Anti-antithesis

Do you have any idea how fucking hard it is to keep a schedule out here?! Those fucking plants are constantly attacking my territory, stupid Corpos keep pushing my limits, and worst of all? My stupid ADHD keeps me from focusing for more than an hour before some other stupid thing distracts me! Wait, no! I don't need a break!

-Vanguard MurderDeathKill being administered her fifth forced break, 2049

Opening my eyes on the couch, I go over the session and feel satisfied. It really did feel nice to simply go over my own thoughts with someone else. Plus, I didn't have a panic attack by talking about a job! So that was a nice discovery.

Augustus did give me some homework to work on before my next appointment, which to be fair would probably be a good thing, even if it wasn't for therapy. He requested I make two lists, one listing all my gear and catalogs to figure out if I could get some new things to ensure the safety of those I care about, or to see just how safe everyone already is. For the second, it was to go over the events since my initialization and figure out a plan going forward. He said it would help me feel like I was more in control of my life, instead of my life in control of me, which should help with my general anxiety. It has been a little over two weeks since I had initialized, so going over things should help me actually understand how hectic things have been.

As I move to sit up, I am a little surprised that Cari isn't laying on me, considering how… needy she was not two hours ago. Not that I'm complaining, mind, just curious. I open a notepad and dive into my memories, focusing on the events first.

Upon initializing, the whole tower was a crazy experience, but also one I have come to terms with already. Our time in the hotel was very fun, which did remind me to ask Cody about how that was going. I needed to talk to Synaptic about the middle man, too. The Reserve was a good reminder to always call in problems before I handle them, as things could have gone far worse for so many other towns in the area. I pulled up The Family Store app and opened the news section, looking for any new updates on the forest.

Turns out, Senestera, Shrew, Fleming, and Mirror Match swept the forest clean with the Mad Pack last week, getting rid of all the hives and xenos matter. Shrew had also bought some dirt to fill in the massive hole we left behind while also filling in the remaining tunnels. She and Fleming had spent some time working to fix up both that area and the southern hive structure, getting rid of them and adding much needed nutrients to the areas.

Oh, Fleming went to Mars, as did Apollo, Mirror Match, and Gunny. That was quite a lot of the high powered Samurai from just around New Phoenix. Williams, Tucson, Targ, and Flagstaff still had a decent number of strong Samurai, at least. I sigh as I lean back into the couch. I'm probably going to be busy soon, as my forced break ended yesterday.

Closing the news app, I continue to think about the past few weeks. I still needed to check in with Black Log about the Council and their bullshit, plus I had to transfer ownership of BeanTech to the Family. Then there were the traitors I should probably ask about… Considering none of my info got out, Kira shouldn't be a problem. I should probably connect my home with my office and actually decorate the thing.

The Mikosanos were a problem that we should plan for- Oh, shit! I still had a fucking corpse in the freezer! How the fuck did I forget… no. No, I knew how. Cari was just too… enchanting.

Speaking of Cari, I still needed to ask her about how she could bypass my Scouts. While I didn’t… no, actually, I did mind that I couldn't detect her. It meant I could find her easily if I wanted to cuddle. I should probably invite her friends over, as well, or at least tell her she could, if she wanted.

Sighing, I looked at my notes and saw they were only eleven points.

Talk to Cody about Hotel

Talk to Synaptic about middle man info

Talk to Black Log about dispatching myself

Talk to Black Log about BeanTech

Talk to Black Log about Council

Talk to Black Log about traitors

Deal with the new office.

Plan trip to Japan

Deal with corpse and it's sword

Talk with Cari about detection bypass

Talk to Cari about friends

Five of those could be handled by setting up an appointment with Black Log, which would probably turn into a full day affair. The three involved Cari and could probably be handled over dinner. Talking to Cody about the hotel would be a nice segue into talking about the middle man, and that just left the Japan trip, which would be a huge undertaking.

Thinking on that, we probably couldn't leave for another month or so, due to my obligations that I probably would have soon. Which means that the Mikosanos would probably try to grab her again at least once before we could leave…

“Hey, Synaptic? Am I missing anything on my notes here? Or my thoughts?” I ask aloud.

Her eyeball floated over from the kitchen, carrying a blue shake, which she passed to me. “If this list is restricted to being based on the events of the last two weeks, then yes, there is indeed something missing.”

Siping on the straw, the shake was just thick enough to be satisfying, not to mention the flavor was wonderful. Lemon blueberry. I raise my eyebrow in question. “You forgot to ask Bahamut about your new PMC.”

I smacked my forehead. Duh! “Right! Adding that to the schedule. So, that leaves me with five appointments to make which also means this part of my homework is done.” Setting down the shake on a hardlight counter to my right, I sigh in satisfaction. “And now onto the second part. Equipment.”

I access the hologram emitters in the room and pull up some models of myself and my family, overlaying their normal equipment over them and accessing their files, starting with myself.

I had my Class II Field Commanders Armor, Twin Adder Shoulder Mounted Plasma Launchers, The Immortal Flame Coilgun, and my Maelstrom Large Machine Gun. Looking over the specs of these, I was immensely satisfied. Plus, in three days Morrigan would have finished my fake body, allowing me to dive into hives in "person". Augustus told me not to compare everything to the southern hive, but rather the first hive I encountered, as that would be a better comparison to my more normal threats.

If the strongest thing I would have to deal with would be a Model Twenty Three, I was in no real danger.

