“So what gave me away?” Helen asked as we slipped into a side room. She’d dropped the uptight, assistant persona and slid into an easychair with a smirk. “It was the eyeroll, wasn’t it. I k was too much, but I couldn’t help it.”

  “Actually, it was the aura. Some sort of charisma-boosting catalog?” I replied as I carefully lowered myself down onto the couch across from her.

  “Well spotted. I to give Mathias a boost. The man is passionate about the cause and optimistic to a fault, but he needed some extra help to get this operation going. I just picked up some choice tech from the catalog afterwards.”

  “Why support them at all? You don’t seem to be a believer,” I said.

  “You’re right, I’m not. Mathias is charismatic but a bit of an idiot. He still doesn’t know that I’m a samurai even though I’ve provided tech to the Guiding Light, and ons to my direct subordinates.”

  “So why are you here? The only thing the Guiding Light is good for is agitating the gangs, and causing trouble.” I frowned as I watched Helen’s grin grow wider.

  “Exactly so,” the blond replied. “It may seem messed up, but that’s exactly what I’m using them for.”

  “Why?” I asked, bewildered.

  “Because it’s necessary,” Helen sighed. She rexed her neck, let her head fall back, and stared at the ceiling. There was a moment of silence before she started talking again. “I awakened about six years ago, just two weeks after the gover cracked down on the chaos down here. The antithesis weren’t from an incursion, don’t know where they came from, but they burst from the sewers and just started ravaging the area. Took me five days to them up.” She paused, “You know what my AI Sisyphus told me whehing was done? We were lucky the fighting cleared out some of the popution. Without proper shelters to protect them, the people were easy pigs for the antithesis, and if the poputioy had been a little higher, the antithesis probably would have had access to enough biomass to overwhelm me.”

  “That’s sad, but what the fuck does that have to do with what you’re doing now?” I asked.

  “I’m getting to that,” Helen snapped, sitting up straight again. “Sisyphus likes numbers, so we had a ton of versations on what’ll happen if the antithesis hit the uy. It’s not good. If you hadn’t awakened during that st incursion, the antithesis probably would have pletely overrun the surrounding niors before the other samurai shut them down. Casualties in the hundreds of thousands. I actually sider that a fairly good oute.” A bottle appeared oable between us, and Helen took a moment to open it and take a long swig before tinuing. “I wasn’t vi first, but after seeing hundreds of Sisyphus’s simutions I realized the truth; if the popution of the uy isn’t kept under trol it’ll bee a breeding pit for the antithesis. Ohat’ll cascade out of trol before the other samurai react. The Guiding Light is something I manipute to cause these rge scale flicts I o keep things under trol. ”

  “That’s… insane. You’re creating another purge to keep the popution uhis imaginary breakpoint?” I asked, fbbergasted.

  Helen nodded. “Sacrifice a few to save the many. Eveweewo of us, we ’t cover the entire uy, and if an incursion is left unopposed for even an hour, it spiral out of trol, I just want to give us a fighting ce. Ask your AI, it’ll tell you I’m right.”

  “That’s bullshit, right, Nyx?”

  The popution of the uy, and ck of reliable prote, does create a possible weakhat the antithesis could exploit to overwhelm the city. Having both you and Helen in the area does make the situation safer, but if either of you were away, or unaware of a situation, it could quickly get out of hand. Many Protectorate races do believe the good of the many outweighs the good of the few, and are willing te entire areas to stop incursions. I didn’t bring this up before, because humanity, or at least the humans in this area of the p, do not believe in sacrifig others.

  “Fuck me,” I muttered.

  “Told you,” Heleed. “It’s ly the best way to fight the antithesis, but it’s better than losing the city.” She took another long swig, before leaning bad sinking into her chair.

  “You could use your points to build shelters, or early warning systems, instead of pnning genocides,” I said angrily.

  “I have been,” Helen replied with a shrug, “I’ve put sensors around the surroundiors, but there’s only so much I do on five incursions worth of points, plus my daily stipend. My ce is still limited. As for shelters, even if I sunk all fifty thousand points into building secure sites I’d be able to protect, what? Two sectors? I’d rather supply a couple reliable allies with ons, and give the ey a better ce.”

  “Allies, like the ohat shot me in the sewer?” I asked.

  “That wasn’t supposed to happen!” Helen assured me, “Those men were only supposed to be doing re, searg for the antithesis presence so I could go in and take it out. I’ve already disciplihat man and removed him from my personal operations team. The st thing I want is to start a war with another samurai. I have enough to worry about.” I stared at her for a moment. She seemed to be sincere, and after everything else she told me, I didn’t think she’d lie about that. It still didn’t make me happy about the enter.

