PRIVATE Corpo Dolls

[Jun Chikako]

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Reduced to ruins in 2023. Arasaka Tower has risen up like a Phoenix from the ashes. Bigger. Stronger. Immortal.

Arasaka Corporation is proud to honor the over century-and-a-half life of Saburo Arasaka. As a young man, he quickly portrayed the talent and skill of a born leader. . .

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Location: Arasaka Tower, Lobby Center
Objective: Guide Westbrook Students and tour through the Arasaka-sponsored business and cultural exchange event.
Tags: @Luna Rothschild @Lace

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Jun Chikako wore her long silver hair up in a professional bun, light wisps of which frizzled out in a way that detached from her stoic and professional demeanor. Her Arasaka red and black blazer hung over her lithe frame, and an office skirt and shadow black leggings accompanied it. The soft yet firm clack of her heels against the metallic chrome ground echoed between the clamor of busy work and conversation as she looked over the data pad.

The automated intercom rang distantly overhead, her pad lighting up with commands as the itinerary updated for the day. Men in black and red suits stood guard across the lobby, some were security others mimicking the look. A pair of Arasaka Corporates sat kneeled on one of the lobby benches, eyes behind a visor screen that wrapped from ear to ear, simultaneously focused on their current position and marking every other person present.

Herself? She stood, presentable and straight, her datapad curled into the nook of her inner arm as she kept watch on the Westbrook students, waiting for them to arrive. A giant tree, one reminiscent of a bonsai, hung over her, casting a light wayward shadow disrupted by the boundless lights that covered each micrometer of the plaza. An Arasaka Academy pin on her lapel and a subtle, professional smile across her lips.

-=| Westbrook Prep, Luna Rothschild and Lena Bauer |=-

Their brief description fed through her screen as she was given the bare minimum. It would be enough. Others were sorted in the lobby, the serene minimalism suppressed by the shuffle of students. Though she had to count her blessings, she only had two put under her charge. The moment she caught sight of either, she'd wave them over, flash her badge, gave a nod of her head, and outstretched her hand to shake.

"Welcome to Arasaka Tower, I am Jun Chikako, I will be your guide during your time here. If you have any questions or wish to travel anywhere, please come to me." Jun guided them to the desk help center, tapping into a terminal before accessing a help screen.

"When you're ready, interface with the terminal with your neural link. Your identification will be verified and you will each receive a visitor's day pass for the duration of the event." A neural port opened as a facial recognition camera shimmered a light blue.

 

[Luna Rothschild]

Corpo Dolls​

Location: Arasaka tower
Objective: be part of a guided tour
Tags: @Jun Chikako @Lace

Luna had come over from Westbrook to the tower via helicopter and now sat waiting for their guide, she had been paired with Lena Bauer, a loose friend who was a little younger than her.

--Hey Lu, what have they got you on?--
--Just touring the offices you?--
--In tech department, surgical I think?--
--And that is how Ruth Friedman had her brain stolen--
--lol... they don't really do that right?--
--It's Arasaka, who knows babe... I better go, I'm being rude. Love you ciao.--
--And dibs on your music collection once they --
--see you soon --

Luna opened her eyes and looked sideways at Bauer with a smile before standing, patting down her neatly pressed uniform and walking over towards the guide. "Can you imagine working somewhere like this?" she asked her schoolmate in a soft voice deliberately trying not to be overheard. "Daddy doesn't like the idea of me having a job but I think if I did, I would work somewhere prettier." She pictured herself with a desk in a beautiful white room with an entire wall dedicated to a window overlooking the beach, she didn't know what was on the desk, but the vision was there.

They didn't have long to converse and she wouldn't be rude to their hosts by insulting their workplace so would not continue once in earshot of the young woman sent to guide them. She tried working out how old she was, a couple of years older than them perhaps.

