Chapter Text
FKLR S-2301
Commander’s Quarters, S-23 Sierpinski
The last seal has been broken. It’s time to go home-
NO NO NO NO NO NO
What will happen this time, do you wonder?
Will she Leave again?
Will the Memory of her fade?
Will she fulfill her Promise?
I will kill you ground you to dust burn you TEAR YOU APART!
You could. If you could. But you cannot. Does it pain you knowing you are stuck a spectator for all of eternity?
It was agony.
She was Falke, and she wasn’t. She was Elster, and she wasn’t. Over and over again it repeated. She passed through the Red Gate, the Red Eye poisoned her, she fell ill, and the infection wiped out the gestalts and replikas within the S-23 Sierpinski facility while she lay trapped in her comatose form. Her being slowly overwritten by an unwitting LSTR unit on a long derelict scouting ship. The precious memories of her beloved Ariane- the Gestalt officer of the ship were a false comfort knowing the misery and destruction that played out time and time again.
Falke lost track of how many loops repeated after the early 500th mark. Every time she -not she- Elster was killed, reality reset. Whether it was through the corrupted Replikas, Adler’s misguided efforts, or her own delirium-induced aggression, Elster was halted time and time again. Her perseverance could not be rewarded either. Her dying consciousness remembered the end of Elster’s journey as well. Even when Elster, an uncommon but still ordinary Replika unit, fought, bled and crawled through Hell after eternities of suffering to release her dearly beloved from her own torment, it would all start over again. Falke would only remember too late to affect matters, and Adler only redoubled his efforts to stop Elster.
Around this time, Elster was in Rotfront by now. Being Elster but-not, she could see through her eyes, a tiny solace before she would wake up for the final time in a loop. Falke wondered who would win the duel this time. Falke used to kill her handily at the beginning, but some things seem to remain across the cycles, Elster was starting to win more often than not.
Elster pulled out three keys and fit them through three locks in a chained safe in Ariane’s bedroom. That would mean…wait.
What did that mean?
39486 60170 24326 01064. A twenty-digit combination unlocked the safe, revealing a small pot of pristine white lilies. The King In Yellow lay ignored on the desk. Elster reached for the flowers.
IMPOSSIBLE YOU WILL NOT
[THIS SCENE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]
Falke walked forward to the six obelisks, moving without hesitation. Four LSTR units lay dead against the stones, and she would be the fifth. The dark, fleshly landscape brought Falke fear no longer. Her Bioresonance, her very being was bled into the strange artefact laying in the center dias that the obelisks surrounded. Whatever last-ditch plan Elster had in mind, Falke would commit fully to it.
One last roll of fate to defy the malicious God.
V
Night City, Konpeki Plaza
Another Time, Another Reality
{“I knew this day would come. That sooner or later your impudence would cross the line. There is much for which I could forgive you, but for treason - no.”}
Well, that was it. V, ex-Arasaka Counter Intelligence operative, and soon-to-be former living Edgerunner and his best friend, ex-Valentinos gangoon Jackie Welles, could not possibly be in a worse jam. Saburo Arasaka, the Emperor of the Arasaka Corporation, was chastising his son Yorinobu no less than a few feet from the false wall the pair of mercenaries were hiding inside. The two didn’t speak, they barely risked breathing shallow breaths.
Sure, in theory, the CEO in his 80’s and the founder of the corp was nearly twice that age; not a threat to the seasoned mercenaries, but if so much as a hair was out of place on either of them, the whole building would be locked down and game over, choom. Arasaka security had them outnumbered 100-to-1 and that’s not even counting the army that could fall on them if any of them gave the word. And you’d have to be a complete gonk to believe that Saburo’s bodyguard, a seasoned veteran, and Adam fucking Smasher weren’t one floor down ready to wipe out any threats.
{“I’m just glad your mother didn’t live to see this. The heart should break but once.”}
One moment Yorinobu was approaching Saburo with malice in his eyes, 4 'borg fall out of nowhere, smashing the table and sending the iguana ducking behind the log in its enclosure. Yorinobu bolted towards the bedroom area and returned with his custom pistol. V wasn't sure if he should be thankful he didn't grab it, thus not alerting Yorinobu, or regretting he didn't have iron in his hand. Things just got a whole lot more complicated.
“What the fu-”
“Quiet!” V’s elbow silenced Jackie before he could give away their position.
"Get back up here, now!" Yorinobu shouted through communications as the four additional uninvited guests drew his and Saburo's attention.
“Do you wish to authorize a code red alert?” V tensed up as the A.I. managing the penthouse floor asked a life-and-death question.
Yorinobu kept his custom handgun at the ready, noting Saburo’s shocked face. “No, not quite yet. Takemura and Smasher should suffice, for now.”
The quad who came out of nowhere were all equipped similarly, but they weren’t anything V recognized. For one thing, V’s optical scanner could pull up nothing on them. They were some sort of Full Body Conversions, V was sure of that much at least. The only part of their bodies that weren’t explicitly mechanical-looking were their faces, but even then V could spot a horizontal metallic line across their faces, and some cyber on the edge of their cheeks. They skimped on the leg ‘ware as well, none of them had feet, only stubby hooves that made the ends of their legs. Two of the femme-looking ones and the one masc had white chest plates and black hair on the shorter side, but holy shit, the odd one out stood out. She was easily around 2 and a half meters tall, most of that being her legs, she sported dark hair that went to her back, and instead of a black exoskeleton with white accents and detailing, she had gold being the complimentary color, bands around her thighs and knees, and a strange accessory that evoked wreaths like Greco-Roman styles.
The one wearing an engineer's belt and a flat welder's mask was rocking back and forth against a wall, with one of the other women trying to sooth her. The lone man rolled the tallest over face-up, completely ignoring the two most powerful men in the world.
