Having breakfast with Sable was an interesting experience. Jackie was attempting to tackle the ever-sacred southern biscuits and gravy, a dish known for dubious looks but incredible taste. Meanwhile, it was clear that something had happened between Kaytlyn and Sable, as they were talking much more amicably than they had the previous day.
When neither of them mentioned anything, I decided just to accept it and move on. I wasn't petty enough to poke at it or demand an explanation. I trusted both of them, after all.
As always, Jackie managed to make a fantastic meal, despite this being his first time with the dish, and we were all happy to enjoy it. Our conversation was casual at first, but quickly turned to business as the meal progressed and seconds were served, each of us sipping coffee at the table.
"How long do you think purchasing the land will take?" I asked, focusing on Sable, after Kayt brought up the next stages in our plans.
"Well, I could start purchasing easy bits of land as soon as this afternoon," She admitted, a cigarette appearing in her hands as if by magic. "But, by tomorrow morning, the news will get out that someone is buying up the land, regardless of what sort of lowlifes might be nearby, and prices will skyrocket."
"Yeah, no, that's exactly what I would like to avoid," I pointed out with a frown. "Any way to keep that from happening?"
"Of course. Give me time and some budget, and I can set up a firm to work on the issue. They would start working on the properties that people might not be looking to sell as easily, and then we can purchase everything all at once."
"How much will that run us back?"
"Don't worry about it, I can call in some favors and cover the difference myself," Sable said, waving me off. "But this will take time. A few days to set up, then a few days to start working. Looking at a week, tops."
"Okay, that will give me some time to find out where you should focus," I said. "I'm hoping to get some nomads working on a gig involving tracking Maelstrom movement. I need to-"
"Oh, right. Sorry Genio, Alexander was looking for you yesterday, wanted to talk about the gig you were looking for," Jackie said with a wince. "Forgot to mention that, my bad choom."
"It's fine, I wouldn't have been free to talk until today anyway," I responded. "What else did he say?"
"He seemed interested, but was looking for material payment rather than eddies," Jackie explained with a shrug. "Can't blame him with the stuff we've been showing off."
"Suppose not," I agreed, leaning back in my chair. "I'll talk to him when I get to the Ridge. Either way, I'll get you that info soon, should let you get the most out of our money."
"Good plan, do you trust the nomads to do the work?" Sable asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I trust these nomads to do the work, as long as they are treated fairly," I responded with a shrug. "Alexander is straightforward, and the Aldecaldos have a good reputation. Plus, Dakota likes me after I made the electrocondensers."
"Right. You know, two more companies have gone bankrupt from that," She pointed out with a smirk.
"Sounds like a good start," I responded with a wink. "Only a thousand more."
The conversation slid into more casual topics, eventually swinging around to how to the next time Sable could stop by for dinner. Jackie promised that, in a few days, when Frank was finished cracking the recipe, he would try to work with salmon, something that Sable and I were equally excited about. I had fond memories of my father cooking an amazing brown sugar-infused salmon, which Jackie seemed interested in attempting. He explained that it would be a bit of a smorgasbord of different salmon options, since he would be testing how the recipe functioned, but I was still looking forward to it. Jackie also came clean about a decision he had been considering for a while.
"So… Jay. Was that offer to help me open a restaurant legit?" He asked while stirring his coffee.
"Of course it was," I said, leaning forward with a smile. "You interested in giving it a shot?"
"Yeah… I was thinking about it," he admitted, excitement creeping into his voice. "I was thinking I could do something basic with the nomads, you know, as a way to experiment with recipes. Then, once we pushed into Watson, maybe I could build something small, maybe like a food truck…"
"Big guy, I will build you a whole ass restaurant from the ground up," I assured him. "You pick the name, and I will put it up in lights."
"Yeah, I figured you would, Genio," he responded with a chuckle, scratching his cheek with just a hint of self-consciousness. "Not exactly sure what we would serve, or what I want…"
"You've got time, Jackie, trust me," I assured him. "Have fun feeding the nomads, try not to convert them all into permanent residents, and when we own most of Northside, I will build you whatever style restaurant you want. Hell, I'll build you a restaurant that can change styles on command, so you don't have to decide!"
