Daisy Cullen had always impressed me. At our first meeting, outside the Grunter mansion, we’d spoken for only a few minutes, and after that, I’d seen her take to the training for the courthouse ambush like a duck to water.

Now, she was turning Phoenix Company into an actual fighting force. Both from the combat side and the legal side.

Which was why she, Maria and Donna Bartoli were sitting at a table with me, in Daisy’s apartment.

“Company’s incorporated,” Daisy began. “We’re registered as a private military contractor based out of Florida. Cleared for Department of Defense contracts and Stratospheric Guard operations.”

“Does the Stratospheric Guard actually pay for PMCs?”

“Only if they’re part of the forces brought on-site by a known ultrahuman. And using powered armor. Rates are the same as support, though.”

“That’s still something.”

“Funnily enough, Grumman’s the one who established the precedent. The Grunters charged SURGE for each suit deployed, even the lightest ones, claiming that they should be billed at frontliner rates. And include a cost of replacement.”

“Are we being paid less?”

“No, because the government never agreed. Paying normal humans in powered armor the same rate as support ultrahumans is itself pretty controversial.”

“Why?”

“Because the troops who fight the aliens don’t get paid at the same rate. Still, the Grunters got the rule established, so I’m taking advantage of it.”

“You’ll need a lot more training than what you’ve got so far.”

“We know. Sergeant Banner and the others have agreed to help us with a proper training program, and given us free rein on the grounds.”

“That’s good. Do you need any supplies? Equipment?”

“More power packs for the rifles, and some basic repairs for the suits, but otherwise we’re okay.”

“I can help with that, and more.” I pulled out my newest inventions. “These are an upgrade over the Laser Rifles you’re used to.”

Daisy struggled a bit before lifting the squat, boxy, grey rifle. “It’s heavy,” she grumbled.

“Weights eight kilos unloaded. Add in the power packs and it goes up to twelve.”

“Why these?”

“I call them HEPARs. High-Energy Plasma Assault Rifles. They’re the best weapon I’ve been able to come up with for you, short of actual powered armor.”

“I meant apart from the name.”

“They do a lot more damage to the aliens.”

“Okay, now I’m interested. How do they work?”

“The HEPARs have three firing modes, standard, suppressive and boosted. In standard, a single shot does 100 damage - two and a half times that of a laser rifle, and three times a standard bullet’s effect. With the Boosted mode, the HEPAR’s plasma blast hits for 300 damage.”

“Wow. So it can take out an alien in a single shot?”

“It can take out a Raptor, and two shots in Boosted mode will kill a Sarnak.”

“So… why different modes? Can’t we just keep running through the aliens on Boosted?”

“Unfortunately, Boosted tends to overheat the weapon. You have to give it about thirty seconds to cool down between shots.”

“I’m pretty sure we won’t have thirty seconds in a firefight.”

“Well, that’s what Standard mode is for. You can fire one shot per second on Standard and it keeps running. Boosted, though - fire more frequently than once in thirty seconds and there’s a chance the HEPAR will blow up in your hand.”

“I’d rather not be counting seconds in the middle of the fight.”

“You won’t have to. I’ve programmed it automatically to avoid firing for thirty seconds after a Boosted shot, and to wait for the one-second delay on standard mode.”

“And if there’s a bunch of Raptors charging at us? What then?”

“There’s a third mode called Suppression. You can keep the button pressed and it’ll hose down the enemy.”

“Spray and pray mode?”

“Spray and pray, so it only does 50 damage when in Suppression mode.”

“Ha, that’s still better than a laser rifle. How many shots do these carry?”

I pointed to the ammo slots. “One medium and one small power pack. The medium carries enough power for 4,000 standard shots - or 1,000 Boosted shots. The boost isn’t perfect, though. The small is a backup, only about 100 standard shots more.”

“Why’d you put it there anyway?”

“Because if your medium pack runs out of power, you can keep firing with frequent replacements of the small packs. You’ll all be carrying backup small power packs anyway, for those who still have lasers.”