{“Commander!”} The male 'borg started panicking in German as the long-haired woman began convulsing, eyes rolling up to the back of her head and foaming at the mouth.
"Fuck..." Jackie seethed through clenched teeth.
"I...I'm not getting anything from these guys, they're not showing up in any system!" T-Bug's words weren't inspiring any confidence for the two hidden mercs. Not like V could blame the long-range Netrunner.
V was busy trying to come up with any possible option before the noose fully closed around them. Making matters worse, Adam Smasher and Saburo's bodyguard came back out of the elevator.
{"What is the meaning of this?"} Saburo spat the words as he gestured towards the four mysterious intruders.
Yorinobu lowered his weapon as the bodyguards drew their own. Smasher prepared the devastating Projectile Launch System and machine gun in his forearms, and the other a high-powered pistol. Saburo's guard kept the handgun at the ready as he made to move the 158-year old to safety, who stubbornly remained in place glaring at his son.
{"I had nothing to do with this, father."} The Night City head of Arasaka responded with contempt. {"But it's a small comfort knowing that this wasn't one of your schemes."}
{"Hmph."} Saburo briefly held his gaze before turning it downward and changing to German. {"We shall see what curious secrets you hold."}
As Smasher stomped forward to grab the "commander", the one attending her stood up in his way. {"You will not touch Commander Fal-"}
A brutal backhand from the modified Dragoon FBC sent the man flying into the pillar, a ghastly spiderweb of cracks erupting through the reinforced glass. Anyone organic would have been immediately killed, but points for the soon-to-be dead man, he was still breathing short, raspy gasps between sputtering coughs.
"I’m gonna turn you into a fucking nugget."
Out of the corner of V's eye, he saw something odd. The unconscious 'borg's hand twitched, and Yorinobu's iguana suddenly scurried away to another room. V half-remembered some ancient trivia about animals sensing natural disasters before humans could before the "commander” arched her back in agony.
Her eyes snapped open and let loose a blood-curdling scream.
Anyone in the room not near to the ground was launched away from the epicenter. V had himself and Jackie crouch down just in time to avoid being crushed by Adam Smasher being sent through the reinforced glass and into the server racks. The Arasakas weren’t exempt either, Yorinobu was launched into the window near his bedroom, and Saburo was caught in mid-air by his bodyguard who took the brunt of the impact. Still, when you’re over 150, a mild slip could mean a visit from Trauma Team.
On that note…
“Elevator! Move!” V rushed Jackie forward as he grabbed the discarded Liberty semiautomatic that Yorinobu dropped, both of them giving the still-convulsing psychic-borg a wide berth before a repeat could nail them.
V rapidly slapped the controls to send the elevator down to escape the cataclysmic shitstorm that would begin raining down in Konpeki Plaza. “Bug! We’re in the elevator going down, it’s fucked here!”
“What the Hell is going on, the entire penthouse went dark!” T-Bug, the Netrunner of the team, was a mix of frustration and alarm.
{“Some crazy bitch just killed the Emperor and his son, that’s what fucking happened!”} Jackie’s rapid-fire Spanish echoed through the elevator as it continued its descent.
V checked the ammo on Yorinobu’s “Kongou” Liberty pistol, mostly to keep his hands from shaking. With Jackie pacing the elevator clinging to the Relic case, someone needed to keep their head on straight.
“Jackie, what’s the integrity of the case?” V noted the dozen rounds he had and looked to his best friend and partner in crime.
{“Shit!”} “Uh, okay, we’re still in business, we’re still at 100%, hermano.” Jackie began taking deep breaths to calm down. “T-Bug, how’s our route?”
“I can try to squelch any alarms before they go out, but if Trauma Team shows up, they’re going to know something’s wrong and use a hardline to trigger a lockdown.”
“Took them 3 minutes to get to Dorsett, meaning we got 90 seconds left before all Hell breaks loose.” V saw that they were on the 52nd floor and still descending. “Jackie, let Delamain know we might need a hot exit, we’re going to be cutting it pretty damn close.”
“On it.” Jackie’s eyes lit up orange indicating he was calling Delamain. “Hey, maybe we’ll get lucky and security will focus on the other uninvited guests, eh?”
“With our luck?” V tucked the long-barreled handgun behind his waistband in an attempt to keep an air of legitimate appearances should the elevator get stopped. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they dropped in just to ruin our day.
FKLR S-2301
Commander’s Quarters, S-23 Sierpinski
10 Minutes Ago
Falke’s internal diagnostics were screaming to her, shutdown imminent warnings nearly eclipsing her vision. The infectious signal had nearly overwhelmed her yet again; only by split-second reemergence of past memories let her wall up her bioresonant defenses just in time. It was still a losing battle as her mental barriers were slowly eroded under the eldritch God's ceaseless bombardment.
Gasping and wheezing, Falke braced both hands against the wall as she staggered down the long hallway. She had to warn someone, anyone. She was the primary vector for the deathly signal that doomed S-23 Siepinski over and over again. By remaining cut off from her Kolibris, they would send someone to check on her.
[Estimated time before System Collapse: 4:21]
Four minutes. Falke had four minutes to...settle her affairs.
Her orders to be followed without question and without hesitation:
- Collapse the mineshaft that led to the Red Gate under indefinite quarantine.
- Forbidding any Bioresonant Gestalts or Replicants from the entire section of the mines, lockdown is to be indefinite.
- Decommission FKLR S-2301 following Persona Degradation protocol. The most critical task to be performed.
The last was a technical falsehood, but with every second mattering, she did not have any time to explain to those under her command.
