Stray Cat Strut Chapter Sixty-Six - Move Faster

Chapter Sixty-Six - Move Faster

Q: Can you choose not to be a samurai?

A: Yes and no. A Vanguard can choose to retire at any ti. But removing the AI-brain-interface is impossible without harming the user.

Q: What are so common mistakes samurai make at the beginning?

A: Either over or under spending on points. Points are a resource, learning how to manage them is part of learning how to be an effective Vanguard.

Q: How do AI view each other?

A: Usually with caras.

Q: Since AI are artificial, are you afraid of dying?

A: Humans are nothing more than lucky collections of star dust. Are you?

-- Curated Q&A with Lyvalis, one of the first Protector AI on Earth, 2026

***

I had three gaps to clear to get to Gomorrah. That ant two rooftops, then the one the Fury was currently parked on and waiting for .

The roof I was on at that very mont though, was lting. It was covered in those cheap flat panes of non-reflective solar panelling. The surface layer of plastic was turning sticky, and each step I took crunched as I broke through the solar cells.

My shoulder-mounted guns spun around and fired behind . I couldnt see what they were targeting, but I could hear it as bodies thumped onto the ground around .

You need to move faster if you wish to make it.

Trying, I grunted between gasps. I wanted to be a little more snarky than that, but snark required breath, and I was all out of that. The air was so hot and muggy that even with my suit doing what it could to regulate things it was still a chore to breathe.

I ca onto the first gap and lunged.

My jumpjets fired off and I sailed across a narrow street, one leg coming up before to make it so that Id land at a sprint.

At that mont I had hanging in the air, I glanced down between the buildings. It was interesting to see what the mounting heat was doing. So windows had burst open and raging fires were burning within, with tongues of fla kissing the sides of the buildings.

Other spots looked nearly intact. Maybe the glass they had was tougher, or less likely to lt. Hundreds of AC units were lting out of the windows they were jamd into. Most were made of cheap plastic which could very much not endure the kind of heat we were putting on them.

My foot t the next building and I kind of bounced a bit before I really took off. With a grunt, I vaulted over so vents and then cursed as I had to go around an animated billboard that was fritzing out hard.

A couple of model ones slamd into the side of the board, cracking it more than it already was.

My guns thumped again, and I shifted as I noticed the recoil pushing forwards just a bit. Whatre you shooting?

You currently have several large flying models chasing after you.

Oh, I said. I ducked to the other side of the billboard, hopefully cutting off their line of sight for a bit.

I paused, just to take a breath, but then one of those tower-AC units a few tres away from burst into flas. A pipe burst on its side and it pissed fire all over. That was my signal to keep going.

My armour was warming up a whole lot. Maybe too much, even.

Disabling passive stealth systems. We dont need to hide your body warmth and I doubt anyone nearby will be able to hear your suits cooling systems in your current predicant.

I could hear my suit humming faintly. It didnt feel any cooler though. I grimaced and continued running. The next gap was easy. I cleared it with barely any help from the jumpjets. The next roof had a damned garden on it.

Probably one of those stupid attempts to greenify things. The plants within were smouldering already. They didnt even catch fire so much as they desiccated on the spot.

I jumped again, fired a little spurt from my jump jets and used that to hop onto the top of the nearest greenhouse. It wasnt designed to carry my weight, and the tal being so hot that it was likely going soft didnt help any.

Still, it collapsed in such a way that I fell in the right direction and was able to cartwheel my arms around to stay even.

Graceful, Gomorrah comnted.

If I wasnt out of breath I would have sothing snippy to tell her.

I ran to the edge of the roof and jumped. All I had to do was land, then grab onto the Fury. Wed move away, and Id be nice and safe. Maybe I could reposition myself on it further out. Or jump out of my armour and into the car itself once we were in a safer spot.

With a grunt, I brought my legs up to clear the edge of the roof.

Catherine! Above!

My railguns fired, but it was just a little too late. My HISS activated with a scream, a last-second warning that I didnt know how to heed.

Sothing heavy smacked into . It wasnt a direct blow, but it knocked out of my gentle arc and into a wild tumble. I saw a large feathered body falling past , feathers on fire and body writhing.

I crashed into and through a window--one of those with bars across the bottom to keep pigeons away--then I landed on my side in soones living room. The couch was smoking, the TV was lting, and the carpet was on fire.

Fuck! I swore.

Cat! Gomorrah said. I heard a whine from above, the Fury moving. Was she leaving?

I jumped to my feet, then winced. My armours interior wasnt warm, it was scalding. I could feel the warmth pressing in on .

Use your points, please.

Ice! A bomb.

A bomb appeared and imdiately exploded in front of . It sent a wave of white fus racing across the room with a hiss, and I felt my armour cooling off even as frost covered the walls and floor. But only for a mont. The frost was lting off faster than it could spread.

A whine just outside had turning to see the Fury lowering itself down, passenger-side facing . The door opened and Gomorrah gestured. Co on!

I didnt need to be told twice. I grabbed the edge of the window, placed a boot on the bottom sill, then jumped across the gap.

I didnt fit through the door. Well, most of didnt fit. My upper body did, and the mont my feet swung out below I kicked up and found sothing to push my foot against on the cars undercarriage while I held onto the passenger-side seat.

The AC was blasting, I noted idly. Gomorrah used a few non-church-approved words and we shot upwards. The car sounded... off. I didnt know nearly enough about hovercars to say how, but I knew that a few things were busted with the Fury.

That was stupid, Gomorrah said.

I agree, I replied as I kept hugging the seat. Do you need to drive so fast?

Yes.

My railguns deployed, but not to shoot. Instead they reached up and pressed against the ceiling, giving a couple more points of contact. That was only sowhat reassuring. Gomorrah was flying as if I wasnt hanging halfway out of her car, and while I trusted her, my trust in her was only a bit stronger than my grip on the carseat.

Gom? I asked.

One second, she said.

We started to slow down, then I felt us dropping. There was a thumping from nearby, guns going off, and I winced as the Fury shook. An explosion had gone off nearby.

Just the walls anti-air, she said.

Thanks. I was dying to know, I said. Im slipping Gomorrah.

Its fine, she said.

I think its very not fine!

The car stopped and Gomorrah looked down at . Cat.

What?

You can let go. Were hovering over the wall. Its a tre below us.

I paused, considered her words, then lowered my leg down until it hit sothing solid. Oh, I said before I lowered my other foot and then let go of the seat. I was standing right atop the wall, just a couple of sections away from the gap, which had closed noticeably since wed left.

Stepping back, I left room for Gomorrah to lower the Fury. Gomorrah stepped out of her car, then walked to the back and inspected the back where the steel was crumpled in. Thats... thats not going to be easy to fix, she said.

I shook my head, then patted her on the shoulder. Its alright. We made plenty of points today, Im sure all the squished parts are replaceable.

Might as well replace the whole car, she muttered. Then she rose up and shrugged. Guess Ill be getting a new one.

Wow. That was fast.

That was pragmatic, she said before turning back towards where wed co from.

The city was lting. Even from the wall I could trace the growing circle of destruction just from the spreading cloud of smoke on the inner edge and the crumbling buildings in the centre. We made a bit of a ss, havent we?

Hmm. Not as satisfying as actual fire, she said.

***