“What’s up, boss? Why’d you call us all here today?” Bandit asked. “Trying to avoid telling the kids the vacation is over?”

  “No, I told them earlier,” I replied. “I’m afraid that I’ll be sleeping on the couch for awhile.”

  “That’s not a punishment, you like sleeping on the couch,” Deadbeat snorted.

  “It was a token punishment, because Jennifer and Eddie kind of understood,” I explained. “Issi decided it.”

  “It certainly sounds like something she’d decide. Cute and completely harmless,” Spooky said.

  “My question stands. The armory is usually Heavy’s territory. Why call us all down here?” Bandit asked.

  I moved further into the room and tried to find a relatively open space where we could chat. It wasn’t easy. The room was filled with rack upon rack of nearly identical weapons and maintenance equipment. Storing more than a thousand weapons took up a surprising amount of space.

  “By now I’m sure you’ve all heard about why we’re heading home,” I said, settling into an intersection between aisles.

  “You mean the moon? Yeah, we heard,” Heavy muttered. “It doesn’t explain why you’ve got everyone squeezing into my room.”

  “I brought you all here today,” I said, before anyone else could complain, “to figure out how to best prepare for this new threat. According to Charlotte, destroying the moon will probably result in Antithesis raining down on the planet, like a second global incursion.”

  I reached out and grabbed a B3 assault rifle off the rack. “As you know, I invested the vast majority of the points I earned during the global incursion on the Strato Carrier, but I made sure to keep a small reserve in case of emergencies. Now that we’re on the brink of another catastrophe, I don’t see a point in holding on to them anymore. You all participated in the global incursion, so I thought I’d ask your opinions on what I should spend the points on.”

  “How many points do you have?” Spooky asked.

  “Around twenty-five thousand. It was originally around ten thousand, but I earned quite a few points when we burned that hive out in the badlands. It might sound like a decent amount, but if we start investing in Class III tech, it won't go very far,” I explained. “So, what do you think we should concentrate on? Upgrading the carrier? Infantry weapons?”

  Heavy plucked the rifle out of my hands and placed it back on the rack. “Not infantry weapons,” he grumbled.

  “Heavy’s right. The bears might have had problems with a couple heavier targets during the global incursion, but they managed to handle the hordes of Antithesis fairly easily. Upgrading their weapons would be a waste,” Deadbeat said.

  “What we really need is new support weapons and communication equipment,” Spooky added. “Or did you forget what happened in High River?”

  “I didn’t forget,” I grumbled. “But we managed to penetrate the ECM with the new comm equipment, and a copy of that is now mounted on the carrier’s bridge. As long as the carrier is anywhere near the combat zone, there shouldn’t be any problem.”

  “And if it’s not?” Bandit asked. “You just said you expect the Antithesis to land all over the planet, so we might have to send forces out to remote locations. Besides, the ECM was so powerful that it prevented you from contacting the bears around the outskirts, even with your new comm system.”

  “Do you have a better suggestion?” I grumbled.

  “I’m not sure if it’s better or not, but I do have a suggestion,” the fox said. “Upgrade the squad command AI.”

  “That doesn’t really help with the communication issue,” I replied.

  “That’s because I wasn’t done,” the fox hissed. “Upgrade the squad command AI, and add a communication specialist. That’ll increase the chance that the squads will be able to remain in contact with the carrier, but in the case they’re cut off, the local forces can continue to coordinate between themselves.”

  “In other words, make your forces less reliant upon the chain of command,” Deadbeat added. “It might result in you getting fewer points overall, but it’ll make it far more likely they’ll survive unexpected situations.”

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “I can live with a few less points,” I muttered.

  “I’d also suggest getting some new indirect fire weapons. Mortars, or missile weapons. Something that can cause a lot of damage without needing a direct line of fire,” Spooky suggested. “Right now you have an over-reliance on rail and coil guns.”

  “I focused on those weapons because they’re extremely powerful,” I explained, “and if I diversified my weapons, it would have cost me a ton of points.”

  “That might have been true before the global, when you weren’t earning a ton of points, but you earned what? One hundred thousand points? Investing in a couple Class II catalogs would only be a drop in the bucket at that point, even if you invested in the blueprints,” Spooky replied. “Face it, the only reason you haven’t diversified before now is that you’re stuck in your ways.”

  “I like my ways, though,” I pouted.

  “Do you like them enough to risk taking unnecessary losses or civilian casualties?” Deadbeat asked quietly.

  “Of course not,” I sighed. “Fine, I’ll add indirect weapons to the list of purchases.”

  “If you’re going to cave on indirect fire weapons, I have another suggestion,” Bandit said. “Add an artillery spotter to each squad.”

  “So you want me to add two new members to each squad?” I grumbled. “You’re not asking for much, are you?”

