2096 SFS II THE RUNNER

Riley watched the piercing blue digits on top of the sleek metal cube change, counting down the seconds. It was a mission timer. She wasn’t sure what would happen if it got to zero and she didn’t really want to find out. She only knew she had to get it to Virginus before it did.

The cube was thirty centimeters in size and had a small rectangular piece on each side. She was thinking it was a latch, or maglock perhaps. She figured the cube was actually two parts, but she couldn’t see or even feel a seam. She ran her fingers over its surface more than a few times, but it was completely smooth. It was also quite cold which was surprising considering the overbearing heat. It also didn’t sweat as one would think should happen.

They were only a couple of hours from Virginus and she didn’t want to stop, but felt she had to. She had traveled during the hottest part of the day which was risky for a number of reasons. The intense heat was first and foremost, but it also made it much easier for others to see you. Dust plumes were enticing to raiders and bandits that prowled the main roads.

She had seen a plume of dust from a vehicle that was following them. She wasn’t sure if it was raiders or mercs, but she wanted to find out. Raiders wouldn’t come into the water depot, which was well guarded, however mercs would.

Her gaze was suddenly diverted by the man sitting across from her who had chomped down on a piece of desert worm steak. She could hear the steak squeaking between his teeth as he chewed. His name was Torrent, and he was her best friend.

She turned her attention to her own meal and took a bite. Some eggs and toast. The toast was probably made from desert bloom stalks and the eggs, well… chickens were expensive so she could only imagine what they were. It really didn’t matter with the amount of hot sauce she poured on top of it. Something that she carried with her. Even though they were heading to Virginus where things were easier to come by, she wasn’t a fan of the genetically engineered synthetic food. Most of that stuff was made from algae or something similarly nasty anyways. The hot sauce she had was authentic, made from real peppers by a family in the small town of Needles.

Riley looked over at the group that had arrived a few minutes after they had. They were mercs as she suspected. Most of the civilians in the place were wearing desert coverups and had only light gear. There were one or two that had tactical vests for better protection but these mercs were wearing heavier gear than that. Even with the coverups that they were wearing she could see tactical gear and larger munitions. These guys were armored and armed. Almost better than they were. They were probably augged as well, but she wasn’t sure.

The sun was starting to set. They finished their meals and headed back to their vehicle. It was an armored side-by-side with a third turret position. Known as a fast runner. It was designed for rapid transit through the desert. She jumped into the driver’s seat and placed the cube next to her on the passenger’s seat as Torrent jumped into the turret. They left the depot and headed some distance into the desert.

She was surprised, but she didn’t see the mercs following them. She breathed a sigh of relief — just before there was a sudden burst of gunfire. She was so focused on making sure they weren’t being followed she’d failed to notice a raider buggy approaching them.

Riley knew Torrent was already on them and she didn’t have to say anything. She groaned as Torrent lined up his shots and fired overhead. The large caliber rounds were not cheap, and each shot was painful. She watched as Torrent’s first round traced its way through the air and narrowly missed the buggy. The next two rounds however did not miss and found their target. One of the rounds hit the vehicle’s power cell and caused it to explode in a massive fireball. The buggy tumbled down the dune throwing raiders and parts across the desert, finally coming to rest in a thick black plume of smoke.

Just then, Riley saw another raider vehicle sitting on top of the dune ahead of them. She changed direction just as they fired. Torrent screamed and she looked back to see his arm flying through the air, trailing glowing biofluid behind it. Luckily, Torrent was partially augmented, and he quickly composed himself as the receptors were shut off. Torrent locked onto the other buggy and fired back at them.

Even without his left arm he was able to easily train the mounted weapon on the raiders and fire back. One of the rounds hit the buggy’s armor, and the other two missed. The raiders accelerated and started to head down the dune, chasing them into the valley.

More rounds coursed through the air as they fired at each other. A round ricocheted off the turret’s angled armor sending sparks and metal into the air. That was a little too close for Torrent’s comfort and he returned fire. A round tore through the buggy’s front tire, bursting it and shredding its suspension. The buggy dipped forward and its nose dug into the sand, sending it tumbling end over end. It came down and crushed the raiders that were inside.

They continued for a few moments when Torrent asked to go back and get his arm. Riley couldn’t argue with the request and hoped they could find something valuable to make up for the expended rounds. They headed back, grabbed his severed arm, and quickly searched the raiders before they continued on their route.

