Byk (bic)
A Troll Street Samurai
Description
Name: Igor Danilovich Vasilyev Alias: Byk (bic)
PoB: Vladivostok, Russia DoB: Oct. 23, 2032
Gender: Male Age: 31
Height: 10’-0” Weight: 545 lbs.
Hair: Blond Eyes: Blue
Race: Russian
Physical Description
Byk (Russian for “bull,” and a slang term for a bodyguard) is large even by troll standards, being nearly as wide across as a man is tall. His body is a mass of corded muscle; curiously lacking in the bumps, warts, and boney extrusions found on the average troll. Tufts of blond hair shoot out from between the horns on his head. For dress, Byk appears to favor tailored suits when out and about in the city. If he suspects that his shadowrunning might get dirty, he will of course dress down to the occasion.
Personality Description
Byk relies on intimidation. As a troll, his appearance is naturally intimidating, and he uses that looming presence, and an assortment of intimidating hand cannons, to get one point across: “Don’t mess with me.” Those that have ignored that warning have paid a high price for it. Byk is more than ready to make that point as often as necessary – much to the chagrin of some of his teammates. In his view, and in his experience as a bodyguard, however, it is important that he is not seen to bend. He does not quibble, he is not lenient, he does not waiver. His warnings should not go unheeded, because he certainly plans to carry out any threat he voices. His years as a bodyguard have ingrained this rule into him as a core belief, and he views it as vital to protecting his team. Viewed another way, Byk is something of a bully.
He may also play the “dumb troll” of stereotype in order to gauge the people he is dealing with, lull them into a false sense of intellectual superiority, or frighten them into thinking that he is smash-happy. In short, he is crafty and sly in his dealings with others, a trait that has helped him in his years with the mafia and especially as a bodyguard.
Lastly, Byk is relatively unphased by even the most cold-blooded violence due to his long exposure to it. He has had to passively stand by and observe everything from forced prostitution to brutal torture and execution. He certainly understands the efficacy of applied violence and accepts it as a necessity in life. He was certainly willing to kill anyone threatening his boss, having done so numerous times. He does not enjoy playing the role of executioner, however.
In short, Byk’s presence in a room is impossible to miss, and dangerous to ignore.
Bio
Igor Danilovich was born and raised in Vladivostok, Russia. His life was fairly plush as youth, being the son of a well-connected mafia boss in Russia’s underground. When he hit puberty and began his transformation into a troll, his parents were horrified. He was disowned and thrown into the streets to fend for himself.
After a stint of hospitalizations with metahuman charities while his metamorphosis stabilized, Byk found himself back on the street working as muscle for a local pakhan (crime boss.) It didn’t take long for his strength and intellect to be noticed by the boss, who made him his bodyguard. As his boss ascended in power to become an avtoritet (major syndicate operator) in the Vladivostkaya mafia gang, Byk was constantly at his side, both as intimidator and shield.
In the last year, a major gang war erupted between the various factions within the Russian mafia. It began with a grenade lobbed at the feet of Igor’s boss by the rival Khabarovskaya gang. Igor jumped on the grenade and saved his boss’s life. In gratitude, his boss saw to Igor’s recovery, which required extensive cybernetics. Considered a high-value target by his boss’s enemies, Byk was sent into hiding.
Currently Byk is in hiding within Seattle’s confines, under the custodianship of a makler (fixer) named Tovarich. With the war ongoing, his boss has gone into hiding in a remote location from which to control his forces. His enemies are eagerly seeking out the troll bodyguard, from whom they hope to wrest information about his boss’s safe house locations. Given Vladivostok’s location on the Chinese border, there is also a growing fear that Chinese tongs may seek to take advantage of the situation.
Aside from Tovarich, Byk relies on information from a friendly Russian mafia contact in Seattle, a plain-clothes policewoman in Lone Star named Anichka Nikitin. Unaffected by the politics of Russia, Seattle’s “Russian mafioso” are cordial to all members from the motherland. In the case of Anya, she is also a friend of his biological family. Byk maintains this connection to his family and dealings back home for one important reason.
Byk has had a life long goal of killing his father. While this would seem like a simple task for the behemoth, his father is well protected due to his position as a crime boss. It is not just the physical protection provided by his father’s security forces, but also Byk’s own boss who wishes to avoid a war with the gang, that stymies that dream. Byk is eager to see the war back home grow, as it might finally provide him with the opportunity he has longed for.
