Lucy

Xeno-Domain Hacking

[██ Record Modification Log] Modification Target: Lucy Kushinada Modification Code: RA2██-G The subject is identified as a Mutant-Type Resonator, with the Tacet Mark located on the right shoulder. Forte Manifestation: The subject can hack targets within a five-meter radius to achieve objectives such as information retrieval, data manipulation, or target control. Testing indicates this Forte can affect up to three targets simultaneously, with more pronounced effectiveness against mechanical constructs. Bio-organic Hacking: This Forte can also be used against Tacet Discords. After hacking a Tacet Discord, the subject can inflict damage or exert control by disrupting its frequency. The underlying mechanism and upper limits are currently unknown. The scope of control is speculated to be affected by the Resonator's own physical and emotional state. Under ███ guarantee, the Research Institute has agreed to limited ███ of the subject. Cyberware Technology: The subject exhibits multiple mechanical modifications grafted into her body. According to the subject's testimony, these modifications originate from ███ and are classified as cybernetic technology. Test results indicate this cyberware does not match any known existing technology, and this type of implant places significant strain on the user's body and psyche. On ██ ██, ███ intervened, canceling the research project on Night City technology.

The subject's waveform diagram exhibits spike-type fluctuations with an unstable Time Domain, indicating abnormal fluctuation tendencies. Examination results indicate moderate risk factors. Conclusion: Resonant Criticality is low and subject stability is moderate. Potential risk of Overclocking. No history of Overclocking; however, based on clinical evaluation and diagnostic criteria, the subject exhibits psychological distress and stress responses. Routine psychological counseling is recommended. "Counseling recommendation has been rejected by the subject." "The subject previously used Forte to alter test results. Partial data has since been restored."

Lucy keeps most of her past to herself for a reason. Few know that this mysterious netrunner was, in fact, shown the ropes by a top-secret Arasaka educational program for kids. One might say that's not the worst hand to be dealt; that a roof over your head and a full belly is more than many can hope for in Night City. But for Lucy, there was never any other path. She was brought up in this megacorp's black site—locked away and forced to train. Day after day, year after year, breaching the Blackwall, diving into the scattered depths of the Old Net. And trying to survive the rogue AIs that lurked there.

As a child, Lucy's worldview was built upon Arasaka's core pillar: obedience—often mistaken for loyalty. And she was not the only one taught to believe in it. A group of children took part in the program, either taken from their parents or scooped from the street. To serve the most powerful corporation on the planet—that was the dream Arasaka planted in their heads. Within that facility, they were forced to deep-dive the Old Net, running suicide gigs on repeat. None of them knew the perfect future they'd been promised was just a chimera. An elaborate fantasy spun by Arasaka handlers to serve the company's own ends. By the time Lucy figured out the truth, it was already too late.

The will to survive drove them to claw their way out of the prison they had long mistaken for home. They ran as fast as they could, bullets tearing through the air all around them. Gunfire and screams exploded in Lucy's ears, one after another. But she would survive. She squeezed her eyes shut, blocked everything out, and just kept running. The exit. She just had to reach the exit.

She woke up in some scrapyard with no memory of how she got there, and no idea if anyone else had made it out alive. She'd escaped the chase, for now, but the fear Arasaka had carved into her wasn't going anywhere. She knew they'd be hunting her. Could feel it under her skin. After that, she never stayed in one place for too long. Always moving. Always hiding.

It started with a poster: a man in a spacesuit, pointing the way to a better future. For Lucy, it was a promise of escape. And maybe, just maybe, finding a place so far away from danger that she could stay put. On countless nights, curled up with her arms wrapped around her knees, that dream took root. Planted by fear. Loneliness. A need for a place to call home.

"Maybe on the Moon, I'll finally be free?"

Cynics laughed at the idea, certain there was no corner safe from corporate dominance. To go there would be pointless; a propaganda-fuelled pipe dream. But these were the opinions of people who had never been to the Moon. So what did they know? Lucy would go there. See for herself. Someday.

Night City seemed like a good place to hide for a while. A concrete jungle. When she first arrived, she feared Arasaka's reach was too prominent, but soon she learned to haunt the corners of the city where corporations turned a blind eye. She realized that crime and violence were the true governors here. And with her skill set and caution, she was natural merc material. An edgerunner already long in the making. Her new home wasn't completely safe for her, but for the first time in years, she felt like she could survive.

