Jet Jaguar and the Kentucky Cat - Day Two

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Day 2

October 18th 2013
Little Watch Inn
Near Frenchburg, Kentucky

Jet left her pad running overnight on the desk, beside the phone. When Ruth saw her through the window, she assumed Jet was awake. The troubleshooter sat upright, dead still on the chair. The bed was clearly unslept in.

Did she even take her armour off?

Ruth knocked on the door. No answer.

“Jet!” she called. “Miss Jaguar, you awake in there?”

No answer. She glanced through the window. Jet hadn’t moved. There was something so unnatural about her position. Both arms on the armrests, feet planted firmly on the carpet and her head upright.

“Jet!” she banged on the door, starting to get a little worried.. “You alright?”

A moment.

“Yeah. One sec’”

She saw Jet stand up, as if she’d been wide awake the whole time. It was still eerie. She answered the door, looking as fresh and rested as it was possible for her to look. “Mornin’” Jet said. “I Haven’t gotten a response yet. That could take a bit.”

“Hadn’t expected one,” Ruth shrugged, “I know you’ve got bigger problems up there than a few bank robberies in the so-called ‘danelaw.”

“That’s why I was ordered erdeside.”

“Oh?”

“We need to be sure there’s no connection to the Boskonians. And if there is, we need to know what it is. After Osaka, and SerenityCon, nothing’s being ignored,”

Jet’s expression was harsh, and strangely cold.

“I heard of what happened at Osaka and SerenityCon. Hope you guys are giving them as much hell as you can for that.”

“We’re trying,” sighed Jet, “SerenityCon was the largest Boskonian attack of the war. They tried to take out most of the fen leadership... we just about held ‘em back.” a pause. “Just about,” Jet snapped her fingers with a metallic clack as she remembered something. Her expression brightened. “And I’ve got to tell Janet what I found about her son, can you wait a few minutes.”

Ruth guessed it was good news. “Yea I can wait in the van.”

“Great, this won’t take too long.”

Jet found Janet still asleep. Not wanting to wake her, she just left a note under her door, stating that Roy was alive and well, and doing CAP over Helium city on Mars. Ruth had the van’s engine running by the time she got back.

“Feels good to deliver good news, Jet?”

“Yup. There’s been too much bad news lately.”

She still grimaced as she pulled the door behind her.

“Well every little bright spot of hope keeps us going. Going to head over to the Frenchburg robbery site”

Jet just nodded, and stayed oddly quiet for the rest of the journey.

Ruth carefully pulled the van up to what had been the entrance to the bank, stopping just before the police tape sealing it off. There wasn’t much around the bank, besides a store just down the road, most of the lots around appeared to have been specifically cleared, like more had been planned for this area. The bank itself, however was little more scattered mounds of rubble... recognisable only by the remains of an ATM, and the sign still on the ground.

“We think they knocked all the external cameras out before they brought that mech in. Given that they appeared to have picked someone up off the roof in the video. Probably someone with a sledgehammer.”

“Good reach,” commented Jet, “Any sign they were using any sort of power armour?”

Ruth gave her head a shake, “Not that we know of.”

“Damn,”

Ruth pointed out some of the damage to the parking lot, “Foot prints from it, a lot more all over the place compared to the other two. They actually seemed to have gotten cleaner about their robberies.”

“So they’re still learning how to use it. Let’s hope they fucked up then”

“I really don’t want to find out what happens when they become good with it. They could flatten half a town before we can stop them and end up flattening the other half ourselves doing it.”

Jet thought.

“Worst comes to worst, once I find this thing, you can call the airforce in and blow it while it’s outside the town. But I’d really rather we capture people alive. Dead men tell no tales”

Ruth nodded, “Yea, need to find out where that money is disappearing too. More then money in those vaults, a lot of jewelry and other items that hasn’t turned up anywhere local.”

“Well. Can we wait until there’s nobody around? I’d really rather as few people as possible knew I was here. Fox will have a bloody field day.”

Ruth glanced at Jet, “Yea, but I don’t know when the clean up crews will leave, they might have a night shift.”

“Maybe they could do with a quick smoke break or something... somewhere where they can’t see the bank.”

