Session 01
Scene 1
Scene Setup: Birthe is walking back to the ground car she's rented after having landed the contract to hunt down the ghost assassin 'mech.
Chaos: 5, I'm not going to roll to modify the first scene.
--//--
Birthe walked quickly away from the building housing the interstellar comm relay where she'd just finalized the contract with Felicidad to hunt down a rogue 'mech. She pumped her fist excitedly, trying to contain her emotions. It was just so hard! She'd been working for a long time to land work as a mercenary, and this was her first contract. Her first real contract. There had been others, small security details, training, that kind of thing. But they were boring. This opportunity reeked of action!
The leather seat squeaked under her as she slid into it and the groundcar's door thumped solidly closed behind her. She looked over at Roger, who took in her demeanor and enormous smile and grinned. "We got it?" he asked.
"We got it!" she yelled, letting her emotions run free through the shout. She hands drummed on the dash as Roger laughed and eased the 'car out into traffic and down the road to the hangar that served as their headquarters.
"Do we have a lead to start?" he asked.
I don't know how much information Felicidad gave Birthe to help find the assassin 'mech. I'm going to ask the oracle! Did Felicidad give Birthe a specific lead? 50/50 shot, I think. 79, that's a No. So, Felicidad knows the 'mech is in this system, but doesn't know where it is apart from that.
Birthe shook her head, a blond curl swinging back and forth by her eye. "Nope. She doesn't have any more information on its whereabouts than knowing its in this system," she said, her voice all business. "So, we've got some legwork to do before we can mount up for the hunt."
Roger nodded slowly to himself as he listened and moved a lane over to the on-ramp that headed towards the spaceport. "Well, if Felicidad wasn't able to find them with local resources, I doubt we'll be able to. I think we should head out to the latest hit location and examine the area, see what we can find."
Birthe nodded back. "Yes, that's definitely an action we should take. But let's do the office work while we're in an office. We can head to the field once we've exhausted that avenue."
Roger smiled tightly, his expression feral and ready for the hunt. "You got it boss."
Before I end this scene, I want to know if anything unexpected happens. The merc contract is going to be publicly registered so anyone can find out the details. I don't know if there's anyone trying to stop them, so I'll ask the oracle. Does someone try to stop them right now? I think it's unlikely. Roll: 66, that's a no. That's also a random event.
Random event time! I love it. "Move away from a thread, Ambush, The Physical." So, there's an ambush, but it moves them away from the current thread. So, it has nothing to do with the contract. What is "The Physical?" Their physical presence, maybe?
Suddenly, a metallic disk whirred out from behind a barrier on the highway, skidding to a halt on the road in front of the groundcar. Roger cursed and yanked the wheel to steer away from it...
First skill roll and it's not even my main character! That's going to be a Pilot/Ground roll. The TN is 18 as he doesn't have that skill, so he'll roll Dex+Rfl. I rolled a 17. Fail!
... but it was too little too late. The front corner of the groundcar sped over the disc and it exploded with a thump and a bright flash of blue-white light. The electronics in the 'car died suddenly, and the wheel's refused to turn in response to Roger's frantic steering. The silence in the 'car loomed large as the concrete barrier sped towards them, then stopped their forward momentum with a heavy THUD!
Do people rush out towards their vehicle? Likely. Roll: 90, that's a no.
Birthe and Roger, with reflexes honed by combat and time spent in other dangerous places, quickly pulled open their doors and rolled out, sidearms drawn and at the ready, scanning for targets.
Except, there weren't any.
"What the hell?" Birthe muttered out loud, scanning their surroundings, looking for whomever had ambushed them. A passing car lit its hazard lamps and coasted to a stop ahead of them. She glanced at it but quickly dismissed it as not a threat.
"I'm with you, Boss," Roger said as he reached up to scratch the side of his head in confusion while he held his pistol out in front of him and also scanned for targets. "Why would someone hit us like that only to run away?"
