VIOLET SIMMONS

## SUMMARY

Tenacious, outspoken, and steadfast, Violet Simmons leaves a memorable impression with those whose paths she crosses. When faced with hard decisions, she falls back to her core tenets of loyalty and strength to guide her path. Her mechanical aptitude is paired closely with a dry, logical approach to solving problems, often seeing solutions where others do not.

## HISTORY

Born in the Sub-Stacks, Violet is a natural resident of Alta Turre. Violet’s early years were typical of a child in the slums, finding whatever activities she could to keep herself busy. To her parents’ relief, Violet found a best friend in Julia Rhodes at the age of six, both girls keeping one another out of trouble as they grew. In her early teens, Violet discovered an aptitude for repairing mechanical devices while helping her father diagnose a broken appliance in the hopes of salvaging it for their home. Soon, she was marketing her skills to repurpose machine refuse for many families within the Sub-Stacks, often trading her services for luxury goods such as sweets, or unspoiled stationary.

As Violet refined her skills, she was introduced to firearms repair by Koffi, a gunsmith operating within the LCD. Though she had initially sought out the craftsman for advice on a particularly tricky repair, she was enraptured by the precision engineering behind the operation of the modern rifle. After much convincing, Violet’s parents allowed her to operate as a shop-hand for the gunsmith, taking minor repairs home to lighten Koffi’s workload in exchange for a small amount of money for each job. What Violet valued most was the experience she gained across a variety of weapons platforms, all brought in after hard use by many of the freelancers within the LCD.

With many jobs under her belt, Violet managed to impress a Posthuman who had brought his personal firearm in for repair and cleaning. This acted as her voucher to open up her own gunsmithing business to service weapons from many other members of the syndicate, aided by her status as the only gunsmith operating entirely within the Sub-Stacks.

Shortly after gaining favor with the Posthumans, Violet lost both of her parents at the age of fifteen. Those living in the LCD had regarded stories of ghastly, pale creatures living outside of the reaches of the Sub-Stacks as rumors, but those living in the slums knew that the white shadows were real. It seemed as though everyone had a story about an acquaintance or friend-of-a-friend that had been taken while wandering too far away from the light of civilization. In the early hours of the morning, before the slums had stirred to start the day, a horde of the creatures stormed through the tight streets and alleys, attacking seemingly from thin air before the Posthumans could react with a proper defense. Violet’s parents were among many that were pulled from their beds and dragged, screaming, into the dark. A group of four Posthumans that Violet had worked with frequently were among those reacting to the attack. Upon her request, they agreed to venture beyond the safe zone and attempt to recover her family. When only two returned, Violet was informed that they had been too late, and were unable to identify which among the bodies belonged to her mother and father.

After the events of the attack, Violet was taken in by the Rhodes family, returning to her family home only to access her workshop. As the years pass, Violet manages to cope with her loss, though she finds herself far colder than she had been before. Julia does her best to be there for her friend, growing closer to Violet than before as they navigated the long emotional fallout of the attack.

As years pass, Violet learns increasingly more of the tensions developing with in the LCD between the citizens and the ATAS. Once proof in confirmed of abductions occurring with increasing regularity, Violet, now twenty-two, joins one of many pockets of growing resistance. In doing so, she leaves Julia behind, venturing into the LCD on her own. Violet is welcomed with open arms due to her proficiency with weapons repair, and is quickly trained in various aspects of guerilla warfare.

After two years apart, and further increases in the frequency of abductions, Julia is unable to continue to justify her decision to stay behind with her family. Violet is thrilled to be reunited with her friend, though she finds herself concerned over the possibility of Julia becoming injured or captive while aiding the fight.

## REFERENCES

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