-Matthew P.O.V.-

There were really too many things to do. Between finishing up in Sunvilla and filling in the Bulwark agents that arrived shortly thereafter, it was well into the evening. Given that, we decided that staying the night was for the best.

Alice could take the time to be with her family in any case, so I wasn’t especially against it. I did, however, take the time to appraise myself of the situation out west. I hadn’t been keeping tabs on advance towards Argedwall, trusting Fran and the rest of the Legion to keep in control of the situation.

Happily, they had indeed taken care of the few unexpected situations easily enough. There were several more reports of biotics that we hadn’t identified, and I did note that the stealthy cat-type biotics that were plaguing Sunvilla were present there as well. Likely it was a situation similar to Damond, most of the biotics were filtering off in that direction.

I could safely say that, thanks to the Gen 2 stealthy cat-like biotics that a few teams had run into. Oddly enough, they were even more averse to melee than their smaller brethren. With their barbed spike-tails, they slung high-speed projectiles at targets in the distance and then fled immediately afterwards. Granted, they weren’t intended to get through armor.

Though, I did have to wonder if that was truly a Gen 2 biotic, or another Gen 1 strain. Given how durable the Salt Beetles and Carriers had been, I was less inclined to think it was fully a Gen 2. In any case we were taking care of ourselves quite well, two of the potential trails to Argedwall were viable, and the third that went to the mountains was being used to ferry materials and built an observation post. We didn’t foresee needing to use that for much of the mundane things, given that the Obelisks should be able to communicate to other distant Obelisks. This would, however, enable us to utilize radio communication over the entire area.

It was still odd how communication was considered a peripheral system on the Obelisks, though apparently they were never intended to completely replace infrastructure. We’d be better off building our own communications hubs over time than spending hive cores to upgrade the Obelisks.

Later in the night, though, I did receive a message from the Obelisk system that surprised me. It was in voice, but there was also a transcription available. I paused, sitting down on the metal bench within the Ogre, one of the Determinator’s chassis currently partially taken apart as I’d been helping remove a bullet that was lodged within the frame. I was happy for the distraction, even if I hadn’t expected Yamak to contact me for a while longer. His voice came up, clear and surprisingly relaxed.

“Reaper, we’re currently en route to your system. By the time you receive this message, we’ll have been underway for several days, I imagine, but we’re not sure exactly how long it’ll actually take to get there.

As for the forces I’m bringing with, I think you’ll not have any complaints. The Artorian Company hasn’t been crowned best PMC four years running for nothing!

Well, I guess you wouldn’t know anything about that.

Anyways, what else to say? Your Council buddy is lobbying for support for Earth, but if you ask me he’s just chasing away all the people who want a cut of your system in return for some ambiguous amount of aid.

Lazka’s with me, by the way. He insisted on seeing the system for himself. I think he’ll be dissapointed in the lack of amenities when he gets there, but I’m sure you guys are more than busy enough not getting eaten alive. I know the struggle, heh.

Uh, anyways, we’re bringing some obnoxious piece of machinery with us, supposed to help stabilize a warp gate. We’re traveling fast, but it’s expensive, and to be completely honest moving my fleet like this is…”

I heard a clattering sound like something being thrown and another voice cut in in the background.

“Apologies, Captain, it sounded like you were about to start complaining to our client. You wouldn’t be doing that, now, would you?” The feminine voice asked flatly, and I could almost feel Yamak cringe on the other end of the communications.

“O-oh, of course not, Maricene!” The man chuckled nervously before taking a moment to collect himself, “as I was saying, we’re bringing over some of those other pests with us. Honestly, that Princess is the easier one of the bu-wait! Maricene! I’m not complainin-”

The feed cut out entirely for a moment, leaving me utterly perplexed. It was amusing, to be sure, but I was suddenly less certain of how these guys were going to perform their jobs.

The woman began speaking, “the Captain has taken ill for the time being. It seems he tripped on his tongue.” I blinked, unsure if perhaps the turn of phrase was meant to be a joke.

