The girl was in her room, listening to her parents arguing over money again. It happened at least once a week now. Her father could not make enough to support them, and had begun with illegal dealings – drugs, mostly, & some theft. Her mother was opposed to this, always talking about what would happen to them if he were ever caught.

Tonight it was worse. Her father had been borrowing money, and her mother was terrified of what would happen when he couldn’t pay them back. Eventually the girl tried to tune them out, to go to sleep. She was almost successful when there was a pounding on the door. Her mother & father immediately stopped talking. The pounding continued for a moment, then gunshots, followed by a splintering noise as the door was kicked in.

The girl heard muffled voices, followed by another gunshot, her father screaming, & her mother crying. She opened her door to run to her parents, & froze when two men and a woman stood looking at her, guns drawn. After her paralysis began to wear off, she realized her mother was yelling at her to run. As she began to move back into her room, one of the men grabbed her and tossed her over to the woman.

The girl saw her father laying on the floor, bleeding from his leg & chest. He could barely support himself, & could not rise. Her mother was cowering before one of the men, her clothing torn. She became detached from what was happening, and watched her father be tortured, & her mother raped then killed, without fully realizing what it all meant.

As the woman turned her gun on the girl’s father, his dying words finally broke through her trance. “Run… Get as far aw-“.

At this point, the girl realized, she could not escape them, and understood what they were going to do to her. With that realization, she grabbed a wooden splinter near her & charged at the man approaching her. Her attack proved to be ineffectual as the man grabbed her arm & struck her.

“Finish her and lets go,” says the woman.

“No. Not yet.” The man holding the girl replies. “She’s a vicious one. How old are you girl? Answer me!”

“Twelve” the girl squeaks.

“Twelve, and already with tits as big as yours, Marissa”. He gropes her roughly. “And she has spirit. I think we will keep her. Ryuu will like this one.”

“Lets go” the woman growls at him. She fires a shot into the heads of the two people on the floor, and turns to leave.




4 years later…

She was sitting in her room, if a rotting prison could be called a room, waiting for Ryuu. He always took her after a particularly bloody fight. Tonight’s hadn’t even been a fight – more like a slaughter. It had been a group of a half-dozen children taken from the slums, the oldest about her age, the youngest barely past 10. They knew how to use the knives they were given; at least enough to avoid gutting themselves. She had enjoyed the treat – it wasn’t often she was allowed to fight other metahumans – even in the slums, people begin to talk when to many go missing or turn up dead. The ghouls only eat so much…

As she reflects on the night’s butchery, she realizes only a few years ago she would have been horrified by what had just happened, if her mind would have survived it at all. They had started by pitting her against animals; devil rats, dogs, whatever they thought she could kill, but not before they did significant damage to her. Never anything permanent though; Ryuu would not allow her to be disfigured, or out of commission for more than a week. Over time, she went against deadlier foes; armed humans, paracritters, drones (although those were the least satisfying - They did not bleed, could not cry out in pain).

Her thoughts vanished as Ryuu entered the room. Immediately, she lunged at him, aiming for his throat. He caught her wrist easily, pinning her to the wall, laughing at her struggles. The girl always fights him when he comes. She can never do much more than bruise him; he is too skilled & avoids her assaults with ease. Nonetheless, her body would be just as damaged at the end if she did not fight, and it gives a release to her hatred.

It was far rougher this time than usual. Something must be going on tonight, she thought as she continued to fight against him, all the while welcoming the sensation. As much as she despised the man & his gang, she had come to desire them inside her, even became dependant on it. Ironically, one of their worst punishments was now to withhold her rape.

When it was over, Ryuu tossed her to the two men in the hallway. He must be in a good mood – he was the only one ever allowed to have her after combat. As the first reached for her, she grabbed the knife at his belt and shoved it into his gut, so quickly he didn’t even realize what had happened before he collapsed. It would not be fatal, but he would not bother her tonight. The second man had backhanded her & pinned her to the wall when the sound of gunfire started, quickly followed with alarms.

Ryuu grabbed her then, shouting at the other man to clear a way to the exit, & tossed her into the room. He was clearly distracted, as she would never otherwise have been able to palm his keycard without notice.

She waited a moment for the footsteps to fade, then immediately opened the door. Without bothering to grab any of her meager belongings, or even to get dressed, she left. In the hallway, she grabbed the fallen man’s gun, and after a vicious twist, withdrew the knife from his gut, and preceded down the opposite direction Ryuu had taken.

