Cath

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“The real surprise is at the other end of whichever rooms you decide to explore.” The Utaysi salesperson from the Myrmidon showroom materialised from the crowd, spreading his arms wide in a welcoming gesture.

“Hello! I am glad you could make it! Senjen, Ruknar, very pleased to see you again. Please forgive me for not introducing myself properly. I am Ferrow. What do you think of our little shindig so far?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“I’m all set for drinks right now.” Ruk raised her flute of complimentary champers. Light looked at it then at his own as if he’d already forgotten it existed.

“Upstairs seems interesting.” He concurred, weaving between a small gaggle of Tekeri wearing ornate masks to ascend the left-hand staircase.

The mezzanine wrapped all the way around the dancefloor, giving a great view of all the various cliches roiling within it. Concentric waves ripple over Light’s suit from the bass, tickling his skin. The music seemed Human-centric in here, but in a way which may have been deliberately sensitive to other species’ tastes. Songs cut in and out at a blistering rate, the AI DJ monitoring the vitals of everyone in the area to determine what came in next.

Even through the music, the acoustics on this mezzanine meant a properly tuned ear could listen in to practically any conversation. Light only half listened as he picked his way through the crowd standing around on it.

“Hey, nice suit!” Someone called out to Senjen, before melting into the crowd

“I heard one of the ships Myrmidon made for Outremer fell off the grid last year, how do you suppose that-...”

“Every year more of my shipments are disrupted, these death cults have to be-...”

“How can you stop a plague that doesn’t display any symptoms?”

From the middle of the mezzanine, Light finally spotted the reliefs above each of the three doors. A Tekeri, A Tindrel and a QV.

“There is a room for each species!” Light exclaimed, not sure whether to be excited or appalled.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Organics can replace pretty much any body part with a synthetic improvement. It's the full personality transfer operations from organic-to-synth that usually fail.” Ruk countered.

“Apparently the Vermilion Consortium’s Quadrumvir device could be used to improve the success rate, but centuries of horror stories seem to have put most people off the idea of a machine brain.”

The taxi turned into a wide boulevard lined with trees before pulling up outside an imposing building modelled on the Parthenon from ancient Earth. Moving and colour changing spotlights traced the exquisite architectural replica from the ground.

A thin stream of people of all species were filtering up the marble steps to the giant double doors. The dull thud of music came from inside.

“Wowwww.” Light gushed; his vision was becoming sharper by the minute as darkness fell.

“This place looks fancy.”

He disembarked with the others and headed for the entrance. Security was tight at the door, but they flashed their tickets and the greeter waved them through, offering yet another glass of champagne. Light gratefully accepted and rushed inside, eyes wide.

The music was loud and infectious, thumping into his suit from all angles. An intoxicating cocktail of pheromones filled the air. The interior was not what he was expecting at all, with enough moving parts to warrant a moment to stop and evaluate.

Instead of replicating the interior of the Parthenon, his suit explained it was modelled after the fictitious Underworld from Greek mythology. Dark except for jagged blades of light streaking the floor and ceiling, the large rectangular front room had a staircase on either side and a dancefloor in the middle that was dotted with mature Asphodels. All manner of creature surged through the area, with many heading upstairs to a mezzanine with three large openings to other rooms. At the back of the room was a long bar, lit up and decorated with an exquisite frieze of winged chariots.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Ok…..It's safely stowed away in my cabin!” Light protested, following her back to the others.

When Jess and Senjen settled down to review his new contract, Light looked immediately to Ruk who was sitting placidly on the floor.

“Foods?”

“Yeah.”

Light wiggled back into his new suit and shot out of his ship’s cargo bay doors with the Tekeri in tow.

“Thanks for being here with me today.” Light said.

“Don’t mention it. I’m just glad you’re OK.”

Light ululated in agreement. “If you don’t want to come to this thing later, that’d be fine.”

