Little Dark Age
| Little Dark Age | |||||||||
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| Part of Temple in the Shadows | |||||||||
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| Factions Involved | |||||||||
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ShadowHaven Amelie and Jean-Baptiste Nameless | Order of the Temple | ||||||||
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Katherine Tyler Six of Hearts Spider Swerve |
Missionist Mage Security Spider Templars | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Security Spider x1, Templars x3 | |||||||||
| Swerve burned a point of edge to Not Yet Dead after being slashed with an enchanted silver sword. | |||||||||
Summary
In which the runners rescue a banshee from the captivity of the catholic church.
Background
During the events of Upon This Rock I Shall Build My Church, Swerve was captured by the Order of the Temple. Because of her loyal service to The Night Throne, Amelie DuPont has contracted a trio of runners who have a personal stake in the situation in order to rescue her before she is executed for... well, being a banshee, mostly. Concurrently with these events, Swerve is held captive in a cell below the Our Lady of Perpetual Redemption church, where she is periodically questioned by a Sister Maria, a missionist mage who believes she can be turned to the light.
The Meet
The runners are contacted individually by Amelie and told to meet with her at Underworld in Redmond; each of them manage to arrive at the Infected nightclub without incident. Amelie's brother Jean-Baptiste shows them down to her sanctum, where she explains what she needs of them - Kate and Six, having been on the previous job, are somewhat familiar with the matter, while Spider is quickly caught up to speed on the situation. Amelie offers the runners 20,000 nuyen each for their services, which they accept before quickly taking their leave of the vampire to plan the rescue.
Meanwhile, below the Our Lady of Perpetual Redemption church, Swerve finds herself alone in a windowless cell, terrified that she will be killed at any moment. Sister Maria, the missionist who aided in her capture, enters and, to Swerve's surprise, engages her as a fellow metahuman, telling her that she's sorry that the young woman has found herself in the situation she is in and that the Lord forgives her for what she has done. Swerve, suspicious and perhaps feeling somewhat condescended to, is cold and distant towards the nun, asking to be set free before going silent. Sister Maria leaves her with some scripture as reading material before leaving the banshee to her thoughts, saying she will return another time.
The Plan
Kate and Six share with Spider the information they have on the church from their previous rescue mission - the place is a veritable fortress, with a rectory full of templars, numerous secret passages throughout, and a series of catacombs below ground. The three plot their infiltration, with Kate and Six planning the physical recon while Spider scouts out the church's (inordinately powerful) Matrix host for vulnerabilities. Since the secret passage that Kate and Six used on their previous job has likely been compromised, the trio decide on infiltrating the church undercroft through the mausoleum next to the main cathedral building, pre-emptively scouting out the security measures so as to plot a path around them. Seeking to undertake the run as quickly as possible so as to minimize the chance of something bad happening to Swerve, the team rush their preparations and individually move their weapons and armor into downtown via smuggling routes so as to be properly prepared for a fight. During the course of perpetration, Kate contacts Nameless, who Swerve had called on the previous job, for some advice on a potential sewer egress - during the course of the conversation, the ghoul priest learns of his erstwhile associate's predicament, and resolves to help as best he can.
On the appointed night, Swerve is visited once again by Sister Maria, who brings with her the mage's power focus - a ring received from the Black Lodge, radiating powerful dark magic. The two have a surprisingly-cordial talk, with the missionist seeking to understand the banshee's mindset and what brought her to this point in her life, and perhaps assess the chance that she might find redemption; on this latter subject Swerve is less than enthusiastic, telling the missionist not to pity her and that she does not want her forgiveness. The nun simply nods and leaves Swerve to her thoughts, leaving her the ring as well so that she might contemplate the Enochian inscription on the inside.
The Run
The trio of rescuers pull up to the church and kit up, throwing on RPC cloaks and sneaking towards the mausoleum on their pre-plotted route. Spider, using EAARS, hops into the host in order to handle the cameras and sensors in their path, while Kate and Six work together to silently take down the watchman in the way; unfortunately the former draws the attention of the security spider in the process, while the guard that the latter take down manages to hit his emergency button just before they pass out. While things don't immediately go loud (at least to the team's knowledge), the church's templar defenders arm and armor themselves to combat the intruders and begin setting up an ambush in the undercroft.
