DeliriousAbsol
*Crazy Absol Noises*
A/N - Whew! My new massive project is ready to be posted! Here is the first chapter to my new epic... or 'saga'... The Mainframe Saga.
Project Wreckingball is basically a scene setter, but I had a lot of fun with it! I hope you enjoy, whether your a Sonic fan or just curious to see what all this is about. For those who have read my System stories 'Glitched' and/or 'System:Reboot', you may like this. It's a parallel. Similarities to System are deliberate, and totally fun to work with!
Saga Synopsis: Government conspiracies abound, space pirates and mercenaries play cat and mouse across the skies, and robots roam the streets. Life seems pretty normal and quiet for the most part, until you look deeper than the surface and see what is really going on in the shadows. Welcome to Mainframe.
(Individual ones in Spoiler Tags)
(Disclaimer for entire saga - Sonic the Hedgehog and its characters (c) SEGA, and IDW for comic characters)
Book Zero - Memory Leak
Book One - Project Wreckingball
Book Two: Sleepless
Specials
The Mainframe Saga
Project Wreckingball
Chapter One
The doors were already wide open before Tsunami reached the laboratory. A huge, towering GUN facility for testing weapons. Out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by mountains and deserts. The code panel beside the door sparked, signs of a careless hack job that had resulted in its destruction.
“No patience,” said Crash.
Tsunami looked up at the army-green pangolin beside her as he tutted and shook his head. Her twin flipped his laser into the air, catching it in his right hand, and eyed the door curiously.
“You’re telling me,” said Tsunami. “We’d better track down these pirates before they blow the whole thing up.” She reached between one of her long green scales to adjust her headset slightly. “What’s the state of the place, Decode?”
The bush baby’s young voice ‘hmm’d down her ear and she picked up the faint clacking of computer keys.
‘All the cameras are out,’ he said. ‘And the security code has been scrambled, so unless the guards have any hacking skills they won’t be back online for hours.’
“Perfect,” said Tsunami. “That means the Chaotix won’t see us coming.”
‘I was thinking the same thing,’ said Decode. ‘Pretty sloppy strategy on their part. Must be a ‘straight in, straight out’ drill. The tracker you left on the crocodile is still active, so if you’re quick, they’re heading to the second floor.’
“Roger.” Tsunami tilted her gun and grinned at her brother. “That’s exactly why I aimed for his headphones.”
“Until he drops them somewhere,” said Crash.
“Such little faith.”
She stepped inside the facility and paused to take it in. Not so much as a footstep. Cameras hung idly from the sharp bend ahead of them, one fixed on the door. Lifeless. The floor had been scrubbed clean enough to show the dusty footprints tracked in from outside, but whether they were from the pirates alone was a mystery. She noted an air vent a few feet along and waved to catch Crash’s eye.
“Where do the air vents lead, Decode?” she asked.
‘Oh, everywhere,’ said the bush baby. ‘They wind throughout the entire laboratory. Ladders, layers… just watch out for the fans.’
Tsunami tilted her gun to the air vent and Crash leapt towards it. He smashed the grate with a fist, creating an almighty clang that attacked his sister’s eardrums. But not a single hint of regret crossed his face. He discarded the grate to the floor and leapt inside, curling into a tight spiky ball. The tubes rattled as he rolled along them, out of sight but not out of reach.
“Keep me posted, both of you,” said Tsunami.
‘You’re gonna wanna be quick,’ said Decode. ‘They’re already heading for the third floor. I guess they’ve not found what they’re looking for yet.’
She said nothing, hugging the wall as she followed Decode’s directions toward the stairwell. An elevator rose up on her right. Too slow and noisy to be reliable. So she opted for the stairs, taking them two at a time. Footsteps exploded above her and she vaulted the banister to the next set of stairs, swinging her heavy tail ahead of herself for momentum. A long purple tail vanished through the door and it swung shut behind the space pirate.
The pangolin reached under the hem of her dress for a throwing knife and barged through the doors, her thin blue scarf trailing behind her like a streamer. The purple chameleon raced down the corridor on her left to follow the bend. Before he could reach it, Tsunami sent the knife ahead of her. It struck the wall before his nose and he let out a squeak of alarm. She picked up pace, leveling her gun towards his head. It didn’t matter if she turned them in alive or dead. They’d struck GUN’s last nerve.
As she fired, the chameleon vanished before her eyes. The blue laser beam struck the wall, leaving behind nothing more than an ugly black scuff.
She rushed towards the wall scanning left and right, the red overlay of her visor flickering in the fluorescent lighting. Invisible prey. She was beginning to feel the toll of not splashing out for a thermal upgrade.
“Drat, I lost him,” she hissed, skidding to a halt at the bend. “Where’s the croc?”
‘They split up,’ said Decode. ‘He’s a good twenty feet or so behind you.’
The ceiling rattled away from her as Crash rolled after the crocodile. That left her chasing after the slippery chameleon. Unlike his friend, she’d not managed to lay a tracker on him. She tugged the blade free from the wall and fastened it back to her leg before following the corridor down its bend.
Then she faltered.
What if he’d slipped past her? Merely a decoy to get her off their tails?
She clenched her teeth together and followed after Crash, keeping her gun poised beside her head. Sure enough, something blurry scurried along the walls. She watched it scramble up to the ceiling ahead of her then vanish completely. The pangolin narrowed her eyes and tutted. Not likely. She curled into a ball and shot ahead of him as the chameleon dropped down to the ceiling on all-fours.
He kept low to the ground, poised to spring, as he narrowed his golden eyes at her.
“Of all the mercenaries to send after us,” he said, “why did they choose you?”
Tsunami squeezed the trigger, but once again the pirate vanished. His voice came from above her, drawing her eye to the ceiling.
“We must really be onto something if they’re sending killers like you.”
Another fire. Another miss. She usually never missed. Tsunami stifled a frustrated growl as she searched the corridor for the invisible pirate. Metal sliced the air and she spun on the spot, bringing up her tail as a shield. A shuriken bounced off it and rattled along the pristine tile floor.
“You’re every bit as good as they say!” said the pirate.
