Sophie was cruising along the brightly lit streets of Night City, Sasha accompanying her in the passenger seat. Her friend had asked for assistance in becoming a better merc, so Sophie had devised a plan to improve Sasha’s abilities in every way. Specifically, they were heading back to the young thief’s apartment after she picked up the netrunner.
“So uh, you’ve never really told me where you get all your gear. You got a special supplier or something?” Sasha asked curiously.
“I stole most of it.” The blunt reply caused the older girl’s jaw to drop as she stared at her friend. Sophie flashed her a smirk, “what, you really think I’d waste my money on that stuff?”
“That’s what normal people do!” Sasha cried out, “you’re not normal! You’re weird!” Sophie cackled in response as they pulled into her garage. It was the first time since they’d met that Sasha was coming over and the younger merc had to admit it was nice seeing the netrunner’s surprised face.
“You can leave your stuff wherever you want,” she waved casually. “Come on, follow me.” Sophie wandered into her personal armoury, the weapon collection having grown a significant amount over the years. Sasha stepped in, immediately in awe of her young friend. Well, that’s what Sophie thought at least.
“Is this all stolen? It’s…well it’s a lot.”
“Hmm, most of it is stolen. Oh! Except this katana!” She held up the katana she had retrieved from her very first system mission. “I found this one!” She chirped.
“Rightttt.” Sasha’s expression suggested she didn’t believe the small kleptomaniac at all. Hey! I’m not that bad! Sophie cried internally.
Recovering quickly, the thief offered the netrunner her choice of weapon. With Sophie explaining the pros and cons of each gun, Sasha eventually settled on the expected choice; a Militech M-76E Omaha. The very same pistol the woman would use at the time of her death. Well, Sophie would do everything she could to ensure that her friend wouldn’t meet the same fate.
“Sooo, what now?”
“Now I teach you to shoot! I’ll do that and when I eventually get myself a cyberdeck, you can show me the basics! How’s that sound?”
Sasha smiled and agreed. Then paused.
“Wait…Does that mean we won’t continue to work together? Why do you want to learn my skills?” Sasha’s voice was slightly shaky. She would never admit it but working with Sophie was enjoyable and the older girl had already begun to see the thief as a younger-sister figure. She didn’t want that relationship to disappear, like her mother had when she passed.
Sophie looked at her strangely. Then, in a rather stern voice, spoke. “No. Sasha, I have no intention of leaving or replacing you. I want to learn both out of general interest and a desire to better shield myself from enemy runners. You’ll always be the true netrunner of the team.” Her voice softened. “I can tell you’ve got some anxiety, I assumed something related to your family?” Sasha’s eyes widened slightly but the girl continued.
“I’m not going anywhere. Even if I do, I’ll make sure to bring you with me. Got that?” Turning so that the younger girl couldn’t see the tears that threatened to spill out, Sasha got herself under control. She would place her trust in her partner. That was her conclusion.
After the brief emotional episode, they made their way over to Sophie’s personal shooting range, once again baffling the netrunner. I really need to stop being surprised by this girl. The older girl looked at her partner with a fond smile. Sophie spotted it and started grinning stupidly. A quick ‘bonk’ on the head changed that, an aggrieved look replacing it. The look of betrayal made the older merc giggle.
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Grumbling about being bullied, Sophie began demonstrating various basics for shooting. It ended up being a rather fun day for the pair. In fact, they ended up practising well into the night. By the time they realised how late it was, both of them were mentally exhausted. Sensing an opportunity, the younger girl offered to let her partner stay over.
“Y’know, that’d be great Soph. I’ll take the couch?”
“Absolutely not!” Sasha was dragged upstairs to the bed. It was big enough for two adults, let alone an adult and a child.
“Are you sure? I’m fine with taking the couch.” The netrunner tried to argue.
“Nope! This is my first sleepover and you won’t ruin it for me!” Sophie declared, triumphantly raising her fist in the air with a grin. Sasha relented under the intense look her friend was giving her.
Moments later, both were wrapped in comfortable nightgowns. Once they were under the covers, Sophie quickly snuggled up to the older girl.
