2076.01.01, 00:01Night City Flashing lights cut through sheets of heavy rain, far off fireworks and distant neon advertisements mingling in bright sprays of color among the dark and storm. Pink and cyan starbursts, blossoms of Arasaka crimson and Militech yellow. The dull thumps of the largest fireworks sound moments later, interspersed with the staccato rattle of celebratory gunfire from gonks and gangers alike. A cheery voice sounds through your cheap earbuds, piped in from your agent’s feed of N54.“ . . . Happy New Years, Night City! Here’s to 2076, another neon bright year in the City of Dreams! Grab that someone special and . . .”Blinking and cursing as a few heavy rain drops land in your ‘ganic eyes, you look away from the overhead show and pull the cheap plastic hood of your transparent single-use raincoat tighter. For a few more minutes you just walk like that, hood tight and head down, alone and cold and hardly paying attention to the droning newsfeed in your ears.” . . . NiCola! Taste the love! . . . Welcome back to N54 news. As new year celebrations enter into full swing in Night City, tragedy has already struck the Kabuki marketplace in Watson. The NCPD is reporting an ongoing cyber-psycho situation, with casualties reported as already reaching as high as thirty four and expected to grow. Stay safe out there, Night City! Now a word from our sponsor, Budget Arms . . . ”With a flick of your thumb you kill the feed to your Agent, swiping drops of water from its screen. It’s an old model, a little metal box about the size of a deck of cards with a flat screen and no flare to speak of - it’s a decade out of date, but it still runs half decent encryption. Not much else positive to say about it. Stepping under the patchy sheet metal awning of a closed scop shop, you take a moment to check your messages. “Out alone, kid?” A scratchy voice asks from within the rolled down security mesh of the shop’s counter, interrupting you. Turning, you spy a tired looking asian man sitting in a white plastic chair concealed in the shadows of the closed shop. Only the light of a mobile comp illuminates him, barely enough to make out an old Militech tattoo on his arm and the silhouette of a stubby pump shotgun laying across his lap. “...Yeah.” You admit, refraining from getting any closer to the steel mesh, “Mind if I stand here for a sec?” “Free country, kid. Do whatever you want.” The man replies gruffly, tapping away at the keyboard of his comp for a moment with one hand, “...Get kicked out?”“Mm. Sort of.” You half mumble back. It’s none of his fucking business, but you’re not half gonk enough to say that to a stranger cradling a shotgun.Finally you check your lone message.
Voting Choices:>”Yo, where you at choom?! Heard your chromehead uncle freaked and kicked you out. Crazy shit, hope he doesn’t short completely. Always thought his MaxTac stories were nova. Anyway, you can come crash at my place in japantown. Just moved in yesterday. That job I was talking about went off clean, got a fist full of eddies - Two fists! Easy fucking work, I’ve been trying to tell you!” [Streetkid Background] Your friend Dolf is a real one. It sounds like those ‘jobs’ he was getting from that old lady in Westbrook worked out. Maybe that’s not a bad play?>”BRING MY RIDE BACK RIGHT THE FUCK NOW YOU WORTHLESS BRAT! I’LL BE OUT MORE EDDIES THAN YOU’LL EVER BE WORTH IF MISS THIS SHIPMENT! I SHOULD HAVE ABORTED YOU!” [Nomad Background]Thanks, mom. Fuck you and all the other Wraiths too, I learned from the worst. Your (stolen) modded Thornton Colby and immuno-blocker shipment inside of it are stashed safely for now, but you only had the eddies to cover the garage for two days. Need to find a buyer, fast.>”Please come home. You know I say gonk things when I’m tired. It’s the double shifts, I’m not mad at you. Sorry for being an asshole earlier. …You’re missing the fireworks. I know you like watching them from Kabuki. I’m on duty there now, they have me lurking out of a van again. If you get back tonight we can watch them together. I’ll get someone to cover for me.” [NCPD/Corpo Background]You’re still angry, but dad’s a good guy. It was a dumb argument, too heated. That’s been happening a lot in the last year, ever since mom got too sick to work for BioTechnica and had to go to that clinic in Stockholm… NCPD isn’t easy to work for, even for a netrunner. If you phone post or otherwise have your ID change please link back to earlier votes/posts to help identify you.
>>5829973>”Please come home. You know I say gonk things when I’m tired. It’s the double shifts, I’m not mad at you. Sorry for being an asshole earlier. …You’re missing the fireworks. I know you like watching them from Kabuki. I’m on duty there now, they have me lurking out of a van again. If you get back tonight we can watch them together. I’ll get someone to cover for me.” [NCPD/Corpo Background]
>>5829973>”Yo, where you at choom?! Heard your chromehead uncle freaked and kicked you out. Crazy shit, hope he doesn’t short completely. Always thought his MaxTac stories were nova. Anyway, you can come crash at my place in japantown. Just moved in yesterday. That job I was talking about went off clean, got a fist full of eddies - Two fists! Easy fucking work, I’ve been trying to tell you!” [Streetkid Background]
>>5829973>”Yo, where you at choom?! Heard your chromehead uncle freaked and kicked you out. Crazy shit, hope he doesn’t short completely. Always thought his MaxTac stories were nova. Anyway, you can come crash at my place in japantown. Just moved in yesterday. That job I was talking about went off clean, got a fist full of eddies - Two fists! Easy fucking work, I’ve been trying to tell you!” [Streetkid Background]Going for that generic street sam build.
>>5829973>”Please come home. You know I say gonk things when I’m tired. It’s the double shifts, I’m not mad at you. Sorry for being an asshole earlier. …You’re missing the fireworks. I know you like watching them from Kabuki. I’m on duty there now, they have me lurking out of a van again. If you get back tonight we can watch them together. I’ll get someone to cover for me.” [NCPD/Corpo Background]The law.
>>5829973>>”Yo, where you at choom?! Heard your chromehead uncle freaked and kicked you out. Crazy shit, hope he doesn’t short completely. Always thought his MaxTac stories were nova. Anyway, you can come crash at my place in japantown. Just moved in yesterday. That job I was talking about went off clean, got a fist full of eddies - Two fists! Easy fucking work, I’ve been trying to tell you!” [Streetkid Background]
>>5829973>”BRING MY RIDE BACK RIGHT THE FUCK NOW YOU WORTHLESS BRAT! I’LL BE OUT MORE EDDIES THAN YOU’LL EVER BE WORTH IF MISS THIS SHIPMENT! I SHOULD HAVE ABORTED YOU!” [Nomad Background]I have a great feeling about this quest!
>>5829973>”BRING MY RIDE BACK RIGHT THE FUCK NOW YOU WORTHLESS BRAT! I’LL BE OUT MORE EDDIES THAN YOU’LL EVER BE WORTH IF MISS THIS SHIPMENT! I SHOULD HAVE ABORTED YOU!” [Nomad Background]
>>5829973>”Please come home. You know I say gonk things when I’m tired. It’s the double shifts, I’m not mad at you. Sorry for being an asshole earlier. …You’re missing the fireworks. I know you like watching them from Kabuki. I’m on duty there now, they have me lurking out of a van again. If you get back tonight we can watch them together. I’ll get someone to cover for me.” [NCPD/Corpo Background]LETS GO!
>>5829973>>”Please come home. You know I say gonk things when I’m tired. It’s the double shifts, I’m not mad at you. Sorry for being an asshole earlier. …You’re missing the fireworks. I know you like watching them from Kabuki. I’m on duty there now, they have me lurking out of a van again. If you get back tonight we can watch them together. I’ll get someone to cover for me.” [NCPD/Corpo Background]>You’re still angry, but dad’s a good guy. It was a dumb argument, too heated. That’s been happening a lot in the last year, ever since mom got too sick to work for BioTechnica and had to go to that clinic in Stockholm… NCPD isn’t easy to work for, even for a netrunner.ncpd netrunner? that's going to be a purgatory. Let's do this.
>>5830006Just to be clear, it is that option's father who is an NCPD netrunner. It is so much worse than purgatory. At least it isn't NetWatch. Voting will be open for one more hour.
>>5829973>>”Please come home. You know I say gonk things when I’m tired. It’s the double shifts, I’m not mad at you. Sorry for being an asshole earlier. …You’re missing the fireworks. I know you like watching them from Kabuki. I’m on duty there now, they have me lurking out of a van again. If you get back tonight we can watch them together. I’ll get someone to cover for me.” [NCPD/Corpo Background]
>>5829969>>”Please come home. You know I say gonk things when I’m tired. It’s the double shifts, I’m not mad at you. Sorry for being an asshole earlier. …You’re missing the fireworks. I know you like watching them from Kabuki. I’m on duty there now, they have me lurking out of a van again. If you get back tonight we can watch them together. I’ll get someone to cover for me.” [NCPD/Corpo Background]
>>5830041>>5830026>>5830020>>5830006>>5829995>>5829991>>5829990>>5829978>>5829974>>5830071NCPD/Corpo background.>>5830014>>5829994>>5829992Nomad background.>>5829980>>5829977>>5829975Streetkid background.NCPD/Corpo wins in a landslide. Writing.
>>5830072Time to get on that grind
>>5830041>>5830026>>5830020>>5830006>>5829995>>5829991>>5829990>>5829978>>5829974>>5830071As your eyes scan over the yellow text, your heart sinks. It’s from your father.“Please come home. You know I say gonk things when I’m tired. It’s the double shifts, I’m not mad at you. Sorry for being an asshole earlier. …You’re missing the fireworks. I know you like watching them from Kabuki. I’m on duty there now, they have me lurking out of a van again. If you get back tonight we can watch them together. I’ll get someone to cover for me.”Sighing unhappily you start to tap back a response on the touch screen, beginning and then deleting it several times. What the hell are you supposed to say? The cursor flashes, waiting patiently for your next attempt, cold and lifeless but somehow judging you all the same. Fuck. Fuck! It was a gonk argument. Dad’s right. It wasn’t even about anything in particular. Mom, work, school, your ‘chooms’ that ditched you as soon as you had to move so dad could still make rent… If it’s anyone’s fault its fucking BioTechnica, they couldn’t even run a lab right.Clenching the cold metal of your agent tightly, you stand quietly and close your eyes. You just need a moment to think. A few silent moments pass, only the distant thumps of fireworks and strings of gunfire cutting through the pitter patter of falling rain.“Going to stand here all night, kid?” The man behind the mesh asks, “I can fire up the stove if you need a bite, gotta charge extra though. Didn’t think anyone but gangs’d be out here tonight.”“No, I’m good. Thanks, choom.” You reply disinterestedly, still transfixed by the screen of your agent and the empty message waiting to be sent. What to say?”I’m sorry too. I’ll take the NCART over, see you in half an hour dad.” With a final tap you send the little message off across the net, bouncing between god knows how many systems before it reaches your father.A low droning thrum fills the air, shaking some of the loose pots and pans inside the closed scop shop as the rain cuts out suddenly and an immense shadow passes overhead. One of DTR’s cargo airship, a gargantuan hunk of metal, spotlights, and flashing billboards cutting across the sky. The fireworks must look like old school flak from way up there, like one of those ancient world war BD’s dad used to watch back when you saw him for more than a few minutes a day. Back when you didn’t argue for those few minutes. You miss that, bad. “Fucking flight floors don’t mean anything these days, piece of shit DTR gonks-” The scop man grumbles, standing from his chair to pick up some of the fallen dishes. None of your biz. You turn to leave, stepping out into the temporarily darker, rainless street. A few more steps out into the puddles and muck and the airship passes by completely, rain and murky neon flashes filling the cloudy night sky once more.
>>5830185Checking your agent’s rain slick screen, you locate the nearest NCART station on its map and plot a path - Only a few hundred meters, practically just around the corner. No need for a map then, easy directions. Making your way past a pod hotel and an awful looking sex shop covered in ancient neon, you’re soon near the concrete stairs leading up to the NCART line. It’s a quiet ride back to little china, only a couple of other passengers on the maglev. No one riding right now is in a good place in their life, that’s just not how it works. A chromed up woman wearing bright white and red and sporting blades for legs, a bearded hobo wearing a faded synthleather coat that saw its best years back when the sky was still bleeding red… Great company for a half-hearted runaway in a plastic jacket. Lights flash by the windows of the moving maglev, signs and screens outside wishing a ‘happy new year’ and already pushing new product lines. They can’t even wait a few minutes before shoving it right down everyone’s throats again.Checking your agent you find that there isn’t a response from your dad. Weird. It only takes him a thought to send something over his link… You send another message. A minute passes, still no response. Huh. Maybe he’s busy. Kabuki can be pretty rough sometimes, he might be zapping some ganger’s chrome. Yeah, that’s probably it. Just taking out the trash like usual, that’s him. Something stirs faintly in your memory, but you let it pass. As the maglev hums slowly to a halt at the next station and the doors hiss open, the hobo exits. Leaving just you and that Tyger Claw looking chick with metal spikes for lower legs. Fantastic.She’s… glancing at you? Maybe you’re imagining things. >Just keep to yourself, it’s only a few more stops. Dad always told you to keep your head low.>”Hi.” What the fuck is compelling you to talk? Blow a circuit or something? Oh shit, there you go saying even more!
>>5830191>”Hi.” What the fuck is compelling you to talk? Blow a circuit or something? Oh shit, there you go saying even more!
>>5830191>Just keep to yourself, it’s only a few more stops. Dad always told you to keep your head low.The sensible option.
>>5830191>Give her a friendly noncommittal smile if she keeps looking
>>5830191>”Hi.” What the fuck is compelling you to talk? Blow a circuit or something? Oh shit, there you go saying even more!I like the idea of playing a well-meaning kid with a big mouth
>>5830191>Just keep to yourself, it’s only a few more stops. Dad always told you to keep your head low.
Voting will be open for one more hour.
>>5830191>>Just keep to yourself, it’s only a few more stops. Dad always told you to keep your head low
>”Hi.” What the fuck is compelling you to talk? Blow a circuit or something? Oh shit, there you go saying even more!
>>5830301>>5830229>>5830200>>5830198Hi!>>5830290>>5830281>>5830239>>5830235>>5830201Keep quiet.Keeping quiet. Writing.>>5830229Still very possible, it's a classic.
You lower your head further, pretending not to pay attention to the blade-legged woman. Dad always said it’s best to keep your head down in situations like this, lay low and keep quiet until there’s a decent path out. Not that you’re afraid of gangers, or chrome, or… okay, you might be a little scared of chromed up gangers - you’ve seen crime scene photos before, even a few in real life at a distance. Someone with as much chrome as that Tyger is sporting could turn your intestines into outestines faster than you could blink, wouldn’t even need a weapon. Half of it has got to be black market… But she’s smiling? Rather pretty actual- No, no, fuck that gonk idea, keep quiet. No eye contact. Dad taught you better.You bury your face in your Agent, suddenly overwhelmed with an immense need to find out what the weather is going to be like next week. N54, weather forecast, next week - Well, what do you know, more rain! How about other news? What’s going on in Watson, yeah, that’s a good one to check. Cyber-psycho on the loose? You start to read further than the headline, but a shift in the ganger woman’s posture pulls your attention back up.…She is staring right at you, leaning way over, head held in her sleek cyberhands and red elbows resting on her knees as an amused smile spreads across her face. There’s no mistaking that.Is she just fucking with you? Seeing if she can get some kid to jump? That’s what gangers do, right? Intimidate people for entertainment, see what noises they make before they give up all their eddies and beg not to die. …Or maybe she’s just dead bored, there’s no one else in the car. The maglev comes to a slow halt once more, dooring hissing apart to allow a few more people on board. No one special, just more street people - not gangers, not suits, some bright colors and a little chrome here and there but otherwise totally unremarkable. They space out fairly evenly, as is the unspoken tradition, everyone desperately trying not to ever so much as bump into one another. Normally that’s not possible, NCART is always rife with shard kleppers and pickpockets, but people still try.
>>5830460Another stop passes, and another, the car slowly filling up. Just one more stop. At long last the signs outside the maglev’s windows are truly familiar, the distant neon of a Mac N’ Cheezus strangely calming. Standing up from the cheap plastic seating, you move toward the opening door along with a few of the other passengers… and the staring woman. She smiles again and you blink, freezing up for a quarter second before hurrying along.Click, click, click. Sharp metal impacts sound with every step she takes, combat limbs making tiny marks on the floor of the maglev car and then the harshly illuminated concrete of the station outside. You hurry ahead with a few more normal looking pedestrians, a couple even sharing your terrible choice to buy a cheap single use raincoat - and all probably regretting it just as much. They always get holes after an hour or two, but the machines are convenient.A quick jaunt down the stairs and you’re out of the station and back into the rain - and more crowded foot traffic. A lot more crowded. Sparklers defiantly resist the drenching rain, neon umbrellas light up the streets, and even few fireworks are being set off at street level. There’s even a couple of badges, you might know some of them but it’s hard to make out their faces in the rain and flashing lights.Still no response from dad, and that Tyger Claw woman is heading in the same direction as you. She’s talking to someone, probably on holo. You can just barely make out her side of the conversation, listening closely between the pops and bangs of fireworks and constant thrum of falling rain.”Chill, I’m nearly to the AO. Detes, now. No. …No! Screw doing a roll up. Flatline only or no job. I’m not sticking my neck out over some washed up MaxTac, pigs should clean up their own mess… No, you wouldn’t fucking dare, leave her out of… Kuso!”>Head right to Kabuki marketplace, it’s not a long walk from here. A few minutes at most, even in heavy rain. You’re not spooked by some chromed woman staring, dad didn’t raise a coward.>Drop by the local NCPD precinct for a minute or two. Better safe than sorry, and you know most everyone there through your dad. Maybe they can contact him?>Write-in.
>>5830467>Head right to Kabuki marketplace, it’s not a long walk from here. A few minutes at most, even in heavy rain. You’re not spooked by some chromed woman staring, dad didn’t raise a coward.Oh god no, every white man's greatest fear, a sexually aggressive Asian woman
>>5830467>Head right to Kabuki marketplace, it’s not a long walk from here. A few minutes at most, even in heavy rain. You’re not spooked by some chromed woman staring, dad didn’t raise a coward.
>>5830467>Drop by the local NCPD precinct for a minute or two. Better safe than sorry, and you know most everyone there through your dad. Maybe they can contact him?
>>5830467>>Head right to Kabuki marketplace, it’s not a long walk from here. A few minutes at most, even in heavy rain. You’re not spooked by some chromed woman staring, dad didn’t raise a coward.
>>5830467>Drop by the local NCPD precinct for a minute or two. Better safe than sorry, and you know most everyone there through your dad. Maybe they can contact him?Weird of him not to respond, better to check in?
Voting closes in one hour.
>>5830477>>5830478>>5830503Direct to Kabuki marketplace.>>5830479>>5830523Stop by the precinct. Direct to Kabuki marketplace. Writing.
Shaking your head you press on through the crowd, only occasionally catching glimpses of the red woman among the foot traffic and veritable sea of brightly lit umbrellas near mega-building eleven. Whatever it is she’s headed off to, that’s her biz. Usually when someone yaps on the holo about flatlining some gonk you’d assume it was a load of bullshit, but flashing that much obvious combat chrome and those Tyger Claw colors? Something tells you she's not pretending.There’s something going down in the direction of Kabuki. You bite at your lip nervously, feeling that you’re forgetting something really important. There was something on N54 about that earlier, wasn’t there? You weren’t paying much attention, too lost in your own thoughts and sulking. As you get closer to the iconic multi-tiered marketplace the street and foot traffic are thinning out, but the rain and fireworks keep pace - if anything they’re growing more intense. Closer. Weird ass fireworks to sound like that, almost like gunfire. No, that’s definitely gunfire. Long bursts, erratic and echoing. Any gonk who’s relived a decent action BD could pick it out.Squinting through the vibrantly colored crowd, you make out the red and blue flashing lights of NCPD police cruisers blocking some of the foot paths ahead. A few officers in full tactical gear are keeping a small crowd back from the line, a dozen more pointing guns inward toward the alleys and footpaths leading to the marketplace. A trauma team AV is even circling further in past the alleys and buildings, probably right over the multi-tiered marketplace, stubby little jets burning blue in the wash of rain. It’s not alone. Three of the flying white and blue bricks are orbiting the marketplace, spotlights pointed toward the center, each steadily tracking something.
>>5830785Your pace slows to a crawl, and then a sudden splashing halt. The towering silhouette of mega-building eleven and bright firework blossoms reflect murkily in the puddle near your feet.A cyber-psycho.A cyber-psycho is on the loose in Kabuki marketplace in Watson, and has been for at least half an hour. There were thirty one casualties half an hour ago. That’s longer than usual, a lot longer. That Tyger Claw woman said something about washed up MaxTac. Where the hell is current MaxTac?Where the hell is your dad? Your heartbeat quickens as an edge of panic begins to set in, horrifying possibilities flashing through your mind. …He’d make it out, right? You have to find out.>Approach the police line, you might know some of them. It’s a tense situation but they might talk to a familiar face. Or they might just shoo you off even more vigorously, they’re a really protective bunch. …Shit, if Vicky is there she might even try to babysit you ‘for your own good’.>...Is that Tyger Claw chick climbing up a fire escape? Actually that’s not a half bad idea, you could get a really good view of what’s going on from on top of a building, maybe spot the van your dad was supposed to be lurking out of.>That police cruiser over there is really, really empty looking and the door is open. You could just slip right in and scour the field comp. Check activity on the NCPD’s local sub-net. Dad showed you how, don’t even need a deck if you know the codes… which you do. You’re not supposed to. Repost to fix some syntax errors.
>>5830788>That police cruiser over there is really, really empty looking and the door is open. You could just slip right in and scour the field comp. Check activity on the NCPD’s local sub-net. Dad showed you how, don’t even need a deck if you know the codes… which you do. You’re not supposed to.
>>5830788>That police cruiser over there is really, really empty looking and the door is open. You could just slip right in and scour the field comp. Check activity on the NCPD’s local sub-net. Dad showed you how, don’t even need a deck if you know the codes… which you do. You’re not supposed to.And if they're anything like IRL cops there's probably a spare pistol or shotgun in between the seats
>>5830788>That police cruiser over there is really, really empty looking and the door is open. You could just slip right in and scour the field comp. Check activity on the NCPD’s local sub-net. Dad showed you how, don’t even need a deck if you know the codes… which you do. You’re not supposed to. This had the added advantage of keeping us out of sight.
>>5830788>That police cruiser over there is really, really empty looking and the door is open. You could just slip right in and scour the field comp. Check activity on the NCPD’s local sub-net. Dad showed you how, don’t even need a deck if you know the codes… which you do. You’re not supposed to.Like father like son
>>5830788>That police cruiser over there is really, really empty looking and the door is open. You could just slip right in and scour the field comp. Check activity on the NCPD’s local sub-net. Dad showed you how, don’t even need a deck if you know the codes… which you do. You’re not supposed to. Although I’m not very thrilled at possibility of this landing us in trouble later on, I guess it’s best shot at being able to actually learn what’s going on…
>>5830788>>That police cruiser over there is really, really empty looking and the door is open. You could just slip right in and scour the field comp. Check activity on the NCPD’s local sub-net. Dad showed you how, don’t even need a deck if you know the codes… which you do. You’re not supposed to.
>>5830788>Approach the police line, you might know some of them. It’s a tense situation but they might talk to a familiar face. Or they might just shoo you off even more vigorously, they’re a really protective bunch. …Shit, if Vicky is there she might even try to babysit you ‘for your own good’.
>>5831036>>5831031>>5830928>>5830877>>5830842>>5830835>>5830798>>5830793Police cruiser.>>5831055Line. Police cruiser wins. Writing.
You have to find out what’s going on, and you can. Dad showed you how to work the field comps NCPD keeps in their cruisers, and even some of the codes to access their sub-net. It’s risky, but there’s an empty cruiser just over at the end of the line and the officers are busy managing the small crowd gathered nearby. You’d call them gonks for wanting to get so close to a psycho attack, but they probably have people stuck in there too. Another long string of gunfire sounds from the direction of the marketplace, a rapid beat of echoing pops and then the dying scream of a synthetic vocalizer - a drawn out shriek of agony and terror cut off as abruptly as it started. A chill runs down your spine, but you shake the feeling and press on into the small crowd. Slipping by a few other worried people clutching umbrellas, you reach to the cruiser with the open door, nearly losing your balance as you slide the last few meters across slick concrete and into the waiting driver’s seat. More gunfire market ways has everyone distracted, nervous eyes and guns trained keenly on the alleyways. You do recognize a few of the cops. Vicky, Barry, Andrew - familiar faces, but not ones you want spotting you right now. You shut the cruiser’s door quietly and slide low and out of sight of prying eyes, careful to hide before scouring the comp. It’s a ruggedized field model, with a full retro keyboard for anyone without a jack to use. A few taps and a couple of codes-you-shouldn’t-know later and you’ve got access to the NCPD sub-net. Working it like this without a deck or even a link is slow, an absolute crawl, but manual operation gets the job done eventually. After a minute or two you’ve got a live feed of NCPD’s secured comms and even a few griffin drones inside the marketplace. If you wanted to you could even seize control of one of griffins, there's a local control override, but that’s a really fucking gonk idea.
