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Skitterdoc 2077

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"Breaking news! In a suprise statement, Trauma Team have just announced a new level of coverage, above even the coveted platinum contract; Treasured Minion.

The number of slots available for Treasured Minion status are extremely limited, but guarentee full recovery from any illness, malady, or braindeath, up to 20 minutes or more after the fact! The only slight caveat is that the doctor involved in the treatment is highly eccentric and patients must pretent they are loyal members of her growing criminal empire in order to maintain their Treasured Minion status. Buy now!"


In other news, I loved this chapter. I'd kinda been feeling like Jean and Rus would betray Taylor over something for a while, but you set up the signs well here, I thought. Not sure why Taylor told them what the score was beforehand though; that seems ill advised. She might have still been a bit too trusting (fortunately, she's now been cured of that, as well as finally having her shrivelled sense of mercy properly amputated).

What was Jean/Rus plan when they let her go up against all the people on one end of the van though? At the time, I thought "ah, they're planning to betray her, and thus are acting suspisciously to give more hints", but... if she actually got killed, what were they gonna do? Whoever their client was would not have been best pleased to have their golded goose killed, no? Guess it depends who the mysterious client was...

I also loved the bit with the british operatives being entirely fooled by her terrible impression of a rich english girl and thinking she's a supersy. She even has mysterious high-tech gadgets and everything; there's no way she's not legit!
 
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SolipsistSerpent said:
I thought that line of thought was pretty funny myself: "Hey, this might help me hold things while my hands are wet, better get rid of it, because it sometimes looks mildly less pretty. After all, what are the odds I might have to hold a weapon with wet hands during a fight? Clearly I don't need that."
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To be fair, if she's ever in the position of having to grab a weapon with her feet after an extended bath, she's got bigger problems than the lack of pruning.
 
Logos01 said:
I'm surprised you didn't have Johnny say "Nani the fuck?".

I was also surprised that it wasn't Kiwi that executed the sudden-but-inevitable-betrayal. You'd think they would have realized that they had just saddled a tiger the moment they pulled their stupidity.
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Alright, you made me include something else along these lines for him in the next chapter because that would have been perfect, I agree. Now, he will channel Osakabehime.


Spam said:
Fantastic Chapter @SpiraSpira worth the wait!

Couple of minor corrections for you
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(Resevoir Dogs spoilers below.)

Yeah, I will fix those right now. At first I had Ruslan as Mr Pink because I thought it was funny, but then I remembered Resevoir Dogs and changed Kiwi to Mr Pink as he was the only one who survived in the film, and Ruslan to Mr Orange as he was the one who betrayed the team.
 
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Jordisk said:
Fuck that. Put ALL of Biotechnica's non-patented drugs on the open net. Remember, the painkiller was intentionally not patented, so she can just put it out with no legal consequences. I am sure that there are other drugs that they have done the same thing with, forgoing patents so they don't have to share how to make them.
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I thought about the simulant (don't think she has figured out any other ones, and that one was almost by accident), but she doesn't want to use up all her threats in one go. Also thought about recommending she hint at having the secret and set up a deadman's switch that releases it if she dies or disappears for any reason (to keep them from trying to be sneaky) in the next xx months, but that feels like it would get them to focus too much attention on her.
Emagstar said:
Not sure why Taylor told them what the score was beforehand though; that seems ill advised.
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I thought that for a second, then figured she expected it to be mentioned during the meeting (which it was), and she was just trying to avoid them being noticeably surprised by the amount during the meeting.
 
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Jonny was the GOAT of this chapter.
10/10, keep on doing you Cowboy Samurai.

I'm sure Taylor is going to cut her loses, and isn't going to pull a Bonesaw+SilverHand. /s
 
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nice chapter thx for writing it
fun seeing taylor getting a classic bad run op :D
will be interesting to see what side effects gloria will have from the tinker tech operation
 
ZeroLink said:
So I am kinda curious what went through Ruslan's head just milseconds before the bullet since he apparently smiled just before he died I also agree that someone is about to have a very pissed off escalation queen on there a$$ with all the mad scientist stuff coming after them and probably a very confused British borg team wondering what happened to their guy lol
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I wrote it this way to be ambiguous, using the word "shifted", so that the reader is not 100% sure what happened so that there are two alternatives:

1. He was an experienced merc, and saw that Taylor was going to have the first and best shot, so he changed his expression to the affable and friendly grin he always shared with them as a way of saying, 'Aww shucks, ya got me.'

or

2. His expression did not change at all, but it shifted in Taylor's perception with the memory of his once friendly mien being superimposed in her mind right before she shot him.

