“It’s crazy, really. You’d imagine a lot of PMC folk, or maybe police, to become Samurai. Or at least, a lot of the Samurai that do show up to have a history in those areas. Turns out, that is pretty rare. Probably because you can’t be corrupted by the system yet. And fuck knows how many of those idiots have become numb to it all.”

  Anonymous Comment on the Samuraiz Forums

  The newcomer was not what I expected. Generally, she fit the typical civilian look pretty well. Her clothes looked to be pretty average, and, while dirty, could be from any number of cheap stores. She kept herself in shape enough to not look burly or overweight, but she also didn’t look like those models you’d find online. Everything about her was basically indistinguishable from any number of random middle aged women you’d find on the street.

  Everything except her expression.

  It took me a moment to even pinpoint what exactly it was about it that really put me off, but the moment she saw my undead aliens, still meandering about and swaying on the spot, I knew she wasn’t your average civilian. Most people would react in one of two ways. Either they fled, or they got ready for a fight.

  This woman didn’t do either immediately. She did eventually, after half a moment or so, spring back to life and made to run, but it was not the same kind of motion you’d typically see from an immediate reaction. It looked, for a ck of a better word, staged. As if it took her a moment to remember how she was supposed to react.

  Furthermore, there was another thing that caught my attention. A sternness present in her expression that didn’t fit the image of your average Karen on a stroll through a park. I’ve seen that look before, that sternness. Typically you’d find it in any halfway competent soldier or policeman. Anyone, really, that was trained to deal with potentially violent encounters of varying degrees of potency. Even most martial artists had that look, that equal parts calm and tense sort of expression that told you that they knew exactly what was going on and how to react. It was a sort of confidence in the ability to subdue the aggressor of a situation. And most of the time, that confidence was deserved.

  I was fully aware that the stereotypes were often incomplete, if they were correct at all. In many cases relying on stereotypes was a quick way to end six feet under, and part of my training had been to overcome such immediate assessments in favour of something more reliable. But even I wasn’t immune to their influence. And seeing this woman and the stark contrast between her outward appearance and the way she held herself, now that I noticed it, did throw me for a loop for a moment.

  Most people wouldn’t act the way she did. If she was a soldier type, a high likelihood, getting ready for a fight would be a natural and expected reaction. But this woman seemed like she wanted to get ready for a fight, only to realise that it wouldn’t fit her outward appearance, changing her approach mid-movement to try and flee. It was a wasted moment, and even a moment as short as that could prove deadly. Nobody with half an idea of what they were doing would make such a rookie mistake in a real combat situation.

  By the time my assessment finally ran down, the newcomer was just about to start and run away from my undead. Zuri had noticed her too, of course, and now started to rush over.

  “Hey, hey! It’s okay! These xenos are not a threat! We have them under control! We’re Samurai, we got, uh, stuff to make sure they don’t hurt anyone!”

  It wasn’t exactly the most eloquent of expnations, but it seemed to do the trick. Before she could get a head of steam, the woman already slowed down again, turning to Zuri. She didn’t stop entirely, putting some more distance between herself and my undead, but she did seem to realise the truth of Zuri’s words. It very likely helped that my undead didn’t start to try and rush after her, not moving from where they were still slowly swaying left and right.

  I still wasn’t sure what the deal of that woman was, but I wasn’t about to leave her and Zuri alone. The moment my sister started to jog over, I immediately followed, hands on one dagger and my pistol. I didn’t quite draw the weapons yet, but I wanted to be ready for any eventuality.

  The woman didn’t stop staring at my undead, keeping a careful eye on them, but she did slowly start to walk over towards us. With a quite wide berth, which I couldn’t really bme her for. We met around halfway, and I kept myself carefully between Zuri and the newcomer. Not directly between them, but close enough that I’d be able to react if the woman tried anything.

  Zuri, unsurprisingly, didn’t seem to notice, but the short gnce the woman shot me told me that she did. A sharp eye, that one. Another reason for me to be cautious.

  “Hey, are you okay?” My sister was checking the woman over, not quite reaching out to touch her, but obviously concerned.

  After the initial gnce, the woman seemed to ignore me, eyes locking onto Zuri. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. It’s my husband. We were out and about and I went to grab some snacks when the aliens showed up. I rushed back, but he wasn’t at the bench I left him at. And with the net down I can’t contact him either. Do you know if he made his way here?”

  Her expression was surprisingly calm, and for a moment it almost felt too calm. But there was also something else in there. It manifested itself in the inflections of her voice, almost, but not quite, hidden. She wasn’t screaming or yelling, she wasn’t hyperventiting, but there was an undercurrent of panic and worry. Instead of letting her emotions take charge, she did her best to keep herself calm, hoping to take control of a situation she had obviously lost control over. Another good indicator that she was trained, and well at that.