“We currently have the Scynoi Princess aboard as well as a small contingent of Saurian Scatcha - the closest thing you have to them is a Spartan - headed by Uthakka. We also have an attached cruiser under command of three Reaper’s, though they’ve kept to themselves. I’m told you’re aware of their presence, but I also wanted to bring up that there are a considerable number of mercantile and construction vessels.” She paused, a slight grumble coming over the line, “while I’ve also been told you find them permissable to be coming, let us know if that changes. Especially that Lazka fellow.” She paused and let out a level breath, “that should be the bulk of the updates the Captain wished for you to know of. There are few other details that might interest you, but we’ll keep a log of the goings on in any case for your future perusal. Maricene Rockman, Second-In-Command of the Artorian Company out.”

I contemplated everything that I’d just heard, and found myself equal parts amused at the antics the crew seemed to show, and concerned at the apparent flotilla that was coming to the system. If anything, I felt that Maricene had a personal grudge with Lazka, but she didn’t seem to be the sort of person to let that affect her work.

“Alright, well, that’s something,” I mumbled, shrugging as I got back to work. There wasn’t much I could do for them as of yet, but I was beginning to consider what we could do in order to house such a body. Perhaps we could build up the mountain outpost more, make it something of a planetary hub?

The thought immediately made me snicker. We were hardly ready for spaceflight, at least not without outside input. Perhaps someday, but certainly not anytime soon.

Hours passed as I finished repairs on the Determinators and our gear. Even well past midnight, I still felt no fatigue, no need to sleep, my wariness still quite manageable. I was alone for the time being, Jeremy and his team were elsewhere, likely still close to Gerry’s place. Alice and Richard were probably with the DeLeons, though I wasn’t positive exactly where that might be at the current time.

That left me with altogether too much time on my hands.

‘Alright, time to get them into formation,’ I extended my will to the Determinators, watching as they activated all as one and marched out of the Ogre. There weren’t any others around in this area, I’d specifically sought out a less occupied portion of Gerry’s base in order to do my repairs and such. Shade rested beside the Ogre, large enough to be capable of ferrying the Determinators over long distance, or to ferry the team, but not both. Regrettably, that meant that I needed to give some very specific instructions to them as they made their way back to us in Argedwall.

Simple instructions were easy, as well as ones that could realistically be completed within an hour or so. It was the more complex goals that might have any number of ways to complete them that became problems. But, that said, I was fairly certain that they could pilot the Ogre’s to Argedwall with little difficulty.

I started with simple scenarios, simulating them in my mind and sharing the burden with the processing power native in each of the Determinators. Steadily, I began to teach them, breaking down the boundaries of their simplistic A.I. walls. It was, potentially, something that could come back to bite me in the arse. There were, after all, plenty of sci-fi shows where a learning A.I. ended up becoming the enemy of all mankind.

Perhaps if I couldn’t interact with them on the same level as I could Wolvey I’d be far more wary of giving them so much capability. As it was, I had no real qualms about giving them a bit more oomph. Plus, that’d let me pay less attention to them, something that I was more than happy with doing.

Steadily, I felt the changes build up over the many interations. I was utilizing a fairly simple path with obstacles, some of which wouldn’t appear until after they were selected. In this digital scenario, the short path might not always be the fastest. It could have been flooded out due to recent weather, or rife with obstacles not easily apparent at range. A longer path might end up being ideal, and in some cases the Determinators decided to double back, only to run into more trouble. It would be highly frustrating for an ordinary person to deal with this kind of system, but the Determinators took to the course in stride.

As I applied what I learned to their base programming, there was a tipping point, around six in the morning, when they suddenly seemed to come into their own.

The base parameters of their programs weren’t perfect by any means, but they had already been fairly comprehensive. Now, looking at them, I couldn’t help but smile proudly that I’d made something that could reasonably be given an order and would complete it, so long as I didn’t get out of hand and ask them to do something too out of scope.

Satisfied that they could make most journeys that weren’t wrought with extremely unusual and convoluted circumstances, I decided that I could let them take the Ogre’s over.

When the morning light finally began to stir the inhabitants of the city, I was already waiting with Shade, going over its systems and pre-flight checks far before anyone would even be on the way.

At least, I’d thought so.

