PMC Indentured
Sold to Surikov.
Born anywhere a bad ledger gets a body attached: a Hive stack, a colony outpost, a Rim slum. Press-ganged or contractually transferred into Surikov Dynamics' private army -- the debt they (or their family) couldn't pay written down as a rifle and a tour. They wear Surikov kit, fight House wars, and run the deniable jobs the Legion won't. Surviving a contract might buy down the debt; most don't survive. The leash is Surikov's contract officer; the debt is a number on a Surikov chip under the skin. They leave by contract end, by Deserter's bullet, or by being declared spent.
Rules Reference
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Archetype Combinations / Academic | Bad fit. Surikov training is operational, not scholarly. |
| Archetype Combinations / Chaplain | Bad fit. Chaplaincy is licensed; the indentured don't get licensed. |
| Archetype Combinations / Face | Awkward fit. PMC politeness is a brief. |
| Archetype Combinations / Officer | Awkward fit. Indentured don't commission; they get promoted to senior grunt. |
| Archetype Combinations / Operative | Good fit. PMC dirty work overlaps Operative ground. |
| Archetype Combinations / Psion | Bad fit. Surikov sells psions to the Navigator pool, not to the line. |
| Archetype Combinations / Sawbones | Workable fit. Surikov field-medic training is short, brutal, and effective. |
| Archetype Combinations / Scout | Workable fit. Field survival is real, if brutal. |
| Archetype Combinations / Soldier | Natural fit. Indentured soldiery is the Soldier's harshest school. |
| Background Trait / Cause | Because Surikov buys bodies by the pound and pays in years. |
| Background Trait / Name | Surikov Ledger |
| Background Trait / Trigger | Passive; equipment bonus and one structural debt. |
| Birthplace | core-rim-border |
| Pipeline | pmc-indentured-surikov |
| Starting Kadiss Tier | 1 |
| Starting Rek | 100 |
| Verse Anchor | PMC Indentured |
Notes
Background Trait / Effect: +2 bonus to attack rolls and morale saves while serving a Surikov contract (the kit is issued, the squad is real, the muscle-memory holds). The character carries a Surikov contract chip; the GM tracks a Debt Counter (start 0). Each completed mission the GM adds 1; each failed mission the GM adds 2. When the counter reaches 8 the character is free; until then any attempt to leave a Surikov deployment without authorisation is a hostile act and the GM reroutes the plot accordingly. The character is flagged in House ledgers as a known associate of whichever Surikov division last held the contract.
Social Hook: The indentured knows what it is to be booked as capital equipment. They have a number, a contract, and a tour they didn't sign. They can strip a rifle blindfolded, march for three days on paste, and tell which House commissioned the last firefight from the calibre of the dead. They owe Surikov years, and Surikov has a long memory for deserters.
Starting Gear: Surikov-issued rifle (ITEM-PLASMA-CARBINE Corp-marked, no serial, no licence), Combat knife (ITEM-MILITARY-KNIFE), Surikov flak vest (no name; unit-tag), Two reloads, Rek chip with starting balance of 100 (most of it garnished for kit), Surikov contract chip (subdermal, behind the ear; carries the ledger), Field rations (three days, Surikov-brand paste), A single personal item (one heirloom the press-gangers let them keep; -1 Disadvantage to Persuasion if used as collateral)
Trained Skills
| Skill | Ranks | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Athletics | 2 | Surikov basic; harder than Legion, shorter on polish. |
| Intimidation | 2 | PMC work is the threat behind the threat. |
| Survival | 2 | Asset-protection and riot work across biomes. |