Pebble Execution in Southpeak
In Southpeak, I was less panicked, shocked, or hesitant than straight-up curious about where these guys had come from and how they'd tracked us down.
"It's fine."
I shoved Miko aside—she was sniffling and whining next to me—and stepped forward.
"Where'd you uncles come from?"
"Didn't expect a person to snag our drone."
"And such a young girl at that... No obvious implants. One of Lüthien's test subjects?"
"Good thing we brought the taser."
"We can sell her for a nice chunk of change."
"Brothel again?"
"Obviously a brothel. Face goes without saying, and there's endless demand for a body like that."
Not an answer to my question. The suited goons just kept chattering among themselves.
Didn't really need one anyway. From the mark boldly engraved on their katanas, I could tell exactly which corp they were from.
Eden's packed with corps. If we're talking modern terms, think small to mid-sized companies. Everything outside the megacorps—or the Big Three: Lüthien, Zailek, and Neonic—is just small fry.
These suited thugs were from Marco Tech, one of those ragtag outfits full of street punks. And those katanas? Low-grade even for elites. Even if these guys were elites, it didn't matter—they weren't packing top-shelf gear, which meant they were here off the books.
Hell, they'd just been talking about brothels a second ago. If they'd come on corp orders, they wouldn't dare. Everything field agents see and hear streams straight back to HR in real-time.
Bottom line: they were here for personal reasons. Whatever they did, no consequences.
"Wh-what... hic... what are you gonna do?"
"Assassinate."
I slipped my hand into my pocket. The frontmost goon swung his katana high...
"Huh?"
Splat.
His head exploded mid-swing.
What hit him? How? Why? The others couldn't process it. All they registered was the ash-gray-haired girl pulling her hand from her pocket—and boom, head gone.
What next? No time to think.
The one right behind him got his skull popped like a tomato, splattering the ground.
"Sh, shi...!"
The goon's spine lit up. Electricity surged through his core, flooding his brain, sharpening his vision crystal clear.
Neural acceleration implant activated. Crushing headache hit as the world slowed to a crawl. He rolled his eyes, spotting blood droplets and dust floating lazily in the air. Watched his buddy's corpse topple in slow motion.
And there, buried in the wreckage—the culprit that blew the head open.
...What the hell?
It was a pebble. A dime-a-dozen rock from anywhere in the Wasteland.
She'd smashed two heads with a thrown pebble.
These were bodies with dermal armor plating. Heads double-layered with exoskeletal sheathing.
And a pebble punched right through.
But what chilled him more? The pebble was lodged inside the body. A throw that hard should've blown straight through the back. It didn't. Sat there nice and cozy in the cratered skull.
Did we... fuck with the wrong one?
In this molasses-slow world, he watched the ash-gray girl move casually. Hand in pocket, pulls out a pebble. Balances it on her middle finger, pins it with her thumb, flicks.
"Ngh!"
His reinforced tendons compressed to the limit. The instant they released—
He bolted. Speed no normal human could match. Even with ocular implants assisting, you'd barely track it. Hell, he could probably hang with a Neonic hound at this pace.
Human perception? Leagues behind.
Ah, shit.
Should've suspected something when reports came in about some chick strolling with a corp drone. Shouldn't have even fired up neural accel.
Whud—
Pebble burrowed into his skull. Sliced skin, cracked bone, plunged into soft tissue—and popped it.
He felt every millisecond. The nameless goon's body thudded to the dirt.
"Uh..."
Miko stared blankly at the carnage unfolding.
That flash earlier... neural accel implant, right?
Yep. Pants soaked through—must've felt the agony right up to the end and pissed himself.
Good thing it didn't shatter. Soo must've been careful. Low-grade, but usable as external implant material for her.
Miko was calmer than expected. Couldn't be shocked anymore. Turns out, push a human past their freakout limit, and zen kicks in. Adaptability's no lie.
Shwick—
While Miko pondered neural accel, another goon's head exploded.
Five left. Plus one fleeing into the distance.
Soo didn't change a thing. Kept up the hits with her signature drowsy face.
