CASE 1| "Zouri's Inferno"

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SWEET SWEET RECOGNITION

It was a boring ship in cargo mostly. Not boring. Mundane. Some ship was threatening to show and shoot up the place. Obviously folks were scared. I didn't like that- it made my skin crawl. Like seein one of those kids back home huggin a big siblings jacket tryin to act tough at a drive by. It's... it makes my skin burn again.
I volunteered as a fuck it kinda situation. Better a useless barcode go out and maybe get the job done than someone with actual parents and family. Thought maybe 'who knows maybe I'll actually do Security work'. Like I was made to do. Eugh. Next part, this is making my stomach bubble like fuckin vinegar.

Grabbed a Modsuit from robotics and went out. Lagged behind but ended up finding my way through the labyrinth that's the outside of the station-ship? I never can tell. Planetside life is simpler. Either way. We make it. Ship warps in , scraming hot and fast.
All I remember was lots of folks got hurt. It was a blur of gunmetal gray and bright crimson red and well- other blood colors. Dunno if I went into some instict-progammed mode or some shit but I was still in one piece. Everything had... blurred together. The smell of sweat in that suit woke me up. I got shot- uh hit in the knee I know one thing and that ship was no fuckin joke. Had armorpiercing whatever rounds. Big heist bullshit. It just kinda.. happened? Found myself in the halls again and getting patched up- I think.

I think I was either at the bar or the warehouse when I heard a call for folks to come to the Bridge. Adrenaline was still going high so- memory's sketchy at best. But, I remember walking to the Bridge- doors were wide open. There was one person leaning at another and we had to line up against the wall- which made me fucking sketched out. I had half a mind to think we had somehow failed cause most of them were in medbay. Some gross miscalculation on the higher up's data read out or some shit.
Names are being called out and for once- we.. I wasn't being yelled at. Which was nice- I guess. Confusing as fuck though. Essentially there was a speech and medals were being handed out. Somehow in hell I got one. It felt cathartic in a way. Now I look at the hunk of copper and get that bile taste in my mouth. Might recast it into something better.
Something mine.

BITTER COFFEE

There was a meeting. Shit was on my nerves as is. Regional- district manager- who fuckin cares. A guy I don't know in a suit talkin down to me and mine bout productivity. Stunk to high hell of CyberSun mentality.Efficiency despite all else or some shit. It was a LOT of corpo speech and I did not have the mind for it nor the patience. Thankfully Asaj- I think that their name- was handing out coffees n teas. I was sipping my Iced Coffee for dear life and chewing on the straw cause I fuckin would die for a smoke.

To be honest. I feel naive. Dumb as fuck actually. During meeting questions and such were being asked to the Suit. One of which was form Zouri- the Captain. Former Captain. She asked if beatings were efficent in boosting productivity or if it was approved- I don't fcking remember. I remember tilting my chair bad and just... processing. It seemed. Old Fashioned and stupid. Asking such a fucking dumb pointlessly brutal[?] innocent[?] No. Self unaware of a question. to a Corporate Fucking Official as someone in power of multiple employees. I may have a record of fuckin prison but I know better than to fucking blab like that.
She seemed nice. Seemed like possibly a change of pace from Mars. Maybe an example that shit was different for businesses out here. Ha.. Guess I was naive too.

BURNT CARAMEL

Folks were upset. The more I glanced about the more I hear about folks being beaten severely by the Former Cap. The Brass Bitch- as I started calling her. Heca was angry- which I honestly didn't think she could feel much anymore. I know a bunch of people were scared and angry and that in of itself is enough to cause a lot of problems. If a lesson were to come from this it's don't piss off the mob and the people who make shit work and run smoothly. It never works people find their way out of the system. Weapons were grabbed and I know Zy was upset. He was quiet and scared- I think. I sunk back to old street mentality and even fuckin made a shiv. Had it in my head if The Brass Bitch were to walk out, she's be missing an eye at the very least.
I was musing going back to prison so she couldn't hurt another person on this station. It didn't make sense honestly- I just started this new whole.. thing. Life? Adventure? Who fuckin cares. No one was gonna get beat again. For once folks outside the streets were thinking with their hands- and it was actually working! She seemed to listen. The Catharsis was... intense as I stood at that window watching the Bridge. I honestly wasn't listening to the words but I was ready to fight. It was bittersweet.

