"Orbital Air welcomes you to NCX — Night City International Circumlunar Spaceport."
"So what are you waiting for? Leave behind the burdens and frustrations of the mundane world. Board our flight and set out into the boundless cosmos."
"Arrive at the destination of your dreams. Taste true freedom. Become who you want to be. Chase the dreams in your heart."
"Because the stars are only the beginning."
"Orbital Air wishes you a pleasant journey."
Under the sweet voice of the announcer, V and her group headed for Launch Pad NC-423 and boarded the rocket. With a powerful surge pressing them back into their seats, they shot skyward toward the sea of stars.
"Whoa!"
Breaking free from Earth's gravity, they entered low Earth orbit. The rocket detached and began its return sequence, while the shuttle unfolded into cruise mode, following its preset trajectory toward the Moon.
Including V, everyone crowded against the observation windows.
A vast, dark-gray planet filled their view—that was Earth.
In the distance, a constantly leaping mass of flame—that was the Sun.
And between them, a pale, silvery reflection—that was the Moon.
"So quiet…" Misty whispered, holding Jackie's hand.
Nestled in David's arms, Lucy murmured, "It's beautiful."
"Only when you see how vast the universe is do you truly understand how small humanity is," River Ward said, exchanging a smile with Alex.
Even Johnny looked unusually serious.
"Even if we're dead for tens of thousands of years, they'll still look exactly the same."
Sasha curled into V's arms. The view was magnificent, but the longer one stared, the more an inexplicable fear crept in—followed by self-doubt.
The universe was too vast.
Humans were too small.
Did humanity truly matter?
Were the things they pursued really worth it?
Did the very concept of "me," of self-awareness, even need to exist?
Look at the universe. Look at the stars. They have no consciousness of their own, yet they thrive endlessly.
The initial excitement faded into silence.
They had never seriously thought about such questions.
Neither had humanity as a whole.
Perhaps they had—but never found answers.
Or perhaps they had—and chose to deceive themselves.
V was no sage. Neither was anyone aboard this shuttle. Such questions were never meant for them to solve. Besides, they had something far more important to do right now.
After finally reaching space, after finally entering the universe, the most urgent task was obvious—
A thorough, no-holds-barred space battle.
So after a brief sightseeing session, the couples returned to their cabins, ready to demonstrate humanity's resilience and depth to the cosmos.
The ship's AI even thoughtfully adjusted the window transparency, dimming the light to set the mood. As for why it was so considerate—the answer was simple:
Same humanity, same dream.
Everyone made similar choices. After all, they were already here.
Soon, the shuttle was engulfed in battles everywhere—
everywhere except for Arasaka Michiko, who stood alone in a corner.
V felt like she had forgotten something, but Sasha's fiery enthusiasm left her no room to think.
Two hours later, the boss known as Pink Cat was utterly defeated. Very satisfied with her combat prowess, V headed toward the lounge to grab a pack of water.
Passing Michiko's cabin, she heard faint sobbing.
Only then did V remember what she'd forgotten.
Normally, she would've ignored it without hesitation. But now, V felt almost saintly. Her heart softened, and she gently knocked.
"Miss Michiko… are you alright?"
The door opened—and V was yanked inside.
"Fuck! Don't pull my pants! Sasha's next door! You—you can't—can't be too loud!"
Two hours later, V sneaked back to her own cabin like a thief.
Sasha, half-asleep, asked groggily, "Where'd you go?"
"Restaurant," V replied, handing her a pouch of True Water.
"I figured you'd be thirsty. Here—rehydrate."
Pink Cat was deeply touched. She took a big gulp, then wrapped herself around V like an octopus.
"V, you're so good to me. I'm fully healed now—bring on Phase Two!"
Sasha was a hardcore gamer, just like Michiko, which was why they were friends. She was using game slang, but the meaning was crystal clear.
V's mouth twitched. Sweat formed on her brow—especially around her aching waist.
