Route 66: Side Story Blast from the Past

Route 66: Side Story Blast from the Past
Part of Like mad max but more guns
Date 2081-05-17 GM Doc McGuffins Location Pappy Pitty's Playground
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven Pitty 'Grease Lightning' McShane Couronne Roadkill (Inactive) Santesso Setback Veil	Ghouls Ancient Arachnodrones
Casualties and losses
Roadkill might've chipped a tooth on the coffee...	Slobbery Ghouls and Desiccated Spooderbots

Summary

Pappy wants a helipad! There's a giant slab of metal in the way, though. Our group of intrepid heroes hacks through the slab, explores a large underground bunker of fifth world technology, mows through a small army of ghouls, and delivers a working (if slightly holey and terribly radioactive) helipad into Pappy's coffee stained fingers.

Background

Looking to expand his playground's mechanical capabilities, Pappy decided to clear a section of derelict devices to make room for a landing pad and aircraft workshop. In the process, he uncovered a large flat metal slab that resisted his cutting tools and...made concerning noises. He posted a job on the 'Haven for a group of runners to investigate.

The Meet

Santesso and Veil were the first to arrive at Pappy's Playground, with the rest of the crew arriving shortly thereafter. Pappy disappeared in the back and returned with cups of the dark toxic sludge he calls coffee. Setback and Roadkill both took sips of theirs. Setback was saved by her iron stomach, but Roadkill immediately regretted it. Couronne, Santesso, and Veil used better judgement and politely set their mugs aside. Then the meat of the meet began. Pappy Pitty explained his desire for a helipad, the discovery of the metal slab, and the noises emerging from below it. He made a reasonable offer that the crew found tentatively acceptable, but they wanted to investigate a bit first. An accommodating sort, Pappy agreed. The group set out to investigate the slab.

The Plan

Investigate the slab, figure out a way through it, and carefully scout/maneuver through whatever was beneath. A fairly bare-bones plan, to be sure, but there were too many unknowns. "Get Inside and Wing It" is sometimes the only plan you have.

The Run

The crew arrived at the slab and looked it over. Sensors showed a large room sealed beneath the thick metal, with what could be doors and corridors leading off in multiple directions. As there was no visible mechanism for opening the slab, Santesso sent his fly-spies off to investigate the area. Meanwhile, Setback pulled out a monofilament chainsaw and proceeded to cut a runner-sized hole through the slab. Santesso recalled his fly-spies and sent them down through the hole to scout a bit while the rest of the crew lowered themselves by rope into the room below. The room was a large hangar bathed in shadow and the oscillating red of low-powered emergency lights. Several locked doors rimmed the room. Couronne began investigating the locks, which were all fifth world keypads. With the help of Santesso's flying lockbot, Couronne successfully opened all the doors in the room, each door revealing little of value (except to Veil, whose obsession with pre-awakening technology will soon be featured on Hoarders, 2081). Until, that is, the final door. This opened into a long hallway of locked doors, with an intersection approximately halfway down. Moans and ghoulish hunger echoed off the walls. Santesso's fly-spies leading the way, the crew made their way down the hall. Setback and Roadkill played a quick game of "Rock, Scissors, Pattycake" with a ghoul through a crack, then the party turned right and headed into a large open room. Two ancient arachnodrones shuddered to life and began training laser sights on the metahumans in the group. The group made relatively quick work of the spiderbots--Couronne hacked one while Veil played "Bag of Potatoes" with her unconscious body, while the other runners tested the affect of bullets on retrotechnology. After Couronne came to and discussed boundary issues with Veil, the two of them teamworked the antiquated bunker's systems. They turned the power on, which opened every door. That's when the drek hit the rotodrone, so to speak. As the large shielded door between the runners and the adjacent room of nuclear powered generators began to open, radiation flooded the area. Simultaneously, a large door ending the hallway to the south opened, revealing a small army of ghouls. Couronne focused on getting the shielded door shut again (because, you know, radiation is bad, mkay), while the rest of the crew headed down and did round two testing the bullet hypothesis. A quick dose of suppressive fire and an application or two of grenades later, plus a series of potshots at an inexplicably napping feral ghoul, and it was done. All that was left was the mopping up. Luckily, Veil had picked up one of those as well (I honestly think this guy has a problem). Then it was back to a grateful Pappy and some final bargaining.

Aftermath

The team dispersed. Those who took the money made their way elsewhere. Those who took the parts disappeared for some hours into Pappy Pitty's Playground and gleefully began dismantling tech.

Rewards

• 16.000 Nuyen (or 32.000 worth in vehicle/drone parts)
• 3 Karma
• Pitty 'Grease Lightning' McShane at 4/2 (Veil got 8CDP, as he already had Pitty as a contact)
• 2 CDP

Game Quotes

Setback: "Is it feral?" Doc: "I mean, it's drooling a bit...."

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Santesso

Well, it wasn’t exactly my usual kind of gig...more cold case than breaking news...but I’m going over the footage as time permits. There might be a story there somewhere. And...who am I kidding? It was a welcome change from novacoked up, spoiled celebs with wardrobe malfunctions. It was good meeting Pitty. His playground was full of hidden treasures....

Setback

It was an interesting run, clearing out that old abandoned silo. It gave me a drive to understand particle physics!

Couronne

"I was NOT excited to be around so many HMHVV-laden feral ghouls. I doubt my respirator mask would be enough to protect me from their virus. I may, however, go back to the bunker to collect some tissue samples for VITAS-related research…"