Deep in the unknown past we find ourselves.
A man restrained gasps awake in a quieted office abandoned... ravaged by war.
The first thing his eyes see is a young Audrey… her white hair longer than we've ever seen.. cherry red lipstick and a petite body still lacking many tattoos we're familiar with. Her beautiful eyes staring daggers at him carry an expression of no empathy as she takes a drag of her smoke.
The striking flint-wheel of a lighter snatches his stunned gaze.
Zayta leaned against a wall raises the flame.. the dim glow illuminating her pristine face as she lights a smoke. Her towering lanky frame stands comfortably dressed in her thin field fatigues for bed. They lightly drape over her bare, thick toned thighs... hugging her curves as they gently sway underneath. Having chosen a room comfortable enough for bare feet and safety locked firearms a room away.
On site of her… he understands exactly what this is.
No one sees the reaper and lives.
He corrects his posture as best he can tied to a chair. "Tch… may as well flatline me now Gatlyn because you're not getting any-"
"-When was his last diagnostic." Zayta asks flatly before a drag.
"Three days my love." Audrey promptly responds… eyes steadily trained on their captured prey.
The restrained man coughs with labored breathing. "Hah.. 'your love'…? What the fuck is this." He snides.
"Heh… right on the dot." Zayta smiles with a half shake of the head. "I've always admired corpo punctuality.. there's a certain prestige that's carried when taking pride in the benign. As if the actions taken are alright as long as they're done with white gloves on." She calmly vents… this dark, unknown space allowing for as much freedom as her and Audrey in the sheets. One-way moments in the midst of corpo war like this… where the actions taken never leave this room.
Zayta steps to this bound man… the dense weight of each one caving in the very floor beneath her. Her hand reaches for his chin making him flinch before she gently raises it with a slight turn.. allowing Audrey to easily jack in. She takes a step back and turns to slowly pace.
"Can almost ensure your company issued ripperdoc out here in the field during a time like this is more than capable. Their experience- their ethos however is stemmed in help… repair- not hindrance… not destruction… overtime I've learned in this waryours don't have the stomach for it." She steps back to him… gently running her fingers through Audrey's hair at the scalp. She grips it firmly yanking back… Audrey moans with mouth open as Zayta stoops down for a deep kiss… her tongue finding it's favorite home.
She yanks Audrey's hair again pulling her face from her's to a shrieking moan… Zayta whispers with a deep look into her eyes. "But this one does… doesn't she."
"Yes Zayta." Audrey whispers in surrendered ecstasy with heavy breathing… a deep look up into her eyes with desire burning beneath the surface.
Zayta holds her hair firm as their eyes fixate on each other… she grits her teeth… gently releasing her grip letting Audrey get back to work.
"Information has taken priority in value the more of you I zero… like your people feel the inevitable closing in. With you as one of the few pieces left..." She stops her slow pacing to face him.
"...You're going to lose this war."
He shrieks as his entire body tenses up, looking to Audrey with shock as she jacks out of his neuroport and stands up. His entire body starts to feel warm… beginning to shudder intensely.
"Finished babe." Audrey mutters looking at him, taking a step back toward Zayta.
"H-HEY!! WHAT THE FUC-!? W-WHAT DID YOU!? I DONT HAVE SHIT- M-MY.. MY COMMAND IS DEAD!! I... HAVE N-NOTHING TO-" His eyes widen as his mouth opens… choking for air as he starts to violently convulse. The chrome in his body begins to buzz and whir… the restraints on his wrists dig into flesh as his body frantically flails. Blood and smoke slowly leeks from his mouth and eyes… as chunks of his chromed body burn so hot they slowly melt… releasing from his ganic flesh. Unable to even shriek as his eyes roll to the back of his head.
"I know…" Zayta whispers with a slow nod as her breathing intensifies. "I know…"
She looks to Audrey's eyes already fixated on her... Zayta grits her teeth… a final grumble toward him.
"You were just the foreplay."
Audrey jumps on Zayta wrapping legs around her as Zayta catches her primal passion with her mouth. They fall to to the carpeted floor tightly in each other's grasp. Audrey ripping Zayta's clothes off as thick red blood runs down from the convulsing corpo's dress shoes to their pale stripping bodies... uncontrollable moans of intense ecstasy… ending the memory.
Back at Netty's house in the early morning, Beatrice brews fresh coffee with a tired yawn and stretch. Carter and Gina enter, sliding the front door closed giggle chatting away like lifelong chooms; TuckTuck latched firmly to her shoulder looking around at everything. They greet each other to the sounds of pouring hot coffee in ceramic mugs.
