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On the Rim, Ch 16: Sean "Claw" Badger 2020 copyright comidacomida

Sean was manufactured at a processing plant leased by the corporation on Mars. His branding, 'Designer Domestics' was originally designed to function as fully functioning members of society, specifically for corporate, municipal, and even residential applications. The Badger, however, was designed as a military version of Geneticons produced by the up-and-coming corporation called Life Happens Inc. As a vat grown grunt, Sean's name was given to him as a random assignment, and his surname 'Badger' simply described his breed. It wasn't until nearly four years later when he earned the name he more commonly used: Claw.

Claw earned his name thanks to his first military action taken on behalf of the corporation holding his contract: DRC. In addition to the engrained technical education called 'The System' he received while within the vat from which he was birthed, DRC provided him firsthand training once he'd been purchased. After a month of preparation he was moved in to secure corporate interests against an opposing corporation; his squad had been successful, but he had lost an arm in the process. DRC provided him a state of the art replacement, but it was very obviously cybernetic with several plastisteel blades emerging from it; 'Claw' was the obvious new nickname, and it stuck.

His time with DRC lasted only another month and a half until a pirate attack sent the ship he was on careening down onto a nearby planet... one he'd been living on for over twenty years. He had been a relatively green, wet-behind-the-ears Badger that far back, and the two decades after made him into a much more stalwart, much more tenacious combatant; he'd been called upon to do war on many occasions and he no longer feared it-- he found it far easier than interpersonal communication and tended to fit in better on the battlefield than in a settlement.

Most people described Claw politely as 'abrasive' but he respected the people who told it to him like it was: he was an asshole, and he was comfortable with that description. It wasn't that he grated on people on purpose or that he made it a point to make enemies, he just didn't see the purpose of beating around the bush, tip-toeing around issues, or being extra careful of peoples' feelings; if they had a problem with him that that was their issue, not his. Fortunately for Claw, the new group with which he'd thrown is lot seemed reasonable enough to overlook his lack of interpersonal skills, and that was what led to him being sent out on repeat sorties. He didn't mind, of course: being away from base meant less opportunities to offend people, which meant a better chance of him being allowed to stay.

As the only actual security-authorized employee on the mission, Claw found himself in charge. It was a strange situation since he'd spent his entire life listening to others' orders but, suddenly, not only was he allowed to go out onto the field without oversight, but he was trusted enough to be put into a position of leadership; he resolved to prove his worth. Although the Badger didn't rightly give a fuck about what people thought about him personally, professionally his reputation was all he really had and he wasn't about to let his new manager down; he wasn't designed to fail.

Those thoughts and more were on his mind as the sun was rising. He had pushed his group through the night in the hopes of arriving at the site while it was still dark so they could do some reconnaissance before it got too light out. Missy had kept pace easily enough, but Duct-Tape wasn't quite as spry as he used to be; fortunately, the Fox had always responded well to the Badger's harsh critiques and, even though it only got a little extra speed out of Duct-Tape, the Fox maintained a jovial approach. The Lion named Leo, however, was a different matter altogether.

Not only did Leo linger on the trail, but he tended to drag his feet. Always at the back, the Lion also forced the group to stop on multiple occasions so he could catch up; his 'rush' to rejoin their ranks was equal to a standard pace, let alone a run or even a jog. Claw mentioned many times on the way that Leo needed to get the lead out-- he even managed to do so almost politely the first time, but by the fourth such event rolled around he'd more than lost his temper. "If you make us slow down for you one more time I swear to Thursternburger that you'll regret making me wait."

The threat wasn't a hollow one, and the next time Leo forced the group to stop, Claw walked back to meet him. They stood there facing one another for several seconds, at which point the Badger reached up and backhanded the Lion across his smug face. Leo dropped like a sack of potatoes, at which point Claw hefted him up, tossed him over his shoulder, and looked back at the other members of the group. "If anyone's filing a report, maybe leave this part out of it."

The slower-than-desired rate of travel caused them to miss the pre-dawn hours Claw had sought, but he took it in stride, lowering Leo to the ground before pulling out some smelling salt from one of the medical kits he'd brought. Waving the vial in front of the Lion's nose had the desired effect. Rather than offer any explanation (and feeling absolutely no need to give an apology), the Badger got right down to business. "We're here."

