Sylia Stingray carefully opened up the arm of the woman sitting on her examining table, the silvery haired woman making a soft sound of dismay. "I'm going to have to rebuild the muscle groups in here," she pointed to the upper arm, "the bullet damage is too great." Naomi Armitage sighed as she lay back on the table, the brown haired smaller woman looking tired as she said, "Do what you have to." She was a android, an incredibly realistic robot built to resemble a human being and had worked for earth's police for decades. Sylia shut down Naomi's nerves around the wound then carefully peeled artificial muscle away from the neo-titanium bones, glad to see those were still intact. "Where did this happen?" she wondered as she put the damaged muscle tissues in a chemical bath. "Roanapur," Naomi said, watching Sylia work on her arm, "the asshole of the world." Sylia had to fight back a snort of amusement as she carefully cleaned the interrior of Naomi's wound, "It's that bad?" "Roanapur, Thailand is the hub of all illegal activity in Asia," Naomi informed her, "probably the most lawless place on Earth." From a nearby tank Sylia extracted segments of artificial muscle, shaping them with a knife then laying them in place along the bone. "I've never understood why Serenity tolerates it's existence," she admitted as she worked. "Serenity won't force a country to accept her rule," Naomi shrugged awkwardly, "and since Roanapur is a independant city-state..." "I know Serenity doesn't want to force our values on the world," Sylia said wryly, "but letting a haven of villainy like that continue to exist is a bit much." "Haven of villainy?" Naomi looked amused by the phrase. Sylia shrugged as she finished repairing the muscles. "Do you want me to upgrade your skin?" she asked, "I think there's a new armor type we could try." "I'm fine," Naomi smiled, "if they hadn't used a hyper velocity projectile, I never would have been hurt." "True enough," Sylia said as she laid a thin gel over the exposed muscles then applied the artificial skin. "So why were you there in the first place?" she wondered. Naomi smiled wryly, "It's a long story..." There was a noose hanging from the bridge into Roanapur, a silent warning to any that crossed from the mostly lawful realm of Earth's unified government into the chaos of the city. To the sane it was a warning and to those of a more lawless bent it was a invitation to persue their darkest inclinations. "Why," Cyber Six asked as the black haired woman looked out the car window, "are we taking this antique into town?" The car they were driving was a replica, of course, automobiles of the type hadn't been built for over 500 years. The electric engine hummed as the long Ford bounced along the road, the fins on the back giving the green car a faintly absurd look. "The global power grid doesn't extend into Roanapur," Naomi pointed out, "we can't use anything more modern since they run off projected energy from the grid." She flashed a smile as the road curved towards the city, "Besides, it suits the mood." "You're a strange woman, Armitage," Cyber Six said wryly. "I've heard it said before," Naomi agreed. Crystal Tokyo was a odd city, but Roanapur was even stranger to the women's eyes. It was almost like time had stopped here some years ago, with buildings made of steel and stone rather than memory crystal and other more modern materials. Both of them had lived through eras were buildings like these had existed, and it filled them with a bittersweet nostalga. 'Of course, in the places we went we didn't see prostitutes lining the streets and drug deals going on out in the open like this,' Cyber Six thought. Aloud she asked, "Where are we supposed to meet our contact?" "The oldest and most well respected bar in the city," Naomi answered calmly, "they call it the Yellow Flag." The gaudy neon sign glowed even in daylight, orange and yellow clashing with more sedate buildings around it. It was in the wherehouse district not far from the docks, a shabby part of town in a city that was already pretty bad. "Nice place," Cyber Six noted, "I almost wish I carried a gun." "If I was more human I'd be carrying one too," Naomi agreed as they got out of the car, her long brown coat fluttering around her. Underneath she wore a simple skirt and blouse, both tailored for easy movement. Cyber Six adjusted her red tie, the black business suit she wore hugging her boyish form. "All right," she said, "let's go in." The inside of the bar was loud as men and women talked, argued, gambled and negotiated. There seemed to be a gun on every table and a glass in every hand, the people in the room on edge and ready to act on a moment's notice. "There's our contacts," Naomi nodded towards two women sitting at a corner table, one of them a woman Naomi had once known very well. Alita wore her usual grey overcoat over a simple t-shirt and jeans, sitting back on a stool with a slight smile on her youthful face. A battle cyborg from the global war period she was death on two legs, as fast and strong as any modern fighter and twice as capable. Cyber Six pulled out a chair as she politely nodded to them, "Mind if we sit?" "Go ahead," Alita smiled slightly. Her gaze softened a bit as she looked at Naomi, "It's been awhile." "That it has," Naomi agreed as she sat down. She looked at the white haired woman beside Alta, "And who's your friend?" The white haired woman looked at them calmly, not speaking. She was thin but had nicely developed breasts under a black tank top, a simple set of cut-off shorts hugging her hips. Ammo belts hung off her hips while two guns rested in holsters under each arm. Along with her striking red eyes she had black tattoos running up each arm to her shoulders, the weaving patterns almost reminding one of wings. "This is Jo," Alita gestured to her companion, "she doesn't talk much." "Hmm," the young woman nodded. Cyber Six accepted that calmly, leaning forward on her seat. "So, you called us... what's the situation?" she asked. "Mesa," Alita said flatly, "they've begun dealing in illegal bioroids, even slipped a few combat models in." Naomi growled out something unprintable. "How are they getting by customs?" she snarled, "I thought we inspected every ship!" Alita shook her head, "Don't be so innocent, Naomi. Unless Crystal Tokyo wants to okay 24 hour overflights across the planet, a smuggler can always find a way in." "Point," Naomi sighed. "So," Alita looked at the two of them, "what are you going to do about it? Roanapur doesn't exactly have a extradition treaty with Crystal Tokyo." Naomi and Cyber Six exchanged a look before Cyber Six gave a dangerous smile. "Actually," she admitted, "we were thinking about settling this the Roanapur way." "Big guns and ultra violence?" Alita asked. "Exactly," Naomi nodded. "We want in," Jo spoke up, starling both women. Alita nodded, "We'll lead you to the Mesans, but we want in on the fighting too." She offered her hand, "Deal?" Cyber Six considered it a moment then nodded, "Deal." To be continued... Note: The 'Jo' featured here is a fusion of Jo from Burst Angel and Revy from Black Lagoon. I'll explain where she came from next chapter, probably.
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