"Netaniel- they call me Netty.. nice to actually meet you beyond a glance." He says finishing the handshake.
"Thanks for having me and... not flatlining me back in that alley." She giggles.
"Hey, one scan of that TuckTuck of yours had me thinkin' twice huh." They share a smile.
"Morning Carter and Gina- morning TuckTuck!" Beatrice smiles walking into the living room with a tray of steaming hot coffee mugs. TuckTuck squeaks happily at her, rising from Gina's shoulder to sniff at BugBear's arm resting the tray on the coffee table.
Beatrice winces in pain sharply causing TuckTuck to flinch as she plops the tray down to a light crash. The look on her face grimacing, suppressing pain, yanking everyone's attention.
"You alright?" Carter mutters seriously.
"Y-yeah-yeah… fine… just... wrists are sore." She shakes lightly.. struggling to stabilize them. "All that typing during stakeout." She lies effectively.. her and Netty exchanging a glance.
A gentle knock at the door pulls everyone's attention. Carter sets his mug down, getting up to answer it as everyone reaches for coffee.
He slides it open to see Brian. They exchange a smile. A key-grip forearm-clasp with no words as they embrace each other like brothers.
Brian steps in to welcomed greetings from everyone.. their eyes and energy lighting up to his presence.
There's a unique sensation that occurs when the leader enters their pack… a straitening of the back.. a clearing of the throat… an inexplainable sensation of empowerment and security silently courses through their people. Surrendering things like uncertainty and doubt in replace of all that's expected- all that's asked of them… and a burning desire to see it done by any means.
Brian goes around, finishing his final hug with Beatrice who releases it slowly, looking past his shoulder with confusion.
"Wheres Zaunya?" She asks into his eyes… everyone quickly looks at him.
"Tch.." He raises his eyebrows with a half shake of the head. "Gave her the time to be here." He chimes dismissively... reaching and sipping from his coffee mug.
The crew immediately glances around at each other with doubt and concern… their leader for once plainly without an answer. How quickly the entire energy of a room can shift… them not showing up together is the least expected for today's events.
He sits silently in them also silently stirring up concern.
As Beatrice opens her mouth to say something, a knock at the door rings out.
Beatrice slides it open to a waiting Zaunya… a look on her face hard to read. She wraps her arms around Zaunya tightly.. not wanting to let go after such time spent separated. The pair reassure their presence in one another's embrace.. a series of emotional whispers exchanged not meant for anyone else.
The crew sitting in this changed energy exchanges hugs of greeting to Zaunya.
They all watch closely in silence as she finishes, stepping to Brian… their towering heights now face to face… their mirrored scars on full display.
They look in to each other's eyes for the briefest of moments… uncertainty wafting in the air around the crew on a level it has yet to.
Brian raises eyebrows with a slow nod… a low mutter meant only for her.
"You alright?"
She breaks eye contact… looking down.
She wraps her arms around him tight, slamming into his chest.
He slowly wraps his arms around her… the leather of their trench coats rubbing in the silence of their embrace.
A hug Night City itself couldn't pull apart if it tried.
Its clear the two have had some words well before this moment… words the now relieved faces around them couldn't even begin to contemplate.
A short time passes as the crew catches up together sipping coffee. Filling in important blanks while raising important questions on all that's transpired in the near past. Several packs of Death Styx litter the gradually crowded coffee table… a couple ashtrays Netty dusted off belonging to his father fill briskly.
A collection of datashards lay organized in separated piles. Deets from Kahuna's head on juicy Tyger Claw affairs that the right fixer would buy for a pretty enny. Those sit in the irrelevant pile to toss for scrap… with a lone shard sat in the center containing Yuki's dealings. His current contract with PetroChem special security, daily work schedule and internal company task list. A spattering of encrypted intel Netty and Buggie were able to crack on past and upcoming private escorts… most too and from the same location.
Brian gathers everyone's attention.
"With what we're plannin' to do... I have no right askin' any of you…. This is a run on the edge none of us are liable to come back from. Whatever happens just-" He slowly shakes his head... Remembering Audrey's terrified whimpers of defiance held firmly in his arms before feeding her to the beast.
He looks up and around at his people… seeing each of their faces listening attentively… sat and stood about him with looks unwavering. After all these years… somehow finding himself right here again.
"Audrey's… done more for me than most I've ever known. Beyond that… she did something for me- for us... and I made her a promise… a promise today I might not be able to keep… but one I'm willing to die for.....
