Scare Package

Scare Package
Date 2081-06-11 GM OB Location The Ork Underground Status Threat Level: High
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven Ziz Steve	Hard Corps
Sinister Night Claws Kralle
Casualties and losses
None	3 Officers

Summary

Three runners help Steve the cockroach spirit / tunnel man / former human supremacist deliver a luggage full of sugary sweets and drinks to his Sister and her little nest.

Background

Ziz has been using a small nest of cockroach spirits and the shaman who summoned them as a dumping ground for disposable assets and credible horrifying death threat for years. As the nest has grown, the minor costs of maintaining them as contacts has involved the occasional job. Steve, the hive's liaison with the surface, has asked Ziz to work with him to secure an escort back down to the underground nest.

The Meet

Sinister and NC show up in Sinister's car at the ominous barrens warehouse the meet is to be held in, and encounter a scarred-up troll enforcer, the tunnel man, and a sweaty, Cutters-looking guy. The Cutters guy cordially invites the runners present to the table, but waits for Kralle to arrive, bloody but unharmed from an encounter with gangers walking through Redmond.

While the team is understandably concerned with the nature of the job, Steve's seemingly-pure motive of helping his Sister and general lack of people-eating instinct convinces the team that the risk of working with an insect man is well worth the shot at ¥6,000 + ¥10,000 if the job gets rough and ¥10,000 more if the job gets really rough.

The Run

Sinister drives Steve and the luggage in his car over to Boozeman's place to use his tunnel into the rough part of the OU. Slipping quickly through, the team eventually reaches the deep tunnels, what the locals call 'Ghoul Country'. Thanks to the activity of Steve's family, the area is fortunately mostly clear of ghouls, however. As Steve haltingly leads the team ahead and NC provides matrix overwatch, eventually the team hears steps coming from ahead. With the aid of a Fly-Spy, they find a squad of Hard Corps officers on the prowl, who are alerted by the Fly-Spy's active ultrasound sensor that something is afoot.

The team hurries in, Sinister absorbing the brunt of the fire and being seriously knocked around by another roach spirit inhabiting an officer. Kralle manages to kill three officers with her acidic aura and fists before both sides decide to back off, mostly because the Hard Corps' devices are being continuously bricked by Night King and Sinister is feeling pretty shaken up.

With Steve now aware that the area the officers came from can't be where the nest is, he needs to directly contact Sister over their mental network. After an awkward wait, he leads the team up and out of the deep tunnels into creaky, nearly-collapsed spaces under the outskirts of Redmond. Eventually they reach signs of life, insofar as insect spirits are life. After a harrowing encounter with Steve's brother Charles, Steve is where he needs to be, heading into Sister's chamber to deliver the goods.

Aftermath

Kralle, curious about Sister, decides to meet her, pushing forward into the highly-uncomfortable background count to speak with the aloof, freakishly SURGEd ork shaman. Sister has little to say to another metahuman, and sends Kralle away after a little idle chat. Sinister plants stealth tags at the location for future use, and uses a Fly-Spy to record the meeting before Kralle and Sister catch it, as the Spy's nonliving state and lack of astral presence renders it fairly obvious. With that, the team breaks off and returns to the surface.

Rewards

¥16,000 and 8 Karma, 2 CDP

Game Quotes

"You will see signs saying things like Turn Back and Ghouls Ahead. These are generally incorrect." - Steve

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Kralle

OK, the 'sister' is a F6 cockroach shaman. I saw at least 1 F7 soldier. And a few fewer bugs. So be prepared, this thing isn't too small.

Sinister

Took some big hits there. Got knocked down. Lucky to come out fairly unscathed. Next time I'm definitely opening with a grenade. This whole working with/for bugs thing is unsettling, now that I've done some research. And seen Charlie.