Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Valerie 'V' – Night City – Cyberpunk World.
"V! My girl!" I heard Jackie shout before I saw him, I just smiled through my teeth before turning in his direction.
"Two Silverhands." I told Claire immediately; she just nodded, and I headed towards Jackie.
"Jackie, look at you, Afterlife suits you." I teased Jackie with a smile as I sat down next to her in a secluded spot with few people around.
"Ha! I always expected to come here as part of the big leagues, as a mercenary, not as some damn Corpo of all things!" Jackie laughed mockingly. "And it's all your fault, Choom; you had to drag me into being a bodyguard for all things! And for your Output, no less! Obviously I had to accept!" Jackie said with a wide smile. I rolled my eyes.
"I already told you that my relationship with Minji isn't like that." I snorted; Jackie just smiled mockingly at me.
"Hermana, I saw you with her; she likes you, and you like her too." Jackie said confidently. I sighed, grateful for the implants that made it impossible for me to blush.
"Like you're an expert, Jackie," I said dryly. "How's Misty?" I asked immediately.
"We're doing great, really great," Jackie said with a much softer smile. "She was worried I'd become a mercenary, you know. She's happy with my position at Aperture Science," Jackie said, shrugging. "I admit, I had my doubts about joining a corporation, but really, Aperture... it's different from what I expected," he said honestly.
"I know, I really didn't expect to get hired at Aperture after working in counterintelligence for Arasaka, especially since I was in that damned tower when they carried out the attack." I said honestly. I still shuddered when I remembered that hellish day.
I had nothing against Aperture, not a shred of resentment for destroying Arasaka. I didn't owe Arasaka the kind of loyalty they demanded from their employees; I was just doing my job. But being caught in the middle of an attack on that scale, completely powerless, being swept away, and then watching the damned Arasaka tower collapse—yes, that was beyond shocking.
"And now you're at the top as a bodyguard for one of the most important people in Aperture, and then you dragged me along with you! How things change!" Jackie laughed. At that moment, Claire came with our drinks. We both thanked Claire, and I took a sip before sighing.
"I needed to hire someone else to defend Minji, and she left the job of hiring me. Her only request was that I wanted trustworthy people. I trusted you more than anyone else, Jackie." I said honestly as I raised my drink in her direction.
"V." Jackie said, moved. I smiled through my teeth.
"Besides, the benefits are really nice; you can't complain." I said suddenly, and Jackie burst out laughing.
"Yeah, next-generation chrome, all the weapons we want, really good pay, health insurance for the whole family, and actually humane working hours! Aperture sure knows how to take care of its people!" Jackie said jokingly, and I chuckled. Honestly, I could still feel the stress I felt working in counterintelligence in Arasaka, the endless shifts, and how I just kept going on pills and chrome.
One visit with the Aperture Lady GLaDOS left me feeling brand new, and it's the best trading card I've ever seen. It was truly amazing.
The days off were also wonderful. I didn't even know they existed, but it was something Aperture made sure to provide, even after a work week that was much shorter than expected.
So here we were now, on our day off, having a drink at Afterlife. As part of Minji's security detail, and her being a high-ranking member of Aperture, we were apparently on the list to come to Afterlife.
After Jackie found out, he insisted on coming at all costs on our next day off so he could see the city's big league mercenaries. I really had nothing against indulging Jackie's whim, not when he'd actually done me the huge favor of working with me, and here we were.
"So, you mentioned something yesterday about taking Misty somewhere," I said playfully as I settled in. Jackie's eyes sparkled.
"Oh yes! You and Minji should come! It'll be a double date!" Jackie said excitedly, almost bouncing in her seat. I sighed.
"Minji and I aren't like that." I repeated with a snort; Jackie just ignored me.
"We're going diving!" Jackie said excitedly. I stopped and blinked.
"Diving? Where? " I asked, almost incredulous.
"Laguna Bend!" Jackie said proudly. I blinked once more before frowning as I tried to remember where I had heard that name before.
"Laguna Bend? In the badlands? Isn't it like... super toxic? " I asked incredulously, finally remembering.
"It was toxic, choom, it was." Jackie said with a wide smile. My eyes widened.
