This Is Halloween H20

This Is Halloween H20
	Part of Hail to the Pumpking
Date	2084-10-31
GM	Asmodeus
Location	Sophocles, Redmond
Status	Threat Level: Semi-Prime
Factions Involved
Casualties and losses
	Ascension/Initiation/Submersion Ordeal

Summary

The team saves Halloween. Again.

Background

There's been all kinds of odd happenings in Sophocles (what else is new?) but this time it's people calling for Emperor Yasuhito's glory and buying Horizon products en masse like rabid animals.

The Meet

Bone Daddy, the Tailored Greyware FBR of Sophocles and handyman, meets the team at Sophocles' plaza where the festival's due to be arranged and informs them that locals have become increasingly violent and rabid in their love for the JIS emperor. He's concerned about potential riots and wants the team to stop a bloodbath from occurring. There's also a request from a Shiawase subsidiary to talk about the festival, but he doesn't trust the Community Council to go there in case they get brainwashed just like they did with Horizon. The team needs allies, desperately, so they have to set out and find ways to minimize casualties.

The Plan

Go talk to Grand Duke Zaleos, Ezekyle Burton, the Sophocles Community Council and the Shiawase representative, then try to piece together what they might be able to do.

The Run

At first, the gang pays a visit to Ezekyle Burton and ask for his aid in the matter. The child therapist very openly admits that his knees are functional but not very strong, he's an Aware ghoul and has no combat ability, but he knows a bit about the region and can provide his knowledge in exchange for a favor: go to a shedim in the area and kill it. The team agrees!

Next, they pay a visit to Asahiro Kunitoshi, the representative of Shiawase. He wants Shiawase to sponsor this year's Halloween festival but needs the council to approve of it since he has no intentions of strongarming his presence there unless the locals approve of it. The team is highly suspicious of corporate influence and promise to take his offer to the council, but don't directly agree to work for him.

Finally, the council. The meeting is tense, since Eunie, Raphael and Eustace are strongly anti-corporate for various reasons. Jennifer agrees to vote for Shiawase once Eidolon promises to pay it back to her (uh oh) later and Mason is indifferent. Triage manages to convince the council to vote no and remain as independent as possible, even if it's the harder path.

From here, it's time to kill a shedim. With Pumpking Jack's Search power and Fennec's ability to Matrix search traffic feeds, they find one Saul Amundi in Hollywood. Meticulously planning their breach, they do find Saul but he's far less combative than the team expected. Despite astral perception confirming the being to be an abandoned vessel possessed by a Horror Show, the spirit claims to not remember taking the body and avoids violence whenever possible, having already tangled with runners before. Unfortunately, Eidolon called Asahiro about the shedim's location because he doesn't trust these evil monsters as far as he can throw them. The adept shows up astrally projected and crashes into Saul and the team's limited astral presence barely slows the vice-president down. Desperate to run away, Saul gets exorcised from his body and uses Compulsion in a last ditch effort to make Asahiro retreat. Surprisingly, he manages to just barely succeed in controlling Asahiro's mind and makes him project back to his body. This gives Saul enough time to gather his things, get back in his body and escape -- something half of the team is happy about and the other half very distrustful of. Looks like they won't be getting Ezekyle's aid after all.

With no Shiawase support and no Ezekyle Burton, the line of allies is nearly zero. Spriggan calls on her direct subordinates from the Finnigans to aid and Eidolon knows of a very low tier ganger called Eric Blader. The assassin also contemplates calling Arma and manages to get border security since Eunie, member of the Community Council, would sooner die than let Ares get its hands anywhere near Sophocles. Arma's agents have to work covertly and behind the council's back, but at least the option's there.

Discreet communications between Fennec and the Community Council reveal curious things about their last bid lifelines.

Eunie can call in some form of Knight-Errant troops
Mason can contact a dragon of unknown identity
Jennifer has connections to two former Blackstone Prison guards apt at dealing with magic
Eustace knows the Scatterbrains to an extent
Raphael has ties to the Order of the Temple
The Speaker can call on the remaining Starscreamers

Ultimately, there's a choice to not draw on any of these, as Eidolon and Asahiro's secret exchange of messages reveals that the vice-president grows increasingly concerned and reveals his intentions before the deal is sealed, not after -- his secrecy was to avoid any potential uncovering of his plot by Horizon's divination experts. The vice-president intends to provide astral education and security to Sophocles and teach the locals how to properly deal with spirits in both etiquette and security. He has no intention of ruling the area since it's not extraterritorial grounds and the SINless have no formal education to be useful any way. What he wants to avoid is a scandal connecting the Emperor to any kind of mass violence and to deal Horizon a blow, both of which can be achieved with limited resources spent on his end. Knowing this, the team asks the Community Council to reconsider their previous vote and with Triage leading the charge in negotiations, they succeed at getting the local authority to accept their presence for the duration of the festival as a trial period of sorts.

