A/N: WHAT'S UP MUCKACHUNGAAAAS!? It's Travez, and today, I'm here to bring back Chapter 1 of Cyber Effect, and I'm actually much happier now that I took 2 good Suggestions from Helkil and Brother Bov (as well as a nameless Guest Reviewer) for spurring me on to refine this chapter a bit. Now to explain to you guys, I know the Lore of Mass Effect, however, I've never played the Mass Effect Series, so the reason why I am writing this as if I'm on a Sandy and Keren is because I'm not only excited, but I'm watching playthroughs of Mass Effect as I write, focusing primarily on the Dialogue and Story Elements. As such, I'm picking and choosing the options I like, mostly Paragons, with a few Renegades here and there, but the reason why my story is a bit fast paced is because I'm going through the dialogue bit by bit, modifying them with Streetslang and my voicing my own thoughts if I were in Shepard's place, and I'm skipping most of the travel bits to save a bit of time. So if my story is a bit fast paced, well now you know why, because I don't want to waste time going into too much detail, and I prefer rpgs for the story rather than the action.
Also as stated before, I am planning on having a Bonus Chapter go into further detail on the First Contact with the Quarians, The Second Contact War, and Vincent Obtaining the title of the Butcher of Torfan, so please, be patient, I'll get to them in my own time once I have fleshed out the details as best as I can, since these will not be fast paced chapters, and I intend to take my time with them to get them just right.
Now as a bit of a Recap about Shepard's Past, Vincent was a member of the Los Lobos Rojos, a Guardian Gang in Night City, basically a gang that protected a certain area within Night City, working with the NCPD and MaxTac to protect the innocent. Essentially they are a more combat-oreinted branch of the Valentinos, a Poser Gang that works on keeping their communities safe, prosperous, and entertained with their antics. Shepard joined the Los Lobos Rojos as a kid, becoming an Edgerunner for the Gang to repay Captain David Anderson for taking him in when his mother died, and as such, after school, he would work to provide for the community and for his new family. When Shepard turned 15, he was old enough and strong enough to gain his first pieces of Cyberware, running into Karin Chakwas during one of the times she was on Earth, doing her side-gig as a Ripper, and actually inherited his mother's Sandevistan with all it's modifications, her Kerenzikov, Nanorelays, and Bioconductors. When Shepard turned 18 he joined the Alliance Military and retired from the Los Lobos Rojos, in which was celebrated by taking him to the Afterlife to taste his Grandfather's Drink, the "V", which is a mix of Coffee, Cherry Melomel Mead, and Vanilla Creamer.
The Reason why Shepard became the Butcher of Torfan was because somebody spiked a map he downloaded of the Main Pirate Base of Torfan with the Cyberpsychosis Daemon, and after watching ¾ of his squad getting slaughtered, then their corpses desecrated, the Cyberpsychosis Daemon took root and Shepard went on a rampage, brutally murdering every pirate and slaver in the room. He was sedated before the program could fully run it's course, and taken to Arcturus Station to get the Daemon exorcised and Shepard put through 4-5 years of Cyberpsychosis Counseling and Therapy to retain his position in the Alliance Military, as ordered by the Council. That is how Shepard became the Butcher of Torfan, but, as I said, I will expand upon this when I get to it, so please be patient guys cuz I want to make this side-story look good.
And to do something I had forgotten to do last time: Shepard's Cyberpunk Stats. So just a recap on how this system works, you can only have 3 Stats reach a maximum of 20… At the beginning you get 7 points to Allocate to your Attributes, and then slowly gain another 49 with each level you obtain between Level 1 and Level 50, making the final total Attribute Points you can earn throughout the game being 56 points. So to allocate Shepard's Stats, I would put allocate 3 points into Technical Ability and Reflexes, granting him a 6 in each, with the remaining point at the start going into Body, leaving his starting stats at Body: 4, Cool: 3, Intel: 3, Reflex: 6, and Tech: 6. However, all of the Cyberware that I want to assign to Shepard requires, at least, 18 Body, 14 Cool. Intel 10, 18 Reflex, and 16 Tech, meaning that for the Cyberware build I want to do I need to give Shepard +14 Body, +11 Cool, +7 Intel, +12 Reflex, and +12 Tech, with 2 points left over, which I will add to Tech as it makes sense for this build. So Shepard's CP Stats when he joins the Alliance Military (because Cyberpunk 2077 takes place over the course of less than a year canonically) will be as follows:
-Body: 18
-Cool: 14
-Intelligence: 10
-Reflexes: 18
-Technical Ability: 18
Not a bad haul of abilities if I do say so myself, plus it also fits lore wise with the story because while Shepard is a quite techy, his intelligence, due to his autism, is only slightly above average, and I'd say the average for any character in Cyberpunk's world for any stat for the average NPC is around 5-8, whilst Prodigy Levels are around the 14-20 range, so Shepard does fit that easily, with these stats. And as I said, Shepard obtains these starts before joining the Alliance Military, and since V obtained level 50 within the timeframe of a year, and Shepard has been an Edgerunner for the Los Lobos Rojo since he was 7 years old, so he would be gaining these stats much slower than V, over the course of 8-11 years, so it took Shepard over 10x longer than his great grandfather did to reach Level 50, so this makes sense.
