1
...Falco...
Falco had been in the game a while, he had seen the whole spectrum of punks in his years. From the naive gonks with chips on their shoulders to big dreamers, to gonks that simply wanted fame and fortune even if to get it involved drowning in gallons of blood to punks that just wanted to see the city burn. So when he first saw David Martinez he knew, call it instinct or whatever but… something was fundamentally wrong with the kid.
The entire crew noticed it but decided to ignore it, as long as it didn't affect the crew it didn't matter. A sensible mentality, one especially common amongst Edgerunner crews, however, Falco didn't like unexpected things. He never did, and as a wheelman, he needed to trust whoever he was riding with to not go psycho in the passenger seat.
So the first thing he asked when he finally had a chance to speak to David?
"Since the boss won't ask, I will." He said, "You're not going to lose it in the middle of a job are you?" He ignored Lucy and Rebecca's glares easily as he waited for an answer.
David just looked at him calmly, too calmly in Falco's eyes. While his body count is impressive it didn't explain his calm demeanor. There's a saying that the eyes are the window of the soul, and if you took it literally it'd mean no one has a soul given how most people have optics instead of eyes nowadays, but Falco wasn't that literal. But meeting David's calm gaze he saw a very wary soul, the sort of eyes you'd see on someone that had been put through the wringer and refused to die.
He'd seen that look in burnt-out mercs, nomads that lost their entire clans, and various other punks in Night city. He heard about what happened to Gloria, a damn shame that she had to go out the way she did. He knew that had to be hard on the kid but from what he heard the kid was handling it rather well, he also heard he was considering taking a ride out to the badlands to spread his mother's ashes. It was a sentiment that Falco could respect, for a nomad family is everything… so seeing a kid pay respect to his departed mother raised his opinion of him.
He just tilted his head, "About the same as anyone really." He said, "But if having if watching my mother die, and having my spine ripped out and replaced while I was conscious and without painkillers I like to think it'll take a little more effort to make me lose it."
Falco blinked at that, as did the rest of the crew.
"Gonk was conscious while he got ripped?" Pilar muttered, "Gotta admit… that'd fuckin' metal…"
"Imma kill'em!" Rebecca exclaimed, but that wasn't surprising.
"We'll help." Lucy wasn't a surprise but Kiwi certainly was given her 'trust no one' motto.
"Kid? Are you… sure you're not exaggerating that last bit?" Dorio asked with some skepticism in her voice, "I mean not even back-alley rippers are that bad… right?"
"If it's who I think it is then yeah." Maine said rubbing his arms, "Borg out on the border of Arroyo and Pacifica? Yeah, he's a legit good ripper but he's… something of a tightwad. Had him do some work on me. He still got that bite bar?" David just nodded.
"... Y'all ain't going to kill him if I get to him first!" Dorio exclaimed, and there is nothing as intimidating as an angry amazon.
"Ey, Davey where you go to get your chrome checked?" Pilar asked, "Kinda wanting to get my arms and hands checked." He added wiggling his shiny gold hands.
"Ah, Doc Vik in Little China by a Mox bar. Behind Misty's Esoterica." David said, "Fixed up my Sandy and got me a new hand! The guy even accepts payment plans."
"No shit?" Pilar sounded intrigued, "Maybe I'll ask for a full check."
Looking away from David momentarily and ignoring as the women of the crew planned premeditated murder he did look at Kiwi curiously. Seeing her react so violently surprised him, though it was a welcome surprise in the nomad's mind.
"Maybe the kid can get Kiwi to open up about what's bothering her." He wasn't sure if the others picked up on it but something was clearly bothering the older netrunner, he'd caught her more than once swearing violently about Faraday.
Not that he blamed Kiwi.
Falco had the misfortune of meeting the fixer once, and it was enough for a lifetime in his opinion. Arrogant Fixers ain't that unusual, but the thing is the ones that are arrogant rarely show it because they know they're that damn good! And from the way, the four-eyed ass acted he so clearly wanted to be a Corpo, pity that acting the part doesn't make it so. It just makes enemies in his opinion, Corpos can get away with it usually, especially if they're high up in the hierarchy.
But Faraday? Honestly, Falco was just wondering when the gonk would disappear like so many others in this city
"Actually, Falco?" The nomad turned to look at David curiously, "Two questions. You wouldn't happen to know anyone selling a bike, would you? I have some pretty bad luck with cars and I can't just run everywhere or take the NCART."
"Heh, I can ask around, and the second kid?" Falco asked with a chuckle.
"... Where do you get your suits?" Falco blinked at that making David huff, "No one says I can't be an Edgerunner and look classy while doing it!"
That just made Falco laugh, and laugh hard.
"This kid is alright!" He decided, "A bit off but alright!"