Ruth laughed, “Well I could get out and just ask what their shift hours are...ere.... I don’t think it will be a problem.”

Jet watched the trooper discuss it with the foreman, who seemed only to happy to agree. The men packed themselves into a work truck and drove off, leaving behind bits of equipment and a flatbed. “Odd time for a break...” one commented, peering into the van. Jet was hiding in the back.

She was interrupted by the foreman, who just gave Jet a smirk through one of the van’s windows. He was wearing a small blue arm band, nothing but a piece of cloth tied around his upper arm.

“Alright, all yours for half a hour. Anything more is against Union rules.”

Ruth just shook her head, “Figures.”

Jet double checked to be sure, using the traditional eyeball, and a more thorough scan with her radar, and radio detectors. A pair of pilots were talking about handwavium... but a quick triangulation put them at about ten miles out, and heading away. Ruth watched the whole thing. Jet stepped out of the van and stretched, looking glad to be out of it, before both her wings swung up and locked into position. A pair of stubby fins seemed to jut down... control surfaces the trooper figured, until they started to move..

“What the?” she murmured. Was she going to fly away or something?

“Radio’s clear,” Jet announced with a thumbs up. Her wings snapped back into place with a metallic click, almost on a thought. “Just some general aviation, and the local pastor cursing fen to hell and damnation.” She noticed Ruth’s expression. “What?”

Ruth gave herself a shake, “Just thought you where about to take off.”

“Nah, just making a quick scan. I didn’t pick up anyone watching us so lets get to work.”

It looked like a demolition crew had been through there. The concrete in the carpark was torn up, gouged by three-clawed paws. Chunks of concrete lay impaled by bent re-bar, mixed with wood splinters and paper.

“Has it rained since the attack?”

“Not that I know of, why?”

“Well... if we’re lucky there might still be handwavium traces... especially if it scratched its paint on the concrete. It’ll be like a fingerprint... it’ll stick to the people who’re using it, like Klingon Blood”

“Well, there’ll be water if God wills it,” Ruth shifted through the rubble, finding some trace amounts of yellow paint. She held up a piece of brick to show Jet, “I’ll take some scrapings of this as it doesn’t appear the work crew is using anything painted yellow.”

“Don’t let me touch them, I’ll contaminate the sample.”

Jet made her way across the rubble to where the vault had been. Nothing but foundations, and more yellow paint scratches. Electrical cables and ventilation ducts looked like they’d been ripped apart. There where what looked like giant bite-marks on some of broken walls, scored with what looked like silver traces of the metal the mech had been made of. More samples to take.

“Wow,” breathed Jet.

“Yup,” Ruth put her hands in the pocket’s of her grey trooper’s jacket. “That’s exactly what I said when I first saw it. Scooped the whole damn thing right out to take it who knows where.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Jet said, putting one arm behind her head. “How long before the cleanup comes back?”

Ruth glanced at her watch, “About ten minutes or so.”

“Right. Time enough to get a few more samples, then on to the next bank. If we’re lucky we can be done before lunch,” she smiled. “It’s been a while since I had fresh food,”

Just a few chips of concrete with metal traces on them was enough.

Ruth nodded, “Can take you to the Stanton site, don’t think they’ve started clean up there yet. The Campton site is still crawling with people and reporters.” Ruth headed for the van, “I know a little BBQ place along the way, they do pick up orders.”

“Great, Hope you don’t mind me eating in the van. Be a bit of a shock for the locals if a Kunstler walked in the door,”

Jet still looked uncomfortable sitting in the back seat. Ruth chuckled, “Nope, just don’t get it into the electronics we haven’t even used in years.”

“Speaking of electronics. Do you know what a handwavium taster is?”

Ruth gave her head a shake. “Nope, is that like a food taster?”

“In a way.” Jet had to stop to think, “It’s a tool for analysing handwavium in a sample. You put a little bit of a sample in, and it gives off an evil laugh before giving you a colour and level code. It’s not hard to use. I can’t do it because my armour might contaminate the sample. It’s best if a wavium-free person uses it.”

Jet deliberately didn’t mention who invented it.

