— Atom —
"Why is this necessary?" I asked, growling under my breath.
"Pimp walk, Choom-daddy~! You need to practice your strut! Flex your shit, make it known, ya know? What's all our victory if you ain't showin' it loud and proud for the galaxy to see, hear, and fraggin' submit?" Becca chimed, pushing her idea hard.
It'd kinda come out of nowhere. But then, Becca had moments like that. She tended to keep her thoughts to herself. Until she didn't. Then, she wouldn't hesitate to smack you in the face with them.
That's how I found myself leading a fraggin' parade through the streets of Night City and Free Nar Shaddaa. Rorak 4 and 5 were supposed to be up next, too… Joy.
Sasha was all on top of Becca's idea for the Gonk-a-ganda value. She'd organized a pimp walk to remember, complete with Gonk vics and Gonks, Nomad vics and Nomads, ganger vics and gangers, Arasaka vics and Arasaka corpos, the Gonk Fleet flying about overhead, and Smasher and Shaitan's steel frames as escorts. It felt like the whole cartel and all our allies had turned out for the occasion, flexing their shit as was the Night City way.
I was currently sitting atop an armored speeder turned armored parade platform, all casual-like. The Core Crew was with me, with the Core Gonks on the parade platform behind us. Then, there were the head Nomads — led by Panam, atop a converted, freight-hauling speeder truck, the heads of the Night City gangs — each handling their presentation themselves to various fitting effects, the Freed in all of their freed glory, and even Saburo in an armored limo with the scene of him inside calmly taking his tea projected as a hologram above.
We cut a casual pace through the streets of Free Nar Shaddaa, welcomed and cheered for, with a party following everywhere we went. Some gathered on platforms up and down Free Nar Shaddaa's airways, and others rushed to find an open window to watch us from. Free Nar Shaddaa — all we'd won — had turned out for us.
There were fireworks and blaster bolt blanks — just light rather than damaging plasma — filling the air as we passed. There was music playing and bass bumping, songs chosen by Sasha synced across the whole parade. There was a feeling in the air, a feeling that we'd done this and that it was only right that we strut that.
I wasn't much for all this boasting and bragging, preferring to let my actions speak for me unless I couldn't avoid it. I'd given speeches and had my face (and more) broadcast across the galaxy, sure, but those were directed and purposeful. There were reasons for them, either threatening Hutts or declaring broken chains. The purpose of this parade wasn't so immediately obvious, not to me, at least.
That said, I would admit that there was… something… to strutting all we'd won, all we'd built and fought for. The Gonks had gone from taking over a single Hutt kajidic to zeroing slugs by the thousand, winning Night City and Free Nar Shaddaa behind us, breaking chains, standing free and sovereign, consolidating control, and expanding further still.
And I knew I was responsible for that revolutionary rise. Not solely, but I was certainly the driving, inciting force behind it all, the spiteful spark that set everything in motion and kept it rolling.
Without me, Sasha would be dead after the suicidal ending of her gig against CAP-com, and Gloria would be similarly flatlined, leaving David adrift. Maine almost certainly would've gone out in a chrome blaze of glory by now, no telling who he would've dragged down with him.
Podry would be dead in some nameless fighting pit, and millions of slaves would've met similar chained fates. Fay would still be wandering the galaxy, unaware of all she'd missed and how much she was needed. Aayla and Quinlan wouldn't be nearly so free to actually get shit done and help people.
The Core Gonks would still be languishing under Zorba and that late Hutt would still be plaguing the galaxy with his stupidity and kyber-spice. The Hutts would still be wholly crushing their personal slice of the galaxy beneath their cruel weight. Free Nar Shaddaa wouldn't exist, wouldn't stand free.
And beyond our corner of the galaxy, Padme wouldn't have had to confront the dark realities and allowances of her pacifism. Bail wouldn't have such a noble purpose for his hidden connections as the HUTT FILES. Ani and Obi-Wan wouldn't have visited the chaos in the Force here, wouldn't have had the chance to break their chains of fate. Mighty Leia wouldn't be nearly so free and able to act.
