Lost Rain
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Outrun - Chapter 277
🕑 Added 2025-07-16 22:04:01 +0000 UTCI dropped the hover bike onto its stand just outside of the FSA base’s gate. Five guards stood around, blocking the way forward alongside a barrier. I pulled up the ‘Special Investigator’ ID from Uncle Ezra on my phone. ”Here.”
”Ma’am.” The head guard scanned it, then popped a salute. The barrier lifted, letting me through. Just how high of a position did this thing put me in, anyway?
I moved into the base and parked. Shouldn’t have to worry about anyone coming to snag my bike in here. Probably. No way someone would steal from an FSA base just like that, right?
Blitz Base… I hated it here, to be honest. Mira and I hung out a few years back. I still remembered being locked in their stockades when I was apprehended by security. Mira cleared up the confusion, but… please be safe, Mira. I didn’t know what I’d do if I lost my best mikata just like that.
I pulled off my mask, brushing a long lock of wind-tossed hair back behind my ear. I still had yet to add on a windshield. I didn’t exactly have the time recently, so the mask was a requirement to drive—fly?—without my face being hammered.
I adjusted my poncho slightly, turning down the heat levels. I had the climate control set to super warm while flying the hover bike. The winter air mixed with rushing wind was a bad combo. I probably wouldn’t catch a cold thanks to Quick Healing, but could never be too sure.
I headed for the main entrance. The memory of my time here with Mira was foggy at best. It’d been a while. I was several years younger, and it was before I had the interface to help out. Unfortunately, Eidetic Schematic wasn’t retroactive. The private offices should be right over there, maybe?
I headed down a few halls, walking with a purpose. Subtle pulsations of Fear the Reaper kept anyone from approaching me. I didn’t push it enough to cause actual fear, but just enough to create a psychological distance from approaching me.
A duo of soldiers blocked the way forward into the offices themselves, halting me at the security door. I flicked to the Special Investigator badge once more and showed it.
One of the guards scanned it, chrome eyes flashing slightly. “Can I help you, ma’am?”
”Um-“ Did my uncle even say who he was going to call? “Security’s office. Can you point me in that direction?”
Unfortunately, the Crusade only had schematics for the basic layout of this place. They weren’t near as informative as most of the stuff on the Crusade’s database. Probably some kind of security hazard. Honestly, it was a surprise they even had the prints for the base in the first place.
”Yes, ma’am. Just down the hall, two lefts, skip one, then a right. Need an escort?” The soldier asked.
“No. Thanks.” I pushed on past them. No idea what permissions my uncle managed to push onto this Special Investigator badge, but they must’ve been a step above just a normal base pass to enter restricted areas so easily.
I arrived before the door the man directed me to. It was quite ornate for just a security office. Was I even in the right place? I mentally backtracked the route- chek, this was it?
I knocked on the door. A tired voice called from within, “Enter!”
I pushed open the door. The curious eyes of a high-ranking official stared at me. A sleep mask was pushed up just slightly above his eyes. “Am I- am I interrupting you?”
The official sighed, rubbing at baggy eyes. He looked even worse than Hope, and that was saying something. Just how long had he been awake? “No… probably should get back to work. Couldn’t fall asleep anyway. What can I do for you?”
My eyes flicked to a nameboard on his desk: Lieutenant Colonel Broadside. Was that a high rank? I should’ve studied more. “Sir- um… I was asked to check out security feeds?”
”Ah! You must be that Special Investigator Old Ezra asked me to let through. Don’t look like the picture-“ I whitelisted him for Master of Disguise. “Ah- sorry. Must just be tired.”
Looks like I wound up in the right place then? “It’s fine.”
Broadside tilted his head. I caught sight of a fresh scar down his neck. It was a familiar one. A bunch of Crusaders had a matching scar after falling victim to Mother’s drill octopus monstrosities. ”What are you doing here, though? They should already have all of it ready for you.”
”I got turned around.” I rubbed at the back of my neck.
Lieutenant Colonel Broadside stood up, pushing off the couch. “I need to head down anyway. Just come with me, I guess.”
“Lead the way.” I stepped back, letting him by me.
