Making It in Night City

For the sake of clarity, everything spoken in Japanese but translated to English by Basil's translator will be italicized.

"I'll keep it short and sweet, Robert. I won't be able to supply you at a competitive price anymore."

I was on the call with Wilson, telling him I couldn't deliver more ammo. To make some easy cash when I first came to this world, I sold him and several other gun store owners bulk ammo I crafted from literal garbage. This has been my primary source of income after coming to this world, but the recent update removed the auto scrap skill and nerfed the Sandevistan, making the venture no longer profitable.

"Aww fuck, you're really putting me in a tough spot, Basil."

I had already told every other dealer, and Wilson was the last vendor I had to call to shut everything down. He was the first person I started selling to because I knew his business was in the dumps. Of course, the situation is different now, in no small part due to the dirt-cheap ammunition I've provided.

"Don't bullshit a bullshitter, Wilson. If you wanted me to feel bad, you shouldn't told me you parleyed the profits from selling my ammo into better deals with Budget and Rostovic. I know you're going to be just fine without me."

"Damn, out of everything, it's small talk that's biting me in the ass. Well, you can't blame a man for trying. So I guess you're out of the biz?"

"Yup. Focusing on other things that'll take up all my time."

"Fair enough. If you're ever back in the game, let me know. And drop by the shop if you ever have the time. Range time and gun cleaning on the house."

"Thanks, Wilson. And will do."

I hung up the call and focused my attention back on the road.

Orbital Air welcomes you to Night City Internation and Translunar. Thank you for using our services. We wish you a pleasant journey.

As I hung up the call, I passed the bridge gate leading to NCX and got a text message from Orbital Air welcoming me to the area. As we drove further down the road, the concrete walls disappeared, and I was left with a fantastic view of the ocean on both sides and a clear sky above. 

Rapidly approaching ahead was the spaceport itself, tall walls forming a hexagon that held the terminals for flights. Two large digital banners advertising space travel flanked on either side of the entrance, while a massive rocket could be seen in the background. Yet another thing that I don't remember experiencing in my playthroughs. 

Counting Dogtown, this would be the second time I was introduced to a new part of Night City. I vaguely recall Orbital Air and a functioning spaceport being mentioned, but I never actually noticed said spaceport. It was almost like it popped up overnight.

Then again, it's not like V's focus in the game was traveling the world. Everything and everyone he might have needed to fix his problem was already in Night City, so there simply was no reason for them to look into long-distance travel. Logically speaking, a city as big as Night City had to have its dedicated traveling hub. I guess the point is that there's far more to see about Night City than a playthrough of Cyberpunk 2077 could ever show.

It was two days after our successful rescue of Violet Riggs from a secret Militech outpost disguised as an abandoned warehouse in Pacifica. Things got a bit messy toward the end, but we left before Militech could wise up to the situation, and the op was an overall success. After delivering the detective to a safe house, Michiko informed us that while she preferred less fanfare, it was still a job well done and that she would uphold her part of the deal.

Panam was the one who drove me to the terminal. She and the Aldecaldos finalized the deal with the Thelas Nation she mentioned a while back. If this deal went well, it could be huge for their clan. Knowing that, Saul decided Panam should go with them to keep an eye on things while he held the fort. 

The Surveyor will fly the guns I've been supplying South to the uninhabited area near Santa Barbara before refueling and crossing the water to the Channel Islands. They'll meet with the most prominent clan in the Thelas Nation, the SeaSnakes, at the islands and hand over the goods. If all goes well, this should start a very lucrative business for Panam and her family.

Of course, all this means that Panam won't be able to accompany me on this trip. I'm a little bit bummed out, but I also understood that she had her own life and that the Bright clan was at a pivotal point. It'd be unreasonable of me to expect her to throw aside her responsibilities as co-leader so she could run off with her paramour for a vacation in a foreign land. 

With that in mind, I was fully prepared to go on this upcoming flight myself. The last thing I expected was for Panam herself to recommend someone to go in her place. And even more surprising was that the person she wanted with me on this trip was Yumi.

I still remember when Panam had brought it up as an option. Bringing Yumi wasn't even something remotely close to consideration. Simply put, she had no dog in the race, so I couldn't be sure she would have the same buy-in as everyone else. I also couldn't believe that Panam, with her poorly hidden distaste for Yumi, was the one to offer it in the first place.

