The High Table

3rd POV:

Two days later the crew was summoned by Nexus.

"Are you alright? We saw the fight," Rebecca asked, running towards Nexus once he entered the room with the crew trailing behind her. They said nothing, merely waiting in anticipation as Rebecca voiced their question.

"Oh? I saw no news AV or something like that. I'm surprised it made news," Nexus pondered, crossing his arms.

"Choom, this is NC, there are cameras everywhere. It is only a matter of finding the right one. Network 54 News has been turning the whole fight into a spectacle, tearing the NUSAF a new one. People have been eating it right up, too. I'm surprised you walked into their ambush," Maine pointed out.

Nexus shrugged and lamely replied: "I'm not omniscient."

Maine crossed his arms, staring at Nexus totally unimpressed.

Nexus uncrossed his arms and complained: "I'm more annoyed about my bike. It was completely totalled."

"Forget about the damn bike! What about the fallout? The consequences?," Lucy shot, an annoyed look on her face.

Nexus, Maine and Pillar stared at her for a bit, before Pillar said: "Forgive her, choom. She doesn't know."

Nexus waved the matter off and answered: "Nah, don't worry. As for your question. There is no fallout. The entire debacle is inconsequential or will be soon enough. And if there are any consequences? They are mine alone to bear, rest assured. Now, the reason I cal-..."

"Are you alright? We saw your dislocated shoulder," Rebecca interrupted Nexus.

Nexus rolled his right shoulder around. "Don't worry, I'm alright."

"Good. I'm glad to hear that," Rebecca said, before jumping at Nexus. She attempted to straddle him with her legs and grab him by the hood, putting her face close to his mask. Nexus caught her with his arms outsretched, his hands under her shoulder, holding her up in the air.

Since Nexus was bigger than her and had longer arms, she decided instead to grab him by the wrists and lean her head forward. "Gimme," she demanded ,"Gimme, gimme, gimme!"

"Give you what? I can't read minds," Nexus asked.

"The railgun, dude. Gimme. Or whatever the fuck that thing was that causes electricity. I wanna shot that baby!," Rebecca explained, a manic glint in her eyes, slightly salivating at the mouth. She kicked around in excitement.

"What are you? A gun enthusiast or some rabid animal?," Nexus joked.

"Yes," Pillar replied, immediately ducking behind Maine, knowing his sister would attempt to shoot him. Much as she wanted to and taking out her gun, she couldn't really turn, since she was suspended in the air by her shoulders.

Nexus set her down and said: "If someone hadn't interrupted me, I would have gotten to that point. If I would suffer no more interruption now, please." He looked at Rebecca. She put her gun away.

"Now. The reason why I called you is because you need to fill out some formulars. It concerns your upgrade. Indicate what field you want to specialize in and we will supply the neccessary bioware. If you want you can change your appearance too. Do try to choose practicality over aesthetics, so no long arms or long fingers," Nexus informed slightly leaning over so he could look around Maine at Pillar. He had two formulars for each individual. Nexus wanted to resume his speech, but was once again interrupted.

"Couldn't we have done so over the holo? Why use such an ... ancient method of record-keeping? And bioware is weaker than cyberware, so how is this an upgrade?," Lucy asked taking the papers.

''True. Bioware merely enhances what is there. Cyberware is more powerful and adds new functions and stuff, making it more popular," Kiwi agreed looking over the formular after taking it.

''Yeah. Though capable of peak human achievements, you wouldn't see someone possessing bioware outmatching a sandevistan or - lets say - a cyberdeck. They are more meant for people with weak bodies or bodies prone to illnesses," Maine added taking his and Dorios papers.

''Yeah, choom. Seems more like a downgrade," Pillar complained quickly taking his paper and hiding again.

Nexus handed Rebecca the final formulars and explained: "You love interrupting me, don't you? Yes, you are right. But not quite. It is like this, both cyberware and bioware runs on nanotech, right? They just branch out in two different directions, as you all have pointed out. But one thing bioware can boast is subtlety - since you almost don't notice it aesthetically - and more importantly the almost negligent strain. Since bioware only enhances and never replaces, it does not put a strain on the mind, because it works with only one thing, something you already possess - your body. So it does not need to recalibrate and account for each different cyberware, meaning you can stack all the different bioware in one body - even if they are from different companies - and never suffer any risk of cyberpsychosis. The software is quite identical across the board.

Of course, for that you would have to sacrifice powerful cyberware, since you can't have both at the same time.

