Breakwall - 6.0 - One Woman Army
a soldier of sorrows
Breakwall - Episode 6.0 - A collision course is set between Jonny and the master assassin that stands between the merc and her prize. Follow us on Twitter for news and updates. Join us on discord to hang out with cast and crew! Want to support the show? Please check out our Patreon as Cybernautica is 100% Fan Supported!
Cybernautica is intended for mature audiences on account of mature language, theme and violence. Please be advised.
CREDITS:
Abigail Turner as Jonny
Travis Storey as Evan
Madeline Dorrah as Ella
Veronica Pierce as Estella Morgan
Bobby Frankenberger as Hightower Security
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Dan Boud as the Narrator
Written, Designed and Edited by Damian Szydlo
Script Editing by Jupiter Sanders
Show theme by Doug Maxwell
Music and Sound Effects from Syrinscape & Audioblocks
Transcript
[duffle bag being dropped into a car seat and the door slamming behind it]
EVAN
[somewhat nervously – Evan and Ella are very aware of their betrayal at this point and that something must have happened, but they don’t know what]
“We got here as quick as we could. How is Skyway traffic even a thing at 10PM, right?”
JONNY
[A determined, slow burning anger has set into Jonny]
“Drive.”
ELLA
“Aye, aye… captain.”
[Long Pause]
“We kind of have something we need to tell you.”
JONNY
“Now’s not the time for it. Just. Drive.”
The old skycab’s grav- engine spun up as it lurched into the air and away from Jonny’s freshly devastated world. She’d worked it out as she’d packed the duffle bag that now sat beside her. Derby Bell was counting on her to be reckless. To be vengeful; to let the devil in. Truth be known, she wanted nothing more than to oblige her. She knew better though… that it was those thoughts, those revenge fantasies that would be the sort of thinking that’d get her killed. There were steps to this dance, after all; a rhythm to it. The momentum had to be grown and nurtured; the beat built upon. It was a matter of momentum… and she had to take that momentum back. As if grimly punctuating the thought she un-holstered her twin Morays before setting them beside her on the back seat of the car.
EVAN
“So… are we taking you someplace specific or are we just killing time?”
JONNY
“Megaris District, Intra-Call. I need to be in base-jump range of that building. Think you can you make that happen?”
EVAN
“I… maybe? I mean I can try. So… I guess we’re working tonight?”
JONNY
“You’re damned right we are.”
ELLA
“I… think I can hack us some phoney credentials on the fly. I’ve never done it before but it might buy us one… maybe two minutes in commercial airspace?”
EVAN
“I’d need to get out of there before then. I’m pretty good but there’s never been a day that I’ve been good enough to pilot this cab through a restricted zone like that.”
JONNY
“I’m gonna need you both to be better. Better than you’ve ever dared to be. Intra-Call is still a contractor company, but it’s a big contractor.”
ELLA
“I get that. We’re there for you. Anything we can do… But there’s a problem-”
EVAN
“We’re not going to be able to pick you up. There’s hot, and then there’s what this is going to be.”
JONNY
“That’s fine. I’ll find my own way home.”
Jonny continued her preparation by pulling a heavy plastic case from the duffle, putting it down on the seat beside her pistols. She was forced to close her eyes a moment as lights from the traffic of countless flight-cars filled the cab as Evan merged onto the Boeotia-Megaris flightpath. Blinking the distraction away the merc took a moment to acknowledge the anger. To let it in long enough to see the sustaining rage at play… hammering against her resolve like the waves beating upon the Breakwall below them. In the distance she could see Boeotia and the many domes that churned out the lionshare of food production for the City on the Sea.
Looking down at her tools, her mind again returned to the plan, or at least whatever plan there was to be had. This play of Derby’s was an obvious one. If you wanted to change a Mercs focus… to get them to forget about a well paying job and the rep that comes with it; then you might want to hit them where it hurts. Hit them at home. Put something on the table more vital than chips. It was the only reason she could think of for the assassin to take Revik out like that. When one gets paid for killing as a professional they don’t usually exercise their talents for free, afterall.