Virginus was no longer just a shadow on the horizon and its massive sprawl grew larger and larger. It was a mega city with some of its buildings reaching over three thousand meters in height. Virginus was a contested city and almost every major corporation operated within its confines. Smaller syndicates also vied for control over its many multilevel streets and districts. Everyone had their own agendas and goals ensuring there was always ample work for those who were looking.

They traveled through the slums and approached the city’s perimeter. There was no wall to protect against desert storms or raiders, but the city’s tall buildings acted somewhat as a buffer. The slums quickly gave way to buildings that soared high into the sky. This was essentially the edge of the city, and it was protected by a police checkpoint.

The police were funded by the corporations and were more show than anything. There were four police wearing bulky looking armor that were standing around. A couple of police drones lazily hovered overhead and a heavy weapons platform was stationed nearby. They simply watched as the duo proceeded under the sensor gate and headed deeper into the city.

From there the buildings quickly grew to even greater heights. The streets here were wide and densely packed with vehicles and individuals. There were humans — some augmented, some not —robots, and AIs. It was hard to tell them apart since man and machine all seemed to blur together. There were armies of delivery drones that coursed their way through the sky between levels and levels of levitation traffic. There were no signs or street markers. Each vehicle traveled on an augmented path projected on their view screens.

They traveled even deeper into the city, past sprawling multi-level clubs and recreational districts, filled with sex and drug dens. Past cybernetic districts and level upon level of residences. Past food carts, vendors, and markets. They headed toward one of the warehouse districts known for its black markets. There one could find combat stims, assault platforms and any other type of hard or soft asset imaginable. It was also where they were meeting their employer.

Riley dropped Torrent off in the cybernetic district to get his arm reattached and headed to the drop alone. She pulled up to the warehouse where an armored limo and two corporate armored personnel carriers were parked — they were all levitation vehicles - types that you rarely saw on the ground, and she instantly knew that their employer was one of the wealthy that resided in the upper levels of the city.

There were six troopers standing around in heavy armor carrying rifles. They watched as she collected the cube from the passenger’s seat and walked towards the entrance, which was an open garage door. It was then her heart jumped as she tripped and dropped the cube. Unable to catch it the cube fell onto the ground and landed upside down. The troopers made no movements as she sighed and picked it up. It figured. After all that, she would come this far to ruin whatever was inside. She definitely just rolled a one. The cube appeared undamaged, but she was sure the contents would be ruined. But she had to finish her mission no matter what.

The warehouse was mostly empty except for two tables, one of which was set up directly in the middle of the warehouse. There was a man in a tech suit sitting behind it — her employer no doubt — and a woman, his assistant, standing next to him. She was wearing a revealing luminescent dress.

Riley walked over and placed the cube on top of the table in front of the man. Her employer looked at the digits which were still counting down and raised an eyebrow. He then held his hand over the top and a green scan line appeared. Each latch disengaged with a click and his assistant removed the top. There was a bright white light and a thick cloud that poured out over the sides of the cube. The cloud cascaded over the table and fell gently onto the floor.

Once the cloud dissipated Riley saw the internals of the cube. There were two circular rings that floated inside the cube with a plated item directly in the middle of them. No matter what way the cube turned, how it moved or dropped, its gyroscopic dampening system countered the forces to protect what was inside. She breathed a sigh of relief as she realized the contents were undamaged.

His assistant took the plated item out from the center and placed it in front of him. She then removed the rest of the cube as he picked up a silver fork. He stabbed the item and forked a piece of it into his mouth. The look on his face changed to shear ecstasy as he chewed, and he let out a deep sigh.

“That is the best piece of chocolate cake I have ever had. It’s perfect,” He said. Riley smiled slightly, both amused at what she had just transported and somewhat envious. Although sweets were not her thing she couldn’t help but salivate slightly.

He looked over at his assistant and nodded. “Pay her,” he said, taking another bite. “Oh, by the way. We have something for you to take back.”

His assistant brought over a suspicious package wrapped in brown paper with a vault card on top of it. Riley looked at it for a moment, wondering if she should take it — it was more than a little sus. She finally took the two items from the assistant, after all she was a runner. She looked at the vault card which had more credits on it than she was expecting. More than enough to cover the expended rounds and more than enough to buy more hot sauce. She nodded and headed for the exit taking one more look back at the perfect piece of chocolate cake.