We got down to the right room much quicker than I got up to his office. Soldiers practically leapt out of their skin when we walked down the halls. Quite a few of them turned a bit pale. Guess Broadside had quite the rep?
He led me to a room full of terminals and server banks. A few soldiers loitering around jumped to attention. “At ease. One of you help Special Investigator Tsukuyomi out. And someone get me a coffee.”
“”“Sir!”””The group split, one of them motioning to me.
”I need the recordings starting…” I pulled up the date and timeframe Mira’s plane was supposed to arrive at. “Right here.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He moved to a terminal and took a seat. There were several security checks to go through, though eventually he got every camera in the specified time pulled up. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
”Chek.” I pulled a seat up and glanced through the hundreds of cameras all along the base’s perimeter alone. This? This was going to take a while. When would I get a Perk that could just compile everything I needed in a matter of seconds? Seriously, something like that would be so useful.
It took a bit to figure out how their systems worked. After about an hour, I managed to catch sight of Mira. She definitely got to the base. I zoomed in on her face, reading her Cues.
She didn’t seem agitated or anything like that. Just excited, as she always was. And extremely happy. Her radiant smile practically blinded me through the monitor. There was a bit of stress in her posture, but whatever happened definitely happened after she landed.
Over the next few hours, I tracked her through the base. There wasn’t a camera everywhere, but there were enough of them that I never had to do much guess work in finding her route.
It was a surprisingly difficult process. My legs wouldn’t stop bobbing, which caused electric charge to build up constantly. I had to manually drain myself several times, terrified that I might short circuit the terminals and wipe the feeds by accident.
I flicked to a perimeter camera, watching her leave on foot. I was hoping to track her through a taxi, but that made things much more difficult. Maybe I could get access to the traffic cams? Track her that way?
The direction she initially headed in though… What was even over there though? It wasn’t toward Little Yukoto like I might expect. Where… maybe the gun range? What was it called? Fail- Falion Armory, I thought. The one she took me to. Maybe she went to shoot and relieve some stress?
I updated Uncle Ezra and headed back for my bike. Traffic cams… for that I’d need to head to the Blue Crusade’s Oldtown location. The gun range was on the way, so I should run by there first and see if she stopped by like I suspected.
I flicked my hover bike back on. The engine purred quietly, and the entire vehicle lifted off the ground as that familiar sense of weightlessness hit. I wrapped back through security and headed for the gun range.
Just like last time, parking was incredibly tight right around here. I drove into an alley, and disabled the altitude limiter. I carefully flew up onto the roof and parked. I guess I didn’t really need parking garages anymore, huh? This should take care of most thieves too.
Real casually, I stepped off the roof into an alley. My Drop Chutes kicked in just in the nick of time. I didn’t even wait for them to fully shut off before moving for the entrance to the Falion Armory.
“Welcome in.” A bored attendant called from behind a counter.
I walked past a group of off-duty soldiers and pulled the Blue Crusade badge from my pocket. The attendant's boredom immediately vanished. “Do you keep logs of who all comes in?”
He looked a little panicky. Not that I could blame him. The Crusade just naturally had that effect on people. “Yes, ma’am. For three months. I-is something wrong?”
“Just looking for someone.” I motioned to a terminal near the checkout. “Show me?”
“Right.” The attendants moved for it, clicking around. “Do you have a name?”
”Mira Delano. It would've been about a month and half ago.” I pulled up a picture of her face and showed it to him.
He leaned away from the terminal and looked over the picture. “She- um- she came in and rented a lane for three hours. O-only shot for two though.”
Damn, I’m impressed- “The range keeps logs that detailed?”
”No.” He shook his head, flinching. “I remember her though. Got in a fight with a soldier. It was super nerve-wracking considering all the guns here, and the guy wasn’t- well, he wasn’t all there. Both were thrown out with a three-month ban.”
Did he do something to her? ”Any chance you could show me the security footage?”
”S-sorry, I just work here. I don’t have access to that.” The guy shook his head. “The manager just left too. Um- i-if you leave your number I can tell him to give you a call?”
”That’s fine. Thank you, truly. You’ve been instrumental.” I flashed as gentle of a smile as I could at the guy.
”N-n-no problem.” He looked away, rubbing his arms.
