Eren Shepard was born to a relatively happy couple, who got along as best they could in the dystopia of the future. When he was seventeen, he realized the combined financial burden of himself and his sister was too much for his family, and so he ran from home. Sickly, weak, ugly, worthless Eren ran directly for the MAS rookie program. A program designed to either kill rookies or produce legends.

Weak, sickly, worthless Eren survived, even as all his fellow rookies died again and again. He survived just long enough to afford a full conversion, replacing his weak flesh with strong machine. The mental abilities that kept him barely alive all this time now combined with the immense power of a cybernetic body. Overnight, he became a legend among the apex predators of Night City, the Maxtac.

The rookie program ended six months later, Eren Shepard had survived a full year of the most brutal, constant-combat meat grinder Maxtac could devise. He had personally taken in or flatlined more than two-hundred cyberpsychos. His relationship with his father never recovered, both of the men blaming themselves for what Eren did. He served Maxtac for the next ten years of his contract, sending home about half his paycheck each time.

This gave his family enough money to pull themselves up into the coveted realm of middle-class, a nearly extinct species in the dystopian future. His father got a better job with Arasaka construction, his mother got a promotion at her own work, and all together they could afford to send his little sister to an Arasaka combat academy.

An unexpectedly good ending, proving once again the adage of happiness requiring power to obtain. There was but a single problem with this.

Eren Shepard shouldn't exist. His presence next to Uriel carried troubling implications, needless to say.

They were walking towards the warehouse in which a coffin-sized package was apparently stored for a while by mercs on Issei's payroll. While Uriel was considering Eren, and the potential troubles he might foretell, he was deliberately not displaying any of this in his body language. As far as anyone would know, this was the first time he had ever met the fellow, he needed to keep it that way.

"What's the situation?" Eren asked him, a minute or so after they started walking. Ah, he had forgotten to tell him anything, his bad. Uriel briefly considered hiding information here, but he knew Eren Shepard. If it was in the pursuit of justice, he would do anything.

"This information is of highest sensitivity. You must keep it secret until after they have been apprehended at minimum." Uriel responded quietly, looking at Eren as they walked. Eren's visor locked with his own, and he nodded. Uriel raised a hand and activated the tight-beam comms device on the side of his helmet.

Tight-beam comms did not use radio waves to transmit information. They used lasers. It was vastly harder to actually 'overhear' them because of this. Eren didn't have one of his own, so this was a one-way transmission, even better to prevent potential problems.

[Kaneki Issei is the current suspect for assisting the attack on Arasaka Tower from within. This is one of his warehouses, in which a coffin-sized container was stored on behalf of the Maelstrom gang. Maelstrom may have connections with the attackers, and have recently raided a Militech convoy.]

It took a fraction of a second to transmit that message, this was the lowest-risk method of delivering the info. It might come back to bite him later, revealing this info, but it was required at this point. If he told Eren nothing, then he wouldn't help or be actively detrimental to his job, and the job was now time-sensitive. He had to tell him in order to get it done, which meant a small but unavoidable future risk.

It irked Uriel, knowing that he had already made a mistake in this operation by stopping in front of a cop hot-spot back then. It couldn't be helped at this point though, so he resolved to simply never repeat such in the future. Such was the way of life, you keep making mistakes and hopefully you avoid making them again in the future. Those that learn the best from their mistakes are the ones that survive longest.

Uriel had no intention of dying. Ever.

Eren took in the information, thought about it for a minute, and then nodded. Uriel nodded back, it was good to have backup on this, even if he was hoping for the challenge of doing it alone. Oh well, better safe than sorry on affairs like this.

They kept walking, making audible small-talk as they did so. It was mostly the same type of pointless filler that Uriel despised making with strangers. It was important to do here though, both for the purpose of socializing and building up rapport with his backup and for giving a show to anyone trying to listen in. The more things he can accomplish with singular actions, the better.

The music was one such thing. He did legitimately hate most modern music, garbage pop and electro bullshit that pleased him none to listen to. So by synthesizing music that he actually enjoyed listening to, he could get some tunes that weren't an earsore. It accomplished two other things as well at this point (for the first release surprised him as well as Adam, and the order of Saburo did as well), the second thing it accomplished was income, which was immediately poured into Pacifica to make it a functional society again.

The third thing it accomplished was reputation. People liked people who made music, it didn't even really matter what kind of music you made. Uriel was re-making some of the best music from literally decades ago, and Adam was getting the credit for making it. This was skyrocketing his reputation, and combined with his new looks and 'story' that was being told with the music…

Needless to say, the social fortifications Uriel had erected around Adam with this music was strong now, and more than enough to hold against any small critiques and slanders. It would also serve as a bulwark against more legitimate accusations and charges. A legion of fans ready to fight to defend the reputation of their new favorite rockerboy. Best part was, Adam didn't have to change a damn thing about what he was doing, all he had to do was keep being himself.

