New toys

A.N. 5 out of 5.

New toys.

When all of the new team members arrived in Night City, we started training and developing teamwork. To begin with, everyone had to get used to their role in the team.

Private, thanks to his good physical strength, will work as a shield-bearer and vanguard. The shield will be a decent asset when we have to storm narrow corridors or break through barricades. And in case of a retreat or a need to pull a wounded comrade out, the shield will be very handy too. His main weapon will be G-58 Dian from Kang-Tao, and it's not just because it's a smart weapon, but because it's easy to reload. His armor will be regular one, but with extra armor plates. His implants will be designed for strength and resilience, so he'll have plenty of surgery waiting for him. So far we've settled on Subdermal Armor, Titanium Bones, and Gorilla Arms. That should be enough for a start.

Rico, will be our sniper, or rather Designated Marksman. All thanks to his excellent talent when it comes to shooting. The main weapon will be the Ashura, and the secondary weapon will be the G-58 Dian. For implants we go after Kerenzikov and the latest version of the Reflex Tuner to replace the existing one. He already had Optics from Kiroshi version 3 and Microrotors and a couple of implants to reduce weapon recoil.

Now about the brothers. They already had a standard set of implants for medical technicians. To be honest, I didn't even know what implants we must give them, I'm a fighter, not a medic. I'll give them Titanium Bones, so they can carry not only patients, but also additional boxes of ammo and grenades. But what about their weapons? Issue them standard pistols and machine guns? That is not reasonable. The brothers have good military training and can use something more powerful than submachine guns. And we could use some firepower, too. Brrr, I still remember when we were almost outgunned by proto-Skynet robots.

At this point, as I was thinking about giving brothers and myself Ajaxes, I got a call from Jorg.

"Hello, Marcus. I have good news and bad news."

"Hi there, oh great Hamster. Let's start with the bad news."

"Well I didn't get any luck with the implants. There are a couple of interesting prototypes, but they're too raw and it might be a couple of years before something worthwhile comes out."

"Well, shit happens. What's the good news?"

"You can get some really good assault rifles. One of my, shall we say, client told me that Soviet engineers recently created a rifle for the elite forces of the USSR and SovOil."

"I hope these aren't prototypes?"

"No. The rifle according to my customer is magnificent. Powerful, reliable and very accurate."

"What's the catch?"

"The catch is that each rifle costs at least five Ajax. You can't hand that out to every soldier. So this rifle will only be given to the elite and special forces. Now do you understand what I mean?"

"Hmm, I'm interested. Can I see this rifle?"

"Yes, all you have to do is go to Syria."

"Syria? Not the USSR?"

"Yes my client who told me about this rifle works for the Syrian KGB, Mukhabarat . You could try searching in the USSR as well, but I doubt you'll be able to get them in the near future."

"And this officer Mukhabarat, where would he get the rifles from? And why he will think about selling them?."

"Well, Syria is one of the important allies of the USSR, and they can always ask big brother to donate some new toys. As for selling, well, he wants something to live on. And in Syria, as well as in the whole Middle East after the nuclear explosions life is tough, so don't be surprised that you can buy even a damn tank straight from conveyer belt, as long as you can pay."

Okay. Let's talk to your client-patient.

Negotiating with a greedy bastard was hard, but I still managed to bargain him for 10 rifles. Now all that was left was to get to Syria and, after a little checking at the shooting range, transfer the money and pick up the rifles.

The flight from Night City to Damascus didn't take long. But we had to take radioprotectors because even though 50 years had passed since the nuclear explosions, the Geiger counter shows an increased radiation exposure. Now we, along with a local guide-fixer, were going to one of the secret testing grounds of the local KGB.

Upon arrival we decided, for the sake of saving time, to test the rifles at once. The AK-AN 74 looked like a tiger ready to leap. And not only because of its hidden power, but also because of its appearance. There were no rough parts or rough edges like the Ajax. But there was also none of Masamune's slickness and excessive aesthetics. The perfect balance.

Finally they took me out to the firing range, where I was able to fire off a couple of magazines. The AK-AN 74 had the ability to change the caliber from 5.45x39 to 7.62x51. When I fired the 5.45, I practically did not feel the recoil, neither at single shots, nor at two-round burst. Only in full auto mode recoil started to occur, but it was almost unnoticeable. I was expecting that the recoil would show up when I switched to a larger caliber. But, just like the previous time with the single shot and two-round burst, the recoil was normal. Only when I started shooting in auto mode did the rifle start kicking. Even so, I fell in love with this assault rifle.

So now let's summarize. The pros are as follows, accuracy, reliability, good stopping power depending on the caliber. Cons, huge price, inability to change the caliber quickly in combat, and the fact that the rate of fire depends on the caliber.

Well, despite the disadvantages, I still decided to take the AK-AN 74, and the Demidov brothers liked it. As Oleg said, compared to AK-AN 74, his service rifle is a curved spear, which unknowingly had an automatic fire feature added to it.

Greedy KGB officers charged us for 10 rifles and maintenance supplies as for 70 rifles Ajax in full configuration. But to be honest I wasn't particularly angry about it, after all the assault rifle is really good, and with a few upgrades will become excellent.

Okay, the men are ready, so are the weapons. All that's left is to pass the combat test. Well get ready Night City, a new legend is about to be born!