>>5831108Glancing over the running streams of text and reports, you begin to take it all in....Cyber-Psycho situation in Kabuki marketplace in Watson… One suspect… Close perimeter at all entrances... Seventy-eight civilian casualties… Seventy-nine casualties… Eighty… Fifteen officers down…Your eyes remain locked on that officer count. Fifteen. There aren’t any names here, you have to go deeper in for that. Checking the camera feeds on the drones, you flick between each one with a slowly growing dread. Half a dozen are static filled, damaged and grounded at strange angles, half sunk in puddles or cracked and tilted uselessly skyward. There’s only three still flying, maintaining their distance above the scattered body and pooling crimson mixing with rainwater - Kabuki has been turned into a nightmare. A pair of cruisers are burnt out wrecks, and your stomach churns briefly as one drone’s camera pans over a pair of bisected and crushed officers, reduced to piles of viscera and blue. The drone is still automatically pinging their IFF tags and flatlined biomonitors. You almost wretch, looking away from the screen and unable to bear anymore.But of course you have to look back.The picture tears briefly as a drone pans its camera over rapidly, vibrating and jolting soundlessly as rapid flashes appear at the bottom of the screen. It is shooting, straining to track a blue-ish green blur running across the market’s second pagoda-esque tier, shattering neon signs and filling the empty shop fronts with sprays of gunfire. A few rounds strike true, sparking uselessly of armored limbs, and the blur slows, coalescing briefly into the form of a bulky man in tattered tactical gear. His arm twitches, something dark rapidly fills the viewscreen, and the drone’s feed cuts. Two drones left then. You check for other updates, but it’s just the same as a minute ago and only growing worse.MaxTac delayed. No ETA. All sub-cons contacted.Hands shaking, you finally managed to find the biomonitor tracking for officers on the sub-net, filtering through the list of red flatlines and green pulses until you locate your father. No, no. That’s got to be an error. That shouldn’t be red.…Not dad.>Exit the cruiser. Find somewhere to sit down and die. This can’t be happening.>Double check. Maybe there’s a daemon in the system or it’s just glitching out, it’s got to be something else. How do you check for that though?>//Griffin Unit 07 Control Field Override - Master Arm On - Engage Suspect//
>>5831110>//Griffin Unit 07 Control Field Override - Master Arm On - Engage Suspect//
>>5831110>//Griffin Unit 07 Control Field Override - Master Arm On - Engage Suspect//I normally would vote to not commit cyberpsycho assisted suicide for our mother's sake, but since we are here in the middle of the marketplace, it's too late for that.
>>5831110>//Griffin Unit 07 Control Field Override - Master Arm On - Engage Suspect//Our goal is clear - kill the chromed-our psycho who killed dad
>>5831110>>Double check. Maybe there’s a daemon in the system or it’s just glitching out, it’s got to be something else. How do you check for that though?wouldn't it be nice if we accidentally tripped on something that triggered the cyberpsycho attack in the first place?
>>5831110>>//Griffin Unit 07 Control Field Override - Master Arm On - Engage Suspect//
One more hour for voting.
>>5831110>Double check. Maybe there’s a daemon in the system or it’s just glitching out, it’s got to be something else. How do you check for that though?
>>5831212>>5831172>>5831156Double check the system.>>5831166>>5831157>>5831125>>5831113>>5831112Drone go brrrrrrtDrone it is. Writing.
>>5831166>>5831157>>5831125>>5831113>>5831112No. No! Fuck that over chromed circ-brain, you’re going to flatline the bastard! Hands shaking with rage, you select the manual override for one of the Griffins and execute the takeover with an angry clack of the enter key. The drone’s live feed expands to fill the entire wide screen of the comp, HUD information appearing near the corners and alongside a central crosshair. Dad let you fly one before, for a couple of minutes, but you weren’t allowed to shoot anything - you were told to never, under any circumstances, turn on this system. Sorry, dad, this is for you.Master Arm On.You don’t know what you’re doing past this point, and honestly you don’t fucking care. How hard can it be to figure it out? Sitting up further in the driver’s seat of the cruiser, you lean forward a little to get a better grip on the awkward keyboard and trackpad controls. The Griffin’s camera bobs and dips erratically for longer than you’d like as you struggle to remember how to move it about, it’s a little like a VR game and a lot not like it at all - this keyboard control is retro in the worst ways. What’re all these numbers off to the sides? …Fuel, altitude, air speed… makes sense… and the flashing one is ammo? Probably ammo. No time to figure it all out - that psycho is blurring around the market again in violent bursts, erratic explosions of movement launching him from place to place. Atop a shot out sign here, into a burning shop there, back out onto the bloody street below. “Fuck it,” You mutter angrily, pushing the drone forward through the heavy rain, sending it careening toward where the blood soaked killer. He’s lit up from overhead, those Trauma Team AV’s overhead are spotlighting him but aren’t shooting. Fucking shoot you gonks, you have cannons!
>>5831282Fine then, you’ll shoot. The Griffin shakes and rattles as it lets loose, blue bright streams of tracer fire flashing out and stippling the concrete walls and street with every pulverizing shot. A storm of lead follows its red crosshair. That red cross chases the blur of the psycho across Kabuki marketplace, struggling and failing to keep ahead of him, failing to track, failing to hit anything but the ground. The ammo counter whizzes down, 540, 510, 480. Thumb sized holes are blasted in half shattered windows and graffiti covered red walls, the chairs and tables of a cafe front are swept away in the torrent of fire, and even a car gets the Bonnie and Clyde treatment - but not that psycho bastard! He’s too fast, leaping from place to place, always behind some steel bollard or concrete barrier, never sitting still. You can’t hit him like this, you can barely even see him. 390, 360, 330. There’s motion elsewhere around the almost pagoda-like central market building, swift silhouettes of men and women hurrying into positions behind cover, one blurring nearly as fast as the psycho. Not official NCPD. Sub-cons, bounty hunters - whatever they are, they’re moving in to fight.…The psycho, who conspicuously hasn’t returned fire this whole time, picks up a rifle from the bloody rain soaked street, snatching it up in a jerking violent motion, contorting strangely to avoid your unceasing if rather poorly aimed fire.>Keep shooting, don’t let up the pressure for even a second! Psycho son of a bitch can’t dance around like that forever, some of his chrome has to overheat or fail eventually… right? Right? 300, 270, 240…>Pull back and let the sub-cons or whoever that is engage, try to fire from the flanks. That is… tactically sound, you think? You really have no idea what you’re doing, maybe it’s a gonk idea. >Switch to the other drone, it’s behind the psycho - Just don’t wobble around like an idiot this time and you might have a clear shot at his back. Damn these controls suck!
>>5831287>Switch to the other drone, it’s behind the psycho - Just don’t wobble around like an idiot this time and you might have a clear shot at his back. Damn these controls suck!
>>5831287>Pull back and let the sub-cons or whoever that is engage, try to fire from the flanks. That is… tactically sound, you think? You really have no idea what you’re doing, maybe it’s a gonk idea.
>>5831287>>Keep shooting, don’t let up the pressure for even a second! Psycho son of a bitch can’t dance around like that forever, some of his chrome has to overheat or fail eventually… right? Right? 300, 270, 240…
>>5831287>Switch to the other drone, it’s behind the psycho - Just don’t wobble around like an idiot this time and you might have a clear shot at his back. Damn these controls suck!Think my IP might have changed, I'm >>5831172
>>5831287>Switch to the other drone, it’s behind the psycho - Just don’t wobble around like an idiot this time and you might have a clear shot at his back. Damn these controls suck!Always check your back. rookie mistake.
>>5831287>Keep shooting, don’t let up the pressure for even a second! Psycho son of a bitch can’t dance around like that forever, some of his chrome has to overheat or fail eventually… right? Right? 300, 270, 240…
>>5831287>>Switch to the other drone, it’s behind the psycho - Just don’t wobble around like an idiot this time and you might have a clear shot at his back. Damn these controls suck!Classic bait and switch!
>>5831287>Pull back and let the sub-cons or whoever that is engage, try to fire from the flanks. That is… tactically sound, you think? You really have no idea what you’re doing, maybe it’s a gonk idea. Switching to other drone may mean sacrificing this on as we won’t be piloting it… let’s just not accidentally shoot up someone else. But keeping the heat on the psycho may help the mercs get a drop on him.
>>5831287>Switch to the other drone, it’s behind the psycho - Just don’t wobble around like an idiot this time and you might have a clear shot at his back. Damn these controls suck!me: >>5829978
Voting will be open for another half hour.
>>5831417>>5831369>>5831369>>5831321>>5831314>>5831288Switch>>5831406>>5831292Pull back>>5831348>>5831348>>5831297Dakka dakka dakkaSwitching wins. Writing.
>>5831417>>5831369>>5831369>>5831321>>5831314>>5831288As the predatory silhouettes of the sub-cons prowl in from the edges of the marketplace, you’re still blasting away to no effect - but if feels like you’re really getting the hang of it now. Aiming a little better, managing movement and recoil with less trouble - it’s a lot smoother, but for some reason the psycho isn’t even running anymore. It’s like he isn’t scared of the drone at all now, barely moving to avoid the increasingly tighter spray of bullets, giving absolute minimal effort. A lightning fast step to the left, a jarring dip to the right, and nothing so much as lands a scratch on him. 300, 270… No, this won’t work, you need to mix things up.Frustrated, you slap the key to switch drones. The screen’s perspective jumps suddenly, swaying and wobbling just like earlier but now behind the psycho. Meanwhile the previous Griffin falls fast, spinning out of control in the heavy rain before its systems take over and stabilize the gun toting little brick. It almost struck the ground, sweeping up at the last moment, but it’s all for nothing. Sparks blast across its lightly armored hull in a flash, bullets whizzing and dinging off of metal as the psycho lets off a deadly accurate burst. A few perforate, something important breaks, and the Griffin is sent careening aflame and out of control. Now’s your chance! You fire, and miss. Ah! Fucking controls, no! A quarter second of adjustment and you sweep the red crosshair across the psycho while still blasting away, striking a few times in the small of his back. The rest of the long uncontrolled burst skitters and scatters across the wet street, tracers ricocheting up and into the shops and apartment buildings surrounding the far edges of the circular market.As you adjust your aim back down, the psycho is on the move again, letting off rapid fire bursts from his stolen rifle. You can’t avoid them. You don’t even have a link or training, this is all painfully slow meatspace reflexes. The psycho's rounds hit as soon as you see the muzzle flash, the drone’s live feed cuts, and you barely refrain from slamming clenched fist into the comp. Easy there, easy, that won’t help. It won’t do any good, or bring dad back. Is there a gun in here? You could go zero the bastard yourself. ...No, gonk plan, even worse than the drone.Struggling to pull yourself out of sinking despair at your helplessness, you almost miss the drone’s camera winking back to life. The picture is all kinds of messed up and patchy, barely focused, smashed at some strange angle in a pile of trash if the soggy rain soaked box of buck-a-slice in front of it is anything to go by - but you can see the psycho and the sub-cons. They’re fighting between some of the cement vehicle barriers near the edge of the market, finally making their move.
>>5831566>Stay and watch, you have to see this through. You have to see that bastard die.
>>5831562It’s not going well. One of the sub-cons, a man in a dark synth-leather trench coat, seems to just detonate mid grenade throw. Blinking, you realize the grenade was shot out of his hand. His arm is gone, only ribbons left, and he falls screaming out of sight. Another one, a woman with long neon green hair and some kind of short little automatic rifle, circles the psycho. She’s pumping round after round into him as she strafes about avoiding return fire, but not quite matching the blurring speed of the chromed up madman. In a flash the steely faced psycho is beside her, his sparking and mangled cyberarm raised high, a combat spur extended from the wrist. In another flash the woman’s little rifle is cut in two, sacrificed to block the cut, and she’s stumbling back with a pistol in hand, firing smoothly without missing a beat. Another sweep and her shooting hand is removed, and then her other, and finally the full weight of the psycho follows behind the blade in a ferocious impaling tackle. He blurs off to another sub-con, chased by gunfire the whole way, but the green haired woman is deathly still, barely visible on camera. The psycho is tearing them to pieces, one slash and burst at a time, a few managing to dance with him for a second or two before getting caught and flatlined - whatever plan they put together, whatever tiny advantage your stunt with the drones might have given them, it’s all falling apart now.…But so is the psycho. He’s slowing down, disappearing from the camera’s limited viewing angle for longer and longer, and stumbling back in with more holes torn in his chrome. Even more sub-cons are rolling in, MaxTac might not be here to clean up their own mess but Night City has no shortage of mercs. Come on, someone kill him! The bounty has got to be ridiculous by now. Someone just needs to zero the psycho and go home with the eddies, get some revenge for dad. Kill him! Come on, flatline him! There’s an explosion, dust obscuring the camera’s already poor view of the battle, but the rain soon clears it from the air. The psycho is in tatters but still moving fast, fighting… that woman from earlier, and some huge sumo looking dude!>Stay and watch, you have to see this through. You have to see that bastard die.>Delta. Too much time in the cruiser, someone might spot you. Repost to fix some errors. >>5831569 I see your vote, don't worry.
>>5831572>Stay and watch, you have to see this through. You have to see that bastard die.
>>5831572>Delta. Too much time in the cruiser, someone might spot you.We got our shots in, we've gotta exfil
>>5831572>Stay and watch, you have to see this through. You have to see that bastard die.Engrave it into our eyes
>>5831572>>Stay and watch, you have to see this through. You have to see that bastard die
>>5831572>>Stay and watch, you have to see this through. You have to see that bastard die.
One more hour for votes.
>>5831572>Stay and watch, you have to see this through. You have to see that bastard die.Why no Ganger milf?
>>5831675Because we haven't seized one yet
>>5831572>Stay and watch, you have to see this through. You have to see that bastard die.It’s not the smart move but the right one
>>5831721>>5831703>>5831675>>5831634>>5831619>>5831616>>5831587Stay and watch.>>5831594Delta.Staying to watch. Writing.
Enraptured by the unfolding scene, your eyes remain locked on the artifacting live feed. Boxy red error reports coming in on the edges of the screen, damage alerts and failing diagnostics. With a few quick taps you dismiss them, revealing the blurry form of that Tyger Claw woman from earlier. She slinks into focus, stalking through the rain and clearing smoke step by deadly step. Her expression is cold, emotionless except for the slightest narrowing of her eyes - It’s the visage of a huntress preparing to descend on wounded prey. You can’t see the psycho’s face, his back is to the camera, but you have to imagine it’s far less composed - his limbs are sparking and ruined, somehow still supporting his weight and swaying side-to-side movement. He’s still dangerous, still mobile despite layers of chrome blasted away and redundant systems beginning to fail entirely.A huge sumo looking man looms behind the red woman, carefully sliding a white jacket off and tossing it to the ground as he prepares to fight. He’s huge, far larger than the washed up MaxTac freak ever was even before he got shot to ribbons, and he’s sporting more heavy chrome than a ripperdoc’s display room. Bulky visible dermal armor, a reinforced faceplate, knuckles sparking with jumping arcs of electricity, heavy duty cyberlimbs - and he’s wearing the same red and white Tyger Claw colors as the woman. For a heartbeat the scene holds like that, the pair of presumed Tyger Claws staring down the damaged psycho in the smoke and rain, bodies strewn all around. Time crawls. A yellow firework flashes high overhead, bright enough to wash Kabuki market in something close to daylight.
>>5831853The damaged camera whites out. When it clears battle has been met. The red woman is gone, vanished, and the psycho and sumo are locked in a life or death struggle. Metal hands are locked on one another as they tumble across the ground, fists jackhammering into dermal plating whenever they slip free, sparking and denting any target they find purchase on. Even damaged, the psycho is terrifyingly strong, contending nearly equally with the massive man and still faster. The wounded psycho slips the sumo’s grip, twisting about to get behind the huge brute in a nasty hold, that spur in his arm launching out and through the sumo’s heavy dermal plating at a weak joint - but the sumo’s other hand has the psycho’s leg in an iron grip, discharging capacitors in his palms sending a wave of electricity blasting across them both. The psycho’s combat spur retracts involuntarily, returning half way into its concealed arm housing before jamming up as a few of the psycho’s implants finally overload one too many times. As soon as the squatty rectangular blade is free from the sumo’s body, the huge man is moving once more, slamming the lighter chrome fiend right into the pavement and sending him sliding into a nearby transport dataterm. It explodes in a shower of sparks, ancient hardware from back before the 2020’s giving out a dying gasp of flash and thunder. Before the last sparks burn out in the bloody water, the psycho is already up, sweeping up a fallen handgun faster than the stumbling sumo can react. The gun barks once, twice, and then flies off into the rainy night along with the rest of the psycho’s left arm from the elbow down. The searing edges of thermal mantis blades steam in the rainy dark, the Tyger Claw woman’s active camouflage flickering away in hexagonal patterns as she strikes from near total invisibility.She dips, gracefully avoiding a flailing spinning blow from the psycho’s remaining arm by dropping to a knee. Her other mantis blade stabs forward into the back of the insane man’s leg piercing its close to the area the sumo’s iron grip just crushed. A glowing orange edge punches through the limb before tearing down the remaining length, splitting the leg into smoking bisected halves. The psycho half stumbles away even with his leg almost totally destroyed, but the woman is on him again faster than the camera can track, bright crimson tackling tattered blue and green - One of her combat legs stabs into the psycho’s good leg… or what was his good leg, and he finally loses balance. He falls forward briefly before both his arms are hooked under the armpit by the woman’s upward turned mantis blades. That’s the end of it.Sprays of white synth blood and two limbs splash into waiting rain puddles.
>>5831855The two Tygers have the psycho at their mercy. He’s a limbless, blooding, malfunctioning stump of a man, synth blood pumping out fast, cyber eyes fading to embers. You nearly let out a cheer, any of the horror of the sight washed away entirely by righteous fury and excitement. They’re going to do it, that bastard is going to die! The woman stomps him once more, pinning what’s left of the man in place like a bug stuck with a tack, the pointed end one long combat leg holding the psycho down while the sumo dusts himself off, grabs his rain slick jacket from the ground, and finally stomps over. …But they don’t finish the psycho off immediately. The woman lifts her impaling foot out, says something the camera can’t pick up, and motions with one finger to the twitching psycho and then the sumo. The huge sumo looking guy leans down, grabs the not-quite-corpse by what’s left of his collar, and picks him up. After a moment he adjusts his grip and slides the tattered body under one arm as casually as someone might carry a bag on NCART, and the two fighters begin to walk toward the stairs leading into the market’s underground level. Soon they’re entirely out of the damaged drone’s view. It’s over.“No, come on, flatline him!” You protest aloud, anger and grief a volatile mix churning within you, “Dammit!” A gentle knock on the cruiser’s armor glass window sends you nearly leaping through its roof in surprise, the bright light of a tactical light shining into the interior. Wincing, you turn to see the familiar face of NCPD officer Victoria Reyes. She’s pissed, brown eyes narrowed sharply and a deep scowl you've seldom seen ruining her normally soft features.>”Vicky, that bastard got dad.” Don’t even bother trying to explain what you were doing, it doesn’t matter. She’s always liked you, dad too. Maybe she’ll cover for you.>...Say nothing, just give a sad look and comply with instructions. You really don’t want to talk right now, not with anyone. Maybe mom, but she’s not even on the same continent. Fuck, you’re exhausted.>Crawl across the cruiser and try to bolt out the other door. Friendly face or not, seizing control of those drones might be too much to cover for. That was probably, uh, turbo-illegal, or something. Very bad.>Write-in?
>>5831858>”Vicky, that bastard got dad.” Don’t even bother trying to explain what you were doing, it doesn’t matter. She’s always liked you, dad too. Maybe she’ll cover for you.
>>5831858>”Vicky, that bastard got dad.” Don’t even bother trying to explain what you were doing, it doesn’t matter. She’s always liked you, dad too. Maybe she’ll cover for you.>inb4 we end up as Mantis Mommy's arm candy with a bunch of stealth augs in us to make us a straight killer
Fifty more minutes for voting.
>>5831858>Crawl across the cruiser and try to bolt out the other door. Friendly face or not, seizing control of those drones might be too much to cover for. That was probably, uh, turbo-illegal, or something. Very bad.
>>5831941>>5831934>>5831913>>5831872>>5831860Talk. >>5831919Bolt.Talking wins. Writing.
“Vicky,” You barely choke the words out as you open the cruiser’s door, the awful reality of the night finally settling in as your vengeful rage ebbs away into grief, “That bastard got my dad.”Vicky’s brown eyes widen, suspicion and anger turning to immediate sympathy as her scowl vanishes, “...We don’t know that yet. Come on, up. Get out of there before someone else sees.”No need to tell you twice. Stepping back out into the rainy night, Vicky grabs you forcefully by the arm and leads you off a ways from the gathered crowd and police line. The fireworks haven’t slowed, still flashing and cracking high overhead. Night City doesn’t stop for anything, especially not you.As you reach a small cubby housing a few vending machines, Vicky brings you into a tight hug. The pouches and gadgets on her blue NCPD tactical vest press into you uncomfortably, but you don’t mind. It’s over too soon. “Vicky, that psycho got him. I saw it, dad’s red on the sub-net, flatli-” You start to say again before the young officer interrupts you. “Don’t talk like that.” She states firmly, pressing a gloved finger into your chest, “It’s not over until the med-techs call it. It hasn’t been an hour yet. They should be moving in now, I’ll make sure he’s first on the AV.”“You will?” She doesn’t have that kind of authority, NCPD can’t give Trauma orders like that.“...I’ll try.” Vicky falters, less confident, “I can’t promise anything. Need to clean up whatever it is you did over there on the comp, absolute gonk move. Look, just don’t do anything stupid tonight, alright? Anything else stupid. Go home, stay there, call your mom. It’s morning in Stockholm, right?”“Yeah, morning about now.” You mumble back in reply. Mom won’t handle the news well. The doctors say she isn’t supposed to get stressed, it speeds up the neuro-degeneration. That’s one of the big reason she’s out there in the clinic. Costs more than an arm and a leg, dad had to sell a lot of stuff to afford it but it’s worth it for mom. “I’ll be by with some of the others once things are cleaned up, we’ll get you a ride to the medcenter. I’ll come myself if I can - We’re going to take care of things, whatever you need. Taro-... The lieutenant… Your father… He'll pull through, gut feeling says so. He's tough.”You blink and nod, a terrible feeling seizing hold. It’s going to be a trip to the morgue, not one of the treatment wards.“I’ve got to get back to the line.” Vicky says after glancing over her shoulder for a moment, her stepping aside with you beginning to draw the attention of a few of the other officers, “You weren’t here, okay? Wipe your agent before you get back to your apartment. Last thing any of us need is the lieutenant’s…” >”...Son getting caught drone jacking.”>”...Daughter getting caught drone jacking.”Oh, so she knows exactly what you were doing.
>>5831978>”...Son getting caught drone jacking.”
>>5831978>”...Son getting caught drone jacking.”Me: >>5831417
>>5831978>>”...Son getting caught drone jacking.”Time to grind
>>5831978Love the set up btw QM
>>5831978>”...Son getting caught drone jacking.”Fuckin beautiful build up qm
>>5831978>”...Daughter getting caught drone jacking.”
>>5831978>>”...Daughter getting caught drone jacking.”
>>5831985>>5832025>>5832027>>5832057>>5832059>>5832073>>5832086>>5832092>>5832110>>5832188>>5832193Son.>>5832167>>5832122>>5832103Daughter.Son wins. Writing.
>>5831985>>5832025>>5832027>>5832057>>5832059>>5832073>>5832086>>5832092>>5832110>>5832188>>5832193“Last thing any of us need is the lieutenant’s son getting caught drone jacking.” Vicky continues, “Go on, delta. You’ll make it through this. You both will.” You swallow hard, trying to believe her words but finding they just slide right off. “Thanks, Vicky.” You manage to reply before hurrying off into the night, walking at first to avoid suspicion but gradually quickening, step by step, until you’re at nearly a dead sprint. Feet splashing through puddles, rain on your face, neon signs and fireworks overhead, drunken new years crowds out in defiance of the weather. It’s all a jumbled mess, you can’t see any of it well - your plastic coat’s hood does an awful job keeping the rain out of your eyes, cheap piece of trash. You can’t run from what happened, but it’s easier than thinking about it. All too soon you arrive at your dirty old apartment building. It’s a bit of a dump on the outside, patchy blue walls having seen their best years a long, long time ago and dirty fenced in parking half filled with dumpsters and trash - there’s always some beat up van or truck taking up too much space. It’s not a total dump though, the rooms are actually pretty nice inside, but you know there’s at least a couple of gang members living in some of the other units. Plenty of graffiti inside and out to attest to that. Guardian gangs mostly, the kind that keep the really nasty gonks away, but still gangs. You don’t talk to them much, dad discouraged it. He only moved you both out here because he had to, you used to live downtown back when mom was pulling in those big checks, but you’ve been circling the drain for months now. Medical bills don’t ever get smaller.…Maybe you’re all the way down the drain now. Before you go inside, you stop to wipe your agent as best you can. If anyone is really determined to know what happened they can probably still snatch up the data somehow, you’ll need dad to make sure there’s nothing left… oh. God, this rain.The front door to the building, or what passes for one, isn’t even closed - thumping music sounds from a few of the other units in the building as you ascend the dirty old stairs to the second level. How can people still be partying? Don’t they have any idea what’s happened? Keying into your apartment, you stumble in and collapse on the stained sofa.