....I won't ask you to do the same. Any of you can walk out that door right now knowin' we're good- you owe me nothin'. But for me- I owe her…. and that'll never change."
No one budges. With hands clasped behind his back, he stops his pacing back and forth.
"Zaunya." He raises with no eye contact.
Everyone's heads turn to her as she uncrosses her arms leaned up against a wall. She looks to him unexpectedly on approach.
He silently nods her toward the crew… gesturing her to begin. She looks with confusion.
"No one here can map a corpo security escort like you." He gently mutters.
A final nod up to her with direct eye contact.
"Go on." He whispers.. a tone only she recognizes personal to them. Light with encouragement.. but staunch expectation. She doesn't get to hear it often.. but when she does… it triggers something in the brain. Something new in her psychology he's found a way to tap into.
He steps back to the couch.. plopping down on the sofa next to Gina.. his weight making TuckTuck bounce slightly. He reaches for a pack of Death Styx… settling in to listen.
Zaunya caught off guard hesitates… she looks out at the crew awaiting her word.
She steps forward.
"...What we are about to roll into is tried and true… and has been so for decades. Not because they're Lazy or set in their ways… its because it works. In-house convoy escorts boast a success rate over ninety-four last time I was privy… and the optimization process never ends. The traditional A-B movement is layered with contingencies.. sometimes even a shell game for good measure.From what we've gathered, the asset we need is headed to a Biotechnica black lab I know well… site four… people are only sent here that they plan on never leaving. They try to remain as public as possible on their routes- that extra layer of social protection. However, all things considered... its a safe bet to assume with how under wraps this thing is will certainly play in our favor."
While everyone listens attentively... Brian stares with hunger.
"Numbers are reduced so visibility's reduced… but resistance will be…. serious. There's also the dangled carrot."
Hearing her unique voice.
"Audrey.. isn't just being moved in hopes of a seamless transport… they'll be actively using her to draw us in."
Watching her long leather legs slowly pace the floor back and forth.
"Our hit isn't just anticipated at this point its invited."
Gazing right into those emerald green eyes looking about the room at the crew.
"Now.. contrary to popular belief there's times where lethal response doesn't always take precedent… this will be one of them. They're specialized to subdue and contain when it comes to assaults like this- At this level."
The veins in her pale hands slowly flexing with each gesture of her scarred knuckles.
"Ancient history's taught them flatlining the threat's rarely as valuable as tracing its origin."
Scars she's bared for him.
"If our kits were fire when we hit the Tyger Claws-"
Blood shes drawn for him.
"-then our kits now've got to be prepared to ice pretty much the opposite."
The feral screams.. the energy of her true nature Brian's felt in his arms... her brutality that hes witnessed... strokes the back of his mind.
"Expect catch nets… EMPs…Combat Netrunners... stuns and tasers- At least that's what they'll start with."
She rakes her hair back completely distracted… unaware of his tranced gaze.. his eyes slowly drifting down her pristine frame... she has him.
"After they realize we'll crack through that- well… that's when things start to hurt... get heavy."
Her every confident word backed by lived experience like honey to his ears. Shes picked up so much of what he's put down.
"Counter offensives are rapid response… vary in size based on whatever's closest available and seriousness of the conflict…. and these chooms aren't looking to subdue or contain."
Her pacing like his…. her breakdown like his…. he just can't get enough of watching this woman work… who she is... and who she's become.
Brian feels a cold tingle on his gorilla armed hand, breaking his ogling of Zaunya.
He looks down to see TuckTuck gently sniffing at his hand, catching Brian off guard. He moves it away slightly but TuckTuck wriggles under it expecting a pat. Brian's eyebrows raise as Gina looks over at him gently reaching to pet TuckTuck.
"I don't…. I honestly see Audrey... dying before ever doing this but…. there's no telling what they've been doing to her. Methods in house evolve constantly. There's no way of knowing what she's told them… but we have to assume by now they know everything."
We see a slow sweeping shot of the crew sat listening. Tapping smokes and sipping caffeine.
"All of us… who we are… what we're capable of… tracks covered and aliases be damned- the timer has started. The bolo is out... any and all street toughs they can muster hungry enough for a contract will know… doubtful many with the balls to actually take it. Meaning those that do…" She shakes her head.
She stops pacing… looking down during a pause.
