Neon Rust — IC

[Namelessjake]

"Preem. It's just a toolbox - a few of the stickers on it would lead people back to us pretty quick though. We were trying to pull a compressor from the ice machine inside the gas station, in the middle of the town. We heard people outside though went to investigate, so it should be there still - if they haven't found it already," the scavenger explains.

[Scratcherclaw]

"Sounds easy enough. Probably still in the gas station then," Reiji says, looking to his crew. Might not hurt to scout out the town ahead of time anyway. Figure out what we're up against, and then get their secrets from this clown. "Anything else, or we good to roll?" He asks his friends.

 

[ratwizard]

"I'll take that piss now," Li Fei says, nodding back toward the main plaza. "Then let's hit the road."

She spares Zigzag a wary glance as she leaves, not eager to have a barrel pointed at her again but thankful Reiji was able to cut a deal with the scavver. Whatever. Seems like a crap life out here. For all its faults, the city's at least got the fading veneer of functioning society. Out here? Shit's neolithic.

[BartNL]

"What type of of stickers?" Kindred asks Zigzag.

[Namelessjake]

"Shinwa-kai represent," the scavenger says, tapping the red scorpion patch on his jacket. From the symbol's various other appearances around Dusthaven, it's not hard to surmise that the Shinwa-kai are the badlands gang or clan that control the settlement.

"That plus some that would lead more directly to my crew," he adds, tracing a zig zag pattern in the air with a finger. "It'll be hard to miss, he affirms,"

With that, the rest of you follow after Li Fei, headed back to the RV after a brief pitstop, the duration of which Elodie has her head buried in her phone. As you begin to mount up she finally speaks.

"I'm going to have to head back to the city," she says to the group before turning to Kindred. "The contact we were waiting on for the Brandt case just came through. If we don't get the permits filed with the fire department in time, the whole thing will fall through," she explains.

"You should go on without me, I'll find a taxi or something," she adds.

[ratwizard]

"You, uh, sure?" Li Fei says, raising an eyebrow at Elodie's confidence in the availability of taxis this far from the grid. "Yeah, alright. Give a ring if you find anything. And, you know. Be safe." She frowns at the former pop star in a way that might be construed as a sentimental look.

Turning to the others, she circles around. "So what we thinking here? Just drive up, act like we belong?"

[Fialova]

"No," Ryoko responds, having spent most of their time in the scavenger's den quietly observing and watching for signs of hostility in those around them. A surprisingly calm place, given the reputation these wastelander's have in the city. Perhaps that is simply a ruse by the corpos to keep people in line, make them fear those who don't cave to their whims. Wouldn't put it past them.

"That might work in a place like this, but these are not locals, and that town is not their usual stomping ground. Whoever is in that town came in a convoy specifically sent here for whatever mission they are tasked with, and they likely all know one another, or at least have seen each other's faces in passing both here and back at their corporate HQ. We're not going to be able to just talk our way in to a place like that. We need a cover story, and, if possible, a way to blend in."

She pauses a moment, considering their position and remaining options. "If they are indeed a branch of Robodyne, then I'd be able to blend in. Kindred, possibly, too, at least with how cyber'd up he is. We might be able to convince them we have captured you, or that we recruited you from this settlement for some purpose. Give them a sliver of something they can trust."

[BartNL]

"Noted, I would hate to be the guy who lost an arm while retrieving the wrong toolbox." Kindred jokes dryly to Zigzag, as he raises his metal arm to greet the man before leaving.

"That's all right miss Lindt. The Brandt case is important work, I have stashed two cases of Whishkey Drink^TM for special occasions under the box filled with the old cyberporn blackmail tapes. Give one bottle to the filing clerk, and send a case to the fire marshal in charge with my compliments. If the old bastard doesn't get the permit in order within 48 hours, send him a picture or two from file C-28225, you know the ones of the marshal and his chiefs husband, and include one of the brochures of YOUR-VERY-OWN-BILLBOARD-NEAR-YOU-NOWNOWNOW-brought-to-you-by-Now-burger-advertising too".

[BartNL]

"I have enough Robodyne subsidiary parts to make it somewhat convincing. Though the same can be said for most cybertech corps. " Kindred answers Ryoko.

[Scratcherclaw]

Reiji frowns as Elodie mentions her intent to head back to New Sav, but gives her a nod. "Not sure how often cabs come out this way, but I can have ours swing by and give you a ride." He pulls out his phone, navigating over to his Ghost Driver app, Etherwheel. He taps on their newfound cab, summoning it to their location.

