Anti-antithesis

Politics always boils down to who has the bigger stick. Whether that stick is information, manpower or just the biggest gun in the room, people always listen to who has the biggest stick.

-Last speech of NUSA General Howard Zul, moments before trying to capture Samurai Garnet Flower in 2031, before being crushed by a very big stick.

Finishing my water, the table Bot refilled it for me. I then realized I had to pee.

<Synaptic, is there something I could do to deal with the need to pee constantly?>

Once you get your Class II Slitherian form, we can make it so you utilize water and waste more efficiently, and strengthen your bladder as well, making it so that you only need to relieve yourself once a week instead of multiple times a day. Until then, you could always have a catheter installed.

I felt a whole body shiver take over me, causing me to bodily shake. Removing the catheter during the forced break incident was extremely unpleasant. So much so that I vowed to never put myself in a position where that would be a requirement ever again.

“Hey, War Games. You good? That was a huge reaction to talking politics.”

“Ah. No. Something else happened. Do you have a bathroom here?”

The jellyfish smacked his tentacles together like one does a fist into an open palm. “Right! We have been talking for a while. I don't have one here in my office. Follow the network. We can continue once you return.”

As it turned out, the nearest “public” restroom was on floor S3, or the floor where my office was, two floors down. Thankfully, it was right next to the stairs. I decided to stop by the cafeteria on floor S2 for a quick snack afterward.

To my surprise, the cafeteria was a food printer, from which I got a protein bar. The flavor was coconut chocolate, and I had to admit, coconut tasted pretty good. I should see if Buddy could cook with it.

Returning to Black Log's office, his blue jellyfish avatar had its tentacles crossed. “You didn't get anything for me?”

I shrugged. “You're a hologram, dude. And you don't seem inclined to leave that Mesh chair over there, if that is your actual body.”

“Heh. Good instincts." He waved some tentacles at the chair. "Yeah, that's just a body double. But keep that to yourself. Super top secret, you know.”

I nodded, grabbing the water cup from the table Bot and taking a sip. “So, politics.”

“Mm, yes. Politics.”

Sighing, I placed the cup down and leaned forward, resting my arms on my knees. “The current corporate council, how stable are they?”

“Pffth. Wow. Politics indeed. Why do you want to know?”

“To know if I need to actually give in to Morrigan and take over the city, or if I can simply coast on by and kill plants.”

The jellyfish whistled a long, low note. “Damn, kid. Look, while I won't say they're good, they are stable now. You know of New Phoenix Electronics and how they are being installed onto the Council as a Family plant, right?” I nodded. “They are set to set things right, you get me? We will monitor them, obviously, make sure they stay on the up and up, as they are an experiment at the end of the day. Their leadership is related to a few Samurai from across NA, so odds are good that they don't get greedy. As far as auditing the other council members goes, we have used the destruction of the southern defenses, the internal info we acquired, and the lacking PMC response to the riots as a way to clean things up nicely. We are forcing them to actually pay for their share, or at least maintain their contractual minimums. I know we are still two months out from your guys being ready and all, but barring any more corporate sabotage, we should be stable politically. The data your family pulled from Fabrio's Munitions helped a lot in making that happen, by the way.”

“Sands, I hope so." I remembered Cody ranting about that job, then smiled wryly. "Did they report on how ancient their security was?”

“Yes! Who the hell uses walkie talkies in this Era? Actual, physical keys? Hardwired cameras? I wanted to firebomb the building on principle, wipe it out from the face of the Earth. But noooo, I have to play nice and update their security normally cause they paid me to. Ugh. Moving on, no. You do not need to take over the city like Trash Bandit. While things could be better, we of The Family have removed the biggest obstacle to making things better. Just give us time, War Games.”

I nod and sigh. That's good. I really didn't want to- “Wait who's Trash Bandit?” I ask.

That question seemed to catch him off guard as he pauses. “You don't know who the current Queen of England is?”

“Nooo…? We didn't have access to international feeds growing up in Ci-Spi. I know Roger did some research, but that was limited to New Phoenix and its surroundings. To be fair, we didn't need to know what was going on outside of Arizona. I know Cody sent me some memes about how Fox Girls ruled Europe, but I haven't looked up anything myself.”

The jellyfish deflated fully, flattening against the chair blob it was floating above. “Right. You need some education but I don't want to get into it. Go look up The Purple Truth Network later and go through their archives. Focus on Vanguard Foxfire, Samurai Trash Bandit, and PsyCo. Just know that some twenty years back, a Samurai took over England with a literal army of Raccoons and worked to better things. She mostly does remakes of the classics now on her airways. You know, Terminator, Die Hard, Doctor Who. Public approval ratings are very high, despite the Raccoons stealing shit constantly.”

What the actual fuck. Okay, I guess I have some research to do later. “Anything else I should be on the lookout for?”

“Hmm. I mean, sure, there's plenty, but you can find them out yourself.” The jellyfish reinflated and resumed hovering. “Oh, I guess you should actually look up the Keiretsu and Japan, considering you plan on heading to Japan eventually. They're cool people, and if you plan on killing people there, you should probably do your best to convince them that they deserve it.”

