The Untamed Wilds: Electric Skies

[MacConnell]

Once Syd gets back and conveys his experience, Trollick has significant fears that the crew is way-overmatched.

"Obviously, I have no interest in sacrificing Obrik."

Trollick mulls over his beer while he thinks. "I think that if we make a go at Pips or the Dead Lions, it will be suicide. We should go over what we know with the Bright Leaf Society to see if they have any ideas."

He crinkles his nose at feeling useless and chugs the rest of his beer.

"Or... or we could pitch our job straight at Pips. Tell him we are looking to end or ruin Towers and have no direct contract to interfere with his business, at all. Personally, despite my affinity for nature, I take no issue with what those Lions are doing with the animal fights. Those animals would fight naturally in their own environment."

 

[Waynan]

Syd listens to Trollick and shakes his head, a little in disgust, and a little in disappointment that he, and possibly Hawkeye, are just not getting it.

He interjects, maybe a bit harshly because of the stress he was feeling right now, "Listen here, chum; you ain't getting into the Real of what Pips meant. We can't play this off, Trollick! It wasn't a choice I was given. Well, yeah, it was a choice; but the choice was kill Obrik," he looks to the mage and adds, "Sorry, mate," then continues, "or be hunted by the Dead Lions forever, or until we're dead --- preferably killed by them. So, unless I have his head turned over to Scarlet Pips, we're nothing but game for the Hunt."

Syd kicks at a chair, knocking it over.
"And you KNOW, Pips will get Towers and HPD after us. That's all we need."

 

[MacConnell]

Syd... interjects..., "...It wasn't a choice I was given... or be hunted by the Dead Lions forever, or until we're dead --- preferably killed by them. So, unless I have his head turned over to Scarlet Pips, we're nothing but game for the Hunt."

Trollick shakes his head and scratches his beard. "I hear y'u. I hear y'u. This is a lose-lose situation. What if he'd asked you to kill one of us? Who's to say we aren't next on his list? This guy does not strike me as a once and done. He's a real megalo-prick. I'd rather die fighting him than to kill my friend."

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

Hawkeye Has A Plan

"... I want you to kill him and bring me his head back here as an apology gift. Do that and all is forgiven. Interfere with my business again and you might end up in that punishment circle, if you live that long.

Hawkeye, who has been silent up to this point, finally takes a deep breath, and explains his position.

He says, "I agree with Trollick. I don't believe the situation is as grim as you make it out, Syd. What he said were two different statements. Number one: bring back the head, and all is forgiven. But what he said next was, don't interfere in his business again. In other words, if we wanna be friends, bring him the head, and if not, we'd better not show our faces again. But I have a middle road. I say we send him an encrypted cybermail, with a counter-proposal. It would go something like this:"

OOC: To: Scarlet Pips Fr: Alex Crumley Smith Re: Can't quite do it Hey Bro, We can't bring the gift you wanted to the party. It's too expensive, and it doesn't match our style. That's something you need to buy for yourself. I'm sure it's for sale somewhere else. But what we can do is offer you a replacement gift. I saw these cool friendship bracelets at Mott's the other day, with built in credsticks. They come in a vast array of color palettes, 3500 options, to be exact. If you'd accept the bracelet as our gift, we'd like to attend your party, and talk to you about the latest fashion trends. We're not into reds; we're more into blues. That mixup the other day was completely a fluke. What do you say? Blue is such a more interesting color choice, don't you think? I think it's gonna be a hit this season. Yer bud, ACS

Hawkeye continues, "We need to smooth things over with him, or he'll always be a variable. I don't think we're unforgivable just yet, but we need to play ball, soon, or our status with him is going to get worse. We can tell him that our refusal to hit Obrik is because we don't want conflicts of interests with our other clientele. We need to act professional. We don't need to get emotional, Syd. That never helps. The only way out of this poker game is to follow the rules, and either call or fold. But if we throw our cards down and start pouting, we'll make everyone at the table mad at us. You get what I'm saying?"

 

[Waynan]

Syd listens to Hawkeye, getting angrier by the minute, bursting out: "You know Hawkeye, you can eat drek, mate. I'm not pouting; you dolt. I have lived all my life looking over my shoulder, so having to look over my shoulder for Dead Lions is nothing new. Nor is it to be threatened. It was just the way it was done, in an Soundproof Shell of Magic, with magic being something I still have trouble getting used to. It put me off my lunch, as it were; but also made me angry. So, in other words, I'm torqued off."

 

[Kwargrow]

Weekly post: 2xp

Same Old Path
[Sblock=Knowledge: Street] (Skepticism+Analysis), Trollick: 50+100(d100)+10(luck)=160, Syd Vicious: 49+94(d100)+64(luck)=207, Hawkeye: 45+30(d100)=75 [/Sblock]

From what Trollick knows about necromancers murder is always an option for them. There is no point to try and negotiate. The Dead Lions know who you are, and they will always be a threat.

From what Syd knows about gang hierarchy and leadership he knows there is no point to try and negotiate with Scarlet Pips. Having a HPD Captain in his pocket is far more valuable than three skilled runners.

Syd and Trollick convince Hawkeye that buying off Scarlet Pips is not an option. The Dead Lions are going to try and kill you anyway to protect their HPD lapdog, and because they are a group of psychotic death mages.