  Zuri, for her part, nodded, immediately looking over to one of the soldiers, waving him over. “We can have a look,” she said with a calming smile. “If he’s here, we’re going to find him quickly.”

  The soldier approached our little group quickly, giving Zuri a stern salute. “Ma’am!”

  My sister turned to the man, giving him a nod. “Do you have a list of everyone inside?”

  “Yes, ma’am. If you give me a name, I can check the database and see if they’re present. Everyone should be filed into the local database.”

  “Herold. Herold Kabaan,” the woman spoke, before Zuri could even gnce at her again. Her eyes were piercing and sharp, studying her surroundings closely. It was obvious that she was tense and alert. Yet another detail that told me she wasn’t just some clueless thug.

  The soldier nodded, then was silent for a moment. We waited, the tension dragging out more and more. Eventually the man slowly shook his head, before he finally turned to address us directly once more. “Apologies, but no man under the name of Herold Kabaan has been registered with us. We aren’t able to check with the other shelter, since the net is still unreliable, but I have put in a request once we have a connection again.”

  “Fuck!” It was the first time the woman showed any sort of strong emotion, the word obviously spoken louder than was strictly necessary. After a moment, she shook her head. “Okay, thank you. I gotta go and look for him.”

  Before she could turn to leave, Zuri spoke up. “Where did you st see him? We can go and look for him.”

  “We were past the diner, in one of the more secluded areas. It’s more quiet there, with a good look on the ke. I can show you.”

  Zuri was about to nod, but I stopped her. “No.”

  That threw my sister for a loop, and she more or less whirled on me, expression exasperated. “No?! Yurei, she needs help! I’m not just going to sit pretty while her husband might be in trouble!”

  I just gave her a stern gnce, making it clear that I wasn’t about to debate the issue. “And you still need to get some rest and get better gear. Remember our discussion previously. I won’t repeat myself. You stay here and get as much rest as you can, plus some armor and equipment for when we head out to help the convoy. I can go with her to try and find her husband.”

  I left it unsaid that I didn’t trust the woman whatsoever, but I did give my sister a very stern look. She, of course, wanted to argue, but she must’ve noticed my gaze. With a sigh she relented, shaking her head. “Okay… I don’t like it, but okay. Just make sure you come back if you need help, understood?”

  “I will. Now, go. We don’t have time to waste. Every moment we stand here is another moment people are dying.” I turned my eyes back to the woman, who was looking at me with a tense gaze.

  Zuri sighed again, then stormed off, very much not happy with the current situation. I’d survive her growling ter, as long as she was alive enough to growl at me. Something I wasn’t sure I could guarantee with this woman nearby. Call me superstitious, call me overprotective, but this woman was dangerous. I had enough enemies that wanted me dead, and right now was basically the st chance they got to remove me from the picture. Zuri and I were Samurai now, if they had someone keep an eye on me, something I practically accepted as a given, then they’d know that soon we’d be far too powerful for them to deal with.

  Of course, Samurai weren’t invincible, but very few idiots would try to kill a Samurai. Especially a Samurai with my specific skill set. Without boasting I could say that I was already a highly dangerous target. Now that I was able to basically obtain any piece of equipment and weaponry I wanted?

  Not even I would take a contract for my own head. That was just suicide.

  The woman gave me a nod, then turned to lead me away. I kept a little bit of distance between the two of us, just in case, taking the time to give her a more thorough once over. Typically I’d be a bit more subtle about it, but she had already noticed my caution, so it wasn’t as if I had anything to lose.

  As was to be expected, she made a wide berth around my undead again, and I decided to leave them where they were. I could take them with me, of course, but after a moment’s thought I decided against it. One versus one, I was confident in my ability to deal with her. The undead were unlikely to help much, and they might even be detrimental on the off-chance she wasn’t lying through her teeth. They weren’t exactly subtle, so if we did have to fight xenos, they might attract unwanted attention. No, I was far more comfortable leaving them behind to help protect the shelter.

  Zuri was still not an experienced fighter, and even with the soldiers close by, I wanted some way to keep her safe, even if only indirectly. It also made it less likely for the soldiers to try something, if they were so inclined, which was another benefit.

  Neither of us said anything while she led me down the same path I had taken twice today already. I kept my senses sharp, my ears and nose trained on the wind, while I kept my eyes on her back. My instincts weren’t screaming at me that this woman was a direct threat, which was good, but I also didn’t want to let my guard down.

  Time to see if I had to neutralise another threat, or if this truly was the rescue mission she made it seem like.

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