CH 7
About a month later, March 5th, 2023
-Mc POV(Jane Baas)-
After I got an investment from Cobblepot things picked up the pace. We discussed how the Company would be set up, what the hierarchy would look like and how profits would be distributed. I would obviously be running my own company as the CEO and majority shareholder. We decided that we would be a privately owned company and only very sparingly give stocks to potential partners. We would divide profits quarterly and decided that 50% would be reinvested into the company for further growth and the rest would be divided among shareholders. We set up a perk system for shareholders that had above a 5% share in the company that mainly revolved around discounts for bulk and acquisition of more sensitive products that would be reserved for higher organizations like the government.
Cobblepot was understandably confused until I showed him some of the drafts I had for the yet to be named droid series I based off the Scout and explained to him how some of them would work. After that he agreed. We then hashed out material suppliers and a distribution system. He then called in the man he had go test the M6D.
After his henchmen gave it a rave review he placed an order for a thousand M6Ds and over fifteen thousand rounds of various ammunition types. We discussed prices and decided that a market price of around 850USD per M6D would be the norm. It only took around 150USD to produce them with droids, as you only need to provide power. The ammunition would range from 120USD per 250 rounds for the less specialized types and 250USD for the Explosive and shock.
We decided on a 15% off due to Cobblepots shareholder status, but that’s still 722,500$ for just the M6Ds. I decided I needed more man power /or droid power/ and would build 60 Locust 01Ms, 50 for labor around the base and 10 as a gift to Cobblepot. We decided that I would deliver his shipment the day he was able to get me the land title. I met with a representative of a medium sized material distributor that we would be using for a while. With Cobblepot’s name I was able to pay without providing any form of Identification or owning the land it was to be delivered to. I payed for roughly 500K USD worth of materials, that covering the M6Ds, ammunition for both me and Cobblepot, the 01Ms and the rest for a small backlog.
A week ago Cobblepot provided quite the ID for me. He got hospital records of my supposed birth from two immigrant parents that also exist in name and paper trails. I have paperwork from schools I supposedly went to and even a bachelor's degree in robotics from a local college. All in all it was everything I needed. After receiving that we went through all the bureaucratic nonsense of forming a company, but with Cobblepots help and contacts it was surprisingly painless. He just knew what wheels to grease. Baastech would be the name of my new company.
Today Crow, Bear and I were heading to a warehouse in Gotham’s outskirts to deliver Cobblepot’s shipment and to pick up the land deeds. We were using a 2021 Freightliner Cascadia that we bought and Bear ‘upgraded’. The truck is now so uparmored, overpowered and compartmentalized that it might as well be a tank. As we pull in we could see some of his henchmen around keeping busy. We are directed towards where they want the shipment we park and Crow goes to unhook the shipping container me and Bear go to Cobblepot. “Ah ms.Baas good to see you. I assume everything is in order?” “All and more. Little gift inside that I’m sure you will appreciate.” “Oh?” I hand him a case “I’ve decided to include 10 01Ms as a gift. In this case is a laptop that can view their status, issue remote orders and see what they see. Who knows, maybe you’ll like them so much you come and buy some more.”
“Well what a pleasant surprise. I’m sure I’ll get some good use out of them. I own some chop shops that could probably use some extra help.”
He then handed me a briefcase. “In there are the land deeds already in your name and associated paperwork. Congrats you now own 20 acres of relatively untouched land! The payment for the arms has been sent to the company account, as agreed upon.” I bring out my tablet and check. “It seems that everything checks out, pleasure doing business with you and see you at the quarterly.” We shake hands and Crow, Bear and I get in our semi truck and drive off.
Quest completed : This is my private domicile
Rewards deposited in inventory
‘System, use two skill raffles’
System rolling 2x skill raffles… Congratulations!
You gain the following
* Surgical skill (uncommon): This skill improves upon and grants the knowledge pertaining to surgical procedures and practices.
* Biomechanical engineering (rare): This skill grants the knowledge and understanding of what is necessary to combine the flesh and the machine into one.
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Would user like to integrate the above skills?