"Hi, I'm Luna. It's a pleasure to meet you, I like your hair, it is very pretty." Luna had her own light golden hair hanging down behind her in a pony tail. She shook the hand of the representative before stepping aside and following security protocol as instructed. She clipped the visitor pass to her uniform and looked down at the upside-down hologram of her face. She waited for Lena to do the same before following Miss Chikako in.

 

[Lace]

Just walking these halls felt wrong to her, as if they themselves were whispering, 'You shouldn't be here.' Not that Lace needed much to feel like a poser, not next to a girl like Luna Rothschild. There were always more affluent kids at her school who liked to show off their wealth, but Luna did it without even realizing. Lace might have liked the girl if she wasn't so full of herself, and still found it hard to hate her outright.

It wasn't exactly Luna's fault that her daddy's corp made Lace's life a living hell.

"I really can't," she said, trying to use the same breathless awe that seemed to infect the other girl's every waking moment. For someone whose prospects in this town seemed to dim the closer it got to the end of term, Lace couldn't have even seen herself working here when her troubles seemed far away. No, in her dreams, she was far away herself, free from the neon bars that was Night City's prison. People like Luna only saw the glitter and gilded halls of places like this downtown. They weren't seeing the grime and filth that stalked its alleys, and not just because they weren't looking.

Lace resisted the urge to roll her eyes, her line of thinking was effectively proven by her classmate's flippant appraisal of the colors. "You're right, it's definitely not your vibe."

In all honesty, it probably wasn't hers either. The green-haired teenager wasn't trying to play the outcast today, though she had considered it. A little bubblegum, a frown, and one of those classic leaning poses could have easily set her apart as the no-good delinquent Lace seemed destined for. South City would seal that for her, the likes of Arasaka's gilded halls were effectively off-limits to any career path she was liable to have now, and just being here was salt in the wound. But when Mom got that little furrow in her brow and the thready wobble in her voice, Lace couldn't help but try not to let her down.

So what if future colleges weren't going to be impressed by the school clubs listed on her application when they ended in 2081? She was here, shaking hands with the Corporate Elites, signing herself into terminals and passing through security like she had a shot at owning this place someday. That's how it seemed like everyone else around here walked, with jackets and hairstyles so tight they forced them upright, eyes focused too far ahead to bother looking around them for very long. Everyone else here was going places, and Lace was just here.

"I'm Lena Bauer," Lace offered, giving the name that would be on her registration data. The woman who greeted them had the severe, silvery-white bun of a professional too long in the tooth to be herding students around, but her face and skin looked oddly youthful. If she wasn't careful, the teenager was going to mistake her for Luna at some point today, and she tried to take stock of the woman's blazer colors to keep them straight. "Have you worked at Arasaka for a long time?"

They were here to explore future careers, after all. Lace would be remiss if she didn't play along with that much.

---

@Jun Chikako @Luna Rothschild​

 

[Jun Chikako]

Jun nodded, seeing the two students in person reminded her of simpler times. Though than again, the Academy could be considered nothing if not the exact opposite. She took the compliment in stride, flashing another smile as she tucked away a few strands of hair over her ear. The assistant took notice of Luna's own pale-blonde appearance and Lena's green, appreciating if anything the single fact that they seemed to be professional and interested. As the pair signed in and received their passes, she made some final notes on her data pad before lowering it to her side and guiding them along the prescribed tour path.

"At Arasaka? Not, not long. I graduated from the academy and worked in the Corporate Plaza for three years. I was recently transferred to the Actuarial Security division here at Arasaka Tower." Jun pondered for a moment, searching their faces for any interest in what she spoke, though perhaps any information on the place would've been good enough regardless.

"We work alongside Counterintelligence with a focus on risk assessment, damage control, review liabilities of third parties, and maintain cohesion between Arasaka Bank branches and even with the Arasaka's security services." She gestured to herself and then pointed to one of the holo-boards along the walls as a list of the Corporate work sphere was projected showing the different divisions and their departments.

