Night City Aliens: The Wandering Planet

Ch 10: Nightmares and Memories

V felt like a fool. Of course other aliens were going to come to Earth. How could she ever think that they wouldn't? Her past-self destroyed their entire galaxy. Anyone who didn't bail out was desperately looking for a new home. The Earth system was prime real estate, having got caught in the galaxy's gravity. It would be here for a couple millennia before getting sling-shotted back into the void between galaxies. It was the perfect place to regroup.

In the week since the Ballzerians landed in Japan, the Binglebops had landed in Europe and Emperor Awesome had landed near Washington D.C. That last one was hard to miss, because all of the Militech loyalist like N54 News wouldn't shut up about it. More landings were sure to come. Each civilization had something unique to offer the Earthlings. In exchange for influence and a safe place to stay, the aliens were going to make each corporation all the more powerful.

None of this would have bothered V if that was the end of it. She would have been happy to build her new identity in Night City, out of view of those who might want revenge. Except now everyone had caught on to what she was. All of Night City knew that the Heywood Devil wasn't a demon or some exotic cyberpsycho. She was an alien. An extraterrestrial with knowledge that could prove profitable to whoever she signed a contract with.

Except, V had zero intention of helping any corpos.

"I SAID FUCK OFF!" V screamed, waving her revolver at the two Biotechnica suits.

"Ma'am, if you would just hear us out," one of the businessmen said.

"No!" V pulled the trigger, firing a bullet at the space between his feet. The man jumped back before instinctively reaching for his own pistol.

"V!" Mama yelled, sprinting down the sidewalk towards the commotion. "That's enough!" She ran up to V and placed a hand on the green woman's arm, forcing her to lower the revolver. Once she was sure V wouldn't kill anyone, she turned to the corpos. "It would be best if you leave. We prefer to not be bothered."

"Ms. Welles, the extraterrestrial just fired on an employee with corporate protections," the other man said. "We could call in support and force her to comply if we chose to."

"And we have Valentino protections," Mama spat. "So unless you two imbéciles want to start a war with half of Heywood, forget it and leave." Mama led V inside the house, still holding her by the arm. She turned to watch the corpos drive away before closing the door.

V plopped herself on the couch with a long, heavy sigh. She placed her gun on the table before letting her head fall into her hands. She felt the couch shift next to her, but didn't bother to look at Mama.

"V, we need to talk," Mama said.

"What?" V mumbled into her palms.

"How many times have I kept you from shooting someone this week? There was Night Corp, then Orbital Air, and now Biotechnica. So three? No, four. Orbital Air showed up two days in a row."

"I'm sorry, Mama," V said. She wiped her face and leaned back on the couch. "It's just..." She couldn't think of the words.

"I know," Mama nodded. "I'm not angry. But I am worried. What happens when someone with bigger guns shows up at the door? If it was Arasaka or Militech, they would have taken you down in a heartbeat."

"What do I do?" V asked.

"Well..." Mama suddenly sat up perfectly straight and tilted her head in thought. "You could start by not pointing a gun at every suit that knocks on our door." Mama was trying to be serious but couldn't help but smirk at V's giggle. "It would be best for you to just ignore them. As tough as the corpos like to act, none would dare barge in here uninvited. Even I would shoot them if they tried that."