by Jessie Wolf
“Oooh yes, my dear, I did indeed.” There was a note of finality in her voice that did not bode well for Col. Powel of the Black Knights. “What would be the greatest insult to that man’s ego, child?”
As I stand there thinking of how to turn this obvious setup for failure to our advantage. Mama leans in to whisper in my ear. “I believe it is time for a little ‘inner guidance’ child.” Holy shit, Dee De and Charley may know how to set up the suits for optimal performance.
“All right kiddies’ front and center. I have a little job for you.”
About time honey. (Dee De)
By your command, Lady Nakatoma. (Charley)
“Before we get started. Charley what’s with all this ‘by your command’ stuff?”
Oh he’s been looking at some ancient two-d vids about a race of cyborgs from the late twentieth century. (Dee De)
I have found them to be highly entertaining in how they give a hopeful message of never surrendering against great odds. (Charley)
Bull!! You just want to see the human’s pound on the Cyclones. (Dee De)
“Ok you two knock it off. Besides, Dee De if you don’t stop picking on your little brother I’ll rat you out about your obsession with blue police boxes.”
You wouldn’t dare! (Dee De)
“Try me!” I wait a few seconds let her know that I would do just that. Back when she had first come on line over seventy years ago I had accidently accessed the vid archives of the ancient Doctor Who vids of the twentieth century.
Very well, I’ll leave him alone about that. (Dee De)
“Good. Now can you adjust the settings of those suits so that my family can use them to the best of their abilities?”
Of course Lady Maiha. Do you wish for them to have full command of the suits or only mobility? (Charley)
I don’t even have to think about it. “The works here, guys. If they have to I want them to be able to fight back.”
Are you sure, honey? (Dee De)
“Why are you asking me that Dee De?”
I just want to make sure is all? Because once they have that kind of access there is no way to turn it off. (Dee De)
I too agree with my ‘older sister’ on this. (Charley)
Hay who are you calling old there buddy boy? (Dee De)
“Enough! As for your question and concerns they have been heard and considered. Now carry out your orders.”
I get a pair of yes ma’am’s and they get to work.
A few seconds later I have everything I need to make sure my family succeeds; all I have to do is touch each of them and the files will down load and install themselves.
“Ok. Little sisters, time for your first lesson as pilots. The suits you are wearing are what are known as a bio-feedback-suit or bio-suit. There are advantages and disadvantages to this type of suit.”
“Maiha, you say this as if there is a hidden danger here.” Was mama’s very quick response.
“No ma’am that is not what I am referring to here. I will start with the disadvantages first. One, after one of these suits has fitted its self to a pilot no other pilot can wear it. It will adjust to you as you grow, but for anyone else to put it on it will short out. This is a security feature, because disadvantage number two is that once you mount up in a Power Suit that suit will scan in your bio-states and only your bio-suit will work with that Power Suit from then on. The last one is a double-edged sword. What the Power Suit feels you feel. So this will make it feel as if you’re just walking around in your skin. The bad part what the Suit feels you feel.” At their questioning looks I see that they need a better explanation. “If the Suit gets hurt you will feel the pain of that wound as if it happened to your own body. Do you understand now?” I watch as they grasp the implications.
“Maiha, how do we keep this from driving us insane?” Nanami asked in an almost panicked voice. I could tell that she wasn’t the only one who was scared.
“Easily, baby sister. All you have to do is find your center then let yourself become one with your suit.” Of them all, only mama understood what I was getting at. “You must let your inner desire to become the driving force behind your connection to your Power Suit. Do you understand now?”
It was as if the Goddess of Wisdom and the God of War had given birth to four daughters at that very moment. I watched as first mama, followed by Fuyuko, and finally the twins who were so close in their realizations it was damn near a tie. “Yes, my dear family, you will become the closest thing there is out there to being a secondary configuration Death Dealer. Once you're in your Power Suits this is what I want each of you to do. On the control console there is a row of switches that are marked ‘For Bio-Suit Configuration Only’. Once you find them flip up the covers then throw the switches underneath.”
“Maiha what do we do with our helmets?” Nanase asked with genuine wonder for what they were about to do.
“Thank you for asking, baby sister. You will need to have it on and the chin strap secured. I’ll make that each one is fitted correctly before we head back outside. Speaking of that, let’s take care of it now. The first thing we need to do is braid your hair in such a way that it doesn’t interfere with the helmet sensors.” Mama who has the most hair steps over to me so I can show my little sisters how they have to have their hair out of the way of their temples and a few other areas round the base of the skull. I spend ten minutes getting it right so that my sisters understand just how important it is for their safety.
I watch as mama then does Fuyuko’s hair while Nanase takes care of Nanami. Twenty minutes later they are ready to be fitted with the helmets. I start off with Nanami, it takes me about fifteen minutes to get the sensors and headband placed in the right position a long with the cushioning pads. Nanase was next, but only took me ten minutes this time because I knew what I wasn’t trying to remember what to do. Fuyuko was the fastest one to fit of my three sisters.