But to avoid suspicion, V braced herself and charged ahead.
"C-Come on then, mighty hero—fear no challenge!"
Another two hours passed.
Sasha emerged from the cabin radiant and refreshed, greeting everyone in the lounge.
V followed behind, wobbling slightly.
Johnny snorted. "Kids these days—weak."
V snapped. "Fuck you!"
David and River rushed to help. "President V must just be exhausted."
Jackie leaned in and whispered, "President V, take this—Haywood's old folk remedy. Works wonders."
V: …
After some banter, everyone returned to normal. They were all adults—nothing that happened earlier was anything to be embarrassed about.
V decided to get even with Johnny and stabbed straight at his weak spot.
"With that face, how did Rogue even let you into bed?"
Johnny sneered. Diamond-shaped light patterns flickered across his face as it shifted from Saburo Arasaka back into Johnny Silverhand.
"I bought this from Alex."
"Holy shit—Behavioral Synchronization Panel?!" V exclaimed.
"You're using tech like that for cosplay?!"
"What's wrong with that?" Johnny said smugly.
"People live to fuck and be fucked. That's how humanity survives. The only purpose of technology is to make that process smoother and more efficient. Any tech or behavior that doesn't serve that ultimate goal is fucking useless!"
V wanted to argue—but couldn't. Crude as it was, he wasn't entirely wrong.
Every organism lives to eat and to fuck—it's written into the genes. Scientists had proven it long ago. Some radical scholars even claimed that human self-awareness itself hindered these two ultimate goals. Art, wealth, status—things that pleased the self consumed vast cognitive resources, preventing focus on survival and reproduction. They blamed this for humanity's plummeting birth rates.
Whether humanity was at a dead end, V didn't know.
Right now, she just wanted to shove Johnny into one.
"Then what about you?" she asked. "Your music. Your rock and roll. Was that all for fucking too?"
"Of course!" Johnny bragged.
"I fucked more groupies than you've had tequila shots—sometimes two at once, once even five! Fucking heaven!"
Johnny expected jealousy.
Instead, V smiled faintly.
He froze—then realized why.
Rogue was standing behind him, face dark.
Johnny turned. Rogue snorted coldly, walked back to her cabin, and slammed the door.
"V, you fucking set me up!"
Watching Johnny grovel at the door like a dog made V extremely happy.
Everyone was happy. The oppressive feeling from first seeing the universe had vanished.
As Johnny said—reproduction was humanity's highest mission. Having just cleared multiple "main quests," everyone felt grounded again. No one planned to have kids, but their sense of self had been sufficiently fooled into satisfaction.
Maybe the extremists were right. Maybe the self really had become humanity's obstacle. Self-awareness—humanity's proudest achievement—might also be its greatest evolutionary mistake.
V didn't think about it. Couldn't figure it out. And it wasn't her job.
She was just an ordinary human being. Protect Night City. Build Night City. Make money through Night City. Enjoy life—that was enough.
They spent two relaxed, battle-filled days aboard the shuttle and landed smoothly at Cloud Sea Base on the Moon.
Cloud Sea Base was humanity's first space colony, established decades ago. Its infrastructure was long complete. Orbital Air had built a massive aviation terminal and cargo hub there, complete with artificial gravity. Dining, entertainment, shopping—everything was available. If not for the windows, travelers might forget they were on the Moon.
Normally, tourists underwent lengthy entry checks. But V was the head of Arasaka 2077—one of Cloud Sea's "owners." She led everyone through the VIP channel.
A tall, elegant woman—192 centimeters tall—served as the local liaison. Smiling, she introduced the sights and helped everyone check in.
Sasha and Lucy, both anime-loving girls, were extremely envious of her height. Seeing she had no height-enhancement cyberware, they asked her secret.
The woman smiled.
"No secret. I'm a High-Rider—born on the Moon. Growing up in low gravity makes us taller. Honestly, I'm average among High-Riders."
