Chapter 156
Rebecca
That was pretty much it. Right after the weird hand thing, which the gonk was smiling like crazy over, they all left the apartment and slipped into an array of vehicles down in the garage. Motoko even invited Rebecca to ride with her, which was nice, as she didnt have a car. Just taking N-Cart to get there.
It was actually kind of surprising the array of vehicles the teenagers all had.
Malcolm rode around in a Badlands Thornton Colby. The truck was rough and tumble and armored to hell.
And Motoko drove around in a Quadra Type-66. Also a nomad variant. The thing was a beast, and Rebecca was more than a little interested in getting a ride.
The big truck Ichi drove was interesting, but sort of normal. Hiromi joined Ichi, while Motoko yelled at Jun to get into Malcolm's car instead of taking his Kusanagi.
She looked it over and nodded. Preem ride. She wouldnt mind letting him drive her around on it sometime.
Oh before we jump in. Motoko said as she turned from the driver's door to the trunk and then opened it up.
Whoa.
Do you want something with a bit more kick? The girl asked, and Rebecca had a moment where she wondered what the fuck Maine had been doing all this time.
Maine didnt have a Rocket Launcher.
Wha-Is that a Rocket Launcher?
My Uragan? Yep! I picked it up off some Nomads. You'd be surprised how often shooting something with heavy ordinance makes things on a gig go smoother. She offered and no Rebecca would not be surprised, because she now knew what she wanted in her life.
A Rocket Launcher.
It was the only thing that would make her complete. She reached for it, and Motokos chrome hands wrapped around her wrist.
Sorry. Not this gig.
Fuuuck. She cursed because It was right there.
Hey if you want one, I can put you in touch with my contact. Get some eddies together and buy one. She offered as if getting a Rocket Launcher was just That easy Well Rebecca realized that it kinda was.
So want something else? I got an Ajax over there. Or a Carnage around here somewhere, if you want one. I think I got some-
Ill take the Ajax. Sure. She agreed. She had shot one before, the recoil wouldnt send her flying. Good enough.
Rebecca cursed herself a bit. She really needed the arm upgrades she had been planning. But Eddies had been tight, and Pilar had been a tightwad. Needing all the eddies for his projects and shit.
Even if Becca knew he was blowing most of it on frivolous shit. The dumbass.
She grabbed the Ajax out of the panel it had been inserted into, hefted it and checked it. Yep, already loaded.
Here, a few extra mags. Motoko offered, and Rebecca nodded, stuffing them clumsily into her pockets on her jacket.
Well need to get you some rigging or something for next time. Motoko said suddenly, before nodding and heading back to the car.
Rebecca though was a little surprised.
For next time? Rebecca wasnt even sure if she wanted to work with the kids But at the same time, it was kind of flattering to have Motoko already assume Rebecca wouldnt embarrass herself today and want them all to kick her out And now she was feeling under qualified while hanging around a bunch of teenagers.
Fuuuuuck. She took a deep breath and headed to the passenger door.
With Maine it always felt like she was just an add on from Pilar. Her brother's tech skills made him useful.
Rebecca though? Was the exact opposite of what Maine liked. Big, strong, brutal power.
Even Sasha represented what Maine liked in a netrunner. Massive powerful hacks. It was just how the big guy thought.
Rebecca was usually only given shit jobs. Overwatch, distraction, shit like that.
But Motoko had invited her right into the strike squad Before she had walked into the apartment, she had thought the kids wanted another Solo a bit older than them to help out. To handle the dangerous bits, but seeing everything now?
No, it was Rebecca that was the amateur here. She took a breath and accepted that. Even as it pissed her off and embarrassed her, but that was just the truth.
She slipped into the Quadras passenger seat, and they all started driving out of the garage towards Arroyo.
Towards a massive Scav den. She could feel herself getting excited. She was ready for this.
You want any grenades? The question interrupted her thoughts and she looked over.
