Sophie was woken up when an excited cat jumped on her.
“Happy birthday Soph!” Sasha squealed, hugging her tightly.
“Gah!” The smaller girl choked, limbs flailing as she desperately tried to escape the hug. “Sasha! Can’t breathe!”
“Oops! Sorry! Didn’t mean to choke you!” Despite her words, the older girl wore a grin. Sophie grumbled in response, shooing her away.
“What did you get me up for? Actually, what time is it?” When she checked, the mercenary nearly tripped. Her head spun around, staring at the netrunner in horror. “Who are you!? Sasha would never wake up at six in the morning on her own!”
“Hehe.” She smiled sheepishly while scratching her head. “I was just excited for your birthday.”
“Bah! It’s just another day. No need to celebrate it.” That was clearly not the right thing to say.
“Nope! We’ve already got plans for today! I had to scrap my original idea because Rogue wants us for a gig. But! After that, everyone is coming over.” She paused, “even that bitch Rita.”
Sophie could only sigh. The relationship between the two older girls had only gotten worse since the first time they met. Her attempts at mediation had been met with total failure, causing her to give up. “Oh alright. Let me know when we have to leave. I’m gonna get some work done on our bikes in the meantime.”
“Sure! I’ll come get you when it’s time!”
Seriously, why am I the more mature one of us? For the umpteenth time, the younger girl could only resign herself to the immaturity of her roommate.
Once she got down to the garage, she headed straight to the pair of Yaiba Kusanagi CT-3X’s. Sophie hadn’t been able to modify them all in one go, like she had with her Quadra. Instead, it had been a gradual process. Now, however, they were nearly done.
Both bikes had been fitted with a slightly modified engine, courtesy of the engineering knowledge the girl possessed. Admittedly, an extra 1MPH didn’t make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things, but it was still nice. However, the engineer had replaced most of the outer shell with higher quality materials. Unless someone managed to slip a bullet into the internals, the bikes were bulletproof, meaning the two girls didn’t need to worry about them blowing up during a fight.
With the general modifications done, the thief grabbed her painting equipment and got to work.
Obviously, Sophie’s motorcycle received the same paint job as her Quadra. Black with silver highlights was her go-to palette. Sasha’s bike, on the other hand, made the younger girl want to cringe. Just the memory of the request brought out a grimace.
‘Can you paint mine bright pink? With cat stickers? Please?’ Thus, the cat-mobile was born. Everything was painted pink. Everything, even the tires. Sophie hadn’t even known tire paint was a thing, yet Sasha had gone out and found some. There was one silver lining to it though. When she sent the netrunner a photo of the new paint job, the older girl wasn’t a fan. A call came through.
“I think that might be a little bit too much pink.”
“Oh really? It’s almost like that’s what I said when you asked for it. What do you want me to do with it?” Sophie replied with a snort.
“Maybe some navy blue? Or black? Sorry for not listening to you earlier.”
“It’s fine. I’ll do black, that way it shouldn’t look too bad. I can always change it later.”
“Thank you! Love ya Soph!” The call disconnected, leaving the young mechanic to her work.
She eventually settled on doing all of the internals black, including the tires. The rims remained pink though. After she was done repainting, it was time for the stickers. Sophie covered the whole thing in Hello Kitty stickers that she bought for 5 M-Coins. She could only hope Sasha would like them.
She did. As soon as she saw the bike, the older girl began asking questions about where they came from. Obviously she couldn’t explain but it gave the younger girl a good idea for a present when the netrunner’s birthday came around.
“Well? Are you ready to go?”
“Yep! Can we take the bikes?”
“Hmm, the paint should have dried already, so sure”.
-----------------------
“So, what exactly is this gig? I assume it’s something to do with Maelstrom?” Her guess was based on the fact they were driving through Northside, home of the borged out psychos.