After David was welcomed into the crew with a celebratory toast everyone went their own ways. Maine and Dorio went to a booth to make out or Dorio wanted to know more about Borg, it could be either actually. He knew Rebecca and Lucy were talking about their plans of murdering the gonk. He was surprised by how Pilar and David started talking about guns, apparently, David had plans to make some custom weapons and was interested in getting another techie's help on the project.
That of course left Kiwi alone to smoke in the corner as she normally does, pity Falco decided she needed some companion.
"So, you and the kid huh?" Falco asked as he sat across from the normally solitary netrunner, "Wouldn't have figured you for likin' them young, but as long as he makes you happy that's the important part innit? You are happy aren't ya?"
Kiwi didn't speak for a few minutes and instead focused on smoking before giving a short, almost reluctant, nod.
"If you like'em then is it safe to assume you trust him?" A more hesitant nod followed, "Then talk to the gonk. Honestly after talking to him? I can tell, he holds his chooms close and his Outputs closer. What you got here Kiwi is a gonk that's been broken by life but he won't let it make him its bitch. I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't willing to do anything for you ladies."
Kiwi didn't comment but the nomad saw she was considering it in her eyes.
Falco just nodded and got up, clearly seeing that Kiwi wanted to be alone with her thoughts. Sometimes though he felt less like a wheelman and more like a Kiwi interpreter, he couldn't help but wonder what sort of hell she went through to make her so distrustful. Could be anything really knowing this city.
Shaking his head in amusement he decided to see what the techies were coming up with… and see if it'd bring down Corpo attention on them. It hadn't happened yet but with Pilar, you can never tell.
"D, you are out of your gonkin' mind!" Falco blinked at that, "I mean your idea is preem nova, fuck me I'd love to have a pair myself! But seriously you'd need a reinforced skeleton and joints at the very least! The kickback alone would shatter your arms!"
David just looked mulish, "I know and I don't plan on using them just after making them! I'm not that stupid." He retorted, "I just want some guns that are 'me' you know?"
"Choom, just the recoil from these means your 'handguns' will need to be massive. They'll probably weigh around fifty pounds! I'm not sure a 'ganic at peak physical performance can handle them!" Pilar argued, "I mean yeah I'll still help ya but unless you're going to get cyber arms they'll just be showpieces."
"You let me worry about that." David said, clearly unable to be dissuaded, "Actually perhaps you'd be interested in helping me make everyone a custom piece?"
"Custom, eh? Nothing that'll get a Corp sniffing around?" Pilar asked, sounding surprisingly rational in Falco's opinion.
"Nothing like that. I'm not bout to make no gonking rapid-fire laser… though that would be nova as hell." David said, "Nothing retro, only reason my launcher looks like that is cause 40mm still fucks no matter what shoots it."
"Fuck it, why not?" Pilar laughed, "D, I think we're going to get along great! I finally have someone to talk techie shit now! All you have to do now is make me an uncle and then everything's fucking preem!"
David choked on his drink, "What!?"
Pilar cackled, "What kid? Does the thought of putting a bun in my sister's oven intimidate you?" He teased, poking him with his long fingers, "Ain't like I can continue the bloodline! Just make sure if you do put a baby in her belly it's outta this city. He'll take her to another city entirely or the moon for all I care!"
Falco… wisely decided to join Lucy and Rebecca at the bar and leave the two techies to their talking.
"Okay so you tie him to his chair, and I'll use his tools to slowly take him apart." Rebecca said, "Then when we're done we leave and firebomb the place and let him burn alive."
Lucy sipped her drink thoughtfully, "Couldn't we just flay him alive?" She commented, "Or I could just shove him full of daemons and let him cook from the inside out."
"Well yeah, but that just means you get all the satisfaction!" Rebecca retorted, "I want my pound of flesh and chrome too! Fucker tortured our D! And even if he 'does good work' apparently Vik doesn't agree!"
Falco… decided to just get a beer and rejoin Kiwi. At least she wasn't planning murder… to the best of his knowledge outside that one comment. It was hard to read the woman with that respirator-vent cyberware.
...Nix...
"Got those files you wanted, Rogue." Nix, the top Netrunner of Afterlife, said.
"Send them to me." Rogue said as he flicked them over to her.
As Rogue read them he sat down and tried, for the umpteenth time, to puzzle out why Rogue wanted the files for Gloria Martinez. Nix himself looked over the files as well and still didn't get it, the woman was an EMT and borderline Scav that klep cyberware off dead people. What's more, is that she's already flatlined so Nix honestly didn't see the point. Was Rogue looking for some sort of leverage over 'the Boogeyman' as the kid had started being called?
