ErnestGrab the lady by the arm, pulling her off balance enough that she can't reach the button
"Listen, lady, I've had a long-ass day babysitting this loon," gestures over his shoulder toward Akira. "just take us to the problem so I can go home."
Lean in so only she can hear the next bit:
"You better be reaching for the keys to the door, sweetheart, else I might have to break your arm."
Squeeze her arm tightly to illustrate the point.
Ernest blinks, glancing toward Akira, and says to the ticket lady:
"Heck, I might even take the crazy bitch up on that offer."
[Intimidate 8+2] [Resistance 2-1] The woman's eyes roll back in her head as you and Akira ball the idea of cold-blooded murder back and forth.
"P-p-please! I don't wanna die!" Bawling obscures most of the rest of what she says, but you gather that it's in the same vein of pleading for her life and swearing that she won't tell anyone that you were ever here if you just let her live. She produces the keys shakily, fumbling the action of passing them to you and dropping them with a clatter on the booth counter instead.
Akira"Whoops, didn't mean to hit that button so early. I think we'll have to kill her. Can't afford to let things slip loose." she says with an alarming level of excitement in her voice.
Now... assuming the holograms have the same force screen technology as the force screen itself... run one of the holograms into the maintenance door. See if it just passes through.
The hologram hits the door and flattens, becoming two dimensional as it presses up against the surface. The silver dust that came off your suit is clearly physical, and it's what's actually physically projecting the hologram. Unlike the force screens, the hologram has no physical presence, outside of the minimal weight of the silver dust.
On the one hand, the fact that there is a physical projection medium means that your suit isn't projecting the holograms constantly, which implies that the holograms will be able to continue to operate outside your line of sight. The bad news is that they can be physically disrupted (as evidenced by the door) and that they'll only last as long as the dust that's generating them can hold the charge it siphoned from your suit.
Adam"Craap. Give me a second..."
Without any tools, there's really not much that can be done. Removing the Medi-aid connection and putting the connection hub back in place could stop the alerts from going out. Try to figure out if that's possible.
Adam hears the gangster jump out, and start shooting. "What the hell..."
[Mechanics 10+2] If you had an hour, a full toolkit, and a computer capable of interfacing with the hub, you could probably figure out a way to block it from sending the emergency alert signal, either by blocking its ability to receive signals from the medical implant or by blocking its access to the emergency channels. However, as it stands, you don't have any of that. Hell, even if you just had device capable of interfacing with it you could try and slave the physical hub to a virtual access point where you could DMZ out all connections except for the Traffic authority. But that would still require five minutes and a device capable of...
Quick as the thought, a silver bump forms in the arm of your strike suit, snaking out to connect to the hub. In seconds, more information than you knew how to ask for is streaming across your HUD. Navigation might be a little tricky at first, but this should do assuming you can get a little bit of quiet time to focu-
Right on queue, your partner opens fire on a random crowd of pedestrians.
Jamie"One sec bro, that eye rig looks pretty damn sweet!"
Walk out the truck and spray the gang dudes with SMG fire until they are all dead or incapacitated. Take careful care not to aim at the head of the chick with the cyberware.
Time slows down as you swing the door of the truck open. The lead member of the gang spreads his arms wide, showing a conspicuously large sidearm in a sloppily adjusted shoulder holster.
"Man, you ain't Tao. Where is th-"The woman raises her eyes from the ground. She looks at you, straight at you. Despite everything you've been through, despite everything you've seen, there's something about that eyeless stare that sends shivers down your spine. She says two singsong words before you open fire.
"Stranger danger."[Accuracy 5+2] (10 Damage) The first burst, fired from surprise, interrupts the speaking ganger with a faceful of lead. He staggers backwards pitifully, briefly a marionette of short circuiting nerves as his body imitates a headless chicken. [Jamie Reaction: 6] [Ganger Reactions: 7 9 9] The woman's warning, however, seems to be enough to galvanize the other gangers into action.
[Ganger Accuracy: 10-1, 3-1, 7-1] They scatter backwards, firing pistols in reckless abandon. Bullets hit the food truck, but several of them do hit you. (Max damage worse than min reduction) but the small arms rounds utterly fail to penetrate your armor. Two of the gangers take cover behind a trash bin, and another attempts to hide behind the slim profile a street light.
[Accuracy 7+2] (9 Damage) A spray of bullets from your SMG riddles the ganger behind the lightpole with holes, dropping him almost instantly.
The utter uselessness of their firearms against your armor, and the ruthless efficiency with which you gunned down their compatriot and their spokesman breaks the will of the remaining two. They bolt.
