An average Ohio extermination
| An average Ohio extermination | |||||||||
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| Part of Arma Ex Machina | |||||||||
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| Factions Involved | |||||||||
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ShadowHaven Skinshedder | Major Corp | ||||||||
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Red Ribbon Rougarou Ryuuji |
Character1 Character2 | ||||||||
Summary
Just your average extermination in Ohio, nothing much more to see here. Ares facility, possessed animals, experimental weapons. Yeah, just your average exterminator job in Ohio.
Background
Arma in his goal of expelling the insect spirits from Ares has recently discovered a deeply rooted nest and queen amidst the rural city of Stow in Ohio. The Queen and nest taking refuge amidst an Ares experimental weapon research facility. Knowing it must be dealt with before it could continue to grow uninterrupted Arma decided to recruit a group of skilled runners, one of which he hoped to exploit their disdain of Ares to sign them on for the dangerous endeavour.
The Meet
Rougarou upon training with their mother received a call not from a fixer as she had grown to expect but rather by an anonymous source saying they would like to discuss details along the shore of Tacoma. Skeptical of the figure Rougarou went prepared but still relatively unarmed given the instructions provided. Where upon she saw a tall metallic man clad head to toe in ware and cybernetics. Tensions only grew as he revealed his position within the Ares company, Rougarou's natural distain coming to the forefront as she inquired why the man approached her for a task if he knew of her history. The man revealing his name to be Arma Remington, a powerful higher up in the Weapons World branch of Ares. He however did research on Rougarou and told her that if she were to assist him on the upcoming job he had he may have the ability to find her father's personality chip, to hopefully restore the person he once was. With an uneasy yet seemingly mutual trust Rougarou took the job. Himself calling upon two other runners to assist with the matter.
After a while, Ryuuji and Red Ribbon joined Rougarou in the southern portion of downtown, where upon entering the side entrance of a seemingly well off restaurant, followed an eccentric individual known as Raytheon into a secret underground base for Arma and his operations, one of them at least. Arma informed the runners of the situation in Stow, Ohio and that the queen must be exterminated for everyone's sake in the facility and city as a whole. Stating that for every non-insect spirit manning the facility they were able to spare he would be paying extra nuyen on top of the base 30 thousand payment. After a brief presentation to Ryuuji of a new armour tailored specifically for him for this mission and afterwards should they complete it within acceptable parameters in his own words, the runners agreed to the job at hand, preparing themselves for one the deadliest assignments a runner can partake in.
The Plan
To commence the reconnaissance Rougarou made a quick call to her mother who after learning of her involvement with Arma was... not pleased to say the least but after some careful words and mentioning the promise Arma had made Rougarou's mother eventually backed down and agreed to do some basic intel gathering on the local area whilst Rougarou and her fellow runners flew over. Once the runners arrived at the airport, there awaited three other individuals under Arma's employ. One "soldier" named Fredrickson, a mage named Veronica, and a decker by the alias of "Yellow Circuit." Arma assigning these individuals to the runners to ensure a successful mission given the level of risk involved. On the flight over Red Ribbon decided to do a bit of recon all on her own, looking into local areas to see if anything seemed amiss about the facility, the city, or anything in the local area. Only finding basic information on the facility and the city. However, a few small forums shared amidst paracritter hunters shed weird light on the situation. A couple woodland creatures around the surrounding areas apparently acting weird. Sadly Rougarou's mother amidst this time not finding any information Arma had not already provided to them. Though while vague Red Ribbon's findings were something to go off on so the runners decided to split off into two groups when they arrived. Rougarou, Veronica, and Ryuuji would head to a lodge where they were said to reside and ask more about the sightings. Meanwhile Red Ribbon, Yellow Circuit, and Fredrickson would investigate the facility in person to figure out what defenses they would face when invading the facility.
Ryuuji, Rougarou, and Veronica met little resistance on their way to the cabin, the man inside despite appearances greeted them rather kindly and offered some food assuming they were there to request a hunt. After some chatting back and forth Rougarou noticed the man unsure of something. Some further coaxing by all 3 members of the group the man caved, stating that the critters never acted like this, even when the presence of spirits were around. The man figured something might be wrong with their minds, they moved unnatural, reacted unnatural, etcetera. With a couple theories in mind the runners thanked him for his time. After waiting for Veronica's steak to be done the three headed out eager to see what Red Ribbon and the other two had found out. Through careful driving and legwork Red Ribbon during that time actually performed quite well with her drones and matrix research. With the aid of Yellow Circuit Ribbon piloted her drones around the facility to investigate both physical and matrix for any threats, Fredrickson stating he'd do more physical recon when she was done. The drone able to identify 4 watch towers with a sniper rested atop each one, 2 front gate guards, 4 guards surrounding the base itself, and a massive dense pack of mines surrounding the entire facility. One area however that stood out was a massive section near the back that led to the woodland area of the city left unguarded with a large clearing of mines allowing for a nearly clean shot directly for the base. Both Red Ribbon and Yellow Circuit finding this odd and with little reason to stay decided to head back towards the van. Fredrickson ready to go before Red Ribbon told him the entire recon had been done. Fredrickson left a little confused simply shrugged and laid down as he had less to do and was not going to complain. Red Ribbon however with assistance from Yellow Circuit decided to get more intel on the base such as schematics and schedules for the guards and when they rotated shifts. Some hacking later and they found out the times and that there was a large air duct that may be a perfect entry point and potential sabotage area for when the time came to strike.
