Chapter One

Never Hire a Nomad

The Arasaka Ship didn't just fall out of the sky, it exploded into a fireball, then fell out of the sky. The truck bounced around from side to side on the sandy surface, Lara Croft was in the passenger seat watching the crash as it happened. Only a few moments ago she was looking though old scrap heaps of old cars and various robotics related items before she saw the Arasaka ship falling. It wasn't exactly her idea to go to the crash site, her driver/bodyguard was a nomad and she was keen on finding something for her camp. Her reasoning was that Arasaka would move quickly and pick up anything important and then leave immediately, leaving whatever was left to her and Lara. The bumps felt even more rough as they drove further into the Badlands, nobody came out here. Lara looked at the Nomad she had hired. She had Dark Brown hair that was loosely tied into a bun of some description and had an overall darker complexion compared to someone in Night City. A slightly short bomber jacket and jeans with a basic t shirt. Lara felt under dressed, she had worn a white halter top with khaki brown shorts and black combat boots. The city was fairly mild compared to the Badlands; Lara guessed her new nomad friend was used to the hot climate. Also, in her rush to get to the wreck she hadn't asked the nomad her name, it would be good to know especially since they were heading towards potential danger.

"I don't remember if I introduced myself, I'm Lara."

The nomad was completely focused on the rough terrain.

"Yea I have no idea either, nice to meet you Lara, I'm Panam."

Now that introductions were out of the way, Panam returned her complete focus to the target ahead. Lara was glad she at least knew who to call out to if shit when south. The Arasaka ship was still falling, it looked like a transport ship the closer they got to it. Panam briefly turned to Lara.

"What sort of high-tech stuff do you reckon they'll have on there?"

"Hopefully something valuable".

Panam rolled her eyes and looked ahead towards the falling ship.

"Well obviously, you really are a city girl, aren't you?"

Lara copied her new friend and looked straight ahead. She didn't want anyone knowing her parents were corpos, especially a nomad.

"Yea, the steel jungle isn't really much like anything out here."

Panam laughed and turned to Lara, she was clearly enjoying her role as Nomad tour guide.

"No shit, this is the fucking Badlands".

An eruption of a thunderous conclusion ahead rung through the air. The Arasaka transport ship had crashed landed. The clock was ticking. Panam looked at Lara, she nodded. They both focused ahead as Panam shifted up a gear. Lara felt every single bump go straight into her bones; she hoped the suspension wouldn't snap. Checking the skies Lara saw no Arasaka air support incoming yet, but there might still be land support. Every second counted. Thick pillars of smoke rose into the sky ahead of them as the wreck came into sight. The front of the transport ship was almost completely flattened from impact and now the ship was slightly buried in the sand with the rear end of the ship with the loading doors was hanging above the ground by a few feet.

"Lara quick jack into the scanner, see of any Arasaka's lapdogs are still kicking."

Lara jacked into the truck's port, which was in pretty rough shape. Lara felt her sight getting transferred to the scanner. Her visual perception was changed to the scanner which showed only one barely alive person onboard of the transport and everyone else on the bioscanner had flatlined. Lara jacked back out of the port. Her eyesight slowing adjusting back to normal.

"One barely alive, everyone else dead."

"Good, hopefully the last one will bleed out before we get there."

Closing in, Panam's truck bounced around the rough terrain for another dozen meters before the ground flattened. The Arasaka ship was just ahead, Lara saw movement ahead but couldn't make out exactly what was happening.

"Something moving ahead at the wreck."

"What? jack in and see what it is."

Lara was still recovering from last time, she truly felt like the city girl now.

"It's probably nothing, I just checked."

"For fuck's sakes Lara, grab the wheel".

Panam let go of the wheel immediately. Lara quickly undid her belt and had to lay across the gear stick to hold the wheel. Panam had already jacked in and was gone for a few moments. Panam jacked out and grabbed the wheel from Lara.

"Sorry, I just don't want Arasaka ruining our day, thanks for steering while I was gone."

Panam winked at Lara and focused back on the road. Lara thought to herself she would need to start thinking on her feet or this was going to be a short trip into the Badlands.

"What did you see?"

"Nothing, which is reassuring."

Lara was sure she saw movement, then again, the mixture of heat and dust had a bad habit of playing tricks on a person's mind. The wreck was just ahead of them now, up close the engine fire was engulfing the whole front of the Arasaka ship. It looked rough. Panam tapped Lara on the shoulder.

"Here we go, we haven't got much time."

Panam pulled alongside the Arasaka wreck and both of them jumped out. Lara grabbed her sidearm just in case. The crash site was littered with scrap metal and burnt-out patches of sand. Looking down the route the ship came down several bodies laid in the sand. Lara guessed they must be Arasaka soldiers who decided to jump rather than be in the crash. Dead on impact most likely. Panam lead the way closer to the wreck, checking around them, Lara couldn't see sign of Arasaka backup.

"Ready your gun Lara, those exit doors are open."

The exit doors were open now, Lara was sure they were shut when she checked the scanner. Panam rested her shoulder against the inside of the open door. Her sidearm was out and she looked ready.