Anyway, the Final thing I want to note is Shepard's Gun, Arms Cyberware, and his Starting/Inherited Cyberware. Now, to Recap, when Shepard turns 15, he has been a Part-Time Edgerunner for 8 Years, having barely obtained the stats necessary to inherit his mother's Iconic Warp Dancer Sandevistan w/ Legendary Heatsinks attached, Legendary Kerenzikov, Nanorelays, and Bioconductors, so at the Start of the Story, which by the time of Eden Prime, he has obtained the Legendary Kiroshi Optics and Gorilla Arms, this is all he has in terms of Cyberware, it's all he's needed. However, add in the Biotic Amp Implant, and Shepard discovered a way to further decrease the time, due to the fact that Biotic Amps seem to act in a similar way to Bioconductors in order to facilitate the use of Biotics. Thus, thanks to this little trick, he is able to combine his usage of Biotics with his Cyberware to reduce the cooldown from 9-12 Seconds (via my differing calculations of the Warp Dancer with a differing combination of Bioconductors first and Legendary Heatsinks second for the Former, or vice-versa for the latter), to about 2-5 Seconds at best, just enough for the Kerenzikov to take over if properly timed, and allow for the Warp Dancer to recharge fully, and extended the duration of the Warp Dancer from Ten Seconds to 18 Seconds if he decides to… "Clock Up".
As for Shepard's gun, the Amarok, it is an Iconic Legendary Techtronika RT-46 Burya, one that has been modified to have the Metal Shavers present in Mass Accelerator Guns of ME Canon, whilst also being a Borg Weapon, which is a Mix of a Tech Weapon's Charging and Wall Piercing Ability, and a Power Weapon's Ricochet Potential. It was a gift that was custom made for Shepard by his mother before she died, using an older, more iconic design. Not only that, it only fires one shot at a time, in a similar manner to the Comrade's Hammer, but with somebody who moves as Shepard, one-shot is more than enough. Now how this works is that the Amarok actually, while not designed like a Mass Accelerator Handgun, actually has similar quirks to that of the Comrade's Hammer, but instead of Thermal Damage, it's Electric Damage and applies the Shock Status Effect instead of Burn. As for the reason why it can only shoot one shot at a time, well let's just say that the Amarok was the Prototype of Mixing Tech Weapons with Metal Shavers, so they wouldn't dare push the Amarok's limits too far, but Shepard took the Amarok's Limitations and actually turned them into a blessing with his exploit of his Cybernetics and Biotic Amp, making it so that he didn't need more than one shot for most opponents if he could get close enough to them to shoot them in the head anyway. He later modified it so that he didn't have to worry about the possible dangers, and while it can shoot more than one shot, he usually doesn't need it.
Anyway that is enough out of me! Please be sure to Follow, Favorite, Review, and Share this story with anyone and everyone you know who loves Cyberpunk and Mass Effect Content! Catch ya on the Flipside! Shepard…
Chapter 1: The Cyberpunk
Cora's Den, April 11th 2183
"WHERE'S THE QUARIAN!?" Commander Vincent "V" Shepard shouts, aiming his gun at the former employee of the Shadow Broker, Fist, as he lays helplessly on the ground, aiming his pistol at his head with an angry glare on his face.
"She's not here!" Fist says, looking scared as Shepard kneels down and places his gun against his head. "I don't know where she is, I swear I'm telling the truth!"
"You expect me to believe a puppet like you?" Shepard asks, glaring at him with a look that, if it were possible, would kill with a mix of manic fury. "You'd better start explaining, choom, before I go Cyberpsycho on your ass!"
"The Quarian isn't here, she said she'd only deal with the Shadow Broker Himself!"
"Then the Quarian has a death warrant!" Wrex says, "Nobody has seen the Shadow Broker face to face and lived to tell about it. Even I was hired through an agent!"
"I don't know who the Shadow Broker is, and I know that anybody who meets them face to face either gets killed or is one of a literal handful who has earned the broker's trust so much that he's willing to converse with them that way." Fist explains, "But she didn't know that, so I said I'd set up a meeting. However, when she shows up, it will be Saren's assassins gunning for her. Even with a Vanguard who charges all the way there wouldn't make it in time." That is when Shepard grabs the man by the neck and lifts him up.
"Give me the location now, you snake, before I really lose it!" Shepard says, his optics glowing a menacing red.
"She's here in the wards! The Back Alley by the Markets!" Fist says, "She's meeting them right now, if you hurry, you might make it!"
"Good…" Shepard says, tossing him to Wrex's feet. "He's all yours…" Shepard says before vanishing in a burst of biotic field… Wrex smiles as he looks at Fist and raises his Shotgun.
"Wait…! No! NO!" Fist screams as he is blown to pieces with a quick burst.
"Finally, the contract is complete…" Wrex says, "So where did Shepard go?"
"Knowing him, probably got a head start by activating his Sandevistan and boosting it with his Biotics!" Kaiden Alenko says, in which, alongside Garrus Vakarian and Ashley Williams, the group charges off to the location Fist gave them. As this is going on, the world, for Shepard, has turned a shade of aquamarine, with his optics showing the world in a deep green color that has been given a scintillating effect from his biotic's blue aura. To anyone who sees him, they only see what appears to be a trail of dark energy flowing past them at extremely high speeds, only to see Shepard constantly moving as he makes his way through the Market at High Speed, eventually finding the Back Alley that was being talked about. He takes cover behind a wall and listens in.