"Have the machines already purified ALL of Laguna Bend?" I asked incredulously. I knew about terraforming, more than most; I worked for Aperture, I saw and heard things even as a bodyguard.
There was a huge graphic and holograms about the progress of the purification and terraforming of the planet in the Aperture building, but that was directed more toward the oceans and everything on a macro scale; I didn't know that the lagoons and lakes were also being purified just as quickly.
It was truly incredible. Everything that was being recovered thanks to Project Zero Dawn. Breathing in Night City was becoming easier and easier. You didn't notice it overnight, but you did notice that taking a deep breath in the middle of the street no longer made you cough or burn your damn lungs; instead, the air was now cleaner and cleaner.
And let's not even mention the plants and animals that were starting to appear in ever-increasing numbers. The birds. The damned birds. I still hadn't gotten used to hearing them fluttering back and forth in the middle of the city.
And I was sure that was happening all over the world. It had only been a few months, but the change was truly remarkable. It really gave me hope for what the world would be like in a couple of years.
All thanks to Aperture's machines. I mean, some of them were terrifying. Like the Tellneck or the Thunderjaw, those monsters were enormous. Whoever came up with the idea of creating dinosaurs was crazy, especially since the Thunderjaw was a combat class designed solely for destruction.
They were sent against those who attacked other Zero Dawn units. A very efficient way to send a message. Sending in a nearly indestructible metallic T-Rex with a laser in its mouth and missiles on its back. Yes, that sent a message.
"I know! I didn't believe it either! " Jackie said excitedly. "The thing is, Misty heard about this from one of Vik's patients. There's a Mox, I think her name was Julith, or Judith, who's doing guided scuba diving trips in Laguna Bend now that all that toxic crap is gone. Misty was interested; we called her, and next week we're going to see what it's all about." Jackie said excitedly.
"That... that really sounds nice," I said honestly. I mean, a couple's snorkeling trip sounded romantic, especially once you removed the toxic part from the water.
"I know! That's why you have to come, Choom! Invite your Output, and it'll be a double date! " Jackie said, with a wide smile. I groaned loudly.
"I already told you we're not like that." I moaned once again. "Although... Minji likes exploring different cities and countries, and she likes seeing nature and all that. I'm sure she'd like to dive—Jackie?" I turned to look at Jackie, who remained silent, and I saw him pale as his eyes widened. I went on alert, turned around immediately, and prepared to act, only to freeze. And I wasn't the only one. All of Afterlife had completely frozen as two people walked in as if they owned the place.
"Claire! Choom! It's been so long since we've seen each other! The usual for Lucy and me!" said a loud, short woman. A short woman who was impossible not to recognize. There weren't many women with turquoise hair, blue skin, and pink tattoos on their bodies.
Rebecca. The new Smasher. The one who'd crushed that damn Adam Smasher's head with a damn hammer. She'd practically killed him single-handedly and stolen his name. Smasher. That's what they called her these days.
And beside her stood Lucyna Kushinada. The Emperor Killer. The assassin of Saburo Arasaka and the rest of the Arasaka clan. No one seemed to move; they didn't even seem to want to breathe for fear of being noticed.
"Lucy, Rebecca." I turned to see Rogue, the queen of the Afterlife, emerge from her corner and confront two of the most infamous people in the world.
"Rouge! It's been so long!" Rebecca said cheerfully as she approached.
"You really have the nerve to return to Night City without a care in the world." Rogue said, raising an eyebrow. Rebecca smiled cheekily.
"We're out for a stroll, we have the week off, and we decided to stop by Night City," Rebecca said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Looking for trouble?" Rogue asked, narrowing her eyes. I could see her body tense. Rebecca's smile widened even more before she burst into laughter, and I felt my body shudder slightly. In fact, I wasn't the only one; I saw several of the supposed 'big league' mercenaries flinch at that laugh.
"Nah! We're not looking for trouble." Rebecca said with a smile before pointing a small, familiar hammer at Rogue. My eyes widened. Where did she get that thing?! When did she get it?! "But I like to finish them off." Rebecca said with a sinister smile. I could see everyone tense up completely; even one of the bodyguards seemed to be sweating as his hands gripped the weapons at his hips, considering whether to draw them on the damn Rebecca Smasher and Emperor Killer.
