Chapter 14

l… l

Chapter Fourteen

July 20th, 2077

Night City, Northern California

Aldecaldo Territory, Badlands

It was late into the evening by the time Cyrus and V arrived at the Aldecaldo camp. He had done some detailed research on the Nomads and their general lifestyle. Nomads in Continental North America often belonged to large roaming packs of disenfranchised citizens living inside the NUSA borders.

These drifters often wandered the Badlands with a clan of like-minded individuals.

They treated their clans like a large family, and protecting their integrity was second to none. The concept of family was such an essential subject matter that it was often the catalyst to outsiders being untrustworthy.

The only thing lower on the totem pole than an outsider was a Nomad Exiles. Those Exiles often joined Raffen Gangs, and they were the primary reason many outsiders looked at Nomads as little more than ravaging hordes.

For one reason or another, Palmer left the Aldecaldos voluntarily. In part due to a dispute with the clan's current leader, Saul. Cyrus did not know the specifics or the details behind the disagreement, but it mattered little to him.

Palmer needed help, and the unlikely duo of Spartan and Merc were happy to oblige her call for assistance.

The Aldecaldo camp was an organized mass of mobile trailers, lookout towers, and wasteland vehicles.

The Nomads took great care in maintaining and utilizing the lifeblood of every wasteland tribe, their vehicles.

Pockets of modified Thorton's and Quadras patrolled the perimeter, and snipers operated the lookout towers covering every inch of open space outside the main camp.

Security checkpoints littered the central campsite approach; V had visited the Aldecaldo camp enough times to understand their security protocols.

Which made the heavy amount of security all the more jarring.

An Aldecaldo perimeter guard flagged her down as she approached the main encampment. She recognized the auburn-haired sentry from her previous instances entering camp; he was a decent fellow but nothing to write home about. V rolled down her driver-side window to greet the spooked Aldecaldo.

'Hey,' V said positively. 'Nathan, right?'

The Nomad nodded his head, 'Yeah, you're the Merc Panam was rolling with the other day, aren't ya?'

'Guilty as charged,' V said through an easing smile. 'What's going on around here? Everyone's got a stick up their ass from what I can see.'

'Had an incident with the local Raffens,' Nathans body tensed considerably. 'Bastards took out a couple of our boys. Made off with one of our own in the process, I think Panam wants to tell you that herself.'

The Nomad took note of V's silent passenger. 'Who's the new face? Haven't seen him before.'

'A friend.' She stated plainly.

'Doesn't talk much, does he.' Cyrus had a bad habit of making people he just met exceptionally uneasy with his spells of silence.

'Not too people he doesn't know.' Nathan gave them both a suspicious look. He trusted V since she was a close associate of Panam's, but he wasn't too sure about her choom. And if he was suspicious of the Merc's pal, then Castle would be livid that he let them into camp. 'Look, I'll keep my friend on a tight leash. I know how you guys dislike unsponsored outsiders.'

V's gleaming smile always managed to bring the most aggressive individuals to their knees, and the Nomad was no exception to that rule. The Aldecaldo guard bobbed his head a few times, weighing the risks before ultimately yielding to the charismatic mercenary.

'Fine,' Nathan reluctantly conceded. 'But go straight to Panam, Castle is out on patrol, but he's due back any moment now. I don't need to remind you the hell raises when outsiders enter the camp, especially if he finds your choom here during all this shit.'

V dipped her head, 'Thanks, Nate, see you around.'

If that wasn't an indicator of the potential shit show they were about to wade into, she didn't know what else it could be. V parked her Avenger a dozen meters from the edge of the central encampment where Panam was supposed to meet them. Her hand stopped Cyrus from disembarking the vehicle and drawing his notice.

'Whose Castle?' Cyrus finally decided to use his mouth.

'Second in command behind Saul, he runs the Aldecaldo defense teams,' V replied. 'Panam was being groomed to become Saul's replacement, but disagreements and the clan's direction forced her to abdicate. Castle is uh….isolationist for lack of a better term, has a low opinion of outsiders that aren't sponsored by an Aldecaldo.'

That was putting it lightly. The first time V arrived at the Aldecaldo camp, she was interrogated to the fifth degree by Castle for her intentions here. He and Panam quickly devolved into an argument that, while hostile, reminded her of two siblings trying to one-up the other. Castle had his heart in the right place, but he took the protection and wellbeing of the Aldecaldo Nomads seriously.