"Did you bring it?" A Turian asks.
"Where's the Shadow Broker? Where's Fist?" A Female Quarian asks, to which Shepard takes a peek around the corner, and blushes bright red when he notices the hips and rear of that Quarian.
'Damn it, V! Get your head out of the gutter and into the game!' Shepard thinks, chastising himself, though he will admit that is a really sexy butt on that Quarian, and that suit does look really… tight… on her.
"They'll be here… Where's the evidence?" The Turian asks, running his hand down her left temple, the left side of her neck and then her arm, almost admiring her before, whilst searching for it. The Quarian, a slight growl in her voice, pushes his hand away.
"No way. The deal's off." She says, firmly. The Turian gives her a glare and then looks to his two men nearby, and as they begin to move…
'Now!' Shepard says, activating his Sandevistan, moving at high speed as he places a grenade at the feet of the assassins whilst drawing his gun, one left behind for him by his mother: a birthday present his mother had custom made for him … This Gun is a Techtronika RT-46 Burya but with a jet black and crimson coloration, with the image of a red wolf's head upon it. This Weapon is named… Amarok. The Turian looks to Shepard in shock once the Sandevistan runs out. "Hands off the Choom!" He blows the brains out of the Turian as the Grenade explodes and kills the other two Assassins, Salarians by Shepard's train of thought.
The Quarian stands there, shocked as she sees the carnage that was just unleashed, her mind slowly catching up to the reality of her situation. "BOSH'TET!" Tali shouts, firing shot after shot into the assassin's body. "Fist set me up! I knew I couldn't trust him!" She says, snarling.
"Are you okay, were you hurt? Did your suit get damaged?" Shepard asks as his squad arrives.
"I know how to handle myself, not that I don't appreciate the help!" Tali says, first being standoffish, but by the end cheering up as she relaxes. "Still thanks for the save, Choom! Could I get your name?"
"I'm Commander Vincent Shepard, you can call me "V" or "Shepard" whichever you like!" Shepard says, smiling at her. "I'm actually trying to gather evidence to prove that Saren is a traitor!"
"Then I have a chance to repay you for your help, V! Though I think we should head to your Ambassador's Office, I don't think it's safe here anymore!"
"She's right, who knows if Saren has any more goons lying in wait." Garrus says, looking at Shepard. "Also, don't use your Sandevistan without warning us!"
"Sorry about that, but I don't know how much time we had, and I needed to get here fast." Shepard says. The group begins to make their way back to the Ambassador's office, in which Shepard looks to Tali, "Say Tali, do you have any cybernetics aside from your medical ones?"
"No, actually, I was hoping that possibly trading this information could net me some credits so I could purchase some new chrome, possibly a Cyberdeck and some Daemons. I know Omnitools are not as limited as Cyberdecks, but keeping your options open might help in the long run!" Tali explains, "Despite what my people did for Humanity, the Galactic Community outside of them still considers us badly and does it's best to prevent us from earning enough Creds or Eddies to pay for our Cyberware and their upkeep."
"That's too bad, however, I do know a Ripper who would be more than willing to op on you if you join my crew!"
"Really?" Tali asks.
"Yes, her name is Doctor Karin Chakwas! She actually is on my ship with her Ripper Tools set up in the Infirmary." Shepard explains, "But to get such surgeries, you need to pay for the Cyberware you want to have installed, but, if you want, I can pay for them myself and you can pay me back in your own way later!"
"R-Really?" Tali asks, shocked, to which V nods with a confident smile on his face. Tali smiles under her mask, and as the light hits it at a slightly different angle, Shepard looks in shock as he sees how beautiful the Quarian woman is beneath the mask, blushing slightly as he looks at her...
Presidium
It takes them less than an hour to return to the Presidium and the office of Ambassador Udina, who just got his report about what happened in the Wards. "Shepard, you are not making my life easier… Firefights in the Wards, an all-out assault on Cora's Den…" Udina says, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Do you know how many-" He then notices Tali and looks to Shepard, "Wait, a Quarian? Shepard, what is going on here?"
"Oh I think I'm about to make your day, Mr. Who!" Shepard says, smiling at Udina. "Our new friend here has information that proves Saren is the Who for the Geth, sir!"
"Gah, Streetslang…" Udina says, trying to remember the meaning of the terms. "Well then, I think you might want to start at the beginning, Miss…?"
"My name is Tali…! Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya!"
"We don't get many Quarians on the Citadel, mostly due to most aliens, aside from humans, treating them poorly. Forgive me if I missed my lessons on your people, but why are you so far away from the Flotilla?"
"I'm on my Pilgrimage, my right of passage into adulthood!" Tali says.
"Pilgrimage? Nova!" Shepard says, "Did you find a suitable gift yet?"
"No, though maybe I'll run into one soon!" Tali explains, smiling under her mask.
"Sorry for interrupting, could you please give us the Detes on what you found?" Shepard asks respectfully.
"Of course!" Tali explains, in which she explains how she had managed to learn about the Geth being beyond the Perseus Veil and had done a lot of work to isolate one and recover as much data as she could from the Geth's Memory Core.
