Vale Fender

Valeria Avery Fender is a Solo linked to the Spitfire Club in the Kabuki neighbourhood of Watson in Night City. They are being played by Michael Ilott in Dork Tale's Cyberpunk Spitfire running from January 24th, 2021 to July 25, 2021.

## Physical Appearance

Vale is from a small family with distant ancestry originating in Eastern Europe and surrounding areas. With pale skin and deep maroon-auburn shoulder-length hair, long gone are the traditions of scavenger and military backgrounds as Vale has tried very hard to separate themselves from those stereotypes.

Standing at 5'10", Vale regularly wears platform footwear to push that apparent height to over 6'2" at the best of times. Vale also has the body build of an ex-soldier turned Solo who maintains peak physical performance. Not muscular but obviously solid and will refuse to be moved.

Cytosteel Shift-Tact eye implants cause Vale's eyes to illuminate internally with an unnatural cyan radiance braced above hexagonal Karat Cold-Gold Chrome EMP facial threading. While several other utilitarian cyberware is entrenched within Vale's body, the primary Sandevistan Mk XIV combat impulse driver core embedded by Militech a lifetime ago gives Vale their characteristic lightning-fast reactions and movements.

## Personality

Vale's personality was largely formed via mandate from the Gamemaster. Kelly wanted Michael to play a tentpole protagonist rather than a supporting character for a change. Comfortable playing loner types with a wicked comedic sense, Michael really wanted to play a more capable and thoughtful central character. Especially one in a cyberpunk genre. From that challenge, Vale was formed.

Foremost, Vale identifies as being pangender and pansexual, preferring the pronouns of 'they/them' but rarely correcting others if they make assumptions otherwise. Though born as a genetic female, Vale quickly rejected any and all stereotypes revolving around gender and preferred to see others based on their merit and inner charisma. Once immersed in the Militech corporate forces, Vale dropped any and all personal references to gender and was just themselves from that point on.

Though Vale was always very serious and stoic, after stepping down from Militech, they began to adopt a more carefree and light-hearted attitude towards others. Vale leans heavily into sarcasm and wit, preferring to use innuendos, nicknames and sexual references as if they were equally taunts and a means of tension release in high-stress situations. It tends to unnerve those unfamiliar with Vale, and makes eyes roll in those who are familiar.

## Biography

Vale is the product of a lower-class streetscum upbringing in the combat zones south of central Night City. Raised by Carly Elise Fender, a single-mother of Vale and her older sister, Morgan Carly Fender, in a small unlit and heavily armored container-apartment,

Vale descended into criminal activities before they were even a teenager, scrounging and thieving combat supplies right off the battlefield. Selling military armor plating stolen from Militech APCs and AVs and salvaged uniforms from abandoned soldier corpses, to gang members as cheap personal body protection. Vale ran this hustle for most of their early teen years before being caught by a squad of Militech soldiers while Vale was in the middle of stripping one of their Basilisk tanks in their very encampment.

Promptly returned to their mother and sister, Vale was given the option of joining the Militech forces as an early recruit and giving their family a sense of stability and legitimate income. Before a word of protest or alternative options came out of Vale's mouth, Carly authorized the deal and Vale was instantly removed to their new military family. The remaining Fender family (both of them) finally felt a semblance of peace and security that they had not enjoyed in over a decade-and-a-half.

### Service

The first 4 years of forced recruitment into the Militech ranks were not easy for Vale. They were beyond willful and lawless and a constant thorn in officer's sides. The rigors of basic training resulted in endless loops of infractions, discipline, punitive restitution, and retraining. It was not until Vale was on the cusp of turning 21 years old that the enforcement of military service (and endless PT exercises) finally began to show some results. Focusing the years of frustration and set-backs into training and specializing in close-combat, side arms, and firearms, Vale found an almost unnatural aptitude at fighting. Their superiors took prompt notice of the numbers resulting from early military sorties and offensive maneuvers that Vale was involved with.

Vale became a squad lead within a span of 3 years and claimed rank within half that time. Militech mandated that a decorated trooper was geared with cyberware to push their talents even further. Vale received her Sandevistan combat implant and began to progress in the military career at light speeds. Not even a year later and given the option of progressing further up the ranks and being able to command potential Militech force sizes numbering from the dozens to the hundreds. Militech began to quickly lose it's appeal when the promotions took Vale further and further away from the battlefields and started to demand more time in a corporate administrative role. That was role that Vale refused to conform to. Ever. Vale instead resigned their rank, salary and any benefits of being in the military and just walked away.