“Ah. You have a limited number of these, I assume?”

“Just twenty-two, I’m afraid. I’ll be keeping one. Also, I’d suggest you see who all can handle the weight before replacing the laser rifles.”

Daisy nodded in agreement. “Better we use something we’re comfortable with than something that wears people out lugging it around.”

“That’s the plan. I have the remaining HEPARs in my jeep.”

“Will you be driving that into battle?”

“God, no. It’s just a very large target right now. We’re using it to keep supplies and backup weapons, including a reserve of javelins and power packs.”

“Have you thought about where you’d keep it parked?”

“I was thinking of having one person drive it behind us, at a reasonably safe distance from the actual frontline.”

“So people can quickly grab a power pack or two if they run dry.”

“A power pack, a javelin, a grenade, basically any consumables. To be on the safe side, though, I’d need it at least five hundred feet behind the rest of the company.”

“Sounds good. Who’s going to be driving it?”

“I was hoping one of you would volunteer.”

Daisy, Donna, and Maria exchanged glances. Finally, Daisy spoke up. “We’ll find a volunteer. Some of the girls are pretty good drivers.”

“Nobody adventurous, please. I need people with a steady hand.”

“Don’t worry, Carla has a very gentle hand.”

For some reason this caused Donna to giggle. Daisy shot her a sharp look.

“Will you have a new suit for the driver?” asked Maria. “Otherwise we’ll be down one gun while we’re in combat.”

“Sure. In fact, I plan to give your four more suits.” I took a deep breath. “And one more volunteer to train along with you.”

“Nanocloud’s joining us for training?” Daisy asked. “We’ll be happy to have her. It’s about time we met her in person.”

“Especially since she’s been watching over us for so long,” added Donna. “Our little guardian goddess.”

I winced. “Actually, it would be a good idea to have Nanocloud join you for the training as well. So, two more people, and four more suits for Phoenix Company.”

“You have another colleague?” Daisy sounded pleased. “We’d love to have her. It is a her, right?”

“Yeah, that’s not the problem….”

“... there’s a problem?”

“A small one. You have to keep her identity absolutely secret. Nobody can know.”

The three women exchanged glances again before Daisy spoke up. “We can do that, but we need a name to call her.”

“You can call her Nina. That works.”

Silence at the table.

Then Maria said, “No. Please, no.”

“Er…”

“Please tell me it’s not the woman I’m thinking of.”

“Come on. She’s not that bad.”

“She tried to kill you.”

“And you talked her out of it.”

“She nearly roasted you alive!”

“Yes, but’s that all water under the bridge now. She’s willing to work with us.”

“There are a dozen more reliable people you could hire.”

“I’m not hiring her, she volunteered.”

“She volunteered… to put on this uncomfortable, sweaty armour and plod through the London streets with us?”

“... the armor’s sweaty?”

“It’s airtight and the fibres don’t breathe, but that’s not my point. Why would you want her with us?”

“We need her in London, that’s why.”

Donna coughed. “If she’s willing to take part, why does she need to train with us?”

“She can’t take part under her own name. So I need a cover identity to slip her in when the Traveler shows up.”

“Why do you need her anyway?”

“.... I just do, all right? You promised to help me in whatever way I needed. This is it.”

Silence fell. The three women exchanged glances again.

Daisy sighed. “I guess we did promise that. Fine, it’s settled. But if she’s caught, we say she volunteered in her civilian identity. We had no idea who she was.”

“Done.”

“And she has to train with us, same as the rest.”

“I’ll make it happen.”

“That’s not happening, kid.”

“Be reasonable, Agni.”

“I’m not getting into some fancy faux leather outfit and wading through mud at five in the morning.”

“It’s nanofibre weave, not leather.”

“It doesn’t breathe. Like leather.”

“.... why does everyone keep complaining about that?”

“It’s damned uncomfortable, that’s what it is.”

“You haven’t even worn it.”

“I know fabrics well enough, Belessar. Plus, your lady friend Maria was sweating like a pig when she spoke to me outside the stadium.”

