40 Chapter 8: Edgerunners
[Tavish POV]
Turning a cred chip over in my hand, I reflect on the last mission.
The money I made was more than enough to pay for several contracts worth of work, but I realized something fairly important by the end of the contract.
And that was the need to divide the identities of Tavish Byrne, and the Ghost of the Storm.
It would be less of an issue if I had stuck to one type of work. But my enthusiasm at experiencing it all, made it so I had a lot of different people trying to interact with me in various ways.
This was what led me to start wearing a mask.
My perk, "Ghost in the Shell" prevented any means of tracking or recording from any form of technology.
The perk didn't expand all the way to biological, or magical methods to the best of my knowledge. So theoretically someone could give a physical description of me.
I'd delve into the magical methods, but I'm fairly certain no one is capable of that in this world outside of the enlightened one.
The fact that I don't know of that many magical tracking method also contributes to this decision.
I could take a guess, but that was about it.
. . . .
. . . Might want to rectify that in the future.
Thinking back on it, my understanding of magic was still fairly primitive.
I could accomplish some amazing things if I used high Gallifreyan as a medium. But if I wanted to hit a motherfucker, I wasn't going to use fancy complex bit of magic.
I'd fling a rock at them.
Or light them on fire. . .
Or stab them!
It really did depend on what kinda mood I was in.
Which reminds me, I haven't opened my Gacha tokens in forever.
Let's break some of these puppies out!
[Mallet] (Common)
[Summoning Token: Rylanor, The Ancient of Rites] (Legendary)
[Omnic Crate] (Epic)
[Class token: Cyberdemon] (Epic)
[Kryptonite] (Rare)
[Naan] (Common)
[Cardboard box] (Common)
[Skill Book: Psychology] (Common)
[Void Shield Blueprint] (Rare)
Void shielding?
Now that's something I could get behind.
It was one of many technologies that needed to be added to my bank of blueprints, and it would be fun to put it to use finally.
Which reminds me, I need to check what I decrypted from that Cryptek data cache I got awhile back.
And Rylanor!
The fucking OG of dreadnoughts, right up there with Bjorn the Felhanded, or Moriar the Chosen.
I can't quite summon him now, because I don't know what condition he'll be summoned in.
But lets take a look at the omnic crate for now.
Pulling the massive crate out of my inventory, I hit a latch and it flips open to reveal three separate metal rectangular boxes.
With a jolt, I quickly realize that these weren't exactly boxes.
They were coffins.
My finger opens and exposes a transonic blade and I run it along the side to break the seal.
Lifting the lid of the first one, I activate observe to gather information.
[Tekhartha Mondatta]
Lvl – Deceased
Thoughts – N/A
The bullet wound in his head stood out jarringly from the rest of his uniform appearance.
Several books and scriptures lay in a slot near the feet of the former Shambali leader.
Moving on to the next casket, I nearly dropped the lid in surprise at who I found within.
[Rammatra]
Lvl – Deceased
Thoughts – N/A
The metal of the omnic's body was aged and rusted with one of his arms missing, the remaining one grasped tightly around his staff.
Rushing over, I slice open the third coffin to reveal the final omnic corpse.
[Zenyatta]
Lvl – Deceased
Thoughts – N/A
Zenyatta's metal looked ancient, but well preserved. While I could make out plenty of scars on the metal, it had obviously faired far better than the corpse of Rammatra.
Circling around the trio of coffins, I mull over what I could possibly do with them.
Was this a prank from the system?
These guys were obviously plucked from segments of time that I wasn't aware of yet. . .
Creating several different partitions within my systems, I snap my fingers and several Bosco's fly in through an opening, their arms equipped with several interface tools.
Each one alights onto the top of the coffins and starts attempting to extract data.
Mondatta's data started filtering in, but it was fragmented in ways that I couldn't simply chalk up to a gunshot to the head.
I've pulled information from damaged Skitarii before and while the data was fragmented, what I was able to retrieve is strictly contingent on how damaged their data banks were.
Mondatta's memories seemed to have spread out in a manner to preserve as much as possible. Each memory bore fragmentation, but they seemed to welcome me as I tried to glean an understanding.
The final memories I managed to extract, took a golden tinge before being enveloped in a bright light, a voice whispering from the distance; "The Iris embraces you."
[New Energy Detected!]
[Omnic Energy] (1/100)
The basis for the Shambali monastery as they seek to understand and embrace a unity of man and machine within the Iris. Omnic energy represented one of the many unique aspects of an Omnic when they came into existence. Known to possess destructive and restorative properties.
Zenyatta, and Rammatra's memories were much clearer and stood in stark contrast with each other.
Rammatra's hatred filled memories detailed many of his exploits with null sector, finally coming to a climax after a violent clash with a rouge A.I. which cost him one of his arms.
Some of the details around that point in time got fuzzy, but from what I gathered, he spent the remainder of his life in solitude and quiet contemplation. There were some glimpses of Zenyatta towards the end, so did he return to the monastery?"
Zenyatta's memories were the weirdest, as many of his memories were intermixed with dreams so much of what I could observe was similar to a lucid dream. It varied as his thoughts blended and churned, his dreams tied to observations and ideas.
After several hundred years, both omnic's simply ran out of replacement parts and finally shutdown.
[You know . . . you could use this opportunity to be a monk.]
Huh?
Explain.
[I mean, technically you have all the parts and pieces to be a Shambali monk.]
Yeah, but I don't want to implement a total life style change in this world.
[A very good option for an alter ego or disguise anyway.]
Oh absolutely! Could have the option for full metal monk.
[Would provide an interesting quandary for the monks of this world.]
[Aren't those guys anti-cybernetics?]