"Calm down, little monster." A deep, raspy voice said that I recognized immediately. I saw Maine appear behind Rebecca before placing a hand on her head and ruffling her hair. "Don't worry, Rogue, she's still the same annoying little runt she's always been," Maine said mockingly.
"Maine! Look at you, big guy! You look fantastic!" Rebecca said with a huge smile as she looked at Maine, the atmosphere practically breaking as Rebecca bounced and climbed onto Maine's shoulder.
"Becca! Lucy!" Sasha was next to shout. Rebecca's eyes lit up, and she rushed towards her. After hugging and greeting her, she looked at the rest.
"Boy! Look at yourself! You've grown! You almost look like a man!" Rebecca mocked as she looked at David, who smiled crookedly.
"Maine, it's good to see you all," Lucy said with a small smile as she approached the rest of the crew.
"Ha! And we thought you'd forgotten about us! You haven't visited us in months!" Pilar barked.
"Two months without seeing your ugly face, brother?! That's too short!" Rebecca mocked, hitting her brother's arm.
"Please, we already discussed this. I'm sexy, no matter what your Output says." Pilar complained with a pout. Everyone on the crew burst out laughing as if they remembered something, except Sasha, who looked confused.
"If I remember correctly, her words were, 'your face looks like a scrotum has grown too much hair,' and 'you have cybernetic arms because your fleshy hands got a restraining order for you playing too much solo.'" Dorio mocked with a wide grin. I snorted, trying to stifle a laugh before coughing as I looked away. Jackie didn't even try to hold it in; he let out a loud, booming laugh.
"No!" Sasha gasped, her eyes wide, before bursting into laughter.
"Oh, come on! Nobody was supposed to know about that!" Pilar complained in pain. Maine laughed huskily before turning to Rogue.
"It's just a reunion, Rogue, nothing will happen," Maine said calmly. Rogue glared at Maine before looking at Rebecca and Lucyna, and finally sighed.
"Fine," Rogue sighed, massaging her temple. "But don't break anything," she grunted, turning away. With that, Afterlife seemed to breathe again. Maine's crew just kept talking animatedly, walking to a corner as if it were a habit, before Maine stopped and turned to face us.
"V, Jackie, what a surprise to see you here," Maine said hoarsely. I felt my stomach drop. Especially when both Rebecca Smasher and the Emperor Killer turned their heads in unison and stared at me. I felt like they were scanning the very depths of my soul.
"Hey, Chooms, join us!" Rebecca said with a wide smile. A chill ran down my spine, and all the alarms in my head seemed to go off in unison, as if that smile belonged to a predator.
"Ha! We'll do it if it's not too much trouble!" Jackie said before I could speak. My eyes widened, and I quickly connected an urgent holo -call.
"Are you crazy?! You want to sit at the same table as Rebecca Smasher and the Emperor Killer?! " I yelled at Jackie over our private call.
"Yes!" Jackie exclaimed excitedly. "What's more! They're from the very top of Aperture, like, the super-secret one! They're on our side! Don't worry, V, they won't do anything to us! " Jackie said excitedly. I stopped to consider it.
If it had been in Arasaka, it would have been a really, really bad idea to associate with people who could easily kill you, especially if they wanted to climb the corporate ladder. But both Rebecca and Lucyna were already at the top, and I hadn't really seen any 'mysterious' deaths within Aperture that would explain those incidents.
"Fine, fuck it!" I grumbled in annoyance while sighing.
"If we're really not interrupting your meeting, we could join you." I said with a strained smile.
"Perfect! Come on! " Rebecca said cheerfully before continuing to walk. Jackie and I stood up and followed the group; everyone seemed to settle in immediately, as usual. Maine and Dorio sat together as always, but the ones who caught my attention were obviously the two most important people here.
Lucyna seemed to settle comfortably near one corner of the long sofa placed in this corner, and Rebecca sat on top of her. Well, not really; she sat on the other side of the corner, but instead of bumping her legs against Lucy's, she simply lifted them and placed them in her lap, something that Lucyna didn't seem to mind in the slightest.
