Episode 16: UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT (in more ways than one)
Cleo convinces Doctor Freeman and Rose to sign up and work for her. With Bea heading back to Iowa and Christie on her way to Worcester, this leaves the group a little short handed in the Solo department. Cleo pays to replace some of the lost gear of those that sign on with her. This is money well spent, as it makes the team useful for her plans. It also garners some much needed good will. The prospect of being Cleo’s employees was a bit of a harder sell than she expected. Her plan is to take the team to the Afterlife in downtown Night City.
The plan is to hire on some new muscle to fill the open spots within the group. Cleo also wants to have the group seen in public. In her mind, part of being a successful Edgerunner team is looking the part and being seen by the right people. She buys them appropriate clothing and spends the time to make sure they look their best. Knowing Dr. Freeman won’t be able to pull off acting like an Edgerunner, she opts for corporate wear; which fits his character perfectly. Without even trying, he can pull off the smarmy attitude of a low level corporate weasel.
While the group is preparing for their night out, trouble seems to be brewing to the north of their neighborhood. Heavy weapons fire and explosions can be heard in the distance. Rather than running towards the gun fire, the group opts for the safety of Dr. Freeman’s reinforced apartment, where they get the low down on his over-sized vid screen. Network 54 isn’t covering the story, although they are running a piece about corruption within the San Morrow government. It has to do with the awarding of building permits and zoning. Finally switching over to a local channel, the party gets an on the scene report. It seems that Johnny Rehab is clearing out some buildings eight blocks to their north.
The operation is being undertaken by an organization known as Hazard Incorporated. Everything was going smoothly until the Iron Sights Booster Gang jumped into the fray. The group watches as Hazard Inc. goes toe to toe with the gangers. The heavy weapons mounted on their modified construction vehicles finally push back Iron Sights. All the while, the San Morrow police are watching from the highway overpass…ready to swing into action against both sides if things get out of hand. The reporter tries to interview one of the drivers of the construction trucks, which are also sitting on the shoulder of the highway (waiting for the battle to be decided). The company name, on the side of the trucks, and the license plates are covered over.
The news crew is kept away from the trucks by one of Hazard Inc.’s security detail. Rose recognizes the Hazard security guard as Fareed / Freed (real name – Francis Reed). He is a member of the Sinners. She never met him in person, but saw him at one of Sid’s parties. After the Iron Sights withdraw, the signal is given and the construction trucks that were waiting on the highway roll down the exit ramp into the neighborhood. The news crew continues to film as the covering on one the flat beds is pulled off and two Bobcats are driven off. They enter one of the larger buildings through a gaping hole that has been blown in its side (probably during the fighting). The buckets on the front of the Bobcats are loaded with explosives. The building is structurally unsound, so the construction crew is going to demolish it, to make room for a new gas station, convenience store and commercial space right off the exit ramp (or so the story goes). The news crew departs when the cops leave. One of the association members stops by to inform the group that there will be an Association Meeting the following night at the Clam Shack.
The party eventually makes it to the Afterlife, where Cleo and the gang meet up with Ken. Although not Asian, Ken’s preferred attire is a Kimono and Hakama Pants. He looks as if he could have stepped out of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, except for the face plate and cowl. The face plate is a stylized grinning skull, which only adds to his unsettling demeanor. Rose and Dr. Freeman are sufficiently intimidated. While Cleo is interviewing the team’s new ‘bullet catcher’, Rose is scanning the room (mostly to avoid eye contact with Ken).
She takes note of several individuals entering the Afterlife that have insignias for Hazard Inc. on their shoulder. They proceed further into the Afterlife. Rose recognizes one of the people from the neighborhood association (Billy) who seems to be shadowing the bunch from Hazard Inc. She excuses herself, (says she’s going to find the ladies room) and does some shadowing of her own. From her vantage point, it is clear that the group from Hazard are acting as body guards for another gentleman who is sitting at one of the tables. He seems to be interviewing prospective employees as well. It is also clear to Rose that Billy has been made.
Two of the men from Hazard create an incident and Billy is knocked out and then dragged into a private room. Rose uses the opportunity to move closer, to see if she can hear what is being said. She can’t hear what is going on at the table, but she catches a snatch of conversation between the club’s security and the man from Hazard Inc., who is standing in front of the door to the private room. Security looks inside the room and then a brief argument ensues, Rose hears the man from Hazard tell the security guards that they would have to talk to Mr. Hazard; pointing to the man seated at the table. After a short discussion Mr. Hazard shakes hands with one of the security guards and the incident seems to be over. Billy is still in the private room.
Rose calls Cleo to let her know what’s going on. In the process, she is made by one of Hazard’s body guards. It is obvious to both Cleo and Rose…the body guard kept looking up from a hand held device and staring right at Rose. (1) Feeling that discretion is the better part of valor, Cleo sounded the retreat back to their table in the Antechamber. They call the association to tell them about Billy. It turns out that Billy wasn’t acting on Morgan’s orders, so Billy is pretty much fucked. Rose wants to mount a rescue, but is over ruled by Cleo. They leave with Ken in tow and head back to their headquarters.