More metal slicing air. She stepped to the side as a blade nicked her pouch belt, slicing through the brown leather. Not enough to cut it free. Thankfully it hadn’t cut through to her flesh. She just caught the chameleon’s blurry form as he leapt at her again, giving her enough time to side-step and grab her own throwing knife. There was no sense in firing lasers blindly at the walls. Not when any damage might come out of her pay.
‘Crash, I think Nami’s in trouble,’ came Decode’s voice. ‘You might wanna backtrack a few feet.’
The ceiling rumbled as Crash’s powerful form rolled back down the air vents. The space pirate lost his invisibility briefly as he turned his attention to the ceiling. It was enough of an opening for Tsunami to rush him with her blade, but he flicked out his tongue and knocked it from her grip. Pain shot through her hand and she instinctively clasped it to her chest. The space pirate leapt from her reach and vanished once more. Several pointed kunai flew her way and she deflected two of them with her tail. But the third skimmed her shoulder and she ducked to the floor with a hiss. How was she meant to fight what she couldn’t see?!
“I’m not a murderer,” said the pirate. “I don’t want to kill you, but you’re not leaving me much choice.”
Tsunami pinpointed his blurry form and groped for her knife. Her hand fastened around it and she sent it soaring towards him with a flick of her wrist. He dropped, letting it strike the ceiling where his head had been. All it claimed was a few threads from his black scarf. The grate exploded from the air vent beside his falling body and Crash leapt from it, slamming the space pirate into the opposite wall. His camouflage dropped and he sat dazed beneath Crash’s heavy body.
Tsunami rose to her feet and drew her laser again, aiming at the chameleon.
“Well, that’s one of them,” she said. “What about the other?”
‘He’s just left one of the data rooms,’ said Decode. ‘He’s heading back your way.’
“All right.” Tsunami nodded towards the end of the corridor.
Crash turned from her and froze, spreading his arms as the large crocodile barged through the double doors. His eyes widened when he spotted the mercenaries but he didn’t stop.
The chameleon’s golden eyes opened, staring down the barrel of Tsunami’s laser. She squeezed the trigger, but it hit nothing but the wall. Air whipped up around the twin pangolins and they staggered back, raising their arms to shield their faces.
It subsided as fast as it had happened, and when Tsunami lowered her hands a deep groan left her throat. The corridor was empty.
‘Nami? Crash?’ Decode’s voice echoed in her ear.
“Where have they gone?” she asked.
‘They’re fleeing the laboratory,’ he said. ‘What happened?’
“Ninja tricks,” said Crash. “I guess they’ve not earned the title of ‘Most Notorious Space Pirates in Mainframe’ for nothing.”
The bush baby gave a small sigh. ‘I’m bringing The Raptor around. I’ll pick you up outside.’
“We’ve not failed yet, kid,” said Tsunami.
She trotted back to the stairs with her brother in tow.
‘I know,’ said Decode. ‘That’s why I’m suggesting we follow them.’
“Read my mind,” she said. “I’m gonna guess they’ll be heading back home.”
Crash let out a lone laugh. “So we’re off to Pulse City, eh? Bring it on.”
Music blasted Vector’s ears as he pulled himself back on board his ship. Espio stuck close behind him and pushed the button on the wall to close the door. It spiraled shut behind him, creating an air-tight seal.
The music grew louder as the crocodile entered the bridge and he paused beside Charmy’s navigation system. With a swipe of his heavy paw, he struck the holo-computer and the loud music cut out, plunging the bridge into silence.
“Hey!” the bee complained. “I was celebrating.”
“Celebrate quietly.” Vector slumped down into his seat and rubbed his temples. “At least I now know why you couldn’t hear us for the past ten minutes.”
Charmy pouted. “You got the disk, didn’t you?”
Espio closed his eyes and flopped into his own seat. “Just about.”
“What do you mean ‘just about’?”
“They sent Team Datastream after us!” Vector barked. “Not just your run-of-the-mill mercs. Espio almost got his tail handed to him!”
“Hey, I put up a good fight!” Espio tucked his arms behind his head and kicked his feet up on the control panel. “I’m just glad she clearly didn’t have a heat tracker. Anyone else would have been toasted by that girl.”
“You definitely provided a good distraction,” said Vector.
“Which was my idea,” said Charmy.
“It was my idea, since no one could contact you,” Vector snorted. “Well, at least we got what we went in there for.”
The crocodile tossed the small black disk into the air and caught it again.
“So are we going to check it out?” Espio asked. “See if the rumours are true?”
“If they are, the world’s gonna seem like a much darker place,” said Vector.
Charmy shuddered in his seat. “I’m not sure I want to know. Those rumours are scary.”
Vector rose to join his allies and pulled out his computer. He popped the disk into its reader and a holo-screen flashed up before him. Words scrambled across it in a confusing fashion and the crocodile let out a sigh.
“Dumb GUN security nonsense,” he grumbled. “Makes my job harder than it needs to be.”
“Well you did steal it,” said Charmy.
The crocodile looked down at him with a frown. “Why are you a space pirate again?”
“It sounded fun.” Charmy reached beneath the navigation system and pulled out a soda carton almost the same size as him.
“What have I told you?” said Vector. “No drinks around the computers!”
He swiveled the Charmy’s chair around one-eighty, eliciting a surprised squeal from the navigator.
“Do you think you can crack this?” Vector handed his computer to Espio.
The chameleon leant forward and tapped at the keypad. “It might take me a while. GUN really don’t want outside people viewing whatever is on this.”
“That only boosts my suspicions.”
“What do you plan on doing with it?” asked Charmy. “Selling it like you usually do?”
“Not a chance,” said Vector. “If the rumours are true, then selling this to anyone would only throw the whole of Mainframe into a panic.” He rubbed his chin and glanced up at the ceiling. “Although the right person would pay pretty big for a juicy nugget like this.”
“Play it safe,” said Espio. “No decisions until we know what this disk contains.”
“So payin’ another pirate to hack into it is out, then?”
“Definitely,” said Espio. “Leave that to me. Even if it takes me a week.”
Vector turned from the chameleon and rubbed his muzzle. “With all we went through to get that, I expect it to be big. Cameras armed with heat trackers and lasers, top mercenaries, and the Eggman-grade robot guarding the room that thing were kept in. It’s settin’ off all kinds of alarms.”
