Chapter Thirteen: Steel Alley Megacity 5 boasted far more than the Maverick Hunter Headquarters, which sat at its center. It was one of the more prominent cities in the world, mostly, yes, because of the Hunter base there, but also because of its industry. Still operating in the northeast section of the city was a gargantuan row of factories, manufacturing plants, and the railways it needed to import and export. Reploid construction had boosted the requirement of steel, iron, titanium, and other powerful metals that required a lot of manpower to mass-produce. Also, most of the weapons and everyday items used by humans and Reploids alike came from this center of industry, dubbed “Steel Alley” by those who lived and worked there. Busy as it was, Steel Alley was not very hospitable. Nor was it a center of technological advancement. All the breakthroughs and experiments that made products better were devised somewhere else. The workers of Steel Alley only followed instructions and built things. If they were given faulty instructions, they built faulty devices, and no one could hold them accountable. This was in part because it wasn’t technically their job to improvise, but mostly because no one dared to stand against the Engineer Corps of Steel Alley. The Engineer Corps, which involved mostly everybody who worked there, was a very tight knit community. They were not always friendly with each other, but they were fiercely loyal to their trade and even when enemies were having trouble with their jobs, the Engineer Corps would stand in their favor. This was, in all reality, a good thing indeed, because more often than not the companies who owned the plants on Steel Alley tried to manipulate and exploit their workers as much as possible. Low wages meant low costs and higher income for the big wigs. Nothing about that had changed, even after all these years, but people hadn’t exactly expected it to. Night loomed over Steel Alley’s south “district”. A blanket of stars covered the moonless sky, somehow visible over the massive clouds of pollution spewed out of Steel Alley even at night. Barrier Greenback took this as a good sign, since the stars intrigued him to no end. He hoped, as he bounced down the sparsely populated street, that the rest of the night went as well. Greenback was a small creature, and more than a little strange. He was a Reploid forged to look like a frog, and he even used hopping as his main mode of transportation. He had humanoid arms and a very broad torso, with a big green head and the bulging eyes one would equate with any mental image of a frog or toad. His legs were large and thick, and capable of launching him far distances with his bounds. The crest of the Mavericks was embedded on his white shoulder armor, though it was dirty and smeared with oil. He’d joined the Mavericks not too long ago, though he really didn’t give a hoot for their war effort. All he knew was that he had been required to build things. Revolver had personally requested his assistance, and as a member of the Engineer Corps, Greenback could never have refused his old friend. His name had always just been “Greenback”, but in order to fit in at the base with people who sported names like “Storm Eagle” and “Gravity Beetle”, he’d modified his name somewhat. “Barrier Greenback” was named so because he’d at one point taken the liberty of installing a barrier program into what little armor he wore. It was mainly for defense on the job, in case something heavy came falling on him. Greenback’s mind was not suitable for any real combat. In fact, it wasn’t suitable for much other than mechanics, but that was fine, since he was damn good at what he did. The toad leapt along, attracting the interested gaze of plenty of passerby. Greenback’s peripheral vision let him see each glance cast his way, but he thought nothing of it. Streetlamps splashed a dim glow over the bleak, worn out pavement and the buildings and apartments that rose up from the ground all looked very high and very old. The paint was in most cases chipping off, and Greenback couldn’t find one building that looked like it had been modified at all in recent years, which was just how he liked it. God, it was nice to be home. The amphibian’s long leaps took him to his destination in half the time it would have taken a human or humanoid. He dove around corner after corner until he arrived at a stretch of the city that seemed barren in comparison with everything else. A long stretch of railroad tracks led far from Steel Alley, and the tracks passed behind the only huge building in the area, and huge it was. Greenback hopped through the rows of giant, disabled train cars and joined a man sitting on the front porch of the building, smoking a cigarette calmly. The man, a Reploid, smiled at the toad and pulled himself to his feet. “It’s good to see Cartwright again,” said Greenback. His