And more than all the rest… without me, Nova wouldn't have been conceived. The galaxy wouldn't have been blessed by her unique blend of Force and Net. And in my unbiased opinion, it would be lesser for that tragedy.
The daughter in question joined the parade as well, a hologram projected directly from the net. She'd been fully born to little fanfare. She already was; all that remained was to leave the womb of Lucy's lobby. She'd done that during the Uprising of Rorak 5 — her first act to zero a slug, doing her old man proud. Now, the net was open to her, and we'd put together a physical projector to allow her to join us in meatspace — her first public appearance in this pimp-walking parade. Understandably, shyness gripped her, though, so all she was willing to do was project herself in miniature on my shoulder.
"They love you, Father," Nova whispered to me.
"They sure seem to," I answered with a sigh. "I could do without the dramatics, though."
"Choom-daddy, everyone needs a good pimp walkin' strut. It's healthy, ya know, for your mental and your rep," Becca told me. "You've done a whole lot worth talkin' about. If you never act like it, enjoy your Legend instead of pushing for more and more, you'll burn the fuck out."
"I'm here, aren't I?" I grumbled.
"But are you having fun?" Becca pointedly asked.
"Don't know if I can, with something like this. Not my scene."
"Not even with your chooms by your side."
"… You all help, I'll say that. Without you, I wouldn't be entertaining this idea at all."
"Good thing we're here, then! You need this, Choom-daddy, no matter how much you try to deny it! Resistance is futile~!"
"Never," I shot back, challengingly. "I choose to go along with all of this theater. I could just as easily run and leave you gonks high and dry."
"You won't, though," Becca said with supreme confidence. "You can see the fun everyone's having, and you know all this is about you, so you won't ruin that for us. Just sit back, look pretty and preem as ever, and enjoy the flexing in good company~!"
I sighed and did just that. For a while, I sat there, almost a figurehead on our armored parade platform. Around me, the chooms enjoyed themselves, enjoyed the flexing culture they'd been born to. Becca planted herself firmly in my lap, grinning so wide that even the parade's witnesses could see it from afar. I couldn't tell if she was supposed to be my trophy here… or if I was hers…
Sasha danced like everyone was watching, 'cause they were. She was free with her movements and sex appeal, graceful and sensual. All shifting and swaying hips, hands drawn down her curves, and cyberkitty sex on two legs. She dragged Lucy up to dance with her. Rolling her eyes, but unable to hide the smile on her lips, Lucy joined Sasha in dancing for all to see. They showed that the Gonks weren't just power; we were sex and charisma and good times, too.
Maine, Dorio, and Gloria lounged toward the back of our parade platform, looking for everything like the content elders whose younger generation owned the world. They'd done their part, done their time, and now, in 'semi-retirement', they could safely boast that they'd paved the way for the rest of us to follow and begin changing the galaxy.
On the other main platforms of the parade, I could see De'vi and Podry standing at the head of the Freed. De'vi smiled and waved at everyone we passed, a ray of sunshine given Twi'lek form. Her shared star from Mighty Leia had never shined brighter, surrounded by her Freed siblings and strutting their freedom for all to see.
V made a show of bouncing between the various platforms in the parade. Acrobatics with deadly grace, she flipped from Saburo's limo across a series of Nomad vics to land on Smasher's steel frame. For her, the impressive movement looked as easy as walking over flat ground.
Ace pilots from the Gonk Fleet swooped above and even through our parade when the airways were spacious enough to accommodate their daredevil flying. It could've gone wrong so easily. It didn't. Our Gonk pilots were that good, from Nomads born to their vics to corpos with the very best chrome and training. They screamed through gaps in the parade, flexing their skills in an air show to remember.