It was possible, it was a decidedly Rogue thing to do with new variables on the Merc scene, but Nix had a feeling that wasn't the Top Fixer's reasoning for wanting the info. If she wanted leverage she could've just asked for info on the kid himself and not his dead mother. So… what was she looking for?
"Maybe she's trying to figure out how a seventeen-year-old gonk can turn into such an efficient killer?" Nix mused as she ideally sipped some Nicola (booze and netrunning don't mix), "Perhaps a combination of stress and emotional baggage led to a limited psychotic break?" It'd certainly explain some things but not others.
The others could be explained by Skill chips, but where would the kid even get the eddies? You just don't klep Skill chips unless you're already skilled to do it, but at that point why bother? There is also the problem that the human brain can only retain so much information before it all starts overwriting or mashing together, he heard stories of rich gonks frying their synapses by trying to learn too much too fast.
It became a cautionary tale of why you should be careful with Skill chips, not that Corpo gonks ever listen. Like that stupid Saka brat Kat-whatever, the kid's former bully. Who, without his usual target, was now doing the usual entitled Corpo brat shit.
"Just another Saka crotch stain that'll get flatlined by his own stupidity…" The question at this point really is would it be by the kid's hands or some random gonk?
"Nix?" He blinked and looked at Rogue, "Who's the Fixer for Maine's crew?" The Top Fixer asked thoughtfully.
Nix blinked again not really expecting that, "Uh, sure. Give me a sec." He said really wishing his boss's poker face wasn't so damn good, it made reading her impossible.
Something that any Fixer worth a damn needs but it does make it hard to figure out what she's thinking! Pushing his irritation to the side for the moment Nix pulled his interface plug from his wrist and jacked into a subtly hidden port to access the Afterlife's network.
Nix's eyes twitched as he read the file, "Faraday, low-level Fixer. Militech connection, Corpo-wannabe. Bad habit of burning bridges." Nix said as he reviewed the file, "None of the other mercs will even look at him, so he primarily employs the ones desperate for work."
"Hmm, and David is a part of his crew…" Rogue muttered with a very light frown on her face as she crossed her arms and bowed her head in thought.
"The kid? Why does that even matter?" Sure the kid showed promise but if he joined up with a crew with a gonk that works for Faraday that's his problem in Nix's opinion.
Glancing over at Nix after a few seconds of thought Rogue said, "Nix, get Regina Jones to throw Maine's crew a bone. If they impress her, she's got a crew. If not then it's on them." Nix just slowly nodded.
"Okay?" Nix just jacked out of the network before scratching his cheek.
Rogue snorted, "I'm not doing this for the chrome junkie." She said.
"For the kid then? I didn't think you were sentimental." Nix said eventually.
"I'm not with some exceptions." Rogue said, "David is one of those exceptions."
"Why?" Nix had to know, this had been driving him crazy for a while.
"... An apology." Is all she offered, "Now make the arrangements."
"Sure, I'll get to it, Rogue." Nix mumbled as that only left even more questions in his mind!
...Rachel Warren...
Gasping for breath Rachel lurched up and just focused on her breathing.
"Just breathe, it's just a nightmare. You're not back there! Calm your tits!" She thought as she closed her eyes and fell back into her bed with a groan.
It had been a few days since she was grabbed by the Scavs, and since she saw Death in the form of her former classmate. Granted she didn't realize that until later when the drugs were out of her system and her parents were grilling her about what happened and why David Martinez was handing her over naked. While her parents were members of Arasaka they weren't as… Corp-centric as others, so Rachel got to enjoy a somewhat functional family dynamic.
They didn't ask if she was raped or anything as the private doctor they went to did a whole host of tests while she was drugged. But still, they drilled her with questions after she recovered.
Who is that man? Do you know him? Wasn't he your classmate? And so on and so forth.
Truth is? She really didn't know much about David other than he was the highest scorer in recent history and he pushed XBDs for eddies to help his mother. A mother that recently died, if she recalled Katsuo's mockery correctly.
Granted she didn't know him that well but she didn't agree with Katsuo's mockery of his loss, but then again it was a common enough mindset amongst Corpos. They just stop seeing the have-nots as human, or something along those lines.
Taking a few minutes to collect herself Rachel pushed herself up and started the process of getting ready to face the day. And as she started to get dressed she couldn't help but wonder what David was doing.
"Well, my parents are pretty paranoid now." She thought, "Maybe I could suggest they hire him as a bodyguard when I go shopping?" She considered with a faint blush.
After getting past the extreme amounts of panic, which was only exacerbated by the drugs and David flatlining the Scavs, she admitted in the privacy of her own mind that being in his arms made her feel surprisingly safe…
"Am I crushing on David!?"
...David Martinez...