voice wasn’t exactly the scratchy croak that might be expected, but it came close enough that it wasn’t anything human. That, and his sentence structure made him sound a little slow, but Cartwright, who stood twice as tall as the short amphibian and wore no armor to speak of, allowing any eyes to behold the bulk beneath the exposed synthetic flesh that his white tee shirt did not cover, did not make that mistake for a minute. He knew the power of Greenback’s mind well enough. “Too true, Greenback, it’s been too long,” the humanoid replied, flicking his cigarette out of his hand. “Let’s talk inside.” They passed through the heavy wooden doorway. Cartwright didn’t have to explain why a toad was following him to anyone else in the lobby of the train station; everyone there knew Greenback well enough already. They entered a private office and Cartwright crashed in an easy chair while Greenback hopped up onto one of the wooden stools, finding himself quite comfortable. Cartwright had at one time found the image of the frog man squatting on a stool very funny, but he had gotten used to it. “So how’ve ya been? Mavs treatin’ ya kindly?” “Greenback treated well,” the frog shrugged. “Is Barrier Greenback now.” It took Cartwright a minute or two to compute what that meant. “I see…because of yer’ fancy defense grid, eh?” Greenback grinned, which was an odd sight to see, and pressed his right fist into his left palm. A shimmering curtain of white energies flickered around him, forming a protective orb. The energy flickered, like bad reception on a television set, but Greenback seemed very pleased with it. “Try to attack!” Not about to touch the thing himself, Cartwright hurled a pen in the toad’s direction. The writing instrument gave a sizzling clang when it connected and shot off in a random direction, ricocheting off the wall and landing quaintly enough in Cartwright’s trash can. “Not bad at all there, Greenback.” The frog threw back his head and laughed, which was unpleasant. When the scratchy, spasmodic noise finally died down, Greenback lowered his head and twitched his fingers. The shimmering curtain around him flickered and died. “Is favorite trick, it is.” Cartwright grinned. He’d gotten used to Greenback’s sudden bouts of laughter, and even found them humorous. “Well, so long as yer’ doin’ well, old boy, there’s no trouble. How’s old Revolver?” “Ooh, Revolver…” Greenback fixed both of his large eyes on Cartwright in an expression of seriousness. “Revolver is sorry he could not come to see you, but he was very busy and has tight schedule. Mr. Sigma, he asks a lot out of Revolver and Greenback.” “Sigma…?” Cartwright frowned. “I thought he was killed.” “Oh, he is, that he is.” Greenback nodded his head furiously to clarify his statements. “Mr. Sigma is killed, but we do not throw away our tools because the boss is gone, you know.” Cartwright knew, all right, and lowered his voice. “So, you guys still have something up your sleeve?” “Oh yes, big something!” Greenback cackled again. “Greenback cannot tell you, but Steel Alley will be proud! Mavericks will make all the bosses go away, and the engineers, we get what we have always wanted!” Cartwright smiled again. In the past, the Mavericks had never struck a blow at Steel Alley, because it was always so important to their supply lines. The same held true for the Hunters, and the final card in Steel Alley’s favor was that it was out of the way. It’s total lack of strategic importance helped keep it safe from the violence of the previous wars. Indeed, something most of the engineers here looked forward to also was the weakening of the corporate powers that kept their wages less than huge, so they did tend to support the Mavericks in most conflicts, though the Hunters always turned the other cheek. “It sounds great, Greenback, I can’t wait to see what comes of it.” Cartwright pressed his fingers against each other, arcing them into a pyramid. “I take it some o’ those shipments Revolver wants me to smuggle have somethin’ ta do with your big project…?” “Of course, Cartwright, of course!” Greenback’s tongue shot out to spear a fly on the wall, and Cartwright recoiled. He’d never gotten used to that part of Greenback’s behavior, since he found it both startling and nasty. “Revolver was in the outskirts of Steel Alley yesterday. He couldn’t find Cartwright then, so he took care of other business.” The toad grinned his unique grin once more. “So Greenback here to finish job!” Cartwright nodded slowly. “What exactly needs to be finished?” “Train,” Greenback explained. “Train station must be ready for train. Greenback has details.” “Go ahead.” The Maverick bounced excitedly, almost upsetting his stool. “Mavericks come by cargo train in two days. They smuggle their way into last train, and get in as many cars as possible. Then Mavericks stop train in Steel Alley, and pick up stuff