Rastislav
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Chapter 5: Chippin' In
🕑 Added 2025-07-19 11:14:19 +0000 UTCAn: Was on a bit of a roll yesterday so you all get an early chapter. Praise be!
This work hath once more been looked over by our local gremlin, AliyaGenesis.
A bit of the ole' housekeeping before we begin.
After some consideration, the three chapter per week idea felt a bit off because I'd be giving one story far more time than the other so I settled on a bit of an amended schedule (for now)
The cost of which being I am going to lower the minimum chapter length by like 500 words or something.
Anyway!
Mondays and Thursdays are going to belong to Shiny And Chrome
Tuesdays and Fridays are going to belong to Sorcerer's Tale
Feels a lot more fair and balanced, as all things should be.
That aside, this here shall be the last chapter of the dreaded Nugget Arc!
Rejoice and celebrate for the time hath come
to strip ourselves of the weakness of the flesh
--------------
My worry only grew as the hours flew by, and mom failed to answer my calls.
Until finally, I could not wait anymore.
Uncaring for the annoyance it would bring me, i opened my contact list and fired off a message.
[Magos: Yoko, need a favor.]
Not five seconds passed before the answer came.
[TheGreatYokoSama: What is this? Proud Maggy-chan running to his great senpai for help? Hmmmm, why should I help you after you broke my poor maidenly heart so many times?]
Uncaring for her nonsense, I pressed on.
[Magos: My mother is an Edgerunner, works mostly for Regina Jones around Kabuki. She left for work two days ago and hasn't shown up yet. I need you to either get me into contact with the Fixer or find out where my mother is.]
'If she is even alive' A traitorous part of me whispered.
It took the netrunner a long minute to answer.
[TheGreatYokoSama: An Edgerunner? You are not an idiot Magos, you know what probably happened.]
Now you decide to be serious?!
[Magos: Yes, I am aware. And I am still asking for your help.]
[TheGreatYokoSama: It won't come cheap.]
Good thing I had a good twenty thousand eddies stashed then.
[Magos: What is your price?]
The instant I sent the message her answer was already there.
[TheGreatYokoSama: You must visit my shop in person! I know all of my customers and you are the only one who refuses to meet me.]
Immature little-
Fine then, no point in hiding it anymore.
[Magos: I am physically incapable of leaving my room.]
[TheGreatYokoSama: ...Oh.]
[Magos: This should solve itself soon enough. I can come and 'pay tribute to the local kitune menace' soon enough, if that is still your price.]
[TheGreatYokoSama: Damn kid, way to make me feel like shit.]
And now she is going to drain me for all I am worth. Fucking panic response.
[TheGreatYokoSama: I will help you, no need to worry about that.]
What?
[TheGreatYokoSama: I will still be expecting that visit though.]
[Magos: .....Fine, here are the deets.]
I sent her my mother's info, fully expecting she'd instantly backtrack it to find out more about me.
[TheGreatYokoSama: ...]
[TheGreatYokoSama: how are you even- No, never mind. I will come back to you with an answer as soon as I can.]
[Magos: Thank you, truly.]
She did not answer.
Hopefully she would not spread too much of my personal data around, even if I knew that expecting that in Night City was pure idiocy.
Call the Fixer yourself, you say?
I obviously already had her contact information.
But things didn't work like that.
You couldn't even request a job from the top dogs without someone referring you to them, or if you weren't a member of their community in the case of Padre or El Capitan.
Me being the son of a merc in their employ? Completely irrelevant unless we were already introduced. And mom was not stupid enough to go around spreading information about me.
Thankfully despite my panic, I still had the good sense not to try and go through Wakako.
Bugbear's warnings were not wrong, and some snooping of my own confirmed the old Tiger Claw black widow had quite the reputation, despite her generally honorable dealings with her mercenaries.
My desire to be free trumped everything, even if I would not make peace with that fact for a very long time.
I shook those thoughts away and looked to my servo arms.
I had hoped to be fully ready before I took the plunge but now it was time for a trial by fire.
The Ripperdoc
"Keep those feet moving" Viktor scolded as he threw a flurry of blows at his sparring partner, the larger man failing to fully fight him off as he grunted in pain "You can't just tank everything, Jackie. We've been over this."
The younger man stepped away and scratched his head "Ah c'mon Vik, cut me some slack."
"Still thinking about your input?" Viktor calmed his breathing and started removing his boxing gloves.
"Reading me like a chip here, homes" Jackie Welles chuckled and shook his head "I know splitting up was the right choice but... Still miss the crazy cabrona."
Vik huffed "You'll get over her, she wasn't good for you."
