Chapter 5: New Footing
V and Panam can see the truck coming into the camp to see their new member coming onto the dusty camp. "Seems like our recruit is not harmed. Hey there Rebecca. I am Panam, one of the Leaders of the clan here along with V," Panam said.
"I will be in the trailer," Klunk said as he floated away into the camp.
"What's up, can I get a cool jacket like yours?" she asked.
"Well, you are now a new member and once the others accept you. You can get your Nomad jacket soon. Trust me, the way Cortez said you can handle yourself. I will not be long," Panam said.
"Preem," Rebecca said as Panam walks up to up to pat her on the head.
"I got to ambit something. I thought you would be taller," Panam said thinking Rebecca looked so cute.
"Hey, you know what they say. Big things come in small packages," she said.
"I believe her," Cortez said as he knows her strong she is in combat.
"So where will I live?" she asked.
"Since you will be partnering with Cortez, you can live in his trailer over there," V said as the trailer had two turrets on top and armored all over.
"Cool, lot of space?" she asked.
"Enough," Cortez said.
"Rebecca, where are your clothing?" Panam asked as Rebecca was only a bra, panties, and sneakers.
"Oh, my hoodie got burned in a fight," she asked.
"You are going to need some new threads," Panam said.
"Okay, I will shop for something," she said.
"Oh Rebecca, I got a present for you. It's in Cortez's mobile trailer. I think you will like it," V said. Rebecca is confused but she is happy his favorite merc gave her something.
"Cool, can't wait. I need to get comfortable here," Rebecca said.
"If you need something. Just call us," V said as the two went off to go into their tent to talk about something.
"Well, let's get some clothes," Rebecca said.
"Why do you wear a hoodie only?" he asked.
"It's comfortable and it's easy to seductive dudes when I need to distract them on jobs, playing the vulnerable young lady angle," Rebecca said.
"That makes sense and quite clever," Cortez complimented her.
"I have to work with what I got but now I am living a new life which means new duds," she said as she saw all the various vehicles and tents along with the makeshift structure the clan has made in this encampment. "The nomad lifestyle," Rebecca said.
"Well, it's harsh but nothing beats the open road. Freedom is worth it," Cortez said as she nodded her head.
"Yeah it feels oddly calm here not like the city," Rebecca said as everyone in the clan greeted her with open arms to be happy to have another Heavy to protect them.
"So, you're the little lady everyone is talking about. Name's Mitch, glad for you to come on board," Mitch greets her as Rebecca shakes his hand.
"Likewise," Rebecca said.
"Mitch used to be an old dog for Militech. Used to ride Panzers in the Corp wars in the past," Cortez said as Rebecca got her interest from this.
"You ride tanks?" she asked.
"Yep, little missy. Using one of our Basilisk tanks to patrol the area," Mitch said as Rebecca's eyes were filled with stars.
"You got a tank here?" she asked.
"Yep, we got two Basilisks indeed. We got the second one not too long ago. The first one was useful to use defending the camp and aiding V getting into Arasaka Tower," Mitch said.
"Really?" she asked.
'Yep, but we took the scenic route. Went into a drilling site owned by Militech wiped them out and got into the tower underground via Panam's crazy yet smart planning," Mitch said.
"Damn, wish we thought of that," Rebecca said as they were dumb enough to attack them at the front door.
"Well, hope you enjoy yourselves. We will be moving soon to a more secure location. It's going to be a long trip to Panam's chosen spot for our new home," Mitch said.
"What is this place?" Rebecca asked.
"It's some valley in the far north which holds promise for us to be able to be self-governing. No Corps and no governments, allowing us to walk our path," Mitch said as Rebecca was impressed with Panam's ambition and optimism.
"Sounds like a dream," Rebecca said.
"Hopefully it's not and we can live in peace from this madness of the NUS," Mitch said.
"Well, I need Rebecca to grab some clothing," Cortez said.
"No problem, enjoy yourself here," Mitch walks away as they go to the tent where they sell clothing.
"Grab what you can. I will pay for it," Cortez said.
