Night City Aliens: The Wandering Planet

Ch 17: Crash Landing

"How do you idiots even operate without a 3D printer?" V asked Peepers as she tied him up with some spare wiring. She decided to make a quick detour to the Skullship's IT department. If she was going to hack into the bridge computers, she would need an adapter for her cyberdeck. Such an adapter wouldn't exist, so she needed to make one.

"We operate just fine, thank you very much," the Commander replied, clearly annoyed. "Technology doesn't count for much when you're up against a superior tactical mind."

"Try telling that to the guy who destroyed your galaxy. Oh, wait! That was me!" V laughed.

"Doesn't change the fact that we broke on to your ship multiple times and nearly destroyed you with frostonium."

"A plan that failed due to my ship's adaptive AI systems. Also known as superior tech. Face it, Commander. Bigger gun diplomacy wins every time. This isn't Return of the Jedi." V turned away and began to strip the coating off a computer plug. With a little luck, she could combine it with her cyberdeck and jack into the Skullship's computers.

"What's a jedi?" Peepers blurted out after a long silence.

"It's nothing," V shook her head. "An old legend. Nothing more."

"Did this Jackie character tell it to you?" Peepers inquired.

"Maybe. Does it matter?"

"Just unusual. Especially for you."

"Watch it, eyeball. I can still kill you, and it will hurt."

"Even you can admit it is really weird," Peepers said. "Lord Dominator not only has a friend but claims to have lied her way on to Lord Hater's ship to save this friend. If I was a betting man, I'd go so far to say that Wander and his Zbornak are helping you."

"Her name is Sylvia," V corrected, giving the Commander a furious look.

"I rest my case."

"Is there a point to your yacking?" V griped, turning back to the wires in her hand.

"I want to know how it happened."

"I lost," V said matter-of-factly. "Hater blew up my ship. I floated around for a few days and nearly died of dehydration. Landed on an unknown world and met someone nice enough to help. Jackie turned out to be pretty cool. We teamed up and became mercenaries."

"Doesn't fully answer my question."

"I survived, you dunce," V spat. "Survival is about adapting. I changed, because I had to. I adapted to my new environment. And I'm all the stronger for it."

"HA!"

"What was that?!" V yelled, marching over to Peepers.

"What? What was what?" Peepers began to panic, his pupil shrinking at V towering over him.

"You think that's funny? You're going to laugh, because you think that I'm weaker as V?!"

"I-I-I didn't l-laugh."

"No? Then who did I hear laughing? No one else is in the room!"

"D-Dominator," Peepers stuttered. "N-no one is laughing."

"How pathetic"

"What?" V's eye went wide at the voice. "No. Nonono. Please, not now," she mumbled to herself, stepping away from the Commander. She heard another giggle as pain spiked through her head. "Ah!" V's hand flew to her forehead as a dull sting became to creep across her skin.

"Uh, Lord Dominator?" Peepers softly spoke.

"I'm running out of time," V said, her voice becoming shaky. "You shut up and be quiet," she told Peepers. "I need to focus."