We at our company wanted to have the best of both worlds. So after a little bit of experimenting and tinkering with the nanotech, we have found a solution.

Military Bioware. In return for sacrificing added functions like PLS, sandevistan, berserk etc., you can achieve almost similar feats as I can. Trust me, with a little bit of creativity you can outperform every cyberware.

And where you can't? Our R&D will come up with gadgets. As they did for me, as you should have seen.

I do have some good news though, Lucy, Kiwi. Since netrunning is such an integral part of cyber security in a corpo, we have invested a lot of resources to integrate cyberdecks in our bioware. You will get access to the best cyberdecks in the world, as every other of our netrunner has. If you know your stuff, I'm sure you'll take our cyberdecks performance even further. 

'Having the right Equipment is half the battle' as they say.

That'll be the only bioware that will add instead of enhance.''

The crew looked at him for a bit, before Lucy asked: "So, will this military bioware be sold on the market?"

"No. The military bioware is for our people strictly. Security guards, netrunners, you all, etc.. That being said we will also sell bioware to the public, just not military one," Nexus elaborated.

Lucy gave a relieved soft sigh. The military bioware sounded revolutionary. And performing similar feats as Nexus? She didn't want to think of the implications. She was just glad she could continue to be a netrunner, while getting rid of that Arasaka stench.

"Anyway, that was all. I have to take care of some other things. You have my number, so just call me on the phone, when you are all done," Nexus said his goodbye and left.

The others looked at their formular, looking through their options, considering carefully what they should request.

Rebecca pulled out her pistol and shot Pillar in the hand. "A wild animal am I ?," she screamed her face contorting in rage.

"Fuck you, sis," Pillar cursed shaking his hand.

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Wakako was leisurely drinking her tea listening to her idiotic son rant on about the recent news. She watched him stroll around the room, wildly frothing at the mouth and staining her office full with saliva. Of course that was an overexageration, but it certainly looked like that to her.

"We have seen that the Gomi can be hurt! I say we do not let the insult, he has inflicted upon us stand and teach him a lesson. We should all band together and take care of him before he destroys our lifestyle completely!," her son spat slamming his fist on the table.

Wakako drank her tea, trying to ignore her youngest son. He was just 19 years of age, she had no intention of entertaining his idiocy. He had no idea of what he was speaking, to arrogant to understand how unlearned he was on the workings of the world. Her other sons had at least some modicum of sense.

"Mother! Did you not listen? He killed Kaori and Haru during his so called 'purge'! My brothers! Your sons! How can you sit there and drink your tea and not grieve. Do we mean so little to you?," her son asked.

Yes. Nasty little business that. It was unfortunate, but she lost Kaori and Haru to Nexus. They were heavy criminals. In the world Nexus was building, they had no place. Of course she grieved, of course she was devastated. But she knew this was coming. All the way back when her sons fell in with the wrong crowd. Time and time again she has cautioned her sons to walk a different path. Perhaps not a corpo one, seeing as one of her sons died as a bystander, a victim during an Arasaka-Mercenaries-confrontation, but at least not a criminal one. It simply drew to much unwanted attention.

And in a world like this? Most people punched back, especially in the streets.

Some of her sons listened. She was particularely proud of Yuka. Even if he did choose to follow in her footsteps and work for Kiroshi, work for a corpo. But at least he heeded her counsel and is alive. That is all that mattered to her. A few others opened up strip clubs.

As for her three other sons, who were now dead? They did not heed her counsel. They got involved in the criminal world. They got heavily involved in the criminal world. Performing greater and greater crimes and drawing more and more unwanted attention. 

They did not heed her counsel and made dumb choices. They made dumb choices and died for it. Simple. If not by Nexus' hand then they would have died at someone elses hand. As her third son did. He pissed of the wrong gang rival for a perceived insult and got killed afterwards.

She took a sip of her tea.

"Mother! I said...," her son demanded. Alas, all mothers could run out of patience. She was determined to keep the rest of her five sons alive, but someone was intent on becoming the fifth dead victim. The romantic fool. He was too taken in by the appeal of the criminal world.

"Sit. Down," Wakako commanded, putting her tea down, preparing to hopefully set her son straight.

"Moth...."

"Sit. Down. Silently"

He hastily complied and sat down in front of the table.

"Look, Shiho. Nexus took on a small army and won. An army strong ca. 15.000 men, with exoskeletons, Military AVs and railguns took him on and lost. All they had to show for it was a dislocated shoulder," Wakako began.

"But we have seen that he could be harmed," Shiho pointed out.