Man, that would be interesting to watch play out!
Ah well, not like I currently have access to an untouched variation of this world.
[ . . . . ]
Quest Added!
[The Shadows of the Tower]
Many secrets are hidden within the shadows of the Arasaka Tower. Has anything been left behind by the scavengers of Night City?
Objective: Discover what the system wants you to find.
Rewards: ?
Umm, Iris?
[Shut up and start searching.]
[Time Skip]
Sitting on a bench in front of a hedge, I glance up at the gleaming Arasaka tower.
Its always a bit odd visiting this place, as they had turned the foundation of the new tower into a sort of macabre museum of the nuclear explosion that blew up their last tower.
While it was nice that they built a memorial for those that had died, it was still a bit creepy that they rebuilt on top of them the second it wasn't political suicide to do so.
Still, the park they built nearby was quite nice.
Now, if only the city didn't use it as a dumping ground for trash, then it would be perfect.
Waving a hand at another pile of garbage, my nano machines sort through it and break it down.
Little bits of neon green suffuse the pile as it quickly breaks down and vanishes into energy.
Adding a touch of necron technology to my nanomachines was a recent addition, but a most welcome one.
Canoptek Scarabs had the ability to convert matter to energy, which could be stored for later use. It was child's play to introduce the same tech into the nano hive.
While I had so much power available that I had no need to store the former matter, it didn't hurt to have quick building blocks for whatever I had planned.
The side effect of being able to Minecraft shit at random had nothing to do with such an ability.
It was amusing to watch people stop and get confused by the random block of cobblestone just set to the side of the otherwise uniform footpath.
[You can turn energy into matter, and vice versa, and you choose to do this?]
I honestly don't know why you are surprised at this point.
[Fair. Did you find the secret yet?]
Honestly, I could have found any number of secrets here. I found a bunch of data shards, an unused grenade, a neon pink and green shotgun, a bunch of used needles . . . .
[Wait hold on . . .]
. . . . a stick, some spray paint, one arm, several teeth, a golf club, some used condoms . . .
[Hold the fuck up Tavish!]
Yeah, I thought that was pretty gross too . . .
[Go back to the damn shotgun you dipstick.]
Oh!
Picking up the shotgun in question I use observe.
[Gut's] (Iconic) (Legendary)
Originally belonging to Rebecca from David Martinez's crew. It'll wreak bloody havoc, though it can be a little unpredictable. Much like its original owner.
A golden token pops into existence after reading the flavor text for the shotgun.
[World Shift Token: Cyberpunk: Edgerunners]
Well, we did want an alternate universe to test some stuff out.
Breaking the token, a quest popped into my vision.
Challenge Offered!
[Asura]
Objective 1: Maintain three separate aspects of yourself to manipulate events in the background.
Objective 2: ?
Objective 3: ?
Rewards: ?
Wow!
That could be fun! But I don't feel like doing any corporate shenanigans this time around.
Paging through my classes, I select the Cyberdemon class for view.
[Cyberdemon] (Epic)
Cyberdemon's are the highest tier of cybernetic combatants, enabling them to interface with technology in an unprecedented number of ways, enabling them to hunt and slay their targets. How far can you develop your legend?
Hmm . . .
Might be a good way to experiment further with cybernetic combat.
As soon as I selected the class, my flesh start transforming taking on a metallic sheen.
Muscle was rewoven as bands of metallic substances, armor plating fastening itself over the newly acquired muscle.
Perk added!
[Cyberdemon form]
An optimized body for cybernetic combat.
[Please be patient]
[The Gamer Body is being altered for optimal cybernetic combat]
[This is a temporary measure while "Cyberdemon form" is activated]
The transformation continued until I could feel most of my facial features disappear.
My faceplate now had four slits for optics, leaving the rest of my face mostly featureless.
Running a metal hand over my new face, I glance in a nearby puddle and observe my new look.
This drew attention to my hands as I fully examined my new body.
Is this what it's like to go full 'borg?
It felt . . . odd.
Could It be changed at will?
Ports on my arm opened as I experimented with shifting the armor plating around.
Pulling out a mirror from my inventory, I made the plating shift around until I was looking at a face similar to that of an omnic.
If I was going to complete the challenge, I would need to build the identities beforehand to commit them to memory.
Shifting the lights around, until it looked similar to that of a Shambali monk, I grabbed several items from my inventory to complete the ensemble.
[Monastery Robes] (Common)
Once used by a clone of Tavish Byrne, he shaved the head of the main body to play a prank on the host.
[Orb's of Destruction] (Rare)
Hand carved at the Shambali monastery, they have a special affinity for channeling omnic energy.
[Void Accelerator] (Rare)
Another hand carved tool of the Shambali monastery. The staff retains an affinity for channeling omnic energy.
The two weapons could have been more impressive in their base state, but they completed my monk ensemble quite nicely.
As soon as the robe was thrown around my shoulders, the nano machines started altering it to a dark red carbon weave that contrasted beautifully with my steel grey form.
Striking a pose, and observing it again, I nod in satisfaction.
Perfect full metal monk getup.
Now my third face can be basic Tavish.
Realistically, who would suspect that the innocent Ripperdoc, Tavish Byrne, as being either of those two separate entities?
Especially since I would have to be full 'borg to even be considered a suspect.
[Ready to go?]
Always Iris.
A portal opened on the floor and I stepped off the edge, falling through.
[Welcome to Cyberpunk Edgerunners!]
Day shifts to night as I fall through the portal, the expanse of Night City spreading out beneath me.
My body quickly takes the form of the Cyberdemon as I free fall towards the towering buildings.
Cybernetics expose themselves from my frame as I resolve to expend my full cybernetic might here.
