Chapter 1

A sharp knock at her cabin door snapped Ryn's head up from her desk. For several minutes, she had been on the border of slumber and consciousness, drifting between the lines as she tried to get a few more minutes of shut-eye. The knock cut short her efforts though, and she moodily arose from her seat to answer the door. Still wary about last night, she doubled back to retrieve her pistol from the desk.

"Who is it?" she called gruffly.

"Yu," came the short response. Ryn let out the breath she had been holding, opening the door to let in the sunlight and a girl—one who straddled the line between woman and teenager. Her jet black hair was cut short, not even touching her shoulders. Her slight frame made her look a bit frail, though her blank expression almost gave the girl an unnerving air. "Fall asleep at your desk again?" she asked.

"Possibly," Ryn replied, rubbing her eyes. "Hell's fire, it's awfully bright out. What time is it?"

"1500," Yu answered.

Ryn's shoulders drooped slightly. "So…"

"You missed your meeting with Geralt."

"SHIT!" spat Ryn. "Why didn't you wake me? What kind of first mate are you?"

"One that values her life," Yu responded, shrugging her shoulders. "Last time I tried to wake you, you threatened to throw me overboard."

"So?"

"We were in the middle of the sea."

"Bah, fuck it. I gotta run, I might still be able to make a deal with him. Can't lose him as a client, we're running thin enough already." She moved to push past Yu, but the girl stopped her.

Pointing past her to the large rifle leaning up against the wall, Yu said "Make sure you take your railgun with you this time. We don't need Alan to blow another pylon off the dock. It's a miracle the PPD lets us dock here in the first place."

"Yeah, yeah," Ryn said, hastily slinging the railgun over her shoulder. Reaching over her desk, she grabbed her belt, clicking it around her waist. The weapons that hung from it were peculiar, several sets of wicked-looking foot long metal spikes. One of them had a handle attached to it, much like a dagger; the others were without such an attachment.

"Are you really going to need those?" Yu asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Never leave home unarmed Yu, you know that," Ryn said, slipping her pistol into its holster. "Besides, if I can squeeze in a demo of these Armor Piercers, I may be able to slip a few into the sale." Patting herself down to ensure that she had everything she needed, Ryn hurried past Yu. "Keep everyone in line will ya?"

Yu brought her right hand to her forehead in a half-hearted salute. "Aye aye, oh venerable captain."

Ryn ran across the deck, ignoring the greetings from her crewmen. She stopped once more when she heard Yu call out to her. "Hey Ryn! One more thing!"

The Arm's dealer turned, impatiently tapping her foot. "What?!"

The first mate pointed to a streak of blood on the deck right in front of Ryn's cabin door. "Have a visitor last night?"

"I did," Ryn replied with a nod. She could have sworn she had cleaned up all the mess.

"How did it go?"

Ryn just smiled and turned, making her way down the gangplank.


Trudging down the streets of Piltover, Ryn was weary yet satisfied. Five and a half hours of negotiation had ended with her client renewing their contract. Sure, guns had been pulled, and she had been briefly hand-cuffed, but that was the price she paid. Arms dealing was a dangerous business, one that frequently blurred the line between legal and illegal. In the end, she had kept a client, and that was all that mattered.

The sun was just setting, so she wandered into a quiet little bar, a bit of a pat on the back to herself. Plopping down on a stool, she ordered up an ale, lightly sipping the malty drink. She let the slight hint of crisp apple slide past her lips, letting her chin rest in one hand as she gingerly handled the bottle in the other. She rarely got any time to relax; time to relax all on her own was even rarer. She let her gaze go fuzzy, her blood pressure finally lowering from the tense negotiations she had just sat through. She stared at her bottle for a few seconds before bringing it up to her lips for another swig. She let the cool liquid settle in her mouth for a split second before swallowing it, relishing the bitter sweetness. The low light of the bar was soothing, and she found herself calmer than she had been in a long time.

Damn, I should do this more often, she thought to herself.

The quiet ambience was broken by muffled shouting that came from outside. Most of the bar's other patrons were either too relaxed or too drunk to pay much attention. Ryn spared a casual glance out the window, watching as a few young men ran past the bar in quite the hurry. One of them turned, slamming the bar door open much to the surprise of the patrons. He frantically looked around for a second before making his way over to a middle-aged man in a corner booth. Bending down, the younger man mumbled a few quick words, causing the other man's eyes to widen. Bolting from his booth, he hurried for the door, his younger comrade hot on his heels. The older man made it to the door, but the younger man accidentally bumped into the back of Ryn's stool, sending her off balance.

Stretching out with one leg to stabilize herself, Ryn brought her arm around and smashed her bottle—and its remaining contents—into the back of the man's head. He fell to the floor, dazed from the surprise strike.

"Watch were you're goin, pal!" Ryn said curtly. "Where's the fire?"

The man got up, one hand on the back of his head. He brought the hand away and looked at it, noticing a small patch of blood. The crimson liquid didn't seem to bother him much, and he looked at Ryn. "I'm sorry ma'am! I really am."

Ryn pursed her lips. For a man who had been smashed in the head with a bottle, the young fellow seemed awfully apologetic. "Sorry. Been a long day. You alright?" she asked.

"Fine, but I have to get going," the man responded, turning. "There's been an attack at the docks!" he finished before flying out the door.