I stopped just before heading out. “Oh, right, what was the name of the soldier she got in a fight with?”
“Oh- um…” He glanced toward the terminal. “Henry Diater.”
I made a note of the name on my phone. Okay, that narrowed down the scope significantly. I should be able to find her on street cams from here. And the soldier she fought with, with any luck. They should’ve both been thrown out at the same time. After that? I wasn’t too sure.
I get walking to the range considering its proximity, but surely she took a cab after? I might be able to track the cab from there assuming she called one. I took the fire escape back up to my hover bike and set off for Oldtown’s Blue Crusade HQ.
— — —
I found her on the cams without much issue. She didn’t get in a cab though. Instead, she walked for a couple blocks before vanishing into an alley. Her cues had shifted entirely to annoyance and aggravation. The soldier that she argued with? Went the completely opposite way from her. He was picked up for a bar fight and tossed into the Crusade's drunk tank. Likely wasn’t involved.
Unfortunately, the alley she went into connected into a maze of alleys and back routes without many cams. I checked every exit of the alleyways, but she never popped out anywhere I could see. There were just too many blind spots throughout the area.
A gang was present throughout the area though. That’s what bought me here, to the very same alleys. I slowed my bike way down and entered, floating just above the trashed space. Another nice thing about the hover bike? I didn’t have to worry about popping my tires by driving through places like this.
The gang, Razor Bloc, was small. It didn’t take much effort to get the Crusade’s files on them and narrow down their operating area. Mostly just small-time drug and arms dealers. Shouldn’t have been much of a threat to Mira, but maybe they saw or knew something? They were my best lead, anyway. Most gangs were paranoid enough to always know what went on in their territory.
I checked my location one last time. There should be Razor Bloc gangers right around here somewhere. I flew through the alleys at a slow place, scanning them for thugs. I turned a corner, spotting some smoking around a burning forklift. Must be trying to shove off the winter chill.
Razor Bloc’s gang colors were pretty basic. Wasn’t even a ‘color’, really. They all had razors sewed into their clothing. It was a bit weird of an aesthetic, all things considered. Surely cutting themselves would be a major issue?
The group’s attention snapped to me. They pushed themselves away from the flaming forklift, forming a wall blocking the way forward. A larger man, half his face made of metal, stepped forward. His eyes flicked across me and traced along my hover bike.
With a motion of his hand, the group spread out, encircling me with greedy looks to their eyes. The leader flicked a cigarette butt at me, falling just short of my bike. “Rode into de wrong alley, little miss. I help ya’ get out uh here safely… fo’ some fee, ‘course.”
”Really? Are you seriously trying to shake me down?“ I really didn’t have the time to bother with ants like these guys.
”Boo-hoo. Goin’ t’cry t’mommy and daddy in deir tall towers? Tehy’re too far t’save ya’ now.” He sneered at me. “How about dis? Give me da ride? Me and da boys gotss’ta let ya’ go without harm then. You can get anoda’ one fum mommy and daddy anyway.”
Did he- did he think I was some corpo brat coming to play around? A bout of rage pierced through Cold-Blooded. I leaned forward, propping my elbows on the handlebars. Just what were the streets teaching slags these days? They should know target priority by now.
Fear the Reaper flared out in full force. In a mere moment, the entire group froze. Usually, I just flashed it for a second to not be so suffocating or for momentary intimidation. I let it stay on this time around, pelting them continuously with the terror generated by hundreds of deaths. My killing spree when the circle was asleep back in the AEZ hadn’t been small.
“So... try that again?” I flicked my mask off my face, glaring at the group with predatory eyes.
One of the guys at the back dropped, frothing at the mouth. A few others flinched, wet spots growing in their pants. Usually I’d feel a bit bad… not this time. Ants should know their place. And these guys? The smallest of the small fry. Hell, only the leader even had chrome worth while, and it was just some basic subdermal armor.
The brute that tried extorting me flinched, and his entire face drained of blood. Still, he wasn’t the leader for no reason. He managed to push through the fear. “S-sorry, m-ma’am. Wh-what c-c-can ah’ do t’make i-it up t’ya?”
