Southpeak Panic: Corporate Drones Descend
Southpeak, what do I do, what do I do. Those damn corporate bastards. Can't they all just die? But then Eden would collapse. What now? What do I do? Eek eek, save us. We're all dead meat anyway. Of all things, a sandstorm. No, it's not your fault, Soo. The whimpering drone suddenly went berserk, snapping back to its senses as it spotted the swarm closing in. It kept muttering like that for a while. Thud thud—then it started headbutting Soo's forehead like crazy.
Staying here any longer means getting caught.
Miko's drone was one-of-a-kind in the whole world. Basically her personal drone. If the corps spotted it? Rumors would spread that Yuugiri Miko was still alive, and the odds of Luthien mobilizing from Northrica would skyrocket. Absolutely, under no circumstances could it be discovered.
So what to do? Obviously, run like hell!
Of course, since things had gone this far, she could go big and let it get spotted. Just draw some flashy attention! Miko's real self could flee into the wasteland somewhere. It was vast, full of hiding spots. Hide out for another three years, never set foot in the city, and even Luthien would eventually stop chasing.
But not Soo. Soo had to survive, no matter what.
The ease in Miko's tone made it clear: this was worse than the sandstorm—way worse than charging into it. Sandstorm vs. corporate kidnapping. No-brainer—everyone picks the storm. Get nabbed by a corp, and you can kiss a quick death goodbye. You might get worked to death and still not die.
And right now, they were about to get dragged off by the corps. How could she not be desperate?
But she couldn't hurl real insults either. Soo looked like a mid-teens girl. Miko wasn't trash enough to curse out a kid like that...
While Miko squirmed and begged, Soo felt her heart pounding with excitement, eyes sparkling. In games, chase scenes show threat levels with stars over the stamina bar. One star: a cop car or two. Two: multiple cop cars and a couple riot vans. Three: six riot vans plus corporate drones.
So right now? Three stars blazing.
It wasn't her first rodeo. Soo had lived under stars too—early game, it was a whole galaxy. Had to, to make money. Plenty of ways to earn creds, but snatching and selling corporate drones was quickest and easiest. Couldn't sell inside Eden, though. Buyers were wasteland traders. Handling corp drones triggered instant pursuit—no helping it. And Miko, no trader herself, couldn't buy either.
But now?
"Miko."
Couldn't sell 'em, but maybe repurpose? The self-proclaimed genius might manage.
"Can you spot the GPS on a corporate drone up close?"
"Answer."
"Then I'll smash a few Luthien drones and snag 'em."
"If Luthien's no good, how about another corp?"
Pick any, she said, as she wrapped her whole body in a gentle breeze.
"Don't care? Cool, two of whatever."
Two hands, two drones. Simple math. No big deliberation. Soo scooped up a handful of rocks from the ground and pocketed them carefully. Then she tossed the drone and ring into her mouth.
With Miko's short scream as the signal, BOOM!—she shattered the ground and rocketed into the sky. Her body was perfectly cloaked in a tiny sand whirlwind.
The massive sandstorm encircling the ruins vanished. Word spread through corporate channels in under a minute. Every corp scouting the ruins in the wasteland mobilized.
No hesitation needed. Rush in first, claim it.
The Frontier Claim Special Act, pushed by the big three corps in bed with the government: the first corp to find an 'artifact' in the wasteland claims ownership. In a world of peak tech, first-come-first-served sounded like kids' play. But when the big three followed it, everyone else had to. Even the government couldn't fully defy them.
Of course, the big three didn't care much—they'd just buy or bully their way in anyway. But claiming first gave leverage for shares. Hand it to a milder megacorp like Neonic, and sell for a fortune.
No telling what was in the artifact or ruins. But if it meant creds and connections to the big three? Worth risking life.
Hundreds of drones swarmed in. Tempting to missile the lot, but every corp bit their tongues. Violating that damn law was bad enough—but accidentally downing a big three drone? Catastrophic.
So they flew extra careful. Watched the big three's moves like hawks, terrified of notice.
Then.
"...What the hell?"
Far off, a massive Luthien-marked drone vanished.
"Maria, you see that just now?"
"Busy. Don't talk to me."
"...That Luthien drone up front?"
"Luthien, Zailek, Neonic—all there. Weird if they weren't."
"Sure, but..."
"Cut the crap and fly straight, Emily. One bad shoulder-check, and I'm done too."
Emily switched to auto-pilot and checked the feed. Yep, there it was. Luthien's had led from the start—huge, gaudy gold-and-red like every Chinese corp ride.
Gone.
Emily slowed replay to 0.5x. Something yellowish shot up, drone vanished. 0.3x. Now she saw.
"...Hacked camera?"
For a split second: a tiny sandstorm. Like the one that had raged around the ruins, shrunken...
Emily blinked. Maybe her eye implants glitched. Made no sense. Storm gone, mini-storm blasts skyward? At 0.3x speed. Snipes a 400m-altitude heavy drone perfectly and vanishes?
"Gotta hit the clinic after shift."
Eye implants from last week must be busted. Or... some megacorp's new weapon. Or the legendary ruin monster.
Emily focused on flying, ignoring everything. Even when Neonic's tactical drone vanished overhead. Maria screamed bloody murder, but Emily flew on silent.
Arguing big three business? Suicide. Corps had eyes everywhere.
"...Jesus, jesus christ for real."
Miko, legs wobbling like a newborn calf, finally collapsed.
"...Actual corporate drones?"
"Yeah."
Soo, face flushed, showed off the Luthien- and Neonic-marked prizes. Her heart still thumped wild. Game stuff only—no, not even in-game. There, you'd just shoot 'em down. High-altitude needed sniper rifles for reliability.
But Soo? Leapt near-sky-high, snatched 'em barehanded.
No issues. Sandstorm cloaked her fully; rocks smashed cameras first. Smashed others for footholds mid-leap, but their cams couldn't track her speed. If they caught anything? Just sandstorm, nothing else.
Magic's amazing... This good already—what insane corp-trolling when she unlocked more?
"GPS yanked clean, parts perfect..."
While Soo dreamed happy chaos, Miko flopped flat, staring at the drones.
Soo wanted closer look too—especially Neonic's, tempting to lick it.
"Real... huff... this level, heuk..."
Miko's beastly groans didn't annoy right now. Got magic, snagged drones. If Miko begged nice, might even lend tail.
Soo beamed, plopping on the couch.
"What can we use 'em for?"
"So many things. Really."
"For me?"
"For you, Soo."
"Like what?"
No need for data shard ports or cred ports—nano-comps handled that.
"Ones that won't slip or break during intense action?"
"Oh."
"Scan-proof too, if caught—total block."
"Ooh."
"And."
"And?"
"Neonic heavy drone like this? No fake ID chip needed. Well, forged—but indistinguishable from official Eden issue."
"Ooooh."
"And the most important part!"
Miko blinked at the air.
"We might've been spotted."
Grinning Miko suddenly teared up.
Bam! The sturdy iron door cozied up Miko's place crashed down.
Barging in without knocking? Rude bastards for sure.
Soo turned with that thought.
"...Oh."
Eye contact with suited muscleheads gripping Japanese swords.