Cartwright smuggled.” Cartwright scratched his head. “Why all the soldiers?” “Greenback knows how Cartwright feels.” The toad shook his head in what passed for disgust. “Greenback thinks it is such an unnecessary thing, but when Greenback thinks about it, what is being smuggled is very bad, so troops might be needed.” Another grin. “Mavericks very careful nowadays. Hunters have satellites in sky, and Mavericks don’t want to repeat past mistakes.” “I see…” Cartwright frowned. Yes, it was a good idea to have a large contingent of guards for this material—even Cartwright didn’t know precisely what he’d smuggled, but he did know that some of the components were fiercely forbidden by law and that he could be shot on sight for having them—and Cartwright knew it was better if the Mavericks felt they were threatened by a satellite. As it was, Cartwright severely doubted that any satellite could pick through the pollution around Steel Alley well enough for a clear picture of anything, but he decided not to tell Greenback that. Someone else in Greenback’s army probably had already realized the same thing, he reasoned. “So all I gotta do is sit here in this ol’ dump an’ wait for ya to pull up in the train?” “Blackstar train. Greenback thinks number is 5041. Yes, definitely, Blackstar 5041.” “Yeah, that there’s the last train we got on Friday,” Cartwright confirmed. “Then I help you get the stuff on board? Seems mighty easy, Greenback. Why were ya so worried about details?” “Greenback is worried because Revolver was worried. No one wants to take a chance, and Greenback is certain Cartwright understands.” The humanoid paused for a second before nodding. “How will I find out if the plan is still on? I mean, wouldn’t do me no good to bring this stuff out to a regular train crew if you guys decide to back off.” Greenback cackled again. “You will know. There will be a Maverick that Cartwright will not be able to miss.” “Who? Or is it top secret, for some reason?” “No secret. Blast Hornet.” Cartwright blinked. Blast Hornet, a Maverick who’d served under Dr. Doppler in the Third War, had at one time been a worker here on Steel Alley. He’d been one of the coveted flyers who’d carried supplies from one area of assembly lines to another, and the lasers in his blaster were well suited for welding or whatever else was needed. Blast had been reequipped for combat, Cartwright knew, but he was sure he’d still recognize the Maverick. Something, however, kept gnawing at his mind. “I thought that Blast Hornet was a deader.” “He was,” shrugged Greenback. “In theory, anyway. Blast Hornet never died in the Third War. Blast Hornet was hurt, he was, and very brain dead, but he was salvaged by some people in a stray Maverick base. Poor Mavericks did not fix Blast’s head well enough, and he went very cuckoo. Lots of people died and then Revolver was able to fix Blast’s head enough that he can think again. But poor Blast is not anything like he used to be.” Cartwright shuddered. “But he’ll recognize me?” “Might. Might not. But he won’t attack you. And he will not be alone. Other commander will be there, a big commander. Nothing will go wrong.” “I see…” Cartwright started wringing his hands. “What, eh, what happens if them Maverick Hunters decide to poke their noses into our business?” “Ahh…” Greenback cackled again, this time a little evilly. “Cartwright must trust Greenback. The Mavericks will be more than ready to defeat the Hunters, we will.” It didn’t take long from that point to conclude the meeting, and the two old friends started to chat a little bit before Greenback bade Cartwright farewell and hopped back into the city. Cartwright then proceeded down into his storage chamber and examined the giant boxes that he was going to hand over to the Mavericks. He had no idea how they planned to get the stuff to their base on a train, but he imagined they were going to use the simplest plan that came to mind. He figured, maybe, they’d ride the train to a certain spot and disable it somehow, unloading their goods and disappearing on a trail to their base. Hell, who knew? All he had to do was give them this stuff, and he would be more than happy to get it out of his hands anyway. Greenback had concluded his official business but that didn’t mean he was ready to leave yet. He hopped back through the industrial labyrinth of buildings, roads, alleys, and factories, and eventually encountered an unseemly looking bar that was bustling with regulars. The toad hopped up through the double doors and immediately found himself a stool where he could be served. The bartender recognized him immediately. “Been a while, Greenback,” he said as he took the frog’s order. Greenback grinned. “How’s business, Hart?” Hart shrugged, glancing around the full bar. “Doing pretty well, I guess. Lots o’ folks around here still want nothing more than to get drunk after a hard