'CY,' Vargas began. 'These people are jumpier than usual, so no matter what happens, try not to kill one of them. Promise.' The optimistic tone she adopted was not lost on him. Nomads were notorious for their treatment of outsiders, second only to the Voodoo boys in Night City.

Cyrus looked past her to the sprawling Nomad camp, and with a reluctant nod of his head, he placated V's concerns, settling her nerves in the process.

'Ok,' The Merc inhaled a deep calming breath, adopting a steady smile. 'Follow my lead and try not to scare anyone here.'

'As you wish.'

V should have anticipated this kind of response to their arrival, especially with the unique mountain of a man standing behind her. When Cyrus wasn't actively trying to blend into the mass of crowds or the black of night. He stood out like a sore thumb amongst the large groups of Aldecaldo Nomads.

Curious and uneasy gazes practically watched into the Headhunters back. A majority of individuals would ordinarily feel a particular kind of way to all this attention. However, he acted like it was nothing more than an annoying insect, and the best way to treat a pest to disregard it.

V spied their resident Aldecaldo leaning against her Thorton. Her visage was sullen and uncharacteristically subdued, a significant weight had descended upon her shoulders, and V was resolved to alleviate that burden.

While the Merc's attention was focused on their compatriot, Cyrus's gaze shrewdly scrutinized his environment. His augmented eyes could pick out the subtle body language and facial cues of the nomads milling around him.

These people were incredibly agitated. The guards were jumping at every shadow. The civilians were a hushed collection of souls, and even the children had lost the light of innocence usually reserved in their eyes.

The very soul of these people had been ripped out of their bodies, and Cyrus had little doubt that Palmer called them here to correct that issue.

'V!' Panam's voice called out to them. 'Over here!'

V raced ahead of the Spartan, gathering her favorite Aldecaldo in a tight embrace, startling the women for a moment before she returned the gesture. 'V glad you could make it.'

'Not just me, girl,' V motioned over to her ever silent colleague.

Panam's gaze trailed to the Mercs companion; it took far too long for her to realize who exactly she was staring at. When it finally dawned on Panam who he was, her eyes snapped between a grinning V and an irritated Cyrus.

'Is that who I think it is?' V's smile got wider.

'Yup.' Cyrus considered himself to be an exceptionally patient person, but even he had his limits.

'Can we get on with this, Palmer,' if there was any doubt that he wasn't Cyrus, it was swiftly crushed with his cutting words. He was the only person in Panam's entire livelihood that referred to her by her last name.

For Panam, it was both endearing and incredibly irritating. 'Nice to see you to CY.'

'Likewise,' The Spartans attention shifted to his surroundings. 'Can we speak someplace less… exposed.'

Cyrus had noticed that their unlikely trio had drawn the eyes of nearly the entire camp; all the while, the two women hadn't noticed he most certainly did.

The older Nomads eyed him with suspicion.

A great many were veterans of the most recent global conflict. They were the type of people who were able to peg him as more than just a wandering Mercenary.

'Yeah,' Panam conceded. 'Follow me; some friends of mine would want to meet you two.'

The woman turned on a dime leading the two further into the Aldecaldo encampment. V was following close behind her while Cyrus was pacing both of them from the rear. By now, most of the Nomads had returned to their previous activities, with a select few still retaining their focus on the outsiders.

'So,' V began. 'What's going on, Panam? Your people are more on edge than I'm used to seeing. I heard from one of the perimeter guards there was a scuffle with the Wraiths.'

'We did,' Panam growled in frustration. 'Saul took a patrol out to investigate some raffen encroaching on our territory. Dumbass got himself captured and the rest of the patrol killed.'

'You sure it was them?' V probed.

'We're positive; the problem right now is the Wraiths are still poking our perimeter. And they'll kill Saul if any Aldecaldo is spotted approaching their main compound.'

'So, we need to go in quick and quiet.' V shot Cyrus a glance, eyes indicating he had come to the same conclusion she had.

'Exactly,' Panam responded. 'Aldecaldos aren't exactly known for being subtle; we prefer more direct approaches to solve our troubles. That's why you guys are here; I know both of you can get in, find Saul, and get out without him getting flatlined.'

'Who are we meeting ?' Cyrus questioned. Panam glanced out the corner of her eye to regard the Spartan.