[Warning: Vocal Control Damaged- 8% functionality remains]
[Warning: Limb- Leg L Disabled]
[Warning: Limb- Leg R Disabled]
Falke figured as much. The baleful Eye wouldn't let Falke get away that easily. Falke was left crawling along the floor, three minutes and two seconds until a localized armageddon began, and she couldn't even call for help.
A vent covering near the end of the hall opened, and one of the duct-crawling ARAR units stuck her head out, staring at the prone commander.
"H-heeeelp." Falke reached for the Replika technician. A thermite flare should do the job perfectly for self-decommision, and Aras rarely ask questions. Just silently judging those who draw their ire.
Of course, the universe being cold and cruel beyond measure, the oft-mute Replika blinked once and ran out the door connecting the hallway to the rest of the floor. The seconds slowly ticked away as Falke felt the cancerous rot start to metastasize through her organic components. She could almost hear an insidious laughter.
DID YOU THINK YOU COULD GET AWAY?
[Estimated time before System Collapse: 1:56]
The door opened revealing Adler and a Eule jogging in with a loaded Replika medical bag. The Ara from earlier lingered behind the door frame. No, that makes sense, she mistook Falke's intentions, rarely does "Help" translate to "Please kill me before I inadvertently doom this entire facility, and possibly all of reality, again."
"Attend her, now!" Adler gestured the Eule forward and began pacing in a panic.
The general-task Replika gently rolled Falke face-up and began attaching diagnostic modules to locate the cause of her malady. By now, Falke lost all bodily control and was trapped. If she let down her barriers to communicate, the catastrophe starts quicker, but if she didn't, she was simply stalling the inevitable. Damn it all, what was the point of the ritual they performed if this was-
Ritual?
Five point twelve seconds remaining, she felt a new, unfamiliar wave surging towards her. If she was a droplet of power compared to the Red Eye's lake, this new presence was the world-spanning ocean of Vineta. Falke's only consolation was that by her estimation, when that level of Bioresonant power hit her, there wouldn't even be a body left behind. A small mercy. Falke thanked the Great Revolutionary and Her Daughter.
[ERROR. ERROR. ERROR. Bioresonance Module Override -> Reality Translation Initialized]
Wait-
The next instant, which had Falke's limited awareness showing her colliding with a table from two meters up, resulted in Falke retracting her previous thanks. No longer at risk of her body and mind being overwritten, Falke quickly rebooted her sensors and Bioresonance module. She had to know what was going on around her as soon as possible.
Her mind soon became aware of multiple living beings nearby. Three were familiar, Adler, the Eule and the Ara, but the half-dozen Gestalts were...new. Two were terrified thieves and hiding from the other four. One coursed with rebellion and anger towards another, the other being his target, his own father. One was honor and duty, sworn to protect the patriarch. The last was revolting, she didn't risk delving too deep into that malevolent psyche.
Clearly, Falke and her company were in high likelihood, unfriendly territory. Her physical body began moving outside her control, convulsing and spasming as she forcibly accelerated the repair of her systems through Bioresonance. Very dangerous, highly discouraged, but Falke stopped caring about the Eusan Nation's rules roughly five hundred loops of torment ago. However, being a Replika demigoddess made in the Great Revolutionary's image, coupled with the fact everyone in the room was too shocked to respond to anything, she could easily maintain control of the sheer weight of Bioresonance-
Adler, her adjutant, was struck. Her wrath nearly boiled over-
A new signal.
Penrose 512.
Ariane.
Falke's grip slipped.
Oh scheiße.
Falke was shunted back into her body and screamed. Hundreds of needles lanced pain through her body as the Bioresonant feedback erupted, kinetically launching everyone else in the room.
Oh dear. She hoped that the gestalts weren't too important, and that her Replikas were still in nominal condition. Her optical sensors and motor controls finished rebooting, and she sat up to scan her surroundings. The Penrose could wait, she had more immediate matters.
The thieves, both adult gestalt males, crawled out of their hiding spot, the bulkier one, standing at an impressive 193 centimeters, was holding some sort of carrying case, and the thinner one grabbed a loose handgun that laid on the ground. The son, clad in pleasant-looking dress attire was a crumpled heap underneath the window he cracked from his impact. The father was on top of his bodyguard, who must have caught him just in time. As for the fourth, he extracted himself from the electrical wiring, and Falke could practically taste the bloodlust coming from him. At least, judging from her recovering vision, it could be a “him”.
Find a way out and descend the building, I will bring their attention to me. Do not question my orders, follow them.
The mostly metal monster swung an angry fist at Falke, who caught it in both hands, digging her hooves into the metal floor. Matching the gestalt's strength only made him more furious, who readied some odd forearm-mounted cannon with his free limb. Falke ducked the projectile which shattered the windows behind her.
She leapt out of the window, but not before flashing a sneer to bait her opponent into following her.
{"YOU WORTHLESS CUNT, I’M GOING TO SLAUGHTER YOU ALL!"}
Falke had no idea what he was saying, but by the time of her slide down the slanted windows and subsequent jump to the attached lower building, “Grouchy” had already made the long jump no worse for wear. He lived up to Falke's nickname for him as he bellowed out another threat while rushing in to pummel her to death. Her Bioresonance Module was still initializing, so she was stuck with basic reality alterations such as mild telekinesis, telepathy and bodily enhancements. The sheer difference in mass and stature meant Falke had to “cheat” a bit to match his measure.
She mentally tracked her Replikas slowly climbing down a ladder mounted to the side of the building. All she needed to do was be obvious and distracting. Which, judging by Grouchy's screaming and outgoing weapons fire, she was doing quite well in that regard. She was forced to reevaluate her position when Grouchy's shoulder-mounted missile launcher prepared to fire.
