Badlands, March 2076
Honestly, Valerie could genuinely not believe her luck. Sure, plan A was to just get to Night City after she got her ride fixed up, but now she found herself managing to land a gig that'll land some good pay. (Definitely going to lend a hand in Night City) she thought to herself before deciding to go have a look at herself in the mirror, wiping it down so the reflection would be clear.
It was then that her eyes landed on something that made a pit open in her stomach, the Bakkers patch on her jacket. The last vestige of her ties to a clan now gone in their own right… she then proceeded to tear it off, holding it in her hand for a moment as she felt memories surface in her mind. Campfires under the stars when she was little, her first time learning how to play an acoustic guitar from her father figure Jordan at the age of 13, the first time she shot a bottle when she was 15, Jordan's in-clan funeral when she was 17, and receiving his Thorton Galena GA40xt known as "The Rattler" the following year for her 18th birthday. The very same car that she was using to this day 2 years later to get to Night City, her own pride and joy. So naturally she got a little pissed when she heard "Electric coupling module", deducing the mechanic's meaning being that it was damaged and she knew that that was bad. "You said it was nothing serious when I came in, you said you were sure." balling her old patch into a fist and throwing it to the floor before turning around to face the mechanic.
"Guess I was wrong." he had said as he stopped looking at the engine and leaned on the front "Could always look for another shop where they won't ask a lone nomad why she's hugging the border. Or maybe I could get a little more out of this whole exchange and see if I can replace it." Causing Valerie to roll her eyes as she approached "Don't have that kind of time, and I'm paying you what we agreed. Not one enny more, got it?" Which just led the mechanic to chuckle a little "For that you can borrow my tools and fix it yourself."
Valerie just rolls her eyes again "Won't even need 'em, now move." pushing him aside to inspect the engine herself "You got any idea what to do lady?" Which just led Valerie to roll her eyes again, this guy was such a jackass honestly. She just said in response "Figuring that out would be a lot easier if you quit chirping." Before returning to examining the engine. With the right parts she could probably give it a proper fix but she didn't have that kind of time with a fresh gig needing to be done, especially since the coupling module was what needed a repair, meaning it would take a hell of a lot longer to finish properly. So what she needed was a workaround… and that was when an idea came to mind. She then got to work while saying "I'm gonna bypass the coupling and rig a hotwire." Proceeding to swap out one cable for another to get the job done while the mechanic responded "Compressor will run on and on, could seize up." as Valerie finished and looked at him, proceeding to say "Did anyone ask your opinion?" Before heading over to the driver's seat and opening the door.
Valerie then set a foot inside and a hand on the wheel while thinking to herself (Ok, let's see what happens… don't let me down girl.) before proceeding to start up the engine, apparently having needed a couple tries but it worked on the third attempt as she heard the ever-satisfying roar of the Rattler. The mechanic then moved to close the hood of the engine as he spoke "Not shabby at all. Question is how long it'll last ya." To which Valerie responded "It'll get me to Night City, I'll figure something else out there." Before proceeding to take the radio off of her pride and joy's dashboard and attempting to link it up to the car's antenna, but she didn't get a signal. Valerie muttered a quiet "Damn it" before unlinking the radio and tucking it into her jacket, and right about then the garage door opened revealing a man with shades, a hat, and a badge on a uniform that fit nothing short of a sheriff.
The sheriff then spoke up towards the mechanic "Hey Mike, didn't know you had a customer." To which the mechanic, Mike, started stammering "Uh, r-rolled in a-a few hours past, I… I thought she at least called into ya." And the sheriff just said calmly "Don't you sweat it Mike, we're gonna hash it out." Before approaching the open door to the driver's seat. Valerie thinks to herself (I get the feeling this is going to go well.) before the sheriff starts speaking as he leans on the side "Don'tcha know you owe the sheriff a word when you pay his town a visit? To tell him what's brought you here, maybe over a cup of coffee?" To which Valerie responded "My mistake, wasn't really planning on paying a visit, but a failed coupling needed attention and this place happened to have a mechanic." And the sheriff just says "Yeah, always some failure 'hind mistakes." Which led Valerie to think (Wonder whose mistake it was letting this asshole be a sheriff.)