After rescuing Violet, Yumi, Panam, and I took some well-needed rest at my place. But right before Panam had to leave to go back to the Aldecaldos, she pulled Yumi aside and had a 'girl talk' that I wasn't allowed to participate in. Whatever talk occurred seemed to mend the relationship between the two a great deal, and Panam left much less hostile to Yumi.

She started her argument by calling me an idiot and saying that I'd get myself killed if someone wasn't watching my back, which I felt was a tiny bit unfair. Sure, I've had a few close calls, but it's just a part of the job at this point. I was under no disillusion at the dangers involved with what I wanted to do. Implementing a coup was no easy feat, and some risks were expected. However, I couldn't disagree that having more people I could trust watch my back was always a plus.

And that led to Panam's other point. Japan was a completely new environment for V and me. While Takemura would be fine, Panam's nomad blood told her that the corpo couldn't be trusted. While Yumi has never been to Japan, she has grown up around the culture and speaks the language. Whatever happened when Panam and Yumi had their private conversation was enough to convince Panam that Yumi could be trusted to represent my best interest in Japan.

While I wasn't as suspicious of our Araska allies, I did see Panam's point and the value in having another person who could help navigate Japanese society. But even if I agreed, it wouldn't matter if Yumi didn't want to go with me. And here, the Japanese woman surprised me again.

When I made the offer, Yumi threw herself at the opportunity, not unlike when I asked her for help with rescuing Violet. Again, the willingness was a bit alarming, but there was a level of trust there now that she and I had fought side by side.

We quickly approached the second gate leading to the spaceport's interior and terminal entrances. We drove past a gap in the wall with two large digital banners on either side, advertising Orbital Air and space travel. Once inside the spaceport proper, we found ourselves on a circular road with an artificial garden in the center.

Panam turned right and took us into the underground parking lot, following the arrows for the Terminal C section. She expertly wedged her beast in an open spot before the three of us got out. Terminal C was for luxury and VIP flights, so Panam's borderline monster truck stuck out like a sore thumb in the mass of deluxe sedans, sports cars, and limos.

Walking around to the back of the truck, I opened the gate before pulling my and Yumi's suitcases out. Guns and gear would never make it past security, so the cases were packed with just clothes and daily essentials. It was weird acting like a civilian for once after a lifestyle of vigilantism and mercenary work. Yumi and I were even dressed in nice suits courtesy of Michiko to fit in with our surroundings.

"Come on, I'll take you two to security."

Panam walks over to me before wrapping her arm around mine and leading me toward the entrance to the terminal proper. As we walked through the sliding doors, my curiosity finally got better. When Yumi was a few steps behind Panam and me, and I was sure she couldn't hear us, I leaned down to ask Panam about Yumi.

"What's up with you and Yumi?"

Panam smirked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"I mean, yeah? That's why I asked after all."

Panam looked at me, not saying a word, clearly thinking how much she wanted to divulge. When she did decide, I was a bit disappointed with the vagueness of it all.

"Long story short, we cleared up some things and are seeing eye to eye now. From what I heard, she put herself at risk to protect you, and I figured she deserved some leniency for that. And no more questions from you about this. We girls have to have our secrets."

I instinctively wanted to push her for more information but let it go. I could feel there was more to the situation, but Panam didn't want to tell me the specifics. There was no point in getting on Panam's bad side just because I wished to dig deeper into a situation that didn't seem to be a problem. If anything, the two finally getting along was good news.

Most of my NCPD contracts were in Little China, Kabuki, and Japantown since those districts were closest to where I lived. Because of that, when I showed up, it was almost always the Tygers causing a ruckus. Extortion, assault, robbery, rape, murder, drugs, you name it, they did it. I know that all the other gangs did similar things, but primarily seeing the Tygers do it has led to some negative associations for me.

That's why my conviction to help Yumi with whatever beef she had with the Tygers grew stronger over time. Sure, Yumi used to be one of them, but she's turned a new leaf and is trying her hand at being legit. Most of her free time is spent working for Misty, covering for the esoteric vendor's lack of physical strength.

I say most of it because Yumi does disappear every now and then. Misty doesn't know what she's up to, but a hunch tells me she's doing vigilante work. Presumably completely off the books, unlike my contract work, but it's still a good deed. Hell, doing it for free is probably more admirable.

The point is that I feel a strange responsibility for her and think that she deserves assistance. The problem was that Panam didn't like Yumi, and I didn't want to knowingly do something she was uncomfortable with. If push came to shove, I would just do what I felt was right. I know Panam might have been a bit miffed, but she would have understood.