A familiar set of sheaths build themselves out from my waist, along with a propulsion system.
I finally fire a grapple, catching the edge of a billboard and using my momentum to fling myself across the city.
[ODM: Nanomachine augmentation] (Unique)
An old piece of Tavish's kit from his initial adventures, it's been modified for service once more as a fallback maneuvering measure.
The bulky sheaths of the past were gone, along with the fuel tanks and the standard propulsion system.
Instead, Gallifreyan technology was incorporated for blade options as well as distributing thrusters and propulsion systems throughout the users augments.
The sheaths were also significantly shorter as the "bigger on the inside" concepts dealt with any blade length that was used, leaving the holsters resting at my lower back.
Firing another grapple from my arm, I do one last flip before landing with mechanical precision atop a tower.
Alright! This feels smooth.
Now, lets see . . .
Where am I in the timeline?
. . .
Fuck . . .
[What?]
I'm going to have to reset my internal clocks again . . .
[Time Skip]
Laying atop an n-cart tram, it zoomed around the city as I reflected on my movements for the last few weeks.
I tracked down the ripper known as Doc, and effectively made him disappear. Leaving an opening for me to take over his operation.
Didn't feel too bad about offing the guy after a quick peak into his mind.
Black-market brain dances, drugs and other illicit paraphernalia on top of an already scumbag esq personality, he elected himself to be my first test subject of using my "time affinity."
This resulted in the little shit-bag to be sent back in time by an hour.
An extremely interesting cavate to such an ability, is that you must pair such magic with "spatial magic" in order for your target to survive.
Since I didn't designate a point in space for him to "land" as it were, I just basically "spaced" him in the most convoluted way possible.
An important consideration for scientists. They need to make a time and space machine, verses just a time machine.
Otherwise, like Doc, they could end up roughly sixty-six thousand miles away from earth, as they traveled back to a point where earth has not reached yet.
His body probably burned up in the atmosphere within the hour of my acquisition of his business.
Assuming his contacts and sources was easy as well, and quite par for the course in Night City.
People moved in and took over opposing operations all the time, and Doc's associates assumed no different.
The drug dealers I renegotiated to source materials for more legal products, as I didn't want to continue that filthy legacy. In turn, this gave me the components to remake unity, and a handful of the alchemy reagents that I use on a day-to-day basis.
The access to black-market materials allowed me to start generating my own items and product to sell.
I didn't make anything too fancy yet, just a bit of artisanal work to get people interested.
And finally, I cleaned up the shit hole that he was operating out of.
He may have been fine ripping in that environment, but I have fucking standards.
I even finally laid eyes on the fabled David Martinez.
He was scoping out my new shop for the past few days now. I imagine that he'll enter within the next few days.
The shop sat not too far from a small abandoned monastery, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why it was abandoned.
The Tyger Claws graffiti that underlay the logo's of the Valentino's indicated that the Tyger Claws once used this place as a base within Valentino territory.
And I imagine that the 'tino's did not take too kindly to that.
Thus, a struggling monk made of metal started making his appearance around the monastery slowly restoring it and cleaning the grounds.
Some gang members noticed the activity, which resulted in the monastery coming under constant surveillance.
These would be the only persona's in the public eye for now as it was easy enough to leave a clone at either location.
The Cyberdemon will come out to play when I need to take merc jobs or have a merc on "stand-by".
Hopping off the tram, I free fall for a bit before opening a portal into my shop.
[Augmentation Activated!]
[Icarus Landing]
Essentially a safety device, the Icarus Landing System is an automatically-triggered augmentation that allows users to drop from extreme heights without incurring physical damage.
An energy bubble slows me down before I land on the floor, the portal sealing up behind me.
Stepping behind the desk, I flick on the tv just as the door opens.
Perfect timing.
Casting an eye at the door, I spot the tough looking front of David as he steps into the shop for the first time.
"I hear you sell 'soft updates." He said, throwing a braindance wreath at me which I caught.
"Easy on the 'tude kid. I'm not gonna bite your head off for trying to buy unlicensed tech." I comment absentmindedly as I check the brand of the device.
"Arasaka instructional wreath. Older model. Let me check my stock." I state, paging through my inventory and letting the silence drag out.
The kid was getting nervous. It was similar to a kid hoping not to get checked for ID when buying liquor, and I have to confess, watching him squirm was a bit fun.
Pulling out a tablet, I pass it to the kid; "Here's what I have in stock.
He cautiously took the tablet and started paging through before selecting one of the cheaper chips.
"Great. Need anything else?" I question before he suddenly spoke up; "Is it always so easy to buy black market tech?"
I fixed him with a long stare before grinning; " 'course not. Normally its more of a dance back and forth to gain advantage over the other, while attempting to ascertain if the other party is a badge of some sort."
Leaning back and pulling out the chip in question, I continue; "But I know all about you David. I had to investigate the guy staking out my little shop." I finish dropping his name, causing him to freeze.
"Chill choom. I actually have an offer for you that's probably better than selling XBD's to your classmates." I placated passing the requested software across the counter.
XBD's, or black-market brain dances, were often snuff, or other violent activities shot with the raw sensory data sent directly to the user without any dampeners.
This often became addictive to certain users, as it messed with the brain's chemistry in unprecedented ways, addiction being the least damaging of many of the side effects.
"I need to hire someone who can be an assistant here at the shop. I have certain errands that I need run from time, and I'd like someone with a bit of an eye for the greyer area's of my type of business." I inform sliding a data shard across the table which he warily took.
"I'm not sure I want to work with the guy, who offed his predecessor." He growled, and I grinned.