The sheriff then proceeded to introduce himself "Name's Andrew Jones, probably heard of me." And when met with silence he continued "Served in spec ops during the last war. Silver Shoguns? Ring any bells?" Which led Valerie to simply say "I can't say that it does." While mentally groaning about this man's ego as he stopped leaning on the car and walked over to the front "That a nomad vehicle you're drivin' lady? Honestly mighta expected that…" leaving a brief but tense silence that Valerie broke "If you've got a problem, got no issue hearing it." Already preparing herself for some talk of Nomad hate that was inevitably coming from this asshole. And so Jones spoke up "My problem is your type lady. Nothing boils my blood like a fuckin' stray… where'd your clan pitch camp?" Already getting Valerie worked up a little knowing that this turned into some sort of interrogation, and probably a potential hunt.
But Valerie just decided to get this bullshit over with and say "That what you want from me Jonesy? Fine then, I'll give it to you straight. There's no clan and there's no camp, I'm by myself out here." Which made Jones proceed to raise an eyebrow "Not buyin' that, nomads always stick to their packs." To which Valerie responded "My 'pack' is in pieces, 's why I'm headed for Night City. Now am I going to keep being interrogated, or can I get moving and go about my business away from you?" Not wanting to waste time with people like this. Jones just moved out of the way as he said "As long as you leave this place without another word, fine. And if you come down here again I'll be much less friendly, you hear me?" And Valerie just fully stepped into her car and shut the door as she muttered "You like hearing the sound of your own voice don't you?" Before proceeding to drive out of the garage and head out, only instead of just leaving the town in the dust she turned to drive towards a radio tower she spotted on her way in, knowing she was going to need it if she was going to pull this off.
It was a bit of a climb but she made it up to the tower, finding a control box where she could link in her radio to the signal tower. She then proceeded to take the jack out and link in "Here goes nothing…" and after a few seconds of leaning on the railing the radio pulled up a live signal and she switched it on "Hello?" Finding herself faced with a familiar voice that she associated with someone who was like a brother to her "Come in. Come in… ah, I raised you finally." And with a smile on her face Valerie responded back "Willie McCoy, it's good to hear your voice." But the tone change suggested the feeling wasn't all that mutual "Valerie… wish I could say the same."
Valerie frowned a little as she figured what this was about, but that didn't stop her from asking regardless "Why can't you?" And then Willie responded "You abandoned the clan. I can't help you anymore." To which Valerie said "Will, you know why I left. What the Bakkers are doing now is not something I can just take a gut punch from and accept. I decide I can't stick around and suddenly you're reluctant to help a friend?" Waiting a second before Willie stated "A friend who's not loyal to her family. Rules are rules Val, the system won't work without 'em, it can't. Nomads get the work done in these parts because it's nomad turf, wouldn't be a problem if you were still a Bakker. You should've stuck with us and joined up with the Snake Nation… old man Jordan wanted the Bakkers to thrive remember?" And Valerie's expression grew angry as she picked up "The Snake Nation can kiss my ass, and don't go telling me what Jordan did and didn't want." Knowing full well that he wouldn't want them to thrive by giving into another system. "Bakkers are Bakkers" is what he used to say.
Valerie then took a deep breath in and out before she picked back up "Look, Willie, I didn't look to reach out to someone to discuss nomad biz right now… I need your help, one last time." and Willie responded on his end "One last time? Again? Remind me again how many favors you owe me?" To which Valerie chuckled before picking back up "There's a job I'm runnin', I was in the right place and time, and I need to find the client with my payload. But I… I have no idea where she is… I'm thinkin' the client left a message. Any chance you could check for me? I promise this is the last time Will, just please." And after a moment Willie spoke up "Fine, but I'm holding you to that Val, I mean it. Client's name?" And she picks up to answer the question "Panam Palmer."
It took a few seconds but Willie got back to her about the information, pointing Valerie towards a farm outside of the town she was just in. As she drove, Willie's last words rang in her mind "Just don't get yourself killed Val… and don't call again." Which preceded Valerie sighing as she came to a stop outside the farm, it seemed that was that then. She and the Bakkers were finished… they'd be missed. But she could dwell on that later, she had a job to handle and a city to get to.
Author's note: Ok, I know this is left on another cliffhanger, and actually now that I think about it they all kind of are in their own way. But I promise how the starts to these stories ended won't go unfinished or unspoken. In the meantime however we have a main story to get to and frankly that may take a little longer cause from here it's all just about open road. And as some clarification, each of these three prologues are all a week apart. This chapter is a week after chapter 2 and that one's a week after the first chapter. Hopefully anyone who checks this out will be interested in going forward and seeing what's next. Until then chooms.