"Wait, I thought the Geth fried their Cores when they died as a defense mechanism?" Anderson asks.
"It's true, but my people originally created the Geth, so if you're fast, careful, and lucky, you can manage to salvage something at least. Thankfully, I managed to find this!" She then plays a recording on her Omnitool.
"Eden Prime was a major victory!" Saren's Voice exclaims, "The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit!"
"That's it! This proves Saren was behind the attack!" Captain Anderson says. "But what does he mean by the Conduit? Is it some sort of Prothean Weapon?"
"Captain, please relax…" Shepard says, calming his commanding officer down, "The word "Conduit" is a descriptive word that means "something that transfers something else from one place to another", most notably water or other free flowing things. If it were a real weapon, then it would have a much more preem name attached to it! Conduit just sounds too peaceful." Shepard is wracking his brain as he thinks about what this could mean.
"Wait, there is more, Saren wasn't working alone." Tali says, replaying the message again only for another voice to play out.
"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers…" A Female Voice says, to which a pain rips through Shepard's head violently, causing him to scream and his Sandevistan and Kerenzikov to activate involuntarily, sending out what appear to be a storm of afterimages of Shepard moving around the office at high speed.
"V!" Anderson says, reaching out and grabbing Shepard, slamming him to the ground. The soldier just rolls on the floor, groaning in pain loudly as he holds his head, images flashing in his head violently, and then… Shepard sees somebody walk out of the shadows, grabbing hold of him. He has four eyes, and what appears to be dark red armor with gold trimming, and a biology similar to that of Arthropods. The creature grabs Shepard by the neck, shouting in his face.
"You must stop the Reapers!" The creature says, as Shepard grabs his neck. "Avenge us!" Shepard grabs his neck as he starts to lose consciousness.
"V!" Anderson says, to which Tali quickly scans Shepard and then brings out something from her suit and stabs Shepard with it, in which the creature fades and Shepard gasps as he starts coughing from what was going on. "Shepard, are you okay?"
"I… I don't know… But the name Reapers… The moment that word was said, something activated my Sandevistan and my Kerenzikov… Immediately after that… I think I saw a Prothean… It was saying something, but it's hands were around my neck… I couldn't breathe…!"
"Whatever happened, it had started causing a reaction in your body that was closing off your windpipe." Tali explains, "I used this…" She holds out an Air Hypo, "Though I don't know what was in it, it seemed to have helped…!" Garrus then scans it with a smirk.
"It's an Airhypo that is filled with Medicine that prevents cardiac arrest and reinflates the lungs when they completely deflate…" Garrus says. "But the Reapers, I don't recognize that term, or the person who was with Saren."
"Well according to the core, the Reapers were a Hyper-Advanced race of machines that existed at the same time of the Protheans. They battled the Protheans and drove them to total extinction before vanishing, leaving no trace of them behind." Tali explains.
"It sounds a bit far-fetched…"
"No… I think she's right… While that Prothean was strangling me just a moment ago… Or at least that's what I saw, I also saw the images of what happened to the Protheans, and I saw them being wiped out by the Reapers!" V explains, looking at Tali.
"Well the Geth do revere the Reapers as gods, the Pinnacle of all Synthetic Life, and that Saren may know how to bring them back." Tali explains.
"Oh the Council is just going to love this…!"
"I don't think we should tell the Council, at least until we have more proof about them actually existing!" Shepard explains, "Once we have enough hard evidence, they can't refute it!"
"Despite any of that, those files prove that Saren is a traitor!"
"Anderson is right, the Council must be told about this, at least, right away!" Udina explains.
"What about the Quarian?" Ashley asks, being as respectful as she can.
"My name is Tali!" Tali says, looking at Ashley. "You may not have gotten a chance to see me in action, but I can show you that I can hold my own if you give me a chance!"
"There is a training ground here on the Citadel that has a combat simulator, we can test Tali's effectiveness there." Garrus explains, "I think we should also get a chance to learn how each of us work together. It will take a while for the Council to reconvene, at least a day, give or take a few hours."
"Then we can use that to mesh with each other, and then we'll go out to eat! My treat!" Shepard explains, smiling at the group.
"Good, you guys go mesh up, we'll get the meeting set up for tomorrow at high noon!" Anderson explains, to which Udina nods.
"True, but Tali, what about your Pilgrimage?" V asks, showing concern.
"The Pilgrimage shows we can give of ourselves for the greater good. What would my chooms back home think if I turned my back on something like this?"
"Well then, let's have your dance moves speak for themselves. If you can keep up, then you're on, but so you know, I will not be going easy on you once we get authority to leave. I'm planning on putting you guys through Captain Badass's VR Bootcamp once we set out to make sure you guys are fully prepared for the horrors that lie ahead!" Shepard explains.
"Ha! Sounds like fun!" Wrex says, whilst Tali starts to think she should have just shut her mouth. Garrus flares his mandibles in excitement whilst Ashley and Kaiden simply snicker at the group of aliens. In any case, the group heads out of the Presidium and follows Garrus down some elevators, but then, on the way through, they notice something, what appears to be a Ripperdoc's office. "Shepard?"
"Hold up, group, I'm going to do something real quick!" Shepard says, walking into the doctor of the Doc, and the doors close behind him.