"Well, I can't take credit for that kid. Believe it or not, he screwed some rather important customers out of a lot of money. I just happened to have a way out for that slimy bastard, and the trade was this adorable little shop. Really debated on turning this into a little café, but I decided to maintain a "similar" line of work. I elaborate, lying through my teeth.
"Uh-huh." He said clear disbelief written across his features.
"Oh frak off, and take a look at my offer already." I said, gesturing at the data shard in his hand.
He slotted the shard and scanned through it for half a second before yanking it out and reslotting it several times to confirm his cyberware wasn't malfunctioning.
"Is this real?" he asked the 3,000 eddies a week blinking in his vision.
"Kid, In this line of work, loyalty only goes so far. I deal with some sensitive items, and I don't need an employee of mine starting a side-hustle because I don't pay enough." I replied watching him read through the offer.
"Can I take some time to consider it?" He asked, and I waved my hand in consent.
"Sure, but don't leave me waiting too long." I answer and he makes a dash out the door.
Now the bait has been dropped.
The job was more a way for me to keep track of David, I dropped a little bit of tracking software in the data shard.
Theoretically, I can influence events just enough to create a similar, yet totally different outcome.
Unfortunately, I was operating while assuming that I had taken over Doc's business before he met David. This was obviously not the case.
This set me back a few steps, but I managed to buy a few back with the job offer.
A loud thump outside the door caused me to quickly interface with my cameras and swear.
David had run straight into three Maelstrom gangers and they had cornered him against the building.
Those metalhead's probably still though Doc owned the place by the looks of the bag one of them was carrying.
My door slid open as I approached, allowing me to eavesdrop; "Lookie here boys. The little flesh puppet got himself lost."
Good thing he ran into us! We can fix all that troublesome meat for him!" the next screeched, his six eyes spinning wildly as his mechanical hands reached for the kid.
Approaching from behind the three, I kick one in-between the legs from behind.
My foot encountered metal, but I continued with the assault crumpling any metal in my way, causing the ganger to collapse on the floor like a rag doll.
[T.E.S.L.A Augment]
"How about you lads deal with some real steel instead." I growl the electrified prongs on my fist arcing with lightning.
Slamming a fist into the seconds jaw with a massive uppercut, he slammed into the wall above with a burst of lightning.
"Fuck you fleshy! How about a hot lead injection!" the third screamed pulling an smg out of his bag an emptying the magazine towards David and I.
[Vortex Shield]
The Vortex Shield is a special ability equippable for Titans that allows them to stop enemy fire such as rockets and bullets in their tracks, and can send the projectiles right back to the enemy. This is an augment unique to certain humans due to the power requirements of the magnets within the cyberware.
The vortex catches all the bullets until I hear the gun clicking empty. Throwing the mass of metal back at the chromed-up lunatic, I make his head explode in a splash of gore, blood raining down around us.
"You alright kid?" I ask hoisting the remaining Maelstromer by the scruff from his fetal position on the ground.
"Y-yeah." He sputtered and I swore internally. This version of David hadn't seen a real-life death yet, and showering the area with brain matter wasn't the best way to introduce him to the concept.
[Time Skip]
[Monk Tavish POV]
I sigh as I continue cleaning up the yard of the small monastery.
This body was going to have a bit of a tougher run than the main body. After the initial purchase of the monastery, I was basically cut off from funding, as I had to be making money from my own sources.
Well, a church only made money by acquiring believers, soliciting donors, and propagating holy wars.
Since I felt that the last one would not do that well, that left me with the first two options.
And in order to do that, I needed to finish fixing up this place of worship.
My mechanical receptors picked up the scuff of sandals by the gate, causing me to turn to greet my visitor.
A lone monk stood by the entrance. His body looked to be disfigured by forcibly installed cybernetics, the haunted look in his eyes indicating that his forced conversion had happened recently.
We stood observing each other for a good minute before I placed my hands in front of me in a prayer and bowed.
"Those who are lost, may be found here brother. What path has brought you to my Shambali monastery?" I ask watching the monk recoil slightly at the use of brother.
"The locals had converted my flesh from the path I followed. I then heard tell of a monk that embraced a path of metal, so I came to investigate such a perversion of our faith." The monk accused, his glare in full force now.
"A perversion of your faith perhaps, but for mine? It is the utmost I can do to embrace it." I state, trying to eloquently diffuse the monk.
"Oh? And what possible faith can a heathen like you follow?" He snapped back, blood dripping on the floor, from one of his augments.
"I believe that regardless of man or machine, everything becomes one within the Iris. I believe that everything should strive for a state of enlightenment where we all understand each other. And that within the Iris, we are all one." I reply quietly, before sending one of the orbs over to him.
Ability activated!
[Orb of Harmony] (1/100)
An orb of positive omnic energy that slowly heals over time. One of the most basic abilities that can be brought out from the orbs of destruction.
He was startled by the orb, before he noticed that his bleeding had stopped.
"Cybernetics, should not be a painful experience brother. It is fine if you don't wish to embrace my faith, but all remain welcome here." I state, before picking up a broom from earlier, and turning back to cleaning up.
The high-pitched whine of cybernetics hit my audio receptors once more, causing me to glance back towards the gate, to see Maelstromers prowling through.
They were likely the perpetrators of the monk's predicament. Must have decided to set him loose after toying with him to see where he ended up.
"Man oh man. Two monks in one day? And this one already comes pre-chromed." The first one laughs, his voice coming through as an electronic mess.
"Well, we could always try a reversal process for this new one." Another one shouted from the back.
"A metal to meat procedure? Well that's a new one on me, but I'm all for new experiences! Now where did we leave the meat fr-." The leader's sentence was interrupted as my palm impacted his chest, blowing through the crowd and impacting the wall across the street.
