Westbrook

January 25th

2069

A week after Sophie’s first day of training and her subsequent outing into Westbrook, she was getting ready for her first hunt. With her Nue holstered at her hip and her combat knife strapped to the outside of her thigh, she checked herself over to ensure she had everything that she needed.

“Pistol…knife…oh. I need to bring another magazine, just in case.” She rummaged around in her bag, retrieving one of the precious few spare magazine’s she had. “Okay. I think I’m ready,” she said. A quick thought brought up her system page, wanting to appreciate the effort she’d put in over the week.

Name: Sophie Morrin

Age: 14

Class: Huntress [0/100]

Passives

Iron Resolve [Max]

Skills

Stealth [2/100], Basic Gun Combat [5/100], Investigation [2/100]

Cyberware

Basic Cyberoptics (Common)

Store: Available

L-Coins: 1500

Eurodollars: 500

Part of her was disappointed in herself. Her proficiency gain was incredibly slow and she wasn’t sure if that was simply how it worked or whether she was doing something wrong. However, there was still progress and she hoped that there would be more after she completed her mission.

With her final checks done, Sophie emerged from the damp confines of the sewer. The night sky greeted her with rain and the girl grimaced. Getting wet sucked, considering she had nothing to dry herself off with in her hideout. At least it should make my ambush more effective. It’ll be harder to hear me with the rain.

She was targeting a Tyger Claw as her first hunt. Admittedly, she was concerned there’d be dangerous repercussions for killing one but there didn’t seem to be any better targets. At least, she couldn’t find any with her lacking resources. The Tygers, on the other hand, were plentiful. Sophie had seen them swaggering through the streets during her occasional nightly excursions, collecting protection fees and terrorizing the locals.

She wasn’t dumb enough to take on a group. Her plan was to find a lone ganger, ambush them and disappear before anyone could retaliate. Finding a target would be fairly easy, considering how often she observed the biker gang members roaming around without a care in the world. Thus, she headed to her usual night market to find her prey.

It didn’t take long for her to find someone.

Male, in his mid-twenties, maybe older, with a lean build and angular features. His head was shaved except for a long strip of neon-blue hair tied into a ponytail. His jacket was in the typical biker style; black with a blazing red tiger insignia roaring across his back. There was a cocky, arrogant swagger in his movements. She observed him closely, making sure she picked out all the important information.

His chrome right arm glinted in the streetlights, though from her position, Sophie wasn’t sure whether he had any cyberware like a mantis blade. A pistol hung on his right hip, though the teen didn’t recognise the brand. Aside from the pistol, she didn’t spot any other weapons. The final bit of trouble was the man’s companions.

One was a heavily built man with cybernetic legs and the other was a shorter woman with a chrome arm. The man had a look to him that Sophie could only describe as violent while the woman wore a perpetual smirk, like some kind of sadistic queen. The teen wanted nothing to do with the pair.

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Still, Sophie stayed in the shadows, moving as sneakily as possible to avoid drawing their attention. Her week of training in the sewers provided her at least some guidance in following the trio undetected.

Finally, her opportunity came. The Tygers stopped in front of a ramen stand, chatting idly while the vendor prepared their food. After a few minutes, the woman wandered off, muttering something about a meeting, while the larger man gestured toward a nearby bar and disappeared inside. That left the neon-haired Tyger standing alone, leaning casually against the stand as he waited for his order.

It was the perfect opportunity. Her pulse quickened as she desperately hoped her target would give her the chance she needed. Thankfully, her prayers were answered. The Tyger stepped away from the food stall, mumbling something under his breath and adjusting his pants. She followed him as he turned into an alley, making sure to keep some distance away to not be caught.

She heard a sigh of contentment, followed by a watery sound not even a minute later. She peeked around the corner and her jaw dropped. Is he pissing!? Seriously!? Her eyes caught on a discarded object near his feet and her eyes darkened. And he just took something. Fuck, I don’t know anything about Night City’s drugs. Regardless of whatever drug the Tyger just pumped into himself, his vulnerability while relieving his bladder was perfect.