"Most importantly, context matters. Based on our situation the true answer lays somewhere in the middle of both ends of the spectrum. Shadow projects usually get compartmentalized to different extremes… based on what we've uncovered, this one's about as under the radar in house as it gets. While we've been taking chunks, they'vebeen unable to pull from the wider pool of the companie's resources... having to rely on the very streets that hate them. When they're this tucked.. other branches of the company become their very adversaries. Corpos are always gunning.. always looking to get one over on each other to reach that next rung. When they fuck around this close to the edge… they'll never be more vulnerable… and they'll never be more dangerous."
She looks to Brian immediately as she finishes… finally realizing his eyes trained on hers- she has to know what he thinks.
He gives no response… only a deep stare with a smirk into her eyes while sat casually on the couch.
She's never seen him look at her like this before… and has no idea why. His look grabs her… holding her in a place only they can each feel. Surrounded by their people while being made to feel this way.. gives her the sensation of unexpected surrender… locked in the prison of his eyes. Forced in the moment to silently feel whatever he's making her feel. An eerily similar sensation from the past now with a different context- a different face… changing the history of its effect within her.
She gathers herself distracted among the chattering crew digesting her words.
"Here-... h-here's what we're going to do."
A short while later, Netty's home buzzes busy with the crew shuffling about... final chrome checks and magazine loading. The energy is restless... clarifying questions are laid to rest... blades sharpened, muscles stretched with deep breaths. Brian loads a series of rifles snug into a couple of duffle bags on Netty's bed.. a spattering of heavy rounds and hand grenades lay scattered throughout Netty's room.
Netty walks to the doorway, watching Brian rushing to finish packing up. Thoughts weighing heavy on his mind.
"All good choom?" His tone mellow.
"Wha-? Yeah, good, whats up, you ready?" Brian dismisses storming past him, reaching for another box of shotgun shells.. cramming it into one of the bags.
"Yeah, just about... crew's gettin' antsy out there but set. I just uh... just been thinkin' a bit lately." Netty mutters looking down.
Brian doesn't respond.. racking the slide of another handgun, finding space in the duffle bag for it. He storms past Netty again with another long rifle for the bag, checking the sights.
"Lot changin' these days... shit really startin' to feel like its addin' up you know. Bear has... really been makin' me see just how..."
Brian slams another box of ammo on top of a gun in the bag... he looks over at Netty with a grimace.
"Just... feel like things have been going astray... like we're losin' the thread choom... I mean... even seeing you with Zaunya it feels like-"
Brian storms up to him and snatches Netty by his hoodie. Both gorilla armed fists gripping tightly as he pulls him in close.
"GET YOUR FUCKIN DICK OUTTA YOUR HEAD!! WE'RE WALKIN' INTO THE FUCKIN JAWS OF LIFE PLUGHEAD- DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!? A cut-throat bite as cold as steel with nothin' but FUCKIN DARKNESS WAITIN' FOR US AT THE END!! THERE IS NO FUCKIN' THREAD!!! THERE IS NO FUCKIN' FUTURE!!!"
He pulls him in tighter shifting his tone... a gritted whisper so low the bed itself couldn't hear.
"There's nothing..... there is only Audrey.... do you understand me? ..... all that matters is Audrey."
Eye contact so deep... so intense that Netty doesn't respond. Brian gently lets him go.
He zips up the duffle bags. Cutting to black.
The midday sun beams high in the blue sky. Clouds crawl across the canvas of the city's outskirts.
The day has finally arrived… the crew lays in wait.. tactically positioned across the dirtscape of the wastes. The city with a popcorn view of the upcoming.
The strong wind flutters Zaunya's heavy trench.. overlooking the dirt road from a well elevated position in the sunbaked hills.
Gina finishes getting TuckTuck situated… his mechanical whirs and equipment slide locking into place. =I'm in position.= They hear TuckTuck squeak with determination in the background.
Carter crouched alone slams the spacing between his fingers together… ensuring a snug fit to his leather gloves. =Set.=
Netty sat with nothing but a freshly klepped laptop from a corp office types vigorously.. fumbling around his internal interface with the spiky worm going crazy. Doing his best to dead local communication traffic. =Almost.=
Beatrice cranks her bike dramatically increasing her speed with the engine's heavy wizz… a look of focused grit. Brian sat on the back of her bike doing a final check of his kit as they race through the badlands. =Anything yet?? I need exacts!= She shouts making a turn compensating for Brian's huge frame and weight.