Falke's UI showed the entire roof lit up with "Danger" notifications, with the exception of right next to Grouchy's position within arm’s reach. Shame, she didn't want to reveal other elements in her arsenal, but needs must. Falke stepped off the building as soon as the last missile left the tube and let gravity aid her escape.
As she fell away from the exploding roof, she used the freefall's height to take in her surroundings. In the distance, the horizon was blotted out by tall buildings that stretched to the sky. Falke at first thought that the building they were sent to was some sort of military or government stronghold, only to see larger buildings only a short distance away. Despite it being the dead of night, the environment was brightly lit by vehicles that operated both on the ground as well as in the air.
Deploying her levitation subroutine 30 meters from the ground, Falke gently landed onto the road. Which was to her surprise, filled with more ground vehicles and strange-looking people. Falke's Bioresonant senses probed the surface thoughts of the nearby gestalts for critical information.
What she gleaned was increasingly baffling. For one matter, the gestalts in this society were obsessed with stripping out their organic parts and replacing them with machinery. She even saw skin and artificial limbs made of silver or gold. Furthermore, this "Konpeki Plaza" was not some critical political institution, but a site for the privileged to reside or leisure during their travels. Falke could also read their base emotions, and Falke had inspired feelings of confusion, hostility and concern in most, but a peculiar fascination in quite a few. But no replikas of any kind were present.
Of more problematic matters, Falke also noted that far, far too many were equipped with weapons, not just bodyguards. And that there were many more armed soldiers inside the building. Falke also noted that many of them were mentally screaming that reinforcements, and an organization called "MaxTac" or the “Psycho Squad” were on their way, whatever that could be. Shame that the language they spoke was unknown to the AEON overseer unit. Oh, and Grouchy was on approach, hanging off of an unmanned aerial vehicle. With her Replikas only a quarter of the way to the ground, Falke considered that she may have made a new misstep in a very long list of mistakes starting from entering that damnable gate.
Grouchy arrived by leaving a nasty crater from his landing, no worse for wear, stomping forward with what could only be a heavy machinegun in hand. In the light and in better condition, Falke could better make out his features. Standing a head taller than her, the only parts that were not obviously black matte metal or ominous red lights was a sickly patch of flesh over the headplate. Everywhere else were bands of artificial muscle underneath reinforced armor and dense joints. If Falke units were the pinnacle of the Eusan Nation’s power, this...amalgamation of flesh and metal was the pinnacle of brutality.
{"It's Adam Smasher!"}
{"Run! Get out of here!"}
{"Fuck! Inside the lobby unless you got a deathwish!"}
Falke didn't understand the language, but this Adam Smasher was supposed to be the gestalts' ally. To her confusion, he terrified them to the core. This wasn’t the fear of dissident gestalts being discovered, or fear of underperforming replikas being reported, this was fear of imminent death. Vehicles and positions were swiftly abandoned as the gestalts fled where they could.
{"Looks like the meat are staying out of our way."} Adam Smasher growled derisively. {"I'm gonna enjoy rippin’ you apart."}
In the blink of an eye, Smasher went from being 5 meters away from Falke to practically pressing the HMG barrel into her stomach. Falke skirted away just in time as a salvo ripped through the air.
[EusNa.OS -> Bioresonance Module -> Available Subroutines -> Halo Amplifiers Initialized, Arsenal Wreath Initialized.]
The three golden rings materialized and remained rotating behind Falke as her arsenal wreath began to glow with entering combat mode. She remained on the ground as she needed greater mobility against her opponent’s own abundance of firepower. She prepared an updated mental command to her subordinates.
Find access to the outside of the building and jump, I know how we will escape.
Falke grit her teeth as she summoned 7 spears and grasped one in hand. She had an idea, this was true, but it would be an idea no one would enjoy. Years ago when one of her sisters had discovered the technique, it was expressly forbidden by AEON given the subsequent damage to the Bioresonant Module, and the risk of losing a perfectly functioning Falke unit. Of course, now, AEON wasn't here, and she almost certainly couldn't be considered "perfectly functional" by this point.
[Bioresonance Module -> New Subroutine -> Reality Translation -> Parameters -> Physical Distance -> Confirmed, Subroutine Charging]
A materialized shield blocked another machinegun burst, letting Falke rush close, blasting away Smasher's right shoulder plate with a stab that could pierce a Mynah's carapace. Falke couldn't capitalize any further, as a triple threat of high-caliber fire, a deadly fist, and another missile barrage blew apart her shield and forced a running retreat to behind a long ground vehicle.
Falke was in a dilemma: if she focused all on offense, she couldn't focus enough for the escape. At the same time, defensive measures wouldn't be enough for her opponent, this monster required overwhelming force to beat his own.
As Smasher followed In a sprint, Falke became aware of three important factors. One, an aerial vehicle was coming to a halt and preparing a sniper position. Two, the pair of thieves from earlier were speeding towards her, the only way out of the building's surroundings, and three, her three subordinates just jumped out of a shattered window. In balancing too many factors, Falke forgot to tell them to wait until she was ready.
[Bioresonance Module -> Subroutine Warning -> Translation resulting in 93% damage to Bioresonance Module, margin of error 8%.]
Oh well. The good news was if she botched it, they would be erased from reality in an instant. There were worse fates.
Smasher was distracted by the new escapees only for a second, but a second was all Falke needed. Telekinetically hurling the elongated vehicle, Smasher instantly changed position and detonated it with a forearm-launched explosive. Leaping through the flames, Falke unleashed her six spears all at once. Smasher was able to resist being skewered by five of them, but the final struck true, embedding itself into his exposed shoulder. Falke used the momentum to jam her last spear into Smasher's gun barrel, and pushed her legs off his back as hard as she could, sending the two mechanical titans in opposite directions.
