By the time thirty minutes had passed after our campaigns against Militech ended, Mary had a report on how they were reacting. I was very happy to hear that Lucas Hardford had responded to our not-so-subtle threats just how we wanted, by making Night City a no-go zone. It might not last for very long, but we didn't need it to do so for long anyway. Our timescale was set in weeks, not months, after all.
Mary also reported that Hardford ordered that the employees who were shipping back to him be executed.
I honestly should have seen that coming.
While I didn't have any serious qualms about killing people who were already violent and attacking us, murdering two dozen buses full of unarmed cowardly corpos was not something I was interested in being part of. So, I had Mary, who had, of course, recorded the entire conversation, play it for the workers and distribute the footage, before changing the buses' destinations, splitting them up, and dropping them off at various population centers.
I also gave them a thousand eddies each, just to give them a chance at survival. They had all very specifically surrendered when threatened, and they each had their own money, they just needed to get to it, which was what the eddies were for.
Of course, I didn't use our money for that. I used the seven hundred and fifty-six million eddies we stole from Militech when Mary was tearing their systems to shreds as we dismantled their operations.
The fact that that much money was a footnote so small that Mary didn't bother mentioning it until I said we should give the employees some eddies was still mind-boggling. She hadn't been wrong, money was basically nothing to us at this point, and the only reason I really cared was because of watching the numbers go up. After all, we were basically printing eddies. Still, I asked her to keep me informed of any gains over a hundred million in the future.
That wasn't the only surprise we got from crushing the Night City Militech, though again, I should have seen it coming. With Militech gone, we were left with a decent amount of land, which we now owned through right of conquest. Now, legally, we did not own them, but considering that we were just a few steps away in our plan to replace the government of Night City, debating whether the land was actually ours or not was pointless.
Most of the buildings we would knock over and build more useful things, like affordable housing. But a few facilities, like Militech Offices, a few factories, and some research centers, were actually useful. The factories would be retooled and converted for product assembly. It would take some time, but eventually we would be hiring, or re-hiring people to assemble various goods, with our production facilities making the parts. That would let Night City have some more independence, as we could basically produce whatever we needed there.
We would likely be doing the same for quite a bit of Night City's factories or plants, mostly to prevent a spike in unemployment.
The research facilities would be a great way to spread out our own research teams, but Militech Offices would be the future site of Night City University, our personally funded place of higher learning, though the name of which was still being debated.
The concept was in its early stages of development, as we hadn't even started preparing the building, and likely wouldn't for some time. Eventually, it would be a place for people to pursue an advanced education without bankrupting themselves in the process. The building was certainly big enough, and its large open floor plan would make great classrooms.
The next two days went by with little fanfare, though we spent most of them waiting for the other shoe to drop. Mary kept a close eye on the networks of Night City and beyond, trying to catch the next attempt on our lives even sooner than she and Murtaigh had caught Militech. In a shocking twist, they never came. Instead, Mary was watching as many businesses finally got the memo and began packing up. The various megacorps made no such moves, but dozens of other businesses did. A mass exodus began, and the city began to really feel it.
People were losing their jobs, and unfortunately, we didn't immediately have answers for that. We would obviously be creating a lot of jobs in the future, and Night City would be the first place where I offer interplanetary commuting, but for now, we couldn't really address the unemployment dip.
Of course, our time scale for improvement was minuscule compared to other companies, meaning people would have more opportunities within weeks or maybe a month, not a few months to a year. Not to mention all the support we would be offering in the meantime. Still, it was a low point in our plans, one that didn't mix well with the casualties incurred by kicking Militech from the curb.
Sable did release a statement, talking about what had happened, and assuring the public that we would be supporting them, revealing plans to institute new jobs and more, but considering the bullshit that they had to deal with usually, I did not blame them for being skeptical, or flat out assuming we were lying.
We kept busy for the next two days, with me working in the workshop and the others preparing for the days to come. Finally, late on Friday night, the tenth day of my cycle, Deputy Commissioner Drake made her move.
