Age: 39
Gender: Male
Faction: Lungers / Maelstrom
Appearance:

Standing at nearly 6’8”, Morris is a wide, well-built man with a strong hint of a gut to accompany his musculature. Bald, his face is almost traditionally Maelstrom, with optics and sensors replacing his eyes, while scarification cuts into sparse, light facial hair. Morris’s arms resemble hydraulic and construction equipment, armored with pieces of armored cars painted black, though his hands seem to be a pair of ripped MoorE Technologies models. His upper torso is a dull metal sheen, titanium and armor components in an almost industrial sense. Morris wears heavy set clothing to cover these things, jeans and loose shirts with thick black leather jackets in the Maelstrom style.

Cyberware:

• Raven Microcyber Mk.3 Cyberdeck
• Heavily modified Kiroshi "Clairvoyant" Optics
• Heavy modified Gorilla Arms / Titanium Bones
• Second Heart / Blood Pump / Independent Oxygen Supply
• Subdermal Armor / Armor Plating (Upper Body)

Equipment:

• Techtronika VST-37 Pozhar
• Techtronika RT-46 Burya
• Thorton Mackinaw Larimore / Zetatech Atlus

Biography:

Born in Heywood, Morris Ryan Malone would have a fairly normal childhood as far as childhoods could go. A netrunner-lite from a young age, he'd be among those proteges hacking various terminals here and there to make a quick eddy, all while dropping from the school system once they started with a local cyberware program to shove proprietary tech into their skulls. His parents wouldn't be much help after that though, with a dad in construction getting hooked on glitter by accident from one of his painkiller hookups and a mom trying to hold things together once everything started to fall apart. From a pretty young age, Morris found himself relying more on the Net for help.

One of his endeavors would change his life forever though, a little party up in Watson. He went, in part because Valentinos had started recruiting kids his age and Morris had already gotten a glimpse of their handiwork, in part because the organizers said they might have some work here and there. A little cryptographic puzzle, that's all it was, and some good little boosters to kick the party into high gear. It turns out that the puzzle was a daemon and the game was trapping it without actually ‘touching’ the thing, generally a bad idea since it fried the first person who accidentally delved too close. Morris would nearly get fried too, though a bit of luck and a split-second decision to pounce as it was breaking the ICE of another partygoer meant he survived. It turned out the organizers were Maelstromers and to one degree or another, they were impressed by the kid’s talent, said he had a real chance to shine here or there. The Net was a place they wanted to roam free, do what they wanted, cybernetics a tool to get there, an expression of themselves.

Morris, stupid and young as he was, jumped in. He started living up there with a group of them, getting his first cybernetics under a haze of boosters and painkillers duking it out, and soon coming under the tutelage of a codefreak there. Deep dives into the Net here and there happened, in some ways changing him, some ways keeping him the same. By the time Morris had turned twenty-four, he’d gained an understanding of the Net in the same way as you’d gain an understanding of your city block, gained an unusual competence with daemons, gained an unusual competence with logistics. Numbers just made sense to the guy, and he used it to the gang’s full advantage. Organizing interceptions of Militech gear and Kiroshi optics, Morris would rise in the ranks of the local groups. He’d err away from the drugs production, sure, found it to be too hot for his tastes with all the addicts and the cops, the solos especially, instead sticking to the clean crimes. Hacking corporations across their spheres of cash for a quick eddy, scrapping cars for whatever parts he could, selling off cybernetics they’d stolen away from the big names in their industries, that became his mode of operation.

When Brick and Royce both got killed in the middle of a Militech raid, Patricia stepped up to the plate as the overall leader of Maelstrom. Their operations grew in scale, whole harvesting operations at parties like they were Scavs, stringing-up NCPD who’d gotten too close like they were totems in Watson, grew in scale, grew in attention. He didn’t like that, mainly also because she was even less predictable than Royce had been, mainly because corpos had started sniffing around where they did business. When things went south in Totentanz and she got killed by a solo, a whole lot of the Maelstrom folks had been blown away and Morris seized on that opportunity. Some of them rallied around Clint, one of the more Brick-like gangers, some of them around Erika, but Morris led out his own band of Maelstromers, the folks he’d worked close with before on the Militech and Kiroshi operations, the folks he knew, the folks he trusted. Altogether, it wasn’t a great time for the gang, chaotic as it was.

Setting up shop in an abandoned warehouse in Watson along the north end of Offshore St, Morris soon went to work making his connections throughout the city’s Net. Soon enough, he had Militech shipments redirected to his people, as well as some others from Techtronika and Rostović, for dispersal throughout Night City. The basement sections grew to be his own little fortress, air filter systems replaced by gas pumps for carbon monoxide, doors and entrances replaced by airlocks and armored sections, and the monoxide spread out into many other little outlets to occasionally kill the unaware bum. For his own people, Morris became a slight antithesis to their usual vices, a constant moderator for keeping the violence for the times it was really needed and not being seen otherwise.

The attack on Arasaka would prove to be a massive benefit to Morris and his group, informally called the Lungers for their proclivity to gassing opponents before they even knew they were under attack. Seizing control of two Trauma Team Atlus AVs which had been pinned down in the crossfire, as well as ransacking numerous Arasaka warehouses when their security systems went haywire, the Maelstromers found themselves suddenly in control of unusually powerful systems. Morris was quick to secure his own position in this, performing full system wipes on all the captured equipment while also occupying the vacated Totentanz club. In the weeks after, as Arasaka pulled out what it could, he’d engage in an aggressive war against them, trying to claw out anything he could. Cyberattacks and daemons flew left and right with little regard for anyone caught in the middle.