I'm not going to say which is the correct interpretation because either is plausible, and it depends on your opinion of what both Taylor and Ruslan were thinking at that moment.
 
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Ya that's about how a gig in cyberpunk is supposed to go that Russians double cross seemed real half assed to me for an experienced edge runner. He's seen first hand how damn dangerous Taylor can be feels like he got his eyes on so much cash and let greed go to his head because the only thing up for grabs was the 1.5mil and yes that's a lot of money but not enough to really retire on after burning your fixer like that. More likely to get a big bounty on you.

So when it comes to the team she hired only one is still Alive now? No hmm Ruslan's is still Alive probably and not getting paid but she needs to hunt him down and kill him before he sells her out once it's known she made that drug she will be fending off kidnapping attempts every damn day she needs that guy dead now.

But hey she finished the gig, got the cash and everybody who matters lived. Gloria Probably gets to live with some memory lose and new metal bits.

Excellent chapter thanks for the update.
 
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I don't know if this has come up yet but since Biotechnica tried to capture/kill Taylor and basically broke the deal, she could sell the stuff to all of Biotechnica's rivals at a cheaper rate, out of spite. If/when the "she stole company property" legal challenge arrives, she has the original sample/specs in that notorised storage vault thing.

Thanks for the chapter!
 
Delta team
" Why's Breaker kneeling over there?"
" I think she's working a side hustle."
" ... and she didn't invite us?"
"You know kids man, cant ask for help to save there lives."
" We going to wave? Or just shoot her and give her a lift?"
" Better leave it, you know we only get a few of those."
"Fair enough. We're giving her shit for that mask though right?"
"Of course"

Great chapter. Loved the international madame of mystery.

Everything someone's mentioned to have lost an arm I'm like "kidnap guy" and then it's not him :(
 
woodzrox said:
I don't know if this has come up yet but since Biotechnica tried to capture/kill Taylor and basically broke the deal, she could sell the stuff to all of Biotechnica's rivals at a cheaper rate, out of spite. If/when the "she stole company property" legal challenge arrives, she has the original sample/specs in that notorised storage vault thing.

Thanks for the chapter!
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Nah, that would make things personal. For Biotechnica, the hit/attempted kidnapping was just business and they'll probably let it go, but if she retaliates, they're going to actually go out of their way to make an example of her.
 
morkail said:
Ya that's about how a gig in cyberpunk is supposed to go that Russians double cross seemed real half assed to me for an experienced edge runner. He's seen first hand how damn dangerous Taylor can be feels like he got his eyes on so much cash and let greed go to his head because the only thing up for grabs was the 1.5mil and yes that's a lot of money but not enough to really retire on after burning your fixer like that. More likely to get a big bounty on you.
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You might be either misclassifying Ruslan as a 'Real Edgerunner' or overestimating them as a profession. The payouts that Wakako was giving to them for jobs definitely didn't place Ruslan or Jean as elite in any way, barely better than she'd pay streetscum. Keep in mind 'Edgerunner' is sort of synonymous with 'poor near-suicidal mercenary', Night City romanticizes it but professional mercs have been known to be contemptuous of the term.

But yeah, looking back at Taylor's description of Ruslan and Jean, where they were eager to chrome up and meaner than before? It seems likely they were getting more desperate. Either due to some outside circumstance in their lives like needing or owing a lot of money, or because they had some sort of addiction - to chrome or BTLs or whatever - that they needed to feed.

I think the unrealistic expectations on Ruslan's part was intentional - he's clearly from a poor background, and too trusting of his other fixer, but he knows that money CAN be life-changing so he's ignoring all the hooks on it and warning signs. People do stupid stuff all the time out of greed, it's pretty well a classic trope for heist movies and this chapter had the hallmarks of such.
 
