Authors note: Welcome back and I hope everyone's had a wonderful week; it certainly was interesting.
Strange People
The week had gone by faster than I could have imagined, and we were on the dawn of returning to Night City yet again. Five days ago, Panam sent three Aldecaldos into Night City limits to set up a base of operations for us when we would arrive, and yesterday we received word that said base was up in running. I had to admit, Mitch, Mikah and John certainly knew how to operate; guessing that had to do with being in the Army. Looking about the camp, I could tell that the general mood could never be better and if all things go as planned, then we should be back in time for us to pack up and head to the Aldecaldo hub in Tuscon Arizona; Panam and I have some business to attend to there. This whole situation was surreal to me, on the one hand this could be a trap by Arasaka but the possibility of finally getting my body back for good was just to much temptation to ignore and Panam had developed a contingency plan just in case things we ass up.
"Vincent, good of you to join us." Panam said as I walked into the command tent and sat down next to her; noticing that she had a map of Night City with potential exit routes.
"Seems like you've been busy." I told her as she looked at me and smirked.
"Yep, someone's gotta make the plans around here, and it sure as hell ain't gonna be you." She replied while slightly teasing me.
"Oh, and why's that?" I replied back while making a fake hurt expression.
"While you are great at tactical analysis, you lack the strategical aspects of planning; luckily, that's why you got me." She said as she winked at me and she did have a point.
"So, what's the great Panam Palmer got cooking for going back to NC?" I asked her as she looked back over the map, and then back to me.
"Glad you asked; I've already found several potential exit points; however, once we are finished at Militech, we need to lay low for about a week and I'm already in contact with an ally to secure a safe house." She said as I looked over it, boy was she planning for the long haul.
"You really think this ally would help us?" I asked her as she smiled and nodded.
"Yep; seems you made a real impression on them so I wouldn't cock this up if I were you." She jokingly said as I looked around.
"So, tell me; how exactly are they gonna help us?" I asked her; while I did have good realations with the fixers, I highly doubt they'd actually be willing to risk their necks should things go ass up with Militech.
"Well, they are gonna provide a Delemain AV as our exfil
"What's their names?" I asked
"I only have a codename, and it's Ronin and Samurai." She said as I processed that information.
"Ronin and Samurai? Interesting choice of codenames, and if I had to guess, Samurai would be Goro Takemura, though Ronin is a mystery to me. I thought Takemura was dead after he and I kidnapped Hanako Arasaka, but I guess he managed to come out alive; though I don't believe we can trust him." I said as Panam looked at me skeptically
"Why not?" She asked as I explained the whole situation with how Takemura was Sabura Arasaka's bodyguard and that the fact that Hanako was now dead meant he had a good reason to want vengeance against me.
"What about this Ronin character though, any ideas on who he or she may be?" I asked Panam who just shook her head no.
The planning phase for this potential Militech meeting was practically done and all that left was us going to the meeting spot; however, a few days back I got a text from the mysterious stranger who said that he secured an AV that could pick us up outside the border of Night City, and I sent coordinates of an area that I was hoping to never return to; the small town that I meet Jackie Welles for the first time. If I had to guess, that sheriff still had a power pole shoved so far up his ass and he's one person I'd like to put on my 'do not meet ever again' list. The town itself on the other hand was nothing to write home about apart from the fact that its population was slowly moving away, and it too would soon become a ghost town.
We arrived at the meeting place where the AV was supposed to pick us up, and to our surprise it arrived not to long after us and to our surprise a middle-aged bald man exited the AV and greeted us. Something about this man sent shivers down my spin, and he looked sinister enough without that intimidating gaze that he had. Both Panam and I were uncomfortable as he sized us from head to toe and proceeded to speak. I do have to admit though, he has a way with words, and his tone was both beautiful and intimidating at the same time.
"Greetings, I'm V and this here is Panam." I said as I put my hand out to shake the mysterious stranger's hand, only for him to look at me.
"I know who you are; I've come to escort the two of you back to Night City." He said as he motioned for us to board the AV; part of me wanted to say fuck this and let's find another way, but I only had so much time remaining, and I also wanted to be around for when our first born is to arrive.