Holographic giants marched with us, projected from vics rebuilt for exactly that purpose. Each of them screamed Gonk, however they could. Some by way of Night City, modeled with visible chrome and cyberpunk fashion. Others, by way of the Freed, adorned with broken chains and halos of shining stars for all to see. A few more still projected scenes instead of holo-models; scenes from the Gonk Rise, with slugs zeroed by steel, gigs from the Hutt Hit List, slaves rising to break their chains, and embarrassingly enough, my own public broadcasts — from my naked declaration of war to my victory speech for Free Nar Shaddaa and glaring reassurance that I was still coming for the Hutts.
All of this was theater, sure, but that didn't make it any less impressive, because anyone could see that none of it was fake. This was no empty boast or bravado, no wannabe gonk trying to make themselves seem bigger and harder than they actually were. This was the Gonk movement — the impossible done to make a Legend and now strut that shit, too. A pimp walk earned through blood and revolution and Spite.
'There's definitely something to Night City's rep culture,' I thought. 'At the very least, it's never dull to watch in action.'
Half to my relief and half to my disappointment (pimp walkin' wasn't that bad, I found, but it was dragging on longer than I would've liked…), the parade was eventually interrupted. Free Nar Shaddaa was happy to watch the Gonks strut and celebrate with us, but the rest of the galaxy hadn't gotten the memo that we were taking the day off to flex.
Familiar visitors — Ani and Padme, by the feel of their Force presences — returned to Free Nar Shaddaa in style. I sensed them before I saw them, but Padme's sleek silver ship soon came to follow the parade from above the tops of the airways.
The Gonk Fleet naturally fell into an escort formation around the silver ship. I got a comm message from the escorting Gonk fighters not long after that, telling me that the familiar visitors needed to see me and that it sounded urgent. The parade, and the party that came with it, would continue past Ani and Padme's return, but I took the excuse to shift from flexing… back to business.
IIIII
"We need your help," Padme said immediately, not even waiting for me — or Fay, Aayla, and Quinlan, having joined me upon sensing Ani's return — to sit down.
"We don't need it…" Ani grumbled. "… But yeah, it would be… appreciated."
"What happened, then?" I asked.
"Master went and got himself captured," Ani said, rolling her eyes. "He was tasked with investigating Dooku for being a Sith last week. And yesterday, I received a broadcast from his distress beacon. He's been captured. And we need to rescue him."
"We?" I asked, raising a brow. "What's in it for me?"
"Don't start-!" Ani began with a snap.
Padme soothed her with a calming hand on her shoulder, "Easy, Ani. We intend to hire you, Atom. Pay is in it for you, from my own pockets. Backup would be good to have for this rescue attempt, and well… you and yours were who we thought of first."
Nodding with the slightest of smirks, I said, "That's more like it. I think we're available for a gig, especially for… friends."
Padme breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good to hear. Ani wanted to run in alone and half-cocked. I barely managed to convince her that we should bring backup we could trust along for the rescue."
"Time is of the essence!" Ani exclaimed. "Master's been captured, potentially by dark, Sith forces! There's no telling what Dooku could be doing with him right now!"
"Whatever it is, I doubt it's as bad as you're anticipating, Ani," Fay reassured. "Yan isn't the type to kill his Grand-Padawan for no reason."
"Grand-?!" Ani sputtered.
"Grand-Padawan?" Padme asked curiously.
"Oh, yes," Fay nodded, chuckling slightly. "As I understand it, Yan taught Obi-Wan's Master, Qui-Gon Jinn. And thus, the line of succession and teachings passed down is rather direct. And while Yan is… many things, he's not a man to dismiss or damage his own legacy."
"But-… But-… He might very well be a Sith!" Ani said, grasping for a reason to stay frustrated and worried. "That's why Obi-Wan was investigating him in the first place! Doesn't that change the equation?"
"He is," Fay nodded rather frankly. "Yan is, indeed, a Sith. But that doesn't change the man he was and is."
"How can you just accept that, Master Fay?!" Ani asked, almost frantic.
"Because," Fay soothed. "Sith or not, there is still a man of principles, determination, and will within that darkness. I spoke to the man, not the mask. Yan still had his wits and reason about him then. And I doubt he's suddenly lost them since. He may have Fallen, but that Fall hasn't consumed him."