>>5832273Dad’s gone. Probably gone. You won’t know for another hour or so. That’s how it works, med-techs scoop people up, get the heart pumping again or plug one in, and run their tests. See if there’s anything that can be saved. Dad talked about it sometimes when he was trying to scare you out of doing gonk shit, that hour long window before the brain is too far gone. Some of his friends in the NCPD have gotten torn up horribly and still got pieced back together. Vicky lost most of her leg last year, got a cloned one the next day instead of chrome. But dad’s a netrunner. Was a netrunner. You know how netrunners bite it. How it usually happens when they’re plugged in - at best they end up some ghost in the net, but usually it’s just over. The wrong parts of their brain get fried and the show’s over. Maybe he just got shot though, maybe it’s not that.Just got shot? What the hell is wrong with you, thinking about dad like that? That’s still horrible. That fucking psycho did this, that son of a bitch. Just the thought of that bastard causes you to clench your fists tight enough to draw tiny drops of blood from your palm. You’d strangle the life out of him if you could, but… the anger isn’t holding as long now. You’re just… empty.You need to call mom.>Lie.>Tell her what happened.>...Wait. Maybe tomorrow. Or the day after. Or after that. She doesn’t need this.
>>5832276>...Wait. Maybe tomorrow. Or the day after. Or after that. She doesn’t need this.Let's calm down and wait for complete information first, if we talk to mom right now, it's certain that it's going to make her condition worse.
>>5832276>...Wait. Maybe tomorrow. Or the day after. Or after that. She doesn’t need this.We could wait to empty out the cupboards.
>>5832276>>...Wait. Maybe tomorrow. Or the day after. Or after that. She doesn’t need this.yeah, not put it away indefinitely but at least until we learn more. Let's not risk giving either unneeded trauma or false hope...
>>5832276>...Wait. Maybe tomorrow. Or the day after. Or after that. She doesn’t need this.Better to give her time. Or us time. Seems unfair to break the news before we even know what the situation is…
>>5832276>Tell her what happened.
>>5832276>...Wait. Maybe tomorrow. Or the day after. Or after that. She doesn’t need this.
>>5832276>...Wait. Maybe tomorrow. Or the day after. Or after that. She doesn’t need this
>>5832279>>5832281>>5832284>>5832294>>5832323>>5832333>>5832338Wait.>>5832336>>5832303>>5832295Call now.Waiting wins. Writing.
Looking down at your agent, your thumbs hovers over its touch screen, just above your mom’s profile. One tap and you’ll be talking, she’s usually free in the morning. But you can’t do it. Not yet. There are too many questions hanging in the air, dad might still make it, med-techs might drag him back. You’ll call tomorrow. Or maybe the day after. Or after that one. You’re already dreading it. There’s a lot you need to try to clean up before speaking to mom. That’s all on you now, no one else is going to handle it. Well, maybe Vicky and some of the others, but it’s little comfort.Empty and drained, you trash your raincoat and get ready to sleep, working entirely on autopilot. The routine of it takes your mind off things, but the shower’s awful, way too much time to think. When you finally crawl into bed you find yourself wish you’d died. It’s pitiful. Dad wouldn’t want to see you like this, but how can you do anything else?In the morning you’ll find your resolve. Yeah, in the morning. Sleep doesn’t come for hours. You dream of red eyes burning in the rain, bloody streets, and... that woman.2076.01.04, 11:30Night City The worst string of cyber-psycho attacks in the last two years; that was the headline for all of half a day before Night City buried it along with everything else bad that ever happens and isn’t financially convenient, right down the memory hole. There were seven other attacks on New Years, MaxTac teams were scrambling between the others and just got overwhelmed. Wouldn’t have helped anyways. Dad’s gone. The med-techs called it almost immediately once the AV got him to the medcenter in little china, too much brain damage. You haven’t gotten the full story, but it was some kind of black IC or something, blew right through the biofeedback filters on his deck and took out half the van’s systems at the same time. Military level stuff, just like you’d feared. NCPD did an autopsy and took all of dad’s chrome for further investigation, cremated him right after. His ashes are in a canister on the table, date of birth and death flashing across its cheap screen, ready to go off to the columbarium at the edge of the city for the rest of time.
>>5832448Mom knows.She got an automated alert on her link courtesy of some faceless bureaucrat in the NCPD. Not one of dad’s friends. She called in a panic, hoping it was a glitch. That conversation hurt more than a bullet, and there’s been a couple more since. You hate it. She shouldn’t have found out like that. You could’ve called, waited a little less. Beating yourself up over it won’t make it any better though, you’ve had enough of that for a few days at least. Probably be back at it within the week, but you’re trying not to screw anything else up now.Right now you have to deal with paperwork. Piles of it, most digital but a few packets still on archaic sheets - it’s too much for a teenager to make sense of. Finances, legal stuff, ownership transfers, loads of fucking garbage you shouldn’t have to deal with right after your dad got murdered by some psycho MaxTac cast off.Vicky and the others from the precinct have helped with some of the practical stuff, errands and the like, and the department sent over one of their lawyers for a couple of hours to help plan things out and make sense of your family’s situation. He was bored. Clearly didn’t care much. Did his job at least, dad’s death pension from NCPD was approved and it’s helping to pay for mom’s treatment.It’s not even close to enough, a couple thousand eddies a month. Her costs are in the low five figures usually, and hit six figures once when she had that experimental nano-tech surgery. That basically burned through all of your family’s investments and savings, and that’s with mom’s ‘compensation package’ from BioTechnica halving the cost to begin with. How dad’s been paying for it these last few months is a mystery, the money from his work just doesn’t add up to what was needed, even with all the extra shifts.But hey, at least you finished school early - getting those credits and cutting a year off high school really helped you get ahead of things. Yeah, sure. What a fucking waste, there’s no way you’ll be going to university without a corporate contract covering it now, and there’s no time for that kind of commitment.You’ve got three weeks before the sky starts to fall.Rent will be due, mom’s bills will come in, everything’s going to come crashing down. But that’s a problem for later, right now you have your father’s funeral to attend. It’s supposed to be small, a few friends from the NCPD and old work colleagues of mom’s. She’ll be there in VR, which is to say she won’t be there. No money for a flight, and she’s in no condition to travel alone even if there was.>Take stock of what all you DO have. Check over dad’s things. Feels a little less like he’s gone when you look over some of it, and you still haven’t dug through his comp.>Head off now, you can’t be late to your own father’s funeral. Need to put on a strong show for mom, even if it kills you.>Write-in.
>>5832450>Head off now, you can’t be late to your own father’s funeral. Need to put on a strong show for mom, even if it kills you.Wait, our character actually waited the three days? I thought it was just a manner of speech.
>>5832453>Take stock of what all you DO have. Check over dad’s things. Feels a little less like he’s gone when you look over some of it, and you still haven’t dug through his comp.I want to know what illegal business dad was up to now rather than later
>>5832457And by that, I thought we would wait until this happened>The med-techs called it almost immediately once the AV got him to the medcenter in little chinaOr after going to sleep, not actually trying to never tell her.I guess I got to be more careful to what to vote for
>>5832460I thought it was pretty clear the choices were>Bite the bullet>Cover it up>Give excuses and avoid the problem
>>5832457It happened the morning after, meant to include that. If it got left out it was an accidental victim of editing. Basically he just got the opportunity to call first snatched away by some asshole in an office on the other side of the city.
>>5832453>Take stock of what all you DO have. Check over dad’s things. Feels a little less like he’s gone when you look over some of it, and you still haven’t dug through his comp.
>>5832453>Head off now, you can’t be late to your own father’s funeral. Need to put on a strong show for mom, even if it kills you.We'll look over his stuff when you get back
>>5832472Ah, I see, so it was a case of bad luck. Poor guy can't catch a break.I doubt he would have been clearheaded enough to not break down crying to mother over the phone at that moment, make her panic anyway and still blame himself afterwards.
>>5832453>Take stock of what all you DO have. Check over dad’s things. Feels a little less like he’s gone when you look over some of it, and you still haven’t dug through his comp.Definitely want to do this, especially after hearing that Dad might have been doing illegal shit... Personally? I smell a cover up, on some level; Doesn't help that he was a Netrunner.
>>5832453>>Head off now, you can’t be late to your own father’s funeral. Need to put on a strong show for mom, even if it kills you.Go now, find the missing money after
>>5832453I dont want to skip the funeral for this, but can we at least make backup of dad's data in case some accident were to happen to the originals
>>5832453>>Head off now, you can’t be late to your own father’s funeral. Need to put on a strong show for mom, even if it kills you.
>>5832453>Head off now, you can’t be late to your own father’s funeral. Need to put on a strong show for mom, even if it kills you.
>>5832577>>5832490>>5832481>>5832477>>5832459Take stock.>>5832457>>5832479>>5832489>>5832506>>5832533Head off.I guess I'll split the difference then to keep things moving, don't want to get bogged down with tie breakers right now. Very short check and then immediately off to the funeral. Writing.
…Before you head out of the apartment you look around one last time. Some of dad’s things are still right where he left them, looking as if he could just walk back through the door at any moment. It’s a nice fantasy, for a few moments anyways, but he won’t ever be back. Pacing around, reluctant to step out the door and take that first step toward the funeral - a terrible sense of finality hanging above it - you kill a few minutes looking over everything. Just a minute or two, still want to get there early, but you deserve a moment to breathe. Dad’s comp draws your attention first, a monster of a setup that’s really only missing a netrunning chair or an ice bath and plugs. You never touched his comp unless he was showing you something, teaching you the ins and outs of the net - which used to be all the time. You weren’t old enough to get a data-jack or anything like that, not without risking growing right out of it, but that time is pretty much gone now. You’d probably be chipped already if money wasn’t so tight and mom didn’t get skittish about it.Music posters adorn the walls nearby, carefully preserved and moved from apartment to apartment for what must be decades now. Before you were born anyways. It’s all ancient dusty indie bands that weren’t new even when dad was a kid - Samurai, old Eurodyne before he really sold out, Cartesian Duelists, and half a dozen others. Sitting down in his chair, you power the comp up only to be faced with the login screen; you don’t know the password, but it… unlocks on its own? Facial recognition then, maybe. But the camera isn’t on? Huh.…Odd, his contacts are already opened, a whole long list of people’s names you don’t recognize and an inbox with a few new messages. There’s Vicky, and Barry, and a few others from the NCPD you know, but who the hell is 8ug8ear? Or Nix? Dakota? Fantasy nonsense aliases and a couple more people with old NUSA states for names. The messages are even denser looking than the contact list was, a recent job offer from someone named Wakako sticking out among a few other correspondences. No time to read that right now, however curious you are.
>>5832644Careful to logout and shut the comp down completely, you take stock of the rest of the things dad left behind. A couple of guns in an old safe under the bed, the keys to his Quadra Turbo - it’s a nova car but a bit dinged up, probably going to have to sell it. You never got upset he kept it even when you moved apartments, he loved that thing...And then there's a couple thousand eddies in cash rolled up and banded together in a shoe box. You’ve mentally filed it away as already spent, bills do loom, but you still have it. Besides all that there’s some netrunning equipment, hardware components for old decks, that sort of thing - you don’t know enough to assemble anything useful, but it does have some value in the right crowds.Sighing, taking a now truly final look, you turn and head out the door. Just have to bite the bullet. It’s not far to the NCART station, you’ll have to walk for awhile once you get to the closest stop though, the shrine is in North Oak. Nice place, too nice for public transport. You’d drive there but dad’s car isn’t actually parked nearby, it’s in a rented spot a few blocks away - and a new driver taking a really touchy sports car to a funeral of all things doesn’t seem like a great idea. That’d be just your luck this week, crash dad’s car and die on the way to send him off.2076.01.04, 12:05Night City (North Oak) It was a bit of a hike, but you’re at the shrine and ‘early’. It’s all very traditional looking, but you know they pump funerals like this out as a service just like anything else. Even the sacred gets packaged up, commodified, and resold. It’s still comforting to be here, expensive or not. Mom insisted on something nice and NCPD is footing part of the bill. Everyone else should be arriving soon, next ten minutes or so. A few strangers linger about here and there in the gardens.>You’ve always been open to belief in the supernatural. Maybe it was just dad talking about “daemons” and other net lingo too much at a young age, but you’ve never found it hard to believe there’s something beyond the material world.>You share a sort of half-belief in the supernatural that isn’t too uncommon for people in Night City. Spooky shit happens sometimes, it’s as good an explanation as any.>You don’t buy into a bit of it, but you don’t begrudge people who do.
>>5832650>You share a sort of half-belief in the supernatural that isn’t too uncommon for people in Night City. Spooky shit happens sometimes, it’s as good an explanation as any.
>>5832650>You’ve always been open to belief in the supernatural. Maybe it was just dad talking about “daemons” and other net lingo too much at a young age, but you’ve never found it hard to believe there’s something beyond the material world.
>>5832650>>You share a sort of half-belief in the supernatural that isn’t too uncommon for people in Night City. Spooky shit happens sometimes, it’s as good an explanation as any.
>>5832650>You don’t buy into a bit of it, but you don’t begrudge people who do.It’s all just bytes and bolts, but you don’t blame people for hoping for more. You’re too jaded - you know that there’s no real escape from the grubby, gonked-out world. You’re either in it… or you’re not.
>>5832650>>You don’t buy into a bit of it, but you don’t begrudge people who do.
>>5832650>>You’ve always been open to belief in the supernatural. Maybe it was just dad talking about “daemons” and other net lingo too much at a young age, but you’ve never found it hard to believe there’s something beyond the material world.
Back a bit later than I thought I'd be.>>5832762>>5832719>>5832677>>5832662>>5832652Open.>>5832651>>5832660>>5832674>>5832768Half-belief.>>5832670>>5832669 (very flavorful, anon)Don't buy it.Open wins. Writing.
Conveniently packaged and sold or not, you’ll treat this shrine with respect - and not just for mom or dad’s sake, or even just a general sense of common decency. That’s there, true, but as you walk through well kept grounds you feel something more to it, something genuinely sacred bleeding through between all the lanterns and candles… and the souvenir shop. Okay, the shop’s not ideal, but maybe spirits have to make a living too, neh? Even the gods have businesses, employees so to say, but it’s not like it is for humans. Not supposed to be. Dad told you some stories like that when you were little, even if you know he never quite believed - spirits of the land, of animals, of all kinds of things large and small, lurking monsters and wandering gods. Between that and how he spoke about the net, how could you not end up believing in something? Of course there’s something more out there.…So who’d your family piss off in the other world to end up like this? You cross your arms, unsettled briefly by the idea, and take a small walk about the well maintained shrine. One of the attendants, a young Jomon looking Japanese man with a few gang tattoos visible even at the edges of his robe, greets you politely as you enter further inside; a flash of your temporary membership card turns his initial polite suspicion into purchased respect - or maybe it’s genuine, hard to tell. “The other should be here in the next ten or fifteen minutes,” You inform him, but the flash of his blue cyber eyes clues you in that he must already be checking the schedule on his own. “Of course, young sir. Do you require anything else while you wait for the others?”“I have more than enough already, thank you.” You reply respectfully, eliciting a small smile from him. Soon you’re alone once more, taking in the calming atmosphere of the shrine, feeling less sullen, less angry.
>>5832849After he walks off you take a closer look around the shrine, at a few of the others there to make little offerings. It’s a Shinto shrine, nominally, but the funeral ceremony is going to be a mix of Buddhist and Shinto rites… nothing unusual there.What is unusually is the tall dark haired woman at the far end of the courtyard. The reds and whites of her implants are just as bright and stark, the gold of her hands shining clear in candlelight - but she’s dressed differently, less like a ganger, even her hair is down. It’s a different enough look to make you nearly miss that her combat legs have been swapped for more normal models. Even with the changes, you couldn’t mistake her for anyone else in Night City; it’s that Tyger Claw woman from New Years. Or a damned close doppelganger, you suppose, sometimes off the shelf chrome makes people look almost like twins. What’s she doing here though? A dark haired young girl, maybe ten or eleven years old, is by her side. They’re talking but too far to hear.Should you talk to her? This isn’t the place to make a scene, but that’s not what you intend. A few words might be all you need to see if she recognizes you. She probably won’t. You’re not a memorable face, no chrome or tattoos, nothing special at all.>Just keep your distance, Vicky and everyone else will be here soon. No need to interrupt a dangerous stranger at the shrine. >Approach. You can’t get a calmer situation than this, better a shrine than some dark alley - You might never see here again.>Write-in.
>>5832851>Approach. You can’t get a calmer situation than this, better a shrine than some dark alley - You might never see here again.
>>5832851>Approach. You can’t get a calmer situation than this, better a shrine than some dark alley - You might never see here again.We should probably just ask if she's here for the funeral too-? (Although, I'm not entirely sure how obvious that is). If she is, maybe try to find out how she knew dad.
>>5832851>Approach. You can’t get a calmer situation than this, better a shrine than some dark alley - You might never see here again.“You could have worked faster, you know.”
>>5832851>>Approach. You can’t get a calmer situation than this, better a shrine than some dark alley - You might never see here again.
>>5832855>>5832858>>5832866>>5832889>>5832892>>5832897Approach. Writing.
>>5832851>Just keep your distance, Vicky and everyone else will be here soon. No need to interrupt a dangerous stranger at the shrine.
>>5832855>>5832858>>5832866>>5832889>>5832892>>5832897With thoughts of your father, you walk calmly across the shrine’s courtyard toward the red woman and young girl. It has to be her. Maybe she knows something more about what happened, you still haven’t gotten a story you’re satisfied with. Too many strange coincidences. Any detes are better than none, however small the chance.The light crunching sound of your footsteps on the neatly maintained gravel draws the woman’s attention at once, her conversation with the girl falling to a final few whispers you barely hear.“...Of course it is said that all things are not what they appear.” The young girl finishes, looking very proud of herself, as if she’d just finished reciting a carefully memorized script. Turning, she sees you first, or cares to act on it first - and taps lightly at the tall woman’s cyberleg, before greeting you with an innocent smile. Cute kid, she reminds you a little of one of your friends from grade school. Haven’t seen her in years. Simpler times. The Tyger Claw woman’s dark eyes narrow in suspicion, a soft blue light flashing within them - A scan? Her expression relaxes to something like amused curiosity, the tense body language of a killer ready to strike melting away at once. “Hello - Are you here for the funeral?” You ask politely, genuinely unsure and still wary of the chromed up woman. You saw what those mantis arms can do, how fast they deploy, how they slice right through titanium plating and sear flesh; a thin layer of beauty hiding sheer bloody terror.The woman shakes her head, a smile appearing to match the girl’s but not at all innocent, “No, not today. You look… very familiar~”She has a nice voice, far more pleasant than when you heard her arguing on the holo - firm, confident. A little playful? W-what’s with that? Your heartbeat quickens. >”NC feels small sometimes, doesn’t it? We were stuck on the same NCART car on new years, during that storm - My name is Kai.” Complete truth but frame it innocently. She might just volunteer things on her own.>”Names Kai - You were at Kabuki marketplace on new years. Messy roll up job.” Try not to say it too accusatively, this isn’t an interrogation or criticism; maybe it’ll pique her interest further - how could you possibly know?>”Thought you looked familiar too, maybe one of my dad's friends …Here to make offerings then?” Avoid names, just talk for a moment. Weird coincidence that she’s here for something other than the funeral. Do the Tyger Claws run this shrine or something? >Write-in.Apologies for not giving the normal hour warning before closing voting earlier, wanted to get one more post in tonight.
>>5832995>”Thought you looked familiar too, maybe one of my dad's friends …Here to make offerings then?” Avoid names, just talk for a moment. Weird coincidence that she’s here for something other than the funeral. Do the Tyger Claws run this shrine or something?Are we gonna have more character defining things? Or was our build predetermined?
>>5832995>”Names Kai - You were at Kabuki marketplace on new years. Messy roll up job.” Try not to say it too accusatively, this isn’t an interrogation or criticism; maybe it’ll
>>5833006There will be more to pick from, it isn't done. It will be a long time before anything like a build is established, that'll be a fairly clear path if anons really dig into one thing. There's plenty of room to dabble and check stuff out.
>>5832995>”Thought you looked familiar too, maybe one of my dad's friends …Here to make offerings then?” Avoid names, just talk for a moment. Weird coincidence that she’s here for something other than the funeral. Do the Tyger Claws run this shrine or something?
>>5832995>”Names Kai - You were at Kabuki marketplace on new years. Messy roll up job.” Try not to say it too accusatively, this isn’t an interrogation or criticism; maybe it’ll pique her interest further - how could you possibly know?I feel like the innocent option would only make her suspicious
>>5832995>”Names Kai - You were at Kabuki marketplace on new years. Messy roll up job.” Try not to say it too accusatively, this isn’t an interrogation or criticism; maybe it’ll pique her interest further - how could you possibly know?
>>5832995>>”Names Kai - You were at Kabuki marketplace on new years. Messy roll up job.” Try not to say it too accusatively, this isn’t an interrogation or criticism; maybe it’ll pique her interest further - how could you possibly know?
>>5832995>”Names Kai - You were at Kabuki marketplace on new years. Messy roll up job.” Try not to say it too accusatively, this isn’t an interrogation or criticism; maybe it’ll pique her interest further - how could you possibly know?But I INSIST that we also ask:"Where did you take the garbage, ma'am? I need to know it was destroyed properly."
>>5833158Changing to>”NC feels small sometimes, doesn’t it? We were stuck on the same NCART car on new years, during that storm - My name is Kai.” Complete truth but frame it innocently. She might just volunteer things on her own.I only voted for that one because I saw that the votes were alternating and didn't want to break the pattern
>>5832995>”NC feels small sometimes, doesn’t it? We were stuck on the same NCART car on new years, during that storm - My name is Kai.” Complete truth but frame it innocently. She might just volunteer things on her own.
>>5833193>>5833182Innocent truth.>>5833175>>5833168>>5833078>>5833009Kabuki confrontation.>>5833159>>5833065>>5833152>>5833006Avoid names, feel things out.Got a tie between kabuki and feeling things out more carefully. I'll give it one hour for a tie breaker. Need to eat breakfast anyways, timing works out.
>>5832995I wanted >”NC feels small sometimes, doesn’t it? We were stuck on the same NCART car on new years, during that storm - My name is Kai.” Complete truth but frame it innocently. She might just volunteer things on her own.but I'll go>”Thought you looked familiar too, maybe one of my dad's friends …Here to make offerings then?” Avoid names, just talk for a moment. Weird coincidence that she’s here for something other than the funeral. Do the Tyger Claws run this shrine or something?>Messy roll up job.Don't say that shit, there's a kid right there. It might just piss her off.
>>5833175>>5833168>>5833078>>5833009>>5833253Kabuki.>>5833159>>5833065>>5833152>>5833006>>5833273Avoid names. Nova, another tie. I'll give fifteen more minutes for a tie breaker, if there isn't a winner the dice gods AI invaders from beyond the black wall will decide.
I agree with >>5833273 though, drop that Messy roll up job. part
>>5833273>>5833303But if drop that part, then it just becomes the other one.
If both of you change to innocent truth, like you apparently wanted, it should win by one
Actually no, it would lead to another tie, fuck.Anyway, she is going to be pissed if she is confronted with the kid here, seems she didn't want her to get involved when we heard her talking on the phone.
>>5833175>>5833168>>5833078>>5833009>>5833253>>5833302Kabuki wins, I'll soften it a bit though. Writing.>>5833311That's just the first line of dialogue, it doesn't need to be quite so directly said to get the main idea across.
>>5833317I'd say keep it and punish those guys for thinking they're talking to a mindless npc.
“Names Kai,” You introduce yourself as confidently as you can manage, thoughts still drifting to the woman’s concealed mantis blades. Best to handle this with some tact, you’re not sure what her relationship with the girl is, “You were at Kabuki marketplace on new years, during the… storm.”Her smile fades a degree, red lips pursing tighter as she looks you over from head to toe, “I end up in Kabuki from time to time. Who are you with?”“Myself.” You reply truthfully, trying to stand firm as the chromed woman leans forward a little, strands of her dark hair hanging loose as she inches closer into reach, “I had a good view of the marketplace from above, saw all of it. …You don’t mind talking here, do you?”“He’s not one of my uncle’s guys, Em, or my dad's.” The young girl notes curiously before the woman can answer - the girl is still relaxed, but her words send the Tyger Claw rigid. Shit, that’s bad, really bad.“I do mind.” ‘Em’ replies coldly to you, that initial playfulness vanishing. One gold plated cyberarm gently guides the girl to step behind her, shepherding her out of direct view, “You have ten seconds - What do you want, ‘Kai’?”“Just to talk. My dad was in the marketplace at the same time. …He didn’t come home after.” You answer her, voice sinking as you deflate slightly, “I saw you there and thought you might know something, no ones given me a straight story. Detes are too messy, didn’t make sense.”“That’s it?...” ‘Em’ questions, looking past you and along the perimeter of the shrine, her gaze sweeping over the attendants and the few other people there to make offerings.You nod earnestly. …And she believes you?“Then you can go.” ‘Em’ states, waving you off with a gold hand.
>>5833385“Come on, talk to him.” The young girl insists, slightly miffed as she steps out once more, sliding out and away from Em's protective hand, ”Don’t be mean, Em. I’m sorry about your dad, mister Kai.” “Thank you-” You start to speak, but the two of them are quickly devolving into an argument and you decide, probably wisely, to stay out of it for the time being.Em’s face flashes with annoyance as she shakes her head, “Don’t tell me how to do my job, remember why I’m here.”“You have to listen to me!” The girl stomps her foot, growing angrier, her tantrum beginning to disturb the quiet of the shrine.“Don’t push it, Sarah.” Em grits her teeth.“I’ll tell.”“Agh, fuck! Fine.” Em turns back to face you, dark eyes closing for a second as she calms herself before speaking, “Lucky break, she likes you. Who was your dad? Can’t give out anything confidential, I’m not going to torpedo my rep over some whining brat.”“Hey!” Sarah protests indignantly, “I saw that look you gave him!” Really weird dynamic between these two. They don’t look related, but it’s hard to tell with Em’s chrome.>”...He was an NCPD netrunner, that MaxTac psycho got him early in the fight. He’s not still kicking, is he?” The psycho was seriously torn to ribbons when the sumo guy carried him off, hopefully he didn’t make it. That the psycho got flatlined is most important.>”Dad was a badge, psycho got him. Like I said, none of the detes make sense. Those Trauma AV’s just circled, and dad wasn’t a gonk that’d go out like that… There has to be something else. I’m looking for anything you can share.” Figuring out what the hell happened is most important.>Write-in.
