Post by bolterpyre on Dec 23, 2020 23:47:26 GMT -5
A Gunslinger with a Temper
#
The toxic rain that befell the streets of New Boston Zone had finally dissipated, but the world was still shrouded in darkness, enveloped by centimeters-thick walls of the Dome, whose constricting embrace casted a featureless gloom over an opressed city run by tyrants and oppressors alike--megacorps, gang lords and terrorists--all lived in one tightly packed urban jungle that is the mega city.
Under the shade of the Rare Flask Inn's shed, a lone man stood in silence, shadows obscured his features but the glow of his cyberoptics that remained luminescent for the duration of the day was glued at a certain building across the street. He exhaled heavily, cybermecha lungs whirring in response as the man--no, the half-man and half machine, walked towards the door of the Lust Lady Bar.
No longer merely flesh, his kind was one of the most feared and most hated in the surviving world united by the Global Matrix. The man-machine moved with haste and purpose, sending the nearby Zone Citizens of the Narrows moving away as if he was a magnet with a negative attraction. Elite urban soldiers of the 2217, the Cyber Knights are who you call when a dirty job needs done.
But for now, this particular Cyber Knight just wanted to get out of the dome-weather after pulling off a raid against the Fennians in the docks located at the southern neighborhood of the damned mega city. By the door of the bar stood Blue Ox paramils in tactical overalls. The Cyber Knight's hand twitched in anticipation, his artificial adrenal-glands began to pump chemicals throughout his system. It's either fight or flee.
"What are you doing here, chummer?" The leading ganger asked, hefting his bladed club with a grin. His accent told the Cyber Knight everything he needed to know about his origins.
"I'm not looking for trouble." The Cyber Knight simply replied. "But I'm not afraid to give it either."
"The nerve of this cyka blyat talking to my face?!" The ganger stood from the gutter of the street and approached. The Cyber Knight scanned the immediate view--there were four of them, and two more hiding in the alleys that flanked the bar. His fist tensed as the hyperganger approached, eyes dilated--tell tale signs that this bastard was kicking in cram shots for the last few days.
"You really want to do this?" The Cyber Knight asked, hand going for his Mars Corp-manufactured Raptor II while his other hand was ready to draw the Raptor III, an upgraded version of the Raptor II but basically a hand cannon in its own right.
The tension was high and neither sides were willing to back down. The Cyber Knight would have laughed, he could hear the pulsating heart beat of the hyperganger. He had stare in the eyes of wanna-be brave chummers and instead of projecting their big ego, fear was evident in its stead. And this hyperganger was afraid deep down.
And his chummers too.
"Vladimir, is that how you treat guests?" A voice called behind the Cyber Knight.
The hyperganger craned his neck over the Cyber Knight's shoulder and saw a man of athletic built, blue mohawks, orange-lensed monoshades and a katana that was as long as a kill-hound, its killing edge glowed red hot. He was the true epitome of a Blue Ox CyberSword who went over to the Yakuza to sell his skills as a Runner. He still visits the backrooms of the Narrows, keeping tight relationship with his old peers for good times sake.
And for more than once, he had ran with the Cyber Knight, especially when Trade Wars and Arms Race between megacorps arose. Big money to be made.
"Jake Python, it's you!" The hyperganger backed away with fear, intimidated by the presence of the Runner.
"Better run away than run your mouth, chummer boy!" The Cyber Knight said with a bloodthirsty grin.
"We never want any trouble, alright!" The hypergangers stepped away. "You're very welcome here!"
"Better be, or I'll have the Moon Boss hang you by the neck." Jack Python said. "Wait, I actually do the hanging."
Backing away, the Cyber Knight and Jack Python entered the door of the Lusty Lady Bar. The loud electrohouse booming from within was already audible in the steps leading to the establishment but the sound became clear as soon as the door was opened.
Decadence emanated the air like a thick veil that fluttered in the wind. Loud thrash and synthwave music was heard from the basement nightclub of the bar. Neon lights flooded out onto the streets when the door parted and the outer world glimpsed at the iniquity taking place within. The two walked inside, Jake greeting acquaintances with nods and waves and a few cat callings to the passing joy girls, who responded with a flirtatious remark of their own.
