Bubblegum Crisis Post 2040 Fanfic Series

Bubblegum Crisis Post 2040 File 1: Dominant Species

Part 3: Casualties

Chapter 24: Tactical Edge

by P. Kristen Enos (bgcpost2040@aol.com)

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A Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 English Dub Version Fanfic. All rights belong to AIC, ADV Films and the other creative powers that be. I just want credit for writing the story. Contains spoilers! Rated PG13. Yuri warning! Nothing in here should be a shock if you've watched the episodes and paid attention. All I'm doing is filling in the gaps with my own interpretation of events! Special thanks to egret for betaing!

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Linna was in Osaka, not Okinawa (I knew it started with an "o"). I thought I'd change it before some purist points out where the other Hugh-Geit office was from watching the series.

Yes, I finally broke down and changed "Mackie" to "Mackey".

I won't use "Sabres" instead of "Sabers" because I'm just not British.

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Sylia purposefully cleared all thoughts from her mind as the launch tube flickered with its countdown lights. As much as she wanted to indulge in the excitement of wearing her hardsuit again, she knew there was a serious matter at hand requiring as much focus as possible. Within a matter of seconds, she felt herself shoot up through the tube with the force of a bullet. The added weight on her back didn't seem to make any difference as she shot out through the opening in the roof of her home to arc over the Tokyo night sky.

"Nene? How is it?" she asked into the comm-link in her helmet as she spied the glint of the other hardsuit up ahead of her. Because of the extended preparation coordination of the latest suit designs, still a leftover from the Galatea days, it took a little longer to don the suits.

"It's fabulous, Sylia!" the excited voice chirped back, not at all holding back her obvious thrill.

Sylia allowed herself a small smile at the other woman's excitement but then shifted herself into business mode as she mentally ran through all of the suit readings to make certain everything was fine. "Nigel, how do we look?"

"Perfect," he answered over the comm-link from his position in the mobile pit. "The boomer has just reached Linna's floor. And Linna is ready at the window."

"Good," Sylia answered as she checked her latest enhancement by touching the tips of her gloved hands together. As expected, a powerful spark of electricity crackled upon contact. "Battery pack is working fine."

"Remember, we only had time to charge that pack to half capacity," Nigel commented on the reading she was already aware of. "Maybe two or three chances at mo - The boomer's arrived... Damn! Linna's down!"

Sylia and Nene both gasped at the news.

Sylia felt her blood freeze as Nigel briefly explained how the boomer also jumped for the drainpipe to tear it down, causing Linna to drop almost three stories. The leader of the Knight Sabers swallowed against her building rage in order to keep focus, especially since she was arcing down to another rooftop that she needed to bounce off of. Her brain however kept processing, noting two things about this boomer: it can accommodate changing conditions of a hunt with deadly efficiency, and it is very aware of its own durability.

"What's our ETA?" Sylia asked as she fought her own anxiousness.

"Half a minute at most. Daley's got her attention now with his rifle. And I've cut the power to the courtyard lights because the noise is obviously getting some attention. You'll have to go to infrared when --"

"Linna's alive but unconscious!" Mackey suddenly reported over the comm-link. "I don't dare move her because she's obviously broken some bones."

"Mackey, prep the medical team but don't let them come into the courtyard until we've secured it!" Sylia ordered. "Nene, your priority is to protect Linna at all costs! Don't attack the boomer unless you have no choice! I want her to focus on me! Her ass is mine! Nigel, how long before Daley's back up team shows up?"

"Five minutes at most."

"That's all I need."

The silence that settled on the comm-link indicated that everyone knew what they had to do; it was just a matter of waiting for their opportunities.

Nene arrived in the courtyard first and with a light bounce jettisoned over towards the fallen Linna, brushing by Sylvie in the process. Nene placed herself right in front of Linna, readying herself for an attack, but keeping her posture in a passive mode with her arms down at her side as she stood facing the infrared silhouette of her new enemy.

Sylvie stared at this unfamiliar figure for a moment, as if confused by its appearance as well as its unknown role in her task. She had been prepared for a direct attack and therefore didn't know what to do when the red hardsuit flew right past her. She focused on this new presence, keeping it in front of her as she quickly processed various potential scenarios, but none seemed to fit. However, this puzzle quickly became moot as she sensed an oncoming tackle from the side by a larger and clearly more powerful figure.

