Aurelia woke up slowly and confused. Unnatural light shone directly into her eyes and she was too dazzled to see anything. Instinctively, she reached for her blender, but heard a familiar voice: "Woah, very calm, just wanted to make sure you were okay" It was the seller of the Techurry sausage. When he turned off his lamp, Aurelia's vision slowly returned. "I was just worried. It's dangerous out here outside the city, even with armaments. Although I have to admit that your equipment is impressive. Is it real? Or just as a deterrent?" Aurelia needed a moment to put everything together, but after a few seconds her senses all came back and she slowly rose. "It's real. I can take care of myself." came from her. "Oh ho ho," laughed the broad man in front of her, standing in the light of the street lamp. Night had not yet fallen completely, but it was already much darker than when she had sat down in the alley. "I believe you can take care of yourself, but everyone has to sleep at some point. The best weapons are of no use if you're not awake to use them." "Maybe," Aurelia answered curtly. "What's it to you?" The bear in front of Aurelia knelt to stand in front of her not so big and threatening and then said gently: "You can come to my store if you want. Without costs for today and tomorrow, we will see if you want to move on, or possibly join our church.
Aurelia's eyes narrowed as she asked, "And why should it be safer with a stranger than here in the alley?" "Don't worry, you won't be alone, there are some people in my inn who find shelter there, if anyone should try something, there are more than enough people to help you." "Hm. Ok. Smiling, the man disappeared back into his building, but before Aurelia followed him, she spoke to Raya: "Tell me, how high is the risk out here, compared to the inn?" "Statistically speaking, the inn is many times safer, but there is always a certain basic danger. If you want, I can try to scan the surroundings in the building and use your sensory organs to warn you if something happens." “... You can do that?" "Yes." "Ooooookaaaay. That's not a concern at all, but it would probably be best if you kept watch, Raya. Thank you" "Always, Aurelia" With that, Aurelia started to move to step into the warm building.
"Ah, nice to have you here. Your room is the one at the far left, it has a latch to lock it from the inside. May I offer you something to eat first? You look like you've been through a lot." Instead of behind the counter, a sales cart, the inn owner was now behind a solid dark brown counter that had a faux wood layer for decoration. Dozens of bottles were lined up behind him, all in colorful and different labels that referred to various types of alcohol. A total of three drinks taps peeked out of the counter surface, presumably spewing beer or water.
Aurelia looked around the large room thoroughly. The counter was in the north of the room, at least that's what Aurelia decided, she didn't want to get a compass in her already filled HUD. The door through which she had entered and to which she had turned her back for the moment was to the east. The center of the room was full of long tables and equally long benches on each side of each table. A total of four other people had spread out in the room. They were all in old clothes, but did not seem too neglected. The atmosphere was pleasant and peaceful, Aurelia looked at the small music system in the west corner and saw that the light background music was playing from there, which gave the whole thing another layer of calm. The others looked over at Aurelia, softly murmured greetings of welcome and friendly nods were sent to her. To the south was a narrow corridor, through which one could probably get to the individual rooms. Although she really just wanted to get into a bed, Aurelia first went to the counter and asked for something light.
Less than an hour later, she was still sitting in place and was engrossed in an intensive conversation with the owner. "I'm telling you, it really was!" Aurelia tried to convince him that it was she who had taken out the Playaz gang. "This was a complete raid, it must have been a whole squad that got there, killed the boss and some of his most important people and then set fire to money and drugs. I've heard a lot of stories here, but this is the one I like the most so far." The owner was at least as drunk as Aurelia, the rest of the room had already retreated to their respective rooms a few minutes ago. Aurelia poured the rest of the beer down her throat, slammed the glass onto the counter with a loud bang and replied, "I swear to you. I took them out with my railgun, my blender and my knife. Everything I have here with me!" The innkeeper presented her with another glass of the noble golden liquid with a beautiful crown. "Even if you could, the stories all say it was an assault squad!" "Oh Pfff. They only say that so as not to look so stupid. Who wants to admit to being dismantled by a single person like that?!" "Oh, and NO ONE would have noticed if a damn nun had done that?" "Well, it was at night and I used the shadows. I'm not so crazy that I would openly run towards them!" The landlord laughed out loud and said: "So you're definitely insane! Who else would want to wander through the worst parts of the city dressed as a nun and just want to sleep in an alley." The sentence took quite a while to be pronounced in its entirety, as he broke out in laughter again and again. "Oh, lick me. You'll realize your mistake at some point, at the latest when I take out a Megacorp!" "Aurelia! Keep this information to yourself," Raya reminded. "Bwahaha. A Corp? Well, I'm curious about that, little one." With that, he emptied his beer and began to clean up. Aurelia also emptied her glass and then said goodbye as she shuffled towards her room on wobbly legs.
After crossing the narrow but long hallway, she turned into the open room and when she closed the door, she noticed the bolt that she could present, which she promptly did. She was no longer as suspicious as before, but it would have been unwise to take unnecessary risks. After she had taken off her habit and equipment, she let herself fall into the old, sagging mattress. Rarely has a bed done so much good. And to her surprise, this time she was not haunted by a nightmare.
The next morning, Aurelia woke up rested and recovered, as well as surprised that it had been really safe. "Raya, did anything happen during the night?" "No. No attempt has been made to break into your room, nor has any form of spyware been directed against you. But if you don't feel too safe, something unexpected can always happen." "Thanks for the pep talk," Aurelia replied monotonously as she presented her best eye roll while looking into a mirror. "HEY Aurelia. I saw that" Aurelia had to giggle due to the indignation in Raya's voice, which turned into a bright laugh. The absurdity of the whole situation, not only at the moment, but throughout the past few days, caught up with her and her laughter became sadder, but did not stop. From a student of the convent, to a crime-fighting war nun, with a super computer in his head. Even the fictional works Aurelia had read so far were more believable. Aurelia felt the laughter subside and the tears of laughter turn into tears of sorrow. She had lost everything she knew. Was potentially at the mercy of an AI and has had to fight and survive constantly since the monastery.