"Can we at least get your name?" Panam demanded as the terrifying man looked at us.
"I'm Dr. O'Dimm, assistant to Mr. Blue Eyes, the lead on this new experimental procedure." He simply stated and the way he did sent shivers down my back.
"So, is there any chance that you can explain what this procedure entails?" I asked Dr. O'Dimm who simply looked at me with that menacing gaze.
"Nothing that'll make sense to you, but what I can say is that while your husk will remain the same, your entire DNA code with the restructured to prior to slotting the Relic in; this in sense will make it where your body will stop eating itself alive thinking it's a foreign pathogen to kill." He said in a way that not only made me uneasy. Looking over at Panam, I could tell that she too was on edge and ready to bail from the AV only for the intercom to come on and Dr. O'Dimm to answer it.
"We are nearing Militech HQ and will be landing shortly." Dr. O'Dimm said as I could feel the landing gear start to deploy; within minutes we are on the roof of Militech and overlooking Night City. Getting off the AV, Panam and I were led into an elevator that took us town to what appeared to be a level used solely for conferences. Panam and I took a seat at the table and awaited Mr. Blue Eyes to arrive to explain the whole process to us and what to expect, and if on cue in came Mr. Blue Eyes himself.
"Greeting's V; I've heard a lot about your exploits." Mr. Blue Eyes said as he grabbed a glass of water and sat down at the head of the table with two tablets being placed in front of him.
"And you must be Panam Palmer; I've heard so much about the two of you." He shifted his gaze over to Panam and smiled, though something about him had put us on edge.
"Oh really, and what is that?" Panam asked incredulously,
"Well, they call you the 'Queen of the Highway', and V as the 'Scourge of Arasaka' or the 'second coming of Johnny Silverhand'." He explained as I was shocked to find out that other mercs as well as gangoons were referring to me as that now. Though the 'second coming of Johnny Silverhand' was literal as he and I are sharing a brain after all, and if this corposhit new that, he would not be dealing with us.
"So, why's it that you are interested in helping me out with my Relic issue?" I asked Mr. Blue Eyes who shifted his gaze back to me and pondered the question for a moment.
"Simply put, you've got no other choice. We have the technology to save your life, and you have technology that we'd like to have." Mr. Blue Eyes stated as I thought over; however, it made no sense. If they wanted it, all they had to do was forcibly remove it.
"And why not just simply forcibly remove it from me?" I asked him.
"Simply put, if we were to forcibly remove the Relic from your neck, it would fry out both itself and you as a defense mechanism; however, if we were to slot you into an Arasaka made medical center and spoof it into believe it's Arasaka that's trying to retrieve, then it's failsafe would not activate and we'd both benefit from it." Dr. O'Dimm mentioned as he opened a double door that led into a technologically advanced medical suite with all the fixings from Arasaka; how the hell did they even manage to get this?
"If you'll follow me, we can begin this procedure." Mr. Blue Eyes said as Panam and I followed him into the medical suite.
"V, you'll need to get into the ice tub so that we can slot into your neural link." Dr. O'Dimm said
"I hate these ice tubs." I complained as Panam gave me her 'don't be a little bitch' look and assisted me getting into the tub. A nurse that I failed to notice earlier walked up to my ice tub and handed me a connector for the neural link and proceeded to line up the 'molecular reintegration machine' to my head. According to Dr. O'Dimm, this machine would be used to inject my original DNA back into my brain, from which it would cause a complete rewrite of my entire body on a molecular level. Unknown to them is that I was able to swap the DNA that they modified with my original DNA so they were not going to have a mindless tool to use. What made me do a double take though was that there was a cloning machine in the same room and was also hooked up and activated, though for some unknown reason.
"This procedure will take hours, so be ready." The nurse said as she pulled up two office chairs so that Panam could sit too.
"One thing V; this procedure will be painful, so we are going to give you strong drugs to counteract it; okay." Mr. Blue Eyes told as another nurse came up a tray that had a large syringe with some unknown liquid. She proceeded to inject me with it, and to my surprise my whole body became numb like I was getting some cyberware upgrades. With a bright blinding light, the machines were activated, and a large display came up that gave not only my vitals, but also how far along the procedure was.
