Second part tomorrow.
C&C appreciated (comments/suggestions on style, form, story, etc)
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MSS Productions
A division of SIPP
presents
Rest In Peace
a Bubblegum Crisis (OAV)
Fanfiction
Part One: Dust to Dust
by
wx721
Disclaimer: BGC is copyrighted material protected by international law.
This fanwork is not meant to be published or distributed for monetary
units.
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"The sky's pissing on us tonight."
"Yeah," replied Darrel, "I'm dreading the summer. The humidity is
already getting to me." He handed McClintock his prescriptions. "Any
questions on your meds?"
"Naw, I've gotten used to them. It's a good thing my body ain't
rejecting this anymore." The smirking ADP trooper patted and flexed his
metallic right arm.
"That's good to hear. Come by if you have any questions."
"Alright. See you later man."
Darrel breathed in relief as the trooper walked away from the ADP
Pharmacy. He seemed to be in chipper spirits than usual, which was rare
for the gloomy night-shift trooper. Maybe the trazadone was working on
him, be it a physical or a placebo effect.
The ADP pharmacist walked away from the checkout counter and
started working on the few remaining prescriptions. Darrel let his mind
wander as he prepared the orders. He had seven more hours til dawn; the
night rush was over, so there was plenty of time to kill.
McClintock's story was typical for troopers in the Advanced
Police. His boomeroid attachment had caused him grief ever since a Bu-12B
blasted his biological arm off last year. The casualties and wounded kept
flowing in a steady pace as usual, though the rate increased a bit since
the fake Knight Sabers and the satellite attack the week before.
Darrel absently shook his head in disgust.
Who would've known that USSD was so careless of its particle beam
satellites? The entire world was in an uproar, especially Australia,
Germany and the United States.
MegaTokyo wasn't better. The GPCC building and several blocks in
the high level districts went up in flames. The newspaper editorials were
calling for heads to roll and fanning the public outrage.
"Well," he muttered, "it's never boring in this town...." Darrel
knew he was being callous, but he couldn't help it. Seeing a casualty
every week or two had desensitized him toward death.
The pharmacist finished the scripts and sat on his stool,
listening to the hum of the basement generators. He propped up his chin
as he stared at the empty RX counter.
It was going to be another uneventful night. To think that he
went to pharmacy school for six years for *this.*
"Jesus, I need to get another job."
"Don't tell me you're becoming religious, Mr. Cho."
The weary pharmacist jerked up in surprise. "Huh? Oh, hello,
Hiroko."
The handsome woman grinned. "Not busy anymore?"
"No, thank goodness. So how is it over in Forensics? Made any
progress on that vampire boomer?"
The cyberoid forensic scientist tsked and waved a finger.
"Classifed, Darrel. Classified. You know I can't talk about it."
Darrel rose from the stool and stepped to the checkout counter as
he spoke. "Well, everyone was talking about it and the battlemover a
month ago. I was just wondering."
Hiroko creased her lips. "And now the hot topic this month is the
satellite attack...."
"Uh, yeah."
Flustered by the sudden change of subject, Darrel turned toward
the storage bins and picked out Hiroko's prescription -- anti-anxiety
pills. The pharmacist frowned. Three days before she had taken another
generic, alprazolam. It wasn't working for her, so she probably got
another script from her doctor. He schooled his face and turned toward
her.
"Any questions for me today, Hiroko?"
The scientist forced a smile. "Yeah, what's the meaning of life?"
Chuckling then shrugging his shoulders, Darrel replied, "Who
knows. Live the best you can I guess. Oh, by the way, how is Aya doing?
Still acing kindergarden?"
Hiroko briefly stared at the floor, furrowed her forehead then
snapped her attention back to the pharmacist. "She's doing fine."
"That's good." Darrel wondered what was wrong, but let it pass.
"Well, I guess I do have one question. Can I take this medication
with the one I've been taking?"
"No, you shouldn't. I was about to mention this. They are from a
similar compound family. Don't take clorazepate and alprazolam together.
You'd be overdosing yourself if you do."
"Thanks." Hiroko signed the pickup log on the counter and stuffed
the med into her purse.
"Take care, Hiroko. Say hi to Aya for me."
"You too, and I will. Don't fall asleep." She waved to Darrel
and walked off.
The night-shift pharmacist sat back on his stool and slumped on
the counter.
"I need a vacation."
= = = =
"Increase the resolution to one half pico-coulomb per nanometer
cubed."
"T-There isn't enough data on the recording. I've told you before
that the uncertainty fact--"
The modified 55-C cutoff the human in mid-speech. "Extrapolate
the missing variables using program seven. Compensate the sensors for
degredation in the cerebrum set."
The haggard man opened his mouth to protest but closed it. He
knew it was useless. He shouldn't have taught that freak all the
procedures -- his trumph cards. It was too late for regrets, however.
