1.0 Cyber Brain

A media producer named Mr. Four needs a team to steal an experimental cyberbrain in transit to AIA Media Unlimited. Further, security is already on alert after a failed previous attempt.

Erich Voight: Male Hacker. Erich has copper dreadlocks and opalescent eyes. He wears current fashion and has a neural interface. Erich is honest and humble.

Edward sits in the cockpit of his Zoid, the clear orange tint of his Shadow Fox bathing him in the orange light of the sun. Below him he watches the approaching convoy, a massive trail of sand and dust being kicked into the air from the movement of such large machinery. While hijacking was not normally in his area of performance funding was tight and this job paid too well for him to pass. He needed food and some money for repairs so he had little room to be reluctant. Time to get to work. Flipping the electrical power switch on the right side of the cockpit he route energy into the Auxiliary Power Unit allowing the back up capacitors to start their charging.

Hitting the Inverter switch Edward the system begins to route AC electricity to the system allowing the on screen displays to power on. Hitting the fuel test switch the generators fuel needle bottoms out before resetting back to 85%. Fuels good. Moving to the radio he sets the system to record and transmit allowing him to document everything that happens from this point forth. Hitting the canopy lock the overhead the hardened glass has several latches snap shut, sealing the roof down so that even under stress it will not pop open under odd circumstances. Flipping the generator switch energy from main power source begins to fill the mech, illuminating the interior with several power indicators.

Edward sits back, buckling himself in. It was not always required for Zoids but the Shadow Fox more than most Zoids tended to have sharp agile corners where you would get sloshed about and if you do not have your belt on then you would most likely be tossed out of your seat into one of your nearby consoles. Tightening the belt he flexes his hands reaching out slowly to the controls. It never subsided, the anxiety of the take off. Roric, his Zoid, had a 0 to 60 mph that would peel your face off if you were not ready.

Zooming in on the convoy he begins logging what members were present. Three Shield Ligers and the massive delivery truck, tugging along in the middle. Hitting the radio button Edward dials up Mr. Four, his current employer, a media executive that wants to stop another station from getting its newest shipment of computers. "Sir, I have your convoy in sight. Looks like a shipping container being escorted by three Shield Ligers."

On the other side of the line Mr. Four looks back at him, a light in his eye sparking. "Three? They sent three Shield Ligers? Is that going to be a problem?"

"Problem? No problem here. A deal is a deal, besides they likely were not prepared for another attack. On top of that I doubt that even if they were they didn't send anyone with any skills. If they did then they wouldn't all be using the same damn mech."

Gathering himself Edward turns down the radio, basically muting Mr. Four. Driving forward he feels the legs crouching down and cocking, the leap lurching him back into his seat with enough force to force him to keep his eyes open when they move through the air. The hang time was massive, seeming to extend as time slowed. This was always the most fun in any given scenario. The leap into action being the kick start for the mission, setting the pace and the tone for the rest of the incident. Before the front paws hit the ground his eyes drift to the left, eyeing the power level gauge for the plasma gun, hovering at 65% and slowly rising. At this rate it would be ready just moments after he and his shadow fox were engaged with the convoy.

Fantastic. Lurching backwards as they made contact with the ground he reaches over and flips up a safety cover exposing two small switches. The first switch releases a capacitor to dump into an energy bay where it would instantly charge a phosphorous LED ball. Hitting the second switch he loads the ball into the barrel of his cannon, a light load of composite C-4 used as the propellant. Say cheese... Pulling the trigger the ball is fired, like a cannon, through the air, self detonating with the intensity of a star directly in front of the convoy. The driver of the convoy, unless was literal sleeping, would most likely be blinded fore a few hours while the pilots in the Zoids would have some kind of quick reaction tinting that would lessen the full effect of the flash leaving them with partial blindness for a few seconds.

Johna, the lead Zoid in the convoy, did not see the Shadow Fox coming. The Zoid cresting over the ridge into sight and acting before he could have put up any kind of reasonable defense. It was all he could do to jerk his own Zoid, a personalized Shield Liger into a dead halt and face the incoming threat, a white hot pulse of plasma energy whizing through the air so quickly it could have been mistaken for a beam of light until it detonated, the Zoids natural tinting instantly dimming the screens but not fast enough. The camera's were flared, needing a few seconds to recalibrate, Johna's hands sweating on the controls. "Target! Hard Left!" His own eyes were not damaged but most certainly would be seeing the shape of the detonation until a few hours past, his eyes adjusting to the darkness that the inside of the cockpit provided.

Taking this moment to reap the advantage of the field Edward takes careful aim and tears into the bodies of the three Shield Ligers with his Plasma Cannon, the majority of the rounds fired landing square into the torso. Splashes of molten metal fling into the air, sizzling on the ground, each of the mechs shuddering with the grounds riddling them. By the time that they are able to respond Edward is back at it, a panel on the left shoulder of the Shadow Fox popping up and launching a canister into the air. Pops of small rockets on the canister rotate it around, it reaching the peak of its arc, and fires a beam of while light at the least damaged mech.

The positively charged energy in the beam was enough to force electrical static to flood the Shield Ligers system locking up its body. Laying into the Shield Liger with a solid beam of plasma rounds Edward grins as one of the rounds actually rip out the other side showering the ground with molten metal.

