Borderline Ammunition
| Borderline Ammunition | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of ShadowHaven Shutdown | |||||||||
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| Factions Involved | |||||||||
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ShadowHaven Menard Chloe Green | Major Corp | ||||||||
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Bland Canter Gav Jacinto Will-o'-the-wisp |
Feral Ghoul x4 Boss Ghoul Sheriff Deputies x3 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| None | 4 Ghouls, Sheriff | ||||||||
Summary
The runners are brought together by a brusk, no-holds-barred Johnson, looking for immediate results to his rather immediate problem.
Background
Ecowarrior and Terrafirst! activist Menard has a problem. The smuggling route he's been using has been recently condemned, and now he's got a find a way for his goods and his girl to get outta Ashford before things get to hot. Unfortunately for the girl, one Chloe Green, She's holed up with the goods in a graveyard, and mysterious forces are closing in. Time is important, and if the runners aren't timely, this girl could go boom.
The Meet
Called to meet at an old-timey E-club called the VU-97, the team rezzes in to a scene straight outta time. Black walls, and green outlines define the room, more as a suggestion than an actual attempt at providing an alternate reality. Immediately approaching the four runners is a strange sight; an athromorphic duck wearing hunting tweeds with a shotgun broken open held in one hand while the other clutches a blood-dripping, naked human scaled to the size of a duck. The Johnson immediately goes into his requirements; namely get his cargo, and more importantly his girl out of the dump site, safely, and without causing a major ruckus. Bland reassures the J that this is well within the teams capabilities, and manages to convince Menard to up the bounty on the job to 12,000 Nuyen, as well as a bonus item extracted from one of the crates. Admonishing Bland with a final threat, Menard suggests that everything go as smooth as silk, otherwise there will be consequences. Rezzing out, Menard leaves the team to discuss their options. Canter notices that Bland has an newly acquired mark upon his persona, and quickly erases it, for which Bland is very grateful. Deciding the time is of the essence, Canter suggests picking everyone up in meat space so they can further discuss their options.
The Plan
Collecting the crew, Canter decides to call around to try and find a trailer that she can pull with her fancy, suped-up super car. Calling upon an 'old' friend Pitty 'Grease Lightning' McShane, Canter arranges to pick up a somewhat functional trailer from his junkyard, even going so far as to summon a task spirit to try and fix it up a tad to keep it on the road. Unfortunately, while driving with a spirit concealed trailer at not quite break-neck speeds on the freeway, Canter is accidentally clipped by a vehicle that pulls in behind her, not able to see the invisible trailer in tow. Spinning out of control the other vehicle crashes to the side, while the trailer flips upside down and is rendered completely useless by the impact. As Bland checks the driver of the other car to make sure she is okay, Canter and the others quickly unhitch the trailer, leaving it as the junk heap it has become. Taking off, the team decides that they will just have to come up with alternate arrangements for the cargo, once they have everything secured.
Approaching the border checkpoint, The Border security guard is unpleasantly surprised by the presence of Wisp's Hellhound, who is riding in a carrier in the back seat. Bland tries to explain that the animal is an emotional support dog, and Wisp REALLY needs it to stay calm and controlled, but the guard is not buying it. Instead he impounds the animal, telling Wisp she can pick up the beast on her way back into Seattle. Wisp is disappointed, but at this point not willing to push the encounter any further.
Approaching the graveyard in Ashford, the team gets out and suits up just outside the gates. Moving forward, they notice that the gates are padlocked shut. Since apparently no one in this group has any skills in lockpicking, Gav decides to approach the problem in a straight forward manner; with the aid of her trusty sledgehammer. As the ring of steel upon steel echoes across the dismal and dark landscape, low growls and snarls can be heard approaching from within. Preparing for the worst, Canter and Wisp each summon Guardian Spirits; Canter channeling hers, and Wisp arming hers with Canter's assault cannon...
The Run
Feral ghouls approach the gate, tearing through the graveyard at top speed. Reaching through the gates, a ghoul attempts to rake Gav with it's claws, but only manages to scrape feebly against her cybernetic arm unsuccessfully. Canter immediately unleashes a short burst into the creature, knocking it away from the gate, and dropping it to the ground, bleeding out. Three more ghouls approach, but the team is full of ranged supremacy, and with lightning bolts from wisp, the massive assault cannon carried by her spirit, Canter's assault rifle, Bland's boomstick, and Gav's pistol the ghouls are made short work of.