“Oh no. I’m invested now, may as well see it through. Have you been to this place before?”

“Me?” Light laughed. “Do I look like the club type? No, they’re too extravagant, but it sounds like there may be free stuff there.”

“Are you sure that’s the reason you’re going?” Ruk asked, studying him.

“Yeah! Well maybe to show off my new suit.” His hide said otherwise.

“Its not yours, remember.”

“Alright, don’t keep reminding me.”

They reached the bank of vending machines equidistant to their oblong neighbourhood of landing pads. Nearby a large Tindrel slept on a filthy trash pile. Light bought a set of large fish morsels wrapped in rice and seaweed, Ruk bought a mixed bag of nuts, fruits, seeds and sweets.

“Senjen and I may be on a job for a while after this.” Light said conversationally.

“Is that the new quarantine zone the Foundation is talking about?”

“No, uhh, something a bit different this time.”

“Ahh. I keep forgetting. Your allegiance to Good Causes is over.”

“No! I still want to work with them, I just have the freedom now to uhh…explore other options.”

“Got it.”

They headed back to the ship, going out of their way to avoid a particularly rowdy party out the front of another lot. Once back inside they collapsed on the floor and ate in silence. Then Light curled up asleep and Ruk quietly read.

---

Jess’ message woke Light up. He checked the time - the advertised start of this Myrmidon mixer had already been and gone. “We’re late!” He wailed.

“Relax. People never appear right on time for these things. Besides, doesn’t it go on all night?” Ruk said quietly from beside him, eyes not deviating from her holo pad.

Regardless, Light shot through the tunnels of his ship to Senjen and Jess.

“How did it go? Are you ready to head back out?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

Light jerked away from Jess when she mentioned how much they might get paid.

“Really? That's wonderful! I’m sure we can make it work.” He slapped Jess gently on the shoulder. He was filled with a burst of optimism about this potential business arrangement; having Jess taking charge of all that meant he could focus on more of what he was good at. His hide took on ripples of thoughtful purple.

He perked back up at the mention of the Cerberus club. “Why not let a program summarise it for you? Nobody has time to read all those…words.” He shivered at the thought of all those scratchy Human symbols. QV writing was relief-based, making reading more like exploring a vast network of tiny valleys with sonar. Other systems were very tedious indeed by comparison.

“If we are going on a great adventure into the unknown, I would at least like to enjoy one night of being cancer free and alive.”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Hmmm. Well I suppose I have got more flexibility now my treatment has finished.” Light mused. While working with the For Good Cause Foundation came with great benefits like healthcare, they didn’t pay well. Making some proper money would let him make some much-needed upgrades. This job did sound potentially risky, though they were no strangers to that in their line of work.

“We could set off tomorrow, but I’ll need to talk to Senjen about this, unless you already have? How much of a payday are we talking about?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Super! I will see you here tomorrow if I don’t see you tonight.” The Utaysi clapped his hands together in a curiously Human gesture.

---

I’m not going to buy it! But what harm is a little test drive? He shot a mischievous look at Jess before patting her face again. Symphony looked between them as they silently communicated. Eventually light spun to face her.

“I won’t say no to taking good care of this suit for a little while. And this party sounds like fun-” He whirled round when Jess suggested they may not go, upset. It was his special day, after all.

Wanting to get his own back, Light refused to ditch the suit. After their group had met back up and turned to leave, he quickly stopped to sign an agreement to borrow the suit for free, with Myrmidon retaining full tracking and override controls. He also agreed to pay for any loss or damages.

“I’ll talk to my friends; I’m sure we can make it to this thing tonight.” He said sheepishly to Symphony as she filed the agreement.

“I’d like that.” She reached out with one manipular to brush the front of his suit.

---

The docking yard was busy at this time, with lots of comings and goings. Red dust swirled bits of dead vegetation and rubbish across the ground; some of it collected around the ramshackle array of furniture which Light and Senjen had rescued from being thrown away and placed out front.