The Cyber Knight was only concerned with getting a vudka or two and, if fate would will it, another job to kill time before crashing out in some cheap motel either in the Narrows or the Los Val territory of The Fenns to lose whoever agents the Fennians might have sent to follow him.
"Ironsight, it's been a long time." Jake said without looking at him.
"Indeed, it is." The Cyber Knight replied. "What are you here for?"
"The Yakuza and the Knight Horizon recently ended their Trade War. Should have made my way over here but the Yak's oyabun had declared war against the Bravestar for sending Knights in their territory."
"Seems like the boys in blue are taking advantage of the Trade War." Ironsight replied. "I heard of their little Street War and there's just no point in joining that petty blood feud."
"Why? I thought you're always 'in it' for money?"
"Don't mistake me with the other Knights out there, Python. I've got principles, and through these principles, I didn't end up bleeding to death in some gutter." He grinned. "I've made a long list of enemies already, little bit unwise to add more in the shit list."
"I get the sentiment." Jake said as he nodded at the direction of an old aging man behind the bar. They approached him. "Hey, Maggot."
"You drek-face, what can I do you boys for?" The man asked with a grumpy, yet friendly, voice.
"We need a VIP Suite for an hour." Ironsight abruptly replied, interjecting the starting conversation between Jake and Jar Maggot. He slipped a 15 yen bill across the glowing bar.
"Suite 4 is free, have fun." Maggot said as he took the bill and nodded at the direction where the isolaed kiosks were located.
The Cyber Knight and the Runner walked towards the kiosk in question, walking past the ones occupied by joy girls, Blue Ox Runners, some big time hyperpunks, and handful of Cyber Knights. Ironsight and Jake Python sat on the couch with a satisfied sigh. By the time they propped down, a joy girl instantly went to them with a circular tray at hand.
"Well, hello there." Jake flashed a smile that caught the joy girl's attention. But the woman simply ignored it.
"What's you order?"
"You," Jake said, which earned a stare from Ironsight, "I mean, three vudkas. Keep the other one for yourself."
"Yeah, and he's paying." Ironsight replied with a grin. "Right, Jake? You've got lots of credders to buy THREE bottles of vudkas and even giving one free for her. What a fat wallet you've got."
Jake attempted to hide his frustration with a smile that made him looked constipated. He just simply nodded at the joy girl to comply with their order. She walked away, smiling at the prospect of free vudka paid by her customer.
"Man, do you really have to do that?" Jake asked as he placed three notes on the table and sighed as if he had lost a lot.
"Well, you made a lot from the last Trade War. 'Sides, you're not gonna be able to carry those money in the grave with you." Ironsight replied when a couple of men in black tactical vests, kevlar knee and elbow caps, and pairs of black thermo-shades entered through the door of the establishment. The Cyber Knight turned at their direction. "Seems like our lucky day, Bravestar chummers."
A trio of Blue Ox gangers in dark blue exoskeletal-skinsuits approached the two Bravestar agents. From afar, Ironsight could not hear their exchange, because not only the sound around muffled the conversation, but also he lacked the cybernetic implant to eavesdrop. He does, however, understand their lip movement and how they uttered his street name, 'Ironsight', and pointed at him.
"Here comes trouble." Jake said as the Blue Ox enforcers moved away from the Bravestar agents' paths and approached them briskly. One of them sat beside Jake and the other, beside Ironsight. Their demeanour was calm, gentle and polite. Better be, they were very far from home.
"Good evening, sirs." Jake Python greeted. "What brings you here in this blasted hellhole that is the Narrows?"
"We're talking to the Cyber Knight." The Bravestar cop beside Ironsight said. His companion across placed an armored briefcase on the surface of the table.
"We've heard things about you, Knight." The man said. "Things that pleases our boss."
"Tell them I said, 'hi'." Ironsight replied, his adrenal-glands becoming hyper active once more.
"I can see your hands travelling up to the grip of your...Raptor III. There is no need, Knight. As you can see, you are very well protected here." The man added as he nodded at the watching Blue Ox enforcers. "Ah, where are my manners? I am Sergeant Donovan Hendricksen, Bravestar Strike Team Omega-118." He nodded at his companion beside Ironsight. "That's...Hotshot, same unit."