"What is he doing there?" Garrus asks.
"Ripperdocs are where you buy your Chrome under the table, or at least more affordably. Most rippers are completely certified surgeons who ensure that the process goes through with as few problems as possible, and even then the problems take between a few weeks to months to resolve themselves." Ashley explains, "Still, getting Chrome is a very invasive surgery, and requires both medical knowledge on what species you are operating on and the right tools."
Tali, listening to this, decides to tap a few buttons on her Omnitool and listens in, with everyone hearing.
"And you're sure you can get this to my ship, Doc?" Vincent asks.
"Of course, sir, I'll even have them transported in sterilized containers and have them pre-sterilized to make sure they are nice and clean for your vamp, kid!." The Doctor's voice explains, "I just need a day or so to get them cleaned up and the medicines procured for the op, but you can purchase the implants now and I can have them delivered tomorrow morn, and after the op, the patient will be ready for duty within a day or two at most, if you make sure to give her the proper MaxDoc."
"Thanks doc! This person I am talking about was hoping for some…" V says, and the voice becomes indistinct.
"Oh ho! You are lucky I still have one of those in stock!" The Ripper says, "Of course, this will cost quite a pretty penny, and I don't accept credits, only Eddies!"
"Eddies? That's pure Earth Currency! Are you sure? You know every three Credits is worth a single Eddie, right?" Vincent asks.
"I do, and I get my supply straight from Earth itself, manufactured to be perfect for both Levos and Dextros alike with little to no rejection!" The Doc says, "So tell me, what else do you think they'll like?" The doc then pauses, "Also, I think somebody is listening in!"
"Keelah!" Tali says, cutting her mic! "He spotted me!"
"Hahaha! Relax kid, he's probably getting you some new implants, you did say you wanted to get a Cyberdeck, right?"
"I did… But I was thinking I'd pay for it with my own money." Tali says.
"Well consider it a gift!" Kaiden says, "Shepard actually prefers to get something nice for a new crewmate to help them feel welcomed, I think he's just hoping to get your gift sorted out before he moves on to Ashley, Garrus, and Wrex!"
"Heh, what could he possibly get me?" Wrex asks.
"Don't know, you tell me!" Kaiden says, smiling at him, and soon Shepard exits the Doc's office with a smile.
"Alright everyone, I am sure one of you spoiled the surprise…" Shepard says, to which Tali does her best to keep her voice down. "Well that aside, let's get going into the Simulator, I'm itching to really push myself, those idiots were barely a warm-up!"
Armax Arsenal Arena
"Seriously?" Shepard asks, "This is the combat simulator you talked about, Garrus?"
"Well it's a place where most Turian C-Sec officers come to blow off steam when they aren't with their mates at home or out drinking. Not only that, the simulators actually have specialized scenarios for each simulator, and they even have specially designed ones for C-Sec officers. I have heard of one designated for Spectres, but that one was considered far too expensive, and too big to put into the citadel, so they had to move it elsewhere, and only allowed Spectres or their Candidates to be allowed to use it." Garrus explains.
"But an Arcade? Seriously?" Shepard asks, smirking. "Well, at the very least these games won't be lethal…" Shepard says, taking off his gloves, revealing how his hands have been modified. His hands are covered in a metallic material. The metal is primarily black with deep crimson paint job around it, metallic silver metal plates around the knuckles and around each phalange protects the rest of the fingers underneath, whilst said plates spark and glow with a faint appearance of electricity. Shepard's fingers also seem to have metallic nails on them shaped like the claws of a cat, though Tali can't figure out what he would do with them. "At least I'll be able to punch something… Hard…"
"Gorilla Arms, Shepard?" Kaiden asks, "Seriously?"
"It was either that or the Mantis Blades… And as far as I know, Mantis Blades are prohibited on the Citadel… I'd have to have Chakwas remove them every time we dock." Shepard says, "At least with these there are no complaints!"
"True that, we actually had to enforce the law one a few people who had Mantis Blades, or at the very least, ensure they had a special optic modification that made their attacks non-lethal on conscious targets." Garrus explains. "Caused a lot of headaches and bellyaching that day."
"In any case…" Shepard says, to which his eyes notice something, "Cyberpunk?"
"Oh that? It's actually one of the new ones, designed to simulate Night City and the dangers that live there, including Cyberpsychos." Garrus explains, "Last I heard, C-Sec's officers are too terrified to even try it."
"Really…?" Shepard says, his eyes narrowing at the game, something Tali notices.
"I think we should do it!" Tali speaks up, to which everyone turns to her, Shepard being the fastest of them. "I wanted to have my pilgrimage be done in Night City, I think I'd like to get familiar with the dangers that exist there!"
"You sure Tali? It might be a video game, but who knows how much detail these guys put into it." Vincent says, looking at her worried. "And if they…" He says, looking away.
"No need to worry about that, Shepard…" A voice says from nearby. "The Los Lobos Rojo wouldn't build this thing if it weren't safe!"
"Wait a second…" Shepard says, "Finch?"
"Long time no see, V!" Finch says, stepping forward as they shake hands. "Good to see you here!"
"It's been a while, so did you set up the Cyberpunk Simulator?"
