While The Family's more civilian staff remains neutral in all matters while assisting Samurai, we cannot stop any Samurai from joining a cause or battle with other Samurai when asked. And if multiple Samurai ask for assistance on the same task, then we are simply doing our duty.

  -The Family Store FAQ: in regards to "Who wants to take over this news site?"

  Doma chuckled, “The official stance of The Family is, of course, neutral where corporations are concerned. So long as their actions do not make defeating antithesis more difficult, then The Family stays out of their way, and they stay out of ours. There are a number of contracts between us and the many corporations, namely merchandising opportunities, land defence contracts, and channels to buy material goods, all in the name of supporting The Family's operations to help support Samurai. With that said, any action taken by Samurai affiliated with The Family that is not related to the antithesis is not an official stance of The Family. For instance, when Bub the Worker overhauled the water and power infrastructure by making deals with the various corporations who ran those, he did so on his own. However, once the deals were struck, The Family stepped in with our lawyers in order to enforce the contracts, we provided facilities for Bub to produce the materials for the upkeep for the utilities. We also host the storefront for various corporations both locally and in neighboring cities to purchase bulk orders of Class I and limited quantities of Class II materials.”

  “But I imagine your question was intended to inquire not about working with corporations, but rather against them. The Family has a sterling reputation of being “Humanity First”, and we undertake a variety of public actions to continue to foster that image. From humanitarian aid after disaster and incursions, to various community outreach programs. But we also capitalize on Samurai's sense of justice. While I could pull out a list longer than you are old listing every Samurai and their followers who took it upon themselves to dig into a corporation and air their dirty laundry, forcing them into bankruptcy or a reputational nosedive, I will instead say how we handle the aftermath.”

  “If it was a Samurai who did the deed, we run PR campaigns to laud their actions, condemning the company and the board, then take care of the fallout. If it was a more clandestine operation from a more civilian outfit that wishes to remain anonymous, then we do everything in our considerable power to hide them, with a success rate of one hundred percent! While some corporations try to dig into them, we have numerous Samurai made and backed AIs who are far better than anything they have, short of another Samurai. And yet, if they somehow convince a Samurai to look for them, we step in to inform them that they are under our protection, and they back off at that point, knowing they are being played.”

  Roger nodded in satisfaction. “I assume you don't do backup or extractions?”

  “Not quite, no. While we do offer training, our combat personnel are dedicated to protecting the city, not more shadowy endeavors. What we do offer is a safe harbor to hide out in while awaiting your own extraction from your brother, War Games. So long as you can make it to this building, no one will be able to touch you.”

  “Well, hey! That's a whole lot better than I could hope for! Ain't that right, Jill?”

  Roger's insinuation was obvious to us. While Roger, Buddy, and Cody did get upgraded bodies, only Jill had obtained a lethal upgrade. She just nodded.

  Doma clapped softly. “Now, there are a lot of other things The Family can offer, from political assistance to finding housing, I am under the assumption that none of the rest of our offerings are things you all need at this time, and you can peruse the data I have just sent you later to see those options. And now that I have gone over the official information, I can get to the more exciting things. These four behind me are close friends of mine, each an expert in different fields. Jeff is an expert political maneuverer, with one of his biggest accomplishments being deescalating a corporate war.”

  Jeff looked like he belonged on the battlefield instead of a boardroom, with a three clawed scar over his left eye, a chiseled jawline, and beach blond hair tied into a tight bun. His smile reminded me of a shark.

  “Hilda is a combat master, having been deployed throughout the continent to combat antithesis, gangs, and PMCs.”

  Hilda was a lithe woman, similar build to Jill, just taller, sharper. She shaved her hair off, her head having a few exposed mods and metal plates.

  “Next is Icebreaker, a Meshizen and data infiltration expert who specializes in pen-testing high security facilities, such as powerplants, weapons depots, and boardrooms.”

  He looked the most normal, even with his cringy name. Short black hair, bored eyes, and a heavy stubble that showed he hadn't shaved in a few days. Probably pulled directly from the Mesh to here with no stops in between.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  “Finally, we have Abigail, our quartermaster and master chef. She has a doctorate in medicine, runs a very successful restaurant in the heart of New Phoenix, and is the one woman who Heracles fears, even if he will deny it to the moon and back.”

  Abigail was built like Buddy, with a thick mane of brown hair and a smile so big you could run ads on it.

  “Now, I will let you all get acquainted, I'm sure you can figure out who is here for whom. I will be borrowing your youngest and one of his combat frames to head to a meeting that I am //totally// sure none of you have //any// ideas about what the topic is.” Doma said with a wink.

  I decided to bring Morrigan with me. While I would prefer a more calming presence with me as I’m sure any of them could answer any question that pops up, she was in charge of the Portal tech and logistics, so it only felt right she should join us.