"I don't need nothing like that, Genio," he responded, shaking his head. "Not looking to make that kind of place. I just want to serve good food to people who can enjoy it."
"I don't want to turn this into a business move," Sable said, looking a bit nervous about speaking up. "But introducing points of interest like that to the area will help make it flourish. People will come to eat, or shop, or enjoy whatever you put there, which in turn helps generate money, which can be invested back into other things like expansions."
"It's going to be an interesting balancing act," I admit, scratching my chin. "One that I cannot be in charge of, as I will have a lot of other things going on."
"I… might have someone who can do that," Sable admitted, chewing her lip with a slight wince. "If you don't mind someone a bit more corpo minded…"
"I was planning on making an AI designed to keep track of it," I responded. "Someone I can really trust to keep everyone's best interests at heart."
"Yeah... that would probably be for the best."
With our coffees finished and our plates clean, breakfast ended with everyone thanking Jackie, before I walked Sable out of the vault to Rocky Ridge. We stopped by her car, the Corpo woman leaning on the hood of her vehicle, something that would have made a lot of people wince, considering just how expensive it was.
"Well, Jay, it's been interesting," She said, her arms crossed as she shook her head. "I gotta admit, I did not expect… most of what happened yesterday."
"I aim to please," I responded, leaning back and sitting on a concrete barrier. "I appreciate all the hard work you're putting into our projects, Sable. I'm glad you came to find us when you did. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't stopped by, looking to start a business."
"It's nothing special, Jay. Not like I haven't been getting paid," she pointed out. "And now that I know just how… crazy you and your tech is, I would say that I'm definitely getting the better end of our deal."
"Fair enough, I suppose," I said with a smirk. "Well, I'll be in touch once I get the data I want, either from the nomads or paying for it from another fixer."
"And I'll start putting together a small team to get prepared," She added with a nod. "We can move once we get that data. For now, I need to get back and check in on TinkerTech."
I nodded and watched as she walked around the car, the door opening as she approached. Before she climbed into her expensive ride, she gave me one final look.
"Don't be a stranger, Jay. I expect more invites to dinner," She said, giving me a pointed look.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll make sure you get invited over for the salmon," I responded, chuckling as she smirked and disappeared inside her car.
As she pulled out, she tapped the horn once, as if to say goodbye, before pulling out of the town. I watched her drive away until she turned out of sight, before turning around and walking down the main road, making my way to the campground. I wanted to get the negotiations for the surveillance gig over as soon as possible, so we could get the info back and put it to work.
Once I was a bit closer, I waved to a pair of nomads watching the entrance before making my way deeper into the camp. Eventually, I spotted Alexander, elbow-deep in the engine of a car, with grease marks up to his shoulders. As I approached, one of the nomads working beside him spotted me, giving the leader a nudge to point me out.
"Jackson, good to see you," Alexander said, giving me a nod before focusing back on the engine. "Give me a second, just trying to get this bolt loose…"
"Take your time," I responded, taking a seat on a nearby bench.
He nodded, before focusing back down into the car's internals. After a moment, he strained against something, before whatever he was prying at came free suddenly, undoubtedly smacking his knuckles in the process. I could see his jaw clench as he muttered a curse, pulling out a thick bolt and nut. He passed it to the other nomad before grabbing a rag and starting to clean himself off.
"Right, sorry about that," He said, leading me away from the car to a nearby table and chairs, set up under a thick tarp cover. "I assume you're here to talk about that gig you mentioned?"
"That's right," I confirmed, taking a seat across from him. "Sounded like you were interested?"
"We are, as long as it was how you described," he responded, the rag in his hand getting dirtier and dirtier, despite his hands still being stained with grease.
"Essentially, I'm trying to get a feel for where Mealstrom's gathering spots are," I explained, leaning forward in my chair. "I'm sure Dakota has a list of their bases, but I want more than that. I want their favorite hangouts, where they buy their smokes, where they get their chrome, and any sort of gathering spots or frequented building. Basically, any place where their presence is common enough that it would lower property value."