Now it was Ryn's turn to be surprised. Nearly tripping over her own stool, she ran for the door. Out on the street, she looked in the direction of the docks. Through the tall buildings of Piltover, she could see an unnatural orange glow; a sure sign that something was wrong. From down the street, a Piltovian fire engine came roaring, its sirens blaring out to get everyone out of the way. Getting a running start, Ryn waited for the engine to pull alongside before reaching out and grabbing onto a bar on the back. Pulling herself up, she held on for dear life as the fire engine powered down the streets towards the docks. When it finally came to a halt along the seafront, Ryn's jaw nearly dropped. The docks were in ruins, everything aflame. It looked as if Hell had settled in Piltover's port. Several smaller ships were already sinking, and a few larger ones weren't much better off. Bodies littered the docks, those of both the living and the dead. The cries of the injured could barely be heard over the crackling of flames and the distinct sound of gunfire.

Ryn ran down the semi-intact pier, her legs pumping as fast as they could. Still moving, she drew her pistol as the sound of gunfire drew near. Rounding the corner, she saw the Wanderer and was horrified at the sight. It was a skeleton of its former self. The deck was engulfed in flames, the mast had been completely sheared off, and judging by the severe list, it was taking on water. Making her way up the gangplank, she struggled to stand on the deck as the ship continued to lean. At the rate it was going, she wasn't going to have much longer before she would have to abandon it.

"YU!" she called out, desperately looking for her first-mate. Looking around, she could see a couple of her crewmen slumped up against the ship's bulwark. Quick checks told her all she needed to know: they were dead, riddled with holes. In the light of the flames, the reflective crimson sheen of blood could be seen on the deck. Ryn continued calling out Yu's name, throwing open the door to the Captain's quarters. Inside, she saw the small body of her first mate laying on the floor. Ryn cursed as she noticed blood leaking from several wounds on the girl's body. Running over, she checked her pulse; to her relief, one was still there. The thump of a boot on the wooden deck behind her caused Ryn to snap around, her pistol leveled in an instant at the figure now standing before her.

It was a girl, one who could only be described as armed to the teeth. Slung over her back was an odd looking rocket launcher; it was shaped like a shark, a strange mix of steel animal and weapon. Despite the weapons bizarre appearance, Ryn's eyes were more focused on the triple barreled minigun that was trained on her. It was clear that she was outgunned, a rare occurrence. Pushing fear away, she focused back on the intruder.

Her wardrobe seemed to consist of two things: leather and bullets. Her skin was pale, almost to the point of being grey, and her eyes were those of a psycho, their pink hue making her look either sick or mad. Her long, light blue hair was braided, forming twin braids that were longer than the girl was tall. With such a thin frame, Ryn was surprised she could lug around her two massive guns.

"Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here?" growled Ryn.

"None of your business, and causing panic of course," responded the blue-haired girl.

Ryn's eyes narrowed. "You did this?"

The girl smiled a wide toothed grin. "Yep. Now hold still, so I ca-"

Not waiting for the girl to finish, Ryn fired, striking her target in the shoulder. To her surprise, her second shot went wide; the girl had already started moving. She was a blur as she spun out of the way of the shot, at the same time bringing her gun to bear on Ryn. "You bitch! You're gonna pay!"

The arms dealer heard the all too familiar sound of a minigun spinning up, and her heart started thundering. Still firing with one hand, she grabbed Yu's unconscious form with the other, bolting behind her desk. The hell that descended upon her was astonishing. In the small cabin, the buzz of the minigun was deafening, and Ryn had to use all her willpower to try and return fire. It was a vain effort, her pistol not much better than a stick against the other girl's killing machine. Her desk splintered around her as bullets thudded into it. Luckily, she had bought it specifically for its sturdy, bullet resistant construction, but she had her doubts about its ability to withstand such heavy firepower. In the cramped space, Ryn unslung her railgun, pressing the muzzle against the desk and in her attacker's general direction. Here goes nothing, she thought as she pulled the trigger.

The concussive force of the blast was nearly enough to make Ryn pass out. Firing a 6 ounce projectile at several times the speed of sound, the energy unleashed by the rail gun was astounding. What was left of the desk blew into splinters, sending shrapnel everywhere. The blast knocked the minigun girl flat on her back, and the projectile blew a hole in the wall nearly 3 feet around next to her. Her vision unsteady from the concussion, Ryn fired off several rounds from her pistol until it clicked, the hammer dropping on an empty chamber. The shots went all over the place as her target scrambled for the door, fleeing. Unsteadily reloading her gun, Ryn prayed that the girl was gone for good. Blood oozed from several wounds caused by both bullets and shrapnel, causing her to curse at the pain. Standing unsteadily, she looked down and was relieved to see her first mate was breathing, though she looked pale.

Ryn huffed and puffed as she half carried, half dragged Yu across the deck of her slowly sinking ship. Thankfully, the psycho girl seemed to be gone. In the distance, Ryn could see red and blue flashes contrasting against the yellow glow of the flames. The faint sound of sirens could be heard growing closer. Her legs shaking and her eyelids heavy, she barely made it down the gangplank before falling to her knees. Looking down at her Yu's closed eyes, she hoped that the girl would pull through. She could vaguely hear someone shouting, but everything suddenly seemed so distant. A hand on her shoulder wasn't enough to stabilize her, and she fell to her side. Nearly all her crew was dead, her ship was ruined, and in a few minutes all of her inventory was going to be sunken into the port. Ryn almost welcomed the darkness that came as her eyes closed, shutting out the hell around her.