Since then, he’s kept control of swathes of Watson for his own purpose, engaging in some dealings with Militech to keep them off his turf, keep him off theirs, though every now and again another shipment bearing the Militech logo finds its way into his warehouse.

Leader(s): Morris
Allegiance: Maelstrom
Strongholds:

Abandoned Warehouse, Northside, Offshore St, Watson
The Lungers’ center of operations, this abandoned warehouse is where various shipments ‘lost’ at the docks become mysteriously ‘found’ with all their serial numbers burned off at a good, honest price. A number of monitoring systems disconnected from the Net and hard-wired are present, with no actual systems within the warehouse having a Net connection. Lighting is also kept to a minimum, primarily due to the Lungers’ optics removing the need for such. The basement level is cut-off even further, with airlocks at entrances and exits to help keep in the carbon monoxide atmosphere. The best sign of life in the whole facility is the constant Ritual FM radio station playing on full blast.

Totentanz, Northside, Pershing St, Watson
Formerly run by Patricia, the Totentanz club continues to blast its signature blend of absolute noise and screamed lyrics at a breakneck pace. The Lungers rarely utilize the locale, instead using it as a meeting place where they can choose the stakes, they can choose the circumstances, and ultimately choose the direction. Despite a fairly hands-off attitude, whenever Lungers aren’t on the job, they can be found at Totentanz relaxing in that usual Maelstrom way.

Claimed Territory: Offshore St, Pershing St, Ross St, Muren St
Notable Members:

Nathaniel
One of Morris’s top lieutenants and his trusted man in acting through the numerous interceptions at the docks, it’d be hard to not consider Nathaniel to be somewhat of a ragged man. He’s mostly borg by this point, stuffed to the gills with ripped Arasaka and Militech technology, has to eat his meals through a tube, and generally is less than happy with any engagement that doesn’t let him eviscerate at least one person. It’s gotten to the point that Morris has been forced to send Nathaniel on jaunts into Japantown to teach the Tyger Claws what fear is, though it doesn’t just help remind his lieutenant what joy is.

Dietlinde
Owner of Totentanz and formerly just the bartender, Dietlinde operates her establishment with the exact same amount of pomp and ceremony she served drinks with: Absolutely none. She’s by the books, a cold woman by the very definition of such, though has proven to be infinitely reliable to Morris. Under Dietlinde, the club has become a rocking house for the various idiots of Watson with the number of kidnappings and executions performed there taking a steep dive. These days, it’s just the ones who piss off Maelstrom who disappear at Totentanz.

Total Membership: 36
Main Income Source: Black Market Sales (Weapons, Cybernetics), XBD Recordings, Financial Crime (Cash skimming)
Short History:

One of the split-off groups when Patricia flat-lined at Totentanz by an unknown solo, the Lungers have flourished with black market activity left and right. Selling off Militech, Kang Tao, Techtronika, and Rostović shipments to the bidders on the market after the boxes disappear at the docks, it has been through careful organization, planning, and solid execution that they have made so much cash. Despite this and their other activities drawing a fine line from the other Maelstrom gangs who manufacture Glitter and Black Lace, who rip out cyberware from victims to sell on the market or implant into their own members, and the Lungers who sell guns and cyberware out the box, sell XBD recordings, and skim cash from corps, the gang isn’t kinder by any means. Lungers often leave their victims hanging from several buildings along the street while those who betray the gang for others are sent to their loved ones one organ at a time, all while recording the process to sell on the streets in XBDs. The message they send is pretty clear: Cross the Lungers and you die when we say you die.

Age: 18
Gender: Male
Faction: Arasaka Academy (Legally)
Appearance: As in the Picture, but in the Arasaka Academy Uniform on most occassions.
Cyberware:

• Cataresist
• Kiroshi Optical Scanner
• Cyberaudio with a Radio Link and ECM scrambler.
• Smart Link (Model to be Discussed)

Equipment:

• Taser
• Darra Polytechnic DR-5 Nova
• Arasaka HJKE-11 Yukimura (Second Pistol)
• Combat Knife
• 10 Credsticks containing a total of 100,000,000 credits.

Biography:

Looks at the microphone and asks, "Hello, is this thing working? Ah, it is, so let's start."

Begins, "I was younger than I am now when I first saw her pass by the corridors on the way to the Principal's office. She was the mother of one of our problem classmates, a redheaded working-class woman whose son had just crashed our classroom's VR Headsets using illegal shortcuts. I was in love at first sight, all the more when I heard she died in an accident no later than 24 hours after that, and her son got himself kicked out soon after pummeling one of the big bullies of the class to within an inch of his life."

Smiles wistfully, "She opened my eyes to the truth of the world, that life was not always fair. And in death, she gained power of enchantment on me that will last me till the end of my life... And I intend to live forever."

Pauses, then continues, "Ah, but where are my manners? Who exactly am I? Well, I was born to fairly rich and fairly lenient parents who were sure enough of my talents to not pressure me; I think they even loved me. Shinji Shinsei and Mari Maki Illustrious Ikari, corpos of Arasaka with cushy jobs and lives and positions too boring - Some sort of janitorial supply logistics - That no one wanted to work on taking it from them. This made me lucky, and the fact that I got into Arasaka Academy years before our living hell got worse made me feel as though I was the most fortunate person in the world... Until the most beautiful person I knew so far was taken away by fate."

