Cyberpunk: Asuka Vektor

Asuka, Jackie, and V sat at Joe's diner, the aroma of greasy food filling the air as they laughed and talked between bites. Jackie had just finished telling them about the ridiculous incident involving some teenagers trying to steal his beloved Arch Nazaret bike. Both Asuka and V were in stitches, unable to contain their laughter at the mental image of Jackie chasing down the would-be thieves.

"You’re lucky you got to them before they could sell it off to a chop shop," Asuka teased, still chuckling as she wiped away a tear.

V grinned, leaning back in her seat. "Yeah, those kids kind of remind me of myself back in the day. Stealing bikes from gonks just to prove I could."

Jackie rolled his eyes but couldn’t help smirking. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I let my guard down for one minute."

As they continued eating, the mood light and relaxed, a figure approached their table—a tall man, around 186 cm, with striking red hair and dressed in a sharp black counter-intelligence suit. His expression was a blend of professionalism and disdain, as though the very atmosphere of Joe's wasn’t quite to his standards.

The man looked around, his gaze landing on V first, and then the rest of them. "You should’ve picked a place with more class," he said, his voice dripping with condescension.

V raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. She casually leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table. "Vincent," she said, her tone dry but amused. "Why don’t you take that corpo stick out of your ass?"

Jackie burst out laughing, the tension immediately broken by V’s quick retort. Asuka grinned, watching the exchange with interest.

The man, Vincent—V's brother—didn’t even flinch at the jab. He simply adjusted his collar with a slight roll of his eyes before turning his attention to Jackie. "Laugh all you want. I need you for a gig."

Jackie raised an eyebrow, still chuckling but intrigued. "Yeah? What’s the gig?"

Vincent leaned in, his expression serious. "It’s important. Something that requires a bit of subtlety and muscle. You interested?"

Jackie looked between Asuka and V, then back at Vincent. "Well, if it’s that important, guess I’m in. But you better be paying well, corpo."

Vincent gave a slight nod, his attention already drifting back to his business. "Good. We’ll talk details on the way." He stood up, gesturing for Jackie to follow him.

With a nod, Jackie stood, giving Asuka a quick pat on the shoulder. "Guess I'll catch up with you two later."

As Jackie and Vincent left the diner, the bustling noise of the place returned, leaving Asuka and V sitting across from each other. The laughter from earlier faded into a comfortable silence. Asuka picked at her fries, giving V a sideways glance.

"So," Asuka started, smirking a bit, "your brother always that charming, or is it just when he's trying to impress?"

V rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "He’s always like that. Thinks he's hot shit ever since he got cozy with the corpos. But, well, I guess he’s not entirely wrong. He’s climbed higher than most could in that world." She leaned back, a small grin on her face. "Doesn’t mean I have to let him forget where he came from."

Asuka nodded, appreciating the insight into V’s family dynamic. "He seems... intense. You two always this close?"

V shrugged. "We’ve had our ups and downs, but yeah. We’ve got each other’s backs. Even if we’re walking two different paths."

Asuka smiled, a small flicker of understanding in her eyes. "Sounds like you two balance each other out."

Asuka and V had barely finished their meal when Judy’s urgent call came through, her voice trembling with frustration and fear. “Asuka, you need to come to Cloudtop. I tried to quit, and these fuckers threatened me.” Judy’s words hit hard, and Asuka could hear the panic she was trying to keep under control.

Without a second thought, Asuka shot up from her seat, her expression hardening. “Judes has some trouble,” she said to V, who was already standing by her side, ready for action.

“I’m coming with you,” V said without hesitation.

They arrived at the massive megabuilding in Westbrook, their destination looming ominously above. The elevator ride was tense, the air thick with anticipation. Neither of them spoke, their focus singular as they ascended to Cloudtop, a place Judy had worked for too long under the suffocating control of the Tyger Claws.

