Jarheads! In The Ork Underground!

Jarheads! In The Ork Underground!
Part of Head In A Jar
Date 2082-06-12 GM Aurora Location Ork Underground Status Threat Level: Semi-Prime
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven Kenneth "Flamesaw" Murphy Ghaz Weirdboi Chipper	Renraku
Milliam Rabbit Swerve Sanjuro Master Morty	2 Fire Spirits 2 Earth Spirits 10 Cyborgs
Casualties and losses
None	All
Rabbit burned 1 Edge

Summary

Flamesaw hires 5 runners to help beat back the cyborgs invading the Ork Underground. They end up saving Warboss' life, who isn't exactly happy with that.

Background

Before the 2070s, Renraku was working on a project to make the perfect rigger/decker, The Cyborg Project. Some important data was lost in the last matrix crash, however, when a Renraku black site was lost in the OU. They decided now would be an excellent time to get it, while also eliminating Warboss to break the back of the Skraacha.

The Meet

Flamesaw hires the runners and asks them to meet him at an entrance to the OU in Redmond. When they show up, he explains that these drones have been killing people in the OU using guerilla tactics, then searching the area they just cleared for something. He offers them the money he's made working for the Skraacha up until now. The runners accept.

The Plan

The runners decide that Swerve will scout out astrally, since drones wouldn't be able to see her. She eventually finds her way to the cyborgs, but is stopped by a fire spirit that she eventually manages to defeat. Wounded, she returns to her body, but not before her Astral Signature was assensed by the spirit and relayed back to the mage. The mage's other bound spirits search for Swerve and find the group at the entrance, where Rabbit scares them off by masking as a Magic 20 Drake.

The Run

The team decides to go to the cyborgs in force, so they set off into the OU. They stop just before hitting a monofilament trap that the cyborgs had set up, however, spotting it just in time. They disarm the trap and enter a medium-sized area where the cyborgs and the remaining 3 spirits are waiting to ambush the team. During the fight, one of the Earth spirits gets disrupted and the 6 cyborgs who are here are taken out, but not before the runners take heavy damage and Master Morty gets converged on.

After the fight, Swerve uses a detection spell to learn what's going on, but doing so gives her enough drain to be knocked out. The team decides to wait an hour to repair their cyberdecks or simple rest - except for Milliam who goes off to search immediately for Warboss to warn him. She eventually runs into the SURGEd salamanders of Chipper while they're defending an area of the OU. She leads them back to the party, then she continues her search for the remaining 4 cyborgs.

She finds them, but not before they find her. She takes a lot of bullets and goes down, but the rest of the team is alerted to her location. Chipper's SURGEd salamanders offer to run the team to Milliam's location using their secret ninja technique of... running really fast. Dumas meets the team on their way to Milliam's location. They find her and patch her up, and see a trail of dead and unconscious bodies heading toward's Warboss' location.

The team rushes, hoping to get there before it's too late. As they get into the upper floor of the building Warboss is in, they see him, Ghaz, and Weirdboi go down to the remaining two spirits and the 4 remaining cyborgs. During the fight, Swerve falls out of a window and gets impaled on a metal spike outside. However, the rest of the team is able to defeat the remaining enemies. Weirdboi wakes up and is able to patch up Ghaz and Warboss, along with some of the other orks in the room.

Aftermath

Warboss is upset to have needed saving, but shows a grudging respect for the runners.

The secret black site Renraku was looking for however is still lost in the OU...

Rewards

• 16k nuyen for "extreme" modifications if you pick up Weirdboi - 8k nuyen otherwise (4 RVP)
• 30k nuyen from Kenneth (15 RVP)
• 14 CDP (6 RVP)
• 15 karma (15 RVP)
• +10 Skraacha Rep
• Swerve: +1 Notoriety

Optional Contacts:

• Weirdboi: Connection 3 at Loyalty 3 for -5 RVP
• Ghaz: Connection 2 at Loyalty 3 for -4 RVP
• Kenneth "Flamesaw" Murphy: Connection 2 at Loyalty 4 for -5 RVP
• Chipper: Connection 4 at Loyalty 3 for -6 RVP
• Warboss: Connection 6 at Loyalty 3 for -8 RVP

Optional Qualities:

• Swerve: Battle Hardened 1/2/3 for -2/4/6 RVP
• Milliam: Made (Wo)Man (Skraacha) for -5 RVP
• Rabbit and Master Morty: Codeslinger(Data Spike) for -10 RVP

Game Quotes

Amusing quote from game.

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Sanjuro - Oh wow that pain editor was no joke! This was a great run! Milliam and Dumas were there and they are great and awesome! There was also the vampire lady who got stuck on a spike, that must have hurt. I feel sorry for her, she didn't seem to like me for some reason. Oh, there was also the little guy who was really mean to me. I didn't like him much. But the mission was great! Getting to fight cyborgs and stuff, it was awesome!

Master Morty

"So that really hurt. Meeting GOD. Those bastards really got the matrix in the palm of their hand, and the rest of us under screws... But one day, I will get my revenge. Regardless, bunch of cyborgs, spirits, and pain. Could have been a better team, but I guess you get what you pay for. Stupid troll decked me, for no reason. Milliam and her Panther were a bit suspicious, but they ended up doing their part. That Swerve got to play vampire-on-a-stick, and Rabbit was a true professional, with the deck of my dreams. All in all, it worked out; I guess I can't complain to much. Not that I can't complain..."

Swerve

At the end... that was really terrible... It felt like I was on that spike forever. It hurt so bad. Most of the time my wounds just heal, and I don't have to deal with the pain. That was so different.

I'm glad Sanjuro managed to get me off eventually, but everyone there knew. It was so terrifying. I tried to be strong about it, but it was too much. I was too weak. I need to grow past that. I need to be better. Charon gave me some advice the next day about dealing with things like this, about having the will to go beyond what "mortals" are capable of. I'm not a normal elf anymore. It's just hard... to.. fill that ideal.