There were few encounters with gang members during her flight, & all ended with her easily dispatching them. The confusion must be much more than it appears, she thinks to herself, as she kills yet another person, who never noticed her there. Finally, she approaches one of the exits, but is stopped by a firefight between the few surviving members, & several Others that she has never seen before.

Once the combat halts, she cautiously crosses toward the exit. About halfway across, one of the Other’s sees her, and reacts in a surprised manner, as if she was not there a moment before. For a moment they stare at each other, and then a man walks up next to him.

She recognizes this man – he was talking with Ryuu that night, during her fight. It looked like one of his many business deals, and they both appeared happy with their arrangement, walking out together laughing as she removed the last slum-child’s head. Hatred crosses her face as she raises her gun towards him. The other responds immediately by aiming at her.

“Wait!” the man shouts, deflecting the other’s aim.

Before she can fire, he does something. She does not know what, she could not see anything, but she felt it. He won’t harm me, she thinks. He’s not a threat.

The Other looks about to argue, but the man cuts him off. “She’s not with them, Crusher. She was kept here as a slave.”

At this time, A Few Others are gathering with them, watching the exchange. Crusher begins to say something again, trying to aim at her.

“She saved your life. There was a thug aiming at your head – I knew I couldn’t get a warning out in time, when she slit the mans throat. Let me talk to her.”

Crusher pauses a moment, the grunts, giving a nod.

The man approaches her. “Can you tell me were Ryuu is?”

She tells him when she last saw him, and which way he was going.

"Tell me about your life here", the man says.

She wants to answer him, knowing he wants to help, and so she does. For the next several minutes, she tells him of how she was taken, and what her life has been like in this place. By the end of her brief story, her voice is choked, & she feels something she never has before; relief, peace, & release. She begins to cry, and the man holds her.

“Lusum, we’re out of time, the Star is on the way. Let’s go.” one of the Other’s, a woman, says.

“What’s your name?” the man – Lusum, asks her.

Until he asked, she had not even realized she had forgotten her name. For a moment, fear begins to rise that she would not be able to answer him, but under his gaze, she begins to remember.

It is barely a whisper. “Kathryn”

“Lets go!” the woman Other shouts, as the team begins to make for the exit.

As the man picks her up & makes a dash for the exit, she hears one of the Other’s. “Taking in strays is going to be the death of you, Lusum.”

She remembers nothing else that night.



Kathryn wakes up in a strange location. She is laying on a couch, covered with a blanket & wearing an unfamiliar shirt & pants, both to large for her. As she sits up & takes bearing of the area, the man enters the room.

"So, you are awake".

Kathryn, surprised, jumps up and grabs the sharpest object she can find. Watching him warily, she backs up towards the wall as he takes a step forward.

"Where am I" she demands.

"At my place. You needed a place to stay." He cautiously walks around the couch and approaches her slowly. "Put the knife down, please. I am not going to hurt you."

"Why should I believe you, and who are you?"

"My name is Jason, although most call me Lusum. And you trusted me last night, although I must admit that wasn't entirely your decision. If I was going to harm you, I would have done so already. You were asleep for nearly 12 hours."

Kathryn slowly begins to relax, and moves back to the couch, replacing the blade. "What do you want?" she asks, her tone much less hostile.

"I would like to help. You have been a captive for years, and will not be able to fit into the world now, despite how close to your past experience it may be. You may stay here as long as needed, and I will teach you what I can. I am sorry, but I do not have time to talk at the moment. There is a business meeting I must attend. You may help yourself to any of the food here."

After Jason had left, Kathryn began to explore the house. In a little over an hour, she had eaten and gathered some basic equipment, and prepares to leave.


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Lived on streets for 2 weeks (aprox)
Picked up by Lone Star for [insert reason]
Biometric readings matched with SIN of missing person case
Jason gets her out, becomes legal guardian

< >

Live with Jason for two years
--Training/Schooling from Jason
--Participate in a few Runs with Jason & his team
--Develop a brother/sister type relationship

< >

Age 18:
Decide to take up Shadowrunning as a career.
Jason ‘retires’ into position of a Fixer
--Perform runs solely for Jason for a period of time

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Age 20:
Join Desert Wars (or Military/Privatized Military), two-year contract/tour

< >

Age 22:
Obtain legal license as an Independent Bounty Hunter
Continue Running as primary profession