From the evil laugh comment Ruth could guess, but chose not to. “Don’t know where I can get one at, much less the info on how to read it properly.”

“I brought one with me, it’s back at the motel. They’re not hard to read.”

Ruth started the van, “Alright, lets hit the next site then. I’ll call ahead and order the BBQ and pick it on the way.”

Jet licked her lips. “It’s times like this that make me glad I can still taste.”

Ruth flipped open a cell phone and placed a order before she backed the van out. Jet felt the signal disrupt her bodies systems for an instant. In her mind, she was flexing her toes. In actually, she was adjusting the exhausts on her thrusters. She listened to the trooper make the order, not actually knowing what half the stuff she ordered was. Fresh food sure beat the vitamin man.

After Stanton, she’d show Ruth how to use the taster, then take an overflight of the surrounding area for a few hours. Campton could wait until night time.

One big question though. How do you stop a giant mech?

Stop whoever’s piloting it. And if that’s a built in AI?

Something that big’s going to be difficult to take down solo. The barbecue didn’t disappoint. Fresh meat... actual dead chicken parts rather than flavoured tofu. Real potato chips, or ‘Fries’, and a crispy salad made with (reasonably) fresh picked vegetables.

“I have to admit, there are some advantages to a danish lifestyle,” said Jet with her mouth full.

Ruth laughed, “Yea I could see being near large sources of food as being a good thing.”

“We have food. But what we get at Grunthal I think is for people who’ve lost the ability to taste,”

“I’ll bet,” a beat. “So what are you exactly?... If you don’t mind my askin’. I saw you this morning sleeping in that chair, and then there are those wings on your back. Does your armour even come off?”

“No” said Jet, putting a piece of chicken down on a keyboard, “Long story short, a few years ago it was just an armoured suit. I built and waved it, and was kind of annoyed when it turned out a completely different shape to me,” she tapped the suit’s chest, “Thanks to a quirk of the handwavium. Sometime afterwards, I managed to accidentally fuse myself to the suit,”

“So it’s a part of you’re body.... like a cyborg?”

“Yup,” she smiled, freaking Ruth out a little.

“That must be awful,”

Jet chuckled, “Everyone says that. Trust me, it’s not as bad as you think. “

Ruth just shuddered, “That’s still all kinds of disturbing,”

“It’s not the worst. I can do some cool stuff. It can be pretty fun too.”

On question above all however, gnawed at Ruth’s mind as she drove. Just how in the heck did someone enclosed in armour like that go the bathroom? It was a silly question, and one she could never ask, but it bothered her all the way to Stanton.

The Stanton site was more of the same. The same paw prints gouged out of the ground. The same yellow paint scratches and metallic slashes. Again Ruth took samples while Jet watched, careful not to contaminate.

The destruction was much the same, the attackers seeming to have crashed in from the east. The tornado shelter was still standing, bent a little with the door burst open. There were thousands of dollars still on the ground, coated with red dye from when the ATM had been burst open.

It looked like blood.

The vault was gone, scooped up out of the ground in much the same fashion. Water had pooled in the foundation from a broken main. Jet kept an antenna on the airwaves, looking for any signs they were being monitored. She caught a civil band broadcast by chance.

“I tell you boy, It was huge. A giant robot cat, right on down Mountain valley three weeks ago. Must’ve been damn near twice the size of my rig, straight across the road”

“You all full a shit Jodie. You been popping to many go pills or sommat. Giant robot cat my ass,”

Jet spoke aloud as she radioed, “Jodie, Jodie this is,” she chose a handle of her cuff, “The Jaguar. You say you saw a giant cat too? Over”

Ruth looked at her like a madwoman, hearing only one side of the conversation. Jet just tapped her ears. ‘Radio,’ she mouthed.

“Well hot damn lady Jaguar, I dang knew I weren’t going crazy. You saw him too, a big yellow sucker? Over.”

“Yup,” she lied, “Where’d you see him man?” She tried to match the accent.

“Mountain Valley, right by State Highway 378 heading northwest, where you see him Jaguar? Over”

She closed the channel. “Ruth, where were those photograph’s taken again?” It was practically a demand.