All this meant that if she wanted to take the momentum back and to come out of this alive then the best way to counter the goad was to ignore it. To keep hyper focused on the job at hand. To call your opponents bluff and sidestep the trap they’d lain out in plain sight. If she could force Derby to come for her, to keep on protecting her own interests… then maybe Jonny would have a chance to pick her own ground.
There it was that Estella Morgan went in an instant from queen to pawn and no longer the desired extraction target she’d expected herself to be. She was now caught up in this game as a catalyst, a pull bringing the fate of both assassin and merc together on a deadly collision course.
JONNY
[Jonny is quietly talking to herself for this line]
“It’s time to be strong, Jonny. Stronger than you’ve ever been. Dyin’ today isn’t gonna do, girl… Hold it together, grieve afterwards if you must but hold the line now. Just ‘till it’s done.”
ELLA
“Jonny. Something happened, didn’t it? –“
EVAN
“We only ask because –“
ELLA
“Well we kind of fucked up. And you should know.”
EVAN
“Remember when we met you? [pause] Well, we do.”
ELLA
“It was the most important day in our lives, actually.”
EVAN
“You hailed a taxi… well really you more or less jumped out a window and landed on the hood of my cab mid-flight somewhere down in the Light Way. You were covered in blood and Ella went ahead and opened the door for you before I could try to shake you off the hood… I was so pissed with her.”
ELLA
“Never did get that stain all the way out.”
EVAN
“Don’t remind me. Anyway. What we never told you is that we were already working for someone. It was –“
ELLA
“Abusive, manipulative and we’d probably be dead if it weren’t for you. So when you offered to take us in? We dropped any deals we still had with her, flat. Catch was she had a condition for letting us walk out on her. That we owed her one last service. Whenever she came to collect on it. That’s how she operates… she collects favors.”
JONNY
“What is this? Where is this going?”
EVAN
“We didn’t ever really think we’d actually get tattooed. Become real mercs. Getting to take contracts on? But then Nick said one of the rules was that you gotta settle all debts when you go official. So we called her up… and of all the things she could have asked about… she asked about you and where to find you. Worst possible time for a cash in, right?”
The last word had barely made it past Evan’s lips before Jonny had swept her pistols up and put barrels to the back of the duo’s heads.
JONNY
“Reprobates! Tell me why I shouldn’t pull trigger and brain the both of you right fucking now. It makes sense now! It makes all too much god-damned sense! You gave me up to Derby Bell? Betrayed me and didn’t even have the nerve to warn me!? To even give me the privilege of defending myself? Well lucky for me that I wasn’t home but don’t you worry your heads about it because she settled for putting a blade through my dad instead.“
ELLA
“Oh shit. We didn’t know what to say or how to tell you... So we sent a message to Revik. Anonymously. And when we didn’t get a response we sent another.“
JONNY
[still angry but confused]
“He knew? You’re telling me he knew she was coming for me? For us?”
EVAN
“He… he had to know! Like how couldn’t he?”
JONNY
[Jonny is putting things together in her head]
“He… he’d sent me on some fools errand. When I came back to find him he was on about destiny. Said fate’d done it to him. Wouldn’t tell me much more before I re-routed systems to keep him going till I got back… Shit… Alright look. I’m going to lower these shooters but I want you to know something here and now.”
[Jonny lowers guns before zipping up the duffle.]
JONNY
“I believe you. That you tried to warn Revik. It’s pretty on brand for the both of you to miss scanning that as being little better than doing nothing at all. But it’s enough to save me the trouble of a couple bullets. You’ve broken my heart and now this is how we all get to walk away from this. You’re going to do your part in getting me to Intra-Call and we’re going to manage that in blessed silence. You’re going to take the silent act we’re playing at and bring it forward a stretch. What you’ve done to me… I can’t forgive it… you’re… you’re strangers to me going forward. Do you get that? Do you understand it? Oh, don’t go stiff on me now. I want you to bob those heads if you’re savvy what I’m sayin’ to you.