They woman, meanwhile, simply continues staring at you. [Perception 3] She's holding something she wasn't before, but it's too well tucked up in her hands to see what it is.
Akira NagamotoResistance: 10/10
HP: 10/10
Inventory:
H&K G172
Tretiak Combat Shotgun
Kiloton Rocket Launcher
Fame (minor): Small chance to encounter random fans. [9]
- Dedicated Fanbase: While they are scattered across the globe, there is a still a core group of several hundred rabid followers that maintain a webpage and forum in your honor. Getting in touch is as simple as logging in.
Stunner: Pretty is an understatement. You move with grace, speak in the tones of angels, and look drop-dead gorgeous. +(1-3) to casual persuasion checks, depending on gender, age, etc.[5]
- Dolled Up (Niche): Your time in the J-Pop business has given you a rather unique fashion sense. For a lot of people, it's a bit... much. For those that enjoy it, well, you can incite projectile nosebleeds if you go all out. You can, given adequate material, choose to 'dress up'. Depending on who you're interacting with, this can either double, or negate, the effects of your stunner perk.
Stealthy: Life has demanded that you take a... subtle approach to most situations. +2 to stealth [1]
- Flash Bang: Problematically, a life spent in the spotlight isn't the best preparation for stealth. You do not gain any bonus against individuals who've had any counter-intrusion training, but your ferocity is surprising despite your incompetence. +3 to hit on your first attack after breaking concealment.
Protean Class Strike Suit: Resonance (Lvl 1)Armor: 40/40
Energy: 50/60
Passive Boosts: +2 Speed, +2 Evasion. Can fire targeted short range shockwaves, 1d6 damage+stun. -6 to small arms damage (min 0), converts massive damage to basic damage.
Defensive Abilities: - Holo-Triple: 10 Energy. Generates 2 identical suits that move independently of you, drawing fire freely. Dissipate when they take any heavy damage.
Offensive Abilities:- Resonance Wave: 10 Energy. Creates a damaging (2d6) shockwave in a cone in front of you. Fragile materials (glass/crystal) shatter, hard materials crack (stone, concrete), and pliable materials weaken (metal).
Alternate Forms:None Unlocked Jamie WaltersResistance: 25/25
HP: 5/5
Inventory:
Damasc Machine Pistol
H&K G172
Arctic Wolf DMR
Impact Grenades x4
Blackware (Military): A military grade piece of E-enhancer wetware has been implanted into your brain, careful regulating your emotional and hormonal response during combat. You never, ever, lose focus. Global +2 to combat accuracy, +1 to evasion, +1 to melee damage. [8]
- Running Raw: This implant was never meant for extended use, in fact, it's very likely that this one was supposed to have decommed after the original soldier's tour. It doesn't have the same safeties that an athletic aug does, and prolonged usage is slowly killing you as your body tears itself to pieces. Resistance pool doubled, HP pool halved.
Infamy (Major): You've done some truly terrible things, and there's definitely a warrant out for your arrest. The good news is that most of the seedy underworld has probably heard of you, and are intimidating as fuck. +(1-3) for intimidation tactics and street cred. [5]
- Broken Chain: Following the crackdown on your organization, you were presumed dead. On the one hand this means that there is no active effort to apprehend you. The bad news is that most, if not all of your followers have scattered, and your territories and powers have by and large been consumed by other gangs.
Tough Motherfucker: You don't often go down, and you never stay down. +5 Resistance Points.[10]
- Indomitable: You've survived alley dogs, muggers, gang wars, cartel assassins, and, most recently, three bullets from a police sniper. Your flesh is only human, but your will to survive is made from much tougher stuff. When regenerating RP, regen rate increases by 1 per turn.
Protean Class Strike Suit: Dominos (Lvl 1)Armor: 60/60
Energy: 40/40
Passive Boosts: +3 Melee Damage, -2 damage taken (down to 1), integrated combat blade (1d6 melee, penetrates 3 DR). -6 to small arms damage (min 0), converts massive damage to basic damage.
Defensive Abilities: - Hyper-Armor: 20 Energy. -5 evasion, greatly reduced mobility. -10 damage from all sources, down to scratch. Lasts 3 rounds.
Offensive Abilities:- Arrow Mini-Rockets: 5 Energy. Fires 3 mini rockets that pierce 2 DR and deal 1d6 points of damage each. Rocket tracking is +2, but cannot do indirect fire. Can be activated up to 4 times in a round. Can be directed at multiple targets.
