"The biggest problem with the opposing sides... no, well, not the biggest problem, the biggest problem is that they won't let us go. The biggest problem with fighting them is that these damn things can't hold on to one form of struggle. One day, You fight a group of three alien beasts that are fast but weak. The next day, you're overrun by Six's more vicious monsters, which shrug off small arms fire as if your bullets were nothing more than flies They are all small.
I hate being sent to fight aliens. It seemed like I was left to suppress a group of crying protesters. "
--Paul "Rod" Robrick. Lieutenant, The Rubbe
ecks, North America PMC, late 2051
***
I slowly approached the door and pulled it open with my toes. I hold the gun firmly with the barrel pointed downwards, but ready to pick up the gun and shoot at any time❗
The body was stale. At least, I don't think that's what I saw first before turning my attention elsewhere. This person might be with another group of students and kids, or he might just be a poor idiot. He might eat their faces.
The short passage outside the door leads to a square, with a row of shops on one side where I am, and a huge and magnificent glass window overlooking the city on the other side. At least they once had a commanding view of the city, now they could only admire the view of the dull gray and white building across the street.
"I'll get lost," I said.
I can guide you, albeit with moderate accuracy. I'd suggest using neuroaugmentation to help you with pathfinding, but you're too poor to do that.
"The story of my life," I whispered as I carefully stepped over the body.
Turn right forward, then right again into the next intersection just like the one you are on now. This should take you to the next stairwell.
I was disgusted, but really, I had bigger things to worry about than some poor dead man.
Looking around, there was no one in the hall, the humble Chinese-owned sushi fast food restaurant was empty, and there were small shops, a few small boutiques and technology stores nearby. I can't see anyone.
"Creepy," I said, walking on.
I spotted beautiful, almost glowing white sneakers on a rotating display in a store. I would love to buy myself a new pair. Better than my now dirty white Nikes, but I was on a mission. Shopping may be a little late.
Yes, this offers garments of a quality incomparable to those found in most human stores.
"Are you jealous?" I asked. “Afraid that I’ll buy something with someone else?”
nonsense. The equipment I can provide is orders of magnitude better than what you can get through traditional means. It's only logical that you would prefer to deal with me than a smaller supplier.
I laughed. "You're jealous," I said.
It may not be sane to toy with the crazy AI in my head, but it distracts me when I need it.
coming! When I passed by the canteen, suddenly something huge rushed towards me. I froze, gun not ready to aim...the giant sandwich hologram. I put my hand on my heart. "Damn it."
I stomped forward, glad no one was around to see me nearly shit myself from some intrusive ad. Awkward chat.
I raised the trencher a little higher and scanned it left and right as I moved toward a small side passage ahead, just when Mialis said I would find the enemy.
The movement outside made me turn and stare at the city. A hovercar sped past, with three giant bat-like creatures speeding behind it. I moved closer to the window and followed the chase until the hover car sped around the corner.
The streets below are alive with life, with hundreds of Number Three enemies running along the sidewalks, as well as larger, dirtier-looking aliens who hammer nails into walls and doors to make room for them to enter. Fifty-foot-long worms slithered across the road, some moving at alarming speeds, while others lumbered forward, bloated as if they had eaten a bus.
Strangely, they seemed to be moving in the right direction for traffic, flowing in groups but not getting in each other's way. "So much," I said.
The rattle of machine guns could be heard in the distance, in stark contrast to the eerie silence of the many monsters that didn't even roar. The anti-aircraft guns had gone silent. Looking up, I saw one of them sticking out of a storage room in the ceiling of a smaller building. It was half-melted, with a huge spaceship perched on top.
These should still be smaller models. They will scour the area for biological material, bringing back any forming hives, scouting buildings, and tagging them with pheromones to warn other monsters of the internal threat.
"What ships did these come from?"
Calling them "ships" is perhaps a bit of a misnomer. But essentially yes. Soon, these relatively harmless outliers will expand indefinitely into unconquered areas of the city. Your time is running out.
Or what about our military? !
A rumble from further down the corridor made me pause. The hall turned as they reached the corner of the building, the last store in the line, an Ogg gear store with more floor space than merchandise for sale.
I looked at the passage leading to the stairwell, then to the end of the hallway.
If we're going to be passing through here with kids, it's best to find out early.
Your curiosity is, pardon the pun, quite curious.
"Why?" I whispered.
At first you seemed determined to achieve your goal, but now you're off track because you heard an interesting voice. I'm curious, is my vanguard easily distracted?
"Don't you have my profile?" I asked. I'm pretty sure half the companies have a product like this. It's common to walk into a store and only buy things you want to stuff your face in. Or at least, some artificial intelligence algorithm suspects what you want.
Profiles don’t tell the whole story.
I don't want to argue that. Especially now, I crouched down and looked around the corner, and saw a pair of No. 3 monsters standing next to a black and green snake-like thing. This snake was as big as a bus!
