My new apartment became an outpost of the Mox, or so it seemed. Members of the gang were in and out all day delivering all the new equipment and settings things up.

My den was converted into a bunk room for my new guests, with three very nice queen sized bunk beds. Plus storage for all of my new guests' necessities. I had a sense I'd be hard pressed to find any extended shower time in the near future.

We put together a cluster of medical equipment in my living area, I don't recall what bothered me more; the fact that I had enough room to house a full surgical theater in my living area, or that there was now no room for anything else. Two fully kitted out Ripper Chairs, four different types of Autodocs. A whole host of monitors and scanners.

None of it was for me, of course, it was for Evie.

Evie was a Mox who was learning the trade of a Ripper. So they could get out from under unscrupulous assholes that took payment in trade, she explained. Green dark hair and green eyes complimented her serious features. She had a personality that was so no nonsense, I joked that she was nineteen going on forty. She either didn't get it or simply decided not to respond.

While she still had a couple of years of schooling left, she should have no problem helping me with my subjects' cyberware. Most problems concerning chrome would be ones of basic maintenance.

My dining area was converted into a small datacenter both to monitor and coordinate my findings with a larger offsite NETcluster that would handle the release of all useful information to the medical community. My name and abilities would obviously be obscured. Lacie the second of my new guests to arrive was responsible for all of this.

She was a little spitfire of a woman, never sitting still and always talking at a speed just short of sound itself. Her multicolored fiber hair bounced along with her mouth's cadence. Her optics were an odd green, black, red combo, though they were usually covered by her techgoggles. Her shocking purple netrunner suit hurt my eyes.

She was designing a Learning Algorithm to help with shoring up my findings so that they would seem more professional. I quickly asked if that violated any of the AI restrictions and received a lecture on the differences between the two. All I understood out of her rapid speech was that it didn't.

I purchased most of the equipment, using the Moxes' and Rogue's connections. It ended up costing a sizable chuck of my money, but was still far cheaper than I could've imagined. Rogue's assistance came at the price of helping her build inroads with the Mox. Something that hadn't gone well for either side in the past.

Well, it wouldn't be the first time I had brought different folks together.

Mark and Gena, a couple that was seriously into each other, showed up next. They were here for some basic security. They quickly got all the permissions from the Megabuilding's management to install monitoring equipment including cameras and sensors in the closest section of the outer hallway and then more in the apartment. Later several hidden turrets would be added for additional defense. I personally thought they were going a bit overbroad, but then reminded myself what this place was like.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

The instant any useful data was generated and distributed, We'd have a huge target on our heads. Thus some huscle.

Mark remained me of Maine, at least in the size department. He started way too young as a Doll for one of the secret clubs. His natural good looks attracting a certain type of disgusting pervert. After getting 'discarded' for being 'used up'. He decided he would never be subject to whims of others again. He found Gena or she found him and they found the Mox.

Gena, who reminded me of a leopard, was the daughter of a CEO who was forcefully retired. Her father's enemies had her captured and converted into a pleasure Doll by the Tyger Claws. She spent a couple of years as a plaything of terrible people. If not for a MaxTac raid on her owner, that might have been her fate. But when she somehow survived the crossfire with minimal damage she got taken in by one of the officers.

A car accident left her alone again and she ended up on the streets, where she and Mark met. The rest of their story was a good one, full of revenge and sex and, dare I believe it, love.

I'm not going to lie, I was touched by their story. Two damaged people finding each other and building a better life together. It appealed greatly to some part of me I didn't really understand.

So what if a few bodies were dropped here and there? That was just the cost of doing business in NC.

The last of my new additions was Ricky. He was a Mox that specialized in therapy for the Gang. He was eclectic in his approach to treatment, trying to tailor his help to the actual problem rather than following a set of overarching guidelines. He was educated somewhere in eastern NUSA- and spoke with a slight twang with a hint of a drawl as well. I felt like I'd heard a similar accent before, I just couldn't remember where.

He was fucking funny too. I'd never be able to do his humor justice myself. Trust me when I say he could get a laugh out of a corpse.

I spent time talking with each of my new roommates. I gave them a heavily edited rundown of my story, and a very basic overview of what I wanted to accomplish. Then I cooked up a decent meal with some things I found down in the markets on the 80th floor of the building.

They shipped the good stuff by AV straight to the higher floors, I discovered. They had little docks and platforms for the damned things.

By my standards, most of these ingredients were subpar. However, by Night City standards these were the crème de la crème of foodstuffs.

I whipped up some chicken rice casserole. It was something I learned to cook with my Mom, when I was a kid, and was still comfort food to me. With a side of spicy twice baked potatoes. Something I taught myself after I started living on my own.

It almost tasted right to me. I shrugged it off. It would work for now, until I could start bringing better ingredients back from my Hub.

After we shared the meal, I was told I was officially the property of the Mox now. Hell, they were shocked I could cook at all, it was a lost skill for adults here, unless you specifically worked in the food industry. I was promised many things if only I would keep cooking for them. Heh.

It was good to get along with folks.

Mith, of course, needed no such bribe to get on the Moxes' good sides. Indeed, he instead collected tithes of pets and scratches. He was too friendly to ignore and too happy to let folks wallow.

In a few days, Susie would send over the first volunteers. I was to return them in better health than they started, otherwise it was understood that I could do pretty much anything I thought was needed. They would be monitored every step of the way, and all data generated would belong to the Mox.

No, that wasn't me bending over for them. I wanted to keep my name out of it. Getting better control of my ability was enough for me. I suspected that at some point even the good will I had built up with the Mox might not be enough to keep them from turning on me if I turned this into a business partnership.

Nah, I'd find a different route to generate Eddies later. Though the occasional run with folks from the Afterlife might be a good way to start.

The next day, I let my new roomies know I'd be going to a meeting. I gave them an estimated time frame, promising to keep in touch.

Time to go see what remained of my outpost.

Time to go see Amanda.