Finally, it's time for the Duke. Knowing that Horizon is using the Metaplane of Man to somehow manipulate the local collective consciousness, they need access to the metaplanes or they'll be forced to quell the riots here manually. Asahiro offers four Shiawase Samurais, experienced panzer riggers, his sister Yomiko Kunitoshi who appears to have found Izanami as her mentor spirit as well as himself and his two cyber-oni bodyguards. Nine Imperial Kami Service onmyouji arrive as support and aid Triage to summon a powerful kami in his service, since the two share a very harmonious Shinto tradition. Yomiko uses her powers of empathy to take on the burdens of both technomancer Fading and magician Drain onto herself, allowing the team to operate at 100% power despite powerful boons exacting their toll previously.

Grand Duke Zaleos offers information, but demands an equal cost to be paid. Triage, knowing spirits the best, offers to take on such a price: a Rating 5 Spirit Marker. In exchange for accepting a status for life, an Enochian glyph tattooed on his back by Zaleos' teeth biting his flesh, he gains information that the Horizon operatives are in the Consecrated Hills, a region of the Hyperplane known as "Id" in the Metaplane of Man, below the main plane often known as Ego. It is here that false gods and cultural icons, any form of idol in the collective consciousness wage war against each other for supremacy, popularity and becoming forever remembered. Coca Cola vs. Pepsi. Xbox vs. Playstation. Goku vs. Superman. All are made literal conflicts in the Consecrated Hills. And Zaleos, with the spirit marker fulfilled, can attempt to boost his Astral Gateway into a portal for a brief period. The Finnigans enforcers Spriggan called in use ink provided by Zaleos to paint stabilizing Enochian glyphs in four cardinal directions and extend the period that the portal can be sustained for. If the team doesn't return in time, they'll be trapped possibly forever on the Metaplane. Not the worst fate, admittedly.

So the team goes through with Asahiro providing assistance and the Kami Services Onmyouji casting ritual boosts on all team members. Asahiro takes his bow to provide long range support and the F9 Spirit of Man Triage summoned acts as a highly competent guide in his native plane. They descend from mountains, walk past culture wars and reach the pit that takes them from Ego to Id. With Eidolon's Hydraulic Jacks, Grapple Gun and durable body they make moving vertically a mostly trivial matter, thankfully. Finding the Consecrated Hills, they see many things. A Zecorporatum Enclave, Tesla Coil Monasteries, Martial Proving Grounds and a temple known as the Peace of Ego. Dealing with the locals like a wild spirit known as Hades Tesla, worshipping technology and progression, as well as martial spirits like Tsernoz, the Whirlwind of the Apocalypse, the team avoids causing bad feelings and strikes a harmonious chord with most of the hyperplane's inhabitants. Because of their good behaviour, the locals are cooperative and help them on their way, even going so far as to report that the martial spirits were given a war cry for Emperor Yasuhito by mortals in the Temple of the Peace of Ego.

Sneaking into the temple from the mountains, Fennec finds genuine terminals to check out and investigate. He finds periodic reports on progress by the Dawkins Group, a secretive shadow group by Horizon used for social engineering and memetic warfare. They may have even attempted to look into housing AI prisons on the metaplanes, but its actual success is left unclear. The team descends and begins building an explosive charge to level the whole temple, ruining all the investments Horizon's put into the project and forcing the Dawkins Group to start from scratch with tremendous financial losses. This may discourage them from attempting a second time. The process takes hours and the team grows increasingly concerned with how much time is remaining, but just as Spriggan finishes the explosive charge and starts thinking about where to place it for maximum effect, Dawkins Group social adepts ambush them and engage the party in a fierce battle in smoke screens, area jammers and nerve strikes. The adepts have many dirty tricks ranging from Nerve Strikes, monofilament whips and muskets loaded with alchemical preps. Realizing how much damage Spriggan and Eidolon are doing in the frontline, the adepts shift their focus and nearly paralyze Spriggan, while another pulls out the pistol meant for punishing traitors and shoots the Lot's Curse bullet into Eidolon's eye. The curse petrifies half of his body and in a final act of defiance he points his Barrett at the adept, blowing a hole through two that were by happenstance lined up behind each other. The remaining survivor, one already being knocked down, runs away to report on this success, beating away the spirits Triage attempted to summon to chase him down. The adept escapes, but the team extracts and blows the whole temple apart, knowing its original inhabitants are long dead.