He furrows his brow at Li Fei's question, considering their best play, before hearing Ryoko out. "That's... actually not a bad idea, cuz," Reiji responds, his gaze moving between the two chromed members of their entourage. "Like, it's risky, but anything we do is gonna be risky. And you're decked out enough to just look important. Throw in Kindred's, uh... impressively quick thinking and we might just pull it off."

 

[ratwizard]

Li Fei grimaces at Kindred's rant to Elodie as she departs. Remind me not to get on his bad side. Man's got an entire catalog of blackmail? Kind of terrifying. I wonder how much leverage he'd be able to apply from whatever these corpo goons are hunting for out here.

She listens to Ryoko's plan, giving an optimistic shrug. "Yeah, I don't think the rest of us look like scavvers, but I can play a mean contractor. Maybe you press-ganged me into service. Cyber maintenance or something easy. Guess we need a reason we're there, if it isn't this laptop we're after, but I don't know squat about this town or what else might be there."

OOC

Is there any mapping on our phones that might indicate what's generally out there at the town? What it's called, what, if any businesses exist, etc.

[Namelessjake]

"Thank you mister del Rayo," Elodie says as Reiji summons the cab. "And I'll handle it sir," she says to Kindred, giving her boss a nod, though it is unclear if she intends on following his instructions or not.

OOC

The City's official nets contain very little information on such topics, though there are no doubt secret dark net locations where urban explorers might meet to exchange information. The town does exist on the map, though lacking a name. It appears to be fairly small in size, a main intersection in its centre with several surrounding blocks, though given what you have heard so far and what you do know of life in the badlands, it is most likely completely abandoned or very close to it - with the only sizeable population centres out here being places like Dust Haven.

[ratwizard]

"The net shows this place as pretty much abandoned, so any passerby's going to be subject to a lot of suspicion from these corpo gangs holding it down," Li Fei adds, putting her phone away.

[Fialova]

Ryoko mostly tunes out the work chatter between Kindred and Elodie, finding little of interest in what they do outside of their small group. Man's like a corporate exec with that amount of blackmail material. Surprised he never got recruited by one of the corps as a spook, he'd probably be great at it. Or maybe he's like me, and... got out.

"Yeah, we'll look suspect no matter what we do. We didn't really take chances at HQ, at least at Arabashi. Not sure how they train 'em at Logan or Archtec, but I imagine pretty similar. But there's a lot of infighting between the subsidiaries, so once we know which one we are dealing with at the town, I should hopefully be able to convince them I'm one of them, at least long enough to get a foot in the door. Or maybe Kindred would be better there?" she asks, turning to face the man who clearly knows his way around bureaucracy. Who knows what he is really capable of?

[Namelessjake]

OOC

Ready to head to the town?

[ratwizard]

OOC

Sure. I'll follow Fia's lead here.

[Scratcherclaw]

OOC

Let's roll

[Namelessjake]

With the concept of a plan and the taxi on the way, you say your goodbyes to Elodie and mount up, climbing back into the RV. Reiji takes the wheel and makes for the exit on the other side of Dust Haven.

Passing through another checkpoint similar to the one you entered via, you hit the highway once again, continuing East. About fifteen minutes later, the town comes into view, a cluster of urban decay on the horizon. A series of rusted billboards, their advertisements long since faded away, line the cracked asphalt that leads towards the town.

Ahead, you spy two black SUVs parked across the road. As you get nearer, you are able to make out both the Robodyne and Logan Cybernetic logos on the side of both vehicles. At least four people, weapons in hand and dressed in the tactical gear of corp sec, appear to be manning the road block.

[ratwizard]

"Well, there they are," Li Fei says, eyeing the armed corpo-sec as they approach. "I find the best lie cocktail has a shot of truth in it. Ryoko, why don't you tell them you're undercover per this Ulrich guy, you got a lead on the case you're looking for, and you're dragging my ass in to triangulate it?"

[Namelessjake]

As you approach the road block, one of the corpo goon squad raises a hand, signalling for you to stop. They step forward once you come to a halt, approaching the driver's side window, gesturing to roll it down.

"Road's closed. Corporate business. Back it up," they say, stony faced. Reflective sunglasses cover their eyes, further shielding any display of emotion.

[Scratcherclaw]

Reiji looks over to Ryoko blankly, as if saying That's your cue, cuz. 

He lets out a uneasy sigh, but keeps a straight face, half-worried the corporate cops will open fire at the first sign of deception. Just gotta trust Ryoko. And hope these guys are stupid. But they must be if they haven't found that case yet.

 

[BartNL]

"I can try to talk my way in. Make up a believable tale. Say, we are corpo investigators. Ask for their ID and make a facial scan when they don't cooperate. That stuff tends to work on those types. And we both look the part. Kindred answers Ryoko.