Clears his throat, "Now, where was I? Ah, yes. The death of that beautiful working-class woman opened my eyes to the unfairness of the world and the powerlessness of any one individual or group to step up against it. The death of her son less than a year after that - Yes, I know about it! - Seared all thoughts of dying in a blaze of glory away from my head. But at the same time, as I read through books, much-neglected paper books, about our history, about the values we claimed to promote and how we betrayed them out of selfish, short-term gain... A fire burned within me, the urge to create a space where the seeds of something new could be planted. Am I being vague? Then listen a little more to know what I am getting at."

Sounds of typing, "That other kid, he could have become great; he had the spark of greatness in him had we allowed it like his mother thought we would. Instead, we lost him; first to the gangs and then to death. At least his girl is in space now, while the rest of us... Well, we got what was coming to our folk."

The sound of a single drop of water falling, amplified to audibility, "I received a warning from a mysterious source; probably someone I contacted while acquiring paper books and rare documentaries - Stay away from Arasaka Academy, and Arasaka Tower as a whole, on a certain day. Warn who you want, and who you can, but make sure to keep out. You can guess where this is going, right?"

Breathes in and sighs out, "It was that day when the hell we were in became worse when Arasaka Tower was ransacked and most of the people inside it killed by just one guy - The Academy was not spared. But I managed to get some of the students to join a sleepover with me, chaperoned by my parents who indulged me; of those students, a few of them had brilliant minds, and others were weak in body yet determined to survive and learn. A few had suffered under other students or even their parents, and all were less involved in the crimes of their families and other corporate folk than the rest... Or so I tell myself at night."

Pauses to let this knowledge be absorbed, "When Arasaka pulled out, and Militech came in, the Arasaka Academy IP and domain name came cheap, cheap enough that I was able to buy its domain name under an assumed identity with my birthday cash. For that redheaded lady, whom I will never meet outside of braindances again, and her son, long since lost and his potential spilled onto the ground, I will remake the Academy into a proper place of learning; a school that fosters the potential of both rich and poor alike.”

Chuckles, “And all I have to do is break a few eggs to do it…”

Leader(s): Ken Illustrious Ikari
Allegiance: Solo
Strongholds: New AAcademy, a three-story building at the intersection of Wellspring, Corpo Plaza, and The Glen that also encompasses a walled-off vacant lot or two; one that has been plated with grass and some trees and is used as an outdoor exercise/sports field, and the latter which is planted with tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and maize.
Claimed Territory: The intersection of Wellspring, Corpo Plaza, and The Glen.
Notable Members: Ken Illustrious Ikari, Student Erika Ashbell (NPC), Student Ludwig Hildmann (NPC), Professor Fatima Al-Mamun (NPC), Professor Patrice Garden (NPC), Doctor Nabim Edelweiss (NPC), Nurse Lynn Suzuki (NPC). Also Campus Security Members Dorn, Ferra, and Petra (NPCs).
Total Membership: 40, subdivided into 22 Students, 8 Teachers and Administrators, and 10 Security Members.

Main Income Source: Stock Market Trading, Restoration of rare and ancient books, manuscripts, and movies, and various strategic investments made by Ken in parts of Africa under Highrider Confederation patronage. Also trades in proprietary educational software, which Ken sells and upgrades under an assumed name.

Short History: Ken had saved up his birthday money and Arasaka Academy's domain name and intellectual property were cheap after Arasaka itself pulled out. So Ken bought it, then bought an old building in Wellsprings whose value had gone down due to Arasaka's pullout and Miltech's arrival. Now he is financing classes and even covertly running a few himself while supervising the financial stability and physical security of his new educational institution, which yes, he did make sure was certified by the NUSA Board of Education. He plans to train a new generation of future leaders and avoid the mistakes of Arasaka Academy, but to do that, Ken needs time, space, and resources and isn't afraid to work slowly to get them...

Age: 29

Gender:Male

Faction:

Appearance:As Picture, but with Heavier Armor on louder jobs

Cyberware:

• Body and Head Armor Plates (More Armor than Subdermals, at the cost of always showing it off. Also, showering is a bitch and a half.)
• Gorilla Arms (For when you need to rip a gonk head right off or a HMG from a Minotaur. No, the HMG in my room has nothing to do with this.)
• Berserk OS (Subtlety? Inconspicuous? None of that now, we're gonna go get us our Blaze o’ Glory!)
• Opti-Shield Eyes System (An Older model, it swaps the Kiroshi zoom and anti-recording functions for Anti-Dazzle and Low-Light ones.)
• CyberAudio (Installed after being painfully reminded that flashbangs have a bang. Fitted with a Level Dampener so that another flashbang incident doesn't happen.)
  Cyberware To-get:
  Nasal filters so that you don’t have to deal with those pesky gasses
  An Half-Decent ICE so that you don't get insta-gibbed by every half-competent netrunner that's able to upload a quickhack.
  General body reinforcing implants(bone and lace,titanium bones etc etc.)

Equipment:

• Metal Armor (Clunky, and everyone will call you a Dough-Boy, but nothing stop bullets quite as well except going full borg. And who has the money for that?)
• “Casual” Wear (For when you aren’t on a Guns'a'Blazing Mission. Stylish, don’t clank everywhere,nobody will give you more than a glance for it and still armored enough to be worth wearing)
• Modified Budget Arms Carnage (For when you want someone dead not only in this life, but the next one as well. Modified for Reliability after his last one broke down in the middle of a shoot-out, This Carnage would still be able to shoot even if used as a Bat against a Minotaur. No, that didn’t happen, Shut up.)
• Militech Mk. 31 HMG (“Permanently Borrowed” after a particularly heated Gig, this heavy machine gun rarely sees use, as it is far too cumbersome for one-man gigs and most of the time cost too much to be worth it. But when the time comes? This beast Shines, and all in its path wish they weren’t on the wrong side of it.)