"Yup! Had to XBD all of the Los Lobos Rojos to get as accurate a simulation as possible, but we managed to do it! We finally got a game on the Citadel, and an introduction to Night City via a Trial by Fire!" Finch says, smiling, "Though nobody yet has been brave enough to test it out!"
"And the Wolves are asking me to throw myself at it?"
"Yup! You and your crew will be paid handsomely for taking it on, and if you manage to beat the Final Boss, we even got a big prize for you guys!" Finch says. "Though I may need to ask for a favor."
"What kind of favor?"
"Well you see, one of our members, who recently got here as a maintenance crew member recently got busted by C-Sec for something. Won't give us the detes though. The guy was getting out of the Los Lobos Rojo and we thought having him working on the games and keeping up their maintenance both with hard and soft, he might be able to retire and earn some eddies to live on." Finch says, "We need your help in learning what got him pinched in the first place." Finch looks at Shepard, "Get us the detes and we'll figure out where to go from there!"
"Alright, I'll see what I can do, who do I need to talk to, and who am I getting out of trouble?"
"Curt Weisman…!" Finch says.
"Curt Weisman!? That Gonk!?" Shepard asks, angrily.
"Look I know you don't like him, I know what he did, but after he became a father, he wanted to change his ways, get himself out of the gang and do things right!" Finch says, "He's got a kid he needs to take care of now, and you of all people know what it's like to be an orphan raised in a gang." V glares at Finch but sighs.
"Fine, fine! I'll do it, but you owe me big for this!"
"We all will, it was Weisman's idea to set up this simulator here in this Arcade, it was also his idea to build it so that the Aliens could see what dangers await in Night City and the Rest of Earth if they aren't ready for it. If we can get a big enough following, then we can actually start working on a special project that a certain someone is working on!" Finch says, "So please do us this solid."
"I will… Who do I need to talk to?"
"A Turian Guard named Damos Oscuros…" He looks over to a Turian with Black Face Paint who carries markings of a Colony that Shepard doesn't recognize at the moment. "He knows what's going on…"
"Thanks…" Shepard says, as he walks to the Turian Guard. "Damos Oscuros?"
"Yes, who are you?"
"Name's Commander Vincent Shepard, I'm a former member of the Los Lobos Rojos… I heard you have one of my former, and recently retired, comrades in custody?" Vincent asks.
"We do, though why do you care if you left the gang?"
"Weisman left the gang a short while ago to work on the simulators as a maintenance crew member. Why was he arrested?"
"Well…" The Turian looks around, "I have heard about the Los Lobos Rojos but me and my superior officers know little about it. Could you fill me in?"
"The Los Lobos Rojos were named after Los Lobos Street in Night City, we protected locations around Los Lobos Street, including El Coyote Cojo, a bar that is owned by the Welles Family, a well respected and loved family of Night City who make sure to help those in need. We're a Guardian Gang who works with the police and MaxTac when it comes to criminals and Cyberpsychos." Vincent explains.
"Then you might be surprised to know that the reason why he was arrested was because of a xenophobic hate crime!" Damos says.
"A Hate Crime? By the Los Lobos Rojos?" Vincent asks. "How could that be?"
"Well he had confessed he used to be connected to several Xenophobic Groups in the past, and that he had attempted to turn the Los Lobos Rojos into one such group at one point due to his parents being killed in the Relay 314 Incident. However, the reason it was considered a Hate Crime is due to the fact that the Cyberpunk Simulator killed one of C-Sec's officers."
"What, but how!?" Shepard asks, shocked.
"The Autopsy revealed that the Turian in question had suffered a massive heart attack that was induced by abject horror after one of the Cyberpsychos spawned in and focused on the C-Sec officer in question, ignoring everyone else. We haven't had time to run an analysis on the game's programming yet to determine if it was just a glitch or if it was intentionally programmed in." Damos explains.
"Well then, can you have one of your techs come in whilst my squad and I take on the simulator? They can analyze the data on both a live feed and have someone on the data streams checking it!" Shepard says.
"That sound like a wonderful idea, and if the Cyberpsychos target Garrus over here…"
"Good to see you volunteering me again, Damos…" Garrus says.
"Then we know it was Xenophobia that drove the programming of the simulator, and if the data analysis can prove it, then we will have to put him away. If we find the data had been altered and the log-ins show it, then we will release him, clear of all charges." Damos says.
"I can agree to that, the Los Lobos Rojos will be glad to hear one of their own is being given a fair chance. I'll need to inform them of what is going on, and hopefully they'll be willing to lend you their aid!" V explains, to which the Turian nod and goes to contact his superiors. V then goes back to Finch who listens to what he is told.
"What? You mean the Simulator was tampered with? Ay Caramba…. This is bad!"
"We actually have a way to clear Weisman's name, we just need to allow C-Sec to monitor the game both with a live feed and data analyzing the systems to check for any recent modifications to the simulator or somebody hacking in to mess it up." V says.
"That's reasonable enough… I'll get the clearance for them to begin their investigation immediately, I'll inform Damos myself once everything is set up. You get yourselves ready and…" He looks to the group, "Looks like your group could use a tune-up in their weaponry, luckily I have something just for them."
"A Tune-up?" Garrus asks, "My sniper is the best I can afford!"
"Oh true, but I think you might like to try what we have, might actually change your mind about our Tech Weapons in the long run!"
