The Mantis Queens Reign

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It's been about a year since my day of augmentation, and I've been on a few missions now. They've been simple; get in, kill, get out. Nothing really of note beyond that.

And today, is when we kick off a real big mission. One that'll take the entirety of the Mantis force to accomplish, which is something special. At most, it's been two of us on a mission at a time, and that was simply because of a untrustworthy source.

Right, I should probably mention my teammates. To start with, there's Shade, our leader. Easily the strongest of the bunch, with enough power to overpower a man with a Gorilla implant thrice-over. Not that it would come to that, though.

Next, there's Zeanne, easily the one I'm closest to. She's the one who ambushed me the first day of my training, laying me out flat.  She's got black hair, a full-body suit darker than shadows, and a tongue that bites. Easily the stealthiest of us, able to sneak past any and all guards around, even able to snake past cameras without being recognized, though the burn on her face doesn't help. Still, she has a bit of a soft spot for me, and I, her.

Finally, there's Freitra, the netrunner of our group. She's able to get into enemy systems easy, so easily that she does it while backing us up in a fight. She's easily the most knowledgeable about the upcoming mission, and she tends to be sociable. Charismatic, pretty, and smart. She's three for three, and she knows it.

Now then, we are in a shipment container, waiting for some tiger-claws to come by. They're the biggest gang around, and run the district we're in.

Freitra speaks up. "Now then, we are hear to take the prototype drone out of their claws. It will be marked in a black case, labeled with 'Arasaka Drone 5374', the moment we get a hold of it, we get out. No witness'."

Shade clears her throat. "Now then, Zeanne, you will take care of anybody around the vicinity of the area, as well as catch any stragglers. Freitra, you and I will sneak into the building and carve a path upstairs, get the drone. Valerie, you will clear us the escape route marked on your HUD already. I presume there are no questions?"

"Move out, stick to the plan, and stay low."

I wonder if Zeanne will be safe- no, focus on your part. They're putting their faith in me, I should do the same.

There is a slew of gaps and paths through the crates leading out to a stealth jet, that'll take us straight home with autopilot. For now, I need to clear out all the guards in our way.

I drop down onto the first one, skewering him through his shoulders with my mantis blades. I rush down the two posted at the end of this alley, decapitating them both.

I proceed to hide the bodies in the shipping container we were hiding in, before continuing on.

One after another, they all fall quickly and quietly. Thanks to my augmentations, I can jump to the tops of 3-high shipping containers, and take an equal fall with no pain.

There are two guards overlooking the pier we will leave from. I rush behind them and cut them down, before shoving them into the water. I hear Zeanne cut down another guard behind me.

I hear her voice on the comms. "That was risky."

"I knew you had my back. My sides' clear, you?"

"The same. Let's wait on those containers, for them to get out with the drone."

...

"Hey, Zeanne? Why'd you join?"

"That's a dumb question. I wanted to serve our country."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they raised me and fed me. This is my way of paying it back. What about you?"

"Well, my parents couldn't make enough money to make ends meet, so I joined. Figured the money from this would be enough to pay off the mortgage. I... I hope they're alright. My sibling especially."

"Damn. Well, when we finish this mission, I'll ask Freitra to send them a message for you."

"Deadass?"

"Deadass."

I hug her.

"Thanks, means a... means a lot."

"...sure. no problem. Just don't let the hugging become a habit."

"No promises."

"Of course not. sigh. You're a pain."

"I know."

I hear the whirring of a turret behind me.

"Fuck!"

We jump away from each other and off the container.

I land with an impact, and look up to see the drone. It's covered in blood.

"Goddamnit."

"Shade, Freitra, come in! Where are you?"

"Their vitals are flat."

"Fuck! Let's take this thing down, then delta the fuck outta here!"

I grab my revolver and start firing on it, but it doesn't seem to do much.

"Distract it, I'll set up to take it out!"

"Mhm!"

He continues raining fire on me, while I try to dodge.

Fuck, my shoulder! Hope she's ready soon!

"I'm ready! Get to the boat and start it up!"

"On it!"

I hear the 50. cal sing, as a bullet hits its mark.

"It's down, let's go!"

I start the boat up, and she hops in.

"Jet, now!"

"No shit!"

We start, and the boat starts heading to base.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck, we're so screwed! We're so dead!"

"Why are we dead, huh? I'm the one with a bullet in my shoulder, so why?!"

"There's no way they'll accept this. When we return, we'll be lucky if they scrap us."

"...shit."

"AND the Tiger claws know about us!"

"STOP!"

"..."

"Let's... just... take a moment to look at this logically. We could keep on track to our destination, and surely get scrapped, or worse, right?"

"Yes."

"Now, we could run, and not return to base. Have at least a chance at life."

"..."

"..."

"Fine, if it's our only option. But where are we gonna go?"

"We could lay low at a friend of mines place, then we could head to my parent's house when the heat dies down."

"Fine, but we're gonna have to swim. We can't take the boat."

"Alright, let's go."

"Wait, we need to remove our tracking chips. Come here."

"Alright."

I lay my head on her lap.

"Hold still, it'll hurt quite a bit."

She cuts into my scalp, to get into the side of my ear.

"AHHH!"

She shoves a piece of cloth in my mouth, and does her work.

...

"Done. you can move again, now do me."

"Alright, here's a piece of cloth. Trust me, you'll need it."