THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE SOLO
by Knighthawk <dsknighthawk@yahoo.com>

    Street solos aren't a type that appears over night.  Most follow the same general cycle.  Solo's who follow this cycle receive an additional 2 1d6/2 career points at the time of generation, but are 2 years older.  This cycle is most commonly found in feudal cities.

APPRENTICE
    The apprentice is the lowest place on the solo totem pole.  At this time the solo-to-be is instructed on what he'll need to know to be a functional solo.  To justify his apprenticeship, the student will pay back the knowledge with favors, equipment, money or work.  The apprentice will learn skills that the master possesses (teacher must have at least a +5 in the skill in order to effectively pass it on to the pupil.).  The apprentice also gets 1d6 additional pickup skills to put into any NON-combat skill.  At this level, the apprentice spends most of his/her time at the range, combat sims, and hitting the data-units.

PARTNERSHIP
    The apprentice has now entered the dark and gritty world of the solo.  The still learning solo now picks up negotiation skills, mainly regarding contracts.  The novice is also now permitted to field-test his/her skills.  The novice will also pick up the finer points to acquiring "questionable goods."  The inferior partner's percentage is almost always less than 50%.  In the rule-proving exceptions, it is not uncommon to see the senior partner deduct from the minor partner's take-home with teaching fees or whatever other costs may be brought up.  The partnership still retains much of the master-apprentice relationship.  This is not the same thing as two professionals teamed together.  (At this stage, the apprentice's Combat Sense should not be above +5).

DEBUT
    This is the apprentice's "coming out party," so to speak.  This is the apprentice's first solo action.  Typically the master will arrange the contract for the apprentice and brief him/her.  The debut also publicizes the would-be solo's specialization (assassin, bodyguard, etc.)  Some instructors will provide the candidate with the equipment permitted for the job, others allow the introducee to use anything in the candidate's private stash.  These contracts are rarely worth more than 8,000 eb, but do grant the new solo a REP of 1 (-3 if the debut is a failure), this also reflects on the instructor.  The instructor's REP will either go up +.5 REP (when concerning instructing ONLY), and -1 if the student fails.  After the debut, the candidate is considered a full-solo, however, failure of the debut usually means the solo's career is dead in the water (this is why REAL, and QUALITY solos are rare and not the cannon fodder they are portrayed as.)

PROFESSIONAL CAREER
    This is the full fledged solo.  The solo may now take on his/her own apprentice.  The solo must have a minimum of Combat Sense +7, all career skills at +4 and have teaching +3, in order to meet the minimum requirements for instructing a fresh solo.