[Fialova]

"Yeah, sure, give it a shot, Kindred," Ryoko responds, glad to have another who can aid her in their deception, not trusting herself to do all of the talking. This type of thing is not my forte, but here goes. "Follow my lead," she continues, before speaking up to address the man outside.

"Yes, that's why we're here," she responds, sternly yet not aggressively. "Looking for the package just like you guys, but incognito. We got a lead, think we can use that to narrow in on its location. Let us by." Let's hope this idea of yours works, Li Fei.

[Namelessjake]

Despite the man’s glasses and stony exterior, the signs of puzzlement seem to flash across his face, exposed only momentarily by cracks in his facade.

"Wait here, I’ll have to call it in," he replies before starting to move back towards one of the corporate vehicles.

[ratwizard]

"Aren't you all working for the same scumbag? Why's Shades here gotta call daddy? Psh, you corpo-grunts really are a disorganized fucking bunch," Li Fei whines to Ryoko, her window lowered enough for the guard to easily overhear. "And I'm not a lead to be used, I'm a person. With legal representation, need I remind you. Quit wasting all our time with this routine traffic stop bullshit."

[BartNL]

"Sir, I will be needing your corp-ID, please. Kindred says, one eyebrow frowning, as the man attempts to move away.

[Namelessjake]

The man stops at Kindred's words, taking a step back to the RV window.

"You show me yours and I'll show you mine, how about that?" He says, extending a hand expectantly.

[Scratcherclaw]

I've heard that before, Reiji thinks with a smirk, suppressing a chuckle before the dread sinks in. Wait, shit. That's not good. He looks to Kindred with wide eyes, curious if the detective accounted for this possibility.

 

[ratwizard]

"Ugh," Li Fei whines aloud out the window to both the guard and Kindred. "Just get your silly corpo dick-measuring contest over with. You guys always in this level of disarray?"

[Fialova]

"Look, this is a waste of time," Ryoko says, her genuine annoyance at the situation showing through somewhat. "We're not the only people out here looking for this thing, yeah? We're not even the only Robodyne branch looking, so why waste our time? This girl's got the info, now let us by so we can narrow down this search to a much more manageable section of worthless dirt. I'd like to sleep in my own bed tonight."

[Namelessjake]

Mechanics

Ryoko make a Cha/talk check.

Li Fei can do the same to aid the check.

[Fialova]

Mechanics

Cha/Talk: [2d6-1]=4-1=3 :')

[Namelessjake]

"Look, I don't know who the fuck you people are. We haven't heard anything about any backup or anything like that. Either I see some ID, I go call this in with my boss, ,or you turn around. It's up to you."

"Which is it gonna be?" He asks, calling over the others manning the roadblock with a movement of his hand.

Mechanics

Even with a successful aid that'll be a fail.

[ratwizard]

OOC

Does this guy have any Obvious cyber installed that Li Fei would be able to see from here?

[Namelessjake]

Li Fei

The man has a pair of cybereyes, but beyond that you are unable to identify any other installed cyber by sight alone.

[ratwizard]

Quietly, Li Fei slips a hand into her pack and brings out a smoke grenade, palming it. She glances between the others. The fuck's the plan now? she wonders. This was a stupid idea.

OOC

How many meters to where the 2 SUVs are parked?

[BartNL]

Kindred hops out the vehicle. and opens the RV door to let the man in.
"Right on protocol, good. Now let's get these standards out the way. Cargo inspection?" Kindred says, one eyebrow still frowning, as if stuck in the position.

[Namelessjake]

OOC

You would have pulled up about 5 metres from the SUVs.

So something like this, with each line being 5m and the x being the guard you're talking to. The others now approaching from the SUVs.

| |
|SUV SUV|
| |
| x RV |
| RV |

[Namelessjake]

"Hey! Get back in the vehicle and get the fuck out of here now! I won't warn you again!" The man yells as Kindred exits the RV, levelling his weapon at the detective. The other guards tentatively follow suit, readying their weapons and turning their eyes to Kindred.

[ratwizard]

Fuck, the old man's going to get me killed. She growls a disapproving note of disgust under her breath.

"You see where each of them are?" Li Fei whispers to Reiji as she leans over in the cabin, pulling the pin off her smoke grenade and palming it a moment. She taps a temple with a finger, as if commanding him to remember. And then she hucks the grenade out the window.

