Created G.H.O.S.T. System - A Cyberpunk Story

Trace was sitting across from Ko in a diner as they were eating a late breakfast combined with lunch. He had been watching her scarf down synthetic bacon slices and pancakes smothered in something they called Jellied Ant Honey with a touch of Cinnamon. It was good, he could admit that, but the small crunchy bits combined with the name made him a little leery of trying too much. He had eaten enough bugs during his time on the streets, thank you very much. He would avoid them now if there was a choice.

Every few minutes, Ko would slip a titanium marble into her mouth and swallow it down with a swig from her water bottle.

Finally, she was sated and sat back with a groan and patted her belly. "Next time, I need to remember to take a break and eat during such a long surgery."

"Or," He began angrily. "You could just not push yourself to the point that your brain is trying to cook itself. How many aneurysms did you have yesterday?" He cursed and looked away. "Just how much damage did they have to fix and why didn't I see any outward signs?"

Ko reached up to her nose and pulled a dried, blood-soaked item from each nostril. "Because I didn't want you to know and panic, or worse, stop me from helping her. As for your other question, no aneurysms. However, there were several silent seizures that caused some damage. My NetConnect is showing some damage as well."

"Was it worth it?" He asked finally, after he'd taken a few deep breaths to help calm himself down.

"Why don't we head over to the clinic and find out?"

***

Inside the building they found Sevorah sitting next to a near comatose Hannah, holding the older woman's hand.

"How is she doing?" Ko asked as they entered the room.

"Not well. I have her sedated at the moment, but when she woke earlier, it wasn't pretty. Nothing but screams and trying to rip at her stomach and legs. It's a miracle she left her eyes and neck alone."

"Is it just a matter of time, or…" Trace trailed not knowing enough about the subject or her symptoms to hazard a guess.

"From what you told me last night, they operated on her while she was fully aware. That scars the mind, the pain, the horror, not to mention her own existing issues with cyberware." Sevorah scratched the back of her neck as she gazed at the catatonic form of her mentor. "Who can say in her case? She might adjust to some of them, the eyes and the NetConnect. Those are typically the easiest for people. Though, again, they aren't generally getting the work done for the first time in their late sixties. It's everything combined that worries me."

They talked for a few more minutes before making their way to the woman's office.

"I'm afraid I can't put it off any longer, Ko. Not after this. You need to take your graduation assessment. The level of work I saw on her was beyond impressive, and you did that using secondhand parts and beyond outdated equipment. It's time."

"I know," Ko replied in a small voice. "I knew that when I decided to go ahead and do more than the bare minimum for her. Can- can we just put it off for a while longer though? I need to replace my NetConnect. My current one is now damaged."

"I can hold off on filing for your graduation assessment for as long as you like, you know that. The only one it affects is you, well, a little me as well, but I do have Anna all ready to take over for when you leave."

Ko chuckled. "Good luck with that. How did she do last night?"

"Better than I was expecting. I know we have mainly kept her back as more of an assistant when we have needed her help, but she has been watching closely whenever she was in the room with us. She wasn't perfect, obviously, and she has a lot to learn, but she was more help than I expected her to be."

"Good, that's good." She breathed out. "I just need a couple of days to get another NetConnect installed, and then you can make the arrangements."

"Are you thinking the same kind as Trace's?"

She nodded. "Might as well. There are a few more of them down there, and he seems to be rather impressed with its performance. It might not be specialized toward mending work, but its specs should let me do far more than I ever could with my current one anyway."

"You'll have to have your friend do some work on it to erase all signs of Vinna-Kwoi from it, same as they did for Trace's."

"I know."

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Trace left them to continue talking logistics, and all the little minutiae that went into running a clinic. Meanwhile, he went back to see Hannah.

"I hope you appreciate what it is that I'm about to give you," He muttered, already pulling up the needed menu. "This had better help you live with what was done to you. Sevorah seems to like you, so no going cyberpsycho on us, got it?"

With that, he pressed his finger against her neck and activated the transfer of nanites.

A few tense moments and one aching finger later, and it was done. She now had a very limited form of the system that would help her deal with the trauma, assuming she used it. Which, considering her overall disdain towards all things cyberware, seemed unlikely, at least in the beginning. It would either take some time to happen naturally, or Ko would need to speak with her about it.

Actually, considering they were attempting to keep it a secret. Having her talk to the woman about it, regardless, was probably the better option.

With that done and taken care of, he exited the room and went toward the front of the clinic, where Anna was resting her head on the reception desk.