"I know, I know" Jackie slumped down on a stool "Mi Mama liked her though."
"She will get over her too" Vik chuckled and took his own seat, side-eyeing his computer screen for appointments "How's work?"
Jackie shrugged "It's going. Been doing bitch work for Padre, building my rep. But its just courier runs or threatening dumb kids-"
A sudden ringtone in his Neural Link made Vik raise his hand "Hold on, I need to take this."
Jackie waved for him to go ahead, picking up a bottle of bear without a care.
[Vik: Hey kid.]
[M: Dr. Vektor. I am in need of your expertise.]
[Vik: No need to be so serious. Always happy to help.]
[M: I am afraid the situation is quite serious. My mother has not returned from her work, and I am pretty sure you know what that means.]
The sudden look of pity on Vik's face made Jackie give him a questioning look but the Ripperdoc waved him down.
[Vik: Shit kid, I could ask around, see if anyone saw anything-]
[M: Already doing that on my own, Doctor. I am calling you for another reason.]
Viktor straightened in his seat [Vik: How can I help, kid?]
[M: I can no longer sit and do nothing while the word destroys all I love. It is time for me to chip in.]
'Of all the idiotic overreactions-'
[Vik: Kid, what the hell are you talking about? You know your body can't take any chrome-] Viktor grew heated at what he saw as a desperate child killing himself but his next words completely dumbstruck him.
[M: I need you to perform a Biopod insertion for me.]
Viktor was not a slow man by any means, but even he was left stunned by the request. The very idea anyone outside the Corpo Plaza even knew what a Biopod was, much less got their hands on one was ridiculous.
Especially since it was coming from a kid like Michael...
Except he wasn't a simple kid, was he?
[M: I have the entire Full Body Conversion prepared, all I need is for someone to perform the operation.]
Finally finding his voice, Viktor answered [Vik: I can't help you kid. I... I'm just not good enough.]
This did not deter him in the slightest.
[M: You don't have to be. All I need are your steady hands, I have all the necessary instructions prepared already. You are the only Doctor in this damned city worth the name, please Vik.]
'Damn kid, pulling at my heartstrings.' Viktor sighed [Vik: And what if I make a mistake and you die? You want me to carry you on my soul for the rest of my life?]
[M: If I die, I will have died due to my own failure to prepare. If you do not try, the woman who has sacrificed everything so I could live will disappear into the pits of this damn city like so many others.]
[M: The choice seems simple to me.]
"Fuuuck" Viktor groaned [Vik: You sure you have everything.]
[M: All the medication and tools are ready. We just need to discuss the price.]
[Vik: Don't bother] He answered immediately [Vik: Svetlana is a friend, and don't try and pretend you don't know where your spare unused cyberware goes. You are a good one, kid.]
[M: ...You truly are unique in this place, Doctor.]
'He probably won't let that go' Viktor shook his head [Vik: I will be there soon. Check everything again just in case.]
[M: Of course.]
Jackie saw Vik's eyes stop glowing and perked up "What was that about?"
"An emergency came up" Viktor answered as he got up and started packing "Need to make a house visit." He flicked a call to his sometimes-assistant [Vik: Misty, please cancel any appointments for today.]
[Misty: Sure thing, doc. Want me to reschedule them?]
[Vik: Yeah, and give them my apologies.]
"Need any help, Vik?" Jackie asked, already getting up as well.
"No need, Jack." Viktor shook his head "Just going to H11, shouldn't be much trouble."
"Eh, come on, Vik" Jackie spread his arms "You know the Tigers have been acting up around Kabuki recently, let me drive you there at least, just in case?"
Viktor didn't answer immediately, doing a quick scan on his implants before shrugging "Alright fine, you can come and show off your irons."
"Hehe, thanks Vik" The Latino laughed "I'll go grab my Arch."
Minutes later, the two of them were hurtling through the streets of Watson on Jackie's bike, breaking multiple traffic laws as the Ripperdoc kept telling the aspiring Solo to slow down.
"Afraid of a little speed, Vik?" Jackie yelled over the wind.
"I will show you speed you little-" He grumbled good naturedly and tapped his back "Seriously now, slow down, we are almost there."
The looming megabuilding was impossible to miss, and soon the two found themselves exiting the elevator on the 16th floor, though both found the floor to be almost suspiciously peaceful.
"What's with this place?" Jackie muttered as he saw a bunch of people going about their day.
"See that?" Viktor pointed at a nearby graffiti.
Jackie raised an eyebrow and quickly noticed that there were a lot of tiny golden eyes graffitied all over the place, subtly placed but almost impossible to miss no matter where you looked.