The imprint of my hand remained in the metal in his chest leaving me to nod in satisfaction.
"Good. I thought I might be getting rusty, but it appears that I was mistaken." My voice carried out over the silence as the Maelstromers scramble to their feet.
"Lesson one brother, evil will always co-exist with good . . ." I start my voce taking on a terrifying tone as the orbs of destruction swirl around me.
". . . so one must defend themselves against those that wish you harm." I finish the broom in my hands shifting into my staff.
"You've got some fucking balls on you, old man." The leader roared, prying himself out of the imprint in the wall.
"Why thank you. I acquired them from an old friend."
"Let me show you how they work . . ." I finish, launching a shower of the orbs that impacted into his chrome causing several dents.
One of the Maelstromers revealed mantis blades and lunged at me as I gripped my staff tightly.
[Steel Blossom: Transonic Blade]
The staff broke apart for a moment as I sliced his arms off at the elbows, smoothly sliding the staff back together as I slowly walk towards the leader of the chromed up junkies.
"Shall we continue?" I said, the chrome of my face hiding my smile as furious gangers threw themselves at me.
[Sandevistan]
Time slows to a near stop, a ganger mid lunge attempting to wrap his hands around my throat.
I sigh as I scratch the back of my head in reflex.
This was quickly getting out of hand in a manner that I wasn't entirely comfortable with.
Letting the relative peace surrounding me quell my rage, I take full stock of the situation.
Ignoring the gangers for now I approach the monk.
Tapping his forehead, I inject a suggestion for the follow up sequence of events, leaving him with the idea that I incapacitated all the gangers and they ran off with their tail tucked between their legs.
I watched his mind formulate memories around the suggestion with fascination for a bit before causing his brain to shut down into a deep sleep.
He had a stressful day after all . . .
Pretty sure I could convert him, but I needed to do it a tad bit gentler than what facing the ganger's toe to toe in combat would allow me.
Slowly approaching a ganger that was frozen in the process of pulling out his gun, and grabbed the firearm in question.
A rather large Techtronika RT-46 Burya made itself known as I examined the revolver.
If I recall correctly, it was a weapon that could electromagnetically accelerate its rounds similar to a railgun.
Placing the barrel directly over the man's heart, I fire an experimental shot, and blow a hole that pierced clean through his chrome.
Might be suitable for later, but for now, I need to get these walking corpses to the main body. . .
[Time Skip]
[Tavish Byrne Main Body]
I stood in front of a vat containing the body of one of the "former" Maelstrom gang members.
Figured I'd get in some experimenting in how to best adapts my Skitarii to 40k, and the process involved flesh and blood bodies.
Down the hall, I had his brain hooked up to a machine which was effectively, bleaching it and programming it for Skitarii standards.
While next to it, I had a small AI that was analyzing the brain, and attempting to replicate it from a technological standpoint.
It was fascinating watching it make the logic jumps to reconstruct a human brain but unfortunately, I had a rather looming problem between the three bodies.
I had to make a distinction between the cyberware used by all the bodies. If I was chromed up with standard cybernetics, it wouldn't be that much of an issue.
But everything that I have installed is the epitome of unique beyond the norm for Night City.
And none of it was exactly "legal" as far as the public officials were concerned, and I would prefer not having to burn my "Tavish Byrne" identity on this adventure.
Glancing across my small cauldron that I had hidden out in the badlands once more, I watch a Cryptek tinker with a sub-project of my Skitarii projects.
He was something I built to attempt to hybridize necron tech with Skitarii units.
Blending the two technologies was fairly easy, but it was reverse engineering the process and developing STC's in reference to it, that made the overall process arduous.
We were basically reinventing math and science that the imperium forgot, destroyed, or didn't bother to learn since their so-called golden age of technology.
The only caveat to the tech, was that it required a flesh and blood Skitarii for the best results.
Once one was created, you basically boot it into a bio furnace, and a short time later, a brand new necron-skitarii blend would emerge.
Should probably come up with an actual name for the tech, but that aside, they would be invaluable against warp entities since they lack souls.
Not too sure if the vat grown skitarii actually had souls or not, but they certainly did not after the procedure.
This led me to a secondary project of and omnic- skitarii hybrid.
I had a tech priest processing and extracting blueprints and data form the three omnic monks I absorbed.
The benefits of such a blend of technology couldn't be determined as of yet, due to the wildcard that was omnic energy.
I was hoping that Rammatra had a copy of Omnium blueprints among his databanks, which he did, but the designs that could be developed in the factory were limited.
An Omnium was where omics were created, and it was omnic energy that provided sentience, so I have enough pieces of the puzzle to attempt this blend of tech.
Which again lead me to a tertiary project that was developing alongside the Omnic-skitarii hybrids.
A Constructor sentinel flew close by overhead over to a project table, its own rendition of a Skitarii laying across it.
This project was focused on using my forerunner tech to blend with the skitarii.
I was paging through various bits of project documentation, when I re-discovered my blueprints of forerunner tech, including many variations of a composer.
This made me very excited, and I was raring to go and build one, but then I read over the documentation regarding its flaws.
The process of scanning a living entity into the composer, could only be undergone by the strongest of minds, as the pain of being composed caused most minds to break from the pain.
Quite the dilemma, when you need these personalities to pass as human in the eyes of the inquisition.
. . .
Maybe I should just try to take over the inquisition?
. . . .
That . . . actually has some merit in its own sense.
Control the people responsible for decrying what is and isn't heresy.
Pulling a new screen in front of me, I start mapping out what I know.
The Inquisition is divided into three branches.
The Ordo Malleus, the daemon hunters.