He had to survive.
Rubbing his blood-shot eyes, the man turned toward a massive array
of wires, computers and superconducting sensors tapped into a bluish
oblong box. After typing numerous commands into a terminal, the human
glared at the boomer. "Don't complain if this one starts raining partical
beams on us like the last one."
The boomer's eyes blazed only for a moment. "We will not install
the Black Box."
A mix of relief and fear shone on the man's face. He furiously
typed and started slightly as the sensors powered up. "Alright. It's
copying the engram at three second intervals into the memory banks.
It'll take about two days for formulating the neural net."
"We will aquire the shell and a test subject by then."
The human gaped in surprise. "WHAT? Test subject? You never
told me of this!"
"Do you object?"
Touching his bruised face, the man shivered and shook his head.
"N-No. Not at all."
"Good."
= = = =
Hiroko Togo stared at the 33-S on the examination table. It was
an interesting case, this Sexaroid.
Hiroko and the day-shift forensics engineer Shige had repaired its
spinal core and hydraulic damage. They had tried to maintain its organics
with a nutrient blood pump and daily doses of reengineered T cells, with
mixed results. The boomer's power cells were also recharged to full
capacity; it could last a few years, if it was activiated.
It was unfortunate that the Sexaroid's upper torso epidermis
remained infected even after using standard antibiotics. The nasty
greenish sore was stubbornly spreading from its knitted chest wound.
Transdermal replication and reconstruction were needed, plus another stem
cell injection, more expenses the bigshots might complain about.
The boomer could still be reactivated in theory, given the chance
Hiroko successfully reset its memory chronometer. Engram modification was
a tricky business. If everything went well, which was unlikely, then the
33-S could provide answers to some of the more vexing questions raised by
the D.D. Battlemover incident.
The dealings with the Chinese and the SPDC. Illegal arms traffic
violating UN sanctions. The reported GPCC splinter group that
manufactured the D.D. battlemover. The list went on.
Kaufman's suicide and GPCC former chairman Flint's disappearance
only complicated the case. The recent destruction of the GPCC building
was another headache for Investigations to deal with.
If this case was simple and straight forward....
Hiroko scratched her nose and took off her glasses. She stared at
her watch. 3:38AM. She walked back to her work station and collapsed
onto the desk chair. Work was comforting, in a way. It made her almost
forget the unpleasant truths of her life.
She froze as her cell phone beeped inside her purse.
Hiroko hesitated.
It beeped again.
Her hands trembling, the scientist hurridly tore open the purse
and grabbed her cell. "Hello?"
"M-mommy, the-the-"
"Aya! Are you hurt? Tell--"
A tiny shriek followed.
The scientist shook in fear and rage, clenching her jaw to release
her frustration. She never felt so helpless.
A metallic voice replaced her child's fearful voice. "You will
bring the 33-S to the designated location as scheduled."
Hiroko felt like screaming obscenities but held it. There was too
much at stake. "It's difficult. The exit is guarded."
A gruff, electronic chuckle followed. "Bring it. Be creative."
The scientist lost her control. "You bastard, if anything happens
to Aya, I'll--!"
"If you do not cooperate, you know what will happen."
Hiroko's stomach tightened. Control. Calm. "Understood. I'll
find a way."
"Another condition is added."
Hiroko blinked as she felt her lower lip burning. She had bitten
it. "What do you want," she woodenly replied.
"Acquire a live adult subject. Bring him with the 33-S. We need
a human for tests."
The scientist's blood ran cold. She was speechless for a few
moments, then realized the line was dead. The phone dropped from her
nerveless fingers. Shaking from tension, Hiroko rummaged through her
purse and found her medication. She ignored the vial label and swallowed
several tablets.
The scientist pounded the desktop and threw her stationaries
across the lab, releasing her stored anger.
She breathed. Deeply.
Calm.
Hiroko had never thought working secretly as a Genom plant in ADP
would result in this mess. It was an extra way of earning money without
harming anyone, in her belief. Her debts had to be paid. After all, the
agreement was to only pass information.
It didn't turn out as the scientist expected.
She watched driblets of blood pooling on her desk as she
feverishly hatched a new plan.
It might work.
Hiroko wiped off her lips, stood up and took a quick look at her
watch. 3:48AM.
She had to hurry.
Time was short.
= = = =
Time.
Too much time.
Bradly Gartner fidgeted with his fingers as the seconds stretched
like rubber. At least the lunatic 55-C wasn't watching his every move.
Its neon red eyes unnerved him.
He had nothing to do but to monitor the computers, locked in a
stuffy room of the church hideout as the 55-C took care of other business.
Probably ordering those Guard Dolls to do something or other. The
engineer knew better now than to do anything stupid when the 55-C was
away.
