An Engineer in Night City - ch 10.5 (Patreon)

Race to Arasaka Tower (5)

The kidnappers are still ahead of Maine and his crew, with both teams straining their chrome and power armor to its limits.

The man carrying David signals to his partner, and then suddenly Maine trips over his feet, almost falling face first on the floor but catching himself at the last minute.

Yet, the large man's right leg isn’t working as intended, giving the Edgerunner a limp that slows him down.

Surprised by her leader faltering, Sasha quickly reacts and restores Maine’s leg functionality. “Are you alright, Chief?”

“They finally managed to breach the ICE of my chrome. At least they didn't touch the armor systems. I would be pasted!”

With a vindictive smile behind her face mask, Sasha uploads her quick hacks. “Don’t worry Chief, I finally managed to breach their ICE.”

The pair ahead stumble almost together, allowing retaliation from the Edgerunner.

Seeing this, Maine doesn’t waste time aiming with his submachine gun, pulling the trigger. “Get down already, you freaks!”

From the back of the mercenary carrying David, a pair of wings and rocket boosters unfold, and he clumsy escapes from the incapacitating shot, flying ahead at a prodigious speed.

The crew's Netrunner tries to stop the man from leaving, but the remaining mercenary counter-attacks with quick hacks against Maine and Sasha.

Frustrated, Sasha urges her teammate ahead. “Maine, go ahead. If we both stay behind you will lose David and this bitch is doing everything to delay us.”

After checking the energy levels of his armor and the rate at which his chrome will fully recover, the Edgunner is forced to agree with the young Netrunner. “Stay safe, Sasha. If you die the Engineer will have my hide.”

She shoos the large man away before returning to dealing with the Netrunner.

The Edgerunner leader crouches down and jumps, igniting his jump boosters to the maximum to allow for momentum to carry him away from the opponent Netrunner’s range.

He feels his chrome lock up, but his gamble paid off. By the time he returns to the ground, Maine's chrome will be functional again.

Meanwhile, the two Netrunners confront each other in a staredown. 

In the past, when quick hacks finally became available, a combat between two Netrunners in real space was compared to a “sorcerer/wizard battle” as both sides stand around waving their hands at each other, occasionally throwing profanities whenever one side managed to gain an advantage.

In the current day, Combat Netrunners are more varied in their arsenal, such as the mercenary fighting Sasha.

With a mighty leap, the Combat Netrunner unfolds her Mantis blade to stab Sasha.

Seeing her enemy attack, the crew Netrunner stops her hacking attack and jumps away from her rival.

The opponent stabs her Mantis blade on the ground, then quickly leaps away while throwing a smoke grenade to obscure her escape.

Threatened by the smoke, Sasha runs behind the nearest cover to regroup and find the location of the Netrunner. She hacks the nearby cameras on the streets and nearby buildings, getting a bird’s eye view of the action.

None of the cameras display any movement, and from the equipment’s point of view, Maine is already out of danger from the enemy Netrunner.

Relieved, Sasha's sensors pick up the slight breeze close to her. However, instead of dodging the Mantis blade stabbing her head, Sasha feels the whole world turning upside down as her back lands violently on the ground.

At the same time, the enemy’s arm blades short-circuit and lockdown for the next few minutes.

Ignoring the locked chrome, the mercenary Netrunner throws a series of punches toward Sasha.

The pinned Edgerunner can't dodge the attacks, enduring each strike with the toughness of her armor and her stubborn nature. "Get off me, you bitch!"

The mercenary rains a flurry of punches towards her Sasha, waiting until her locked Mantis blade open for her to finish off her opponent. "Make me if you can, little girl. Nobody will come rushing to save you this time, though."

Frustrated, Sasha focused her efforts on defending herself. ‘I should have taken the proposal from Mark for a full conversion to a Combat Netrunner instead of focusing on deep dives!'

Gritting her teeth and bearing with the pain, Sasha focuses on taking a handgun from her inventory, pulling the trigger several times.

The mercenary jumps away to avoid the bullet and disappears once again.

Quickly standing up, Sasha points her weapon around, searching for an enemy. 'She is probably using a special optical camo suit. I would have found her earlier otherwise.'

With a roar, the enemy Runner kicks Sasha’s weapon from her hand, getting out of optical camouflage, and she nails a spinning kick on the crew’s Runner.

Crying in pain from the blow, Sasha slashes the enemy’s leg on reflex with her retractable cat claws, extracting retribution from her enemy, however, her eyes widen in realization when a small object bounces near her.