"I should probably take a break." He thought as he leaned back from the terminal he was working on, "Maybe take a ride on that bike Falco hooked me up with, maybe max out my Driving skill?" While a nice thought, he didn't actually know what the skill cap for his skills even was!
David really didn't want to pay to refill the tank three or four times, even if he had the eddies for it.
Well you do have that Treasure hunting quest.
"I actually forgot about that." David thought as he scratched his cheek, "I think I could make Kiwi's rebreather-vent thing from memory…" Given how high his Crafting was he could probably make it a lot better.
Pushing himself away from the terminal he got up and made his way to his workshop, Butterbean following after him curiously.
Stepping into his room and picking Butterbean up and placing him in a little bed David made for him to watch, he took a seat and started to collect his tools and pull out the components he'd need from his Inventory.
"So how overengineered do you think I'm going to make this, Bean?" David asked the cat curiously, who just meowed in return, "Yeah you're probably right. Probably painfully over the top. Think it'll look cool though?"
"Purr!"
David just chuckled and scratched Butterbean behind the ears, "You always got my back don't you, cutie?" He said with a smile, "Kinda wish I could understand you."
Fairly sure there's a perk somewhere for that…
"... I'll consider it later." David thought before he focused on the task at hand, "Come on level 15 Crafting show me what you got!"
...David Martinez...
The Municipal Landfill is the single largest landfill in Night City, spread out mostly through Red Peaks and a portion of Rocky Ridge. It's only been growing since it was originally started because the laws of Night City are stupid and convoluted in the extreme.
Sitting on his bike looking towards the Landfill, David pondered how to best approach this. Due to the asinine laws involved, salvaging anything from the landfill is illegal, and it's probably one of the few things that will get the N.C.P.D. to get off their ass and move. Can't have the with-outs trying to salvage to make some eddies, after all the landfill and all trash within belong to the city which in turn belongs to the Corporations.
It's a vicious cycle.
"Hmm, I can't really fry the security, cause that'd just make them move faster. So, stealth it is." David thought as he put on his rebreather (which was more of a full gas mask but with all sorts of nifty utility), "Oh this is good, I'm going to have to harden this and make it a regular piece of my kit!"
It was nice to find a use for all those targeting mods he'd been collecting, it certainly saved him from having to visit Vik to have the cyberware mods installed. Now if only he could find a goddam fucking smart gun already!
After a few seconds, the visors lens polarized, becoming a solid black from the outside, though David could still see perfectly fine from the inside. Getting back on his bike, he resumed driving to the landfill.
Driving skill up x7
Cleaning skill $#*(&*(@#
I should've expected that. Should've disabled the Hoover function before you left.
It was only through sheer bullheaded stubbornness and pure willpower that allowed David to keep from collapsing as the [SYSTEM] itself glitched. It was a truly hellish feeling, as if he'd gotten bloated from hammering down a dozen XXL burritos! Groaning, David started to look around, but quickly decided to wait for the [SYSTEM] to calm down before even attempting to scrap anything.
"The fuck happened anyway?" David thought as he waited for the feeling to subside. Only after close to 10 minutes passed without anymore rumbling, aches rocked him did he decide to risk looking around.
The combination of the 'hoover' function and auto-scrapping junk grants a miniscule amount of XP for the Cleaning Skill. You've never noticed any growth because the amount barely registers. However, entering zones like a landfill… Well, I'm sure you understand where I'm going?
David nodded absentmindedly as he opened the trunk of a surprisingly intact car, "Looks like it's a Nomad model…" Closing the trunk, he went and opened the hood, "Never mind, stripped to hell." He could probably find replacements for the stripped elements, but where the hell would he even take it?
Sure, there was the warehouse in the badlands the crew had, but how would he even get it there?
Grumbling, David walked off and resumed looking around. There HAD to be something interesting here! Why would he get a freaking Treasure Hunt quest that singled this place out in the first place?? Eventually, he found himself looking at what might've been a Saka AV if the emblem was any indicator. The thing looked like it went through a war zone, one of the thrusters seemed to have been blown away, and the entire side was peppered from what looked to be constant HMG fire.
"Huh, let's see if this is hiding anything…" He couldn't move it, so he had to scrap it.
With a blink, the scrapping mechanic triggered, and a faint overlay fell over everything he could see, due to his recent perks everything registered as scrapable. Organic and inorganic alike, honestly, he dreaded looking in his Inventory to see just how much components and bio-sludge he'd already amassed! Looking at the AV, he blinked again, causing it to blink out of existence. What surprised him however was what looked like a hatch under it!
"Huh, cool. But what's this doing here?" He wondered as he opened the hatch and climbed down, "So glad this Visor has night vision mode." He thought as it automatically switched over.
Pulling out a modded Sagata shotgun from his inventory, David stepped into the darkness.