"Lara cover me from the back, I'm going to check inside the transport."

Lara nodded and Panam turned to enter the Arasaka transport jumping up slightly to pull herself inside. Lara felt foolish for letting the Nomad go first, she might steal something really valuable, Lara had to act fast.

"All clear out here, I'm coming in."

Lara jumped into the transport, pulling herself up as Panam had done.

"What the fuck are you doing Lara, you're going to unbalance-."

Panam didn't get to finish her sentence as the transport lifted out of the sand and flattened out. Panam was ahead of Lara and was sent flying towards Lara landing on top of her.

"Lara, you could have broken something valuable."

Panam held herself above Lara lecturing her, behind her Lara saw something falling towards them. Lara started to open her mouth but it was too late to say anything, also she realized too late that what was falling towards them was the dead bodies of the pilots. Panam was flattened face first into Lara as the bodies feel on top of Panam. She was pissed but haven't realized they were bodies yet, until she pushed them off.

"Fuck, Lara these are dead bodies, get them off me!"

Lara was surprised that Panam seemed shaken by dead bodies, she always thought Nomads were used to death. Panam and Lara pushed the bodies onto their backs. They immediately regretted that. The faces of the pilots had pieces of glass punctured into their skin and their noses and chins had been flatten in the impact. Their eyeballs were completely red and their expressions were locked into a state of absolute fear. Lara felt her stomach pulse and she just managed to stop herself from throwing up. Lara looked at Panam, clearly just as repulsed as her.

"Go get some fresh air, I'll bring out anything worthwhile."

Lara didn't need to be told twice and crawled towards the outside. Panam stopped her at the edge of the exit.

"Let me brace myself before the transport lifts up again".

Lara waited a few moments before Panam gave her the signal to move on. Fresh air, the transport lifted back to its usual spot after a few moments and Lara breathed easy. Her stomach was still uneasy from the sight before. Panam spend awhile in the transport ship while Lara just sat in the shade of the ship. Arasaka wasn't showing up, Lara was getting worried.

"Panam, I think it's time for us to move on."

Lara heard some rattling and banging as Panam came out of the transport ship. She appeared with a Arasaka grenade belt around her waist and holding two AR-15 in each hand.

"One AR each, nothing of value really it's pretty odd."

Panam passed Lara the AR as she moved out from the shaded spot.

"What's odd in particular?"

"It's a high-class transport with at least half dozen armed guards."

"What were they guarding?"

Lara heard movement behind her, both of them readied their newly acquired ARs.

"They were guarding me."

The voice came from behind a sand dune as a young woman dressed in Tiger Claw gear limped out into the open. Panam took charge of the situation.

"How long you been there?"

Guns still pointed directly at the Tiger Claw; she raised her hands.

"Long enough to listen and make sure you're not Arasaka pigs."

Lara glanced at Panam; she had never been in a situation like this ever before. She hoped Panam had experience with times like this.

"We're just here for the wreck."

The Tiger Claw fell on her knees, and looked at both Lara and Panam.

"Please take me with you, those Arasaka bastards were going to kill me."

Lara wanted to help; she needed more information first.

"Why does Arasaka want you dead?"

"I was kidnapped by Arasaka because of what I know."

Panam looked pissed suddenly, Lara wasn't sure what caused it.

"Fuck, just tell us exactly why Arasaka want you dead."

The Tiger Claw hesitated, before looking down at the ground and offering a reply.

"Arasaka plans to plunge Night city into total darkness for five hours-"

She paused for a moment. Then she screamed. The biochip in her neck was sparking. She was been hacked. Panam looked at Lara, she was completely terrified.

"Run, fucking run Lara!"

The Tiger Claw woman started convulsing on the ground. Just as Lara moved a sniper shot ripped over the sand behind her. Panam sprinted towards the truck.

"Shit, they were watching us the whole time!"

Lara kept running. Another shot narrowly missing both Lara and Panam. It was a set up to kill the Tiger Claw if she survived the crash. Now Lara and Panam were also on Arasaka's hit list. Panam opened both of the truck doors and started the engine. Lara jumped in the other side as a shot shattered the back window.

"Fucking move Panam, or we are dead."

"I already know that!"

Painfully, the truck gained speed and Lara waited for more shots from the sniper. They weren't safe yet, Arasaka had drones and a netrunner as they had just witnessed before. Anything could be hacked or a drone could start firing on them at any moment.

"Shit Lara, we really fucked up, Arasaka don't mess around."

"No kidding, did you see how that netrunner overloaded that Tiger Claw's chip."

Panam focused on the path ahead she was heading towards a mountain range.

"Are we hiding over there?"

Panam wasn't listening to Lara as she franticly checked her side mirrors for drones or anything for that matter. The skies looked clear for now, Panam finally addressed Lara.

"There's Aldecaldos tunnels in those mountains, it's our best bet for somewhere to lay low for a bit."

The Aldecaldos are considered the first true nomad family, they're known to call the Badlands home. However, this is the first time Panam has mentioned a nomad family.