Thinking quickly, she mentally prepares a few surprises for her enemy.

The explosion rocks the street, launching Sasha and the mercenary into the air. The Netrunner kicks on the ground several times until she hits a wall, surviving thanks to her power armor defenses.

Sasha admits she isn't a match for her opponent in a fight.

The mercenary is a better combatant than Sasha, which makes quick hacks during combat harder. 

The crew Netrunner uses all her medical kits until she restores her badly injured body, and slowly stands up. “You’re pretty good.”

The opposing Netrunner also tries to stand up however, her body locks down and twists as the various queued quick hacks overwhelm the combat Netrunner's ICE, finally succumbing to her enemy.

Taking stock of her current energy level, the deactivated Adaptative Armor, her depleted medical kits, and her currently unarmed state, she came too close to losing her life.

The Netrunner pulls a submachine gun from her inventory and confronts her enemy, locking her eyes with the helpless victim, “Thank you for opening my eyes. Because of you, I survived the reality check.” The Netrunner coldly pulls the trigger, executing her enemy.

Taking a final stock of her current situation, Sasha concludes that she can’t continue. She sends a message to Maine that she flatlined the enemy mercenary, but he’s on his own for now.
...

The NUSA-trained mercenary finally reaches the extraction point, however, the pick-up vehicle isn’t there yet. “This NS-One, calling for Homebase, do you copy? The package is in place, requesting extraction, over.”

“Eh, this is Homebase, the Mailman will soon arrive. Wait for extraction, over.”

The Solo tsks before cuffing David to a nearby pipe. “Homebase, hostile are inbound, moving to intercept. Pick up the package and delta, over.”

“Affirmative NS-One, good luck and good hunting.”

The leader of Faraday's group of Edgerunners hides David from view and then confronts the man he replaced.

…

Maine lands with a roll, quickly drawing his weapon before scanning the area for his hostiles. Once he finds it clear, he checks the tracker.

David is ahead, near a building under construction overlooking a large, almost empty patio.

As Maine enters the construction site, a loud bang echoes.

The former SpecOps soldier instinctively avoids the bullet, rushing towards the nearest cover. Looking up, he finds his opponent crouching over five hundred yards away on the second floor of the unfinished building. "Where is David? If you return him now, you can walk away from this alive!"

The answer comes promptly together with suppressive fire. “I don't negotiate with traitors.”

Maine quickly stands up and returns fire with pinpoint accuracy, forcing the enemy to find a new cover. With this opportunity, the Edgerunner advances a hundred yards closer to his opponent. Unfortunately, he's unable to advance further without exposing himself for at least three hundred yards.

After a quick assessment of his medical kits, Maine doesn't want to risk in case the shooter has stronger weapons than an HMG.

Needing time to strategize, Maine calls out his opponent. "Are you working for Reed? Because last I checked, I was honorably discharged. Is that rat still butthurt because I reminded him his masters threw him away like a used condom?"

A hail of bullets rains on Maine's position, and he calculates the new position of the shooter. Shooting above cover, he tries to take a peek but his enemy can also shoot back with pinpoint accuracy.

"I read your file, Maine. Former Green Beret, graduate from Navy SEALs, part of the 404th NUSA Black Ops Regiment, present in several operations in South America, before finishing your tour of service and leaving the military. A year later, you started working as an Edgerunner in Night City, working for petty criminals as if they're important."

"Aren't you working for a petty criminal too, since you're under Faraday's thumb?"

The answer was succinct but held an edge in the tone. "No."

Incensed, Maine cries at the mercenary soldier. "Where are you from, then? Which was your unit?"

The NUSA Soldier responds with a level tone. "Delta Force, BH Squadron."

The former SpecOps doesn't freeze despite being caught off guard.

The Delta Force is the elite-of-the-elite, and the BH Squadron is composed of soldiers who underwent training directly with the legendary Morgan Blackhand and later those instructed by him. They are super commandos, each with the potential to become Living Legends in Nigh City. 

For the first time, Maine has to acknowledge how small his mentality was until now.

Upon hearing the man's credentials, Maine calms down by taking deep breaths. A few months ago, this knowledge would have crushed the Edgerunner. However, that fateful meeting between his crew and the Engineer changed everything.

His previous mentality was to chip in as much chrome as possible to cover all possibilities, allowing his trauma from his former unit to dictate his current actions. The accident that made his output lose her lower half further worsened his anxiety and paranoia, slowly dragging him into cyberpsychosis.

