classes, we decided to help Ries unpack some of the things.

She assured us that we didn't need to unpack everything, just the boxes that contained the drones since they would then be able to help her unpack.

The Maochatte claimed that it would be a good chance for her to test out their capabilities to gauge what she needs to change and tinker for them.

While we were moving the drones out for Ries to activate, I decided to bring up the idea of mods to the other girls since they were already here anyway.

Everyone seemed to have their own thoughts about it when I mentioned it.

Amber seemed quite excited about it and turned to me with wide eyes, "Oh! Are you going to mod yourself again, Tera?"

"Ah… Err… Well… I haven't really decided yet… I just thought to ask about your opinions on that."

"I think Mistress will still be perfect regardless of what you do," Lea added from the side.

"Umm… Thanks, Lea. I think you're also perfect too."

Ries looked up from her personal terminal, "I think it would be better for Boss to get cybernetics though? They're more practical and also more adaptable."

Oh? That's new.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

She went back to activating the next drone while explaining, "Sure, gene mods sound great and all but they're limited in their use. Like ok, you get super strength, but how often do you actually need to use that super strength?"

"I mean… That kind of sounds pretty useful? For just a few million Credits you could be throwing pirates around and maybe punching through power armour?"

"And it's not like we do that everyday right?"

"Ok… But isn't that the same for cybernetics?"

"That's the difference, Boss. Sure, you've got to chop your arm off first to be rebuilt into a cybernetic arm just to get the arm blades, but you can switch out the arm blades for other things when you don't need them. Like when we're on the ship, you could just take out the arm blades to swap it out for something like a tool kit instead. But you can't swap out your super strength for something else when you don't need it."

I blinked, "Wait… You can just swap out cybernetics?"

Mara answered for her, "That's one of the reasons why cybernetics are also cheaper than gene mods, Tera. For gene mods, it's pretty much a one time purchase and there's very few return customers once they have obtained what they want. But for cybernetics, you'll be constantly updating your hardware and software when new ones come out."

"Don't the gene mods also improve over time as well?" I pointed out.

"They do, but not as rapidly as cybernetic mods. There's a lot more trials a gene mod has to go through before it hits the open market. Like it could be another decade before a new version of the super strength gene mod starts hitting the shelves."

Ok… I guess I can see why that would be the case…

In other words, gene mods are also more expensive because the Gene Splicers want to milk as much money out of you as possible before you go. But for Cyware Splicers, they don't really need to worry about that since the market itself was built on people constantly updating themselves so they can be assured of repeat customers.

Damn… Even in another universe, some things still stay the same huh?

"I will have to say this though… I don't exactly find the idea of chopping off my body parts to replace them with cybernetics that appealing… Won't I lose the tactile sensations coming from where that part used to be?"

Amber giggled, "Ehehehe~ They actually solved that quite a while ago, Tera. They've managed to map out the organic neural network thanks to psionics so even if your arm was replaced with a cybernetic, you won't experience things like phantom pains and the arm would even feel just like your original albeit with some added functions!"

I raised an eyebrow, "Isn't that just an overall improvement then? Change your arms and legs into cybernetics and you can outfit them to whatever you want to serve many different functions?"

"That's right!"

"So…. Why do none of you do it?"

Amber shrugged, "I never really wanted them for myself, to be honest."

"Same for me," Mara agreed.

"I had been living on a colony ship which did not grant me access to think about getting mods of any kind," Lea explained as a matter of factly.

"I… Err… Never could have afforded it…" Ries added at the back.

Ah… Err… Sorry about that… I kind of forgot about Ries being the impoverished one in our little party.

"In that case, are there any mods that you might like to get?" I asked the Maochatte.

"Ermm… I can't… I mean… I don't want to put more burden on you Boss…"

"Well, I think if it helps you with your work, I wouldn't really mind paying for you if it's something that you want?"

She hesitated for a bit before shaking her head, "No. I thank you for the offer Boss… But it's ok, I don't particularly need them. If I do, I'll pay for them myself, Boss."

Hmm… Just be sure to tell me first, ok? I don't want her going too crazy with it.

Amber perked up from the side, "So what kind of mods are you interested in, Tera? Are you going to get yourself a second cock or something?"

I grimaced, "No?"

"Ahh… That's a shame… Otherwise you could fuck both Lea and I together!"

Lea actually blushed hearing that but went back to making herself look busy instead of acknowledging her.

I decided to follow her lead by not asking her about it either and pretended I didn't hear anything

Instead… Let's change the topic.

"Any Mercs you girls encountered that have gene mods?"

"Oh plenty," Amber chuckled. "Though not the kind of mods you're thinking of, Tera."

I cleared my throat, "Ahem… Combat Gene mods."

She nodded, "That too. They're actually quite prevalent in the… Ah… I mean… There's a lot of them in the last place I went to work. There's people who have modded themselves to be able to turn invisible, gave themselves eyes that can see different spectrums, and also enhanced durability."

Lea shook her head, "It's quite rare for Alvs to mod themselves while travelling on colony ships. Since we would normally be away from those types of places anyway. So I barely had a chance to meet anyone that modded themselves."

Ries scratched her head, "Umm… I have seen some people who have combat mods during my time as a Galactic Hitchhiker. There was someone who grew spikes on his arms which he can shoot them out like projectiles… Someone who can extend claws from his knuckles… Another one who could shoot some sticky rope from his wrists… And I think there was one guy who was able to run on walls I think?"

That sounds… Interesting?

I'm not even sure if I would call that interesting.

"I can see why you recommend cybernetic mods now…" I muttered, pulling out another drone for Ries to activate. "Those abilities seem to only be useful in very specific circumstances and useless in every other circumstance…"

The Maochatte nodded, "Yeah… I mean sure, it's cool and all but the uses for them are quite limited for the trouble you get from them. No offence, Mara."

The doctor smiled at her, "None taken. I have the same thoughts too but that's more because the people who want those mods are short sighted and stupid, not because of the mods themselves. This is similar to buying a big gun but then knowing that you would never put yourself in a position to use it and you're only getting it for show."

Ries immediately perked up, "Right?! If you're going to get a big gun, then you should use it! Even if you're just going to shoot at targets down a firing range, at least make use of it instead of letting it gather dust!"

Mara nodded, "Indeed. The same goes for these gene mods as well. Some people just want the thrill of having the power so they get themselves a gene mod and never get to use it. Sometimes they even forget they had the mod when a situation comes where their mod actually could be used. An even worse case is when they only get part of the gene mod set because they don't think the other parts are necessary and end up killing themselves."

"Arghh! Don't even get me started on idiots who have no idea how to maintain their weapons and tools! Or use the wrong ammunition and have their guns blow up in their faces! Those people shouldn't even be able to use a manual screwdriver, much less a powered ion screwdriver!"

"I completely agree. It's a shame that even the high price tag isn't enough to dissuade these people but I suppose I can't say much since I do profit off of their ignorance."

"Ahaha! Yeah! Yeah! And I get to see those guns that I normally wouldn't be able to acquire anyway! So I don't think it's that bad for me either!"

"Fufufu~ I can see that. Still, I like the work of blending mods together to make the perfect gene mod. I'm guessing the same is true for you in terms of machines?"

"Oh yes! I really, really like taking things apart and assembling them to see how they work!"

Ok… Err… Did these two really just bond over two completely different subjects?