However when it came time for mama I had to explain how hers was different from those of my sisters. “Mama, your helmet is a different model than the ones the girls all have.”
“How so, Maiha, it looks the same?”
“Mama yours is what is known as a Command and Control helmet. It allows you to talk to multiple unit commanders while running your own unit. It also updates with battle field reports as soon as they come in with new information. Seeing as how you will be paired with an assault class command Power Suit this is the helmet you will need.”
“I take it that, what was it you called it, a Highlander?” when I nod my head yes she continues. “The Highlander is to be my Power Suit then?” again I nod in confirmation. “Very well then. Am I to assume that I will be the one to keep an eye on the younger ones, daughter?”
“Yes ma’am. I figure if anyone can keep these three in line it will be you. The reason for this is that I know for a fact my little sisters can charm a viper out of its scales and then talk the poor creature into paying ten times their worth to get them back.” When my sisters hear this they don’t even show the good graces to keep quiet. They just up and bust out laughing.
“Ok folks we need to get on with your instruction on the bio-feedback suits and how they work with your Power Suit cockpits. Now once all of the switches have been flipped the cockpit will go through a reconfiguration of its own. Whatever you do, do not panic. You must stay calm. When it is done you will find yourselves in a standing position with cables connected to certain parts of your bodies. Don’t worry they’re supposed to be there. There will also be one connected to the back of your helmet. It is there to help you with controlling your suits” I was coming to the one area I wish I could avoid but if I did and something went wrong they would need to know what to do. “You will also find two targeting and fire control trigger frames. If you have to fight that is where you will control your weapons.”
This time it was mama who asks the next question. “Will our weapons be live and loaded, daughter?”
This is one question I wish I could avoid,
but that is not my way. I have always been honest with the people that I love. “Yes, mama. All of your weapons will be ‘hot’, ‘locked’, and ‘ready to rock’. I hope that you won’t have to need them, but if you do need them I want you to have them. You most of all. I know if they get through everyone else then you will not think twice about doing what you have to do.”
“Very well, I shall make that beast dance like a geisha.” I can see the fire in her eyes. My adopted mother was becoming a woman of great passion for her little family. My Goddess and I have just handed her control of one hundred tons of war machine with the fire power of a twentieth century armored tanked company. Mama must have seen my worry for her. “No child I have not changed my ways or beliefs that much. I still believe in trying for a peaceful solution first, but now I realize that sometimes the only solution is to resort to violence. When that time comes, I shall no longer let someone else do what must be done. Just as you have strived for peaceful solutions only to be stopped by the actions of others and are forced to fight them, then I shall be the shepherd who must now fight off the wolves that threaten her flock.”
“Mama, please remember that I count on you to be the voice of reason, of compassion, and above all restraint.” I have to have her mind on these facts as she begins her pilot training.
“Of course, child. I know that you rely on my judgment at times to help keep you on an even keel as you sail through the storms of youth once again.” She tells me with a smile. Before turning serious once again. “Now, young lady, what else can we expect once we have reconfigured those beasts of war out there?”
“First of all, mama. Please do not call them ‘beasts’. Even though they do not have true AIs the computers on board do pick up on your feelings about them.” I think I caught her off guard with that comment.
“Are you telling me that they may actually be as close to sentience as one of your AIs?” she asks of me.
“I don’t really know, mama. All I know is that those machines can become extremely temperamental with certain pilots.”
“So I take it that I should make ‘friends’ with my Highlander?” she asks of me.
“That sounds about right. The best pilots out there have, what can only be said to be a love affair with their Suits.” As I think about how to give my family every advantage possible to being the best pilots they can be. “I know for a fact the best ones always give names to their Suits.”
“Very well then I shall try to give my Highlander a true name. By the way, Maiha, will you be piloting one those captured suits, or just relying on your current form?”
“You know me too well, mama. I plan on taking the eighty ton Mountain Lion with the twin mounted large heavy pulse lasers and particle projection cannons in each arm.” The look I receive from my family lets me know that they want to know the rest of it. “Besides, the cat like appearance is just too cute to pass up on.” I knew that my girly-girl was showing when I said this. I just didn’t care. When my sisters hear this they just giggle at me, while mama just smiles and nods her head in understanding. I may not be able to completely control the girly-girl impulses, but I can direct them.
“Are you going to repaint it, sissy?” came Nanase.
“What name are you going to give it, Kitty Kat?” was Nanami.
“Will you give it a cute little smile on the face plate?” from Fuyuko.
I am saved from the needling of my sisters by mama, thank the Goddess. “Girls! You will stop this now.”
“Aaawww! We were only having a little fun with sissy, mama.” Stated Nanami. “What did we say that was so wrong?”
Sighing mama looks over at me, and then places her hand on my cheek. “Your sister must fight an inner demon from time to time. She can’t always win so she gives in every now and then. Like picking the Mountain Lion Power Suit, she allows her inner girly-girl out to play while still being in control.”
“Man that must suck. Well at least we now know why she gets so girly at times. We’re sorry, sissy. We won’t pick on you about this again, we promise. Right you two?” when Fuyuko landed on her sisters like that it surprised me. She was not going to let them just make an empty promise.