Thanks to Mark's assistance, he started to work on his issues and made real progress towards improvement. With a change in mentality, he changed how he organized his crew. As the crew's leader, Maine was responsible for their lives, and he needed to apply the professional expertise he learned as an army officer.

The crew cohesion increased, and plans started to work smoothly.

Maine became proud of his crew and the progress they made.

Pillar started to behave, even.

That was a surprise the Edgerunner welcomed with open arms.

Though there is still room for improvement, his past self would have lost to the enemy in front of him much earlier, and despite allowing his crew members to split away one by one, Maine is confident that all of them successfully took down their opponents and are still alive.

The only one left to take down is the man facing off against Maine.

Suddenly, the Edgerunner has a moment of clarity, as he remembers a conversation with Mark.

"Look, you might not know who John-117 was, but Master Chief is important to me. He is a soldier, a hero who makes the impossible, possible. Someone who singlehandedly turns the course of wars and shapes history."

"He's more than a Legend, he's a Myth, an Archetypical Icon that all others will be measured against."

"Morgan Blackhand and Adam Smasher are on that level of skill and fame. When I offered that build, wishing you to reach the level of Spartan-II, I entrusted you with that legacy. Am I right to trust you, did I make a mistake?"

Maine might not know who John-117 "Master Chief" is, but he can understand the gravitas the name carries for the Engineer. 

To live up to the legacy of "Master Chief", Maine got new chrome and better equipment. He underwent several hundred hours of simulated training against the cruelest scenarios possible facing the Executioner of Arasaka or trying to fulfill the same Missions as Adam Smasher. 

Despite being a simulation, the damage was transmitted to the user, making them feel every cut, shot, electrocution, burn, and even death.

The challenge lit a fire under Maine, motivating him to work harder, and more efficiently. First, he completed all scenarios, second, he scored the first kill on the younger Smasher and then took him off without taking a single hit.

Even as a simulation, Maine felt proud of this achievement.

"Compared with those grueling scenarios, this is nothing."

Feeling pressed for time, Maine decides to go for the direct approach.

With a mental command, Maine feels the weight of the custom shield on his hand. Steadying himself, the Edgerunner sprung into action.

The sniper shoots at Maine with his rifle before switching to a railgun, aiming for the legs, however, he misses the Edgerunner.

Maine covers two hundred yards in a few seconds, closing the distance in moments thanks to his exoskeleton. 

The enemy doesn't sit still and changes his weapon to a rocket launcher.

Seeing this, the Edgerunner also equips his rocket launcher.

Bracing for impact, Maine waits for the right moment to fire a rocket under his feet to use the "rocket jump maneuver," a stupid technique that only works on video games. The impossible becomes possible with access to Wube Inc. sourced chrome, their power armor, and medical kits acting as insurance.

A massive explosion hits Maine's feet, sending gravel and dust high into the air. The NUSA mercenary scans the area, looking for the Edgerunner. "Where is he? Where did he go?"

A plume of fire flashes above the mercenary, followed by a loud engine noise. Looking up, the mercenary sees Maine falling straight at him.

First, Maine feels the impact of the railgun hitting his shield. Second, he hears the crunching noise of the mercenary skull beneath his armored feet. After neutralizing all hostiles, Maine hurries after David.

Whoosh

In the air, an AV hovers long enough for Maine to identify David together with Faraday, the latter glaring at him in displeasure.

Maine aims at the retreating air car, keeping it in his sights while he opens the call from Mark.

"Did you find David?"

"Yeah, Faraday got him. He's in my sight right now."

"Good. I know where Faraday will take David. I will take care from there. Why don't you pick up your crew in five minutes? Meet me at this location later. I'm sure you will enjoy the show. Also, remember to ring the letter."

Maine raises a questioning eyebrow until he realizes what he meant, and then grins wildly. “Alright, I will collect the team. Give me five minutes so we can enjoy the show.”

Post Chapter Notes

Did I say, "thirty minutes?" How about ALMOST FOUR HOURS!

Fuck, that took way too long, and there is STILL one final chapter to finish this mini-arc. I frankly need to find a new system to write a detailed arc like this on time. Nier: Revengeance of this week will be done on the weekend. I will pot the pool later today when it isn't an ungodly hour of the night.

I really hope people like those segments, or at least are honest so that I learn from this experience.