Chương 440: Book 7 - Chapter 36 - The Sisterhood

When I finished my call and finally wandered out of the manufacturing area, I noticed there was a commotion coming from the hangar. Since I didn't want to go all the way around, I jogged through the heavy blast door, which could be used to separate the hangar and the manufacturing area, one I typically left open, looked both ways to make sure I wasn't going to get flattened by one of the material collection trucks, and crossed into the hangar.

As soon as I got across, I noticed that Mako and the Sisterhood were exiting a couple Kodiaks not that far away.

"Ugh, I hate when Antithesis go to ground like that, instead of just rushing us," I heard one girl complain.

"I don't like sticking my hands into every hole I can find just to check if something is going to bite me."

"Uhhhh… you know, there are scanners that allow you to check the area for Antithesis, so you don't have to do that, right?" another asked.

"If the scanners can't find the Gene Tender, there's no guarantee that they'll find all the little Antithesis either," the first replied.

"I may not like sticking my hands into holes, but I know the little blighters can't resist snapping at an easy meal, so even though I don't like it, I'll keep doing it!" I paused and shook my head at the absurdity of the conversation before slowly making my way towards them again. I managed to get about halfway before Mako noticed me and flagged me down.

"What are you doing here? You weren't waiting for us, were you?" she asked, a sheet of black clearing off splotches of Antithesis blood remaining on her body..

"Sorry to disappoint, but I was actually just checking on the status of my production, and I heard you arrive, so I came over to see how the patrol went," I replied.

"Antithesis were swimming in every direction, trying to hide or escape instead of engaging us, it was a mess," one of the girls said. I almost did a double-take when I looked over at her. She was extremely petite, and her suit was so dark it almost seemed to be absorbing light, but that's not what was surprising. When I actually focused on her, I realized her suit seemed to flow over her skin like oil. The only reason I didn't stare is that it reminded me of Grey's nanite suit.

I could only guess that whatever this girl was wearing was similar.

"Is something the matter?" the girl asked.

"Sorry, your outfit just caught me off guard. I didn't expect to see anyone else wearing a suit of nanites," I said. She cocked her head to the side.

"Suit?"

"Wait? Didn't I introduce you two earlier?" Mako asked.

"I think we got interrupted before you could," I said.

"Well, now's as good a time as any," Mako exclaimed, stepping back so I could see the entire group.

"This is Inque, Xey/Xem, a member of the Indy Magical Girls, and one of our resident samurai nanite masses," she said, gesturing to the girl I'd just been talking to.

"Wait, nanite mass?" I exclaimed in surprise. I found the idea of someone completely turning themselves into a nanite swarm so strange that it took me a moment to process the rest of the statement.

"Wait! You have multiple members who changed themselves into nanites?" Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Mako nodded.

"We also have Shoggoth, I think I mentioned them before? She went to Montana to help clean up all the spores."

"You did… I have a friend who uses Nanites as a weapon, so when you mentioned them before, that's where my mind went," I explained.

"I guess that's fair, not everyone feels comfortable with full-body conversions," Inque said.

"I'm more comfortable as a mass of nanites than I was in my old skin."

"Well… I'm glad that's working out for you…" I replied awkwardly. I didn't get it, but I wasn't going to judge.

"And this is Clear Eyes, goes by They/Faer," Mako said, moving on to the next person in line. At first, I thought they just had dark blue armor, but then I realized they had theirhelmet off and their skin was a pale blue underneath.. Fae had fine features, pointed ears, and, as I watched, the wings on faer back, something that looked insectoid but with a circuit board design, fluttered.

"Nice to meet you," I said.

"Likewise!" they exclaimed.

"Did you say you were in a production area? You make your own gear?"

"I have to. If I bought all my equipment with points, I'd never be able to put together such a large force or afford to field them all," I explained.

"Why?"

"Well, I'm just a little interested to see what your production area must look like," she replied.

"I've got a small forge back home, and I was wondering what a mass fabrication setup would look like."

"You're welcome to check it out if you want. It's just over there," I said, throwing a thumb towards my production area.

"Just watch out for the collection vehicles flying in and out of the area. If you have any questions, just ask the polar bear." Her smile slipped a little, and a look of confusion crossed her face.

"Polar bear?"

"Yeah, I have a couple advanced bots that help me run things, and Heavy likes to keep an eye on the production and arsenal," I explained.

"Don't worry, he's friendly enough, I'll let him know you're coming."

"Thanks!" she chirped. Mako took a step to the left and motioned to the last person.

"And finally, this is Spiralite," she said. I raised an eyebrow as I inspected the man dressed in blue and purple armor. He had a strange two-pronged rifle, which reminded me of the first railgun I'd purchased, but whatever this was looked far more advanced than that outdated rifle. His obviously augmented eyes flicked towards my face, and he shifted uncomfortably.

"I thought your group was called…"

"I know what you're going to say, and I'm going to tell you the same thing I tell everyone else. It's just a name. There's no rule that says you need to identify as female to join," he declared.

"Fair enough," I smirked.

"What's your deal?"

"I make things spin," he replied. I opened my mouth to say something, but he cut me off.

"I make them spin at the molecular level, add so much energy to an object that it literally rips itself apart," he explained.

"Ahhhhh… yeah, that would do it," I replied quietly.

"Definitely sounds far more dangerous than making something dizzy."

"Look, I know my kit might sound like a joke at first, but it does some serious damage," he muttered.

"I'm not judging!" I insisted.

"I've met a lot of samurai with… unconventional setups. I know that just because I haven't heard of a specific catalog or specialization doesn't mean that it's not effective. If you got this far, you must have found a niche that works for you."

"I have, I'm just a little tired of people judging me when they first hear what I specialize in," he said.

"Then all you have to do is prove what you're capable of and make a name for yourself so no one can criticize you," I said.

"That's what I'm going for," he replied.

"I just need to get there."

"Well, I wish you luck," I replied.

"We have a couple of other members, but they're currently on the Destiny, coordinating with the fleet," Mako explained.

"I'll introduce them later if I get a chance."

"Sounds good," I said.

"What are you planning to do now?"

"For now? Relax," Clear Eyes declared.

"Never know when the Antithesis might show up, so we should take advantage of whatever downtime we can get. You wouldn't happen to have a lounge where we could lie down, would you?"

"Sure, there's an entire guest wing. I'll have a couple of bears meet you up by the meeting room. Just ask them, and they'll show you the way," I said.

"Thanks!" she said.

"We should probably get going," Mako said.

"I'm starving right now!"

"There's a kitchen up there too, just ask the bears," I said as she turned towards the stairs.

"Thanks!" she yelled back as the group started heading to the residential area. I watched them for a minute before turning back towards the hanger.

"They may want to relax, but I feel like I should be doing something," I muttered.

"Now, what else could I do to make this hunt faster?"