Espio looked up with a start. “You never mentioned the robot.”
“It was nothin’,” said Vector. “Smashed it to shrapnel before it could even warm its lasers.”
“Nice.” Espio turned back to the computer, fingers flying over the screen.
Charmy tried to get a peek at his work as he supped on his straw, but his eye went to the navigation screen instead. His antennae stiffened and he released his straw.
“Erm, guys…?” he said. “I think we’ve got a stalker.”
Vector and Espio followed his eye and Vector groaned. A red dot, tailing their ship much too close for comfort.
“It’s them mercs, isn’t it?” he groaned. “How are they even following us?”
Charmy stared up at him and made a thoughtful noise. He buzzed into the air and fumbled with the back of Vector’s left earphone.
“Hey, what are you… Stop buzzin’ in my ear!” Vector swatted at the bee but Charmy dodged nimbly out of his reach. “Seriously, I-”
Charmy fell back down into his seat and held out a hand. “I think this might be the problem.”
Vector plucked a small chip from the bee’s palm and frowned at it. Black and square with a red trim. A little blue light flickered on the sticky underside.
“Sneaky little merc,” he mumbled.
Espio took it from him then set it on the floor. With one stomp it was flattened onto the tiles, followed by a shuriken for good measure. The tiny bulb’s blinking was brought to a stop as the shuriken wobbled in its circuitry.
“When did you let them stick a tracking chip on you?” he asked Vector.
The crocodile shrugged his huge shoulders and gave the shattered chip one last glare.
“It’s dead now, right?” he asked.
“I don’t think it matters,” said Espio. “They’re right there. We just need to outrun them.”
“All right!” Vector turned to the bee. “Charmy, keep us going straight to Pulse City while we try to crack this code.”
“Roger!” Charmy discarded his soda back beneath the computer and fired in the co-ordinates on the navigation deck. “Think they’ll follow us there?”
“Probably,” said Vector. “But they won’t exactly be welcomed with a fanfare.”
“Mercenaries frequent Pulse City almost as much as space pirates,” said Espio. “I think your plan is flawed.”
Vector folded his arms and huffed. “Well we won’t welcome them with fanfare!”
“Oh! I’m in!” Espio leant closer to the palm-computer’s holo-screen. “I genuinely thought I’d be working on this most of the night.”
Vector leant over his shoulder, while Charmy buzzed by his ear. He shooed the bee to the side, just enough so the buzzing wasn’t irritating his eardrums. Two files greeted them. ‘Project Wreckingball’, both numbered separately. Naturally, he opted for the first one. With each word, the crocodile’s jaw dropped lower and lower.
“So the rumours were right,” said Espio. “They are indeed making a living weapon.”
“And usin’ that poor guy, n’all.” Vector stood back and pinched the bridge of his muzzle. “What are they thinking? He’s a livin’ thing.”
“I don’t think they’re considering the ethics of it,” said Espio. “At the end of the day, he’s alien to this world. As far as GUN are concerned, our laws don’t apply.”
“Yet Eggman has them eatin’ out of his hand?” Vector snorted. “That mustached freak is more alien than this guy. I mean, this guy’s just like us!”
“Not quite,” said Espio. “No one in Mainframe has his level of power.”
They both turned back to the computer and Vector read over the material again.
“So they’re wantin’ to use this guy to get rid of Eggman and seal up Null Space?” said Vector. “Much more detail than the rumours held, I’ll give it that.”
“It’s kind of ironic really,” said Espio. “Given the EggTech filling that laboratory.”
“Usin’ his own technology against him,” said Vector. “And it’s a pretty good cover-up strategy.”
The crocodile tapped the screen to go back to the list of files. “I guess we’ll find more out about their sneaky plan in this one.’
He selected the second file, but no sooner had his claw touched the computer the entire screen fuzzed. Line after line of glitched code fired across it and he released the computer with a yelp of alarm. Espio snatched it out of the air and forced it to shut down, blinking out its holo-screen.
“Great,” he muttered. “There’s probably a tracking virus in it.”
“Crafty nutjobs bugged the disk?!” Vector groaned and rubbed a hand down his snout. “Great, just as we were gettin’ to the good stuff.”
“Don’t stress over it.” Espio removed the disc and handed the computer back to Vector. “I’ll try to recover your computer and clean out that file when we get to Pulse City. We’ll find out exactly what they’re up to. It won’t be a wasted effort.”
“I hope not. This contraption weren’t cheap.” Vector tucked his computer back into his pouch.
“So GUN is split.” Espio returned to his seat, tossing the disk over his shoulder to be caught by Vector. “Who would have thought it. That rumour actually carried some weight behind it.”
“Aye, you ain’t kiddin’.” Vector stared down at the tiny disk in his hand. “Man, what someone would pay for this. It’s a shame we can’t chance it, eh?”
“Pretty much.” Espio fixed one golden eye on him. “So what’s next?”
“If it turns out to be as bad as I’m fearin’, I don’t think we’ve got much choice,” said Vector. “We find out where they’re keepin’ this guy and bust him out.”
“Are you serious?” Espio gasped.
Charmy dropped his soda, and Vector leapt aside to dodge the fizzing melon-scented liquid. He pointed a claw towards the door.
“Mop!” he barked.
Charmy muttered an apology and buzzed from the room. The doors hissed open politely as he exited. Vector felt they wouldn’t be so polite if any soda got into their wiring. He turned back to Espio and fell down into his seat.
“What choice have we got?” he continued. “If GUN actually manage to-”
“He’s insane, Vector,” said Espio. “We bust him out of his cell, who’s to say he won’t kill us?”
“And if GUN actually turn him into a weapon, who’s to say they’ll just stop at Eggman?”
Espio sighed into his hand. “You have a point. A living weapon with that strength could reduce Mainframe to ruin.”
“We could end up with a bigger tyrant rulin’ over us than Eggman,” said Vector. “One command and their pet weapon could wipe us all out with one fell swoop.”
The crocodile brought a fist down into his open hand and mimicked an explosion.
Espio visibly grimaced. “I just think we need to give this a lot of thought. Don’t rush into anything. If we put a foot wrong, we could all end up dead.”