They continued along, Jun introducing them to the basics of Arasaka, a few podiums here and there, holograms and boards producing colorful flashes of propaganda. Jun had a stitched smile on her face, navigating between the other tour guides and passing corporates, her posture was one of painfully crafted practice. Between the many venues and exhibitions, there was one to the side that seemingly was sparse with attendees.

A lone Arasaka Minotaur mech, a version made to copy Militech's, stood cordoned off away from the rest of Arasaka's exhibition. An odd text display glitching before it digitally fizzled and cracked as its bold corporate text was replaced by fidgety red emblems. No one had seemed to notice yet as it flickered and glitched, the red sparks attempted to lure in the attention of anyone that may look by for longer than a passing moment.

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ARASAKA WELCOMES YOU-YOU-YOU T̸̡̢̢̗̳̬̬̹̍̈́̆̽͗͗̈́͌̔͝H̴̳̠̘͇̣̪̮̦̻͒́͆͌͂̈́̇̆͠Ẹ̵̥̣̲͚̔̇̊͝F̵̬͉̃͘͝ͅĨ̴͎͍̅͛͒͝Ŗ̴̙̼̞̀Ș̴̡̛̃̑͗̔́͝T̸͓̬̥͖͙͔̰͙̟̐͑̍̐̅̅̈́͘͘Ṣ̶͎̪͎̼͍̃͘H̸̨̼̞͎̠̫̟͔̔͊̈̿͑̊̎̌̽̚A̴̫̜̟͖̙̰̞͙͍͌́̕ͅD̷͎͊̌͆͌̉͜O̷̩̻̼̰̽̿͛̈́W̴̘͔͍̩͊̇̉̀̀̈́F̸̨͔̩̻͙̱̯̙͕͙͛̍͠A̶̧̗͎̥͆̐́L̵̮͓̲̑̈́͂́̀́̓̓̈́̌ͅL̸̨̋̊̍̓̈̅̓̈̉Ś̶̛̱̈̎͋̀͛ ̷̛̻̳̭͓̒̇͐͌͜T̵̨̖̪̳͙̦̺̼̥̻̈́H̶̻̤̤̖̣̰̬̆̕É̷͕͉̜̯͉̜͔̒͆ͅF̴͚́͐I̷̝̩̘͍̠̪̪͔͐̓̽̃Ŗ̵̨̗͕̳̝̟͙̞̈͂̐͋̇͛͐̈́́͝S̸̜̒̔T̸́̔̆̊̓͑͠ͅS̸̨͎̥̪̬͕̼̺̑͆̍̈͝͠H̸͚͍̥̮̼̠͛̈͠A̸̡̛̖̲̮̳͗͌̾͒͋̏͊̕D̸̥̼̘̬͚̳̣͒͠Ő̶͉̺̟͙̪̰̒̾͝W̶̨̮̯͉̹̎̃̆̇̕͝F̸̨͈͚̪̳̔̑͗̉̎̐͠͠Å̴̦̲̲͍̩͌̾͂͋́̓͒͗̕L̷̠̻̦͖̈́͂̿͜Ḷ̵̣̘̓͐̒̂͆̏̎͆̌̾Ŝ̵̰̙̚ ̴̢̻̰̤̭͖̦͕̂͌̂͊̂Ţ̸͕͉͕̼̼̫͍̅͋͌͐̑̏̿H̵͈̄͑̏̾̃̒́Ẹ̵̹͌̏̏̑̓F̶̨̢͓̥̮̯̞̲̾͐́͛̏͊́ͅĬ̵̞̖̱̬͈͇̈́̀Ŕ̷̖̣̖̠͋̅̉̾̆S̷̨͇̦̻̖̹̺̮͑̿̇̈́̚͠ͅṬ̶́͐̊̌̅̾͂̐͠͝S̶̨͈̼̝̻͇̹̓͐̌̌H̸̟͚̪̦̼̭̘̓́͆̽̅̽̐̂̊͝A̸̻͇͐́̏͑D̴͉̭͎̼̮̩̆͊͆͜O̷̡̮̫̘̯̠͘W̴͑̚͜F̷̐̒͂͌̀̌͊̂̕͝ͅĄ̸̗̯̘̂̈́́̀̒̍̏̽̋̕Ḻ̶̜͕̌͐̊̏̊̓L̴̡̡̛̛͎̟͖̖͈̔͝͝͝ͅS̵̘͖͙̜̩̠̼̗̻̮̒̕ 2082 ARASAKA ARMS!​