Were they a couple? Maine had mentioned something about Rebecca's Output, and he didn't seem to be talking about Lucyna.
"So, you know each other?" Lucyna asked Maine before looking at us.
"We work together," Maine said, shrugging. "We're Sasha's bodyguards; they're Minji's. We've met several times at Aperture, and sometimes we work together," Maine said matter-of-factly.
"Oh yes! Maine and his crew have been good to us! Teaching us the trade and all that! " Jackie said quickly with a wide smile. Lucyna hummed, but seemed to be looking slightly into the air, as if she were looking at something.
"Only good things to say," Lucyna said, looking at both of us. Jackie seemed to puff out her chest proudly, then she raised an eyebrow and looked at me. "So much for Chrome compatibility, and you've got a modified Sandy Apogee running so fast?" Lucyna asked curiously. I made a slight face. Of course they'd have access to our files.
"Yes, although compatibility isn't really the most important thing, according to Ms. GLaDOS, Cyberware, regardless of the quantity, will be 100% compatible." I said, shrugging. "But apparently not everyone can adapt or be good at using them, especially Speedware. Even without rejection and cyberpsychosis, not everyone can adapt to them. Apparently, I'm quite good at adapting and using them." I said easily. Lucyna hummed and nodded.
"Ha! Pretty good? My sister is the best! " Jackie exclaimed. I looked at him urgently, but he just ignored me and put his arm around me. "She can use her cute military Sandy without any restrictions!" Jackie boasted as he shook me from side to side. Maine whistled in amazement.
"I knew you had a Sandy, like David and me, but I didn't know you were so good at using it. I tried using the modified Apogee, but I almost lost my mind; I had to switch back to a regular Sandy," Maine said, shaking his head before pointing at David. "You seem to have the same compatibility as the kid," Maine said. I stopped and looked at David curiously; he just smiled shyly.
"Apparently I'm built differently?" David said shyly. I simply nodded. I could understand. My compatibility and adaptability with cyberware was among the highest, if not the highest, within Aperture. That had opened up a vast array of possibilities for me.
Lady GLaDOS had given me a whole catalog of hundreds of cyberware programs that she could implant in my body without any difficulty. I'd been tempted by many of them. But I'd preferred to start slow. If you could call a highly modified military Sandy slow. Even so, Sandy already put me in the top percentile of threats.
"So, what have you guys been doing?" Dorio asked curiously as he began to drink.
"The same old thing: sex, killing some gonks, shooting others, more sex, a few jobs here and there, a bit of spying, and more sex, the usual," Rebecca said, shrugging before taking a drink.
"I don't need to know how many times you sleep with your boss," Pillar said with a disgusted grimace. Rebecca scoffed. Boss? The mysterious Serena Prince?! The leader of Aperture Science who hadn't reappeared? That... was a huge surprise.
"So, basically, they can't say anything to us." Kiwi snorted; Rebecca chuckled.
"We do what we must because we can," Rebecca said brazenly, and we all snorted loudly—that damn Aperture motto. I mean, they did it, and that was the worst part. Rebecca burst out laughing.
"Nothing really interesting happened," Lucyna said honestly, humming to herself. "It was... pretty calm. Even though most wars are fought in the shadows, Aperture doesn't really have a super-secret enemy or anything. We just run errands. We had a few encounters, but nothing we couldn't easily handle. " Lucyna shrugged.
"That's more boring than I expected!" complained Pilar. Lucyna chuckled.
"Leaving us out of it, you tell us!" Rebecca said excitedly. With that, the Maine crew began recounting anecdotes and situations from their time as Sasha's bodyguards. They included us too, so we also talked about our work. Jackie, in particular, was really excited to share everything, while I added a few details here and there.
The atmosphere calmed considerably as the hours passed and we talked and drank. As Maine had mentioned, we had actually worked together, but since we each had people to protect in different sectors, we didn't really talk much.
But it was clear that the Maine crew was quite nice, and after the initial shock, Rebecca and Lucyna seemed like just another crew member; it was really pleasant, and Jackie was having a wonderful time.
