First Response

First Response

Ware'd Muscle
"What the fuck is happening with your gas tube, it shouldn't bend like that, were you born twenty minutes ago from two barrens rats?"
I'm breathing so I guess I'm still alive
Even if signs seem to tell me otherwise
Discord	@Tyneman
Reddit	[1]
Metatype	Human
Street Cred	0
Notoriety	0
Public Awareness	0
CDP	0
D.O.B.	14/2/2049
Age	36
Folder	[2]
Priority	Metatype - E Attributes - A Magic/Resonance - E Skills - A Resources - C
#Max IGs/Ascension	1

Character Information

Summary

A gun-nut from Horned Bear who is subconsciously desperate to try and break through his antipathy and feel what care is like again, but who believes he still can care consciously, unable to confront the reality of what he became after his time with the military.

Conscious Goals

Become a fully fledged member of Horned Bear.

One day become a better armourer than Corkscrew.

Make enough money to live in a high-rise penthouse in Bellevue.

Somehow get back at Ares for what they did to his gunshop.

Subconscious Goals

Be able to care again, and recognise what being cared about feels like.

Background

It was 2049, Valentines Day. Being a kid born then gives you the obvious joke, or, not even really a joke, more of an observation. Lucky for him, it at least wasn't a spur lover's day fling, resulting in a fairly normal life. Being a non-awakened metahuman born in Downtown makes youth easy, and boring - a boredom and lust for the world that'd eventually take Kevin's heart, alongside an extreme admiration towards firearms, that would drag him like a chain to the UCAS Armed Forces as soon as he turned 18. There were tears as there always is, that they'd never see their little baby boy again, and perhaps those tears were right - he might still breathe, he might have a pulse, but he died when his service ended, his innocence and care plucked out of his vestal body, leaving him a wandering husk.

It was 6 years long, 91F Small Arms/Towed Artillery Repair, 6 years he actually enjoyed. 6 years he thought that the army cared about him, 6 years where he learned skills he always wanted to, had ware' he always thought was just the coolest, had admiration and heartbreak and humanity. 6 years that, near the end, took the idea of the individual, the idea of the person, and laughed at it. There were no people, there was simply statistics, assets, and MIAs. Though he still breathed at that time - no, he lost his empathy and humanity right when he left. Because not everyone in the military makes big bucks, and all that ware' is expensive - he thought he'd be left off with a payment plan, work the rest of his life trying to pay for his cybernetics. No, instead, he was dug into, his body was defiled with blades and rubber gloves as they stripped his muscles and ripped out bits of his brain. And in that painful, unconscious moment, that was when he died. That display of pure, calculated, heartless antipathy had crushed his love of life, his admiration, his everything. His humanity went out alongside the vat muscles and neurological boosters. And he was given a little chunk of change too, for his service.

24, he still had life ahead of him, and so he decided to start his own little gun store, because he used to love gunsmithing. He still thought he did, he thought he could care, that he could love, though his subconscious had a different reason for making the store. His subconscious begged him to find care again, to not fall into antipathy, and if doing what he loved every day of his life, with no boss but himself, couldn't save him, nothing could. He worked there for a few years, 4 to be exact, and while he never felt joy he believed he did, because he just couldn't consciously consider what it would be like to not. But, Ares also likes guns, and competitors, however small, aren't fun - it was almost in a flash, the price fixing fucked him sideways, and he subconsciously realised that he was now out of care, and in fact hated seeing others care. Consciously, too, he was shattered, but not in the same way - it could never be the same, he couldn't think it. But, now, at least internally, unable to value anyone else, just like the military didn't value him, just like how Ares treated him as just an enemy and not a man, he had no real paths ahead of him outside of taking his toys and using them. Especially one which was the closest he got, subconsciously, to caring - a price piece, a religious offering to Hephaistos, a symbol of his deep desire to return to the days of when he could grin and yell and cry over his firearms: a Yamaha Raiden he put all of his blood, sweat, and nuyen into.

PMCs, where ex-mils go to use their skills once again, and where Kevin ended up. He felt cocky, it seems, and decided to go for Horned Bear - maybe the danger could kindle something in him, he subconsciously felt. It was certainly something, and even while he wasn't a full member, the at-base training was terrifyingly difficult, breaking and building his body up again, but he apparently needed to get practical too. He was offered suggestions, one which caught his eye particularly - Shadowrunning. Illegal mercenary work in a variety of situations - more applicable to the PMC than mercenary work, for sure - and potentially a way to get back at Ares for his gunshop. He felt he had to have this desire for revenge, because he should care, he should be hurt by what Ares did, he should feel something. And so, not even burning his SIN, he ended up a runner with the assistance of Ashen Hand. And, simple enough, he ran - for 8 whole years. That was how long it took until Ashen Hand felt ready to recommend him to the Haven, despite the Js having wanted him to it around 4 years in, because the higher pay could make one complacent, he needed to be sure Kevin was fully using it as training alongside gear funds. However, he did end up in the Haven, where he is now, searching for the ability to care, if he hasn't gone too far by entering a profession where he has to treat people like assets and statistics once more.