Reaching the right level, Asuka and V moved with purpose. The girl at the front counter tried to stop them, insisting they register, but Asuka’s patience was long gone. With a flash of her Sandevistan, she knocked the receptionist unconscious with a single, swift movement. The guard standing by the door barely had time to react before Asuka dispatched him with the same cold efficiency.

As they approached the double doors, Asuka’s cybernetic arms shifted with the immense strength of her mantis gorilla arms, to force them open. The metal creaked and bent under her power until the doors gave way with a crash. The guards inside barely had time to register what was happening before they were knocked out cold by Asuka’s devastating blows. V followed closely behind, efficiently silencing the cameras with her silenced pistol.

They moved deeper into the building until they reached Judy’s office-studio. Judy was waiting for them, her face pale and tense. As soon as Asuka entered, she asked, “What happened, Judes?”

Judy sighed, her voice shaking slightly as she explained. “The manager changed some time ago. Some new guy—Forrest, they call him. He’s disgusting, Asuka. Real piece of shit. I tried to quit, and he said if I did, the Tyger Claws higher ups would kill me.” Her voice broke slightly at the mention of the threat.

Asuka’s expression darkened. “Where’s this fucker?”

Judy’s eyes flickered with hesitation before she pointed down the hall. “His office. In the back.”

Asuka gave a nod. “Stay here with V. I’ll handle this.”

Without waiting for a response, Asuka turned and stormed down the hallway toward Forrest’s office. She barely felt the door before she slammed it open with a powerful kick, only to be greeted by a hail of AR bullets. The rounds hit her, but her body took the brunt of it, leaving barely a scratch.

Forrest was standing there—exactly the kind of disgusting corporate thug Judy had described. Bald, built, and smug, he had a certain brutishness about him that instantly set Asuka’s blood boiling. The man’s face twisted with a mix of arrogance and fear, as if he still believed he had control of the situation.

He tried to speak, to reason with her, but Asuka wasn’t interested in anything he had to say. With a flash of speed, she was on him, slamming her hand into his mouth, cutting off his words. The bones in his jaw crunched under the pressure of her grip, his lower jaw shattering as she silenced him with terrifying force. His muffled screams of pain filled the room as blood poured from his ruined mouth.

Forrest, now writhing on the ground in agony, tried to crawl away, his body convulsing with every movement. But Asuka wasn’t done. Her cybernetic legs moved with precision as she brought them down on his limbs, one by one, breaking his legs and then his arms, leaving him completely incapacitated.

With cold detachment, Asuka leaned over his broken body, her fingers sinking deep into his ribs. The sickening crunch of bones breaking filled the air as she hoisted him up with ease, dragging him toward the window. The fear in his eyes was unmistakable, but there was no pity in Asuka’s, there was even a bit of hatred and cruelty, whether it was because of what he said to Judy or for another reason, only Asuka knows

“Goodbye, meat bag,” she muttered, before hurling his broken form through the window.

Forrest’s body flew out into the open air, plummeting hundreds of stories down into the night. The distant sound of his impact on the ground below was lost in the winds of Night City, but Asuka didn’t care. 

With a deep breath, she turned away from the shattered window, her focus returning to Judy and V.

Asuka returned to V and Judy, her pink hands stained with streaks of red from what had transpired. The blood was a stark contrast against her pristine cybernetic limbs, and it didn’t take long for V and Judy to piece together what had happened. Judy’s face shifted slightly, a mix of relief and unease at the realization of what Asuka had just done to protect her.

Without saying a word, Asuka grabbed a piece of fabric from a nearby table and wiped the blood off her hands. Turning to V, she spoke calmly, but her voice carried a sharp edge. "V, call Wakako. Tell her the Kitty Claws should pick their associates—and their fights—better."

V nodded, pulling out her comm to make the call. Asuka glanced at Judy, who had taken a moment to talk with a few of her friends from Cloudtop, reassuring them and finalizing her departure from that life once and for all. Once Judy was ready, the three of them exited the megabuilding together.