Gartner had once joined GPCC as a newly minted, enthusiastic
boomer software engineer, which was totally ridiculous to him in his
present situation.
No, stupid. Freaking stupid.
The insomniac drummed his fingers on a spare keyboard. His
bruised face wasn't bothering him much anymore, though it felt stiff. He
was still too nervous, however. Had he tried to sleep, the engineer knew
he'd only think of the possibilities of escape and shoot down everyone of
them through nitpicking.
Gartner thought about eating the pizza leftovers from the night
before, but went against it. He hadn't had a decent meal in weeks after
being forced to work on this crazy scheme. No wonder he was having
digestion problems.
Gartner kept tapping his fingers aimlessly. If everything would
just end. If he could get away from this place. If he could blast that
55-C into smitherines....
The engineer shuddered. That machine was growing weirder every
day. Acting like a cult fanatic....
Only if....
Shaking his head, Gartner stared at the creeping neural net
progress meter on the main viewer.
He scowled.
"You're one loopy fuck, Largo."
= = = =
"Hi, Hiroko. Have a question on the prescription?"
"No. It's concerning the vampire boomer."
Darrel raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I thought you said it was
classified."
Hiroko hesitated, then plowed ahead. "The problem is the boomer's
skin. It's infected with some fungus."
The pharmacist stared at her in astonishment. "I never knew
boomers got sick."
"This one can. Replacing its skin is too expensive, so my boss
told me to search for alternatives. Can you suggest some antibiotics?"
Darrel rubbed his neck. "Uhhh, that's tricky. Can I see it?
Maybe then I can recommend something."
"Sure. You'll have to sign several confidentiality forms. I'll
bring them tommorrow night."
"No problem." The ADP pharmacist blinked. "Is your lip okay?
It's bleeding a bit."
Hiroko made a sound and touched her lips. "Uhh, I got tired and
accidently bit it." She laughed half-heartedly. "I need sleep."
"Yeah. That includes me. Do you want a disinfectant for that?"
"No, thanks. I'll take care of it."
"Okay. Well, can I see the boomer now?"
A funny expression flashed on Hiroko's face, but Darrel didn't
take notice of it. "It's no rush," she said. "You don't have to if
you're busy."
The young man smiled. "It's dead here, and I'm dying of boredom.
I can spare twenty, thiry minutes. No one would notice me gone."
The forensic scientist seemed to struggle with something, but
finally spoke. "That's enough time. Thanks for helping me."
"Hey, what are friends for?"
= = = =
Darrel's eyes widened. "It looks so human...." He eyed the nude
33-S as he circled the examination table. "That's a bad infection though.
What a waste."
Hiroko crossed her arms. "You men are all alike. My ex would've
said the same."
The pharmacist tore his eyes from the boomer and blushed. "Uhh,
sorry."
"It's alright. Even Shige ogles at it whenever he gets a chance.
You know how sexless he is."
"Hahehehe...." Darrel's laughter died when he glimpsed Hiroko's
stolid face.
"Well, what antibiotic should I use to clear it?"
The pharmacist cleared his throat. "It'd be better if a doctor
saw this, but I'd say an injectable liquid form of alatrofloxacin or
vancomycin. Uhh, wait a minute. Does this boomer have internal organs,
blood vessels and such?"
Hiroko shook her head as she put her hands in her lab coat
pockets. "Not the kind you'd know of. Only the breasts, skin,
capillaries, hair, and some muscles are organic. The rest are
bio-compatible machinery and components. You could say it has a heart,
liver, lungs and kidneys, in a mechanical sense."
"That might be a problem." Darrel took a closer look at the
infected chest of the 33-S. "I can't say for sure what will happen, since
these drugs were developed with a human body in mind. But it never
hurts--!"
The pharmacist heard a click and felt cold metal touching his
neck.
"Don't move."
Darrel kept staring straight forward without turning back to the
scientist. A gun? How? No, it couldn't be. "What are you doing? Is
this some kind of joke?"
A tiny jolt of electricity shocked the back of his neck. He
gasped in pain and held the edge of the examination table.
"I'm serious. Listen to me carefully, Darrel. You're going to
help me."
The pharmacist forced open his tingling mouth. "Hell! W-Why--"
He tensed as the Genom spy pressed another taser against his back.
"No questions. Do as I say. Detach the umbilicals on the
boomer's left side. Twist them counterclockwise."
The scared man did as she instructed, his fingers fumbling at the
connections.
"Place the boomer on top of the gurney next to the exit."
Almost recoiling after touching the warm, smooth body of the
boomer, Darrel scooped up the 33-S with some difficulty and carried it
over to the stretcher; all the while the woman kept closely following him.
"Hiroko, ar--"
"Don't talk, Mr. Cho. I don't want to hurt you."
The pharmacist grimaced and dumped the 33-S on the sheet covered
gurney.