After such a busy day and with the prospect of a busy night, Light was looking forward to relaxing in his room for a little while. Even if just to collect his thoughts. But it seemed Jess needed him for something, so he reluctantly headed to his cabin to stow the new Myrmidon suit away. By comparison, his old red suit felt tired and sluggish. Light then went with Jess to a dark and quiet corner of the ship.

When it became clear it was some sort of secret he was being made party to, Light leaned in closer with every sentence. By the time Jess finished speaking, his ‘forehead’ was practically planted on hers and his watery eyes stared directly into hers. He nodded softly, actively listening.

“Interesting.” He said finally.

“So what is it? Where is it? How much are we talking? Why can’t Ruk know?”

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Thank you.” The Utaysi keyed in the data Senjen provided.

“Yes, I’ll include all the details you need in a customised pack right away. Just hold on a moment…” He was working faster now, cognizant that Senjen was getting restless.

“Alrighty. Assuming you put a 20% deposit of just over 833m GC down on the base price, I can give you a 5% interest rate over three years, 4% over five years or 3% over ten years. The total monthly repayments on those are 99.9m, 61.3m and 32.1m respectively. Join the content creator program in the next day and I can freeze the interest rates, meaning the monthly repayments drop to 73.8, 44.9m and 23m. Does that sound manageable for you?” He looked up at Senjen to gauge his reaction.

“Please, take some time to ponder it. And as a gesture of goodwill, here are four free tickets to a little mixer Myrmidon is throwing at the Cerberus club tonight. Maybe see you there?” Senjen received a pack totalling just under 250 pages containing his quote and all the terms and conditions.

There was a section about work placements as promised. This was essentially a job board that Senjen would have access to as a Myrmidon private security frame owner. All of them were sponsored by Myrmidon or close partners, and involved a variety of projects that required a fixed term abroad. There was a bit of everything, from guarding high value individuals to controlling unruly workforces and supporting scientists studying dangerous diseases.

There was also a section about on-frame advertising. A newer, optional feature, this allowed frame owners to get money off their loan by renting their body space out for brand sponsorships. The software could also pitch adverts for the user to drop into conversation that were relevant to whatever was being talked about.

---

Symphony gave Jess a gracious bow.
“Uhhh, no. I don’t think I have. It's a bit of a…tricky situation about that.” Light tried to explain. “I’m not the right sort of caste to just be able to access top-end QV suits. They keep them very exclusive.”

“Myrmidon have taken top-end tech from the ancient houses of Vosh and made it accessible to anyone. Isn’t that wonderful?” Symphony added.

“Quite! Alas, I don’t need this newfangled technology. My job requires my mind to be sharp, not my body.” Light sounded quite melancholy all of a sudden.

“Well, why don’t you keep it for a day to properly get to grips with it, and tell me that again in the morning? You’d be the talk of the town at a little party we’re throwing at the Cerberus club tonight. Will you both come?”

Light perked right up, looking side on at Jess.

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“Oh…” The Utaysi opposite him looked crestfallen, upset even.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to put pressure on you. It's mostly boilerplate stuff in the contract really. If you bought the loadout from the simulation for example, you’d have to film a certain amount of content every month of the year to qualify for that discount. You’d be able to submit film and audio to us without direction but we have the right to refuse it, or you can be accompanied by a Myrmidon film drone. Uhh, what else…” They flicked through the legalese. “You wouldn’t own any rights to the content in perpetuity, which is pretty standard these days.”

He looked back up from the pad at Senjen, then caught the ball of his fist in the other hands. “Damn, I didn’t even get to the work placements or the advertising opportunities. Ok, let me generate your quote now…”

There was a few second delay, in which Ruk sent a message privately to Senjen.

“Whatever it is, don’t accept their first offer. Heck, don’t accept any offer you don’t feel comfortable with.”