"Is… that possible…?" Padme asked hesitantly. "All accounts I've heard of Count Dooku claim him to be sane and sound of mind. Can… a Sith even be so?"
Quinlan deadpanned, "It's the sane Darksiders you have to look out for."
"For most Sith, the Fall breaks them," Aayla nodded. "The ones who remain at least mostly whole become more dangerous than words can describe."
"But just as there is diversity amongst the Jedi, there is diversity amongst the Sith. Yan… I believe he was tempted by the worst the Sith have to offer," Fay said, hesitating and hoping. "But I don't believe he gave into the true depths that tempted him. There is a solid core to his being, not yet corrupted and twisted; he retains himself. Because of that, and because of our talks, I believe I was able to sway him — at least slightly — from the darkest path he could've taken."
"What does it matter?" Ani snarled. "He's still Sith."
Fay shook her head and chided Ani, "Your reason is clouded at the moment, Ani. Understandable; you're rather close to the topic at hand. But seeing in only black and white is the death of understanding.
"There are degrees to even the Sith. And always, at the core of their philosophy, there is conflict. That conflict may breed new things, better things. Such as turning away from a dark path and trying your best to forge your own way. Yan has done, and is doing, just that. Even as a Sith — perhaps especially — he is trying."
"He and Asajj seemed chilled enough while they were here," I said, putting in my two cents with a shrug.
"They were here?" Padme asked. "And you… know them? Will that be a problem for hiring you as backup, Atom?"
"Fuck no," I snorted. "My Gonks are professional. A gig can have friends on both sides. We'll still give our all to earn our scratch. You're hiring Gonk Edgerunners, and you're damn-sure gonna get Gonk Edgerunners."
"Hrnn…" Ani half-growled. "Fine. Fine! We'll deal with complications as they arise! Just so long as Obi-Wan is rescued and safe at the end of all this. Not even a pair of Sith will keep him from me. You'd better have a plan, and you'd better be worth our time!"
"Not so standard extraction, no biggie," I shrugged. "Get me the detes I need, and I'll put together a plan and a crew. I'll get your Master back to you. Count on it. Hell, knowing Dooku already, we might be able to get this gig done by just asking."
"Asking-?!" Ani sputtered.
"Oh, yes!" Fay perked up at that idea. "A splendid plan, Atom! Just because Yan is on the opposite side of this… gig… doesn't mean we must be true enemies. I do believe he could be convinced to see reason if we opened a line to him and asked politely."
"Ask?!" Ani repeated herself, bewildered.
"Why not?" I shot back. "Ransom is a completely valid way out of captivity if you're willing to pay it. And the Gonks, at least, are on good terms with Dooku. If we get a face-to-face with him, we could just, ya know, actually talk things out."
Padme stopped Ani before she could repeat herself again and wind herself up more, "I think Ani was just expecting more… action from all of this."
Aayla laughed, "You've gotta admit, Atom, you aren't exactly known for your talking skills."
"I can do diplomacy," I shot back, rolling my eyes. "And with Fay on-side, I might even be able to do it effectively, too. Doubt there's anyone in the galaxy better at all the talking stuff than her."
At that, we all nodded in agreement, getting a slight blush from Fay, "I do prefer to solve problems with friendly relations — or at least compromise — rather than violence. And… I suppose my track record must speak for itself there, doesn't it?"
"Besides," I continued. "There will still be plenty of action, I'd bet. Not like we have a comm number to just call Dooku up on. At the very least, we'll have to infiltrate and work our way around to actually meeting him to make our offer. A man like him won't be easy to approach."
Ani, seeing that we were trending towards the actual planning stage of the gig, straightened where she stood, "Obi-Wan's beacon came from the Raxus system. We'll find him and Dooku there."
"Raxus… has become a contentious system," Padme warned. "Political tension is high there, as it's one of the leading systems of the Separatist movement. There's a very good chance that Obi-Wan uncovered… more to that tension, too. I don't know what we'll find there, to be honest."
