Chapter 108: Valarie
The next forty-eight hours were a relentless nightmare for Arasaka Counter-Intelligence.
Moiré moved like a wraith through the back alleys and towers of Night City, a reaper in the dark.
Her first target was an Arasaka safe house in Charter Hill. Using her Sandevistan's blinding speed, she breached its layered defenses before the alarms could even trigger.
Her Transonic Razors carved lethal arcs through the darkness. Guards fell before they could even raise their weapons.
Once the facility was silent, she methodically destroyed all data-storage devices, leaving a single, clear mark carved into the main console with her blade: the sigil of the Cog Mechanicum.
Next, she struck an Arasaka covert-comms relay near the City Center.
The scene played out identically: precise, efficient purging. Staff were terminated before they registered the threat. Critical data was incinerated.
These two surgical strikes plunged Arasaka Counter-Intel into unprecedented panic.
Director Jenkins, facing immense pressure from the corporate board, finally understood he had provoked an enemy far beyond his standard threat models.
Continued confrontation would only bring annihilation upon his entire division.
Following an emergency executive meeting, Jenkins made a pragmatic decision: sacrifice a pawn to save the king.
He needed to placate this enemy's wrath while salvaging as much of Arasaka's face as possible.
He dispatched his deputy, Valarie, a negotiation specialist known for her flexible tactics, to establish contact.
Valarie knew standard channels were burned.
She leveraged her years of cultivated street contacts, working through layers of fixers until she finally reached Maine.
When Maine heard the title "Deputy Director of Arasaka Counter-Intelligence" over the encrypted link, his first instinct was to cut the connection.
But Valarie's message was clear: this was not a new provocation, but a signal for peace.
Maine cautiously brought this intel back to the Badlands bastion.
After a crew discussion, they agreed it was necessary to report up the chain.
Using the external comms-unit outside the manufactorum, Maine relayed Arasaka's request for contact to Joric.
Joric listened to the report, his crimson optical lenses flickering slightly.
He detested wasted time, but he despised continuous, low-level harassment even more.
After a brief calculation, he authorized the contact.
"Acceptable," Joric's voice came through the comms. "Have Moiré handle it."
Permission granted, Maine replied to the fixer through the original channel.
Soon, a one-time encrypted comms-frequency was established.
Moiré accessed the channel at the designated time, waiting silently.
Once connected, Valarie's voice came through, maintaining a cautious, professional tone. "Ms. Moiré, on behalf of Arasaka Corporation, and specifically Director Jenkins of Counter-Intelligence, I extend our sincere apologies to you and your 'Master' for the recent... incident."
She paused deliberately, choosing her words with care. "Internal investigation has confirmed that the attack was an unauthorized action approved solely by Executive Director Abernathy. She severely violated corporate decision-making protocols.
"This operation was entirely her personal, reckless decision and does not represent the stance of the Arasaka Corporation."
Valarie's tone became more earnest. "To express our sincerity, Arasaka is willing to provide reasonable compensation for any losses incurred during this event.
"We hope to establish a more streamlined communication channel with you and your Master to ensure such misunderstandings do not recur."
The subtext was clear: Arasaka was choosing to compromise. They were offering up Abernathy as a scapegoat to buy a ceasefire.
Moiré listened quietly, then relayed the full content of the comms and Arasaka's proposal to Joric.
Joric was unsurprised.
The nature of a corporation was to seek profit and avoid harm.
He had zero interest in Arasaka's internal power struggles. Abernathy's personal fate was irrelevant to him.
He simply needed to ensure the interference stopped.
Joric listened to Moiré's report, his optical lenses calmly scanning a data-interface.
"Accept their terms," Joric's voice was steady. "But require them to immediately remit the corresponding reparations. I will provide the manifest shortly."
He paused briefly, adding, "As for Abernathy... since they have chosen her as the offering, let her become the embodiment of this lesson.
"Ensure she understands the price of continued provocation."
His tone remained transactional, calm, as if arranging a mundane task.
To him, Abernathy's fate was far less important than ensuring the reparations were delivered.
This response was merely the completion of a necessary protocol, aimed at preventing future trouble, not venting emotion.
Moiré acknowledged the command.
She relayed Joric's ceasefire conditions to Valarie but mentioned nothing of Abernathy's subsequent fate.
The call ended. Valarie let out a long breath, believing the crisis averted.
However, Moiré's operation was not finished.
Following Joric's directive, she locked onto Abernathy herself.
The former Executive Director, upon learning that two safe-houses had been purged and Valarie was negotiating a truce, felt a measure of relief but remained paranoid. She had holed up in a rarely-used safe house in North Oak.
Moiré, tracking Abernathy's encrypted comms-line, pinpointed the location with ease.
In the darkest hour before dawn, she appeared like a ghost in Abernathy's bedroom.
When Abernathy was jolted awake by the cold touch on the back of her neck and a low-frequency hum, she saw only the faint glow of Moiré's eyes in the darkness.
The tip of a Transonic Razor hovered millimeters from her throat, its invisible vibration making the hair on her body stand on end.
"Arasaka's greed has a price," Moiré's voice was ice-cold. "This is the response to your ambush. And a lesson for you."
Before the words faded, the razor flashed.
Abernathy felt no pain, only seeing her right hand severed cleanly at the wrist, blood suddenly spraying.
Under her horrified gaze, Moiré pinned the severed hand to the headboard with a combat knife, then vanished silently, leaving Abernathy collapsing on the bed, soaked in cold sweat and blood.
Though she kept her life, the loss of her hand—and the message it sent—caused Abernathy's standing within Arasaka to plummet.
She was transferred out of Counter-Intel to a meaningless, dead-end position.
This outcome was both her personal punishment and a warning to any other potential provocateurs within Arasaka.
The conflict Arasaka had instigated ended with their heavy losses, the surrender of a scapegoat, and the acceptance of a severe warning.
Through this event, Militech gained an even clearer understanding of the terrifying power Joric commanded.
They were relieved they had chosen transaction over confrontation, yet their desire to acquire this technology became even more urgent and cautious.
The balance of power among Night City's factions was shifting, subtly and profoundly, due to this exchange and reckoning.
(End of Chapter)