It was a clear night sky, the chill seeped into bones. The moon and its rings were brightly lit, ethereal and prominent. A floating neon city hovered in front as if the moon were simply its backdrop. This was the scene that greeted a young boy when he opened his eyes for the first time. Around him was a dimly lit street of cobbled stone, bronze and steam. The smell of diesel soaked the air with its acidic stench.
He could hear the vestiges and echoes of the street's inhabitants. Fighting, merriness and the metallic sound of meticulous hammering, wrenching and methodically harmonious grunting as men in a nearby forge worked through the late hours.
The young boy did not know who, or where, he was. He had no memories, only a pair of pants and the number seven dully present on his right forearm. A passerby stopped, dressed in a dark coat and fedora. He seemed tall to the small child, this man was the first human he had ever seen. The tall, coated figure approached the small boy, and the small boy continued to stare in return. Stoic, but all the more curious.
"It's a little cold to be without clothes. Where are your parents, child?" The man remained mostly in the shadows, but his voice was tinged with kindness and sympathy.
"What are…parents?" The boy replied weakly. The man seemed to ponder the question for a moment before responding.
"Nothing important. Do you know your name, son?" This was met with a blank look from the boy.
"Right…" The man seemed to ponder further before his eyes fell upon the branded number seven on the boy's arm.
"Your name is… Seven." The man stated as he took his coat off and wrapped Seven up and lifted him off the dirty street. Seven was around five at that time, and twelve years had passed since the Doctor took him under his wing. Now, he was staring up at the same sight that greeted him first that day. The chill of the night was just as vivid and to the bone.
"Starin at Silver City again? Hah, I can't help but envy this being your first memory. The floating city of Dreams and Ambition." Melrod, Seven's best friend, stepped up next to Seven to stare up at the majestic floating city. Seven didn't even look over at the lanky kid. Melrod was a skinny six-foot-tall blonde kid who had a knack for mischief. His eyes were bright green and held the look of a constant plot.
"It's hardly enviable though? I mean, looking at you who grew up here in this City of Legends, I should be envious of your memories." Seven replied while leaning back against the wall.
"Ah, yes. Murder and crime abundant, homeless and filth lining the streets, and never a moment of silence anywhere in it. Truly the greatest city to have a lifetime of memories in." Melrod replied sarcastically while leaning against the railing across from Seven. Seven scoffed and stood straight. In contrast to Melrod, Seven was like the opposite, five foot ten inches tall with dark auburn hair and grey eyes devoid of much emotion other than a persistent curiosity for all things.
"So, what's the score today?" Seven asked, getting to business. Melrod clasped his hand to his chest and gave a feigned expression of hurt. A situation that played out countless times before, almost methodical in action.
"Just because I sought you out, you assume we have work to do? I'm hurt by such insinuations." Seven looked at his best friend blankly, another sentence practiced so much it sounded autonomous.
"You sought me out at this time of night, the guild is closed, and your tranq is holstered on your belt instead of your thigh, which has been replaced by your Power Six." Seven pointed out. The Power Six was a common gas actuated six shot revolver in .40 caliber.
"Damn… yeah, we have a job. Dr. Steam requested us for an acquisition. Just a couple crates from a certain warehouse, owned by a certain company on the outskirts of the city." Melrod purposefully with-held the important details. Seven sighed and looked Melrod in the face.
"What warehouse, owned by which company, Melrod." Seven didn't bother asking, just simply demanded the answer.
"Nothing escapes you huh? Well, I only know of the location and what crates to snag. The company was very hush hush, I couldn't catch details while I was eavesdropping on the conversation between mom and Dr. Steam." Melrod shrugged. His mom was the Master of the Thieves Guild, and whenever Dr. Steam makes a request, she handles it personally.
"Looks like it's going to be a long night." Seven stretched.
"Also, bring Artemis. The cargo isn't light." Melrod warned. Seven stopped mid-stretch, Artemis was his personal Runner. A two-wheel, two engine medium sized hauler he had snatched up from a construction site outside of the city.
"You want me to bring my loud ass Runner? To a covert operation?" Seven looked at Melrod incredulously.
"Who said anything about being covert?" Melrod winked as he walked away with a laugh. Seven stared after him with a look of disbelief.
"Why are they sending me on a loud operation?"
Seven parked Artemis on the street leading to the entrance of the warehouse Melrod led him too. Seven lifted the canopy of the driver pit and climbed out and down the side of the runner. Melrod was on the carriage that he had attached to Artemis prior to their departure.