Charmy froze behind them, mop clasped in both hands. “I really need to stop walking in on conversations like this…”
“It’s just theoretical.” Vector waved him off. “Don’t get your antennae in a twist. If things go well, then… well… We might just save Mainframe.”
“So we’re gonna be heroes?” Charmy squeaked. “I thought we were space pirates. Criminals. Scourge of the skies.”
“Yes, we’re all those things,” said Vector. “But sometimes we need to do the right thing.”
“And the right thing is busting a dangerous mad man out of a high security prison?” Espio sighed again. “Well… like I said. We’ll talk about it. Because I think it’s insane.”
“Would it be more insane to let GUN go ahead with it knowing full well what might happen?” Vector asked.
“I’m all for removing Eggman.” Espio glanced over at him. “But leaving GUN with a weapon that powerful? The robots are bad enough.” He sighed again and rubbed the base of his horn. “I can understand where you’re coming from, Vector. I’m just not sure I want that maniac on our ship.”
“He might appreciate us bustin’ him out. Owe us a favour and all that jazz. The poor guy’s been locked up for shy of sixty years!”
“I say we do our research first.” Espio settled back into his seat and put his feet up on the control deck. “We’ll try to recover that file. It might answer some questions. Then we make a decision.”
“Can we do all that over a nice, hot sandwich?”
“If you’re buying.”
“Tracker’s dead,” said Decode.
Tsunami groaned into her hand and pushed herself back from her seat. The bush baby’s white tail flicked side to side through the hole in his backrest as he worked at the navigation deck.
“I guess they finally found it,” he said over his shoulder.
“I’m surprised they didn’t find it sooner.” Crash sat with his arms behind his head, and tilted back to smirk at Tsunami. “I take back what I said. Those guys are clearly dense.”
“Don’t make me shoot you,” she joked.
Crash laughed and turned back to the control deck, not that he was using it to drive. Just as a glorified footrest as he watched their ship encroach on the tail of the Chaotix’ neon-green ship. Its four wings stuck out like a star, lit up by the blue plasma flames from its rear.
“Just try not to lose track of them,” Tsunami told her team-mates. “If we do, we’ll have no idea where they’re actually going.”
“So far they’re heading straight for Pulse City.” Decode locked his pink eyes on hers briefly before turning back to his station. “With no tracker, if they hit a speed we can’t match, then we’ll lose them. As for now, they’re within our ship’s radar.”
“A speed we can’t match?” said Crash. “Well, unless they have some means of hitting hyper drive while they’re still in Mainframe’s atmosphere, I think we’re fine.”
“I wouldn’t put it past them to try.” Tsunami flopped back down in her seat and rubbed her wounded shoulder. “I’ve never seen so many tricks from one person before. I should look into getting my visor overlay fitted with a thermal scanner…”
“That might not be a bad idea,” said Decode. “I’ll look into it for you. It might be a pretty quick fix.”
“No need. Chances are I’ll find somewhere in Pulse City that can do it cheap,” she said.
“There’s a bigger chance it’ll be massively inflated,” said Decode. “But you’ll get it quicker than if I tried.”
“What exactly is the plan when we reach Pulse City?” asked Crash. “If we even do, that is. Ambush them? Because we don’t know how many allies they have there, and we might get mobbed.”
“Mobbed, but not killed,” said Tsunami. “Space pirates know better than to kill a mercenary. It’ll only increase the price on their heads, making them more vulnerable to bounty hunters than they already are.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know all that.” Crash waved her off. “But mobs are a thing.”
“It’s hard to say with their reputation.” She toyed with the two gold rings in her left head scale as she watched the pirates’ ship. “I get the impression they’ve got their fair share of enemies. They’ve screwed over other space pirates enough times to write a book about.”
“I’d read it,” said Decode.
“I say we stop them before they even reach Pulse City,” said Tsunami. “Trap them in a tractor beam and force ourselves aboard their-”
The plasma tail flared and the Chaotix’ ship surged forward. The pangolin swung forward in her seat as the shockwave flowed through them like an ocean’s waves. When she looked back up, there was no sign of the Chaotix.
“-ship,” she finished.
“Huh. Would you look at that,” said Crash. “Hyperdrive in the atmosphere. You were right, Nami.”
“It’s almost as if they heard you,” said Decode.
Tsunami balled her hands into fists and bared her canines at the spot the green ship had previously occupied. “Oh, when I get my hands on them…”
“They just left my radar,” said Decode. “But they’re making a beeline for Pulse City. I guess they just wanted to shake us off their tail.”
Crash cocked an eyebrow at his twin. “What if it’s just a red herring and they’re trying to lose us?”
“Then we’ll scour the entire of Mainframe to track them down,” she said.
“That’s my Nami.”
Crash pushed the gear stick forward and their engine flared, rumbling through the very floor. Tsunami found herself pushed back into her seat as the ship surged forwards until it reached a steady pace. Not hyperdrive. That wasn’t a risk any of them were willing to make inside Mainframe’s atmosphere. Too many skyscrapers and low flying ships and planes.
“But our first port of call will be Pulse City,” she said, smoothing back her long scales. “I have an inkling.”
“You really think they’re heading back there?”
“Fuel. A sale. Something.” She tapped her lip with a finger.
She couldn’t say for certain. There was every possibility the sneaky pirates were just trying to throw them off their scent. But there was no way she was going to lose her targets. Datastream didn’t climb high into the mercenary ranks by losing.
She frowned out at the world ahead of them, watching the passing clouds periodically cover the ship in a foggy haze. Some still tinted neon-blue from the Chaotix’ plasma trail. It was like bait as Datastream’s ship pressed on, resembling a golden hawk as it pursued its prey across Mainframe’s sapphire sky.
Project Wreckingball is basically a scene setter, but I had a lot of fun with it! I hope you enjoy, whether your a Sonic fan or just curious to see what all this is about. For those who have read my System stories 'Glitched' and/or 'System:Reboot', you may like this. It's a parallel. Similarities to System are deliberate, and totally fun to work with!
Saga Synopsis: Government conspiracies abound, space pirates and mercenaries play cat and mouse across the skies, and robots roam the streets. Life seems pretty normal and quiet for the most part, until you look deeper than the surface and see what is really going on in the shadows. Welcome to Mainframe.