Thankfully, it never came to that since Yumi always said that 'it wasn't the right time' whenever I asked her if she needed any help with the Tygers. Of course, now I don't have to worry about it since the two seem on good terms.

As Panam and I continued our small talk, trying to enjoy our little time together before the flight, we eventually found ourselves at the security gates. The area was unlike any terminal I'd seen before, completely covered in white marble with fancy artwork on display. The lines were short, and the crowds expected from a busy airport were missing. Quiet, clean, almost clinical.

And that would make sense since Terminal C was dedicated to luxury and privately chartered flights. Apparently, when Takemura and V left for Tokyo, it was through the public terminal where there were mountains of people. That's the difference between someone like Michiko only cautiously supporting you and putting her full weight behind backing someone.

Panam and I's conversation naturally tapered off before stopping as we walked to the security gates. Setting my luggage next to me, Panam and I shared a quick hug.

"Let me know when you get there, ok?"

"Of course. And you keep me updated on how things go with the Thelas."

"Will do. Make sure you don't crap your own pants on your first space flight. We'd have to stop seeing each other if you embarrass yourself like that."

I smirked at her joke. We shared a quick kiss before separating and waving our goodbyes. As Yumi and I walked through the scanners, we got checked into the spaceport. As much as it was a joke, I was slightly antsy about my first time going into space. Traveling to low earth orbit was only something billionaires and astronauts did in my former life.

Eventually, I was able to calm myself down. Space travel is more or less a daily occurrence at this point, right. There's no way it could be this world's air travel if the experience was too rough. Right?

Wrong.

Thirty minutes or so later, I found myself with my head firmly forced against the headrest of my seat from the raw g-force of a rocket launch. My fingers gripped the armrests, knuckles turning white as I clenched my teeth and tried to power through the initial phase of the flight. As much as it was a joke, I was beginning to hope I used the toilet ahead of time.

My surroundings were constantly shaking from the vibrations of the spaceship rocketing through the atmosphere. Eventually, the surroundings stabilized, and the insane g-force locking me back became a gentle push backward. The walls around us suddenly changed colors, revealing themselves as a CrystalDome-like material that allowed sight outside.

Once the rocket was in orbit, it righted itself before two wing-like protrusions extended, turning it into a proper spaceship. 

I looked outside in wonder, admiring the pitch-black space contrasted by the twinkling stars and the big blue marble below. It made me feel... small. Despite feeling so insignificant, it was also strangely peaceful. 

As the ship cruised through the vacuum of space, I let myself relax and just enjoy the process. There was no doubt in my mind that the reentry process would be just as rough, but that didn't mean I couldn't live in the moment.

Timeskip a week.

"Don't you know who I work for? If you hurt me, the Steel Dragons will come for you!"

A yakuza type with a bloodied face scooched back while holding a hand up, trying to get me to stop. My automatic translation feature does its job, turning his hurried sputterings into English.

"Yeah, that's kinda the point, dumbass."

I stepped over one of the man's associates, who was knocked out cold and lying face-first on the ground. There were two others like them, both battered and unconscious. It's been a week since we got to Japan, and there's yet to be progress on getting intel on the higher echelons of the Steel Dragons, the gang Yorinobu formed in his Bosozuko days.

Michiko's Danger Gals have previously taken some contracts for wealthy clients in Japan. Still, her presence in Tokyo is noticeably less than in the States and Europe. To make up for that, Me, Yumi, and V have been pounding the pavement, picking fights with the gang. Meanwhile, Takemura tried the more peaceful approach and was doing old-fashioned snooping.

Takemura would find rackets that were happening, and the rest of us would step in. We'd stop robberies, break up gang meetings, take on gigs against the Steel Dragons from local fixers, anything to ruffle their feathers. Our logic was that the leaders might get spooked if we made enough of a ruckus and made some kind of mistake we could capitalize on. We were banking on someone hiding and doubling the security in their compound, ironically making them a more obvious target for us. Or better yet, a meeting being called where we can bag all the big fish in one go.

We've worked our way up to some mid-level members with this strategy, but nothing more. Because of that, the four of us continued our miniature rampage through the gang-controlled streets of Tokyo. This group was harassing a poor street vendor when Yumi and I came across them randomly while out getting lunch. It didn't take long for the two of us to beat down the thugs, so while Yumi tended to the old man running the cart, I decided to see if I could get anything useful from the last man standing.