"Cover it with the sheet. Enter the passcode on the door lock.
It's 354928. Then push the gurney out to the corridor."
He did as he was told. The poorly lit basement passageway was
empty, as was the case with any early morning. The constant hum of the
generators and building ventilators pervaded the area.
"Go to the sublevel parking lot exit."
Darrel's mind raced. What was Hiroko doing? He steadily pushed
the gurney, making the proper turns at the corners as the scientist kept a
taser on his back. His face brightened when he saw a janitor coming out
of a storage room.
"Hey! He--!"
Hiroko jolted Darrel with another slight shock and shot her other
taser at the surprised janitor. The clueless man crazily jerked for a few
seconds then collapsed. Waffs of pungent ozone drifted in the air, while
dying crackles of residual electricity danced on the unconscious man.
The Genom spy detached the lead wires from the spent taser and
tsked at the shaking pharmacist. "I told you to keep quiet. The next
discharge might badly hurt you. Do as I say."
His back flashing in pain, Darrel raggedly breathed as he leaned
against the stretcher. He only nodded his head as he tried to regain
control of his quaking muscles.
"Good. The parking lot is just over there. You can make it."
Hiroko poked him with her remaining taser.
The pharmacist numbly nodded again. Bitch.
They entered the sub-basement lot; Hiroko scanned across the rows
of parked cars and motioned with her free hand.
"Go to column O. My car is that tan Mercre subcompact."
Sweating profusely, worries flooded Darrel's mind as they
approached Hiroko's car. So they were going for a ride, but where? Why
did she need him? Was she going to sell the boomer?
He looked down at the 33-S and nearly stumbled. It was breathing.
Amazed, he surreptitiously touched its neck and felt a strong beat. Is it
'alive,' the pharmacist wondered.
They stopped at the back of the car. Darrel glanced over his
shoulder and questioned Hiroko with his eyes. What now?
The scientist answered by discharging the taser. The hapless man
silently convulsed and fell onto the concrete. She crouched beside the
knocked out pharmacist and checked his pulse. He was still alive.
Hiroko pursed her lips. "I'm sorry, Darrel."
The Genom spy opened the car trunk; she pulled and crammed him
into it, grunting as she grappled with his weight. Hiroko slammed down
the trunk and hurridly opened a passenger door. She deposited the sheet
covered 33-S on the back passenger seats.
After kicking the gurney away from her car, Hiroko got into the
driver's seat.
She trembled.
She'd do anything to hold Aya again but....
Desperate to kill her anxiety, the scientist dry swallowed another
clorazepate tablet from her pockets. She gritted her teeth. Calm down.
Calm. Right.
Ignoring the seatbelt alarm, she started the engine and creeped
out of the parking space, peering toward the far exit ramp. It was
blocked by a lift gate manned by a dozing security guard.
Hiroko gunned the engine and raced toward the exit. Guards be
damned -- she didn't care. Everything was blown to hell.
The subcompact crashed through the lift gate and nearly skidded
out of control as it swerved to the proper road lane.
It sped away from the ADP building, vanishing into the rainy
night.
= = = =
*BEEP*
"Oh...."
*BEEP*
Sylia Stingray suppressed a yawn then sighed as she realized it
was the dreadfully early hour of 4:41AM.
The leader of the Knight Sabers slipped out of bed and put on her
slippers. Rubbing her arms for warmth, she shuffled across her bedroom
toward the beeping computer terminal.
It was a warning from one of the watchdog viruses she infected the
ADP mainframes with several months ago. The virus family was a
polymorphic memory resident, capable of automatically modifying server
logs and masking IP connections. Given the servers didn't go through hard
reboot, Nene could simply maintain the infection by being vigilent.
{troll4}General alarms detected. Press enter to continue
A security alert.
Sylia typed several commands into its xtcshell window, disguising
herself as a local super user.
{troll4}Active masking initiated, s-user attrib ihoba loaded, present
working directory linked to local /user/ks00/hack/tmp/
The Knight Saber executed other programs to observe the running
processes on the ADP servers. Most were ordinary background subroutines
and crond jobs from other super users. One program catched her eye,
however.
USER PID %CPU STAT START TIME COMMAND
tnakamura 5391 1.1 R+ 04:20AM 0:19.54 vidsurvey -for_lab
She knew tnakamura was the login name of the night time security
head; he was running a vid cam program for the boomer forensics lab.
Sylia started. A breach in forensics was unheard of even for the
lax ADPolice. Unless....
She typed more commands into the virus shell and pinpointed the
video file tnakamura was viewing. After double checking to mask her IP
path, Sylia downloaded the video via several infected servers around
MegaTokyo. They'd only notice a negligible surge in packet traffic with
her low bit rate. It wasn't fast but safe.