"Open secession," I grunted.
Padme gaped at me, "Wha-?! No-! No, that's unthinkable! Isn't… Isn't it…?"
I shrugged, "Plan for the worst, adapt from there."
"That-…" Padme hesitated before firming her conviction and idealism once more. "No, I refuse to believe the Separatist issue has already gotten that bad. I'm sure we'll find nothing amiss at all, and this rescue mission will go off without a hitch."
I stared at her flatly after that, as did Quinlan and Aayla. Fay stared, sighed, and shook her head. Even Ani was staring askance at Padme from the corner of her eye.
"Right," Quinlan summed up all of our feelings with a deadpan statement. "The worst it'll be, then."
IIIII
As soon as we exited hyperspace, a system-wide broadcast reached our comms, "Today, we cast off neglect. Today, we set out to write history for ourselves, a new era. Today, we forge ourselves anew. All I ask of you, my newfound countrymen, is that you stay tuned and ready for the announcement to come."
It was Dooku's voice that the system heard, telling everyone to hold for now… but not for much longer. I could feel the anticipation in the system's Force. Raxus was ready to make history, ready to forge itself anew,ready for the announcement that would change everything.
Hearing Dooku's broadcast, Padme looked as if she'd been physically struck. The rest of us were more prepared for the reveal, even Fay, who looked mournful but still resolved against all that would come of this. And a whole lot would come of this. That coming announcement? That would be Dooku's official secession from the Republic, even Padme could see that much. Soon, war would be the only option.
But it wasn't what we were here for. The gig was for the rescue and extraction of Obi-Wan. The crew hadn't signed up for the start of a war, though I doubt many would complain about the chance for action, not knowing my Gonks.
I'd kept the crew for this gig small but potent. If we needed heavy-heavy iron, something had gone wrong. And while we were prepared for that, it wasn't how we were going in from the start. As Fay had said, Dooku wasn't necessarily our enemy just because we were working against him right now. I wanted this gig to be clean, both for the diplomacy we'd be attempting to end it and for the Gonks' relationship with Dooku after we were off Padme and Ani's payroll.
Action was expected — at least somewhat; it always was — but it wouldn't be our first option. Plan A consisted of infiltrating the AO peacefully and finding a way to Dooku while minimizing the damage we did to his faction and allies. We were blending and ghosting, not raiding.
Aside from Ani and Padme, all three Gonk-affiliated Jedi had come along — Fay, Aayla, and Quinlan, supporting Ani and looking out for Obi-Wan. Then, I rounded out the rest of the frontline crew list by bringing along Sasha, Becca, Nova, V, and Isla, with David and Smasher as our backup.
Sasha was here for Padme as much as she was here for me, still looking for ways to work her seducing cyberkitty magic. Nova needed the experience, wouldn't stay back if I could've forced her to, and cost me nothing to bring along, anyway. Becca, of course, was always down to ride, and V was similarly eager to join, with Isla tagging along with her boss.
We had the Jedi (and Padme) for space magic and diplomacy, Sasha and Nova for netrunning support, and me, Becca, V, and Isla in case we needed to apply some violence. David was acting as our transport, with his stealthed ship, SPECTRE, and as a last resort… Smasher and his steel frame were strapped to the bottom of the ship.
The rest of the Core Crew and Core Gonks didn't really have any skin in this gig. It wasn't for breaking chains or furthering the Gonk movement, after all. This gig was for the rep, the chance of playing a part in history as it was being written, and the… friendship, if I wasn't above sounding like a sentimental gonk by admitting that. Still, if the contractors and target (and opposition…) weren't what I would call friends, I doubt I would've taken it at all.
"You okay, Pads?" Sasha asked softly.
"No, honestly…" Padme admitted, sounding almost broken but not quite. "I… didn't think things had gotten this far yet. It feels… almost hopeless, knowing that my dream of peace won't come to fruition now… But… perhaps there's still something we can do."
