While Jennifer took up a position at the top of the stairs, behind the makeshift barrier, I stood off to the side watching the stairs through the thin metal railings.

  “Do you even know how to use that?” I asked as Jennifer raised her tiny semi-automatic pistol.

  “I know the basics. Make sure I keep the safety on, the weapon pointed away from everyone, and my finger off the trigger until I’m ready to fire,” Jennifer replied nervously.

  I looked at the girl, surprised. “Where did you learn that?”

  Jennifer glanced back at me, confused. “What do you mean, where did I learn that? We live in the undercity. Most kids learn the basics by the time they’re eight… between the gangs and the people carrying weapons for protection, that information gets around.”

  “I wanted to shelter you guys from that… garbage,” I grumbled.

  “You’ve done a good job over the last year, and the local kids haven’t been sharing that sort of information lately, but back when the gangs ran the street…” Jennifer muttered.

  Our discussion was interrupted by the sound of claws scrambling on metal at the bottom of the stairs. Drawing the pistol I’d been given, I stepped up to the railing and looked downwards just as a pair of Model Threes leapt onto the lower landing.

  The first one landed on its butt and slid headfirst into the wall, while the second went prone and slid like it was on ice, slowly rotating until it was backwards. These weren’t the apex predators that I knew; they were bumbling clowns.

  Jennifer was pale, and her hands were shaking. I reached out and put a hand on her arm.

  “Stay calm. They can’t hurt you at a distance,” I said. “You can do this.”

  The girl nodded, and I saw determination in her eyes as she slowly lowered the weapon, aimed at the creatures, and fired.

  The pair acted like scared dogs, scrambling over each other in order to get out of the way. The first Model Three took a round to the hindquarters, causing it to immediately fall over and lie still. The second took several seconds to reorient itself and figure out where the fire was coming from before moving towards the stairs. It took a bullet to the brain before it even made it off the landing.

  “That wasn’t so bad…” Jennifer exclaimed shakily.

  “You did good. Only five shots to take both of them down… most of the gangers I know would have emptied the magazine and probably missed both,” I said.

  “You’re exaggerating to make me feel better,” Jennifer laughed.

  “I wish I was,” I muttered. “Did you become a samurai?”

  “I did!” Jennifer replied, relief on her face.

  “Good!” I declared.

  Even though I had a number of suggestions for the girl, the last thing I wanted to do was distract her. If a Model Three managed to close in on us while she was occupied with her ‘AI’ it would scare her to death, so I needed to make sure it was safe first. Wandering down the stairs would be too dangerous, so I just leaned over the railing and listened.

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  There were obviously still creatures wandering around down there, but they seemed completely unbothered by the death of the Model Threes or the sound of gunfire.

  “Even if this simulation was for families, they could implement a little bit of realism into it,” I grumbled under my breath.

  As I stepped back from the railing, I glanced over at Jennifer. She seemed less terrified, and more jumpy now. I suppose that was some sort of improvement.

  “Alright. Let’s talk plans,” I declared. “There are still Antithesis downstairs, and since this simulation seems to be designed to take it easy upon the players, they’re probably more Model Threes.”

  Jennifer swallowed nervously, but it didn’t look like she was going to freeze up at all, so I continued.

  “Unfortunately you probably don’t have enough points to buy anything significant right now. Twenty points isn’t a lot, so we’ll have to go down there.”

  “I have a hundred and twenty,” Jennifer corrected. “According to the overlay, I got ten for each Model Three and a hundred for the initialization bonus.”

  “Oh, right, initialization,” I grumbled. “Okay, forget what I just said. Let’s talk catalogs instead.”

  I gently pushed the girl out of the way so I could watch the stairs while she concentrated on the discussion and her system. “First of all, I would recommend a new weapon. I suspect your ‘AI’ is suggesting all sorts of fancy catalogs, but early on it’s better to stick with something simple. Preferably something with aim assist or auto tracking. If you can kill the Antithesis in a fast, efficient fashion, they won’t have a chance to close on your position.”

  I cocked my head to the side as an idea popped into my head. “Hey Nyx, can we share catalogs in this thing?”

  Nyx shook their head. “The simulation is lacking in quite a few places. Even though they have tons of catalogs, there’s no sharing between players. I assume it was left out because you don’t have enough time to develop a robust set of catalogs before the session ends. No point in sharing.”

  “Unfortunate, but not the end of the world,” I muttered. “I don’t suppose I have enough points for a pair of CARs, do I?”

  “Class I Battle Rifles would cost you fifty points, and a single CAR-156 would cost you a hundred. You only have a hundred and ten,” Nyx replied.

  “I could unlock the same catalog and use my own points,” Jennifer declared.

  “That’s true… I’d like to avoid purchasing overlapping catalogs if we can. Otherwise we’ll be wasting a lot of points we could be using on gear. I would suggest you unlock some sort of self-guiding weapon catalog, while I work towards some sort of armor or utility catalog,” I explained. “Nyx would you mind…”

  “Don’t worry, I’m already overriding the system’s terrible selections and providing some much more reasonable suggestions,” Nyx declared before turning towards Jennifer. “Jennifer, dear, if the catalogs I’m suggesting don’t seem that interesting, please just let me know what you’re looking for. I’m sure I can find something far more appropriate for you.”

  “Thank you, Nyx,” the girl replied quietly.

  “Deadbeat…” I started.

  “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m going to concentrate on picking up some medical and ammo catalogs to support you. You’re going to injure yourself eventually, and I’ll be there to heal you up,” the bear grumbled.

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I mumbled in reply.

  Jennifer giggled at our interaction and knelt down on the floor. As she did, a plastic box materialized in front of her, one that was surprisingly similar to the regular Protector delivery box. I found that surprising. Considering how inaccurate everything in the simulation had been so far, I never thought they would have spent time getting the boxes correct.

  Flipping open the box, the girl revealed a pair of chunky, cobalt-colored pistols. After picking the weapons up, she handed one of them to me.

  “What’s this?” I asked.

  “Woodpecker. They’re heavy pistols that link up with your augs and fire a gyrojet round capable of minor aim adjustments,” Jennifer explained. She looked over at Deadbeat sheepishly. “Sorry, I couldn’t afford three.”

  “Don’t be, I can aim,” the bear replied with a shrug. Drawing a giggle from Jennifer. “I’ll take your old pistols though, if you’re not going to use them going forward. Extra ammo.”

  I flipped the safety on my pistol and slid it across the floor towards the bear.

  The woodpecker was heavy with a large sensor bundle mounted right under the barrel, and a massive magazine that extended down in front of the grip. I raised the weapon experimentally, and a reticle immediately popped up in my augs. Useful.

  “Nyx, can you keep an eye on my points and let me know when I can afford the Class I recon armor catalog and a couple of suits, please?”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to try something different? It doesn’t cost you anything to experiment here,” Nyx asked.

  I considered for several seconds before shaking my head.

  “Tempting, but that’s not why we’re here today. I want something reliable,” I said. “The general idea isn’t bad though… remind me when we get back to the ship. Maybe we can implement something that’ll allow me to test new tech before investing in it. A personal mesh system, maybe?”

  “We’ll talk later,” Nyx agreed.

  I turned towards Jennifer, new pistol in hand. “You ready?”

  She was glancing around nervously, but when she looked at me, both her hands and gaze were steady. “Ready.”

  Reaching down with my free hand, I grabbed the edge of our impromptu barrier and shoved it aside, opening up the stairs once again.

  “Alright,” I declared. “Let’s go.”

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