{troll4}4.22.33.4.12.AM.ALERT.vid send successfully in 00:38.51.
She opened her vidplayer and loaded the copied security video
file. Sylia scrutinized the playback and was puzzled. It showed a woman
having a fit in front of her computer for the first few minutes.
Afterwards, she left the range of the camera, then it mysteriously went
blank.
The video raised more questions than answers.
The Knight Saber closed the control connection with the watchdog
virus.
{troll4}Modifying logs..... completed
{troll4}Have a nice day! ^_-
There was work to do.
Sylia typed into her console to gather more information.
= = = =
The 55-C gazed at the breaking dawn.
The modified boomer couldn't appreaciate its beauty, but
recognized the appointed time was drawing near.
Its memories held a portion of Master's greatness; it could sense
His importance, though the boomer had began to question His methods.
Vaporizing GPCC, the main base of operations, was rash even for a
God.
It would repent and beg forgiveness for its mistaken beliefs, of
course, once the Master returned.
Yes, the Ressurection was imminent. It was unfortunate all the
primary shells were lost in the satellite attack, but the substitute would
suffice, for now.
The 55-C waited.
= = = =
"We've got trouble, Sylia."
"What happened?"
Nene Romanova dropped her voice to a whisper. "Sylvie's body is
missing."
Sylia's eyes widened. It was more than she feared. "Give me the
details."
Nene glanced to another terminal and punched into the keyboard.
"ADP is guessing Sylvie disappeared somewhere around 3 to 5AM. They
suspect forensics scientist Hiroko Togo and the night shift pharmacist
Darrel Cho are involved. They're also missing along with Togo's car."
"Had ADP marked them for an internal investigation?"
The dispatcher rapidly typed for a moment and shook her head.
"No. They both had perfect records, though my audit on Togo's bank
accounts shows they're way too large for her salary."
"A spy."
"That would be my guess. And they just found several disabling
mechanisms on locks and cameras in the basement level. Might be Togo or
Cho who did it."
"Send over their profiles and any records of them you might have."
"I'm sending them now."
"Good. They're received. What about the D.D.?"
"It's still locked down in the hazardous weapons vault."
Sylia's brow slightly creased. Who would take the pains of
stealing a 33-S instead of the sophisticated battlemover?
"Sylia, what are we going to tell Priss?" Concern etched Nene's
face. "She still isn't herself yet...."
The leader of the Knight Sabers sighed. "Don't inform Priss about
this."
"But...."
"I'd appreciate it, Nene. I'll handle it with her. Good work on
your part."
Nene's face saddened. She said, "OK," without her characteristic
hand sign or enthusiasm.
The transmission ended.
Sylia stood up and walked to the window wall, gazing at the
cluttered morning landscape of MegaTokyo, all dwarfed by the imposing
Genom Tower.
She stared at the hulking eyesore -- a reality she had to live
with. The world was in a panic that Corporate Genom might collapse, since
three of its headquarters in key industrial sectors were obliterated.
Sylia Stingray narrowed her eyes.
Turning away from the view, the calculating woman focused back on
the immediate problem.
There were a few leads she could investigate. She was aware
certain organizations had contacts in the ADPolice department. It was
possible one of them hired Togo for snatching the 33-S.
But for what purpose?
Sylia walked back to her terminal and brought up the information
on the two missing ADP personnel.
Hiroko Togo and Darrel Cho. She had confirmed the woman in the
security vid was Togo with her previous computer searches.
She had to garner more information on the pharmacist.
= = = =
The Mercre screeched to a halt in the junkyard.
Hiroko deeply breathed and wrapped her hands into tight fists.
After checking the failsafe device, she exited the car and scanned the
piles of rusting metal dotting the area.
She needed 'insurance' just in case....
"You are late."
The Genom spy turned towards the amplified voice. She saw what
looked like a C class boomer. It jumped off a heap and landed with a loud
thump.
Hiroko wavered. So they sent a 55-C to do their dirty work.
Just like Genom. "W-Where's Aya?"
The machine directed its eyes toward another pile of gutted cars.
A platinum blonde in a sharp dress suit wearing sunglasses dragged a
frightened, dirtied child with her into the open.
"Mommy!"
The woman promptly gagged the tiny, protesting girl.
Hiroko felt her legs giving away. Her daughter looked unharmed.
The scientist leaned against the car. "Let her go. You'll get what you
want once I have her." Oh please, please, please....
The 55-C parted its mouth, giving a toothy, inhuman grin.
"First, the 33-S and the subject."
The spy strenghtened her resolve. "No! If you don't release my
daughter, I'll blast your vampire bitch to hell!" She wielded the
initiator and primed it. The N-3 explosive on the neck of the 33-S was
armed.
The machine growled. It weighed the options and analyzed the
desperate scientist with its penetrating red eyes. The 55-C gave a sharp
nod to the woman, who released the child.
