Crossfire: Local Offensive

Crossfire: Local Offensive
Part of Hail to the Pumpking
Date 2082-02-01 GM Asmodeus Location Redmond, Sophocles Status Threat Level: Medium
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven Jane Dior	Halloweeners
Canter Frostbite Toughie	Halloween Flamers, Grenadiers & Pump King Jack
Casualties and losses
None	None

Summary

Runners rescue hostages from a gang-wrecked apartment block.

Background

Ever since Pump King Jack got back to the surface, he's redoubled his efforts to recruit as many Halloweeners as possible to his overthrowing campaign. It was only a matter of time before things became overtly violent.

The Meet

Jane's outside of the cordon surrounding Sophocles, leveling the situation with the team: there's an apartment complex full of locals that are getting caught in the crossfire of Knight Errant strike teams and Halloweener Starscreamers duking it out on the streets. She wants them out of the cordon before the gangers break into the complex and do anything to the inhabitants. Most managed to evacuate in time, but some are still around. While she promises to pay for each survivor and every taken down ganger, she'll appreciate it even more if the job's done quietly so she can cover for the team by taking credit for the rescue and bolstering her career with the admirable care for civilian lives. While she's perfectly aware of the runners' backgrounds as career criminals, she won't stick too hard to the book if it gets innocent lives saved.

The Plan

Given some planning, an escort inside of the cordon in an unmarked white van and some spirit scouting, the team begins formulating a plan to exfil the civilians without raising an alarm. There's plenty of Starscreamers already in the building, so they plan to advance through the fire escape to the third floor, skip across the balconies and open some of the bedroom windows to rope the civilians down to street level. Canter's spirit scouting does wonders here.

The Run

While there's a couple of close calls because of Frostbite's unnatural astral signature, the occupying Starscreamers don't notice a thing as Toughie and Frostbite make their way to the bedrooms in the northeast corner of the third floor. Canter's spirit possesses one of the civilians and tells them to stay calm; none of the others really believe this peculiar apparition and almost scream to the Halloweeners for help (what a dumb idea that is). The possessed civilian begins opening the bedroom window while Toughie manages to make the jump on top of a ventilation fan, climbing in and tying a rope to the bedpost. One by one Frostbite and Toughie begin helping the two down as the spirit leaves to do its own thing and Canter summons another, her frail and aged body starting to cough up blood from the strain. While she's busy giving cookies to everyone like a kind little grandma, her spirit possesses one of the remaining civilians in an adjacent bedroom and opens the second window without alerting the guards outside the bedroom.

The moment of truth. Toughie barely manages to swing his way across and ties his rope on the bedpost again, letting the last two civvies evacuate. It's then that one of them mentions a stray girl having been tied up in the elevator after trying to help them. Not wanting to leave a single girl to her fate with the gangers, the team untie the ropes and with Toughie's miraculously great climbing skills get to the rooftop. Canter's third spirit for the day possesses a rat and manages to climb along the elevator cables to the captive girl, none other than Irene from To Defeat A Villain. Cuffed, mage masked and tied up several times over as well as heavily bruised, she's set free by the rat's diligent and relentless chewing on the restraints. Toughie lowers himself down the cables and helps the rest of them off, throwing the injured girl onto her back and muscling his way back up on the roof. After a careful descent, he hauls Irene to the white van along with the rest of the civilians and all three runners evacuate, without the gangers being any the wiser.

Aftermath

Constable Jane's relieved to see the civilians relatively unharmed, though Irene asked to be dropped off earlier on. She'll keep doing heroic work in the area and keep innocents safe, and as thanks for doing the job discreetly Jane offers to provide some surplus KE gear to the runners if they so desire. Some of them gladly take the offer, others were simply happy to do the right thing. Jane even offers her services if they end up needing a hand at a later date!

Rewards

• 6 Karma
• Riot/Security Gear with various Armor Modifications or Ares weapons up to 18 Availability (max. 28,000 Nuyen)
• 2 CDP
• Optional Contact: Constable Jane Dior, 5/1 Knight Errant Surplus Fence

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Canter

I hate working for KE, but saving the people in the apartment complex was worth it. No one expects a possessed rat to save the day. Also, seriously, who hires a rigger and then says she can't use her car?

Frostbite AAR: MS005

• Report_Operation: Cor-or-or-or - Beep boop - Query - Logical indi. Statement: Secure Hostages, minimize loss of targeted entities.
• Report_Runners: Johnson read - indiscriminate.
  • Listing procedure:
    • Canter: Statement: Elderly entity - inclusion... Query: Magical presence?
    • Toughie: Statement: Optimization in tasks... Ware further precise - require updates to remain in competition.
• Report_Opinion: Job was successful, minimal casualties.
  • Daytime operation - ability - reduced.
  • Covert access - accessed
  • Entities evac-processed - - - undertaken - success - non-co- confirmed.