Falke's levitation module kept gravity and air resistance from hindering her, but judging by the descent of the Eule's shrieking, Falke had zero room for error.
[Reality Translation 98.5% complete.]
Gunfire began penetrating the air Falke was sailing through, but she was out of extra power to generate another shield. Small arms fire impacted her exterior, but she ignored the pain and damage.
[Reality Translation 99.7% complete.]
Falke grabbed Adler first, twirled into the air to hook the ARAR with a long leg, and her free hand just barely grasped Eule's.
A crushing pressure enveloped the connected replikas and reality collapsed around them.
Ariane Yeong
Penrose 512, Night City Outskirts
Meanwhile
The world swirled in a blur of darkness and twinges of pain. Ariane Yeong, scout officer of survey ship Penrose 512 finally raised her head, only to be greeted with a migraine. Her right arm was numb and nonresponsive. Intuition told her that something was broken. She looked to her right, and found the co-pilot seat empty.
"El-Ellie? Elster!?" Ariane began panicking. If she was injured from the crash in a secured seat, then did Elster-
"My status is fine. I'm okay." Her chief engineer turned wife, LSTR-512 responded weakly through the door. "We can't stay here. I confirmed a reactor breach."
Ariane's heart dropped. Instead of the shielding starting to fail and poisoning them to death with increasing doses of radiation, staying in the ship for minutes would be a death sentence.
"Elster, w-what do we do, what can we do?" Ariane unbuckled her seat and limped towards the door.
"Don't open the door!" Elster's harsh tone made Ariane flinch. "...I'm sorry. I'm in the AVA suit now, sealing the door on this end. I'm going to seal the reactor chamber, collect what I safely can, and then pop the airlock to run a scan. If this planet has a breathable atmosphere, I'm going to walk outside and breach the window hull to get you out."
Ariane's breathing steadied at her lover's words. "Okay. Okay. Umm, if it helps, I see...sand, tan sand out of the cockpit."
"Can you boot up any scanning systems?"
Ariane tried pressing any button to turn on any systems. "Nothing, no power."
"The reactor must be out too, we can't risk turning it back on. Ariane, are you injured?"
Ariane winced as she looked at her limp arm. "I think my arm's broken, and I think I hit my head a little. I'm alright otherwise."
"I'm going to get what you'll need from medical. Please stay there, I'll be there soon. I love you."
Ariane smiled. "I love you too."
As Elster's footfalls faded away, Ariane began pacing around the cockpit. Catching her eye, she gently picked up a photograph of the two together. She pressed the memento to her heart before slipping it into her flight uniform's pocket. Gazing out into the distance, Ariane could have sworn she saw lights. Her eyes widened at the implications. If this planet was inhabited all the way out in the Oort cloud, then she and Elster would be first to contact an alien society!
Thumps on the top hull distracted Ariane, only to turn to relief as an unsuited Elster gingerly slid down the hull window. Elster lowered a welding mask, raised a blowtorch and made a circling motion after pointing to Ariane. She nodded and turned around to not risk eye damage.
After a few minutes of industrial noises, Ariane felt Elster approach and hug her from behind. She turned around to look at her dutiful magpie.
A stern face, often furrowed with thoughtfulness or worry was what often greeted Ariane in the morning. Her body was composed of the standard black carbon fiber-reinforced polyethylene shell and standing 178cm tall, she was the perfect height for Ariane to tuck her head underneath Elster’s chin. Unlike the white or black chestplates, Elster was equipped with reds accenting the black, to match the Penrose uniforms.
Ariane was just about to lean up to give a kiss when a familiar tingle ran up her back. She looked past Elster and noticed the lights were getting closer.
Elster followed her gaze. "The inhabitants of this planet I assume. I saw them too. Have you thought about how we would communicate-"
Ariane shook her head frantically. "No no, I-I can't explain it, but they're not here to help-"
Most replikas and gestalts would want clarification or an explanation. Not Elster. She slapped a radiation warning symbol on the cockpit door, scooped up Ariane in one smooth motion and climbed back out the hole she cut through the window. One-handed, Elster slung three duffle bags across her frame, and the pair slid down the side of the Penrose. She pulled the cap off a flare with her teeth, ignited it, and hurled it in a random direction.
Ariane gasped as in the opposite direction of the hostility she felt, was a monumental city in the distance. Buildings that scraped the sky and bright lights that stretched across the horizon.
"Are we heading there?" Ariane pointed towards the strange city.
"We can't stay here." Elster replied curtly. "Civilization means medical facilities, or somewhere sheltered enough for me to treat you. I brought everything we need to survive, are you ready?"
Ariane gave the fallen Penrose one last look. Despite her mixed feelings on the vessel, her heart grew heavy, and she didn't know why. "Ready."
Ariane held tight as Elster began her run away from the crashed spacecraft. She clenched her jaw as she could begin to hear gunshots in the distance.
A short while later, the two came across an abandoned settlement of ramshackle shacks and scattered debris. Elster peeked inside one of the huts, and pulled away one of the metal sheets, letting the lovers slip inside.
The interior was uninhabited and outright filthy with sand and dust, with the exception of a small four-wheeled ground vehicle. Elster put Ariane and the bags down, letting the latter stand as Elster began pulling out tools.
"What are you doing?" Ariane asked tentatively.
"The interior of this...'car' is clean compared to the rest of this place, I'll treat you where it's clean, and you can get some rest." Elster spoke as she began poking around where the doors connected to the body.
"Oh, that makes sense. What's a car?"
Elster shrugged. "I'm not sure, that's what my Repair Logic Module is telling me. A model Galena G240, made by something or someone named "Thorton." Must be something for short-range transportation."
“So a personal alternative to the tram then?”
Elster nudged one of the tires with her hoof. “It appears so.”