“Mornin’,” I heard a groggy voice say from the edge of the clearing, a man currently shedding power armor at the Ogre’s external port.

“Jeremy, good morning,” I nodded to him, hopping off Shade and noting the extra cup of coffee in his hand. He held it out to me and I took it gratefully.

“Did you even sleep?” He eyed the Determinators as they dutifully checked the vehicles for anything amiss with their systems.

“No,” I admitted with a shrug, “I don’t need much sleep anymore. Figured I’d fix them up.”

He nodded, “s’pose that’s a good idea. What’s the plan, now?”

I gestured to Shade, “we’ll be taking the Shade over to Argedwall. It’ll be a tight fit, but a lot faster than going by truck.”

“Flying.” I noted the grimace on his face, “I never was much of a fan of flying.”

“I’d never flown before the apocalypse,” I mused, “still not sure how I feel about it.”

“Necessary evils and all that,” Jeremy chuckled, “can’t wait for roads to be fully restored. Think automated highway repair is gonna be a thing?”

I paused and glanced at the Determinators as they finished their checkups of the truck in less than three minutes.

“Yeah, I could see automation being useful in a lot of places. New world, new rules. No reason to use people for grunt work when basic robots can do the job better.” I said, considering all the jobs that we wouldn’t need to fill.

Jeremy didn’t comment, simply content with drinking his coffee and watching the sunrise paint the horizon with burnished reds and oranges.

It was a comfortable shared silence, one with coffee and the idle toil of the Determinators as they busied themselves with packing and securing cargo into the Ogres and into Shade.

An hour and a half later, most of the team trickled in, including some of the representatives of Sunvilla. For now, Gerry was considered the defacto leader, with all the glory and complications that position entailed. Right now, escorted by his second in command, Pat, he seemed to be satisfied, and far more relaxed than I’d seen him before.

“Reaper,” he greeted amicably enough, “I suppose you and your entourage are on their way out?”

I nodded, “we are. Though, Bulwark will still be around so try to avoid the temptation of dictatorship.”

He snorted, but a slim smile was on his face, “I’ll manage somehow.”

The man held out a hand, though I was still mystified as to how he could seemingly see so well even without eyes.

We shook hands, a tenuous relationship between us that was built on a begrudging respect. He did what he thought was best for his people, that much I could respect. And, for all intents and purposes, I felt he bore the same thoughts regarding me.

I hoped so, anyways, but honestly I hoped we never had to interact with each other again.

“Alright everybody, pile in.” I heard Jeremy call out, Shade’s cockpit open and the hybrid cargo and personnel bay open in the back.

The ramp rested evenly on the ground, the oblong disc with razor sharp wings allowing passengers to board. This would be the largest group of people I’d had on the Shade, and it would just about be at capacity, including the equipment Strauss’ and my team took with them.

“Safe travels,” Pat called out, bumping fists with Yomar who was likewise in his power armor. Alice and her family hugged, trying and failing at not becoming too emotional. I smiled at the sight, and moved to the cockpit. The trio of seats, two set in front and one in the back, slightly higher in vantage point, was far larger than what I’d had when I first obtained Shade. I took the chair in the back, noting the seemingly delighted hum that the console gave as I fastened myself in.

“Good to see you, too,” I smiled warmly, feeling Shade’s engines cycle as it prepped for take-off.

A few minutes later, Jeremy and Allendra moved into the cockpit.

“Reserved seating?” Jeremy gestured to the two in front of me.

I shook my head, “be my guest.”

The two sat down, fastening themselves in. Jeremy stiffened after a moment, “actually, maybe the front seat isn’t the best idea for me.”

I wondered for a moment what he meant when I realized he could see out the window quite clearly.

With a grin spreading across my face, I said, “alright everyone, we’re off. Hold on tight!”

Jeremy blanched, looking back to me and not registering the broad smirk on Allendra’s face as he did so.

“No wait a min-”

He didn’t get to finish whatever he’d wanted to say before Shade surged forward, launching in a fairly gentle arc upwards to the accompaniment of Jeremy Strauss bellow of fear.

‘Worth it.’ I managed to not laugh as he sat rigid in his seat as we accelerated mercilessly.