Aya ran right into her mother's arms and bawled out her lungs.
Hiroko melted and whispered pleasant nonsense to comfort her
daughter, stroking her grimy black hair. She felt as if half the weight
of the world was lifted off her back.
The 55-C's threatening voice shattered her fleeting joy.
"Hand them over."
The scientist shook off a shudder and gently spoke into Aya's ear.
"I have to make the bad things go away. Could you wait in the front seat,
Aya?"
Sniffling and wiping her tears, the little child slowly nodded.
"Be careful, mommy. They're real mean."
"I will."
"Enough talking."
Hiroko tightly grasped the initiator and glared back at the
machine. She quickly ushered her child into the front passenger seat,
forcing her to wear the seat belt.
She dragged out the sheet covered 33-S and carefully laid it on
the muddy ground. The explosive was a volatile nitro mix she acquired in
Paradise Loop, needing extra care when handled.
"The human," demanded the boomer, taking heavy steps toward the
Sexaroid.
Her hands trembling again, the scientist got into the driver's
seat, slammed the door and lifted the trunk lever. The lid opened with a
click.
"He's in there," she shouted out the window. "Don't try anything
funny on me! The detonator has a long range!"
The 55-C growled in return. It slowly lifted the 33-S in its arms
and clamped away from the car. The boomer sharply nodded again at its
associate.
Moving with unnatural speed and grace, the woman appeared beside
the car, simply lifted the the unconcious pharmacist out of the trunk and
dumped him beside the 55-C.
Seeing that the 55-C had what it wanted, Hiroko floored the gas
pedal and roared away from the junkyard.
The 55-C kept the diminishing Mercre in its sights as its
associate worked to disable the bomb. It opened its partical cannon to
get off a shot, but the subcompact was soon out of range.
The explosive disarmed, the platinum blonde stared back at its
commander for further instructions.
"Terminate."
She whisked away without another word.
= = = =
"Mouuu, Yoshi, why can't you make it?"
"Well, you know, there's a big meeting over in the main office
that night. We have to renegotiate the contract with that American singer
Vision."
"But we've been planning this for two weeks now!"
"I'm sorry, Linna. It came up so suddenly. You know how these
superstars are. Vision is so hush-hush about everything."
Linna Yamazaki fumed. "Thanks a lot, Yoshi. I invited my friends
to meet you at the restaurant!"
The EMI executive coughed. "Well, you couldn't make it to couple
of our outings too."
The dancer blinked and swallowed the protests on the tip of her
tongue. "I had perfectly reasonable excuses," she replied.
"Yeah, like suddenly having bad leg cramps thirty minutes before
the movie-- oh yeah. Here's another one, having to help out a real close
friend whose friend died, you wouldn't say which friend, of course, and--"
"Okay, I get the point. But still, I really had to--"
"Oh shoot. I gotta go! The CEO is giving me the evil eye."
Linna sighed. "Alright, Yoshi. Call back later. We can
rearrange then."
"Okay, bye Linna."
"Bye, Yoshi. Talk to you soon."
--CLICK--
The aerobics instructor placed the receiver on the base and
crossed her arms as she stared at the phone.
Men.
Can't live with them, can't live without them.
Yoshi was a sweet, funny guy, but it was just so frustrating to
meet with him. It seemed like some omnipotent force purposefully made
their schedules incompatible.
Then again, being a Knight Saber would make such things difficult.
Linna wished this relationship wouldn't go down the drain like the others.
Stretching her muscles, she readied for the morning aerobics
session and hoped for the best.
After all, didn't she deserve happiness?
= = = =
"Prep him for engram extraction."
"He's gonna wake up." Gartner worriedly glanced at the
pharmacist. "In any case, we should use the Sugawara procedure to get the
best results. Doing a straight copy-paste isn't going to make the needed
neural connections for a personality matrix."
"Disregard that. Test and observe the retention rate in the 33-S.
Inject 50cc cyclobenzaprine and 10cc EXS into the subject."
"...."
The 55-C growled. "Do it."
The engineer withdrew and mixed the solution from several vials
and hurridly shot it into the pharmacist's arm vein. "Sorry, man," he
muttered.
"Report to me once the procedure is completed. We will begin the
Master's ressurection after mapping the optimum engram layout with the
test subject."
It thumped out of the makeshift basement lab.
Bradly Gartner thanked his lucky stars. There was no door or lock
at the entrance. The 55-C hadn't even left a 33-C to watch him. Even
better. He could sneak out of the room if he pleased.
Now was his chance.
He stared at the Sexaroid and the man, floundering in doubt as he
tried to scheme his next move. He knew the man wouldn't last long, and
the 33-S would become another maniac like Largo. That was inevitable with
so much source engram degradation -- a result of recording from oxygen
starved synaptic pathways.