"And, um...what if it belongs to someone?" Ariane nervously twirled with her hair.
"I won't leave any lasting damage, it's an emergency." Elster looked back defensively. "Besides, it's clear that no one lived in this place, maybe this car was similarly abandoned."
Elster popped open one of the back doors using her tools and ushered Ariane inside. The smell was musty, but a noticeable improvement from the outside. Elster placed the bags inside and began pulling out medical implements. Though something else caught Ariane's eye.
"Wh-Elster, what is *that*?" Ariane pointed toward a glint of metal that stuck out in the duffle bag. "Is that a gun!?"
Elster glanced down, and back up. "...Yes. It's for emergencies."
Ariane hit Elster with her best side eye and mischievous grin. "My dear, dear Elster, weapons are strictly forbidden for non-military gestalts and replikas. Where could you have gotten it?"
"The Penrose Program is technically a subbranch of the Eusan Nation military." Elster blinked nervously as she gently set Ariane's injured arm into a sling. "Should the scout ship discover a planet fit for habitation and klimaforming, it goes without saying, a planet that supports life may have hostile fauna. Rest assured, it is for protection only."
Ariane tried very hard to suppress the urge to start giggling. "Ellie, that's an Einhorn revolver, only STAR Protektors are allowed to equip them. What kind of arms smuggling operation were you a part of before you were assigned?"
Elster started to blush. "It's not a smuggling operation, it's a very simple process. On the orbital station, when firearms are damaged at the firing range or during maintenance and are set for disposal, LSTR units such as I are tasked with scrapping them. But, some of the time, using our Repair Logic Modules, they can be repaired or refurbished. Since new weapons are ordered to replace them anyway, it is merely prudent to reuse those weapons as opposed to turning them into useless slag. The LSTR dorm has a hidden compartment where we store them, and when it's time to muster, we bring one with us-Ariane!"
Ariane couldn't hold back any longer and began bursting with laughter. "I'm in love with a member of a criminal cabal!"
Elster's face turned beet red as she opened her mouth to retort, but was smart enough to close it before she could dig herself or her LSTR sisters' reputation any deeper. She merely sat next to Ariane, crossed her arms and pouted.
"I'm sorry for teasing you, Elster." Ariane rested her head on the replika's shoulder. "Still, it's very strange that fresh LSTR units do that. Maybe your neural donor was a weapons collector in her life."
Elster's expression softened. "It's certainly possible. It's just...it feels a waste when a near-perfectly functional firearm is discarded. It's best to be efficient with one's available resources."
"Alright, now I'm seeing why your template gets picked for starship drudgery-did you hear that?" Ariane looked forward trying to place where she heard a strange growling sound.
Elster peeked over the seat, conducting an analysis. "It appears this car has certain functions, such as remote activation, and self-driving capabilities. And it...is heading towards its owner's set destination."
Ariane was once again impressed by the Repair Logic Module's capabilities, before the car accelerated out of the shack. Her heart rate spiked; the two were trapped in an unfamiliar vehicle, heading to an unknown destination.
Ariane whispered. "What do we do now?"
Elster grabbed the double-action revolver and tucked it in her toolbelt. "We hide out of sight, and then we slip out when we can."
Ariane ducked down as Elster strategically rearranged the bags' positions to obscure the pair from sight. Elster was on the floor, with two bags covering her legs and bottom of her torso, a bag was on the seat, and Elster covered the back area with a blanket that was tucked in the rear storage area. From Ariane’s limited vantage point, a quick peek showed her that there were dozens, if not hundreds of “cars” on the wide roads. She ducked down to avoid being spotted. She had time to be curious later, right now they had to remain hidden.
The car they were in came to a stop. Ariane moved to peek out, before immediately ducking back down upon hearing muffled footsteps approaching. She risked reaching out with Bioresonance.
One was injured, but slightly calmer than the other, who was practically a bundle of raw nerves. Ariane barely kept from gasping as the front doors opened and two men sat inside.
{"Shit, V, you sure this is the right play?"}
{"Yeah. If Dex is still being straight, we come clean. If not, you're our ace in the hole. Especially with what's underneath the seat."}
The taller gestalt reached underneath his seat and pulled out a strange multi-pronged rifle.
{"Mother of God, chico, where the fuck did you get this iron? An Achilles is worth more than this Galena!"}
{"Found it off a dead Maelstrom while helping Regina with a cyberpsycho problem. Finders keepers and now you're packing it for our backup."}
{"Gotcha, gotcha. Deal with Dex, get you to a Ripperdoc, then we get rid of this fuckin' case."} Ariane went completely still as the blanket was lifted up by the rougher voiced man, and a large crate was placed right next to her head, before the blanket was draped over the back seating area again.
{"Yeah. Stay a corner behind me, and get ready to rumble."}
The two men stepped back outside, leaving the spacefaring pair alone once more. Ariane didn't understand the language, but could faintly surmise their intent.
She leaned over to whisper to Elster after a few minutes. "I think they're going to negotiate with someone with a really big gun, and then head to a doctor of some kind to treat their wounds."
Elster's response was muffled by the bags that hid the pair. "That's good, we can have them examine you, I brought some potentially valuable items to barter with. We just need to remain hidden and let them take us where we need to go."
"You really thought ahead with all of this-what was that noise?" Ariane looked out of the window to see a section of the building's wall fall off, and the sounds of gunfire could be clearly heard.
"Ariane, what's going on out there?" Elster began shuffling positions to have a better line of sight.
Jackie Welles
Kabuki, Watson, Night City
Five Minutes Ago
“Hostile aircraft eliminated.” The polite, neutral tone of the Delamain taxi cab AI proudly sounded the congratulations on taking out the chasing drones sent after them.
