“They never see him comin’…”
Isaac Hughes was born on February 9th, 2031, in the Corpzone of London, England. His parents are Albus and Elizabeth Hughes, heads of the Cybernetic Engineering and Research Department (C.E.R.D), a subdivision of Militech Cybernetics International…
During the Fourth Corporate War, Militech execs felt the full presence of power that their corporate rival, Arasaka, held on the world. In the aftermath, referred to as “The Time of Red”, Militech needed to recoup their strength and grip on the global market. Luckily, they just got on the NUSA payroll.
Dumping a ton of resources into research and development, this naturally reached the Hughes and their team. Being fairly skilled in their field (and relatively cheap having been hired as a duo), the Militech execs assigned them the task of leading a larger team of engineers, doctors, and scientists in a secret project titled, “R.E.D.O.C.S”. (Research, Enhancement, and Development Of Cybernetic Soldiers)
The official objective was, as the title suggested, “figure out new ways to enhance their soldiers’ cyberware; both in efficiency and limitations in capacity.” However, the true objective was to develop a “perfect soldier”.
Just one. Why?
Adam Smasher.
Smasher is a cannon, and lives up to the lethality of the description. The worst part is that he’s on Arasaka’s leash and has been for a long time. He’s pulverized every foe thrown at him. No one has been able to silence him once-and-for-all, and this doesn’t sit well with the Militech execs. So, they decide to task the Hughes with the development of their own “Smasher”…
The Hughes quickly got their staff together and brainstormed hundreds of different ways to approach the project, with the focus being on the subject’s cyberware capacity and combat style. A scientist in the group notes Smasher’s destructive and chaotic style, so it would likely be wise to design their version to be more elusive and tactical.
“I second the idea.” inputs Elizabeth.
“Third.” agrees Albus. The rest of the team quickly follow. Albus does a quick nod to signal the matter is resolved, then continues, “Naturally, we should maintain the NEUS’s lethality level to be on par with Smasher, but we must choose the appropriate weaponry for the decided combat style. I think blades and a silenced pistol is the obvious choice.”
“Might I suggest we teach the NEUS to use long range weaponry as well?” asks an engineer.
“Not a bad thought,” replies Elizabeth.
“However, we must remember our other goal of cyberware capacity. It would likely be very difficult to teach someone that many new skills. The board is expecting a field test in eight years time. Even with prior training in one of those skills, and a biochip for another, eight years is still not enough time to master a new skill and build a tolerance for cyber-enhancement. Militech will never lend us one of their best soldiers for testing, which would be our best odds. We should limit the subject’s skillset to not cause too much mental strain and leave room for the hardware.”
Albus chimes in, “Excellent forethought, Elizabeth. However, I may have a possible solution, one that would also save the company money.” All heads in the room immediately whip around and point towards Albus. Mutters of confusion and awe peak through the silence. Elizabeth responds simply, “What did you come up with, Albus?”
He looks at his wife with a slight sense of pride. “It may be too difficult for one of Militech’s soldiers to handle the strain, but a child is much more resilient, both in the mental and physical capacity. One might be able to work up a tolerance for cyberware and learn the necessary skills more efficiently as they develop.”
The air falls still as the silence returns. Elizabeth stares, unshaken, at her husband before responding, “Are you suggesting we use our own son as the subject?”
“Why not?” replies Albus. “We know our son. He has both our intellects and will, which would make the development progress significantly faster.” The silence creaks as the rest of the staff shuffle in their seats, eyes glued to Elizabeth in unnerved anticipation.
“Agreed.”
The date is December 5th, 2045. Six months past the official deadline for a field test. Isaac sits nervously, bouncing his leg as he tries to focus on the details of the mission. The hums and drones of the AV distract. It’s his first time flying.
Actually, it’s his first time outside of the lab. Eight years of operations, training, and teachings have led up to this moment. He has to succeed, there is no other option.
He glances at the woman sitting across from him, eyes locked to her tablet. Even though she never introduced herself, he knows from the briefing that her name is Major Veronica Stiles, his point of contact.
His concentration gets interrupted when Major Stiles speaks, “You know, kid. I get this is your first real mission, but if you don’t get those nerves in check, it’ll also be your last.”
‘No shit.’ thinks Isaac. He understands the importance of his success. Still, he can’t help it.