Was the kid wearing her seat belt? Why? Thats so weird.
Uh Yeah choom? What kind of gonk said no to grenades?
Preem. Got a box under your seat. Take whatever you like. Red Caps are frags, Blue are EMP. Probably dont take any of those. Not sure how much of the equipment in the power plant is still active.
Rebecca very carefully moved her feet and bent down. There under her seat was a box, and inside slotted into little indents to hold them was a bunch of grenades.
Okay sure.
She reached down and carefully grabbed two of the red caps, and after a moment stuffed them into a still empty pocket on her jacket.
She was going to need to get some actual rig if this is how Motoko rolled.
It was kind of embarrassing to pass on her style, but Well having spots to hold grenades did sound pretty nova.
Cause grenades.
This is going to be so fun! The girl chirped, happily smiling while her eyes were locked on the road.
For someone with such a high end car
She kinda drove like some ancient old lady. Weird.The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.
The ride over was pretty quiet. Motoko chattered a bit here and there, mostly about odd topics. What kind of weapons she liked, did she mod her own stuff. What sort of chrome she wanted to get.
Rebecca spent most of the ride mentally preparing herself for the battle to come and didnt really give good answers.
Then they were there.
*Be a good weapons platform and just stay still.* She retorted back without a hint of stress in her mental voice as she just fired into the dark power plant.
Rebecca decided that she had the right idea. She leapt out of the Quadra, rushing up to the side of the power plant and posting up on the outside quickly seeing some gonk on the second floor catwalk and shooting him full of holes.
This! This was it! This was what Rebecca fucking lived for.
HAHAHAHA! GET FUCKED! She roared out in delight as she opened up with her assault rifle.
---
I felt my own smile stretch across my face in time with Rebecca finally losing her shit and going full berserk.
This assault was going incredibly well. The Scavs that were checking the cameras right now wondering what the fuck was happening must be shitting their pants.
I almost wondered what they were thinking was happening? Did anyone expect a response like Section 9?
I dropped a mag and reloaded which was difficult while staying on the back of the Minotaur, *Jun! Up front, we are moving in. Malcolm move it!* I demanded over the line, as I jumped off the Minotaur and landed behind Jun. To his surprise I posted up behind him. Hand on his back letting him know where I was, as I basically used him as cover.
The gonk wanted to be the big target, then thats what he would be.
*Here.* Malcolm confirmed posting up behind me and I nodded.
*Rebecca! We are moving in. Ichi hold the lot down. Hiromi keep an eye on Ichi and run if you have to. No risks. Lets move.* I said as I pushed Jun forward which he audibly grumbled at, but then we moved. Jun leading the way into the Power Plant, and the three Solos backing him up.
The fact I had disabled the Scavs weapons was doing a lot to ensure our charge was uninterrupted.
While Jun slammed into a guy on the ground floor. The three of us twisted around. Firing into the scaffolding, or in Malcolms case firing and then having the Smart rounds twist around and land on top of the hiding Scavs.
We slaughtered them. Moving constantly, in a barrage of bullets. Ping meaning even amateurs like us could act like a unified team. Rebeccca quickly matched our pace despite having to move a bit more with her shorter legs, but she was keeping up perfectly, twisting and firing, as she followed the flashes of light from a fresh Ping.
Of course as easy as it was to slaughter these fucks there were problems.
Teething issues.
Malcolm tripped, nearly knocking me off my feet, and forcing me to struggle and lift him back up. Rebecca got a little trigger happy and nearly shot Jun, who was rushing around.
Jun was running off on his own, and not staying together so we could support him, ending up with him getting stabbed by a very very brave but stupid scav that managed to surprise him.
Yet we kept moving. Malcolm slowed his twisting pace, and kept his feet better after his fuckup.
Rebecca stopped to aim before firing, ensuring no friendly fire. And Jun grumbled and mostly ignored the fact he got stabbed and just kept doing what he was doing
The after action report would be filled with me kicking him in the head to get it through his denseness. But thats fine.