"How was it properly being part of an operation like that last night?" He asked after poking her gently in the shoulder.

She groaned and gave him the middle finger. "Tiring. I don't know how either of them do it. There is so much to memorize and learn. I've been here for a couple of years doing my best to do exactly that, just waiting for my shot, and now that I've had it…" She chuckled darkly. "I don't know if I have what it takes to become a mender."

"I can't exactly say anything on the subject that is truly worthwhile, so take my words with as much weight as you want. That said, I think you might be trying to do a little too much right away and putting too much pressure on yourself. You know how good Ko is, but just think about how long she has been apprenticing under Sevorah now."

Her mouth opened and then closed as she stopped herself from simply reacting to his words.

"He's right, you know," Ko said as she came up behind them. "Sevorah thought you did pretty well last night, especially since it was your first time in that position. Normally, I would have swapped with you and been there as backup. You didn't even have me as a safety net. You did good, and don't forget, you are supposed to be an apprentice mender for several years learning under your mentor. You have time."

Trace saw that she was taking Ko's words more seriously than his, and with a roll of his eyes turned away. "Are you staying here, or do you want me to drop you off at your apartment?"

"I'll stay here. I need to help out. Sevorah and Anna are both too tired to handle the place, so I need to take over."

"Alright, just be careful and let me know if you need anything. Also, our friend has a plan to help you out. So, you might want to talk to him as well." He glanced at the sleepy Anna while avoiding Deckard's name.

She cocked her head curiously and nodded. "I'll send him a message later. I need to ask him to work on a NetConnect for me as well. If you could pull one out for him to look at, I would appreciate it."

"Sure," He would need to find a way to keep the unit viable while outside the freezer. "Do you have a container I can use while it's outside the freezer?"

She pulled her hand from behind her back and proudly presented him with a box.

"Right, I should have known you would have already prepared it." Taking it from her with a grin, he gave them both a wave and walked out of the building.

Back at the warehouse, Trace went down to the freezer and took out one of the NetConnects that had been previously removed from the Vinna-Kwoi agents. Carefully, he plugged the cables into the box before settling the NetConnect inside and closing the lid. With that done, Deckard would now be able to access it without them worrying about the connections dying prematurely.

He brought the box over to his work desk, the spot closest to the server. Deckard would need to be directly jacked in for this next part, so being somewhat close was essential.

"Hey Deckard, do you have a minute?" Trace called out.

It took a few moments, but eventually, the screen above the desk did turn on with his avatar.

"I'm here, running into a few problems that require your help though. Namely, the cooling of the server components, there isn't enough natural airflow in this basement to keep them cool."

"How did you keep them cool in the closet?"

"It wasn't an issue back then. I never pushed the hardware enough for it to become an actual problem. Now that I am, and with the planned upgrades to the system, I am realizing how inefficient the cooling currently is."

"Ugh, fine… Um, I can do something similar to what I did with my stealth suit, I suppose. It would be on a larger scale, and with more specific contact points in this case, but it should still work." Trace offered after a moment's thought.

"That should work, as long as the cooling gel never gets too warm, that is."

"It won't. I'll make sure there are enough cooling chambers built into it as well." He made a note to buy the items and then turned back to the screen. "Now, back to what I needed you for. Inside this box is a replacement NetConnect for Ko. The same kind as mine. She damaged hers on this job we just got back from. Can you do the same thing you did to mine to it? Wipe all traces of Vinna-Kwoi from it and turn off any tracking software and hardware."

"Plug me in, and I'll get to work on it right away." The man answered simply.

"Thanks," He said as he pulled out a data cord and plugged one end into the box and the other end into the server. It would have been better to connect it directly to Deckard's own NetConnect, but with it hidden at the moment, that wasn't exactly an option. It was something he would need to rectify in the future.

Turning back to his projects from earlier, he got lost in them once more until a message interrupted him. Someone was waiting for him above with a delivery and apparently had been there for several minutes already.

The cameras and sensors had arrived, and along with them, a timely reminder of exactly why they were needed in the first place. Running up the stairs, he burst out of his apartment and across the concrete floor to the main door of the warehouse. With a flick of a button, the locks were disengaged, and the bars slid out of position, allowing him to open the door.

Swinging it open, he was met by the smell of warm copper as the delivery woman's body slid lifelessly to the side. A half-beat later, a gangster stepped into view, his gun at the ready and already pointed at Trace's head.

"There you are, mister bounty. I told you I saw him leaving that clinic earlier."