Case

Myosho-Shintar Experiment

Kesi “Case” Nakamura

Advanced Technocratic Consul (Hacker)
carefree, quirky Myosho citizen

Stats

Mettle +0 Physique -1 Influence +1 Expertise +1 Interface +2

Skills

• Artificial Intelligence: You have the loyalty of a digital, artificial intelligence NPC. Give it a name and a 2-4 word description of its personality. It can enter, unlock and activate systems at your Command. Your AI can only be in one system at a time.
• Mediate: When you successfully interfere or Get Involved in an interpersonal situation (including Cramped Quarters), choose 1:
  • Each participant gains a Data Point about another participant.
  • Escalate the situation. The choices are now Fight or Flight.
  • Defuse the situation.

• Network: You can simultaneously track the location and health of a dozen willing subjects through a console or HUD. You are able to remotely Get Involved or issue Commands.
• Surveillance: After you Access someone’s personal systems, you can track that person’s public movements from then on (general location, interactions, transactions, etc). You can only have one surveillance subject at a time.
• X (Starfarer Group Skill)

Advancements

• An abuse of power is resisted (Consul)
• A system’s security is breached (Technocrat)

XP Earned

Workspace

Observer: Advanced, multi-band sensors, capable of long-distance scans. Probe launchers. Recording equipment, shielded data storage.

Assets

• A Class 0 Attire (regular clothing)
• Digital Access Upgrade (Cybermod - Hands, Implements {Computer Kit})
• Scatter Pistol (Class 1 Weapon - One-handed, Adjacent/Close, Burst, Laser)
• Scanner Shades (Class 2 Attire - Cultural, Connected, Visor {Facial Recognition Software})

Notes

• The concept in brief: poor, disabled child, dumped into a state-run orphanage at a very young age, eventually adopted into a wealthy industrial family, but was old enough that she never lost her roughness and was never really accepted into that society. But, being raised half her life in luxury, she now can't go back to her roots--even if she wanted to, she'd never fit in. So she's a product of two very different worlds, not fully accepted by either, not really wanting to be a part of either (she's seen how rotten both worlds are), so kind of drifting between the two at the edges. She wants to find her parents, to at least know who they are, and has developed her skills at tracking people down as part of that. She kind of fell into bounty as a side-effect of that. She could return to her adopted family and the corresponding life of luxury, but doesn't want to deal with everything that entails.

Q&A

Is Nakamura your birth name, or the name of your adoptive family? For that matter, is Kesi the name you were born with?

Nakamura is her adopted family name. She doesn't know her birth surname. Kesi is her birth name, however, or so they told her at the orphanage. (Kesi is a Swahili name, marking her as a clear outsider to a primarily Japanese-inspired culture.)

Are the two 'worlds' you've lived in embodied on the same planet, or different ones? If the latter, what do you remember of the planet you grew up on until your adoption? Was the orphanage on that planet, or a different one?

I think they're literally different worlds, tho I hadn't picked specific places yet. I'm picturing her home for the first 10ish years of her life as a very large city--dirty and overcrowded, at least at the parts where she grew up.

Why don't you have knowledge of your birth family? Why doesn't the system have records? Is there anything mysterious there, or do you suspect anything mysterious?

Case was extremely young when she was given up. The lack of records is probably a combination of poor record-keeping overall and a no-questions-asked policy (the kind they implement to encourage teenage mothers to drop their children somewhere other than a dumpster). All she really knows is that her mother was quite young and probably very poor.

Do you remember any siblings? Do you have any in the adoptive family?

Birth siblings? None. Adopted siblings, several. I'm thinking two who were born into the Nakamura family and another one that was adopted, also somehow disabled. The two natural siblings didn't care for the two adopted children, frequently reminding them that they're "charity cases.

Of your adoptive parents, who do you get along with the least? Why?

Mother. She's the reason Case has to find work while she searches for her parents instead of living off their substantial fortune. She's also bothered by the fact that Case even wants to find her birth family and exasperated by the fact that she's given up trying to fit in perfectly. I'm thinking more a tense relationship than a truly acrimonious one; she'd be welcomed back with open arms if she gave up her search and took a job in one of the clan's businesses. (Her father would welcome her back regardless; he's more of a soft touch.)

What's the family business of the adoptive family? At what echelon within that clan are your adoptive parents?

The clan, overall, specializes in audio/video (and holo or whatever else) and information technology, from entertainment tech to professional and recreational recording equipment to surveillance. They're also rumored to be heavily involved in espionage. Case's family is reasonably highly placed. Her father is a researcher/developer (of the dreamy genius variety) and her mother is in "business strategy." Case doesn't know what that entails and I'm leaving it open-ended.