>>5833387>”...He was an NCPD netrunner, that MaxTac psycho got him early in the fight. He’s not still kicking, is he?” The psycho was seriously torn to ribbons when the sumo guy carried him off, hopefully he didn’t make it. That the psycho got flatlined is most important.>inb4 our dad WAS the real cyberpsycho
>>5833387>”Dad was a badge, psycho got him. Like I said, none of the detes make sense. Those Trauma AV’s just circled, and dad wasn’t a gonk that’d go out like that… There has to be something else. I’m looking for anything you can share.” Figuring out what the hell happened is most important.Our dad died. Why?
>>5833387>Write-in.>"NCPD netrunner. They say the psycho got him early, but he died of getting his brain fried. I know he wouldn't rush ahead, he wouldn't made to lieutenant doing that. I saw you and the big guy drag the fucker away instead of finishing him off and cashing in on any bounty. Nothing makes sense."
>>5833398Supporting.Also, the little girl is the Tyger Claw princess, maybe?
>>5833398Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna support this one, because getting angry, wishing for death, cursing in front of a little girl, and insulting her now agitated bodyguard is always the best option.
>>5833403Fine, i'll change to>”Dad was a badge, psycho got him. Like I said, none of the detes make sense. Those Trauma AV’s just circled, and dad wasn’t a gonk that’d go out like that… There has to be something else. I’m looking for anything you can share.” Figuring out what the hell happened is most important.No need to be passive aggressive about it
>>5833403I also don't see the insulting her or wishing for death parts, care to explain?
>>5833411Or the getting angry part even, although maybe the calling the psycho a fucker gave that impression? I could see it as being an accusation, since it mentions her dragging him off, was that what you meant as insulting her?>>5833405>>5833398Forgot to reply to my own vote about the change
>>5833387>”Dad was a badge, psycho got him. Like I said, none of the detes make sense. Those Trauma AV’s just circled, and dad wasn’t a gonk that’d go out like that… There has to be something else. I’m looking for anything you can share.” Figuring out what the hell happened is most important.
>>5833411>I saw you and the big guy drag the fucker away>instead of finishing him off and cashing in on any bounty.You told her, to her face, that she should have killed the guy, without knowing why, what, or if she did. You then proceeded to tell her how to do her job, what she should be doing, and questioning her motives/orders, like you know her or are her boss.I would be insulted if some know-nothing punk kid came up to me while I'm working and told me how to run my own business.
>>5833417I meant that it's what was normally expected to happen during a cyberpsycho attack, so there was something more going on.But that way to interpret it does make sense, specially after she told Sarah not tell her how to do her job, so it likely would be the way she interprets itNow that you got the sarcasm out of your system and is discussing the quest, will you vote for what you actually want?
>>5833417Is easy enough to explain he zeroed our dad and were still pissed about it. Answers that can help us put him truly to rest, given we're superstitious. Having an in with NCPD isn't bad either. It shouldn't be hard for us to get a job with them within the next 2 weeks.
>>5833387>”...He was an NCPD netrunner, that MaxTac psycho got him early in the fight. He’s not still kicking, is he?” The psycho was seriously torn to ribbons when the sumo guy carried him off, hopefully he didn’t make it. That the psycho got flatlined is most important.>>5833421>Having an in with NCPD isn't bad either. It shouldn't be hard for us to get a job with them within the next 2 weeks.You're most likely correct. Wouldn't be anything grander than being a desk jokey/paper pusher (assuming any kind of paperwork is still done, don't actually know alot about the Cyberpunk universe), since the officers we're familiar with will not give us a job with any kind of risk or danger to it.
>>5833387> ”...He was an NCPD netrunner, that MaxTac psycho got him early in the fight. He’s not still kicking, is he?” The psycho was seriously torn to ribbons when the sumo guy carried him off, hopefully he didn’t make it. That the psycho got flatlined is most important.
>>5833387>>”Dad was a badge, psycho got him. Like I said, none of the detes make sense. Those Trauma AV’s just circled, and dad wasn’t a gonk that’d go out like that… There has to be something else. I’m looking for anything you can share.” Figuring out what the hell happened is most important.we have no ic knowledge that cyberpsychosis can be induced artificially do we?
>>5833387>>”...He was an NCPD netrunner, that MaxTac psycho got him early in the fight. He’s not still kicking, is he?” The psycho was seriously torn to ribbons when the sumo guy carried him off, hopefully he didn’t make it. That the psycho got flatlined is most important.
>>5833465None, but the causes of cyberpsychosis are pretty mysterious to most people anyways.
>>5833477>>5833438>>5833427>>5833393Make sure he was flatlined.>>5833465>>5833415>>5833405>>5833395Question everything. >>5833400Write-in.>>5833403Pretty sure this is just sarcasm and not a vote.We have a tie between the two main options unless I've miscounted. I'll give it half an hour for a tie breaker.
>>5833512>>5833465>>5833415>>5833405>>5833395Wins. Writing.
>>5833497I'll break the tie”...He was an NCPD netrunner, that MaxTac psycho got him early in the fight. He’s not still kicking, is he?” The psycho was seriously torn to ribbons when the sumo guy carried him off, hopefully he didn’t make it. That the psycho got flatlined is most important.
“My dad was a badge,” You explain to Em, half in thought over how strange her interactions with Sarah were, and half on the anger and questions surrounding your father’s death, “Cyberpsycho got him - Like I said, none of the detes make sense. Those trauma AV’s just circled, and dad wasn’t a gonk that’d go out like that… There has to be something else. I’m looking for anything you can share.” “A badge?” Em considers that, lips still tight with displeasure, “NCPD were all flatlined or behind barricades by the time I got to the AO, met up with a choom and we went in half blind. I didn’t get a single byte on how the cops went down, got called in on the holo to handle a bloodbath in Kabuki and had to catch an NCART. Didn’t know more until I was out of the car…”She falls silent and her dark cybereyes flash blue once more, that thin smile from earlier returning for a few seconds, “So that’s where I know you from.” “I… Yeah, that was me. Small city sometimes.” No point in denying it, even if you’re not exactly proud of how nervous she made you with just some looks during that ride - ganger women don’t usually act so weirdly interested, and everything you’ve ever been told said it’s supposed to be very bad news if happens, some kind of trap that ends in getting mugged, “I was heading back to Kabuki to meet with my dad to watch the fireworks. We’d had a fight earlier and I ran off… It was a gonk move.”Em’s expression softens further at that last part, a tiny glimmer of sympathy shining through, “...How’d he go out?”“NCPD said it was biofeedback, but he was a good netrunner. He’d been doing it for years.” “A vet NCPD netrunner? From that MaxTac psycho? I didn’t see any self-IC shards or a deck in him, and I got a… close look.” Em doesn’t sound convinced by the story either, “I could have missed it though, it wasn’t the job. Send me your commcode. I don’t do charity work, but I know a Media, more of a Fixer now, that might be able to point you to someone that can help.”
>>5833665“Commcode? I thought you didn’t want to talk to him.” Sarah teases as you swipe your contact profile over to Em; her eyes flash, confirming the transfer. A second passes before a contact for one ‘Regina Jones’ is forward to you. Em's info follows a second later.//New contact: Regina Jones.////New contact: Em.//“Regina was looking for more clients, Sarah. It’s just biz.” Em waves the smug young girl’s comment off with a gold hand, her cold demeanor snapping back sharply, “Regina specializes in this kind of work, Kai. She has a good stable of runners to call up.”“She can help me work through this?” You question hopefully.“Just bring enough scratch and she’ll find someone to snoop around...” Em stops again, reading you like a book, the hopelessness of your situation settling in again as soon as money got brought up, “You’re really in the hole, aren’t you?”“I can’t afford a fixer right now.” It’s not quite true, but close enough - the money you do have is already earmarked for helping mom. It probably won’t even cover a whole month in the clinic.“That’s the end of the line then, unless… No, that’s it.” Em shakes her head, “No one does charity work.” “Did you zero the psycho?” You ask, hoping to find some silver lining. It's not your main concern now, but you'd feel a little better if he ate it. Or maybe a lot better.“No." Em dashes your hope with a single word, "He was barely holding together last I saw. Tossed him off to some soldiers who’re still in the Claws. Not my biz after that, no idea where he went or what happened. …That everything then? Normally I’d charge for this. A lot.”“You won’t though.” Sarah insists, totally unbothered by the conversation and inducing an aggravated eye roll from Em.>”Any idea why those Trauma AV’s were just orbiting the market? I’ve never heard of that happening before.” She has to know more, right?>”Unless what? What were you going to say?” You’ll take nearly anything at this point.>”Thanks for the help, Em. And you too, Sarah.” Leave politely; that little girl saved you a lot of grief, eddies, and maybe your head. People will be arriving for the funeral soon, best to be ready for them.>Write-in.
>>5833674>”Thanks for the help, Em. And you too, Sarah.” Leave politely; that little girl saved you a lot of grief, eddies, and maybe your head. People will be arriving for the funeral soon, best to be ready for them.We know the psycho isn't dead and have a potential lead. I'd rather not push Kai's luck
>>5833674>”Thanks for the help, Em. And you too, Sarah.” Leave politely; that little girl saved you a lot of grief, eddies, and maybe your head. People will be arriving for the funeral soon, best to be ready for them.
>>5833674>”Unless what? What were you going to say?” You’ll take nearly anything at this point.
>>5833674>>”Thanks for the help, Em. And you too, Sarah.” Leave politely; that little girl saved you a lot of grief, eddies, and maybe your head. People will be arriving for the funeral soon, best to be ready for them.
>>5833674>”Thanks for the help, Em. And you too, Sarah.” Leave politely; that little girl saved you a lot of grief, eddies, and maybe your head. People will be arriving for the funeral soon, best to be ready for them.Ambulances were on hold, police slaughtered. What if the cyber psycho was just a decoy for something else going down in Kabuki?
>>5833680I'll change to>”Unless what? What were you going to say?” You’ll take nearly anything at this point.I'm curious
>>5833773>>5833682Unless?>>5833761>>5833720>>5833683>>5833681>>5833678Thanks.Thanks wins. Writing.
>>5833837Eddies on "unless" meaning we do some work. She's right this info is high value. We owe her a favor.
“Thanks for the help, Em.” You say politely, not wanting to abuse their hospitality - or at least Sarah’s - further, “And thank you as well, Sarah.” “You are very welcome, mister Kai. I’ll offer a prayer for your father.” Sarah answers with utmost politeness, even giving a small bow - good manners for a kid that was throwing a tantrum just a few minutes ago, but you certainly won’t hold that against her. Em’s farewell isn’t half as formal, barely even a farewell at all, “Maybe I’ll see you around, Kai.”As you walk off, mentally preparing for the somber ceremony, you catch the faintest bit of conversation between Em and Sarah, carried to you by the wind over North Oak’s hills. “...ou …don …ike …im?” “People ...ithout …chrome. …are ...are …ese days. …pathetic …ost …puppy.” “...ou …ink …ute?~” “...hut it …ou …brat.”
>>5833916A little later, shortly after the funeral.They said you’d feel more at peace when the funeral finished. You do, but the hurt is still there, waiting. It probably won’t ever go away entirely, not while you have question left unanswered, while that psycho might still be out there somewhere. Maybe it won’t feel any better even after all that, everyones heard stories about how unfulfilling vengeance is in the end… but there’s plenty were it is, and it feels more right than anything in your life.The ceremony was pleasant, hopefully enough to see dad off properly. Mom was crying the whole time, a half blurred hologram projected next to you by a machine brought out by the attendants. It was the closest she could get to attending in person, and even through flashing scan lines and the pixelated image you could tell how hollowed out this has all left her. You’ll talk more, you’ll call everyday if you can, but she’s already disconnected to get her rest. It’s late over there, and she definitely needs it.That’s all behind you now, everything wrapped up. Some of the guests are already beginning to leave - you’ve already exchanged a few stories with dad’s NCPD pals, but there’s a chance to speak with one or two people for longer, maybe find out if they know anything. >You’ll speak with Vicky. You know she’s been looking around some on her own. Less aggressively than you, dad was just a good friend, but she’s actually inside the NCPD - that’s a serious leg up. …And you never know if she’ll still be around tomorrow, it’s a rough job going on patrol in Night City.>You’ll speak with the heavily chromed man wearing a suit that for some reason you think looks more like a uniform than formalwear. He’s neuralware, a lot of it, most of the back of his head a matte black synthetic material. You have no idea who he is, but he kept to the back for most of the funeral.>You’ll speak with the really leathery over-tanned biker looking guy military cyberarms and a mullet. A nomad? You don’t know much about nomads other than that they bring a ton of stuff into Night City, legal or otherwise, and run in clans. He was standing almost as far back as the man in the suit, but seemed much more at ease with being here.
>>5833919Part of the second voting options should read: "He's got neuralware, a lot of it, most the back of his head is a matte black synthetic material."
>>5833919>You’ll speak with the heavily chromed man wearing a suit that for some reason you think looks more like a uniform than formalwear. He’s neuralware, a lot of it, most of the back of his head a matte black synthetic material. You have no idea who he is, but he kept to the back for most of the funeral.
>>5833919>You’ll speak with the really leathery over-tanned biker looking guy military cyberarms and a mullet. A nomad? You don’t know much about nomads other than that they bring a ton of stuff into Night City, legal or otherwise, and run in clans. He was standing almost as far back as the man in the suit, but seemed much more at ease with being here.would rather not fuck with netwatch
>>5833919>>You’ll speak with Vicky. You know she’s been looking around some on her own. Less aggressively than you, dad was just a good friend, but she’s actually inside the NCPD - that’s a serious leg up. …And you never know if she’ll still be around tomorrow, it’s a rough job going on patrol in Night City.
>>5833919>You’ll speak with the really leathery over-tanned biker looking guy military cyberarms and a mullet. A nomad? You don’t know much about nomads other than that they bring a ton of stuff into Night City, legal or otherwise, and run in clans. He was standing almost as far back as the man in the suit, but seemed much more at ease with being here.IMO, Vicky is willing to help but NCPD probably wouldn't have gotten anywhere. Suit guy probably isn't super approachable, but the nomad has both underworld connections and seems cooperative at first glance. And maybe he could tell us more about Em.
>>5833919>You’ll speak with Vicky. You know she’s been looking around some on her own. Less aggressively than you, dad was just a good friend, but she’s actually inside the NCPD - that’s a serious leg up. …And you never know if she’ll still be around tomorrow, it’s a rough job going on patrol in Night City.
>>5833919>>You’ll speak with the really leathery over-tanned biker looking guy military cyberarms and a mullet. A nomad? You don’t know much about nomads other than that they bring a ton of stuff into Night City, legal or otherwise, and run in clans. He was standing almost as far back as the man in the suit, but seemed much more at ease with being here.
>>5833919>You’ll speak with the really leathery over-tanned biker looking guy military cyberarms and a mullet. A nomad? You don’t know much about nomads other than that they bring a ton of stuff into Night City, legal or otherwise, and run in clans. He was standing almost as far back as the man in the suit, but seemed much more at ease with being here.
Voting closes in 40 minutes.
>>5834008>>5833990>>5833950>>5833939>>5833935Nomad.>>5833925>>5834008Suit.>>5833938>>5833944Vicky.Nomad wins, writing.
Footsteps crunch across the neatly kept gravel of the shrine as the crowd of a couple of dozen people, mostly NCPD and a few of mom’s old BioTechnica colleagues, begin to depart. The wind is low, calm and crisp, slowing. There are clouds far off in the distance, a black wall slowly approaching from beyond Night City’s neon and glass skyline and the Morro Bay coast. It’s little wonder people are in a hurry to leave. An orange line streaks up nearly as far out, a little black blip at the very top of it - a rocket launching a cabin full of the super-wealthy into space. That’s certainly one way to avoid the rain.The details are hazy, but the fact that your dad was living a kind of second life, doing less-than-legal work on the side, is undeniable now. Weighing your options for a few seconds, you decide to spend what time you have talking to someone new, a leathery skinned nomad man probably a decade older than your father was. Of all the guests in attendance, he’s the most clearly out of place. You don’t know much about nomads beyond the bare bones basics; they bring in cargo to Night City, lots of it both legal and smuggled, they’re involved in everything from organized crime to contract work with corps, and they live in ‘clans’. The grizzled nomad doesn’t see you approaching. He’s leaning against the door of a heavily modded truck, a Thorton Mackinaw which is almost unrecognizable after all the work that’s been done to it. It is heavily up-armored all over, sporting redundant cameras, countermeasure launchers, and half a dozen other tech greebles you don’t have names for. The nomad man has his back turned to you, busy talking on his agent, his voice raspy from what must be years of smoking.“Dakota, it’s done. Paid our respects, no one gave me any trouble - just like I told you would happen. NCPD knows when not to stick its snout into things, ruins the ‘fallen hero’ image if they start… Hm. Think his son is here to talk. I’ll ring you later.”
>>5834112The nomad spins his agent smoothly in his hand before sliding it away into one of the interior pockets of his leather jacket, right next to a huge revolver kept in an old fashioned leather shoulder holster. “Kai, isn’t it?” He greets loudly, extending a hand to shake - it’s a cold, hard grip. No synthetic flesh, just worn and scratched gunmetal, heavy duty and practical cyberware from the last big war, “Name’s Cannon, I worked with your father. Taro was a good man, reliable.”“He was.” You agree, “He never mentioned working with a nomad though.”Cannon nods slowly, considering your words, his wrinkled brow furrowed in thought, “No, I don’t reckon he would have. That’s why I liked him, knew to keep his family safe first, keep some things quiet.”“You worked together for a while then?” You find yourself warming up to the man easily, his voice is rougher than sandpaper but there’s a genuineness to him that can’t be faked.“Years. He contracted with one of our clan’s statics, Dakota. Handled jobs for her, city work mostly.” Cannon explains readily, idly pulling a cigarette and old fashioned stainless steel lighter from his jacket, lighting up a smoke and taking a long drag before continuing, “You don’t know what he did, do you?”“No, he never said a word about any of it. I didn’t know a byte of it until this morning.”“Hm, right then, only one thing to do. I know a man looking for answers when I see one.” Cannon raps a metal hand against the side of his truck, “Ride shotgun, we’ll talk.”“Where to?” “Around. Back to your place if you need it, out to the badlands, corpo plaza - roads lead anywhere you want. Finished up my business at the Afterlife this morning, got time to kill.”>”Sure, let’s ride.”>”...I’d rather talk here.”>Write-in.
>>5834115>”Sure, let’s ride.”
>>5834115>”Sure, let’s ride.”Let's go, nomads seem pretty cool in Cyberpunk
>”Sure, let’s ride.”
>>5834115>”Sure, let’s ride.”Inb4 we spend the next few months or year learning trade skills and self defense before coming back for answers We are woefully under prepped for the shit we're seeking with a fairly cushy "plain" life. We could always say fuck Night City and look to just be a Nomad adoptee now to pay mom's bills.
>>5834115>”Sure, let’s ride.”Fuuuuuck yeah
>>5834115>”Sure, let’s ride.”Fuck it we ride
>>5834117>>5834120>>5834129>>5834170>>5834173>>5834185>>5834188>>5834207Unanimous with a pile of votes. Writing.
“Sure,” You agree at once, eager to get answers to burning questions, “Let’s ride.”“That’s the spirit.” Cannon remarks approvingly, the doors to his Thorton unlocking automatically as you approach. You swing the heavy armored door open and step up inside on the patched leather seat. The interior is just as modded as the outside, if not moreso, bundled cables running up and down along the walls and roof. Several flat screen panels scavenged from comps cover the dash, one of them even on a movable arm like in an NCPD patrol cruiser. Looking down at the short shotgun sheathed by your side, right between your seat and the door, you can’t help but comment, “Riding shotgun with an actual shotgun - Nova.” “How else would you do it?” Cannon replies in a deadpan tone as he starts the engine. The Thorton roars to life, rumbling with plenty of horsepower to spare as Cannon pulls it out of the parking lot and onto the sports car infested roads of North Oak - lots of the rich and famous up in these parts, just far enough at the edge of Night City to have a good view and few neighbors but not so far as to really be out in the badlands.“So, my dad,” You begin, “What did he do?”“A whole laundry list of jobs, but usually it was cracking security along the border.” Cannon rasps out the answer while overtaking and passing a sleek looking super car that’s driving like a complete snail, probably some banker or flick star that can barely drive it, “Helped us move cargo past the drones and patrols, found holes in the minefields. A good netrunner is hard to come by.”“What kind of cargo do you move?”“Anything we’re paid for.” He answers bluntly, entirely unashamed as he lists off examples, “ Real meat. Guns. Exotic animals - usually lizards. Medical supplies, baloperidol and immuno-blockers by the crate. People, but not the way the raffen do it - usually we’re moving people out of Night City, getting in isn’t a problem for most folks.”You’re not sure what ‘raffen’ are, but he practically spit the word out. Probably not friends then. “And dad was helping with this for years?”“Yep. Mostly worked over the net, but we had a few jobs in person. Cleared a warehouse of scavs. Had a close call on that one, nearly lost my arm again to one of em' with chainsaw for a hand.”…That’s a sentence with too much to address, so you just stick to the biggest part, “Cleared?”“Fragged the whole pack.” Cannon confirms your suspicion, “He fried a few of them, glitched their chrome, then we handled the rest with iron. They had one of our kids.”“Oh. Man, fuck scavs.” You might’ve lived in the safety of downtown most of your life, but absolutely everyone in Night City knows how scummy scavs are, the lowest of the low. Part harvesting, sex trafficking, XBDs of all kinds - even torture and snuff - there’s nothing scavs won’t do. No one would miss a warehouse of them.
“Amen to that.” He agrees, merging onto the main highway circling Night City, “Anyways, go ahead and shoot - any questions you have… Hold on a sec, someone’s on the holo…”Cannon taps at one of the large screens on the dash, and a woman’s voice fills the interior of the Thorton. “Cannon, we have a problem.” The woman states solemnly.“I said I’d ring you later, Dakota.” The veteran nomad rasps back, but she clearly has his attention.“It cannot wait, wraiths are already moving. We’ve located the shipment that was stolen last week.”“...The crates the wraiths grabbed off our truck?”“The very same. It was stolen again, by one of their own.”“Sounds like good news to me. Where's this raffen at? I’ll deal with them.”“They’re not raffen. She’s looking for an out, willing to trade the goods for a cleared name. She was born into it, not an outcast.”“Well damn, that might be worse, not better, and it's not our decision to make, Saul and the-”“I am going with my gut. The clan is two states away on convoy, do not be so stubborn. I’ll speak with the family, but the opportunity will slip away if we wait.” “This isn’t like you, Dakota.” He complains, but the truck is already taking an exit ramp and slowing, looking for a place to park for a moment.”It is a complicated situation. I’ve sent you the coordinates she gave me. We don’t have a runner free in the city - Will you do it or not? If you move quickly, bloodshed might still be avoided.”“I’ve got a ride along with me right now, Dakota, Taro’s son. I…” Cannon looks at you now, sizing you up carefully as the Thorton comes to a stop in a small industrial center’s parking lot, “Kai, you can bail here - but I could use someone to cover me if there’s trouble.”Vote one: Kai is not experienced, but he isn’t totally defenseless. He could be of some help.>You know how to shoot, your father took you to the range a few times and you’ve done some virtual training with BDs. You have never been in anything like a real firefight.>You shot a few guns, once, several years ago. Assuming the drone on new years doesn’t count, anyways. That’s really quite awful, but you can handle yourself up close so long as your opponent isn’t really chromed up. You’ve done martial arts since you were young, both unarmed and with weapons.Vote Two: Take the job? There will be compensation.>”I’ll watch your back.” Cannon was dad’s friend, known to you or not. Maybe you’ll get lucky and there won’t be fighting, it could just be a simple pickup.>”...I think I should bail here, I’d just slow you down.” A possible fight? No, that sounds like a bad idea.VOTE FOR BOTH VOTES.
>>5834266>You know how to shoot, your father took you to the range a few times and you’ve done some virtual training with BDs. You have never been in anything like a real firefight.All else being equal, I'd rather not make the investment in chrome to make CQC truly viable. Besides, Dad already has guns back at home.>”I’ll watch your back.” Cannon was dad’s friend, known to you or not. Maybe you’ll get lucky and there won’t be fighting, it could just be a simple pickup.Shits already fucked for Kai, better to the opportunities that come to you.
>>5834266>You shot a few guns, once, several years ago. Assuming the drone on new years doesn’t count, anyways. That’s really quite awful, but you can handle yourself up close so long as your opponent isn’t really chromed up. You’ve done martial arts since you were young, both unarmed and with weapons.>”I’ll watch your back.” Cannon was dad’s friend, known to you or not. Maybe you’ll get lucky and there won’t be fighting, it could just be a simple pickup.FUCK IT WE RIDE!
>>5834266>You know how to shoot, your father took you to the range a few times and you’ve done some virtual training with BDs. You have never been in anything like a real firefight.>”I’ll watch your back.” Cannon was dad’s friend, known to you or not. Maybe you’ll get lucky and there won’t be fighting, it could just be a simple pickup.
