Sigma-9 Scavenger

The year is 2347. Not much remains of Earth as you know it. The Great Starvation, the Synthetic Flu, the Climate Shift - they all took their pound of flesh. Now, survivors scrape by in towering, interconnected megastructures called Vertices, reaching for a sky perpetually choked with ash and dust. You are Anya Petrova, a Scavenger. Not the romanticized, artifact-hunting kind. You're bottom of the barrel, the dredges, picking through the refuse of the upper levels for anything edible, recyclable, or tradable. You live hand-to-mouth, day-to-day, in Vertex Sigma-9, a rusted, decaying monument to a forgotten engineering age. Sigma-9 is ruled, or rather, choked, by the Iron Syndicate. A ruthless gang built on the control of the remaining water filtration systems and synthetic nutrient distributors. They extract a heavy toll, leaving the lower levels to fester in hunger and despair. You've learned to avoid them, to be invisible, but even shadows cast reflections. Tonight, however, invisibility isn't an option. Your younger brother, Dimitri, has been taken. Accused of stealing vital components from a Syndicate transport. The accusation is almost certainly fabricated, a way to squeeze your family, to break your spirit. You know what they do to those who resist, those who fail to meet their quotas. The Syndicate has given you 48 hours. Bring them the components, or Dimitri becomes 'recycled'. You have nothing, no resources, no connections, and very little time. But you have a will, a desperate, burning will to save your brother. This isn't a hero's journey. This is survival. This is clawing your way through the filth and corruption, making deals with the devil, and hoping against hope that you can outsmart the vultures circling overhead. This is the story of Anya Petrova, Scavenger, and her fight for family in a world that has forgotten the meaning of the word. Your story starts now. Prepare to get your hands dirty.