The runners met up to discuss what they had found out, piecing together that alarming news that the surrounding wildlife had likely been taken over by insect spirits and in the event their queen or the hive were to be threatened (the facility), likely all available inhabited wildlife would flock to protect it. Knowing astral reconnaissance was likely also required Veronica agreed to project and see what she could find at the facility with the aid of a spirit. When she returned she informed the group she was unsure if she was followed as it got tense near the end. 3 powerful watcher spirits patrolled the premises with one even watching over the vent entrance the runners planned to exploit. The runners plan was simple, invade the facility through the vent and use arrowlink arrows to connect to the host safely so Red Ribbon and Yellow Circuit could safely bypass matrix security measures. Then Blight gas grenades would invade the facility and air ducts. Knocking out regular guards and crippling the remaining insect spirits making it easier to discern from man and spirit. Realizing that they may need more backup Red Ribbon decided to call upon Skinsheedder, a free sprite that may lend its services to Red Ribbon and Yellow Circuit when the strike was to begin. After some very... interesting communication happening, Red Ribbon was able to secure their aid in exchange for karma and favors to be paid for in the favor. Deciding to rest for the night the runners and their companions found decent lodgings. However trouble emerged as several woodland animals surrounded the motel, likely investigating some form of evidence left behind by one of the runners during their investigation. While combat was a distinct possibility Ryuuji thinking quick on his feet used his adept powers to clear his mind of any involvement regarding insect spirits and looked out the window to see a grizzly bear directly scouting the immediate area. Upon seeing the bear he simply told it to shoo away from the area. Despite all odds being against this course of action, the bear and its companions decided it likely was a false alarm and left. A tense battle avoided the runners knew that tomorrow night would be it and they must strike while they still could.
The Run
Providing Veronica with the nuyen required to learn more spells they found essential, the runners and their companions were ready to take on the facility when the guards swapped shifts during night. Some brief astral recon revealing the various individuals that were and were not spirits in disguise. The stealthed onto the base, Rougarou leaping several meters into the air knocking out one of the snipers on active watch before repelling down with no problems. Afterwards Red Ribbon and Yellow Circuit were able to clear out the mines that hindered their way towards the massive vent cover, Skinshedder enhancing their abilities as often as it could throughout the entire length of the operation. Meanwhile Veronica and her summoned spirit were able to stealthfully take down most of the watcher spirits that threatened them but the fact sadly became clear due to the number of insects on site and the dangers there in, stealth would not last and one insect guard opening up fire proved that fact to unfortunately be true. With Fredrickson now taking the charge Ryuuji, Rougarou, and Veronica followed in close proximity. Fire exchanged with guards and snipers barely managing to injure any of the runners as they headed towards the vent with multiple of said guards falling from the accuracy of Fredrickson and Rougarou with aid from Veronica's spells. Arriving at the vent cover Ryuuji was able to lift they heavy metallic item allowing Rougarou the chance to shoot the arrowlinks at what Red Ribbon and Yellow Circuit were able to determine as repeating laser turrets. With Rougarou's rapid reaction and stealth both arrows reached their marks disabling the security present. With a couple well placed tosses the blight grenades were tossed to the vent, the gas spreading throughout the facility as the sounds of rapid coughing and panic coming from within.
Turning on their chemseal rapidly to descend the runners headed down the large vent to repel to the bottom level, their reconnaissance revealing it to be the most likely place the queen dwelt. With the dismissal of her spirit Veronica began to emit a massive cleansing aura to ensure their strength amidst the intense insect tailored background count. Combat nearly immediately ensued as weakened yet ready insect spirits attacked the runners. With spells and lasers also proving a nuisance as mirrors seemed to line nearly every wall in the lower facility. Whilst the intense firefight persisted Red Ribbon while offering aid to Yellow Circuit left him in charge of matrix related situations as she drove to hide from the inevitable backup/extra heat coming in response to their intrusion of the facility. Yellow Circuit amidst their disabling of devices and buffing of fellow runners unfortunately encountered difficulties as the spider of the facility caught them as they infiltrated the host. Causing Yellow Circuit to engage with the advanced spider. Red Ribbon aiding both Yellow Circuit and the runners via their drone that opened fire whenever it could. With paint obscuring the mirrors the runners advanced. Ryuuji and Rougarou's martial prowess leading the charge with Fredrickson's armor and firepower proving also useful. Eventually as they cleared the front rooms Yellow Circuit grew tired of dealing with the Black IC and Spider so with nearly all their might they conjured a powerful data spike directly to their deck causing intense feedback into the insect spirit inhabited physical body. After it proved not to be enough Yellow Circuit did one more and with yet another powerful spike the spider seemed to disappear with little to no commotion.
