Worming Into Malleable Minds

Worming Into Malleable Minds
Date 2082-06-14 GM Aurora Location Bellevue Status Threat Level: High
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven Cassandra Withers	Cicada Spirits
Swerve Rhicter Potato Chef Rougarou	5 Force 7 Cicadas 1 Magic 8 IG 4 Shaman
Casualties and losses
Potato knocked unconscious	All

Summary

The FBI, through Cassandra Withers, hires a team of runners to capture a bug shaman for them. Cassandra uses this as an opportunity to grow in power.

Background

The FBI's pre-crime anti-bug task force (diviners) tell their 'leashed' Mantis spirit, Cassandra Withers, a prophecy: The indoctrination of those are malleable will be affected by those who buzz. Furthermore, they indicate that runners will be the key to success.

The Meet

Cassandra, noting that some teams in the past have been upset to meet at the top of the ACHE, had the team meet at 2am at a parking garage, as a 'more neutral' location. She did bring 25 guards with her, though. The runners are offered 14k a head to stop the bugs and bring her the shaman, to which they eventually agree. She tells them that the bugs will be located in Bellevue, though she doesn't know much more than that.

The Plan

Not having much to go on, the runners start doing some research and calling contacts. Rougarou calls a diviner who indicates that if the bug shaman is delivered to the FBI, many bugs will be pulled into a giant maw. The team seems to think this is a good thing.

Swerve calls a blood mage who says that malleable minds sounds like it might be this Hermetic lounge in downtown, though this turns out to be a red herring. Eventually the team figures out that 'malleable minds' possibly refers to a school, and 'indoctrination' possibly means it is religious in nature.

Chef does an in-depth matrix search and finds that there is a school in Bellevue that offers a new outdoors program that they're using to attract students, and that the head of this program is a youth pastor who came from the East coast a month ago. Swerve contacts Nameless, and eventually convinces him that she's not a Satan-worshiper. He tells her that Jude Law, the youth pastor in question, recently transferred after going missing for over a week and when he returned his personality had changed. He came with his assistant, Evelyn Mercer. The team then discovers that Jude Law and Evelyn Mercer are going to chaperone a field trip outside of the city with several students.

The team goes to a bible study event Jude Law is hosting. Swerve is able to assense Jude and finds out that he is, in fact, a Force 7 Cicada spirit. Chef sends in a flyspy to the school next door to the church and scouts out the building. He notes that the ultrasound sensor on his drone is irritating to several of the faculty, including Jude, but notably not Evelyn. Eventually, the team decides to call Cassandra and report back what they've found. She tells them she'll set up a perimeter tonight, and for the runners to go in and extract the bug shaman then.

The Run

The runners, after the FBI sets up a perimeter around the school under the cover of darkness, burst into the school and immediately feel the background count of Catholicism (force 5). Swerve is Not Happy. Unfortunately, Swerve failed to sleaze through the barrier twice, so the Cicadas were alerted. Rhicter picks the lock leading to the faculty dorms, and as soon as the door opens...

... a grenade is falling down the stairs! Rhicter grabs it and tosses it back up the stairs, and combat is beginning! At the top of the stairs are 5 Force 7 Cicada spirits, and somewhere hidden is Evelyn. Potato, Rougarou, and Rhicter fight hard against the Cicadas while Evelyn throws direct combat spells at Rhicter. Eventually, however, the runners succeed and manage to find and capture Evelyn after eliminating the Cicadas.

Aftermath

The team delivers Evelyn to Cassandra, who forces her to summon Cicada after Cicada for her to eat until she passes away from drain. Cassandra grows more powerful as a result.

Rewards

• 14k nuyen (7 RVP)
• 9 karma (9 RVP)
• 2 CDP

Optional Contact:

• Cassandra Withers (Connection 7) at Loyalty 2 for -8 RVP

Cassandra has a Bug Shaman now, increases to Connection 8.

Game Quotes

Jude Law: Now that we know everyones proNOUNS, let's learn some proVERBS!!!

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Rhicter

"So, working for the FBI wasn't nearly as bad as some runners would have you believe. Cassandra Withers was top notch, a true professional through and through. She laid out the job, gave us aid when we clarified the situation, and paid us as soon as the job was over. Like I said, a true professional. I will be looking forward to working with her again in the future. After all, anyone who hates the bugs as much as she does can't be all bad, right?"

Swerve

Working for the FBI was a weird feeling. They're cops, and I'm sure they wouldn't mind killing me too. It was worth it though to deal with bugs. Everyone knows the stories, but the reality was so so much worse. The aura they project is so horrible, it made my skin crawl and my insides itch. That cicada was so strong. I hope we got all of them in the end. I was pretty out of it when the team was hunting down the stragglers. The background was pretty terrible in there. Still, it feels nice to do something actually good. We made the world a little better today.

Rougarou

Don't like working with undead and having to know they are watching my back, in the long run but I feel like I get a bad feeling, from working with this j. i really need to pay to god and ask my friends about this person to figure out more about learning who they are.