"So solely observational, no infiltration or anything?" He asked, watching me with a hard look.
"No, no infiltration at all. Most of this could be done from a passenger seat with nothing more than a tablet and a map," I explained. "You're gonna wanna mix it up to keep from getting spotted, maybe do some walking or get different vehicles, but that's it."
"That… sounds like something we can do," Alexander agreed with a nod. "I assume your friend explained we aren't really looking for eddies, though?"
"He did. What sort of tech are you looking for, exactly?" I asked, eyeing the nomad leader closely. "I think it's pretty clear a lot of our tech is purposely hidden, so I can't offer everything."
"Well, in all honesty, I was hoping you would make some recommendation," he admitted. "Who better to know what would help us?"
"That's a fair point…"
Mentally, I started going over some of the things I could build for the nomads. Mag rifles were an obvious choice, as the nomads would love the ability to mill their own ammo instead of buying it. I could make them various types of armor, but most of my personal armor was only good because Alien Alloy allowed me to compact a large amount of it into the form of scales, keeping it light while retaining its strength. Although…
"I can offer some weapons, mag pistols, and rifles," I offered. "They are pretty tough, and you'll be able to mill your own rounds from cheap carbon steel round bar. Not to mention, they are better than anything on the market these days. Let's say… five of each? Or… I could make you a type of lesser-power armor. Not like what you probably saw the other day, something much more simple."
"Why would we want lesser power armor?" He asked with a frown. "That seems counterproductive to why I was asking for tech from you."
"You want this stuff because you'll be able to repair it yourself," I explained. "Just a bit of tutoring, any of your mechanics will be able to fix them up with parts you'll be able to buy at most shops, with the tools you have around here. Perfect for people without access to high-tech facilities."
"...That is something we would be interested in," he admitted. "Assuming the armor is potent enough…"
"How about this? I get one set of armor built so you guys can test it out," I suggested. "If you like it, I'll print you two more. If you don't, I'll make you six pistols and six rifles. How does that sound?"
"I can agree to those terms," Alexander said with a nod, reaching out with a still greasy hand. He frowned and made to pull back, but I smirked and reached out, shaking his hand happily.
"A little grease doesn't scare me," I assured him. "I built enough of my own stuff that I am well acquainted with it at this point."
He chuckled, and together, we hashed out the final details of the gig, eventually coming to a final agreement. He left to call Dakota to fill her in, promising that he would have people on the job by the evening at the latest.
With one of my tasks for the day complete, I headed back to the main part of town, making a circuit around to say hello to everyone. Jackie had left, but he would be returning later in the day so both of us could get our new lungs.
I knew the thought of getting a new organ, or two in this case, should shock me, but at this point, I was only concerned about how much of my last free day it would take up. I could feel the countdown timer in my head slowly ticking by, and while I didn't bother to focus on it to get a real reading, I could feel it was getting close.
After my walk around the town, I stopped back in the garage, plopping down in my workstation chair. I had a few things that I wanted to build today, but with Jackie's announcement that he was going to give being a chef a real shot, my primary objective was to build him an assistant for cooking.
The only question I had was if I should make him a full AI assistant or a bunch of response programs instead. After thinking it through, I realized he would probably need response programs either way, so eventually, I settled on designing a robot with a response program brain. They would be able to help him in the kitchen, and if he wanted a full AI assistant, I would either convert one of them with some adjustments, or build a liquid skin ALEO unit, depending on what he wanted.
In fact, both Samwise and Noah had asked for a robot to help clean and maintain the vaults, so I was overdue to create a more polished robot frame for more refined duties. After some light planning, I decided I would build a frame, and change subtle things like the coloring and the plating to indicate what exactly their role would be.
I scanned through the few robot plans I had stored away, before ultimately deciding to start from scratch. I was tempted to start with the same frame as Frank since it already had a lot of the features I was looking for, but it also had quite a few more that I didn't need. I was also tempted to use a Mr. Handy, but as much as the Fallout games liked to pretend they were somehow perfect assistant robots to help around at home, the fact of the matter was that it had a high-intensity thrust system attached to its ass.
