Infinite Progress from Arasaka - Chapter 12: The Hunt Begins
Night City, Arasaka Special Operations Division
"Jimmy, are there any backlogged field missions in Night City that need handling?" Vera Russell's voice cut through the dimly lit operations room like a well-honed monomolecular blade. "As for support requests from other departments, use your discretion. Accept the reasonable ones."
The room was a symphony of holographic interfaces, low murmurs, and the hum of high-performance processors digesting terabytes of tactical data.
"Uh... Ma'am, you really didn't have to come here in person."
Jimmy—Vera's right-hand man—shifted uncomfortably as he turned his chair toward her. His head throbbed just looking at his superior, who was fully geared up for war.
Tailored high-strength polycarbonate combat bodysuit.
Nanoweave carapace jacket.
External electronic muscle augmentation armbands.
Reinforced long-barreled monomolecular finger sheaths.
Every inch of Vera's gear screamed lethal efficiency. She wasn't just another high-ranking Arasaka officer—she was a walking war machine, a figure of whispered legends within the corporate hierarchy.
"Is there a problem?"
Vera didn't look up from the electromagnetic sniper rifle she was meticulously assembling. The 'Cat Sidhe'—a custom, anti-material, hypervelocity coil sniper—was a precision instrument of death, and she treated it as such.
"No problem," Jimmy responded instantly, straightening his back.
He wasn't about to test Vera's patience. He had been handpicked by her from the front lines—a direct subordinate whose fate was tied to her success. If Vera rose, he rose. If she fell, he'd be discarded like last week's burned-out cyberdeck.
He knew what Vera was capable of.
Behind that icy exterior was a destructive force wrapped in a body worth millions in cybernetic enhancements. Unlike Arasaka's top mercenaries, Vera rarely had to step into the field personally. She was a tactician, an overseer—but when she did decide to engage?
Even MAX-TAC, the cyberpsycho suppression unit feared across Night City, would hesitate before crossing paths with her.
Jimmy was certain that if Vera's Body, Intelligence, Reflexes, and Cool were quantifiable, they'd all be legendary-tier.
The squad had sparred with her. They'd seen firsthand what it was like to be dismantled by someone who fought like a human A.I. combat algorithm—calculated, brutal, and unstoppable.
"Director," one of the operatives piped up. "The Intelligence Division is requesting tactical support. A few shipments meant for their informants were intercepted by Maelstrom—those cybernetic lunatics squatting in the Northern Industrial District."
"Accepted."
Vera snapped the final piece of her sniper rifle into place, then stood.
"Jimmy, continue the handover process with the Counterintelligence Division. Squad 6, Section 1 stays with you. Dispatch Squad 2 to the Northern Industrial District immediately."
Jimmy blinked.
Something flickered across Vera's face—a rare expression. Not just determination. Not just calculated intent.
Anticipation.
Before anyone could react, Vera had already leaped from the hovercar, boarding another waiting one.
The armored vehicle roared to life, its high-thrust anti-grav engines igniting as it shot toward the industrial zone.
---
Squad 6 - Operations Center
"Uh… is it just me, or does the boss seem extra pissed off today?"
A veteran machine gunner scratched the back of his helmet, glancing at his squadmates.
"She's always intense, but this is something else."
Bang!
Jimmy's fist slammed into the man's shoulder hard enough to knock him back into his seat.
"Shut the hell up," Jimmy muttered. "Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to."
He scanned the room, making sure everyone was paying attention.
"Just act like you saw nothing. The Director's just being… thorough. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
---
Inside the Armored Hovercar - En Route to Maelstrom Territory
Vera sat still. Her fingers flexed inside her gloves, the subtle crack of reinforced joints echoing in the cabin.
Agitation.
Irritation.
An ache for destruction.
It wasn't just mood swings. It wasn't cyberpsychosis.
It was her Gift.
The more she resonated with her alternate selves, the stronger she became. She could feel them—other versions of herself, existing across space-time. The more aligned they were, the more her own abilities amplified.
Was she a glitch in the system? A biological anomaly?
Or something far beyond human comprehension?
Vera smirked.
"Am I a low-tier version of a multi-dimensional lifeform?"
It was a joke, but not an entirely absurd one.
She had awakened after the deaths of her parents, back when she was still a student at Arasaka Tower Academy. At first, she had no system, no guiding AI whispering in her ear.
No visible "cheat codes"—just an exceptional memory and inhuman processing speed.
But then the dreams began.
She had dismissed them at first. But they were too real.
She could see another world. Another Vera. A second existence running parallel to hers. Every experience, every lesson from that world bled into her own.
Her body adapted.
Her mind expanded.
Her instincts sharpened.
She had become something else.
Now?
Now she was a force that even Arasaka's top brass whispered about.
And she was about to vent her frustrations on some cybernetic scum.
---
Northern Industrial District - Maelstrom Territory
4:09 PM.
The armored hovercar slowed as it reached the designated drop zone.
Above, Arasaka Pterodactyl attack drones and Octant heavy combat units moved into position, their targeting systems locking onto Maelstrom outposts.
Clang.
The doors hissed open.
Heavy infantry stormed out, their boots slamming against the cracked pavement. They moved with precision—these weren't rent-a-cop security forces. These were Arasaka's elite.
A ripple of panic swept through the streets.
"Holy shit, something big is going down!"
"Get outta here!"
"That's—! Arasaka heavy infantry!"
Panic spread as civilians bolted. No one wanted to be caught in the crossfire when Arasaka came knocking.
Vera stepped out last.
Her crimson optics glowed faintly beneath her visor as she surveyed the battlefield.
A storm was brewing.
And she was the eye of the hurricane.
"Lock and load," she ordered, pulling out her thermal Seiko katana.
Today, Night City would remember her name.
---
To Be Continued...