Rebecca listens and catches the point of what Lissandra just said."You mean Faraday is finding scapegoats for Militech? If Maine takes this commission, how dangerous is it?"
"Survival rate under five percent. High probability of total loss," Lissandra replies.
Rebecca trusts the top-tier AI's read and signals Maine to pass. "It is a trap. The 'high-end Arasaka weapons' on that convoy are bait. Militech wants someone else to take point. This job is dead from the start." Maine nods; Rebecca works at Ascension Technology now, and Ascension partners with Arasaka, so it makes sense she would know things most mercs would not. He swears under his breath.
"That bastard Faraday knows, and he is trying to get us killed."
Maine is not wrong. Faraday knows it is a trap. Arasaka intends to draw Militech forces into the open. Kate, who runs this operation, buys off a middleman connected to Militech and spreads the rumor. The trail lands where you expect. Among Night City fixers with Militech ties, Faraday is the obvious choice. He takes Arasaka's offer. He still holds Militech's trust after the Tanaka job, so he does not flip sides. He takes money from both. He leaks Arasaka's chosen details to Militech while taking Militech's commission to find mercs willing to "lead the charge." Classic double-dip. The mercs die against the test subject, and Faraday still gets paid. He wants money, leverage, and a ladder up the corpo stack. The lives in the middle do not count.
Fate's gears grind back to a familiar place. Arasaka's Cybertron is about to meet Militech again. David is not at the center this time. Maine's crew almost was.
Ascension Technology, moments earlier. When Lissandra mirrored the shard Faraday handed over, Rocky received the brief immediately. He studies it and understands. "Cybertron. Looks like Arasaka found suitable test subjects."
He is not surprised Cybertron shows up. He pulled David off the board early, but the advanced soldier serum he released gave Arasaka plenty of "Davids" to choose from. He told Lissandra to watch for Cybertron-related signals weeks ago. In truth, Cybertron does not hold his interest.
On a battlefield, it looks decent, but it cannot beat Adam Smasher one-on-one. On open ground, it does fine mowing down regular troops. It would struggle against a vibranium mech force that shrugs off its gravity field. He wonders how it would handle BT. Even so, Cybertron is a headline event. Skipping it would be dull, and Faraday is also due for a reckoning.
Night City outskirts. People call this stretch the Badlands. Dry scrub runs across yellow sand. Harsh ground keeps the population thin. Few Night City residents step out here besides a handful of Nomad tribes and gangs that rob corporate convoys.
Today, a team of desperados waits by the highway. They are fully armed with heavy kit. Their mismatched gear and non-Nomad clothes mark them as mercenaries out of Night City. They have held a position for a while. Excitement flashes in their eyes as their target appears. A convoy marked with Arasaka logos rolls past. It is not large, but every vehicle is a top-end armed transport. The center truck looks like a vault on wheels.
The mercenaries howl, pin the throttles, and charge. "Go." Biggest score of their lives. Cash out and drown in eddies if they live.
Arasaka's security reacts at once when flanking vehicles close in. They do not know the payload and do not realize they are being set up, but anyone moving cargo through the Badlands plans for raiders. The clash comes fast. On one side are mercs drunk on a sky-high payout. On the other hand, Arasaka's best convoy security is fighting for their job and life. Arasaka did not become Night City's overlord by running weak escorts. Small fry cannot crack this wall, and Faraday's last-minute hires are worse than small fry.