City of Artem

Sergeant Harry Kabutt has seen better days. He's been shot down, blown up, and tossed to the wayside by the corporations, left to rot in a ratty apartment in gang territory. His own limbs? Shredded, cut away, and left to rot on a mountainside. The replacement mods? Likely to fall apart or leave him to die of sepsis. No longer an operator of the feared APS mecha, Kabutt has hit rock bottom. But he's on foot, he's armed, and he's in serious pain…now it's time to take that pain and spread it around the mega-city of Artem. See who flinches first.

Out of credits, with trash-tier mods and no hope, Bowdoin Katamari resides at the bottom of the pile in the city of Artem. A place where megacorporations, merc guilds, and inner-city pricks live like royalty while the rest suffer. In spite of his poor prospects, this self-taught hacker does have a few things left. A seething hatred for the upper castes, a mind bursting with plots, and a like-minded crew determined to get ahead.

The thing about Artem... It's a damn hard city to live in if you haven't got creds, and for creds, you need opportunities. The thing about opportunities... They're thin on the ground for Orcs, one of the most reviled races in the sprawling city. If you happen to be an Orc left for dead on the frontlines of Artem's roving monster problem and stranded outside its immense city walls, then you're doubly screwed—like Oshbob. The thing about Oshbob... He's tough, and he's pissed! With a will to survive like few others, he's determined never to be subject to the whims of the elite ever again.

Rus, a fearless runner by day and racer by night, stands at the brink of eviction, with his family's home hanging in the balance. After a catastrophic accident, he's faced with a life-changing choice: undergo experimental modifications and be forever indebted to the ominous M-Corp or be left to perish. As Rus grapples with his new reality, Pim's journey of hope and despair intertwines with Shay, a ten-year-old scavenger, revealing the harshest aspects of city life.

Warfare below the streets, backstabbing, and brutality. Kabutt is out. Out of the army, out of patience, and out of control. He's found a home, people to fight for, and once again, the city seems determined to screw that up for him. He's got backstabbing elves trying to rip him off, corpos forcing him and his team into unsanctioned deathmatches for live broadcasts, and of course, the usual skulduggery, not to mention more goddamn goblins.

Bowdoin and his crew have grown in both strength and reach. They have taken on all comers, gangs, corpo, and otherwise, and expanded their domain to include the entirety of their arcology. But they have not avoided entrapment. Ostensibly, Bowdoin is doing work for hire for the hacker corporation Inside Eye. The reality of it is bleaker than this. The chains may be pretty and invisible to the naked eye, but they are still there.

There ain't no rest for the wicked. And new mods don't grow on trees. But it seems enemies do. Gaining power in Artem is hard, but keeping it can be harder. With their budding new corporation and expanding gang territory attracting covetous eyes, the battle is just beginning for Oshbob and Unara. And while it's sometimes hard for an orc to accept, violence isn't always the answer. Oshbob and his band of loyal followers are going to have to be smart and play the game if they're to survive what's coming.