I sigh, agree and to my surprise I don’t get a massive migraine. It’s more like an itch I can’t scratch. Irritating, yes, but it doesn’t make me double over in pain. I guess it’s due to the amount of skills and the rarity. It might also be due to an increase in intellect. I’ll have to keep this in mind next time I get skill raffles.
‘System, use random blueprint raffle’
System rolling 1x Random Blueprint raffle… Congratulations! You gained the following.
* Arasaka MK.2 Neural Processor ‘Shade’ (Cyberpunk 2077)*
Would user like to integrate the above blueprints?
I again allow the gentle caress of knowledge to process and am quite surprised. The Shade is a small implant that is attached to the spine of a person at the neck. Once attached it uses surgeon nanobots to create a system of nerve-like wires around the body and connects to the brain and nerves. This allows the Shade to act as an interface between the person and any cybernetic they have attached. Up powers itself using small nanobots that slowly leach heat from the body.** These nanobots are incomprehensibly efficient in their job. They deposit the power they generate to nodes the surgeon nanobots make at specific points in the body that are used to power not only the Shade but any other cybernetics a person might possess. The blueprint also includes what is essentially a nutrient bar that is consumed yearly or at specific time that has materials that the nanobots use in maintenance and repair. Sometimes sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic
New quest
A New Man
Objectives - Design replacement Legs, Arms, Eyes and two Organ that are the same quality of they’re natural counterparts
Time Limit - 3 years
Bonus 1- design a second version of the replacements that are at least three times as effective as their natural counterpart
Bonus 2- design a cybernetic that can connect and interact with computers.
Reward - 2 cybernetic blueprint raffles, 2 random raffles, 7.5k points
Bonus 1 Reward - 2 cybernetic blueprint raffles, 1 firearm blueprint raffle, 3 random raffles, 10k points
Bonus 2 Reward - 2 random raffles, 3k points
Penalty - None
I look at the rewards and grin, and then I think about the profits these products would bring and my grin gets wider.
‘Nice, status’
Name: Jane Baas
Gender: Female
Age: 26
Status: All Green
Points: 5k
Stats
Physical OA: 6.17~(A surgeon’s hands must remain deft for hour on end)
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 7.5
Endurance: 6
Intelligence OA: 8 (The Scholar always hungers for more knowledge)
Intellect: 9 .5
Wisdom: 8
Mind: 6.5
Miscellaneous OA: 6.53~ (Business is a game of lies and bluffs, and you excel)
Charisma: 7.1
Luck: 6
Intuition: 6.5
Skills
* Intrigue I (12% progress)
* Robotics Engineering I (11% progress)
* Firearm Engineering I (07.5% progress)
* Business Administration I (15% progress)
* A.I. Creation I (7% progress)
Inventory
(Empty)
Quests
First million
A New Man
Shop
Current rotation
3x random blueprint raffle - 5k points per one
7x bulk material raffle - 5k points per one
5x random skill raffles - 10k points per one
5x targeted blueprint raffle - 10k per one
1x rare skill raffle - 20k points per one
100k points for shop upgrade
Refreshes every year
End
Seeing a concrete representation of growth is quite fulfilling. I am interested in the shop upgrade, but I’m currently nowhere near it. I bring out my tablet and continue to make plans to expand the base. I plan on adding a concrete wall all around the perimeter with a guard tower every 10 acres. There will be a gatehouse that connects to an intake warehouse. 4 large buildings for production lines, 2 warehouses for storage, a building for droids recharging, maintenance and storage, a two story office building that contains a server room. All this is spaced out and only takes up roughly 45% of the compound leaving plenty more room for further growth. I smile in anticipation for the future.
Author’s note
*Although not explicitly mentioned in the literature, it is entirely plausible that such an item exists given the setting. From reading and gameplay it is stated these items do exist. They don’t have a whole lot of examples of said items. This item is envisioned as a mid range item that most corps would want their employees to have.
**Its relatively hard to pin down how cybernetics in cyberpunk actually get powered. I don’t know exactly how they are but this was one of the things I saw being offered as an explanation that in my opinion made slightly more sense then the others. If anyone has a definitive answer I would love to know where you got it from in the comments.