"What's a High-Rider?" Johnny asked. The washed-up rocker knew how to fry noodles—and little else.
The liaison replied proudly,
"You may call us High Knights. We are people who fought tirelessly for freedom and ideals. Once, we were slaves—but we reclaimed our dignity with our own hands."
"Incredible," Johnny said, sidling closer.
"I like fighting for freedom too. Maybe we can talk more about that tonight?"
"That would be wonderful. Being taught by the legendary Saburo Arasaka would be the greatest honor of my life."
"Hahaha—don't worry. I'll teach you properly."
Johnny slung an arm around her shoulders.
Lucy disliked Arasaka—Saburo included. Even knowing Johnny was inside, she still disliked his lecherous nature.
She asked Rogue, "You're just letting him flirt like that?"
"Relax," Rogue said calmly, lighting a cigarette.
"He won't have the energy. I'll drain him beforehand."
Jackie, David, and River smiled bitterly.
Only V shuddered.
Sasha asked, "Why that reaction? You okay?"
"I—I'm fine."
V glanced at Michiko, who was calmly staring out the window, and ground her teeth in silent fury.
Michiko, however, was considerate—raised as a proper Yamato nadeshiko.
Since this was a trip, they'd already made a group chat. Seeing V cornered, Michiko initiated a voice message.
Michiko:
[Using beauty to serve others—shameless. It seems the High-Riders never truly reclaimed their dignity.]
The topic instantly shifted.
Sasha:
[Yeah, I heard High-Riders really hate Earth-born people. Their service attitude seems pretty good though.]
Lucy:
[That's because President V is here. I researched the Moon before—incidents of High-Riders bullying ordinary tourists aren't rare.]
River Ward:
[Seriously? I thought they were poor people resisting corporate oppression.]
Jackie:
[Poor people with money are the scariest. They treat their former peers worse than the rich ever did.]
Alex:
[That's the convert effect. To prove they've left their old class, they oppress it even harder to gain acceptance from the new one.]
Misty:
[Those who slay dragons become dragons.]
Perfectly said.
V added:
[In humanity's early space expansion, High-Riders were laborers hired by the European Space Agency (ESA). After an armed uprising, they seized ESA workstations and labs and declared independence. For years, both sides were on edge. High-Riders stationed 10–20 heavily augmented combat knights—over 54% cyberization—at ESA's central lunar lab to force restraint. Meanwhile, ESA aimed at least three space-based weapon platforms at High-Rider habitats to ensure they could wipe them out if they went insane.]
[They confronted each other for years until both realized neither could destroy the other—and neither could survive alone. They chose to forget the past and reconcile.]
[ESA recognized High-Rider independence and supplies them regularly. In return, High-Riders safeguard ESA's lunar and orbital interests. Many of them were born in space and excel at space combat—they're extremely powerful assets.]
Now everyone understood.
What the public knew was the censored version.
What V shared was the uncut truth.
River:
[So they got 'recruited' by ESA. Like me flipping informants.]
Johnny:
[Worse than informants. At least informants know they're shit. Judging by that tall chick's attitude, the civilian High-Riders still think they're heroes, unaware their leaders sold out long ago. Bunch of idiots—sold and still counting the money.]
No one was surprised. It happened all the time.
Just like Arasaka and Militech back then—employees hated each other to death, while Saburo Arasaka and Lucas Hafford exchanged holiday greetings like old friends.
Hatred was manufactured—just like laws and moral codes.
Arasaka employees blamed Militech for their misery, because otherwise they'd blame Saburo.
Harsh workloads and brutal conditions weren't imposed by Militech—but propaganda made it feel that way.
That was governance.
None of it mattered to V. She only cared about Night City. Space, the Moon, High-Riders—none of her problem.
She addressed everyone:
"You've got ten minutes to unpack. Ten minutes later, meet in the hotel lobby. I've already booked vehicles—we're going Moon-surface cruising!"
"President V is a legend!"
Cheers erupted.