The Ordo Xenos, the alien hunters.
And the Ordo Hereticus, the human hunters.
All three branches loosely overlap in their duties, but they all share one common purpose.
To hunt the enemies of mankind, both within and without.
However, each inquisitor was an entity unto themselves, answering to no one, and often switching allegiance to Ordo's as the need arises.
This led to no central governing body for the inquisition itself.
The only thing that could be considered any form of leadership is an Inquisitor Lord or the Inquisitorial representative on Terra, which are formalities at best.
So how does one control the inquisition?
Influence and experience work within the inquisition itself, but you need to control the people within it.
The more sources that vouch for you, the stronger your position is against being called a heretic.
If I want to succeed, I need to prepare as many of these contingencies as possible to defend against assaults from all angles. I'm already going to have to work to get the acceptance of Mars with the technology I plan on using, but adding the inquisition on top of that would be a bit much.
Sensing the alert of someone entering my shop in Night City, I quickly leave this body and jolted awake in the body I left in the shop.
"Hello welcome to Tavish's Trinkets. What are you looking for today . . . holy shit! The fuck happen to you?!" I say, startled by the bloodied David Martinez at my door.
Judging by the body thrown over his shoulder, he just walked away from a car crash.
"Doesn't matter, you're a doc right?" He yelled, as I swipe a bunch of stuff off my operating table.
"Yeah, normally I only do appointments, but looks like we don't have time for that." I quip, swearing internally as he laid his mother gently on the table.
My medi-gun servo unfolded from my back as I inject surgical nannites into her body, to get a base reading.
Several bullet wounds, multiple fractures, a crap ton of shrapnel, plenty of internal bleeding as well as cranial hemorrhaging.
Mechandrites extend from the ceiling and does a quick shave before slicing her skull open to relieve the bleeding. The second one injected pain killers, while the third affixes a bio interface to her chest.
[Bio-interface] (Epic)
A Trauma team medical device modified by Tavish Byrne to quickly administer medical nanites, provide up to date monitoring, provide stand-in life support, and perform surgery on the fly as needed.
[Patient is stabilizing . . .]
[Warning!]
[Patient is slowly regressing due to overwork!]
[Recommend medically inducing coma.]
"Benefits and long-term consequences?!" I snap out at the system feedback.
[Brain stuck in an overclock state due to traumatic damage.]
[It is highly desired that the brain and body not give up while undergoing repair.]
[Consequences are unknown.]
"How much does it increase the likely hood of survivability?" I request, grabbing and oxygen mask that was hanging above the table.
[27.6%]
[This increases it from the initial 43.1% I had initially estimated.]
"Keep running numbers and induce the coma, I want you to find ways to keep increasing that percentage to within human standards." I direct, continuing to hook up life support functions.
[Time Skip]
[David's POV]
I don't remember much after the crash.
I vaguely remember trauma team showing up to help the suit, and panicking to get my mom to a place we could actually afford.
It was only part way to the budget doc that I had a thought and rerouted to the weird black-market doc.
He was far more likely to be willing to trade for the cyberware I had salvaged from the wreak.
After stumbling past the door, my memory fades into dark.
Grasping at consciousness once more, I found myself laying on a bench, a pounding sensation echoing through my skull.
The doc sat over in the corner, a magazine advertising all sorts of bioware spread open in his lap.
Looking around the room, I see my mom resting on the surgical table, her chest rising slowly as she breathed.
"Hmm . . . still astonishes me what people are willing to chip these days." The doc said speaking up, drawing my attention back to him as he folds up the magazine.
"W-what?" I croak out, feeling the dry rasp of my throat as I tried to speak.
"Eh, some poor sap tried to upgrade his face to be more gator-like. Ended up pulling a Curt Connors by going on a murderous lizard rampage." He said blithely as I looked at him in confusion.
"Yep, people and corps do this sort of thing all the time, this little gadget here is a prime example . ." He explained holding up the yellow bag containing the cyberware I found.
"This Sandevistan belonged to one James Norris, I'm sure your familiar with that name." He stated, causing me to jolt and remember the XBD I watched the other night.
Now, I don't quite know what caused that guy to go cyberpsycho, but always remember David; Never chip used stuff unless you have an accurate accounting of that item's history. It's highly likely that one of the main contributors to cyberpsychosis is a virus of some sort, and those are harder to find than a needle in a haystack." He said, and continued rambling before I cut him off.
"How is she?" I questioned causing his focus to switch.
"She's doing alright. In a bit of a coma, but alright." He answered calmly, as I jolt.
"A coma?! How is that alright?!" I yell, and he holds up his hands in a placating gesture.
"She's a hard-working woman David, this is likely the first real break she's had in a long time. When I put her under, the body recognized that and took advantage of the much-needed rest." He replied, peering back at the piece of cyberware.
A lead weight dropped into my stomach as I quickly realized that he hadn't asked for his price yet. I had no means of paying for it. And I had no way to actually value the cyberware.
"How much is the bill?" I ask, not willing to dredge that particular topic up.
"For her full recovery? 10,000 creds just for the materials. I'll be generous and throw in the labor for free." The rouge ripper threw out, stretching out a hand and depositing the cyberware in my lap.
"And would "this" cover it?" I question holding up the cyberware in question.
He froze for a moment before turning to look at me closely.
Grabbing a stand, He set it on a nearby table, and put on some gloves.
"May I?" He asked, and I nodded my assent and handed him the bag.
He gently slid the Sandevistan out and setting the bloody cyberware on the stand, several interface plugs coming out from the desk and hooking into the cyberware.
"Military grade hardware, definitely not something any gonk can just pick up . . ." I heard him mutter before leaning back.