'Couple of Aldecaldo Lieutenants, you met one already during the Kang Tao heist.'

'His name was Mitch, correct.' The Aldecaldo nodded and was immediately caught off guard by the Spartan's follow-up question. 'Why did you come back.'

Panam's pace slowed to a halt. 'What.'

'You left this clan, Palmer.' Cyrus clarified. 'Why come back to them now.'

The Aldecaldos expression turned into one of uncertainty. 'I left the Aldecaldos because I-.' Cyrus cut her off.

'Disagreed with the decisions being made by leadership, I understand.' The Spartans voice was as cold as ice. It set V on edge immediately, and she's never seen him act so crass to anyone.

'But what I don't understand is why you have returned the moment the clan is at a crossroads. You left the Aldecaldos willingly despite the fact you still bear their colors. You maintain a cordial relationship with most of their upper leadership, and you chose now to return to save the one man keeping you from your family?'

V could practically feel the tension in the air as he spoke; she had rarely seen Cyrus be this direct about someone else's decision-making. When he dressed down Judy for her plan to take down the Tyger Claws, he approached from a position of logic. This time didn't seem unique, but there was an emotion that laced Cyrus' tone, and disappointment felt like too light a word.

'What. Are. You. Implying.' Panam hand's clenched into fists as she stormed up to the Spartan, eyes glowing with barely restrained anger. The Aldecaldo's frame paled in comparison to the hulking six-foot-five tower of muscle that was Cyrus.

'Hey, calm down, you two,' V tried in vain to separate the two dominant personalities. She placed both hands in between the two hoping to keep them from coming to blows.

It didn't do anything substantial. The Spartan's height kept her from completely separating the two of them.

'Are we here to save him, Palmer? Or are we here to kill him?' V narrowly reacted quick enough to intercept Panam's vicious right hook from punching Cyrus square in the jaw.

V understood the Aldecaldos wrath at such an adverse question that quite frankly didn't have any merit to it, but that didn't mean she was going to let Panam make a fatal decision. Friends, they may be, but she wasn't sure Cyrus would let Panam get one in free without deadly repercussions.

'YOU MOTHERFUCKER!' V's hands wrapped around her shoulders from behind, frantically trying to prevent Panam from making a terrible mistake. 'WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE HUH! THIS CLAN IS EVERYTHING TO ME; SAUL MEANS EVERYTHING TO ME! AND IF YOU THINK FOR A SECOND, I WOULD WANT TO KILL HIM OVER THE CLANS LEADERSHIP, THEN YOU CAN GO FUCK YOURSELF!'

By now, the argument had drawn the nomads' attention inside the camp, just as Cyrus wanted. The Headhunter glanced to his left, recognizing the stern face of the Aldecaldo lieutenant he met a few days ago. He regarded the man for a fraction of a second before returning his attention to his fuming compatriot.

His work done; Cyrus dropped any pretense of antagonism towards Panam. Shrugging his shoulders like an argument almost didn't turn into a fistfight, he turned on his heels and strode towards Mitch.

'It's not me you have to convince, Palmer.'

V's eyes furled in confusion as she loosened her grip on the still fuming Aldecaldo. She slowly took in the rest of her surroundings, finding several dozen nomads forming a rough circle around their location.

None spoke a word during the whole exchange, from the children up to the old-timers. All of them were staring directly at Panam, whose expression quickly subsided into a more passive if sheepish look. The Merc's gaze quickly found the retreating form of her favorite psycho; V felt a newfound respect for the Headhunter form within seconds.

Cyrus had been observing the camp occupants ever since they arrived but not to ascertain whether they would be a problem for him. He was trying to find out if they would be a problem for Panam, and he was right.

Cyrus was able to spot the suspicious glances and distrusting looks thrown in Panam's way as they traversed through the camp. Even now, V could see the disheartened faces the other nomads were displaying.

Most if not all of them doubted Panam's sincerity when she arrived in camp, expressing her desire to save Saul. They were wrong, yes, but V couldn't blame them for having those traitorous thoughts link into their minds. She saw the same thing happened to the Bakkers, and her clan's eventual fall came from that distrust in leadership.

Cyrus forced the issue in front of the whole clan while maintaining some form of legitimacy in one fell swoop. He went straight at her to produce an emotional and authentic reaction that would at least convince most of the Aldecaldos that she was genuine in her aspiration to save Saul.

