March is smugglers month. In order to celebrate the legacy that is smuggling, I have chosen to devote my entire Black book section for the month of March (My birthday month by the way, yay me) to those who practice and finance the heroic profession of smuggling. We began with a legend whose fame was won during the hardest years of the Aztlan border wars rescuing the sick and the needy from the killzones. That legend is called the Shepherd.

Shepard

Name: Vanessa P. Gates
Closest Archetype: Smuggler

The skinny: The title shepherd is a mantle like that of other dark heroes such as Zorro, or the dread pirate Roberts (I know, sounds cheesy right?). This Shepherd has been around since the night of rage. She began her trade, rescuing metahumans from Seattle slums during the night of rage. Lonestar reports indicate that she was a police officer at that time but quit shortly after.

Vanessa was soon recruited by agents of the Shepherd to the CAS. They admired her resolve and helped her hone her skills as a smuggler. She met several contacts on both sides of the border. After a botched run to extract a scientist from a secret azzie cybernetics clinic led to the death of the acting shepherd, Vanessa was asked to take up the Mantle. She did so quite willingly and altered the entire operation.

The Shepherd became quickly known as a smuggler who was willing to get anything in or out of Aztlan in exchange for cash and data on Aztech plans and locations. She seemed to be infused with a purpose, as if she were searching for something that only the azzies had. Nobody knows what the Shepherd is looking for, but it’s clear that she and her people are willing to undertake any smuggling run in order to get it.

Meeting Shepherd: A meeting with the smuggler can be arranged through a series of cat and mouse personal messages in the local paper stating little lost sheep seeks a home or some such drek, or asking around at the bars by the border. Once Shepherd is certain that you’re legit, she’ll set up a meeting.

Description: Uncertain. Shepherd always wears a full disguise. This disguise is part magical and part physical. She is anywhere between 5’6 and 6’1 in height and weighs from 140 to 230 lbs. Most of the disguises portray Shepherd as an elf.

Known Contacts: Government Official, Corporate Official (Aztechnology), Corp Rigger (Aztechnology), Corp Decker (Aztechnology), Ms. Johnson (presumably Ares), Fixer, Mercenary, Bartender, Tribal leader, freedom fighter, Talismonger, Shaman