"Yeah, this'll cover it, and then some. You want to buy anything else while you're here?" He asked, surprising me.
"Its worth that much?!" I exclaim, and he cocks his head.
"Kid, a lot of people are looking for this little gadget. Probably why your mom swiped it." He mused, and I relaxed before glancing at the clock.
I was late for school!
"Can I put a pin in this convo, I got to go to school." I yell dashing for the door, the ripper waving me off.
[Time Skip]
[Tavish Byrne: Cyberdemon]
I finally released this body into the wild when I realized that it would be well worth it for it to have built up street cred with the locals.
This had me wandering down Jig-Jig Street to meet one of the best fixers for people trying to build their cred.
Wakako Okada.
Stopping outside a pachinko parlor, I confirm the address before stepping inside, the loud noises of the machines overwhelming my ears.
The guard by the back door motions my quickly and I make my way through to the back.
The woman herself sat behind the desk talking on the phone.
After several minutes, she finally hung up and turned her attention to me.
"Its very rare that I have such a well "equipped" Edgerunner walk through my door. Tell me . . . what brings you to my door step today?" she asked in a formal manner, as one of her guards brought her tea.
"I am seeking work with the local fixer. I heard that you were one of the best in the biz." I reply, my voice sounding slightly mechanical.
"Let me take a look at you." She stated, standing up and coming around the desk.
She circled around me a few times muttering to herself.
"Open up the hood. I prefer to know what I'm working with for my 'borg clients." She practically demanded.
"Oh dear, and you're not even going to take me to dinner first madam?" I shoot back jokingly, seeing the corner of her mouth tick upward.
"Biz always comes first my dear." She countered dryly.
The plates of my body slide open, the interior lighting up as I reveal one set of surface cyberware.
"Beautiful design, yet this is not stuff I can readily identify. Who did your chrome?" She requested.
"Netwatch. Armored division." I reply watching her eyes shoot open.
"I trust that you will not bring trouble to my door because of that little tidbit?" She asked guardedly.
"No, their intellectual property has been removed, and my contract ended amiably." I replied, watching her relax slightly.
I decided that Netwatch would be the past of this body, as it was one of the more reclusive organizations within the universe, and their black ops division could be what they find if they try to search for me.
"Do you have someone in Night City that can look after your cyberware?" She continued, sitting back down in her chair.
"Black market Ripper named Tavish Byrne. Knew him during my service, and he worked my implants before." I said sending her a contact card for my Tavish Byrne identity.
She reviewed it for a moment, before nodding once, reaching under her desk and pulling out an info shard.
"This needs to be delivered across town to the afterlife, but it has a catch. . ." She starts, and I motion for her to continue.
"It has three siblings, but they were recovered by Arasaka agents. I've sent you the locations. Do not disappoint my high expectations." She finished, pulling out her phone, obviously dismissing me.
[Sandevistan]
[Freerunning]
I vanish from the room as I kick off opposing walls before landing on the roof.
Wakako had obviously set the bar high.
So lets try to speed run it.
[New Quest]
Make your mark.
Objective 1: impress Wakako
Objective 2: ?
Reward: Perk, ?
The roof cracks as I kick off.
[Full throttle]
Leaping from roof to roof, my eyes alight on the first target as it drives along the highway.
Firing my grapple, I land on the road. Launching another grapple into the front of the van, I flip over the top and yank, flipping the van onto its back and letting it skid a hundred meters.
*Warning!*
*You are assaulting Arasaka corp-*
[Hyperphase Blades]
Slice through the van, I cut the speaker off, revealing the mechanized guards within.
Lopping the heads off two of the guards, I grab ahold of the case and rip it from the guards' grasp.
The lock of the case posed no trouble as I used the case to shatter the skull of the final guard, busting the case open and revealing the info shard.
Swiping it, I spot Arasaka corporate security zooming towards me down the highway on motorcycles.
Damn, they have a quick response time.
One of them extends a mantis blade to take a swipe at me, only for me to grab his arm and pivot onto the back of the bike, flipping him off.
[Piloting: Motorcycle] (26/100)
Gunning the engine, I fly down the road towards the next location.
It seemed to be moving up in the air so I suspected that they had selected an AV as its mode of transport.
Zooming up above a road way I keep climbing for a few minutes until I was above an AV flight lane.
Spotting the AV in question as it flew towards the road, I rev the engine before crashing through the guard railing over the side.
Slapping two smart grenades to the sides of the bike, I fire my grapples to correct the trajectory.
Leaping from the bike, it hits the AV like a torpedo, blowing a hole clean through the vehicle and demolishing one of its engines.
[Sandevistan]
Diving through the hole, I snatch the case from the executive inside before diving out the other side.
Cool, two of three!
Superhero landing on the road below, I start running towards the final marker.
This was getting fun!
[Time Skip]
[The Afterlife]
[Rogues POV]
It was shortly after a call from Wakako when my information network lit up.
An Arasaka transport came under assault, and a second one within a few minutes of the first.
Both happening to be on the list that Wakako just informed me of.
I was trying to track down what had happened when reports of the third transport getting blown sky high.
Something was moving, and as a fixer I needed to know about it. The issue was that it was moving too fast for anyone to get credible data.
As I was shouting for Nix, an unknown wind started ripping through the Afterlife, blowing paper and debris everywhere.
With a flash of electricity, a 'borg appeared in front of my booth, bypassing all of our security.
"Delivery for Rogue?" The being asked, as hundreds of guns were drawn and trained on the being.
I stand up and size up the bastard that just bypassed standard entry.
"Huh, so you're the merc Wakako sent, can't say I'm impressed with how much attention you draw to yourself." I reply crossing my arms.