Panam would be pissed at Cyrus for playing her like a fiddle, but she would adore him all the more for it. V made the wise decision to initiate a tactical retreat away from her semi-embarrassed choom, leaving her to the wolves.

While V and Panam dealt with the crowd of Aldecaldo nomads, Cyrus strode up to one of the few Aldecaldos in camp that probably wouldn't irritate him.

'Cyrus, right?' The Spartan shook hands with the Aldecaldo lieutenant.

'Correct.' Mitch gave him an amused look as he regarded their joined hands.

'Strong grip you got there.' The Aldecaldo stated as both hands disjoined. 'I thought there was only one person in the world that could piss Panam off like that.'

'Palmer has a stout heart and a strong mentality, but she is prone to emotional outbursts. You just need to know what buttons to push.'

Mitch chuckled good-naturedly; both men watched Panam imitate a fish out of water as she interacted with her fellow nomads. She did notice the odd looks and grumbling noises from the other Aldecaldos, but she wasn't entirely sure the reason for it.

He didn't blame her for it; Panam had her blind spots when it came to her clan, which wasn't necessarily bad.

Just something she would need to work on when she took over the clan.

V, the Merc that Panam had brought to camp a few times already, was standing off to the side observing Panam squirm under all the muttered apologies and calls for forgiveness.

'You're more observant than I thought you'd be,' Mitch commented off-hand.

Mitch didn't have the most astounding opinion of the Headhunter. Panam didn't speak as in-depth about Cyrus as much as she had for V.

He chalked that up to her inability to understand what made the possible super-soldier tick.

Mitch didn't need to be an omnipotent being to figure out Cyrus wasn't your average solo. The absolute ass-kicking he put on the Kang Tao Mercs left little doubt in his mind that Cyrus was a force to be reckoned with. He walked and talked like a man bred for war and bloodshed, no-nonsense, no bullshit.

'I have to be in my line of work,' Cyrus replied.

'And what exactly is your line of work if you don't mind me asking?'

'Hunting.'

'Hunting?' Mitch gave him a sarcastic look. 'What like animals?'

'Yes.'

Cyrus would never consider the masses of gangers, bloodthirsty Mercenaries, serial killers, and rapists that teemed throughout Night City anything more than rapid Animals.

And today, he was hunting the Wraiths, an adversary that provided a unique challenge to the Headhunter.

Chamber had gathered as much intel as she could regarding the Wraiths combat doctrine and protocols. Despite being a gang made up of Cyberpsychotics and sociopaths, the Wraiths were the most organized of all the Raffen Shivs.

The Wraiths separated manpower into platoon-sized raiding groups led by a designated Lieutenant. The platoon-sized groups were under the command of a Captain, of which there were only three in the command structure at one time. Those officers all followed the direction of the Wraith Overlord, Dogkiller.

Dogkiller was a former Lazarus Captain who was dishonorably discharged in 2019 after being accused of executing POW's during the European Brushfire Wars. He and two of his platoons went AWOL before the arrest orders could be processed.

Somewhere along the way, he returned to the United States and established the Wraiths. Chamber was unable to find any recent facial imagery to identify the Raffen Leader correctly, but he was rumored to done clothes of human skin. This, at the very least, would give Cyrus a base point once he was finished with the Tyger Claws.

Chamber estimated their total member count to be somewhere around twelve hundred scavengers. That was a rough estimation at best; raffen gangs rarely entered the Night City outskirts and typically operated outside the jurisdiction of the NCPD. Leaving the AI with little actionable intelligence within her reach inside the Night City telecommunications network.

'How long has Saul been gone?'

By his estimation, Saul had little more than forty-eight hours to survive in captivity. The Wraiths weren't exactly known for their patience when it came to prisoners and if their demands weren't met promptly.

All the Aldecaldos would find of Saul would be a flayed corpse, with his entrails hanging around his neck.

The Aldecaldos age flashed as weariness etched into his features. 'Eighteen hours. There have been small skirmishes between our perimeter teams and a few Raffen raiding parties. A few injuries but no fatalities. Yet at least.'

Inevitably, Panam was able to separate herself from the magnanimous crowd of Nomads. Dragging an entertained V along with her, who enjoyed the woman's embarrassment. The Aldecaldo marched up to the Spartan with a narrowed look.