The overhead speakers beep once and a voice is heard, “Ten minutes out.” Isaac gets out of his seat and sits on the floor with his legs crossed and head down. Stiles finally looks up from her tablet at Isaac, “What are you doing?”
He responds, “What you asked.”
He thinks back to his meditation training that, although minimal, has proven useful in a lot of previous exercises. He remembers his teacher explaining that it is often better to focus on what’s distracting you and utilize it to find a rhythm. He closes his eyes and focuses on the all of the mechanical beats of the AV. He envisions the engine, thrusters, pipes, and wires working in perfect uniform. Adapting to the pilot’s slightest adjustment. He matches his breathing with the repeated cycle of synthetic harmony. The erratic beating in his ears slow to a dull silence…
…he’s ready.
February 9th, 2052. Isaac’s 21st birthday. He has surpassed all of Militech’s expectations and has become a very valuable asset. Hasn’t botched a job yet. He’s killed hundreds… thousands? He can’t remember. Doesn’t matter. They shouldn’t have gotten in the way. Some targets were important, most of them were rats. All of them were loose ends.
This mission is no different. Another double agent that got too close to the enemy. Don’t even have a name, just a description and location. “Easier this way”explained his parents. Except there’s one thing that’s particularly special about this mission…
Adam Smasher happens to be in Night City as well.
The AV reaches the drop point and Isaac leaps out onto the roof of a building. He searches around and finds the sunroof with a broken lock. His entry point. He quickly makes his way over to the window and phones his contact on his agent.
“I’m in position.”
“Good. Welcome to the ol’ Sea’d Inn Hotel. Once a beautiful oasis of booze and eds, now a rat infested den of junkies and boosters. You’ll find the target on the 5th floor, in one of the rooms. Not sure how many between you and him.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Isaac slips down into the hotel’s top floor hallway. He scans the area to find the entire floor vacant. Must be lower down.
“How many floors, Cat?”
“Eight floors total, including the lobby.”
Two floors down. ‘Easy.’ He makes his way down the hall and turns a corner. He notes what seems like a stairwell at the end. ‘Okay, very easy. Not even a booby trap?’ Isaac scans the area once again, making sure he hasn’t missed anything. Nothing. He cautiously walks towards the stairs, eyes peering at every door and corner, expecting something from nothing.
The stairs look, somehow, worse than the rest of the building. As if one misstep would send you hurtling down eight stories. ‘Spooky, but not a problem. Only two flights.’ Each step follows a moment of silence as Isaac creeps down the stairs. After reaching the next floor, he scans the hallway, expecting at least one booster…
…Zip.
‘Okay, what the fuck? Cat mentioned junkies and boosters, but there’s not a soul.’ He reaches the next floor, the one his target is in. Another scan. Same result.
“Cat, I’m not picking up anybody on this floor, or any others.”
“I was wondering why you were so quiet.”
“You didn’t think to ask?”
“I didn’t think you were dead. Odd he’s not coming up on your scans. Perhaps some kinda camo?”
“Camo for scans?”
“Sure, seen em before.”
“Have not.”
“Have too, but look anyway. Maybe your eyes are busted.”
Isaac lets out a slight scoff.
“Mhm. Sure.”
He cautiously makes his way down the hallway. As he creeps his way forward, he starts to catch a familiar smell.
“Cat, I smell bodies.”
“Guess someone did your job for you. Still need you to confirm the target, though.”
“I know, but this is weird. I don’t like it.”
“Just find the target.”
Isaac follows his nose into the second to last room in the hallway. He scans the door to find it broken, but open slightly. He grips the door with his left, then the doorframe with his right. The cyber arms make it look easy as it slides the door further into the wall. With enough room for Isaac to fit, he slips through and scans the area.
“Four bodies. Three Kang and one target.”
“Need to jack in to confirm.”
“Doing it now.”
“Send me the results of the bio scan once it’s done.”
“Cat, this guy’s a proxy.”
“I mean, he was a double agent. Not surprising.”
“There’s another thing. It looks like he was hit with some really nasty ICE. Like really nasty. I’ve never seen scorch marks like these.”
“Okay? We already knew he was a runner too. Why does this matter?”
“There’s nowhere to jack into the NET here.”
There’s a moment of silence.
“Send me the scan, Isaac.”
