Previous chap has been neatened up.
The Veteran
Mason Smith didn't quite frown as he was lead through the Megabuilding level by a bunch of coat wearing kids with guns, but it was a close thing. Their perimeter was shit, their gear was worse, and they were far too relaxed for a self appointed 'security force'.
He'd say as much but it wasn't none of his business, life had thoroughly taught him that lesson.
The kid in the lead, calls himself Estaban, stopped as they reached a quiet corner of the place "Here we are old timer." The Latino said, eyeing the dozen other vets behind Mason before slowly nodding to himself "Give us a shout when you're done. The local Tygers are alright but a pound of cure and all that."
"Thanks, kid." Mason grunted and reached for his money chips "Here, buy yourself and your boys some drinks as thanks."
The kid raised his hand to refuse "There is no need. The Doc already paid us to be on the lookout." The other kids shot him annoyed glares but he didn't react at all.
Mason snorted "Whatever floats your boat, kid. Be seeing you later."
The kid nodded and the mini gang departed soon after.
Mason didn't need to turn around to see the evaluating, and even slightly respectful looks his compadres were shooting at the kid's back.
"Alright, that's enough dallying." He grunts at his boys "Let's get this show on the road."
They all quickly shuffle into the clinic's reception area in good order, and are met with a Latina woman wearing an odd uniform and sorting through what to Mason's practiced eye looked to be contract paperwork.
"Ah." She looks up and smiles welcomingly, the expression was almost bafflingly honest to most of them "You are just on time, the Doctor will be with us in a bit." She indicated for them to take their seats on the few sofas tastefully spread about and got back to her sorting before almost startling herself into a stop and looking back up at them "Does anyone want a drink? This might take some time."
Chuckling to himself, Mason made the executive decision for everyone else "Just some water, sister. Gotta keep our heads clear for this one."
She smiled and quickly brought every single one of them a can of RealWater from the nearby fridge and got back to her work for real this time.
His boys shot him odd looks as he stared down at the can in his hand. It'd been years since he bothered with actual water, beer was just as clean (mostly) and way cheaper. RealWater was simply an indulgence most of them couldn't afford with all the other shit life took from them on the daily.
He shrugged and chugged down some of that refreshing goodness, deciding to just stop thinking and enjoy it. Either his future boss was trying to butter them up, or he considered this sort of thing to be the baseline. Mason was fine with both.
A moment later the borg in question stepped through the autodoor leading to the clinic proper, and Mason immediately found himself frowning.
He was wearing a more bulky version of the Latina's odd robe line uniform, which Mason still found a bit weird, but that wasn't what made him frown.
The borg was taller than a few days back, just a few inches but it was noticeable, and his face was no longer a slightly elongated round ball with holes but had a more angular visibly armored look, and the metal seemed to have a bit more of a sheen than before.
Every bit of him was still completely cybernetic though, not a nose in sight.
And then he moved.
Unlike before, where his movements were merely quick but still jerky enough to feel somewhat natural, the way he moved now was almost impossibly fluid, like every single inch of him had been perfectly articulated and optimized to the point of inhumanity.
Something that large should not be moving like that.
It threatened to send Mason's hindbrain into fight or flight something fierce.
But he and his boys weren't bitch made, so all they did was tense and narrow their eyes as they recalculated their situation and quickly realized they now shared a room with a proper military grade cyborg.
"Gentlemen." Unaware or uncaring for their discomfort, Magos spoke up, his voice the same slightly synthetic drone, and thankfully completely calm "Thank you for being punctual. We have much to discuss, and there is much work to be done before the day is out."
He stood in front of the reception table and eyed Mason "Mr. Smith. I trust you are here to oversee the signing?"
"Eyup." Mason nodded, standing up and forcing his shitty legs to stop shaking "Still a few weeks before you get to cut me up doc, but I can't be leaving my boys to sign something they will regret."
"You are their representative." The borg waves a hand in agreement, the movement making Mason feel like twitching again "Now, before we begin. I trust none of you plan on backing out at this junction?"
The others grumbled and grunted at the question, leaving Mason as the one to answer. Firming his resolve despite knowing the man across him was reasonable he said "Unless you plan to try and suddenly hoist us with some bullshit my boys will stay."
"Good." The borg nodded, satisfied "Please be aware that from this moment on all of you are under verbal non disclosure agreement not to share anything you learn. In the unfortunate event of a breach, I will enforce the penalties personally."
There was no need for elaboration on that as everyone quickly voiced their agreement. NDAs were just good business.
"Ms. Martinez, if you would."
The Latina got up and started doling out the contract sheets in silence.
"As you can see the proposal has been modified only slightly to take things like degree of relation, familiar or otherwise, into account when it comes to receiving work benefits and other minor optimizations." Magos elaborated as each vet read through their contract "The rest remains the same as presented to Mr. Smith during our first meeting."
He waited a few beats before resuming "I see some of you have finally reached the clause referring to the required loadouts."