“That's right! A group of them has been going crazy recently. They’ve been kidnapping anyone they can, including corpo kids. Apparently they’ve split from the main branch of the gang because of all the attention.” The holocall fell silent, the sounds of the wind being the only audible noise.
“So we’re being sent in to wipe them out?”
“We’re supposed to eliminate them all and figure out what exactly they’re doing with all of the missing people. If the corpo kids are still alive, we’re supposed to save them too.”
“Great…Nothing better than rescuing a bunch of assholes from the cyberpsychos. Do you know how many there are?”
“According to the intel, there’s a minimum of 20, all heavily chromed. They’re holed up in an empty trainyard.”
“Fuck me. You finished that hack of yours?”
“Yep! Not too long ago actually. I’m pretty proud of it”.
“Well, that’s something at least.”
The one thing Sophie had pretty much no experience fighting were chromed out borgs. She wasn’t entirely sure whether or not her Talons would suffice to deal with them, so she was slightly worried about this job.
-----------------------
The two mercs pulled up outside of the trainyard. It was a fairly enclosed space, with only a single, wide entrance. Sadly, they weren’t able to see inside, due to the cargo containers and burnt out train husks.
Sophie entered first, creeping between the cargo containers. Sasha, on the other hand, traversed the tops of the containers, her recently installed Lynx Paws allowing her to move just as quietly.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Eventually, the younger of the two laid eyes on one of the gangoons. 10 minutes later, she had breached his ICE undetected. Sasha, the more experienced netrunner, piggybacked off Sophie’s entrance to slip in as well. Ping revealed a dense net of connections.
“Looks like there are more than 20, huh.”
“And there’s definitely a ‘runner. Can see him moving around in the network.”
“Any chance you can get me his location? I’ll take him down first so you can drop your hack without any obstructions.”
“Give me a minute, Soph.” In that time, the younger netrunner prepared her own quickhack, Overheat. “Got it. He’s on the other side of the trainyard, inside one of the shipping containers. I’ve marked his location for you.”
“Thanks Kitten. I’ll find a way to get to him.”
Ghost activated and Sophie began making her way around the trainyard. Maelstrom’s obsession with spider-like optics proved beneficial to the merc that crept past them. However, she did take note of three individuals and the main area as she made her way to the Maelstrom Codefreak.
“Sasha, did the data say anything about these bastards having Centaur exoskeletons? Or the fucking Dragoon that’s standing around?”
“Huh!? No way! Where did these freaks get gear like that!?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. The good news though, is that I think I’ve found out what they were doing with all the kidnapped gonks.”
“Oh? Anyone alive?”
“No. That’s the bad news. Well, outside of the equipment they’ve got. Looks like they’re performing some kind of ritual? Lot’s of weird chanting and the ground is painted with blood.” Sophie looked closer, then realised she had a vague recollection of something similar that occurred in 2077. “Fuck me. They’re trying to summon something from beyond the Blackwall!”
“Shit! Soph, you need to drop that ‘runner fast! We can’t let them succeed!”
“On it!” The girl raced towards the netrunner’s location, no longer caring if she was discovered. In only a couple of seconds, she managed to cover the remaining distance to the enemy netrunner. When she laid eyes on him however, the merc stopped dead in her tracks.
Her target, the Maelstrom Codefreak, lay dead in his netrunning chair. His entire body was charred and smoking, as though he had been put in an oven for slightly too long.
“Hahahahahehehehehe!” A mad laugh erupted behind her. Turning, she watched as the Dragoon, previously standing still, began to move. The creepy laughter continued and a chill ran down Sophie’s spine.
“What was that laugh Soph?”
“I was too late. Whatever they were trying to summon, it’s here and inside the Dragoon body.” She paused briefly. “You need to fry as many of them as you can, Sasha.”
“Got it. Once I Short Circuit them, upload Overheat as well. If you can hold off the big guys, I should be able to neutralise all of the regular gangers before joining you.”
“Sounds good. Let me know when you’re done.”