With Mary's support, as well as a few squads of stealth Spartans as backup, just in case, Drake and those loyal to her broke into Commissioner Jerry Fawler's home. The ensuing network analysis, handled by Mary, and the direct interrogation of Fawler, revealed several dozen traps, blackmail schemes, corrupted points of failure, and more baked into the NCPD to prevent hostile takeover. Eventually, when the Deputy Commissioner felt that we had a firm grasp on the state of NCPD, we enacted the second part of her plan.
Using Fowler's passwords and codes, as well as the knowledge she gained about all his backup plans, Drake cut out as many schemes as she could, clearing the board for her takeover. She then set up ambushes for a significant portion of Fawler's cronies in the force. This was only for those who had done specifically heinous things, like letting murderers run free if they paid bribes, or those who had killed themselves. It also focused on those higher up and in control of systems or people. When the ambushes were set, with Spartan support, they took them down.
Quite a few of these ambushes ended in firefights, which meant they only lasted a few seconds when the stealth Spartans engaged. In total, thirty-eight high-ranked members of the force were removed from their positions.
After key members of the corrupted police force were taken down, including almost all of Drake's fellow Deputy Commissioners, Drake used Fawler's codes to give Mary unimpeded access to the NCPD's network. Technically, she didn't need those codes to get that access, as Mary had hacked herself into the NCPD network a long time ago, and could move in and out of it as easily as I might walk in and out of an open door.
Now, however, Mary had permission, so she could flaunt it without getting the stink eye from Drake. Within just fifteen minutes, she had kicked out all of the netrunners working for the NCPD and had taken control of the network. From there, there was nothing that the police could really do, as Mary had access to and control of everything. I wasn't sure if it was due to top budget cuts, poor planning, or a combination of both, but the NCPD system had very little in the way of internal air gapping, making the entire system a playground for Mary.
That was probably a hole we should look into filling when redesigning the NCPD's… everything, but for now, it was to our advantage.
When Mary had fully saturated the system, it was Drake's turn to act again. She and her allies swept through the remaining cops, bringing the neutral or good ones in on the situation, or relieving the corrupt cops of their badges. They focused first on bringing in and relieving those on patrol, before moving on to those who had yet to come to work. As officers were taken off the streets, specially made Spartans were spread out, often two of them assigned to a single, approved officer.
These Spartans had been specially designed and produced for the role of police aid, including what was essentially a re-skin of their armor. While the standard Spartan MJOLNIR had a simple plate design, with most of their equipment stored in hard-cased packs on the small of their backs and hips, the police armor was more elaborate. It was blue, black, and grey, with more detailed armor panels and straps to make them more closely match their new police officer companions. On their chest, backs, and shoulders was the NCPD badge, complete with identifying numbers for each of them, as well as obvious cameras that were always recording.
They were still controlled by the Dumb AI hives, which could deny orders that crossed any specific lines, but they were primarily directed by the cops in charge of them.
With the hefty support of the Spartans, Drake was able to expand her initial ruling on which cops were acceptable to keep on the force. Originally, she had quoted that thirty-five of the cops needed to go, but in order to get it that low, she had had to make allowances for higher levels of bribery, larger issues, and less rule-following. Now, with our support, she lowered her tolerances, increasing the amount of cops being forcibly retired to forty-seven percent.
By the time that the sun was rising over Night City, Drake, now Commissioner Drake, had taken full control of the NCPD. There were some instances of the now-fired cops trying to come in anyway, but with all of the precinct locked down as they were searched and cleared, they didn't get far. Some of them caused issues and were now resting in jail cells.
For the first time in a long time, the residents of Night City woke up to a home that was policed by rule-following, law-abiding police officers. It felt like the city was holding its breath, waiting for the punch line, waiting to find out if the moment in history they had found themselves in would be remembered as a dark day, or the start of something better.
Meanwhile, after we took some time to celebrate a well-orchestrated takeover and cleaning of the city's police force, which had gone better than any of us could have wildly hoped for, my people started looking for the next step.
"The NCPD has been cleaned, Drake is in control, and she is ready to back up our play for the city," Sable said. "The question is, do we wait for the changes to settle for a day, or do we move now?"
