Chapter 13

Whew, Maine and his crew were tough opponents, huh?!

The high command is overjoyed with what you could call a crushing victory—celebrate!

Anyway, enough of that farce. I’ve successfully made Maine’s group my own subordinates now.

Truth be told, the moment Faraday took notice of them was when their luck ran out. That guy’s just a small-time wannabe who got his brains fried from idolizing corps. In this Night City, the way someone dresses is like a mirror reflecting their psyche.

Those who think they’re still young wear revealing clothes—Rogue’s a perfect example. That "granny trying too hard" look, yet her anti-aging-maintained beauty shows she’s got confidence. From that perspective, Faraday’s a typical nouveau riche wannabe.

The romantic fool actually believes dressing fancy makes him worthy of being top dog. Look at Arasaka execs—they just wear high-end Devistech gear. But Faraday? The idiot crammed four Kiroshis into his skull. Shows how cowardly he is.

Only believes what he sees, refuses to trust anyone—that mindset comes from deep down. My guess? Probably clawed his way up from the slums. Spent his childhood idolizing corps, but since he couldn’t become one, getting tapped by Arasaka made him giddy.

Textbook small-timer. That’s Faraday the foolish fixer in a nutshell. Like how he personally shot Kiwi instead of delegating—total failure as a boss. Hell, does he even have subordinates? Always seen alone.

Which makes Kiwi the classic "bad boys" type. Jumping to care for Lucy? Probably into lazy guys. But anyway, let’s talk about how things wrapped up.

"Quitting the EMT job... for real?"

"Yeah... Well, after all this. ...Thank you. Really. You saved me."

"Don’t mention it. Like helping a friend’s mom. David, consider your debt squared."

"...Our favors are way lopsided already. Mostly me owing you."

"Ahaha... I’m glad. David found a good friend. Really... so glad..."

"Mom..."

After sending Maine’s crew off with a "keep your necks clean and wait for my call," Gloria woke up thoroughly disoriented by the location change.

But wrapped in her son’s arms, she calmed down completely. I explained everything: her illegal activities at the EMT center were exposed, David rescued her, the deal with Maine was settled amicably, and she was cleared to leave after treatment. Exhausted, she quietly regretted forcing her dreams on David before hugging him fiercely for minutes.

After calmly airing things out, David dropped out of the Academy to become... well, calling him a cyberpunk would worry her, so we’ll say "my assistant." Gloria decided to quit her illegal gigs. So like a hawk snatching fried tofu, I recruited her as a weapons shop clerk.

Too sudden? Here’s why: Most of my income comes from an underground weapons site. Through Finn’s connections, my custom arms sales are skyrocketing.

I figured why not get licensed, buy the neighboring place with cash, and expand? But I can’t run it alone—need someone trustworthy handling merchandise. Enter Gloria. Honestly, losing a weapon or two as "samples" is whatever, but strangers stealing them pisses me off. So I’m converting the shop’s back into living quarters for the Martinez family.

"...D-David?"

"Ah... yeah, I get what you’re thinking. But that’s just Jugra. She’s weirdly generous but sets high expectations. I say go for it."

"I see... Then I’ll accept. Though it’s been a while since I handled weapons..."

Their H4 apartment got locked down for unpaid rent, so I smoothed things with the super to retrieve their stuff. They’re staying with me until the gun shop’s ready next week.

That said... David still hasn’t realized I’m a woman. Even when we bumped into each other in the bathroom, he just went "my bad" and left. Granted, I had a towel over my shoulders showing only my back, but still. Gloria knows, though. She even fretted over my irregular periods—had me flustered.

"I always wanted a daughter. You can think of me as your mom."

How do you reject something that heartfelt? She suggested I dress more femininely, but I declined—back-alley rape incidents would be a hassle to clean up. I know I’m a tomboyish kind of pretty, but my gender’s... fluid, I guess? If I dress up, it’ll be unisex. Now the Martinezes assist me round-the-clock.

"...No blood? No handling filth? And it pays this well...?"

