Lost Rain
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Outrun - Chapter 289
🕑 Added 2025-08-13 22:04:01 +0000 UTCThe Aether opened up in front of me. I carefully carried Mira through the portal and set her down. I didn’t have a bed in here yet, so I made do by stealing the cot she’d been laying on. It wasn’t great, but it was better than putting her on the cold floor of the Aether bunker. It was only temporary anyway.
I ensured she was as comfortable as possible one more time and then pulsed the chrome the Savants had put into her with Technical Expertise. The halo was an extremely complex piece that I honestly had no idea about. Looked like maybe some kind of hyper-advanced processing unit? Maybe?
The black exo-skeleton though… it wasn’t all tech. There was some weird magicy stuff about it that I couldn’t quite place. My knowledge didn’t expand out in that direction. Hopefully, between Nael and I, we’d be able to figure it out and remove it. It wasn’t reacting at least. There was a very valid concern it might react with entering the Aether, but it looked entirely neutral.
Removal though? I- I wasn’t positive about our chances. The exo-skeleton wormed through every part of her body, and the halo was stuck down into her brain. Either one could prove to be fatal if extracted. I’d just have to trust Nael’s expertise. Surely he could do something about this?
I checked her one more time and then left back through the portal. I grabbed the Transporter and set up a timer in my HUD. I was on the clock now- if I wasn’t already before. Mira likely hadn’t built up any resistance to Aether Sickness. The longer she was in there, the more her state would deteriorate. It was time to move fast and hard.
I snuck out into the hall and tore off an access panel for the security systems. I pulled out my a shiny green dagger from a hidden pouch. It was about time I used the Jade Dagger’s enhancement to work on tech as well as flesh. I slammed it home into the wiring.
The entire facility went dark. The lights snapped off, and the security systems mostly went dead. The turrets had internal batteries yes, but the Jade Dagger paralyzed the entire system and whatever was connected to it. That’d be just about everything in the lab, including the runners. If it still had an hour of time on it, that’d be great. I still wasn’t sure how the paralysis related to larger entities and facilities though.
’Call the Crusade now.’ I sent a text to Saint.
Back behind me, I could hear startled shouts from the guards. The guards weren’t the only people making noise either. All those experimented on started to move about their cells. It was only a matter of time until one got out and caused a massive break. This place would descend into chaos soon.
I slunk into the shadows. Between the darkness, Illusive, and Blackout, I had the perfect combo to sneak past anything in my way. Nothing could see my hiding in the dark and those that had night vision couldn’t see me thanks to my Blinder. Biotech would be the real concern, though it wasn’t all that common in Aythryn City. Really, in this part of the world. The Arkhanikas had always leaned more chrome.
I sabotaged the few guards I passed by on my way up, breaking servos or disabling their equipment with Swipe. The stragglers away from any groups, which were mostly the Savant scientists themselves, got a silent projectile between their eyes via my coil-gun.
Boom!
My momentum ground to a stop when one of bulking brutes of mutated flesh and experimental chrome burst through the wall of one of the labs. Fresh blood covered the once person, and a scientist was tightly grasped in its pudgy hand. The brute proceeded to slam the scientist against the far wall several times, turning him into a bloody meat paste.
”RahhhH!” A roar erupted from the behemoth's throat. It slammed the deceased scientist a few more times before calming down slightly. The chrome all over its body shifted and sparked erratically, torn up by the sudden burst through the wall.
I pushed myself flat against the wall behind me, hoping it wouldn’t spot me. I wasn’t sure how much was left in that thing’s head other than burning rage. Being pulped like the scientist definitely wasn‘t in the cards for me.
The bulking figure twisted and turned in the hall. Its head, pressed down into the rest of its bulbous body and looking only vaguely humanoid, twitched in my direction-
“Ahhh!” A scream erupted from the end of the hall. A man in a white robe collapsed backward, terrified by the fruits of their labor.
The massive brute flinched toward the screaming man and lifted its arm. The flesh tore and ripped apart, revealing chrome. Said chrome shifted into the several barrels of a minigun.
Before I could back up more than a few steps, the minigun tore down the opposite end of the hall, eviscerating absolutely everything in that direction. The scientist who screamed stood absolutely no chance.
I darted back the way I came, rerouting around the bulking ball of rage. I went through several side halls and up a different staircase, using Burst Step intermittently to keep up my pace even with the delay.
The archives weren’t too far, and my pass let me easily get through the wards blocking them. As for electronic security? Completely paralyzed thanks to my Jade Dagger. Most of the doors were easy enough to lock pick without having to worry about the electronic locks.
They used quite a few maglocks on the important doors. Maglocks were good… assuming the circumstances were perfect. They required a constant stream of electricity to work. With the entire system out, they were just useless door weights for me to pass through. The same could be said for the Archives’ door.
I ducked into the Archives and looked around the place, grabbing anything that looked like it might be even remotely important. I scanned every blueprint, schematic, and design I could get my grubby little hands on. I wasn’t sure what would be useful, so I stuffed everything that could fit into my bag.
Several minutes later, during which I had to physically cut myself off from going any further thanks to the alarm blaring in my HUD, I fired several Blaze rounds off into the cabinets. A fire started up in the archives, slowly but steadily consuming the documents kept here.
This research was importantly enough for a corp to deem a Savant Lab worth the potential cost. No way was I letting it fall back into their, the Crusade’s, or anyone else’s hands but my own.
I ensured the fire was going well and then pulled on the connection to my spectral crow up outside of the Savant Lab. Space distorted, lights danced and nausea twirled in a maelstrom of headache. I popped out of the Savant Lab and back up onto the water tower.