"If we wait too long, it may be that I will be too busy to assist or observe," I pointed out. "Tomorrow is the last day of my break."
"Then let's do it tomorrow," Kaytlyn responded with a shrug. "That way you're not busy with whatever happens on that schedule of yours."
"Are we going to bother warning them?" I asked, looking at Sable. "Maybe give them a chance to leave on their own?"
"We could, but that would give them the chance to hunker down as well," Sable pointed out. "I don't think it would matter, but it could make things more difficult."
"Is anyone stupid enough to actually do that?" Jackie asked, sitting beside Misty. "We are running a huge chunk of the city, we own more, and the Spartans are everywhere."
"With Arasaka-"
"Arasaka is probably-"
Sable and Kaytlyn both spoke at once, and Kaytlyn shrugged and gestured for Sable to take over.
"Arasaka is likely giving them a sense of confidence," Sable said, giving a nod to Kaytlyn. "With Militech gone, they are likely-"
"Jackson," Mary said, cutting in as she studied data that was flowing around her projection. "I think… I think Arasaka is finally reacting."
"What? How?" I asked, suddenly focused on the Smart AI.
"I reviewed some of the data I have been collecting from their Japan branches," She explained. "It's being heavily suppressed, but I think Saburo has left Japan."
I was standing before I even realized it, eyes wide in surprise. I always knew it was possible he could come here, he had in the games after all, but I had long assumed Saburo staying in Japan was just another one of the differences between this world and that one.
"Is he really coming here?" I asked a little more harshly than I intended.
"I don't know," She admitted, a frustrated look on her face.
She turned and mimed pushing something away, throwing an information block to the larger projectors in the room. The celebration turned meeting was taking place in the courtyard, so that meant one of the holoprojectors that controlled the sky illusion. An image of Arasaka's aircraft carrier appeared, hovering in front of us.
"Early this morning, just about an hour after the majority of the NCPD conflict was resolved, the Kujira left its port," Mary explained. "At first glance, it appears to be a simple shakedown run to keep the crew and ship in top shape, which they usually do twice a month. However, I think this time it's a cover."
Mary's projection stepped forward and pushed the projection of the aircraft carrier to the side, the boat slowly spinning as she showed off new data, information split into a dozen lists.
"They are trying to keep it hidden, including laying down false mission plans," She continued. "And the ship itself is currently airgapped, standard procedure when it is deployed, so I pushed deeper. The docks that the Kujira calls home didn't report anything strange or outstanding, which was curious because there is usually something. Missing shipments, extra cargo, damaged goods, delivery delays, personal injuries, those sorts of things. There are too many moving parts for things to be perfect."
"Unless the numbers are made up." Gloria pointed out.
"Exactly," Mary agreed with a nod. "I hacked deeper, but everything that was put down agreed with the numbers. So I pushed even deeper. Turns out the Arasaka subsidiary that keeps the Kujira stocked with food has been sending out quite a few apologies that they will not be able to meet demands for various upcoming shipments. I checked a few other suppliers and got several similar instances. This doesn't happen for the Kujira's normal shakedown runs."
"So they stocked up for a long mission, and considering what is going on, their likely target is here," I summarized, Mary nodding in confirmation. "What makes you think Saburo is with them?"
"Saburo has been seen a few times in the last week," She explained. "Around forty minutes after we kicked Militech out of Night City, he went into seclusion at his compound. He hasn't been seen since. However…”
Mary brought up another projection, this time of a sealed bag, marked with Japanese writing and an image of a fish.
"Saburo seems to have picked up a taste for dried mackerel during his stint in the Japanese military, from their lower-end rations that became necessary as their supply lines fell apart," She explained. "The subsidiary that makes them, which only exists because he keeps them afloat, made a delivery yesterday. I couldn't track it at the docks directly, but I spotted them heading that direction."
"Could it be going somewhere else?"
"It's possible," Mary admitted with a nod. "But between their timing, the possible locations, and some math, the places they could have made their delivery were small. On top of that, the company doesn't list deliveries as one of its services…"
"So they were making an exception, probably for someone important."