"Talking won't do much at this point," I told her.
"Perhaps," Padme nodded and quietly said. "Perhaps not. We won't know unless we try. And we were intending to meet with Count Dooku anyway. At the very least, I'd like to get the reasons and motivations for this… announcement from him."
"I'll make sure he makes the time to speak to you, Padme," Ani said, determined and clearly even more incensed at Dooku now.
"This, I'm sorry to say," Fay regretfully shook her head. "Has been a long time coming. Yan won't easily throw away all he's worked toward. He has a dream. And while the means to get to that dream might not be ideal in the slightest, the ends of that dream are at least worth something."
"Did he share it with you, Master Fay?" Aayla asked with curious dread.
Fay sighed, "He told me that, more than anything, he dreamed of something different. Yan aims to break the galaxy's stagnation over his knee. And he isn't entirely wrong to do so. The galaxy, the Republic, no longer merely stagnates. It languishes. Almost festers. And it's the little people of the Mid and Outer Rim who suffer for that callous complacency. Do they not deserve to thrive and succeed just as much as their counterparts in the Core?"
"That…" Padme sighed as well. "I can't argue with that. Everyone deserves the chance at their own success. And the Core does tend to be… unfairly preferred in the running of the galaxy. Put like that, I can think of several of my peers in the Senate who would leap behind Count Dooku's cause here. My own mentor among them, even…"
"We aren't here for the politics," I reminded her gruffly. "We're here for a rescue gig, and nothing more. Don't get it distracted and twisted."
"I'll try not to," Padme assured. "I realize that I'm not in much of a position to play at politics right now, anyway. I'll find no supporters in that field, not when compared to all Count Dooku might've gathered here for his announcement. And I have even less leverage to actually affect things, at the moment."
"WHAT'S THE BIG FRAGGIN' DEAL?" Smasher asked, his voice projected over the ship's comm system from where he was strapped below. "SOUNDS TO ME LIKE A GOOD CHANCE FOR CONFLICT AND GROWTH. BEEN TOO LONG SINCE THIS FRAGGIN' GALAXY HAS HAD A PROPER FUCKING WAR."
Padme gasped, and with that, Ani shouted back at Smasher, "Smasher, I will smash you! Shut! Up!"
"FRAGGIN' TRY, SKYWALKER," Smasher growled back. "WE CAN START OFF THE VIOLENCE EARLY IF YOU'RE FEELING LUCKY."
Shaking my head with a scoff, I told Padme, "There's a reason you didn't get the displeasure of meeting Smasher your first time around. He's got no shame or sympathy. Your peace talk, as noble as it is, won't find any traction with him."
"I WOULDN'T WISH PEACE ON MY WORST ENEMY," Smasher scoffed. "ALL IT'S GOOD FOR IS SOFTENING A MOTHERFUCKER UP SO THEY GET ZEROED EASIER WHEN VIOLENCE INEVITABLY COMES BACK AROUND."
"There is… some merit to conflict," Fay admitted. "Not in the death and suffering it brings, but in the chance for growth and evolution. That, I firmly believe, is what Yan is after. It's just a… shame — a terrible, terrible shame — that the bad always comes with the mere potential for good."
"Sorry about him," V apologized for Smasher (as was her job description). "He's got a unique view of the galaxy. I'm all for some preem violence, but even I hesitate when all-out galactic war is brought to the table."
"Well, yeah!" Becca chimed in agreement. "'Cause we won't even get all of the fun for the all-out galactic war! It's not even ours, ya know? And that's just not fair!"
"We're already fighting our own war," I reminded her with a roll of my eyes. "The slugs suddenly ain't enough for you lot?"
"DON'T CALL ME UNWILLING TO MURDER SOME SLUGS, MEAT-CLONE," Smasher grunted. "I'M ALWAYS READY, WILLING, AND ABLE FOR MURDER."
"Ditto," V nodded. "The Hutt-Gonk War is enough to sate little ol' me's cravings."
