Some Warpunk in Cybercraft! [Fanfiction]

Over the night the Probes had set up a perimeter of War Pylons and finished setting up set several robotics facilities.

The Boys had drifted off to sleep. Even Raynor and Mr. Wick closed their eyes for a spell. A sign of their trust in me, I hoped.

Thankfully nothing disturbed us and I had plenty of time to consider what to do with this outpost.

Then it hit me.

This little outpost was going to start producing Reavers. Large mobile heavily armored caterpillar like bots that produce scarab drones. Each would take two weeks, but their payload of explosive little scarab drones was well worth the investment in time. Later, I would adjust their payloads for a variety of tasks but even the power of the baseline explosions was truly a spectacle. Especially for such tiny drones.

They would be great for assaulting any fortified position. Eventually, I'd need what others already possess. If I couldn't bargain with them, then explosives often solved that kind of problem.

I also wanted to get scans of the bots and drones from NC as soon as possible. Humanoid bots might make for an interesting experiment. As well as having the Khalai robots disguised as the standard bots that were already an everyday part of society, would make infiltration much easier. Hiding things in plain sight worked surprisingly well, and by the time the cat was out of the bag our number should be sufficient to hold our own.

On the other hand the Khalai had tried something called the Purifier project. They digitized the minds of some of their greatest warriors, both those who were injured and volunteers, and place they into robotic bodies. They thought it would be an extension of the Dragoon project were still living but unable to fight warriors were entombed within the Dragoon weapons platforms. Their duty to their people allowed them to carry on and often make great differences in battle.

Not so the Purifiers, mostly because the Khalai treated them like robots not the valued and honored warriors their minds were. Personally, I think their rebellion was both predictable and justified. Sadly, I have no Protoss to discuss the situation with to try to make sense of the whole ordeal. Alina only knew so much about what was mostly a classified operation. I wouldn't have found out as much as I had if not for my Executor status.

As the Troops roused themselves the next morning, I cast Regrowth, Cleanse, and Nature's Blessing on all of us. We had a quick breakfast of HQ rations and got going towards the next place I wanted to occupy.

We'd be a swinging a couple dozen miles to the east to avoid the mountains but for the most part we headed straight south.

As I was perusing the satellite maps of the region. I saw that there was a massive solar farm south of the city. We were going to setup an outpost within striking distance of that facility. As my plans progressed I'd arrange my outposts next to critical infrastructure. If it was ever needed, I wanted to be able to grip Night City by it's balls.

I felt a desire to repay all the kindness I had received to date, with interest.

I did get a little worried when we had to cross the border with the NUSA. The border was enforced by extreme application of force, be it from satellite, artillery, or drone strike. You'd get almost no time to retreat before you were reduced into atoms.

However, I had a vehicle with a cloaking field. It would last long, if we wanted to be able to keep moving, but it should be just enough to sneak by the kill zone.

Somewhere the Wraith had a tunnel through the mountains. Locating and appropriating that asset was a story for another day. (AN: I know and it made me very sad. IF you don't get this, don't worry about it.)

We made through without a hitch, and an hour later we were looking at the ridiculously oversized solar panels, and towering central collector. Knowing that the City needed this and at least two nuclear plants, at least one damn, in addition to who knows what else, boggled the mind.

Then again with the profligate displays of lights and holographs, I'm shocked they didn't need more. Though from what little I saw, most building have their own methods of generating at least some power. Hard to say, I could look into it more later.

Here we were not going to take over an existing buildings. No, we were just going to build the outpost in the middle of nowhere, out of the way of prying eyes.

While the Probes and Sentries were working on that, Raynor, Mr. Wick and I were looking over maps of the city trying to get an idea of where in that rats nest our next two outposts were going.

"Here." Mr. Wick pointed to a small shopping center next to Megabuilding 10. I liked it, mainly because I wanted an excuse to look inside one of those behemoths. It must be horrific to actually live in one.

"Yup. That seems like a good bet, Hoss." I could tell Raynor didn't like what he was seeing on the maps. "This city is messier than a sty, full of sick swine. With all these shops it's going to be a nightmare to avoid notice. At least until we get some Pylons up."

"I'll try renting a space out first. It worked last time. Then we can setup underground. If that doesn't work, we act like a gang. Smash the place up, drive everyone out. Still setup up underground. I'll make sure the shop owners are compensated later." It would have to do, until we got a better look at the area.

"What I'm worried about is the truck. It screams Corpo involvement. We'll have to stash it and pickup other means of transport." I continued, looking for a warehouse area on the edge of the district. I saw a likely place and pointed, "Here we'll stash it here. I'll buy a transport hauler of some kind, and we'll use that to get to the shopping center. Best to act like we're delivering something, until we need a different strategy."

They nodded their agreement.

Not long after that, the Probes had everything setup and the Quest completed. 2000 CPoints and a Mercenary Squad Token were now mine.