Night City Aliens: The Wandering Planet

Ch 11: No More Pretending

V handed one of the two water bottles to Padre before sitting down across from him. She leaned against the wall, her feet hanging off the edge of the booth. She took a gulp of her own water before speaking.

"Thanks for coming," V said.

"Of course, V," Padre nodded. "I was a bit surprised by your request to talk, but I will always be there to guide God's children."

"God's children?" V raised an eyebrow at the ex-priest. "I'm an alien. I'm called the Heywood Devil."

"Even Lucifer was an angel before he was cast out of Heaven," Padre said. He took a sip of his own water as he thought over V's first point. "If God created the Heavens and all the cosmos, would you not also be a child of God?"

"Maybe... maybe. On Narjahim, gods were immortal soldiers. Something to fear, not worship."

"Really? You don't seem like the god-fearing type."

"I'm not. Religion died before my birth. It was just tradition. All for show."

"Interesting," Padre wondered out loud. He took another sip of water then wiped off his mustache. "I doubt you asked me here to debate theologies. Why don't you tell me what is troubling you?"

V let out a quiet sigh. She took another large gulp of water; a small part of her wishing is was liquor. The green woman sat up in the booth to directly face Padre.

"I need an outside opinion," V said. "Everything feels like it's... falling apart. Like things are... like something bad is going to happen." She was struggling to find the right words to describe her anxiety.

"You are anticipating a great change," Padre nodded. "The whole world is going through a change. Power dynamics are shifting. I can only imagine how this is affecting you."

"I suppose," V mumbled.

"What are some of the things pushing on you?"

"The corpos, for starters."

"Are they still bothering you?" Padre asked.

"Kinda. They've stopped approaching me, but they are still watching. All of them. All month. I can feel their eyes on me."

"For a man to have the power of God," Padre pondered. "To be able to see everything you do. Man is greedy and fallible. We Earthlings are always trying to get one over on each other. The feeling of being watched by us would make anyone paranoid."

"Corpos, I can handle," V said. "But... I'm worried about Jackie."

"Jackie? Do you fear what the corporations might do to him?"

"No... It's... what I'm doing to him."

"Are you two fighting again?"

"No... Well, kinda... It's weird..."

V spent the next several minutes explaining the Warrior's Bond as best she could. She told Padre about how her mind was permanently linked to Jackie's. She told him about how they could feel each other's feelings and thoughts, and when they went to sleep, they sometimes dreamed each other's memories. V also mentioned how the bond was changing Jackie's brain; it was literally causing his neurons to rearrange. Viktor couldn't make heads or tails of it. And it was starting to affect Jackie's behavior.

"Has it been a drastic change?" Padre asked.

"Yes. I first noticed during a gig."

---

V unplugged her ECM from the man's neck and clipped it to her belt. A large part of her wanted to fry the dork's brain. Synaptic Overload was always fun to watch in action. But there was no need this time. They got the files, and the man proved to be no real threat. To kill him would have been pointless gluttony. Not to mention it would piss off Jackie. V promised him no unnecessary deaths. The job was done. It was time to leave. Let the gonk weep in the streets.