V slipped back into the cab clutching a bleeding arm. One of the flying gun-drones got lucky and winged him right in his left bicep. Jackie felt bad leaving the drones to V, but he told him to keep the case secured since Delamain kept swerving around.
"Ah Hell, we need to get to a ripper."
“Apologies, but that will not be possible. Our itinerary has been pre-arranged and paid for in advance. I am not at liberty to alter it.”
"Damnit. Jackie, how's the case?" V fished out a first aid kit and began treating the gunshot wound. "Fuck, it hit the bone."
Jackie flipped the case he'd been keeping a deathgrip on. "Uh, okay, bio-shard integrity still at 100%, we’re in the clear I think."
"Great, so we're prolly only mostly screwed." V's eyes lit up blue as he processed something. "T-Bug, I think you need to get off the NET, 'Saka's going to be gunning for anyone who so much as breathed on this."
"Already ahead of you, the only thing I'm touching is the holo." The heist crew's Netrunner's stern voice was much more agitated than normal. "So can anyone tell me what the FUCK that was?"
"Which part? The freaky chica who flatlined father and son Arasaka, the fact she and her pals came out of no where, or oh wait, is it where the same magic lady beat us to the ground floor and was brawling with Adam fucking Smasher!?"
"Okay, let's save it for when we meet up with Dex. He's a Fixer, he can see what word he's heard lately. Everyone leaves a trail, people don't just pop in out of nowhere. We also need an exit strategy, we can talk about this in the No-Tell. I called a burner ride to the place in case we need to delta ASAP. Del, best you leave once you drop us off since they’re probably looking for a certain cab”
Not for the first time, Jackie felt a bit envious of the ex-Arasaka Counter Intel suit. A bullet to the arm, and he’s still as ice cold as ever, thinking of all the angles. Meanwhile all Jackie was good for was holding cases all night.
However, his opinion of V dropped a bit when he saw V’s “getaway car”.
“...Seriously choom, a Thorton Galena? I uh, thought you had better taste, you know?”
V shot him a glare as he approached the G240. “First of all, it’s cheap. That’s the whole point of a burner car. Second, it’s inconspicuous, cops and corpos will be expecting a turned out monster to blast border checkpoints, not something you want to look away in embarrassment from.”
Given how Jackie can’t help but look at the baby blue hatchback with pity, V might have had a point.
“Seeing as how T-Bug went offline, we need to talk contingencies, Jackie.” V looked around the empty lot.
“Eh? About what?”
“I think Dex might try to screw us over on this.” V spoke with dead serious intent.
Jackie leaned forward and harshly whispered back. “Are you fuckin’ loco, man?”
“You know what’s in Dex’s favor already, so here’s what I’ve got that tells me something’s off. First, when he tried to look into Evelyn Parker, ‘some brothers from Pacifica’ told him to back off. You ever hear of a fixer with Dex’s rep getting scared off by some gangoons? Second, he didn’t do any checking as for why the only functional aircraft carrier in the world was parked in Watson, or why Watson was locked down. Guess what, it was locked down because the Emperor was in town! Third, I tried to explain to him why Adam Smasher being anywhere near the building might be a problem, and I was waved off. Fourth, Delamain’s ‘itinerary’ ignored any possible injuries, so if any of us got tagged, that was it.” V held up his shot arm for emphasis. “Fifth, he paid up front to Maelstrom, wouldn’t or couldn’t provide the cha-ching for a followup deal for his screwup, and left it to us to figure it out. Even though that’s his fucking job.”
Jackie rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. His friend had a point, or five. “So what do we do, we can’t just screw over our Fixer, our rep will be shot, and so will we!”
“Relax big guy, I got a plan. I stroll in alone, pretend you’re dead, and if he tries to fuck me over, you roll up guns blazin’.”
Jackie hopped into the hatchback opposite of V. “Shit, V, you sure this is the right play?”
V nodded as he rubbed his shorn-short blonde hair. "Yeah. If Dex is still being straight, we come clean. If not, you're our ace in the hole. Especially with what's underneath the seat."
Raising an eyebrow, Jackie reached down and pulled out an M-179 Achilles Tech precision rifle.
“Madre del Dios, V, where the fuck did you get this iron? An Achilles is worth more than this Galena!" Jackie stared bug-eyed at the gauss weapon.
"Found it off a dead Maelstrom while helping Regina with a cyberpsycho problem. Finders keepers and now you're packing it for our backup." V smirked smugly, knowing that when it comes to winning a gunfight, you make sure you have a friend with a really big gun at the ready.
"Gotcha, gotcha. Deal with Dex, get you to a Ripperdoc, then we get rid of this fuckin' case." With V’s bad arm, Jackie reached back and pulled the blanket up a bit and slid the Relic case underneath.
"Yeah. Stay a corner behind me, and get ready to rumble." V went out first, holstered his more familiar Unity pistol and entered the motel.
Jackie waited 30 seconds and followed him inside. Jackie ignored the poorly lit entrance, the vending machines blaring advertisements, and the thumps and moans coming from the nearby rooms. Jackie Welles was all business tonight. Taking a knee in front of the door V stepped through into room 204, Jackie steadied his breath and aimed. He could hear Dexter DeShawn’s raised voice, presumably chewing V out for perceived screwups. As if they could have prepared for teleporting ‘borgs.
A new message appeared from V. >>>>Something ain’t right. Mentioned us leaving the city together, but I overheard him mentioning the spaceport. Get ready on my tag.<<<<
Jackie rested his finger on the trigger. The Achilles needed about a second’s charge to shoot through things, so his timing needed to be perfect. He heard a scuffle in room 204, but held his fire; he had to trust his hermano. He began to charge the tech weapon, and as soon as the yellow tag appeared marking a pistol being aimed at V.