day’s work. Who am I to judge?” Greenback laughed and Hart went to fetch his drink. It never crossed Greenback’s mind to dislike Hart because he was a human. Nothing was wrong with the humans in Steel Alley, Greenback knew, because they were all a part of the Engineer Corps. What this must mean, Greenback figured, was that not all humans were bad and needed to be killed. All they wanted to do was make things fairer for Reploids, so really they didn’t have to kill each and every human being to do that. Therefore Greenback wouldn’t have to hurt Hart or any other of his friends in Steel Alley…right? There was no question, actually, because Revolver still hadn’t forgotten his ties to Steel Alley, and Greenback was pretty sure that his boss wouldn’t ever be a part of anything that could threaten their old home. Before the frog could ponder this any further, a voice he hadn’t heard in years invaded his sound receptors. “Well, well, well! Look who decided to come hopping back here after all this time! What’s wrong, Greenie? Didn’t think we were good enough for you?” Greenback spun around on his barstool, and the expression on his face was a happy one. There had been no mocking tone in the speaker’s voice, since he was a good friend after all. The toad leapt enthusiastically off the barstool and bounded towards a tall Reploid with grayish white hair. He sported armor that wasn’t quite black, but blue enough that it was pretty close to it, and the said armor was flecked with all kinds of little adornments, such as white and gold trimming and the occasional red glass gem. His helmet sported a red glass visor that he now had flipped up to reveal a handsome, youngish face, complete with bright eyes and a confident grin. Greenback bounded onto a stool next to the Reploid, and Hart followed him that way with the drink, looking a bit annoyed at having to walk the extra distance. “Been way too long, Greenback,” the Reploid said in way of second greeting. “Yes. Is good to see that Dynamo remembers Greenback.” Dynamo produced a rich laugh. “How exactly am I gonna forget a face like yours?” “Ah, Greenback cannot help it if he is not stud.” The toad chuckled as he took his drink from Hart. The bartender refused pay, insisting that the Corps would take care of it. Greenback had always wondered where the Engineer Corps kept their treasury, or if they even had one. “Greenback cannot be as perfect as Dynamo…who is still a narcissistic creep, Greenback sees.” Dynamo clutched his arm to his chest and feigned a hurt expression. “Touché.” The humanoid took a swig of his own beer, and when Hart came to refill it he shook his head and paid his bill, done for the night. “No special treatment for me, Hart?” Dynamo’s voice came honest and convincing, but he threw in one of his tones that made it obvious that he was kidding. Hart laughed and shook his head. “Gotta leave us for a year or two, Dynamo. Then you’ll get you’re free booze.” “Well, it was worth a shot.” Greenback just shook his head. He had always been amazed at how well Dynamo was accepted in these parts. The Reploid was a mercenary, and had little to nothing to do with the industries of Steel Alley. However he was well known and respected in these parts, and while he was not a member of the Engineer Corps, he made frequent donations and on more than one occasion had settled violent disturbances that might threaten other inhabitants of the area without asking for anything in return, thus garnering quite a lot of admiration. Greenback would never want to be pit against Dynamo in a fight, since from what he’d seen, Dynamo possessed skills that he was sure would put even X and Zero to shame. “So,” Dynamo said as he turned his attention back to his amphibian friend. “What have you been up to? Find any particularly good flies at the Maverick Headquarters?” Greenback cackled, and this normally disturbing action didn’t unnerve Dynamo in the least. “Not exactly, but Greenback did find some scrumptious cockroaches.” At this Dynamo actually looked a little revolted, and Greenback cackled more fiercely. “Greenback is kidding! Hah, it has been a while since Dynamo has fallen for one of Greenback’s tricks.” “It’s been a while since Dynamo has seen Greenback,” Dynamo replied, imitating the frog’s speech casually. “Well to answer Dynamo’s question, Greenback has been working on a big project. It is one that will make Steel Alley proud that a team of its own soldiers created it.” Dynamo nodded. “Revolver was around here the other day, I hear. I missed him. Who else is working on this?” “Just Greenback, Revolver, and Chuck.” “Chuck? The woodchuck?” Greenback cackled yet again. “Good name for him, Greenback thinks.” “Kinda boring name,” Dynamo said with a fake yawn. “What sort of project is this?” “Greenback cannot tell you that.” The frog smiled conspiratorially, and since his normal smile was odd enough, the