“I’ve already done it. Most of them are infected. Overheat them, quickly!”
Sophie didn’t need to be told twice. Calling on her basic netrunning abilities, the girl dropped an Overheat quickhack into the Maelstrom local net. At the same time, Sasha’s Short Circuit triggered.
In an instant, all of the Maelstrom goons within the merc’s field of view began spasming. Their implants discharged massive amounts of electricity, generating numerous pained screams. Not long after, the Overheat hack began, further damaging all of the goons. The only enemies that seemed to be mostly unaffected were the two centaurs and the Dragoon.
“Little bugs! You dare to disturb the great Queen Lilith’s arrival!? Minions! Attack!” I knew it! It’s the same insane AI from that one cyberpsycho hunt in the game! Unfortunately, Sophie didn’t get much of a chance to think about it.
The pair of Centaurs began firing their thermal weapons indiscriminately. The heat waves burned holes through cargo containers and even some of the incapacitated Maelstromers. The young girl had to duck and weave under several heat waves. Fortunately for her, the centaur exoskeleton had a major flaw.
After several shots were fired from the thermal weapon, the exoskeleton would overheat, leaving the occupant vulnerable. She would likely only be able to take out one of them before drawing the attention of the crazed AI but it would be worth it.
Sophie watched as one of the Centaurs stopped moving and immediately took the opportunity. She fired multiple shots from one of her Talons, unsure whether a single bullet would do the job. Ultimately, it did. The head of her target exploded, bringing a brief smile to the girl’s face.
“Found you!” The AI screeched. A miniature machine gun appeared on the Dragoons arm, whirring up before spitting bullets in Sophie’s direction.
“Motherfucker! Sasha! How long until you get here!?”
“I’m almost there! Just hold on a little longer!”
“I’m trying, dammit! When you get here, keep the centaur busy! I’ll find a way to handle the Dragoon!”
There was no more time for conversation. A barrage of heat waves and bullets assaulted the girl’s position, forcing her to change positions. She attempted to hack the Dragoon but was batted away by the extreme ICE it possessed.
Fuck, this is bad. Really bad. An AI can calculate where I am, it doesn’t even need to see me. While she was trying to plan, heavy thuds entered her ears. Only a second later, the massive Dragoon body appeared in front of her. She paled, quickly crossing her adamantium arms in front of her.
The punch that hit her smashed her across the trainyard. She was able to twist herself and land on her feet but there were still aches across her body. If that thing hits me, I’m toast. At least my arms can withstand those attacks. And thank god I got my bones replaced.
“Sophie! I’m done! I’ll drag the Centaur away, just be careful!”
“You too! Those heat waves are crazy dangerous, so make sure to let it overheat before you try anything!”
With Sasha distracting the centaur, Sophie was able to focus entirely on the AI-piloted Dragoon.
Alright Soph, what do I know about this thing? The AI can calculate my position, but I’m sure Ghost will still help. It has a machine gun mounted on one arm, but the other three limbs are unaccounted for. The body itself will be extremely hard to damage and pain won’t do anything. Netrunning, at least at my level, also isn’t doing anything. As she thought about the situation, she was able to figure out that it was truly dangerous.
“First, I need to either get rid of that machine gun or find out what other weapon systems the bitch has.” She spoke quietly to herself as she made her plan.
“Insect! Let me squash you!” The AI’s ravings continued, as did the steady stream of bullets coming from the machine gun. Sophie’s eyes lit up as she watched the belt fed gun. It was connected to a box on the back of the Dragoon body. If I can shoot that, maybe I can trigger an explosion?
“Hey psycho! Come and get me!” She shouted at her opponent, who immediately took the bait. Thank god it’s insane! It’s not as smart as it should be. The massive metal frame careered towards her. At the last possible second, she slipped out of the way. As the Dragoon missed her, she locked onto the ammo storage on its back. A bullet from her Talon pierced it, instantly detonating all of the stored ammunition.
