Never Fade Away: Outsider No More (ch. 59) (Patreon)

The fleet tried to scramble to save itself, but I took the time to hunt them down. I hadn't realized it then, with the chaos of the battle, but there were precious few Turians actually on the ships themselves. There were still some, of course, but just enough to have the fleet function enough to fight back. The fleet, and the fighters, were largely controlled by military VIs. All to sell the image that I had been fighting against their full fleet.

The Turians themselves were likely with the various armies they had scattered about on Earth. The invasion had been sloppy and ill prepared, but my destruction of the fleet was anticipated. The fighting was fierce and still ongoing, but for the most part the Turians were looking to concentrate and fortify the gains that they had made. Europe and Eastern Europe were mostly under their control -- they broke the backs of the resistance. They already had Japan under their thumb, and they had taken bites out of China and India, and secured a foothold on Africa.

The NUSA was spared, mostly because it was a lesser priority and it was too close to me personally.

The Smasher Units had taken a wrecking ball to the balance of power, but there seemed to be some infighting. Smasher was known for his collateral damage, and he hadn't spared the Turians of it either. A curious thing that they kept that part of his personality. I figured Saburo would have edited it out for the sake of convenience.

In short, roughly eight hours after the renewed invasion began, both sides stalled out. The Turians didn't dare press the attack without their air superiority and humanity was left reeling from getting their teeth kicked in. I'm sure if I checked my inbox I'd find thousands of messages begging to make something to deal with the Smasher units and most people were unaware that I already had.

David was a match for Smasher. He’d won the battle against the unit he faced, even if it was closer than anyone would prefer. I just needed to go over the battle data to see what tweaks I could implement. Ideally something that could hard counter biotics. Either way, it was a project for a later time because, as it was, I did have larger concerns.

The Council just got a good look at what I was capable of, and if they were going to push the issue, then they would get ready for it. I expected that soon enough, there would be enough ships to block out the stars showing up on our doorstep. And as far as I saw it, I could counter that one of two ways, and I wasn't entirely sure which one I favored more. Or… I could try my hand at both.

I could crush the fleet before it arrived, or I could bolster Earth's defenses. For now, humanity has once again gained control over their skies and space. They also had my knock-off fabricators and recyclers -- if we worked on the scale of them, then we could print out a fleet. And maybe lay out a welcome mat the next time they came through the mass relay. Though it would probably be best if we dealt with Smasher first. I didn't like the idea of one of him kicking around, much less the odd three hundred that had been reported.

Leaving the tattered remnants of the fleet in space, the Swordfish breached the atmosphere as I made my way back home to Night City. There was a lot on my mind as I saw the sights -- the world, for the most part, would be mourning, but I already saw people celebrating in the streets of Night City. And I…

I felt good. A warm feeling resided in my chest as I flew down to the docking bay, hitting the button for the PYM Particles to shrink the ship down as I slid through the vent I had set up to take me down into my lab. Settling down on the docking bay, the clamp took hold of the Swordfish, and I got out, jumping down onto my desk which seemed like a vast plain at this size. Johnny appeared not a second later, walking beside me.

“Birds of a feather,” Johnny remarked, sounding entirely too pleased with himself.

“I don't like birds,” I replied, not even sure where he was going with the train of thought. And I didn't mean the Turians, though I didn't really like them either. The little that I saw of actual birds in the garden on the moon painted a pretty annoying picture.

Johnny didn't miss a beat, “Peas in a pod then. Point is, I get it,” Johnny said, glancing my way and tilting his aviators down the bridge of his nose. “There's nothing like having an enemy, is there? Especially when you're putting your boot right up their ass.” As he spoke, the PYM Particles hit me and I began growing, and with a large step, I stepped off of the desk at full size.

I pursed my lips, “It'd be nice to put Arasaka down for good. But taking on a whole alien civilization?” I questioned, mulling it all over. I heard what he was saying. And he was right on the mark. I felt… good. Whole, in a strange way. Like I had a direction to go in, and like all the time up to this point, I had spent being listless. I'm not sure if that was a good thing. Actually, I'm pretty sure it was a bad thing, because it wasn't like I didn't have enemies before now.

“Don't have to beat them all. Just tear down their ivory towers with them inside,” Johnny advised. “And I think it's high time that you let me in on the action, you know?” He ventured as my gaze slid over to my work bench, my monitor ready for me to continue my work.

Johnny. It was well past time I got him out of my head, and I was pretty sure I had an inkling how. I just didn't have any charges spent on it. He seemed to sense my train of thought before sending a cocky grin my way, “I'm starting to think you don't want me to leave.”

To that, I snorted, turning my attention over to my desk to monitor the situation on the ground. “You grew on me. Like mold,” I offered in return, meaning it. I wasn't sure when exactly it happened but Johnny had steadily moved on from being an irritating voice in my head to giving solid advice that I could count on. I didn't agree with everything he said, but I found myself agreeing with him more often than not.