“Joe Ward Fork Road, in Mountain Valley, why?”

Jet winked with a grin.

“Thanks man. I saw him down on Joe Ward Fork Road while I was watching the birds. Going past like a bat out of hell. Thank you kindly Jodie, if I see you I’ll buy you a beer. Jaguar out.”

“Well I’ll be getting into Stan...” Jet cut the channel.

Ruth was glaring, “That accent was awful,”

“My own was too distinctive,” explained Jet, a gleam in her eye. “I got some truckers on civil band. One of them saw our cat three weeks ago, near State Highway 378.”

“Damn, that was lucky,”

“Yup,” smirked the cyborg, “Sometimes you just happen to roll up all sixes,”

And plotted on a map, that’d give a general direction to search in. Brilliant. When lady luck smiles, she smiles brightly. The duo spent a few more minutes picking through the wreckage, Jet keeping an ear out for more information. The skies above began to darken, a low cloud rolling in.

A few spots of rain pecked at the van’s windows.

“Can you fly in this Jet?” asked the trooper.

A rumble of thunder answered from above.

“Lightning and cyborgs don’t go well together.”

Damn. For every boon, there had to be a bust. It was the order of the universe, wasn’t it?

“Well, head on back to the inn, and we can plan for better weather tomorrow. And you can show me how to test those samples.”

On the outskirts of Stanton, a lonely trucker waited in a lay-by.

“Yeah,” nodded Jet, “That’d be the best.”

An autumn storm had well and truly blown in by the time they reached Little Watch.

“Well, that’s here for the rest of the day I reckon,”

Jet nodded, opening the door with her key. “I’d almost forgotten how annoying rain is. “

They both rushed inside, chased by wind and rain. Water trickled off of Jets armour, pooling on the carpet underneath her feet. A message was waiting on her Pad

>>From: alitagally@grunthal.fen
>>To: Juliette2@grunthal.fen
>>Subject: Kentucky Catnip

>> Positive identification courtesy of Black and Red Riders. The cat mecha is a Zoid, specifically
>>a Zaber Fang(Sabre Tiger) model. The truck appears to be a Gap Truck, based off of
>>Command & Conquer, which explains the disruption off the cellular network. The patrol watch
>> should be immune to it. Landline phones will definitely be immune.

>>Black Rider will provide a device capable of neutralising the mech temporarily without
>>damage. They’ll get it to you in approximately 36 to 48 hours.

>>-Alita

“We have a name for our Cat, It’s called a Zaber Fang Zoid.”

“Oh? What’s a zoid anyway? Just a fancy name for a mech?”

Jet shrugged, “Never heard of it. See what’s on wikipedia about Zoids tonight. We’ll be getting some help in the next couple of days... if you don’t mind a few more fen dropping in,”

Ruth chuckled “Nope, if they can avoid the DHS on their own. I don’t think I can get away with bluffing Smith again. Though I figure he’ll be keeping his head down for a while.”

“I’ll let them know... uh one moment,” she held up her hand, before rooting through the pouch attached to her hip, “Ahah!,” she held up something that looked like a watch, “A wrist-com, one of the newer ones. Someone issued them to us despite most of us having better SDR’s, but I could be in the air when they arrive, so you should be able to use this to talk to them, or me securely.“

Jet handed the device to a sceptical Ruth.

Ruth took it with a nod and looked it over. “Thank you.”

“Just keep it out of the hands of the DHS, or any other danelaw, “ she warned. “Or I get the blame.”

Ruth nodded again, “I’ll try.” She slipped it into a pocket. “We should get those samples tested.” She pulled the sample bags from another pocket.

“Yeah. The taster’s on the table. You put the sample on the tray and close it. Push the button, it’ll make a mad-scientist’s laugh and give you a colour code, and a level. It’s not exactly CSI.”

Ruth nodded and picked it up to carefully put the first of the samples in the tray. She closed the tray and pushed the button. After the rather creepy laugh she checked the results. “What the?”

“Oh, it gives you six colours, and the strength of each colour... as sea states because it’s a wave. Get it?” she smirked.