Biography:
Despite the name, Nikolai was born in Night City. Unfortunately for him, stereotypes run deep in NC, and so his parents were Scavs. A happy little Incident, though they never called him that. For some reason, they brought the newborn to conception, and raised him in their Hideout. Though even that was cut short when a Solo Team swept through and cleared them out. He survived by hiding inside one of the craters holding Chrome.

And now Nikolai,at fourteen years of age, had no home and no education besides how to better club someone over the head and rip their inside out. Fortunately for him, a “Kid-Gang” decided to pick a fight with him, and after seeing his prowess decided to “Recruit” him. Nikolai didn’t complain much about this new state of affair, it wasn’t like he had anything better to do anyway.

Some years have gone by, and the Kiddie gang come to accept Nikolai as one of their own, mostly thanks to his ability to punch someone into oblivion.

But this is Night City, and nothing ever lasts. An informant leaked a treasure trove left by a fixer and before they knew it, they walked right into a trap. Professionals, Actual Solos, against some gun-totin kids. The results were obvious. The trap too in hindsight, but kids are gonks, though adults aren’t much better.
Most of the gang laid dead, the few survivors scattering to the wind. Nikolai got away with an Arm lighter,and he swore off of Gangs, because people are gonks, and he should make his own stupid decisions instead of letting others do them for him.

A bad decision and a couple years later, Nikolai got himself a proper job at 20 as a Corpo Huscle. He still didn’t know how he landed the job, but the benefits of all expenses paid and free replacement cyberware for only a five year contract hooked him.

Though, to be fair, his Charge kinda gave away the reason. A gonk even by corpo standards, he was a “Daredevil” that wished to experience the dangerous side of NC, and his daughter arranged for a guard detail for him.

That meant wearing a scratchy suit,24 hour work hours and frequent “expeditions” in the Combat Zone. At least the food was good.

Obviously this being Night City, and the gonk being the gonk he is, decided that they should try something “new”, and tried to spectate one of those fight arenas that frequently crop up in the area. Unfortunately he decided the one Arena Maelstrom and Animal decided to fight over.
Another Arm, half his face and a grouchy client later, his service was terminated effect immediately because and he quote “Blocked me from seeing the sights and splattered blood all over me while manhandling me!”.

His daughter saw sense thankfully, and still finalized payment for a job well done, though still not the full amount owed, probably because she’s a corpo and fucking people over is in their blood. And so Nikolai Sweared off working for a Corpo full-time ever again, because the Corpos fuck everyone, but especially those working for the Corpo.

Fortunately for him, it seemed like the fight went Viral, because after fixing himself a new Arm and getting himself a new look(Armoring up was, funnily enough, far cheaper than the reconstruction needed to fix his face), he was contacted by a certain Regina Jones. She explained that she had done some digging, and asked about his current mental condition. After ascertaining that he wasn’t going cyberpsycho and was quite calm(“Too calm about it” were her words), He got himself a new job offer. Regina was gonna pass him a few gigs, and see if he was merc material, and the only thing he needed to do beside the jobs, was to report to her any Cyberpsycho-like symptom he may experience. Seeing as Gangs and Corpos were out, and the chance of finding gainful employment was at an all-time low now with his new visage, he readily accepted.

Strangely enough, even with this being Night City, things didn’t end up as they always did for Nikolai. The gigs ended well, he got paid enough to finally get himself some decent, not-scratchy chrome and gear, his contact got passed to other fixers and he got himself the reputation of a merc that could be trusted to do the job, as long as there wasn’t too much sneaking around. Hell, He even got invited to the Afterlife on his 25th birthday. Things were looking up for once.

Then Arasaka gets wiped off the map and militech comes in, and for once, Nikolai life didn’t explode. New Blood and power blocks came to the city, but things were good. Obviously things were going to shit even more than normal, but for a merc? Now was a high time to get that Blaze o’Glory that everyone chased after. Not that Nikolai really understood why, but hey, it was something to strive forward, and the benefits of doing so were great as long as…you know, didn’t die.

Age: 46

Gender: Female

Faction: (Militech)

Appearance:
Gillian is 1.55 meters tall and weights 70 kilos. She has a pale complexion, dark brown hair, dark brown eyes with a red glow and dark brown hair. She has a slim toned body build. Most of her body is organic. She prefers to save up for high end cyberware rather than constantly upgrading. When in duty she often sports her Militech uniform.

Cyberware:

• Kiroshi Opticals - Thermograph Sensor (Allows Moore to see the heat signature of objects and people).
• Militech Audio Implant - Amplified Hearing (Gives Moore improved hearing and sound recognition ability).
• Raymond Industries Heavy Duty Joints - Bionic Joints (Gives Moore added mobility and slightly improved durability).

Equipment:

• Militech M251s Ajax
• Militech M-76e Omaha
• Militech Neotac Pants
• Militech Nanofiber Shirt
• Militech Thermoset Military Field Jacket
• Militech Combat Boots

Biography:
Gillian Moore comes from a long line of service men and women. Her great, great grandfather fought in the Second World War, her great grandfather in Vietnam, grandfather in Colombia and both her parents in the Fourth Corporate war. However at an early age, Gillian seemed determined to set a different path for herself. She was born in the city of Washington D.C. in 2034. She was the third child of Paul and Laura Moore. Both Paul and Laura held high ranking positions within Militech. This meant that Gillian would grow up comfortably under a corporate life. At this time her father Paul would try to persuade her to follow in his footsteps and have her join the Militech private contracting firm. However Gillian didn’t particularly like the idea. Instead she would have preferred a, according to her opinion at the time, less dangerous and more glamorous life working in Militch’s offices.

