An Engineer In Night City

The AV cross the airspace of Night City while containing two notorious individuals, the first one is the heir to the Arasaka Empire, Yorinobu Arasaka. Out of the public eye, those with a passing knowledge of the man exploits knows Yorinobu as a rebel who opposes his father policies within the Arasaka group while trying to seize political power for himself.

In recent years, the executives of Arasaka believe that Yorinobu mellowed out, since the scion of the empire learned moderation and negotiation. In their view, the past Yorinobu was incapable of compromising his ideals, and this change in attitude shows the once proud Taka learning humility by playing the political game that made Arasaka one of the strongest companies in the world.

"We will arrive in five minutes, Yorinobu-sama." The pilot reminds the two passengers, and they silently acknowledge him. The pilot spots the area marked for VTOL aircraft where a man is waiting for them to arrive. Gently, the AV touches the ground and open the door for the passengers.

Mark is ready to greet Yorinobu, but the first one to open the door is even more infamous than rebel heir to the Arasaka. It is none other than Adam Smasher, the Executioner of Arasaka, the Boogieman of the world of Cyberpunk.

"Catch." Adam casually throws a metal box at Mark, and on most people that simple display would be enough to crush their body. Yet, the Engineer is built different even outside his power armor.

"Hey, careful with the package. I only have the local beer as an alternative."

Adam eyes glow menacingly at Mark, who doesn't look intimidated by the man. "You caught that easy for someone made of meat. Have some chrome hidden away, boy?"

"Adam, play nice." Yorinobu says while stepping out of the air car. "You're not here to interrogate him, that's my job."

Adam doesn't reply, simply staring intensely at Mark.

"Alright, let's go to the grill then. The coals should be hot enough, and I bet you're starving for some good old burgers."

Yorinobu gives Mark the hint of a smile, "we will see. Lead the way, Mark-san."

The barbecue area is a small sectioned off region of the factory where the future employees can rest and congregate after finishing their shift, giving it an almost "homely" feel. There was a larger table made of hardwood where the food is arrayed, with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, brioche buns, French bread, cheese, and other options for the burgers are on display.

On the grill there is a hot griddle, and Mark puts on an old fashioned "kiss the cook" apron while fetching a pair of ground beef balls from a nearby cooler.

"Let's start with the classics first. If you have any questions, I can answer them while you wait, Yorinobu-san." Mark turns to Adam Smash, who remains still at Yorinobu's side. "Do you want one too?"

"Don't talk to me."

Yorinobu chuckles at Mark remark. "He can't eat on the job. Don't worry about taste testing, Arasaka is proud of their specialized anti-assassination cyberware suit."

"Alright, I will leave him one for the go, then."

Soon, both Mark and Yorinobu are talking, at first with a reserved tone, but soon their mood changes as they both have some drinks under their system.

"… that day Kei had to spend the whole morning looking like a Tanuki, and my niece never let his get away with it!"

Mark shakes his head at the old tale from Yorinobu. "Here, this one should be good."

The Arasaka scion looks at the burger in his hand. It's an old recipe, being over a hundred and fifty years old by now. Meat patty smashed on the griddle, a generous amount of caramelized onions, and stacked as a double on a brioche bun. It was once called the "depression bum" due to being made during the early twenty century Great Depression. Ground beef, onions, bread, a once cheap meal the poor could enjoy, but now even simple ingredients as those are sold at a premium price.

"What do you think about this burger, Adam Smasher?" Yorinobu asks his bodyguard.

"I saw better. If he wants to impress someone then he's as much a disappointment as that burger. It's utterly mediocre."

"Ah," Mark interjects on Adam's assessment, "but I fear that you wouldn't be able to enjoy the burger to its fullest, Adam Smasher. After all, the two secret ingredients are love and nostalgia." 

Yorinobu looks at the burger and thinks back when he was young, before the Food Crash, before the first mass famines, one of his earliest memories. He had traveled with his late brother to America on some business and asked his brother to buy him a treat. He ate a burger not unlike the one offered by Mark, and it was one of the few good memories he had while growing up under the shadow of his father. Taking a bite, the Arasaka heir enjoys the meal, and he must admit it tastes better than the one from his memory.

"Not bad. Seven out of ten."

"Good enough." Mark answers before taking a bite of his burger.

…

After a while, both men finish their hearty meals, with the cooling coals keeping the burger on the go warm.

"Tell me, Mark-san, what do you think about Arasaka? Do you think it will continue in its current path, or will it fail despite everyone's best efforts?"

Mark takes another swing at his beer, thinking over his answer. "Rome didn't fell from the invasion of the Barbarians, but rather it fell from the corruption and rot within that allowed the Barbarians to sack Rome. If you want to topple an Empire, you need to ruin its foundations first. So long as the people in charge are aware of this and remain vigilant, Arasaka will stay in power. Beyond that, it depends on their ability to seize opportunities before their enemies' strike."

Yorinobu hums in appreciation. "I see. Thank you for hosting me today, Mark-san. It was an enlightening experience. Arasaka will make sure to keep up with your progress, now more than ever."

"Thank you for the compliment, Yorinobu-san." On cue, the AV approaches the factory. "I will escort you to the heliport."

As the two Arasaka men depart from the Starter Base, Yorinobu turns to Adam Smasher, who ended up accepting the offered burger on the go. "What do you think about the Engineer, Adam-san?"

"Doesn't look like much, but he had an obscene amount of firepower hidden in that area. If moved wrong, you would had turned into minced meat faster than I could react."

Yorinobu nods, already aware that coming here alone was a test from his father. A test to determine if Yorinobu could gain some degree of trust for the board due to his current position as the heir to Arasaka.

"If I had died, what would you had done, Adam-san?"

"I would shot the fucker, then bail out of the place. It's not fun being shot by over fifty guns without the satisfaction of killing the perpetrators."

"I heard that the Engineer managed to deal with the Maelstrom gang on his own, and the fought against a gang war and won. If you were to fight against the Engineer at his best, how things would go?"

Adam takes the time to ponder, mentally reviewing the data he studied about the Engineer so far. "If he were to set his killing field and I couldn't disengage, the excess of guns pointed at me combined with his mobility would cause a little trouble if I challenged him with my usual kit."

"That's high praise from you, Adam-san. But would you lose?"

"I'm Adam Fucking Smasher, of course I'd win."