The cop gave her a dubious look “Yes,” she glanced at the readouts. “Yellow; Fair. Red; Tidal. Magenta; Heavy. Blue; Choppy. Cyan; Stormy. Green; Becalmed.”

Jet thought. “Makes sense for something that big and mechanical.”

“I still don’t understand what it means,”

“Uh... the colours correspond to different effects and imprints the handwavium has. Yellow is for engines and stardrives, red is for materials alteration, magenta is for computer enhancements, blue is life support, cyan is mechanical enhancements and green is for biomods.”

Jet was reading from her own notepad app.

The trooper paled. “Biomods!”

“Don’t worry, “Jet reassured, “If the reading’s right, you’d need to practically fall into a tank of this stuff to get a strong mod from it,” Or drink a pint or two of it,...

“Right... I’d rather not get a set of cat ears thank you very much,”

“Don’t worry,” repeated the cyborg, “it’s pretty hard to get a mod.”

After that it was a case of lather, rinse and repeat. A few samples came up white... meaning they were clean, though most matched the original. All the handwavium used came from the one batch.

Next, a map of the State. With Ruth’s assistance, Jet marked off the two places where there had been sightings of the Cat, and taking a ruler, traced a line along the map extended in both directions.

“How can we be sure it followed this line?” Ruth asked the obvious question. “I mean, that runs along the valley for a bit, but it also runs over a couple of ridges.,”

Jet shrugged her metal shoulders, “As good a place as any to start though. Especially if there’s anything substantial under there.”

“Nothing but a few farms and a lot of tree cover. But nothing I know of big enough to hide that that uh... zoid. There’s nothing anywhere near there big enough out there.”

“The photographs were taken a week before the first raid, am I right?” Jet said.

Ruth nodded, “Yes.”

“So it was up there already before the raids started..... might aswell take a look.”

Ruth shrugged, “Better then nothing, also not a lot of places to hide it under cover. But even using a plane search would still take a good while even if they where just parking it outside somewhere.”

“Yeah...it’s a good first place to look anyway. After that... maybe the forest... uh, Daniel Boone national forest... here,” she put her finger on the map, “Since it’s in the centre of all three sites, and is...well... where I’d hide it.”

Ruth looked at the map, “Yea, but they could want us to look away from where they actually are.”

“Who knows why. But if they are down there, it’ll save me a lot of work. If they aren’t, we’re going to have to find a way to trace them after their next attack... if there is one.” An idea “Or I have to get up in the air as soon as it happens and visually spot them. Landlines still work during the raids, don’t they?”

Ruth nodded, “Yes.”

“Brilliant,” beamed Jet. “Right, as soon as the call comes in, call me using the wrist-com or hotel phone if that doesn’t work. If I can get up quick, and get high enough. I might be able to see them without being seen. That’ll be plan B. What do you think?”

“Should work.”

Jet answered with a very satisfied, “Grand so,”

“Well, it’s getting late Jet... I better get going and let you get some rest. At least we’re lucky the weather’s keeping them out of the sky too,”

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow morning. And don’t forget to train the watch to your voice,”

“I won’t. Goodnight Jet,”

The door closed behind her. Jet checked the map, and the sample information noted down, then started typing on her pad.


>>From: Juliette2@grunthal.fen
>>To: alitagally@grunthal.fen
>>Subject: Kentucky Cat

>> Newest Developments. Chances are the people we’re dealing with are just ordinary
>>squishies. They’re not using power armour, and cybers are unlikely unless they’re
>>bringing people in from above. That’s a bit of a pain.

>>Weather has closed in for the night. I can’t fly in a thunderstorm so my reconnaissance flight
>>has been shelved until tomorrow. There’s been some chatter about Cat sightings on the civil
>>bands and I’ve been able to narrow down the search area quite a bit. It also matches the
>>rough direction the attacks came from. If it’s not down there however, things get nasty.
>>There’s the big Daniel Boone national forest right smack in the centre of all three sites. That
>> could take days to search by air. There’s a plan B, but it relies on there being another attack.