"Alright, let's at least scope the place out." Seven approached a fire escape and climbed up the ladder. Melrod followed behind swiftly. Upon reaching the top of the building, Seven pulled out a pair of small binoculars. The warehouse was teeming with a small group of well-equipped soldiers. But not normal soldiers he could find anywhere in the lower cities.
The bustle of the soldiers was faint, almost barely existent. But in the stillness of the somewhat uninhabited warehousing district, it was loud. The whirling of electrical machines that contrasted Pioneers' diesel machines, sounding more alive and harmonious.
"Are we stealing from a Silver City Corporation?" Seven asked Melrod as he handed him the binoculars. Melrod looked through the binoculars and scanned the area.
"Yep. Looks like Cyber-Tech Soldiers… and they're guarding mostly Astro-Tech crates. Yeah, those two loaded up on the cargo ramp are the ones we're after, the unmarked anti-ballistic coated crates." Melrod handed the binoculars back to Seven and pointed the crates out. Seven turned to the crates that waited on the western most loading ramp.
"That's highly inconvenient. How am I supposed to get Artemis back there? She's not a small Runner." Seven put the binoculars away.
"Leave that to me. The carriage has straps, and the anti-ballistic coating will keep the merchandise safe." Melrod hopped up and descended the stairs. Seven sighed and followed him. As soon as he reached the ground, Seven climbed up Artemis and into the driver pit. To get Artemis to start, he flipped the oil, fuel, water, and hydraulic pumps in sequence; gauges blinked to green before he thumbed the starter.
The number one engine started and Seven then engaged the drive gears and put the throttle to a quarter full, inching Artemis forward slowly at first and then picking up speed rapidly towards the Warehouse's gated entrance. Seven activated the ballistic resistant canopy that slid down over him just as the Cyber-Tech soldiers opened fire. The crack of bullets stinging the canopy was amplified in the enclosed pit.
"Whoo! Never a dull moment in Pioneer City!" Melrod exclaimed from the carriage as Seven blasted through the gate and pulled Artemis around for the carriage to be as close to the crates as possible. Seven disengaged the drive gears and backed off the throttle.
Bullets pinged off the canopy while Seven hit a lever that opened a hatch and ejected a belt fed gas actuated pipe rifle.
"Hurry up Melrod! These bullets aren't cheap!" Seven stated as he pushed the lever forward while twisting it to the left, popping out a trigger and turning it into a maneuverable stick to manipulate the weapon.
Melrod shot occasionally at outlying soldiers while dragging the carriage cables to the packages and attaching them through the loops around the crates. As soon as he hooked the cables securely, a loud shot rang out and a new hole found itself in Sevens' Canopy. The bullet proof glass rained down on Seven, symbolizing its failure.
Seven engaged the drive gears and threw the throttle forward and ducked just as another hole was put into the canopy accompanied by a loud bang as the shot rang out. Melrod jumped onto the carriage as Artemis started to pick up speed and hit the automatic lever to drag the crates to the carriage. Unfortunately, they were currently being dragged manually by Artemis across the dirt and gravel road.
"What the hell was that weapon?" Seven shouted. Melrod was blindly firing while making himself as small a target as possible.
"Can't talk, being small." Melrod frantically shouted back. Seven continued to push the throttle until it was at the half point and then sat up and breathed a sigh. He was now cruising at around seventy miles per hour. The fastest he would allowably let Artemis go, even under relatively normal circumstances.
As she was just a construction hauling runner prior to his acquisition of her. Though her outputs were peak after the modifications, there was a high risk of engine failure at high speed and rpm. The crates had finally been dragged onto the carriage at this point and Melrod was busy securing and closing the carriage gates. The carriage jolted and bumped erratically, causing Melrod's balance to shift constantly.
Just as the boys were about to celebrate their successful escape, several bright lights appeared behind them and were rapidly approaching. Not long after, shots rang out accompanied by the pinging of bullets ricocheting off Artemis' body panels.
"Fuck! We've got incoming, Seven!" Melrod shouted as he hid behind the crates and began shooting back. Seven turned his chair around and hit yet another lever and ejected another mounted weapon. He squeezed the trigger and peppered the closest approaching runner. Sparks flew from the impacts and the runner began to careen before swerving sharply to the right to avoid the onslaught of bullets. The sudden change in terrain shook the runner and the feel of the tires went from rough to jolting and back to rough again
Seven aimed back at them and peppered them more, taking out their lights. Shortly after a crash was heard followed by the sound of crumbling debris as the runner plowed through a wall or building somewhere in the darkness.
