One Man's Trashfire is Another Man's Recreational Arson

One Man's Trashfire is Another Man's Recreational Arson
Date 2082-05-23 GM Aurora Location Eagle's Rest, SSC
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven
Absolute Zero Barracuda Voltage Babylon Gomorrah

Summary

Absolute Zero, Voltage, and Barracuda find themselves in a bar in Eagle's Rest, SSC for various reasons and overhear a gaggle of disgruntled sanitation workers. On closer investigation, the sanitation workers are incensed at the actions of Pat Moss, a local politician who has been engaging in a number of corrupt and harmful activities, and though he has already been arrested, the workers aren't satisfied. They want revenge, and they enlist the crew to burn Moss' house down. After several rounds of drinks, Voltage drunk dials Babylon, who shifts into team mom mode and astral projects onto the scene and gives Gomorrah babysitting duty. The team finally rolls out, burns down the house, flips off a number of police, and winds up lying low in a safehouse for several days. They start a band. It's awesome.

Background

Pat Moss, a local politician, has been making life hell for the sanitation workers of Eagle's Rest. Misallocation of funds, worker's rights abuses, and union busting are a few of the many wrongs committed against the workers. He has been arrested for a number of corrupt actions, but the workers aren't satisfied with this outcome. They want revenge. Namely, they want his house burned down.

The Meet

Barracuda finds himself in Eagle's Rest on a job to pick up a shipment for Goalmaster. Voltage has similarly been set the task of picking up something from one of Ether's Rinelle ke'Tesrae contacts in the area. Zero, in the course of her daily quest to get to know Seattle better (in addition to an errand to grab soymilk for Vip3r), gets hopelessly lost and ends up chased across the border by SSC guards and, having shaken them, ducks into the bar to ask for directions. Serendipitously brought together, the three hang out and shoot the shit for a bit before a glass hits the wall and shatters.

The glass was thrown by one of the many local sanitation workers gathered in the bar. There is an air of discontent to the group that piques the runners' curiosity. They ask about what has the group so upset, and are informed that Pat Moss has committed a number of abuses that have made their lives more difficult, and though he's since been incarcerated, they aren't satisfied with a simple arrest. After one of the workers suggests committing a spot of arson, the team offers to pull the plan off in their stead in exchange for a stockpile of drugs and equipment. The sanitation workers agree and offer to pay for the runners' drinks for the rest of the night.

In a doomed attempt to keep up with Voltage, Zero winds up turning herself inside out into a bucket after trying Hurlg for the first time. Barracuda, a reasonable person, spends the time downing everclear. Voltage drunk dials Babylon while trying to call Freya for information, which spurs Babylon into mom mode. She astral projects into the bar, detox's Zero, and gives Gomorrah (disguised under an incubus spell) the unfortunate task of babysitting the group before picking up a rando for the night and going on her way. Barracuda calls Kyoko "Wholesale" Nakajima for info, while Zero attempts to get something useful out of Sarah Snow, who is coked up at what appears to be District Attorney Mark Donaghy's dinner party. Gomorrah gathers phone numbers from several bar patrons to give to Babylon.

The Plan

The runners plus Gomorrah arrive at Pat Moss's empty house to case the joint and make a plan. There are two police cruisers and several spirits guarding the area, including two fire spirits that make angry eyes at Zero as soon as they notice her. A driver pulls up to hit on Gomorrah, causing Voltage to go immediately aggro and scare the man into driving into the fence and setting his car on fire. Gomorrah pulls the unconscious driver from the wreck. The police parked in front of the house immediately approach the accident and begin reassuring Gomorrah that EMTs and the fire department have been called.

The team agrees that attempting an arson with firefighters en route makes no sense and decide to hit up a local hotel to sleep on it. Zero makes a series of rude gestures at the fire spirit still glaring at her and has to be dragged away from the scene.

The next day, the team actually comes up with a plan: They'll gather up as much kerosene and styrofoam as they can. Zero will plant an ice sheet under the police cars, causing them to slide downhill. They'll then use the distraction to plant the napalm payload inside the house and light it up before making their getaway.

The Run

Barracude borrows a trailer that they hook up to Caroline. Voltage and Zero dumpster dive like champions and find a huge stash of discarded styrofoam. They fill the trailer, buy a truckload of kerosene, and set out. On arrival to the house, the crew speeds past the cop cars downhill. Voltage revs Caroline's engine and makes a jerk off motion at the pigs before swinging around to hit one of the cars with the trailer. Zero casts her ice sheet as they leap out of their cars, putting three of the four on the ground and sending their cars sliding down the hill while simultaneously draining herself to hell.

The fire spirits go into immediate aggro alongside a spirit of man also guarding the house. Babylon makes an appearance, apparently bored with her current activities, and tempts the spirit of man into going his own way. The newly freed SMGTOW leaves the picture while Gomorrah tries to banish one of the fire spirits, which has its heart set on deep frying Zero. Meanwhile, Voltage and Barracuda do sick stunts and shoot at cops while Zero gets Accidented into an exploding gun and comes uncomfortably close to dying.