In school she would find herself struggling. She wasn’t failing her academic classes but she wasn’t excelling either. Instead she would find more success in athletics. She would repeatedly find herself as the star athlete of her academies. She also found herself the figurehead of her peers. Her natural born charisma made her fellows flock to her. As such, even though she may not have been the brightest in her batch, she still became the most popular.

After graduation, Gillian would finally try her hands at the corporate world. Both her parents used their connections to get her a comfortable position. Unfortunately for Gillian, the department head never took a liking to her. Just within a few months of getting the position, she would be replaced. Completely disheartened, Gillian would resign without telling her parents. For a time Gillian tried to find another way into Militech without the help of her parents. Exhausting every option, Gillian found her way to the Militech paramilitary wing. At first Gillian was completely disgusted by the actions she had to take to get back into Militech. However she slowly began to enjoy the soldier’s life.

Gillian came back to her parents a Militech private. Surprising them both by her seemingly sudden shift in attitude. Nonetheless her father was more than joyful at the change of developments and showed how proud he was of her daughter, motivating Gillian even more to stay with the course she was following. Which would see her fighting in the Unification war. Rosalind Myer’s war proved to be Gillian’s path to success. She would excel on the battlefield. She also used her charisma to effectively rally together her comrades in the heat of battle. She rose through the ranks during the war. She took to commanding troops with ease and proved effective in taking tactical decisions. Her shining moment was rescuing a down Basilisk transport crew while surrounded by enemy nomads. She managed to rescue the crew without sustaining any casualties to her squad. Because of this she was instituted as a lieutenant.

During the final days of the Unification war, Gillian was stationed in Night City under the command of Colonel Kurt Hansen. It was only by sheer luck that her platoon was cycled away from what would eventually become known as Dogtown. Instead she was stationed in Militech HQ, where she still currently reports to. Gillian would be put in charge of Militech’s Requisition Strike Force department following the war. Popularly known as “repo men” inside of Militech, the purpose of the department was to acquire objects and/or individuals from other parties. Either for paying clients or for Militech itself. Usually the other parties involved were armed and dangerous, like Night City gangoons or rival corporations. Again Gillian’s charisma, athletics and her developing tactical competence benefitted Militech greatly. She was known for her ruthless but clinical efficiency. Having her team swoop in and complete their mission with as little time and lives lost as possible. It’s heavily rumored that it was her team involved in stealing an Arasaka medical truck from their dock, though Militech officials have repeatedly denied this.

Following Arasaka’s exit from Night City, Gillian’s department has been busy acquiring the left behind assets of Arasaka. Often competing with gangs and mercs, the department often finds itself in increasingly heated gunfights over containers of valuable items. Gillian still leads from the field, now finding the office life much too mundane for liking. She and her team are getting more and more reputation and infamy for their actions. Only growing in recognition with each day that passes.

Age: 22
Gender: Female
Faction: None(as yet)
Appearance: A cherubic vision of innocence, it would take a well trained eye to recognize exactly how much Hally has been enhanced. Her usual look is pale and platinum blonde, with artfully flushed and freckled skin, thanks to a fully-body chemskin bodysculpt. She can make minor complexion changes, as well as alter her “makeup” simply by reprogramming the pigments in her skin. Techhair ensures the same is true of her hair. Who needs a cosmetologist when you have a good clinic? Her eyes have a yellow polychrome tint to the irises; retro but classy.
Cyberware is subtle, but extensive and quite pricey. Most visible by the seams, which are in the same ostentatious polychrome as her eyes.
She dresses in a bright and flashy Kitsch style. Her clothes expensive, but so deliberately tasteless that few would ever guess.

Cyberware:

• Kiroshi Optics(is that not default?)
• Chemskin and Techhair(barely counts…)
• Three Chipware Sockets. One has a robust Skill Chip for programmed combat moves; one is a memory chip, and the third contains her Pain Editor.
• Sandevistan. Speedware that provides short boosts of highly improved reaction time.
• Pain Editor. (What? You thought she was gonna let herself feel it when she gets shot?)
• Skinweave layered over subdermal armor. Two layers of protection against physical damage.
• Muscle and Bone Lace. Increase strength and durability to help keep up with her tuned reflexes and programmed skills.

Equipment:

• Her sword is a marvelous fusion of modern metallurgy and ancient tradition, wrapped in unforgivably gaudy bright yellow. Impossibly sharp, practically unbreakable, way too distinctive.
• She always has six knives secreted about her person at any given time. She has never once actually drawn one from its hidden location, and it’s doubtful she could do so gracefully if the need arises.

Biography:
Born in Sacramento in 2058, just in time to be quarantined for the first two years of her life to avoid two subsequent bird flu epidemics. This was thanks largely to her parents’ both working for Trauma Team. Her mother was a highly valued neurosurgeon, her father a Regional Director.
When she was nine, her life was uprooted very suddenly when her father was transferred to directorship of the Night City regional office. This conveniently led to his family moving out of NoCal just before the Unification War broke out. They weren’t saved from the conflict completely, but TT made a lot of money during the siege of Night City, and it was a prosperous time for families such as hers(officially Trauma Team posted a deficit during the conflict, and yet higher level employees received record bonuses….). Which was good, as Hally spent yet more of her formative years kept under lock and key for safety. She spent a lot of time viewing the world through television and movies, and had an unfortunate fondness for schlocky action flicks like the Bushido franchise.

