Spare

Each job requires the right tool. That's what Viktor had always believed. A screwdriver for a screw. A scalpel for flesh.

Removing a cyberdeck should not require a rotary cutter, and yet somehow it did today, since this one was partially welded to the ports, and this felt wrong to Viktor on way too many levels. "'I think it doesn't work' my ass", he thought. But in his field of work, it was important to stay calm and professional.

"Well, kiddo, I have bad news for you. Your cyberdeck is toast. I'm a ripperdoc, not a magician. We'll have to get you a new one."

Motoko waved her hand.

"Oh, that's fine, I brought a spare!"

Pulling an oddly looking cyberdeck from her pocket, Motoko presented it to Viktor, making a thumbs-up gesture with another hand. Squinting a bit, Viktor could barely make out dark brown spots on it. This deck was in someone's head before, and it wasn't removed by a ripperdoc. An uncomfortable suspicion was slowly crawling into Viktor's mind.

"And where did you get a spare cyberdeck?"

"From under the bed!" chirped Motoko happily.

Viktor slowly raised his brow at her, focusing all his dad energy into a singular piercing look of parental disappointment. She twitched a bit under pressure.

"Yeah, I know it sounds crazy. I was, like, 100% sure it was in the drawer! That's some mystery shit right here, so I blame my Tachikoma."

Viktor added a frown to his expression. It was super effective.

"A-and before that, I found it in a landfill. I'm honestly not a scav!" added Motoko hastily, raising both hands in a placating gesture. To Viktor's surprise, this sounded like truth.

"And the previous owner?" he just had to confirm.

"Oh, he's dead since, like, twenties, before I was even born. Well, depending on your definition of dead," Motoko took a pause, thinking about her own unique circumstances, "and I guess also your definition of me being born, but anyway, he was just frozen for a while, and... Vik, please stop, I'm this close to calling you my dad, and it would be really weird and awkward."

"Hmpf," hmpfed Viktor and toned down the stare, "All right, let me just check if everything is alright with it," he said poking the deck with a multitool.

"Wait, don't-"

Something exploded inside Viktor's multitool, emitting a thin stream of nasty-smelling smoke. Viktor glanced at Motoko from under his brows. Critical hit.

"Eep!" eeped Motoko, reflectively hiding behind the chair. "Look, dad, it has some... ehh... anti-tamper protection, but I'll be fine, I promise! I'm basically a goddess of hacking now, so I'm almost 90% sure it won't fry my brain! Wait, did I say 90? I mean 99! Yeah, basically 100% sure I won't die, probably."

Viktor scowled.

"Eep!"

Viktor wasn't sure how he ended up agreeing after another ten minutes of this nonsense. He could recall pretty much the entire conversation, and the outcome still made no sense to him. In the end, he sort of gave up to his parental instincts, and... wait, that wasn't okay, was it? Did his ultimate technique backfire on him?

Viktor sighed. What's done is done. All he had to do now was to push the deck into the slot, and... well, he had to trust his daughter a little bit after all.

He pushed the deck.

The power in his basement went out.

Viktor sighed.

"Viktor!" he heard Misty's voice from above. She sounded afraid.

He tried to message her, but his OS reported a lack of signal. He inhaled.

"What is it?"

"I think..." Misty's voice was shaking "I think the power went out."

"I know!"

"No, like... everywhere. Viktor, I'm scared."

Viktor straightened up and looked around. Everywhere he looked was pitch-black, and only muscle memory led him safely toward the entrance. He took Misty's shaking hand and walked outside.

Synthetic eyes were much faster to adapt to low-light conditions, but even they were struggling to make out any shapes in the complete darkness. No neon lights, no shining vending machines, no music blasting from every corner. A few people outside were looking up. He did the same, and for the first time in his life, he saw the stars in the night sky from within the city.

"Hey! Stop that, you gonk!" that sounded like Motoko's voice coming from his basement, "No, fuck you, if you are going to live here rent-free, abide by the ground rules!"

Suddenly, the city lit back up. Block by block, the power was returning.

"That's better. Do that again, and I'm getting you an asshole roommate with an ego the size of an Arasaka tower."

Motoko emerged from the basement, waving her hand to Vik and Misty.

"Kid, who were you talking to?" carefully asked Viktor.

"Oh, no one in particular. All right, thanks a ton, see ya!" Motoko almost took a running start.

"Wait, Motoko, you can't-" tried Viktor, but he was too late to catch the running kid.

"Sorry, gotta go fast! The net is not gonna surf itself!" she shouted over her shoulder before disappearing around the corner.

Misty kicked Viktor's shin.

"She'll keep doing stuff like this unless you put your foot down," she said, shaking her head.

"W-what?"

"Your kid's gonkiness is your responsibility!" declared Misty and walked back indoors.

Viktor stood outside, completely lost. Looking up, he couldn't see the stars anymore, but he prayed to them anyway to give him strength.

He felt he was going to need it.