She pursed her lips and then straightened and holstered her pistol. "I have no idea," she answered, then turned to greet the good samaritans who'd stopped to see how they could help.
That's the end of this scene! It was a fun one. I think Chaos is going to go up to 6. They didn't have control of this scene. So, next time I play will be a new scene! Woo!
Scene 2
Scene Setup: The random event moved me away from my thread, so I think this scene has to be about that. They're being held at the planetary security station "for their safety," but it's really about being questioned.
Chaos: 6, scene modification roll: 7, no change.
Threads:
- Find the transporting assassin 'mech.
- Discover who ambushed them on the highway.
--//--
Birthe fumed silently as she sat next to Roger in the holding room. The Planetary Defense force was holding them there, "for their own safety," and had been for the last five hours. Birthe knew how to be patient; she'd had to be patient all those long years in prison when she didn't control her own life. But, she'd expected to be in control now that she was pursuing her destiny, and didn't appreciate being held here because someone had attacked her!
Next to her, Roger seemed a picture of serenity. His eyes were half-closed and his breathing had slowed. She wasn't sure if he was actually sleeping or just trying to.
Does someone come in? Even odds. Rolled a 7, that's a critical Yes. I think that means they come in hot and aggressive.
The door to the holding room slammed open and two security guards flowed in, clad head to toe in tactical gear, carbines held loose and at the ready in front of them. Behind them entered a lieutenant they hadn't met yet. The slamming door made Birthe start in her chair, and Roger's eyes flew open, but neither moved from the seats they sat in. They were both unarmed and at an extreme disadvantage.
I need a name for this guy. I know this system was settled by people with American Jewish names, so I'll roll on the Everyone Everywhere list to get his name. Davidow.
Lieutenant Davidow, for that was the name on the right breast of his uniform, smiled tightly at the pair. "Looks like the two of you are in a bit of trouble, doesn't it?" he asked.
Birthe's brows furrowed and she glared at him from underneath them. "Trouble? Why would we be in trouble? We were the ones who were attacked!"
Davidow's slight smile faded and his eyes hardened. "We're certain that whomever attacked you was acting in self-defense," he said. His tone was steel cold. "The weapon used against you was a non-lethal, defensive weapon, to which you reacted with lethal force!"
Roger scoffed at that, but pressed his lips together tightly as Birthe turned her glare on him. Turning back to Lt. Davidow, she took a deep breath to try and keep her anger under control. "What are you talking about?" she demanded in a tight voice. "We didn't fire our weapons!"
At this point, I'm going to make a roll to see how this interaction is going to play out. The Planetary Defense force obviously doesn't want them on planet, wants to blame them for the attack they suffered. This seems like a Negotiation skill roll, which Birthe doesn't have. So, that'll default to a CHA roll with a difficulty of 12. Her CHA is 4, and rolling for an Untrained skill is a -4, so she has no chance at succeeding.
"Didn't fire your weapons?" Lt. Davidow asked skeptically, his brows raised. "I have a forensics team that has analyzed both of your sidearms that say otherwise, and bags full of bullets they pulled from the ferrocrete dividers surrounding that area of the highway that you both fired!"
A growl grew in the base of Birthe's throat and her hands gripped her chair's armrests hard enough to make the formed plastic creak.
Roger's hand rested lightly on her forearm as he cleared his throat. "Lieutenant," he began, his voice deep and smooth. "Surely you're mistaken." He smiled and leaned forward slightly in his seat. The lieutenant frowned at him and took a half-step back with one foot, his hand dropping minutely towards the sidearm holstered on his hip.
"I wasn't talking to you, Mister," Davidow replied, his voice hard.
Roger smiled back at him, "But, I am talking to you," he answered smoothly, almost as if he didn't notice the implied threat in the lieutenant's body language. "I'm sure there's a way out of this where everyone gets to leave happy."
Davidow frowned at that and Roger amended, "Or, if not happy, at least not too upset." He added a small chuckle at the last.