“This is weird, Cat. I could look around.”
“No. We have a whole department for investigations. Your job is done. Head back to the AV.”
A longer moment of silence.
“Isaac?”
“Shame.”
“It happens. Complaining about an easy gig?”
“Yes.”
“Well, there’s always the next job. Are you heading towards the AV?”
“I’m there.”
“Great. Cutting comms. See you at the debrief.”
The AV roars to life before slowly ascending and flying back the way it came. As Isaac looks across the neon-scaped city, he can’t help but stick to one thought…
…he’s here.
He looks towards the front of the AV and notices they’re approaching Corpo Plaza. ‘Five klicks. That should work.’ Isaac opens the emergency kit on board, grabs a parachute and all of the flares. A panel next to the AV door is smashed in and out it swings. Isaac peers his head outside to get a better view of his landing zone. ‘Two klicks.’ He braces himself and envisions his landing. ‘One klick…
…here we go.’
Albus and Elizabeth Hughes sit in their office, chatting away with each other, when their assistant walks in.
“Sorry to interrupt, but we have a very serious situation developing with the NEUS. You might want to check N54.”
Albus and Elizabeth give each other a brief look and then look back at the assistant. “Thank you, Leanne” says Elizabeth. “We’ll check it out.” She grabs a remote from a drawer in her desk and flips on the tv, flicking through channels till she lands on N54 News.
“-flames appear to be in the shape of an A and an S, with many speculations as to what it stands for. Our online survey shows that the majority believe the letters to mean: Adam Smasher. Another piece of evidence going around online that supports the claim is that the letters appear to be facing Arasaka Tower. N54 has reached out to Arasaka for comment, but has not yet received a response.”
Albus turns to his wife, “What is he doing?” Elizabeth watches the TV for a moment to think. “My best guess would be that his mission didn’t go quite as planned, he somehow found out Smasher was in town, and has let his obsession for approval send him over the edge.”
Albus looks back at the TV. “Thorough examination, Liz. I concur. Shame, I really thought he’d last longer, being our son and all.” Elizabeth softly sighs, “As did I, Al. We sure did our best, but everyone has their limits. Should we shut him down?”
“Nonsense, Liz. It’s his final moments, let the boy have his fun.”
“Agreed. He is our son, after all.”
‘ffffuuuUCKK!’
Isaac lays in a pool of blood and oil. Pain is familiar, but this different. It’s not just torn flesh and shattered metal, but also a torn fate and shattered mind. He lost. This is agony.
‘I lost… lost? Survived? No…’
‘…I died.’
‘Vision’s fading… sounds’ getting muffled…’
‘…died a warrior’s death… like a Spartan.’
Suddenly, one of the dullest sounds gets louder and louder, eventually drowning out the rest.
‘An… engine… my… family?’
The roar slows to a mellow hum before the sound of a door opening and closing.
‘Just… one?’
Suddenly, a muffled voice peeks through.
“Well then, look who we have here? Lookin’ a little dent n’ bent there, kiddo.”
Isaac has just enough consciousness left to feel the stranger start to lift him by his shoulder. The pain takes over and he passes out…
August 3rd, 2060. Isaac sits, nervously, in his tent. He remembers this feeling from his very first field mission, but this is different. For a man who's used to operating in the shadows, the idea of being on stage and pouring your heart out is terrifying. He tries to slow his breathing in the hopes that it'll calm him down… it doesn't. Then, a familiar voice calls him back to reality.
"Hey, kiddo. You alright?"
"I'm not a kid anymore, Ben. I'm 30."
"And I'm 64, eat my ass."
Isaac lets a smile slip from his lips.
"You nervous about the performance?"
"Yeah…"
"It's alright, Isaac. That's totally normal. Just remember that we're your family. We'll only be mad if you suck."
Isaac lets out a hearty laugh this time.
"Thanks, Ben. I feel better already", he says in a sarcastic tone. Ben chuckles.
"Look kid, in all seriousness, you'll do great. Just pretend we're not there and focus on the music. You're up in five minutes. Love yah, buddy."
Ben leaves to return to the party as Isaac continues practicing his breathing. He mutters under his breath, "You got this."
The stage was just a small platform in the dirt, but it felt like the top of the world for Isaac. He puts the mic to his lips and introduces the band. After the claps and cheers die down, he looks to his drummer to start the count and the performance starts.