While her rescuers search for the cell where Swerve is being held (using the partial map constructed from the security info that Spider managed to obtain off the host and the footage from Kate and Six's previous job), Swerve is once again visited by Sister Maria, who seems uncharacteristically morose. The nun asks the banshee if she has anything that she would like to confess, if only to get it off her chest and be at peace with herself, and administers the last rites - this obviously makes Swerve rather anxious, and she proves unreceptive to the ministrations of the missionist, who leaves her shortly thereafter with a lingering forlorn look, telling her that she will pray for her soul. Soon after she is joined by a pair of templars armed with silver swords, upon whom she instinctively lashes out with her magic; the resulting commotion draws the attention of her rescuers, who rush to her location to intervene.
The runners progress towards their rescue-e is slowed by the ambush, with the templars doing everything they can to stop the heavily-armed hit squad both in meatspace and on the Matrix - Kate and Six are accosted by armored and augmented individuals of similar caliber to themselves, while Spider is accosted in the host by a pair of security spiders who work together to stymie her efforts to support the others. She manages to take out one of them, though the other manages to get a mean data spike past her firewall and brick her deck, knocking her offline and forcing her to take up arms in meatspace instead. The trio manage to force their way to Swerve's room just as the banshee is slashed across the chest with a silver sword, nearly bisecting her before their eyes - working together, they are able to take down her attackers and recover her.
Unfortunately this leaves them trapped below ground with reinforcements closing in on their position and law enforcement en-route in order to intercept them should they manage to escape the church grounds; nevertheless they are all committed to fighting their way out and avoiding capture or death at all costs, fighting a pitched close-quarters battle as they make their way through the undercroft while harried by the defenders. Their tenacity and resolve is rewarded by a timely rescue by Nameless and his allies, who infiltrates through the underground below and punches a hole into the undercroft, providing cover via thermal smoke so that, with some work on their part, they are able to make good their escape.
Aftermath
Licking their wounds and taking shelter with Nameless and his flock until the heat dies down, the team eventually return to Underworld to present Swerve to Amelie, who simply gives the young woman a hug and says that she's glad that she is okay; she in turn thanks her rescuers for coming back for her, and tells them that she is in their debt if they ever need anything in return.
Rewards
(1.25x reward multiplier for overtime)
20k nuyen 8 karma 8 CDP +5 Night Throne rep +1 Street Cred Optional Contact: Amelie and Jean-Baptiste (C5/L2 Infected Cabal Leaders) for 6 RVP or 12 CDP Optional Contact: Nameless (C5/L2 Ghoul Priest) for 6 RVP or 12 CDP Optional Quality: Candle in the Darkness @ chargen price (must have an associated Code of Honor) Optional Quality: Guts @ chargen price
For Swerve: 10k nuyen (for the family fund) 8 karma 18 CDP May raise Amelie and Nameless' loyalty to 5 w/ RVP or CDP Optional Quality: Will to Live One (1) cool sword scar The Following Negative Qualities: Phobia (Catholic Organizations/Members - Severe) Flashbacks (Involuntary Confinement - Uncommon) Insomnia (Basic) Unsteady Hands
Player After Action Reports (AARs)
Katherine Tyler
Not often do I fail. Hubris, right? But it's true. The most famous screw up in my life was 10 years ago on a cargo ship full of ghouls. I failed my friends, and earned a curse that would affect me for a lifetime. But this time was different. For the first time in my life, I felt like there was nothing I could do. No trick I had, skill I learned, knowledge I acquired could help me save her the first time. Rescuing her wasn't just another job. It was something that I had to do. If I didn't, I would probably hate myself for it for the rest of my life. Running in the Shadows is dangerous business. The threat of death is around every corner. But meeting it head on is one thing. Having you or your teammates go down fighting is bad, but that's the life. Live by the sword, die by the sword and all that. But what happened, and being so helpless to stop it, was probably the single worst feeling in my life. I don't often curse being mundane and often exploit the benefits of not being affected by magic. But in that moment I wished with every part of my soul that I had that power. That I had some way to fight back. I'll figure something out. I won't let what happened happen again.
Six_of_Hearts
Could not have said it better myself, Kate. No one will be left behind like that again. Never again. Too close... too close...