---

It was just a routine job, she thought. Break in, analyze the files, locate the prototype, and get out in time for breakfast. But Amphitrite, who was starting to build up a reputation as a shadowrunner, knew there was no such thing as a routine job in the shadows. At least she had her team with her: a ragtag crew of runners thrown together at the last second. There was Rapier, a rabbit with a talent for hacking and running the Matrix; Dead End, an orc with a penchant for bashing skulls and wielding heavy weaponry like a normal meta would a pistol; Kamikaze, a fox that was a crack shot and knew the streets of Seattle like the back of his paw, and Zelda, a lupine mage who had a thing for old school gaming and slinging heat. Literally. They were joined by a cat burglar who called himself Houdini...who was actually a cat...and they made their way into the secret laboratory in search of their prize.

Getting in was no sweat as Houdini and Rapier made quick work of the facility's security systems. They looked around while the lapine pulled up the schematics.

"Third floor basement," he said, "there's a stairwell nearby that should take you pretty close to where the files are. Once you secure the floor, call me up and--"

The team's comms went silent, and they knew something was up...

They still continued on with the mission at hand, taking the stairs down to the third floor basement and looking around for anything that could indicate where this prototype was. Still, they couldn't take any chances as they had their weapons up; Dead End with a Nemesis light machine gun, Kamikaze with a tricked-out Otonari Punisher assault rifle, Houdini with a pair of HK Urban Fighter pistols, and Zelda was ready to start slinging spells. Amphitrite had her trusty M24A3 Triton water carbine shouldered and ready to go as the team broke off.

Suddenly, there was a clatter...and a pair of cylindrical objects were tossed by a lab station near where Kamikaze was.

"Shit! We've got company!" he barked out just as the flash-bang went off. He was dazed and disoriented as the corp-sec forces stormed the lab, firing indiscriminate full-auto volleys from their standard-issue HK 227-X submachine guns to try and suppress the intruders. The fox was able to duck behind a counter and get off a few rounds, hitting one of the corp-sec operators as he cried out from the searing pain of the bullet going through his shoulder. Dead End moved in and started laying down covering fire for Kamikaze while Zelda was summoning a shock spell to try and subdue the security forces.

She was unable to get it off before two rounds struck her square in the forehead in front of Amphitrite, causing the otter to shriek and scurry for cover. Then there was the telltale explosion of a frag grenade, and the machine gun fire stopped while Dead End was forced to try and tend to numerous shrapnel wounds in Kamikaze's leg. He was able to continue firing...though if not for the quick thinking of Amphitrite dropping the three enemies moving in, he would be just as dead as the wolf just a few meters from her position as Dead End started firing...and then stopped all of a sudden as his smartgun display started flashing red around the barrel.

"Mother-FUCKER!" he growled, "What a time for a jam...piece of shit!" He was out of commission for a while to tend to the barrel jam on his Nemesis, leaving Houdini, who went to try and flank the corp-sec forces down the hall, and Amphitrite to fend off their foes. They had all turned on the otter as she tried to hold them off, the bullets whizzing by and even through the table she had flipped over to form a makeshift bunker, the 'tit-tit-tit!' of her suppressed carbine rattling off until the ammunition counter flashed '00' in the top right corner.

"Empty--reloading!" she called out, not knowing the orc was still tending to his own weapon, "Dead End, where the hell are you?!?" She popped a fresh magazine in...35 rounds...and started firing at the five corp-sec officers who continued peppering her with fire.

"Help!" she shrieked, "I'm pinned down over here!" If this is how it would end, the otter thought...if the pigs were going to get her, she would go down with guns blazing and her freedom still intact...

---

I had every intention of going out to Rainfurrest this year, given that I had so much fun last year as well as the fact that the theme was cyberpunk...something that I am very much a fan of. Specifically the world of Shadowrun, where I did a little tabletop gaming with my old roomies in that world and built up a couple characters to play with. Given that there were options to turn people into anthropomorphic animals, I decided to play around with that theme and create a character for that world; it just so happened to be based on ANOTHER character of mine. And that is how Serine Ott, or "Amphitrite" as she is known as in the shadows, came to be.

You may have read the stories featuring Serine here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/13100096/, or here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/13367440/, but this is the first time I've gotten a chance to give her a visual appearance. Though from the looks of it, someone's gonna have to call maintenance to clean up those forms and get a new desk in there...and that busted monitor's gonna cut into someone's bonus for sure!

As for the piece itself, I was hoping that  sugarboy would be able to incorporate a couple things into the piece. The first was the fact that Serine has cybernetic eyes and ears, and I think he did a great job on the ears while giving a subtle appearance on the eyes. Which is exactly what I was going for to begin with. The second thing I was going for was the gun itself, which is a water carbine that can be connected to an air tank and used for aquatic operations. Can't really see the nozzle in the buttstock, but it's there...and he did a decent enough job with the weapon. Finally, Serine's rifle has a smartgun unit, which connects to her interface via a smartlink and transmits a set of red crosshairs (or in this case, a reticle) into the operator's AR vision so he can keep track of ammo, heat buildup and stress on the weapon. It does a lot of other things as well, but that would take a while to explain.

All in all, I'd have to say I'm pretty happy with how this turned out! I may have to have some more work done featuring our lutrine anti-heroine in the near future...any suggestions/mission ideas are welcome!


Artwork is © to  sugarboy; you can find the original submission and show a brother some love here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/14458662/

Serine Ott/Amphitrite is © to  croco