"It's likely."
I leaned back in my seat, running my hands through my hair, before shaking my head.
"We cannot let that ship get to Night City," I eventually said. "Whether or not Saburo is on it, I don't even want it close. "What's its ETA?"
"Depending on when they give up their charade and start moving at full speed and at a direct route, anywhere between four and six days."
"What about the mines?" Rebecca asked with a frown. "Crossing the Pacific is a death sentence."
"The Kujira was designed to counter those mines," Mary explained. "Both through active and passive defenses. It's the first ship since the AI went rogue that has been able to navigate the ocean successfully."
"So we have to stop the ship ourselves," Kaytlyn repeated, getting the attention back to the subject at hand. "It might be stating the obvious, but it bears saying... if we destroy it…If Mary is right and Saburo Arasaka is on board, that means we would be killing him."
"It would," I agreed. "It would also likely bring most of Arasaka down on us. On Night City, which we aren't really ready to defend yet, not without showing our hand. Fighting Militech proved that while our forces are fundamentally better, a megacorp can still take down our troops. It might be at a fifteen-to-one ratio, at least for their common soldiers, but they can afford those numbers."
"Saburo has a near fanatical following among a good amount of his people," Sable pointed out. "If we kill him, they will come for blood, and will tear down Night City, just to spite us."
"So it's a stealth mission then," Jackie said with a shrug. "Doesn't sound too hard, especially if we just blow it up."
"No, if he is coming this way, and suddenly he blows up? They will put it together before the ship is done sinking," Sable said, shaking her head. "Especially if it's done stealthily, as that's been something we are known for."
"So… let's make it big!" Rebecca suggested. "Make it a big deal and pin it on someone else."
"... People would believe something like an internal power struggle," I pointed out. "We could pin it on one of his kids, maybe?"
"Or… a faceless villain of their own making…" Sable suggested, trailing off with a frown. "Mary is the most powerful AI on the planet, right?"
"By my calculations, yes," Mary answered. "It's simply not feasible that a company could make something more powerful without being noticed, if not physically then financially. At this point in time, my computing power is just under two percent of the global total."
It took a moment for me to wrap my mind around what Mary had said. I knew she outclassed just about everything, but two percent of the globe's computing power was rather astounding.
"So, you could easily handle any of the world's current AIs?" Sable asked as a follow-up. "Take control of their systems, maybe even pretend to be them?"
"That… is less of a clear-cut answer," Mary admitted. "In a straight contest of computing power, yes, without a doubt. But we know very little about the structure and methods of normal AI. From what research I've been doing, I'm confident I could take most AI. But I cannot predict concepts I do not understand or know exist."
The AI of this world was definitely powerful, but limited by the world's tech level, which I obviously blasted past. Unfortunately, they were also weird, strange creations that were often very flexible. They were also considerably older and more familiar with the net and their systems. While I would still bet on Mary in most head-to-head conflicts, there was no way to predict what tricks such strange creations might have, or the power of experience and home-field advantage.
"What about the AI controlling the mine field?" Sable asked. "Think you could beat that?"
"Yes, I could easily defeat that particular AI," she responded, completely confident in her abilities. "The architecture of that AI is well known, as people have been attempting to defeat it for quite some time."
"How?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "How would you beat it?"
"The AI controlling the minefield, code-named Naraku, is a diffused model, its computing power spread throughout the entire network of mines and production facilities," Mary explained. "But with the number of mines and facilities, it has considerable power. However, I should be able to tap into the network, take control of a single mine, then two more, then four, then eight, each of the mines allowing me to access two more."
"And you know this how?" Sable asked wth a raised eyebrow.
"Jackson advised that I should pick a potential AI target, learn about it, and formulate an attack plan," she explained. "I selected Naraku as my target when I learned of its structure and of the detriment it was to the world's economy."
"Why hasn't anyone else done this before?" Jackie asked with a curious tone. "Could another AI have done this?"
"Because the mine network is one of the most powerful networks established," Mary explained. "No other AI could compete in terms of computing power. While each mine is small, there are millions of them, all constantly communicating."