Moving forward into the graveyard, Wisp trips on a mass of tree limbs, cutting up her hands, and requiring medical attention. Canter and Bland return to the car to collect Canter's medkit, and quickly patch up the magician. Approaching an eerie tomb, Gav attempts to open it, in the hopes that Chloe is inside and still alive. Surprise! A massive ghoul leaps out and upon Gav, bearing her to the ground, attempting to snap and claw at the now prone samurai. Bland takes aim but is caught up in a moment of indecision, as he realizes the potential of his shot raining blood down upon Gav, and potentially infecting her. Not sure what to do, Bland continues to stand in indecision, unable to come to terms with the predicament. Fortunately, Wisp's guardian spirit is familiar with the bull rush maneuver, and manages to knock the Boss Ghoul back into the chamber, away from Gav. Canter moves in for the kill, but realizes that Chloe is in the rear of the room, and her line of sight; more specifically the trajectory of her bullets. Calling out the others to stand down, Canter casts a manipulation spell to influence the big ghoul, convincing it that the runners are friends, not foes. Seemingly confused by the events, the ghoul moves back into the opposite corner away from the team and Chloe, quietly growling to itself, but offering no hostility.
Bland immediately moves up with the medkit and gets to work on Chloe, managing to stablilize her, despite the fact that she has lost an entire leg. The team then decides the best course of action is to get Chloe and the gear out and away, as quickly as possible.
Bland and Wisp fabricate some flimsy straps to attach most of the crates to the roof of the vehicle, while stowing the obviously labeled 'explosives' in the trunk. Placing Chloe carefully into the back seat, they take off, carefully avoiding any sudden maneuvers so as to not dislodge the precarious cargo on the ceiling. Unfortunately, loud noises such as from an assault rifle or worse, an assault cannon tend to draw attention, and this case is no different. Having set up a roadblock, the local Sheriff and his three deputies wait at the bottom of the graveyard hill to intercept the runner's vehicle. Fortunately the team had the foresight to use a spirit to conceal the car, or their approach would have been totally obvious. Canter does her best to sneak the car past the waiting police, but accidentally clips a deputy and runs into one of the police cruisers, dislodging the cases from the roof. Acting quickly, Canter bricks the two cruisers with her forked data-spikes, and pulls around the road block, as Bland puts a gel round solidly into the Sheriff's chest, causing him to immediately go into cardiac arrest. Realizing that the deputies are calling for air support, Canter makes the decision to break away, leaving the four crates behind. Making a clean getaway, the team heads to Menard's compound to turn over what little they managed to to achieve.
Aftermath
Menard approaches immediately as Canter pulls up, the signs of his anger apparent upon his face. Bland steps out and attempts to mollify the eco-terrorist, but is only partially successful in doing so. Menard agree to pay a reduced bounty, despite the failure, as the team was able to bring him back two of his crates, and Chloe as well. Admonishing them to never mention the location of his compound, Menard tells them to get out, as he returns whence he came, Chloe well in hand.
Rewards
8k Nuyen
3 Karma
8 CDP (+1 CDP to Bland)
Chloe Green as an available contact
Game Quotes
Player After Action Reports (AARs)
Bland
"Some might call what happened a failure, but I believe it to be an unqualified success. We managed to save poor Chloe, and with a bit of medical assistance, she'll be walking around on two legs again soon enough. I feel a bit bad about two things though; one, suggesting to Canter that she was just an old woman with my poor word choice, and two, freezing up when that ghoul was on top of Gav. Fortunately everything worked out, at least as well as it could have, so I guess I got two major lessons on this run. First, don't be rude to your elders, and second, always always always do what you have to to protect the team. That being said, I'm going to take a nap."
Gav
"Well, that was a shitshow and a half. Glad we spent three hours fucking around with useless trailers and being polite to border patrol while Chloe was getting her leg off. And being ghoul-bait was just perfect as well. I'm sticking to things that actually have the good sense to be scared of a chainsaw to the neck from now on, instead of ones that give you fuckin', fast-acting-super-hepatitis if they bleed on you. We had time to shop around for car accessories, but not time to exterminate the rest of those things? Sure.
I hope they at least pay me back for that duffel bag they ruined with their brilliant "let's make nylon ropes" plan."