Valence

Valence is a character in .
==Biography==
===Early life===
Valance lived in a shantytown somewhere in Night City, and didn't know how old they were when Maelstrom gangers sliced through their home and pressganged them and another dozen streetkids into service to scavenge within the dangerous and radiated Hot Zone. Valance was not sure either on how much time they spent as a digger, but they were forced into menial tasks using their small size to crawl through the ruins to find their daily quota, hoping that Ripper, the Maelstrom lieutenant in charge of the salvaging operations, wouldn't force them to one of his sadistic "rituals". After surviving long enough, Valance was put into a remote scav crew, which were sent on jobs outside of the Hot Zone as "a treat."
In January 23 of 2044, Valence was sent alongside a scavenger crew to the old Brookhaven Co-op apartments to rip out the wiring while Ripper led a Maelstromer group to thrash the squatters living there so they would work for him. Since most squats were veterans and peripherals, the nearby Forlorn Hope staff and patrons decided to help them, fighting off the Maelstromers long enough for the squatters to leave town with the Jodes. In the process, the Hope's people rescued Valence, and both Marianne and her husband John Freeman, owners of the Hope, decided to take Valence in as one of their own. This act of kindness by the Freemans infuriated Ripper.
With a new home in the Forlorn Hope, Valence began helping the Freemans as a server, assisting in the bar whenever it was necessary.
===2045===
In 2045, a number of misfortunes happened at the Forlorn Hope, though the last one was a fire that destroyed the whole establishment. While this was happening, many staff and patrons of the Hope ended up trapped in the bar area, but were swiftly rescued by a group of mercenaries. Valence was stuck in the bar's walk-in freezer, and they were either rescued by the mercs, or manged to free themselves. Following this, Valence helped the Freemans to carry Aurora O'Reilly out of the Hope, where they would provide medical assistance to whoever needed it. After the collapse of the bar, the survivors travelled to the From the Ashes clinic to treat their wounds.
Following the recovery, Valence helped with the establishment of the new Forlorn Hope. There, Edelweiss Dolarhyde shared a two-bedroom apartment with Valence. During the opening day, Valance and Edelweiss worked together in the kitchen, prepping it for service. Valence survived the Red Chrome Legion attack on the Hope that same night, and kept working at the bar as a server.
Not long after, the Freemans found out who the culprit of the fire that destroyed the old Forlorn Hope was, the Maelstromer overseer known as Ripper, who once forced Valence to work in the Hot Zone. The Hope's owners hired a mercenary crew to end his life, however, they had different ways to approach that task, and if they failed, they always had the direct assault as an option. If this last one happened, Marianne asked for Valence to help them, as she knew both the location of Ripper's hideout and how to safely trek in the Hot Zone. Valence gave Marianne a list of what they needed, which surprised some of the mercs as there weren't any rad suits marked, with Valence laughing it off by mentioning Ripper's diggers never had one of those. However, Marianne could sell them rad suits if they wanted.
The following day, Valence met the crew at a service tunnel entrance in the border between Little China and the Hot Zone. As to why they took that route instead of a direct approach, Valance mentioned they didn't want to die, with that being the best way to avoid Ripper's diggers and other dangerous scavengers. Once in the Zone, they all put their masks and taped any gap they had around their clothing. Valance carefully advised them to listen for any slips, as parts of buildings were crumbling down all the time. After hours of walking through a very dangerous landscape, the all reached Ripper's hideout. However, Valance didn't want to continue, as they had bad memories from that place, being really afraid of what could happen if she was to approach it. Deciding to stay back, Valence would wait for the rest of the crew to return, though only approached the area to tell them how to access the ruined structure. The large sign on the side of the building read Ashcroft Hotel, which Valence identified as Ripper's home. To access it, Valance told them about a makeshift walkaway that reached the seventh floor, as all ground accesses were either shut close or blocked by rubble. While Valence stayed put, the mercs followed the trail upwards. Once the mercs completed their job, they returned to the Forlorn Hope with Valence, where everyone celebrated Ripper's demise.
==Appearance==
While working as a "digger" for Maelstrom, Valence was described as weighing around seventy pounds, always soaking wet from harsh work, and with a skin so pale you could almost see through it.
==Notes==
*Valence is described as a cautious, makes herself small, and stutter person.
*In , Valence is referred with both "them" and "she" pronouns.
==Gallery==
Valence CPRED.jpg|In 
==References==
Category:Cyberpunk RED Characters