Chương 63: Chapter 61 - Rest and Relaxation

"Well, someone's been busy," I muttered as my truck once again approached the makeshift military encampment. Somehow, in a matter of hours, the size of the encampment had more than doubled. A massive sea of tents had been erected outside the military compound, and from what I could tell it already contained kitchens, baths and other support facilities for the refugees. Sharron had her face plastered against the passenger side window, trying to get a better look.

"Impressive, they probably brought in a samurai that specializes in refugee operations,""What? That's a specialization? Really?" Sharron shrugged, "Sure, why not? It's not like people are safe just because they're out of the combat zone. It's not as lucrative as killing, or destroying hives, but I'm sure you're aware that there are a lot of cities that won't lift a finger to help those in need. More people die after being 'Saved' from the Antithesis than you'd expect."

"I don't find that surprising at all. I learned a long time ago not to expect anything from the government." I huffed, "Let's land, I really want to get this R&R started" Sharron just smirked, "Fine with me." I turned my truck towards the Samurai encampment, only to find the area a little more crowded than before. There were more esoteric vehicles, strange devices, and people wandering around the compound. Since the area was so crowded I had to park further out.

That wasn't a bad thing, the inner circle was noisy and crowded, and I just wanted some quiet. As soon as the truck touched down, but before it settled, Sharron jumped out.

"In a rush to go somewhere?" I asked through the open door.

"Nope! Just excited. Aeonys has been showing me some options for vehicles on the way back, and I think I've found something perfect. Behold!" There was a momentary pause, then in a flash of light there was a new vehicle there. A boxy thing, nearly as big as the semi, with the trailer attached. I couldn't believe my eyes, "You bought an RV as your primary mode of transportation?"

"Don't judge me! You bought a semi truck. I've been living out of a hotel ever since my Indentured Servant contract got nullified, I wanted my own place. This thing even had a storage space for my suit at the back."

"Why didn't you just buy a house or something?" I asked, slightly confused.

"I haven't really owned anything of my own for years, and I haven't found a place to settle down, so a mobile house is good for me." Sharron replied.

"I… guess that makes sense. Assuming you have a place to park it back in Calgary. I'm not sure if the Family would like you squatting in their parking garage." Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Sharron's face fell slightly, "I'll figure something out, probably." I sighed, "Well, there's room in my garage if you can't find something else. Assuming you don't mind dealing with the locals… I'm sure Jane, Alan and the kids would like to meet you."

"That sounds nice, I'll consider it." Sharron perked up, "Now come, let me give you a tour!" She pulled open the back door to the RV and waited for me to join her. The inside of the RV was modest, but well appointed. There was a small kitchen, a living room, bathroom and bedroom. It was nice, especially by my standards, but…

"It's all fairly ordinary isn't it? You didn't splurge on anything special?" I asked.

"Look, you may have made a killing clearing Antithesis, but I earned most of my points during the evacuation. I don't need anything fancy, and I'd rather spend my points on functional upgrades than luxury. You, out of anyone else I know, should respect that."

"I do." I replied, slightly embarrassed, "Does this mean you picked up something more for your suit instead?"

"Correct! This way!" Sharron headed into the rear of the RV, where there was a heavy metal door. When we approached it slid open, revealing a small garage where Sharron's suit resided.

"Behold, my new automated armory!" Sharron looked extremely proud of the space. I, on the other hand, was confused.

"It looks like a metal box, which part of it is automated?" I asked, suspiciously.

"All of it! I don't have a lot of alternative weapons, I only managed to fully upgrade the Predator suit's weapons earlier today, but I can show you how it works." Sharron stared at her suit for a long moment, long enough for me to become slightly concerned. Just when I was convinced nothing was going to happen, the garage burst into motion. Panels on the walls, ceiling and floor opened up, revealing various mechanical arms.

Each arm grabbed different parts of the suit, some anchored the legs, others removed the back tentacles and replaced them with a smaller, thinner, version. The entire process took only seconds and when it was done everything slid back into the walls and hid away again.

"It took me a minute to figure out how everything worked, and I needed something to replace, so I put the original lasers back on to demonstrate. I'm planning to buy different weapons and equipment to give myself a little more versatility in the long run. Cool right?"

"It certainly was impressive… you can change anything on your suit with that?"

"Weapons, accessories, actuators, and even the armor plating. I plan on stripping the pressure compensation and swapping out to lighter armor so I can actually maneuver a little better, but that'll have to wait until later." She turned back to me, "So you think that was worth it?"

"Definitely." I stretched out, popping my shoulders, "I think that's enough show and tell for now. We only have a couple hours until we have to meet up with everyone again, and I'm exhausted." I started leaving the RV, but stopped and turned back, "I'm glad you finally found a place to relax and enjoy yourself. Talk to you in a couple hours." Sharron waved in response, a wide smile on her face.

"Sleep well!" After leaving the RV, I found climbing back up into my Semi a little bit of a struggle. The RV was comfortable, while the Semi just had a cot in the back. A month ago I would have killed for that little bit of luxury, now it seemed to be spartan. I collapsed into the bunk and as I curled up I had a realization, "I've become spoiled." Groaning, I turned over and drifted off to sleep.