Better reputation means less opposition to his actions. Less opposition means faster military build-up and growth. Faster growth means a stronger overall state when deadlines come up.

Every action accomplishes multiple goals with minimal investment and maximal returns. Uriel didn't like bragging, but he was fucking good at strategy games. Efficiency was the name of the game, and Uriel had less than a year before 2077 came. He had to be better than whoever he was the moment before, he wasn't about to die to some lucky punk.

Eren spoke up again, this time not about some random thing that neither of them really cared about. "Information about location?"

Uriel shook his head. "None. We're going in dry."

Eren either didn't notice or didn't care about the innuendo. Oi, you should at least pity laugh here! He thought it was quite clever at least.

…Eh, he lost interest in the bit real fast. Nevermind that Eren, you were right not to laugh.

"Equipment? I have my riot shield, Techtronika-15 Microwaver, Magnum Opus Big Government, and six knockout gas grenades.

Uriel paused for a second. "Big Government? The 14mm handgun right? You only have thirteen shots." He pointed out.

Eren nodded. "I'll make them count."

Uriel nodded in return. "Stock borg rifle, Techtronika-15, and six thermite grenades."

Eren considered that for a moment while they walked. Eren turned back and met Uriel's gaze. A moment of understanding passed between them. Their loadouts were readied for high-tier borgs and similar, high damage and few shots. That was because neither of them considered normal humans to be a threat requiring more than their armor and fists. Eren had considered them a bit more with his loadout, gas grenades allowing him to disable crowds of them for him to be able to focus on actual threats, while Uriel didn't bother with his longer range choice of weapon.

They were guys who actually knew what they were doing. Granted, Uriel was cheating by sharing a brain with Adam Smasher.

The moment passed, and they kept walking.

Soon enough, they were in sight of the warehouse, and their enhanced optics could see guards trying their best to be subtle as they roamed in patrol routes around it. Now was the time to think about the plan of entry.

It was a two-story, standard warehouse affair. A main room, a balcony around that main room, and a side-building of offices and whatnot. If Uriel was a betting man, the main room had everything they were looking for here, and everything else was pointless.

Having said that, it would not do to let anyone escape here. That would be sub-optimal.

"Disable the perimeter, I move in first?"

"Agreed." Uriel said as he started climbing up the side of the building to get a better view. It took him a minute or so, but the strength of the CCPL made it downright trivial. Aiming the borg rifle, he waited for Eren to get into a good position up ahead.

Eren was behind a building about twelve meters away from the nearest entrance. It was close as they could probably manage in a reasonable time.

Uriel activated his sandevistan, and took stock of the targets. He only had three shots here, his weapon didn't cycle fast enough for anymore than that. So he waited for a moment more, and fired three times.

His three bullets killed three guards, turning their torsos into donuts. He specifically aimed at the targets that Eren wouldn't be able to reach with his own sandy usage. His sandy deactivated and Eren disappeared from view.

Four more guards died, three headshots to his gun, one torso caving to his fist. These guards were some of the few remaining on the ground floor areas that Eren could actually reach. Tch, you ass, trying to show him up?

Uriel sprinted and jumped off the roof, rolling with the impact. He started running in as fast as he could, not activating his sandy until he was actually in line of sight. It was best to reserve the speed for actually killing things, not moving.

Eren was waiting for him behind cover up ahead. He turned his head just in time to miss another guard pop around the corner and take aim with a nasty looking shotgun. Uriel activated his sandevistan, and turned that guard into a pair of red-drenched legs. He deactivated his sandy and Eren didn't even turn to confirm the kill. It was nice that you were so trusting of him, but they literally met only a couple minutes ago, you should be more concerned you know?

Eren nodded when he got to the same cover, and they simultaneously broke through the warehouse doors. Slamming their combined weight against what seemed to be reinforced aluminum. Needless to say, the doors broke and they emerged to find a host of disorganized guns pointed in their direction.

So Uriel grabbed a door and held it in front of them like an improvised shield as Eren activated his sandy and took out another three guards. Before his time had expired, he moved for another block of cover off to the side.

Uriel endured the hail of gunfire for a few moments, the door and his own armor rendering them pointless, before his own sandy cycled again and he activated it.

He moved to the other side, leaving the door in place mid-air, firing three more shots at the fellows with the biggest guns he could see. Three more guards died and he got behind a concrete pillar.

Off to the other side of the building, Eren's own sandy refreshed again. He raised an arm and what happened next made Uriel immensely jealous.

His forearm fired off like a rocket, connected to his upper arm with a cable, grabbing onto a strut that held the roof together. His hand latched on up above, and the cable began rapidly winding back into his body, pulling him up. As he ascended he threw his shield and caved in another guard's face, and activated his sandevistan.

He suddenly appeared above his shield, forearm rapidly returning to it's proper place, and his other hand holding his gun. Three more guards were dead.

Uriel grit his teeth. That was the coolest fucking thing he had ever seen. Goddamnit Adam, we need a body with that now!