“That was the plan, Black Log." I say, nodding. "In the next few days, Bahamut should get a meeting set up between myself and the Keiretsu leadership so that I can explain the situation and obtain their blessing, or at least a guarantee to get the Mikosanos to back off.”

The jellyfish snorted. “Get an old Japanese family to give up on a tradition? Yeah, right. By time you leave Japan, either they will be gone or you will be. And my money is on you. Got anything else you want to talk about, or are you going to go and decorate your office?”

“Yeah, I have one more thing. I wanted to ask about any dispatches that may be needed in the surrounding area that might need… heavy fire support. Or, even normal fire support, really. My break period is over and I need some more tokens for a body double tech catalog. Plus, I have a new ship I want to test out- oh, right. I should probably let you know of my new Flagship.”

“You have a Flagship? That… conjures a very specific image, War Games. How big are we talking here, if Flagship is the term you're using.”

I flicked him the general specs of the MAF Pandora. He is silent for ten minutes as I sat there and sip on water, looking at the other jellyfish floating around in the massive water tanks that make up the ceiling and walls of his office.

“Sweet coyote fucking misogynists, what the fuck have you built. When was this finished?” His voice was quiet and measured.

“The other day, though it's apparently not finished, yet. The hull is being upgraded to Class III stuff, and should be done in a month or so.”

He stayed silent for a bit longer before he gave a ten second sigh. “Yeah. Alright. Where is it right now?”

“In my drydock on the top floor of my building. Ah, right, it's spatially expanded, so you won’t be able to see until it appears above the tower. It can't leave normally, so it has to be teleported out.”

“Right, right. This thing is going to cause a panic, you know that, right? This is a certified warship that, in all honesty, it sould be sent to Mars to fight. Especially once its armor is finished.”

“Oh, it won't cause a panic." I said calmly. "It has optical camouflage, though it only works for the visual spectrum. Once it launches, I will move it out of the city before revealing it.”

“Corpos will still panic the moment it lights up their sensors. Mind if I make a press release before you take her out on her maiden voyage?” His voice was still very tired.

“Uh, sure. I guess that would mean I would have to do a press conference tomorrow, right? To introduce me and my people and stuff.”

The jellyfish nodded. “Yeah, I think that would be a good idea. You want to use Doma's hall for it, or do it in your building?”

I gave a small pause, then answered. “I'll use Doma's hall. From there, I have a view to my building, so when Pandora launches, they can see it and focus on it.”

“Smart. That will shut up a lot of people while framing it as a boon to the city." He inflated slightly, still laying down on the couch. "I'll get a patrol route set up around New Phoenix and leak it to the press. Once they see the ship, they will connect the dots and record as much of it in action as they can. It should help boost morale in the city, as well as make the corps more obedient.”

I nodded. I don't ask about why he is suddenly so tired, I assume this is just how he is coping with the shock. That's fine. “Well, that's everything I can think of that I need to discuss with you. Anything else you need from me?”

The jellyfish shook itself. “Nah, not anymore. I have let Kira know you are on your way to the office, and I see a few dice floating through the hallways towards there as well. Go, have fun making your office.” The jellyfish waved its tentacles at me, then faded from view.

I stood up, placing my glass on the table bot and made my way to my office.

*****************************************

Jason

As War Games exits my office, I once more look over the general schematics he sent me. If Doma were still here, she could probably put up an equal fight against it. Heracles could wreck it, easily, the man was a living weapon. His greatest wish was to arm wrestle fucking Foxfire, for fucks sake. Gunny? Sure, it might take some shots, but odds are he would come out on top. This thing wasn't space capable yet, after all.

But none of them were here, and probably wouldn't be until next year at the earliest. Which means that War Games was currently the most versatile Samurai in New Phoenix, probably all of Arizona… and he was planning on leaving for a month soon…

I gave a call to The Mad Pack, and Carter picked up after a bit.

“Heyo, Net! What's goin’ on?” His thick Irish accent made it hard to understand him sometimes, but I had years of practice at this point.

“I need to call in a favor, Carter. A big one.” I said.

Carter raised his eyebrow, but nodded for me to continue. “For the next month, I need you to put out a hunting call, take in a number of newbies and get them trained up as much as possible. We need them all to be stable Tier Threes before October.”

He whistled a long note. “T’as a mighty big fav’r, Net. Can'e ask why ya need tem at dat ‘evel so soon?”

“Because we just got a massive boost in combat prowess that will only be around till then, and I need to make sure the rest of the local Samurai aren't pushed out by him by accident. We need all the strength we can get. I will be calling Rocker Boy next to ask him the same.”

Carter stoked his beard. “Do ya kno’ som’tin else, Net?”

I sighed. “Yes and no. I know that the presence of this new force is going to have one of two effects on the newbies. Either they will be inspired by it and seek to reach those same heights, or they will be intimidated by them and seek to leave the state like those before. I want to limit the bleeding as much as possible. As far as what I suspect? Beslté will probably take advantage of when it leaves temporarily, and I believe they will be better prepared than their last attack.”

Carter nodded. “Aye, tat makes a good deal ‘o sense.” He snorts. “Very well, Net. Keep me informed ‘o where an’ when you wa’t me and mine.”

I end the call, hopeful of the future for the first time since Doma left.

Fucking love the Irish, but writing their accent is so hard.

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