Background

Mom and Dad came to New Prosperity with hope in their hearts 25 years ago, just before Mitsuhama and the other mega-corps stopped construction. Invested big, seeing a gap in the zoning regs they put money down on a ground floor space. Both had jobs lined up and figured they would open a little specialist electronic store, a hobby / side hustle. No risk really, they both had comfortable corp jobs lined up. Then they didn’t.

Building work was incomplete but they still had to pay, Job offers vanished (“not guaranteed, says so in the terms’ ‘). Nowhere to go, no job options and contract locked in.

But Dwarfs don’t crumble easy. Home space has no plumbing, the plumbed it, power not connected? No problem (and rest of building). No Corp Job, OK so the little side hustle becomes family business. It wasn’t easy, but nothing worthwhile is and,  a few years later, they started a family.

Gerald was the second child, and the first few years were looking good. He was a bright lad, with amazing scores academically. Despite being screwed over Mom and Dad remembered the corp life fondly and managed to get Gerald a scholarship into a company school (guess which one) including an early fit data jack with cognitive enhancement. In the sixth world calm waters hide rocks, big ones.

At 12 he was tested during his data jack fitting and they found a glitch. His boy had an unusually high rejection rate for cyberware. Fitting was delayed and then the school said this affected his future potential for the program. Oh and since he failed this test he has breached the scholarship conditions …. here is a bill for the last two years and I believe this deck is school equipment?

Cred had never been more than tight, they were in a whole, again. But Dwarves don’t crumble easy. So their debt was piling up again, they work a bit harder; so no fancy school, school from home again. Then Dad and his older sister didn’t come home from a parts pick up.

This time things did not pick up and bills, piled on bills and, if you can’t pay protection. One day, three Foundry Brothers came for their cut and there was no cred to spare. One ganger got on his com but the biggest collector decided to take any thing he could get his hands on. 16 year old Gerald started swinging, he missed, got slapped down. Mom stepped up, she did not miss, and the brother with the quick back hand went down hard. The third pulled a gun, pointing it at mom with a sneer “you want this bitch” the gun auto ejected its own clip. “Hugh?” He pulled a cattle taser, which extended into his foot before it was fully drawn and he joined the first on the floor.

Mom was confused, Gerald was too angry to be confused. His eyes were full of rage and he glaring at the last Foundry standing. Who was an orc and not scared of the half pint dwarf kid stalking toward him, except that both his mates were currently groaning on the floor. The com he was still holding spoke “what’s going on, you said there was a glitch?”.

Gerald opened his mouth and screamed at the Orcs, but the scream didn’t come from him. It came from there coms, all three of them “GET OUT” at full volume. They did. Although the decision was a lot easier when Mom reached behind the counter a pulled big ass Remington room sweeper (This is the Barents).

It didn’t end there. Payment was due but The Foundry Brothers were not a gang entirely of thugs and could Glitch do that thing with the gun again? A deal was struck, and the gang’s membership grew by one.