Akira"I get it, this is the point where we find out the real purpose of all this is to find mecha pilots with high sync levels! Exciting!"
Akira takes her time and enters the maintainence shaft while the holograms stumble through the main gates.
Your holograms are all too happy to prance through the main entrance while you and your boring friend go through maintenance. Maintenance, for the most part, is exactly what you expect it to be- dull, boring, and sporadically punctuated by access hatches to get to the track itself. Everything shakes slightly as the rail passes you by, lights dimming as the maglevs hungrily draw power away from everything near them.
The little yellow line on your HUD keeps you on the right track, though there are a number of twists and turns. Oddly, there doesn't seem to be anyone else in maintenance. A bit disappointing, considering that limits the number of playthings you have. After a nearly un-endurable amount of boredom, at least two minutes, the yellow line flashes, redirecting you to a rail track access port.
Inbound Prisoner Transfer Rail. ETA 38 seconds to destination, 15 seconds to current location. A second yellow line directs you further downwards, to a second, deeper access point.
Subsection access. Explosives required. Ernest"Okay, sweet cheeks, let's get a move on. Whoever this other team is, looks like they're about to catch on that we're not with them anymore."
Ernest holds the maintenance door open for Akira, making a grand gesture with his free hand.
"Ladies first."
Continue through maintenance to where we need to be.
The other woman leads the way bouncily, and you follow her through with only slightly more caution. There's something about being in body armor and having a mandate to blow shit up or die that really puts things in perspective. Getting found, getting caught, going to jail... not really a problem.
Maintenance seems pretty dead. There are side areas with tools and diagnostic computers, but, for the most part, it's a game of chutes and ladders to provide access to the different track layers and rail systems. There must be miles of these hallways, and, considering how menial the job is 99% of the time, their labor crews are likely light. Meeting someone here is probably the exception rather than the rule.
The woman stops eventually up at a maintenance port, the yellow guiding line on your HUD leading directly through it. Shortly thereafter a second update scrolls in, informing you of the imminent arrival of a prisoner transfer rail.
ErnestJamie glances at the projectile under the truck, his expression turning serious, and his eyes narrowing. "If there is something you desire from the truck, you are welcome to claim it." Give her the machine pistol. "Consider this a token of apology, for the deaths of your subordinates. If you wish for excitement, you shall find it at the police station." Take the projectile she threw and hop back in the food truck.
The woman scoffs, letting the pistol clatter to the ground.
I have no need of your charity, oh Demon King.Well, crazy is crazy. You look under the food truck for the object that she threw, trying to get something out of the situation. Curiously, you can't find it. Your suit does a brief scan of the truck's underside, but it too is unable to find anything out of the ordinary.
The slam of the truck's rear doors brings up to your feet in an instant, gun in hand. There's no one there. Which, in its own way, is rather disturbing. You took your eyes off the woman for a couple seconds; now she's gone, and the back doors of the food truck are open. You look in through order window of the food truck, where you disabled the driver. She isn't in there.
There are several disturbing implications to this, but right now you have a job to do that doesn't involve considering them too deeply. You get back inside the truck and close the door, explaining nothing to your cohort.
Adam"C'mon, man. We're running out of time, they're starting to catch on. Get in, and let's go!"
Once the gangster jumps in (without telling the driver that somebody just put a bomb on his truck, after he shot her friends), Adam'll start driving towards the precinct.
The ganger gets back in the truck, his motivation for killing people, or not killing the remaining person, as unknowable as they were at the beginning. For now, you have to deal with. Soon, hopefully, you can find a way to get free of this situation and the insanity of the people you've been forced in with.
With little more than a thought, you direct your stolen vehicle out into traffic. With this, you can be at the precinct within seconds, all that's really left is your choice of how to smash your way in.
AllThis is your final warning. Return to mission or be terminated.
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 11531 times)