=Negative.= Zaunya confirms.. her kiroshis glowing gold focused in miles down the road. =Yuki's schedule confirms we've got a cushion. Escort scheduling is always prompt- its a safety protocol.=
=Wouldn't wanna scatter the rats too early now would we.=
=My old boss used to ride in Saka convoys all the time. All things considered, THIS shouldn't be THAT.=
=Expectin' a skeleton crew's how you end up catchin' a mantis blade up the ass rook- eyes open.. have TuckTuck programmed for a fuckin' army.=
=Yo! Look alive! I got movement leavin' the nest! CARAVAN THREE DEEP HEADED FOR THE CITY LINE!= Netty shouts
=Set into positions!= Brian shouts before Beatrice cranks the bike for a sharp turn headed back toward them.
The mechanical whirs of TuckTuck's legs creek into the middle of the hot dirt road. A final look behind him shows Gina taking off in the opposite direction. He looks forward down the road... raising up on his back legs with a squeak… a slight tilt of the head.
The Petrochem caravan roars past the city line to full exposure of the beaming the sun. Three black Chevillon Emperors with reinforced plating and thick tint roll at a freeway pace in tandem. Their familiarity with every bump and turn on this route like muscle memory.
Audrey lay curled into a ball… bundled up in a thick blanket.. unable to see her face… her head dangles to the steady rocking of the emperor's offroad turbulence. Her handler Steven, sat across from her, stares at her with squinted eyes… her dejected, zombie like state giving him an air of satisfaction with hard to read smile.
Petrochem security in the front seats just past Audrey's sealed metal door runs their mouths.
"Been sayin' for a spell now the market's dryin' up choom.. whatever bankroll they were cookin' with on this thing's definitely spent. Perfect record like ours..? Sheesh..this is my last private contract with Petrochem and im off to greener pastures."
"And how do you know? Somethin' you in on and not tellin' me?"
"I mean look no further than this route. How thick have we rolled through it in the past? So many bodies we could barely even stuff em in here… let alone the extra huscle we had hoverin' around at the ready. Now look at us… three emperors toting a single body? Tch.. don't think the writing on the wall could get much clearer."
"Ehh.. yeah.. might be right. No sweat for me though… Yuki back in the tail car owes me plenty by now. I'll be set."
"Heh… wouldn't count on that one choom.. didn't you hear about his street rat brother? I think he-"
Suddenly the steady buzzing of a bike engine closing in quick cuts their conversation. They both look over to see BugBear speeding next to them.
Brian full tilts a fat bottle of beer with one hand while flipping them the middle finger with the other sat on the back of the bike.
"God damnit!… fuckin' nomad dirt trash" The driver honks sounding like a semi-truck. Beatrice cuts the caravan off, steadily zooming in front of them.
"That ain't how you get rid of the these type." The passenger mutters clicking the safety off his assault rifle and rolling down the window,
"H-Hey! Wait! What are ya-"
"-Hey, last trip you said right? Gotta go out with at least a few bangs."
He sticks half his body out the window, assault rifle fighting to stay pointed with purpose. He lets off a series of bursts at Beatrice's bike while the driver honks the heavy horn.
Beatrice skids the bike harder than necessary.. a feint attempt to look rattled by the gunfire. Her sharp jerk of the bike sends Brian tumbling into the center of the dirt road at high speeds.
"HOLY SHIT!!" The driver's eyes widen at the sight of the emperor barreling toward a thrown Brian.
Instinctually… he yanks the wheel… the sheer speed and weight of the emperor too much for the tires to carry, spins out in a flurry of kicked up dirt skidding off the road.
Brian scrambles to his feet watching the emperor skid away. He turns with a wide eyed gasp… the second emperor barreling toward him through the smoky dirt at full speed.
Without any time to react, his eyes close tight bracing for pain as he fires the lace attenua. The cracking whizz of the chrome triggering combines with heavy metal impact.
Brian goes flying yards up the dirtroad… the emperor goes flying almost a quarter mile.
=NOW!!= Zaunya screams through comms. Netty throws up a mobile jammer as Beatrice skids up to him. He chucks the laptop to the dirt... hopping on the back of the bike as they take off. Zaunya triggers her sandevistan… headed in the same direction.
The final emperor having weaved through the chaos of the assault picks up speed finally clear of the debris.
TuckTuck fans out his little body as the emperor speeds toward him. He squeaks… gently falling to his back as the fleeing tires run him over. He latches on.. using the momentum of the tire's spin to fling himself to the bottom of the SUV's thick metal body. He quickly crawls toward the engine below through blinding dirt and rocks being kicked up… digging his spiked prongs in as deep as possible. The acceleration of the vehicle immediately suffers as it dramatically slows to a halt.