Mechanics

Aiming for the middle of the approaching dudes (and their SUVs if that also is in the area of effect)

Smoke Grenade: [1d20+2]=19+2=21

Scratch, RAMMING SPEED! (just the dudes, not their vehicles)

[Scratcherclaw]

"Roger that," Reiji says through gritted teeth, keeping his eyes locked on the clustered corpo cops. With his grip tight on the steering wheel, he puts the RV back into drive and readies himself.

Mechanics

Dex/Drive: [2d6+5]=9+5=14

 

[Namelessjake]

The corp guards shout as Li Fei's grenade explodes into a cloud of gas engulfing them all.

Mechanics

Roll Initiative!

Map

Map Info

The grid squares are 2m x 2m.

The blue circle represents the smoke cloud and will disperse at the end of the first round.

[ratwizard]

Initiative

Initiative: [1d8+1]=8+1=9

[Scratcherclaw]

Mechanics

Init: [1d8+3]=3+3=6

[Fialova]

Mechanics

Init: [1d8+2]=5+2=7

[BartNL]

Mechanics

Initiative: [1d8+1]=1+1=2
Iron Hand Aegis: the first time when hit by a succesful range attack, deflect it is an instant action.

[Namelessjake]

Go Li Fei

Initiative Order

9 Li Fei
8 Guard 2
7 Ryoko
6 Reiji
6 Guard 1
3 Guard 3
2 Kindred
2 Guard 4

[ratwizard]

With the guards caught off-guard from the sudden projectile, Li Fei brings up her rifle, firing blindly into the spreading eddies of smoke.

Without delay, she whips out her cyberdeck and jacks in, fingers punching in rapid commands as she attempts a hostile takeover of the closest guard's cybereyes.

Mechanics

Main
Shoot at Guard 1, 13 vs AC = miss?
Rifle Attack: [1d20-2]=15-2=13

Move
Jack In

Bonus Cyberspace Main
Deactivate/Cyber on Guard 1's Cybereyes. Rolled a 9
Int/Program: [2d6+2]=6+2=8 missing a +1. Should be +3 Int, +1 Program, -2 Remote Hacking, +1 Deactivate difficulty mod

Character Sheet

Li Fei

Background: Technician
Level: 2
XP: 3

Age: 22
Height: 158 cm
Weight: 57 kg
Languages: Mandate

HP: 11/11
Major Injuries: None
System Strain: 0/14
Hacking Access: 1/5
Initiative: +1

---

DEFENSES AND SAVING THROWS

Melee AC: 15
Ranged AC: 17
Armor Soak: 5/5
Trauma Target: 7

Physical Save: 13
Evasion Save: 13
Will Save: 11
Luck Save: 14

---

WEAPONS

Base Attack Bonus: +1

Rifle
1d20+2 to hit, 1d10+3 damage, 1d8 Trauma Die, x2 Trauma Rating, 200/400 range
Mods: None
Ammo: 5/6
 

---

ATTRIBUTES AND SKILLS

STR 10 (+0)
DEX 14 (+1)
CON 14 (+1)
INT 18 (+3)
WIS 8 (+0)
CHA 10 (+0)

Fix-1
Program-1
Heal-1
Shoot-0
Sneak-0
Skill Points: 0

PROGRAMS PREPARED

VERBS

Deactivate
Decrypt
Frisk
Sabotage
Stun
Unlock

NOUNS

Avatar
Barrier
Camera
Cyber
Datafile
Machine

EDGES AND FOCI

EDGES

Prodigy: Your Intelligence score becomes 18 and grants a +3 modifier.

Hacker: Description Gain Program as a bonus skill. You may begin play with an installed Cranial Jack cybersystem, a scrap deck, and eight program elements of your choice among available Verbs and Subjects. Each round, you gain a bonus Main Action that can only be used to perform hacking or cyberspace-related mental actions. This does not include drone piloting or vehicle driving.

Elements Picked

Barrier
Cyber
Datafile

Deactivate
Decrypt
Frisk
Sabotage
Unlock

FOCI

Cyberdoc-2: Gain Fix and Heal as bonus skills. You start play with a cyberdoc kit, and you can implant cyberware even if your Heal skill is level-0. You gain a +2 bonus on all cyber implant surgery skill checks. If you perform cyber maintenance for a person, the delicacy of your adjustments decreases the total System Strain cost of their implants by two points until their next maintenance interval.

You never fail to install cyberware correctly. Once per patient, you can build and install a cyber modification to a system as described on page 74 without any cost in money or experimental components, assuming you have the requisite skill levels to build it.

INSTALLED CYBERWARE

Cranial Jack
$1K| Head | Touch | 0.25 Sys. Sys. Strain
Effect: A discreetly-placed plug socket in the user’s head or neck allows interfacing with cyberdecks and gear equipped with a jack line.