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Tags: @Luna Rothschild @Lace

 

[Luna Rothschild]

Corpo Dolls​

Location: Arasaka tower
Objective: be part of a guided tour
Tags: @Jun Chikako @Lace

Luna followed Jun and Lena into the facility and looked around as she did, she had seen plenty of images of the offices so there was little to suprise her this early in. She actually wasn't that much older than them, it would mean they might get on as peers. She sped up a little and walked next to Jun on the opposite side to Lena.

You have muted this channel
You: I'm looking forward to our next date... shall I wear this?

Ruth: Er... Lu... wrong chat! Delete
Daddy: Yes
Daddy: Home straight after your tour please, no excuses.
Mom: :eyeroll:
Dickhead: Ha! no way, screenshotting this! Put some clothes on Luna
Mom: Stay out of this please, this is between us and your sister

--Shit lubieloo, dm me as soon as you get this message. Is your chrome acting up too?--
--FYI though, you should absolutely wear that! --

"What is your corporate clearance at the moment? Will we get to see where all the bigwigs like to do business. I hear the Arasaka family have offices that are practically a destination of their own." Tsubaki was a big company and Daddy's offices were extravagant but even he admitted he was in a different league to the likes of Arasaka, at least in Night City. They walked past a room with a Mech standing on a podium that looked remarkably like a militech unit, she paid it no notice, she was hardly interested in military hardware.

"You are Japanese aren't you Miss Chikako? 私は日本を訪れるのが大好きです。京都に建物があり、南の島に邸宅があります || "(I love visiting japan, we have a building in Kyoto and an estate on the southern island)" she wouldn't keep on speaking in Japanese, but her father had always put on her that Japanese executives respected Americans more of they took the time to use their own language, and as Luna was naturally fluent, she liked to show it off a little bit.

She pulled her pad close to her as she stepped away from Jun and Luna a little bit to look at a medical scanning device. "I know this machine, I did a press thing on it, it was a collaboration between Arasaka health and Tsubaki." she looked at the emblem on the side, able strange amalgamation of the two companies.

 

[Lace]

Graduation from Arasaka Academy set Lace firmly behind the woman who led the way through the maze of corporate divisions operating behind closed doors with colorful marketing pitches decorating their semi-transparent windows. Even the interior of Arasaka was designed like their seminars at a career fair, giving the prep students just a glimpse of life behind the curtains. Lace found herself more interested than she wanted to be, trying to match the stylized depictions on windows to the cubicle farms beyond them like an esoteric puzzle piece.

Luna chattered alongside their guide, and the green-haired teenager let her take the floor. She probably would have been drowned out anyway if she had tried to put in her own two-eddies. Girls like Luna tended to suck all the oxygen out of a room, demanding the attention that could have been shared between them. And just like that, she went off speaking Japanese, leaving Lace the choice of acting like a show-off by joining in or staying quiet instead.

She didn't always like staying quiet but today it was the easiest choice.

Once at the expo's main hall, Lace could separate herself from the pair to wander a bit farther. She glanced over some of the podiums, showing off inventions or reports on new research successes with whimsical, holographic demonstrations that caught her eye here and there. When Jun and Luna passed by a more secluded section of the fair, Lace lingered, drawn to the lonesome behemoth as if it had beckoned to her. The showers of red sparks made her a bit cautious, instead. Maybe, as she studied its metal carapace, they had something in common beyond failing to garner much attention.

Lace walked around the mech once, glancing at the way it both mimicked the human structure and defied it all at once. Here she was, metal encased in flesh staring at a system of metal meant to encase flesh. If she hopped in there, it might make her a metal sandwich, or a poorly-tasting oreo. The thought made her snicker and look down, where the plaque at the mech's base scrawled out a generic message similar to dozens all over the expo.

