Race To The War

Race To The War
Part of Meatgrinder
Date 2085-02-20 GM Asmodeus Location West Amazonia Rainforest Status Threat Level: Deadly
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven Proteus AG	Government of Peru
Lichtenberg Artemis Joule Docteur Vega	Brayan Alvares Snipers Amphora Mite
Casualties and losses
	Brayan Alvarez was killed.

Summary

The team stops a potential political disaster from occurring.

Background

See Meatgrinder, Part 1 - Tide of Darkness.

The Meet

The meet occurs in a closed night club during day time. The club's located in Bellevue. Ms. Johnson doesn't appear to be much for small talk and introduces the team to one Brayan Alvarez, a veteran of the Amazonia-Aztlan war with an adrenaline pump still in his body. He's gone illegally across the border of Peru into Amazonia to investigate potential bioweapons the neighboring country might have and has apparently found something. It's only a matter of time before he starts heading back into Peru and Johnson intends for his information to never reach anyone else. The team accepts the job for twenty grand, a nice sum, and departs with haste since they're on the clock.

The Plan

Vega isn't going to in a remote static-filled area with her fragile body and looks for nearby arkoblocks by Proteus instead. There is one off the eastern coast of Amazonia, which is where she books her own flight. While there, she does a Matrix Search or two just to find as much information as possible.

The searches bear fruit. They find Alvarez's personal history in the war and work as an investigator for the Peruvian government. Vega also finds that the Amazonian government is in elevated alertness and seems to be concealing some events in Tucupita's ruins. Naga have also fled that part of the country.

After paradropping with minimal damage, Lichtenberg, Joule and Artemis prepare to intercept Alvarez's return convoy. They identify the few roads in the Amazonian rainforest that he could possibly take and set up cameras, bound air spirits and even juryrig a better transmitter from a Wageslave's engine (after Lichtenberg killed a harmless ork grandma driving it) to get surveillance equipment. They then attempt to sleep through a monsoon-like rainstorm.

The Run

Lichtenberg gets hit by an amphora mite that Vega discovers likely came from the Wageslave's seats and is filled with bloodlust due to hormonal imbalances. He charges ahead the second Brayan's truck is seen while Artemis prepares to snipe him from an elevated position. Joule prepares a Deflection spell for Lichtenberg and they charge dead-ahead after Joule astrally projects and confirms it is the guy.

Lichtenberg gets hit by several hidden attackers almost immediately and they do a number on him despite his exceptional dodging ability and durability as a full body replacement. Joule attempts to send her spirit to help but it's banished out of the sky. Artemis lands the killshot and prepares a pinpoint Ball Lightning to finish the job. The car swerves out of control and crashes into a palm tree, the interior lighting on fire. The snipers retreat after Alvarez is killed and Lichtenberg drags Alvarez's charred body out of the wreck to beat on it some more. He also finds a large "M" carved on the interior and a half-melted datalock drive. The team brings it along.

Aftermath

Vega manages to find two images of Tucupita's situation and the words "Project-Pandora-2, symbiont implantation trial phase 3" but little else. The drive is given to the J once they return to Seattle and they're all paid handsomely! Vega does contemplate leaking the info with Joule, but after considering her fame it'd be too easy to track to her and they decide to keep this information a secret.

Peru is none the wiser about this potential bioweapon hazard, Amazonia has little to go on and a political disaster is averted.

Run Rewards for Race To The War (Deadly, 20 RVP)

• 20,000 Nuyen (10 RVP)
• 20 CDP (9 RVP)
• 1 Street Cred (May acquire one Chain Link Tattoo on arm of choice)
• Lichtenberg: May instead receive 72,000 Nuyen worth of cyberware (up to Alphaware, base avail limit 18) and 6 CDP
• Artemis: May acquire Military Rank: Corporal (20 RVP) at gear rates
• Joule: May use gear rates for foci up to avail 18 through Miss Johnson. And reagents.

• Consequences
  1. Alvarez is roasted to death. His security detail escaped unharmed.
  2. Vega has uncovered a bit of knowledge recovered from Tucupita, mentioning Project Pandora 2 and human trials on a symbiont implantation. This is only a fragment.
  3. Miss Johnson is capable of pulling the right strings and ensuring the bureaucratic process of military drafting going through for Artemis. Her connections and identity remain a mystery.
  4. Peru is not aware of any bioweapon attacks by Amazonia. The two countries remain adversarial, but not in open war or in an arms race.

Game Quotes

Amusing quote from game.

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Lichtenberg: Eughghghg. It's been a few days since that damn bugs venom wore off and I'm STILL pissed. Tested my goddamn patience on this one. Send me out to the goddamn jungle with a bunch of goodie-two-shoes hooders. Tell me about some pretty, auged-up peruvian guy I get to kill and then shoot him before I get within 100 meters of the bastard. And then when the bullets actually start flying, it's some assholes hiding in the woods that I never even get close to. I need to fragging BITE something. Did have fun with the mage, left the jacket in her apartment with a severed hand in it. That was funny. Wonder what I do next? Maybe swap one of her cats out with one that looks like it but just slightly off. That'd be funny. Nah, probably not worth the lecture I'd get from the old man. 'Oooo, psychologically torturing fellow runners is bad for your rep'. Fucking prick, being right about it too. If I want those high-end jobs I gotta be on high-end behavior so thats no cutting fingers off teammates when I'm bored. Exhausting.