Roger is going to roll Negotiation now. He doesn't have the skill yet, but I'm going to spend some of his leftover XP from character creation to give it to him. I like the idea of him being a smooth criminal. I'm applying 80 of his XP to give him Negotiation at rank 3. TN 8, roll: 10, success.
Davidow's tight smile returned and his eyes glinted with triumph. "Well, I suppose we can come to some sort of agreement," he allowed and his posture eased. "The planetary government wants you exiled from this system," he said, letting them in, for the first time, on the problem at hand.
Roger frowned and shook his head. "We have an active contract with a resident of this system, we can't leave." Davidow shook his head and opened his mouth as if to speak, but Roger didn't give him a chance to get any words out.
"Besides, the planetary government doesn't have jurisdiction over the entire system, correct?" Again, the question was rhetorical and he didn't allow Davidow to answer. "So, how about we just leave the planet and never come back?"
Davidow's mouth closed with a click. The gears behind his eyes turned for a moment, then he grimaced. "I suppose that's acceptable." He stood there for a long, uncomfortable moment, then took a large step back and motioned to the two guards that had accompanied him into the room.
"Escort them back to their hangar and see that they are sent back up the gravity well to reunite with their ship."
Birthe looked at Roger, alarm showing in her eyes, but he shook his head slightly to her. She ground her teeth in frustration, but followed his lead.
"Fine," she said, standing. "But we're not leaving without our gear that you took from us."
Davidow nodded and made a gesture to one of the guards for them to give them back their equipment.
End of scene. We kinda had control of the scene, so I'll drop Chaos to 5.
Scene 3
Setup: Back in the hangar and getting ready to head back up the gravity well off the planet. This will be the giant terrestrial planet in Orbit 2, Jacob. It has the highest gravity so will be better for long-term habitation. So, we're kicked off Jacob.
Chaos: 5, modification roll: 5, that means the scene is altered. While we're packing, the people who attacked us on the highway make another attempt.
Threads:
- Find the transporting assassin 'mech.
- Discover who ambushed them on the highway and why we've been banned from Jacob.
NPCs
- Lt. Davidow - Planetary Defense officer who kicked them off of the planet.
--//--
Birthe and Roger worked to pack up their makeshift office. They'd intelligently left just about everything in or on the boxes they were packed them in so they could leave at a moment's notice. This was that moment. Noteputers were swept back into cases, hardcopy printouts were shoved back into files, and clothing was balled up and shoved into duffels. All this happened while a squad of planetary defense force watched.
The defense force soldiers are going to walk away to give the attackers the chance to attack undeterred. Does Birthe see that? I'm going to give her a -1 since she's distracted packing. TN 7, roll: 4. That's a failure!
As the pair worked to pack everything, the defense force soldiers slowly filtered out of the hangar until just Birthe and Roger remained. Neither Mechwarrior realized they were now alone, or that anything was wrong until the first flash-bang clattered into the area on the ferrocrete floor.
They are both soldiers, they would have strapped on their sidearms after they were given back. I don't think they would have thought to armor up because they're on their way out. They're certainly not wearing any eye protection for the flash.
With an incredibly loud bang the grenades exploded. Birthe and Roger were not prepared for this and the flashing light and crashing sound slammed into their heads causing them to be stunned instantly.
Are the attackers trying to take them captive? I'm not even going to roll, yes they are. Why else would they use non-lethal weapons on them?
As their vision begian to clear, they saw blurry figures storm towards them, hands reaching out and binding cables held in hands.
I'm going to give both of them a chance to fight the kidnappers off, but they have a -2. TN 8, Birthe: 8, Roger: 10.
Both Mechwarriors, having trained for situations like this, stood and fought, using defensive stances and sharp unarmed attacks against any of the blurry figures that approached them. Quickly, they found each other and stood back to back, defending each other from the attacks by these mysterious attackers.