[Evan and Ella slowly nod in understanding]
Good. The deal is done.”
Jonny let the two steal a look between one another before she cast her eyes down and popped the clasps on the case. From within she removed a pair of bulky clasps, adjusting them a couple turns to fit them around her ankles. She’d been saving these Grav-Packs for something suitably dramatic and almost certainly far less practical than what she was using them for today. In the meanwhile Ella began her forgery in promised silence as she worked on programming a tube of lipstick with a code that might be mistaken as a licence on a curserary scan of the vehicle. It was far above her skill to build a survicable fake ID so she’d need to rely on building a reasonable glitch instead. Small inconsistencies in the hack she was building would inevitably force an error that would seem pretty routine, causing the algorithm to flag the car for a follow up. Forcing a conversation with a real guard could get them a couple minutes, tops.
With a sudden lurch the sky-cab swung itself from the flightpath, leaving the uniform landscape of Boeotia behind for the neon decadence and fashion of the Megaris’ skyline. Holo-signs competed for their attention, promising relief, entertainment and all manner of luxury on behalf of the districts many commercial services and distractions. It was the kind of thing that was the stuff of dreams back in Arcadia.
EVAN
“We’re coming up on the tower now. Hold on… wow, we’re getting scanned already. This could get interesting. You sure this ‘licence’ is going to work? Not going to lie, not the most confident about resting my physical well being on a beauty product.”
ELLA
“It’ll work. Just… don’t look too suspicious.”
EVAN
“Oh, no problem. What could possibly be suspicious about a decommissioned taxicab, peppered full of bullet holes and wobbly due to a damaged port-side stabilizer? Just flying around commercial space. Like who would even license this car?”
JONNY
“Cut the chatter, the both of you. I need you to get me about 50 meters or so above the traffic line.”
EVAN
“Breaking traffic formation around here is going to turn some heads...”
JONNY
“Just do as I say, Evan.”
[Sound effects of the cab banking upwards and away. Sound of a call coming in]
ELLA
“Incoming call. Should we answer?”
JONNY
“Do it. Stall them until I’m in range for the jump.”
EVAN
“Righto… Ooookay, Evan, you’ve got this.”
[Picks up incoming call]
SECURITY
“Licence LT8963P5, this is Intra-Call High Tower. We’re having some difficulty identifying your clearance-
EVAN
[Pretending to be struggling with his controls]
“Oh shit! Ow, ow ow ow shit!”
[Makes sounds like he’s in pain, pretending hot coffee was spilled on him]
SECURITY
“Licence LT8963P5, please clarify.”
EVAN
“Oh! Oh thank god it’s you, High Tower! My names Evan! I’m an independent driver dispatched from Thompson Fastlane, Attica district. I’m so sorry but my girlfriend… or EX-girlfriend here just spilt hot coffee all over my console… and my seats and… groin. She spilt coffee on my groin!”
ELLA
[Whispering]
“The coffee routine again? Really!? Like you could even afford coffee, Evan. Also you’re so not my type.”
EVAN
“It’s the first thing I thought of… just SHHHHHH alright, Ella?”
[going back to the call]
“Now my fare is demanding that I get this tub back on track or… ow. Goddamn it. This is… just uncomfortable. Can I just hover here for a minute and get this cleaned up, High Tower?”
SECURITY
“Negative. Please rejoin traffic and proceed along previous course.”
EVAN
“But my testicles…”
JONNY
[quietly]
“I could do without hearing about your testicles. Come on, Evan. Just a little bit closer and we’re in range…”
ELLA
[Addressing the security officer.]
“Like, what didn’t you get when he said that I spilled coffee all over the console. Controls are jinxed up. Got any tips on mid-flight repairs, High Tower?”
SECURITY
“Not our concern. You’re drifting within critical proximity to our structure. Get your vehicle under control immediately or we will be required to respond with force granted under permissions in Article 1906B, protection of contracted property.”