added emotion made the gesture all the more indecipherable, but Dynamo didn’t have a problem figuring it out. “But Greenback can say it’s the last thing that the Hunters can expect. Heheh…Greenback will give hint. Dynamo has something like it.” Dynamo scratched his chin. “Don’t tell me you spent all this time developing some new kind of lightsaber.” “No!” Greenback shook his head rapidly. “No, no, no! Is much better than a lightsaber! Is much better than any handheld weapon!” Dynamo thought again, and took a wild guess. He spread his thumb and pinky finger out on his right hand to form “wings” and glided his palm across the tabletop while making a low “whoosh” sound. Greenback clapped once and laughed. “Yes! Only ours is much bigger and fatter than Dynamo’s airplane.” Dynamo chuckled. “I’d hope, since my jet is just a one-seater used to get me from home to the bar.” Greenback finished his drink, emptying the contents in his wide mouth. “Greenback, Revolver, and Chuck have worked a very long time on our project, and it is almost done! All that is needed is little things.” “Great,” Dynamo said with a grin. “Then things’ll get interesting between you and the Hunters again, right?” Greenback nodded, grinning evilly. “Very, very interesting.” Dynamo smiled inwardly. He favored neither party in the war, since he found them all to be a bunch of hypocrites. The Hunters wanted to defeat the evil Mavericks and keep the peace, supposedly saving the world. But even if they did defeat the current Mavericks, the humans would try to press unfair laws on the Reploids, igniting another revolt and a new string of Mavericks, defeating the Hunter’s purpose. The Mavericks, on the other hand, claimed to want to get equal rights for Reploids and stop humans from limiting Reploid growth. However, all the Mavericks really did was blow stuff up, and they never got any closer to their goal. Sure they killed a lot of people, but by doing all the brutal things they did just encouraged the humans to come down harder on Reploids, defeating their purpose as well. Dynamo figured, why bother with allegiance? He was powerful, smart, and a free spirit by nature. He played both sides as a mercenary, taking virtually every job. He could probably handle any assignment, but he kept a low profile. If he made it known just how skilled he really was, armies would try to lay permanent claim to his services, and that was the last thing he wanted. With the current peacetime and sudden self-sufficiency of the Maverick army, Dynamo had not had a lot to do. If war broke out between the two armies again, he wouldn’t be quite so bored. “That’s good to hear, then. Should get you guys some more spring in your step, eh?” Greenback nodded agreement. “So what has Dynamo been doing? Still doing whatever he wants?” “You betcha.” The mercenary spun around on his barstool and leaned into the table behind him, crossing his hands behind his helmeted head. “Kinda slow, actually, but the other day I did do some spy work.” “Ohh! What happened?” Greenback had always been interested in espionage, even though he had no skill in that area. A shrug. “Nothing big. You know that sky castle, Icarus?” Greenback’s eyes got even bigger than they already were. “You got in that place?!” Dynamo convulsed with laughter. “No, no, my dear frog man. I’m not quite so suicidal…” Actually he was, he knew. Icarus would be the supreme challenge, and he was quite up to it. His lips curled up into a cunning grin. “I did figure out how to do it, though.” Greenback’s eyes got even wider yet, and Dynamo couldn’t help but chuckle at that, too. “Just invaded a few computer systems at the Kerido Building. You know how tight that place is with the Suits. I could have disguised myself and downloaded the information I needed right in front of the pukes, but that would have been too easy.” The grin widened. “So I just crept in there at night. No one saw me, no alarm system picked me up, nothing. I got me some nice information about the Icarus base, which could come in handy if I ever decide to destroy the world.” Greenback found that very hilarious. When he stopped laughing, he grinned up at his comrade, shaking his large green head slowly. “Greenback would be surprised if Dynamo couldn’t do it. But who would want Dynamo to steal something like that? Is it Greenback’s employers? That would be ironic…Greenback doing one thing for the Mavericks, and Dynamo doing other thing!” “It would be, yes, but alas, it is not so.” Dynamo’s grin became a little more conspiratorial. “Kou Cao’s people sent me on this one. Who knows what that guy could be up to this time…? Oh well, it’s generally better to leave the Gold Serpent well enough alone, eh?” “Greenback doesn’t believe that Dynamo couldn’t defeat the Gold Serpent.” “Dynamo probably could defeat the Serpent…it’s the Serpent’s legions of guards armed with sharp, blunt