When I got within range of the Steel Dragon gang member, I swatted his hand away before lifting him up by his collar. Before he could spew any more crap I didn't care about, I gave a quick jab into the man's kidney. Of course, a quick jab with Gorilla Arms is more akin to a professional boxer's hook. The man reeled from the hit, a hand immediately hovering over his abdomen as if that would help the pain.

"Alright, here's how this is gonna go down. You're going to tell me your name, who your boss is, and where I can find him. Then I'm going to break a few ribs and leave you alone. If you don't, I'll break more than some ribs, get the idea?"

The guy looked hesitant momentarily, clearly debating whether or not it was worth spilling his guts to me. Surprisingly, he decided that keeping his mouth shut was the intelligent thing to do. 

"Fuzakeru Na"

I could see the resolve in his eyes as he spit on my shoes before saying that line. Didn't need the translation software to understand the message he wanted to get across.

Honestly? I respected it. Whether it was out of loyalty or fear, knowing that a worse fate awaited him if he snitched, there was honor in keeping quiet. But my slight appreciation was overshadowed by the irritation I felt from the apparent disrespect.

"Your funeral."

I simply shrugged before winding my arm back and punching the man's ribs. I put more force in this time, and I felt the bones give a little before snapping under the force. That knocked the wind out of the guy, and he started coughing up a storm. Not wanting his spittle to get on me, I dropped the guy and let him keel over.

When he was done coughing and gathering his breath, I returned and picked him up again. He groaned as I slammed his back into the wall, his body clearly not enjoying the rough treatment.

"There's a lot of bones in the human body, and I got nothing but free time. I'll ask again: what's your name, who's your boss, and where can I find him?"

This time, there was less conviction in the thug's eyes, now replaced by fear. But he stayed quiet.

"Basil! I got something!"

Yumi called me from behind as I got ready to break another few ribs. I stopped my punch halfway and turned toward her. When our eyes met, her eyes turned blue, and I got a notification that she wanted to send me some documents.

After accepting the transfer, I was shown a picture of a man with a collection of emails. From a glance, I got that the man was an executive, which was pretty high up in the organization. What was more interesting was that Yorinobu's name was highlighted in some emails.

"One of the girls from that club we bust-"

"Hold on."

We've been pretty brazen, but this could be a breakthrough, and I didn't want anyone else to hear about it. I turned back to the man I had pinned against the wall and punched the other side of his abdomen. I broke another set of ribs before giving the thug a right hook in the temple. That shut the lights off, and the man crumpled over onto the ground.

"Sorry, keep going."

"Right. One of the hostesses from that club we banged up just sent me that. She says he's getting antsy from all the noise on the streets and will hole up in the bar she works at for the next few weeks."

Bingo. That's just what we needed.

"Ok. Let's get back and get a plan going."

As I left the alley and got to where Yumi was, she said some words to the man running the food cart. Yumi's eyes glowed blue momentarily before she got up to leave with me. She was probably giving him some money to cover for the damage the Steel Dragons caused. What a good egg.

The decision to bring Yumi along ended up being incredibly helpful. While my translation program did a great job allowing me to understand what was being said, most people didn't have similar software, which meant I couldn't communicate back because I didn't speak Japanese. 

The man called out to us before the two of us could disappear into the crowd.

"Chottomattekudasai!"

Turning around, I watched as the guy stuffed some things into a box before grabbing a bottle from his cart and putting it in a bag. Once he finished filling it to the brim, he hurried over and offered the bag to me. It was filled with takoyaki, some skewers, a pastry shaped like a fish, and a bottle of some kind of drink.

The food was probably worth less than what Yumi donated, but the gesture was from the heart, and I felt like that made it worth it. And the fact that the food looked amazing and I still haven't had my lunch yet totally didn't skew my perception. I accepted the bag, and we thanked him for the meal before leaving the area.

I shared a box of takoyaki with Yumi, and we munched on our meal while navigating the busy Tokyo streets.

"It feels good helping people," Yumi said between bites of takoyaki, "especially protecting them from people like the Steel Dragons."

I couldn't help but agree.

"It sure does. Does that mean you'll finally let me help you go after the Tygers once we get back to NC?"

Yumi's eyes unfocused for a bit when I asked her that question. Something heavy was clearly on her mind.

"Hmmm. Maybe."

Worried that I might have just ruined her mood, I tried to keep the topic light while we ate and returned to the hotel we made into our temporary base.