"Nice to meet you two." Ironsight simply replied. "Now, what's this all about?"
"I'm not gonna bore you with the menial details, Mr. Ironsight." Donovan retrieved a datapad from the briefcase and activated it with a click of a button. He handed the datapad to Hotshot as he shut the briefcase closed and placed the container beside his chair. "To make things short, Bravestar was currently embroiled in a Street War against Knight Horizon when one of our Hackers turned in a large file concerning a secret project by our competitor called, 'Project ElectroSurge'."
"And how does this 'concerns' me?" Ironsight asked. Hotshot handed him the datapad after calibrating it to the right documents. The Cyber Knight simply took it and read.
"We learned that ElectroSurge was involved the creation of a so-called 'artificial Cyber Knight' implanted with electro-shock cybernetics that were both lethal and damaging." Donovan paused for effect. "Imagine a Cyber Knight shooting lightning out of his hands while under the control of one of the psychopathic organizations in NBZ."
"ElectroSurge?" Ironsight laughed as the joy girl arrived with their order. He glanced up at her and said, "Two more for these two--"
"No, we're on-duty." Donovan said and waved his hand dismissively.
"Suit yourself." Ironsight took a swig from the cold bottle. "I've heard from one of my Hacker Runners when his other Cyber Knight employer had him hack one of the Horizon's subnets. It was just a frakking myth."
"But the myth you're talking about is truer than fiction." Donovan said and leaned back to his seat. "At least for our Riot Team whose collective asses were kicked by that badass chummer that we even had to transfer him to a Mars Corp clinic when he began to suffer a..." he paused, "...electro-psychosis."
Ironsight heaved a sigh.
"Our surveillance teams had pinpointed a warehouse in the Back Bay Slums where that Cyber Knight was being 'recharged'. It was a heavily fortified fortress and we need someone who can get in and out without raising a few eyebrows."
"What's the contract then?" Ironsight asked.
"My bosses are offering 10,000 credders for getting this kidnapping contract done. Just get in, capture the Cyber Knight, and get out. You need to escort the chummer to the Star Traders Club in the Downtown Gateway and from there, we could take over."
Ironsight placed the datapad down on the table. "Many had offered much more lucrative price than that, but I wasn't willing to go down in a blaze of glory just yet--"
"Listen, Ironsight." Donovan leaned closer and grabbed the Cyber Knight by his left forearm, causing the Knight to glare at him. "This is not about the competition anymore, this is NOT about the credders. This is about human preservation in a wild jungle where monsters like Knight Horizon rules! If you had the decency of relieving that weapon off their hands, then the people of NBZ would thank you for keeping their asses alive for the mean time." He released Ironsight's arm and raised his arm in a surrender as he sunk back to his seat. "Or don't and let the city burn for all we care. In fact, maybe I could use some drink now as we wait for the city's inevitable downfall."
Ironsight blinked. He glanced at Jake Python, who was as horrified as he. Hotshot simply looked at him behind his black-lensed shades, face motionless. Was there a choice? There is but each has its own consequences.
Donovan was right. Would there be a place for the future generation to dwell in if factions like Knight Horizon create more walking time bombs and let it run amok in the city unchecked?
He took another swig of his vudka and slammed it back down on the table.
"Alright, I'm in." He said. "Jake, you're Running with me."
"What? Why me?"
"I need a swift katana by my side." He grinned. "I'll pay you up 2500, that good?"
"Make that 3600." Jake negotiated.
"Well, you're irresistible. I'll bite." He nodded at his Connectors. "You got yourself some employees."
"Well then," the two Bravestar agents stood from their seats. "See you on the other side of the Wall, Mr. Ironsight. Pleasure doing business with you." His tone sounded as if a huge burden was relieved from his shoulders.
Ironsight did not say anything. He just simply watched them go and disappear in the entrance when they made their exit...
-------
Writer's Note: Hello! I hope you enjoy my first post. I am a big fan of Cyber Knights and had been playing it since 2012. The world and the flexibility of the game inspired me to write a story about it. Thank you!