“I’m out.” I called Saint and worked my way back to my hover bike. When I arrived, I tossed the Transporter back into the air to bring Mira out.
I heard a breath of relief come from his side. ”The Crusade is on their way… did you find Mira?”
“Chek.” I lost focus for a moment and stared up at the night sky. Blue and red lights rapidly closed in on this place. The Crusade was coming out with full force. At a glance, I spotted five Waymakers flying through the sky.
Saint’s voice drew my attention back. ”Is she okay? What state was she in? Do we need to send her to Medtech?”
“No- definitely not. No telling what Medtech might do if they saw experimental tech like this… I’ll take her to Nael.” I kicked on my hover bike. As soon as I pulled her out of there, we’d need to get zooming across the city. It was a good thing I could cut over most of the city in the flyer lanes.
“What’s that noise? Are you okay? You are out, right?” A trace of worry crept into his voice.
”Chek. Just my bike. I’ll be out of the area in a few minutes.” I checked the Transporter one more time, suppressing a yawn. “Then Absolom Clinic.”
”I’ll meet you there. I’m about to meet up with a contact about Visceral. Is the plan to find the parent corp still on?”
”I won’t rest till we nail these bastards.” Even if that meant making a big bomb and doing it myself.
“Okay…” Saint’s voice went quiet like he was talking to someone else. He returned a few moments later. “After Visceral, we are still going after the other three, right?”
“‘Course.” Although my mind was fully preoccupied by Mira and Visceral Cybernetics, I hadn’t forgotten my promise. “After, though.”
There were a few moments of silence. “Right… I’ll get the ball rolling on them too. I gotta go. I’ll see you there?”
”Chek.” I hung up and checked the Transporter again. Anytime now.
— — —
I tore into Absolom Clinic, carefully cradling Mira to ensure she wouldn’t suffer any further injury. I was completely soaked through, though Mira was hopefully cozy and warm with my poncho wrapped around her sleeping shoulders.
I parked my hover bike out in the middle of the clearing outside of the clinic. It’d been a mad dash to get over here. Especially when Mira woke up halfway through and nearly fell off my bike. Only some quick reactions and another dose of Pervider venom kept her from falling into the city.
”Nael!” I shouted out into the clinic.
A door popped open on the far side of the room. The Medek himself appeared, rubbing his eyes. “Damnit, kid, you have any-“
He cut himself off when he saw me. I shifted from foot to foot, arms trembling under Mira’s weight. She was already taller and stronger than me, but with the added chrome? Whatever they put in her hadn’t been light. “I- I need help.”
“Bring her over.” The reliable man wasted no time in setting up his chair. The lights throughout the clinic flicked on, though they weren’t the glaring clinical ones that the lab used. They were oddly soothing and warm. “What happened?”
”Found her in a Savant Lab.” I carefully put Mira down, ensuring the halo attached to her head wouldn’t pull weirdly against the chair. “Been there for at least a month.”
”Fuck.” Nael rapidly brought over several scanners and moved around the chair, setting all sorts of devices up. “Pervider venom?”
“It’s what I had on hand.” I shifted around him, pacing around the area. I wanted to help, but I didn’t know what to do-
“Sit down, Shiro. That’s an order.” The Medek called over his shoulder without looking. “You look like you’re about to fall apart.”
I shook my head and crossed my arms in protest. ”I- I can’t just-“
”You did your part, kid. You brought her to me.” Nael hooked up what looked like an IV into my mikata.
“Still…”
”I can give you something to knock you out, if you want. Just sit down. Your pacing is really distracting.” The man hadn’t even looked up at me once since he started working on Mira.
”Ch-chek.” He couldn’t afford the distractions. Not with what was at stake. I took a breath and forced myself back to the side of the clinic.
I could look through the documents. Sort through what I remembered with Eidetic Schematic. Surely there was something in there that could help out? Otherwise I just waisted time hitting the Archives instead of bringing her straight to Nael.
I pulled my bag off my back and pulled out papers and files by the handful. If I could just figure out what kind of chrome they put in her, then-
“Haah.” A yawn broke through, pulling my attention away for a brief moment. I could sleep once I had a better idea of the situation. I poured through document after document.
From what it looked like, their research was split into three different parts, all focused around making the perfect soldier. The first part was biological mutation, likely what caused people to turn into slime or the bulking monstrosities. The second was cognitive enhancement, which were the halos I’d see on several experiments. Lastly, there were the exo-frames.
I couldn’t get much more than that. The files I pulled weren’t in order, and trying to piece them together was extremely taxing on my tired mind. Still, I pushed ever onward.
Once we knew what chrome- Haah- to use… then… then-
Comments
lenkite
Its a pity that Shira never went through formal schooling and exam months. If she did, she would know that a single hour of sleep is worth 3 hours of cram studying.
Arkus86
Last we heard he was either unreachabe or just not responding, and Shiro is not in the best state of mind right now. It probably slipped her mind.
kreiverin
Thanks)
Lost Rain
It’s fixed
Lost Rain
I just removed that chunk. Didn’t really add anything except word count.
Findell
Huh no call to miras dad? Whats his status?
Gardor
"I Burst Step out of the way, ducking behind an AC unit. A beat later, a bright spotlight illuminated almost the entirety of the roof." -> her hoverbike and Transporter are still up there. A floating drone doing magic stuff seems like something worth checking out.
UnderwhelmingBird
sleepy shiro, take a nap, you've done enough for now.
Virnor
"Otherwise I just wanted time hitting the Archies" archives?
Brian Pierce
Hopefully the doctor knows someone with the expertise to help