The resulting explosion engulfed the metal monster in a cloud of fire and smoke, but Sophie wasn’t about to let up. Instead, she managed to fire three more bullets. The fourth bullet that she fired in a row carved a massive chunk off of the Dragoon’s body due to her Talon’s special ability. Specifically, the arm that carried the machine gun was blown clean off.
Nice!
“Arghhh! I’ll kill you!” As it said that, the Dragoon’s remaining arm sprouted a sinister looking mantis blade. It leapt at the mercenary, attempting to slice her in half. Sophie ducked away, though the blade drew a line across her cheek. Lilith had clearly determined a close-quarters battle was the more appropriate choice as it refused to let her disengage.
Considering her less than ideal hand-to-hand skills, all the girl could do was defend against the incoming attacks. It was made even harder when a pair of blades sprouted from the Dragoon’s legs. At that point, she was desperately dodging, waiting for an opening.
A brief opening appeared amidst the onslaught, but that was all she needed. Her left arm came up, catching the arm-mounted mantis blade. The immense force of the attack met the unbreakable adamantium, cleanly snapping the weapon. The damage caused Lilith to roar, clearly infuriated by the loss of another weapon.
Sophie was forced to dodge two kicks. Taking advantage of her movement, the AI lashed out with a punch. The girl was able to block it, just like the previous one. However, she was once again sent flying.
This time, she was thrown all the way out of the trainyard, in full view of the public. The upside was that a significant distance had been created, which the merc took advantage of. Both of her Talons were raised, firing in sync.
She first targeted one of the legs in an effort to reduce the Dragoon’s mobility. It took a few shots but the leg came off. The AI staggered, struggling to stand on a single leg. Sophie then took aim at the second arm, wanting to remove one of Lilith’s remaining weapons. It too, was blown off. The girl breathed a sigh of relief.
“You disgusting insect! How dare you do this to me, the great Queen Lilith! I will have my revenge!”
“Shut the fuck up! Crazy AI bitch! Go rot behind the Blackwall!” She fired bullet after bullet into the Dragoon body until it finally went still, a great cloud of smoke erupting when the internal battery was destroyed. Finally, it’s ove-Sasha! Fuck!
Sophie raced off, though she didn’t forget to store the broken Dragoon in her inventory. She could learn a lot from studying it, even if it was extremely damaged.
-----------------------
The girl watched in shock as someone flew out of the old, abandoned trainyard. They landed, allowing her to witness as they fired on a giant, black ‘borg. The bullets tore the metal monster apart.
The following execution of the cyborg garnered an excited gasp from the girl. “Holy shit! That was fuckin’ nova!” Unfortunately, the smoke that erupted from the dead monster obscured her view. When it was gone, both the corpse and the killer had vanished. Obviously, she didn’t linger.
“I've got to tell bro about this!” With that thought in mind, the girl scampered away.
-----------------------
It turned out Sasha had managed to deal with the remaining Centaur by herself, taking advantage of her quickhacks and the overheating nature of the thermal weapon. With all of the hostiles dead, the investigation began.
When the two girls performed a closer inspection of the ritual site, they struggled to keep themselves from vomiting.
“Fucking sickos.” Sasha’s words were met with agreement from her partner.
“Even for Maelstrom…This is disgusting.” The area was covered in blood, haphazardly splashed around in the vague form of a pentagram. The worst bit however, was the body parts, scattered around in piles. Children, elderly and adults, nobody had been spared. The two mercs suspected at least 50 people had been chopped apart.
The only thing they found was a computer. Inside, the details on ‘Queen Lilith’ were stored. Obviously the device was wiped clean, then destroyed. The girls could only hope that the device held the only copy of the data.
“Alright, I’m sending Rogue our report. That should be enough to close the gig.” Sophie spoke softly, aware that Sasha was struggling after witnessing such a brutal scene for the first time.
“Yeah. Let’s go home, right?” The netrunner gave a weak grin when she replied.