A Displaced Samurai

February, Monday 3th, 2048

In the morning, I was woken by insistent ringing of the doorbell and hammering at the door. I had barely moved into my shelter apartment and the door to door salesmen were already here?

I threw on some clothes in a hurry. Unfortunately, the new chest plate for my armor was still in the printer. Would I need my rifle?

With a great degree of wariness, I checked the door camera. B.S.O.D. was standing there, accompanied by two men I had never met. At least, nobody was waving a gun around, and I knew B.S.O.D as a reasonable person.

So I opened the door. “Hi, welcome to Vanguard Enterprises. Come in and I’ll be happy to make some coffee.”

Once we had settled at one of the tables in the kitchen, B.S.O.D. started talking.

“Let me introduce my escorts. This”, she pointed to a gray-haired, academic looking type to her left “is Professor Callahan, head of the Xenotechnological Institute at the University of Victoria.” Next she pointed to the other guy. He was in his forties and seemed to have a giant stick up his ass. Probably some military officer. “And this is Major Allen, from the HANAF procurement office”.

“Miss MacCallan, we need to know more about your activities. First, you seem to have access to advanced ammunition that could greatly help us in our fight against the machines. Second, I hear you collect dead Macks and have even parked a mostly intact Type Three on the ground of this fire depot. One of the firemen informed SHOCKS that the Three still had a warm engine.”

“Uh, I will admit to a small parking violation?”

Elya quickly supplied me with some legalese.

“And the Robotic Invader Salvage Act of 2037 clearly says that salvaging Macks is legal. And that the salvager is entitled to keep or sell the salvage as they wish.”

“Don’t get cute with me. We have evidence that this machine has recently been used, not earlier than yesterday. That means you know how to operate it, at least partly.“

“I figured out how to start it up. There are enough similarities to Protector designs working on the same principles. I do, however, not fully understand the function yet.” Technically true. I had not gotten around yet to studying the blueprints of the Mack in depth. Or ask Elya for a detailed explanation.

“And how do you know about the inner workings of Protector designs?”

“You may remember our conversation last September, when I told you about how Vanguard acquire access to supplies?”

“Yes, I have sometimes wondered what else might be in that ‘little aug’ of yours.”

“Through Little Aug I could not only order hardware, but also unlock technical documentation. The latter is still stored in Little Aug and can sometimes be leveraged to figure out how similar technology works.“

Grumble.

Subvocalized: “That is your public name now.”

I shall suffer in dignity.

Professor Callahan followed up with “Could you describe the start-up process of the Type Three’s reactor for us? It would greatly help us in our research!”

“Yes, I will send you a walk-through.” Which Elya would write for me. She was even good at imitating my writing style.

Major Allen interjected “On matters of hardware supply, we want to know from where you got the tungsten core ammunition you used at Hatley Castle. We recovered some of the projectiles and found the quality exceptional. Inspector Hastings also told me about a grenade that seemed to stun a few Macks.”

I saw an opportunity. “I made those. The grenades only work in combination with Little Aug, but the projectiles can be used by everyone. Perhaps I should start an arms manufacturing company.”

You could manufacture hundreds of the projectiles per day on your current printer and still have room for personal projects. Once your new printer is online, throughput will go up another two orders of magnitude.

Major Allen replied “We would certainly welcome a new supplier of high quality AP rounds.”

Next Professor Callahan asked for a tour of my workshop, which I was happy to give him. The components for my next fabricator were still locked away in a former dorm of the shelter, so I saw no risk in letting people into the workshop.

Callahan appeared to know quite a bit about materials science, especially those materials used in Mack components. We had a captivating conversation, with a bit of prompting by Elya so I could keep up. But eventually B.S.O.D. interrupted.

“I am very sorry, but we need that Type Three. On my authority as a Magical Girl and Colonel with HANAF, I requisition this robot for vitally important use in R&D. You will of course receive compensation. Two times the current market value based on the prices at the component and scrap exchange.”

I did not protest too loudly for several reasons.

First, I already had the blueprints and the parts for my next printer.

Second, I could use the money, as I was not quite sure yet what equipment besides my printers I would need for a miniature ammunition factory. It might cost quite a chunk.

And third, I was curious how quickly they would be able to derive something useful from their new Mack. My bet was they would not be nearly as fast as Elya and I.

We exchanged a few more pleasantries, then B.S.O.D. and her team left. When I escorted them to the door, I could already see a big crane and a truck with a flatbed trailer arriving.

It was time to organize things. “Elya, research the formalities of getting licensed as a heavy weapons manufacturer.”