"Hell, it's more than enough, Choom-daddy~!" Becca grinned. "If anything, this new war is just gonna steal all our earned rep and attention!"
Padme bore a pained grimace from the exchange, and showed herself unwilling to engage the violence junkies (much less Smasher), "… Let's focus on the job at hand, shall we? This… announcement, and the war that will almost certainly come of it, aren't why you've been hired; Atom is right. I'd say it's even slightly above my pay grade. We're here for Obi-Wan. The rest… will have to be addressed later."
"At the very least, Pads, Dooku's announcement will give us plenty of cover for infil," Sasha said.
"Oh, yeah~…" Becca purred and grinned. "I bet this whole system is already a big fraggin' party."
"And almost certainly more than just 'partying'," Quinlan added. "The reception for something like this will never be unanimously positive. I bet security forces all across the system are finding themselves… busy, right about now."
"I think that little fact makes things worse here…" Padme muttered. "Not even a 'simple' announcement, secessionist and seditious as it may be, can happen peacefully…"
"I can sense that the majority of the system is in support of Yan's movement and cause," Fay said. "But yes, not the whole."
"We'll be working our way through a fuckin' fraught AO, then," I said. "David, can you still get us in with all this chaos?"
"You got it, choom," David nodded from the pilot's seat. "The orbital ring, right? It's still open for docking. I can drop you off and make SPECTRE scarce with her cloak. We'll still be close by, though. If you need us, just holler, neh?"
"Raxus Orbital is going to be party heaven and insurgency hell," Quinlan deadpanned.
"Nova," I called out to seemingly nothing. "Get us a working map of the ring, and pinpoint our targets as best you can."
Padme blinked at the order I'd just given, and I could see her counting everyone standing there in the cockpit, "… Nova?"
I snorted a laugh as I realized my slight oversight. Right, she and Ani wouldn't know, and Nova didn't have a physical presence they could see with their own eyes. They hadn't asked for a detailed crew list for the gig or anything, so to them, Nova had slipped aboard without being noticed.
Barely a second later, before I could explain anything to Padme and Ani, Nova's voice came over the cockpit's speakers, "Done, Father. Stepmother has the data. Auntie Becca, Miss V, and Miss Isla have more limited packets. If you need anything more… just ask. I will be with you the whole way, as… primitive… as the local net is."
Padme blinked again, "Fa-ther-…?"
"Meet our Force-Net miracle, Padme," I introduced, amused and proud. "Padme and Ani, Nova. Nova, Padme and Ani. In the short time you were gone, we… added a new member to our Gonk-Fam. She's a natural-born AI — Lucy and my daughter, conceived from our merged info on the net and… Force bullshit, to be frank. I wouldn't trade her for the whole fraggin' galaxy."
"What the-…?" Padme's mind seemed to stutter in shock before she regathered her wits and manners. "Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you, Nova. A… very strange pleasure… but a pleasure all the same."
"Hn… Likewise…" Nova said, sounding curt. I knew she was just shy.
"Woah…" Ani marveled aloud, obviously sensing Nova's Force presence now that she'd made herself known. "That-? That's possible? I mean, I can sense that it is… She feels so real… But still, woah!"
"Nova's real and precious, loved and valued," I said firmly, saying it for Nova just as much as I was saying it for Padme and Ani. "She's my daughter."
"AND THE FIRST OF MY MALE-LINE DESCENDENTS TO NOT BE A MEAT DISSAPPOINTMENT," Smasher added with a grinding chuckle.
"Does that even count, Smasher?" V questioned with a teasing smirk. "Atom's a clone, not your actual son. I think you're still at zero for real male-line descendants worth a damn."
"He'll have to fight me for any claim to Nova," I grunted. "I've got his DNA, but that's it. Fuck the rest, I'm my own man, and Nova's mine from that."
"I don't mind, Grandpapa Smasher… He's… nova, enough…" Nova said softly.
I accepted that with only a slight scowl, 'cause if Nova liked the monster… "… You got lucky, Smasher."