With these people wanting to take them unharmed, I'm thinking they might want to talk to them, perhaps a cry for help. Do they want to hire them for a job? Likely odds, roll: 33, that's a Yes, and a random event!
"Hold!" a voice calls out, and a grizzled veteran of a man strode out of a dark corner towards the melee. All of the kidnappers froze where they were and took a few steps back, still wary, but not attacking anymore. Birthe and Roger held their ground as they watched the man approach.
"Who are you?" Birthe bit out, anger raging behind her lips.
The man grimaced, his eyes crinkling with what might have been a smile. "The name is Ardon," he introduced himself with his left hand touching his chest. His right hand hovered near the sidearm holstered at his hip. "And, we need your help."
A cry for help, is it? Well, this seems like a wonderful time to add in the random event. NPC Action, Dominate, Success. I only have one NPC, Lt. Davidow. And, I suppose he's against these guys and is going to crash their party.
A siren went off, it's shrill cry filling the hangar, making everyone flinch at the noise. The sound was like white hot pokers in both Birthe's and Roger's ears after the flash bangs. Feet pounded on the ferrocrete as a full company of Planetary Defense soldiers pounded into the hangar, weapons pointed at the group congregated around Birthe and Roger.
After the company assembled, the siren died with a slow wail, then Lt. Davidow strolled in, his head held high, his teeth bared in a victorious grin. "Ah, the famous Ardon!" he shouted across the hangar as he approached the group. "At last, I have caught up to you!"
Ardon's face drew down in a scowl and he turned slowly to face the lieutenant as he approached. "Lt. Davidow," he said in a bored voice. "Your bumbling ineptitude has finally brought you success."
Davidow smiled at him, his teeth bared like a shark. "Ah, yes, that famous wit!" he said. "It won't save you now," he added, his chin dropping so he could look at the other man with menace. "You and your men throw down your weapons. You're coming with us."
Standing in the center of the two concentric circles of the Planetary Defense and Ardon's men, who she assumed had to be rebels of some sort, licked her lips a little nervously. She didn't feel like dying in crossfire today.
"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" she called out.
Davidow smiled large and chuckled slightly. "Of course!" he said in a loud voice. "Let me explain to you the decades of strife between our two factions while we hold each other at gun point!" His sarcastic tone died. "No, you are owed no explanations. Suffice it to say, you've helped me capture someone I've been searching for, for a long time. And," he turned his attention back to Ardon, "once they comply with my lawful order to surrender, you and your companion can be on your way, off my planet!"
I suppose the question now is, does Ardon surrender? I think that's very unlikely, but I'd like to leave it to chance. Rolling on the oracle tells me that is a Critical No! He, of course, does not surrender.
Ardon, taking advantage of Davidow's moment of split attention, drew his sidearm and pointed it at the lieutenant. "No surrender!" he cried, and the hangar erupted with gunfire.
Birthe ducked down and pulled Roger down with her by the arm. Turning, she rushed towards the hover truck that had most of their gear loaded up on it, pulling Roger behind her. As she reached the vehicle, she yanked open the door and pushed Roger up into the vehicle and across the bench seat so she could climb up after him. The engine started with a roar and the vehicle lifted as the skirt below it filled with air.
Do either of them get hit in the rush? Unlikely, they are not the targets. Birthe: Yes, Roger: No.
Birthe pushes on the accelerator and the fans driving the vehicle spin up, adding to the vehicle's already loud roar. Her hand slips off the lever and she stares down as blood flows down her arm. Her brow furrows; she didn't even realize she'd been hit.
"I'm hit!" she called to Roger over the noise of the hover truck. "Find a first aid kit!" With that, she steered the truck out of the hangar and towards the dropship holding their 'Mechs and waiting to take them back up to orbit.
I'm going to end the scene there. They did not have control of this scene, so Chaos goes up to 6. I'll leave Ardon's and Davidow's fate to be discovered later.
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