Aftermath

Halloween is saved. This year's festival is very Shinto oriented in terms of costumes. Instead of vampires, witches and Silent Hill nurses, most costumes are yokai of all kinds: Daidara Bocchi, Yasha, Mezuki and Gozuki, Gaki, Yamanba and more. Shiawase offers immediate medical support to the runners as they return and Grand Duke Zaleos suffered extreme damage from sustaining a portal which is well beyond the spirit's own natural abilities. It survives barely and soon returns its activities in the area. Shrines to Izanami are erected in the area and some Sophocles residents even convert to Shinto as a result. Imperial Kami Services onmyo mages offer Sunday lessons in the Sophocles Town Hall for the local residents, teaching them academically about spirits and how to treat them with respect.

Rewards

60 Karma OR 240,000 bonus gear money for below (60 RVP)
Either: Delta Clinic Access for Awakened from Shiawase (15 RVP) or 30 CDP (15 RVP)
136,000 Nuyen for Augmentations, Weapons & Gear up to 20F (34 RVP)
(If you don't spend any, just keep half of it as change)
1 Street Cred (1 RVP)
2 CDP
+3 Shiawase Reputation
+3 Starscreamers Reputation
+3 Wild Index
Mundane Ascension, Submersion Ordeal or Initiation if available

For Fennec: Photographic Memory at Chargen Rates, may take Nerlithothep the Succubus as a 1/2 contact (2 RVP or 4 CDP)
For Eidolon: Magic Resistance, every single rank, at Chargen Rates because fuck mages and fuck magic too
For Spriggan: Toughness at Chargen Rates & +10 Finnigans Reputation because her troops are really impressed and attest to her debriefing
For Triage: Spirit Whisperer and/or Spirit Affinity (Air) at Chargen Rates

Optional Contact: Asahiro Kunitoshi, 6/1 Vice-President of Imperial Kami Services (6 RVP or 12 CDP)

Consequences
1. Fennec gets to know a succubus a little better and gets Energy Drained for 10 karma. Man, getting drunk was so good!
2. Triage accepted a Status For Life spirit token from Grand Duke Zaleos and has an Enochian glyph permanently engraved in his back to stabilize the astral gateway. Weird!
3. Triage gets Low Pain Tolerance and Cram Addiction (Mild). Sad!
4. Pumpking Jack and the Sophocles City Council accept Shiawase's presence in Sophocles. Shrines to Izanami are erected in some areas.
5. Imperial Kami Service onmyouji educate locals properly on spirit traditions.
6. Saul Amundi lives. Ezekyle Burton is fucking SEETHING. REEEEEEEEEEE.
7. Eidolon simped ultra hard and owes 2 chips to Jennifer Ashton and Arma Remington.

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Fennec

Wow! I was worried for a minute there! Thankfully, nothing bad happened! None of us died, a bunch of the bad guys died, I made a couple new friends, and we saved Halloween! Plus, BD and Jack promo'd my stream! Good day, good day, wahahahaha!... Alright, fine, so there were a couple loose threads, no biggie! I mean, who's worried about those radio spirits spitting dissonance into the air, right? And like - the server in the astral? It was empty.

It was empty.

Triage: Well, that was exciting. Has to be the most interesting thing I've ever done. To recap, I'm called in to stop a riot, end up negotiating with the vice president of a Shiawase subsidiary, get sent to the metaplane of man! and defeat agents from some Horizon shadow group. It was crazy. The mark from the Grand Duke Zeluos certainly feels... odd, I have to say. Eilodon was a consumate professional. While I don't agree with his methods, he's an effective and efficient runner. Meeting Fennec in person was interesting. She's certainly a colorful character, but she is good at what she does. Spriggan was terrifyingly strong. I do not know many people who get surface injuries from bombs and monowhips.

Anyways, thats all for today. I do need to get Saul some board games though.

Spriggan

Normally the ruffians under my command are at eachother's throats, but I was pleasantly surprised to see them able to work well together. Sharing that last cigarette with Karen right before entering the portal helped me calm my nerves. All in all, the whole ordeal took a lot out of me, and made me realize just how frail my body can be at times. Through the effort of working with my the other runners, and keeping my head about me, I was able to pull things off and keep my self in one piece, as per Heron's request haha. Yet I keep thinking, there were times where I should have assuredly died. That bullet, had it been used on me instead. Would I have survived? I'm not sure. I think Eidolon is strong, and he keeps himself in good shape. I would do well to harden not only my body but my senses as well. There is much for me to do in this world, so I can't go dying any time quick.