I wasn't sure if that was because of the personality bleed through or if it was just a case of shared experience and mutual enemies.

“Getting you out is something of a work in progress. If I'm lucky, I could fix my situation while I'm at it,” I muttered, pulling up various feeds. There were scattered reports about the Smasher Units -- including the one David destroyed, thirty of them had been taken out but the collateral was about as devastating as Smasher. There were even a few reports that some had gone rogue and given the taunting, I had an idea of where they were going. Smasher wanted round 3.

I would deal with him later. I was more interested in checking out who was dead in terms of leadership, and I saw that the leaders of most of the now conquered nations were still marked with green. It wasn't that much of a surprise -- I'd hardly expect them to put themselves on the line, the scum that they were. Instead of ivory towers, they traded them out for holes in the ground to direct everyone else to die in the name of the greater good.

“We have a window,” I muttered. Probably wouldn't be a big window, but even if it was only a couple of weeks, that was still something.

“To what end?” Johnny prompted, leaning against my desk with his arms crossed. “Won't change anything. Corpos are going to do what they do best and turn everything they touch to shit.”

“Dunno, and probably,” I admitted easily enough. “But… Not everyone will be coming with us, and the Turians did half the job for us. Maybe we could get the ball rolling.” I'm not entirely sure what I was talking about beyond distant aspirations and idle thoughts. “I have enough clout to bring everyone to the table. And at this point, they should know that the only shot they have of surviving what comes after is if they come together.”

There would be an ‘after’ to this war for Earth. If Earth lost then humanity became a client race to the Turians. If Earth won? That was up in the air. And there was precious little point in winning round one if the Council invaded again as soon as I was in the dirt. Meaning that Earth needed to become some kind of unified force to at least resist. Or something along those lines.

“And then?” Johnny prompted and I shrugged.

“It becomes horribly corrupt, and collapses like a house of cards? I don't know,” I admitted easily, and that was what bugged me. Becca had told me as much. Kiwi echoed the sentiment with her dying words. Corpos were just a symptom of the problem, and the problem was human nature. And I had no idea how I could beat human nature. I just knew that I had to do something, because I refused to leave behind any of my kids with a cluster fuck of a situation that was doomed for immediate failure the moment I left.

I just didn't know what that something was.

My thoughts drifted, mulling over the issue, and they were only interrupted when I felt an empty bottle hit me in the back of the head. Looking over dully, I saw Becca approach with a flat expression on her face. “Of course you would be here. You gave the birds a kick in the ass, handed humanity its biggest win yet, and you immediately went back to work,” she remarked dryly, sounding less than impressed.

“I'm making sure everyone else made it through. Kaiden, Jack, and the others are all fine,” I offered, my gaze flickering to her busted lip. I didn't know the cause, but I knew that she and Jack had gotten into a fight, and neither one of them would tell me over what.

Becca crossed the distance and pinched my cheeks, “You're very lucky that you're cute.” She informed me, making me cock an eyebrow, but she didn't elaborate. Then, however, she grimaced. “But that's not the case for everyone.”

“Being cute, or okay?” I prompted, reaching up, my prosthetic cupping hers on my face. Becca grimaced and I knew I had my answer. “Who?”

“Yorinobu,” Becca answered, her tone hesitant. Yorinobu? I just spoke to him with that cryptic message that he left behind. I opened my mouth to say as much, but Becca finished speaking.

“He's dead.”

…

8 hours prior.

It was truly incredible at how quickly things could spiral out of control, Yorinobu thought as he gazed out the window of his office. Which used to be his father's. An insult, Yorinobu was sure, but it did grant him an excellent view of Night City. For most of his life, change had been slow. A slow decline in the world and in human nature. It was the kind of gradual change that only became obvious when you looked back at the very start.

The world used to be alive. Vibrant. A robust ecosystem of plants, insects, and animals. For millions of years, that ecosystem endured even in the face of momentous setbacks and devastation -- asteroids striking the planet, ice ages, volcanic winters, and disease. And it took humanity all of eighty years to destroy it all.

“The operation is a go then?” Agent Songbird remarked lightly, co-opting one of his hologram projectors. An agent of the NUSA. A tedious but prudent alliance -- Yorinobu held no love for the nation, much less its president, but if his plans were to be enacted, then they were a necessary ally. To them, he was a conduit to L as Yorinobu helped lead Night City.

Around him, in the reflection on the glass, Yorinobu saw video feeds of the upcoming operation. It would go smoothly, Yorinobu anticipated. If only because L was in orbit, ready to pounce at the first sign of an issue. “It's already begun, Songbird-san,” he replied, not looking at her. “With the eastern seaboard liberated, joint operations shall be happening in short order. I trust President Myers is prepared?”

“Like she'd let a chance like this slip by,” Songbird-san was a poor agent, but an excellent spy. He knew of her before they officially met -- she was to President Myers what Adam Smasher was to his father. Far less known, but there were precious few Netrunners that could hope to best her in cyberspace. The fact that they were having this conversation at all was proof of that, since she had subverted his defenses to take control of the hologram. “A chance at a complete reunification of the good ol’ US of A.”