Cyber Maintenance: $50 (5% Total Cost/Month)

INVENTORY

READIED (Capacity: 5/5)
2 | Rifle
2 | Armored Clothing
0 | Gear Harness
0 | Smartphone, basic
0 | Trauma Patch
0 | 25 rounds of ammo
1 | Scrap Deck

STOWED (Capacity: 4/10)
2 | 2x Ammo mags
2 | Kit, Cyberdoc
0 | Bus pass, monthly

STORED
0 | Street Leathers
1 | Tri-pack of Ambrosia

Transactions

$500 to begin
$250 - Street Leathers
$25 - Backpack / Gear Harness
$50 - Trauma Patch
$25 - 25 rounds of ammo
$20 - 2x Ammo mags
$50 - Smartphone, basic
$25 - Grenade, smoke
$50 - Bus pass, monthly

Free - Scrap Deck (Hacker Edge)
Free - Kit, Cyberdock (Cyberdoc-1 Focus)
Free - Cranial Jack cyberware (Cyberdoc-1 Focus)
Free - Rifle (Signature item)

$5 starting balance

+$3000 Pink Shitbox mission complete
-$2,500 on Armored Clothing and 3 programs
$505 balance

---

CONTACTS

FRIENDS
None.

ACQUAINTANCES
Konstantin Walker
Owner of Furtive, a nightclub that tends to bring in a lot of Dynamists and others decked out in cyberware. Li Fei patched him up after he was knifed in an alley, and in exchange, he occasionally shares a scoop with her.

Dintak Alamorez
Junior project lead for Robodyne, and a fellow prodigy specializing in R&D. Went to university with Li Fei. While he would never share current tech, she has bought past-cycle cyberware and gadgets from him, as well as gleaned tips on methods of jailbreaking them.

---

CHARACTER BUILD AND ROLLS

Attributes: [3d6]=10[3d6]=12[3d6]=8[3d6]=5[3d6]=8[3d6]=10

STR 10
DEX 12
CON 8->14
INT 5
WIS 8
CHA 10

Technician (Fix-0)

Growth: [1d6]=1
+1 DEX
Growth: [1d6]=1
+1 DEX
Learning: [1d8]=1
(Fix-1)

Contacts?

Edges
Prodigy, INT
Hacker (Program-0)

Focus
Cyberdoc (Fix->Program-1) and (Heal-0)

Background Skill
(Shoot-0)

HP: [1d6]=3

Ending Spread

Stats:
STR 10 (+0)
DEX 14 (+1)
CON 14 (+1)
INT 18 (+3)
WIS 8 (+0)
CHA 10 (+0)

HP: 4

Skills:
Fix-1
Program-1
Heal-0
Shoot-0

Edges:
Prodigy (INT)
Hacker

Foci:
Cyberdoc

Level 2 Advancement

Level 2 HP: [2d6+2]=9+2=11

Physical Save: 14 -> 13
Evasion Save: 14 -> 13
Will Save: 12 -> 11
Luck Save: 15 -> 14

Attack Bonus +0 -> +1

Skill Points:
2x - Heal-1
1x - Sneak-0

New Focus: Cyberdoc-2

[Namelessjake]

After her shot goes wide Li Fei's program runs, bypassing the guard's personal anti-intrusion software and crashing his cybereyes, causing them to switch off. Through their own IR vision equipped cybereyes, Kindred and Ryoko are able to see the man instinctively clutch at his face as he goes blind.

One of the other guards reacts quickly, moving out from the smoke and taking aim at the exposed Kindred with his submachine. He let's off a burst at the detective but Kindred's Iron Hand Aegis takes over, automatically moving the man's arm to deflect the incoming rounds with its ballistic plates.

Go Ryoko, Reiji

Mechanics

Li Fei: shoots, misses, jacks in, hacks, 9 vs DC 8 = success, Guard 1's cybereyes are deactivated (reboot with main action).

Guard 2: moves out of smoke, shoots burst at Kindred, 17 vs ACr = hit, Kindred deflects with Iron Hand Aegis.

Map

Map Info

The grid squares are 2m x 2m.

The blue circle represents the smoke cloud and will disperse at the end of the first round.

Enemy Info

Guards 1 and 2 appear to be armed with submachine guns, while Guards 3 and 4 wield heavy pistols.

Status

[Scratcherclaw]

Guess that's the cue, Reiji thinks, squinting through the smoke cloud at where his targets were a moment ago. He takes a deep breath and slams his foot on the gas pedal.

Mechanics

Dex/Drive: [2d6+5]=9+5=14

Ram into as many as you allow? At least 3 and 4 I'd assume