(Individual ones in Spoiler Tags)
(Disclaimer for entire saga - Sonic the Hedgehog and its characters (c) SEGA, and IDW for comic characters)
Book Zero - Memory Leak
Please read Project Wreckingball first to avoid spoilers for that story! The prequel has only been put at the top for convenience and tidiness =D
Synopsis - Three Phantom Thieves are given a job to find some sensitive information and unleash it on Mainframe. How much danger will they face, and will they succeed?
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Synopsis - Three Phantom Thieves are given a job to find some sensitive information and unleash it on Mainframe. How much danger will they face, and will they succeed?
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Book One - Project Wreckingball
Synopsis: The Chaotix are after evidence to prove a conspiracy. Team Datastream are trying to stop them. GUN is up to something. Something they have dubbed ‘Project Wreckingball’. It’s your typical mercenary versus space pirate fiasco until things take a surprising turn… 'Project Wreckingball’ is out there, living up to his name, with an unfortunate fashion designer as his hostage!
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Book Two: Sleepless
Oneshot: In the Shadows
Part one - Heartbreaker
Synopsis: A serial killer appears to be unleashing puzzling murders throughout Mainframe’s Beatdrop Capital. Silver is on the case, aided by the mayor’s daughter. The method of killing is confusing at best. No wounds… not on the outside, at least. Who is behind it? Surely nothing in Mainframe has such powers…?
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Part Two - Judge
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Part one - Heartbreaker
Synopsis: A serial killer appears to be unleashing puzzling murders throughout Mainframe’s Beatdrop Capital. Silver is on the case, aided by the mayor’s daughter. The method of killing is confusing at best. No wounds… not on the outside, at least. Who is behind it? Surely nothing in Mainframe has such powers…?
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Part Two - Judge
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Specials
The Mainframe Saga
Project Wreckingball
Chapter One
“No patience,” said Crash.
Tsunami looked up at the army-green pangolin beside her as he tutted and shook his head. Her twin flipped his laser into the air, catching it in his right hand, and eyed the door curiously.
“You’re telling me,” said Tsunami. “We’d better track down these pirates before they blow the whole thing up.” She reached between one of her long green scales to adjust her headset slightly. “What’s the state of the place, Decode?”
The bush baby’s young voice ‘hmm’d down her ear and she picked up the faint clacking of computer keys.
‘All the cameras are out,’ he said. ‘And the security code has been scrambled, so unless the guards have any hacking skills they won’t be back online for hours.’
“Perfect,” said Tsunami. “That means the Chaotix won’t see us coming.”
‘I was thinking the same thing,’ said Decode. ‘Pretty sloppy strategy on their part. Must be a ‘straight in, straight out’ drill. The tracker you left on the crocodile is still active, so if you’re quick, they’re heading to the second floor.’
“Roger.” Tsunami tilted her gun and grinned at her brother. “That’s exactly why I aimed for his headphones.”
“Until he drops them somewhere,” said Crash.
“Such little faith.”
She stepped inside the facility and paused to take it in. Not so much as a footstep. Cameras hung idly from the sharp bend ahead of them, one fixed on the door. Lifeless. The floor had been scrubbed clean enough to show the dusty footprints tracked in from outside, but whether they were from the pirates alone was a mystery. She noted an air vent a few feet along and waved to catch Crash’s eye.
“Where do the air vents lead, Decode?” she asked.
‘Oh, everywhere,’ said the bush baby. ‘They wind throughout the entire laboratory. Ladders, layers… just watch out for the fans.’
Tsunami tilted her gun to the air vent and Crash leapt towards it. He smashed the grate with a fist, creating an almighty clang that attacked his sister’s eardrums. But not a single hint of regret crossed his face. He discarded the grate to the floor and leapt inside, curling into a tight spiky ball. The tubes rattled as he rolled along them, out of sight but not out of reach.
“Keep me posted, both of you,” said Tsunami.
‘You’re gonna wanna be quick,’ said Decode. ‘They’re already heading for the third floor. I guess they’ve not found what they’re looking for yet.’
She said nothing, hugging the wall as she followed Decode’s directions toward the stairwell. An elevator rose up on her right. Too slow and noisy to be reliable. So she opted for the stairs, taking them two at a time. Footsteps exploded above her and she vaulted the banister to the next set of stairs, swinging her heavy tail ahead of herself for momentum. A long purple tail vanished through the door and it swung shut behind the space pirate.
The pangolin reached under the hem of her dress for a throwing knife and barged through the doors, her thin blue scarf trailing behind her like a streamer. The purple chameleon raced down the corridor on her left to follow the bend. Before he could reach it, Tsunami sent the knife ahead of her. It struck the wall before his nose and he let out a squeak of alarm. She picked up pace, leveling her gun towards his head. It didn’t matter if she turned them in alive or dead. They’d struck GUN’s last nerve.
As she fired, the chameleon vanished before her eyes. The blue laser beam struck the wall, leaving behind nothing more than an ugly black scuff.
She rushed towards the wall scanning left and right, the red overlay of her visor flickering in the fluorescent lighting. Invisible prey. She was beginning to feel the toll of not splashing out for a thermal upgrade.
“Drat, I lost him,” she hissed, skidding to a halt at the bend. “Where’s the croc?”
‘They split up,’ said Decode. ‘He’s a good twenty feet or so behind you.’
The ceiling rattled away from her as Crash rolled after the crocodile. That left her chasing after the slippery chameleon. Unlike his friend, she’d not managed to lay a tracker on him. She tugged the blade free from the wall and fastened it back to her leg before following the corridor down its bend.
Then she faltered.
What if he’d slipped past her? Merely a decoy to get her off their tails?
She clenched her teeth together and followed after Crash, keeping her gun poised beside her head. Sure enough, something blurry scurried along the walls. She watched it scramble up to the ceiling ahead of her then vanish completely. The pangolin narrowed her eyes and tutted. Not likely. She curled into a ball and shot ahead of him as the chameleon dropped down to the ceiling on all-fours.
He kept low to the ground, poised to spring, as he narrowed his golden eyes at her.
“Of all the mercenaries to send after us,” he said, “why did they choose you?”