Finding the way ahead blocked Yellow Circuit made short work of the rating 4 maglock that barred the heavy steel door in front of them. However on the other side danger awaited as multiple guards and 2 Ares HTR all inhabited by insect spirits opened fire. Their experimental weapons packing a powerful punch. Able to nearly down Fredrickson in but 2 blows despite their milspec armor. The presence of 4 mirrors in said room also likely not aiding the runners much as spell after laser after spell peppered the room throughout the course of the battle. Ryuuji and Rougarou's melee prowess proving affective against the guards but not the HTR's overwhelming strength and durability. Veronica's spells however were very effective causing their firepower to be directed towards her, all may have been lost for her were it not for Rougarou incapacitating one of the HTR while Fredrickson blasted the other one with a bulls eye burst directly into the HTR's chest. Ryuuji alongside Red Ribbon's drone dealing with the remaining guards before and after the fact. With the guards and HTR down the runners headed towards what is most likely the queen's chambers.
With weapons at the ready and buffs in mind, the runners headed in, the sprinklers on display hampering the abilities of that laser reflected off the mirror to harm the runners. A quick dab of paint and the mirror was gone. But as they rounded the corner 6 powerful insect spirits and a lingering queen assailed the runners with no hesitation. The insect shaman aiding them from behind the wall of spirits that charged. A game of hot potato proceeded between both Fredrickson and the the front insect spirits. Slightly humorous in the amount of times it was tossed before exploding into a cloud of blight gas. As Ryuuji charged forward however the queen infested their mind, convincing them to retreat from the battle and attack Veronica on the way out. As Red Ribbon's drone kept up pressure on the Queen and Shaman Rougarou headed in for the kill, hoping two clean slices aimed dead center of the queen would finish the job. Sadly despite devastating blows the queen's resilience proving too strong as immediately afterwards Rougarou was ordered to surrender as magic took control of her body. Veronica desperately trying to help by aiding in the destruction of the lesser spirits with little avail. With things dire and tense with a well placed barrage Red Ribbon was able to land the killing shots against the queen as their drone struck rapidly. With their queen dead the insect spirits began to lose control of themselves and became mindless monsters that were easy to dispatch.
Realizing the job was done and that proper non-insect backup would likely arrive soon the runners hurried out of the facility but not before aiding some Ares Security guards in dealing with one of their insect spirit inhabited allies. After a slightly tense but pointless engagement with the runners and remaining guards they left the facility in a hurry. Red Ribbon putting the petal to the metal to allow a proper escape with helicopters and countless Knight Errant officers soon to be after them. But with Yellow Circuit's assistance the drive was difficult but possible as they then hurried into the plane to escape the chaos that followed. With victory in their grasp they headed back towards Seattle to inform Arma of their performance.
Aftermath
After arriving back in Seattle Arma asked both of the groups what they thought. Yellow Circuit, Fredrickson, and Veronica stating that the runners performed well and beyond what would be expected of them while stating they were simply there for support. Meanwhile Rougarou, Red Ribbon, and Ryuuji stating the other 3 were essential in the missions success. Arma acknowledged this but also brought in the fact due to their actions losses were low but still in the chaos they left behind a researcher and two assistants died when the insect spirits lost their minds. After acknowledging this fact Arma still gave them their well earned rewards, stating he would likely be in touch with them in the future. Tense and long the battle was, but with another victory under their belts the runners headed home.
Rewards
Extreme: 93 RVP (30 x 3.08)
- 30k Nuyen (15 RVP)
+14500 Nuyen (Bonus)
+4500 Nuyen (Glowing Reviews)
- 58 Karma (58 RVP)
- 40 CDP (20 RVP)
+2 base CDP
- Gear rates for weapons/ware/accessories up to avail 24 (R and F included)
- Initiation/Submerssion/Ascension for anyone involved.
RUN CONSEQUENCES
- Red Ribbon: Owes 7 Karma to the emoji'd one. And a chip.
OPTIONAL CONTACTS
- Raytheon (C5/L2) (6 RVP)
- Arma Remington (C9/L1) (9 RVP)
OPTIONAL QUALITIES
- Gearhead for Red Ribbon at chargen rates (11 RVP)
- Natural Athlete for Ryuuji at chargen rates (7 RVP)
- Tough as nails: Stun or Phys at chargen rates (5 RVP per rank)
- Daredevil for Rougarou at chargen rates (6 RVP)
Game Quotes
Player After Action Reports (AARs)
Rougarou Planning each step and making sure we don't step into a pitfall while dealing with insect spirits is ever a problem and not trying to kill those who could be bugs made it a harder choice...but if it could lead to my father becoming who he was before. i will do it and thank you god.