“You with Razor Bloc?“ I lifted Fear the Reaper off of him slightly. “And quit stuttering so much, slag. Already hard enough to understand you.”
Anger flickered. Only for a moment though. It was overwhelmed almost immediately by terror. ”Y-ya have business wit’ da boss?”
”Chek. Where’s he at? I just have a few questions.” I flashed an Honest smile, manipulating my Cues slightly to appear more trustworthy. It was hard to pull off considering the current situation.
The leader’s face twinged with hesitation. I leaned forward and pulled a knife, casually toying with it. His hesitation abruptly vanished. “R-right ova’ dere. I-inside.”
Inside, huh? That meant abandoning my bike out here with them. I leaned back, casually flicking my hand into my pocket. I tossed a Dragonfly into the gaps between my prototype bike’s armorer plating and pulled half a dozen more knives. Hidden Hands kept my motion mostly out of sight.
I flicked the initial knife, slamming it perfectly between the leader’s legs. It flashed just below his groin, slicing through his pants. I quickly threw several more, giving the same treatment to the others. The faces of those around me turned even paler, somehow. “You lot better be good little bitches. Guard my bike. If I find even a hair out of place, then I’ll aim way higher.”
“R-r-r-right on, m-ma’am.” The leader of the group turned into a chattering mess, hands shooting down protectively.
I cast one last feral look around the group and hopped off my bike. Should be more than enough of a warning. ‘Sides, if they were busy out here, I wouldn’t have to worry about them coming up behind me.
I adjusted my poncho slightly and headed off to find the boss of the Razor Bloc gang.
Comments
UnderwhelmingBird
Oof, Razorbuddy, wrong target and at an especially bad time. He didn't die, so I think that's a win for him.
reece ward
I made a *not* of the name on my phone. Do you mean note?
Josh Turple
. I can’t imagine loosing you too Losing
Lost Rain
Thank you! All of those are fixed now.
Lost Rain
That’s a good idea. Maybe when I have time to dig into another crafting part I could bring it up, but it might be a while.
Lost Rain
Thank you! Yes, it’s my first. I’ll try and keep up with Outrun, but I’ll be too busy to write much of Myth//OS
Lost Rain
I got it switched over. No idea how I managed to get the title wrong in just one chapter. Thanks for pointing it out!
Arkus86
The "Special Secretary" in this chapter was "Special Investigator" in the last. I feel that one was more fitting for the situation, as it better conveys a sense of authority in my opinion. Also, I would have expected her to ask the name of the other soldier kicked out of the range, though at least for the moment he's not relevant.
Converted
Congrats on getting published! Great chapter. Was this your first book to get picked up? Did I read that correctly as your taking this next week off?
Gardor
Oh...did the gate guard purposely send her to the head honchos office? Those directions arent THAT hard to remember, especially to get THAT wrong. Did the Lt Colonel ask to be alerted when the investigator showed up? This is suspicious, right?
Gardor
Maybe her work on her hover bike and its gravity stuff could lead to her tinkering with her drop shoots. Stuff like lowering her own gravity constantly, for mobility and to not leave a clear trail in dust. Walking on ceilings and jumping further. Even just getting back up to whatever roof she parked her bike on, there may not always be a convenient ladder. Increasing her gravity for combat probably isnt really in her wheel house, but could be situationally handy. Straight up floating could be neat too, being gravity neutral. DIY sniper's perch, although one without any cover. She's like, good at technology, right? Its not just her copying schematics she's seen, she understands enough to invent or improve things? Would be a big jump up though, maybe too big considering the mechanical limitations of the tech. Edit: chutes? Edit2: Shutes.
Gardor
"Razor Bloc’s gang colors were pretty basic all things considered. They all had razors sewed into their clothing. It was a bit weird of an aesthetic, all things considered." -> doubled up "If I find even a hair out of place, then next time I won’t miss" -> maybe she should say "ill aim higher", cuz "missing" isnt something she wants associated with her right now. Might be able to work in an emasculating dick size joke, too, depending on how big a villain she wants to be. Also, might wanna put some description of what the badge is, and how she "flashes" it. Im getting the vibe its essentially an encrypted NFT, but i still dont know how shes "showing it" to people. Congrats on the publication!