We moved on. Having cleared the entrance to the plant, we ended up not immediately hitting the downstairs. Instead we broke through a door in the rear of the factory where a clump of scavs had been hiding behind to enter into a sort of warehouse and main plant.
I actually almost stopped as I entered, because this whole section of the power plant didnt exist in the game. It was just one of those doors that was door shaped, but was actually a wall.
But inside was a storage area. Obviously the stuff too heavy to take down into the underground. Boxes of what I instantly registered as loot, but that wasnt all, tables next to chemical equipment
A drug lab?
I shrugged it off and opened fire along with everyone besides Jun who was going full Oni mode and either cutting people down with his Katana that he had drawn, or just battering Scavs into paste.
Both were pretty effective honestly.
Motoko? Malcolm called out, but I shook my head immediately.
Ignore it! This side is clear we move down now! I called out even if Malcolm was looking shocked at everything we had found.
Scav business, XBD business, and a drug lab? These scavs sured liked to dip their toes into everything.
Whatever was going on here, was something for later.
We turned after clearing out the area that the Scavs were using and instead rushed towards the undergroundstairs. This time Jun was slower and I was in the lead. I noticed two lines shifting as I got close to the stairs, two gonks, very close, probably hiding in a corner.
So I popped a grenade off my rig.
*Hold! Frag out* I called out over the line, and Jun actually stopped for once. I popped the pin and chucked it down the stairs hard enough it would bounce down and into the bottom of the steps.
A few seconds later the noise buffeted us and I almost giggled as the lights leading to the two winked out.
*Lets go!* I called out and Jun raced ahead which I realized was him being protective again. I rolled my eyes and moved, sticking together with Malcolm with Rebecca following us. *Good job Malcolm, Rebecca!*
*Course!*
*Easy shit.* Rebecca agreed, sounding almost calm, but when I turned to look her face was locked into a full on rictus grin.
Heh. We moved on, Jun rushing again again like a dummy. We walked through a no entry door and then past the hallway that led to the elevator, but while I could hack the thing, it would take time, and it wasnt like they were going anywhere. Not with the Minotaur already moving into the Plant to watch the stairs.
Then we moved through a trash area, covered in old clothes and garbage. Every piece of clothing told the story of another death at the hands of these Scavs.
But Jun didnt care, he moved right through opening doors and rushing through, and so we followed. The next area was a ripper room. The plastic sheeting scavs were so proud of, along with three beams of light leading to Scavs.
Jun of course followed straight towards them, but instantly they opened fire. My hack didnt work? I slammed another Optic Reboot at them, But felt the hands of another runner. Someone was plugged into the network, fighting me off.
Jun hadnt stopped at the gun fire, just charging through it and slamming into a ripper chair knocking it over and onto a Scav firing at him. He screamed as it pinned him to the ground and then the screaming stopped as Jun slammed a boot down onto him. Malcolm and I focused on the others. Far more accurate fire than the Scavs were putting out thanks to the Ping meant they were scattering for cover but that didnt save them from Malcolm.
*They have a netrunner! My hacks wont be as effective. Destroy any cameras as soon as you see them.* I called out, doing just that as I swung around and fired a round into a camera that was watching the ripper room.
*Got it!* Rebecca confirmed, while Malcolm just nodded.
*Jun? You alright?*
*Just some scratches.* He actually said standing up and showing it was a bit more than that. He was definitely bleeding a bit.
*You are on the backline now, pick up a gun. No more rushing forward or Ill leave you blind and go on without you.* I said completely calm, cool keeping me from absolutely ranting at him for being an idiot.
He looked like he was going to argue, but I didnt give him a chance. I popped my Carnage off my back and tossed it at him.
There see? It was totally worth bringing it along.
I reloaded again and nodded as Malcolm did the same and then we moved on to the next room.