This is nice. Sasha thought, looking at the small figure wrapped around her like an octopus. They fell asleep like that, only waking up in the later hours of the morning.
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“So, what exactly are we here for?”
“To get you a bike!” Sophie replied happily, scanning the small casino they were targeting.
Rita had provided the location, thankful that Sophie was willing to distract some of the Tyger Claw forces. The younger girl had felt bad about her friend’s busy life, combating the aggressive attacks the biker gang was launching on the Mox. So obviously she had offered her assistance considering she’d be targeting them anyway.
Right! I should have known we’d be stealing it. This is Sophie after all. Sasha thought to herself, even as she began breaching into the casino’s security. There wasn’t much, just a few alarms and cameras. With no Tyger netrunner already in the system, it was a breeze for the older girl to disable the security.
“All done. I’ve jammed their communications as well, so we don’t have to worry about reinforcements. It’s just the five of them inside, plus the one outside.”
“Sounds good. Can you send me the positions of the ones inside?” The data came through immediately. “Are you willing to handle the one outside? I’ll clear the inside.”
“Sure, I can do that.” Although she said that, there was a small tremor in her voice. Sophie ignored it but realised she would have to have a conversation with her friend afterwards.
Having the positions of her targets made wiping them out easy. The young merc burst in the doors, her Talons already firing. Two crumpled instantly. She changed targets, taking down another pair. The final Tyger tried to run, but he collapsed with a bullet through his head. Sophie didn’t stay, instead heading out to Sasha’s position in the back alley, where her target was.
Sophie stepped back into the alley, only to find Sasha slumped against the wall, sobbing. Her hands trembled and her face was pale, eyes jittering.
“What’s wrong?” Sophie asked, though she already knew.
“I… I killed him,” Sasha whispered. “He was just standing there, and now he’s dead,” she waved her hand at the corpse. Multiple bullet wounds from the netrunner’s gun adorned his body.
Sophie crouched down, placing a hand on Sasha’s shoulder. “Look at me.” She did. “Killing someone isn’t easy the first time,” she said softly. “And that’s a damn good thing. Taking a life should never be easy.” The younger girl paused again, letting her words sink in.
Sasha looked up, her eyes wet with tears. “How do you deal with it?”
Sophie gave her a grimace before replying. “The first time I killed someone, it took me a while to recover. Not even a year ago, I discovered that I had become disturbingly fond of taking lives. Since then, I’ve made a promise that I’ll only take the lives of truly deserving people.” Sasha looked at her questioningly.
“A corpo soldier, a gang member, a murderer or a rapist. Or maybe it’s someone that orders those things to be done. These are people I have no problem killing. But I’ll never kill someone who is defenceless or someone that has done no wrong. I’m a killer, yes, but I hope I can be a killer with some morals.” Sophie gave a self-deprecating smile. “I’m sure I’ll fuck it up at some point, though hopefully by accident and not on purpose.”
“I see…I think I understand what you’re getting at. As long as the people are scum, you have no problem killing them?”
“That’s right. I’m no saint but there are people hundreds of times worse in this shithole of a city. Now, come on. Let’s get you your bike.” Despite the tear marks running down her face, Sasha smiled at her. She still needed time to resolve herself, but Sophie could see it happening soon. It was something she was glad to see, even if she hated having to put her friend in such a situation.
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As the two girls entered Sophie’s garage, Sasha riding her new bike, the younger girl quickly pulled up her system and made a selection.
Profession selected: Engineer
Skills Unlocked: Engineering (Basic), Designer
Designer: Lvl.1
A passive skill that allows you to create better designs when crafting.
Engineering (Basic): Lvl.1
Grants basic knowledge of Engineering.
Her Driver profession had maxed out a few weeks ago and Sophie had been putting off taking a new one. However, with Sasha’s bike needing some modifications, it was the perfect time. She looked at her partner, watching as the netrunner parked her new bike next to the old Yaiba Kusanagi that Sophie had almost never touched. Maybe I need to modify two bikes this time.
The trait she got from the Driver profession was a very good one as well.
Trait: Enhanced Reflexes - Your reflexes are enhanced.