Sophie stepped into the alley, raising her Nue and firing before he could react to the sound of her footsteps. She aimed at his head, hoping to flatline him in an instant. Unfortunately, the system was right. Her aim sucked. The shot cracked through the air and the bullet struck his right shoulder. The chrome arm spasmed violently, sparks flying as the connections sputtered and failed. He shouted in pain and surprise, clutching at the wound as blood seeped through his jacket.

But Sophie’s shot hadn’t been enough to put him down. He turned toward her, his face contorted with rage, and lunged. She almost giggled as the man’s junk flopped around in the wind, obviously too angry to have put it back in his pants.

Sophie tried to fire again, but the Tyger was far quicker than she expected. He slammed into her with his shoulder, knocking the pistol from her hands as they both tumbled to the ground. The impact drove the air from her lungs, and she barely had time to react as he swung his uninjured arm at her.

She rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the punch, and scrambled to her feet. The Tyger was on her in an instant, grabbing her by the arm and yanking her back towards him. His grip was like a vise, his fingers eliciting a gasp of pain from the young girl.

Using the momentum of his pull, Sophie twisted her body and tried to drive her knee into his stomach. He raised a leg in response, grunting but refusing to let go. Desperate, she reached for her knife, managing to draw it just as he pulled her closer. She slashed wildly, the blade grazing his side and slightly tearing through his jacket. Definitely need to get a better knife!

He roared in anger and backhanded her, the force of the blow sending her sprawling to the ground. Her head spun, and she tasted blood in her mouth. The Tyger loomed over her, his expression a mix of pain and fury. He planted his foot on her chest, keeping his attacker pinned.

“You’re dead, little girl,” he growled, reaching for something in his pocket.

Sophie’s eyes darted to the ground, spotting her pistol a few feet away. She looked back at her opponent and brought her leg up as hard as possible. Her foot slammed straight into his balls and the pressure on her chest lessened. With every ounce of strength, she lunged for her fallen gun. As her fingers closed around the grip, the Tyger raised a knife of his own, clearly fighting through the pain in his lower area.

She rolled onto her back and fired. The shot was rushed and the angle was awkward but it found its mark. The bullet tore through his stomach, and he staggered backwards, dropping the knife as he clutched at his wound. Sophie fired twice, this time aiming for his head. One hit him in the neck, the other in the cheek.

The Tyger collapsed, his body hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

Sophie lay there for a moment, her chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath. Her body ached and her face was throbbing in the place he’d struck her. Slowly, she sat up, her hand still gripping the pistol tightly. The alley was silent but it probably wouldn’t last long. The commotion would certainly cause the man’s friends to swarm the alley soon.

She looked at the Tyger’s lifeless body and a strange sense of happiness erupted, along with some disgust considering his junk was still hanging out. She’d finally taken the first, proper step to accomplishing her goal, even if it did mean she had to kill someone. “Then again, he seemed like a bastard. I’m sure some people will be happy he’s dead,” she muttered.

After a brief rest, Sophie got to her feet, grimacing as pain flared in her ribs. She searched the Tyger’s pockets, pulling out a nice handful of eddies and some ammo. She also looted the man’s gun and knife. Everything was tucked into her bag before she retrieved her own knife and wiped it clean on his jacket. A quick deliberation resulted in her abandoning the boots the man wore; they’d probably be too big, like her current ones.

With her hunt complete, the teen moved to escape the area as quickly as possible. On her way back to the sewers, she noticed a number of Tygers all rushing to the area she had just been in. None of them paid her any attention though.

Half an hour later, she was slipping through the sewer pipes back to her hideout. Once she got there, she let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

“Wooo…I fucking did it. I fucking did it!” She cheered, pumping her fist in the air before crying out after the pain in her ribs reminded her of the injury.

Mission Complete

Complete your first hunt.

Difficulty: Hard

Rewards: 1000 L-Coins, 500 Eurodollars, Common Skill Voucher

Stealth Proficiency +1

Stealth [3/100]

“Nice! Good rewards too. What’s this voucher though?”

The ‘Basic Skill Voucher’ allows you to obtain one skill for free. Please be advised that only skills worth 5,000 to 25,000 L-Coins can be chosen.

“Even with that limitation, it’s pretty good…Alrighty, show me what I can get!”