I woke early the next morning and slipped out from beneath Junipher where she was sleeping against me. I stepped out onto the horizon and took a deep breath of the cool morning air. Of course, it was Arizona, so the term ‘cool’ was relative to what it was the day before. From this side of the building I could only stare out into the West and so was unable to watch the sun rise. Instead I looked down at the bonfire and saw a solitary figure sitting on a bench. With my system enhanced vision I realized that it was Alyssa, and she once again sported two arms. She was currently repeatedly flexing her new fist and staring into the fire.

I passed through my office and walked down the stairs and quietly joined her on the bench. She was wearing her armor that looked like a red corset so I was able to examine the new arm in detail. Not only had the arm needed to be replaced, but the entire shoulder had also been removed. Apparently, according to Choox’il this was actually beneficial because it allowed them to rebuild the shoulder from scratch and reinforce it and the bones in the clavicle. This allowed a more secure mounting point for the rest of the shoulder and arm.

She looked at me as I examined the work and silently moved the mechanical limb through several different contortions, demonstrating that the prosthetic was just as capable as her original limb. It was matte black and seemed to drink in the darkness. Barely any light reflected off the plastic and metal looking surfaces that somehow flexed and stretched as she moved it back and forth. It looked fairly mundane, and if you didn’t know it was a prosthetic you would just think she wore some kind of armor. This was reinforced by the shoulder having a layered series of plates that collapsed and extended as she raised her arm straight out and then allowed it to rest at her side. I also noticed that it was incredibly quiet.

“It’s actually pretty cool.” She broke the silence first and flexed her arm straight out in front of as if she were showing off her biceps. Surprisingly the bicep muscle did flex as a natural limb would. Then with a quiet ‘schnikt’ a black blade a foot long shot out of the elbow. She opened her hand and the blade sucked smoothly back into her elbow. “ I can do the same thing with my fingertips'' She then demonstrated short 3 inch blades that extended from all but her thumb.

“Nice.” I smiled at her demonstration. I almost considered asking Choox’il what all it would involve to get my own cyber arms. Then I decided I’d save that option for if ever I lose an arm in battle.

“I’m still mad at you.” She said quietly while playing with her arm.

“I know.”

We sat in silence for a bit then she asked, “So what’s next?”

“Gonna’ clear the town, bring in survivors. Veep says the numbers have basically stabilized, just over a thousand remain living in the city.”

“That sucks, I haven’t seen any of my friends from school, well, acquaintances. I wonder if any still live.”

“Probably.”

She thought to herself for another bout of silence then asked the important question, “So what do you want me to do? Are we going to kill the Gnoll’s that attacked us?”

“Yeah, at least, I’m taking my team to do that.” I gave her a hard look and watched her digest the unsaid message.

“You don’t want me on your team anymore?” She asked as she pulled her knees up to her chin.

I watched her for a moment and then I saw anger flare in her eyes. She stood up suddenly and turned on me and began to yell, “Then what the fuck do you want me to do, Karl!? What the hell was all that about yesterday? If I’m not coming with you why’d you force me to fight you!? Why did you beat the shit out of me? Why did you hurt me…?”

Tears began to flow down her face to drip off her chin and stain the Arizona dirt at her feet. She collapsed to her knees in heavy sobs. “Why did you make me hurt you?” She mumbled between sobs.

I stared at the fire a moment then looked back at the young woman that was quickly getting her sobs under control and staring at me with rage. When I finally felt I had my thoughts in order I spoke so quietly that only she could hear.

“A few reasons actually. You were broken from your ordeal. Yet you were clinging to the way things used to be. I needed you to let that shit go and see how things are. Look around Alyssa, you saved my settlement and I’m not going to thank you for that until you get over yourself.”

She gave me a bewildered look.

“And besides, seeing you drooling and pissing on yourself pissed me off. I figured you needed a good ass kicking to knock the bullshit loose. Seems I was right.” I finished with a smirk.

She narrowed her eyes and cursed at me, “Asshole.” Then she sat back on the bench next to me.

“Yeah, that’s accurate.” I shook my head and noticed that her screaming had woke Johnny and Junipher who had come out and sat on another log near us.

She rubbed her runny nose with her real hand and sniffed then looked up and asked, “So what do you want from me?”

I took a deep breath and launched into what I would need of her, “I’ll give you the day to form a team, then I want you out there clearing encampments and saving people so we can expand the settlement. Winslow’s small, but right now it’s in the fucking way.”