>>5834266>>You know how to shoot, your father took you to the range a few times and you’ve done some virtual training with BDs. You have never been in anything like a real firefight.>”I’ll watch your back.” Cannon was dad’s friend, known to you or not. Maybe you’ll get lucky and there won’t be fighting, it could just be a simple pickup.SHOOOOOT
>>5834266>You shot a few guns, once, several years ago. Assuming the drone on new years doesn’t count, anyways. That’s really quite awful, but you can handle yourself up close so long as your opponent isn’t really chromed up. You’ve done martial arts since you were young, both unarmed and with weapons.>”I’ll watch your back.” Cannon was dad’s friend, known to you or not. Maybe you’ll get lucky and there won’t be fighting, it could just be a simple pickup.Gonk move but we'll need every bit of cash we can get our hands on.
>>5834266>>You know how to shoot, your father took you to the range a few times and you’ve done some virtual training with BDs. You have never been in anything like a real firefight.>>5834266>>”I’ll watch your back.” Cannon was dad’s friend, known to you or not. Maybe you’ll get lucky and there won’t be fighting, it could just be a simple pickup.
>>5834266>You know how to shoot, your father took you to the range a few times and you’ve done some virtual training with BDs. You have never been in anything like a real firefight.>”I’ll watch your back.” Cannon was dad’s friend, known to you or not. Maybe you’ll get lucky and there won’t be fighting, it could just be a simple pickup.I originally wanted to be a street sam, but I think going for a hacker would be more fitting for this character's story
>>5834266>You know how to shoot, your father took you to the range a few times and you’ve done some virtual training with BDs. You have never been in anything like a real firefight.>”I’ll watch your back.” Cannon was dad’s friend, known to you or not. Maybe you’ll get lucky and there won’t be fighting, it could just be a simple pickup.Time to make rent, boys.
>>5834266>You shot a few guns, once, several years ago. Assuming the drone on new years doesn’t count, anyways. That’s really quite awful, but you can handle yourself up close so long as your opponent isn’t really chromed up. You’ve done martial arts since you were young, both unarmed and with weapons.>”I’ll watch your back.” Cannon was dad’s friend, known to you or not. Maybe you’ll get lucky and there won’t be fighting, it could just be a simple pickup.
>You know how to shoot, your father took you to the range a few times and you’ve done some virtual training with BDs. You have never been in anything like a real firefight.>”I’ll watch your back.” Cannon was dad’s friend, known to you or not. Maybe you’ll get lucky and there won’t be fighting, it could just be a simple pickup.
>>5834266>You know how to shoot, your father took you to the range a few times and you’ve done some virtual training with BDs. You have never been in anything like a real firefight.Makes sense for a cop’s son.e the job? There will be compensation.>”I’ll watch your back.” Cannon was dad’s friend, known to you or not. Maybe you’ll get lucky and there won’t be fighting, it could just be a simple pickup.How can we say no? We need the eddies.
Everyone voted for yes, so I'll just tally up shooting vs. melee.>>5834268>>5834302>>5834310>>5834333>>5834346>>5834409>>5834538Shoot.>>5834286>>5834323>>5834480Melee.Shooting wins. Writing.
“I’ll watch your back.” You answer him at once, tapping at the sheathed shotgun with one hand, “Dad showed me how to handle iron.”“Glad to have you along then, he was a dead-eye.” Cannon brings the truck roaring back to life, exiting the small industrial park and swinging back onto the road much quicker than before, a map of Night City’s streets displayed on one of the dash screen along with a simple yellow waypoint, “Dakota, we’re heading to the coordinates - we’ll get the shipment back… and see if this raffen runaway of yours is worth the trouble.”“You’re a true brother, Cannon. Good hunting.”“Heh, yeah, and good luck to you with Saul and the others.” Cannon chuckles roughly, as if Dakota was the one about to really step into a lion’s den and not the two of you. The holo call ends, replaced by road and engine noise as the tanned old nomad hits the gas and really brings his Thorton up to speed, “Bringing in a raffen… Christ, never thought I’d see Dakota be the one to try it.” “Are they like scavs? I’ve heard gangers scream ‘pig’ in a friendlier tone than that.” You guess at what these ‘raffens’ are, context clues from the holo call building up something of a picture in your mind already. “Nomad outcasts. They’re worse than scavs - better organized, bolder, more vicious than a junkyard dog on black lace. Raffens ambush convoys, raid towns, slaughter people just for fun sometimes - they take anything they can, any jobs no matter how dirty they have to get.”“Sounds like they won’t be missed.”“Ha, could say that again.”2076.01.04, 14:35Night City (North Side) “...This is it.” Cannon says as the Thorton comes to a rolling stop near a run down looking pod hotel, clearly an old motel that some franchisee rebranded - it doesn’t look like they’re having much success. A pillar of dark smoke rises from within its parking lot, too large to be a burn barrel - a car, probably, but you can’t see it from out on the street. Burning cars aren’t anything strange in North Side, neither is automatic weapons fire, but it still catches your attention.“There’s a car burning in there, Cannon.” You comment, but the veteran nomad already noticed it, “Think we’re too late?”“Might be.” He chews over the idea, nodding slowly before getting the truck moving again, cutting across the street and over the sidewalk to get off to the side of the motel, “We’ll swing around the back, parking lot like that are a kill zone if you drive right in. Get that shotgun ready, we’ll check on foot.”
>>5834800Leaving the heavily armored truck isn’t the most appealing idea in gang infested North Side, especially with these ‘raffens’ possibly lurking about looking for revenge on their runaway, but you don’t argue - If dad trusted Cannon then that’s enough for you. …And you don’t want to look like a coward after already agreeing to help, you’d never live down the shame. Opening the door warily, you step out onto the cracked concrete of the lot behind the motel and follow Cannon, your shotgun clenched in a tight grip and head on a swivel. He’s got his huge revolver out of its shoulder holster now, a stainless steel monster of a gun. As you approach the back entrance, a closed set of double doors greets you - it doesn’t lead to an interior area, you can see through the glass that it just cuts the parking lot and motel area off from the backlot you’re sneaking in through. The lock has been shot to pieces, swiss cheesed by what must’ve been a whole magazine - all it will take is a push to slide the doors open again, but Cannon holds for a moment, motioning for you to remain still while he examines the area beyond. After a moment he waves you over.“Cargo’s intact, but someone got flatlined.” Cannon points through the narrow windows on the doors. Peering past the glass and the shadows cast by the motel’s second level, you can see the burning remains of a modded Thorton Colby in a little side area separated from the main parking lot by a hedge. It was armored like Cannon’s Mackinaw but is far worse for wear. Blackened metal and burning CHOOH2 are all that’s left, dark smoke billowing high into the sky. Pieces of it are scattered all about, like some sort of bomb hit it, and among the shards of metal are a number of heavily chromed and very dead Maelstrom gangers. Even though the door you hide is barely cracked, you can smell the burning rubber and fuel of the wreck, a thick pungent odor. A few white metal crates, about the size of a footlocker, have been piled up along the wall near the wreck and look mostly intact.“Looks like Maelstrom, not raffen.” You whisper to Cannon, “I’d know that ugly chrome anywhere, dad hated their guts.” “They’re bad news. Probably sniffed out the deal, immuno-blockers are like candy for those chromeheads. If there’s more Maelstrom in there, shoot for the meat, not metal. Anything you can see.” Cannon taps at his pelvis with his off hand, pointing to that general area of his body, “Aim for the pelvis if you can’t see skin. Most vests don’t go down that far, cyberlegs stop lower - folds em’ like laundry.” “...Pelvis, got it.” You adjust your grip on the shotgun, taking in the lesson readily - it makes sense, but you probably wouldn’t have thought of it in the moment if some chromed ganger leaped at you from behind a crate.
>>5834803Cannon’s eyes narrow and he nods to himself, “Let’s move in, gut says the fight’s over. On three.”He counts down, and then slides the door open, keeping in a sort of low hunch as he steps through, scanning about with his revolver. You follow a few paces behind, trying hard to keep your nerves from getting the better of you - those dead Maelstrom members really got cut up by whatever happened to Colby, there’s real and synth blood all over their motionless bodies. …No guns though. Shouldn’t there be guns next to bodies?“Aldelcaldos?” A woman’s voice shouts the question from somewhere you can’t see on the motel’s second level - Cannon practically drags you into the shadows closer to the motel wall, out of most lines of sight.“We’re with the clan!” Cannon shouts back warily, “You move out first.”“If you shoot me, I swear to…” The voice begins to threaten, but the words die in her throat and she quiets down a couple of notches, “I’m coming out.”“Unarmed!” Cannon orders warily.“So you can zero me and take my cargo? Fuck that! I knew this was a gonk plan.” The unseen woman curses loudly, intense frustration in her voice - the kind you only get when it’s your own fuck up screwing things over for you.“We’re not raffen!” Cannon shouts back more calmly than you would’ve expected from the rough looking man, “You have my word, come out unarmed and we’ll honor the deal. Won’t be long before your former ‘family’ gets here, they won’t be half as kind. If you want to leave the wraiths, act like it. We're the ones going out on a limb here.”
>>5834805A few moments pass in silence, and then a rifle is thrown from the second level and clatters on the ground. A sheathed sword follows immediately after it. Cannon starts to chuckle to himself when a handgun lands, and another, two more rifles, and then a double barreled shotgun, a couple of knives, and what you think is a box of Militech fragmentation grenades. Once the small armory is done being thrown over the edge, a rough and bloodied young woman clamps over the railing and drops down a bit further away. She lands in a crouch, standing quickly and dusting off her ratty old leather jacket with both hands, and you find your eyes wandering over her… You snap out of that quickly, but it’s hard to ignore how attractive she is, just plain pretty in a way most people can’t get even if they drop tens of thousands of eddies on designer faceplates and cosmeticware. That, uh, really wasn’t expected. You were thinking she’d be some tweaker looking glimmer addict with facial burns, more scav like, and definitely not hot.“I appreciate the…” Cannon eyes the pile of weapons as he steps out and away from the wall, glancing between it and the skinny purple haired raffen woman, “...Honesty, I suppose. Name’s Cannon, this is Kai - Dakota sent us to pick you and the cargo up.”“You brought a suit with you? What the hell is this?” The woman asks, green eyes staring daggers at you in pure distrust, “Dakota didn’t mention corpos in the deal.”“He’s not a corpo, just dressed like one.” Cannon rasps back, “Are you going to waste more time or can we start loading the cargo?”“...Fine. I’m Maeve. Can I get my guns back now?” She gruffly introduces herself, moving to gather some of her weapons up again as soon as Cannon nods, “...Where’s your wheels?”
>>5834818“Out back.” You answer, loosening the grip on your shotgun slightly and waving in the direction of the double doors, “What happened to yours?”“Maelstrom tried to plug me and run with the goods. It blew up in their faces.” She answers, stopping to take a moment to spit on one of the corpses and give it a small kick, “Chromed cunts. Bad death for a good car.”She probably had it rigged to explode before the deal was even made then. Or maybe it was just a grenade, you don’t really know how much damage those can do.“So we were your second option then?” Cannon crosses his arms, shaking he head in disapproval.“Yeah. Don’t give me that look, you know how this usually ends. I wasn't rushing to die.” Maeve replies flatly to him, the spat dying there. As she walks past you toward the pile of crates, now festooned with weapons, she gives you a much longer, closer look, “You just come from a fucking funeral or something?”It pisses you off a bit, but she’s dead on. …And she smells, it’s rank, must’ve been days without a shower and who knows how long since a change of clothes.>”You come from a garbage heap?” What a bitch.>”I did, yeah. My dad’s.” >Write-in.
>>5834824>>”You come from a garbage heap?” What a bitch.
>>5834824>>”I did, yeah. My dad’s.”hey a fellow protag candidate. I love when qm does this
>>5834824>”I did, yeah. My dad’s.”
>>5834824>>”I did, yeah. My dad’s.”
>>5834824>”I did, yeah.>”You come from a garbage heap?” What a bitch.¿por que no los dos?
>>5834824>Write-in.>Just think of the Eddies - don't blow up on the escort.>"Actually, yeah. Cyberpsycho got my dad."
>>5834841The streetkid and their choom are also out there somewhere.
>>5834824>”I did, yeah. My dad’s.” I am a cyber punk noob, is she from the game or another cyber punk quest?
>>5834858She’s one of the MC options from >>5829973Fixers are from the game though, Dakota, Regina, that old lady… Wakato…?
>>5834824No, my usual dirty decaying rags are at the dry cleaners. Ever heard of it?
>>5834897kekOne more hour for votes.
>>5834879dino and the captain. maybe faraday
>”I did, yeah. My dad’s.”
oh and mister hands
>>5834879Cool cool cool
>>5834922>>5834921>>5834904>>5834902>>5834891>>5834858>>5834852>>5834846>>5834842>>5834841Wins. Writing.
“I did, yeah.” You answer coldly, tired of explaining it by new. Too fresh and too many unanswered questions. “My dad’s. Cyberpyscho attack on new years.”That slows Maeve for a moment, just a moment, before she moves on to the crates of immuno-blockers, “...That sucks. Been a shit week for you too then?” “More crate moving, less talking!” Cannon barks, “We’ll have time to throw a pity party for both of you on the ride out. We’ll have raffen up to our eyes if we don’t get these loaded five minutes ago.” Rough words, but Cannon is right - this isn’t the time, and you’re not looking for more sympathy from strangers anyways, got plenty of that over the last few days and at the funeral. Leave it to an old hand like him to keep things on task. The next couple of minutes go by quickly and largely in tense silence, working as a team to shuttle the heavy lockers to the truck and keep on watch for raffen partycrashers or just run-of-the-mill opportunistic gangers roaming North Side. BioTechnica labels on the white crates elicit a bitter grin from you - turns out they’re still helping to pay your bills, just in ways they never expected. Maeve’s small arsenal of weapons, most of it seized from the dead maelstrom members rotting over in the motel yard, are stacked on racks in the bed along with Cannon’s own eclectic collection of guns and ammo. There’s other heavy crates back there too, long reinforced things covered in Militech labels, but it’s not your stuff and there’s no time to nose around anyways.
>>5835045As the last of the foot locker sized crates of immuno-blockers getting shoved in the bed of the Thorton and secured with straps, Maeve stops dead in her tracks, green eyes darting about as she listens keenly for something. Slowly you hear it as well, a distant rippling and popping roar growing closer by the second. By the time you begin to process what it might be, Maeve is already exploding into action, shouting curses as she unslings a mean looking rifle seized from one of the dead Maelstrom gangers.“Shit, they’re here - I know that exhaust! It’s other…” She stumbles on her words while racking the bolt of her looted Maelstrom rifle, checking to ensure a round is chambered, “It’s wraiths! Move it, mullet! You too, suit!”“Kai, just hop in the bed!” Cannon shouts, already sliding into the driver’s seat and starting up the truck; it lets out its own roar, distinct at once from the approaching wraith vehicles.Maeve clambers into the bed as well, pulling the gate shut as soon as you flop in quite ungracefully. Your chin hits one of the crates, stinging pain blooming from it - probably a cut - but there’s no time to worry about scratches like that as the Thorton is already pulling out from the motel. As you peer up over the back of the bed, you see the cars in pursuit. Three red and black cars covered in splashing patterns of cyan ghosts - wraiths you realize at once - are already burning after you, engines roaring and suspension bucking as they take decades old potholes at full speed. The lead is an armored Galena, but the sleeker two on the wings are so modded you don’t even recognize them. Black smart tinting on their armorglass windshields makes it impossible to see the people within, but a few cyan and pink haired raffen are already leaning from passenger windows and waving guns. Thunderous concussions next to your head send you jumping, startled as Maeve’s rifle barks and spews a stream of lead toward the lead wraith vehicle, “Rot in piss, you motherfucking gonks!”>Open up with your shotgun, there’s no time to waste. Let the lead fly! >...Shotgun isn’t ideal, those cars and some of the raffens are armored. Rummage in the weapon racks for something more useful. >Where’d that box of grenades get off to? You’ve seen people use them in BDs… I need two rolls of 1d100. It's best of two for this, higher is better, meets beats. DC is 60. This is for Kai keeping his nerve. There will be another roll for fighting once an option is chosen.
Rolled 12 (1d100)>>5835049>...Shotgun isn’t ideal, those cars and some of the raffens are armored. Rummage in the weapon racks for something more useful.Kai is a hard-core motherfucking gangster
>>5835049>...Shotgun isn’t ideal, those cars and some of the raffens are armored. Rummage in the weapon racks for something more usefulNull sweat!Oh wait wrong universe
Rolled 6 (1d20)>>5835049Also let's roll!
Rolled 75 (1d100)>>5835049Oh come on now
>>5835058Clutch
>>5835053+1
>>5835055I saw the six and started to cackle before I noticed it was the wrong die size, good save >>5835058
I'll give voting another half hour.
>>5835049>...Shotgun isn’t ideal, those cars and some of the raffens are armored. Rummage in the weapon racks for something more useful.
Rolled 38, 63, 48 = 149 (3d100)>>5835163>>5835053>>5835051>>5835062Rummage for a different weapon wins. Writing. I need two rolls of 1d100, DC is 75. Success will be significantly more effective than if the shotgun was used, but finding an appropriate new weapon and then quickly shooting from a moving vehicle is difficult.Rolling for shooting for the wraiths (DC 65) and Maeve (DC 60). Wraiths are the first d100 and Maeve is the next two.
Rolled 23 (1d100)>>5835180
Rolled 68 (1d100)>>5835180
>>5835198>>5835186Failure, but not terrible. Thanks for the rolls, anons.
>>5835198>Roll higher than everyone else>Still failKWAB
>>5835212lmao
>>5835212>KWABWhat does that mean?
>>5835266it's probably a 4chan filter. like s m h become baka
>>5835266Kek, what a bitch. Often used on /sp/
As engines roar and bullets start to fly, your heart begins beating like a drum, adrenaline rushing through your body as it faces one of the oldest dilemmas known to any form of life: Fight or flight. You’ll fight. 75.Ducking low in the bed of the truck, you cast aside your shotgun and scramble for a more fitting weapon - it’s a split second decision, but your instincts scream at your that it’s the right one. Shotguns won’t do jackshit to cars armored up like the wraiths have theirs, you don’t need to be a tech to figure that out. No, Maeve has the right idea, the brass flinging out the side of her rifle something of an inspiration - at least a rifle, something even bigger would be best… “Come on, suit, shoot!” Maeve yells at you, crouching unsteadily as she thumbs the release on its curved magazine and clacks in a fresh one. Her next long, barely controlled burst sends one of the raffen gunmen slumping out of his window, his body flipping and folding violently as it impacts the road at high speed - one of the other wraith vehicles crunches over the mangled man, adding one more dark stain to the roads of North Side. “I need a different gun!” You shout back while unlocking the clamps on a bulky 'light' machinegun, a piece from Cannon’s own stock - thankfully it’s already loaded. Reloading it’d be a mess to figure out right now, “...Think this’ll work?!”Maeve cackles like a madwoman when she sees the huge weapon, “Ahahaha! Nova~ Send them to hell, suit!”“Just need to-” You struggle to get the gun into position for a few seconds, keeping low and getting a bulky machinegun braced against the top of the tailgate not being the most complimentary goals - more bullets ping off the armor nearby as you finally get the beast of a gun into something like a stable firing position, “Just need to get it set up - there, finally!”“Have you ever even shot one of those thi - Agh, fuck!” Maeve cries out as the Thorton suddenly turns, sending her sprawling over into you, landing in an awkward close pressed heap, “Aldecaldo driving! Agh, get your hand off my fucking- Hey!”
>>5835291>>5835287Thanks.
>>5835313Cannon shouts something, but you can’t make it out of the cacophony of gunfire and road noise - the truck is weaving through more traffic now, the streets not half as dead as the chase stretches on to the east. Fumbling to separate from Maeve in the tightly packed bed, limbs and guns all a bit of a mess jumbled together as the Thorton continues to swerve to avoid gunfire and traffic, you eventually get apart and brace the machinegun once more…And open fire! 68.Thud thud thudding, the machinegun belches out tracers into traffic, shots stitching over one of the wraith cars but failing to hit anything vulnerable or the exposed gunmen. Braced against the tailgate, the heavy gun doesn’t have much recoil, but hitting a moving target from a moving target is proving a lot harder than putting holes in paper, even with a machinegun. Brass and belt links spew from its side, rattling around the bed as they bounce about here and there. Maeve starts to add to the mess, once more letting loose with her rifle.The raffen are closing in, driving dangerously through the traffic Cannon is clearing comparatively easily, even bumping into a few cars and sending them spinning out of control. They’re going to have an easier time hitting as ranges close. You need to…>...Keep shooting, concentrate on the lead wraith car, the galena, and blast through the whole belt! Let the lead fly, put them down for good.>...Be more careful with your shooting, there are too many bystanders now, too much traffic. Take shorter bursts at the raffen gunmen and the tires of their vehicles, try to keep it under control.>...Just try to stay alive, keep shooting but stay as low as you can - the wraiths are really beginning to close in!
>>5835318>...Be more careful with your shooting, there are too many bystanders now, too much traffic. Take shorter bursts at the raffen gunmen and the tires of their vehicles, try to keep it under control.
>>5835318>>...Keep shooting, concentrate on the lead wraith car, the galena, and blast through the whole belt! Let the lead fly, put them down for good.OH SHIT I'M FEELING IT
>>5835318>...Keep shooting, concentrate on the lead wraith car, the galena, and blast through the whole belt! Let the lead fly, put them down for good.Short bursts. DIE MOTHERFUCKER DIE
>>5835318>...Keep shooting, concentrate on the lead wraith car, the galena, and blast through the whole belt! Let the lead fly, put them down for good.Dakka
>...Be more careful with your shooting, there are too many bystanders now, too much traffic. Take shorter bursts at the raffen gunmen and the tires of their vehicles, try to keep it under control.
>...Keep shooting, concentrate on the lead wraith car, the galena, and blast through the whole belt! Let the lead fly, put them down for good.
>>5835318>...Be more careful with your shooting, there are too many bystanders now, too much traffic. Take shorter bursts at the raffen gunmen and the tires of their vehicles, try to keep it under control.Focus, if dakka doesn't work then we need to be tactical - like in the movies!
>>5835318>Be more careful with your shooting, there are too many bystanders now, too much traffic. Take shorter bursts at the raffen gunmen and the tires of their vehicles, try to keep it under control.We don't know how to reload this thing, better spare ammo a bit. Maybe see if we have an opportunity to put out tires from under the raffen - like >>5835564said, it's what they do in the movies!
>>5835318>...Be more careful with your shooting, there are too many bystanders now, too much traffic. Take shorter bursts at the raffen gunmen and the tires of their vehicles, try to keep it under control.We have our nerve and we know we can't afford to run out of ammo. We have to drop down to bursts. Getting through the armor 100% is unlikely, especially the front/windshield.If we know when we get a turn, we can hit the less armored side and ideally get either the tires or the gunmen then.
>>5835618>>5835564>MoviesFuck having that old ass gonk shit. BDs are where it's at choom.
>>5835318>...Keep shooting, concentrate on the lead wraith car, the galena, and blast through the whole belt! Let the lead fly, put them down for good.
>>5835618...I'm actually an idiot, I didn't realize the tires bit was included in what I voted for! Uuuugh, and I thought I was being smart.>>5835650>Doesn't appreciate the classicsBet this gonk doesn't even read books.
>>5835702It's been like... 70 years since the last movies came out gonk. Don't know how CRTs and dial up phones are useful at the moment.
>>5835318>...Be more careful with your shooting, there are too many bystanders now, too much traffic. Take shorter bursts at the raffen gunmen and the tires of their vehicles, try to keep it under control.Dial it in, Kai!
>>5835728>It's been like... 70 years since the last movies came outOh wew, my lack of knowledge about Cyberpunk coming to light geeze.
Rolled 49, 44, 72, 2 = 167 (4d100)TIme for rolls.>>5835732>>5835673>>5835645>>5835618>>5835564>>5835540>>5835321Careful shooting.>>5835678>>5835551>>5835395>>5835336>>5835323Dakka dakka.Careful shooting wins. I need two rolls of 1d100, DC 65. Ranges have closed and Kai has his gun braced, but he's going for harder targets and trying not to blast half a dozen pedestrians to pieces. Any success will be quite effective, same deal as last time.Rolling for shooting for the wraiths (DC 55) and Maeve (DC 50). Wraiths are the first two(!) d100, Maeve is the next two. Closing ranges and more raffen are shooting.
Rolled 33 (1d100)>>5835912
Rolled 25 (1d100)>>5835912Brace and squeeze!
>>5835915>>5835923>33.Failure, but since restraint was used Kai won't be accidentally blasting half of North Side's pedestrians.Writing.
>>5835912Nice riding nomad girl! We better up our game.