weapons that Dynamo is afraid of.” Greenback decided not to pursue the matter. One of the more quiet superpowers in the black market of Megacity 5 was a shrewd man by the name of Kou Cao. No one knew if Kou Cao was human or Reploid, since the man kept himself very well hidden, and did most of his bidding through his underlings. Most people referred to Kou Cao by his nickname, the Gold Serpent. The name had been bestowed on Kou Cao to mock him at first, insinuating that he was cowardly and was afraid to stop snaking around in the shadows. The mystery man had started to wear the name with pride, however, thinking it was rather catchy. If Dynamo was dealing with the Gold Serpent, then it could well be something big, but the Serpent was indeed known for just doing something to know he could do it, meaning he might have just had Dynamo get him the information on Icarus merely for the satisfaction of knowing he could infiltrate the base if he wanted to, never having any intention of actually doing so. “So anyhow,” Dynamo said, yawning. “Enough about me, fantastic as I may be…how’s Revolver holding up? Didn’t get mangled in some giant gears yet, I hope.” “No, not yet. Revolver is in good shape, and is very proud of what he made.” Greenback puffed out his chest. “All are proud.” “I can’t wait to see what you’ve come up with,” Dynamo said. “I feel left out. I wanna be proud, too.” Greenback cackled. “Dynamo is proud enough. Too proud sometimes, though Greenback thinks its funny. Anyhow, Dynamo will like this a lot.” The toad rubbed his hands together enthusiastically. “Yes, yes, yes…if Greenback knows Dynamo at all, Greenback knows that Dynamo will be a very happy person when this is over.” Dynamo felt the corners of his mouth twitching back into a wide grin. “We’ll just have to see about that, won’t we?” Greenback gave Dynamo another evil grin. “Do not worry. Dynamo will not have to wait long at all.” Generally, the earlier observation made by Cartwright that the Mavericks were putting a little too much manpower into this little mission would have been totally correct. Were the smuggled goods small and easily handled, the Mavericks would have been able to just pick them up at the train’s next stop, and casually march back to their base. However, given the size and importance of these parts, it was impossible for the said casual march. They had to be able to ditch the train with the goods when it was closest to the path leading up to the Catskill Mountains and, eventually, Seraph Castle. To do this, a team of five troops would probably be adequate, but the awkward nature of this mission meant that they were almost certain to arouse suspicion. Plans for the smuggling had been drafted by Terrornova’s Teytha, who was at this point counting on Hunter interference. She’d spent a lot of time worrying about how to handle them, and had come to the conclusion that it would be extremely difficult for the Hunters to put troops on their train once they started moving. So, if there was any skirmish to be had, it needed to happen at the end of the mission, when they had the goods in their possession and could escape. Then came the possibility that the Hunters would throw caution to the wind and try to destroy the train car to deny the Mavericks the supplies they needed. Not only did Teytha know that they were more than capable of destroying the train, but worse, she had no idea how to stop them from doing it. So, she had decided to make sure that they would at least be able to secure as much of their prizes as they could, even if the train was blown to pieces. To do all she wanted to do, she would need more than four or five troops. In addition to those needed to simply transport the materials, she needed people who could defend and fight. She had ultimately decided that ten soldiers would be enough, plus her and another commander, to form a solid defense for the train, and she would place ten other soldiers along the tracks on the way to the drop point, where all Mavericks would “abandon ship”. If the Hunters somehow got on board the train, these ten extras, all of whom would be snipers, would be able to pick most of them off, providing a relief for those already on the train, since there wasn’t much room to fight and with twelve people on the train on the Maverick end, plus whatever the Hunters managed to get on board, things could get cumbersome. She had selected ten of the all around best soldiers they had, many of whom were survivors of the quarry incident, and had asked Malevex to deliver to her his ten best snipers. She’d also made sure that Malevex himself would be able to step in with some last minute support if need be, though he would be positioned on the road to Seraph Castle, so he would be of no immediate help if the train itself came under attack. As far as the commander she would take with her on the train, however, she