>>We found paint traces and metal scrapings from the zoid. The samples are small enough that
>>my armour could contaminate them, so I’ve had the trooper I’m working with test them with
>>the taster. The results are attached. As you can see, this thing’s got enough computer
>>enhancement in it to probably have developed an AI, along with the mechanical and material
>>enhancements you’d expect. The low biomod trace is reassuring. Yellow and Blue traces
>>suggest it might not be spaceflight capable either.

>>I’ve also loaned that Wrist-Com to the trooper I’m working with, so she can contact me
>>securely. Don’t worry, she’s trustworthy and it works well with my comms. Plan B is for her to
>>contact me using it as soon as a robbery report comes in, and for me to get in the air and get
>>a visual fix on them as they escape.

>>The frequency hasn’t been changed if the delivery team need to contact her directly. They’ll
>>have to dodge DHS, so coming through an airport is out of the question.

>>Tomorrow, weather permitting, I can conduct a search flight over the Mountain Valley area.
>>Once we find it we can begin planning how to take it and it’s operators down. I may need
>>assistance to handle the meat aspect of this. What’s the policy on involving local law
>>enforcement on this?

>>That can be a last resort, depending on what’s available. I’d prefer to keep ‘danelaw out of
>>this as much as possible. Right now we’re still at a deniable level. A trooper who may be BBI,
>>and the State Governor know fenspace is involved in this, and that’s about it.

>>-JJ

>> P.S. Any chance of getting the latest motorball scores. Can’t get the site from down here.




Ruth’s Office.
KSPD Post 13, Hazard City


Coffee...As far as Ruth was concerned, it was proof that not only did God exist, but that he loved us and wanted us to be happy. A liquid brew of the Almighty’s love for mankind, picked, roasted, freeze-dried then mixed with boiling water and served black and strong enough to float a horseshoe.

The coffee machine however, seemed to be possessed by the devil himself. Sometimes It’d pour the coffee before the cup was in the slot. Sometimes, it’d come out cold. Sometimes, it just took her money and assured her that her coffee had indeed been served, even though all she’d received had been a cup full of powder.

Today, it decided to behave itself, something which Ruth took as a good omen from the Lord. Her office, what had once been a utility room, made up the entirety of the KSPD’s Handwavium Crimes division.

There was only one desk... hers, with an old PC and a stack of good old fashioned paperwork waiting for her. Three ‘wave seizures, and another stack of probable Fen launches passed in from Missing Persons. Sent in all at once...

There’d been quite a few of those lately, she noted, sipping from her coffee. She leafed through them, but it was really just a formality before the cases were closed. Find some handwavium and missing person’s automatically called it a Fen launch and the property was left alone, then wait until they got into contact.

How many had gotten into contact?

Idly, she checked her folder of cases, and was rather startled by what she’d found. Why hadn’t she noticed?

In truth, because she hadn’t actively looked for them, she just expected them to call in like they always had, whenever they felt like it. Damnit. She opened the first of the casefiles, a double disappearance of a salvager who’d lived in Mountain Valley.

That grabbed her attention. Right down where the sightings of the Cat were.

Stae Nor, otherwise rather unremarkable with no prior brushes with the law, he’d lived in an old trailer at the entrance to his property. And vanished right before the first sighting of the cat.

A victim? A suspect?

She made a note to check out his property tomorrow, just to be certain nobody’d been there.

Next was some motorcyclist from Irvine, who’s home had been abandoned. Henderson found wavium, and since his motorcycle was gone aswell, had listed it as a launch. The next was a woman from Frenchburg, who’d disappeared without even leaving a note for her family.

Not unusual really, a lot of launchers in the area would generally not say a word until after they’d safely gotten to orbit, in case their family turned them in. What got her attention was a small note.

‘Family regard this as extremely out of character.’

Why hadn’t Henderson followed this up? Why did he take the lazy route?

Next was a double one, an elderly couple who lived in an RV. The RV had been abandoned, and a tin of handwavium had been found inside. So naturally, Henderson had written it off as an orbital launch. But why leave the RV behind?

If it’s a launch, then what did they go in?

It was then that she saw the location their RV had been parked. They lived up in Mountain Valley.

“God damn you Henderson,”

And myself for not noticing it myself, she added mentally. She fetched another cup of coffee, before getting stuck into the rest of her files. This was going to be a long one.