'Thanks, big guy," she said as she went to see all the sets outfits, and underwear. She grabs one that looks cute and one she thinks Cortez would like her to wear. "I hope he likes these," she thought as she came out of the tent to be in her new nomad outfit. "What do you think?" she asked striking a sexy pose.
"Wow," Cortez said as Rebecca was wearing a black sports bra covering her perky small breasts while showing off her tight stomach and black skintight hotpants showing off her thick thighs and wide hips. "Pretty good but it covers the same as your underwear," Cortez said lightly.
"Well at least it fits and I can show off my pretty tattoos you like so much," Rebecca said as she felt happy he liked her new nomad outfit.
"But seriously, you look good. Fitting for nomad," Cortez said giving her kind words that made her blush even harder.
"Thanks. I got some outfits and underwear to wear. Let's go to your home," Rebecca said holding onto a bag filled with stuff. "I got some good ones which you will like," she said.
"Can't wait to show off especially those rockers you got there," Cortez pokes her broad hips to make happy of him touching her there.
"Oh you will not be disappeared," Rebecca flirted back to approach his trailer with his truck attached in the front. "Very mobile," she said.
"Need to be when we move around," Cortez said as he opened the door to see it was quite roomy despite the limited space. "Make yourself at home, you can put your stuff in the corner over there," Cortez said as she saw all the stuff in Cortez's corner with a desk, a kitchen section, an armory bench, and a shower.
"Goodness, I need a bath," Rebecca said as she dropped her bag in the corner which will be her place. "Where is the bed?" she asked.
"Over there," he points to the couch which is a pullout bed. "It's enough to fit both of us," he said as she had a smirk on her face.
"Interesting," she said having some pervy ideas.
"What are you thinking?" he asked as it was a nice thought to his crush lying beside him in bed.
"I got some ideas, don't worry about it, big guy," she said as Cortez looked over to see Kluck on the table.
"You should go to the Ripper Doc to check on your imprints and get them updated," Kluck said.
"Good idea," Rebecca said as she found the gift V was talking about. "Oh what is this?" she wondered to open the box to see something very familiar. "This is David's jacket," she said as she saw the yellow jacket he always wears.
"Oh right, Falco gave V that as a passing of a torch. He reminded him of David and gave it to him. Since you were his second in command and good friend, he thinks you should have it," Cortez said.
"But what about Lucy?" Rebecca asked.
"She didn't want it at the time. Too painful and now it's yours," Cortez said as Rebecca hugged the jacket, happy to see it in one piece.
"Damn it V, I need to thank him," she said as she pulls out her phone to text him about the gift to give him a smiley face emote. "This is too nice," Rebecca feels like she can cry after all the kindness everyone is giving her.
"You are family now and we all have each other's back. No matter what," Cortez said.
"Night City would never allow close bonds like this. It's all about saving yourself," Rebecca said.
"When I was in the Militech army. It's only about making bank and killing as many people as possible even innocent ones to push the NUSA worldview. It's hollow and means nothing but now we are both fighting for the ones who are our new friends and family," Cortez said placing his hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah, it feels so nice to have that. I want to try this on," Rebecca said putting on David's Jacket which fits loosely on her. "Pretty big," she said.
"Better as a memento," Cortez said as Rebecca nodded her head.
"Right," she said as she put the jacket away into a box to put on a new crop hoodie she got from the nomad shop. "Looks like it has pockets to hold sidearms," she said to show off two holsters inside.
"Very handy for a Heavy," Cortez said as Rebecca put away Guts and her Lexington in the armory section of the trailer. "I will fix those up. Go to the Ripper Doc and get checked out," Cortez said as Rebecca got out of the trailer to go towards the tech trailer where everyone's cyberware is upgraded and optimized.
"So, you are the little spitfire Cortez was talking about. Figure you be a bit bigger," the Ripper Doc named Marie said.
"Yep I am, I need a check-up," Rebecca said.
"Cortez always talks about you. How cute and cool you are in the videos. He is so smitten," Marie said as Rebecca blushed from this praise.