'You're an ass.'

Cyrus merely shrugged in reply, doing little to appease the frustrated Nomad. V wisely chose that moment to separate the duo for the second time that day. As much as she enjoyed watching the two go at it, they were here for a different reason.

'Alright, you two,' V teased firmly. 'Play nice now, we still have to find Saul, and time is not on our side.'

Panam said nothing growling out a string of expletives under her breath. She stormed past Mitch, who couldn't find it in him to drop his knowing smirk. The pair watched the Aldecaldos move towards an old Colby Thorton, where the rest of the Aldecaldo Lieutenants loitered.

'Panam may not admit it, CY,' V's voice was softer than it was before, even as they trailed behind the irritated women. 'But she is thankful for helping her in your backward way. Your still kind of a dick, though, for ambushing her like that.'

The man in question walked beside her, eyes glowing with a bright crimson that used to unsettle the Merc. In some way, she understood his outlook when it came to conflict. He had no time for deliberation or hesitation; when he saw an opportunity to correct a problem, he took it. V wouldn't like the solutions all the time, but she could respect his decision-making.

'I know.' She should have expected such a response.

The duo eventually caught up to the patiently waiting group of Aldecaldo officers. V only recognized Mitch out of the group of five, and they didn't seem thrilled to see the pair of outsiders.

'You didn't mention bringing in outside help.' A black-haired woman somewhere in her mid-fifties commented sharply. She wore a sleeveless grey shirt with an Aldecaldo badge sewed onto her cargo pants. She wore minimal cyberware, centered around her optics with an orange-tinted visor strapped over her eyes.

'We're going to need all the help we can get today, Carol.'

Things transpired precisely as Cyrus had predicted they would; the Aldecaldos had been under constant pressure from the Wraiths since Saul's disappearance. The most recent large-scale attack disabled at least forty and killed fifteen nomads. Their supply stores were recently raided, leaving their storerooms dangerously low in necessities.

The Aldecaldos still maintained well over five hundred active fighters, but they were forced to adopt a defensive posture. They were protecting outposts and other assets that the nomads could not afford to lose.

'So, what, your leader gets nabbed, and you what. Hope for the best?' V snorted in disbelief. 'Shit, what do you guys do for members at the bottom of the food chain. Feed em to the scavengers?'

The three other Aldecaldo Lieutenants almost exploded on V in indignation. Fortunately, Mitch was there to settle fraying nerves, 'Enough all of you!'

The Veteran gave his compatriots a stern glance before addressing V directly. 'I floated a recon drone over their main camp. Now, are you going to keep mouthing off, or can we get down to business?'

Mitch held out a data shard for V to take. The Merc glanced at the Aldecaldo officers before retrieving the shard and plugging it into her neural.

A tense few minutes passed by at a snail's pace; V was still acquiring intel on the Wraith camp in silence. Panam and the rest of the Aldecaldos stood in silent anticipation, silently glancing in V's direction for any sort of movement. When it was clear the Merc would take longer than they liked, the officers turned their attention to Panam's silent companion.

Cyrus was willing to wait patiently for the Merc to finisher her recon, leaning his back against the Colby's driver side door.

He trusted V not to half-ass her scouting mission with the surveillance drone.

During deployments with his Spartan Team, Cyrus had a habit of dozing off when the trio of Spartans staked out a Covenant installation.

'Who's the statue, Panam?' Carol's inquiry startled her for a moment.

'W-what?' Panam's eyes refocused back to Carol, whose own gaze trailed to the Headhunter's silent form. 'Oh, that's Cyrus. V's choom, the one I told you about.'

'Isn't he supposed to be a battle mech Panam?' Cassidy, the Aldecaldo sporting an old cowboy attire, commented.

'Nah, man,' Teddy, the officer sporting a blue cap, interjected. 'She told me he was a seven-foot-tall ghost or some shit like that.'

'Well, he's not a ghost or a robot.' Bob, the final Aldecaldo officer, was sporting a black cap and headpiece cut in. 'So, what is he, Panam, a solo like your choom.'

'I'm not a Merc,' Cyrus replied offhandedly.

'So, what have you been doing the last couple of years?'

Fighting a genocidal covenant determined to exterminate humanity, killing alien generals, blowing up ship factories, all in an albeit futile effort to extend humanity's doomsday clock.