"Why is there a bunker under a landfill? Which was here first? The landfill or the bunker?" While the entryway was cramped, the entrance into the bunker proper was far more open.
There were no lights however the NV allowed him to see clearly, though the green filter was annoying, and he could tell the place hadn't seen any recent habitation. CGI had already engaged his hoover function, so with every step, he could see trash and junk being scooped up and scrapped. Thankfully, that bloated sensation had long disappeared and didn't seem to be making a comeback since he wasn't driving through a Junkyard with his auto-hover and scrapping on.
Though, despite the occasional bit of trash and junk? The place looked amazingly intact, probably because the entrance had been hidden for… decades at the very least? Shaking his head, David found himself at another bulkhead door. Grabbing the door handles and straining to pull the old, rusted doors open, David finally succeeded. Wincing as the metal groaned in protest after possibly decades of disuse, he shook off the flakes of rust and dust that had fallen on him.
Stepping through, he found himself in… what looked like a Netrunner den! The walls were covered in blank monitors, and David was fairly sure that he spotted a medical station with monitoring equipment. As well as what must've been a very nice massage chair years ago. However, that wasn't all, David spotted various faded posters dotted throughout the building along with the emblem of a Spider on the ceiling.
"Huh." David muttered as he looked around and found a single switch. Putting the shotgun back into his Inventory and giving it a flip, he heard buzzing before the lights flickered on, and the monitors came to life and were filled with static.
Turning off the NV, he started looking around again before finding a gun. Hefting the gun, David started examining it for a few moments before putting it in his inventory, he could look over it at home.
"Hello there…" David muttered as he opened a drawer and pulled out what looked to be a heavily customized cyberdeck with an arm unit!
Definitely putting that in his Inventory, he looked around for a few more minutes. Even stepping out of the Netrunner den and seeing if there were any other rooms. Which there was, a bathroom that had severely been neglected in the passing years and what looked like a small bedroom for a woman, if the bras were any indication.
Well, a woman or trans. Could be either, really.
However, he did find a well-worn copy of Rache Bartmoss' Guide to the Net in the small bedroom, which he put in his inventory to read later.
"Hmm, wonder what's in memory?" David muttered thoughtfully as he made his way back to the Netrunner den and went over to what looked like a terminal. After a few seconds, he managed to boot it up and after some fiddling, he managed to open a browser and started browsing.
"Why are there so many cat videos, memes, and porn?" David muttered, "I… have no idea what this is, honestly."
Shutting everything down, David started unplugging everything and putting it all in his inventory, all the while ignoring CGI's silent judgment. He even started taking the various other monitors and anything else remotely used for Netrunning until all that was left was a very old massage chair.
"... I'm still a teenager, dammit!" David exclaimed.
A teenager with three outputs, one of which is living with you that you're regularly intimate with…
"... Shut up…" David muttered maturely as he decided to leave the bunker and head back up to the landfill, "I'll give this place one last look before I leave, I'll come back again sometime if the quest doesn't finish." He decided.
On the way back to his bike, David spotted an old Frederator and decided to open it. Honestly? He figured why not, it was nice to be able to do things on a whim, and the worst he could find was moldy some body parts. Yet, when he opened it, David paused as he stared in shock. Not quite believing he was kind of right. Looking into the open fridge, he found himself staring at the partially frozen and slowly rotting form of the most infamous Netrunner in history.
Rache Bartmoss, the one that destroyed the Old Net and cause the DataKrash.
All David really knew about the guy was that he was a wizard in Netrunning circles, his skills were still talked about to this day in fact. Creator of the Demon and Hound series of programs. Arasaka did their best to make the guy seem like a minor nuisance at best, but they failed.
All you had to do was look at Netwatch, and you'd know this man hurt the Corporations, and hurt them badly. Granted, he was also kind of the one who fucked the world over as well. But, well, shit happens.
What was David to do with this legend before him?
… He looted him of his Cyberdeck, any valuable the man had on him, stripped him of his Netrunner suit. Then for good measure proceeded to scrap his body as well as the refrigerating unit he was in, before David continued on to his bike.
A worthy fate for the legacy Rache left behind, after all, shit happens.
Getting back on his bike and firing the engine up, David took off from the Landfill and made his way back home.
.Kid! Where the hell are you!?.
.On my way home, actually, something wrong Maine?.
.Bunch of Maelstrom gonks got the drop on Becca and abducted her. We're getting together to work out a game plan. Get your ass to Turbos!.
...Kiwi...
The entire meeting Kiwi kept her peace, as is her way, but she did however keep an eye on Da- the kid. She wasn't watching him because of her mission from that chrome-sucking Faraday, but because it was a natural inclination on her part. While she preferred the soothing dataflows of the Net, she did enjoy observing people in their 'natural habitat' so to say. It was one of the reasons she was such a successful lookout and Runner.