"Well, he has good taste," Rebecca trying to act cool but can't hide her growing feelings for the stern yet good-hearted former soldier.
"Sure does. Likes himself spicy meatballs. Well take your clothing off and we can get to work on your cyberware. See what you got," Marie said as she stripped out of her outfit and underwear to sit on the chair. She pulls the sheets to preserve Rebecca's privacy and to look at the screen to see her Cyberware.
"How does it look doc?" she asked.
"Well, you have military-grade cyberware within your body in your legs, arms, and torso. Second Heart, Militech berserk OS, Double jumping, and Gorilla Arms. You have done a good job in balancing them out," Marie said.
"I was in a deathmatch, I needed to work with what I got to survive there," Rebecca said.
"Indeed, Bismarck paid a lot to revive you. Your skull and bones were heavily reinforced," Marie said.
"Well yeah, my body was destroyed by Adam Smasher. I was rebuilt from the ground up," Rebecca said as she remembered all the medical stuff she went through to get back to full health.
"Built like tank but these are quite old. I am going to replace them with new ones. I will fix you up in no time," Marie said as within the hour she got rid of the older model implants and gave her new fresh ones.
"Oh boy, I feel like a million eddies," Rebecca said to get onto her feet to feel her body is quite fresh and new again.
"Good, check up on me when you can," Marie said as Rebecca put on her outfit to wave Marie.
"Thanks, Doc. Have a good one," Rebecca said as she headed back to the trailer to hang out with Cortez and Klunk.
Elsewhere V is contacting Michiko to talk to her about something he found out. "Princess," V said lightly.
"Come on V, don't be like that," Michiko said as she went into her motel room to prepare to leave it.
"I and Panam did some research on you. You were the CEO of a group called Danger Gal that started in the late 2020s," V said.
"Oh yeah, that was a long time ago. It was my pet project. It was a security agency in Night City to take high-profile cases against the Corps, criminals, and other important people within the city. I was one of their top Operatives and did a hands-on approach," Michiko said to check her pistol.
"The cat girl logo?" V asked.
"Oh, I loved that logo. It's pretty cute don't you think?" Michiko asked.
"I guess," V said flatly with Michiko giggling at this.
"My operatives used to wear helmets with cat ears. Quite adorable," Michiko asked. "Anyway, my company was ultimately fronted by the NUSA government to conduct anti-Arasaka operations," Michiko said as V was surprised by this.
"So, you were working with the government against your own family?" V asked.
"Yep, it was a deal with President Kress. After the bombing at Arasaka Tower, Arasaka was blamed for it. I was a scapegoat and I had cut a deal with the NUSA. Keeping my VISA while working to stop my grandfather's empire," Michiko said.
"Got you by the balls too huh?" V asked.
"Yes, but I found out all of my family's evil deals and all the black projects like Soul killer and Blackwall research. In the end, I wanted to bring them down on my own will," Michiko said.
"Interesting, what about Danger Gal? What happened with that?' V asked.
"President Myers is what happened. After she became president she cut off all operations due to be me having ties with Arasaka via family connections with one of the factions in the company dubbed Hato aka Dove in English. I was forced to go back to the company and use my maiden name, I used to be Michiko Sanderson," she said as V sighed at this.
"Myers always fucks everything up," V said.
"I share in that fuckery. So, I used the Hato to keep to my original objective to make Arasaka not a threat to the world by becoming its CEO. You heard about the Hato faction?" she asked.
"Yeah, Goto told me about it," V said.
"I see, the Hato wants to reform Arasaka and bring it into a peaceful company. Cutting out the corporate wars and nonsense like that but it's very militant. This faction has little power but I need to make a change," Michiko said.
"Reforming Arasaka, is it even possible?" he asked.
"We have to try if not many innocent people will die from my uncle's reckless behavior," Michiko said.
"Well, thanks for telling me. Arasaka trying to be decent is a hard thought to wrap around," V said.
"I do dirty work V but what matters is the reason why the hands get bloody in the first place. Thank you, this is a mutual partnership and I don't have any bad blood between us. I will contact you as soon as I find something of use," Michiko said cutting off the phone.