Tsunami squeezed the trigger, but once again the pirate vanished. His voice came from above her, drawing her eye to the ceiling.
“We must really be onto something if they’re sending killers like you.”
Another fire. Another miss. She usually never missed. Tsunami stifled a frustrated growl as she searched the corridor for the invisible pirate. Metal sliced the air and she spun on the spot, bringing up her tail as a shield. A shuriken bounced off it and rattled along the pristine tile floor.
“You’re every bit as good as they say!” said the pirate.
More metal slicing air. She stepped to the side as a blade nicked her pouch belt, slicing through the brown leather. Not enough to cut it free. Thankfully it hadn’t cut through to her flesh. She just caught the chameleon’s blurry form as he leapt at her again, giving her enough time to side-step and grab her own throwing knife. There was no sense in firing lasers blindly at the walls. Not when any damage might come out of her pay.
‘Crash, I think Nami’s in trouble,’ came Decode’s voice. ‘You might wanna backtrack a few feet.’
The ceiling rumbled as Crash’s powerful form rolled back down the air vents. The space pirate lost his invisibility briefly as he turned his attention to the ceiling. It was enough of an opening for Tsunami to rush him with her blade, but he flicked out his tongue and knocked it from her grip. Pain shot through her hand and she instinctively clasped it to her chest. The space pirate leapt from her reach and vanished once more. Several pointed kunai flew her way and she deflected two of them with her tail. But the third skimmed her shoulder and she ducked to the floor with a hiss. How was she meant to fight what she couldn’t see?!
“I’m not a murderer,” said the pirate. “I don’t want to kill you, but you’re not leaving me much choice.”
Tsunami pinpointed his blurry form and groped for her knife. Her hand fastened around it and she sent it soaring towards him with a flick of her wrist. He dropped, letting it strike the ceiling where his head had been. All it claimed was a few threads from his black scarf. The grate exploded from the air vent beside his falling body and Crash leapt from it, slamming the space pirate into the opposite wall. His camouflage dropped and he sat dazed beneath Crash’s heavy body.
Tsunami rose to her feet and drew her laser again, aiming at the chameleon.
“Well, that’s one of them,” she said. “What about the other?”
‘He’s just left one of the data rooms,’ said Decode. ‘He’s heading back your way.’
“All right.” Tsunami nodded towards the end of the corridor.
Crash turned from her and froze, spreading his arms as the large crocodile barged through the double doors. His eyes widened when he spotted the mercenaries but he didn’t stop.
The chameleon’s golden eyes opened, staring down the barrel of Tsunami’s laser. She squeezed the trigger, but it hit nothing but the wall. Air whipped up around the twin pangolins and they staggered back, raising their arms to shield their faces.
It subsided as fast as it had happened, and when Tsunami lowered her hands a deep groan left her throat. The corridor was empty.
‘Nami? Crash?’ Decode’s voice echoed in her ear.
“Where have they gone?” she asked.
‘They’re fleeing the laboratory,’ he said. ‘What happened?’
“Ninja tricks,” said Crash. “I guess they’ve not earned the title of ‘Most Notorious Space Pirates in Mainframe’ for nothing.”
The bush baby gave a small sigh. ‘I’m bringing The Raptor around. I’ll pick you up outside.’
“We’ve not failed yet, kid,” said Tsunami.
She trotted back to the stairs with her brother in tow.
‘I know,’ said Decode. ‘That’s why I’m suggesting we follow them.’
“Read my mind,” she said. “I’m gonna guess they’ll be heading back home.”
Crash let out a lone laugh. “So we’re off to Pulse City, eh? Bring it on.”
...
Music blasted Vector’s ears as he pulled himself back on board his ship. Espio stuck close behind him and pushed the button on the wall to close the door. It spiraled shut behind him, creating an air-tight seal.
The music grew louder as the crocodile entered the bridge and he paused beside Charmy’s navigation system. With a swipe of his heavy paw, he struck the holo-computer and the loud music cut out, plunging the bridge into silence.
“Hey!” the bee complained. “I was celebrating.”
“Celebrate quietly.” Vector slumped down into his seat and rubbed his temples. “At least I now know why you couldn’t hear us for the past ten minutes.”
Charmy pouted. “You got the disk, didn’t you?”
Espio closed his eyes and flopped into his own seat. “Just about.”
“What do you mean ‘just about’?”
“They sent Team Datastream after us!” Vector barked. “Not just your run-of-the-mill mercs. Espio almost got his tail handed to him!”
“Hey, I put up a good fight!” Espio tucked his arms behind his head and kicked his feet up on the control panel. “I’m just glad she clearly didn’t have a heat tracker. Anyone else would have been toasted by that girl.”
“You definitely provided a good distraction,” said Vector.
“Which was my idea,” said Charmy.
“It was my idea, since no one could contact you,” Vector snorted. “Well, at least we got what we went in there for.”
The crocodile tossed the small black disk into the air and caught it again.
“So are we going to check it out?” Espio asked. “See if the rumours are true?”
“If they are, the world’s gonna seem like a much darker place,” said Vector.
Charmy shuddered in his seat. “I’m not sure I want to know. Those rumours are scary.”
Vector rose to join his allies and pulled out his computer. He popped the disk into its reader and a holo-screen flashed up before him. Words scrambled across it in a confusing fashion and the crocodile let out a sigh.
“Dumb GUN security nonsense,” he grumbled. “Makes my job harder than it needs to be.”
“Well you did steal it,” said Charmy.
The crocodile looked down at him with a frown. “Why are you a space pirate again?”
“It sounded fun.” Charmy reached beneath the navigation system and pulled out a soda carton almost the same size as him.
“What have I told you?” said Vector. “No drinks around the computers!”
He swiveled the Charmy’s chair around one-eighty, eliciting a surprised squeal from the navigator.
“Do you think you can crack this?” Vector handed his computer to Espio.
The chameleon leant forward and tapped at the keypad. “It might take me a while. GUN really don’t want outside people viewing whatever is on this.”
“That only boosts my suspicions.”
“What do you plan on doing with it?” asked Charmy. “Selling it like you usually do?”
“Not a chance,” said Vector. “If the rumours are true, then selling this to anyone would only throw the whole of Mainframe into a panic.” He rubbed his chin and glanced up at the ceiling. “Although the right person would pay pretty big for a juicy nugget like this.”