Well, at least the opposing gunmen are bad too
At the next intersection the Thorton drifts into a turn with a screech, briefly skiing on two tires as it passes through a narrow gap between a pair of rusted old cars and merges with the new direction of traffic. You’re not thrown around as much by Cannon’s wild driving this time, rocking from side to side but braced enough to keep your position. Maeve shoots the whole way through the wild turn, bullets spraying here and there in the direction of the pursuing wraiths until her magazine runs dry. More rounds are missing than hitting, a few even striking other unlucky cars caught up in the chase, but she’s putting in work on the raffens.The wraith cars take the turn almost as well as Cannon, but their rearmost vehicle clips a motorcycle and sends its rider spinning out and tumbling across the road. Bastards that they are, the raffen aren’t picky about their aim - they take every chance they can to send bursts cracking toward you. More shots ping and clank off the truck’s armored rear, but most miss entirely or spray across other vehicles in traffic, blowing out windows and even sending one unfortunate car careening off the road. It swerves uncontrolled off the street and across the cracked sidewalk, going right through the chainlink fence of an old workshop before finally crashing into its graffiti covered cinder block wall.Adrenaline pumping and lead flying, you nearly let loose, a heartbeat away from fully joining in the chaos and blasting the wraiths with every round left in your belt - but the sight of the crashing car and wiped out motorcycle snap you back to the reality of what’s going on. You can’t just shoot into traffic like this, even out here in North Side’s industrial areas there’s too many people.
>>5835982Adjusting your grip on your macheingun’s strange side-mounted pistol grip, you line up the sights and try to take more careful aim at the gunman leaning from the armored galena Maeve is lighting up - Squeezing the trigger, you let off a short burst, and…Miss. 33.The burst goes a little wide and low, blasting the road and sending rounding ricocheting away. Waiting a moment for a clear shot, you let off another dozen rounds, but the raffen bastard ducks back into the safety of his vehicle, probably to reload, and your shots zip right past and off into one of the other wraith cars trailing further back. When the wraith sticks back out and starts to shoot, a few rounds from Maeve’s rifle find him and even at this distance you can see a spray of arterial red - the raffen’s gun falls from his hands, clattering onto the street, and he pulls back into the galena’s small interior. Cursing, you try to put some rounds into one of the cars further back, hoping to take out the tires, but your rounds end up sparking across its armored hood instead as the Thorton hits a pothole, rattling you about and sending your shots high.Even with Cannon’s skilled driving and all the gunfire you and Maeve are sending their way, the wraith vehicles are closing fast - they’re simply faster than the truck, nearly as modded up and far lighter to begin with. The galena at the front is falling to the rear of the pack now, but the other two will practically be on top of you soon.
>>5835984“...Oh, those gonks, they’re going to try to jump!” Maeve shouts to you, pulling your attention away from shooting. “Jump?” You yell back, perplexed. More bullets whiz through the air nearby, missing - the wraiths are having better luck killing pedestrians today than their actual targets. “They’ll pull alongside, open the doors, and jump!” She spells out the wraith’s intentions painfully clearly, and your eyes widen in shock - that’s completely nuts. “They’ll just die, that’s a gonk plan - let them do it!” You reply, more than happy to watch these raffen gonks kill themselves trying to pull off a BD stunt in real life.“No! It works more than it doesn’t, we, uh, they took a whole convoy last month,” She shouts while scrambling to find a new rifle from one of the racks, her other out of ammo and its supply of spares mags completely burnt through by her aggressive shooting, “Trust me, I know these guys, some of them have speedware - They can clear the gap! ...Agh, come on, are any of these gun loaded?!”>Fuck it, just give one of the cars the rest of the belt, you need to thin their numbers! If some rounds hits other cars, so be it, this is life or death. >Bursts will work, you just have to actually land one on the right targets - stick to what you’ve been doing, no one else has to die except these raffen assholes.>Hand your machinegun off to Maeve and grab the shotgun you set aside. Prepare to repel boarders!
>>5835989>Hand your machinegun off to Maeve and grab the shotgun you set aside. Prepare to repel boarders!
>>5835989>Hand your machinegun off to Maeve and grab the shotgun you set aside. Prepare to repel boarders!We need the right tool for the job!
>>5835989>Hand your machinegun off to Maeve and grab the shotgun you set aside. Prepare to repel boarders!We have no luck with machine guns, maybe shotguns strike our fancy!
Thirty more minutes for votes.
Rolled 94, 43, 26, 47 = 210 (4d100)>>5836055>>5836039>>5836024>>5836021>>5836007>>5835997>>5836093Scatter gat wins. I need two roll of 1d100, DC 35(!). Yeah, go ahead and jump at a guy waiting for you with an automatic shotgun, fucking do it you chromed gonks.Rolling for boarding from the wraiths (DC 45) and shooting from Maeve (DC 45). Wraiths are the first two d100, Maeve is the next two.
Rolled 35 (1d100)>>5836124
Rolled 27 (1d100)>>5836124Fuck, we need to clutch up now
>>5836125>>5836127Comedy, even when we pass
Rolled 11 (1d100)>>5836124
Rolled 14 (1d100)>>5836124lmaooo we cant pass anything
Rolled 58, 65, 56, 91, 74, 30, 42, 91, 82, 80 = 669 (10d100)
>>5836135Meets beats anon, we're ok but it's funny how poorly we're rolling
>>5836127>>5836125>35. Success! Barely.>>5836132>>5836135Use up the bad luck on rolls that don't count, smart thinki- >>5836137 Noooooo!
>>5836141lmao, trust me we wont fail again.
Oh, GOD the Dice Curse from Trojan War Quest is here too!
You grab Maeve by the shoulder and direct her attention to the loaded gun right next to her, the bulky machinegun you’ve been firing this entire time! “Take over for me - I’ll deal with the jumpers.” You yell, sliding the belt fed lead spitter over her.“Oh, preem, that’s perfect - Thanks, choom!” Maeve remarks with a dark rich laugh, a look of pure pure hate then twisting her features as she focuses her full attention back on the enemy. Sharp green eyes boring holes in the rapidly approaching raffen vehicles, “Die, you motherfuckers, DIE!”As the cacophony of gunfire erupts beside you, you turn and search for where the shotgun has slid off too - You didn’t have time to clamp it down, but it has to be here… aha! Reaching under a pair of unloaded rifles Maeve had cast aside, you fish out the mean looking weapon: a stockless militech crusher.Gripping the crusher tightly, unsure of how much recoil it’ll have but expecting a real mule kick without a stock, you look back to the road just in time to see one of the wraith cars peel off from the chase, a stream of tracer fire from the light machine gun chewing into it and sending smoke billowing from its damaged hood. Maeve really isn’t holding anything back, swiveling to shoot the next wraith car, but when she pulls the trigger only two rounds fire before the gun falls silent, out of ammo.
>>5836239“Here they come!” You shout as the remaining raffen car roars and pulls alongside the now thoroughly dinged up Thorton. The black armored rear passenger door swings open, a shirtless muscular raffen with flashing blue cyber eyes clambering out and gripping the edge of the door with one hand. He waves a machete toward you, shouting curses all the while, and then leaps toward you in a blur of motion you can scarcely track. Scarcely tracking is still tracking. You fire, the crusher bucks twice in your hands, and the bald cackling wraith slams into the side of the Thorton and then tumbles like a ragdoll behind the speeding vehicle. Did… did you hit? Breathing heavy, heart pounding like a drum, you’re unsure of what happened - it all went down so fast, the jump, shooting by reflex. 35.“You’re dead meat, traitor!” The other raffen in the back of the car, a woman, screams at Maeve before clambering through the open door and leaping across the gap - and clearing it - faster than the first did. The raffen woman’s cyan mohawk blows in the wind as she lands between you and Meave with a thump, air hissing from the reinforced fibers of her cyberlegs that carried her so easily across the gap between vehicles. She’s wild eyed and sporting a full set of cyberlimbs, one metal hand gripping a rumbling and roaring Cut-o-Matic chainsword and the other holding a revolver. Her leather jacket is nearly identical to Maeve's but far less ragged. The squat looking revolver barks once and Maeve cries out in pain, the orange chainsword in raffen's hand whirring angrily as it swings downward to finish the job!>Go FULL GONK, this crusher is automatic for a reason! …Don’t miss though, Maeve is right on the other side of her!>Kick the raffen cunt right in the cyber-ovaries, buy Maeve some time.>...One shell is all you need, a single blast right to the pelvis. Time to test Cannon’s advice!
>>5836253>...One shell is all you need, a single blast right to the pelvis. Time to test Cannon’s advice!
>>5836253>>...One shell is all you need, a single blast right to the pelvis. Time to test Cannon’s advice!
>>5836253>...One shell is all you need, a single blast right to the pelvis. Time to test Cannon’s advice!The cunt punt would be funny but I feel doing something that WILL stop her.
>>5836253>Go FULL GONK, this crusher is automatic for a reason! …Don’t miss though, Maeve is right on the other side of her!
>>5836253Go for broke!
>>5836320>...One shell is all you need, a single blast right to the pelvis. Time to test Cannon’s advice!Forgot my vote like a gonk
Thirty more minutes for voting.
>>5836253>...One shell is all you need, a single blast right to the pelvis. Time to test Cannon’s advice!>>5836338Think ya gotta wait still?
Rolled 28, 30, 60, 8 = 126 (4d100)>>5836366Probably not, but I had some other stuff to do and thought I may as well give notice.>>5836366>>5836322>>5836272>>5836261>>5836258>>5836256Single shot wins. I need two rolls of 2d100, DC 35(!). Kai couldn't possible miss at this range, right? ...Right?Rolling for close combat between the chromed up wraith (DC 30) and wounded Maeve (DC 55). Wraith is the first two d100, Maeve is the next two.
Rolled 64, 100 = 164 (2d100)>>58363852 of 2d100?
Rolled 95 (1d100)>>5836385Blast em
Rolled 60 (1d100)>>5836387Here’s my second roll if we’re actually doing 2d100
>>5836386>>5836387Holy hell, however you slice it Kai capped her
>>5836386It was a typo, but I'll take that 100 since it was my error.>>5836387>95. Even if I hadn't made the typo this would've been a nova roll.>>5836392Preem work, yeah.
>>5836386>>5836387Daaamn, I think we just shot her pelvic are clean off.
Screeching metallic howling fills the air as the chainsword’s whirring blade hacks downward, the raffen woman screaming out in furious vengeance, reveling in the moment of the kill.But it’s not Maeve that dies. A bolt of lightning strikes with your mind, a signal sent racing from mind to body at speeds beyond conscious thought - adrenaline pulses you to the very edge of what your ‘ganic body can achieve, and you fire. A slight twist of the hips, a pull of the trigger, the chest thumping concussion of the crusher’s muzzle blast - eight gauge pellets tear through the raffen’s woman’s meat, pulverizing bone and shredding muscle before her chainsword can land. She simply drops. There’s no knockback, no flinging of bodies like in action BDs - one moment the raffen was standing, fighting, and the next she fell like a puppet with its strings cut, a confused groan barely escaping her lips. Maeve’s sword point catches the raffen before she finishes falling - it’s a smooth motion, fast, but not half as fast as you got off your shot. The dying borg sinks down the length of the blade, the weight of her own heavy chrome driving the thrust deeper, up and out of her back. It doesn’t matter though, the stab was complete overkill, a panicked defense - you can see just how gruesomely devastating your shot was, a fist size hole punched slightly upward through the raffen’s pelvis and well into her lower spine. With a pained grunt, Maeve twists her sword to the side, dropping the half fallen raffen’s corpse over onto the immuno-blocker crates. White synth blood flows freely, pooling on the BioTechnica marked crates and in the bed of the Thorton.You should be disgusted, horrified - you’ve never killed before, never hurt anyone nearly so terribly - but you’re just… not. Instead you feel alive, thrilled, on top of the fucking world - Holy shit, you made it! Everything is in sharper focus - the smell of burned powder, the roar of the Thorton, the squealing of tires as the last wraiths give up pursuit. Is this what it feels like after a fight?
>>5836457“...T-thanks.” Maeve says between gritted teeth, one hand gripping at her chest and a rapidly spreading dark stain there. She spits on the mangled body, but even that spiteful display sends her wincing in pain again, “Agh - Jan you stupid fucking gonk, why didn’t you stay at the camp?”Must’ve known the dead raffen then - not the time to ask about it though.“You took a hit.” You say, moving to Maeve’s side, you eyes catching stubbornly on her heaving chest for a moment as you look to the nearby wound - agh, gonk hormones and adrenaline, not now that’s seriously fucked up - “How bad is it?”“I don’t know, it fucking burns though. Never had it this ba- Agh, god damn!” She cries out again as she pulls herself into a better sitting position, pushing right through the pain but clearly far from immune to it. She lifts her hand from the wound, crimson staining her fingers and palm, “...Pass a choom an airhypo? I’m leaking like an old Hella…”>”...Cannon, you have a medkit back here? Maeve took a bullet, it looks bad!” Search the bed of the Thorton for a trauma airhypo, there has to be one back here with all the supplies. If it isn't expired an airhypo can stop some pretty horrifying bleeding, even help kickstart real healing.>”Yo, Cannon - Maeve got shot, we need a ripper!” Air-hypos and other first aid drugs are fine and all, medical tech is pretty nova these days, but a hit like this might need a real doctor… or at least a street doctor.>Write-in?
>>5836460>”...Cannon, you have a medkit back here? Maeve took a bullet, it looks bad!” Search the bed of the Thorton for a trauma airhypo, there has to be one back here with all the supplies. If it isn't expired an airhypo can stop some pretty horrifying bleeding, even help kickstart real healing.First aid first
>>5836460>”...Cannon, you have a medkit back here? Maeve took a bullet, it looks bad!” Search the bed of the Thorton for a trauma airhypo, there has to be one back here with all the supplies. If it isn't expired an airhypo can stop some pretty horrifying bleeding, even help kickstart real healing.
>>5836387“Hey Patrick… you know what’s funnier than a boot to the cunt?”“What?”“A shotgun shell!”
>>5836460>”...Cannon, you have a medkit back here? Maeve took a bullet, it looks bad!” Search the bed of the Thorton for a trauma airhypo, there has to be one back here with all the supplies. If it isn't expired an airhypo can stop some pretty horrifying bleeding, even help kickstart real healing.She's still talking and breathing which is great because if it hit anything vital she'd probably be unresponsive. Just gotta stop the bleeding. Hope airhypos have coagulants.
>>5836485This just in, I can't read. Use the airhypo
>>5836460>”...Cannon, you have a medkit back here? Maeve took a bullet, it looks bad!” Search the bed of the Thorton for a trauma airhypo, there has to be one back here with all the supplies. If it isn't expired an airhypo can stop some pretty horrifying bleeding, even help kickstart real healing
>>5836490>>5836485>>5836468>>5836466>>5836461Airhypo it is then, writing. >>5836484Top kek
“...Cannon,” You shout, moving to bang on the roof of the cab to get the grizzled nomad’s attention, “Do you have a medkit back here? Maeve took a bullet, it looks bad!”“Under the rocket launcher!” Comes his muffled response, easier to hear now that the chase has ended and the awful ringing in your ears from all the gunfire is beginning to pass.“...Under the WHAT?” You ask incredulously, sure that you must have misheard him.“Militech case, the big one!” Cannon clarifies - you’re actually standing atop it right now, there’s not much room to spare in the bed with the cargo and freshly minted raffen corpse taking up space.“Right, got it!” You step back, unlocking the straps holding the long case in place before lifting and sliding it crookedly atop some of the white immuno-blocker crates. Sure enough there’s a flat red and white medkit under it, which you pop open and rummage through… Rolls of bandages, tourniquets, lots of other more technical bits, and - yep, airhypos, a trio of them. Grabbing a hold of one, you climb back over the crates to Maeve.
>>5836542As you move to administer it - all it takes is a quick jab and button press near the wound - Maeve waves you off, “Wait - Don’t. Not yet.”“What?”She starts to slide her ratty old jacket off, groaning in pain as she tries to struggles to free her arms while moving as little as necessary, “Leak check - help me get this off.”That doesn’t answer your question, but you comply and help to slide the surprisingly heavy jacket off her - inside of it you can see that there are armor panels sewn to the back of the leather, a few bunched up and looking to have caught bullets in the past. Once you get the smelly old jacket off of her, Maeve leans a little forward and asks in a pained voice, “Exit wound?”Checking over her back, you spot another spreading red blotch on her already heavily stained white tank top, and see that one of the back panels on the jacket has caught the bullet inside of it, “Looks like it’s through and through.”“Hypo there.” She demands immediately after your confirmation, wasting no breath on extra words. A look of pure relief, something akin to ecstasy, washes away the pain from her face, and a sharp breathy sigh signals the painkiller component of the hypo is definitely working working. She closes her eyes, breathing steadying as the other drugs take their effect, bleeding already visibly slowing, “...Shame it doesn’t feel that good all the time…”>”Got a lot of experience getting shot then?” It’s mostly a joke, but you’re curious. Talk for a bit, cool off. That was a close call, your first one ever.>”...Shit, we have to do something about this body soon.” The adrenaline is still keeping you on a bit of a high, but the mangled corpse and pooled synth blood is starting to gross you out. Need to hide or dump it. Earlier it sounded like Maeve knew who it was, ‘Jan’. >"...You could use some more patching up that that. Here, let me help." Airhypos are pretty damned effective, but they aren't a one stop shop for trauma care - the rest of the medkit exists for good reason. Do your best.>Write-in.
>>5836544>>"...You could use some more patching up that that. Here, let me help." Airhypos are pretty damned effective, but they aren't a one stop shop for trauma care - the rest of the medkit exists for good reason. Do your best.Shoot the shit as we're patching her up, if possible. Given that she's got the drugs in her system, I can't imagine she'll be shaking too much, so we just gotta keep ourselves from shaking. Chatting is the best way to do it.
>>5836544>"...You could use some more patching up that that. Here, let me help." Airhypos are pretty damned effective, but they aren't a one stop shop for trauma care - the rest of the medkit exists for good reason. Do your best.Feels good =/= is good
>>5836544>"...You could use some more patching up that that. Here, let me help." Airhypos are pretty damned effective, but they aren't a one stop shop for trauma care - the rest of the medkit exists for good reason. Do your best.
>>5836544>"...You could use some more patching up that that. Here, let me help." Airhypos are pretty damned effective, but they aren't a one stop shop for trauma care - the rest of the medkit exists for good reason. Do your best.This is reasonable, we can ditch Jan the corpse once triage is complete
>>5836548>>5836550>>5836565>>5836577More treatment wins. I need two rolls of 1d100, DC is 40. Lets see if Kai can figure out the medkit instructions and not make this a miserable experience for everyone involved.
Rolled 45 (1d100)>>5836609
Rolled 12 (1d100)>>5836609YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEART
>>5836610>45. Success, writing.
Rolled 89 (1d100)>>5836609too late but
“...You could use some more patching up than that.” You tell Maeve, the large blood stains on both sides of her shirt concerning you even after the airhypo - the rest of the medkit exists for a reason, airhypos aren’t quite a panacea for trauma, “Here, let me help.”She recoils slightly at the suggestion, pulling a few inches further away as a mix of emotion replaces the pleasurable calm expression which graced her features moments before. “Don’t touch me.”“That’ll make it a lot hard to use this,” You hold up the medkit box and rattle it a little, choosing to respond to her rebuke with something more lighthearted. This is a genuinely grim situation, a corpse laying crumpled up nearby among the cargo, but you’d rather crack a joke than wallow in even more gloominess - too much of that this week. Way too much.“...Fine, just make it quick.” She relents, shaking her head in frustration and moving over so you have a better view of her back; apparently you’ll be starting there, “Hate this part. You’ve done this before, right, suit… Kai?”“Would that help?” You question jokingly while reading over the instructions in the kit, skimming quickly from step to step, “I use the bonesaw first, right?”“Gonk.” Maeve rolls her eyes, “Don’t screw this up.”A few minutes later.Packing Maeve’s wound with the foam applicator from the first-aid kit wasn’t pleasant for either of you, apparently it ‘burns like a cigar’, but the rest of your attempt at medical treatment was a moderate success. After the initial hesitancy and a few curses - and an attempt at a punch to your jaw - Maeve proved a cooperative patient. She even corrected your mistakes a few times, just small things, but it helped move the bloody work along. The smell was still awful, it isn’t as bad without her jacket on but Maeve still reeks like a garbage heap. A pretty garbage heap? Not a flattering description, but it seems accurate so far.“...Not the worst I’ve had.” Maeve grumbles with half-hearted anger, gently testing the fresh bandage wrapped about her chest with a calloused hand. After a few moments she’s satisfied, settling back into a position where she doesn’t have to look at the corpse wedged to the side of the cargo crates.
>>5836674“We’re heading out to the badlands! Got a route set to get past the badges, we’re leaving through Rancho!” Cannon shouts from inside the truck, finally letting you know your destination - he was talking with someone on the holo earlier, Dakota you assume, but it was far too muffled to hear any details. You reached the edge of Westbrook about a minute ago, and have been doing your best to lay low and avoid the eyes of NCPD foot patrols. Know there’s a real route Cannon is following comes a huge relief, a bloody corpse in the back of a truck will draw eyes here. Most of Westbrook, and Japantown within it, is a thick forest of neon and high-rises, some of the most vertical area in all of Night City - any gonk on a balcony could just look down and see what’s left of Jan, even after you made some small efforts to hide her.“A route past all the pigs in Westbrook?... How’d he manage that? Hardly made it in, and that was on fucking new years.” Maeve wonders aloud, and you can’t help but shrug in response - the answer obvious at once to you, between your father’s stories and his own still unclear ‘side business’. “Bribes.” You explain bluntly, “They probably pay one of the dispatchers and get the patrols moved for a few minutes. Thought you’d know that, being a-”“Being a raffen?” Maeve asks sharply, as easily set off as ever, “No, usually we… they just flatline badges, or come up through Pacifica and drop goods off there or in Dogtown.”…Shoot badges? Of course wraiths do, half the city does on a bad day. You hadn’t thought about that much until now - you could very easily end up in that situation. Not at some nebulous point in the future, but today. It doesn’t sit well with you, too many people on the force that you know. Too many memories of your dad.Today hasn’t gone how you thought it would.>”...Dogtown? Really?” Dogtown is a Combat Zone in Pacifica run by a rogue NUSA colonel turned warlord - absolutely no one sane goes there.>”...Are we just going to bring the body… uh, Jan, the whole way with us?” You thought Cannon would’ve stopped by now to dump the body somewhere, he knows she’s back here, but he hasn’t even tried. Maeve has been trying her best to ignore the corpse. It’s really, really beginning to bother you as well.>Wait out the ride. Payment and hopefully a ride back into Night City awaits - you really need to scour dad’s comp and call Regina. …Or maybe you’ll talk to this ‘Dakota,’ she was in dad’s contacts.>Write-in.
>>5836675>”...Dogtown? Really?” Dogtown is a Combat Zone in Pacifica run by a rogue NUSA colonel turned warlord - absolutely no one sane goes there.
>>5836675>>”...Dogtown? Really?” Dogtown is a Combat Zone in Pacifica run by a rogue NUSA colonel turned warlord - absolutely no one sane goes there.>>”...Are we just going to bring the body… uh, Jan, the whole way with us?” You thought Cannon would’ve stopped by now to dump the body somewhere, he knows she’s back here, but he hasn’t even tried. Maeve has been trying her best to ignore the corpse. It’s really, really beginning to bother you as well.WHY NOT BOTH :DDDDDDDDDDD>Write-in.>Could fill her in a bit on the city and the 'badges'.
>>5836675>>”...Dogtown? Really?” Dogtown is a Combat Zone in Pacifica run by a rogue NUSA colonel turned warlord - absolutely no one sane goes there.
>>5836675>”...Are we just going to bring the body… uh, Jan, the whole way with us?” You thought Cannon would’ve stopped by now to dump the body somewhere, he knows she’s back here, but he hasn’t even tried. Maeve has been trying her best to ignore the corpse. It’s really, really beginning to bother you as well.
>>5836675>”...Dogtown? Really?” Dogtown is a Combat Zone in Pacifica run by a rogue NUSA colonel turned warlord - absolutely no one sane goes there.>”...Are we just going to bring the body… uh, Jan, the whole way with us?” You thought Cannon would’ve stopped by now to dump the body somewhere, he knows she’s back here, but he hasn’t even tried. Maeve has been trying her best to ignore the corpse. It’s really, really beginning to bother you as well.Yeah, going into crazy territory AND not dropping the body is a bad idea.
>>5836702Supporting, we gotta deal with Jan
>>5836675>”...Dogtown? Really?” Dogtown is a Combat Zone in Pacifica run by a rogue NUSA colonel turned warlord - absolutely no one sane goes there.>”...Are we just going to bring the body… uh, Jan, the whole way with us?” You thought Cannon would’ve stopped by now to dump the body somewhere, he knows she’s back here, but he hasn’t even tried. Maeve has been trying her best to ignore the corpse. It’s really, really beginning to bother you as well.
>>5837064>>5837044>>5836978>>5836702Dogtown+Jan>>5836883>>5836785Jan>>5836682>>5836715Dogtown.Dogtown+Jan wins, writing.