  We stared at each other for several seds. “So, why didn’t you tact the other samurai and ask for help?” I asked quietly.

  “And say what? ‘Hey, I’m a new samurai in the uy. The situation down here is fucked, and may result iy being overrun. You mind hanging around the areas I ’t monitor? If not, I feel I may have te some of the popution to prevent the city from falling.’ I imagihat I’d either end up dead, or under surveilnce for the rest of my life. They aren’t worth dealing with,” she spat back.

  “You talked to me,” I retorted.

  “Only because you came looking for me,” she replied angrily, “and you live down here, so I figured if anyone uood my point of view, it would be you. I see now that’s not the case.”

  The two of us stared daggers at each other across the table. The situation was infuriating, I had a feeling we weren’t ever going to see eye to eye on this, but her of us wanted a samurai vs samurai war. I stood up, and stared at the other woman. “I don’t agree with what you’re doing, even if you have a reason for it, but I’m not going to fight you over it. If we’re going to try and co-exist, I want you to agree to three things before I leave.”

  Helen raised an eyebrow, “Shoot.”“First, gimme your taformation so I pass it on to the other samurai. I don’t fug know what their stance will be on your little crusade, but they sure as hell don’t like you giving out guns.”

  She frowned. “Fuo. I ’t really stop you from telling them about me, but I don’t want to talk to some high and mighty asshole that’s never set foot in the uy.”

  I felt my eye twitch, “Fine, but you’re keeping your crusade out of the north. I have enough re to detecursions, or hidden hives, and even if I’m not around, I’m fident my troops dey any antithesis long enough for reinforts to arrive. I’m not willing to sacrifice people unnecessarily, even if the city is safer for it.”

  Helen nodded, “And the st?” she asked.

  “If I ever produough troops to protect the uy from an incursion, you abandon your pns. Permaly.”

  Helen stared at me for a long moment, before nodding again. “Fine, I’ll agree to that, but in exge you don’t interfere in any of my pns in the south, until you’re prepared to take over.”

  “As much as I hate that, I guess it’s fair.” I turowards the door, “Then I don’t think we have anything else to talk about.

  “Do you wao pretend I don’t know where we are, and take one of your cars out of here, or should I call for pickup?” I asked as the two of us walked towards the exit. As soon as we ehe hallway, Helen put her fake smile ba.

  “ you call for a pickup? I have Css I unication jammers throughout the pound, to prevent people from leaking information,” Helen hissed.

  “My augs are permaly ected to most of my troops. If things went south, I would have had a foot tall teddy bear jump from a transport and break through the roof to protect me.”

  “That’s a joke, right?” I didn’t answer or even look at her, so her fake smile fell a little. “Right?”

  “Bob gets a little testy when he has to make high altitude drops,” I replied, opening the door back to the courtyard, a tiny smile on my face.

  “Fuck me. I’m gd our talk went as well as it did.” As Helen gnced up I had the IFVs fsh their exterihts. She paled. “Please take the car. I’m not sure the boys will be able to take it if an armored n nded within the pound.”

  “Uandable.” I walked over to the car, and turned back towards Helen befetting in. “It was o meet you, even if I don’t totally agree with your methods. I hope, with time, you’ll figure out a better way.”

  She did a half wave iurn. “It’s definitely been iing. I’ll see you around.”

  I took o look around the pound, then slid into the back of the car. As soon as I put my belt on the windows went opaque again, and the car began to drive away. I slumped a little. Was letting Helen carry on her war the right thing to do? Fuck if I know. I’d done a lot of things other people would sider questionable, not to the level that Helen was willing to go to, but still not the norm. Maybe I was wrong?

  No, fuck that. If I kept building up my forces, maybe I could add enough ce that Helen would abandon her crusade.

  “Nyx, please forward Helen’s information to the Family, along with a transcript of our talk,” I said, wearily.

  Do you think that’s wise? They may take a against her.

  “If they do, that’s their prerogative. Maybe include a hat I do not pn to take any a. Helen and I have e to an agreement, and I’ll abide by it. If they have a problem with that, they send me a formal pint, or whatever corporate garbage they do in that sort of situation.” I let my head roll back, eyes defog, as I stared at the roof.

  I really wished I was fighting antithesis, it was a lot easier than dealing with people.