Once Isaac starts singing, he feels his anxiety slowly melt away. He focuses his mind on the beats and pounds of his drummer, much like the rythym of tech. The performance goes for a few more songs, with Isaac's confidence gaining with each one. The anxiety eventually turns to eurphoria as Isaac watches the crowd rocking out. He finally feels at home. He finally has a real family. He feels peace for the very first time in over 20 years.
On the other side of the country, Elizabeth is monitoring one of their test subjects, when Albus walks in.
"Elizabeth, can you join me in our office for a minute?"
"Of course, Albus."
Elizabeth motions to an employee to take her spot and walks with Albus to their office. Once inside, Albus closes the door and moves over to a corner with some more privacy.
"We've got a situation."
"What's going on?" replies Elizabeth.
"I was scanning the badlands of Night City, with one of our drones, and I found a nomad camp having themselves a little party. They even had a band."
"Okay, why do we care?"
"Isaac was the lead singer."
Elizabeth's eyes widen as she stares blankly at her husband.
"Are you sure?" she chokes.
"He's our boy, Elizabeth. Of course I'm sure."
A long silence is shared as they both let the information sink in. Elizabeth eventually asks,
"What should we do?"
Albus responds, "Well, since he's alive, he's still proprietary to the company, and very valuable. He needs to come home."
"I agree, Albus, but what about his nomad friends?"
"Don't worry Elizabeth, I'll take care of it."
After the party, everyone heads back to their tents for some much needed shut-eye. Isaac passes out instantly. It's the hardest he's ever slept but, unfortunately, it doesn't last long as he's startled awake by screams and gunfire. He jumps out of bed and peeks outside to see his family running with their guns drawn. He hears someone scream, "MEDIC!!".
He rushes over to his chest and grabs whatever clothes he can find. He looks for his weapons, but remembers they're not there.
'Fuck. I forgot I gave them to Mack for repair.'
He leaves his tent and sprints over to Mack's workshop. On his way, he sees his family fighting an army of soldiers and mechs, and their losing hard.
'They found me,' Isaac thinks. 'They really fucking found me.'
He finally makes it to Mack's workshop and starts frantically searching for his weaponry. However, it's not here either. He screams and runs back out, before hearing a familiar voice.
“I believe this is yours, kiddo!" Ben hands Isaac his katana. "Be careful."
"Where's my gun?" asks Isaac.
"Mack didn't finish it yet. If it's not in his shop, then I don't know. You'll have to do with that for now."
"Fuck, alri-"
Suddenly, a bullet whizzes right by Isaac's head, missing him by only 2 inches.
Unfortunately, Ben wasn't as lucky.
The bullet hits Ben straight in the face, and he drops. Isaac screams and drops to his friend's aid. He scans him and finds that he's already dead. Tears roll down his face, and a new feeling starts to form. One Isaac has never felt before. Was it rage? No…
…he was losing control. His vision goes black.
The next part is kind of fuzzy. Isaac's sees only flashes of reality, his katana slicing through armor like butter, muzzle flashes going off right by his face, and more friends getting killed.
After he finally comes to, he looks around to a find a massacre. Bodies strewn throughout. When he finally catches his breath, Isaac starts to look around for survivors…
…he doesn't find a single one. He finds some nomads with missing limbs. 'Please don't let me be the cause' he prays. He stops at Ben's body and sits down. He is, once again, completely alone.
"I'm so sorry, Ben. I wasn't quick enough. I failed… again."
After crying for over an hour, Isaac looks back at his friend.
"Come on, Ben. Let's go somewhere to think."
He picks up Ben's body and carries it a few miles away from the camp, to a nice spot on a hill, overlooking the city. He gently sets Ben down next to a rock, and starts digging. After a couple hours, and picks up the body and sets him in the grave. He covers it back up and builds a make-shift headstone out of some smaller rocks in the area. He sits on the ground and looks across the city. It's morning by now, and as he watches the AVs pass by, he has a thought.
“I'm sorry, Ben. For everything. You found me in an alley, broken and defeated. Not much has changed, huh? Thank you for taking me in and giving me a real family."
He stands up and takes one last look at his friend's grave.
"Goodbye, Ben. I'll miss you all so much."