Narrative Significant Qualities

Positive

His Devotion And Care Made Manifest (Restricted Gear, Spec Mods x2) - A Yamaha Raiden he calls the "Forge's Hammer", heavily modified and nearly perfected with the loving touch of a gunsmith, including a hand engraving of the Orphic Hymn to Hephaistos on it, this gun is not merely a reflection of his talents. Instead, it also holds spiritual significance to him as a show of devotion towards the forge-god he holds close, and on a subconscious level is the closest he's gotten to feeling what care is like post-military.

Negative

Apathy (Antipathy, Did You Just Call Me Dumb?, No Man Left Behind, Outspoken Prejudice Against Anyone With Ares Or Their Subsidiaries) - After the complete and utter display of lacking any care about him, Kevin lost the ability to care about others or even really himself. He tries, but he can't ever really do it anymore, and sometimes he ends up insulting people heavily due to this complete lack of empathy that holds him down. However, he doesn't like that reality, and consciously he will force himself to save others to try and make it feel like he cares, rushing headlong into terrible situations for the sake of other runners or Horned Bear members. It also reflects in his apparent hatred of Ares, knowing that he should feel betrayed and angry about what happened to his gun shop, and thus acting with a supposed hatred towards people related to the corporation.

Trivia

• First Response has two altars in his home, being a greek neopagan - one to Hephaistos, alongside an altar to Ares. The irony of the altar to Ares is not lost on him.
• He is, or was, a massive fan of prog rock, both stuff from the 6th and 5th world.
• Kevin's a massive sweet-tooth, which he hides consciously because he thinks others will judge him for it but subconsciously because caring what others think is, in itself, caring.
• He has dated 5 times since leaving the military - 3 women and 2 men - and I think it is safe to let you assume why all of those failed or why he did it.

Run History

No runs yet. This list will auto-populate when this character is tagged in a run AAR.

Affiliations

Contacts

Contact	Connection	Loyalty	Archetype	Profession	Aspects	Chips
Ashen Hand	5	2	Fixer (A,G,N,K)	Private HTR	First Hand Knowledge, Military Grade, Cold Mind, Cold Heart, Status Report, I work with professionals, act like one., Up your Arsenal, Urban Warfare, Special Forces, Ware and warfare	Even

Organizations

Contact	Position	Connection	Faction Rep	Archetype	Health	Location
Horned Bear	Recruit	1	1	PMC	Maintaining	Seattle

In Character Information

Matrix Search Table

Threshold	Result
1	Oh boy, another Ex-Mil shadowrunner who likes his guns, you swear you've read this page before.
3	Horned Bear it seems, classic story - running to get better and get cash while training.
6	Kevin Simmons, he's still a SINner, living out in Downtown in a reasonable house. Not a typical runner, that's for sure.

Shadow Community Table

Threshold	Result
1	Ex-Mil Small Arms Repairman turned Runner, he's a pretty average Sam though a little light on ware' at the moment.
3	Named after his military days where he'd get extremely emotive over messed up guns.
5	He doesn't like to admit it, but he seems to have a problem with caring, and deeply wants to fix it.

Assensing Table

Threshold	Result
1	Apathetic, Mundane
2	Cyberware at the base of the skull, his nervous system, and eyes.
3	No Diseases
4	0.800 Essence, 2.200 of which appears as just blank spots in his aura, essence holes.
5	Gene Treatment in his Kidneys, No Disease or Toxins.

SINs

Real SIN Kevin Simmons - UCAS, Military Vet, Horned Bear Member

Fake SIN Matthew Sweson - UCAS, Horned Bear Member

Character Plot Hooks

Here are characteristics of the character that GMs may take advantage of to add complications to runs, or to otherwise use when in use. If you want to use them in unrelated to runs, please ask first.

Aspect	Information	Related Run(s)
Mess With The Bear, You Get The Horns	As a recruit of Horned Bear, any runs which heavily involve them would be of great interest to him.
A 12 Year Meh	Having lost his ability to care after his time in the army, runs dealing with emotions, especially love or hate, are runs he takes a great deal to look for.
Gun-Nut	When he still could feel fully, he was a total gun-nut, and he still wants to be, so runs involving potentially interesting parts or full firearms are always a treat.