act16mini

(Glad I didn't turn her in.)

Right, what about you?

Your device didn't beep, did it? Why did you hop off?

...Me?

I... I'm a little scared...

So... uh, wherever you lot go, I'll, follow...

You're not going anywhere!

Ah...

The officer grabs the Zalak's calf, causing him to nearly trip, and he stomps on the officer's hand while balancing himself.

AGH!!! My fingers—

S-SORRY!! I'm really sorry... I, we... we'll be going now!

We're surrounded.

Probably backup... Strewth, shit's escalating real fast.

What do we do now?

I counted more than forty of them, the whole squad's armed with anti-armor.

And a thick steel gate in front of us.

I have no good ideas.

Ideas... Hmm... ideas... Actually, I got a good one.

It's super risky, but I'll brag about it for years if we succeed.

What?

I gotta say, jacker.

This ute of mine ain't no regular truck.

Wanna know its full name?

It's called—Earthrock-excavating bottletree-transplanting crew-carrying intercity transporter.

Excavating and bottletrees aside, you know the two steel beams at the Rustdreg Town entrance? This beauty propped them up.

And of course, you're looking at the very driver responsible.

Lanns...

Your hands are shaking.

Shut it! Sit down tight—

We're going in!

Uh...

Can I just... Is there anything we can use to patch up these holes?

I'm feeling... a little chilly.

Several holes dot the vehicle's exterior, funneling the wild winds from outside and messing up the Zalak's hair.

Nowt we can do. Just bear with it.

I'll look for a mobile platform to get some repair materials later...

...Wait, why're you still here?

Who even are you?

Ah, I... uh... I'm just an ordinary passenger...

I'm a good guy! Really! Look, here's my ID...

Jerry, huh... But I'm afraid we don't have any use for good Jerrys right now.

Don't worry about me! I won't tell a soul what happened back there!

Well, it is what it is.

Everyone here's an accomplice now, so no one's getting away.

Got that, jacker? We're ALL jackers now.

Also, thanks for that. Thanks a lot for saving Potlid.

My device went off too.

They would have sent us to the Infected treatment zone if they took us away.

But I still need to get to the Grinning Valley.

Alright, alright. We're off to the Grinning Valley now, the truck's final destination!

But we might not have enough fuel for our trip, so we'd better find a mobile platform to resupply, and find a way to patch up my battered ute while we're at it.

Otherwise, it'll be tough to explain to the company when I hand her back.

Alright.

Right. So what's your name?

The miners all call me Ray.

Alrighty, Ray. Still feel like 'jacker' rolls off the tongue easier though.

Say, jacker. You got me a bit curious... you hijacked this ute and beat up those officers without a care... what in Terra's name are you after in the Grinning Valley?

That place isn't exactly car friendly, and I hear it's basically just wasteland ruins after Catastrophes wrecked it... Or do you mean, there might be some treasure to find there?

Out with it, mate! It'll be worth all that noise if there's something good in store for us!

I'm looking for a huge shadow.

...A what?

A shadow as tall as a mountain, shooting rays of light through the fog.

It can talk too.

...It... can talk?

Mhm.

Wha?! What kind of bloody creature is that?!

Life itself is a sort of profound horror.

You don't know where it's going to take you. Even worse, even when there aren't thirty-some-odd siblings and hundreds of other relatives clamoring to make your decisions for you––

You still sometimes find yourself under attack, out of nowhere. Such as, uh... right now.

There are no think tanks, no 'there's no way this could be wrong because everyone believes it,' only a bandit pulling up with a crossbow and the sand kicking up as hard as he drives.

––I've made peace with my fate.

Um, I... don't think we can pass through Windy Beach. That place is Catastrophe central. Each year, up to seventy thousand trucks are damaged or destroyed when passing through...

But, that's not the point. Our transport's already pretty beat up...

A-Also, you should take a look at this. In addition to Catastrophes, there are other factors that can worsen the damage to a vehicle...

Originium fuel leakage, transmission failure leading to secondary incidents, explosions in close proximity to mining sites... So we'll want to steer clear of the mines

Hey, are you listening?

That's right, Potlid. Climb up from here, saw off the branch, then connect the hose to the top of the tree!

The saw... is so heavy...

But it's okay... the ankle braces Lanns gave me are very secure. Just imagine that you're a big tree musbeast, use the braces to hold onto the tree, and jump up with a 'whoosh'...

...I know I can do this, and make everyone happy.

Huh...? My back feels lighter all of a sudden?

Oi, jacker. I didn't tell you to do that.

Sure. You didn't tell me to do anything. But, I have experience collecting water from bottletrees.

Okay, so you have a heart after all. But I still need you to return Potlid's tools.

After all, I certainly trust my old partner a whole lot more than I trust the random jacker.

Heehee...

Besides, it's not like we're really trying to become a bottletree water delivery truck.

We just need to put on enough of a disguise before entering the city that nobody can tell it's an intercity transport that's gone off route.

Slap some decoration on as well –– don't let anyone see that the ol' girl's been punched full of holes before being patched over with sheet metal.

Potlid, let's go over our cover story with the jacker here.

Okay.

If anyone asks, tell them we're transporting this bottletree, and the water in the trunk's gotta be bucketed up for transport into the factory. As for the tree branch decorations on the vehicle, it's just a little something the boss enjoys.

That's right. Bulletproof cover story, if I do say so myself.

Haha, never would've imagined that these bottletrees would be saving our hides when we're running from Catastrophes on our long 'detour'.

Whoever decided to plant these bottletrees in the middle of nowhere, thank you.

And of course, that includes me as well.

All righty, time to hop back into the driver's cabin!

Uhh... are you listening to me? Umm, I just want to remind everyone that...

...Every year, three hundred thousand people suffer fractures aboard transport vehicles for various reasons, fifteen thousand of which are attributed to bottletrees tipping over in transit.

*sigh*...