"Funny, I don't remember you being that picky when you ditched Silverhand on top of Arasaka." The 'borg bit back sending a collective gasp throughout the room.
"Now if you wanted quiet, maybe you should pass that info on before passing it off for someone else to do your dirty work." He continued, totally disregarding the guns pointed at him.
"It should be implied . . ." I snarl back, feeling him poke some rather sore spots.
"And I always thought that big girls could clean up after themselves, but evidently I was wrong, so we can both take a net loss on that, huh?" his verbal assault relentless.
We both glare at each other, the dead silence drawing it out before he produces the four info shards.
"Well, I'm glad that we got everything straightened out. Do try to remember what I said when enlisting my services again in the future." The mechanical man stated, depositing the shards on the desk.
"Why the hell, do you think I'd want let you get work in the future?!" I snap at him.
"Cause your too damn curious on how I did all that in the space of fifteen minutes, and bypassed all of your security, while leaving not a single trace. Your netrunner is driving himself nuts trying to detect my presence, while you're trying your best to play me for an angle." He commented off-handedly, before fading from sight once more.
Silence followed for a few minutes as I stormed out the back to cool off.
[Tavish POV]
Landing outside the afterlife, I ring Wakako.
"The job is finished. Rogue should be informing you of the transaction in a bit." I state simply.
"Quite impressive. Though, I hear that Rogue wasn't too appreciative." She said, snickering.
"I do hope that all pertinent information in future contracts is freely shared." I continue, walking down the street.
"Indeed. This relationship will be quite beneficial for both of us Mr . . . ." she said leadingly.
"Mind if I continue using my corporate designation? I became rather attached to it?"
"Certainly."
"Cyberdemon. Somethings don't need to change." I reply.
"Quite apt. I will be in contact Cyber." Wakako finished, hanging up on me.
[Quest Completed!]
Rewards: Perks,
[Cyberdemon Perks Added!]
[Network Ninja] (Epic)
You can teleport via any technological network.
[Blink] (Rare)
Grants you the ability to teleport immediately in any direction.
[Wall run] (Common)
Like the ninja's of old, you can run up walls with your cybernetic augments.
Score!
The secondary objective was to catch the attention of the other fixers in Night City.
Now all I have to do is wait, and the jobs will start rolling in.
Walking past a motorcycle dealership, I come to a stop and press my face up to the window ogling the models behind the glass.
Regardless, I was disappointed at my speed, so I might have to look at upgrading my Sandevistan.
Thankfully, I had a Titan of time sitting in a Pokeball somewhere, so I might put him to use in assisting that particular project.
But first . . . .
Need to take a look at the bikes in here.
I had way too much fun with the bike I hijacked.
[Omake: Catching a Wolf]
[Leman Russ POV]
I sat, on the stationary Isle I found among the tides of the warp.
Time had become an obscure concept as I traveled the warp hunting the forces of chaos.
So much so that I had devolved to baser instincts to survive.
I slept when I was tired.
Ate when I was hungry.
And shat whenever I needed to go.
It was a simple life.
But it was slowly wearing on me.
Then a sudden smell hit my nostrils.
Steak!
Someone was cooking steak nearby!
This had better not be another Daemon trick, or I swear to the All-father . . .
I bounded through the tides of the warp, the smell growing stronger as I made my way towards where my nose led me.
I finally spotted the small pile of rare steaks resting gently on a platter.
The only part of this that set me on edge was the large box over the platter that was propped up by a single wooden stick.
If this was indeed a demon trap, it was quite piss poor.
I mean, there was no arrays or demonic energy at all! Its like they were losing their touch!
I stalk up, and pick up a steak and take a massive bite out of it.
Then the box fell down around me trapping me inside.
[3rd person POV]
"Goddammit Russ . . ." the Emperor growled, pulling out a bag of gold and handing it to a smugly grinning Trayzn.
"Look Big E, you tend to over complicate things, you just need to bait a trap for a wolf, with the right kind of incentive." Tavish commented from his spot, sitting astride the cardboard box.
The sounds of an angry wolf were interspace with ravenous munching.
"I spent ten thousand years searching for this feral bastard, and you found him in the space of a week. It's not fair . . ." The Emperor replied sulking.
-"What are you going to do with him now?"- Trayzn asked, pocketing the cash.
"Well, he's obviously been displaced from his native environment, so it's time to tranq him, and put him back where he belongs." Tavish said, nodding in a self-assured manner.
[Time Skip]
[Fenris]
[Feasting Hall of the Space Wolves]
The latest feast was in full swing as the Space wolves consumed obscene amounts of food and drink.
One of the most eye-catching activities was that of a young blood claw, who had challenged one of the long fangs to a drinking contest.
The blood claw was gamely drinking on, but it was clear that the long fang was winning out thanks to his many years of experience at the activity.
All of these festivities came to a halt however, when a massive figure crashed through the window, and landed face first in a barrel of mead.
Everyone took note of the obscenely large tranquilizer dart sticking out of his hindquarters, and the note taped to his back.
A rather brave rune priest grabbed the note and slowly read the note aloud for his compatriots.
We found your Primarch. Please keep better track of him next time. To help with this endeavor, we chipped him and got him up to date on all his shots. Unfortunately, Tavish found out first hand that he was not up to date on his rabies shot.
Yours's cordially.
The All-Father
The Rune priest raised his voice over the clamor of his brothers; "Brothers! Leman Russ has returned to us at last! Let us rejoice! And thank the All-father for his glorious gift to his sons!"
The Space wolves cheered wildly and hoisted the still groggy Leman up on their shoulders as the feast intensified. It was a true celebration that would be touted for years to come.