Carter slow walks out from behind a boulder the emperor has been abruptly slowed in front of… raising a Militech MK.31 heavy machine gun. Ensuring it's heavy weight is cradled firmly in his grasp, he unloads a sweeping volley of booming heavy rounds at the tires of the slowed emperor, TuckTuck barely leaping out of the way of the tires ripping to shreds. A pack of corpo huscle come flooding out the back door kicked open and returning fire as they fan out. With limbs being blown to bits and heads exploding from screaming rounds, several manage to break for cover. One of those several sprints toward Carter's open position.. his kiroshis barely able to pick up a blur as it closes distance near instantly. With a gasp, he winces… turning his whole body away from the incoming. The kinetic force of an impact right in front of him knocks him on his ass. He opens his eyes to see the blur tumbling yards away in a tussle with another blurr… Zaunya intercepting the mantis blade wielding corpo just in time.
Brian steadys his balance disengaging the lace attenua as he sprints toward the flipped over emperor while racking his shotgun. BugBear skids to a halt right beside him as Netty hops off with her.. each raising iron pointed ready. With several heavy punches Brian smashes the hinges on the rear door… gradually peeling back the thick metal before snatching it off fully. Sunlight beams into the back revealing a pack of dazed Petrochem security forces stirring and groaning in pain. Brian steps to the side as Beatrice and Netty step forward… racking the chambers on their assault rifles simultaneously before unloading a relentless volley of rounds into the door. Screams of pain and terror come flying out the back alongside spraying blood as the pair aim with intense focus and a steady sweep across bodies. The gunfire is deafening as the driver side door is kicked open… Brian raises his shotgun, removing the driver's head reaching for iron. He jogs past the front hood of the flipped SUV and sends another round through the passenger's unconscious head, painting the windows red.
Crouched behind a giant boulder, a Petrochem netrunner's user interface is going crazy. A series of failed attempts to contact command ping red over and over again. "Shits jammed!!!" She screams to herself. The steel of a katana licking it's holster behind her gasp grabs her attention. She quickly turns around closing her interface to see Yuki with katana pointed at an approaching Gina. Gina sprints forward drawing her blade. A single parry leaves her right in front of Yuki as he reaches for a holster with his free hand. Gina gasps with wide eyes seeing iron pointing up toward her gut. Using her forward momentum she spins to his side, barely dodging several fired rounds. Finishing her spin leaves her between Yuki and the netrunner. With an added swing, Gina takes her head… her blood spraying to the dry badlands dirt dying of thirst. Yuki dives forward, tucking into a roll out of her range as he quickly spins, unloading rounds directly at her. Gina dives for cover just inside the emperor as Yuki suppresses her position reaching for a frag grenade. He pulls the pin and cocks back to launch it before a heavy impact digs deep into his back. The sudden momentum and shock of TuckTuck slamming square into his spine sends the frag in his hand flying high into the air before a firey explosion. He drops to the dirt with a nasty looking twitch… unable to get up as TuckTuck uses him to leap into the emperor after Gina.
Zaunya tumbles to the dirt in a deadlock with this corpo security. They each scramble to their feet in the momentum of Zaunya's tackle. The world around them silent to their impossible to see speed. Only able to hear each other, zaunya raises her tech rifle… as she pulls the trigger, the rifle is sliced in half. She barely dodges a series of follow up strikes with multiple hand spring backflips… a swipe of the mantis blade chopping a length of her hair cleanly as she floats upside down. She lands on her feet, skidding backwards on dirt with the momentum kicking up debris. She draws her Nue with one hand and engages her projectile launcher with the other.. unloading a volley forcing the corpo back only momentarily before another charge. They clash… Zaunya's arm meeting a downward swing of a mantis blade full force. The corporate sharpened blade digs into her RealSkinn effortlessly… stopped only by her chromed limbs that dent the blade inward. The crippling damage doesn't stop the onslaught, as the pair continue in their sequence, Zaunya uses the advantage… meeting each swipe with a limb directly. Her chrome taking heavy damage while making the corpos most lethal weapons unable to function. The corpo dodges several more pointed rounds before a final swipe with a bent limb sends Zaunya's Nue flying out of her hand. Her nimble footwork is stopped dead as she slams head first to the dirt hard from Zaunya's pounce as they skid to the dirt. Her feral screams ring as she finally gets hands on her… the look in her eyes scary to witness as she unloads heavy punches into the woman's face dead before she ever hit the floor. Left in the moment alone, she stops her onslaught for nothing.. blood soon replaced with dirt.
