The Ghost of the Sprawl

The Ghost of the Sprawl
Date 2082-8-10 GM Sleevey Location Boston Status Threat Level: High
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven The Vory	Yellow Lotus Triad	Headcases of Boston
Koschei Shrike Strobe Jowls	The Ghost of the Sprawl Jianhong Gao
Casualties and losses
None	The Ghost of the Sprawl

Summary

Koschei gets her revenge.

Background

Koschei was turned by a triad vampire one night. After a firefight between the Vory and Triads, only the two were left alive. The mysterious triad man crossed the distance and drained Koschei's essence and left her to become a beast that drinks the souls of the living to survive. He dissapeared into the night and Koschei thought he was gone forever, her revenge out of sight. Until now.

After the events of Mutaquality, Koschei discovered her target living in Boston. She called in what little favors she had on the man, learning he was essentailly erased on the matrix. What little legwork could be done turned up a triad casino called "The Shimmering Teardrop" and a powerful and proud triad adept named Jianhong Gao. He might be the only good lead, if he didn't kill them all.

The Meet

The runners filed into a Vory bar where Koschei called them. It was ... simple. Koschei went over the horrors of her transformation and went over what modest payment she could offer. It was not a lot. The runners milled over whether heading into the depths of a CFD infested hellscape was worth it for 6k nuyen but eventually decided that doing the world and their fellow runner a good deed was worth it. With the support of Svyeta, Koschei handed over a set of fake Docwagon SINs and the runners and their Vory driver headed off on the long roadtrip to Boston, bonding over Real Housewives of Seattle on the way and ignoring Jowls' vague racistness towards elves.

The Plan

Slipping into the city with their fake SINs and identity was a process but with the skill of expensive burner SINs and 2 confident faces, it was no trouble.

The city itself was another beast. The streets were empty, with trash and detritus and abandoned cars its only occupants. Old pieces of paper and plastic carried on the wind.

As the runners looked for shelter, they found the streets inhospitable. The occupants ignoring them and what few landlords remained turning away Strobe for having a nanohive. Eventually they settled on a place to room but 2 members of the team decided to sleep outside. In a city filled with horrible nanozombies.

As they settled in for bed, Strobe went for a quick scouting run with her fly spy, spotting a uncanny figure stepping out of a nearby metro entrance. As this strange en figure turned towards the flyspy, Strobe and her teams location has traced and the spy itself was hit by a powerful dataspike. The rager began sprinting towards the car where Shrike, a technomancer, was staying. As he ran, he tossed dataspike after dataspike at the poor techno, who responded by masking his icon with a resonance veil (though his commlink was bricked into the 7th world). Without matrix targets, Strobe was able to send a masked rotodrone to gun down the creature, emptying a full clip of APDS into the nano-zombie before it finally fell.

After settling in for the night (INSIDE THE BUILDING), a plan was devised. They would go the Teardrop and Jowls would get info out of Jianhong Gao. Jowls perfomred some quick body horror and transformed into a busty elf lady (still dressed like a greaser) and the slightly more horrified group pulled up outside The Shimmering Teardrop. Koschei, Strobe and Jowls went in and were assensed by a slightly creepy aware but beyodn that it was smooth sailing.

The inside of the Shimmering Teardrop was as decandent as one would expect. High roller tables, multiple floors each with a bar of their own, gold chandeliers, the whole nine yards. Jowls was able to find his way to legendary adept himself and seduce him. Through their conversation, he learned that Jianhong Gao was a member of a secret inner-tried magic court led by a powerful vampire mage. Another member was The Ghost of the Sprawl himself, who turned up each day with a new face and name. He apparently operated out of the quarnatine areas and tent cities, hunting and feeding. As they exited the building, an anonymous message was delivered to Koschei. A Yellow Lotus card with the words "I know you are looking for me" written on the back.

Grappling with that new threat, the runners went to a tent city and faced their way in, finding a man who's brother had been found drained of blood with a broken neck. Finally a concrete lead. Through more info brokering and rumor milling, they tracked down their man to tent city that had been overrun by CFD zombies. The group readied their weapon and their drones, careful to ensure wireless was off, and moved in.

The Run

There was a plan. Send a drone in with a commlink to get the CFD zombies to move into the house, then strike. Unfortunately, Koschei saw only red. She cracked open a window and jumped inside.

Triggering a grenade.

As she sprinted up the stairs, fire and headcases surging behind her, she saw him. The Ghost of the Sprawl. There was no time for talk. No time for games. The battle had begun. Koschei launched a series of prep arrows which were handily dodged and the ghost of the sprawl peppered her with assault rifle rounds directly to the vitals. Nearly unconcious from the pain, Koschei leaped forward and shoulder checked The Ghost of the Sprawl out of the window, triggering a grenade and sending him directly into the sunlight. From their, Strobe began firing with a direct connection Drone as Shrike got into the drivers seat and put pedal to the metal. With Jowls cheering them on, the team launched one final offense, catching The Ghost of the Sprawl as he dropped his gun and extended his arms, accepting his defeat.

The runners piled into the car with the unconcious vampire and avoided a car-based CFD infection as they sped off.

Aftermath

The Ghost of the Sprawl awoke in a filthy garage, tied to a radiator. Koschei was there standing before him.

"Why?" She asked.

The Ghost of the Sprawl answered. It was not an easy one to accept. Koschei's squad had wiped out his team. His family. And so he drained her essence. A cruel and petty act but one that was almost ... understandable. When he was done, he lifted his rifle to put a clip into Koscheis skull. And the rifle jammed. A silly little spring malfunction. She looked dead anyway, riddled with bullets and knife wounds, even vampire regeneration couldn't heal her, right? It wasn't some evil cruelty or desire to propagate hunters and monsters onto the earth. It was just a stupid little mistake.

Koschei ogave the man a cigerette. He was pathetic. A powerful adept and yet he spent all of his time nameless and faceless, living without friends or family in run down shacks. That wasn't a life. He told her that. To live and to grow and to love is life.

Koschei let him finish his cigerette and when he was ready, she put an arrow through his skull.

Rewards

14 CDP (6 RVP)

10 Karma (10 RVP)

-OR-

6k nuyen for not-koschei people (3 RVP) and 7 karma (7 RVP)

Run overflow rewards (11.7 hours rounded up) 16 karma (16 rvp)

Optional Qualities (At Chargen price, subtract from run rewards)

For Shrike: One with the Matrix for out matrixing the CFD monsters

For Strobe: Vehicle Empathy at chargen price for dodging CFD guys

For Koschei: Buying off Combat Junkie at chargen price for STORY

For Jowls: Good looking and knows it for seducing a Triads fuckboi

Game Quotes

"It doesn't hurt, it's just a machine pistol." - Yakuza about to shoot a doc wagon driver after work(Strobe) Jowls [disguised as a buxom female elf]: "I'm just an 'ol country girl" Proceeds to get 11 hits on a seduction test "Slamm-O! would say poggers." "Doge pls"

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Shrike: "I came to Boston expecting the city to unfold under before me, revealing the truth behind rumors that Deus lives on. Instead I found a nightmare, populated by living ghosts and the barely living. Do not go back to Boston. It is a dead place."