#2077.

in January of 2074, Gustave is officially transferred to Biotechnica's NC division. It's nothing short of culture shock, and there's no quick or proper way to acclimate to the sheer chaos of the city. He is horrendously at odds with everything in it, with his only comfort being the relative peace of his (very much loaned, as long as he's employed) apartment at Corporate Plaza.

What really turns his life around is being in the crossfire of a drive - by shooting. Long story made quite short, he's far more affected by Trauma Team only looking after him and evacuating him and not the two other civilians involved in the shootout (it's very Edgerunners reminiscent, with David and Gloria). Being aware of the reasons why, though, doesn't make the aftermath any easier to deal with.

he toughs out his next year in Biotechnica with every intention of quitting the company, and as such he starts setting money aside and planning for Maelle's life to be as undisrupted as possible. Gustave resigns in August of 2075, and it doesn't take him long to embark on the next chapter of his life even if it's almost quite literally from zero.

by 2077, Gustave has claimed his own corner of Night City; more specifically, as a ripperdoc based in the Glen. He's fashioned something of a reputation for himself for being efficient and as reasonable as NC allows, and is one of the few docs to treat his clinic as neutral ground ... with exceptions. He has little to no sympathy for anyone claiming affiliation with the Scavengers, Maelstrom or the Tyger Claws; coincidentally, these are the three most present gangs in Kabuki, and they have designated him as persona non grata. Conversely, as a (formerly regular, now occasional) patron of Lizzie's, Gustave has established his own affiliation with The Mox. It's well - known that he is quite literally their ripperdoc on call despite living in the south side, especially for urgent cases. Most Mox will have their preferred specialist, sure, but Frances will never turn any of them down.

[ EXTRA FACTS &. BITS. ]

it started out as one of the girls calling him Francés (Spanish for French, the demonym), but one thing led to the other and now the accent is bastardized so Frances it is. Gustave has accepted the callsign/nickname hybrid, because at least none of them have called him Gus.

he's recognizable as one of the least chromed - up ripperdocs. The only major standout other than basics such as Kiroshi optics is his left arm, which he lost in the drive - by shooting. He's made modifications to it to fit precision tools in the fingers, which he deploys when he works.

other than the monowire implant he was convinced to get, Gustave often carries a Unity handgun as his chosen self - defense kit, which he's coupled with a punknife in a reverse hold. If that wasn't enough, he keeps a baseball bat in his clinic, courtesy of the Mox. This was actually a "gift" from Rita.