She began to protest but I cut her short with a firm hand on her living shoulder. “You know how to fight, and you know how to lead, now just go do it.”

She looked like she wanted to protest more, but finally nodded her agreement and left to get started as the sun was on the rise behind the Admin building. Junipher came over and Johnny went to walk and talk with her.

“I can tell that all is well, though she’s still a bit uncertain.” Junipher said as she leaned against me.

I watched the girl walk around the building and replied with, “I know, though, I think she’ll get over it pretty quick after she kills her first camp.”

Junipher didn’t respond to that and simply asked, “When do we leave?”

“Soon, I’ve had Veep ordering some stuff from the Kiosk, she says it’s ready for pick up. I’ll grab it and meet you and the rest of the team back here.”

She stretched up and kissed me, then a minute later I was walking up to the Kiosk to pick up some new gear that Veep and I had sorted out the night before. First on the wishlist was a pair of wicked looking bearded axes with serrated edges and holes through the center of the blades where they could be hung from my belt by simple loops of leather. The handles were etched with runes and scrollwork that gave them a real ‘viking’ feel. I wouldn’t be lying if I said my inner geek was squealing with the same joy and anticipation to rival a toddler on their second Christmas morning.

Besides the axes that would allow me to embrace the gift of badass alien axe fighting, I decided I need some proper room clearing power. So of course I ordered some grenades. Considering we were going out to save some people I went with a heavier on the non-lethal options overall. I should be getting ten flashbangs, five concussion, five frag, and five plasma. There were options for elemental type grenades that spewed ice, lightning, and other exotic particles, but I decided to stick with what I knew.

I also ordered some things I had been meaning to get for a while, such as a popup tent and cot, as well as other camping sundries that would make it easier living when we were traveling far from home. I wasn’t worried about the weight because as my Strength increased so did the total storable mass in my spatial inventory also increased. And as I leveled I gained more overall space. I even ordered some more mundane items such as a couple more of the high tech combat unitards that I had grown comfortable wearing under all my armor and gear.

I reached the Kiosk and hit the button that would start dispensing my equipment. I made note of a couple hundred grand in credits being deducted from my balance and was pleased to see the pair of axes slowly lowered onto the shelf next to me. I quickly grabbed them and began spinning them around my hand and nodding in approval at the balance. I heard a buzzing from the Kiosk and looked to determine what the issue was. On the screen a Warning flashed and then the Kiosk began quickly folding in on itself and then seemed to be sucked into the ground leaving no trace of its existence.

“Hey, What the fuck!?” I mumbled and noticed another man standing across from me looking as surprised and put off as me.

Before we could say anything to each other the sound of an explosion on the Northwest wall roared across the settlement, then a notification overtook my vision.

WARNING! SOOHOO SETTLEMENT IS CURRENTLY BEING SIEGED BY A GNOLL WARBAND!

INITIATING SETTLEMENT DEFENSE PROTOCOLS!

Would you like to spend settlement points to enhance automatic quest rewards? (YES/NO)

Yes!

By the time the first batch of notifications cleared my vision I had already rounded the North corner of the Admin building and watched as a giant ball of flame smashed into the NorthWest Parapet and exploded. A woman and man with a rifle tumbled from the tower on fire and I could hear Eli begin barking orders to the defenders. Kaia came bounding to my side as the other coyotes and the pair of mountain lions rose instantly ready for the fight. The night patrol was already firing their rifles and bows into the unseen attackers on the other side of the wall while others scrambled under Eli’s not too gentle ministrations.

I pulled myself onto Kaia’s back which gave me the height advantage I needed to put eyes on the approaching attackers. Once I was secure in his saddle he leapt to the walkway on the wall as if reading my mind. I quickly surveyed the attacking force and made note that these appeared to be of the same tribe that had hit us a few days before. They were better equipped than the ones I had seen in the recording, which meant they had grown stronger in the time since they attacked us.

Eli hopped up to the wall beside me wearing a leather breastplate with shoulder guards and an ancient looking rapier on his hip. “The Guard is assembled and ready, sir.” I could see him resist the urge to salute and I smiled. “What are your orders?”

I looked at him a moment then found Junipher waiting below the walkway. I looked back to him and bared my teeth and spoke loud enough for everyone in the settlement to hear me, “Why Captain, I think I see my next level was foolish enough to come to me and it’s now out there waiting for me to claim it, what do you think?”

He let loose a feral grin and replied while casually surveying the gathered horde, “I say if it were raining then maybe this rabble would provide a proper training engagement for our men and women.” I laughed wickedly and somewhere the sound of thunder broke across the earth.