Seven turned the chair back and pressed another button, turning the forefront lamps down and the rear lamps off.
"I'll be focusing on driving now, Melrod!" Seven began operating more levers and buttons as he began changing drive gears to increase speed. Artemis groaned under the strain, but after applying a gear meant for hauling to the rear wheel, she quieted down.
"Well, hate to tell you this, but they're faster than us!" Melrod shouted as suddenly two runners unlike any Seven had seen before pulled up next to him on either side. They were smoother, smaller, had four aggressive looking tires, were lit up with bright lights and practically silent.
A soldier on each side leaned out and each pointed a strange weapon directly at Seven and just as he ducked, two beams of super-hot light blasted the canopy into melted glass above him, opening the driver pit up as easily as cracking an egg.
"FUCK!" Seven slammed the throttle forward even more and sped up instantly, the gears groaned under the sudden acceleration with the load they were pulling.
"What the fuck are those?" Melrod exclaimed fearfully as Artemis sped past the two strange runners briefly. Seven sat up and unlatched a hidden panel, leaned back down and unlatched the maintenance hatch. He sat back up, opened the panel, revealing four small fat cylinders with a blue liquid that glowed faintly. He took two of them out and twisted a dial on the top, activating a timer.
He then leaned down, opened the maintenance hatch, revealing four slots just large enough for the cylinders to fit. He inserted the two cylinders he activated into the slots labeled 'Engine 2'. He then shut the hatch and locked it, sat up and took the other two out and placed them in his pocket, he reached further into the panel and took out a heavily modified revolver.
The barrel was longer with a wider reinforced steel body. The grip was made of aged oak and textured for a comfortable yet firm handling. The chamber had been modified for a longer bullet, still in .40, just more pressurized and made specifically for piecing through armor.
A new light was illuminated in green, slowly blinking, on the dash next to the throttle. It had no label, but Seven knew it meant that the fluid he just inserted into the slots in the maintenance hatch had been registered as engaged.
"Melrod, be ready in exactly forty seconds! I just slotted in two concentrated shots of refined Celestial Condensate into the direct fuel line to engine two!" Seven shouted out to Melrod who looked back, his face pale.
"Where'd you get that shit? You know how illegal that is? Five generations of lineage serve life in the most isolated lockdown, and then the last generation gets executed, ending the bloodline entirely." Melrod seemed more concerned about the condensate than getting shot at by Cyber-Tech soldiers with portable suns.
"Thanks for the unnecessary explanation, detail character!" Seven shouted back.
The two runners had finally caught up and were inching back up to Seven with the deadly cannons aimed and ready. As soon as the one to the left was in sight, Seven aimed the revolver at the soldier and shot him directly in the head, there was an abrupt snap back and the soldier dropped limply and fell to the road.
The strange runner then seemed to glide next to Artemis for a couple seconds before turning under her and becoming a new speed bump, before it did, Seven briefly glimpsed somebody bail shortly before the careen. Seven quickly turned and shot at the next one, only to graze the soldier's finger causing them to jolt and send the ominous beam into the night sky. Seven aimed again and shot past the soldier in pain and nailed the wrist of the driver.
The strange runner careened and slammed into Artemis, getting stuck. The soldier with the weapon took their chance to climb up Artemis, the runner they were on also slowly inching towards the back wheel before ultimately becoming scrap metal under the three-quarter ton wheel.
The green blinking light turned solid red and Seven reached for the corresponding button underneath just as the soldier reached the pit and aimed the weapon directly at Seven's head.
"Die, lowly undercity scum!" The soldier shouted as the weapon began to charge a shot. Seven smiled,
"Sorry, Gotta blast." Seven hit the button and threw the throttle to full. Artemis roared and accelerated forward at insane speeds, the soldier dropped the weapon into the driver pit, where it landed next to Seven's feet. The soldier grabbed the edge of the broken canopy and held on, his hands immediately bled as the broken glass cut deeply into the soldier's clenched hand muscles. Seven struggled to point the revolver at the soldier's head, the soldier shaking their head, pleadingly.
"No ass, no gas, no grass, no ride." Seven said as he pulled the trigger, and the soldier shot away from the force of air as Artemis sped away. Though the two shots of fluid only lasted half a minute, it was enough to vanish from view and pursuit.