"Gee, things are getting crazier by the minute," V said as he was going to talk with Panam about this.
Back with Rebecca who came back into the trailer to see Cortez watching the news on his computer screen in his PJs as Klunk is recharging at his station dock. "Honey I am home," Rebecca joked as the two looked over to her.
"Everything checks out?" Cortez asked.
'Easy peasy. Got cyberware swapped out and updated. All clean," Rebecca said.
"Rebecca I want to ask you something," he asked as he liked her nomad outfit fitting her shapely pear figure pretty well.
"What is it big guy?" she asked.
"I want to take you on a date," Cortez said as Rebecca glowed in the face.
"A date?" she asked stunned by this.
"Yes after your 'gift' back at DreadZone. I wanted to gift you something by taking you out for dinner. I know this little diner some ways off and they serve some good food," Cortez said.
"Oh right, I have never been on a date before," Rebecca said.
"Well, there is a first time for everything. You coming or what?" he asked.
"Yes I will go on a date with you," she asked.
"Yes!" Cortez feels like he can dance but he quickly composes himself. "Right, of course," Cortez said as Rebecca giggled at this.
"Despite being a big guy, you can be quite adorable. Can't wait to eat out," Rebecca said.
"We had a long day, we should catch some sleep," Cortez said.
"Good, I need some shut up," Rebecca said as the sun was coming down onto the dusty NUS wasteland. "I am going to change, no peeking?" she asked in a flirty way wanting to dare them to peek at her body.
Cortez turns around to let her have her private time. She strips out of her nomad outfit to be bare naked wanting to trick him. "I am done," she said Cortez turned around to see his crush naked with a cheeky grin on her face.
"Oh, fuck Rebecca," he said as the sexy image of naked Rebecca burned into his mind.
"Oh, come on, you like this. You told me yourself to touch yourself at the thought of my body," Rebecca said.
"Yes your right, just being a gentleman now. Get ready seriously," Cortez said trying to his red face.
"Okay," she said to put on some underwear to pat her rear. "Okay for real this time," Rebecca said as Cortez turned around to see her in a white strapless bra and white panties hugging her curves.
"Pretty cute," Cortez said.
"Speaking of cute, nice PJs," Rebecca said as the big guy was wearing cloud-themed PJs.
"It's comfortable and clouds soothe me," he said as Rebecca found these cute giggles.
"Okay big guy, come on. Let's sleep and cuddle again please?" she asked as her big eyes made his knees weak.
"Okay, come on," he said as he pulled the couch out and got the bed out to get the covers and sheets along with the pillows. Rebecca crawls into bed along with Cortez to enjoy each other's company.
"This feels so nice," Rebecca said as she placed her head on his warm chest. He plays with her hair feeling how smoothy and silky it is.
"Okay, good night," Cortez said as they embraced each other feeling the warmth of the other.
"Good night," Rebecca said as the night came over the nomad camp.
Elsewhere Michiko is getting ready to leave but she overhears people outside. "Shit, they found me," she said as she is already in her gear to use her optical camo to vanish katana in hand.
The door busted open with Arasaka agents pulled up their guns seeing no Michiko anyway. "The traitor is not here," the agent said as Michiko was under the bed holding her blade ready to strike.
"Peekaboo," Michiko said as she swiftly got up and sliced his head off with blood shooting out of his exposed neck slot.
"You are dead meat," the agent aims their guns ready to fill her with holes.
"That's my line," Michiko activates her Arasaka Type 9 Sandevistan to appear like a blur behind the agents with the sword in hand. She taps the floor to deactivate the sandy as she manages to slash them over 100 times with them all turned into piles of gore.
She draws her custom Nue to head outside to see a bunch of agents and a van with a turret manned by an agent. "I need to pick them off," she thought as she began to cloak and use her suppressed pistol to go to work taking out agents one by one.
"Why is she?" the agent moaned.
"She must be cloaked. Use a smoke grenade," she ordered as they tossed smoke grenades to see Michiko's outline in the grey smoke. "There she is," they open fire as she fires back killing them with clean headshots.