She already knew that the kid had issues, not that he was special in that regard as this city had a habit of traumatizing anyone and everyone, but what did interest her is how the trauma he had gone through shaped the kid into the… thing she had seen back on that mission. She was no stranger to seeing people go on sprees, but seeing a lone gonk going all cyber-ninja? That is strange, and after further observation, Kiwi came to the realization that the kid had issues that the rest of the crew were either ignoring or simply didn't notice.
The compulsive collecting, tinkering, Fucking Cleaning all suggested moderate to extreme OCD. Frankly benign and honestly hardly the worst thing, granted if his collecting turned to hoarding that may be a problem but so far it seemed that everything he collected was either broken down or repurposed. PTSD from what happened with his mom, possibly exacerbated by getting his spine replaced while he was still a-fucking-wake!
"Why was Becca taken?" David asked.
"It's business as usual, choom." Maine answered, "Maelstrom does stuff like this on occasion for some quick eddies. And if they don't do it well…" He just shrugged.
*twitch*
Kiwi wasn't sure if anyone caught it, maybe Lucy, but she certainly did. And while she wasn't as close to him as Lucy or Rebecca, Kiwi knew that David was going to do something drastic. He clearly didn't give a shit about rocking the boat, the only thing he cared for was Becca, Lucy, and… herself. The extreme levels of care and devotion he showers on them, suggest a deep level of obsession and some form of dependence.
"Ah… is it getting hot?" David asked as he started tugging at his shirt before shrugging off his jacket.
"D? You, okay?" Pillar asked as he reached over only to yank his hand back, "Christ choom! You're roasting!"
Lucy leaned forward clearly worried, and David just took off his shirt revealing rivulets of sweat rolling down his surprisingly chiseled physique. But what primarily caught Kiwi's eye was the LEDs on the Sandy.
They were burning red.
"Where are we meeting them?" David asked, "Let's get this over with already."
With that David got up and after getting his shirt and jacket he quickly left Turbos.
"... You know he's going to kill everyone right?" Kiwi asked, getting a look from everyone.
"Wasn't we going to do that anyway?" Pilar asked, though he wasn't showing it Kiwi knew he was furious and blood-hungry.
Asshole he maybe but no one ever doubted how much he loved his sister; the gonk had killed people that tried to get too fresh with his sister!
"Yeah, but the kid has the Sandy." Dorio pointed out, Kiwi nodded and added with a thoughtful tone "And… I'm not sure how stable he is. Wonder how he sees the world?" She added, sounding rather sad at the end.
"People he likes, People he's devoted to, and Dead Gonks Walking." Kiwi said without a single trace of humor in her voice.
The ride to the meeting place was tense, or so Kiwi assumed. She, like Da- the kid, decided to ride their bikes. Following Maine's car silently. Every so often Kiwi would glance over to the kid just to check on him, her optics allowing her to see him in rather sharp detail despite the distance and speeds they were driving.
"He's controlled, too controlled. He's not showing any signs of aggression or losing it, but his eyes betray him." Kiwi thought, "He's taking Becca's abduction personally, I wonder… would he…? No, stop it. Things between Faraday and I are personal, he doesn't need to get involved."
Thankfully, they got a shot from another Fixer out in Watson, so at least now they didn't have to wait on that four-eyed fucker to give them a job. They didn't involve David on the job because he was busy working on some guns for some big shot solo, and the guy paid for the preem treatment so David couldn't really take a break to run a job.
While she and Da- the kid had a thing going on it wasn't like with Lucy or Becca. Sure, the guy helped her out a lot and helped her with anything she asked, and even fixed her mask and cleaned the filter, but it didn't mean she trusted him. He was just a big softy and that'll get him eaten alive in this city! Everyone betrayed each other in this city, in the end.
"But… it wouldn't hurt to talk to him more. Yeah, yeah… just to get more information on him. That's all…"
Shaking her head, she focused on the street. Wondering what exactly was going through David's head at the moment.
.Hey, Kiwi?.
.Yeah, what do you want kid?.
.After this I was wondering if you could help me with something. I found an old Netrunner den, and I scavenged a lot of preem stuff, and I need some help setting everything up. Hmm, should probably check the terminal for any traps now that I think about it. You think you and Lucy would mind helping me out?.
.... Sure kid. Now, how badly are you going to fuck these gonks up? And don't bother denying it..
.Well, the Sandy is going to get a very good workout..
The call ended before Kiwi could ask what David meant by that.
...David Martinez...
