The Militech convoy rumbled along the dusty expanse of the Badlands. A line of Militech Behemoths were escorted by circling combat drones and multiple escort vehicles, each sporting mounted turrets. Inside one of the vehicles sat a group of soldiers, bearing some of the best gear Militech’s regular troops could be equipped with. Their chatter was barely audible over the thundering engines. Despite being alert, they were fairly relaxed and confident. None of them believed a group would be foolish enough to assault such a heavily armed convoy. To some degree, they were correct. No group would dare attack them. Unfortunately for them, a young thief hadn’t gotten the memo.
Sophie lay flat atop a ridge overlooking the road. Her Nekomata was aimed at the leading escort vehicle. Her car, the Raven, waited nearby. This would be the first opportunity for it to show its worth. She had studied the details Vik had on the convoy but was slightly confused as she observed her target. Did Vik give me the wrong info? There’s way more security on this thing than the data he gave me suggested. But I promised him I'd do it, so I will.
She had to act quickly however, before her opportunity slipped away. Eventually, she decided that she had to cause chaos amongst their ranks if she wanted to succeed. It would have to be a quick operation, no more than ten minutes. That’s how long the thief suspected it would take before support showed up. If she couldn’t take all of her targets down within that time, she would have to retreat to avoid Militech reinforcements.
Inside the leading car, one of the soldiers was casually chatting to the driver. A crack rang out and the driver’s head turned into a red mist. The vehicle swerved violently, slamming into the convoy’s lead truck before exploding.
The guards didn’t have time to react as Sophie had already leapt into her Raven, flooring the accelerator. The car roared to life, erupting onto the road with a sinister growl. Her hands tightened on the wheel as she raced towards her targets.
The rear escort vehicle spun to block her path, its turret winding up as it tracked her. A hail of bullets rained down, but the Quadra’s reinforced armour held up. Sophie grinned, proud of her handiwork.
Utilising her new driving skills, she manoeuvred the car into a controlled drift, dodging the worst of the incoming turret fire. From her seat, she opened the window and fired multiple rounds from one of her Talons. The bullets, each more powerful than the last, tore through the rear escort’s tires and engine, leaving it to explode into a flaming wreck that swerved off the road.
The drones swarmed her as she returned to her pursuit. They were fairly small machines but each had multiple small-calibre machine guns and a basic rocket system. Their bullets pinged against the Raven’s armoured external plating. Sophie ignored them, seeing as they weren’t doing any damage. The occasional rocket they fired was easily dodged as well. It seemed drone technology hadn’t yet reached the same level as it did in the game.
As she caught up to the main transport trucks, Sophie leaned out the driver’s side window, trusting the autopilot to keep her hands steady despite the chaos. Talons fired in unison. One guard slumped over the side of a truck, his rifle clattering to the ground. Another fell as her bullets punched through the woman’s helmet.
The remaining guards retaliated, unloading their rifles at Sophie. Sparks flew as rounds impacted off the car’s reinforced exterior. Sophie swerved erratically, narrowly avoiding a rocket from one of the drones. The explosive missed her Quadra, instead continuing directly into the back of the transport truck. The rear of the truck was instantly torn apart, as were the enemies that had been firing at her.
One of the transport trucks veered off course, trying to escape the chaos the crazy girl had caused. Sophie gave chase. She pushed the Raven harder, its tires quickly chewing up the distance. As she got closer, the truck’s rear doors flew open. From within, a turret emerged, spitting bullets in her direction.
Switching tactics, Sophie slammed on the brakes and slid her Raven sideways. She grabbed her Nekomata and rested it out the window. She lined up her next shot. The tech sniper buzzed as it charged. When she pulled the trigger, the round pierced the turret, causing it to detonate. The shrapnel instantly shredded the back of the truck.
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With the rear turret destroyed, she picked up speed and rapidly closed the distance. She clipped the back of the behemoth using a pit manoeuvre. The impact sent the vehicle into a violent spiral and Sophie seized the opportunity. Trusting her autopilot, she climbed out of the Raven and then on top of the vehicle. She sprinted across the roof of her moving car, and leaped into the back of the truck.
The guard on inside barely had time to react before Sophie’s barrel was slammed into his face, a bullet sending his corpse tumbling onto the road below. She slipped through an opening, landing in a crouch amidst crates and a group of stunned soldiers.
Two of them raised their weapons, but Sophie was already moving. Her Talons fired again, dropping both guards. A swift kick to the balls crippled the resistance of her last enemy before a bullet ended his life.