Alternate Forms:None Unlocked Ernest QuinnResistance: 10/10
HP: 10/10
Inventory: H&K G172 Impact Grenades x1
Tretiak Combat ShotgunHard-Bitten: Life has done Ernest no favors, and he's gotten used to that. Life is hard, and he has no illusions about what that means. +2 to detecting lies and subterfuge. [3]
- Grifter: Unfortunately, the cynical and pragmatic side of Ernest shows a little in the way he moves and looks. You can tell that he's a predator, if only a small one. -1 to casual conversation checks, +1 to intimidation.
Dirty Tactics: Leverage is everything, whether in a brawl or in a boardroom. Bonuses due to specific, temporary modifiers are increased by 50%. (Example: coercion with an incriminating tape, or tripping someone who already has a sprained ankle) [5]
- Animal Ferocity: Experience has taught Ernest value of exploiting weakness, and there is a part of him that deeply fears the same weakness being exploited in him. Negative status effects will also grant a minor positive boon.
Contacts (Minor): Ernest's, shall we say 'extra curricular', activities have netted him a fair network of petty criminals and compromised civilians that owe him favors. [7]
- Hardened Network: Ernest's pragmatism, and his interest in being smarter about robbery than his father, means that he holds something over every single member of his small network. This makes them much more motivated, and far less likely to turn against him or feed bad intel.
Protean Class Strike Suit: Villain (Lvl 1)Armor: 50/50
Energy: 50/50
Passive Boosts: +2 Strength, +1 Evasion. Integrated electrified cables (3 cables, 1/4 inch, break strength 4000lbs, 1d3 stun damage. Integrated Pitons to secure cables). -6 to small arms damage (min 0), converts massive damage to basic damage.
Defensive Abilities: - Optical/Thermal Cloaking: 5 Energy at start, doubled every round. Cost resets after 5 rounds of cooldown.
Offensive Abilities:- Magnetic Harpoon: 10 Energy. Onboard gauss launcher fires one of the three cables with a barbed piton attached. Deals 1d10 damage, and has a chance to lock regardless of armor penetration. If it deals HP damage, it also stuns for the electric cable's damage. Can be fired without a cable to launch only the barbed piton for 1d10 damage.
Alternate Forms:None Unlocked Adam JonesResistance: 10/10
HP: 10/10
Inventory:Damasc Machine Pistol H&K G172 C-7 x2
Brilliant: Brains, regrettably a resource the world is in short supply of, at least brains that want to do something other than be bathed in feel good chemicals. You get a +2 at most tasks that come down to intelligence. [1]
- Brilliant, not Smart: For all the brains packed into your head, you don't play the game well. You voice opinions because you believe them, not because it's a good idea or because it's political correct. Your honesty and straightforwardness is refreshing, though perhaps a little naive. +2 persuasion checks when honest, -2 to detecting or engaging in any kind of suberfuge.
Engineer (Electrical): You understand the strange black boxes and the hearts of copper and doped silica that beat inside of them. You're not a prodigy among engineers, but it's still utter magic to a layman. Can perform advanced repairs without penalty, as well as construct and tamper with advanced electronics with a moderate chance of success. +2 to working with electronics. [8]
- Protean Aptitude: Your educated background and native intelligence means that your mind naturally meshes well with the Protean suit. Your suit starts one level higher, and you have a chance to gain bonus Protean XP from encounters.
Allies (Minor): There are people who have your back. They're not strong, they're not backed up by any particular higher power, but they're damn good friends who'll answer at a moment's notice. [7]
- Tech Expertise: Your friends are engineers like yourself, and together you represent a pretty deep well of knowledge. If it needs identifying, repairing, or even fabricating, there's not much tech that's totally beyond your clique when given adequate time and resources.
Protean Class Strike Suit: Hierophant (Lvl 2)Armor: 45/45
Energy: 70/70
Passive Boosts: -2 damage against all (min 1). 50% of all base damage taken is added as energy. -6 to small arms damage (min 0), converts massive damage to basic damage.
Defensive Abilities: - Energy Shield: Damage taken is dealt to Energy instead of armor. Energy shield takes -4 damage against all (min 1), and converts massive damage to basic damage. Takes double damage from EM weapons. Shield can be altered to cover another nearby person or object instead of the Strike suit.
Offensive Abilities:- E-Shock: 5 Energy. Targets a unit and attempts to activate and overload their E-enhancer, dealing crippling (3d10) nonlethal if successful, and (1d10) nonlethal otherwise. Can be used three times per round.
- Reverse Shield: 10 Energy. Creates a one way bubble shield around target opponent, turned inwards. The shield has ten HP, and takes -2 damage from small arms. Prevents movement and outgoing fire, but does not prevent entry.
Alternate Forms:None Unlocked
Author
Topic: Pursuit of [Un]happiness [Cyberpunk 4/4]: [Im]plausible Deniability (Read 11555 times)