'Gardening.'

The answer confused all but one Aldecaldo, who shot Cyrus a mirthless stare.

'You are a bastard,' Panam snarked. From anyone else, he might have cared a tiny bit more, but he didn't.

Cyrus had grown tired of answering all these questions, and he was here to help Panam not play twenty questions with the officers.

Mercifully, V chose that exact moment to return to the land of the living.

'What'd you see, V?'

'It's a fucking fortress,' V tossed the data shard back to Mitch. 'Gotta be at least forty-five raffen shivs scattered throughout the whole camp. There's a checkpoint at the front gate outfitted with three sentry guns and guarded by four Wraiths. It'll be difficult, but I think the three of us can manage.'

'All we need to do is get in, grab Saul and get out quietly,' Panam said. 'We only let the bullets fly as a last resort sound good?'

A chorus of nods satisfied the Aldecaldos question.

'Alright, let's mount up.'

Night City, Northern California

Five KM North of Wraith Encampment, Badlands

Panam cleaned her SPT32 Grad's scope diligently, trying her best to distract her mind from the coming mission. V had turned on some tunes to fill the minivan with some type of noise. Otherwise, she had a feeling it would be as silent as a tomb inside the vehicle.

Cyrus had dozed off again, arms crossed and back leaning against the driver-side seat. How he could sleep through the minivans shaking and the occasional hard bump was anyone's guess.

Then again, she wasn't exactly his biggest fan at the present moment. Cyrus's accusation while they were in camp completely caught her off guard; she pegged him as someone who stayed on his path and never went out of his way to interact with others unless he had to.

So, when he came at her, she wasn't prepared, and from the looks of it, neither was V. Panam honestly thought he was just another asshole fishing for a reason to leave her hanging as Nash did. But he didn't, and instead, through his own bullshit and irritating way, he helped her mend the relationship with her clan.

Panam couldn't help throwing daggers at his bobbing head even as she cleaned her rifle. Cyrus was an enigma to the Aldecaldo, and his personality wasn't exactly anything to write home about. He was focused and practical, she had never seen him lose his cool, and a prime example stemmed from their argument back at camp.

The Aldecaldo was mere inches away from delivering a rage-filled haymaker on his chin before V pulled her back.

Nothing ever seemed to rattle him, and he always gave off this aura of supreme confidence. He feared nothing that much was assured; his reputation as the Northside Headhunter indicated he cared little for the risk he put himself in.

Panam didn't believe in the legend initially, but that was partly because only a madman would declare war on the gangs in Night City. She became a believer after his actions at Rocky Ridge, and she was grateful for his help. That being said, she didn't like being manipulated by anybody.

Especially her friends.

'You ok?' V had been shooting her own glances at Panam for a while now, trying to ascertain her mindset before they hit the Wraith Compound.

'Yeah,' Panam nodded. 'Just thinking is all.'

'About Saul.'

'Among other things.' V wagered a guess that Panam's thoughts revolved more around the resident psycho, taking a nap behind her.

'Still mad at him?'

Panam almost snapped at V on instinct, and she really didn't want to broach any subject revolving around Cyrus at this particular time.

'Can we,' Panam took a calming breath. 'Talk about something else besides fuckface over there.' The latter was accompanied by a frustrated scowl drilling into the Spartans skull.

V held her right hand up in surrender. 'Ok, then how about Saul. Tell me about him.'

Memories flashed across the front of her mind; Saul had been a father figure to Panam her entire life. He was the solid rock that kept the Aldecaldos together for decades now, which made it all the more appalling that he was now keeping the clan down.

Saul was so desperate to keep the Aldecaldos together that he was blind to the reality he was losing them. His desire to sell parts of their territory in the badlands to Petrochem, a Biotechnica license, was merely the final straw to a broken relationship.

'Panam?' Her gaze quickly found V's concerned look; she had been getting caught up in her thoughts far too much lately.

Panam sighed, 'Saul took over the clan when I was a kid, and it wasn't the best of occasions to be the Aldecaldo leader. One wrong move, and the whole thing would have come crashing down like a house of cards.'

'But he made it work,' Panam snapped her scope in place. 'I don't know how, but he did, and we owe Saul our lives because of that. Without him, the Aldecaldos would have been another nameless bunch of nomads victimized in the badlands.'