“No we won’t and we won’t let anyone else do it either. Right Nanase?” Nanami was what she said.
“Oh hell, no. Nobody messes with our sister and gets away with it.” Was all Nanase put in.
“Thank you girls. Now let’s get back on topic here.” Clearing my throat. “Now, where was I, ah yes the advantages to the bio-suits. Let’s see first there is the automatic up-link with the Power Suit making it feel as if you are the Power Suit. It’s like this; if you can pick up an egg then the Suit can pick up an egg. You can dance a jigjig in one; that is if you know how. So mama, if you want your Highlander to dance like a geisha, then it will be you who does the dancing; your suit will just follow your directions. Another great thing is that you won’t have to spend months learning how to just walk in your Power Suits.” As I think of all the advantages that the bio-suits gave its wearer I realize that Col. Powel in his rush to grab up those Power Suits had just handed them over into our hands.
He figured no one would know how to configure the bio-suits. Of all the stupid stunts to pull. If I had not been here and those had not been virgin suits my family could’ve been severely hurt. Time to pull that little shit down to where he belongs. First though I need to finish up with mama and the girls. So for the next hour I go over everything that the bio-suits will enable them to do once they have been integrated with their Power Suits.
The more I told them the more excited they became. Well my sisters did; mama just kind of took it all in stride as if the world was within her grasp. Come to think of it, the world was in her grasp. Here she was finally, after decades of service to the Goddess, receiving her reward. Seeing the look on my face she merely smiles and then mouths a silent thank you to me. That is all I need to push on with teaching my sisters all of the dirty tricks of being an Armored Power Suit pilot. I swear by all that’s Holy and damned they will be three of the best pilots to ever strap on a Power Suit. All thanks to the greed of one man. Thinking to unsettle my family he has given them all the tools to succeed.
“Dee De can you or Charley set up a batch of nanites that will push the computer systems of those Power Suits to the Statius AIs?”
Oh my sweet baby girl! Just you watch me cook. Now your family will only be able to access those AIs when mounted, but between the bio-suits and an AI on pair with a Death Dealers, they will be damned near unstoppable. (Dee De)
Why stop there sister dear? Between the two of us we can set it up to match my own combat control with full battle field reflexes. (Charley)
“Can you do that without causing harm to them in any way?”
Lady Maiha, I would not have offered if there was the even the slightest chance of harm to your family. (Charley)
“Do it! Give them the full package.”
Oh honey you are about to make four very beautiful and loving people very happy. Do you know that? (Dee De)
“What on earth are you talking about Dee De?”
It’s simple; all of your family has dreamed of being Death Dealers. Now you’re giving them their hearts desire. (Dee De)
Nanites are programed and set for delivery. (Charley)
Deliver them now Charley before Maiha stops us! (Dee De)
On the way! (Charley)
I watch helplessly as four small balls of nanites shoot out from my left hand to strike each member of my family in the chest. “WHAT HELL DID YOU JUST DO?!”
We gave them the Death Dealer AI and secondary configuration upgrade you had us working on. (Dee De)
“We don’t have time for them to go through the cocoon presses.”
They won’t. It will be a slow but steady process that will begin when they hook up to their Power Suits. Over the next three hours as they train the nanites will give them the full Death Dealer package. (Charley)
“What about the
insanity, emotional controlled, and behavioral programing, basically all the shit that has being giving me fits here lately?”
I found all those nasty little buggers, and removed them from the new configuration completely. (Dee De)
“How?”
By comparing Charley’s programing to my own. Once I realized that we had everything to reprogram the AI setup and combine the two into one. (Dee De)
“So what you’re saying is that they won’t have the double AIs that I have?”
That is correct commander. Your family will just be a superior class of Death Dealer. However they will not be nearly as effective outside of their Power Suits as you are. They will be able to defend themselves, but just not as bluntly. (Charley)
“Will they suffer the shock that others have?”
Nope. The reason they suffered from shock was the change in body types, forced behavioral programing, and basically all those unneeded complicated pain in the ass programs. (Dee De)
“So they get to stay themselves while getting all the fun stuff. Man talk about a rip off. I got gipped here. I want a do over damn it.”
Kiddo do you realize you’re pouting? (Dee De)
“I stick my tongue out at you. PPPPHHHHHTTTT!!!”
After giving Dee De and Charley the figurative raspberry I turn my attention back to my family. How in the hell am I going to explain this to them? I mean they have just been basically injected with what will be a life altering virus. Sure they are nanites and it will take a while for them to change. Still this is going to be a big shock to them. Then again they did say that they all wanted to be Death Dealers. Just not what type? The only one I am concerned about is mama. I don’t know how she’ll react to the news. Well, only one way to find out.
“Uh mama, I have something I need to tell you all.”
“Would it have something to do with those little balls that just hit us in the chest dear?” she asks with a smile. “I assume that your AIs just did something above and beyond what you had planned for them to do? Again.”
