M.A.I.D.S. [season 1]

Episode 5: The Unexpected

M.A.I.D.S. Episode 5 – The Unexpected

Thunder rumbled a warning, a watchdog standing between Pandora and the night sky.  Occasional lightning threatened the Earth with its jagged probing.  The evening rain had progressed into a full-on downpour by the time Pandora, pretty in pink, stepped out into it.  Furious at her audacity, the skies precipitated harder upon the planet below.

Pandora walked to where Adam had summoned his vehicle and used the interface to access his subterranean storage.  Her second surprise rose to join her in the wicked evening:  a slick pink monocycle.  With a few quick gestures Pandora had shifted her multiple displays from her left gauntlet to her monocycle’s navigation system.  She rode off so quickly that the puddles disturbed in her wake were left to wonder what exactly had raced through them.

I shouldn’t be doing this! Pandora thought as she sped toward the Manufactory.  Subconsciously she realized that the monocycle’s nav-unit wasn’t taking into account her exceptional riding skills, and therefore her ability to leave the prescribed roads behind in favor of alleys, walls, and other means of conveyance.  In the blink of an eye Pandora was on a faster, more dangerous route.

If he didn’t want me to do this, he wouldn’t have given me the skillsets I have.  Why did he make me so amazing?  Pandora didn’t give herself time to explore the subject that quivered in her core.  She pushed all thoughts of self out of her mind and focused on reaching Adam as quickly as she could.  Rain continued to pelt her as she raced through Laramie’s drenched streets, but it was powerless to stop her.  Pandora had one focus.

Adam.

The sniper was precariously perched on the steep, slanted roof across the street from the besieged Manufactory.  Only his upper torso and rifle protruded over the roof’s crest; the rest of him remained completely obscured and tethered to the far side of the building.  He used a telescoping bipod to hold his rifle steady as he took aim at one of the members of FIST 8 below him.  The sniper’s teammates in Manufactory #2 were keeping FIST 8 preoccupied, which was perfect for him.  Even though his computer had exploded, he was still able to effectively contribute to the fight by using the weaker computer system built into the rifle itself.  He was cut off from his team of terrorists, but not from his rifle.

"I got ya now,” he mumbled as he gazed through his scope at Lauper.  The sniper unconsciously adjusted his aim to account for the precipitation and distance.  He never noticed the form sneaking up behind him on the roof—the proximity wards he’d had in place were knocked out when his wrist-computer exploded.  So he was completely surprised when his rifle was yanked from his grasp and thrown off the roof behind him.  The harness he was using to keep him in place on the slick, steep roof prevented him from defending himself effectively, and all he saw of his attacker before he was knocked unconscious was an armored pink boot.

“No, I have you.  And I don’t particularly want you,” Pandora said with gusto.  She unhooked the sniper’s harness and let him slide off the rooftop, unconcerned by any damage the man might sustain in the fall.

That was fun!

The sky roared its approval with a peal of thunder and a flash of lightning, and Pandora raised her rifle over her head like some barbarian victress.  She scanned the ground below, feeling immensely powerful from her perch.  With superhuman grace she descended the roof and headed to the Manufactory.

Pandora used the various feeds she received from the members of FIST 8 to navigate the battlefield.  Seeing through their eyes made it easy to circumvent obstacles and remain undetected by the enemy.  Pandora quickly located Adam, who was returning fire from his position behind a vehicle.  Adam’s targets were in the second-story windows of the Manufactory; everyone involved had effective cover.