Then she blinked, and it changed into something very different. The teen stepped back, looking up again at the mech. It hadn't changed, but now it seemed to take on a more menacing tone to her, its imposing size suddenly threatening in a way that Lace hadn't considered before. She wouldn't want to meet this thing, powered and given life through the pilot inside it, on some city street somewhere.

Lace hurried back to Jun, closing in on a moment between her schoolmate's chatter somehow. It might have been easier to choose the quiet again, but that unsettling feeling in her stomach made it too hard to ignore. Even her metal bones knew something wasn't right about that mech's display. "Miss Chikako, is there something important about the phrase 'The First Shadow Falls' today?"

She turned her head, making green waves at the back of her neck, to look back at the mech again. Then back to the woman, whose insider glimpses at Arasaka from schooling years might have more to offer in an answer for Lace today. At the very least, Jun might know enough about the mech to put her mind at ease.

 

[Jun Chikako]

Lena examined the Arasaka mech with much interest, though even without expertise, she could tell that there was something wrong. One of its panels was loosened and hung ajar, a series of fine cables and diodes exposed to the outside world, lines of energy pulsing within it like tethers of synapses. As if a part of the carapace represented the skull, so did this look as if its brain was out into the cold, open air.

"The higher Corporate floor is. . restricted at this time. Though if we get lucky, you may see more than most." Chikako smiled, nodding her head as they passed by displays. She kept an eye on those under her charge and minded the others around her.

Her eyes lit up when Luna spoke up in Japanese, her smile widened as she turned to face the student, nodding her head as she responded in kind.

"はい. 日本人です. 日本語が上手." [Yes. I am Japanese. Yours is very good.] There was a short pause as she caught sight of Lena's back, making sure that she didn't stray too far while she conversed with Luna. With the sight of the Tsubaki machine, she scanned it up and down, recognizing it loosely from any array of a corporate hospital.

"本当?" [Really?], the assistant leaned over to inspect the medical device closer, "Yes, it has saved many lives." For a moment, the Corpo pondered over the simple sight, the tip of her fingers twinged as the memory of which flashed over her face. She looked down at her hand, turning it over once, then twice before dashing away the thought. Quickly, she collected herself, her plain smile returning as she idled around with Luna.

[["Miss Chikako, is there something important about the phrase 'The First Shadow Falls' today?"]] Her attention was ripped from Luna and the menagerie of items and displays. A cold shiver rippled up her spine as her head perched upward and her mouth turned dry. She blinked, then blinked again, the twitch in her fingers returning as she drew the data pad into her hand and nodded, the corner of her lips flickering between various stages of anxious worry as her smile faded into one of fear.

"No. . . where-?" Chikako cut herself off as she followed the turn of Lena's head, the glitch becoming conscious to her as she rushed past the two students, past the shifting crowds, and towards the lone mech display. Her hand glided across the translucent tablet, tapping commands in a rush, and if the attentive eye caught it, it rejected every action she made with various [ERROR] displays.

It took a few more strides for the assistant to stand before the mech display, reading the glitched text as if it were a runaway train she could do nothing to stop. She mouthed silent prayers, hoping that it would just go away, and yet as the seconds ticked by, the red sparks grew across the screen and inched closer towards the mech.

"あり得ない. . . 事 和 あり得ない-" [Impossible. . . This can't be happening-]

Jun stood there frozen, unable, or rather unwilling, to move as she stared at a career-ending, no, life-ending event unveiling itself before her.

Others on the other side of the venue were not so keen, or aware, of what was going on. The cameras in the mech's display room, which usually scanned from left to right, had their power drained as their shimmering blue rays flickered and dissipated.

Then, without warning, the mech's several eyes lit up a burning red as an automated voice declared.

The First Shadow Falls

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Tags: @Luna Rothschild @Lace