Slurping Spinals
| Slurping Spinals | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Factions Involved | ||||||||||||
| ShadowHaven | Northwestern University Technological Institute Secret Bugspirit Research Center | NU Campus Police | Evanston Police | Wannabe MC Gang | ||||||||
| Ellen, Bonded Spirit, Hybridized Bug-Spirit | ||||||||||||
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Ashford Blue Jay Heron Ryuuji |
Janitor Guards Researchers | 2 | 6 | 4 | ||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||||||
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||||
Summary
After Ashford was told by a strange man with a briefcase and hat that he should try to drink spinal-cord fluid from a hybridized bug spirit, Ashford gathered a couple of chummers from ShadowHaven to perue this goal. The main obstacle was getting access to a proper spirit, since Whichita was under lock-down and no other places were known. Research revealed rumors that Ellen Ripley (presumably died during the Chicago Infestation) who used to be a successful researcher at Northwestern University was rumored to be alive and kept imprisoned because she had information that was not allowed to reach the public. The group of Runners followed this lead, found her, extracted her and hoped to get information about the whereabouts of a hybridized bug spirit in return. Instead, Ellen got sick and the egg of botfly spirit which had been supressed by medications for 30 years developed and possessed her as soon as she was taken off her medication. She begged the runners to kill her, before she would "turn". Instead, they used the situation and let the spirit possess her and extracted the desired fluid. Ashford drank the fluid and got sick. "Nothing that a few shots of antibiotics wouldn't heal" - yea, right!
Background
During a previous run, Ashford was told by a man with a briefcase and hat to drink spinal fluid from a hybridized bug spirit. He took a liking in the idea and gathered a team of runners willing to help him. Some joined because of curiosity, some because the thought the footage would be valuable, others because the wanted to make sure that Ashford wouldn't cause a new infestation of bug spirits.
The target: Ellen Ripley was a successful researcher and a fighter against bug spirits during the Chicago infestation 30 years earlier. At the end of the wars on bug spirits, she had an encounter with a botfly spirit who put put an egg inside her body. Not knowing what to do with her, Northwestern University put her in a cell and gave her medicine to supress the development of the egg and kept her locked in a cell. 30 years passed during which nobody wanted to take a decision on her faith.
The Meet
Ashford, Blue Jay, Heron, and Ryuuji were contacted by their fixers and offered to do the security during the grand opening of Cherry's Shakes in Seattle. During opening, an incident with four wannabe motorcycle gangers who came to offer Cherry a protection racket took place. Unfortunate for the gangers, the runners from ShadowHaven were there to subdue and scare them away. Later that day, a drunk driver ran over one of the motorcycles the bikers had left behind when they fled, and blamed her husband for the accident. As things got loud, the runners used the excuse that the accident hadn't really taken place on the property of Cherry's shakes and a called a contact at Knight Errant who was happy to get his hands dirty. The Knight Errants showed up right on time before the woman could finish beating the living daylight out of her husband. The Knight Errants took the opportunity to exercise some punching bag on the woman in the paddy wagon before the drove off.
After a days of successful work, the runners were having a late dinner as a the man that had put the idea to drink spinal fluid from a hybridized bug-spirit appeard and told him that he should hurry to complete the task and implied that Ashford would otherwise die. The other runners offered their support.
Using contacts, the team found three potential places to find a bug spirit: Whichita, Area 51, or Chicago. They decided that the best bet was to go to Envanston, Chicago, to find the presumably dead Ellen Ripley, extract her from imprisonment and get information about how to get the spinal fluid they were looking for in return. The team also used contact to get a transportation plane to get to Chicago with all their gear and car.
The Plan
While scooping out the Technological Institute (Tech) at Northwestern University (NU), the runners seized the opportunity to get into the elevator and go down to the secret basement as the janitor made a mistake, not following security procedures and used his own key card to give them access to the the basement. Thus, the runners found themselves in front of the sealed cell of Ellen without really having a plan. They decided to find proof that she wasn't "infected" before extracting her. After 30 years of people abusing, poking and probing her, she was not amused by the idea of answering tons of questions that the runners she had just met kept asking, nor letting them assens her aura. Even as she explained to the runners that she was not going to trust anyone who just stomped into the research facility, obviously without permission, only Ryuuji was willing to introduce himself while the others treated here with the same disrespect she had initially greeted them. Blue Jay was in the get-away car and only present with a fly spy and encouraged the team to show sum trust.
After Ellen realized that Ryuuji was a man of honor, she opened up and they negotiated a deal: Ashford would astrally project and fly through Ellens body to test if she was dual natured. In exchange, Ryuuji gave his word that the team would do their best to extract her from the research center if she passed the test. Ellen who would do anything to regain her freedom promised to help them get the desired fluid.
Because the bug-spirit egg inside her had been supressed with medication before it could begin to posses Ellen, Ashford could fly right through her and she passed the test. She lied to the runners and told them that there were only meta-human prisoners on her floor and that the second basement would be the high security area where bug spirits were kept.
Ashford made Ellen invisible and they made their was to the second basement.