"I see…" Garrus says, not sure if he is convinced. With this, the squad actually registers for the Cyberpunk Simulator, and Shepard actually takes the time before the simulator starts to actually get the rundown on the skills for the group. Wrex reveals he is a Krogan Battlemaster, as well as a Biotic, in which Krogan Style Biotics means that he uses his abilities to overwhelm his enemies with brute force. Tali reveals that she is an Engineer, and that she was specifically trained with Shotguns, in which Shepard brings out for Tali and Wrex a set of Tech Shotguns, both of them a personal modification of the Rostovic DB-2 Sataras, Tech Double Barrel Shotguns. "I personally modified these Tech Shotties with my own personal touch, combining the Metal Shavers found in Mass Accelerator Guns with Tech Style Systems! So now you don't have to worry about ammo or overheating, or at least the overheating part. You will need to replace the ammo blocks every once in a while, but there is an indicator near the sights to let you know when you're running out! And the best part is, they can pierce through walls without damaging them!"
"Really?" Wrex asks, "How does it do that?"
"Just hold down the trigger and let it fully charge, then it will pierce through the walls and the heat from the rounds will seal them back up on the way through!" V says, smiling, to which Wrex nods with a wicked grin. "Though there is a limit to how thick the walls are allowed to be but we can worry about that later!" He then gives Garrus a modified Nekomata with the same technology, as well as a high end scope and even a silencer. He also gives Kaiden an Technotronika RT-46 Burya and Ashley her own Tsunami Nekomata, but also brings out something special for each of them. "I had some downtime before we reached the Citadel, and so I managed to cobbel these two together!" He opens up a case to reveal a pair of Tech Assault Rifles, "Ashley, Kaiden, meet your new best friends. The VS MK.1… Otherwise known as the Dreadwolf." Shepard gives them these weapons and they look at them in awe and smile as they adjust the stock to their liking.
"Hey V!" Finch calls over the intercom. "C-Sec is almost finished setting up, even got a Netrunner monitoring the situation! We'll begin in a few minutes!"
"Thanks Finch!" V says and the group gets a feel for their new toys before they get ready for the simulator to start. Five minutes later… Cyberpunk starts powering up.
"Alright, you will be taking on 3 waves of enemies from Night City in three levels of difficulty, but unlike most simulators, each wave will end with a Cyberpsycho making an appearance. Once you defeat the Third Cyberpsycho, you can advance to the next level of difficulty, which will include NCPD's finest, with the Cyberpsychos increasing in difficulty and ferocity." Finch Explains, "The Third Level will consist of all of MaxTac's best and finest warriors, but instead of a Cyberpsycho, each round will end with a Night City Legend being randomly selected from a roster of Legends. If you manage to clear all of them, you will get the chance to face off the Namesake Boss of the Game, the Cyberpunk, who I will leave as a surprise."
"However, your objective, aside from winning, is to get to Round 2, where the Cyberpsycho spawned before it's Specified Wave!" Damos explains, "If and When it spawns before it is supposed to, we will be able to determine what caused it!" Damos takes a seat, "Ready when you are Shepard!"
"Let's do this, Choombattas!" V says, smiling as he brings out his Amarok and gets ready to activate his Sandevistan. The announcement is given as the whole squad rushes out to find cover as the first Gang rushes out. "Voodoo Boys coming in! Everyone mind your grenades! If you hear them arming, just throw them!" Shepard says, in which he takes over and begins firing. The ensuing firefight isn't very heavy, but much to the shock of Tali, Garrus, and Wrex, they start to find their suits and omni-tools being hacked into, as well as their suits activating in ways they didn't want to. Ashley and Kaiden also get hacked, but, much to the surprise of everyone, it seems Ashley is also Quickhacking back at the Voodoo Boys, who quickly start to be worn down. "Good one, Ash!" V says, using his optics to mark out those who need to be taken out.
"Chatika!" Tali says, tossing something into the air, much to the surprise, sending out a combat drone. "Nothing in this world is faster than Chatika vas Paus!" She then uses her Heads-Up Display to target one of the Voodoo Boys. "Target acquired! Go for the Optics, Chatika! Go for the Optics!" That is when Chatika starts moving forward, but then turns to Shepard, who looks horrified with what Tali just said, turning pale.
"NOT MY OPTICS!" V shouts in horror, in which Chatika charges at him, only to get hit by a shot from the simulated Voodoo Boys and getting destroyed.
"Chatika! NOOOO!" Tali says, horrified. "BOSH'TEEEETS!" She then starts firing her shotgun after charging it, taking full advantage of its ability to penetrate walls, which take out the last three of the Voodoo Boys.
"Wave 1 Over… ALERT, CYBERPSYCHO!" The computer calls out, suddenly a simulated person drops from above. Everyone is shocked to see this person is a woman dressed in a skintight outfit with large blades coming out of her arms, Mantis Blades, and she has the most terrifying look on her face. A glare mixed with a maniacal smile as she starts laughing and charges at the group, and it's first target…
"GARRUS MOVE!" Shepard shouts, as he sees Garrus reaching for his pistol, but won't make it in time.