Erasing every trace of her past became her new identity. To stay alive without blowing her cover, the former netrunner prodigy lived by a simple code: Stay low. Ask nothing. Tell less. Avoid Arasaka. That was her disguise. A small principle, but it was hers. Life only truly changed when Kiwi came looking for a preem netrunner to fill a slot in Maine's crew. She brought Lucy into the fold and gave her the most useful advice she'd ever get:

"Remember. Never trust a soul in Night City."

One night, Lucy took David to her place and invited him to experience a braindance of the Moon. Since she couldn't afford to travel there yet, this was the closest she could get to the real deal. Feeling the sun on her face. Jumping and floating like a feather. Serenity. Without corpos, without gangers. It was the most precious part of herself she could share.

She couldn't deny that David piqued her interest. An Arasaka Academy dropout with the reckless ambition to become an edgerunner. Wielding extremely demanding—extremely dangerous—military-grade cyberware as if it were a toy. But he was a good kid, sincere, pure at heart. Someone she felt she could possibly trust. But Lucy had spent so long keeping the world at arm's length that she didn't know how to reach out.

After David joined Maine's crew, Lucy grumbled about being saddled with babysitting duty. But despite her protests, she took him under her wing. Became his first teacher on the streets of Night City. She showed him the ropes of a merc's day-to-day, assuming he wouldn't be cut out for the life. But as she watched the boy come into his own, the knot in her chest finally started to loosen.

Her certainty about him came the day he saved her life.

A routine night turned into a bloodbath. When Pilar fell, the crew shattered into a blur of instinct and rage. Hot-headed members like Rebecca threw themselves at the killer, while Lucy took cover to strike with caution. In the chaos, David froze. Unable to move, to fight, or even save himself. But through the mayhem, he was the only one to notice Lucy being cornered. That was all the motivation he needed. In an instant, he lunged into the fray, guns blazing. To save her.

Bang.

Smoke. Silence. A turning point for both of them.

After that, Lucy led him to the rooftop—the place where she'd always gone to look at the Moon. For the first time, she didn't go alone. She brought a boy who had nothing, who promised her everything.

He told her he'd take her there. To the Moon. Someday, somehow. A promise that burned brighter and felt more real than any neon in the city below.

So how could she not love him?

Some say that tragedy is the only truth in Night City. That happiness is just fleeting smoke.

Maine and Dorio fell on a job gone sideways. David picked up the weight. Took over the crew. Maine's legacy. The life of an edgerunner. Rebecca switched to stronger cyber-arms and swore she'd never lose anyone else. Everyone moved forward.

Everyone, except Lucy.

She stepped back. Pulled away from the crew and secretly worked to protect David from the shadows, making sure Arasaka couldn't trace him. She told no one. Especially not him. She knew David would try to stop her, or worse, follow her into the fire. That was his nature. He was obsessed with protecting her. But for once, Lucy was determined to be the one holding the shield.

She was careful, but as it turned out, not careful enough. She'd underestimated Arasaka. Their fixer, Faraday, saw the opening. Found the crack in the armor. And in it, he discovered a way to exploit the love between two edgerunners to secure his ticket up the corpo ladder.

Having snatched Lucy, Faraday forced David into a desperate rescue mission as the boy teetered on the edge of cyberpsychosis. David didn't give up, not even with MaxTac hot on his heels. Rebecca and Falco—the remains of a loyal crew—threw themselves into the line of fire just to keep him moving.

The cyberskeleton did its job. David got Lucy out... only to fall into a trap set by Arasaka. A trap with Adam Smasher waiting inside.

David held Lucy close and jumped towards the Moon, which hung cold and white above the chaos. In that moment, her kiss pulled him back from the edge. Just long enough. Just enough for a final goodbye.

Rebecca and David were gone. Only Lucy and Falco survived that day. The two of them split ways after leaving Night City, and when the dust settled, it was time to move on again.

There was only one place she considered her destination. A too-obvious choice. A promise, never fulfilled. Did she go there to honor it, to make a dream come true, or to hide away for good? Lucy found herself on the Moon with no answers.

The real experience was different than the one from the braindance, and yet, the place had felt somehow familiar. For a moment, she could've sworn she saw David out of the corner of her eye. That was when the grief finally broke through. The Moon was still the same, but the boy who'd been beside her in the braindance wasn't there anymore.

Yet, maybe the story wasn't over.

"There… is a method. To let you stay."

On the day she left the Somnoire, Lucy stopped at the threshold of the gateway and turned to Rover. Took one last look at the silent Moon beyond.

"That's not what they would've wanted, is it?"