"Mom..."

Cue waterworks, but hey—mental peace is priceless. The shop’ll be pickup-only for online orders. With Legendary-tier gear starting at 50k eddies, direct sales are too risky.

Merged with my "Gracker" clinic exterior, the Tyger Claws’ rep will help. Custom orders could wait—cuts into my ripperdoc and personal time. Armadillo armor mods can come later. Got designs for Jackie too, but practicality steers toward specialty bandages—slightly off-brand.

That’s the update. Now for what’s next.

‘Jugra, seems you’re spreadin’ yourself thin, ain’t ya?’

"Wakako found out."

Turns out I’ve had some kind of surveillance—or maybe a bodyguard—tailing me. Combined with Maine’s recent visit, she’s pieced together enough to get suspicious.

So, in the spirit of "a lie is a necessary evil," I fed her some bullshit about "aspiring to be a fixer like her." Next thing I know, she’s handing me a list of gigs with a "Well, give it a shot."

What the hell am I supposed to do with this?

I mean, I could handle them all myself, but then I’d just be a solo merc, not a fixer. So my plan? Dump these jobs onto Maine’s crew, the Edgerunners, and toss David into the mix as both a trainee and a watchdog. Call it the "Cyberpunk Boot Camp Initiative."

Now I’ve got this shiny new title of "rookie fixer-in-training," and my days are packed—but weirdly fulfilling.

...Except then I find out one of these gigs involves tracking down V, who’s probably out there somewhere bonding with Jackie in their early-struggle days???

Ugh, I’m gonna work myself to death. But it’s gotta be done.

Problem is, the timeline’s a mess. David’s death happens a year before the game’s main story, but if Jackie’s "rise to fame" arc is right before the prologue, then V could be anywhere:

—Corpo V? Drowning in paperwork at Arasaka.

—Street Kid V? Running petty gigs in the gutter.

—Nomad V? Out in the badlands with the Bakkers.

And I’m supposed to find one person with just that?

Sure, if fate forces V and Jackie together like in canon, I could just watch Jackie and call it a day. But if word gets out that the Tyger Claws’ golden girl is stalking a solo merc, it’ll be war. Yeah, no. That’s a disaster waiting to happen.

Ugh, my own rep’s getting in the way. Even with these Ripperdoc eyes of mine, this is— [insert frustrated grumbling here].

"...Seriously, what am I gonna do? I already derailed the Edgerunners plot hard, but Night City’s a chaotic mess. Who knows how things’ll shake out now?"

The Cyberpunk: Edgerunners storyline splits into four arcs: Academy Days, Cyberpunk Initiation, Early Leader Phase, and Late Leader Phase. David’s already done with the first one (dropped out clean), so now we’re in the second.

Right now, he’s rocking a Sandy Mk.5 Warp Dancer with triple heat sinks and Byakko (Wakako’s "gift"—she even teased me about "finally finding someone worthy of lending my blade to"). As if I’d let a legendary katana like that gather dust.

Oh, and I might’ve slipped in a bioconductor, backup heart, and a biomonitor during the Sandy install. His survivability’s top-tier now.

"But what about humanity cost?"

Yeah, yeah—I thought about it. If the cyberware’s flawlessly integrated and only activates when he’s dying, does it even count as installed? Technically, he still thinks the Warp Dancer’s his only new implant.

Besides, I’m running a similar setup with zero cyberpsycho symptoms. So... no big deal, right?

[...Quietly relieved it didn’t backfire.]

To ease my conscience, I billed the Sandy’s cost to his "employer" (me). 10k eddies? Chump change. A few gun sales’ll cover it.

Tyger Claws get quality weapons, I get paid—everybody wins!

...Except now I have to pray this doesn’t screw over Jackie or maybe-existing V.

Maybe I should just scoop up Jackie too? Faster that way. But then Dexter DeShawn—that smug, small-dick gonk—might never enter the picture.

I want things to stick close to canon, but part of me just wants to burn it all down and give everyone a happy ending. Typical isekai dilemma.