“That was because the place was on fire.”

“And armor is supposed to protect you from heat, not cause you to pass out.”

“You’ll be fine, you control heat. Besides, it’s the easiest way to conceal your identity.”

“It’s uncomfortable.”

“You fought me in a leather jacket and jeans.”

“Still more comfortable than that stupid nonbreathing fabric of yours.”

“Look, you have to blend in somewhere. Besides, didn’t you say you wanted to meet Daisy? This would be the perfect opportunity.”

Agni downed her beer with a snort. “You’re lucky you’re cute. With your powers of persuasion, you’d die a virgin.”

“I don’t know whether to be flattered or insulted….”

“I’m not wearing that weird black uniform your Phoenix Girls wear.”

“Phoenix Company.”

“Same difference. Where’s the phoenixes on it, anyway?”

“The girls see it as a symbol of their rebirth.”

“Forget what I said earlier. You’re definitely going to die a virgin.”

“Why are you so opposed to the armour anyway?”

Agni stared off into the distance. “I’m not, actually. I just… it’s been a long time since I worked with anyone else. Much less twenty-eight elses.”

“So?”

“Kid. The last time I was part of a team was Rawalpindi.”

Me and my big mouth. “Sorry.”

“Yeah, well. I did promise to help you out.” Agni made a face. “So if that means wearing that crappy armour of yours, and drilling with the Phoenix Girls, I’ll do that. But you’re going to owe me big for this.”

“I can pay for your time, if that’s what it takes.”

Agni gave me a bemused look. “Keep your money, kid. I’ll do it, because I was wrong about you. But… I have a condition.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“I want to talk to Nanocloud. Face to face.”

“.... Why?”

“Why, why, why. You people and your reasons…. I can get into the heads of the Phoenix Girls, I can even understand you - a little - and I get Papa Drake. I don’t know or get Nanocloud, and I refuse to work with someone I don’t understand. So you tell her to make some time for a chat. Woman to woman.”

“Let me think about it.”

“You think all you want, as long as you let her decide.”

“Are you sure?” I asked Anne. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”

“I know,” my sister said. “I’ve had time to think about what she said to me in the restroom.”

“You know she was probably just trying to get into your head.”

“Yeah, but look at it from her side. Your powers are - well, nothing others can’t do, right? You basically have weak versions of a lot of minor powers, and you make them work well together. My power, on the other hand, is the complete opposite.”

“How’s that?”

“Inventors who control constructs are pretty rare. Most inventors make armored suits and stick with that, very few use AI, and only a tiny fraction can command more than a dozen independent units. The record is held by Reconnect.”

“Reconnect….” I tried to remember the name. “I’ve heard of him. Isn’t he on Fortress Skyguard now?”

“Yeah, he’s one of the Skyguard Fifty. Controls about fifty thousand advanced drones with independent combat capability, and they do a pretty good job of tearing up the aliens whenever they attack Skyguard.”

“... only fifty thousand?”

“Yeah. And I handle two million.” Anne shrugged. “If my nanobots could actually use weapons - or were of a reasonable size - then I could do a lot of damage to the enemy.”

It took me a second to digest this. “Anne… that’s a good point. Have you been able to scale them up any?”

“No, and that’s the problem - I can field about ten kilos worth of nanobots. Until Cloud Energization ramps up, at least. Still, that’s a hundred times what I could do when I started. What’ll it be like if I keep this rate of growth up?”

I thought about it for a second. “It took you a year to go from a hundred grams to ten kilos… If you can keep this up for three years, you could be fielding ten thousand tonnes of nanobots. Assuming, that is, that your powers scale and don’t hit a cap somewhere.”

“The issue isn’t fielding the bots, Andrew, it’s powering them. Cloud Energization has a range. I can power bots within a range of about a hundred kilometres, but beyond that, they don’t work. Plus, I need carbs to do it.”

“Yeah… Agni mentioned that many ultras need extra calories to fuel their powers.”

“Another reason why I should talk to her. Maybe she knows some useful stuff.”