Cyberpunk: I'm Not a Scavenger - Chapter 52: Hummingbird (Patreon)

The abandoned mine’s main passage was wider than expected, with enough room for two vehicles to drive side by side.

Two landmines sat right inside the entrance, out in the open without the slightest attempt at concealment. The Wraiths were making their message clear. The mine was full of traps, and anyone with sense should turn back.

“Fuck! Since when did these bastards get so smart?”

Panam swore.

Mitch and the others looked no happier. Fighting in a dark maze like this would be a nightmare. And their enemies had already prepared for an assault.

Pantheon was equally grim, but he had no intention of giving up. He had thought of a way forward during the drive.

His cybernetic eye glowed faintly, and the rear compartment of the Thorton Mackinaw opened in the distance.

Soon a Wyvern descended near the mine entrance. Its weapons had been replaced with a cargo crate.

Pantheon took the crate and headed into the tunnel.

“I’ll scout ahead. You hold the entrance.”

Panam looked ready to object, but Mitch stopped her.

Pantheon went only a few dozen meters before setting the crate down. A palm-wide hatch opened on top, releasing two hummingbird-shaped bionic drones no thicker than a pair of fingers.

The drones were based on tactical equipment used by Raptor, a GTI operative from Delta Force. Pantheon had improved the design, making them lighter and extending their endurance.

“Lucy, Kiwi, how’s it going over there?”

“Security system online. Data Fortress ready.”

The signal was poor inside the tunnels, but Lucy and Kiwi should be able to keep the drones safe.

Pantheon nodded. A Hummingbird perched on his fingertip, then took off and began scanning the tracks.

Their tiny size was impressive, but the Hummingbird spy drones’ real advantage lay in their tracking algorithms, which combined footprint morphology, gait biomechanics, and several other disciplines. Protected by the two netrunners and the Data Fortress, the drones identified the tracks and flew deeper into the mine.

The images feeding into Pantheon’s retinal display flickered and cut out intermittently, but the connection held.

The Wraiths had retreated in a hurry, leaving plenty of traces behind. Unable to erase them quickly, they had tried to make the trail harder to follow.

Tracks crossed the ground in every direction. Some led deeper into the mine, while others went straight to traps. Fortunately, the Hummingbirds’ tracking algorithms could pick out the real trail from all that confusion.

The two drones darted through the dark passages, marking hidden Wraith sentries and landmines as they went.

A few sentries watched the tunnels diligently. Most were asleep or jerking off. Every one of them looked exhausted, yawning constantly.

After five or six hundred meters of winding tunnels, a clear glow appeared ahead.

The approach to the heart of the Wraith camp narrowed between solid rock walls until there was barely room for a single off-road vehicle. Only after another few dozen paces did the drones reach the camp itself.

The entrance was barricaded with sandbags and abandoned cars. Two heavy machine guns covered it with overlapping fields of fire, while a third sat on higher ground.

Beyond the defenses stood a cluster of sheet-metal shacks. They might have been old miners’ quarters or structures the Wraiths had built themselves.

In a clearing between the shacks sat three black cargo containers, each measuring roughly one meter on a side.

Several Wraiths milled around one of them.

A shirtless brute was attacking it with an industrial cutter, sending sparks flying. The shrill noise had the others cursing at him.

The footage showed a small cut in one corner of the container. The gap was almost too narrow to see. But given enough time, the Wraiths really might cut their way inside.

“At this rate, they’ll have nervous breakdowns and start fighting each other before they get that thing open.”

Lucy watched the footage with amusement.

Every Wraith had dark circles under their eyes and a temper ready to flare at the smallest provocation. No wonder so many sentries were asleep. They really were worn out.

In a way, Pantheon was to blame. He had moved so quickly that the Wraiths were forced to work through the night. Give them another two days and the situation might have been very different.

“Beep! External intrusion detected!”

A red warning flashed at the edge of the Hummingbirds’ field of view. The camp’s netrunner had noticed the two unfamiliar signals and was tracing them.

“Trying to fry my birds? You’re out of your league!”

Pantheon snorted contemptuously. The Wraiths’ equipment was pathetic. It couldn’t compare with Maelstrom’s, and it was worse even than the Scavengers’ gear.

Stinking outsiders, coming to Night City to beg for scraps.

With both netrunners and the Data Fortress’s processing power shielding the Hummingbirds, the drones remained unharmed.

“Ah!”

A faint, short scream echoed from within the mine. Lucy and Kiwi’s counterattack had fried the arrogant netrunner’s brain. Unfortunately, she had survived.

The Hummingbirds were too small to carry much hacking hardware. That limited Lucy and Kiwi to defensive counterattacks, which was why the enemy netrunner had survived.

“Nice work.”

Pantheon praised the two women and ordered the Hummingbirds back.

If they stayed much longer, the Wraiths would resort to an EMP or simply shoot them down.

A little over ten minutes later, the drones returned. One spun neatly around Pantheon’s fingertip before settling in his palm.

The Wraith camp was a fortress. Traps covered the approaches, and the natural terrain made the position even stronger.

Worst of all, the Wraiths had the cargo. Pantheon couldn’t afford to settle in for a drawn-out siege.

He might force his way in with two or three layers of subdermal armor and another three or four layers of bulletproof vests. But he would practically have to become a “Magos,” with hardly any flesh left on his body.

Pantheon headed back, considering his options.

“How did it go?”

Panam hurried over as soon as she saw him emerge.

“There are more than forty of them. Their defenses are complete, they’ve got plenty of supplies, and they’re eager for a fight.”

Pantheon explained slowly.

“What?!”

Panam’s cry echoed down the tunnel.

An idea suddenly occurred to Pantheon.

“Panam, Mitch, I need your clan to secure this whole area. Don’t let a single person out. Can you do that?”

His face was stern and his tone left no room for argument.

Mitch paused for a moment before answering cautiously.

“If we only have to guard the entrance instead of attacking, absolutely.”

“That’s enough.”

Pantheon held up two fingers.

“I have a plan, but I need you to hold them here for two days.”

Panam and Mitch talked it over with the others and agreed. Pantheon drove back toward Night City. He had two days to build what he needed.