#
The toxic rain that befell the streets of New Boston Zone had finally dissipated, but the world was still shrouded in darkness, enveloped by centimeters-thick walls of the Dome, whose constricting embrace casted a featureless gloom over an opressed city run by tyrants and oppressors alike--megacorps, gang lords and terrorists--all lived in one tightly packed urban jungle that is the mega city.
Under the shade of the Rare Flask Inn's shed, a lone man stood in silence, shadows obscured his features but the glow of his cyberoptics that remained luminescent for the duration of the day was glued at a certain building across the street. He exhaled heavily, cybermecha lungs whirring in response as the man--no, the half-man and half machine, walked towards the door of the Lust Lady Bar.
No longer merely flesh, his kind was one of the most feared and most hated in the surviving world united by the Global Matrix. The man-machine moved with haste and purpose, sending the nearby Zone Citizens of the Narrows moving away as if he was a magnet with a negative attraction. Elite urban soldiers of the 2217, the Cyber Knights are who you call when a dirty job needs done.
But for now, this particular Cyber Knight just wanted to get out of the dome-weather after pulling off a raid against the Fennians in the docks located at the southern neighborhood of the damned mega city. By the door of the bar stood Blue Ox paramils in tactical overalls. The Cyber Knight's hand twitched in anticipation, his artificial adrenal-glands began to pump chemicals throughout his system. It's either fight or flee.
"What are you doing here, chummer?" The leading ganger asked, hefting his bladed club with a grin. His accent told the Cyber Knight everything he needed to know about his origins.
"I'm not looking for trouble." The Cyber Knight simply replied. "But I'm not afraid to give it either."
"The nerve of this cyka blyat talking to my face?!" The ganger stood from the gutter of the street and approached. The Cyber Knight scanned the immediate view--there were four of them, and two more hiding in the alleys that flanked the bar. His fist tensed as the hyperganger approached, eyes dilated--tell tale signs that this bastard was kicking in cram shots for the last few days.
"You really want to do this?" The Cyber Knight asked, hand going for his Mars Corp-manufactured Raptor II while his other hand was ready to draw the Raptor III, an upgraded version of the Raptor II but basically a hand cannon in its own right.
The tension was high and neither sides were willing to back down. The Cyber Knight would have laughed, he could hear the pulsating heart beat of the hyperganger. He had stare in the eyes of wanna-be brave chummers and instead of projecting their big ego, fear was evident in its stead. And this hyperganger was afraid deep down.
And his chummers too.
"Vladimir, is that how you treat guests?" A voice called behind the Cyber Knight.
The hyperganger craned his neck over the Cyber Knight's shoulder and saw a man of athletic built, blue mohawks, orange-lensed monoshades and a katana that was as long as a kill-hound, its killing edge glowed red hot. He was the true epitome of a Blue Ox CyberSword who went over to the Yakuza to sell his skills as a Runner. He still visits the backrooms of the Narrows, keeping tight relationship with his old peers for good times sake.
And for more than once, he had ran with the Cyber Knight, especially when Trade Wars and Arms Race between megacorps arose. Big money to be made.
"Jake Python, it's you!" The hyperganger backed away with fear, intimidated by the presence of the Runner.
"Better run away than run your mouth, chummer boy!" The Cyber Knight said with a bloodthirsty grin.
"We never want any trouble, alright!" The hypergangers stepped away. "You're very welcome here!"
"Better be, or I'll have the Moon Boss hang you by the neck." Jack Python said. "Wait, I actually do the hanging."
Backing away, the Cyber Knight and Jack Python entered the door of the Lusty Lady Bar. The loud electrohouse booming from within was already audible in the steps leading to the establishment but the sound became clear as soon as the door was opened.
Decadence emanated the air like a thick veil that fluttered in the wind. Loud thrash and synthwave music was heard from the basement nightclub of the bar. Neon lights flooded out onto the streets when the door parted and the outer world glimpsed at the iniquity taking place within. The two walked inside, Jake greeting acquaintances with nods and waves and a few cat callings to the passing joy girls, who responded with a flirtatious remark of their own.