He activated his sandevistan, and fired three more rounds, killing the guards that were now trying to fire at Eren and his exposed position. These happened to be the last guards left to fire at them in this part of the building.

His sandevistan deactivated, and Eren ran over to break down the office that was overlooking the central chamber as Uriel ran to the ground-floor offices. Two kicks happened simultaneously as the doors broke open.

Uriel was face to face with a couple shotguns, so he raised the thickened armor of his arm and threw himself to the side. The shots hit, but didn't do enough damage to matter to his armor. His sandy cycled again, and he moved in to drop his gun and grab both the interior guards by the head.

He slammed them together, popping like overripe fruit as their unreinforced skulls collided. There were no other guards in the area.

He looked around a final time, before looking over to Eren on the balcony above doing the same.

"Clear?"

"Clear!"

Alright, not too bad overall. The guards were dead, no one escaped as far as they could tell, and now they had free reign to search the building.

For the first time working with the guy, that encounter was rather clean. No major damage had been taken, all objectives accomplished, and ammo mostly conserved. Neither needed to pull out the microwavers, which was always a good thing.

That grapple-hand was mostly pointless for a fight to the death, as far as Uriel could tell, but Eren was a cop now. He had to actually capture people alive, and for that purpose it served pretty well to grab hold of retreating suspects. That earlier thing was mostly him showing off, it seemed.

Uriel didn't blame him, that was fucking cool, he was jealous.

They nodded, and went searching for anything of worth. The investigation of the lower office revealed a whole lot of nothing important. Outdated documents and nick-nacks accumulated by the guards. A table of poker and a cooler of cheap beers.

Uriel kept looking, and froze when he heard the sound of grinding stone behind him. He activated his sandy, and turned to see a panel in the floor opening to reveal a staircase. He moved to be out of sight of it, and readied his gun to fire.

A guard poked his head out, and promptly lost it. Eren came down to investigate, to see the tunnel leading below. Uriel gave the guards credit, 'secret underground bunker' was not something he was expecting of them or of Issei.

Eren readied his riot shield and they descended down the stairs. Inside was a main chamber and an opened coffin-sized container. It was dark in the room. His olfactory sensors returned a number of foul stenches.

They kept moving forwards, entering into the chamber to reveal a cell on the side, built into the wall.

Uriel suddenly wished he had killed the guards slower.

There was a woman in the corner of the cell, all manner of impure things surrounding her clearly beaten body. She was nude. It was not hard to put the pieces of what had been happening together.

Uriel handed off his borg gun to Eren. Eren had the face of a robot, hardly the best for comforting people. Uriel was dog shit at it too, but he would try at least.

He walked up to the cell. The woman flinched back, but didn't respond. Uriel began pulling bars out, one by one. He didn't feel like looking for a key. Snap, snap, snap.

Woman looked up to see a man in heavy armor shattering her cell.

Once enough of the bars were gone he stepped in, she flinched back again, cowering. Damn it woman, he was trying to help you out here. Uriel glanced at Eren, and jerked his head. Eren nodded. Uriel hated taking the risk here, but it was the fastest way to get out of the location.

Uriel removed his helmet, and placed it in front of the woman. She uncoiled a bit, and looked at him. He stared for a bit, and spoke softly.

"Let's get you out of here."

She started shaking a bit, and tears started flowing. He helped her up, but she couldn't stand on her own. He wrapped his duster around her form, and just picked her up instead. She coiled into his chest. He was trying to be comforting here, but he was never good at expressions other than glares and mocking grins, so he stayed neutral. He sent a message to Adam.

[Sorry Adam, I don't think we got it right the first time.]

[Goddamnit.]

He reached down, one arm holding the woman, and picked his helmet back up to put on. He turned to see Eren holding the blackboxes of some of the mercs and his forearms covered in viscera. He nodded at him, at least they'd be getting some fucking answers for what was going on here.

Maelstrom handed a woman off to be guarded by mercs under Kaneki Issei's employ? What the fuck was the motivation here? They clearly didn't care about her condition, just that she was imprisoned here.

Uriel was rather furious as he stomped out, carrying the woman. All of this had been a fucking waste of his time. They were no closer to figuring out who the rat was than before, because the coffin was used to transport this woman, not the panzerbot. That entire theory was dead, and they had to start over again.

It would be some time before the woman was able to talk again probably, so they would have to get answers from Eren. Uriel gave him a contact number and told him to transfer over what he found. Eren agreed to this, because he was a reliable guy who had just helped to bring an entire warehouse of criminals to justice.

Uriel looked down at the woman in his arms, buried in the trenchcoat sized for someone eight feet tall.

Where the fuck was he going to take her?

He shrugged, and started moving discreetly back home. Adam would no doubt make him explain to the kids and the woman where she came from, but they were trustworthy, he'd just tell them the truth in Adam's gruff demeanor.

So Uriel started moving, this time taking a wider angle around the city. It'd be a lot of walking, but he had time.

Less than a year of it, that was.