Splat—
*****
Miko crammed fifteen corpses into her massive drone and hauled them back to her hideout. Ten suited goons who'd swarmed to rob us, five scavengers who'd snitched the intel.
Total: fifteen.
Tracked the scavengers by deploying her full drone fleet. Kinda rickety rigs, but her piloting? Pro-level. Soo was impressed watching her juggle thirty-six at once.
"Didn't expect the scavengers to have micro-drones... or that they'd be lying in wait on the approach path... Sorry."
"No need."
That was how we got made. Dragging the drone to Miko's place got caught on a micro-drone. Its scavenger owner sold the tip to his corp contacts. That's why the goons jumped us right on arrival.
Hundreds of corp drones flooding the east sector? Scavs were bound to get antsy. Creepiest stalkers ever.
Punishment? Felt numb. Cyberpunk material right here.
"N-no other... scavs around?"
"Even if there are, fine."
"B-but..."
Miko shot me a look screaming, You can enter the city. I can't.
"Someone to protect you."
"Out in the Wasteland...? Who?"
"Topher."
Miko's eyes bugged out; she clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Gasp... Topher? That Topher from the west?"
"You know him?"
"Who doesn't!"
She paused mid-drone-juggle, eyes sparkling, rattling off Topher's bio. No need to memorize—just knew he was big-time. Not the type to rot in the Wasteland forever anyway.
"Anyway, I'll take you there."
"Topher Family... yeah, that works. But will they take me in...? Rumors say Topher's a real brute..."
"Eh...?"
Topher, brutal?
-No thanks. I'll just live and die like this.
Topher's words flashed in my head. Brutal? Rumors are trash. I shook my head.
"Topher's real nice."
"...R-really?"
"Yeah. Don't worry."
Miko, corpses loaded, nodded with resolve. Then flinched, peeking at me.
"Th-the external implants..."
I tapped the headset-like external implant. Got what I needed: forged ID chip, external nano-computer, bundled with a scan-jammer Stelther.
Bunny-ear antennas sprouting from my head—couldn't remove 'em. Didn't care. Cute, and not that flashy for cyberpunk.
"Take your time."
"Really...?"
"Yeah."
This'd more than cover Southpeak entry. Bribes prepped, Miko's contact saved for emergencies.
"W-well... how about I come to the city too? Give me five months for a perfect ID chip...? Then we can chase your goals and my dreams properly...!"
"Miko's kinda lame."
"...I'll show you what an amazing person I become in five months."
No more needed. Miko pouted and hit the button.
Kabooooom—!
Her distant hideout erupted in a massive blast, mushroom cloud blooming huge. Best evidence disposal: bombs.
*****
"...Boss?"
"Hey."
"Y-you're back quick?"
"Heading out again."
"Ah... got it. Who's this?"
"My friend, Miko."
Miko, stunned by the "boss" bit, finally managed a greeting.
"Yukigiri Miko. With Soo... uh, y'know... yeah, friends. Friends...? Friends, yeah."
"I see. A friend."
Topher nodded sagely through her ramble. Having dealt with me, he got it.
"Uh... so you brought Ms. Yukigiri for an intro?"
"Want you to protect her."
"...Protect?"
"She's hunted by Lüthien too."
Miko's eyes went saucer-wide. Why say that here?!
Topher's did too. Why say that here?!
They locked eyes.
"...You too, Ms. Yukigiri?"
"Wait, you too, Mr. Topher?"
"You'll get along great."
I beamed, handing over a few gold bars.
"Food and living expenses for Miko. Blew her house sky-high disposing of corp goon corpses."
"...Pardon? Corp employees? Corpses? Blew up? That explosion yesterday was your house...? Corps? You got tangled with a corp? And now protection for her...?"
Topher paled.
"W-wait a sec, boss!"
"See ya."
I waved breezily and slipped out of Topher's place.
Last implant check. Holo nano-computer screen fine, ID chip scans clean. Stelther untested, but Miko vouched it'd hide tails fine. Backpack gold plentiful. Fresh clothes from Miko: crisp.
"Hehe."
Time to really go.
I looked up, thrilled. Far off, the megacity stage of Cyberpunk: Eden blazed with dazzling lights.
Eden glowed.