She uses her blade to deflect and block bullets with her supreme reflexes. She dashes forward and slices an agent in half while blasting another one with her custom Nue. The machine turret opens fire as Michiko backs away to use her Type 9 Sandy to dodge and rush at the gunner.
"Oh fuck, oh fuck," the gunner panics as Michiko leaps towards the gunner. She uses her katana to slice the turret and the gunner in half down the middle.
"Shit, she is insane," the sharpshooter said as they train their sniper rifles are her.
"Doesn't matter, her uncle wants her dead," the three sharpshooters aim their shots with Michiko noticing them as she rolls away from the powerful long-range shots. She filled out her Nekomata sniper rifle.
She lines up her scope and places swift accurate shots to land strikes on their heads seeing them explode like balloons. "Rookies," Michiko said as over 20 agents were dead on site. She gets into her motorcycle to speed off back to Night City to track down a mysterious killing.
Morning has come, Cortez is still asleep as Rebecca wakes up first to be greeted by Klunk. "Morning Miss Rebecca. Seems like you slept well," Klunk said as Rebecca let out a big yawn.
"Yep, I did. I need to get ready for our date today," Rebecca said.
'You seem pretty excited," he asked.
'Well yeah, I've never been on a proper date before. Those sexual meet-ups do not count," Rebecca said as getting courted by a pervy weirdo before getting plowed is not her idea of romance.
"Didn't think you were the romantic type," Klunk said in a backhanded way.
"The fuck that supposed to mean. I wanted to be treated like a lady sometimes," Rebecca said.
"Sure, I guess," Klunk still finds this hard to believe.
"I have a dress that will be perfect for this. You are going to help me set up," Rebecca said as Klunk nodded his head.
"Of course, I will support you, Miss Rebecca," Klunk being a good friend.
"Thanks, Buckethead," Rebecca said.
"No problem," Klunk said as the rest of the day was pretty calm. Cortez is on top of his trailer to look out into the wasteland to see if there are Wraiths or Bugs in sight. "Cortez, Rebecca is ready to go," Klunk said.
"Cool," Cortez said as he was already dressed up for the dinner date.
"she is looking pretty good Cortez," Klunk said as Cortez leaped onto the ground to open the trailer door to see Rebecca looking very lovely.
"Welcome there, how do I look?' Rebecca asked in an airy tone to reveal she was wearing a blue sundress fitting her body pretty well, her long hair was straight and silky and she put on purple lipstick on her lips making them more notable.
"Damn!" Cortez is dumbfounded at how pretty she looks. "You look great," he said as she put her hands on her hips to be proud of herself.
"I aim to please. Come on, let's go," Rebecca said.
"Have a good time," Klunk said as the duo got into the truck to head off to the diner.
"I told V and Panam about our outing. We are good to go," Cortez said.
"Looking cute there," Rebecca said as Cortez dressed in casual clothing consisting of a t-shirt with a logo of his favorite show Star of Outlaws, black pants, and blue sneakers. "Star of Outlaws?" she asked as the truck went onto the road.
"Yep, preem show. Trying to make it big in the universe yet fitting something more important," Cortez places his hand onto Rebecca's tiny hand holding onto it softly.
"Yeah instead of glory, he found love in its place," Rebecca said as they looked into each other's eyes for a moment but Cortez found the diner which is called Wasteland Feasts from the homemade sign on top of the building.
"Here we are," Cortez said.
"Looks very pleasant," Rebecca said as the duo came into the diner to see a bunch of people eating in booths.
"Hey there, welcome to Wasteland Feasts. Pick a booth, one of my waitresses will come to you soon," the owner said as the duo looked inside to see the wall looked pretty worn out but clean and comfortable. The smells of various dishes dance within the air as Rebecca takes in the scent for her nose is twitching with delight.
"Oh, this smells wonderful," she said as they picked a booth with them sitting opposite each other. They both look down to see a menu of several dishes.
"A good selection of foods," Cortez said as Rebecca raised her eyebrow in puzzlement.