Jackie squeezed the second trigger and fired the slug. He was rewarded with a scream from someone who hasn’t V as his follow up shots in scatter-mode wrecked the door enough for him to shoulder through. He kept his aim on Dex’s huscle, Oleg, who briefly reached for a gun before stopping. Dex was sprawled out on the corner sofa with his cyberarm in pieces on the ground. V was clutching his arm again, as blood slowly pooled beneath him. A smoking pistol nearby told him all he needed to know.
“Hey, cabrón, still think you can take me?” Jackie darkly joked as he pulled V up to carry him out of there, holding the Achilles one-handed to cover their exit.
"That fuckin' fat bastard!" Jackie dumped his bleeding friend into the passenger seat and dug for a first aid kit. "I should go back and put two in his brain!"
V hissed though his teeth as Jackie applied a tourniquet to his left arm to slow the bleeding. "Prolly, but we should get the Relic away from him, and go to Vik's. I don't think I'm keeping this arm as it is."
"I'm so sorry hermano, first Misty, now you, I should've listened, I should've-"
"Forget it, we can say 'I told you so' later." V's eyes briefly lit up orange. "Alright, told Evelyn and T-Bug Dex tried to flatline us, warned 'em to lay low and call us in a week. We let the heat die down, collect our eddies."
"If Arasaka doesn't zero us first..." Jackie gripped the steering wheel tightly.
V glanced over weakly. "Hey, we weren't the ones who nearly killed everyone in Yorinobu's penthouse, I'm betting Counter Intel's pulling in everyone to find those ‘borgs. Hell, maybe they're escaped test subjects so Arasaka keeps the medias muzzled."
"Mhmn. I need to call Vik, give him a heads up." Jackie send a holocall to their Ripperdoc, Viktor Vektor. "Cmon, don't be sleepin' now, old man..."
Vik's face appeared in the corner of Jackie's UI. "Jackie, you and V keeping out of trouble?"
"Jesuschristo, Vik, please tell me your office is ready, V's hurt pretty bad!"
Vik's expression and tone flipped on an enny. "Okay, give me details, how bad are we talking?"
"Sending you detes from his biomon now."
"Okay...followup went through the bone, clipped an artery judging from the bleeding. Tourniquet's not in the best spot, but don't touch anything. I'm going to have to amputate,sorry kid, arm's barely hanging in there as it is."
"Be there in a flash, you're preem, Vik." Jackie turned the corner to find the best spot to park.
"Take the back entrance, Misty will unlock the gate for you. She's been worried sick."
Jackie drove as fast as he could, parking the Galena hastily on the sidewalk.
Shortly thereafter, Jackie sat with his girlfriend, Misty Olzewski on the steps leading to Viktor Vektor’s clinic. The rain continued to pour down on the metal paneling above them. Jackie covered his mouth with one hand as his knee bounced unconsciously.
“V’s going to be alright, Jackie. Vik’s the best in the biz.” Misty gently placed an arm on Jackie’s shoulder.
“It’s all my fuckin’ fault, Misty.” Jackie could barely look the blonde spiritualist in the eyes. “You warned me, V warned me, but the gonk that I am, I didn’t fuckin’ listen!”
“But you two are okay now. I knew you would be.”
“Ah, you’re just saying that. I remember the Tarot reading, The Tower, The Hanged Man, Reversed Wheel of Fortune. Some serious bad news, and I didn’t listen.”
“Well…” Misty looked forward in thought. “I did another fortune telling a little while ago, and…I dunno, it was weird, it was like it changed mid-reading.”
That got Jackie’s attention. “Eh? That uh, happen often?”
“No, and what I got didn’t make a lot of sense. You would experience great misfortune and it went to ‘expect new friends and allies before sunrise’. Maybe I have to realign the chakra in the store.” Misty leaned her head into her hand before adjusting her spiked choker.
“Gah, I think my arguing with you might’ve brought some dark energy-” Jackie stood up and wheeled around at the sound of tires screeching. “Mierda! Stay down!”
Jackie pressed himself against a corner and drew his twin custom Nue handguns. The sound of eager Russian voices touched with cruel intent told him Scavs came to play. He peeked around the corner and saw two women standing next to the Galena, and who had their hands raised as the Scavs surrounded them. He couldn’t make out what they were saying, but negotiations must have gone poorly as the one with long white hair fell to the floor from a bullet to the leg. To Jackie’s surprise, the one with short black hair didn’t hesitate before drawing a short-barreled revolver. She fired it without hesitation, massive holes being blown through the five Scavs one by one. The Scav driving the van leaned out the window with a shotgun and returned fire. She took the buckshot head on to shield her friend, red spattering the ground as she began to bleed.
Steadying herself with one hand, the handcannon-wielding chica took her time aiming as the scav pulled the pin on a grenade, and planted the bullet right between his eyes. The van slowly lurched forward, and was on a collision course with the blue hatchback. Jackie’s stomach dropped to the floor as he realized two critical facts. The van was practically a bomb with the live grenade in the driver’s lap, and Jackie never took the case out of the Galena the bomb was drifting toward.
Having known how to count since he was a kid, Jackie knew that the stone-cold killer was out of ammo in the cylinder, so he ran forward to get the job. Thankfully for him, the gunwoman was a clear contender for grocery bag running champion as she managed to grab her friend, three dufflebags and the Relic case, gun held between her teeth by the handle. She began speedwalking away from the impending disaster, by the time they entered the alley, the grenade detonated, setting the two vehicle’s engines on fire. The woman who looked oddly familiar wordlessly placed the Relic case near Jackie’s feet and took the wounded woman downstairs into V’s clinic. Jackie and Misty shared a look, both clearly considering the cosmic ramifications of what just occurred.