Hally graduated from the Arasaka Academy(the original one) about four years ago. She would drift through school days in an aloof haze, daydreaming about this or that. Her marks were unremarkable. Her social life, unsocial. If she had a notable distinction, it was that she always showed up to watch any fight that broke out.

She spent the last four years maneuvering around her neurotically protective parents to slowly eek out higher levels of freedom. Nobody really saw much of her during this time, aside from domestic staff and the bare handful of her father’s business associates who rated an invitation to their home. She managed to finagle a “blank check” visit to a top shelf ripper-doc clinic for her twenty-second birthday. He assumed she was going down for some new bodysculpt trend or something, but she was chippin’ in. Hally knew daddy was about a week behind on reviewing expense reports, and by the time he saw what she had really bought, she pulled her vanishing act. With an unlabeled expense line she had carefully and secretly(she thought) tied to her own credchip, she got a small place in Japantown, looking across the bay to Kabuki.

She lives there now, trying to get a job with Danger Gal who, for some reason she can’t imagine, won’t give her the time of day.

(Director Lionell Pritchard is perfectly aware of where his daughter has moved, and how she paid for it. He believes she will get tired of this eventually, and assumes that in the worst case scenario, she will be rescued by her Platinum Trauma card, and learn her lesson that way. He is, however, oblivious to her motives and plans, which make that “worst case scenario” a good deal more likely than he thinks…)

Age: 34 years old
Gender: Male
Faction: None

Appearance:
James Walker stands at around 6' even, and is of an average build. He is almost always seen wearing construction or utility pants with several pockets filled with various components and scrap that can be used to cobble something together quick. He often manually dyes his hair, most recently choosing a sort of bluish purple. He keeps his beard long, but well trimmed. He sticks simple while at work, often opting for a simple plain-colored flannel or just a sleeveless tank top. When out on the streets or at various nightclubs after work, Walker can be seen sporting custom-smelted rings and a pair of cyberglasses. He almost always keeps his Ticon tucked into the back of his waistband, no matter what. Most of Walker's cyberware is somewhat hard to spot to the untrained eye, though his arms and hands have clear signs of military-grade cyberware upgrades. Walker's most noticeable cyberware feature are the 8 shard sockets (4 on each side) embedded in his neck behind his beard. It is the source of his street handle, 8 Track.

Cyberware:

• Projectile Launch System (Right Arm)
• All-in-One Tech Hand and integrated Tech Scanner (Left Hand)
• Ballistic Coprocessor (Right Hand)
• Kiroshi "Doomsayer" Optics
• Biomonitor
• Subdermal Armor (Moderate, covering Torso/Arms)
• Fortified Ankles
• 8 shard sockets, 6 are full of various user manuals and schematics

Equipment:

• Modified Militech Ticon (integrated suppressor, extended magazine, custom type 2080 red dot scope)
• Modified Militech Crusher (collapsible stock, Reverse-Engineered Kanetsugu scope, armor piercing rounds)
• Hand-Built Militech M-179 Achilles (Custom Thermal/infrared Scope)
• Titanium-Core Crowbar
• Polarized Cyberglasses with integrated anti-flash technology
• Kang Tao portable Gas Mask
• Fragmentation and EMP grenades, along with a handful of remote detonation charges stored in a box labelled "Vanilla BDs" in his van.
• Modified Villefort Columbus V340-F Freight (Armor plating, Bulletproof tires, Back-Mounted Manually-Operated Machine Gun, Improved Suspension, small shielded smuggler's storage space)
• Walker owns a Quadra Type 66 Avenger and a Brennan Apollo that he will use on occasion, or loan out for a price.

Biography:

James Walker was born a drifter of sorts, a nomad of the Jode Nation while they were on the decline. His family had a long history of traveling and road work, transporting supplies around the fractured remains of the United States following a series of environmental disasters that left the heartland barren. James Walker was the youngest of three sons, but was easily singled out as an expert with a wrench in his early teens. He spent plenty of time fixing vehicles for the family at large. By the time he was 18, he was tuning up the clan's vehicles professionally. He learned quick how to use salvage and spare parts to upgrade clan vehicles to deal with the growing dangers of traversing the roads.

After four years, war broke out between the NUSA and the Free States. Seeing the writing on the wall as tanks and convoys rolled through the country, James felt like he wasn't seeing his full potential fixing up cars for the clan. He already knew how to fire a gun and had a decent head on his shoulders. He enlisted with the Northern California militia, and was quickly scouted after some aptitude tests to serve as an armorer/mechanic. In an effort to expedite his training, James Walker was made into a new man. On top of the standard cyberware enhancements given to most recruits, he was given something extra-special to bring him up to speed: 8 shard slots embedded in his neck, filled with manuals and schematics to aid in his work. With a lot of drugs to keep him from going into cyberpsychosis from the shock, James began to pick up skills and experience that would change the trajectory of his life.

James Walker was one of the lucky few who was on the backlines for the Battle of Ridgecrest, and managed to walk away with no serious injuries. NUSA and Militech were ruthless, and the constant escalation of weaponry in the Unification War kept Sgt Walker busy. He developed an addiction to nicotine and caffeine pills to keep himself awake at all hours, fixing up Panzers and various other vehicles and weapons to keep NorCal in the fight. He was forced to keep up with combat drills, but managed to avoid most combat due to his vital support role. The blood, sweat, and tears of hundreds of thousands of people managed to keep the war going on long enough to see an end to the conflict. Myers signed the Unification Treaty, Night City became independent, and the veterans of the unification war were the ones who were left sidelined. Those who were injured got fixed up just enough to keep suffering, but those who were still in good condition were left with a fistful of eddies and whatever they could snag on their way out of the proverbial door. Walker wasn't able to walk away with much else but the cyberware in his body, and two vital shards containing weapon schematics that were not confidential enough to warrant sending a repo man.

