A malfunctioning BTL can send you on a bad trip, make you jump off a tall building, and occasionally shit on the floor of a nightclub without necessarily knowing why. But, within their complexity lies ample opportunities for making BTLs lethal on purpose. And in this smooth running lab, there’s a loose cannon that does just that, mixing in programmed death with pleasure. Something to think about next time you slot Miss Spanks-A-Lot Plays Mr. Johnson Goes to the Circus, as it might be the last experience you ever have.

Claire Rizeras

Archetype: Human BTL Lab Manager (F)

Claire doesn’t know much about the mechanics of BTL building, but knows how to run the lab, organize data and ready research for transmission to be built elsewhere into a finished product. Completely devoid of cyberware, Claire got the job partially for that reason, so she wouldn’t be dabbling in the use of her own product. She has personally fired 5 researchers and programmers for that very reason, and the whereabouts of these terminated scientists remains a mystery. When she’s not scurrying around the lab, looking for problems both real and imagined, she’s peering at an array of data screens through her coke bottle glasses. In the event of a raid on her hidden lab, Claire holds a fob that can instantly lock down the lab, turning it into an effective panic room where the crew can wait for their security to take care of the problem, or huddle in anticipation of reinforcements. Armed only with a hold-out pistol, Claire isn’t any good in a fight, but has an almost cocky confidence in her panic room, and during past lockdowns she’s passed the time by both trying to reason with the assailants, and insulting them at the same time. Thus far, nobody has been able to penetrate the lab in panic mode, so her confidence isn’t completely unfounded.

Houston St. James

Archetype: Dwarf BTL Developer (M)

Once a successful corporate Simchip designer, Houston’s drinking eventually landed him on the street, where a member of the lab’s unseen ‘management’ offered him a lucrative position working in the underworld. Having since sobered up, Houston works quickly, but quietly, painstakingly scanning over insanely complex graphics (and cyber input) of chip design in an effort to create a chip that meets design specifications because if it’s one thing both Houston and management hates is a BTL that kills the user. It is only after this complete review that Houston forwards the code and design to Riki for final packaging. Not having the final say in his own designs is only one of the reasons why Houston is somewhat disgruntled. Between this, and designing chips to, say, simulate getting sucked off by a Dryad, Houston is getting plain bored.

Riki Natumi

Archetype: Human BTL Programmer (F)

On the surface, Rikki appears to know everything. She is a master of trivia, blind karaoke and is pretty good at her job as well, rarely referencing previous viewed materials. Young and ambitious, Riki was hired right out of college, despite a spotty research ethics record and comments from a former professor describing her as strait up sadistic. This ambition, combined with a deep seated desire to simply hurt people, brought her to the attention of entities beyond the lab, one of which offered her a substantial sum of money to start adding little ‘tweaks’ to BTL designs, specifically the ability to identify a user’s race, approximate age, and gender. Should all three requirements be met, the BTL will trigger anything from disturbing sensations to nearly frying the user’s pleasure center. So Niki gets the money, her benefactors get, well, whatever the hell they want (Riki is smart enough not to ask) and the ‘anomalies’ and simply dismissed as incompatibility errors. So far.

Brawn

Archetype: Ork Street Samurai (M)

Sometimes preoccupied with admiring his own reflection on his cyberarm, Brawn is effective, but self-centered, and while he won’t retreat out of cowardice, he does tend to forget he’s fighting with a partner, positioning himself in a way that only benefits his own attack and safety. A specialist with shotguns, Brawn is able to absorb a tremendous amount of damage between his security armor and him simply being a cyberered up ork. His choice of shotguns as his primary weapons is primarily because the lab, being tucked away in a small network of rooms off an obscure sewer pipe, results in primarily short-range combat. With Vector patrolling the nearby ducts and passageways with drones, Brawn is left to wait, and occasionally hit on Eclipse, which is close to earning himself a powerbolt to the dick.

Eclipse

Archetype: Human Mage (F)

Dedicated to her job, but not a fan of the sewers, Eclipse was down on her luck after a screw up during her last assignment. Willing to take anything, she found a fairly lucrative position, although she dislikes BTLs almost as much as sewers. But she still remains ready to fight, probably more so than Brawn is despite her lack of reaction enhancements. Focusing mainly on fire related spells, she has customized some to erupt from her hand as a horizontal funnel that comes in handy both for defense and for clearing out some of the rats, which she hates even more than sewers and BTLs. In addition, she has become quite skilled with throwing knives, including specialized ones that burst into flames when they hit their target. Eclipse rarely exchanges pleasantries, preferring to live in her miserable world until something better comes along.

Vector

Archetype: Elf Rigger (M)

With a comfy station inside the lab to monitor his array of small drones that hover or slug around the sewers looking for possible threats, Vector really dislikes killing people and is quite squeamish at the site of blood. He will even sometimes switch this ‘vision’ to black and white to lessen his exposure. In addition to the small recon nuisances, he also controls two customized combat drones that are excellent at hiding and roaming the sewer sludge near the lab, waiting to pop up and shoot assailants. But, again, with Vector being as passive as he can be while still doing his job, he will generally put the drones and their advanced sensors and pilots on auto, which he feels releases him from the sin of killing.