### Solitaire

Turning 25, Vale found themselves without a means of income and only the skills of a trained soldier to utilize. Believing that the life of a street mercenary would be an easy adjustment, Vale tried their hand at being a soldier-of-fortune. Taking money to go deal with neighborhood gang problems, usually by beating the source of irritation into submission and threatening worse if anything bad ever happens again. It was not a good way to conduct business. Many gangs took prompt notice of the new gun on the street and only a few calls to Fixers made the few contacts available to Vale vanish overnight. It quickly became apparent that Vale needed to get connections and find a new means of support. Vale had made a lot of connections through years with Militech, but even those doors seemed to slam shut incredibly quickly. It was as if Vale was on some sort of corporate blacklist. Vale had zero street credit, no reputation and no money; and it showed. Every call for assistance went unanswered... save one. Vale's long lost cousin, Rain Wyte, who was already entrenched deep within Night City's subcultures.

### Diamonds

Vale's maternal grandfather was the brother to Rain's paternal grandmother. It was more than enough to be instantly connected as family and Vale found themselves caught up in an octane-fueled lifestyle of a cutting edge and 'flavor-of-the-day' rocker. Every night was loud psychowave music in club after club with hordes of fans crowding to get a piece of Rain as she skyrocketed in popularity. Rain and Vale had very little interaction over the years and it felt like fate was pushing them back together for a reason. Vale essentially treated Rain like the older sister that they never connected with and the two bonded easily. It was an easy proposition. Vale was hired as Rain's personal bodyguard to deal with her rabid rocker fanbase, and all the contact cost was a hug and a full stomach and bed for Vale every night. It turned out to be a bargain for both. Vale took it as an opportunity to re-connect with family and enjoy a semi-retirement from the military and the combative lifestyle. It was finally time to party!

Only three months into the release of Rain's first album (under her performance name of 'Spitfire') the rocker was flooded with newfound fame and fortune. The media created a frenzy that promptly exploded across the night-club scene. With guidance from Rain's producers and agents, she invested a large portion of the spontaneous wealth into creating one of the most energetic psychowave clubs in all of Night City. The frenzied fans could not get enough and packed the club every night. Somewhere between the pulse of music and the flash of lights, the underground elements soon followed. Rain was in a position to be exploited and was. Repeated. She needed to surround herself with those that she could trust to handle the business of music superstardom and all of the toxic elements that followed close behind.

One fateful night in October, hanging around backstage in the dressing room with the usual groupies, sound techs, costumers, and an overly synthcoke-loaded agent, Vale found themselves in the middle of a screaming match between Rain and her former agent. The artist had stormed off the stage when she heard that the agent had demanded another massive pay increase to support his increasing drug habit and Rain had reached the final breaking point. Tempers flared. Rain screamed for him to get out and never come back. The seedy agent responded by throwing fists at the rocker. Vale instinctively protected their family by grabbing a chopstick that one of the sound techs who was using to enjoy some dinner nearby and impaled the troublemaker agent through the ear with the metal utensil. Everyone in the room had to be sworn to secrecy and Vale disposed of the agent's body. But the duo quickly realized that they were going to deal with an avalanche of problems and they needed help. There was only one person they could count on. Ramone Stryver.

## Relationships

### Team:

Vale's team consists of the following members:

* Rain Wyte (Rocker)
* Ramone Stryver (Fixer)
* Sabina "Beanie" Horvath (Netrunner)

### Family:

* Carly Elise Fender (Mother) - Deceased
* Morgan Carly Fender (Sister) - Alive
* Rain Wyte (Second cousin) - Deceased

### Friends:

* Julith Raiden (Former Militech Commanding Officer) - Retired

### Rivals:

* Andre "V4P30RD3V1L" Ventura- A fanatical Spitfire fan and netrunner that constantly harasses Vale for having broken two of his fingers.
* Payton "Painkiller" Feng- A rival mercenary Solo that feels threatened by Vale and their success.

### Love Interests:

* Noise Doma - Vale has an awkward crush on Noise, if only because they give Vale as much beer as desired while bantering over the bar at the Spitfire Club.
* Sabina "Beanie" Horvath- Sabina is less of a love interest and more of a soulmate in the understanding that both Vale and Sabina fell for the same man. And have a common love/hate relationship with Ramone, though Vale tends to steer a wider berth around the pair when they lock horns.

## Weapons

**D5-DD variant Sidewinder Assault Rifle "The Clap"** • Vale's favored mid to long range weapon is her trusted D5-DD variation of the standard Sidewinder Assault Rifle. With a variable front-sling or bullpup clip equip system, this Sidewinder rifle maintains better balance and a tighter barrel length than the traditional D5 standards. While holding only a maximum of 30 rounds, the clip length can be changed from front to back with either a 20 round or 10 round amount. This shifts the weapon balance to either longer range (with the clip towards the front giving less 'bounce' when automatic firing) or better control and quicker stance recovery when the ammunition is slung towards the bullpup preference. Vale has a nasty habit of naming her weapons after slang terms for venereal diseases of bygone eras. If only for the sexual innuendos and taunts that they tend to present in the heat of combat.