  “Well, actually… You could easily combine those two roles,” Spooky said thoughtfully. “Both communications and spotting benefit from taking the high ground. You could even equip them with a sniper rifle to take advantage of the elevated position.”

  “Which means another railgun model,” Heavy grunted.

  “Tempting,” I muttered. “Having all that utility all in one bot would be useful, but they’d be easy targets for Model Ones and Elevens. Plus, I expect even a bot would have a problem climbing when encumbered by comms, targeting, and climbing gear, along with a high-powered sniper rifle.”

  The door to the armory burst open, revealing a familiar panda-colored bear.

  “Not necessarily!" Nyx declared excitedly, storming into the room. “I can think of one good candidate for your new bot. One that not only can handle all that gear but also easily hide from the fliers.”

  The AI jogged over to our group and gave me a disapproving look. “If you wanted to upgrade your gear, you should have included me!”

  “I wasn’t planning on buying upgrades today, just to get everyone’s opinion on where I should spend my points,” I replied. “So tell me, what’s your brilliant idea?”

  “Simple. For around five hundred points, which is the same cost as a fox upgrade, you can equip a bot with built-in climbing gear, long-range targeting systems, and optical camo,” Nyx said.

  “Right… I’m sure this is all leading up to revealing another one of your imaginary animals,” I sighed. “Which is it this time?”

  “Extinct Evelyn, not imaginary. You should really ask the children about them; I’m sure Issi would love to tell you more about them,” Nyx replied snarkily.

  “Fine. What extinct animal do you have in mind this time?” I asked sarcastically.

  “You’re taking all the fun out of this,” Nyx grumbled. “I was thinking that a Chameleon would make an ideal addition to your forces. The chameleon is a species of tree-dwelling reptile that is known for its oversized, independently rotating eyes and the ability to change the color of its skin.”

  “Are you sure you’re not making this up?” I asked suspiciously.

  “Yes, Evelyn, I’m sure,” Nyx groaned.

  “Well… assuming that we can fit all those systems into a single bot, I think it’s a good option. It’ll help us extend our area of operations,” I said. “Ten times the base cost for blueprints, so that’s five grand. I’m guessing, based upon the price of the engineering and frog AIs, the command AI blueprint will cost about the same,” I said.

  Nyx nodded. “You can unlock a couple different types of comm boosters using your existing catalogs, the price will be negligible though.”

  “That leaves… fifteen grand. Can I purchase a Class II missile catalog and bear-mounted missile systems for that much?”

  “Easily. If you purchase a generic missile catalog, you could even purchase some vehicle-mounted systems for the Kodiaks and even ICBMs for the carrier,” Nyx said.

  “ICBMs?” I asked.

  “Intercontinental ballistic missiles. You know, the really big ones that are less area of effect and more ‘attention area code,’” Nyx replied.

  “Yeah… Let’s put a pin in that for now,” I said. “Put together a list of recommended missiles and their costs, and I’ll look it over later.”

  “Can do!” Nyx replied with a cocky salute. “Anything else?”

  “Not right now,” I said, shaking my head. “Let’s give the… chameleons a go first, then decide where to go from there. Any objections? Anything else you guys think I should invest in?”

  “Honestly? I think you should replace the Kodiaks,” Spooky said. “APCs make fine ground units, but you use them more like drop ships, and the top-mounted turret is extremely restrictive for air units. Changing them to an aircraft, or at least something with underslung weapons, would be far more efficient.”

  “Do I have the points for that?” I asked.

  “It’ll be expensive, but I might be able to squeeze them. Do you want them to be Class II or Class III?” Nyx asked. “I could whip together something using the same Class III catalogs you used to buy the Strato Carrier, but it’ll nearly bankrupt you.”

  “But they’ll be better, I assume,” I replied.

  “Much faster, heavier armor, and I can include hardpoints for both missile racks and a main cannon,” Nyx said. “You won’t be able to afford the blueprints for a Class III railgun to install, though.”

  “Would I be able to afford a shardstorm cannon? I think that’s what you called the specialized coilguns I chose to install in Strato Carriers secondary turrets,” I asked.

  “No. A single Shardstorm would cost you nearly your entire remaining budget,” Nyx replied.

  “In that case, I’ll make do with a Class II version. I’d rather have the Strato Carrier battle-ready, than a faster and stronger transport. The Kodiak has never let us down, so I don’t see why their replacement would,” I said.

  Heavy nodded. “Sensible.”

  “So, now that we’ve decided where to invest my points, shall we take a look at some of our new additions?” I asked everyone. “Might as well get a sneak peek at what’s to come.”

  This arc features Spark from 'A Spark of Sylvan Flame' - Go give them some love!

  Discord!

  Check out my Stories:

  Support me!

  Finally: Big thanks to all those people that review my draft, the chapters would be a lot rougher without your feedback!