The split second advantage Sylia had with the boomer was instantly lost as she saw Sylvie spin towards her. The boomer fell back against the full-body tackle but she managed to wrap her legs around Sylia's waist, as well as to snag Sylia's left wrist in a vice grip. The figures tumbled across the courtyard, crashing through the manicured bushes and raking up the grass covering.

During the roll, Sylia felt the boomer rabbit punch into her hardsuit with her free hand, not only causing the Knight Saber to be rattled inside her suit but also a noticeable dent in the side of her torso shell. She and the assassin boomer were wrestling for dominance over Sylia's snagged hand and it seemed to be at a stalemate.

The two of them stopped rolling with Sylia on top even though Sylvie didn't stop her punches. The Knight Saber checked her readings briefly to see that her battery pack was still there.

Despite the rattling and the increasingly painful pressure of the dent at her rib cage, Sylia cursed to herself as she tried to remain focused on the fact that her snagged hand was helplessly inches from Sylvie's head. She needed both hands to be in contact with the boomer in order for her plan to work. And Sylvie seemed quite content with her current strategy as she kept hitting the Knight Saber's suit in the same spot, increasing the dent. Sylia hugged Sylvie so the boomer wouldn't have any leverage or room to try to go for her helmet or neck.

At a last minute flash of inspiration, Sylia whipped back for a bit and aimed her right fist for Sylvie's head. The boomer saw the retractable sword shoot out and predictably dodged by whipping her head to the side, right into reaching distance for Sylia's snagged hand. The bluff worked and Sylia instantly retracted the blade and grabbed for the boomer's throat.

As if a lightning bolt had struck the ground, the bath of sparks erupted in the middle of the otherwise black courtyard. And then all was still.

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With her helmet visor up, a haggard Sylia watched from the dark alley as Mackey worked with the medical team to wheel Linna back into the hospital. She thought it was extremely ironic that the staff had originally been put on standby in case any innocent people were caught in the crossfire. She never imagined that they would be used to treat one of her own.

Nene was standing quietly off to the side, still fully suited with her helmet on so that her other coworkers wouldn't be aware of who she really was, if they noticed them in the alley to begin with.

Commanding the center of attention in the busy courtyard, Daley was giving orders to the new arrivals of police cars to search the area for any suspicious vehicles or individuals. Having always worked with her own resources, Sylia had to admit it was odd coordinating such a job with the police and hospital staff through Daley, but she was glad of the back-up precautions now that they'd proven to be valuable. Daley was careful to arrange everything without any direct mention of the Knight Sabers, telling people they were on stand by based on a lead connected to the Plaza Slaughter, which was a good enough reason for everyone.

The leader of the Knight Sabers actually jumped a bit as a tall figure suddenly appeared beside her.

"You and Nene should go home and change so you can come back here to watch over her," Nigel said as he looked at her carefully. "Plus, you should also have your 'dent' looked into."

Sylia had been so distracted by everything that she had almost forgotten the sizeable mark Sylvie's punches had made into her hardsuit. But now that it was pointed out to her, the throbbing pain couldn't let itself be ignored anymore, indicating that her ribs were probably cracked. She took a breath and focused. Upon the mental command, the dent disappeared as the liquid metal shifted to repair the structure, but that didn't do anything to fix Sylia's own body.

She tried to stifle a grimace as she asked, "What about our new guest?"

Nigel nodded towards the waiting mobile pit, "You did a good job of blowing all of her fuses so she shouldn't be any more trouble. The scans show her main electronic systems are completely shut down so she's not emitting any tracking signals. Amazingly, her bio matter seems to have been well insulated from the charge. She's being maintained by an emergency back-up system that won't last for too much longer if I don't get her to life support soon.... Go on and go. I know you're worried about Linna."

"Thanks, Nigel," she said softly. She gave him a gentle kiss. "For everything."

She then lowered her helmet visor and signaled to her waiting teammate. "Nene, let's go...."

-- End Chapter 24 --