Bogged Down And Swamped

Bogged Down And Swamped
Date 2082-05-06 GM Asmodeus Location Glow City Status Threat Level: Medium
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven Mana	Toxic entities
Black Lotus La Rapide Pell Strobe	A toxic adept, a force 7 noxious spirit, 2 force 4 noxious spirits
Casualties and losses
None	All of the spirits

Summary

The runners are hired to do something about the miasma seeping in from an irradiated swamp in Glow City and disturbing the local ghoul community.

Background

As of recently, the background count in the Glow City region has started to rise, and it carries a heavy dose of toxicity. This is already bad enough, but it's clearly expanding and threatens to reach the places where the local ghoul population lives. The epicenter of this background count was located to be in a 10km^2 area around a polluted swamp by the side of a melted nuclear reactor.

The Meet

The meet was inside Glow City itself, specifically on a small island of trash floating in the middle of an old swimming pool, now filled with all sorts of pollutants. In the middle of this island, lies the meditation spot of Nameless, our Johnson, and where much of the negotiations happened. The Johnson was very collaborative and open, sharing all the informations he had upfront, such as the fact that he is hiring a team of runners simply because the BGC would be a major indrance for ghouls, and thus dispatching his men would prove suicidal. He also warns the team about Renraku cleanup teams being active near the area, and offers the team free medical assistance for both radiation poisoning and other kinds of injuries they may recieve during the run.

The Plan

The approach that was decided was quite layered: first, there was a dispatch of small recon drones, to scout out any form of metahuman presence in the area. Secondly, reagents would have been used, to lurk the spirits into materializing. Thirdly, blight would have been used, to allow the rigger to spot the spirits in case they attempted to flee in the astral, and thus help by providing suppressive fire. Lastly, the team would have engaged with the spirits, both in meatspace and the astral.

The Run

After a very quick journey to the borders of the zone, and confirmation that, in fact, there wasn't any oddity or unexpected complication, the team decided to exit the glowing city to acquire all the gear necessary, and maybe ask the respective contats to provide some ulterior insight on how to approach the task. Black Lotus called Aunty Nuyen, and she suggested hiring some form of mundane support, in the form of ganger muscles, idea that was quickly discarded, as paying them would have killed all profit margins. Strobe contacted lil Raj, that suggested the use of blight and FAB sensors, and also provided a bit of explanation about the spirit's nature to the mundane decker. With little effort, all of the resources were gathered, and with the help of Nameless the team was also able to get Strobe's car in the sewers, to provide with a fast infil/exfil. When approaching the designated area, Black Lotus picked up in the astral the presence of a force 7 toxic spirit, while with her flyspy Strobe was able to spot a metahuman, apparently talking to thin air. When approached by the runners, he revealed to be Nietzsche, an awakened metahuman interested in the process of evolution through inflicted hardship on the body. It was quickly verified that he wasn't causing the background count nor was behind the spirit presence, but rather merely a traveler who chose that place as a meditation ground. With some talking, while being covered by Pell, that confirmed she was having him in the scope at all times, the team managed to convince him that a way to challenge himself and continue his path towards enlightenment was combat, and that the spirits surrounding him were suitable adversaries. Thus, he attacked one of the 3 spirits present, and dragged the team in the fight too. Despite their best efforts, the spirits fell very quickly under the team's blows. When the dust settled, it was decided through DNI that despite his help, Nietzche was still a toxic awakened, and thus the "shoot on sight" policy was still in place. Thus, Pell attempted to take him down, but due to his adept powers, he managed to escape somewhere deeper and closer to the reactor.

Aftermath

After the spirits were destroyed it was observed that, albeit slowly, the miasma was retreating, and it was estimated that in the arch of a few days the old area would have been restored to the previous state. The team returned to Nameless's home turf, where they took advantage of the previous offer, and had the local buddist mages cleans the radiation they withstanded during the trip and the fight. Nameless was informed of the presence of a neutral toxic adept who proved himself quite capable in CQC, and that the spirits had been vanquished, so he was happy to provide the full payment.

Rewards

• 10k nuyens
• The choice between a karma point or 4k nuyens worth of the following gear, 7 times (so either 7 karma, 28k nuyens of gear, or any combination in between):

• Evo HEL Suit
• MCT EE Suit
• Collapsible Scythe
• Forearm Snap-Blades
• Victorinox Collapsible Hatchet
• Aztechnology Blood Drinker Combat Axe
• Highland Forge Claymore
• Belgrave Sword Cane
• Any modification for any of the above, up to 18 availability

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Black Lotus

"Why do I keep accepting jobs that bring me in such ugly, unsavory places? Anyways, it went smooth as butter, and while the cash prize wasn't that rich, I secretly feel better about knowing that there are less toxic beings in this plane. Secretly because come on, if someone starts spreading the rumor that I'm a softie it will be really bad. Lucky that nobody reads those AARs anyways, right?"

Pell

Welp, certainly didn't expect putting down a spirit with just weapons fire. Anyway, not much to say, aside from the concern of: "Am I losing touch with the average Haven runner?"