In the interim, the Jode Nation was fractured, weak, and had been one of the first bought out by Biotechnica. Having been screwed once by working for a larger organization, James Walker cut his losses. The first year away from the clan was hard. He ventured out to Night City with barely any connections, settling out in Santo Domingo and picking up contract work for smaller shops in the area. He eventually managed to secure a job working at Gun O'Rama in Rancho Coronado, not far from where he lived. He used his business connection and some free time to get some more working knowledge of the firearms he was selling professionally. He spent several late nights tearing apart Overtures and Copperheads to understand how they worked inside and out.

What kept Walker from getting complacent were edgerunners. Solos would swarm in from time to time, looking for some serious gear before a big job. They preferred their guns a certain way: serial numbers filed off and with heavy modifications. Of course, Gun O'Rama prided itself on selling guns factory fresh. So, Walker would often take a smoke break and meet Solos in the alley out back, where he would offer heavily modified weaponry for a slight markup. Of course, some edgerunners had a fun habit of trying to trade various guns they had picked up off the corpses of some poor gangers they flatlined for store credit. Luckily, the blood was usually easy to wash off.

Word travelled back to James Walker's manager, and his stint at the Gun O'Rama was over. Luckily, Walker had made some decent connections with some local fixers and edgerunner crews. He would meet with clients at the El Coyote Cojo for preliminary meetings to talk shop and specs, and Walker began modifying guns to order for a time. He was able to make some decent eddies for a while, and even began taking on orders working on upgrading cars for edgerunners looking to get a little more speed and power for when conflicts were taken to the highways. Eventually, Walker had managed to save up enough eddies to buy an abandoned repair shop in Arroyo three years ago... around when things began to go south for Arasaka.

Walker has a working relationship with what remains of the 6th street gang, but has no formal loyalty to them. His clientele is much more expansive, and he has had to hire on temporary techs just starting out in the business. For the most part, Walker provides custom modifications to various weapons and vehicles as a premium service for well-paying edgerunners and gangers from around Night City... especially those wanting to steer clear of Corp influence or control. Of course, Walker has begun to have dreams and aspirations for himself. He seeks to move out of the local Megatower and into a nice apartment in the City's Center, and possibly own a Rayfield himself. He's fallen hard for the charm of Night City and the pipe dream of being a true edgerunner and Night City legend. He loves his workshop, nicknamed the Devastation Depot... but he loves the thrill and eddies that come from running gigs on the side even more.

Name: Jennifer 'Cipher' Hudson

Age: 30

Gender: Female

Height: 6'4"

Weight: 62.38lbs (quite literally, her entire head+trunk).



Distinguishing features: Jennifer is marked with various surgical scars around her head. Her eyes have been replaced entirely; the sclera slitted with silver circuitry and the disc-shaped irises independently twisting and rotating on their own most of the time. The skin around her limbs and across her stomach and back are marked with scarred burns and tissue grafts (Kiroshi scan will reveal these in analysis).

Description: Standing before you is a slender feminine figure at 6'4" dressed in a dark blue undershirt and a lightly bulky overcoat. She has short, fine tapered brown hair and augmented brown eyes; pulsing a beige-white with mechanically turning irises. Both arms and legs appear to have been removed and replaced with advanced combat prosthesis, which constitute the 'bulk' of her physical cyberware.

Backstory:

Jennifer Ann Hudson was born in 2050 into the homerule concrete jungle of Boulder, Colorado to Nomad parents Micheal and Lydia Hudson of the Raider clan. The Raiders themselves were formed from the members of the old-world USMC Special Forces unit of the same namesake; having moved into Free State territory as the American military was all but extinguished in favor of Militech's growing influence throughout the decades. As Colorado had grown into a “Nomad state” seeing as a significant majority of those that lived there were affiliated with various clans, Jennifer’s life was one of relative safety growing up. Gangers were seldom an issue, and Arasaka had largely stayed out of Nomad activities; interested in contracting them out as mercenaries, couriers, or proxy merchants. Jennifer’s life was one of relative safety for fifteen years, however trouble began brewing on the horizon as Rosalind Myers, the former Militech CEO nominated as the third President of the New United States of America, pledged a program to reintegrate the Free States during her election campaign in 2065. With the Free States worried about the potential future conflict, Jennifer’s parents enrolled her in The Complex; a Nomad-run military training facility staffed by former military instructors. Many other Nomad families did the same; hoping to sustain an effective militia by the time conflict erupted.

By the time she turned 18, Jennifer had quickly proven herself to be a deadly combatant and capable soldier, with the ‘hands on’ training at the Complex further sharpening her edge as a proper Raider of her clan. However, the ultimate test of her abilities would come a year later in 2069 with the election of Rosalind Myers as President of the NUSA.

Jennifer’s graduation with her fellow soldiers was quiet and without celebration as they were immediately distributed around the state to assist in the upcoming conflict against the NUSA. With four years of military training to guide her, Jennifer had watched as her homeland turned into a relentless battleground as the majority of Nomad clans, including the Raiders, sought to defend Colorado against the NUSA as the first occupation forces arrived in early January. Other Free States, such as Arizona, New Mexico and Wyoming, came to Colorado’s aid in providing additional manpower and military arms across the state. However, Militech outmanned and outgunned almost every conventional engagement the Nomads had, forcing the majority of survivors to head underground and coordinate resistance operations.

