| Storyline: | UKF Neuro Chems |
| A merc reveals she has a drug problem which will eventually become fatal. | |
| Type of Storyline: | Mercenary |
| Repeatable: | Unique |
| Era of Storyline: | Any |
| Minimum PL: | 0 |
This Storyline has the following additional prerequisites:
- a merc with Ex-UKF with Banned Neuro backstory (default name Zasha)
The following jobs may be part of this Storyline:
- Chem Soup Kitchen (LEGWORK: Locate a secretive drug dealer)
- Tangled Takeovers (LEGWORK: Investigate a corp VP)
- Full Kitchen Sunday (Raid mission to locate a barrel of chemicals)
- Transfer request (Solo hack to alter prison records)
- Shotgun Milkshake (Prison break to rescue a drug dealer contact
- One Hop Hangover (solo hack to eavesdrop on a channel)
- Fish Gut Protocol (assassinate a CEO)
- New underground chemist contact, Cii Saint-Rymas
- New Synth Pit Drugs service
At the start[edit | edit source]
Early in the playthrough, if you have taken Zasha the cybersword on your starting team, a dialog will start where she reveals that she has a condition called Neural Rot, because she no longer has access to special drugs that were given to her during her Ultimate Kill Fight (UKF) pit fighting career. She starts with a negative trait "Neural Rot 1" which can progress to level 4, and then become fatal.
Progression[edit | edit source]
After a short time, the trait worsens to level 2 and another event appears on the timeline where it will worsen to level 3, and cause her an injury which takes 7 days to heal. This repeats; if the trait passes level 4, Zasha immediately dies. Missions appear on the timeline which can reduce the trait by one level. After the last mission, a new positive trait replaces the negative one. If you let the negative trait progress to level 4, the weaker Neuro Survivor trait is granted; if you stayed on top of it and kept the trait to level 3 or less at all times, the stronger Neuro Prime trait is granted. The trait can then be improved normally and can become quite powerful. Currently (June 2026) the traits reference page on the wiki does not list these traits.
Missions[edit | edit source]
The first mission is a legwork "Chem Soup Kitchen" to locate a secretive drug dealer, Robinson. If you outright reject the legwork, Zasha leaves the team and gains a "hatred" tag; presumably in the future she could appear as an enemy on some mission. Her doper contact, Jhurio, also becomes burned (negative trust). The legwork reveals some backstory: Robinson is dead, the corp GanzTech which made the chems has been taken over, and an UltraTek VP, Mareck Barthlow, appears to be behind the situation.
After some time, more backstory is revealed along with a legwork and a raid mission. The legwork "Tangled Takeovers" reveals that Mareck created another UltraTek subsidiary, Vallejo ChemTech, in order to get back at his ex-wife, Cii Saint-Rymas. He ruined her reputation and she was placed in an UltraTek prison; he made his second wife, Avery Barthlow, the CEO of Vallejo. In fact, Zasha's team was wiped out as a side effect of this double-dealing, it was never about them at all.
The raid mission "Full Kitchen Sunday" sends the team to recover one dose of chemicals which can reduce Zasha's trait level. It is described as a standard raid, but the goal is to scan three piles of barrels scattered across the level. Scanning takes 2 turns, and only one of the piles is the goal. The team must quickly spread out and test each pile. Once the proper barrel is found, the team can exit. There is a normal set of loot boxes and matrix terminals as well.
After some time, another dialog starts. We learn that Cii can cure Zasha's trait if we fund a research lab. But, she is in prison, so first we have to spring her. The first step is to perform a solo hack "Transfer Request" to plant a virus which will create a request to transfer her to a lower security prison. We will attack during the transfer to rescue her. The final mission "Shotgun Milkshake" is a standard prison break, which appears on the timeline some time after the solo hack finishes.
After Cii is rescued, you can spend $250,000 to set up a lab. Assuming you do this, Zasha is immediately cured and the negative trait is replaced as described above. She becomes an "underground chemist" contact selling combat drugs and drugs in a new service, Synth Pit drugs. These are powerful combat drugs with serious (temporary) side effects.
At some point, either during the search for the cure or afterward, Jhurio returns to offer a solo hack, One Hop Hangover. This will allow the hacker to eavesdrop on a (not sufficiently) secure channel to find the location of Mereck and Avery. They are at a Vallejo shadow site. Zasha insists on a mission to go there and assassinate Mareck. If you attempt to let this mission time out, you are warned that Zasha will quit the team and Jhurio will become a burned contact (negative trust).
This mission, Fish Gut Protocol, starts as a standard assassination mission, but there are some differences. Both Mareck and Avery start on the map in unaware status, and the exit square is already highlighted. They have a standard VIP escort group; a secondary reinforcement group spawns after several turns. Additionally, you must not kill Avery, and Zasha must land the killing blow on Mareck. Failing either of these objectives results in stress and discontent.
After succeeding at the assassination, Zasha has some dialog, but there are no decisions to make regarding the assassination.