The sight outside was a mess. Forrest’s body—or what was left of it—had hit the pavement with such force that it was now a grotesque mosaic of blood and broken flesh, surrounded by a few NCPD officers investigating the scene. Asuka didn’t so much as flinch at the carnage she’d caused. This was Night City, after all. Things like this happened every day.

They made their way to their bikes, with Asuka and Judy hopping onto Asuka’s sleek pink Cherry Blossom Yaiba Kusanagi. V followed on her own bike as they revved their engines and sped off into the neon-lit streets of Night City.

As the cityscape blurred around them, the wind whipping through their hair, V rode up alongside them and glanced over. "So, Judy," she called out over the noise of the city, "what’s next for you?"

Judy’s voice was calm but resolute as she answered. "You know, if I didn’t know better, I might’ve gone to the Mox. I used to think they were different from other gangs... better, maybe. But in the end, they’ve become the same as the rest." She sighed, the disillusionment in her voice clear. "I’ve got no plans to be anyone’s employee again. No more bosses. No more orders."

Asuka glanced at Judy for a moment, sensing the weight of her words.

Judy continued, her voice lighter now, though still thoughtful. "My BD line’s doing well. Better than I expected, actually. I don’t need to work for anyone. So... I guess I’ll just focus on that, and live life on my own terms."

V nodded, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Sounds like a good plan to me. Freedom’s something most people in this city never get."

Judy gave a soft smile in return, her arms wrapped around Asuka’s waist as they cruised through the city. "Yeah."

---

The scene shifted to the dusty outskirts of Night City, where Vincent stood over the body of a freshly killed corpo, his sleek black counterintelligence suit spattered with a few drops of blood. Nearby, the smoking wreckage of the AV lay scattered across the ground, still crackling with residual energy from its violent crash landing. Jackie was dusting himself off, shaking off the grime and debris, while Sasha, dressed in her usual edgy netrunner gear, lingered close by, her expression unreadable.

Jackie shot a look at Vincent, his tone laced with exasperation. "I thought you had a minor gig if you did not give me time to prepare, choom. Not something that’d involve shooting a fucking AV out of the sky."

Vincent shrugged, wiping his hands clean as he stepped away from the corpse. "The boss wanted it done quietly. And if I told you what was really involved, you might've thought twice about helping me." He paused, his gaze shifting toward Sasha, who stood a little to the side, watching them. "Plus, I didn’t know you were chooms with one of Hanako Arasaka’s netrunners," he added, pointing toward her.

Jackie glanced over at Sasha and then back at Vincent, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Sasha’s an old choom of mine," he said casually. "Just a year ago, she was running gigs with me and Asuka. We hit some pretty big scores together." His tone softened a bit as he remembered the good times before everything got complicated.

Sasha remained silent for a moment, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Vincent, and then she spoke, her voice cool and even. "I might’ve upgraded my affiliations, but that doesn’t change who I used to run with. Hanako needed me, and I did what I had to." There was a hint of defensiveness in her voice, like she was trying to justify her choices more to herself than to them.

Vincent arched an eyebrow, his expression a mix of curiosity and skepticism. "I’m sure you did. Doesn’t mean the claws of the corp haven’t dug in deep," he remarked, his tone tinged with the familiar disdain for corporate life despite being neck-deep in it himself.

Jackie shook his head, letting out a small laugh. "Vincent, you’ve got the whole corpo stick going for you, but you’re one to talk." He punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Now, you wanna tell me what the hell this whole gig was really about? Because I'm not buying the whole ‘boss wanted it done secretly’ excuse. Not when there's an AV lying in pieces over there."

Vincent’s smirk faded as he looked back at the wreckage, a serious expression settling over his features. "Let’s just say this guy wasn’t where he was supposed to be," he said, nodding toward the body. "And certain people wanted to make sure it stayed that way. You were the best guy for the job, Jackie. That’s all you need to know."

Jackie’s grin returned, though his eyes remained cautious. "Next time, just give me a heads up, yeah?"