"And we have seen what it took to harm him. A minor injury at that, one he simply fixed himself. We have seen that the moment he touched ground it was over. But make no mistake, for even in the air he proved formidable. Do we have the means to keep him in the air? The firepower? The manpower?

After the purge, I don't think so. Before the purge, I doubt so," Wakako shot his argument down.

"What if we all pool our resources together? If we do that, we would be able to...," Shiho began.

"We will do nothing, because we can do nothing. The bodies he buried the past few weeks, will lay the foundation for what will come. He has established himself firmly as King of the streets. He says jump, we ask how high. He says run, we ask how far.

If you do not like that, then leave. 

Powerful and fast as Nexus might be, he can not be everywhere. His control will only stretch so far as the NC borders go. If you do not wish to be part of the new criminal world he will build, then simply book a ticket and leave. Otherwise, shut your mouth and wait until Nexus seeks us out," Wakako told Shiho, "And don't even think about getting revenge. You will die. I told you all to not involve yourself with the the criminal world. Now look who is dead and who lives."

Shiho frowned, not being able to deny her logic, much as he wanted to. Wakako did not mention the fact Nexus was corpo property just as Nexus wished to.

A knock was heard. At Wakakos permission her assistant came in and informed her Nexus was at the door.

"Let him in," Wakako said then she turned to her son, "As for you? Leave."

Shiho bit the inside of his cheek and obeyed. When he was passing Nexus in the hallway he looked down. All this talk about taking out Nexus, but when presented with the man he shivered. He hated himself for it.

"Please, feel free to take a seat. Am I correct in assuming you are here for the 'legal' biz, you spoke of?," Wakako questioned.

"You are correct," Nexus took Shihos previous seat, "Let us get straight to the point. I will invest money in you all. You will use the money strictly to start up businesses. Hotels, restaurants, saunas, gun shops, etc., etc. I don't care what business you start up, so long as it is legal. Should you use money for its intended purpose, you will not have to pay me back. Otherwise you will be in debt and interest rates will be imposed upon it.

But I'm not here for that. The businesses will make you a nice amount of money, enough to get you and others by and let you live comfortably, but not everyone can eat from the pie, as the saying goes.

The truth is, it is unfeasible to expect everyone to get a job. Some enjoy this lifestyle. Others simply won't be able to find a job, no matter how much money I give you all. And many other reasons beside. And I am not cruel enough to kick someone out of their own home, at least not when they haven't commited heavy crimes.

I hope that you talked with the remaining Tyger Claws. Tell me, how do they stand on the matter of money in regards to legality and criminality?"

"They are not opposed to your proposal. But they have gotten accostumed to a certain amount of income. Getting by and living comfortably is not enough to appease them," Wakako answered after thinking a bit. She did not immediately understand Nexus' question.

"In other words, they will resume their criminal activities. Perhaps they will not commit heavy crimes or crimes against humanity, but such things always develope in an unpleasant direction, if left unsupervised," Nexus stood up and crossed his arms behind his back, "I'll let no one spit on my mercy."

Wakako leaned forward apprehensively: "Then what do you propose?"

Nexus turned his head to his left: "As I said, during these ten years I trained, I had a lot of time to think. I came to differentiate between types of criminals. I am not unreasonable and I am not opposed to arrive at a compromise. At least not with those that remain."

"A compromise?," Wakako asked, leaning back in her seat.

...

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"Indeed," Nexus told Padre, "The legal businesses will remain, but for those who want a more ... exciting life, can do so under the new system we will build."

"Tell me of this system. Elaborate, please," Padre requested.

"The legal businesses are legit, of course. Totally legal, in every way it matters. But they will also function as a front to the criminal underworld. Behind closed doors, these businesses will offer their services to criminals. Illegal guns. 'waste' disposal, protection/ armour, etc. Those that want to or have to remain criminals can procure their services and do their work. Of course, within the constraints I have given. Should they harm innocents they will face my wrath," Nexus explained.

"And that is it?," Padre asked, surprised with how lenient the terms seemed.

"No. If the criminal world must exist and unfortunately it will exist, for no one can eradicate all crime only minimize it, then I want it to be structured. Organized and guided.

I want it to become a system where professionalism is highly valued. Where competence determines your income. A system with standards and one that adheres to a certain amount of decorum.

The criminal world I want to build is one that is upheld to a certain standard. 

First, there will be me. The Autem Imperator. The enforcer of the rules and punisher of the rule breakers basically. I want the system to be self-suficient. I can not be here to hold your hand at every step, but if you are not enough to keep the system running then I will visit.