"Aye." Nick, the sarge of this first group grunted "'Cybernetic and other enhancements must follow company policy for the duration of employment in accordance to rank and position' is pretty damn vague, bossman."
"And so it is Mr. Schmidt." Magos agreed "You will also note that the following clause states you may refuse enhancements at cost of any potential promotions for the duration of your work contract, initial improvements notwithstanding of course."
The boys muttered between themselves and didn't seem too put off. If Mason was being honest with himself, the borg was being stupidly generous with them.
Not that he'd ever voice that opinion. He was old, not senile.
"There is no need to worry though." Magos went on "This clause merely serves to enforce the bare minimum ability I expect from each and every one of you. Meaning the subdermal armoring, bone bracing and reinforcement, muscle grafts, joint boosters, med injectors, neurolinks, optics, and organ or limb replacements depending on the state of your current ones, as stated in the 'Legionary' data packet I gave Mr. Smith. Other upgrades may be requisitioned depending on the situation."
"Seems reasonable." Mason mutters "Not much use as soldiers if we can't even walk properly."
"Quite." Magos agrees dryly.
"What about more chrome?" Nick asks after a quiet moment "Cap said something about higher ranks getting the good stuff." The others also perked up in curiosity.
Mason shot him an annoyed look to hide his worry. Nick was always a bit of a junkie.
Magos on the other hand actually smiles at this "Of course, the higher your rank the more specialized equipment you will gain access to... after a thorough psych eval."
Nick's face twitches half annoyed half laughing at himself "Fair enough."
Mason waves the unused contract in his hand and grunts an affirmative, his boys quickly signing their own copies.
"Excellent." Magos said, eyeing them all "Seeing as none of you are running for the hills just yet-"
Some of the boys chuckle.
"-I believe it is high time I got started with fixing what age and poor doctoring has done to you. The outer loadouts you requested have also been procured and I've leased out the local shooting range for the night, so you may get used to your new good health while I work on your comrades."
"Quick question." Nick speaks up as they start getting up "You aren't expecting us to go around in bright red, are you?"
Magos chuckles "No, as much as it would please my sense of aesthetics, you will have to content yourself with actually practical apparel."
Nick breathes out in relief, making the borg laugh to himself.
"Well then, come on." Magos claps his hands "One by one please, we are burning daylight!"
As Tyson steps in behind the suddenly very eager borg followed closely by the Latina, Mason nods at the rest of the boys "Good luck lads, be seeing you."
"Watch your six, Cap." Nick salutes with his fingers and Mason leaves, planning to observe the results from the outside instead of poking the ripper while he worked.
---
Michael 'Magos' Sobronov
The veteran on my ripper table loses consciousness exactly within five seconds of injection, leaving me to unfurl my four Mechadendrites now compacted directly behind and around my spine instead of their previous hunch-backpack housing.
Two of the Artifex Mk2's detach their manipulators and place them on a nearby work table, while the other pair's increased extension abilities and tensile strength easily allow them to reach across the room and bring the now attachable drill and scalpel extensions over before screwing them onto the former two without any further input from myself.
Which allows me to focus on the more present issue of having to watch each and every twitch of my freshly enhanced musculature lest I rip the poor man in half for no good reason.
The meeting was admittedly a bit rushed, but I was acting under a bit of pressure, and I worked best under pressure so the chances of a fatality were quite low.
Anything else could be fixed.
Besides, my worry was mostly just paranoia. The new gyroscope and extra processors I added directly to my Biopod ensured I could direct my limbs in great detail no matter the speed or intensity, and that they would not move without me intending them to ever again.
Giving up old habits was proving difficult though.
Especially once I'd tested out how well my new war borg based musculature did its job, and let's just say I could probably outperform some vehicles as far as both speed and power went. Doubly so when I decided to just go all out with my hands and add a compact Gorilla Arm equivalent.
Fuck you Smasher, I liked my gimmicks and I'm not ever giving them up!
Though being honest even that prude wouldn't talk shit about making one's punches punchier, and my version was not even all that showy anyway.
Besides, it was less of the usual big replacement and more of an optimized reinforced joint spread strategically across my forearms and hands for maximum force without compromising durability.
Speaking of durability, the issue of hefting around so much power and not cracking under it was thankfully something I'd considered thoroughly before I started re-fabricating most of my frame.
My previously entirely titanium bones were replaced with a powerful graphene alloy reinforced by carbon nanotubes, able to hold up massive weights without bending or cracking, and serving as great internal conductors besides.
My 'skin' received much the same treatment, now forged fully from titanium-platinum giving it the same slight sheen of my thermal fingers, but I also went further and added a slight layer of kinetically reflective nanovate compound just under the initial surface plating.
The material was expensive enough to make me hesitate, and prodding Rogue for it probably cost me what few favors with her I had left over but the extra protection around every single part of my body was definitely worth it.
I told myself it was just good to have, but deep down I knew I'd gladly spend ten times as many resources just to give myself an extra chance in case I ever faced cyborg kung fu bullshit again.