They arrived at the meet-up and were met by a group of gonks with absolutely obscene amounts of cyberware, David, of course, already knew that Maelstrom practically worshiped chrome. They saw Cyberpsychosis as some sort of 'ascension' or whatever but seeing people with multiple optics not even vaguely designed as eyes was disgusting. He was pretty sure he saw one gonk with an LCD monitor replacing his entire face!
"God, my chrome addiction was fucking benign compared to these fuckers." Again, he knew this already, but still. Knowing about these borged out fuckers with their inhumane amounts of chrome was one thing but seeing the freakshows in person again was another thing entirely! There were also more of them then there were last time, a few he recognized as former Rippers and a lot more with the same ascetic as the now defunct gang.
The Rippers being a minor poser gang that were too similar to the Scavs for their own good. Honestly they weren't even on the level of notoriety as the Trekkies or Kennedys!
It seemed he missed the chaff of the Rippers since they weren't part of the Ripper Gang anymore. On top of that, he thought he misremembered how chromed this group was at first when he heard of them again, but no. In fact, it might have been worse than he remembered. Maybe that had something to do with his stint as the Boogeyman, making these guys desperate and scared enough to go further than they would've otherwise. He hadn't even been targeting this group, but he supposed rumors of his brutality and methods might've had more of an impact than he thought.
Was the entire gang like this? Or did he just have the shit luck of running into the deranged ones?
User David the [SYSTEM] has detected an extensive surveillance system.
"... Can my hoover combined with auto scrap deal with them?"
Yes.
David tried to relax as much as he could as they were all led into what must've been a RealMeats factory once. Glancing around he spotted dozens of dead gonks walking, but after a short trip, they were led into a room with the 'leader' of the gang… along with a fridge.
"Heh, pity. Kinda wished you weren't invested." The leader jeered, "Shortie here as some nice chrome. Anyway, pay up and she's yours, a little worn but nothing a visit to a ripper won't fix!" He added with an ugly laugh as the fridge was opened and David quickly looked her over without moving.
Her mouth was taped but that didn't bother David, the faint scratches and bruises upset him faintly, however, what made him start seeing red?
Her hands, or rather her lack of them.
David's optics glitched faintly, and the only one to even notice was Rebecca if her own eyes widening was any indicator.
Knowing the rest of the crew was about to start firing David looked around quickly, his eyes still faintly glitching before he looked at the leader straight in his optics.
"Whatcha want meat sack?" He asked with a scoff.
"... I want to know what color you bleed." David said as his Scratchers slid from his hand with a click, and he lunged forward faster than anyone could react.
Just as the first shots were fired from Maine's gun David's clawed hand swung up and easily pierced the leader's jaw and before he could do more than scream David ripped his lower jaw off before slashing out carving out trenches out of the other gonks face.
Ignoring the blood covering his face and chest he quickly grabbed Rebecca and used the Sandy to quickly relocate behind cover and sat his Gun Gremlin down. All within the space of a second.
Removing her gag David looked at her, "I'll be back." He said before his Sandy triggered again and the world froze.
Already feeling the implant heating up and his body creaking with the strain, he grabbed the kukri strapped to his leg with his organic hand and started running. Turning into a whirling dervish of bloodshed as he killed everything that wasn't a part of his crew. His hoovering destroyed all surveillance systems he came across as he focused on one thing.
Killing
KillKillKillKillKillKillKillKillKillKillKillKillKillKillKillKillKillKillKillKillKillKillKillKill!
The [SYSTEM] dinged but it wasn't important.
They tried to take his Rebecca! He wouldn't let them! No! No one is going to take his loved ones again!
*̸̲͉̋́͛͌̔̒̌̇̿̐̾̕͜ĝ̶̨͓̗͕̱̂̊͌̽͠l̶̨̹̘̼̤̍͋̂i̴̖̜͙͙̩̗̱̖͓̋̔͗̚͠ţ̸̗̝̇̋̑̊̓c̸̰̥̜̰̽͆̌h̴̡̜̖̭̣͔̀̓̀̎͛͊͒͗̅̊̊̉̆̂*̴̢̜͚̠͙̘͙͓̫̗́̒̀͛̓͌̄͐̽̅̈̕̚̕͠ͅ
The Animals took his mom!
*̸̲͉̋́͛͌̔̒̌̇̿̐̾̕͜ĝ̶̨͓̗͕̱̂̊͌̽͠l̶̨̹̘̼̤̍͋̂i̴̖̜͙͙̩̗̱̖͓̋̔͗̚͠ţ̸̗̝̇̋̑̊̓c̸̰̥̜̰̽͆̌h̴̡̜̖̭̣͔̀̓̀̎͛͊͒͗̅̊̊̉̆̂*̴̢̜͚̠͙̘͙͓̫̗́̒̀͛̓͌̄͐̽̅̈̕̚̕͠ͅ
The Maelstrom tried to take his Rebecca!