“Play it safe,” said Espio. “No decisions until we know what this disk contains.”
“So payin’ another pirate to hack into it is out, then?”
“Definitely,” said Espio. “Leave that to me. Even if it takes me a week.”
Vector turned from the chameleon and rubbed his muzzle. “With all we went through to get that, I expect it to be big. Cameras armed with heat trackers and lasers, top mercenaries, and the Eggman-grade robot guarding the room that thing were kept in. It’s settin’ off all kinds of alarms.”
Espio looked up with a start. “You never mentioned the robot.”
“It was nothin’,” said Vector. “Smashed it to shrapnel before it could even warm its lasers.”
“Nice.” Espio turned back to the computer, fingers flying over the screen.
Charmy tried to get a peek at his work as he supped on his straw, but his eye went to the navigation screen instead. His antennae stiffened and he released his straw.
“Erm, guys…?” he said. “I think we’ve got a stalker.”
Vector and Espio followed his eye and Vector groaned. A red dot, tailing their ship much too close for comfort.
“It’s them mercs, isn’t it?” he groaned. “How are they even following us?”
Charmy stared up at him and made a thoughtful noise. He buzzed into the air and fumbled with the back of Vector’s left earphone.
“Hey, what are you… Stop buzzin’ in my ear!” Vector swatted at the bee but Charmy dodged nimbly out of his reach. “Seriously, I-”
Charmy fell back down into his seat and held out a hand. “I think this might be the problem.”
Vector plucked a small chip from the bee’s palm and frowned at it. Black and square with a red trim. A little blue light flickered on the sticky underside.
“Sneaky little merc,” he mumbled.
Espio took it from him then set it on the floor. With one stomp it was flattened onto the tiles, followed by a shuriken for good measure. The tiny bulb’s blinking was brought to a stop as the shuriken wobbled in its circuitry.
“When did you let them stick a tracking chip on you?” he asked Vector.
The crocodile shrugged his huge shoulders and gave the shattered chip one last glare.
“It’s dead now, right?” he asked.
“I don’t think it matters,” said Espio. “They’re right there. We just need to outrun them.”
“All right!” Vector turned to the bee. “Charmy, keep us going straight to Pulse City while we try to crack this code.”
“Roger!” Charmy discarded his soda back beneath the computer and fired in the co-ordinates on the navigation deck. “Think they’ll follow us there?”
“Probably,” said Vector. “But they won’t exactly be welcomed with a fanfare.”
“Mercenaries frequent Pulse City almost as much as space pirates,” said Espio. “I think your plan is flawed.”
Vector folded his arms and huffed. “Well we won’t welcome them with fanfare!”
“Oh! I’m in!” Espio leant closer to the palm-computer’s holo-screen. “I genuinely thought I’d be working on this most of the night.”
Vector leant over his shoulder, while Charmy buzzed by his ear. He shooed the bee to the side, just enough so the buzzing wasn’t irritating his eardrums. Two files greeted them. ‘Project Wreckingball’, both numbered separately. Naturally, he opted for the first one. With each word, the crocodile’s jaw dropped lower and lower.
“So the rumours were right,” said Espio. “They are indeed making a living weapon.”
“And usin’ that poor guy, n’all.” Vector stood back and pinched the bridge of his muzzle. “What are they thinking? He’s a livin’ thing.”
“I don’t think they’re considering the ethics of it,” said Espio. “At the end of the day, he’s alien to this world. As far as GUN are concerned, our laws don’t apply.”
“Yet Eggman has them eatin’ out of his hand?” Vector snorted. “That mustached freak is more alien than this guy. I mean, this guy’s just like us!”
“Not quite,” said Espio. “No one in Mainframe has his level of power.”
They both turned back to the computer and Vector read over the material again.
“So they’re wantin’ to use this guy to get rid of Eggman and seal up Null Space?” said Vector. “Much more detail than the rumours held, I’ll give it that.”
“It’s kind of ironic really,” said Espio. “Given the EggTech filling that laboratory.”
“Usin’ his own technology against him,” said Vector. “And it’s a pretty good cover-up strategy.”
The crocodile tapped the screen to go back to the list of files. “I guess we’ll find more out about their sneaky plan in this one.’
He selected the second file, but no sooner had his claw touched the computer the entire screen fuzzed. Line after line of glitched code fired across it and he released the computer with a yelp of alarm. Espio snatched it out of the air and forced it to shut down, blinking out its holo-screen.
“Great,” he muttered. “There’s probably a tracking virus in it.”
“Crafty nutjobs bugged the disk?!” Vector groaned and rubbed a hand down his snout. “Great, just as we were gettin’ to the good stuff.”
“Don’t stress over it.” Espio removed the disc and handed the computer back to Vector. “I’ll try to recover your computer and clean out that file when we get to Pulse City. We’ll find out exactly what they’re up to. It won’t be a wasted effort.”
“I hope not. This contraption weren’t cheap.” Vector tucked his computer back into his pouch.
“So GUN is split.” Espio returned to his seat, tossing the disk over his shoulder to be caught by Vector. “Who would have thought it. That rumour actually carried some weight behind it.”
“Aye, you ain’t kiddin’.” Vector stared down at the tiny disk in his hand. “Man, what someone would pay for this. It’s a shame we can’t chance it, eh?”
“Pretty much.” Espio fixed one golden eye on him. “So what’s next?”
“If it turns out to be as bad as I’m fearin’, I don’t think we’ve got much choice,” said Vector. “We find out where they’re keepin’ this guy and bust him out.”
“Are you serious?” Espio gasped.
Charmy dropped his soda, and Vector leapt aside to dodge the fizzing melon-scented liquid. He pointed a claw towards the door.
“Mop!” he barked.
Charmy muttered an apology and buzzed from the room. The doors hissed open politely as he exited. Vector felt they wouldn’t be so polite if any soda got into their wiring. He turned back to Espio and fell down into his seat.
“What choice have we got?” he continued. “If GUN actually manage to-”
“He’s insane, Vector,” said Espio. “We bust him out of his cell, who’s to say he won’t kill us?”
“And if GUN actually turn him into a weapon, who’s to say they’ll just stop at Eggman?”
