Making It in Night City

"Everybody get in your cars! We spotted the convoy. Time to go!"

A flurry of movement followed after Panam's announcements, and everyone grabbed their gear and hurried to their vehicles. I grabbed my katana and quickly jumped into Panam's truck. Soon after, the train started moving, and the sight of a dull yellow train engine and four Aldecaldos cars kicking up a dust storm could be seen in the Badlands.

Everything seemed to be going well, and the train was chugging along as it should. After we got the train moving, the rest of yesterday was quickly spent getting it and our gear ready. Giving the engine a thorough check took Carol, Mitch, and Bob until sunset to finish. While they were working on that, I had Scorpion and Teddy help me figure out how to release one of the two train cars to dump some weight. Meanwhile, Panam and Cassidy worked on getting the turret on top of the Warhorse to stop jamming all the time.

Once the sun started setting, we created a small fire and enjoyed looking at the stars while eating a simple dinner of trail rations. After our meal, the group enjoyed some chit-chat while Cassidy played a tune on an old guitar of his. By the time the moon hung high over our heads, everyone had split into groups, and we rotated watch shifts while getting some shut-eye.

"I see 'em. Just West of that junction station."

Panam's order brought my focus back to the present. I looked at the area she mentioned and saw the small two-story building and water tower a couple of miles away at the junction. To the left and further down the freeway were a small convoy of black SUVs and two large transport trucks. One truck had the center hull of the basilisk, while the other carried the thrusters and engines.

What I also saw a small pack of drones flying in and around the convoy. Panam seemed to have spotted them as well since she then told me to get ready to shoot them down.

"Basil, get on the turret and get ready to take out those drones."

"You got it."

I pulled the wired interface out of my wrist and plugged it into the access port that controlled the truck's weaponry. Being connected to the vehicle allowed the camera attached to the turret to replace my vision. Using the enhanced zoom, I could pick out more details about the convoy. Other than the two transport trucks, six additional SUVs were escorting the cargo, making for seven vehicles total. Three Militech Griffin drones rounded out the posse, providing some extra firepower.

Once we got within one mile, the drones were the first to pick up our presence and pulled off from the convoy to investigate our group.

"Heads up. The drones are coming over to us."

Once the Grffins got within a hundred feet, I sent the first shot and started raining lead on the closest drone. The gun shook as the bullets left the barrel and impacted the drone, causing it to blow up into a strange blue electric cloud. The drones immediately started retreating to the Militech convoy while shooting at our group.

Some rounds landed on our car, and I watched sparks fly as they impacted and ricocheted off the armor plating on the nomad vehicles. I held down the metaphorical trigger and took down the other two drones. And just in time, as the barrel was glowing a soft orange from the long string of fire. While the machine gun cooled down, I watched as Carol finessed with the train's controls and slowed it down.

The Militech convoy was now only a few hundred feet away from us. A loud screech sounded from the train as Carol hit the brakes. The truck I was in blew past the train, and Panam swerved to get around the terrain and building at the intersection. I watched as one of the SUVs tried to cross the tracks before getting cut off and got T-Boned by the nuclear-powered two-hundred-ton hunk of steel. I cringed a little as the armored vehicle crumpled like it was a can of soda. Guess there is only five SUVs worth of security to worry about now.

The train stopped right where it was supposed to and parked itself over the freeway leading further East. The Aldecaldos spread out and parked before getting out and taking shots at the vehicles, careful to keep their sights away from the goods we were trying to steal. The two heavy-duty haulers came to a stop as their path was no longer available, while the SUV pulled off the road and tried to orient into a defensive formation protecting the trucks.

The barrel of my machine gun had cooled down, so I pointed it at an SUV and started sending rounds on target. The projectiles the heavy MG launched pierced through the vehicle's windshield, chewing up anything within it. I traversed the sights, covering as much of the cabin with bullets as possible. Once I was pretty sure that nothing survived, I moved on to the next car.

While I focused on the first car, the other Militech security personnel filtered out of their vehicles and started returning fire. At a glance, I would guess there were a dozen or so guards, but that number was quickly dropping. Despite being outnumbered, the Aldecaldos showed their experience and skill by immediately causing casualties on the other side. Three Militech employees caught out of cover were instantly turned into a pincushion as Bob and Teddy laid into them.