Netty lowers the smoking barrel of his rifle… a look of focused grit stares down a massacre. "Its clear!" He shouts.
"Go! Go! Go!" Beatrice shouts to Brian as he takes off on her bike at full speed… the revved engine whining to capacity with dirt trailing. She sprints back to Netty still staring at the pile of bodies, lowering her rifle.
"Cook it." He mutters deeply. She quickly steps past him as he looks over to a charred body laid flat in the dirt. He walks over and kicks the corpos helmet off.. squatting down and quickly jacking in to their neruoport with his personal link.
Yuki coughs heavy with a deep inhale.. raising his bloodied face from the dirt he sees his dismembered colleagues through blurred vision. Black smoke fills the skies around him… debris gently flutters down to the earth. He slowly rolls over onto his back.. an intense shriek of pain.. a look up shows Gina climbing out of the pack of the emperor.. TuckTuck climbing from her back to her shoulder. She slowly steps to him looking but unable to reach his iron. She points the tip of her blade at his throat.. with adrenaline clearing his vision, he sees no ill intention on her face. Only a look of adrenaline surged desperation as she drops her blade to the dirt while falling to her knees. Carter double taps a series of corpses with a steady pace toward Gina. He arrives hearing her gentle tone filled with frantic desperation.
"Yuki!! Yuki.. hey… shh. Listen- listen to me yuki" She whispers to his coughs of pain, cradling the back of his head.
The crew quickly hurries over to each other with heads on a quick swivel, reloading resting iron. Surrounded by a littered massacre of corporate property, their heightened communication bounces around.
"The rest of the roadway clear?"
"I got nothin' on comms. Dead air."
"Fuckin' corps were lightweight."
"Yuki… listen to me. Where are the blades. Where are the sacred eight."
"Where the fuck's the counter offensive." Zaunya mutters to herself.. her eyes in a squint looking out into the distance
"Where's Audrey..?" Someone asks.. everyone glancing around silently.
No one responds.
"...WHERE'S!!!! AUDREY!!!!"
The rev of BugBear's bike screams into focus… Brian grits his teeth with a closed mouth.. a look of focus rested on his mug like never before. He catches up to the final emperor's dust trail… lowering his head, he cranks the bike into next gear speeding up dramatically.
"Check your ammo, we should pick through these before-"
"-WE DON'T HAVE TIME-"
"-FOR WHAT!? THEY DON'T GOT SCOP WE WANT!"
"WHERE!!! IS THE SACRED EIGHT!!!"
"LOOK- THAT COUNTER-OFFENSIVE'S GONNA FLY IN ANY-"
"-WE CAN'T JUST LEAVE THIS CORPO SHIT PILE LAYED OUT HERE! WE GOTTA SCRUB!!"
"WAIT!!!!" Zaunya shouts silencing everyone… her eyes trained off in the distance.
"...Hear that?" She whispers… drawing everyone's focus in the same direction.
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?" The corpo driver yells to his partner, the gas pedal floored with an iron grip on the steering wheel.
"FUCKIN NOMADS?? THEY.. THEY FUCKIN' KNOW BETTER!! NEVER HAD HEAT LIKE THIS ON THIS SIMPLE ASS ROUTE!"
Brian tops out the bike… the engine screams with a thick smoke trail elevating.
With no hesitation… he sends the bike over the edge.
"W-WHA-… WHAT THE FUCK!!!" The corpos scream with their eyes in disbelief watching Brian's large frame soaring through the air toward them atop the bike.
Brian's eyes close tight as he cranks the bike while twisting his body.
*CRASH!!!!!!*
The bike smashes through the thick front windshield of the emperor tires first. The weight of the impact crushes the skull of the driver instantly.. splattering blood to the headrest. The steering wheel of the emperor cranks sharply on the dirt road… sending the emperor into a death roll. Brian's legs grip the bike tight as he exchanges gunfire with the passenger huscle.. both unable to steady their aim. Brian flicks his wrist outward, engaging the pipe cannon in his forearm. With a single booming shot of double ought buck, he manages to shred the passenger in the midst of a dust tornadoed death roll. The emperor comes to a scraping slam well off the road, stopped only by a large mound of dirt that gets sent pluming.
The entire crew looks on in the distance… a wave of intimidation washing over their faces.
"Holy shit…" One mutters.
Off in the distance, a mad max tsunami of dirt fills the sky behind a wave of beastly engines fading in. The amount of trucks, bikes, vans and buggies staggers their resolve. Horns honk in warcry… screaming shouts of psychotic frenzy reach the crew stood well away in silence at the sight.