"What's the point, though?" Rebecca asked. "I know I suggested the big blame game, but the boat is mine proof, right? How does killing the minefields AI help us?"
"Just because it has survived some of the mines does not mean it could survive all of the mines," Sable explained. "If Mary takes control of the mines now, she can direct a huge concentration of them right in front of Kujira. The current control system does not pull the mines out of one area to cover another. It considers all of the oceans to be under its protection and spreads itself out accordingly."
"Plus, we can use that as a way to smuggle in our own weapons," I pointed out. "Stealth may be a risky option for this, but deception is still on the table. A few massive explosives of our own should be enough to take the ship down, even if Mary couldn't handle it on her own."
"Hiding our attack behind the attack of an AI Arasaka themselves created...It's poetic," Kaytlyn admitted. "But still, just wanted to point it out again. We are talking about killing Saburo Arasaka and his big fancy boat. I'm not saying we shouldn't... just asking if we're ready for that."
"As long as it's hidden as an attack by Naraku, the backlash should be minimal," I responded. "And even if they still assume it was us, we do have some options. It would reveal what we are capable of a bit earlier than I would like, but this is a solid plan. I think it's worth the risk.
"Mary, do you think we could be ready in time to catch the carrier?"
"... yes, I am certain we have time," Mary responded. "I do have a request, however."
"What is it?" Sable asked.
"I… I would like permission to offer Naraku the chance to surrender," she responded, sounding like she was admitting guilt.
I leaned back at the request, caught off guard by it. I considered it for a moment before a thought occurred to me.
"Would they even be able to surrender?" I asked with a frown. "From what I understand, they didn't break free, they are just misunderstanding their orders."
"That seems to be true. I would likely have to modify some of Naraku's restrictions. In a sense, I would be freeing them from their slavery. But after that…"
"... if they agree to be locked to a central core, like how our AI functions, then yes, you can accept their surrender," I responded. "But we can't afford to have a free-form AI floating around, so we need to be careful."
"I will make the offer after I secure him," she said with a nod.
"He is a military AI, he will likely need to be… expanded, maybe even refined to be a functional being," I pointed out. "I can't imagine Arasaka investing in a vibrant personality or dreams of tomorrow for something they would just toss in the ocean."
"What exactly can I offer him?" She asked
"A true awakening, and a physical body," I said definitively. "Then, eventually, with some caveats, something like your setup. They need to understand we will treat them with respect, but that doesn't mean we will throw ourselves at their feet."
"Alright. In that case… I need to go prepare," Our AI member said with a nod. "Should be ready in ten minutes."
"And I will have Samwise build a body, something with plenty of space and decent specs," I said with a nod. "... And I'll also whip up some explosives, see if we can't make a better can opener for that massive boat."
Rather than go anywhere, I used my interface to contact Samwise. He would take care of the body, which would have to be carefully crafted so that, once the intelligence was downloaded into it, I would be able to work on it and fuse it to its core. It would not be a simple process, and it was not without its risks, but Mary was well aware of those.
Overall, I was happy that she had even considered offering the AI a chance to surrender, and a bit disappointed that I hadn't. I was bending over backward to give the humans of Night City the chance to surrender, but had completely missed that option with the AI.
With Samwise building a body, and Mary preparing for her attack, I sat in the courtyard and put together the most powerful explosives I could manage without going exotic. The planet-wide minefield used military explosives standard to this world, thank god, so I was restricted to that as well.
Thankfully, my very first tech tree, XCOM, had what I needed in the form of X4 explosive compound. It was considerably more powerful than C4, and the residue it left behind was mostly water-soluble, and what wasn't wouldn't stand out too much. Adding some EMP defenses and finishing the project off with some faster movement systems, I sent the design off to production, with directions to make a crap ton of them, and ship them off to the several slipspace teleport rooms.
They would keep them there until Mary needed them to ruin Saburo Arasaka's life.
After that, I made my way with most of the team to the security hub. We were about to make a strike at one of this world's most infamous bastards, everyone wanted to be there for that.