Espio sighed into his hand. “You have a point. A living weapon with that strength could reduce Mainframe to ruin.”
“We could end up with a bigger tyrant rulin’ over us than Eggman,” said Vector. “One command and their pet weapon could wipe us all out with one fell swoop.”
The crocodile brought a fist down into his open hand and mimicked an explosion.
Espio visibly grimaced. “I just think we need to give this a lot of thought. Don’t rush into anything. If we put a foot wrong, we could all end up dead.”
Charmy froze behind them, mop clasped in both hands. “I really need to stop walking in on conversations like this…”
“It’s just theoretical.” Vector waved him off. “Don’t get your antennae in a twist. If things go well, then… well… We might just save Mainframe.”
“So we’re gonna be heroes?” Charmy squeaked. “I thought we were space pirates. Criminals. Scourge of the skies.”
“Yes, we’re all those things,” said Vector. “But sometimes we need to do the right thing.”
“And the right thing is busting a dangerous mad man out of a high security prison?” Espio sighed again. “Well… like I said. We’ll talk about it. Because I think it’s insane.”
“Would it be more insane to let GUN go ahead with it knowing full well what might happen?” Vector asked.
“I’m all for removing Eggman.” Espio glanced over at him. “But leaving GUN with a weapon that powerful? The robots are bad enough.” He sighed again and rubbed the base of his horn. “I can understand where you’re coming from, Vector. I’m just not sure I want that maniac on our ship.”
“He might appreciate us bustin’ him out. Owe us a favour and all that jazz. The poor guy’s been locked up for shy of sixty years!”
“I say we do our research first.” Espio settled back into his seat and put his feet up on the control deck. “We’ll try to recover that file. It might answer some questions. Then we make a decision.”
“Can we do all that over a nice, hot sandwich?”
“If you’re buying.”
...
“Tracker’s dead,” said Decode.
Tsunami groaned into her hand and pushed herself back from her seat. The bush baby’s white tail flicked side to side through the hole in his backrest as he worked at the navigation deck.
“I guess they finally found it,” he said over his shoulder.
“I’m surprised they didn’t find it sooner.” Crash sat with his arms behind his head, and tilted back to smirk at Tsunami. “I take back what I said. Those guys are clearly dense.”
“Don’t make me shoot you,” she joked.
Crash laughed and turned back to the control deck, not that he was using it to drive. Just as a glorified footrest as he watched their ship encroach on the tail of the Chaotix’ neon-green ship. Its four wings stuck out like a star, lit up by the blue plasma flames from its rear.
“Just try not to lose track of them,” Tsunami told her team-mates. “If we do, we’ll have no idea where they’re actually going.”
“So far they’re heading straight for Pulse City.” Decode locked his pink eyes on hers briefly before turning back to his station. “With no tracker, if they hit a speed we can’t match, then we’ll lose them. As for now, they’re within our ship’s radar.”
“A speed we can’t match?” said Crash. “Well, unless they have some means of hitting hyper drive while they’re still in Mainframe’s atmosphere, I think we’re fine.”
“I wouldn’t put it past them to try.” Tsunami flopped back down in her seat and rubbed her wounded shoulder. “I’ve never seen so many tricks from one person before. I should look into getting my visor overlay fitted with a thermal scanner…”
“That might not be a bad idea,” said Decode. “I’ll look into it for you. It might be a pretty quick fix.”
“No need. Chances are I’ll find somewhere in Pulse City that can do it cheap,” she said.
“There’s a bigger chance it’ll be massively inflated,” said Decode. “But you’ll get it quicker than if I tried.”
“What exactly is the plan when we reach Pulse City?” asked Crash. “If we even do, that is. Ambush them? Because we don’t know how many allies they have there, and we might get mobbed.”
“Mobbed, but not killed,” said Tsunami. “Space pirates know better than to kill a mercenary. It’ll only increase the price on their heads, making them more vulnerable to bounty hunters than they already are.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know all that.” Crash waved her off. “But mobs are a thing.”
“It’s hard to say with their reputation.” She toyed with the two gold rings in her left head scale as she watched the pirates’ ship. “I get the impression they’ve got their fair share of enemies. They’ve screwed over other space pirates enough times to write a book about.”
“I’d read it,” said Decode.
“I say we stop them before they even reach Pulse City,” said Tsunami. “Trap them in a tractor beam and force ourselves aboard their-”
The plasma tail flared and the Chaotix’ ship surged forward. The pangolin swung forward in her seat as the shockwave flowed through them like an ocean’s waves. When she looked back up, there was no sign of the Chaotix.
“-ship,” she finished.
“Huh. Would you look at that,” said Crash. “Hyperdrive in the atmosphere. You were right, Nami.”
“It’s almost as if they heard you,” said Decode.
Tsunami balled her hands into fists and bared her canines at the spot the green ship had previously occupied. “Oh, when I get my hands on them…”
“They just left my radar,” said Decode. “But they’re making a beeline for Pulse City. I guess they just wanted to shake us off their tail.”
Crash cocked an eyebrow at his twin. “What if it’s just a red herring and they’re trying to lose us?”
“Then we’ll scour the entire of Mainframe to track them down,” she said.
“That’s my Nami.”
Crash pushed the gear stick forward and their engine flared, rumbling through the very floor. Tsunami found herself pushed back into her seat as the ship surged forwards until it reached a steady pace. Not hyperdrive. That wasn’t a risk any of them were willing to make inside Mainframe’s atmosphere. Too many skyscrapers and low flying ships and planes.
“But our first port of call will be Pulse City,” she said, smoothing back her long scales. “I have an inkling.”
“You really think they’re heading back there?”
“Fuel. A sale. Something.” She tapped her lip with a finger.
She couldn’t say for certain. There was every possibility the sneaky pirates were just trying to throw them off their scent. But there was no way she was going to lose her targets. Datastream didn’t climb high into the mercenary ranks by losing.
She frowned out at the world ahead of them, watching the passing clouds periodically cover the ship in a foggy haze. Some still tinted neon-blue from the Chaotix’ plasma trail. It was like bait as Datastream’s ship pressed on, resembling a golden hawk as it pursued its prey across Mainframe’s sapphire sky.
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