Then reality hit. She was being escorted off the station. To a fucking shuttle.
For once- I thought actual action would be taken. But yet again the courts need their pound of flesh. Their bullshit paperwork. Part of me hoped prison would be hell- part of hoped a shiv would find its way either way. But then she she stole it from me. That last shred of justice. Of.. warm, wet closure.
An announcement of a shuttle heading towards the system's sun. The fucking coward. I remember screaming and crying till my lung burned. All this talk of bravery and putting one's life on the line and she's just a two faced Brass Bitch.

And a coward I trusted for all of a day.

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CASE 2| Pound of Flesh

THE GUILLOTINE MACHINE - [3/1/2526]

Dunno why I'm even writing this like this. Spose I'm trying to find the positive. Wasn't even a few days since Zouri. Fuckin' Hell.

There was some punk ass smuggler ship that showed up. from what I heard- as I was late to the party as usual- everyone on board was dead. Apparently there were automated turrets- I don't know. Finally got on board to help after having my ModSuit ready and everything along with O2 for folks who needed a top up.
We were shipbreaking and finding evidence? Maybe?
Then an arcade machine caught my eye. There was a hole in it- I thought it was a maintinence panel or a stash hole. I reached in, using my good arm to hold my weight up as I had to leverage to get my arm really back there. Something beeped- or clicked then there was a sharp twist? A pressure? I don't fuckin wasnna remember. There was nothing. I should've felt pain in my fingers- I thought I was shocked or maybe something pinched but no. I lost my arm. I just remember talking to someone, maybe Lorel was there- Lorelei. I think? I remember following someone out the ship to head back to 9LP. Then I was at medbay. Again- I had been shock earlier- maybe it was a warning. A hint of what was gonna happen. Should've read the card better.

Here I sit at my stupid ass terminal with a stump. Trying to scrap the money and courage together for a prosthetic socket but I. I already have trackers in me. Already have so much fucking artificial bullshit. I don't want more.
I want to be a person, a normal FUCKING person. Just flesh and blood like everyone else, not a tool, not a fucking batch baby skinjob. I spent so long convincing people I'm a person and now I have to trade a quarter of me for fucking metal.
And if I want BIO I'm still stealing. Sure they'd grow a new arm, sure. But that's.. what if its more than that? What if they grow another me and just lop an arm off- like organ harvesters- I've SEEN it. I can't DO THAT.
I don't feel like me. Maybe it's cause I'm missing a goddamned limb. Maybe it's trauma but I'm fucking so confused. I can't see my reflection- it feels wrong. There's a shadow where my arm was.

And it still fucking hurts. It should've stopped by now, right?

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{{Bad Deal}}

God fucking damnit. Date is 3/4/2526. I don't know how much time I have. Shift was going decent. Wasn't working Cargo- so I was mostly just fucking around in maints. Doing the best I can minus an arm- blah blah, woe is me. You get it. There was this AI that took over. Name started with a V- real piece of work. It had these.. agents about. I ran into one that was on fire in the fuckin maints below uhh cargo?

Yeah. Cargo. The detective got knocked down hard and then I got this text after tryin to help.

The AI was texting me. Why me? Just- It wanted me to fix his stupid fuckin Agent. Me, one armed wonder who can barely get her job done.

Fuckin- I drag the stupid scorched thing to robotics. I start workin on it then- fuck- I think I was workin on a cyborg after that? Or was it a robot? I don't remember.

Lorel came by and knocked some sense into me. My mind's still buzzin.

It kept texting me. So I tried to comply to get it to go away. Sides the station security started huntin me for it. They saw the messages. Saw everything. I couldn't go back. I can't go back to prison.

I kept trying and kept backing out. I'm still caught in the fucking middle of this stupid game of big wigs n street rats. I'm still stuck and now I'M being hunted. I'm not a rat! I'm not!

Blackburn started talkin to me I think. Somewhere by Evac. He said I wouldn't be hunted. He lied. They're watching.

They're watching. Always watching. My bandages itch. My eyes itch.

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An active record of events while employed at [REDACTED]. These are personal accounts.

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