Ordoing One Ordo

Ordoing One Ordo
Date 2083-11-11 GM Archtmag Location Austin, CAS Status Threat Level: Extreme
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven Draco Foundation Ordo Maximus	Aztechnology	Tamanous	Ordo Maximus
Rabbit	Blood Panthers Combat Riggers	Assorted Tamanous Goons	Cynthia Rochette
Casualties and losses
	Blood Panthers	Assorted Tamanous Goons	None

Summary

Rabbit is called by Sybaris to capture a dangerous member of Ordo Maximus. She travels across the continent to chase down a lead. In the process of hunting her Nosferatu, she makes a strange alliance of convenience with an old enemy. Setting aside possible feuds for the moment, Rabbit fights off agents of Tamanous and Aztechnology to steal away her target, returning him for a quality payday.

Background

A nosferatu in the service of Ordo Maximus by the name of Kale had a long history of popping up in unpleasant situations and discoveries. A potent blood mage focused on researching the planes, and learning new ways to breach and connect them, he drew the attention of the Draco Foundation. Mages sending powerful beacons of mana into the aether is something they generally want to regulate. Still, the nosferatu was revealed to be cunning, avoiding capture, their skill and cowardness letting them slink out of dangerous situations. When a sighting of him appeared in Austin, Sybaris decided to send her new agent on the case. Hoping a banshee could blend in the circles Kale traveled through, potentially this would be the time they captured him.

The Meet

Calling Rabbit into a meeting, Sybaris explained the situation to the banshee. Rabbit was a new resource and agent available to them, allowing them to approach this problem from a different tact. Blending with the infected communities in the Austin area, Rabbit would hunt down clues for the hiding Ordo member. Ideally, she would capture and return the target for interrogation, though killing him was preferable to allowing him to slip the noose once again.

Investigations

Flying down to Austin, Rabbit had to land in the suburbs outside of the city. Austin, located at the division between the CAS and Aztlan has a heavy military presence, meaning flying a repurposed Aztlan military helicopter over the CAS side of Austin would be problematic. Taking a circuitous route, she managed to find a landing authorization for a gang landing pad. Unfortunately, the gang in question, in classic CAS tradition, was metaracist. Not exactly scared of random gangers, Rabbit landed anyway.

Exiting her helicopter, Rabbit was surrounded by a greeting party of the gang. Rabbit didn't exactly tell the gang she was an elf, and while she wore full armor, her build betrayed her elfiness. As tensions very quickly, the gunship and its array of weapons behind her negotiated for her. Threatening the petty gangers with a painful experience beyond their means, Rabbit secured her landing site. For the moment at least.

As she made her way towards Austin, she researched signs of Ordo Maximus in the area. Far from its traditional power bastion of Europe, there were not any public Ordo organizations in the area. Though that didn't mean they weren't lurking under the surface. Rabbit did identify one publicly affiliated member of the organization in the area though, a noble touring cities around the country. After stalking him for a bit, both physically and via the matrix, she realized he was likely just a random rich guy, the core of Ordo Maximus's public face.

Taking a different tact, Rabbit decided to push in the direction that Kale was sighted. Following the trail, Rabbit headed to an underground market outside of Austin. Primarily catering to the infected and any lacking the scruples to associate with them, the Bazaar was a hot point in underground smuggling to and from across the border. With Aztlan's rather unique acceptance of the infected, a thriving market had grown, selling wares to those stranded in CAS territory. Run by an infected gang, the Night Owls, the market provided all an infected could want, and apparently, Kale felt drawn.

Heading into the market in the early evening, it already had started to pulse with life. The market filled the shell of an old mall, with established vendors lining the old store fronts and countless stalls filling the central aisle, wares of all types hawked. Heading over to a butcher, Rabbit bought some blood, taking in the sights and asking idle questions to the worker at the register. Eventually, she managed to find out that Kale had been seen nearby a talismonger, one with an actual store. "Jerry's". Whether or not he actually entered, the man at the counter didn't know, but it was a lead to start with.

Heading over, Rabbit went to meet Jerry. Whatever her expectations of Jerry were, they were wrong. A shirtless centaur, closer inspection marked him as a Chiron, their Strain I manifestation. Jerry, friendly and easygoing, wasn't very helpful regarding Rabbit's questions. Allegedly, he had never seen the man she described, and that he certainly hadn't entered recently. While he didn't seem to be saying any obvious lies, Rabbit still wanted to investigate a bit more. Something seemed off. Declining an invitation to one of Jerry's parties later that night, Rabbit exited the shop and began to plot a way into the Talismonger's back room.

Getting past Jerry directly would likely be difficult. With gang guards lurking around and a surprisingly robust security system, it seemed better to find a more indirect method. With a bit of aggressive stealth, emphasize on the aggression, Rabbit made her way into the service corridors of the old mall, finding the back entrance to Jerry's store. In the process of breaking in though, Rabbit noticed a strangely sophisticated system of hidden cameras, barely visible to even her enhanced senses. Working to disable them and investigate, Rabbit poked around the back room. While at first glance unordinary, she found a hidden seam in the wall. Unfortunately, it sounded like security was closing in on her. Working fast, she hacked the icon of the seam, and a hidden elevator popped open. Never one to avoid the call of adventure, Rabbit hopped in and dodged her pursuers.

Complications

Cynthia Rochette

As Rabbit went down a secret, high tech elevator in the middle of an abandoned mall turned infected black market, you might assume she was afraid. Rabbit is built different. Confidently, she went down the hidden elevator, aware that whoever was on the other end certainly new she was coming. As she stepped out, she went through a mantrap and entered a room. A kill room! Potentially.

As facing her were security emplacements, security devices, and an array of people staring her down behind them. Not only were there multiple powerful awakened infected, chromed up guards armed and ready, there was even a top of the line cyberzombie!

Rabbit, for whatever reason, decided to start with diplomacy.

Game Quotes

Amusing quote from game.