The Runners meet with Janet of the Pines to discuss strategy at the skyscraper of the Bright Leaf Society. Along with Janet are Obrik and eight other men and women. Two of the new faces are twin male orcs with green ponytails and matching two handed swords sheathed on their broad backs. They differ in one regard. One carries a shotgun, the other a rifle. The rest of the six are elves. They are all carrying single hand full auto firearms, have various melee weapons sheathed at their hips, and wear light armor. They don’t give their names, nor do they ask for yours.

Janice does all the talking. She is wearing heavy armor with dark blue runes carved into the breastplate. She says, “The crimes of the Dead Lions go far beyond the fighting pits. We have been trying to bring them down for a long time before the Billington’s were murdered, but their connection with the HPD kept them protected. If you can bring down Captain Towers with what you know then we can rid the Houston streets of this vile gang. I’ll be honest with you. Taking out the Dead Lions means our reputation will increase throughout the city so let us handle the necromancers and the three of you secure the proof to disgrace Captain Towers. For your part in this I’ll pay you five thousand credits each.”

The location of the Dead Lions stronghold is shared, and the Bright Leaf Society decides to attack at once. They are joined by twenty-five other strong warriors armed and ready. The scouts of the BLS find a service entrance at the north-side of the building. The entrance is warded with magic, but four of the BLS hold out their hands and with a bright flash the runes fall apart. The door is opened, and the assault begins. The BLS druids leap forward down the long hallway with predator ferocity. Once inside the compound and past the shield, there is no need for the runners to go further and Trollick and Syd watch over Hawkeye as he invades the private server through the VR.
[Sblock=Hawkeye VR] Hawkeye: 28+77=105 [/Sblock]

Inside the VR Hawkeye sees the private server as a wide-open plain with pale blonde grass, a pool of water next to a tree with wide branches. In the branches of the tree are a pride of lions with torn, rotted skins. Where the flesh shows through the skin it is metallic and cybernetic underneath. The lions leap down from the tree with gleaming claws and fangs, ready to tear any intruders apart. Hawkeye knows the lions are just representations of security programs for the Dead Lions server. He makes himself invisible to their sight and dead to their noses and passes by them without harm. Hawkeye moves to the tree and places his hand on it. The tree represents the information node and Hawkeye now has access to everything it knows. He makes copies of all the relevant information and stores them in his phone.

While Hawkeye is busy finding the proof of Towers cover up Trollick and Syd wait and stay alert. The BLS went downstairs but you haven’t heard from them since.

Hawkeye pulls off his headset and says, “I got it." He holds up the screen of his phone and it shows a first person view of horrible things even a runner hates to see. The faces of the Billington family are clearly visible. You fast forward through the violent parts to the end of the video where Captain Towers shows up on screen. No other member of the HPD is present.

*Video dialogue: Captain Towers clearly looking disturbed: What kind of disgusting drek is this?
Glitterface’s voice: Scarlet Pips said to take them out. He didn’t say we had to be nice about it.
Pinkins comes into view on the video: So we had some extra fun, so what? They’re dead and that’s what matters.
Captain Towers looks away and shakes her head: Scarlet Pips is going to pay double for this one. *End Video*

You have successfully found the evidence that will make Captain Towers pay for her crime. The Runners remember Obrik told them Lieutenant Fawbreu of HPD can be trusted. Hawkeye slips back into VR and sends a copy of the video incriminating Towers to Fawbreu.

Trollick, Syd Vicious, and Hawkeye are at the entrance to the Dead Lions stronghold. They have not heard from the Bright Leaf Society.

State intentions

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

OOC: Hawkeye's Intentions: As a precaution, Hawkeye sends the message not only to Fawbreu, but CC's the message to Shatterframe also. Once the message is completely sent, Hawkeye will un-jack / pull his weapon, and follow the others out of the complex as quickly as possible. He has a bad feeling about this place, and he does not want to linger. He also has the sneaking suspicion that the Bright Leaves might fail in their attempt, and he doesn't like the idea of the three of them facing the Dead Lions' security force mano a mano.

 

[MacConnell]

Janice does all the talking... “For your part in this I’ll pay you five thousand credits each.”

Trollick purses his lips and nods his head. “I’m good with that.”

...The BLS went downstairs but you haven’t heard from them... You have successfully found the evidence that will make Captain Towers pay for her crime...

Trollick rubs his thumbs across the tips of his fingers and frowns. “That was a disgusting scene. I will never understand why so many people think that the acquisition of power entitles them to such banal avarice. My particular talent for Way Lines is more akin to that of the Dead Lions than the Leaves, but l could never commit such atrocity.”

“Speaking of the Leaves, l would say that this conflict was already brewing and inevitable. We were only a catalyst. There is no way we could lend a hand right now. We should take what Hawkeye found and do our part with it. Whatever happens, if the Leaves prevail, l can contact them through Obrik.”

With that, Trollick edges toward the exit looking to see if his friends are following.

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

Hawkeye nods, "Agreed. I've already sent the data to both Fawbreu and Shatterframe. I say we jet now, before things get hairy. I'm locked and loaded, and right behind you. The sooner we're outta here, the better!"

 

[Waynan]

Syd looks about the Dead Lions digs, trying to find away for one of them to make a flanking manuever on the DL thugs and Scarlet Pips --- anything for an advantage.
He mentions the idea to his chums:
"Chums, I'm wondering if one of us tried to flank the Lions that it might help us. That way they won't have all of us in their magical crosshairs. "

He waits for their response.