Have you burned any bridges, with either your adoptive family or their clan? What's your status with the clan?

She hasn't outright burned any bridges, but she's also close with just about anyone, especially since she set out on her own instead of going into clan business. Her status is... she's known to be highly competent, and many find it disappointing that she didn't stay in the business. She's rarely outright disrespected, but that's pretty much just because no one wants to piss her family (read: mother) off. A few clan members may find her relative freedom useful.

Who'd you meet first, Nasweret or Rook?

Before Case was ever a bounty hunter, she was following a lead on her family, observing someone who might know something, but who was maybe too dangerous to approach. In the process of tracking him down, she learned that there was a bounty on him, with at least one team and one individual after him already. Realizing the team was likely to find the target first, she approached the individual instead (be that Rook or Nasweret), offering them a bargain: "you need my information to find him before they do; I need your muscle to take him in. Let's work together and split the payout." Off the books, of course, because Case wasn't licensed yet, but it worked out well enough that they decided it could be mutually beneficial to keep working together.

(Argent) Rook would be great fit for thgis scenario, although it would be very hard to convince her to go for 50/50. Could it be entertaining if she basically conned Case out of her pay? Or possibly tried to, with shenanigans and possible bonding to follow? She´d basically see a young unlicensed amateur as someone butting in on grownup business and deserving of a swift lesson or two. This could turn into a Guardians of the Galaxy-meets-Killjoys-style buddy dramedy and lead to Case actually becoming licensed, possibly with Rook´s recommendation.(/Argent)

Ha! Rook tries to disappear with the money, but Case is good at finding people and tracks her down again? Possibly just in time for more shenanigans as the last bounty turns out to be more complicated than either realized? It might be entertaining if the money issue was never quite settled and is the subject of an ongoing, good-natured argument.

(Argent)Especially if we haven't determined who owns the ship--or how much of the ship, as the case may be. I love this, both the back-and-forth of the bounty (with the bounty themselves as an extremely unwilling comic sidekick?) and the ongoing argument regarding the ship.(/Argent)

How do you feel about being a bounty hunter?

A bit conflicted, given how often it means serving moneyed interests or the power structure and working against the disenfranchised. Case would prefer to pick and choose her bounties, but will do what she needs to or go along with the others, provided the bounty doesn't raise any red flags or serious moral concerns for her. She does think that--hard upbringing or no--some people are just scumbags, and she's all too happy to earn some dosh by turning those types over to authorities. Also? Bounty hunting is exciting. Case enjoys the chase, and unpacking exactly why is tricky, for her and for me (tho maybe when I know her better).

Did you develop your AI companion? If not, where's it from (was it purchased, is it a prototype, is it stolen or gifted, etc.)? Sophia probably started as a high-end teaching AI, but Case has tweaked her a bit over the years (in particular, stripping out the part where Sophia reports back to her parents). She still hasn't managed to get Sophia to stop being so cautious, nor from providing not-entirely-relevant information.

Do you perceive the ship as yours? To some extent? But how much will depend on who originally owned it. Sophia does "live" in its system much of the time, and she probably knows it better than anyone else. She doesn't have the stereotypical "this is my ship" proprietary attitude of many SF engineers, however.

Why are you a mediator? (Lots of people avoid confrontation, but you don't seem to. Why is that?) Case's early upbringing was a bit on the rough side and she had virtually no ability to run away or fight back (see below), so she got by on her words. It's easier not to get picked on when you're everybody's friend. The same skill came in handy when she was adopted into a family where many of the family members didn't really want her there. But she isn't timid, especially now that she's fully able-bodied, and her preference for peace doesn't extend to everyone (though she will usually attempt a peaceful capture first).

You cited a disability in your introduction. What is/was it? ("poor, disabled child, dumped into a state-run orphanage at a very young age" - if that's changed, that's fine)

Congential triple amputee (both arms, left leg). Basically, there was no way her poor family was going to be able to give her the care she needed, so her mother gave her up. She spent her orphan years getting by on poor quality mechanical prosthetics (cybernetics are expensive, let alone for a growing child) and became adept enough at using her right foot that she still sometimes uses it for manual tasks when both of her hands are busy. Case only uses obvious cybernetics anymore; she doesn't want to forget how she was born and lived her early life. I'm just going to steal from Deus Ex for the visual reference.

What do you remember about your birth family?

Very little. The kind of snippets one has of their very early life. A face smiling down on her. An argument just out of sight. A song while being rocked to sleep. Case still has the one possession she had when she was brought to the orphanage: a cheap stuffed octopus toy.