  Doma pulled me through the back door and began walking down the halls. “Thank you for putting up with this presentation, Victor. Not many Samurai let me go through this song and dance as they don't have the patience for it, but I do so enjoy the dance.” The smile on her face was bright, yet natural, instilling a sense of calm and ease within me.

  “Well, I figured that it was only polite to attend a meeting I agreed to attend. It was very informative for not just myself but the others. Plus, I quite literally had nothing better to do.” I say, saying the last bit at more of a mumble.

  Doma giggled at me, “Oh dear, Victor. You have no idea how tempting it is to tease you, nor how enjoyable your reactions are. I didn't even have to do anything this time. That older sister of yours must have been very lenient with you growing up for you to have no defenses.” I glanced at her face as she said that, and I almost wished I didn't. Her eyes were fox-like, and a mischievous smile overtook her entire face. She licked her lips. I could feel my own face turn beat red. It was a shame my outfit was not in combat mode, as I didn't have a helmet to summon.

  Then, she sharply turned to a door and opened it, walking inside. I, thankfully, followed in smoothly.

  “Thank you all for waiting, everyone.” she said, making her way to the head of a large wooden table. I could see Heracles, Shrew, Laser Lasso, and Fleming, as well as a number of other Samurai seated at the table. As they all turned to look at me, I saw many different looks cross their faces. A few of them have a knowing look, but a majority of them sporting emotions of pity or understanding. I took a seat next to Heracles, as it had my name assigned to it in the network and Morrigan stood behind me, hidden by the chair slightly, as Doma began speaking.

  “Now, I'm sure that a number of you are annoyed about the sudden urgent meeting request and the lack of information in said request. This was not due to a lack of trust, but because Heracles only requested the meeting with no information. That said, considering who is in attendance, I can guess quite easily why we were gathered, but like I said, Heracles requested this meeting. As such, I cede the floor to him.”

  Doma moves to take her seat at the head as Heracles stands up. He was wearing an actual suit today. It looked silly, yet also right on his frame.

  “Yes, yes, point out the suspense, why don't you. I requested Doma call this meeting in the name of The Family under the guise of going over defence options. However, this is indeed a cover. The topic in question is pulling one over on Bestlé.”

  Groans filled the meeting room from everyone but Doma and myself. Apparently this was not the first time Heracles did something like this.

  “David, my man, my brother in arms, we have been over this. We have a plan in place, and although it will take a few years, our AI shows that it has a ninety nine percent chance of working.” The man who said this was wearing a cowboy outfit, similar to Laser Lasso, but more futuristic in nature. Skintight white bodysuit under a blue leather vest. His blue hat was on the table in front of him.

  “I know, I know Jeane, I know we have a plan, but in those years their board may change, an Incursion could happen, any one of us could die. I never liked the plan, and I have made no effort in hiding that. So, imagine my surprise when our newest Samurai, War Games here, called me up the other night asking about how to ship out millions of meals worth of food to the city.”

  That got everyone's attention, and that attention fell on me.

  Heracles clapped my shoulder, which didn't send me flying, so that was nice. “He is planning on creating a hydroponics farm hidden from view of the Growers Alliance, able to sustain between seven million to seventy million people. This could easily be expanded upon, yet he ran into the same problem we had. Obtaining copies amounts of water and raw materials to make it. He ran into the exact same complications we did, from piping the ocean to using the city's sewage system, yet he came up with a new option, something none of us took seriously. He suggested why not mine the moon.”

  The gazes from everyone shifted rapidly. From confusion to incredulousness, yet a few seemed genuinely interested.

  “I will let War Games explain his plan in greater detail.”Heracles said, looking down at me with a massive smile.

  I suddenly discovered that he had a very punchable shaped face. I decided against trying as I'm sure my hand would break before his face dented from my fist.

  Sighing, I stood up and cleared my throat, “Good morning, everyone. Uh, so the idea is to use three Class III Spatial Manipulation Catalogs I have to set up a two way portal station from Earth to the Moon, or Mars, or the asteroid belt, in order to mine it for resources since as far as I'm aware there are no antithesis in those locations, and the corporations can't mess with portals on them. I just need some way to get the tech to those locations.”

  The room went silent as everyone stared at me. Even with my Class I body and Class II brain, I could feel my adrenaline spike uncontrollably, sweat forming on my back. I shouldn't have said anything, this was a stupid plan, everyone thinks-

  “That's the only hurdle? Getting to space? Stars kid, that's the easiest part of this whole operation!” A screen on the other side of the table said. On it was a man with wild, unkempt hair, wide eyes, and wearing a jumpsuit. “I'm in space now!”