“Should we approach the city?” Spooky asked.

  “No,” I replied, as I studied the long-range cameras. “Even though we were invited, I don’t want to spook anyone. We are on a big, fuck-off, flying warship, as Jane pointed out to me yesterday.”

  “I somehow doubt she used those exact terms,” the bear said dryly.

  “You’re right, I added the fuck-off part to be more descriptive,” I explained.

  Indianapolis didn’t look that special from a distance, but then again, it was pretty hard to determine any details through a telephoto lens when you were sitting over thirty kilometers away.

  “Has anyone tried to contact us yet? Or have you detected any abnormal comms chatter from the city?” I asked.

  “Nothing. It seems pretty quiet so far,” the bear replied. “Perhaps they haven’t detected us yet?”

  I slowly turned and stared at him. “The Family’s command center in Calgary had a radar so precise that it could pinpoint the location of every Model One within the city limits. Do you honestly think they would have missed a fucking flying aircraft carrier?”

  “We’re not within the city limits right now,” the bear countered.

  “That’s true, but I didn’t exactly invest in stealth tech. The local military and PMC radars should be lighting up, if nothing else,” I muttered. After taking one last look at the monitors, I jumped out of my chair and headed for the stairs. “Keep an eye on things, and let me know if anything changes.”

  “Where are you going?” Spooky asked.

  “To change out of my pajamas, and then maybe call Charlotte’s contact. I think her name was SkyFire?” I explained.

  “Wait… Isn’t that what you normally wear?” the grey bear asked, confused.

  “Yeah, but I slept in this outfit, so technically it’s my pajamas. I should at least make a token effort to clean myself up before I make the call. I’m representing Calgary after all,” I replied as I hopped down the stairs, leaving Spooky behind.

  I jogged back to the residence and threw open the door, only to find most of the family still at the breakfast table.

  “That was fast,” Eddie exclaimed through a mouth full of cereal. “I thought there was an emergency on the bridge or something.”

  “No emergency today, thankfully,” I replied. “Spooky just called to let me know we arrived at Indianapolis, so I went to check on the situation.”

  “Does that mean we can go down and explore?” Issi asked, excitedly. Her mouth was absolutely covered in peanut butter and jelly from the piece of toast she was enjoying. So much that I wondered if any of it had made it into her mouth, or if it had all ended up on her face. As I passed the table, I grabbed a napkin and quickly wiped her face clean, causing the girl to giggle.

  “Not quite yet,” I told her. “The locals don’t seem to be all that aggressive, which is a nice change of pace, but I still want to call Charlotte’s contact before we enter the city. It’s best to be polite.”

  Issi nodded. “Mind your manners!”

  “Exactly,” I said, booping her nose. “I just want to get cleaned up before I do. With any luck we’ll get permission to visit this afternoon.”

  “So everything’s good?” Jane asked.

  “No one’s pointing weapons at us this time, so that’s always a good sign,” I replied jokingly.

  As soon as I did, Jennifer’s head snapped up, her eyes wide. “Wait… did someone actually point weapons at us? When?”

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  I froze as everyone at the table turned, their expressions ranging from fear to excitement. “Of course not! I’d never let that happen. And even if I did, I’d never actually tell you all about it.”

  Jane, who was at the far end of the table, just shook her head in disappointment.

  “Sorry, I don’t have time for any more questions. If I don’t take this shower, we’ll never get into town, and the longer I stand here, the more I’m going to dig myself into a hole I can’t get out of,” I declared as I retreated from the table, drawing giggles from everyone.

  I managed to make it about half-way back to my room when my augs alerted me of an incoming call from an unknown number.

  “Nyx, please tell me that a telemarketer managed to get through your call screening,” I moaned.

  Do you honestly think I’d let that happen? You told me to only let calls through for approved numbers and other samurai. If the caller was someone I deemed of interest, I’d add the number to a list of callback numbers, Nyx said. That list now contains three hundred eighty seven numbers by the way.

  “But I didn’t get a chance to shower…” I moaned.

  I’m not sure why that matters--callers only see your avatar, no live images.

  “Fine, I’ll take the call,” I grumbled, engaging the mental link. [Hello, this is Evelyn ‘Teddy’ Claire. How may I help you today?]