"My contact's handywork." Viktor explained as he waved for him to follow "Scary netrunner, even with second generation gear. Anyone tries anything on his floor? They get fried."
"Sheesh, homes" Jackie whistled "And we are going to visit him?"
"Not sure if I should bring you" Viktor answered after a brief silence, before lightly shrugging "Guess he will decide on his own."
The ex-Valentino huffed, mildly annoyed.
Soon enough, they reached a crook in the hallway, revealing a large pair of double doors that looked to have been reinforced to hell and back.
Before Jackie could so much as twitch, two turrets deployed from above them, looking like jury-rigged Defender light machine guns with extra armoring around them.
Realizing he couldn't get out of the way, Jackie didn't try to reach for his Unity and instead rose his arms in surrender "Hey, uh Vik. What the fuck?" He hissed.
A voice rang out from a nearby intercom [Doctor Vektor, this man with you?]
"Yeah, kid. No need to play tough." Viktor chuckled.
The turrets retreated back into the ceiling and the voice rang out again [Apologies for that, you can never know in this city.]
Ignoring the sweat pouring down his back, Jackie chuckled awkwardly "Yeah, I get it. Can't ever be too careful."
[Words to live by] The voice remained flat [You trust him, Doctor?]
"He is a good kid" Viktor smiled "You going to let us in?"
[Certainly, my apologies.] The intercom buzzed and the doors opened, first horizontally, and then vertically.
Jackie felt a buzz in his Neural Link, nearly startling before a call he didn't answer opened up on its own.
[M: Jackie Welles, I thank you for escorting the Doctor. His help is essential to me.]
Before he could tell the bastardo to stop jerking him around, Jackie felt another buzz and saw five hundred eddies be deposited into his account.
He kept muttering curses in Spanish for a good ten seconds.
"Uh, kid?" Viktor's voice drew him from his stupor "You sure you want him in here?"
[You trust him enough to bring him here, and that means he is worthy of trust.]
The two men shared a quick look, Jackie's expression turning just a touch teasing then.
The doors to the sole other room in the apartment opened up, and they were both treated to a distinct smell of a bootleg hospital and mechanical workshop in one.
The moment Jackie stepped in though, he could only focus on one thing, as he saw the face of Vik's contact. He flinched and hissed "Puta madre..."
[I trust that insult was not directed at me?] The mechanical voice came from the deformed ball of meat that sat in a tall medical chair, multiple cables and tubes attached to him and flowing into boxes of machinery.
"Shit, homes" Jackie flinched "Sorry."
[It is fine.] Was the simple answer [Doctor, a datashard on the operation is on the table.]
"And the... body?" Viktor asked hesitantly, taking the shard in question and inserting it into one of his Neural Ports.
A robotic arm attached to the chair whirred and pulled at a nearby plastic tarp, revealing a tall and distinctly robotic dark steel cyborg body, without a trace of RealSkinn in sight.
It was seven feet tall, and not particularly bulky despite its probable weight. The legs and arms were just slightly longer than they would normally be in proportion, and the head was just a blank plate in the shape of a cranium, lacking a visible mouth, and interrupted only by a pair of rectangular nostrils and currently offline optics.
But most important of all a complex brain-shaped box with hundreds of tiny needles facing inwards sat atop it, looking like the product of a mad scientist who took inspiration from a horror show.
[As you can see, I have prepared all the necessary hardware, and software. All that remains is the operation.] The chair-bound man's blank voice drew them out of their wonderment.
"You sure you don't want to make it more human?" Viktor asked worriedly.
[Even if I wanted to it is too late to back down now. Besides, as you can guess I hold no grand attachment to my meat body so I suspect I will have no issues with much dysmorphia. I can always just add the skin later if this proves incorrect.]
"If you are sure..." Vik muttered.
Jackie shuffled on his feet "You sure you should be taking this choom seriously Vik? No offense hermano but you don't look like much of a ripper to me."
"Michael here is probably knows more about cyberware and its effects than anyone in the city." Viktor chuckled as he started checking over the tools on offer "Don't let his look fool you, if he wasn't stuck to that chair, he'd be ten times better than me."
Jackie whistled and directed the... thing with a surprised look "Don't let me interrupt you two then."
Viktor huffed "Right-" Just as he was about to keep the banter going, his overview of the operation reached a certain point "Mike." He suddenly said seriously.
[Doctor?]
"You want me to directly inject your brain with experimental nanites?" The Ripperdoc asked gravely.
[Correct.]
"You do realize this is likely to keep you conscious throughout the operation?"
[An unfortunate side effect. But needs must. The brain cannot survive outside the body for long enough otherwise.]
For the third time in a short while, Jackie found himself completely baffled by Vik's mysterious contact.