EVAN
“Yikes. Closing ‘that’ call. It’s now or never, Jonny.”
JONNY
“I suppose it’ll have to do.”
The door was already raising as Jonny swept up her pistols and slung the duffle onto her back. She’d hated to admit that Evan had the right of it; that the time for talking was over. Without even so much as a second thought, she stuffed her nerves down before grabbing the exit handle above her to perch upon the edge of the seat… and the perilous drop teaming with flying cars, drones and all other manner of commotions that made this district the bustling hub that it was. With one last intake she held her breath and let herself fall from the hovering car. Battered by the wind, Jonny erratically tumbled for a panicked moment before stabilizing her freefall. With a silent prayer to any form of luck that she had left in this world, she plunged back through the traffic lane they’d diverged from. Each near miss was closer than the last as the frenzy rushed past her falling body, the autopiloting vehicles doing their best to account for the invading obstacle until she plummeted back into empty air, unscathed and feet first. Cutting hard towards the tower she raised her pistols to fire shots through a set of specific, arranged windows on the 123rd floor. Now was the moment. The timing needed to be perfect she thought before urging her adrenal pump to engage.
[bassy sounds of the gravity anklets engaging, glass shattering, Jonny touching down hard - sounds of glass continue with the slow motion of the pump in effect]
The Grav-Packs engaged, shattering the damaged window while at the same time cushioning her landing to a manageable impact upon the carpeted floor of the suite. The airborne glass shrapnel reflexively forced the two bodyguards in the room to immediately put themselves between their charge and the violent flurry. That instinct would be their last as Jonny was already to her feet and discharging precision shots before the debris had even settled. When it finally had, only Jonny’s extraction target remained; covered in the sea green blood of her protectors but otherwise unharmed.
[sounds of an alarm as the adrenaline charge retreats]
JONNY
“You’re Estella Morgan, yeah? Welcome to your first extraction. Best get used to it, rich nitwits like you get passed around often enough so I wouldn’t imagine it’s your last.”
ESTELLA MORGAN
[shocked & enraged]
“I don’t… what is this!? This was not how I contracted… I expected discretion! I expected a professional.”
JONNY
“Oh!? I’m sorry! Should I maybe leave then and give it another try sometime else?”
ESTELLA MORGAN
“No… no of course not. Don’t be ridiculous. I’m sorry it’s just… It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone… die.”
JONNY
“Well isn’t that a special sort of privilege? [calms herself down a bit]. That was unfair of me. Are you ready to go?”
ESTELLA MORGAN
“I’ve been ready to go since the day I opened my eyes.”
[Footsteps and other movement sounds as they start down the hall]
JONNY
“Then there’s no time for wasting, let’s move. Can you guide us to a parking bay? We’re going to need wings to get out of here.”
ESTELLA MORGAN
“Yes… yes of course. Floor 130 is a docking hub. You don’t have transportation arranged?
JONNY
“Afraid not. They had to dodge. I’m not going to lie to you, this is going to be a messy one. No time to do it any other way. They have an assassin trying to put a full stop to this little job. Only thing working in our favor today is that I’ve got a surplus of aggression to work out of my system. Some issues, you know? As a rule I’d say you’d do best to stick close behind me, stay to cover if you can. And take this duffle. I packed you a little extraction-day present.
ESTELLA MORGAN
“What’s in it?”
JONNY
“An old ballistic jacket. To protect from stray shots. If they know I’ve gone off with this castle’s princess then they’ll likely be loadin’ gel rounds but let’s just be safe, yeah?
Do you know how to use a sidearm?”
ESTELLA MORGAN
“Yes. Well in another life I trained thoroughly. It was a security requirement against this sort of situation. I was quite proficient, actually.”
JONNY
“Good.
[frees her spare from her sleeve and readies it]
You can take my spare. I want you to be ready, keep your eyes out for me. Standard response rate in these sorts of situations is 45 seconds so I’d say we’re about due for some resistance. Elevators are out of the question so be a dear and get that stairway door for me, would you?”