had thought a little more carefully about that. It would have made the most sense, seemingly, to take Malevex or Gredam, but if there was a possibility that the Hunters could destroy the entire train, which there was, Teytha didn’t think it a good idea for more than one of the three main commanders to be on the train at one time. She figured it was a bad idea for her to be on there, even, but all three of them had agreed that they wanted someone completely competent guarding the parts they were going to be smuggling, since they couldn’t afford for them to fall into Hunter hands. Teytha had insisted she be the one to go, claiming that “completely competent” excluded all men, and that she wanted to make some use of herself. Gredam and Malevex had reluctantly agreed, and Teytha had opted to take along someone else just in case the Hunters did indeed board the train. And why not? With the wide array of Mavericks, each with their own unique abilities, there had to be someone well suited to a mission like this. Teytha had decided that she needed someone who could fly, since they would have perfect mobility fighting on top of train cars. She had the option of Cyber Peacock or Storm Eagle from Seraph Castle, and she knew Storm Eagle was more than capable of doing the job. He’d been a part of the planning, and had been willing to go, but Teytha had figured out a while back that Storm was gifted with intelligence, a rare commodity among most of the Maverick soldiers, and she didn’t want to risk him quite yet. Cyber Peacock, her other option, was more prone to hovering in one spot, and since the train would be constantly moving at a fast pace, she doubted he’d be very useful. That meant she’d have to look elsewhere. She’d found a suitable candidate almost immediately after a quick check with some of her old friends linked to the Gold Serpent, a man who was, among other things, an information dealer. The Maverick known as Blast Hornet had resurfaced in a Sub City, and he was quite off his rocker. Teytha had snatched him up before the Hunters could destroy him, and the Mavericks had done a bit of a fix up job on the bee’s mind to make him a little more competent. The result was less than perfect, and it was unlikely that Blast would ever have a personality again. The bee was, for lack of better term, a drone, and that suited Teytha’s purposes perfectly. He would do what he was told precisely, and he’d do a good job of it. She could, in fact, have taken a whole squad of flyers to be safe, but she’d scrapped that idea quickly enough. They would actually have to board the train somewhere, and it would be a lot easier to smuggle a lot of humanoids onto a train than it would be to get a bunch of beast men past security. The actual boarding point would be an old depot station that was poorly managed. It was about two miles out of Steel Alley, and the Mavericks would teleport to a deserted area three miles from there, the only place suitable for teleportation in the area. After they reached the depot, they’d board the train quietly from the back—there was no worry about those managing the depot, since they were all on Cartwright’s side—and taking off towards Cartwright’s station in Steel Alley. She was far from happy with her plan, but she was pretty sure it was the best she was going to get. She knew that the Hunters had declared a “Red Climate”, meaning security everywhere in Megacity 5 would be tighter than usual, and she was certain that enough red flags would be raised in this mission to attract enemy attention. In fact, the Red Climate was the only reason she didn’t have her troops just march through Steel Alley to Cartwright’s station; they would certainly be welcomed, perhaps grudgingly, but word of their arrival would definitely get to the Hunters, and they would be in the area in a heartbeat. Indeed, even now, the said red flags were going off, but they were ever so minor. The conductor of Blackstar 5041 was informed that his train would pause for a longer period of time at the depot outside Steel Alley in two days. The conductor was a bit annoyed, since he generally never had to stop at that depot, and he was even more annoyed by the stupid Red Climate thing that the Hunters had issued and the government was enforcing. He was to report anything that was not normal, even if it was just something stupid like this, but since he didn’t really want to lose his job over it, he had a form filled out before he went home for the night. The Hunter analyst who went over the report didn’t think a lot of it at all, but noting that it was in Steel Alley, an area that had been sympathetic to Mavericks in the past, and so put it in the pile of papers that demanded a slight bit of attention from someone higher than he. It wasn’t much on its own, but soon enough, as Teytha had feared and planned for, the evidence would begin to mount.