It was not practical and would have been considered worse than useless in most universes beyond Fallout.
As usual when designing a humanoid robot, I started with a skeleton, before realizing that, since this was not a combat robot, it did not need a super-reinforced, combat-capable frame, and could get by with just a reasonably reinforced structure.
Basically, the idea was to create a design that focused on flexibility, dexterity, and steady hands. Where robots like the MRVNs focused on utility, cutting, hauling, and welding, and the shades and ALEO units focused on robustness and effectiveness, I built something that was more refined.
I started by laying out a general frame, before adding power systems and stabilizers to make them rock solid. Their servomotors were chosen for stability rather than power, while their sensors were the best I had available. I even included artificial scent detection, which, once trained, would allow the robot to smell whether something was cooking or if something smelled bad. That was technically a sensor from a security robot, specifically one meant to locate explosives, but surprisingly, the tech carried over.
Slowly but surely, I added systems, doubling down on several aspects before finishing off by designing a stylish outer shell. I went through two interpretations before settling on one that looked refined, but didn't stand out as some sort of super robot.
When I was done, I sent the design to Samwise so he could take a look, the AI suggesting a few tweaks, which I happily accepted. I was still getting used to the idea of infinite resources, so I had held back in a few places to keep from making the bot more expensive, something Sam spotted and fixed, as well as adding a different set of cameras as eyes. Technically, it was minorly inferior to what I had chosen, but it was actually better at telling contrast and minor shifts in color, making it better suited for cooking or cleaning bot.
When we were done adjusting the design, Samwise agreed to print out a half dozen of them and put them through their paces, while I could get started on another project. Unfortunately, I didn't have a ton of time since Vik would eventually arrive to install our next round of cyberware, our new enhanced lungs. Despite the fact that he would be cutting us open to a significant degree, the actual surgery wouldn't take too long. That said, I was pretty sure I would be done for the day after getting my lungs cut out and replaced.
With only a small chunk of time to work in, I set in to make the most of it. There were a lot of minor things that needed to be designed, mostly as general ideas for Samwise to polish and finish off for me, something that AI was particularly good at due to his inherent analytical nature.
I completed a few background projects with my time, the day passing slowly before, eventually, Jackie popped his head in to let me know that Vik had arrived and was ready to get to work.
After a quick shower to clean up later, I made my way to the Biolab, where Vik and Jackie were waiting. Of course, Frank was also there to act as Vik's assistant, as was Rebecca, though she was sitting in the corner. She waved when I entered, happily drinking a milkshake.
"Right, so who is going first?" I asked, giving Jackie a look.
"Ie best go first, Genio," Jackie said with a frown. "If I see you getting all cut up, I might lose my nerve."
"When the hell did we switch places?" I asked, shaking my head. "You know you don't have to do this, right?"
"I know, but I would like to be able to use my Sandy more often," Jackie said, giving himself a shake. "I can take it. I'm ready."
Vik nodded, before leading him into the surgery room and guiding him to take off his coat and shirt. Rebecca let out a wolf whistle, but stopped and apologized after Vik gave her a look. After he was ready, Jackie lay down on the table, and Vik went over some things, though I couldn't hear what he was saying. After he was done, Vik started the procedure by knocking him out, using a much more serious-looking anesthetic than the ones he used for our other surgeries. After Jackie was fully out, he was strapped in, and Vik got to work.
The first step was hooking Jackie up to a set of artificial lungs, which oxygenated his blood without him needing to breathe. Vik did this by splicing a device into Jackie's arteries, which Frank assisted in. Once Jackie no longer needed to breathe, Vik sterilized his chest before setting up draping to border around the operation site. Then, he began cutting.
Watching Vik flay Jackie's chest open, cut open his ribcage, and slowly remove his lungs, one at a time, was as fascinating as it was gruesome. The lungs that replaced his originals were almost identical, looking pristine, though the previous ones didn't actually look that bad. Once t