Chương 55: Chapter Forty-Eight - BioEnemies

"Vyper, what do we have for cognitive hazards?" Alexis asked.

"There are several tools at your disposal. Among them are the over-eye augs you have which can be freely turned to block out certain visuals." Alexis blinked, looked down, and, yeah, the strange tattoo on the nape of the man's neck was blurred out faintly.

"Okay, that's a start," Alexis said.

"Is it enough?"

"No. I suspect, based on my trawling of local cogitators, that the cult you're about to encounter uses bioweapons that interact with the immaterium in strange ways. Even this much knowledge is a weak cognitive hazard."

"I might have some items I can purchase that may protect us," Vena said.

"I have the points to cover the cost, don't worry."

"Are you sure?" Alexis asked.

"Yes. It's clear that our trio have all picked different areas of expertise. Mine happens to be biological, and we're fighting a biological foe. Let me at least make the attempt to help?" Alexis smiled back at her, then glanced at her friends.

"Ah... my friends are also going to be susceptible, won't they? They're not robots, they're servitors."

"Lesser protections, then?" Vena asked.

"To keep them safe through the battle? We can replace the bodies within afterwards." Alexis straightened a little. That was impossibly callous but... no, she kind of understood. To Vena, they really were just the meat operating the machine.

"I'd rather keep them alive?"

"Very well. I can understand that. I imagine that some servitors come with quirks?" she asked. She didn't understand, but she was acquiescing all the same, and Alexis couldn't fault her for that. Vena stood up, then gestured down at the guard.

"We should check his pockets, then burn this one. Maybe not right here, but nearby. Then we should consider leaving the area."

"Already?" Alexis asked.

"Yes," Vena said.

"I don't want to prepare at the enemy's doorstep. That seems unwise. Besides, there's a meeting that we may well want to attend." Alexis shook her head quickly. A meeting, with all of the biggest and most important people on the ship? She'd really rather not. She wasn't exactly an introvert by most standards, but the thought of public speaking made her remaining insides twist around into a knot.

"I don't know, this could have been a one-off," Alexis said. She waved the warp-auspex around, and heard a small beep coming from the space past the door the guard was stationed at.

"We should at the very least investigate?" Vena worked her jaw, then nodded once.

"We take care of the guard, first, then let me buy some items real quick?" Alexis had K84-321 step up and pick the guard up after rooting around in his pockets. There were only some keys and pocket lint. She kept the keys, just in case. The guard was brought to a mostly-empty closet some ways back down the corridor, then they stepped back and allowed CS-3-2/11 to light up the guard with her welding spear. The man, being knocked out entirely, probably didn't feel anything as he was consumed by blue-white flames.

No points came from the man's death, which disturbed Alexis a little, but neither she nor Vena commented on it. They retreated from there. Vena wanted a more private space to make her purchases, and Alexis could sympathize with that. They found an unoccupied conference room, and after stationing her servitors around the space to guard every angle, Alexis took a seat to get off of her feet.

They didn't hurt, obviously, but there was still part of her that subtly reminded her that she'd been standing for a long time and that her feet must be tired. Vena paced.

"Vyper, I need... hmm. I think we're going to do this at different scales. At least two. Alexis, would you be okay with a cheaper form of protection for your servitors? Something like a temporary inoculation?"

"I guess so?" Alexis asked. Was it anything like the huge needle people got stuck with whenever they left the ship or came back from a planet-side deployment? She'd always been kind of afraid of those, even if she understood the reasoning.

"Good, good. As for ourselves. Vyper, what would the cost of something like a lymph node, or some other protective organ be? One tailored to resisting unknown bioweaponry?"

"That would be somewhat expensive, I'm afraid, as the wide variety of potential attack vectors would have to be taken into account. But I can give you something like that for 80 and 45 points." Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

"Two amounts?" Alexis asked.

"I imagine the first is in a format designed for immediate... installation," Vena said.

"The latter would likely be a gene-editing pill for myself. I invested heavily into self-modifications and organs that let me grow new organs." The explanation was a little odd to Alexis, but she accepted it all the same. Vena accepted the purchase, and soon there were two new boxes on the table. One had a pill, which Vena ate right away. The second was a small organ, in a plastic-like container. It was no bigger than a thumb joint, but it looked all squirmy and pink.

"We're going to have to install this into you," Vena said.

"Um... right now?" Alexis asked.

"Yes. Take off your robes. And no, you don't need to worry. I have anesthetics. You'll barely feel a pinch. As for what you have under your robes, I've seen it all, so there's no need to be shy." Alexis squirmed a bit, then sighed and did as she was asked. The operation was actually quite rapid. She was almost used to KYS' attention, and the servitor did come closer to hover nearby, but she wasn't needed. Vena sprayed something on Alexis' neck, then opened her up with a deft flick of a scalpel.

The entire operation was done in under five minutes, and Alexis was only left feeling a little sore around the base of her neck.

"So... this will keep us safe?" she asked.

"More or less. Prevention may be the better cure," Vena said.

"Vyper, can I have three doses of an inoculant? How much would that cost?"

"Of course. Ten points per dose, though they'll only be fully potent for thirty hours, after which there is a slow but steady decline in their effectiveness." Vena nodded along, and soon had three needles set on the table for Alexis to handle. Alexis was happy enough to take care of that part herself. It wasn't like Vena would even know how to open the chassis for her friends to begin with.

Soon her friends were poked and filled with what she hoped was enough anti-bioweapon juice to keep them healthy through a fight with whatever was at the end of that corridor.

"Next," Vena said.

"I think we're going to want full-face masks. Both as respiratory protection, and possibly to assist with the risk from cognitive hazards."

"That's a good idea," Alexis said.

"Masks cover the mouth and eyes, and I guess some of them the ears? At that point, isn't it more of a helmet?" After a bit of plotting, they decided to get their own protective wear, separately. Vena purchased a sort of mask made of a pale green, plastic-like material that she had to tug onto her head. It had large goggles on the front and a breathing tab at the bottom, and made her look rather silly. Alexis bought a tool.

New Purchase: Dangerous Environment Protection Helmet Points Reduced to: 104 Her new helmet was a little large, but it had a small tank on the back to feed her air and a pair of inset goggles. It looked like something a skitarii might wear. She adjusted her hair and fit it into place, closing the helmet with a click.

"Okay, I'm ready," she said. Her voice came out as tinny and muffled, and she giggled before hearing herself giggle made her stop. That was a scary sound! Alexis reached back and pulled her hood up and over her head.

"You look suitably impressive," Vena said with a nod. She tugged at the neck of her mask, then gestured to the door.

"Shall we?" Alexis shall'd her way out of the room, her friends following behind her. It wasn't long before they were back at the guard station, only to find two new guards waiting around there. Alexis didn't wait. She raised her warp-auspex and pointed it at both of them. It beeped for both.

"Hey! You can't be here!" one of them said. He reached for his laspistol.

"CS-3-2/11," Alexis said. Her friend raised her large gatling gun, the barrels already spooling up. The guards shouted, but whatever they said was drowned out by a roar as CS-3-2/11 drew a figure-eight in the air and punched them both full of holes. Vena turned towards Alexis.

"I know we didn't state it outright, but I was operating under the assumption that we'd be at least somewhat subtle?"

"Oh... oops? Uh... grab their laspistols? We might need them?"