Birds with Clipped Wings

Birds with Clipped Wings
Date 2085-08-13 GM Discogoblin Location Redmond Status Threat Level: Medium
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven Cutters	Red Nuke Gang
Narukami Phototaxis Samael Garuda	Ferrous Chroma
Casualties and losses
None	Ferrous, Chroma

Summary

A powerful ork mercenary is given a loan to afford the adrenaline pump he craves by his employer Pappy, a member of the Cutters. However, at the behest of his partner, he hides out to skip out on paying back that loan for a chance to sell the pump instead and use that money to leave Seattle. Unfortunately, that plan fell apart when Ferrous killed the ripper who was going to do it and two guards, and they were messing with an experienced man. The runners he called in hunted them down efficiently and professionally, undoing their defensive obfuscations and cornering the pair further and further, until eventually things came to a head and the pair ended up dead. A reminder to not cheat your fixers.

Background

Ferrous, a mercenary orc working for the Cutters, was a fairly competent fighter if not the brightest, and had been working for the client for some time. Chroma, his partner, was a member of the Red Nuke gang. In comparison to Ferrous, Chroma was a lot more wilely, a lot more cunning and discreet, and a lot more cocky. And that meant that when Ferrous got his hands on the special Adrenaline Pump that Pappy was willing to cover for, Chroma started scheming. Unfortunately the orc's cyberpsychosis led to the deal going awry and three people dead in a battle at Redmond. But that didn't matter to Pappy. For him, the bottom line was that they tried to cheat the old man and weasel their way out of paying the debt. And Pappy was not going to stand for that. A hit to his reputation and a cut to his profits was not going to be tolerated, so he started pulling strings, and got ready to take names.

The Meet

Pappy contacted four runners to meet up with him at a standard looking office building in Renton. Samael was the wetwork specialist who would help ensure this job wasn't making a splash and upsetting the Red Nuke Gang too much. Narukami was the muscle to back the team up. Phototaxis provided the magical support and some much needed durability to the team. And Garuda was there to track down these two chummers who had crossed the fraggin' line. Pappy explained it simply: Kill both of them, recover Ferrous's body and bring it to a rendezvous point so the pump could be extracted, and don't cause a massive ruckus that would see the whole gang miffed at Pappy's little private security outfit. The original cash prize for these two heads was about 10k nuyen, if things went well, but Samael and Phototaxis weren't in the mood to get lowballed, so to sweeten the deal the old man ensured the team could secure themselves some new gear and 'ware should they make him happy. And with the rewards settled, it was time to get down to business.

The Plan

The plan for the nasty deed was relatively simple: Follow any and all trails left by the two fugitives to narrow down their location to hunt. Then, try to take them out without a massive fight involving a bunch of people. Simple. Garuda would handle the matrix side of information gathering, Samael would contact anyone connected to the installation of the pump and where it might've gone, and the bug/borg combo were on support, making sure things were safe in case the plan went south and some stronger fighters were needed. Best case scenario, the pair are found without much of a threat to the runners and can be killed without much of a struggle. Minimizes casualties and ensures they don't get an angry gang of dwarves on their asses.

The Run

Right off the bat there were some annoying complications. The first one was pretty obvious even while planning but, annoying all the same: Chroma was a "wiz" at hacking and had taken exceptional lengths to hide any actual information on him and Ferrous as possible. Garuda quickly realized this, and so rather than look for a specific location by wasting time on all his little matrix puzzles, she'd find any clues she could as to an approximate locale and the team would close in to do some on-foot research. She managed to find a tournament that Ferrous participated in, a local promotion that closed about a year and a half ago cuz the guy killed a bystander when being real jumpy before a fight. With Narukami's familiarity with martial arts and Garuda closing in on that lead, the team narrowed it down to a few industrial neighborhoods that the Red Nuke gang were strong in-a good place to start. The team rode off after their little coffee date to check out one of the neighborhoods in PT's very indiscreet Roadmaster that bulldozed through the streets, finding one particular locale that looked like a warzone in Red Nuke territory. That was where the couple had tried to sell off that pump...with little success. Narukami and Samael got out to do some investigating of the place to maybe catch Chroma or Ferrous getting too comfortable, while Garuda kept an eye out with her drone from the car and PT watched over her. After a brief run in with the Red Nukes trying to pull them over (Garuda had a blast diverting them away), Samael had spotted the leader of the Nukes entering into a bar he was staking out, and while tailing him asked Garuda to do some snooping. Garuda did so, narrowly avoiding detection by an approaching Chroma coming in to convince the leader to assist in the little escapade the couple was in despite killing the last guys who were going to get the job done. Garuda tried to get some marks off while running silently to get a good trace on Chroma, but a hack on the fly backfired. The two ended up in a codeslinging duel, which saw Garuda narrowly getting the marks she needed to trace Chroma down while he was caught off guard and distracted by the digital brawl. Chroma fled the Matrix and the team quickly assembled to converge on the trail. The couple had to make a hasty retreat from the little hotel motel they were staying at, which didn't help them much at all when PT used one of her spirits to seek them out. Right on top of them in their new hideout, Samael made sure to clear the area of civilians in case a fight broke out and the team approached. Unfortunately Garuda isn't the best at sneaking around, and a particular orc came out...hydraulic fists covered in the blood of his former lover. Chroma was killed by Ferrous. Ferrous, barely conscious of where he was and just stating he needed to leave, was stopped by Phototaxis. A fight ensued, and while the man was a terror to fight against, he wasn't a match for Samael's crack shooting and Narukami's swordsmanship, with PT keeping everyone safe at her own expense.

Aftermath

Beyond Grauda's queasiness at the situation and PT being smacked hard enough that most other people would be bleeding to death, things went rather well for the group. Red Nukes weren't overly pissed at the group for their lack of collateral on their turf, the body was successfully delivered, wounds were mended and the job was done. Pappy was rather pleased with how things went, glad to work with professionals. He was more than happy to give the runners everything they had been promised, along with some recommendations passed along to the Cutters as thanks.

Rewards

10k nuyen (5 RVP) 5 karma (5 RVP)

Gear rewards: up 20k in guns, armor, ammo, or 'ware up to 16 avail

For Samael: sharpshooter at chargen rates (4 RVP) For PT: up to 2 levels of tough as nails at chargen rates (4 RVP)

+5 Cutters reputation for a job well done

Game Quotes

others can feel free to add this in if they remember, I'm too goofy rn to do so

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Garuda - "I hate wetwork jobs. It's one thing to feel guilty over tracking someone down to have them dealt with, even if they aren't really saints. But...This whole thing was just tragic. I feel sick thinking about it. I need to let Lucky know not to get me these kinds of jobs in the future..."

Samael - "Ridiculous thing. More machine than man, at the end. I suppose, situations like this, where someone becomes the slave to their metal instead of the other way around is why I tend to eschew as much headware as possible. Oh but for grace go I, as was wont to be said. Clean kill. Little louder than I tend to prefer, but it was the Barrens so it likely doesn't matter."

Phototaxis - "What an interesting scenario~! I can't imagine what neural spasm led him to think installing that on himself would be a good idea, rather than simply selling it and coasting off those funds, but the aftermath was... surely something. Lost in such mindless despondence that he thought I was his partner... I wonder how I could use something like that to my advantage in the future. What an exciting prospect...!"

Narukami - "It was relatively simple, once we found him. Still, I almost wonder if it was the right thing to do... we can never ask Chroma if he was manipulating Ferrous or not, and the whole situation was just... well, I do not feel good about it."