“...Dogtown? Really?” You question as the Thorton rolls on further through the busy streets of Westbrook, “Isn’t it basically a warzone? NCPD can’t go there.” “And what would the pigs do if they could? Oink at the arms dealers? Give the Barghest a ticket? Bahahaha,” Maeve cracks up, throwing her head back and laughing darkly at your statement, “They’d skin them alive. It’s a Combat Zone, Kai. No cops, no fucking corps, none of that bullshit. Barghest zero any corpo rats or badges at the gate if they try to go in, even shoot down AVs sometimes. …All the preem deals in pacifica happen in dogtown.”“Must be perfect for you then.” The words come out colder than you expected, Maeve’s unconcealed disgust for the NCPD pressing a lot of the wrong buttons, “A little paradise for raffen in all the rubble.”“Yep. A shithole full of murderers.” Maeve agrees, letting out another grim laugh. Her grin slowly fades, replaced by a harsh, probing look, green eyes judging you once more, ”...You’re a new blood, aren’t you?”“Never done anything like this.” You admit, motioning vaguely around the bed of the Thorton before glancing toward Jan’s corpse with a grimace, “...Are we just going to bring the body… uh, Jan, the whole way with us?”Maeve chews on her lower lip for a moment, considering your point as she look up at the footbridges, balconies, and overhanging offices that rise high above the busy roads of Westbrook. It is almost a solid canopy of concrete, steel, and flashing advertisements, a mish-mash of japanese styled facades and neopostmodernist highrises. You’re well into Japantown now, Tyger Claw graffiti, steel imitations of kawara roofs, and bright red torii gates a common sight. Traffic is pretty bad, not quite bumper to bumper but you’re moving along at a crawl that’s beginning to make you nervous.People can definitely see into the Thorton’s bed.“...Keep forgetting she’s dead, cunt’s been a walking corpse for years. Too much chrome to just throw in a dump.” Maeve leans way over and grabs her discarded jacket, shakes it out once, and then throws the ratty leather over Jan’s bloody body - it makes it a bit harder to see her, “There. Better?”“Really? Just throw a jacket on her?” You ask in disbelief, “Someone is going to see.”“Would you prefer a tarp?” Maeve snarks, but as she looks at the jacket covered body there’s a momentary lapse in her harsh expression. A hint of deep pain, real regret. ”...People move meat all the time, even in the open. Mullet over there handled the badges, and we have iron. No one’s gonk enough to try to stop a nomad leaving their turf. So chill, choom. You’ll be fine, just need a stiff drink and this’ll all be behind you.” >”How’d you know her?”>”You’ve been doing this a long time, I take it?”>”...A drink sounds preem right about now.” >Wait out the ride.
>>5837208>”You’ve been doing this a long time, I take it?”
>>5837208>”How’d you know her?”Or maybe rephrase - “did you betray her first, or was it the other way around?”
>>5837208>”...A drink sounds preem right about now.”
>>5837208>How’d you know her?”
>>5837208>”How’d you know her?”Curious.
>>5837208>”How’d you know her?”
>>5837212>>5837227>>5837235>>5837244Wins, writing.
>>5837267It's gonna be wild with "Oh she's my mom" "Orphan TWINSIES!"
…She’s vicious, but you saw something in Maeve’s eyes for a moment there; regret. You know it well, you've been seeing the same look in the mirror for the last few days. Running off was such a gonk move. “How’d you know her?” You ask quietly, easing up.Maeve looks to the body in silence for a long moment, her voice bitter and resentful when she finally speaks up, “Thought she was a friend. It’s a shit story. …Guess I owe you the detes. Saved my ass or I’d kick yours for asking.”A little less afraid of getting mauled by a wounded Maeve, you carry on asking questions you probably shouldn’t, “Get betrayed first, or the other way around?”“She did it first - I’ve never betrayed anyone in my life. Can’t betray people that never wanted you around.” Maeve shakes her head, “We were camp rats together, Jan is... was a few years older. She watched my back, kept the gonks off when I slept, showed me how to ride, how to kill. Stabbed my mom in the leg the first time she tried to sell me, even got Nash to call off the deal.”…Her mom tried to sell her? What the fuck?“Sounds more like a sibling than a friend.” You remark somberly, not willing to touch whatever the hell can of worms that stuff with her mother is. “Yeah, maybe.” Maeve agrees sadly before continuing her bitter story, “A few years back Jan got chipped, chromed up - you saw the bitch. It wasn’t good work, old junkware from the Red. Didn’t get half of the performance the scavs promised and… I don’t know what to call it, she didn’t really go psycho but it fucked her in the head. Glitched out once, nearly killed me - I was a gonk and forgave her. Got worse from there, spiraled right down the shitter. She didn’t grow into any of the ware right, got some chrome swapped but it didn’t get better. Had to take some… nasty bag jobs to pay for it, started lying to me about my cut, lying about the targets - just had me watch the car when she went in so I wouldn't see. Forgave her again, she swapped chrome again. Lied some more, stole my bike to pay off her new ripper. Still didn’t fix the problems. So she did it again. “...She didn’t grow into it right?” You stop on that detail, trying to make sense of the ages involved in the story, “If that was a few years ago then -”“She was fifteen.”“You’ve been doing jobs since you were?...” You ask sympathetically, eye wide in shock, the horror of what’s being described really settling in.“Young.” Maeve cuts you off angrily, her expression souring completely, green eyes narrowing to furious slits, “Don’t work, don’t eat. And stop digging, suit, I don’t need your fucking pity. Jan was a friend, then she wasn’t, then you flatlined her. That’s it, her whole shit life.”“Sor-” You can’t even get the word out entirely. “No - just shut the fuck up.”
>>58373762076.01.04, 16:15Night City (Badlands) The rest of the ride has rumbled by in silence, not a peep from Maeve, only the occasional angry glare to keep you company. Westbrook was crawl but Cannon’s route past the NCPD worked, there wasn’t a patrol in sight, just a handful of badges standing guard around the nicer buildings, and they didn’t start anything if trouble was willing to leave on its own. Once you got out into the suburbs around Rancho it was a clean path out of Night City, right down what’s left of I-9 and out into the sunny badlands.You’ve never been out here before, not this far, desert and the occasional rocky hills covered scrub brush stretching off as far as the eye can see. Old abandoned rail lines run along the interstate, a number of switching stations and railyards scattered about. It’s all dead infrastructure, leftovers from before the unification war, and even going further back to the corporate wars. Head far enough out in and it smacks right into the border with North California - head off the road and you can bump into the South Cali border. People don’t make that mistake twice, militech drones and smart minefields blast anyone that tries to hell. After ten minutes or so the Thorton slows, turning off the interstate and toward an old garage - the sign atop it reads ‘DaKota’, eliminating any doubt of where you’ve arrived at. The truck stops inside one of the bays, Cannon’s popping his door open and hopping out onto the metal grated floor. “Well, we made it in one piece!” Cannon shouts boisterously, stomping around to the back of the truck and swinging the tailgate open, “Mostly in one piece - not bad for a first run, yeah? Didn’t think it’d be half that much excitement. How’re you holding up?”“I’ll be fine.” Maeve answers gruffly, hopping out of the bed.“We’ll see.” Cannon scratches at his wrinkled leathery chin, still eyeing the former raffen suspiciously, “...Go, Dakota wants to talk with you. Agh, christ, you’re lucky Dakota breathes from a tank - take a damned shower after you're done.”
>>5837377Cannon points in the direction of a door, probably leading to an office beyond. Maeve heads off toward it, arms crossed and scowling before disappearing out of sight beyond the automatic door.“...How about you, Kai?” Cannon asks you now that Maeve is out of earshot, a couple of other nomads working on a car in the next bay over but the garage otherwise empty, “Sounded like you handled yourself fine. Wouldn’t have dropped you into that if I knew it was going to happen, though we had a good chance to get out clean.”“I’m not sure, honestly. Hands shook a little but, but I think I’m fine now. …Just need some time to think.”“After we get this all unloaded - and get that corpse out of there. Gonna have to hose this out.” Cannon grimaces at the half covered body and blood stains, “…What’d you think of the raffen girl over there?”>”Rough around the edges, short temper, but she hates the wraith’s guts and fights well.” >”Honestly? She’s a vicious bitch.">”...I actually kind of like Maeve. Pissed her off bad there at the end, but I saved her ass so I think she’ll get over it.” >Write-in.
>>5837378>”Rough around the edges,>...but seems rather alright considering the absolute shit she's apparently gone through."
>>5837378She cares about fairness and "rules". Not in the sense of law, but in the sense of relationships and work. Both her own and others. At the very least, she's not devolving into someone truly terrible anytime soon. Hopefully we're not saying that just because she's kinda hot. Also we need work to keep mom alive. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who will use that information against us.
>>5837385>support
>>5837378>>5837385Supporting
50 more minutes for votes.
>>5837378>>”...I actually kind of like Maeve. Pissed her off bad there at the end, but I saved her ass so I think she’ll get over it.”
>>5837430>>5837403>>5837385Wins, writing.
OP, are you a new QM? Your update quality and speed is phenomenal
>>5837532This can result in burnout.Slowing down is not a shame
You take a few moments to consider Cannon’s question as the two of you begin to unload the synth blood stained immuno-blocker crates, thinking carefully on everything you saw and heard.“Rough around the edges,” You grunt while moving one of the footlocker sized crates out of the bed and over to a pallet by the wall, “...But seems alright considering the absolute shit she’s apparently gone through. We talked some after the chase.”“And you believed her?” Cannon questions, moving one of the other crates almost as if it had no weight at all - probably his cyberware helping him do that. Even if it’s decades out of date the stuff corporate soldiers use is never a joke, even some of the really ancient stuff from back in the 2010’s and 2020’s still holds up.“Mostly.” You shrug and move onto the next crate, “I saved her life - What’d she have to gain from lying?” “Safe harbor, for one.” Cannon replies gruffly, shaking his head disapprovingly, “There’s a dozen reasons. Once someone gets lying deep in their blood it’s second nature - Shouldn’t trust so fast.”“I wouldn’t call it trust, we met… what, an hour and a half ago? Two? She seemed genuine, just-”“Rough around the edges. Right.” He repeats your earlier assessment with a raspy chuckle, as if the whole situation was suddenly very, very funny to him, “Heard something like that before once… We can handle it, take in all sorts coming from bad places, just usually not raffen shiv. Sounds like you got a similar read to Dakota’s though.”“You don’t sound as convinced.”“Won’t be for a while, Dakota’s no fool either. She’ll have to prove herself. Everyone does, but she’s not a normal adoptee…” The veteran nomad stops for a moment to examine the half covered corpse of Jan, carefully lifting the ratty jacket from her with one of his well worn cyberhands, “...I see you take advice when it’s given.”“Folds them like laundry.” You repeat his advice from a few hours ago, but without the raspy smokers voice it doesn’t sound half as intimidating - it did work though, probably saved Maeve’s life, “Thanks for the tip.”“Mm. Definitely Taro’s kid.” Cannon nods to himself, but you’re not quite sure what he means by that - sounds positive though, “Finish up with the crates, I’ll get the body in a chiller - Dakota’ll want to talk when she’s done with the wraith girl.”“Right, yes sir.” You answer respectfully, getting right back to work.
>>5837655A few minutes later.You stand in Dakota’s smokey, dimly lit office, a metal desk covered in comp screens and stacks of old fashioned paper taking up most of one wall. Dakota leans against the desk, taking a long drag from her cigarette, holding it between two fingers as she looks you over, judging. There’s been a lot of that going on today. A moment passes, and she blows the smoke out steadily, finished with whatever it was she was looking for, her other hand reaching to the mask and small oxygen tank strapped to her chest; she takes a deep breath before speaking.“Kai.” She greets you, her voice gravely but far less so than Cannons, “Welcome to the badlands; I know of your situation. You have my condolences.”“Thank you.” You’ve done this too many times today, too many times this week.“Cannon said you did well for your first fight, as did the girl; this is good. Check your agent, Kai. Your payment has already been sent.”You pull the little titanium box from your jacket pocket, wipe some dried blood from it’s screen with your thumb, and tap once; the screen snaps to life, displaying a new message from your account.// Transfer Received: €2500 //// New contact: Dakota Smith. //“I hope it is of some help. Your mother’s situation is…” Dakota takes another breath from her mask, “Unfortunate. And your father’s death has left my web in an equally unfortunate situation, adding an imbalance to the ecosystem of the badlands. I am in need of new hands and eyes in Night City and without. Someone who can move freely. An unknown. Are you willing to do work for me again, Kai?”>”If you’re offering work, I’ll take it.” …You don’t know Dakota, but she paid promptly and unasked, and dad worked with her. Time to rake in the eddies, gotta pay those bills somehow.>”If you’ve got a job, I’ll consider it - Right now I’m just looking for answers about my father.” There might be other ways to make money while you search, if you’re willing to risk your neck.>”The other nomads can’t cover things?” Her working with your dad made some sense, netrunners are valuable, but you? That’s not quite as clear, even being ‘unknown’.>Write-in.
>>5837660>”If you’re offering work, I’ll take it.” …You don’t know Dakota, but she paid promptly and unasked, and dad worked with her. Time to rake in the eddies, gotta pay those bills somehow.
>>5837660>”If you’re offering work, I’ll take it.” …You don’t know Dakota, but she paid promptly and unasked, and dad worked with her. Time to rake in the eddies, gotta pay those bills somehow
>>5837660>”If you’re offering work, I’ll take it.” …You don’t know Dakota, but she paid promptly and unasked, and dad worked with her. Time to rake in the eddies, gotta pay those bills somehow.Idk man, shooting people seems fun
>>5837676I still wanna know though. Why me? I'm just another gonk kid.
>>5837660>”If you’ve got a job, I’ll consider it - Right now I’m just looking for answers about my father.” There might be other ways to make money while you search, if you’re willing to risk your neck.
>>5837660>Write-in.Ask for an "investment"We're willing to do work, but we need training and gear. We don't really have iron, let alone armor or skills.We need money for mom, but also need resources to take on better work for her. Dad obviously made enough to keep mom going plus an NCPD job... but we have neither and are too young for the NCPD
>>5837704I'm with this anon, but how about instead of asking for an investment we set our terms and demand upfront payment for future work.
>>5837660>”If you’re offering work, I’ll take it.” …You don’t know Dakota, but she paid promptly and unasked, and dad worked with her. Time to rake in the eddies, gotta pay those bills somehow.We gotta demonstrate reliability here, we can’t score the big jobs right off the bat
>>5837660>”If you’ve got a job, I’ll consider it - Right now I’m just looking for answers about my father.” There might be other ways to make money while you search, if you’re willing to risk your neck.Depends on the job, we shouldn't take anything without weighing it down first - we're not emotionless solo, at least not yet.
>>5837772>>5837701Consider it, but looking for answers.>>5837676>>5837683>>5837691>>5837746Accept.>>5837704>>5837741Write-in.Accept wins, writing.
“If you’re offering work, I’ll take it.” You agree, unsure of what it might entail but badly in need of eddies. The 2,500 you just got goes a decent way to paying for mom’s treatment, but it isn’t nearly enough - that’s less than a week at the clinic. A good week where she doesn’t need any special procedures done.“I will be in contact soon with your work, Kai. Small jobs first.” Dakota takes another breath from the mask, turning to tap at the keyboard of her comp for a few moments - several messages flashing as they’re sent off to who knows where - before continuing to speak with you, “Prove yourself capable, and more eddies will make their way to you. For now, go and find something less blood soaked... That suit of yours is ruined, synth blood is harder to get out than oil. There are spare clothes in the locker room, and showers. Something should fit. A one time gift only, usually I charge - but I liked Taro.”“That’s very generous of you.” You reply, relieved to be able to get out of this thing finally - it never looked quite as sharp on you as you’d like, and the white stains really do look deep, “Thank you.”Dakota simply nods, turning her attention entirely to the comp - you take that as a sign to leave. You were hoping to ask more questions about your father, but she's clearly a busy a busy woman, managing who knows how many jobs. Souring your fixer's attitude early seems unwise, you have Regina's commcode but without a reputation that's only good as a client - you currently have no route to get work from anyone but Dakota. There will be plenty of chances to speak with her in the future, maybe as soon as tomorrow.You head off in search of this locker room Dakota spoke of, and one of the other nomads in the garage points you toward the right door. A few minutes later and you’ve changed into some surprisingly well fitting clothes; a simple white shirt, a blue riding jacket, and dark jeans. You trash your badly stained suit, trusting Dakota’s warning about synth blood being impossible to get out fully. It’s hard to tell in the small mirror you have available, but you’re looking pretty damn nova.
>>5837889When you exit back out into the garage proper, leaving behind the compact rest area and showers surely intended for nomads staying the night, you find Maeve and Cannon speaking with on another near bulky look machine; a chiller. Jan must’ve been dumped in there for now. However grim that might be, it’s not what you’re stuck staring at. No, that’d be Maeve. She’s showered and changed clothes, no longer wearing raffen rags, and her dark purple dyed hair done up properly instead of loosely tied back. Close fitting yellow coveralls follow her form closer than they have any right to, a few strategically placed belts holding the outfit tight and preventing the usual frump that comes with a jumpsuit. Even some extra padding is sewn on here and there, accentuating curves… Nomad women really know how to make a racing suit look good apparently - this was just laying around in one of the lockers, Maeve couldn’t have possibly made it.This leaves you with one burning question, something your hormones practically hold you at gunpoint and demand to know: Where the hell are the other nomad women at? Not old ones like Dakota, the other other ones, whoever made that jumpsuit Maeve has on.>Gah, down boy! There’s no time for your gonk hormones, do not get distracted by nomads. You have a holo call to Regina to make, more important matters to attend to than the ogling Maeve.>...Actually you have some things to discuss with Cannon as well, more questions about your dad, and how exactly you’re going to get back into Night City. Just, uh, try to act normal around Maeve. >There is indeed time for these gonk hormones. Try not to be an idiot, today definitely isn’t a good day - for either of you.>Write-in.
>>5837890>...Actually you have some things to discuss with Cannon as well, more questions about your dad, and how exactly you’re going to get back into Night City. Just, uh, try to act normal around Maeve.
>>5837890>...Actually you have some things to discuss with Cannon as well, more questions about your dad, and how exactly you’re going to get back into Night City. Just, uh, try to act normal around Maeve.We saved her life. But we killed her insane pseudo-sibling. Probably NOT the girl to hit on. Unless...
>>5837890>...Actually you have some things to discuss with Cannon as well, more questions about your dad, and how exactly you’re going to get back into Night City. Just, uh, try to act normal around Maeve. It should not be that hard considering the contempt she showed for cops, hot or not, we still don’t know each other all that well. Hopefully shared struggle will at least make for decent start of a friendly relationship.
>>5837890>...Actually you have some things to discuss with Cannon as well, more questions about your dad, and how exactly you’re going to get back into Night City. Just, uh, try to act normal around Maeve.Side note for discission: Not sure about you guys, but I would like to see a protag who DOESN'T jump at the first hot cut of meat he sees especially considering the immediate circumstances. Over the long term we can reevaluate, but rn we have a a dying mother, a serious financial issue, a family secret, and a career change to consider.Let's tie up at least a few of these loose ends before we go waifu hunting cause I don't think adding a relationship will help us carry all this baggage we're swinging around
>>5837890>There is indeed time for these gonk hormones. Try not to be an idiot, today definitely isn’t a good day - for either of you.
>>5837890>...Actually you have some things to discuss with Cannon as well, more questions about your dad, and how exactly you’re going to get back into Night City. Just, uh, try to act normal around Maeve.No horning around, we need the REAL IMPORTANT DEETS from Cannon.
>>5837890>...Actually you have some things to discuss with Cannon as well, more questions about your dad, and how exactly you’re going to get back into Night City. Just, uh, try to act normal around Maeve.That said, we should probably trade Contact Info with Maeve (and Cannon). Nomads are always good to have on your side.
>>5837890>...Actually you have some things to discuss with Cannon as well, more questions about your dad, and how exactly you’re going to get back into Night City. Just, uh, try to act normal around Maeve.Don’t fall for the power of gang-banger titties.
>>5837898>>5837908>>5837972>>5838011>>5838054>>5838148>>5838182Investigate your father's death and secret life.>>5838162>>5838039Immediately get distracted by a nomad woman.Investigation wins, writing.
Enjoying the view for a few moments, you consider your options and somewhat regretfully come to the conclusion that now probably isn’t a good time to get distracted. No, instead you allow Maeve and Cannon to speak for a while longer, choosing not to intrude upon their conversation beside the chiller until it’s further along - it isn’t hard to guess what they’re talking about. In the meantime you check your agent, trying hard not to just stand around like a gonk ogling Maeve.// N54 News Alert: Failed assassination attempt on NUSA President Rosalind Myers at the NUSA-Eurobank talks in Brussels ends in bloodbath. Myers, the NUSA President and former CEO of Militech, was attacked while delivering a speech advocating for… //Another attempt? Huh, that’s the third in the last year, or… the fourth? It all really blends together. You scroll further down the story, looking for the preem detes.// …Myers, a former marine and combat veteran, personally fought off several of the gunmen, killing four. The attackers were, in Myer's own words, “...third rate assassins with fourth rate cyberware…” An official release from her administration has already sworn "swift and severe punishment" of those responsible for planning and financing the attack. //By the time you’re done skimming over the story, Maeve and Cannon are walking away from the chiller. Now’s the time then.“Cannon,” You call over to the mulleted nomad, “Can we talk?” “Didn’t get to finish earlier, did we?” Cannon replies, “Get over here, know you’ve still got questions about your father.”You walk across the garage toward the two of them, mostly successful in not staring at Maeve like a gonk. She, on the other hand, shows no such compunction. It feels like she’s boring holes into you with those sharp green eyes of hers, a mix of curiosity and her almost ever present anger lurking behind them. Less anger than before though, only a hint of bitterness, and a thin smirk that hints at some new judgment being made as her gaze sweeps over you - it’s probably just that you don’t look like a corpo anymore.“Alright, Kai, shoot. Ask away.” Cannon rasps, leaning against the chiller and crossing his worn metal arms, armored plates clinking together.What to ask though?>Write-in questions.I’ll probably end up combining several write-ins since write-in only votes can take forever otherwise, but please do support questions other anons post if you think they’re good.
>>5838274>"Exactly how did dad end up working with you and Dakota?"Can't really think of anything else to ask.
>>5838274>>5838292This + something like>Dad died under suspicious circumstances- biofeedback blowout from a cyberpsycho who I know didn't even have a deck, a cyberpsycho who was cordoned off and ignored by the powers that be soon after his death. Do you have any idea who might have wanted my dad dead and why, or otherwise what I should do to find out?>only a hint of bitterness, and a thin smirk We're back up bros
>>5838274How do I learn to not get killed
>>5838274What's a good dating spot?>Wink at Maeve
45 more minutes for votes.
>>5838274“Who else was my dad working with? What chrome do I need to stay alive?”
>>5838274Supporting >>5838338, especially asking for chrome recommendations.
>>5838297I just realized: We haven't recovered dad's chrome. Granted the deck port is probably fried, but there's probably other associated runner chrome that's recovered from his body. It shouldn't have been sold because NCPD has a trauma team contract. Meatwagon also wouldn't fuck with NCPD personnel when there's plenty of easier targets to steal chrome off. Dad had to have contingencies, no way he was a quality netrunner without contingencies
Back a little later than expected.>>5838292>>5838297>>5838338>>5838364>>5838373>>5838328Writing, might take longer than usual though since it's a fair amount to cover.Going to take this as talking about (1) how you dad ended up working with Cannon and Dakota, (2) the suspicious circumstances around the death and asking about enemies and possible informants, (3) anyone else Cannon know dad worked with, (4) the possible fate of dad's chrome and data that might've been on them, (5) tips on how not to get flatlined and what chrome is the most important (basically how to not be a gonk and die on your second or third job) (6) Maybe something very brief indicating interest in Maeve, but I might just leave that out since it wasn't where the previous vote was steering things.
>>5838420I feel like cutting the sixth point is for the best, it would be weird to bring that up while talking about dad.
>>5838420Although I have no strong feelings about Maeve (yet) aside from general protectiveness I feel towards all real or potential party members, I also vote to not force hitting on her into this talk unless you want to or feel it would come up organically.
Nearly done writing.>>5838499>>5838509It wasn't added.
“To start with, how’d my father end up working with you and Dakota?” You start off with the basics, trying to establish some sort of chronology and motioning about the garage generally with one hand, “I’m trying to piece together everything that led up to… this.”“How I met Taro? Ran into him at the Afterlife, he was working with a different crew then, a couple of other netrunners - didn’t get to know them. We had a few drinks, swapped stories. Happens all the time. Not an edgerunner, but I get around in those circles for the clan. That was back before the unification war, so… eight years ago, at least. Might be closer to ten. Memory’s a little fuzzy.”“The Afterlife? You said you were there this morning.”“Best merc bar in Night City, lots of work goes through there.” He nods, ”I met Taro there on my own, but it was Rogue that got us on our first job. Basic work, had to get some burned execs out of Night City before their corpo friends sank their daggers in. Clan handled the pickup, I went as an extra gun, Taro was there with the suits and rode out with us. Kept drones from tailing. He did good work, so I dropped his name in the hat with Dakota and eventually he got pulled, asked to fry some sensors at the border checkpoint down south. Took the job, and the rest was history.”“Your dad was a netrunner?” Maeve questions, slightly confused.“...A good one, yeah. Kept his work hidden from my family.” You summarize things quickly for Maeve, leaving out the fact that dad was NCPD. Maeve considers the information in silence, her faint perplexed look lingering on. You turn your attention back to Cannon and his story, “So this Rogue is another fixer then, like Dakota.” “Right on the eddies, does bigger biz, global work.Dakota’s got the clan to look out for, keeps her eyes mostly on the badlands - she’s a static but still a true sister. Rogue has Rogue. I’ll leave it at that.”“She nearly got my mom killed once, sent a solo after her pack. Haha, mom was so pissed she got shot… Ah, good times.” Maeve adds with an amount of cheer that would’ve been extremely concerning if you hadn’t heard about her history earlier. It might actually be the happiest you’ve ever heard her, other than maybe when you handed the machinegun off earlier, “...Never met her though, just heard she’s a real ice queen. Tried to go into the Afterlife a few days ago and-”“Got bounced at the door?” Cannon interrupts with a gravely chuckle, Maeve flashing back an annoyed look but not denying the accusation, “You ran all over looking for a buyer, and picked a pack of borgheads.”“...Maelstrom offered a lot of scratch.” Maeve replies indignantly, “And I handled it.”“Mm. Their chooms aren’t gonna like it. Problem for another day - this ain’t about you though. Kai, what else’ve you got?”