Evidently, this was turning into a bit of an unhealthy almost obsessive worry but was it paranoia if they were really out to get you?
Overprepared is better than underprepared in any case.
And in that same vein, overkill was always better than underkill, which is why after a lot of finagling I managed to make my dream of reactive nanites come true... well, to a degree.
I wasn't quite able to make them turn into impromptu extra armoring (at least not without valuable moments of conscious preparation, and having to direct them to where I thought a hit would land) but I was able to enhance their reaction speed enough that they could now work as emergency sealant and temporary armor replacements.
It wasn't perfect, and the result was almost always weaker than my main plating, but in the worst case scenario it would keep me going well beyond even my now thoroughly ridiculous damage tolerances.
There were some shifts needed to make space for all the added processing and production facilities but I could live with hitting a few more doorframes and having a few less biological redundancies at hand if it meant making me even more untouchable.
I simply couldn't wait to properly test it all out!
But that would sadly have to wait.
I had a personal army to work on first.
Looking up from the man freshly liberated from the most egregious weaknesses of his flesh, I nodded at Gloria and mentally flicked the doors open "Alright, next!"
Even as the eager veteran plopped himself down on my work space, I absently went through my system check again.
It was always glorious seeing one's self growing greater by the work of their own hands.
The feeling was intoxicating.
[Running system check...]
[Cerebrum Mk1 Biopod: Full Technological Interface, Seamless Connection Drive, Light Reflective War Borg Plating, Cerebrospinal Fluid Reoxidiser, Neural Link, EMP Nullifier, Cerebral Gyroscope, Cerebral Harmonizer, Refined Longevity Module]
[Umbra Mk 2.13 'Minerva' Cyberdeck/Kerenzikov hybrid.
Cyberdeck: 54 Tb RAM, Direct Net Interface, Self VoidBlackICE, Emergency Heatsink, Daemon Autocompiler.
Kerenzikov: Passive Perception Enhancer, Passive Reaction Booster, Active Perception Accelerator.
Companion Shell: 4 Super Processor Clusters, Self Contained Persona Core, Emergency Disconnector, Emergency Data Scourge.]
[Draco Mk2 Cyberjaw:Enhanced Shredding Dentures, Overclock Heat Expulsion Sink, Booming Vocalizer]
[Occulus Mk1 Optic (R):16k Display, 8x Zoom, Mark Function, Informational Interface]
[Occulus Mk2 'Oraculum' Optic (L):Mulitspectrum Three-Sensor Array.]
[Aures Mk1 Audioreceptor]
[Nasus Mk1 Olfactory Receptor]
[Thorax Mk2 Torso:Cyberlungs (8 hour reserve), False Marrow, (-Redundant Circulatory System), Light Reflective War Borg Plating, Gallus, Super Reinforced Skeleton, Light War Borg Musculature.]
[Cor Mk2 'Fulgur' Cyberheart: Circulatory System, Highly Stable Redundant Power System, EMP Cycler.]
[Devorator Mk2 Generator:Optimized Biogenerator, Reprocessor Cyberstomach, Miniaturized Reserve Batteries (+Increased Efficiency)]
[Vulcanus Mk2 Nanoforge:Nanite Swarm Material Processor, Nanite Printer, Reactive Processors, Production Processors]
[Manibus Mk2 Cyberarm:Light War Borg Musculature, Light Reflective War Borg PlatingCorvus Mk1 Thermal ClawAlcides Mk1 Hammer Fist]
[Pedes Mk3 'Venator' Cyberleg:Light War Borg Musculature, Light Reflective War Borg Plating, Lynx Paws, War Borg Grade Power Tendons.]
[4x Artifex Mk2 Multipurpose Mechadendrite Implant:External Limb Software (Extra Subprocessors), Vertibreal Harmonizer Mk2, Multipurpose External Manipulator (Current Attachments: Artifex, Secutor, Terebrus, Scorpio), Nanotube Enhanced Structure (3xExtendable)]
Glorious!
I was still grinning as I finished working on the second vet even faster than the first "Next!"
We did have to wait for the first patient to wake up before I could get to it though.
The flesh, as always, had to play catch up.
Bolded bits are for the new and changed stuff.
A bit later than even my usual, but the techno jargon is an unforgiving mistress and needed much pleasing from the poor grey matter before I was even remotely satisfied.
And yeah, I get that I didn't massively change Mike's exterior but that had never been the point. He was and still is a spindly slab of metal.
Unless he is feeling cheeky and is going all infiltration-like with a Gemini-esque frame, or going all out with a proper war borg, he has no reason to change his dimensions drastically.
Some of you may note that he did not list some of the upgrades in his monologue, and this was on purpose as that would feel beyond dry to both write and read, which is why I made the cybernetics list "canon" so to say.
They are still very much so in play.
Also big whoop for Dracolich over on the Discord for giving me the nanovate idea ages ago, vibranium-lite is a glorious image and would definitely be something available to the higher echelons of Cyberpunk.