"Are you part of the Aldecaldos?"

Panam gripped her steering wheel tighter and shifted gears as she checked the mirrors again.

"It's complicated, I'm kind of a loner at the moment."

Lara understood that feeling, they continued to drive on a straight road to the mountains. Arasaka wasn't following, for now. After another hour of uneventful driving, the mountains were just only a few minutes away from been reached. Lara wanted to know more about these tunnels.

"Are these tunnels secret? Could Arasaka still find us here?"

Panam slowed the truck down and turned off the road and back onto the rough terrain of the Badlands.

"As secret as secrets can be I guess."

"No Arasaka?"

"No Arasaka."

Lara checked the mirrors and looked out the back of the trucks, there was just desert and more desert. She looked into the distance over the mountain dunes where they had just come from before. Then she saw it, a drone flying around the area.

"Panam how far are these tunnels?"

"Not far, why?"

Lara breathed deeply; she knew what she needed to do. She jacked into the scanner. The shift of sight didn't feel as violent as before and Lara adjusted quicker. Looking back towards the dunes, the drone was Arasaka but a drone's scanner had nowhere near as much distance as the truck's, which Lara suspected Panam probably tweaked to make it much further. Lara unjacked and watched her sight shift back to normal, she leant back in her seat. Panam looked at her.

"What was that about?"

"Nothing as long as we find those tunnels soon."

Panam rolled her eyes, looking back at the rocky face of the mountain.

"No shit, we're nearly there."

The rocky face of the mountain seemed completely solid. Panam looked over the mountain, the rocky face smoothed out at one point and she turned the truck towards it. Instead of taking them up the mountain, the rock plate lifted horizontally and into a hole. The hole was the start of the tunnel which Lara quickly realized as the truck soared through the tight tunnel passageway.

"Have you driven in this tunnel before?"

"Nope"

Panam smiled completely focused on the claustrophobic tunnel. Lara held herself back on the seat using the dashboard as the truck roared down the downward tunnel. Panam on the other hand was held tight in her seat by her racing harness. Her eyes lit up as the truck seemed to continue gaining speed before the tunnel flatten out and opened up into a junction. The various pathways in the tunnel implied different routes and entrances.

"How secure are these tunnels?"

Panam leant forward as they approached a crossroad in the tunnel system.

"Well considering half of the routes down here lead to dead ends like a maze, pretty fucking secure."

Lara watched as Panam looked at each pathway at the crossroad, finally she picked the left side and they set off again.

"where are we going Panam?"

"Somewhere quiet."

The left pathway continued for awhile and after another two crossroads, Panam pulled over into a large opening in the side of the tunnel. She turned off the truck and undid her racing harness and looked at Lara.

"I think we'll be safe here for awhile."

Lara thought back to the Arasaka wreck, did she really know how deep in the shit they were? Did they really ID her and Panam, maybe she could just go back to normal? Lara was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't realize that Panam was staring at her, waving trying to get her attention.

"Earth to Lara, are you home?"

Lara blinked herself back to reality, she turned to Panam, trying to fake a smile.

"Yea, sorry just spaced out for a moment."

Panam frowned, she turned on her side leaning against her seat.

"Well should we discuss what just happened?"

Lara folded her legs and rested her hands on her knees.

"Sure, it was certainly disturbing."

"Yea I've never seen someone get hacked and overloaded that close to me."

Lara and Panam sat for a moment in silence thinking about that moment. The silence was welcomed by both of them. Panam broke the silence.

"What that Tyger Claw said was the most valuable thing we found at that wreck."

"it's hardly worth anything, it's just words."

Panam raised her eyebrows at Lara and smiled.

"Nope, it's worth a lot to someone!"

Lara was surprised at Panam's eagerness to get rid of this information, wasn't she at least curious? Lara also worried about her parents in Night City, what if the outcome of them selling the information results in something bad happening to her parents. Lara had to convince Panam to follow up this information somehow.

"Panam, we could leverage this for us to get an even bigger payday."

Panam quickly learnt forward grabbing and shaking with her free arm Lara's left shoulder.

"Yes, yes Lara! We could ride this train all the way till the end."

Lara didn't understand the train analogy Panam was making but at least now she had warmed to the idea.

"So, Miss Panam, how should we proceed?"

"I know a fixer."

Lara rolled her eyes and frowned at Panam.

"No shit, me too."

Panam laughed rolling on her back in the seat. Lara realised this must be the first time she has seen Panam act really happy.

"I know the best fixer in all of Night City."

"All of Night City?"

"All of Night City."

Lara sat normally back in her seat and mentally prepared herself for another long journey in Panam's truck.

"Where exactly is this fixer in Night City?"

Panam had re-positioned herself in her driver's seat and had already started putting her racing harness back on.

"She can always be found at Afterlife; she's considered the Queen of Afterlife."

Lara adjusted her seat-belt and got as comfortable in her seat as possible.

"Does this best fixer in Night City, Queen of Afterlife, have a name?"

Panam turned the truck ignition on the adjusted her rear-view mirror,

"She sure does, her name is Rogue."