Viktor looked at the malformed ball of flesh and sighed "Don't die, kid."
[Pain is an old friend, Doctor.]
Without a further word, Viktor tossed a can of disinfectant spray to Jackie, and got to work.
Michael Sobronov
The waves of what felt like eternal agony retreated as the needles piercing what remained of my flesh settled into their new permanent place, numerous signals immediately buzzing through me as connection after connection was established.
Despite all of this, my focus remained, ready and waiting until the final step presented itself.
And when it came, I embraced it like long awaited salvation.
+++Omnissian.OS installation complete+++
[Cerebrum Mk1 Biopod implant detected... installation complete:
Full Technological Interface active, Seamless Connection Drive active, Heavy Duty Armoring active, Cerebrospinal Fluid Reoxidiser active, Neural Link active, EMP Nullifier active]
The pain and sense of wrongness disappeared as if they were never there.
[Umbra Mk1 Cyberdeck implant detected... installation complete:
20 Tb RAM active, High Speed Processor active, Direct Net Interface active, Self BlackICE active, Emergency Heatsink active.]
The familiar echo of the net settled back into its rightful place.
[Draco Mk1 Heatsink implant detected... installation complete:
Shredding Dentures active, Overclock Heat Expulsion Sink active]
[Occulus Mk1 Optics implant detected... installation complete:
16k Display active, 8x Zoom active, Mark Function active, Informational Interface active]
Data displays began rolling down my new sight.
[Aures Mk1 Audioreceptor implants detected... installation complete]
A muffled conversation became audible.
[Nasus Mk1 Nasal implant detected... installation complete]
Next came smells, clearer and far sharper than before.
[Thorax Mk1 Torso implant detected... installation complete:
Cyberlungs (12 hour reserve) active, Cyberheart active, False Marrow active, Redundant Circulatory System active, Medium Plating active, Gallus active, Titanium Skeleton active, Myomar Plastic Musculature active.]
[Devorator Mk1 Generator implant detected... installation complete:
Biogenerator active, High Filtration Cyberstomach active, Reserve Battery active]
[Vulcanus Mk1 Nanoforge implant detected... installation complete:
Metal Processing Plant active, Nanite Production Printer active, Reserve Processor active]
I felt my chest flinch upwards, before a breath so clear it must have come from a BD settled in my chest.
[Manibus Mk1 Arm implants detected... installation complete:
Dense Myomar Plastic Musculature active, Medium Plating active]
The tips of my fingers began tingling, first on my hands, and then on my feet.
[Pedes Mk1 Leg implants detected... installation complete:
Dense Myomar Plastic Musculature active, Medium Plating active]
[Homo Ferus Full Body Conversion installation complete.]
The disparate sea of signals slowly settled into their respective parts of my new being, my programming working without a singular stumble as I began feeling more and more complete by the second.
The commercial Biopod operation usually meant a twelve hour downtime so that the brain could adjust to its new state.
My insistence on the use of nanites meant I could feel my brain adjusting in real time.
It felt as if every second I spent awake I became greater than I ever was.
Something beyond the lump of flesh blessed with intellect.
Something beyond human.
A loud shudder spread through my entire being, and on instinct I did not know I ever had, I sat up and my eyes snapped open.
I felt lost, disoriented, the lack of pain and the ease with which I drew breath slowly throwing me into a panic as my brain began firing off signals it no longer had a recipient for.
A panic I would have succumbed to, if not for my sharp new Audioreceptors catching a worried "You ok, kid?"
The familiar voice centered me, and drew me back into focus.
I lowered my Optics' resolution to a tolerable level, and looked up to the Doctor.
"You hear me, kid?" Vik was waving his hand in front of me, while 'Jackie' was trying to pull him back with a worried look on his face "Michael?" The Doctor repeated.
Carefully moving my arms, I pushed against the metal slab I was laid on, and with a loud thunk I landed on my own two feet, the sudden and unusual movement nearly making me stumble onto the floor in my clumsy excitement.
But I grabbed my knees, first hitting them before grasping them, and looked up again "Me Doctor?" My audibly synthetic voice buzzed, feeling like music in my ears as I stood on my own power for the first time in my life.
"I have never been better."
The older man's grin nearly matched my own.
Something I almost regretted as I saw the Latino pale in fear.
I might have overdone it with the rows of jagged teeth, didn't I?
Comments
Scarletmenace
Praise the omnimichael!
Rastislav
Dude skipped the whole journey and went straight to cybernetic ascension
Albion gray Steel
so the only thing that organic he has is his brain and I cannot help myself but I imagining him as a tech priest only thing he needs is red Cloak