"W-wha? W-who the fuck is that!?"
"…..Raffen Shiv."
The modified engines defeaning roars mix with hoots and hollers as the raffen load iron, ready weapons and increase their speed toward the crew. The spiked blue skulls painted across their wheels rip through desert terrain effortlessly.
"We gotta delta… Carter- the van." Zaunya calls in their settled silence.
"Tch… guess that takes care of clean up" Carter throws out, turning to sprint over to the van.
Gina slowly stands up over a now lifeless Yuki… TuckTuck looking down with her from the shoulder. She quickly looks to the crew.. a wave of relief takes hold realizing they weren't watching her. She hurries over to them.
"We have to get to Brian now." Beatrice says approaching Zaunya's back.
Carter skids the van before the crew, Gina yanks the door open letting everyone hop in. With Zaunya's fearful eyes still trained on the approaching Raffen, BugBear places a hand on her shoulder. "Come on babe….. come on." She whispers.. gently ushering Zaunya to the van.
Steven slowly stirs awake in a blinding dust.. a deep cough and inhale. He hears Brian's muffled screams just outside. He slowly crawls with his internals throbbing… reaching for his iron.
"AUDREY!!!" Brian stumbles to the back of the emperor flipped belly up. His blood slowly pours to the thirsty hot dirt of the badlands. His coughs heavy with pain… his pace unable to stop. He yanks on the locked tight handle… his frantic screams combine with fists banging on the door with a level of desperation he's never had. "AUDREY!!!" He screams again, working his gorilla armed fingers in the door's groove… gradually peeling the thing open. "Audrey!"
His eyes are met with the clicking of a safety… freezing Brian's frenzy in it's tracks.
He raises a palm out toward steven in de-escalation… each exchanging a wide-eyed look of shock on their faces.
"Wha-….What THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!" Steven yells at Brian… iron pointed at Audrey's unconscious head. Brian's eyes immediately look to Audrey.
"ALL THIS!? ALL THIS FOR THIS!… SICK!… FUCKING TRADER!!"
Brian raises both palms at him in surrender.
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THE FUCK SHE'S DONE!!- DO YOU KNOW HOW FUCKIN' HARD SHE WAS TO BREAK!!!" He quickly looks to Audrey steadying his aim. "I LOST MY FUCKIN MIND!!!!"
*BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!!!*
The crew packed into the van finally makes it to the wreckage.. skidding to a halt on dirt.
Brian's Nue drops to the roof of the emperor.
The crew hops out of the van frantic… racing toward the corpo SUV shouting for Brian and Audrey.
"Audrey…. Audrey- hey.... Hey." Brian whispers gently unplugging her personal link force connected to the vehicle. "Audrey I'm here… c-ccan you hear me… it's Brian." He quickly works to gently cradle her in his arms. "Gonna pick you up- it's ok- shh.. I'm here…. I'm here Audrey. I… I promised you Audrey huh…. g-gonna g-get you outta here huh." He mutters deeply.
Her eyes gently open… the only thing she sees is his… before they gently shut… her head slumps.
"AUDREY!!-"
"-BRIAN!!!" The crew shouts jogging up.
Collective wide eyed gasps permeate through the crew…
Brian emerges from the torn open thick metal door… cradling a limp Audrey in his arms.
The crew rushes to help him but he's well on his way. The deep wince of pain on his bloodied face combines with the beaming sun not helping. He quick limps to the van in a hurry… his grasp on her firm.
"Get her in the van- get her in." Brian mutters in pain with a deep exhale… the crew scrambling to assist. Zaunya hops back in first to receive Audrey and gently lay her down inside… comforting whispers to her with questions.
Once finally secure.. his brain immediately gets moving again.
"Carter! The bike! Netty! Cook the wheels, we're out."
Gina hops in the van cradling an amped up TuckTuck wriggling about in her arms… the look on her face overwhelmed… trying to steady her breathing with a racing mind.
Beatrice hops on the emperor and yanks her bike free of the window jam… it's thick metal scrap sliding down the SUV before plopping to the dirt. Carter bends at the knees to lift it… walking it over and slamming its heavy weight atop the van before latching it down as the rest of the crew packs into the van.
Netty pops the final pin on a series of thermite grenades… a gentle toss into the back quickly sets it ablaze.
With a few steps back… he watches the flames grow… stood in the blazing heat of the badlands…his face rests ice cold... turning to walk away.