Edward brings the barrel of his plasma cannon around. Directing it so that is facing the cab of the transport truck. " why don't you guys go ahead and get out right now. I'm getting a bit of an itchy trigger finger and I don't like not being able to see you. Give us a chance to say hello." He watches in silence as the driver side and passenger side door open the passengers climbing out slowly.

He was careful to keep an eye on them, but the same time making sure to still be paying attention to the 3 downed mech. Just because he had popped a limb off of them does not mean that they couldn't bring their cannons roundabout and surprise him with a lucky shot.

Climbing down from the driver's seat of the truck a female steps around into sight. Edwards mouth drops open in all, of all the people and all the desert he could run into and he runs into her. "Rachael?! Holy crap, what are you doing out here? Last I heard you had a shop out in Sec 32 that was doing okay." He couldn't remember exactly how long it had been since the last time they had met. He did remember however that they did not exactly leave on good terms. An offer that he couldn't turn down had come up and he had to leave. Not wanting to leave any Loose Ends hear back home he cut all ties. Rachel at the time was his girlfriend, but the relationship was more casual than it was serious.

"Yes, well, sector 32 only has so much business for a mechanic. Most of all Mech tend to stay in this area. I had to do something to keep up and make money." Stepping around the truck she has her hands up in the air.

"Well...This is awkward. Sorry to say but I am going to have to pick up your package." The smile on Rachels face fades quickly, turning to a frown and anger. Her hands drop to a pistol on her hip unsnapping the holster but stopping as the barrel rotates to face her on the ground. "Come on now Rachel. You know how this works. You got hired to do a job, so did I and I happened to be on the other team. Lets be civil about this alright? I am already out gunning you, just let me take the container and call it a day."

Drawing her pistol in a fit of rage she screams,"YOU FUCKIN' BASTARD LEFT ME HERE WITH NOTHING!!! RAN OFF TO YOUR WAR AND WHAT THEN FOR ME?!" Taking aim she opens fire on the cockpit of the Shadow fox, the small rounds bouncing harmlessly off the glass into the sky. It would take a lot more than just hand gun rounds to pierce the canopy.

Edward flinches, the glass was more than enough to make the individual rounds harmless but even so he could feel the hate and aggression with each crack of the handgun.  "Hey, I'm sorry but I needed to go, there was some work that had to be done and I had to be apart of it."  Walking over to the trailer he steps carefully so as not to upset the ground too much.  Rachel was mad, more angry right now than he ever remembered seeing her.

"NO!  YOU ARE NOT TAKING THIS FROM ME!  YOU CAN GO TO HELL!" Running to intercept him she stands in front of his Shadow Fox, the custom CAS armor glinting white in the high sun.  Stepping up and over her he uses one of his paws to scratch at the roof of the trailer. "NO!!! GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY TRUCK!!!"  Reloading her pistol she starts shooting up into the under jaw of the Mech, the bullets trapping and ricocheting around inside the armor plating.  Letting her have her way he continues, flipping a switch in his cockpit and routing energy into his claw, the razor sharp metal glowing with heat.  Gently using the claw he paws open the roof, the heat melting the metal like butter.  Reaching in with the mouth of his mech he grabs a green military box bolted down and rips it free of its mounts.

"FUUUUUUCK!!!" Rachel was losing her mind below him, now using the butt of the pistol to hammer on the ankle of the mech. Quickly winded she throws the pistol whole at the bottom of Shadow Foxes jaw, bouncing off harmlessly. Off to the side the other escorts watch in horror as she falls apart at the seams, her anger and rage making them feel a level of awkward that they had never been exposed to before.

She would never say it but she did need this, this job would cover the costs of her shop for two months, much less food. This was a job of desperation and what would the chances be that HE of all people would show up to end her efforts and more importantly ruin her life AGAIN. To her his Shadow Fox would leave, not looking back, treading its way over a hill into the dunes of the sand around them.

Inside the cockpit however he was looking back, a rear mounted camera positioned for the net gun is focused on her, watcher her on the ground as Edward feels his heart ripping. "Damn it..." This was not supposed to be happening. HE was supposed to be over her, over these feelings, that was the whole point of leaving and cutting ties in the first place. His mind drifts back to the day where he told her that he was leaving, her crying and leaving in a huff, slamming the door behind her.

Getting his mind back into the game he starts off, treading his way off into the distance while turning up his Comm Line with mister Four.  "So where do you want this?  You never gave me a location for it."  Edward smiled into the camera, Mr. Four rubbing his chin before nodding.

"Bring it to me, I am at Therisan Drive and 236th Street in Way Light Plaza.  Fifteenth floor, office 35.  Do you have a team?"  Edward frowned.  Origenally he was under the impression that Mr. Four worked for the media, this pick up being some kind of attempt to either slow or expose some new age technology.

"No, I don't have a registered team but I can get a crew together in a few hours if I need," Turning Roric 15 degrees to the right he continues, his mouth holding the box gentle enough to not even scratch the surface.

"Fantastic, then get them together, you and I can meet with them when you drop that off here," and with that Mr. Four hung up, his line cutting out leaving Edward sitting in the solitude of his last shadow foxes.

graded.
23 RP credits for the thing, 5 cause it was late, 3 because it was enough to spend time to read.

31 RP credits to be updated when able.