Crazy Mason.
The boomer engineer fidgeted with his fingers. It was likely that
the boomer would kill him too when he outlived his 'usefulness.' With the
55-C busy, this chance was the last he could escape with even a hope of
surviving before Largo's rebirth.
Gartner decided to act.
He had to think up something, fast.
= = = =
V eyed the various vehicles ahead while cruising 20 km/h above the
speed limit, weaving her sedan between the complaining cars. She had been
following the target's tire tracks for the first few minutes but had lost
them in the clutter of the freeway.
The Bu-33C methodically scanned for its quarry.
It wasn't long when she reacquired the subcompact. The Mercre's
movements were erratic, so it was easy to pick out from the rest.
V sneered.
Nothing gave her the greatest pleasure like the moments before
completing a mission. But it wasn't over, yet. Conditions for a strike
were not optimal on the freeway.
The boomer adjusted the speed to match the Mercre's.
Follow for now.
Just a little longer.
= = = =
"Mommy, are we going home?"
"No, Aya. The bad things know where we live, so we can't go
back." Hiroko shot a look in the rearview mirror and silently mouthed a
curse as the view was blocked by the open trunk lid.
The sideview mirrors didn't show anything suspicious, so it
seemed.
Her trembling had stopped thanks to the pills, but it was getting
difficult to stay focused on the road. The scientist quickly changed to
the leftmost lane and sped up. Several cars noisely honked at the Mercre
for cutting off their path.
Damn them.
Aya squirmed in her seat. "I gotta go pee."
"Hold it in." Hiroko darted her eyes at the signs. That exit had
to come up soon. She had to hide in the Outriders' safe house in Paradise
Loop. It was pricy, but she had taken the chance that those thugs could
protect her for a few days. She could plan ahead then.
Her eyelids feeling heavy, the scientist blinked and shook her
head to keep awake.
"But mommy...."
Enormous frustration weighed down on her. "Be a good girl and
just hold it!" she snapped.
Her daughter cringed in fear.
Hiroko instantly regretted her temper. "I'm sorry, Aya. Can you
wait five-ten minutes?"
"Umm, okay," she said, hovering between unease and fright.
The mother scanned the passing signs for an exit. 1.5km, right
most lane. Annoyed, she quickly looked to her right and changed lanes,
leaving a trail of angry motorists.
Slamming on the brakes, she took the exit ramp and entered
downtown MegaTokyo. Hiroko searched in the maze of roads for a parking
space but gave up. The sides of the narrow streets were crammed with
vehicles and pedestrians.
Hiroko stopped next to a fire hydrant, ignoring the warning sign
and the yellow curb.
"Come on, Aya."
They got out of the subcompact. Hiroko finally closed the
irritating trunk lid and briskly walked toward a supermarket nestled
between other small businesses, forcing Aya to run beside her. The
scientist ignored the curious stares from the passerbys.
Could one of them be a Genom agent?
To reassure herself, the spy gripped her hidden RX-5, quite
illegal for its HV explosive bullets. They could damage a boomer, given
she aimed properly.
The mother and daughter hurried through the supermarket entrance
and walked right up to an employee putting up items on the store shelves.
"Where's your bathroom?" Hiroko demanded.
The man blinked and stared at her, stuttering a reply. "W-we
don't have a public restroom. There's a deli down the st--"
"Don't give me bullcrap! Where's the bathroom you'd use? In the
back?"
The employee blinked some more. "Well, that's not open to the
public."
Hiroko became furious and started shouting, oblivious to her
child's discomfort at her behavior.
Noticing the commotion, the store manager approached them. "May I
help you?"
The scientist took a breath and spoke through gritted teeth. "My
daughter needs to use your bathroom."
Seeking to calm the irate woman, the manager replied, "Follow me
please." He led her and Aya into the back area after punching in the
passcode at the employee only door.
The bewildered employee shook his head.
"Yeesh, crazy people these days...."
The man went back stocking the products, then he was rudely
surprised again when he was shoved aside by a sharp platinum blonde.
"Hey, lady! Watch where you--!"
The woman stopped, turned back, and silenced him with a deadly
glare.
The employee gulped. Was she....
"S-sorry ma'am."
The woman smirked and walked away from him.
The man started breathing again.
"This just isn't my day."
= = = =
Gartner typed in the final command into the terminal, scrambled to
the exit of the lab and peeked outside. All clear.
He took a last glance back at the augmented Deep Psychology
Scanner and its dying occupant. Whoever he was, maybe he'd get another
chance if luck was with him.
The engineer had done a hasty engram read on him and dumped it
into the 33-S with minimal reference linkage. That would complicate
things for the 55-C. The compact wetware engram medium of the Sexaroid
might have been scrambled enough to make another recording a near
impossibility. Formatting wasn't possible for enzyme-protein memory as in
magnetic or optical drives.
