The Edgerunner who defied Night City

Premise

In history books, the period going from 2032 until the death of Emperor Federico XX is considered to be a golden age for mankind. While there was undoubtedly a huge increase in the quality of life, we tend to forget that the years following the Covenant War were marked by misery and the Imperial Federation struggled to rebuild and assert its authority on those regions of Earth that had joined it only to fight the Elders and save the independence of Earth.

There was also a major competitor that threatened the stability of the new world: corporate greed.

During the war, two super-corporations, Arasaka and Militech, had become the major providers for the Federal Armed Forces and were encroaching ever more on the power of the central authority. In order to appease them, Federico decided to establish the Autonomous Corporate Territory in the Nevada desert.

In 2041, Night City came to life. The corporations set their headquarters in the settlement and they lured in all kind of desperate and disavowed people with the prospect of a new life, in a city where federal laws were loosened to the point where only murder was actually punished (provided enough proofs were brought in during the trial), Arasaka and Militech could use their money and influence on the planet without any consequence.

However, by the 2070's, the Federation had become strong enough to finally reach every corner of the Earth. While humanity finally started to spread its wings into the stars, Night City became increasingly an isolated City-State. The two corporations were fighting ever more for dominance inside the city, while the Emperor bode time and looked for an opportunity to finally dismantle the ACT, where crime was epidemic and illegal cybernetic enhancements were widespread.

In 2077, it seemed like a war between the Corporations could break out at any time. It is in this critical year where the actions of a single man would finally bring down both Arasaka and Militech, allowing Night City to come back into the fold of the Federation.

The man was Ernesto Martinez. Former Legionnaire and later Edgerunner. His story is the ultimate demonstration that, no matter how dark and unforgiving the world may be, evil can only triumph if good people stand aside and do nothing.

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Disclaimer: This work is written just to cope with post-Edgerunners malincholy. All my knowledge regarding Cyberpunk's lore comes from the anime and I decided to adapt it to my main narrative universe that you can see on my profile.