“Alright! Before discounts and incentives your order comes to 4,166,666,667 Galactic Credits. If you join the content creator program and fulfill your contract, this comes down to 3,125,002,500. Now of course one of our mantras here at Myrmidon is that anyone can purchase from us, so we have a wide range of financial products available if you’re unable to pay the full amount up front. Mortgages between three and thirty years are popular; if you’re able to confirm the deposit you can put down and your monthly earnings I can provide you with a monthly cost?”

---

Once Jess approached the opening she’d see Light spinning around and moving laterally around the room at a gentle pace. The walls and a centre island were stacked with equipment suited to QV customers. Power tools, weapons, medical equipment, the list was endless. Light reached out manipulars to pick things up then discard them again. QV quite liked ‘investigating’ chaotic piles of things in shops - it mimicked their natural reef foraging behaviour, so Myrmidon had simulated that masterfully here.

“On a purely functional level, it seems better in every respect.” Light’s simulated voice had started to develop a slightly tipsy element.

“It just doesn’t feel very…homely right now. My old suit fits me like a glove and knows what I'm thinking. Despite the heater, this one feels quite harsh.”

“The mind-meld would fix that. At the moment it is configured so any species could pilot it.” Symphony explained, before turning to Jess.

“Would you like to have a try?"

Price of Life (EliteCommander and Cath)

“No, of course not!” The Utaysi gestured and a 60 page contract relating just to the content creator program appeared on both their holo pads for download.

“As this is a very competitive program, I’m afraid our offer can only stand for one Korit day. But by all means, take some time to read through and consider it.” They tapped their claws against the side of the pad, looking at them both for a second, before continuing.
“Ok, next up, I’m pleased to say you have qualified to join our Myrmidon Assist program if you so choose.” Another brochure opened on both their holo pads.

“This is a club of competent Myrmidon product users who come to each other's assistance when required. Say you’re…I don’t know…under attack and need reinforcements. Simply activate your Assist beacon, your suit will outline the job requirements and within minutes relevant Myrmidon customers will come to help you out! Even better, completing jobs will actually contribute to money off your preferential-rate Myrmidon Bank loan! How does that sound for you? Would you like me to add that to the quote I'm building for you?”

---

Light hesitated when Symphony offered him a ‘test drive’. His mind immediately recalled the last time he changed suits, in that little shop two years ago on his first job with Senjen. He shuddered as his body remembered being crushed and starved of oxygen by that deadly black droid.

“Who. Do. You. Work. For? their voice was still clear in his head after all this time. The dead tone, devoid of any empathy.

“Are you alright?” Symphony asked, floating a little closer with concern etched on her hide.

“Y-yes, sorry. Why do you not wear this suit yourself, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Good question. I am actually being fitted with mine in a few days; I can’t use this one as then we wouldn’t have a display model. That gives you a clue as to how new this product is! If you are unsure, we can leave the demonstration for now and-”

“No, no. I’m alright - let's do it.” Unwilling to let this female see him as feeble and afraid, Light slipped out of his suit and swam slowly towards the suit. It reflected his face back at him, totally reflective while no one was operating it.

“It's open, just make yourself at home.” Symphony urged.

The suit was warm to the touch, sucking Light into its inviting cocoon. The gel became transparent, though the gold highlights remained. A faint whirring sounded and then the suit came free of its dock, bumping off the floor.

“It won’t mind-meld with you, for security reasons. But all the physical capabilities are active.” Symphony swam up close to Light to check everything was in order. Light was staring in wonderment around him. “Everything is so clear! I feel like I can sense all the way out the front door!”

“Thats because you can.” She giggled.

Light tried to swim to the left and instantly shot through the double doors, moving at triple the speed of normal. He screamed, narrowly avoiding a floating rack of sonic weapons before bouncing off the gel wall in the next room.

“I’m OK! This thing is kinda fast.” He called. Symphony just laughed, before motioning politely for Jess to lead her through to join him.