I tried to fire rounds at a guard hiding behind a door, but the steel skin of the vehicle proved a more significant challenge than its glass and stopped my bullets. Changing my tactics, I aimed the turret lower and at my target's lower body. One of the rounds impacted the shin, blowing the leg into two pieces and causing the soldier to fall over. He then tried to crawl to cover, but I turned his head into mush before he could do so.

I watched as Carol fired her Rostovic Kolac with precision, drilling a new hole in the forehead of a new guard's face. She then pulled a grenade out of her pouch before pulling the pun and throwing it at a group of Militech security. I watched as the grenade soared through the air before hitting the ground and rolling right under one of the Militech SUVs. There was a burst of flames that expanded out from under the vehicle, and then the grenade must have caused the fuel tank to explode as the entire car blew apart, killing all the guards around it.

Once the explosion settled, I realized there were far fewer gunshots, and only a few Militech personnel remained. There were three remaining, and they were all grouped further away behind the transport trucks. I watched as Panam, Scorpion, and Mitch carefully advanced on the survivors while everyone else suppressed the enemies. When one of the remaining Militech guards would try to poke their heads out, bullets flew near their faces like they were playing the world's most dangerous game of whack-a-mole.

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It didn't take long for Mitch, Scorpion, and Panam to reach the truck the last three guards were hiding behind. My heart was in my throat when I watched Panam climb onto the truck bed and realized that she would try to flank the enemy soldiers by surprising them from atop them. I watched as she scrambled onto the truck, maneuvering around the Basilisk parts to get a view of the remaining guards. Once she had a line of sight, she shouldered her D5 Copperhead and let out several short bursts of fire.

When she finished firing, she checked her surroundings before turning around and waving people over. Since the fight seemed to be over, I disconnected from the turret. Having my vision suddenly transferred back to my body and gaining control over my limbs again was disorientating. While I recovered my sense, Carol came over the radio.

"I'm moving the train out of the way. Bobby and Teddy, get your ass into those trucks, and let's delta the fuck outta here."

The train moved forward, clearing the path while carrying the poor SUV that was unlucky enough to be hit by it. Bob and Teddy got into the driving compartment of the trucks, and the vehicles lurched into motion and slowly rolled away from us. Panam ran back to the Warhorse and jumped into the driver's seat before slamming the door shut and starting the engine. Moments later, all the Aldecaldo vehicles were on the move, escorting the transport trucks away from the crime scene.

"Hell yeah, Chooms!" Panam screamed across her radio, "That's how you fucking do it!"

I couldn't help but smile as a series of 'whoops' responded to Panam across the channel before being reigned in by the elders.

"Calm down, kiddos. We still got a drive before we get back to camp."

Cassidy's voice sounded before being followed up by Carol.

"Keep your eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. We'll celebrate when we get back to camp."

Happily, no one followed us or even gave us a second glance. Once we were back at camp, we drove around the outer edges of the base until we came up to two large tents on relatively flat land. One was empty, while the other had the Zetatech Surveyor we had stolen on the Hellman job. Everyone but Teddy and Bob parked by the available tent and got out to help offload the Basilisk parts.

Panam and I helped Bob and Teddy maneuver to position, so the rear of the transports was closest to the tent while everyone else hopped into forklifts. After fifteen minutes, the trucks were empty, and everything was stored inside the tent, out of sight from satellites. Once the trucks were open, Bob and Teddy booked out of the camp to dump the vehicles.

A small group of Aldecaldos had seen us return and had made their way over to us to see what all the commotion was about. Once they realized it was a tank, they ran back to camp and gathered everyone they could. Soon, a cheering mob formed, and the crew was bombarded with questions and goodwill. The situation naturally escalated, and an impromptu party began.

While we were being paraded back, Panam managed to find me, and we stuck together.

"Bob and Teddy are going to be really pissed when they find out we started celebrating before they got back."

I grinned at Panam's statement, imagining the pair returning and finding that while driving heavy machinery, everyone else was getting drunk and making merry. My mind didn't dwell on it for too long as I was too busy talking to happy Aldecaldos, congratulating me on a well-done job. The mood was infectious, and I couldn't help but think I might like the Nomad after all.