**M79-E Heavy-shelled Omaha Pistol "Studbuster"** • A heavy combat variant of the typical M79 Omaha tech pistols, this weapon was typically given to ranking officers in Militech upon receipt of their commission to a rank of Master Sergeant or higher. These weapons were typically given nicknames by new recruits that reflected the personalities of the officer using them. Typically terms such as "Hindgrinder" or "Hardnose" were most typical. Vale turned down their commission for rank in Militech, but this weapon was gifted to Vale by her former commanding officer, Julith Raiden upon discovering that Vale had left the military. The pair considered it a gift of both respect and admiration of their time served. This pistol is a warfare model and rarely (if ever) suffers from malfunctions, at least none that cannot be fixed by banging the weapon really hard against something solid. Such as a wall or a skull. Julith (when she held the weapon) gained a reputation of clearing misfired rounds by hammering the weapon into the groin of whichever recruit annoyed her the most that day. This is how the weapon gained it's nickname. (Consequently, Vale has only felt the indignity of having the weapon jam cleared by this method twice in their military history. Julith later apologized).

**T-10 Militech Trench Sword "Beaver Cleaver" •** Vale's favored close-combat weapon is a tungsten-core stainless steel standard Militech officer trench sword. Looking more like a well-worn machete, the Cleaver has alarming weight to it and while it's sharpness ebbs and flows depending on how much Vale uses and maintains it's edge, it's driving force in Vale's hands is unparalleled. Lightning fast and capable of even deflecting bullets given enough luck, Vale usually keeps this weapon slung at their waistline where it can be easily accessed if needed. Though it can be uncomfortable trying to sit with it in it's usual resting place, Vale has no problem taking the sword out to rest on a table (or in the table) where it can be used as an obvious show of strength and lethality. Typical for Solos and their need to showcase their combat prowess at all times.

## Episodes

* "01:// Red Chrome Cargo" (January 24th, 2021) - The Spitfire band robs a cargo train and encounters some heavily armed Red Chrome gang resistance. Escaping with the cargo, the band is shocked to open the package and find it staring back at them...
* "02:// M.I.A. Mia" (February 7th, 2021) - Contacted by Wakako Okada, a well-know Fixer to track down a missing person, the Spitfire band found an ex-Maelstrom ganger crew that had turned to body harvesting in one of the nearby Megacorp buildings. After wiping out the gang, the team was contacted by a competing Fixer who tried to sway loyalties. Spitfire decided to stick to their original contact and might have earned themselves a new enemy...
* "03:// From NuSA With Love" - The Spitfire band collected Mia's critically mangled remains and managed to call in a trauma team, which turned out to be imposters. Taking care of the fake trauma team as quickly as possible, the actual trauma team appeared and took Mia away to safety. Returning to the Spitfire Club, the mercenary team discovered drama in their midst as a new (and powerful) gang called 'The Immortals' claimed that the club was now in disputed territory. A fact that made any possible relations with Wakako, her niece Akira, and potential the Tyger Claw gang put into jeopardy. Lines were being drawn and the Spitfire crew need to decide which side they were standing on...
* "03:// Run Run Run" -

## Injuries (In-Game)

* "01:// Red Chrome Cargo" - Vale had both the left pinkie and left ring finger shot off by (2:44:34) shot off. Crippling the left hand while the shot continued into the chest and was deflected by body armor. Though the GM mentions in the stream that Vale only kept the pinkie and thumb, Vale intends on getting two of the fingers re-attached and replacing the remaining two (listed above) with cyberware. If only for the ease of costuming and the fact that it is an excuse for the player to buy a wishlist drawing glove.(Reduced to 34/50 HP).
* "02:// M.I.A. Mia" - Vale suffered a superficial hip wound during close-combat with former Maelstrom gangers. Should be right as rain by tomorrow.
* "03:// From NuSA With Love" - Vale took a bullet to the left arm, breaking their left humerus (upper arm) by a strange twist of fate. Ramone managed to reset the bone and tape it into place. With Vale's enhanced healing implant, it should be back to functional within 24 to 48 hours, Though very tender... (Reduced to 37/50 HP)
* "03:// Run Run Run" - Taking whiplash damage from a car crash, Vale climbed onto the roof of the SUV and engaged in hand-to-hand combat getting slashed in the leg that sliced to the bone. A cyber-implanted grenade launcher added fragmentation damage and pushed Vale tot he point of sustaining serious Injury (reduced to 23/50 HP).