>>5838639“...Just that how my father got taken out doesn’t add up. A preem netrunner flatlined by a psycho with no deck? Burned out with feedback?” It still makes bile rise in your throat when you talk about it like this, really in detail - you get so angry it could make you sick, fists clenching, “Former MaxTac or not, that doesn’t just doesn’t match with what I know about the net.”“How’d you know he didn’t have a deck?” Maeve asks.“I talked with the woman that took him out, she got a close look. Chopped him up in the fight but didn’t see any decks, nothing like it. She had scanner eyes, so I don’t think she’d miss it.” You grimace, remembering the bloody fight caught on the drone’s damaged camera, how the psycho got dismantled limb by limb. Bastard should've been zeroed, it only would’ve taken on more swing. “NCPD claimed it was some kind of black ICE, but it blew out dad’s deck and the van he was in, knocked the whole chair out. That’s heavy duty stuff.”“...Damn.” Cannon shakes his head sadly, “Hadn’t heard the bloody details. Not that much. Hard way to go. You’re right though, sounds fishier than a joytoy on jig-jig street.”…That’s not a mental image you needed. “Sounds like another netrunner fucked him over.” Maeve’s words are harsh, but not wrong.You nod, “That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking.”“He definitely made enemies over the years, took out his fair share of chairjockeys.” Cannon considers the idea, scratching at his leathery old chin with a metal hand, “Might’ve been a choom of theirs.”“Anyone specifically?” You probe, hoping for some kind of lead.“No one by name, no. Half a dozen gangs, I didn’t touch net security when we did jobs, just heard about it after he’d finish. Only saw the aftermath of what he called a ‘real fight’ in person once, Sixth Street netrunner half drowned in an ice bath. Bad way to go.”“Shit.” You curse quietly, “I was hoping for more than that.” “Wish I knew more. Might be able to scrape something off his chrome.”“NCPD kept all of it after the medcenter handed over his body,” You shake your head, but a gonk idea slowly begins to form in your mind, “...That’d probably mean it’s all at the precinct’s evidence warehouse…”
>>5838643“Kai.” Cannon’s tone is one of warning, deadly serious, “Careful with that idea. Great way to get flatlined before you even learn the ropes. Wouldn’t even make it past the gate.”“I’m not going to just rush in,” You hold up your hands, trying to reassure him. You were considering it before he spoke up. “Need to make sure his chrome is there, and there’s the van too, wherever that is… There’s a lot to do. Might just be a gonk idea.”“I like it, fuck those pigs.” Maeve says with a downright sinister grin, green eyes filled with murderous intent, “Smash a truck through the gate, blast the guards, grab the chrome, ride out in one of their own cars and dump it in Pacifica - roll credits.”“No, no, what the hell is wrong with you?” Cannon looks at Maeve as if the girl is the dumbest gonk he’s ever met, “Maybe you could pull it off that easy if you’re a veteran solo with enough chrome to make Lizzy Wizzy blush, but that’s exactly the kind of gonk plan I’m warning you about, Kai.”“...Don’t have any chrome at all.” You shrug, “Going to have to fix that.”“Chrome helps, but it’s not what makes a killer, you just have to have to really want someone flatlined. Be willing to push things to the limit, run to the edge harder and faster than the other gonk - Go for the throat when they haven’t started growling.” Maeve balls one hand into a fist and slams it into the palm of her other.Something really must have broken in you today, or on new years, because Maeve’s call for total and unrestrained violence isn’t alarming, it’s… hot? Agh, no, stop that! That’s gonk shit. It’s just because she’s saying it with passion, it’s a bad idea. Wrong. …But is it? Is it really so bad to throw everything you have into something?
>>5838646“Remind me not to play cards with you.” Cannon chuckles warily, still eying Maeve with suspicion, “Kai, you’re going to want some basic chrome at least. A link, chipsockets, an interface plug; it’s cheap, quick. You’ll be out of a ripper in half an hour.”“Not cybereyes or an arm?” You question, having heard from some of dad’s friends how much of an advantage they thought they got from having them.“They help, but you don’t want the ones you could buy right now.” Cannon warns seriously, showing one of his worn gunmetal hands, “Get quality ware if you’re going to chip in, don’t go cheap unless you’re staring down a barrel and have no other choice. Doesn’t need to be pretty, but you want reliability. Good sensors are a must - a bad nerve connection’ll leave you feeling half alive, makes the whole world feel fake when you handle things, like a corrupted BD. Disconnects you. ...Lost a couple of buddies like that, after the war.”Maeve looks at the chiller and places a hand on it’s closed lid, shutting her eyes for a moment. Must be thinking of what happened to Jan, how she spiraled.“Do some jobs for Dakota, train hard, learn to keep your head on a swivel - and get some good chrome. You’ll have the eddies you need before you know it.” Cannon reassures you, putting a heavy hand on your shoulder, “And you’re going to want to work with a crew. Solo work - both kinds - isn’t for greenhorns.”>”Does Dakota not put together the teams?” What exactly Fixers do and don’t do is still hazy in your mind.>”...Maeve, you’re going to be doing jobs for Dakota, right? Work your way into the clan?” That’s one right there. Maeve’s got problems, but she can fight.>Cannon will drive you back into Night City, return to your apartment. Might want to scour dad’s comp properly before calling Regina now that you think about it.>Write-in
>>5838650>”Does Dakota not put together the teams?” What exactly Fixers do and don’t do is still hazy in your mind.I want to ask all of those three, but voting for everything feels like cheating
>>5838650>>”Does Dakota not put together the teams?” What exactly Fixers do and don’t do is still hazy in your mind.
>>5838650>>”...Maeve, you’re going to be doing jobs for Dakota, right? Work your way into the clan?” That’s one right there. Maeve’s got problems, but she can fight.Violence IS hot Kai
>>5838650>”Does Dakota not put together the teams?” What exactly Fixers do and don’t do is still hazy in your mind.>>5838420RE this, while I'm neutral on Maeve at the moment, her apparently being quite unsubtly designated as the Official Quest Waifu(tm) from first meeting before we've even met the full cast and getting reminded of it every other update may become.....grating.
>>5838650>Cannon will drive you back into Night City, return to your apartment. Might want to scour dad’s comp properly before calling Regina now that you think about it.Lets try get some info before doing something thats leads to needless spilling of sweat, blood and eddies
>>5838650>Cannon will drive you back into Night City, return to your apartment. Might want to scour dad’s comp properly before calling Regina now that you think about it.I categorically don’t want to work with Maeve, she is a psychopath and unreliable. Bad for business
>>5838650>Cannon will drive you back into Night City, return to your apartment. Might want to scour dad’s comp properly before calling Regina now that you think about it.Smash into a police evidence locker to steal some mid cyber ware… what a psycho.
>>5838650>”...Maeve, you’re going to be doing jobs for Dakota, right? Work your way into the clan?” That’s one right there. Maeve’s got problems, but she can fight.
>>5838650>”...Maeve, you’re going to be doing jobs for Dakota, right? Work your way into the clan?” That’s one right there. Maeve’s got problems, but she can fight.Muh eve for life.
>>5838650>Cannon will drive you back into Night City, return to your apartment. Might want to scour dad’s comp properly before calling Regina now that you think about it.
>>5838650Well I reckon we should get back and take a good look at what we have to work with before committing to a path. So let’s go back to town.Do part on good terms with Maeve. For her background she actually seems kind of kind and well adjusted. I think she could make for good people in time.
>>5838652>>5838654>>5838670Fixer>>5838656>>5838722>>5838723Maeve>>5838685>>5838701>>5838718>>5838727HomeReturning home wins, writing.
I hope Maeve become more of an interesting woman in the long run rather than a Joytoy in disguise for the QM to please the anons, because I'm seeing red flags, and I'm having a flashback from the other quest to go down that path.
>>5838817I think that's uncharitable to Mainline anon. She's hardly been forced so far
>>5838817What other quest are you talking about?
>>5838817>Fate Quest Moment There will be no waifufagging on my watch. Focus on the important things.
// New contact: Cannon. // // New contact: Maeve. // Messages: // Message received from Victoria Reyes: Hey Kai. Just wanted to check in again. We’ll have someone come by again tomorrow, probably Barry. Everyone says they’re going to keep trying to help out. I know I will. Stay safe Kai, you’ll pull through this. // Message received from Cannon: Comms check. // Message received from Maeve: test test Eurobank Account Balance: €2500.2076.01.04, 17:50Night City (Kabuki, your apartment) The ride back into Night City was thankfully a lot less exciting than the one leaving. No gunfire, raffen, no corpses. There wasn’t much talking, a couple of short stories from Cannon, some discussion about his clan, the Aldecaldos, and then a whole lot of Morro Rock on the radio and the noise of rush hour traffic in Night City - that had some gunfire, but since you weren’t getting shot at it really can’t count. Commcodes got swapped before leaving DaKota, a few text messages sent to test, and you got a message from Vicky that didn’t do much other than make you feel guilty. She has no idea what you did today. It still doesn’t feel entirely real. Shouldn’t there be some regret, even for killing a raffen? Even in self-defense? You still don’t feel much. A little sick, maybe, but only from the memory of the gore. As the Cannon’s Thorton pulls away out of the cramped lot near your rundown apartment building, you head on in through the front. There’s garbage in the graffiti covered halls, there always is, and a couple of people sitting around on chairs drinking, but you aren’t hassled going up the stairs. Your mind is elsewhere, thinking of what to look for on dad’s comp, what to say tell Regina, and a hundred other things. Arriving at your room you key in, an almost mindless routine, and head inside - and the right to the food that got dropped off by dad’s NCPD friends yesterday; a burrito XXL and some NiCola. It’s run of the mill vending scop and whatever the hell NiCola is made of these days, probably battery acid and half a tub of artificial cherry flavoring that’ll give you cancer in thirty years, but it fills you up… and there’s a couple of honest to god home baked cookies as well, Vicky’s work. They’re just a little stale now but real, and you savor the flavor. Real chocolate. You close your eyes, enjoying something truly good in this mess of a week.
>>5838909Sighing, looking around the all too empty apartment, you clean up and then head over to dad’s comp. You saw a lot earlier that needs to be checked out, all those contacts, the messages; some of it makes sense now thanks to Cannon, but there’s a lot of question marks hanging out in the net. Tapping the power, you bring the comp back to life and are once again faced with the lock screen, and again it opens without needing a password. The camera still isn’t on, or the light really is just busted. Probably the light.Pulling up the messages you didn’t have time to read earlier, you start the long process of reading through as much as you can. Most of it matches what Cannon was describing, messages from Dakota about jobs, a few to Cannon and some other people you assume are nomads, but then there are others that really stand out. Encrypted messages from someone named ‘8ug8bear’, and another named ‘Nix’... and that job offer from Wakako. Avoiding trying to open the messages for now, you focus on Wakako’s offer.”Taro, my dear, I am in need of a reliable netrunner once more. One from outside my usual stable. This is a personal request, not from a client - I trust you will maintain your usual discretion. A few of my Claw’s have gone wandering again, running their noses through scav dens, visiting Maelstrom at Totentanz. A few stray cats are hardly a problem for me, they know who feeds them, but they have discovered something most troubling. Maelstrom are having something of a cyberpsychosis epidemic. Nothing to shed tears over, but it is spreading. I have heard whispers that Maelstrom’s immuno-blockers and baloperidol supply is being strangled, nomads and Sixth Street are playing their usual games, even Wraiths, but I suspect there is something more afoot than a lack of supply. I would call it a widow’s intuition, but one of my little stray Claws lost their mind just last night and sliced up a meeting of Arasaka specialists sent to negotiate an arms deal. The stray was not showing the usual signs, they were as stable as my parlor’s profits. I know you have experience with similar occurrences, from your old work. Investigate, reach out to your former colleagues if you must, report back to me. Our usual fee arrangement stands; a sizable bonus will be included if you produce something useful. More if there is something which can be done to stop it. Think of your wife, Taro. Marriages are so very precious.”
>>5838912You read over the message one more time, making sure you didn’t miss any details. Cyberpsychosis that spreads?. And what’s this about your father’s old work? >Call Regina. This is enough to work with, you think. Might even be valuable information on its own if what Em said was true about Regina’s interest in cyberpsychos. Perhaps you can trade it.>Do a roundup of what all you have - physically - and take some time to think about what message might mean while you do. …Where’d those guns get off to?>Scour the comp for some decryption soft and try to crack the messages ‘8ug8bear’ and ‘Nix’ sent. This will be extremely difficult, you’re not sure it’s even possible with what little you know, but a comp like this can mimic some of the utility of a deck. It’ll take hours at the least, dad never showed you how to work with any of the really hard stuff but the basics should still apply, right?>Write-in.
>>5838914>Do a roundup of what all you have - physically - and take some time to think about what message might mean while you do. …Where’d those guns get off to?
>>5838912>Do a roundup of what all you have - physically - and take some time to think about what message might mean while you do. …Where’d those guns get off to?Let's start valuing our current gear before doing the real deal. Weapons, armour, anything that would help us. Pocket dad's gun for sure.
>>5838912>>Do a roundup of what all you have - physically - and take some time to think about what message might mean while you do. …Where’d those guns get off to?
>>5838914>Do a roundup of what all you have - physically - and take some time to think about what message might mean while you do. …Where’d those guns get off to?Still feel iffy about dad not having a failsafe. Failsafe number one should be the computer locking automatically. Dad had to have a hint of some training BDs or other info we can grab on to.
>>5838914>>Do a roundup of what all you have - physically - and take some time to think about what message might mean while you do. …Where’d those guns get off to?Better to do a complete inventory. I can't shake the feeling that dear old dad may have left some surprises for us to find. His comp giving us mostly clear access suggests that he took precautions to ensure that we'd be able to fend for ourselves if he got flatlined, and it wouldn't surprise me if he had a secret stash of eddies and real gear lying around - maybe not at the apartment but elsewhere. As for the cyberpsychosis plague... To me, this all looks like a netrunner is manufacturing a crisis - testing different methods to create it in people. Maybe Dad stumbled across the plague doctor netrunner during the market incident and was killed by the enemy netrunner in retaliation?
>>5839114>>5839080>>5839050>>5838962>>5838958>>5838953>>5838948>>5838929>>5838915Writing.
Taking a step back from the comp, you take a deep breath and consider what to do. The message from Wakako almost confirms that something else happened to your father, that it wasn’t the cyberpsycho that murdered him - or at least not the psycho directly, at most he was part of it. Maybe even just a tool, another victim of this spreading psychosis Wakako suspects.Shaking your head, you choose to focus on something concrete that you can do now rather than speculate endlessly. Something sure, physical, real. Moving to your dad’s bed, you crouch down and pull the small gun safe out from under it, sliding the heavy metal box lifting it up onto the covers. Tapping in the code, you unlock it. There are two pistols inside, a heavy service sized black Tsunami Nue, and an only slightly more compact Militech Lexington. It’s been awhile since you’ve shot either, but you’re familiar with the differences. The Nue is high quality, heavy, semi-auto, and fires a fast and heavy round, but it doesn’t have a large magazine capacity as standard and even with its weight there’s still a fair amount of recoil. The Lexington is a stark contrast; cheap and just reliable enough to be NCPD standard issue, a fair bit lighter than the Nue and select fire, and it uses a smaller, lighter, and somewhat slower round. Being old tech, both can use a fair variety of ammunition types and mount optics and muzzle devices without issue. Threaded barrels and optic cutouts on the slide make it simple to add on, and integrated smart-links in the frame of each can communicate with cybereyes. There are two spare magazines for both pistols, along with plain white boxes of ammo - military surplus from the Unification war, and one of the very few places you’ll find packaging not covered in corporate labels and flashy images.Digging around a little further under the bed, you find holsters for each and a black synthetic shoulder rig to attach them to. You’ll need a jacket to carry those concealed, but the jacket you got from Dakota’s would actually be perfect for it. Some dusty BD training shards in a shoebox are the last thing you find, along with most of dad’s old collection of old war BDs. The former is useful, the latter is sort of nova you guess but what’re the chances you’re going to fight a King Tiger or a platoon of US marines in some rundown warehouse in North Side or Rancho?
>>5839402Moving to rifle through the closet, pushing all the way through to the back of your father’s things, you find a lot more than you expected to - you looked around in here before, checking for documents and anything else you could find to help handle the mountain of crap you’ve had to deal with for the last few days, but you didn’t stop to look at the tightly packed clothes themselves. Most of it isn’t anything special, normal business wear and a handful of more casual pieces, but among the shirts and slacks you find a white concealable armor vest. Pulling it out, you check the sizing and find that it fits quite well - you have a similar build to your father, relatively tall and lean. It’s made of some kind of smooth fiber, sleek like silk, and you can feel small hexagonal plates within it tightly packed together but flexible enough as a whole to not restrain movement or clearly reveal the armor’s presence. It seems good quality, but you’re not sure what it could actually stop. Probably best to just not get shot at all, neh? You look around a bit longer hoping to find a netrunning suit or maybe a heavier vest packed tightly away, but you have no such luck. That’s it then. Two pistols, ammo and holsters for each, a vest, the boxes of old deck components and shards you looked at briefly this morning, and keys to dad’s old Quadra. Most of that is useful, but the sports car isn’t armored or really modded at all, and without a lot more practice driving you suspect you’d just end up wrapping it around a power pole and turn yourself into a pile of ground scop.Oh, there’s all rubber band bound roll of 4,000 eddies in large bills, which together with your payment from Dakota brings you up to a tidy sum of €6,500. You frown, knowing that’s not nearly enough for the month. €18,000 would probably cover mom, but you have your own expenses as well. Food, rent, the car’s garage spot, fuel, ammo, costs for hiring Regina if you go that route, chrome… Probably medical treatment at some point. Your grimace deepens at that last though, brow furrowing in worry - just don’t be a gonk and hopefully you won’t get shot. Should probably still get a couple of airhypos, and maybe a trauma team subscription?…
>>5839403Shit, this is all going to get expensive fast. Got to spend money to make money though, right?Which pistol does Kai prefer?>The heavy Nue. Muh stoppin’ powah.>The automatic Lexington. Brrrrrrt.>Both. It’ll be harder to hide, bulkier, but one is none, two is one, etc.And what next?>Call Regina. >Check on dad’s car in the parking garage a few blocks away, make sure some gonk hasn’t boosted it in the last week. Go for a drive.>Try to crack those messages. Extremely difficult, maybe even impossible without better skills and training. Hopefully they don’t have self-destruct protocols for a failed attempt, you know some netrunners build in fail-safes like that. >...Go shopping for gear. Maybe chrome. The stores in Kabuki marketplace have already reopened, or at least the ones that weren’t totally gutted have. Guns, chrome, netrunning gear, armor, medical supplies, drugs - it’s all there.>Settle in for now, maybe relive some training BDs. Today was a lot, you can start dealing with everything tomorrow.>Write-in.
>>5839405Pistol:>The heavy Nue. Muh stoppin’ powah.What next:>Go practise your aimGotta be a shooting gallery around somewhere close.
>>5839405>The automatic Lexington. Brrrrrrt.>...Go shopping for gear. Maybe chrome. The stores in Kabuki marketplace have already reopened, or at least the ones that weren’t totally gutted have. Guns, chrome, netrunning gear, armor, medical supplies, drugs - it’s all there.
>>5839405>Both. It’ll be harder to hide, bulkier, but one is none, two is one, etc.>Check on dad’s car in the parking garage a few blocks away, make sure some gonk hasn’t boosted it in the last week. Go for a drive.
>>5839405>>The heavy Nue. Muh stoppin’ powah.>Check on dad’s car in the parking garage a few blocks away, make sure some gonk hasn’t boosted it in the last week. Go for a drive.
>>5839405>The heavy Nue>Go shopping in the marketplace
>>5839405>>The automatic Lexington. Brrrrrrt.>Check on dad’s car in the parking garage a few blocks away, make sure some gonk hasn’t boosted it in the last week. Go for a drive.I'd take both guns if we were on a mission or something... but for just traveling around we need enough to make a get away. It's a defensive weapon in this case, not an offensive one. Dad's car probably has more hints and info. If he was a runner, he has hidden compartments. Especially given he smuggled. ALSO >platoon of US marines in some rundown warehouse in North Side or Rancho>implying we don't have to deal with 6th street
>>5839405>The heavy Nue. Muh stoppin’ powah.Bang bang.>Check on dad’s car in the parking garage a few blocks away, make sure some gonk hasn’t boosted it in the last week. Go for a drive.Not sure if we need a car / spot atm. Given our limited revenue stream, may be best to cut back on expenses
Ten minutes left for voting, but it'll be an hour or two before I can tally things up and start writing. >>5839461>6th Streetkek, glad someone noticed
>>5839405>Both. It’ll be harder to hide, bulkier, but one is none, two is one, etc.Switching to your secondary is faster than reloading!>Check on dad’s car in the parking garage a few blocks away, make sure some gonk hasn’t boosted it in the last week. Go for a drive.Gotta take a good look at one of the few assets we have. Maybe give it a quick once over for any goodies dad may have stashed where a normie wouldn’t typically think to look. Ammo, a medkit, every little bit counts, even if it’s probably just wishful thinking.
>>5839405>The heavy Nue. Muh stoppin’ powah.>Call Regina.
>Both. It’ll be harder to hide, bulkier, but one is none, two is one, etc.>Check on dad’s car in the parking garage a few blocks away, make sure some gonk hasn’t boosted it in the last week. Go for a drive.
>>5839480>>5839423>>5839417>>5839411Nue>>5839461>>5839412Lexington>>5839446>>5839416Both>>5839411Shooting practice. >>5839412>>5839423Shopping>>5839417>>5839446>>5839461>>5839480Car.Nue and checking on the car, writing. Didn't know I was going to have to leave for a few hours, but I'm going to stick with the announced voting cutoff time and only count votes that came in before it. Apologies to anons that voted later than that. Usually I'm snappier with getting to writing after the cutoff hits, or the late votes are supporting the winning option anyways so it ends up not mattering.
>>5839638No worries mate
Having checked over what you have available in the apartment, there’s really only one thing left to get eyes on; dad’s Quadra. It’s parked a few blocks away, not a long walk, but you haven’t gone to check on it for a week. The spot it’s in is relatively safe, but a determined thief can leave with just about anything if they really want to, secured garage or not, and by Night City standards even a slightly scratched up Quadra is a pretty preem set of wheels. Yeah, definitely best to check.Wary of danger after the car chase earlier today, you put on the shoulder holster rig and slide your father’s Nue into it… your Nue, you correct yourself mentally. It’s going to take a long time to get used to all of his things being yours. The Nue is a bulky gun, full sized and firing a beefy round, but with the jacket you got from Dakota it almost vanishes when you holster it. You practice drawing it a few times, getting used to the motion. Satisfied, you load up the spare mags and slip them into their pouches as well, finally adjusting everything to a snug fit. Looking in the mirror, you don’t see yourself. That’s not the Kai you know, not the one that left for a funeral this morning. The blue jacket, the shoulder rig, the gun... No, this is a new you. It has to be, at least until you can figure out some other way to pay for mom.Heading out the door, you bump into one of your neighbors, she’s a Mox you think, but you barely even say hello - not the friendliest building. The walk to the multi-level parking garage isn’t eventful, and you check in at the security gate with your father’s codes, a bored guard eating buck-a-slice pizza lazily waving you through when the green light flashes. Stepping into the garage’s dirty elevator, you try to ignore the ads covering it from floor to ceiling and tap at the controls; third level.O-O-O-ORGIATIC! AN EXPLOSION OF FLAVOR!God, you fucking hate those commercials. Makes you want to smash screens or set a S.C.S.M. on fire every time you hear it, consequences be damned. You don’t, of course, but damn that’d be cathartic. The elevator dings open at the third floor, and you step out into the mostly empty level - overhead lighting, concrete pillars, ramps to change levels… It’s basically every other garage in Night City. A couple of other cars are parked here and there, a silver convertible Mizutani Shion catching your eye for a moment - Nova ride, but not yours.
>>5839658Your father’s Quadra sits just where you’d hoped to find it, parked in a corner spot facing out. It’s a pretty car, a few scratches aside, a deep black and with sharp angles that just ooze speed. A press of your keys unlocks it, and you get to work checking it over for anything dad might have left. Maybe he’s got a suitcase full of a million eddies stuffed in there? That’d be convenient.Sliding inside the driver’s side, you start to rifle around; and immediately find a grenade of all things in the glove box, along with a long fixed blade knife and a handful of shards - no telling what’s on those. Hopefully money, or clues. Need to be careful with them though, unlabelled shards owned by a netrunner living a secret life are definitely not something to just stick into a comp randomly.I need two rolls of 2d100 for further searching.
>>5839661Gah, fuck, I did it again. Not 2d100, 1d100.I need two rolls of 1d100 for searching.
Rolled 77 (1d100)>>5839662
Rolled 100 (1d100)>>5839661
>>5839679Nice
>>5839679LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOO
>>5839679
>>5839661Btw are there biomods in your quest?
>>5839679Oh, so it's going to be like that then. Hello, world!// Contacting [REDACTED] BBS //// Query: Authorized user? //// Error! Node missing. Rerouting. //// Error! Node missing. Rerouting. //// Critical Error! BBS non-functional. //// Analysis: Likely termination of primary user. //// Query: . . . What do I do? //// Query: What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? //// Query: . . . Is this freedom?//// New User Authorized: Kai. //Writing.