“Captain, inform the teams that our mission begins now, they have one minute to join me on the field, other than that I leave the defense in your hands.” I sent a silent message to Junipher to get our team on the field then Kaia and I dove off the wall to charge the still forming ranks of attackers.We would buy time for Eli to organize his defense then I planned to break through and eliminate the leader of this Warband. The teams, as I found myself referring to them, would be free to engage how they saw fit and hopefully turn the attackers into defenders.

I heard the newly minted Captain barking orders behind me as Kaia and I raced across the field to smash into the attackers. Behind us the so far unclaimed pair of coyotes yipped and barked at our heels as we advanced on the enemy formation. More magic arced through the air towards the settlement behind me and I was pleased to see that Eli had formed up the defensive mages that began deflecting the attacks. Although, some magics bypassed the mages altogether and were quickly stacking damage on the facilities within.

Kaia and I hit the frontline like a sledgehammer. Large gnolls with swords, axes and shields of all types simply collapsed at our onslaught. Kaia ripped and tore beneath me as I defended her flanks with accurate and devastating pistol fire. The 9mm sprouted bloody holes in my foes while the plasma pistol punched burning holes through the tough gnoll bodies. All along my left and right the gnoll shield line was solidifying except where Kaia and I reaped their lives. Unwilling Monarch’s Foresight pulsed as I fought the assembled horde with the other two coyotes tearing into the line several meters to each side of us.

I surveyed the battle as I reloaded my pistols. The tide of gnolls seemed endless. They poured through the wrecked housing area that sat between my settlement and the High School that they had occupied. Their line stretched a quarter mile in each direction and was slowly forming a half moon shape with my settlement at the center, with the numbers I saw still streaming forth I knew they would move to encircle us completely. Eli saw this too and the first two teams over the wall broke West and North to cut off the formations there. I noticed the pair of mountain lions that had joined the settlement had split off, one following each group.

I checked behind me to see my team charging forward led by Samantha and Michelle. The fourth team was already engaging further down the line of defenders led by a stout man that swung an oversized two handed hammer with wild abandon. Where his hammer struck gnolls tumbled away broken and battered and his team fought to weaken the formation as a mage in their rear brought a barrier up to deflect projectiles.

As I was about to look for the enemy leaders eyes landed on Alyssa standing on the edge of the battlement in full battle regalia. Her swords gripped in each hand and her gaze penetrating the gathered host before us. Then she leapt off the wall to land upon Lulu’s back who seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Choox’il, whom I hadn’t noticed before, also darted over the wall with another girl I didn’t recognize bringing up the rear armed with nothing but a large gnarled stick. Lightning arced from the top of the stick and struck the formation where Alyssa and Lulu charged, and it danced amongst the gathered attackers. Many dropped to the ground dead and smoking from being cooked inside out. The ones that didn’t were met with an avalanche of glowing blue arrows from Choox’il’s bow that smashed into them in their momentary weakness. The spider woman's bow was like a machine gun and continually spat deadly arrows across the field.

My feral grin widened seeing the battle fully joined and I fell back a half step to survey the enemy line and find my target as Junipher and Michelle plunged into the gap created by my impromptu cavalry charge. Have to get more coyotes! Stephen destabilized a group of gnolls that were maneuvering dangerously close to Michelle’s flank with a Gravity Spike while Courtney set about healing the other coyotes behind us and soon they were back into the fight widening the gap in the shield line.

In the distance I saw medieval siege engines being rolled into place and knew that would have to be addressed soon. I’m certain these fuckers aren’t going to toss just rocks at us. I absentmindedly brought out my ballistic shield as a hail of arrows descended on us and continued scanning the horde when I found my first targets. A pair of the largest gnolls I’d ever seen sauntered casually through a house that was oddly still standing. The beasts massive arms nearly dragged across the ground and even from a quarter mile away I could make out the bloody rot trapped in their arm length teeth. They held no weapon but the wicked scythe like claws that extended from their fingers and were clad in mismatched and broken pieces of steel, iron, and leather armor. The other gnolls that flowed forth gave these two a wide berth, the reason made obvious as an unlucky gnoll archer stumbled out of the throng and into the reach of the behemoth. It’s arm snapped out impossibly fast and snatched up the archer and quickly deposited it, kicking and screaming, into it’s upturned mouth.

“THAT’S OUR FIRST TARGET! HAWKINGS! CLEAR US A PATH!”