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SpiraSpira said:
I ducked back in, grabbed a few other things in my med bag, and tossed them into the duffle bag full of cash, putting it over my back and gently reaching down to pick Kiwi up princess style.
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Seriously though, seeing all the comments about betrayal and its impacts it seems worth noting that they saved each other here when they didn't need to. I figure that will take some of the sting out for both.
 
Great update. Johnny's POV is a treat, I hope that he will make more appearances later.
BTW, what happened to the driver of the truck that Kiwi rammed?
 
On the topic of revenge, you guys are thinking too small with the stimulant.

If it's not patented then Taylor can totally patent it herself. Not under her own name, but she could still get it and then immediately sell it for peanuts to a rival corp.

Creating generic competitors to their fancy stimulant is a nice jab, but opening them up to legal warfare from a rival that threatens to stop them from producing it themselves is just delicious.
 
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Yeah, I glossed over Kiwi in my last reply but it's worth considering what this is gonna do for her general attitude. Yes, Jean and Rus betrayed her. But she stuck her neck out for Taylor, and Taylor is about to come in clutch to rescue her now. Hopefully, that'll end up giving her a less toxic attitude in the long run; and they'll be able to stick together later on.

(what can I say, I still kinda hope that Lucy turns up and gains a Cool Aunt Taylor)

EDIT: that cover image is amazing
 
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I wonder what happened at the apartment. Gloria is the better hostage by far. Supposedly, she's the doc's favored Input. The brat is just an Input's step-brat. Did Jean get away and called his guy to flatline Gloria? Who was the gonk, anyway? But really, one guy? With a loud gun all the tigers in building can hear? What a pair/trio of fools.

My money on Ruslan and Jean working with the Biotechnica middle manager. They wanted to sell a talented ripperdoc/chemist for quick cash. There's a limited number of good buyers. Biotechnica is the obvious buyer. It's their specialty. That's why Taylor chose it. Alternatively they could try Arasaka or possibly some Fixer. But M&M the Middle Manager acted oddly. He seemed to know Taylor invented the drug and wasted the meeting trying to prove it. If they told him about her it all make sense. Maybe they even helped him before. What if the incident where his boss was killed is connected? There were also all sorts of odd incidents in the time leading to the meeting.

But at least they kept her identity secret. They couldn't tell him who she was or he'd klep her himself and discard them like trash. That's why they help to fight off his mercs and used their own guy to kidnap David. If Jean (and their Fixer assuming there's a Fixer) dies, her secrets are semi safe again.


True Metal Power said:
Great update. Johnny's POV is a treat, I hope that he will make more appearances later.
BTW, what happened to the driver of the truck that Kiwi rammed?
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Taylor's chrome eyes glossed over the smoking wreck that was once a truck. The chirping of distant birds masked the gasped moans coming from inside. She couldn't find Jean no matter where she looked. If only she bothered to glance into the truck. Jean flew straight into the lap of the truck driver.

SpiraSpira said:
Thanks to Metaphorical Grapevine from SB we now have a cover art for the story, which he gave me permission to use in other sites as well. I included the lowest res version on the first page, but he made a really high-res version as well, they are all linked below:

super hi-res (13Mb)

Low res (3Mb)

Lower res (1.3Mb)
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Cool cover. Is the blue dude, Taylor Shard?
 
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corblimey said:
I wonder what happened at the apartment. Gloria is the better hostage by far. Supposedly, she's the doc's favored Input. The brat is just an Input's step-brat. Did Jean get away and called his guy to flatline Gloria?
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Why would he do that? If he was alive and capable of making contact then as far as their plan was concerned taking Gloria would be a consolation prize they could use to reel Taylor in. Killing her on purpose just screws Jean even worse.
corblimey said:
If Jean (and their Fixer assuming there's a Fixer) dies, her secrets are semi safe again.
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Probably no fixer, because helping people pull a backstab like that is bad for your health if you're planning to stick around in the area afterwards.

It puts you at risk personally and undermines the basis of your business model.
 
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