The Cyber Knight was only concerned with getting a vudka or two and, if fate would will it, another job to kill time before crashing out in some cheap motel either in the Narrows or the Los Val territory of The Fenns to lose whoever agents the Fennians might have sent to follow him.
"Ironsight, it's been a long time." Jake said without looking at him.
"Indeed, it is." The Cyber Knight replied. "What are you here for?"
"The Yakuza and the Knight Horizon recently ended their Trade War. Should have made my way over here but the Yak's oyabun had declared war against the Bravestar for sending Knights in their territory."
"Seems like the boys in blue are taking advantage of the Trade War." Ironsight replied. "I heard of their little Street War and there's just no point in joining that petty blood feud."
"Why? I thought you're always 'in it' for money?"
"Don't mistake me with the other Knights out there, Python. I've got principles, and through these principles, I didn't end up bleeding to death in some gutter." He grinned. "I've made a long list of enemies already, little bit unwise to add more in the shit list."
"I get the sentiment." Jake said as he nodded at the direction of an old aging man behind the bar. They approached him. "Hey, Maggot."
"You drek-face, what can I do you boys for?" The man asked with a grumpy, yet friendly, voice.
"We need a VIP Suite for an hour." Ironsight abruptly replied, interjecting the starting conversation between Jake and Jar Maggot. He slipped a 15 yen bill across the glowing bar.
"Suite 4 is free, have fun." Maggot said as he took the bill and nodded at the direction where the isolaed kiosks were located.
The Cyber Knight and the Runner walked towards the kiosk in question, walking past the ones occupied by joy girls, Blue Ox Runners, some big time hyperpunks, and handful of Cyber Knights. Ironsight and Jake Python sat on the couch with a satisfied sigh. By the time they propped down, a joy girl instantly went to them with a circular tray at hand.
"Well, hello there." Jake flashed a smile that caught the joy girl's attention. But the woman simply ignored it.
"What's you order?"
"You," Jake said, which earned a stare from Ironsight, "I mean, three vudkas. Keep the other one for yourself."
"Yeah, and he's paying." Ironsight replied with a grin. "Right, Jake? You've got lots of credders to buy THREE bottles of vudkas and even giving one free for her. What a fat wallet you've got."
Jake attempted to hide his frustration with a smile that made him looked constipated. He just simply nodded at the joy girl to comply with their order. She walked away, smiling at the prospect of free vudka paid by her customer.
"Man, do you really have to do that?" Jake asked as he placed three notes on the table and sighed as if he had lost a lot.
"Well, you made a lot from the last Trade War. 'Sides, you're not gonna be able to carry those money in the grave with you." Ironsight replied when a couple of men in black tactical vests, kevlar knee and elbow caps, and pairs of black thermo-shades entered through the door of the establishment. The Cyber Knight turned at their direction. "Seems like our lucky day, Bravestar chummers."
A trio of Blue Ox gangers in dark blue exoskeletal-skinsuits approached the two Bravestar agents. From afar, Ironsight could not hear their exchange, because not only the sound around muffled the conversation, but also he lacked the cybernetic implant to eavesdrop. He does, however, understand their lip movement and how they uttered his street name, 'Ironsight', and pointed at him.
"Here comes trouble." Jake said as the Blue Ox enforcers moved away from the Bravestar agents' paths and approached them briskly. One of them sat beside Jake and the other, beside Ironsight. Their demeanour was calm, gentle and polite. Better be, they were very far from home.
"Good evening, sirs." Jake Python greeted. "What brings you here in this blasted hellhole that is the Narrows?"
"We're talking to the Cyber Knight." The Bravestar cop beside Ironsight said. His companion across placed an armored briefcase on the surface of the table.
"We've heard things about you, Knight." The man said. "Things that pleases our boss."
"Tell them I said, 'hi'." Ironsight replied, his adrenal-glands becoming hyper active once more.
"I can see your hands travelling up to the grip of your...Raptor III. There is no need, Knight. As you can see, you are very well protected here." The man added as he nodded at the watching Blue Ox enforcers. "Ah, where are my manners? I am Sergeant Donovan Hendricksen, Bravestar Strike Team Omega-118." He nodded at his companion beside Ironsight. "That's...Hotshot, same unit."