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She had to sit down because she felt her legs getting weaker. She fought back tears and inner emptiness, tried to banish both, but only succeeded in the former. That had to be enough. She took another deep breath and then got up to go to her equipment. Dressing and equipping still took a bit too long for Aurelia's taste, but she became a little more nimble with each time. With her Exodus on her back, the blender on her hip, Gladio Inanis and her combat knife on her belt, she left her room and headed for the counter of the inn.
"Morning!" was called to her in a deep voice. She returned the greeting and sat down at one of the long tables. There was only one other person in the room at the moment. A long, thin figure, wrapped in a dark blanket, from which only the sinister-looking face peeked out. "How much does breakfast cost?" "4 neuros, everything costs the same, so just say what you feel like." Aurelia ordered something she would have liked to eat in the convent: seaweed patties teriyaki. To her surprise, the food was fantastic when it was placed on the table in front of her after a few minutes. As the innkeeper was about to retire, Aurelia asked, "Hey, what's your name? I'm Deus Ex" He turned back to her and replied in his deep voice, "I'm known as a bear here, you can call me that. Deus Ex is an operaator name, right? Be that as it may, later we'll see if we can't find a place and a task for you here. But first enjoy the food."
Space and task. As much as Aurelia wanted to, she couldn't risk staying here any longer, her hunters could be close on her heels. "Raya, can you find out if I've been recognized and if someone is following me?" "Of course. I find no signs of pursuers, nor has your sighting been confirmed anywhere. It's very possible that you're safe for the first one. However, I still recommend moving on, this commune here could turn out to be dangerous. We don't know anything about the residents and they live so far away from any nets that I'm not able to check their backgrounds." Aurelia thought about it for a moment, but something in her wanted to belong too much to something. "I'm staying for now. If they wanted to do something against me, they would have done it yesterday. I also need peace and quiet." Raya didn't answer, probably because she knew exactly that she didn't have the way to stop Aurelia.
So Aurelia finished her meal, enjoyed the peace of the inn a little longer and when she finally got up, she noticed that Bear was no longer at the counter, instead of him an elderly lady with a thin build and a friendly face was sitting there washing a glass. Aurelia approached and spoke to her: "Oh hi, I'm Deus Ex. Bear said I should talk to him-," "Ah yes, Bear is outside. I'm Hildi, his wife and matron from this inn, it's wonderful to meet you. Deus Ex is such an unusual name, what's the deal with your clothes? It needs to be washed again," Aurelia's question interrupted and shot out of the old lady like the stream of a mighty river. Aurelia needed a few seconds to process everything and put all the words in the right place, but finally she just said: "Yes, it really needs to be washed. Because of Bear?" "You can just go outside, he is preparing his car, a nomadic family has been announced that will soon pass through here." Hildis' voice was delicate and fragile and relatively quiet, contrasting with Bär's powerful tone. But just like Bear, she seemed to be an upright person, so Aurelia thanked her and left the large dining room.
Bear was, as Hildi had predicted, at the sales cart where Aurelia had seen him for the first time. He was in the process of opening the window of the sales counter and securing it to the roof with a wire to provide a little shade. Only now did Aurelia notice the cyberware that Bär was hiding under his shirt. It was a long splint that seemed to run up her back, as she looked more closely, she could also see some places that were covered with synth skin. Possibly from a previous life, Aurelia thought to herself as she announced herself with a clearing of her throat
"Ha, you're Deus Ex, did you decide to stay here?" "Yes, I really have," she replied with a fine smile. "Wonderful, first we have to find a nickname for you, something short like mine would be best. Hm, Deus wouldn't be inappropriate for the more religious among us, but Ex seems to be good, what do you think?" "I like it, thank you. So what exactly do I have to do to belong here?" Bear completed the preparations while saying to her: "You need a task. Something that everyone here can benefit from, then you get one of the rooms for a while until we have cleared or built a small house for you. What are you good at?" This question hit Aurelia a little. What was it good at other than causing problems and suffering? While she was aware that she had some talents and would make any technical or digital task easier for Raya, she didn't want to reveal what her skills were. She didn't think it was necessary, but she wanted to exercise a little caution.
"I'm quite good with my weapons, maybe I can help like that?" "Well, actually, we don't really have any problems that would need a weapon, and if we do, we're pretty good at defending ourselves. But how about helping Parker hunt? It won't be done with modern weapons, but that won't be a problem." "Hunting? What is supposed to be hunted here?" "We only call it that here because there are always curious ears, it's not about hunting animals, but Parker will explain it all to you, if you want I can take you directly to him." It all went much faster than Aurelia had expected, so her answer was slightly late: "Yes, of course, why not." Parker, as it turned out a short time later, was short, blond and slim, with torn dark clothes.
Bear introduced them to each other and then went back in the direction of his car. Parker's badly shaved face still looked quite young, and because of the way he moved, I guessed that he couldn't be older than herself. His accommodation was a small hut built of scrap metal, which stood out for its many hollowed-out Cyberdeck housings. "This is my place, welcome" came from the grinning Parker. "Everything you could wish for can be found here. Or at least it will end here sooner or later" His voice was clear and very pleasant and he radiated an aura of good humor that Aurelia felt positively influenced by.