"So what's the deal with the space race announcement? Is it really true? Is there a possibility we'll go to space? Because I want to be one of the first!" Pilar asked, leaning forward excitedly. I raised an eyebrow and paid closer attention.
The announcement of Aperture Science's space program came completely out of the blue two days ago. Minji knew absolutely nothing about it; in fact, no one on the board knew about it. We found out at the same time as everyone else, when GLaDOS simply released the announcement to the public.
Then GLaDOS apparently gave the board of directors a research budget and a large sum of money that was practically all of Aperture's profits, and told them to create a department dedicated to it.
"Oh, that? Hadn't GLaDOS already figured it out? I'm pretty sure she'd finished studying the Jump Drives." Rebecca said, slightly drunk, then blinked and her drunkenness vanished instantly. We all stared at her in disbelief.
"You just said-"
"I didn't say anything," Rebecca said as she lay back lazily, interrupting Maine incredulously.
"No, no, no, you can't take back what you just said," Pilar said quickly. Rebecca grimaced and looked at Lucyna.
"Don't look at me, you're the one who got yourself into this mess," Lucyna said, taking a sip from her glass, completely amused by the situation. It seemed she wasn't even bothered that such confidential information had been revealed. Rebecca pouted in her direction, but she ignored it.
Only… Jump Drives existed?! Until now they were purely theoretical! The ability to perform superluminal displacements at the speed of light was something completely inconceivable that no one had been able to solve.
And Aperture already had that technology?! What… what other technologies did they have hidden?! First global terraforming, and now jump drive technology. I was simply… speechless.
"Tch, you're useless," Rebecca complained. Lucyna just hummed amusedly. "Listen, Gonk, nothing leaves here, got it?" Rebecca hissed and... pulled her hammer out of somewhere and pointed it at all of us. I froze completely. "Or I'll start smashing heads!" Rebecca growled.
"You won't." Lucyna said, and Rebecca groaned.
"I'm trying to intimidate them!" Rebecca complained, and Lucyna just smiled amusedly.
"To the crew? Believe me, you're not doing it; they know you too well," Lucyna mocked. Everyone shrugged and nodded. Rebecca groaned loudly.
"Fine! Yes, the technology is complete! But nobody knows! GLaDOS will gradually filter or help guide research in the right direction over the years until it's achieved more 'naturally'." Rebecca said, making air quotes with her fingers.
"What? Why? If they have the technology, wouldn't it be better to launch it directly? It's just... space!" Jackie said in surprise; Rebecca just snorted.
"We could barely take care of this world; do you think we'll take care of others?" Rebecca scoffed, and we all grimaced at that. "Aperture is healing this world; people have to appreciate it and appreciate the journey until they reach the point they deserve it when they get there," Rebecca said. "Or something like that, I didn't quite understand, plans from above." She shrugged.
"We could launch jump drive technology right now, and it would only trigger another corporate war." Lucyna said matter-of-factly. We all shuddered, not because of the war itself, but because of how it would turn out. Aperture was able to destroy Arasaka in less than a day. Even if all the corporations joined forces, they wouldn't be able to stand against them.
But the corporations wouldn't go down quietly, and I really didn't want to know how much the other corporations were willing to pay to bring Aperture down with them. The planet was healing thanks to Aperture; I really didn't want it to be contaminated again, or worse, if the corporations decided to start launching nukes indiscriminately.
"I hate that you're right!" Pilar complained, pouting.
"I just hope they don't take too long; seeing other planets sounds... fun." Kiwi said, intrigued. Rebecca just shrugged.
"Just don't die and you'll surely make it," Rebecca said easily. "Now, forget about that! Not a word, and someone get more drinks! " Rebecca exclaimed. I could only blink.
Other planets… huh? Minji will want to visit them? I'll have to make plans for that.
Author's Notes: For those who forgot, Minji is Song so Mi; she changed her name to hide from the NUSA.
Okay, long chapter! I wasn't going to include anything from Cyberpunk, but after watching the Edgerunners 2 trailer, I just ended up writing this, so here we are! With this, I should have finished the POVs, unless I'm forgetting something.