She found the truck’s driver, a panicked agent struggling to keep the vehicle steady. Sophie aimed one pistol at his head and fired, barely flinching when blood splattered across the interior. The thief watched the surroundings of the transport truck before making her way back to the Raven.
The last remaining transport truck tried to make a break for it, clearly aware that it would find no more success than its friends if it stayed. Sophie peppered the back of the truck with bullets but they did little.
When she got close enough, Sophie rammed the transport truck at an angle. The driver overcompensated and was unprepared for a second collision. The Behemoth was sent crashing into a nearby boulder. The front of the transport crumpled. All of the surviving guards spilled out, disoriented from the crash.
Sophie calmly climbed out of her Raven, pistols drawn. She advanced with methodical precision, executing each remaining guard with a single bullet to the head. The final soldier tried to grab a fallen rifle but was too late. Air parted as a bullet found its way into the soldier’s brain. Sophie’s gaze barely wavered, a benefit of the Iron Resolve trait. Still, it wasn’t something she particularly enjoyed.
With the convoy’s guards neutralised, Sophie got to work. She searched the trucks thoroughly, finding crates of weapons and of course, the cyberware that Vik had asked her to steal. She stuffed as much into her inventory as possible, then piled the remainder into her Quadra.
By the time she was finished, the sun had begun to set. Her final task was to erase the evidence. Bodies were piled into the intact vehicles before their fuel tanks were set on fire. A series of beautiful explosions erupted behind Sophie as she drove away, intent on delivering her cargo to Vik. She wanted to go home and clean out all the sand from her body. It felt as though the grains had managed to wedge themselves in every crevice.
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The next day, Sophie arrived to get her new eyes installed. She’d dropped off the cargo on her way home and Vik had scheduled her surgery for the next day. The thief was quite excited as she entered the clinic. Her basic Kiroshi’s had served her very well over the years, so an upgrade was very welcome. She also had some other minor surgeries she planned to ask him for.
“Hey! If it isn’t my favourite little merc!” Vik saw her and immediately gave her a hug. “You know, those implants are gonna make a really big difference. People will be able to get some good quality chrome because of you. But enough of that, you’re here for the new eyes, right?”
“I’m glad I can help Vik. And yes, I’d like the new eyes thanks. I’ve also got a few other things I’d like you to do.”
“Oh? As long as it isn’t too big, I’ll throw it in for free.”
With that, Sophie explained her grand makeover, a plan she had been developing for well over a year.
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Sophie checked herself out in the mirror, immensely happy with Vik’s work. Her new Kiroshi Mk.3 Optics shined a bloody red colour. Her skin’s paleness had been slightly increased, though it was somewhat difficult to tell considering she was already rather pale. She opened her mouth and pulled at her lips. Two of her teeth were now similar to that of a vampire, sharp and somewhat sinister looking. Her hair was a mix of black and silver, a colour palette Sophie had decided she would claim as her own. After all, her car and dual pistols carried that colour, why not her hair too.
As Sophie stared at herself, she had to admit that she was very beautiful. I really hope I don’t turn into a narcissist. She cupped her chest. Well, she tried. There was still nothing there, but Sophie hadn’t yet gone through puberty. That was likely to be when her breasts started to grow. Overall, she was extremely happy with her current looks.
She checked her status, noting with satisfaction the small increases to her abilities. The small reduction in cooldown for her Chronos Sandevistan in particular was very welcome.
Name: Sophie Mortimer
Age: 8
Class: Markswoman - Lvl.3
Profession: Driver - Lvl.5
Traits
Ghost, Thief’s Instinct, Ambidextrous, Iron Resolve, Recoil Reduction, Structural Intuition
Class Skills
Sleight of Hand: Lvl.10, Parkour (Intermediate): Lvl.10, Stealth (Intermediate): Lvl.10, Thievery (Intermediate): Lvl.10, Rapid Reload: Lvl.1, Shooting (Intermediate): Lvl.1, Gun Combat (Intermediate): Lvl.1, Gun Knowledge (Intermediate) Lvl.1
Profession Skills
Problem Solver: Lvl.50, Mechanics (Basic): Lvl.50, Driving (Basic): Lvl.2, Vehicle Combat (Basic): Lvl.3
Cyberware
Chronos Sandevistan: Available (1 short use (5 seconds) per 1.25 weeks. Further body modifications will increase limit) (God)
Kiroshi Mk.3 Optics (Rare)
Raven’s Claw Cyberarms (Legendary)
Full Body Subdermal Armour (Epic)
Soulbound Weapons
Talons (Mythic)
Store: Available
Inventory: 5m x 5m x 5m
M-Coins: 30,500