Hours went by and I was still chilling in the tub with Panam at my side and I could see that the procedure was coming to a close, and to my surprise the anesthetic was starting to ware off. The first feeling that I could tell was the extreme cold as well as the burning sensation that is present inside my body, but other than that I felt better then I have since the relic. I also took notice of the cloning machine and it was damn near done as well and I could see a figure inside of it, but wasn't sure who it was. This was not what was agreed upon and Mr. Blue Eyes would have some explaining to do as I didn't come here to have two V's made, but to get my body back.
"Well, looks like the procedure is nearly done; tell me V, how are you feeling?" Mr. Blue Eyes asked as he was smirking like the devil himself.
"Honestly, I feel great." I said gauging his body language and noticed that he started chuckling.
"Perfect because now we have our own super soldier to do our bidding." He said as Panam's face flashed with anger.
"What the fuck do you mean by that." She growled at Mr. Blue Eyes who simply shrugged.
"You two really think I'd give V a second chance at life out of the goodness of my heart; fuck that, we altered his DNA sample, and you were dumb enough to fall for it." Dr. O'Dimm said
"And to prove it to you…" Mr. Blue Eyes stated as the screen started flashing before the avatar of Alt Cunningham appeared on screen and overwrote the security protocall to prevent Militech security from getting inside.
"And you were stupid enough to think I'd not have that same analyzed and changed should the need arise." I said as I disconnected from the machine, and while I was not at a hundred percent, I was good enough to fight.
"Mr. Blue Eyes, we meet at last." The avatar of Alt Cunningham said as she activated the turrets in the room and had each one lock onto the Militech employees.
"Alt. Cunningham; should have figured you'd be mixed up in this." Mr. Blue Eyes said as he saw the cloning machine start to depressurize and smirked knowing that his fail safe should still be safe.
"You think your little fail safe, or what you planned to do with V would slip past me? Your arrogance knows no bounds and today you shall perish." Alt's avatar stated as the realization dawned on him that he was not only outsmarted by a pair of nomads, but also the supreme net runner of Night City. It was then that I noticed that Dr. O'Dimm had managed to get to an intercom when no one was paying attention.
"This is Dr. O'Dimm, activate Code Red; level 92 has been compromised and we need back up immediately." He said as the turrets opened fire on the Militech employee's as they started to go for their iron. Panam was the first to take advantage of the situation and grabbed the iron that was dropped and tossed me an AR and shotgun while she had a tech precision rifle. After disconnecting, she and I jumped behind solid cover and proceeded to aid in eliminating Militechs security leaving non alive but Mr. Blue Eyes and Dr. O'Dimm. As I approached the wounded pair, Mr. Blue Eyes pulled out a revolver and was preparing to shoot me when I heard to tall tell whistle of a bullet and the heat that it left as it zoomed past me and ended Mr. Blue Eyes life without much effort. Looking at Panam, she was just as confused as I was until I looked over towards the cloning machine and standing there with a pistol was non other than Johnny Silverhand.
"V, Panam, we've gotta go, Alt cannot keep the security protocol under her control for long." Johnny said as I looked at him and noticed that his right arm was missing.
"V and Johhny, consider this a gift, but now I must retreat back to beyond the black wall; however, my last gift to you has already been delivered." Alt said as an explosion rocked the room adjacent to the medical room.
"One other thing; Mr. Blue Eyes was but a pawn in the grand scheme to the leader of the Rogue AI; to cut off the head, you need to kill Saburo Arasaka himself." Alt said before de-materializing.
"V, let's delta the fuck outta here." Johnny said as we went through the doors where the explosion happened and saw a Delemain AV waiting for us with the doors opened and River Ward holding a rocket launcher. All three of us made a made dash to the AV and managed to get onboard and away before Militech security could do anything. It was also a good idea for Alt to disable the security cams long enough for the AV to get into position, retrieve us and fly away. With luck, we would be able to get far enough away before NCPD could activate MAXTAC and their aerial squad as well.
"Well, isn't this interesting; Johnny Silverhand in the flesh." Came the calm and collected voice of Rogue.
Post note: I just wanted to thank everyone who have followed this story as well as left a review.
