An Engineer in Night City - ch 12.2

Initial Battles (2)

With the declaration of war by NUSA, Militech, and allies, all Wube Inc. employees, regardless of their current position, moved according to Code Behemoth.

Mark mentally reviews parameters of the emergency codes as he reads the messages on his HUD. 

Taking inspiration from the Nauvis enemies from the original Factorio Game, each enemy's evolution indicates a higher threat. Small Biters are casual criminals with more courage than sense, and the local security either waits for the automated defenses to do their job or waits for the local police to deal with the criminal. Medium biters are incursions by gangs and cyberpunks, disorganized but dangerous to the civilian workers under Wube Inc. The security team dispatches the threat as soon as possible, with survivors collected by the police.

Big Biters are used to describe the semi-professional forces, such as Edgerunners, or corporation-backed gangs like the Barghest or Tyger Claws. The Big Biter rating also includes large-scale gang wars, like the previous attempted incursions against The Factory.

The Behemoth Biters are designated against titanic-scale assault against all of Wube Inc.'s holdings simultaneously using overwhelming force. In the Factorio game, the original Behemoth can individually eat through a tank in less than thirty seconds, or spit corrosive acid that can dissolve the armored vehicle in less than twenty seconds. Those creatures also never attack alone, bringing hordes to text the Factory's defenses.

When Mark arrived in Night City, he thought his primary enemy would be Arasaka, but Fate subverted the Engineer's expectations. Rather than his initial estimate with Mark preparing himself to fight against Adam Smasher, the ESA used their Mass Drivers to throw an asteroid at Wube Inc. and Night City as an opening to a War against NUSA.

"How the tables turned," Mark remarks bitterly, remembering a past event when the ESA threatened the NUSA government with asteroids to bring them to the negotiation table.

Dismissing those thoughts the Engineer sends a reminder to all groups to follow their part in the emergency protocol. 

Mark watches as all deliveries pause to prioritize the safety of his employees. He sends an automated message to contracted companies waiting for their deliveries, usually a shipment of RGB chips, mentioning an ongoing issue regarding external forces, with the occasional compensation covered by the insurance.

To his surprise, most companies with an order for Wube Inc.'s products are willing to honor the seventy-two-hour delay period before refunds. The notable exception is Militech and its subsidiaries, which still demand their shipment of RGB chips to arrive on schedule.

“Fucking bastards,” Mark growls at the audacity of Militech, “they can’t help but have the last word on everything, don’t they?”

Forcing himself to ignore Militech's attempt at subversive warfare, Mark checks the second phase of Code Behemoth.

On the roads and streets, the convoys change their route for the nearest outpost or base. The route change includes the caravans working on the Night City/BN2 Complex route in North California, the Uranium Mine/West Side City in Wyoming, and the West Side City/BN2 Complex route between the states. As instructed, the convoys attempt to return to the nearest base, but not all vehicles have the luxury.

For some fleets, their route brings them to recently built bases in the badlands. Originally, the bases were made to defend the nearby Big Electric Poles while the assigned Robotports fixed sabotage attempts, however, with the influx of immigrants from the Highrider Confederacy, the bases quickly grew into villages and attracted non-hostile Nomads to settle in the region.

While only Wube Inc.’s employees are allowed inside the inner walls, Mark built a larger defense perimeter to protect the population that grew beyond the outpost's initial scope.

Inside the Map view, some of Mark's tension eases as he sighs after confirming everyone reached the secure checkpoints.

Elsewhere, Mark coordinates between the security teams and the civilian employees of Wube Inc. Thanks to their rigorous training, the Engineer feels confident in their ability to counter any surprise that Militech throws at them, even for the security teams outside Night City. Meanwhile, the civilians will remain inside the shelters until the situation normalizes enough for them to walk around the base.

The first twenty-four hours will be crucial to determine Wube Inc.'s survival.

…

Despite being the center of power and influence of Wube Inc., Night City still poses dangers to Wube Inc.'s employees. Not all workers live inside the habitational complex in Pacifica, which is inside the walls of The Factory. When Code Behemoth spreads through the company's system, the employees caught outside the Factory proceed to hole up and defend themselves until an escort picks up and returns them to Pacifica, the Night City Landfill, or discreetly drops them on Afterlife under the protection of Rogue Amendiaries as one of Mark's earliest allies in Night City, and one of the most powerful, Rogue is aware of Code Behemoth's significance.

Mark observes his security teams following protocol, zooming the image on his Map view on a team lagging to check on them, then changing his focus towards another group. "So far, everyone followed the instructions to the letter."

The principal strategy to overcome this crisis is to stay on the defensive and hold their positions, a similar approach to previous strategies even with Code Behemoth's bigger threat rating. The main uncertainty of this strategy is the undetermined nature of the siege.

Unfortunately, despite Mark's wishes, he has already received Red Notifications signifying structural damage or attacks on his people.

Taking a deep breath, the Engineer checks the notifications and realizes the enemy started their assault. He concludes that the earlier MaxTac and NCPD operation was a delaying tactic of the enemy to have their forces already in Night City position themselves for the attack.