"Some of these look interesting," Rebecca said.
"They have better stuff here than in the street-level stuff you get in the city," Cortez said.
"Indeed, we have good quality here," a friendly waitress comes in holding a tablet. "You ready to order lovebirds?" she teases them as they both glow red.
"Yes, I will have a buttered chicken cutlet with a side of mashed potatoes along with citrus tea," she said.
"What about you sir?" the waitress asked.
"I will have the grilled steak with mashed potatoes as well. Get me green tea for me," Cortez said as the waitress finished writing the orders in the notebook.
"Okay, I will bring your drinks first," she said to shortly come and go to bring them the glasses filled with tea. "Here you go, your food will be here shortly," the waitress said.
"Thank you," Rebecca said to see various families and couples enjoying the food around them. "Seems so cozy," she said.
"Indeed," Cortez said as they saw the waitress coming in with plates of warm food.
"Enjoy," she said as the duo looked on to see how good the food was.
"This is good," Rebecca said as she took her fork to take a bite of her cutlet making her mouth explode with flavor. "Wow, this is pretty good, how about you?" she asked as Cortez took a bite from his steak to instantly like it.
"This beef is great, told you this place's great," Cortez said as he continued to eat it down.
"It's very fresh," Rebecca said.
"Yeah people can get the real deal. Its fucking expensive in the cities but out here people make their farms and sell them on local markets. Panam wants us to grow our food and raise animals. She has big plans for our clan," Cortez said.
"Sounds good, we are in good hands," Rebecca said.
"Indeed, we are," Cortez said as they enjoyed their meal with Cortez dropping his fork under the table. "Oh shit, I dropped it," Cortez said going under the table to try and find it to look upon something pleasant like her thick thighs and her panties. "Wow," he thought staring under her dress.
"They are pink silk Cortez, you like them?" she asked in a flirty tone as Cortez bumped his head against the table with Rebecca giggling at this.
"Oh, I wasn't looking," Cortez said trying to be defensive but Rebecca saw right through that. He comes back up with his fork to see the shortie blushing from this.
"If it's you, I don't mind if you were peeking under my skirt," Rebecca said placing her hand on his own to look deep into his eyes.
"Rebecca," he said sounding speechless looking at this beautiful creature for she is too good to be true.
"So do you do other missions besides the one where you save me?" she asked.
"Well, there is one big one helping V and Panam in the Crystal Palace but I will tell you another time," Cortez said.
"You guys have been in some tough situations," Rebecca said.
"You don't know the half of it. I helped the others secure the dig site while V, Panam, and the old leader went into Arasaka Tower. Crazy stuff," Cortez said.
Soon enough they finish their meals and pay for them to go outside to see the sun setting on the horizon. "Well looks like our date is over," she said feeling a bit sad.
"Yeah it was wonderful," Cortez said.
"Indeed," she said taking his hand to pull him in to kiss him on the lips not hiding her feelings anymore.
"Rebecca," Cortez said as she pulled him into a hug.
"I like you ever since you saved me. You are a good kind man, which is becoming rarer these days," she said with her feelings pouring out for Cortez to see as he returned the hug.
"Yeah, ditto. You are a good woman, Rebecca," he said as Rebecca was self-conscious about this.
"Why me of all people that you picked? I am not typical girlfriend material," Rebecca said.
"Well, you are funny, exciting, bright, full of energy, and sweet among other things. You are ride or die woman which is something I deeply value. You are my kind of girlfriend," Cortez said as Rebecca wanted to crack a smile.
"Very smooth big guy," she said as she was happy this was turning out better than she thought. "You gave me a second chance to live a new life and I am glad to share it with you, Cortez Black," she said to give him an even deeper kiss to fully embrace him to get on her toes to reach higher.
Rebecca's heart is racing and her face turns completely red for she submits to him fully.
"I am so happy, I will not let you and the others down," Rebecca said as they broke off their embrace while holding hands.
"That's my girl. Come on, let's go back home," Cortez said.
"Yes, our home," Rebecca said as she felt so happy to find a place where she belonged.