"Nice to meet you two." Ironsight simply replied. "Now, what's this all about?"
"I'm not gonna bore you with the menial details, Mr. Ironsight." Donovan retrieved a datapad from the briefcase and activated it with a click of a button. He handed the datapad to Hotshot as he shut the briefcase closed and placed the container beside his chair. "To make things short, Bravestar was currently embroiled in a Street War against Knight Horizon when one of our Hackers turned in a large file concerning a secret project by our competitor called, 'Project ElectroSurge'."
"And how does this 'concerns' me?" Ironsight asked. Hotshot handed him the datapad after calibrating it to the right documents. The Cyber Knight simply took it and read.
"We learned that ElectroSurge was involved the creation of a so-called 'artificial Cyber Knight' implanted with electro-shock cybernetics that were both lethal and damaging." Donovan paused for effect. "Imagine a Cyber Knight shooting lightning out of his hands while under the control of one of the psychopathic organizations in NBZ."
"ElectroSurge?" Ironsight laughed as the joy girl arrived with their order. He glanced up at her and said, "Two more for these two--"
"No, we're on-duty." Donovan said and waved his hand dismissively.
"Suit yourself." Ironsight took a swig from the cold bottle. "I've heard from one of my Hacker Runners when his other Cyber Knight employer had him hack one of the Horizon's subnets. It was just a frakking myth."
"But the myth you're talking about is truer than fiction." Donovan said and leaned back to his seat. "At least for our Riot Team whose collective asses were kicked by that badass chummer that we even had to transfer him to a Mars Corp clinic when he began to suffer a..." he paused, "...electro-psychosis."
Ironsight heaved a sigh.
"Our surveillance teams had pinpointed a warehouse in the Back Bay Slums where that Cyber Knight was being 'recharged'. It was a heavily fortified fortress and we need someone who can get in and out without raising a few eyebrows."
"What's the contract then?" Ironsight asked.
"My bosses are offering 10,000 credders for getting this kidnapping contract done. Just get in, capture the Cyber Knight, and get out. You need to escort the chummer to the Star Traders Club in the Downtown Gateway and from there, we could take over."
Ironsight placed the datapad down on the table. "Many had offered much more lucrative price than that, but I wasn't willing to go down in a blaze of glory just yet--"
"Listen, Ironsight." Donovan leaned closer and grabbed the Cyber Knight by his left forearm, causing the Knight to glare at him. "This is not about the competition anymore, this is NOT about the credders. This is about human preservation in a wild jungle where monsters like Knight Horizon rules! If you had the decency of relieving that weapon off their hands, then the people of NBZ would thank you for keeping their asses alive for the mean time." He released Ironsight's arm and raised his arm in a surrender as he sunk back to his seat. "Or don't and let the city burn for all we care. In fact, maybe I could use some drink now as we wait for the city's inevitable downfall."
Ironsight blinked. He glanced at Jake Python, who was as horrified as he. Hotshot simply looked at him behind his black-lensed shades, face motionless. Was there a choice? There is but each has its own consequences.
Donovan was right. Would there be a place for the future generation to dwell in if factions like Knight Horizon create more walking time bombs and let it run amok in the city unchecked?
He took another swig of his vudka and slammed it back down on the table.
"Alright, I'm in." He said. "Jake, you're Running with me."
"What? Why me?"
"I need a swift katana by my side." He grinned. "I'll pay you up 2500, that good?"
"Make that 3600." Jake negotiated.
"Well, you're irresistible. I'll bite." He nodded at his Connectors. "You got yourself some employees."
"Well then," the two Bravestar agents stood from their seats. "See you on the other side of the Wall, Mr. Ironsight. Pleasure doing business with you." His tone sounded as if a huge burden was relieved from his shoulders.
Ironsight did not say anything. He just simply watched them go and disappear in the entrance when they made their exit...
-------
Writer's Note: Hello! I hope you enjoy my first post. I am a big fan of Cyber Knights and had been playing it since 2012. The world and the flexibility of the game inspired me to write a story about it. Thank you!