*̸̲͉̋́͛͌̔̒̌̇̿̐̾̕͜ĝ̶̨͓̗͕̱̂̊͌̽͠l̶̨̹̘̼̤̍͋̂i̴̖̜͙͙̩̗̱̖͓̋̔͗̚͠ţ̸̗̝̇̋̑̊̓c̸̰̥̜̰̽͆̌h̴̡̜̖̭̣͔̀̓̀̎͛͊͒͗̅̊̊̉̆̂*̴̢̜͚̠͙̘͙͓̫̗́̒̀͛̓͌̄͐̽̅̈̕̚̕͠ͅ
The fucking Arasaka tried to take his Lucy!!
Overclock mode disengaged, User David they are all dead.
David didn't hear CGI as he collapsed onto his knees breathing heavily, every muscle in his body screaming in agony even as his muscles spasmed from overusing his Sandy. At this point in time his body could withstand nine to fourteen uses before his body began breaking, and he'd just blown past the thirtieth time.
He was sweating like he ran a marathon under the Badlands sun during high noon! It wasn't like he had to use the Sandy so many times either, especially in succession, he could've cleared the entire base with four to five uses if he was conservative and thinking straight. Especially with his augmented affinity for Cyberware. The problem was that…he wasn't thinking straight…he wasn't thinking of anything at all, except that they wouldn't take his family from him again.
User David focus on your breathing, your heart rate is spiking. Pinging Kitty Kiwi and Luna Lucy.
...Lucy...
...This is Experimental Direct Neuralink Apparatus or EDNA if you prefer, User David requires assistance. Please provide aid, his heart rate is dangerously high, and his entire body is under strain. The structural integrity of his cyber hand has failed, this unit's Sandevistan requires maintenance, and User David is dangerously dehydrated....
Part of her wanted to ignore the message from the unknown contact until it mentioned David, then she was on alert. Part of her wanted to overthink what the message said that it was an exaggeration, David could be a gonk at times, but he wasn't that bad. But then again David was pretty devoted to Becca, and seeing her hands stripped would probably make him do something rash.
A person in complete control doesn't skip straight to ripping a man's jaw off before carving canyons into another's face after all!
"I'm going to find David." Lucy said with Kiwi nodding as well.
"Becca is just outside the room." Kiwi said, "The others can take care of her. Let's find the kid."
Lucy nodded and the two Netrunners quickly left.
"Well… finding David will be easy…" Lucy said quietly, her eyes widening in surprise, "Just… follow the trail…"
Kiwi just nodded.
...Maine, bring the car around! David's in bad shape. We need a Ripper!...
...Dorio, help us with David please!...
...Pilar! Don't be a gonk and keep an eye out!...
...Becca, don't do anything stupid!...
After firing off those messages Lucy knelt down beside David, ignoring the dozens of bodies surrounding him. All ripped apart, like a psychotic cyber ninja with mantis blades came whirling in. Without even jacking into his BIOMON Lucy could tell David was in a bad way. His muscles were all twitching and spasming even as he focused on breathing and the Sandy was hot to the touch! The seams where flesh and metal met were blistering due to the heat, she could only imagine what it looked like on the inside!
"You better not die on me gonk!" Lucy whispered harshly, "You promised me!"
...David Martinez...
SYSTEM errors corrected
[Cleaning] Skill MAX
Two Titles unlocked
The Butcher [Blade skill gains increase by %50]
The Recycler [Components gains increased by %50]
Quest complete!
Calculating User damage
… Calculations complete
Estimated recovery time… five (5) days
The Operator, Silence, and Damnation schematics unlocked
Warning Damnation requires twenty (20) Body minimum to use to the fullest potential
Nervous System Damaged
Calculating…
Estimated recovery time three (3) days
Does User David wish to claim the Spider Den?
"Those… those are words. Spider Den?"
Does User David wish to claim the Spider Den?
Y/N
The Spider Den is the name of the bunker you discovered, User David. You should officially claim it to grant the [SYSTEM] access to it, allowing you access to the Base Building mechanic. As well as will prevent it from being discovered by anyone that you don't allow.
"Base building? Then why can't I do that to my apartment? Or… I don't own it, that's the problem, isn't it?"
Correct User David. The requirements to access the Base Building mechanic require the space to be either abandoned or you acquire the deed to the property/land. However, given scans of NC laws, the chances of you being able to acquire property through legal means are fairly minuscule. The Spider Den has been forgotten and abandoned by the previous owner and is thusly Free Real Estate for you to claim.
"Cool. Yeah, I'll claim the Spider Den. Now I'm going to get some more sleep…"
Sleep well User David, it will take six hours for the Spider Den to be claimed.