Smasher chuffed, "NO LUCK HERE, JUST LOVABLE CHROME AND STEEL."
"Lovable, my kriffin' butt," Ani grumbled. I couldn't help but snort my complete agreement.
"This is so, so strange…" Padme muttered, mostly to herself. "A natural-born AI daughter…? And she's already so developed and adorable…?"
Sasha glomped onto Padme and took the chance to coo over Nova, "Isn't she just~? Adorable! Precious! The best step-daughteru!"
Padme sighed, but I could see her leaning into Sasha's touch while glancing at me (and Ani, funnily enough), "Hah… What mess of relationships have you dragged me into, Sasha?"
"Ah, you're fine, you're fine!" Sasha waved off her exasperation, giggling. "Just go with the flow, Pads!"
"Trust me, I'm trying to… You two just don't make it easy at all," Padme muttered.
"We're three minutes out, chooms," David called out. "Got permission to dock from system control. I'll drop you off, and then I'm bugging out. Didn't like the tone in the controller's voice when they were talking about SPECTRE. If they start poking around her, I'm liable to blow our cover."
"Do what you need to, David," I nodded. "Just don't go far."
David chuckled, "I won't. But I'd still like to see them try to find SPECTRE once she goes ghost."
"She's a beautiful ship," Ani's praise came out as an envious grumble. "You're lucky to have her."
"Come join the Gonk Fleet and I'll bet I can get you a girl like her," David teased.
For a long moment, Ani seemed honestly tempted. Then, she shook her head, "… Right, do we know where we're looking first?"
"The ring's got three megaplex hives," Sasha briefed, checking Nova's map of the massive orbital installation — so big it couldn't be called a station. "Zenith, Off-Nadir, and True Horizon. Nova's data points to Zenith as our best bet. It's the largest pop-center and the 'capital' of Raxus Orbital, so to speak. If Dooku's anywhere, he's there.
"It's also… a hive as big as Night City and the Limits combined, if not nearly as populated. 'Course, it makes up for that lack of population by being one of only three places to actually live on the ring. They've only got a billie up here, but with approximately 45% of that billie packed into Hive Zenith…? Yeah…"
"Dense urban operations," I nodded my understanding. "We were expecting that much. Blending won't be a problem. Actually working our way through the hive to wherever we need to be might be, though."
"Especially with the whole ring playing host to that coming announcement and all the excitement it'll bring," Quinlan reminded.
"Operating procedures, Head Gonk?" V asked with an eager but almost languid smirk.
"Start no shit, but take none, either," I ordered. "We might not be here for a fight, but I don't want any of us to even think about rolling over and dying in the chaos like some gonks. Make sure that 'G' stays capitalized, and remember the gig, neh?"
"I'd expect Yan to be rather busy right about now," Fay added with dry amusement. "So I doubt we'll be able to simply request an audience."
"True," I agreed. "It'll be up to us to get to him, not the other way around. So stick close, don't split up, don't fraggin' flatline, and at least try to be ready for anything."
V chuckled, "Bet the chaos is gonna be more dangerous than any actually organized opposition?"
"Sucker's bet!" Becca grinned viciously. "And I'm here for it! Bring on the chaos! Let's fucking ride!"
As David slid SPECTRE onto one of the countless exposed and extended docking ports across the orbital ring — not a hangar, for ease of his quick departure — Smasher left us with one last reminder; a statement that would've been a reassurance from anyone else, but sounded more like a warning and dreadful promise from him.
"DON'T BE TOO SHY TO CALL FOR ME TO PULL YOUR ASS OUT OF THE FIRE IF SHIT GETS INTERESTING, MEAT-CLONE. GRANDPAPA SMASHER WANTS IN ON THE FUN, TOO…"
… Knowing Smasher's luck when it came to murder and action, he'd almost certainly get that chance. I pointedly ignored him as the crew disembarked from SPECTRE onto Raxus Orbital. We weren't stopped on our way in, at least… But there was truly no telling what awaited us in the seditious, secession-celebrating chaos of Hive Zenith.