Over the next several months, the young Raider had thrived within the Metro conducting sabotage operations, raids on established outposts, and ambushes on convoys. The “relief” given by Arasaka to the Free States had seen most conventional engagements replaced with skirmishes and battles between Arasaka and Militech forces. Even still, Jennifer had maintained her reputation as an effective tactician and deadly combatant- quickly earning the ire of Militech as a persistent thorn in their side, and to the people as a beacon of hope. Despite Militech wanting her eliminated, another faction had taken interest in her.

The Federal Intelligence Agency had been observing the progress of the Unification War since its start in January, and over the development of the conflict within Colorado, observed a pattern of field reports that Militech had been compiling regarding the unusual success of resistance activity within the state- not solely due to Arasaka’s intervention. Eventually, the FIA was able to locate Jennifer in Colorado Springs as they prepared an operation to intercept and capture her before Militech could eliminate her. In coordination with Militech, the FIA had waited until her location had been pinned to a large house in a rural area not far from Stratmoor and dispatched a team to apprehend the rebel leader, ordering Militech to suspend their planned engagement until after she was dealt with. Militech refused, and as the capture team were inbound to Jennifer’s hideout, launched an artillery bombardment at the area; devastating the small villa and killing a significant majority of the guards at the estate.

Despite the backstab Militech had done to them, the FIA ordered the team to proceed with their mission as they raided the estate and found a critically wounded Jennifer nearly buried under the collapsed debris of the estate and partially shielded by the bodies of her parents. The FIA secured their target and departed the area; sustaining her on a flight to Langley where she would be placed into a medical coma for ten years. The Arvin Accord was signed, and Colorado Springs was reduced to rubble.

During this time, the FIA would gradually mold her into their own pet assassin- installing false memories, hypnotherapy, and extensive cybernetic modifications that left her with her head and torso as the only organic parts of her body. To Jennifer, she was a nomad who joined Militech in service to her country, later recruited by the FIA and injured in a devastating ambush during a covert assignment.

Now cleared for field service in 2080, Jennifer’s latest mission finds her in Night City as she investigates the involvement of the ever-mysterious NightCorp.

Personality traits: More machine than Human, Jennifer comes across as cold, logical, and direct in most interactions, being socially awkward and preferring to be silent if forced in the presence of company. She is hyper-intelligent and analytical, wanting to get the most out of every detail she can before committing to a decision. However, she is not entirely emotionless, and is capable of displaying a softer side to those that are persistent and stubborn enough to bond with her. How she interacts with others will determine how much Humanity she regains, if any at all.

Specialization: FIA Operative

Faction: FIA

Augmentations/Cyberware:

Zetatech 'Gen VI' Cyberlegs/Cyberarms: Introduced as a prototype in 2078 in direct competition to the Gorilla Cyberarms, the prototype Gen VI design of Zetatech's Cyberlimbs gave a promising breath of new life into the field of combat-grade military prosthesis. At its baseline, these cyberlimbs can allow the user to run faster, hit harder and lift heavier objects on par with the strengths afforded to users of Gorilla Arms. Zetatech's mission was to ensure modularity with either cyberlimb option- with preconfigured "packages' able to emulate functions of other cyberware, such as the jumping capability of Reinforced Tendons, or the built-in launcher of the Projectile Launch System. However, the 'emulations' from these packages are notably less effective than the original implants, and performing modular upgrades of any kind is strictly done by Zetatech engineers and technicians. To avoid accidentally crushing or overexposing the limbs to the elements, tactile and pressure pads line the palms, digits, soles, and heels of the arms and legs- allowing the user to sense temperature and pressure with appropriate pain signal stimulations.

"Chrome Compressor": A frontal cortex implant that halves the processing demand of cyberware usage in tandem with the brain's electrical signals, thereby allowing for additional cyberware to be installed.

Kiroshi 'Clairvoyant' Optics: Optical replacements that allow the user to scan their environment; highlighting objects/items of interest and providing a live ghost of a hostile target's position through cover for 11 seconds after the initial scan.

Self-ICE: Prevents one hostile quickhack upload. Enters a 75 second cooldown period.

Ballistic Coprocessor: Links the user's Kiroshi optics to the weapons they're carrying; enabling them to see a digital readout of their weapon type and ammo count, as well as provide a real-time ballistic trajectory predictor.

Subdermal armor: A series of composite plates woven beneath the skin. Provides protection against ballistic/blunt attacks, but can be 'sweat' away by Tech projectiles with their extreme heat.

Biomonitor: A multilevel medical implant designed to administer medicine to counteract various traumas/ailments to the body. Can not provide surgical capabilities.

Optical Camo: This series of implants grafted into the integumentary system allows the user to become invisible by bending light wavelengths along their profile.

Weapons:

Militech M251s 'Ajax' (Custom WARFIGHTER build): The Ajax is a mid-to-long range, fully automatic assault rifle with a magazine capable of holding 30 rounds, customized and chambered to fire in 7.62x51mm. It features a white star with golden trimming engraved on both sides of the receiver. Comes equipped with a CQO Kanone MINI Mk.72 slight and XC-10 Cetus suppressor.

Constitutional Arms 'Unity': The Unity is a compact, .45 caliber, semi-automatic, magazine-fed handgun with a relatively high fire-rate and a 12-round magazine. Has a Type 2067 compact sight and TSX Tocororo suppressor.

Relationships: TBD, subject to updating per interactions!