North Industrial Zone.Maelstrom base.
Brick, Maelstrom's leader, sits with several core members. Bored hands fiddle with guns. They look like they are waiting for someone.
Footsteps echo down the hall.
A soldier ushers in a small group. They wear suits. Corporate.
"Say it. What is the job this time?" Brick asks first. This is not their first meeting with these people.
The woman in front fixes Brick with cold blue eyes. Then she speaks.
"I want all Maelstrom assets gathered to hit the Ascension Technology industrial park and destroy everything inside.
Also check for a specific communications server. If you find it, bring it back."
"Ascension Technology? Are you sure?"
Brick freezes for a beat when he hears the target.
"What is your problem?" the blue-eyed woman says. She does not understand why Brick reacts the moment Ascension is mentioned.
"We took a Militech contract once to hit Ascension's plant," Brick says. "They came to us afterward. I gave my word we would not touch Ascension again."
The woman dismisses it with a glance.
"Brick, are you joking? I do not care what you told Ascension. Ascension must be destroyed.
This is not a cooperation. This is an order.
It comes from Lilith. Do not test it. Take your people and move on Ascension."
"Lilith gave this order?"
The name hits the room. Every Maelstrom face tightens. They know exactly who the woman means.
"Yes. You know what that implies. I do not need to explain the cost of disobedience."
"Then fine. If it is Lilith, forget Ascension and hit them."
"Either way, if we do not fight, Lilith will not spare us."
"Boss, assemble the crew. We roll."
The core members talk over each other. Brick still hesitates.
Going against Ascension is not a smart choice.
He had a belly full of anger when Ascension came knocking before, and he has wanted to even that score. But this is different. This order demands a full-force attack on Ascension's industrial park. That is a formal declaration of war.
Consequences will follow.
Ascension's footprint in the North Industrial Zone is not what it used to be. It is no longer a small workshop. Months of growth turned the site into a large park backed by heavy Arasaka security.
If Maelstrom really tries to level that park, it will be a hard fight.
Even if they win, Maelstrom bleeds bodies.
The gang will take a serious hit.
Brick does not want this job. The name Lilith leaves him no room.
Lilith is the hand behind their "clients," the shadow running the organization that keeps pulling Maelstrom on-chain. She is a powerful AI from beyond the Blackwall.
A long time ago, Maelstrom took a commission from them. The task used a special method to summon Lilith and let her slip the Blackwall for a moment into Night City's Net.
From then on, Lilith watched Maelstrom. The organization clamped a shackle on them.
The AI collective began using the gang like a black glove.
When they needed muscle, Maelstrom handled it.
If the gang performed, they got paid. If they refused, Lilith punished them. AIs would invade brains, damage minds, and push members already near cyberpsychosis over the edge.
Maelstrom has felt what Lilith can do. That is why the reaction is so sharp.
Brick cannot refuse the commission, but he does not want to swing at Ascension.
The room reads his pause.
"Brick, are you hesitating? You disappoint me," the woman says, voice like a blade.
As the organization's handler, she does not want even the idea of refusal.
Brick draws breath to answer.
A hit from the side slams him to the floor.
"Chao."
He snaps his head up, cursing. Royce stands over him. One of Brick's strongest core members.
"What is your problem, Royce?"
Brick tries to rise. Royce pins him with a boot, raises his gun, and sights Brick's head.
"Brick, you have lost it. You want to ignore Lilith's order.
And I have wanted to say this for a long time. You are spineless. Why fear Ascension? The North Industrial Zone should be Maelstrom turf. Why do we keep dodging them?
I figure you were just scared stupid when those Ascension dogs showed up. That is why you told us not to cross them."
Royce lowers himself, muzzle pressed to Brick's skull, voice bright with madness.
When Rocky and crew hit the All Foods plant, Royce was not there. Only a few Maelstrom members lived through that scene. Most have no idea what really happened.
Afterward, Brick barred Ascension jobs and told the gang to stop harassing Ascension's sites. That order drew heat inside Maelstrom. Brick shut it down with the weight of leadership.
Royce was one of the loudest critics.
He is Brick's top enforcer and the effective number two in Maelstrom.
He is not satisfied. He has wanted Brick's chair for a long time.
He steps up now to use this opening, pull Brick down, and take the gang for himself.