Any number of dramatic arguments or objections could have started at that point but Leo, rather than mouthing off, just raised a paw to the side of his muzzle, checked his fingers for blood, stood up with a shrug and stated "Wow... free ride. Guess that works."

Although Missy and Duct-Tape found humor in the statement, Claw did not. "We're here-- the impact site is about 200 meters that way, and it looks like there's no cover anywhere near it. Leo, I want you at the ridgeline there to provide covering fire in case it's needed. Duct-Tape, you and Missy will close in and take up position in that creek bed."

Nods all around were reinforced by Duct-Tape adding "No problem... do we all go at the same time, or do we give Leo a head start since he has farther to---?"

The sentence didn't get to be finished when they all seemed to realize simultaneously that the Lion had already left. Claw caught occasional glimpses of the Lion, weaving in and out of the long, early-morning shadows in a slow circle around the impact site. He mumbled aloud "Well... at least that fucking slow poke can half-way manage himself when it comes to it."

Missy was even less positive. "Still moving slow though."

Claw decided that he liked her. "Yep."

A few minutes passed and, as Leo got into position, Duct-Tape and Missy started toward their spot. The Fox paused before turning back. "What're you going to do, Claw? I don't want to open fire without knowing where you'll be."

The Badger shrugged, adjusting his cybernetic prosthetic. "Someone has to be bait."

* * * * *

At some point during the following engagement Claw's senses came back to him. When he was younger and he entered combat it was as if a switch flipped inside his brain and he returned to an almost primal state in which he reacted almost exclusively on instinct-- instinct and the combat programming engrained in him by The System before he emerged from the production vat. It'd been several years since he had lost control to the point that he blacked out into battle programming and it took several seconds for his conscious mind to catch up. In that second, reviewing the events of the prior minutes like a vid playing in fast forward he began shaking; he recovered moments later as the rest of his squad approached.

The battle had gone quickly, but once he realized what it was they'd fought he understood why his mental programming had overridden his direct control: they hadn't faced any traditional foe. He'd approached the impact site and barely had enough time to dive for cover as a perfectly placed phase round shot over his head. Claw had only encountered phase rounds once before, and that was when he'd lost his arm to one. Looking up from cover, he realized that he was facing down a synthetic opponent: an android of some kind... and that was it.

The tactical calculations played through his mind and every move was a reaction to his preternatural understanding of the battle field provided by removing any conscious impairments. It wasn't long before the robotic assailant was under attack by the rest of Claw's unit and he already took into account the aim of irregulars firing into an engagement in which an ally might block the shot. He'd calculated their firing rate and a variance on accuracy (or lack thereof), and he moved. He moved fast. Genetic bioware grafted into his genetics kicked in and he moved with speed far greater than a normal Gen could accomplish on their own and, suddenly, he was on top of his opponent.

The android looked humanoid in appearance, but its legs were short, and heavily armored. Its arms were marginally longer than those of a Human or Geneticon, and, as he neared for close range combat, two long, scythe-like blades emerged from either arm. It was a mechanical and electronic synthetic organism, but its programming didn't respond fast enough to having a fleshy opponent eager to close the distance, and he put a very decisive end to the encounter with one quick thrust of his cybernetic clawed arm. His conscious mind would have questioned if the head would have had the same affect as it would have in an organic creature, or if the thing even had a brain, but Claw didn't need that hesitation-- it was his target, and he hit.

Snapping back to the present from the combat review, which took place in the blink of an eye, he consciously slowed his breathing, and looked at the other three members of his squad. Duct-Tape and Leo were looking at him, while Missy's attention was on her Wolf, who was sniffing around the impact site. He kept his orders simple. "Gather whatever we can from the resource pod. We'll also take this thing back with us to be studied."

Missy went to join her Wolf while Duct-Tape moved immediately to inspect the no-longer-functioning robot. Leo, in the meantime, stayed right were he was. The Lion stated simply "Good to see you're as dangerous to synthetics as you are to organics."

The Badger really wasn't looking for a friend in the Lion. "Good to see you didn't get shot again."