  [Good morning, Ms. Claire, my name is SkyFire,] the woman said. [Stalking Shadow gave me your number in Shadowtag’s stead. I see you’ve arrived outside of Indy.]

  [Ah yes, SkyFire. I’m sorry I didn’t call to introduce myself the instant I arrived. I wanted to clean myself up and make myself presentable first,] I said apologetically.

  [It’s quite alright. We’ve been aware of your approach for quite awhile now, and at first I was content to wait for you to make contact. The situation, however, has changed,] SkyFire said.

  [How so?]

  [My girlfriend is quite… well, I’d say enthusiastic, but many of our friends would say obsessive when it comes to researching tech. Whenever someone shows her something new, she has an overwhelming urge to take it apart and see how it ticks,] SkyFire explained. [That wouldn’t be much of a problem if she was just a normal person, but since she’s a Sam… she can be a little hard for some people to deal with.]

  [Wait, your girlfriend’s a samurai?] I asked.

  [They all are,] SkyFire replied. My brain took a moment to process that, and before I could ask about it, she’d moved on. [That’s not important right now, though. What IS important is that someone let her know your ship is in the area, and she might be heading your way now. I thought I should let you know before she arrived and triggered whatever security system you have on board.]

  [Yeah… it’s probably a good thing you did. There’s not many people that can survive a thousand railguns to the face,] I said.

  [Beg your pardon?]

  [That’s only if she gets through the anti-missile, and defensive turrets…] I said before pausing. [You know, I should probably stop telling you about my defenses and get to shutting them down before she arrives.]

  [I would appreciate it. Spark IS the one you came to see, so you can coordinate with her directly, but if you need anything while you’re in town, please give me a call,] SkyFire said.

  [Spark is her samurai name?] I asked.

  [No, given. Her samurai name is GroundWire, but she pretty much asks everyone to call her Spark,] SkyFire explained.

  [Got it.] A warning flashed up across the command network. An unknown craft was detected and closing fast. [I’ve got to go, company’s coming. Thanks for the warning. Bye!]

  As soon as I closed the connection, I swapped over to the command network. [Spooky, what’s our status?]

  [There’s an unknown craft on an interception course. It’s small, maybe a hoverbike,] the bear reported.

  [Disable the defensive guns for now. I’ve been informed there may be a samurai on their way to visit. That being said, I want the crew on high alert. If this isn’t the samurai, we may have company soon, and I don’t want them wandering freely,] I ordered.

  [The bears are already standing by to repel boarders,] he responded briskly. [However… it looks like the target is currently on a course to the upper hull, not the landing bay.]

  [That’s strange, but unless they hacked our systems, I doubt whoever it is has a map of the ship. They’re probably just heading to the closest place they can see,] I said. [I’m on my way back up. Keep me informed of the situation.]

  [Yes, Ma’am!] he replied sharply.

  I looked down at my wrinkled hoodie and sighed. “So much for my shower.”

  Turning around, I booked it back up the hallway.

  “I thought you were having a shower,” Jane commented as I sprinted past the table.

  “No time, company!” I shouted back.

  I mentally ordered the squad to assemble below the bridge as I zigzagged through the corridors.

  [Target has turned. It looks like they’ll be landing at the upper exterior access hatch,] Spooky reported.

  [The fucking WHAT?!?!?]

  [The door that allows you to step out onto the top of the ship, which is located directly below the bridge,] he clarified.

  [Why didn’t you just say that then?] I grumbled. [I’m right there.]

  As I skidded to a halt next to the hatch, a deep metallic ringing echoed through the deck.

  “Boss, do you want me to…” Bob asked, gesturing to the door.

  “I’ve got it,” I replied. “Just be on your toes.”

  I slowly walked up to the heavy metal bulkhead, and triggered the panel on the side. As it slid open a harsh wind whipped through, forcing me to shield my eyes.

  On the other side of the door was a young woman about my age wearing a thick bomber jacket and goggles. I’d seen plenty of samurai before, but she was the first I’d ever met with animal attributes. Specifically, she had aqua blue fox ears and a fox tail. I tried my best not to stare as she turned towards me, smiling. “Hiya! I’m GroundWire, but you can call me Spark.”

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