I then checked my augs and Bionics and was slightly dissatisfied with my body. It was actually holding me back. I could think at absurd speeds, yet I couldn't keep up with it physically, risking major damage if I tried. I comforted myself with the knowledge that I would eventually get a Class II Bioshifter and the relevant DNA banks to evolve into a Commander Type Slitherian, which would replace a majority of the Bionics with organic counterparts.

I moved on to Jill, then Cody, Buddy, and Roger, yet stopped before I opened Cari’s info. This felt like something I should do with her here. Looking back over my organic family and their gear, I could see their wishlists and agreed with them. Each of them would get better augs, and the ability to connect to my network at will. Cody initiated a request for better Neural upgrades, which they all wanted. As far as gene editing or the like, they were satisfied with their current humanities, though Roger did note that he wouldn't mind car ears and a tail... Their gear was the best for what we could make, even though I could technically buy better weapons.

I smirked, seeing that they all wanted Morrigan to design their weapons instead of Synaptic. “Does that make you jealous?” I ask

She ruffles my hair with a tentacle. “You're cute, Victor.” she said. “And what makes you think I'm not working with Morrigan to design these weapons?” Before I could retort, she flicks the hologram away from the family and shows the building. “Why don't you focus on your homework, first.”

I rolled my eyes as I took another deep sip of the shake. Outer defenses were solid, all sight lines covered- Oh, mother fucker!

“The Cruiser! That was finished the other day!” I shout, jumping up off the couch.

I focus on my new Virtual meeting room and slip in easily, realizing that I could focus both on the virtual room, as well as my physical body at once. Neat. The room was a recreation of the common room, one of the smaller sections set up to be an isolated room. I called Morrigan, and she appeared on a chair.

“Hey, Victor! Glad to see you doing well. What can I do for you?” she asked, her smile held just a hint of smugness.

“You owe me a tour of the Cruiser.” I say with minor irritation. Who am I irritated at? Irrelevant.

She does an exaggerated gasp, covering her mouth. “You're absolutely right! I do, indeed, owe you that.” Her arm drops as her smugness deepens. “Such a shame that the rest of your family is out and won't be back until dinner. We both know that if you toured it on your own, they would all be suuuper mad at you.”

I stayed silent as I adjusted my course away from the drydock to the Screen, where her current location pinged as. “You rotten little….” I just glared at her as she just cackled.

As I entered the Screen, I see Bahamut, Outsider, and Morrigan in different parts of the room, then stop dead, seeing the new minions I haven't yet seen.

Owls. Barn owls, snow owls, great owls, ground owls. So many tall humanoid owls in professional support staff shirts and no pants, seated around the holo table and various computer stations.

“Good afternoon, Sire!” Bahamut calls out, making his way over to me. “I see you have met my staff?” He chuckles at me. “I decided to go with a mixture of the various other minions, making them much more versatile and identifiable.”

“Humanoid owls… Okay. Sure. They're cute.” I say, consciously resetting my brain.

“What can I do for you, Sire? You seemed rather irate as you entered, so I am very pleased to see my staff successfully calming you.”

“Ah, right. Guess I can do meeting number four now.” I mutter. “I wanted to discuss plans for eventually making our way to Japan to deal with the Mikosanos. I know it is still a long ways off, but I wanted to at least get some details hammered out.”

Bahamut nods as he leads me to the center table. We take a seat around it as Outsider joins us, Morrigan conspicuously absent. “Yes, Japan. The land of the Rising Sun, under the purview of the Keiretsu for all things Samurai related.” The table shifts to an overlay of the Japanese Isle. “Through Vanguard Cassandra, I have been in contact with a representative of theirs, where I have expressed interest for a visit at some point in the future with all of us. Surprisingly, green cards are very easy to obtain, and I was met with wondrous hospitality once I indicated that we would be entering through legal means, instead of simply showing up with barely an announcement. They have rolled out the metaphorical red carpet for us, indicating that they would love to host us and give us a grand tour of their nation and its storied history that has still survived the antithesis threat.”

A tour line starting in Sapporo, leading down to Fukuoka, with numerous pins and stops marked along the path. “Considering our goal will be to deal with a prominent pillar of their society, I figured it would be in our best interest to ingratiate ourselves with the local ruling class and bate out the Mikosanos, enlisting the Keiretsu's aid. Not to mention, I figured that such a trip would be preferable as a nice vacation in a month or so.”

“Not to mention,” Outsider says. “That there is another way this could play out, one that I predict will occur with a much higher chance than them sending troops first.”

The map shifts to the south of Japan, over Osaka. The tour line passes through Fukushima Ward in Osaka, only a mile or so away from the Mikosano Family Manor. “Once we arrive in Japan, I predict that they will send a representative to invite us to their manor in an attempt to convince Madame Cari to rejoin them. From there, a number of things could occur, ranging from them letting us go to attack us later, to the more likely action of attacking us right then and there, attempting to capture Madame Cari. Regardless, I would recommend that we speak with the Keiretsu at some point before we set foot in Japan in order to stay honest with them. There are few things ruder than stepping in another's home with destructive plans and not letting the host prepare.”

I adjusted the map a few times, checking the route and time estimates. The entire tour was set to last three weeks, with numerous Riokans, temples, and hiking trails marked as points of interest. “Sands, this is extensive…” I wanted to do it, I want to bring my family to see this other country, to see something else other than the dirt of New Phoenix. “Once we have the time, and the forces necessary to protect New Phoenix, we will go.”

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