Next will be the High Table. 12 heads will sit at it. Three are already detetmined. You, Wakako and Morton The others will be chosen by my hand and you will meet them later. You are the overseers. You will make sure the rules are upheld and that the work performed does not go against either the rules I imposed or the boundaries I set. I highly encourage you to do your job properly and not become corrupt.

You will also have executive powers. Should all of you agree, you may make new rules or systematic decisions, so long as they don't go against the 'holy' decree I have issued," Nexus listed off.

"Thirdly, you need messengers. Ones who carry your words and send your messages to your targets. For the times a holocall or a text is not enough to stay someones hand. I will leave that up to you, since you need them more than I do.

Fourthly, a safe haven for all. Call it something fancy, like the Continental or something. A building overseen by a manager on which NO business will be conducted on continental grounds. Business talks may still happen, but violence under any form is strictly forbidden. So long as someone has the money to pay for food and room, and only the food and room, the manager must ensure that everyone in his building is protected.

Fifth..."

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Morton listened raptly.

"... Markers. A form of Coin. Should you owe someone your survival or a great favor, than they will hold a marker over you. They may ask one thing from you, one favor for one debt. It could be a task, like killing, transporting or anything else. Whatever they ask of you, you must fulfill it, so long as they don't go against the established rules rules. Afterwards the debt is paid off, and the marker no longer valid."

"It both encourages cameraderie between collegues and to resolve their issues peacefully, least they stop just before killing someone and call it a favor or debt," Morton said understandingly.

"Exactly. A powerful tool. One best not abused, since it can easily go both ways," Nexus affirmed.

"Ha, devious. It keeps everyone in check and adheres to your so called professionalism. I like it," Morton approved.

"Sixth, 'Excomunicado'. A punishment the High Table can impose on rule breakers. Once someone is declared 'Excomunicado' all services to them must cease. The are effectively cut out from the system and its benefits. I trust you know what will follow?", Nexus asked.

Morton thought about it. If one is declared excomunicado and cut out from the system they are essentially an outlaw. Then they no longer had to obey any rules. Naturally since Nexus wanted order, allowing an outlaw to live is detrimental. It would weaken the system and give the impression that if you do not want to adhere to the rules, you can just become an outlaw. An outlaw could easily commit heavy crimes and destroy the newly established order. And then Nexus would be unhappy. "Death. Death will follow anyone who is dclared excomunicado." Morton shared his conclusion.

Nexus nodded:" Indeed. Death will follow. Our business is finished here...."

"Whoa, whoa, what do you mean? That is so little to go on. You can't expect such a huge system to run on just these rules. The system would be to brittle with just these rules."

Nexus stood up and held out his hand:" Shall I hold your hand as I take you to school? Shall I make you a hot cacao with milk? Maybe sing you sweet lullabies as I tuck you in a warm bed and assure you there are no monsters under your bed? Hm?"

Morton remained silent in the face of his goading.

Nexus dropped his hand and continued:" You are not children. I told you I want the system to be self-sufficient. I will only step in when YOU, the High Table, are not enough to punish the rulebreakers and keep the others in check. I have given you the rules, the crimes against humanity, if you recall. I have given you a few paramaters I expect the system to be shaped by and I have given you the High Table, the executive power to make new rules and lay down new laws. Do the math."

Morton thought over Nexus' words. He now understood, what Nexus was doing. He was giving them a rope. They could use it to hang themselves and the criminal underworld with them or they could use it to build a bridge and meet Nexus halfway through. It seems polishing and refining the system was left to the 12 of them and of course also making it work with Nexus' demands in mind. But more importantly:" Right. I forgot. Your a corpo property. It is one thing to slaughter criminals and another to become the head of a new system dabbling in orderly and organized crime."

"Plausible deniability and all that trite.

Make no mistake. I can differentiate between petty and heavy criminals and I can be generous in extending my mercy by only going after heavy criminals, but I can just as easily turn the other cheek and finish what I started. I strongly suggest you think about our conversation and thoughtfully come up with a more intricate system that would ... please me," Nexus nodded before threatening.

Nexus took a page out of his pocket and laid it on the desk:" Contact numbers. I know you have the numbers of Wakako and Padre. These are the numbers of the rest of the High Table members. Take up contact with them and get to work. Don't worry I also had our coversation with them. Have a pleasant evening."

With that said Nexus turned around and exited the room. The door shutting down after him with an obnoxious click. Morton took a swig of his beer and took the page.

Time to make new friends and build an empire, he jokingly thought.