Spirits dealt with, Voltage pulls yet another dope maneuver to crash Caroline and the trailer through the closed front door of the house. She disconnects the trailer, spraying an oil slick out of the back of her bike as she goes, and crashes back out through the back door. Barracuda rolls up to the accelerant soaked stoop, makes eye contact with the remaining cops, and drops a zippo into the oil, lighting it up. A few parting potshots later, Zero shatters the last cop like a frosty piñata, and the crew peel off to hole up in a safehouse for a few days.

Aftermath

Several days of going stir crazy in a bunker later, the crew forms Recreational Arson, the greatest band you've never heard of.

Voltage gets another arson for her resume.

Barracuda rocks on.

Babylon and Gomorrah have "The Talk."

Zero's milk goes bad.

The sanitation workers reward their efforts with a generous helping of garbage.

Rewards

Non-Babylon:
4k nuyen or double that of Housewares/Tools/Food/Electronic Parts... from the dump. 2 RVP

2k nuyen or double that of Drugs. 1 RVP

4k nuyen or double that of non-High-Fashion Clothing And Armor... from the dump. 2 RVP

9 karma. 9 RVP

6 CDP. 2 RVP

Form a Punk Rock Band: Recreational Arson.

Voltage: Can buy Steely-Eyed Wheelman at chargen price.

Babylon:
14 karma that can only be spent on Gomorrah's next Ritual Of Change. 14 RVP

6 CDP. 2 RVP

Many lewd pictures from a bar patron.

A mediocre experience.

Babylon and Gomorrah have 'The Sex Talk.'

Game Quotes

Barracuda: You don't look like you're here to see the sights. Zero: I saw many sights. I didn't like most of them.

Voltage: I'm kind of a professional arsonist.

Zero: Hey, Sarah Snow, who are you doing coke with tonight? Sarah Snow: Oh, uh, what's his name...? District Attorney Mark Donaghy: Mark Donaghy.

Barracuda: Zero, do you have any spells that, say, affect an area and knock people unconscious? Zero: Well, I have spells that affect an area and will knock you unconscious...permanently.

Zero: We are spiritually jerking off at all times.

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Absolute Zero

So, look, I'm not gonna lie, I have no idea how I wound up roped into this one. One minute I was ducking down every fraggin' side road doing 95 on a goddamn moped some-fucking-how (thanks, Voltage) scared out of my damn mind, lost as hell, sirens on my ass, next thing I'm sprinting into some dive on the side of the road and Voltage is there like a giant, sexy angel of death except I am very much still alive one way or another. I don't remember a lot after that 'cause my life is the tilt-a-whirl in the devil's carnival and there's no getting off, so naturally I spent the next hour putting all my insides on the outside. Then I got detoxed by a ghost who wasn't a ghost and then there was another ghost who was a ghost and she looked like my roommate until she looked like my mom? Don't feel like unpacking that one right now. Final conclusion on Hurlg? Pretty good actually.

I think I am pathologically very sick because I can't seem to say no whenever Voltage gets excited about anything. Just feels like disappointing a puppy, ya know? So we did an arson with our new best friend Barracuda. He's cool. I guess it's okay; dude sounded like a dick and I'm sure he can buy a new McMansion from which to torment people once he bribes his way out of prison. Lucky says arson is okay if it's for a good cause. Not in those exact words, but ya know how spirits are. Speaking of, there were fire spirits involved which is just my luck. Don't know what I ever did to those guys to have them vibe checking me at every opportunity but here we are.

So yeah, we big time burned a dude's house down and I almost died. Oh, and I'm in a band now. Keep an eye out for our first gig.

Babylon

So I'm just hanging out and getting drunk at the Daisy Chain when I get a call from Voltage, who instead of being in the same bar as me is for some reason out in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere in the SSC. She was talking - loudly - about burning someone's house down, so I got her to send me the location so that I could project over to see her. As it turns out that detox spell doesn't work when you're on a different plane from the subject - I really need to teach it to Gomorrah - but there was some furry mage sick off her hoop on Hurlg there with her that I got to go astral so I could have someone to tell me what was up. Seems like some yokels wanted them to do some arson, and I knew I wasn't going to talk her out of it without being there in person to distract her, so I got them a safehouse and left Gomorrah to babysit while I went to look for a hookup. From what she tells me it was a fun time - though she thinks everything is a fun time - and she managed to keep them from getting arrested by the cops without being seen herself, so I'd say everything worked out. Except for some random who hit on her, since now we apparently have to have "the talk", so that should be fun.

Voltage

Okay so like, what's not to love here; some crazy random happenstance puts me in this shitty bar in Nowhere, SSC with two of my best friends in the WHOLE WORLD, and a bunch of people there offer to pay us in drugs and whatever we can carry to go and burn some rich asshole's house down. I accidentally called Babs in on it, but she wasn't even mad and she sent Gomorrah to help out, and I got to pull some totally nova bike stunts and kill cops AND we even started a band after!!!

Oh. And I found a pretty decent drum kit at the dump that I was able to haul back home. It needs some repair work done, but I got it for basically free so like, that doesn't even really matter. Can't wait until we get to play our first gig as Recreational Arson!