"!" Shepard shouts, in which his Sandevistan activates and Shepard grabs Garrus and pushes him out of the way as he grabs the Cyberpsycho's blades. Meanwhile, in the control room, the C-Sec analysts noticed there was something wrong with the computer for a moment when the psycho spawned in, and even the Netrunner caught it… V then begins engaging the Cyberpsycho in a flurry of Combat, Shepard using his skills in Boxing to actually out maneuver the simulated psycho. Kaiden notices that Shepard uses primarily an Outboxer style with Shepard using Slugger Style to punch through the defenses, and Swarmer Style to overwhelm with fast strikes, wearing the simulation down with bug bites. However, it's like the Psycho is locked onto Garrus as it constantly tries to push past him, only for Shepard to use the Sandevistan to get in his way, and the Kerenzikov to dodge the madwoman's attacks.
Eventually though, after five grueling Minutes, Shepard slams one final punch into the Psycho's chest, aimed at it's heart as his fists spark with electricity, short circuiting the simulated enemy. The Simulation, however, ends there. "That's good enough Shepard! Bring your crew up here and we'll show you the results!" Shepard complies and brings his crew up to the control room. "Well you did it!" Damos says, bringing Shepard to a Screen where they show what was going on during the Cyberpsycho portion of the First Wave, and he shows them they actually found something. Somebody had left a malicious hack into the game with a calling card mixed into it. "Whoever did this was trying to frame the Los Lobos Rojos for hate crimes, fortunately though, you managed to get this malicious program to activate, and our Netrunner Friend was able to use a Breach Protocol to get in and zap the little bastard."
"Thank goodness…" Shepard says, breathing a sigh of relief.
"We will release Weisman after we report our findings! Thank you for helping in this investigation Shepard!" Damos says, bowing his head and walking off with his team.
"Thanks again, V! Los Lobos Rojos owes you big time for this! Now I'm sure the boss will step up our security systems to make sure that Cyberpunk isn't affected like this, at least for a while." He then shows Shepard what he managed to capture on the screen… It looks like a symbol of an elongated hexagon with a hollowed spot in the middle and a slit down at the bottom corner, whilst two horn-like protrusions are off each side. "I don't know who did this, but Los Lobos Rojos won't be happy with this. Thanks again, V, the boss will send you the Credits and a reward to your ship as thanks for what you did!"
"No problem…" Shepard says, looking at Finch, shaking his hand.
"Since the system has been cleaned, want to finish up your playthrough? Might be useful!" Shepard looks to his crew and each of them nods in turn, to which Shepard smiles and the group continues playing… And it takes them nearly an hour to get through every simulation in the Game, and much to everyone's surprise, Wrex actually finds he has a grudging respect for not only MaxTac, but also for the Night City Legends, and what kind of monsters they are and were. However, that is when the Final Boss appears, the Cyberpunk, and, much to everyone's surprise… Everyone who fights, aside from Shepard, are instantly defeated, left on the floor, breathless. "Surprised Shepard?" Finch says, "Who else to better represent the game created by Los Lobos Rojos than the one person who inspired us to be better?" That is when the one who attacked the group appears at the center of the stage, a simulated man dressed in a red riding leathers: Coat, Shirt, Pants, boots, a two piece biker helmet over his head with a wolf-motiff on it. "Who else but the Dreadwolf of Night City himself: Vincent Shepard?"
V can only smile and smirk as he sees his old self as a Booster Gangster standing in front of him, "Now this is going to be fun!" Shepard says, smiling as he cracks the knuckles of his Gorilla Arms, and in the blink of an eye, the two of them activate their Sandies and Kerens, and begin a slug fest that goes off at high speed. Barely anyone can see what is going on, nor can they tell who has the upperhand thanks to the speed they are going at. However, Tali is in awe of what she is seeing, wondering how somebody so strong could be in a gang in his youth. It takes nearly five grueling minutes before finally Shepard gets the upper hand over the Dreadwolf, and lands a devastating punch that sends the simulated version of himself flying to the other side of the arena. The Simulation crashes and bounces off structures, but picks itself up with a smile before Saluting Shepard, and shattering like glass! That is when simulated fireworks go off and Shepard's Squad is marked as the first people to complete the entire game in one go in an Hour and Thirty Minutes.
The group is rewarded with their weapons they used during the game having their simulator safeties unlocked now they are fully operable as working weapons in real life scenarios, some mods to make them better, and finally, they win the Prize of getting a free meal to a very fine restaurant nearby known as Kodiak Hana, an Asian restaurant that actually serves Dextro-Based Food as well. The group smiles as they go to the Restaurant themselves, and when the waitress sees them, she has them seated at a part of the restaurant that will allow for a Krogan to have a comfortable seat, since Wrex is pretty big. Tali, sitting down next to V, learns that this place actually sells Dextro-Sushi as well as other things, and the part of the restaurant they are sitting in actually has a fish tank as well, much to her delight. This author won't go into specifics but it is a very delightful dinner as everyone enjoys their meal, and Shepard even orders a second serving of what they got to take with them back to the ship, much to the Quarian's surprise, but also to Wrex's delight as the steak here was cooked to perfection. Shepard smiles as he looks at his crew, and with what they went through today, he smirks as he looks at them, knowing that with them, he could definitely take on the Galaxy… I mean… What could possibly go wrong? Shepard then swallows hard as that last line crosses his mind. 'Goddammit Bubsy…'