Gartner slipped out of the lab and cautiously walked down the
dingy corridor. Now he had to find that damaged combat suit he glimpsed
when the boomers brought back salvagable items from the GPCC wreckage.
With it he could at least stand a chance against them.
He roamed the area, trying to remember where the items were
stashed while keeping a wary eye open for the boomers. He froze as he
heard heavy thumps above his head. The 55-C was on the upper floor.
Checking on Largo's engram again? The engineer forced himself to move.
Keeping searching. Quickly. The 33-Cs might be close by.
Gartner finally found the tall, heavy suit in a niche under the
stairs along with burnt and dusty boomer parts scattered about. Thanking
his good luck, he slid into it and pulled the badly scratched torso
segment back in place.
A tight fit. The engineer latched the helmet and breathed in
relief as the suit powered up, giving a slight hum. He was worried the
fuel cells were drained. Sixty percent power. It was low, but should be
enough.
The man spent precious minutes puzzling out the suit. It had the
basic LCD display with an eye control menu and a complicated targeting
system coupled to the twin cannons on each arm. The weapons had some heat
damange -- not much ammo left either. That wasn't good.
He moved the arms and legs to feel how they handled. The actuator
response was a little sluggish, due to a micro-rupture in hydraulics, but
acceptable in the time being.
Thinking he figured out the suit basic's functions, Gartner moved
out of the niche and stomped toward the truck loading ramp at the far end.
Escape!
He didn't get much far.
The proximity detector screamed about something behind his back.
He turned around only to get kneed in the head by a 33-C. She leaped away
with blinding speed.
"Shit!"
Gartner staggered and nearly lost his balance. He wildly aimed an
arm and discharged the cannons. The boomer ducked the projectiles, ran up
to him again and connected with his helmet with several rapid palm thrusts
and a jarring elbow strike.
The helm display crackling, the shaken engineer took a swipe at
the 33-C and scored a glancing blow on her. The boomer bumped into the
wall, but quickly somersaulted away from the combat suit.
"Goddamn bitch!"
Gartner spaced both arms and fired continuous volleys to saturate
the area. The 33-C avoid some but took several hits, the corridor being
confining to free movement. Chunks of its body blew away as it charged
toward him.
The engineer ignored the low ammo warning; he kept firing until
the boomer slumped smoking onto the floor.
Wincing as hot metal burned his arms, the man popped open the
battered helmet and gasped for cooler air. It was unbearably hot.
Possibly the coolant system and the heat sinks were damaged.
Gartner took a hard look at the twitching and battered body of the
33-C.
It happened all too fast.
He steeled himself and latched the helm back in place. He read
the warnings on the fuzzy, warped display. Integrity down by half and
only twelve shots left.
He panicked as the tactical computer alerted him of another threat
ahead.
The 55-C.
It opened its chest infrared array and fired. Gartner clumsily
tried to avoid the heat ray but received the full brunt of its energies
above his waistline. Howling in pain, the engineer stumbled back and
tried to fire the cannons, only to find them inoperative.
Leering at the blackened suit, the combat boomer widened its mouth
and fired the partical cannon. The suit blasted backwards, impacted a
wall and slid down to the floor. A crater gouged at its torso, it
shuddered for a moment, then became still.
The 55-C slowly stomped to the side of the unmoving machine. It
ripped off the helm and stared at Gartner's burnt face.
Barely breathing, unconscious. Foolish human.
It opened its arm gun to finish him off.
The suit moved.
Gartner grabbed the boomer's knees and pulled hard in desparation,
forcing it to fall over him. The 55-C fired its gun, but the shots still
ricocheted off the battered heavy armour plating.
Focusing on the boomer with a death wish, the man grasped its neck
and squeezed while holding it down over the suit legs. The heavy suit was
on the verge of breakdown, and it was being slowly overpowered by the
55-C, but Gartner held on until he heard a satisfying crunch.
The boomer went limp.
"Heheheh...."
The engineer closed his eyes and laid back on the ground, savoring
his victory. He finally showed the 55-C who was boss. He weakly
chuckled. Something didn't feel right, but it was good that the pain
receded to a mote corner of his mind.
He needed a long rest.
But did it matter?
= = = =
*nasty at the sight of a beautiful girl*
*need a vacation*
*live for your own sake*
*why did you do it*
*aya doing still acing kindergarten*
"Ugghh...."
*i wanted to be free like you*
*is this some kind of joke*
It opened its eyes.
"W-where...."
A dirty ceiling. Flickering lights. The smell of burnt metal and
gunpowder.
"Priss...."
Unsure why it spoke outloud, it rose from the table and saw the
man latched inside the strange contraption. It gasped as it recognized
him.
Sylvie screamed.