If America's founding fathers could see the desecrated carcass of the nation they founded, they would weep. The ideals of freedom and liberty, traded for stock exchanges and corporate interests. “With the success of the operation, I will put forth a proposal.”

“Will L be in on it?” Songerbird asked, and she did seem uniquely fixated upon L. Enough so to subvert President Myers and contact Yorinobu through back channels, spilling secrets and interests in the hope of an introduction. She didn't say it in so many words, but she didn't need to.

“I can make no promises, but it is likely. The Turians have awoken the sleeping giant,” Yorinobu replied with a tight smile. Just as the Japanese once did at Pearl Harbor -- completely ignorant of the mistake they had made. They did not fear the Americans because they believed that they had no reason to. Their generals and Emperor were fresh off of a victory against the Russians, and they believed that the same tactic would work -- entrenched defenses that would be too costly to overcome, and the distance would make logistics a nightmare.

Only too late did they discover their mistake, when the Americans taught his ancestors a new definition of war.

A mistake that the Turians had repeated, and even if Humanity did not win, L alone would ensure the Turians didn't either.

“Looking forward to it. Maybe this time I can meet him in person,” Songbird noted before the hologram winked out. Yorinobu gave no overt reaction, simply turning his attention to the holograms before his expression tightened as he realized why Songbird had left so abruptly. Adam Smasher. His father's Oni.

There was no mistaking him, even if his body had changed like one might change clothes. Yorinobu tensed, watching the battle unfold, but it was hardly the only matter that required his attention.

V was very good at what she did. Excellent, really. There was a good reason why his father chose her as one of the few that would vanish for the shadow organization that Arasaka had become. However, she had a weakness, though it was not one of her own fault. It was a weakness of his father -- after so many years fighting against him, after so many years living under his boot…

“Are you here to kill or capture me?” Yorinobu questioned, bring up up a glass of sake to his lips as V dropped the invisibility cloak and stepped out of the shadows. “I know my father and sister. They would not allow an opportunity like this to slip them by for a… hm… family reunion,” he answered her unspoken question.

V was silent for a moment and Yorinobu didn't look at her, simply gazing out at the city. Richard Night had been a visionary. A city that could have been a utopia if not for the petty greed of men. “Your sister wants you captured. Your father wants you dead,” she admitted after that moment.

Hm. “I thought I would die at the hands of Takemura-san,” Yorinobu admitted. If Adam Smasher was his father's hammer, then Goro Takemura was his scalpel.

“You don't need to,” V offered, her tone decidedly indifferent. “I'm sure he's lining up a shot as we speak, but if you come with me, you'll live.” Most likely. His sister was one of the precious few that could get their father to listen or go against his own wishes. She’d talked Saburo out of killing him once, and she likely could do so again.

The mercy that his father gave him was not a life worth living.

When Yorinobu spoke, it was not to V. He made a call, all the pieces for this moment lining up. It only took a moment for L to answer, and their was precious little time to speak. So much needed to be said. So many things that he wanted to say.

“L-san,” Yorinobu began, “You will receive an offer from the Turian Admiral shortly. I'm calling to tell you that there is no need. I am taking care of it. You'll know what I mean soon enough.” Short. Too short. But it was what he needed to know. He ended the call and finished his cup of sake, gently placing it upon a shelf before him.

“How do you know that?” V questioned and it was only then that Yorinobu turned to face her. She was uneasy.

“I was in the meeting when we first discovered that we were not alone in the galaxy,” Yorinobu replied, taking a seat behind his desk. “My father made his preparations. I made mine.” He couldn't answer any further, else he would tip his hand. V's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and Yorinobu knew she felt the winds shifting. An opportunist. A clever one, but an opportunist all the same.

She waited until the very last moment to throw all of her support behind the winning side. And this was that moment.

“L-san has the power to remake the world, he simply needs the will to do so. My part in this game was to help clear the way for him,” Yorinobu said, offering a thin smile. V's gaze flickered to the sake cup behind him in suspicion and his smile grew a fraction more.

All the more when the video feeds began to show L attacking the Turain fleet and crushing them quite handily.

“You never had any plans to be taken alive,” V acknowledged.

Yorinobu nodded, “I will not submit to my father once more.” V held his gaze for a moment before her hand went down to the pistol at her hip. His smile didn't waver even as she drew it.

“In the head, if you would be so kind. I have no interest in becoming a ghost in a box,” Yorinobu requested, holding her gaze. It wasn't what he imagined, in the end. When he set out to destroy Arasaka from within, learning his lessons from Johnny Silverhand and Morgan Blackhand, he hadn't pictured that it would be like this.

Yet, all the same, even if it did not come directly at his hands, Yorinobu found no small amount of satisfaction that his father and his legacy would be destroyed by him.

After all, if a nuke could not destroy Arasaka… then one must become the bomb.

His smile never wavered even as he heard the gunshot that killed him.