…

The teams report attempted incursions and skirmishes against enemies using Militech or Militech-derived kits. The current opponents are using “retail-level" mass-produced Militech weapons often found with insurgents in third-world countries.

By zooming in on a smaller area to observe Militech's tactics, Mark realizes the secret of their rapid deployment: several unmarked vehicles pour Mercenaries, among them Edgerunners and third-party PMCs, before turning around and allowing a new set of automobiles to disgorge more mercenaries.

Mark assumes the Edgerunners are outsiders, as the locals would never participate in an operation similar to the Unification Wars tactics. Rogue would make sure the local Edgerunners understand what is at stake and deal with the traitors of Night City.

Professional Mercenaries and Gangs armed with Militech equipment act together during the incursion attempts, giving the operation a second layer of concealment. Beyond acting as a distraction for high-value forces, their presence will fool locals into thinking this is another gang war, like the previous attempts by the gangs to raid Wube Inc.’s holdings.

To Mark, the latter objective was a success since the various News agencies are reporting activities of “Gang Warfare” and “heightened state of violence” between corporation propaganda. Mark also notices the lack of coverage from the media about the ESA's asteroid attack, except from Arasaka-funded news channels.

The Engineer jerks in his seat when a notification shows a building's destruction, and he focuses on the warning location. In the Night City Landfill outskirts, one of the gangs collided with a wall using an IED Car, blowing up a wall. Fortunately, the construction bots swiftly patched the breach. The group who managed to breach the defenses was the Bhargest, currently the largest gang affiliated with Militech in Night City.

"This might be a problem," Mark admits, as it will be difficult to defend if they keep throwing IEDs disguised as civilian automobiles. Thankfully, the Factorio System now acknowledges the new "IED Weapon," allowing an instant update of the target filters to all turrets thanks to a clever circuit solution.

Spreading his attention on Night City's area, the attacks on the Factory and NC Landfill were repelled cleanly, much like in the previous attempts. However, this lack of commitment from the attacks keeps Mark on Edge, as he expected a change in strategy by now. 

"Are they trying to lure me into a false sense of security, or am I missing something else?" The Engineer decided to keep his current strategy since his people already prepared as much as they could.

...

Elsewhere, inside a building several blocks away from the ongoing conflict with Wube Inc., a group of Militech intelligence operatives sends a video feed caught by a next-generation camera, able to zoom in from far away and still send high-definition images. Thanks to groups like these, Militech and its allies have live combat data flowing back to the base for the analysts to adjust their strategy.

One of the observers shakes his head as he watches the gang's gleefully throwing themselves into the meatgrinder of Wube's defenses, “What the hell is wrong with those people? Why do they keep throwing themselves to their deaths?”

Another operative glances at the images over his colleague's shoulders, “Maybe they feel the inevitable collapse of civilization encroaching on them, and subconsciously choose to die in a blaze of glory, embodying the Night City mantra of ‘life fast, die hard’ philosophy instead of dying a slow, agonizing death under the ongoing apocalypse.”

The entire team turns back to the agent nonsense, with their team leader slapping the offending operative's head, “They’re a bunch of dumbasses high on everything," She admonishes her subordinate, "Every one of them probably thinks they’re built differently from the previous cyberpunks who lost their lives today. The lucky ones to survive their stupidity will confirm their belief, perpetuating this nonsense.”

A local intelligence agent nods at their leader's assessment, making the first objecting observer grumble in displeasure, "I still think it is stupid. How did they survive this long with such a stunted self-preservation instinct?"

“It doesn’t matter,” the leader replies briskly, “Our job is done. Finish sending the data to command and then let's return to base.”

With a chorus of “Yes, ma'am,” the team finishes their work and leaves the building.

...

Away from Night City, Militech analysts input the various data received by their operatives into their supercomputers. The equipment was restored from old relics of the pre-Krash and later improved using Wube Inc.'s RGB chips. Those relics have shackled AIs recovered from the Blackwall running the Military Analytics System, providing Militech with a significant advantage on the battlefield.

With the data accumulated from several skirmishes with Wube Inc. led by Militech, the AI finishes calculating the probabilities and sends the results to its masters.

The analysts agree with the program's assessment, though not all of them are happy with the results. 

“According to the final analysis, we have over eighty percent chance to succeed in all our objectives with our current strategy," one of the analysts points out.

A second scientist shakes his head, "It is still lower than ninety-five percent confidence in the test results, the upper brass will be displeased once everything is over." 

"Who cares," a third voice says, drawing the attention of the two scientists, "We will proceed with the next phase of the operation. We aren't going to win back our country with timid action!"

The scientists lower their heads, "At once, General, sending updated plans to the relevant personnel."

"Good," The general nods, "We finished throwing our initial disposable units, now it is time for Wube Inc. to feel the true might of the Fifth Power behind NUSA."

Post Chapter Notes

Sorry for the massive delays, I had to scrap the previous plans since they either didn't fit with the previous actions or were repeating previously trodden ground. Starting from Chapter 12 we will focus on the Wube-NUSA war, with different chapters focusing on each theater. These are the initial skirmishes and should end in the next segments.

Afterwards, comes the meat of the combat with detailed action. Once again, sorry for the inconvenience.