'And yet it's still not enough,' Panam took a deep calming breath, eyes snapping to the road ahead. 'I left because he is determined to make a deal with Biotechnica. Ally with the Corporate dogs, all because of the Wraiths.

That confession shook V more than she thought it would; nomads very rarely dealt directly with Corporations, and when they did, it was a nomad acting as a freelancer.

Corporations that were able to get whole tribes to sign with them ended up using the nomads as manual labor. Stripping the clan of its identity and freedom and that meant everything to a nomad.

She should have known Johnny would say something. 'I guess stupid runs in the family.'

V ignored the engrams comment to the best of her ability; she had to restrain herself from dressing him down on instinct. She didn't want Panam contemplating V was a sociopath that spoke to a voice in her head.

Yet, at least.

She couldn't understand why Saul would want to sign away his people's freedom to Biotechnica so quickly. 'Why would he do that? Any Corporation the Aldecaldos sign with will string em up in corporate bureaucracy and take everything they own.'

'Fear,' Panam stated. 'Saul is afraid of losing the Aldecaldos so much he is willing to sell its soul to keep them all together. I can't let that happen, but I don't know where to start.'

The Aldecaldo minivan came to a gradual halt a mere eight hundred meters north of the Wraith camp.

V wasn't entirely sure how to appease her choomba even now.

The only natural choice was for Panam to be all in and rejoin the clan or step away and find a new family. Their resident Spartan had the same thought process and approached the

'You start by going home,' Cyrus remarked, startling both Panam and V.

The Spartans voice sent a familiar and often terrifying feeling down both their spines. The pair often overlooked how bone-chilling Cyrus's voice could be when they hung around him, it was difficult for either of them to describe.

His voice retained a balanced mood; its pitch never wavered as words fell from his mouth. It was precisely the kind of tone an assassin would possess, in their opinion, and he never raised his voice to anyone.

'You want change, Palmer?' The Spartan began. 'Go back to the clan. Your departure is little more than you running away like a spoiled child. So, get on board, save your people, or get out of the way and watch the whole thing burn.'

Cyrus had grown tired of their deliberations; it was clear as day that Panam didn't belong in Night City as a solo. Her place was with the Aldecaldos, and the only way to resolve her dilemmas was by facing them head-on.

'Now, if your done gossiping.' The Spartan kicked open the minivan's rear doors. 'We have a job to do.'

Cyrus' departure left the minivan in a stunning silence; Panam and V could only stare in muted disbelief at his retreating back.

The Merc closed her eyes and inhaled a deep exasperating breath before an endearing smile crossed her face, followed by a small bout of laughter. Panam looked to the other woman, who could only chuckle more in response.

'He's an asshole, no doubt about it.' Panam snorted in barely concealed amusement.

'Yeah,' Panam spoke softly as she kicked open her passenger door. 'But at least he's our asshole.'

The Merc and Aldecaldo retrieved their gear and followed in the Spartan's wake, eager to unleash weeks of frustration on scavengers and rapists that had no idea what hell was approaching their doorstep.

Almost all Dialogue for this chapter, the assault on the Wraiths was going to be added to this chapter but it was already longer than anticipated. So it will be for the next chapter and believe it or not that chapter is ready. I have a habit of staying one chapter ahead of a released passage so… yeah.

Like always I hope you enjoy it, criticism is always welcomed. Please leave a review if the dialogue needs improvement or you just wanna say hello.

Hope you have a great rest of your week.

Reviews:

tamagat: Wouldn't call it a megacorp, but he will start something.

MEleeSmasher: It's a possibility on the UNSC equipment, but he doesn't have the means to manufacture anything just yet. Repairing his equipment is easy, making new gear requires more steps.

liuhong2001: Only when required, but it will be sooner rather than later.

Stupid the Ork: I can see that, but for me, it's about perspective. When you are fighting Covenant things get simpler, the enemy isn't human and it's easy to compartmentalize the horrors you see. But when you see you're own species enacting such vicious actions upon one another, you begin to lose perspective on who is worse and end up with the undeniable that everything is the same. That's just my take on a Spartan with limited experience fighting humans, I could be wrong for all I know.

Dhestro: Still tossing around ideas, but Chamber will be vital to V's survival.

I (LaEmporoar) am tired now, so ill post more chapters at a later date, probably whenever I finish reading through the first 14