The next day, they attend the Association Meeting, which is the first one, that most of the neighborhood can remember being called. Morgan wants to reassure the neighborhood that Johnny Rehab is not coming to force them out. If they do, he and his boys will make them regret it. Even though they have no plans to clear the neighborhood, he cautions the residents to not provoke them or attack. The group sees Billy at the meeting. He’s looking roughed up and bruised, but otherwise none the worse for wear. It seems Hazard Inc. doesn’t want to start a war either.(2)
Near the end of the session, Cleo receives a call From Uncle Billy. She had called him when she first arrived in town to see if he knew what was going on. There had been no one at the airport to pick her up and she could not get a hold of Sid or anyone within his organization. After doing some checking, through his contacts, Uncle Billy is under the impression that Sid is either in hiding or dead. He wants to hire Cleo to retrieve information that Sid had stashed away.
Tune in next time for “A Grave Situation”, in which our merry band heads to Monterey to “dig up” Sid’s information stash.
Background Information
(1)The group, behind the rehab project, has been planning this for some time. The Fixer that Morgan (President of the Association) wanted the party to kill (see Episode 10) was one of the organizations front men; gathering intelligence on the area. Militech, recognized the financial and security benefits that gentrifying this neighborhood would have (not only on their bottom line, but on that of San Morrow). They did not directly involve themselves, but Militech put in a good word to the zoning commission and provided Hazard Inc. with their own intelligence on the neighborhood (on the QT of course)…information about the Iron Sights, the Association and the party. They have pictures and some biographical information for the major troublemakers in the area. Because of their agreement with Arasaka, Militech can’t act directly against Iron Sights or the neighborhood. With Hazard Inc. around, they don’t have to. Iron Sights is kept in check and Militech can say they had nothing to do with it.
(2)Billy was a known member of the Association (thanks to the info from Militech). The body guards didn’t know if he was there to try to assassinate Mr. Hazard, but they weren’t going to take any chances. They suspect the Association was behind the death of the Fixer. The body guards sat on Billy, in the private room, while Mr. Hazard conducted his business. Security at the Afterlife wasn’t happy, but they were willing to let the situation slide because Mr. Hazard personally vouched for Billy’s safety. Once Mr. Hazard left, they turned him loose.
***
Episode 17: A GRAVE SITUATION
A couple of the players couldn’t make the session, so only Cleo, Ken and Dr. Freeman took the ride up to Monterey. They arrived in Monterey with little difficulty and checked into their seaside bungalows…and when I say seaside, I mean seaside. Depending on if it was high or low tide, you could not use the back stairs down to the beach, since they would be underwater (gotta love rising sea levels and erosion)…might be why they were able to get such a good deal. Seems that the beach reclamation project, which was being overseen by OTEC, had been put on hold due to the war with CINO.
Other than being one good storm away from destruction, the bungalows were clean and comfortable. After depositing their luggage in their rooms, they left to scope out the local scene and get “eyes on” their target. Sid’s stash was interred in an open air mausoleum within the El Carmelo Cemetery (where urns of ashes are stored). While playing tourist…driving around and seeming to get lost…Cleo scanned the net around the cemetery. She was shocked about there being around fifty active remotes in the cemetery (which became clearer later on).
Disheartened that this might not be the cake walk she had envisioned, the group decided to regroup and take in some of the local color. After eating, they went to the Old Sod (Irish Pub) to listen to live music by the house band, “The Skids” (a homage to the Scottish Punk Rock Band). Cleo was upset, because no one hit on her at the bar. This takes a little background information to understand…
Monterey’s Background
Monterey’s pre-Collapse economy was based around tourism and the military base at Fort Ord. The tourist dollars stopped flowing and Col. Gregory Caspian’s withdrawal with most of the vehicles and personnel stationed at Fort Ord (see pg. 37 Home of the Brave – The Soldiers Nomad Pack) left those that remained behind nearly defenseless during the troubles. Monterey scraped by till things started to get back to normal. Petrochem came to Monterey to exploit the oil reserves under Monterey Bay.
People worried about the environmental impact, but putting food on the table was more important. This put them at odds, with their northern neighbor, Santa Cruz, who began hiring Edgerunners to blow up the rigs and attack Petrochem facilities in the bay area (see Solo of Fortune 1). This started in 2010 and continued off and on for much of the next decade. There was eventually an accident, which led to an oil spill within the bay. This led the NORCAL government to finally step in and put an end to the fighting. OTEC stepped in to handle the clean-up and to try to save the kelp forest, which it hoped to exploit for food production. This operation became a prime target during the Ocean War, which stalled the cleanup and also reinforced the local’s hatred of Edgerunners.
Neither Cleo nor Dr. Freeman looked the part of Edgerunners, but they were sitting with ‘Mr. Grim Death’ himself, Ken. With his face plate and kimono, he just didn’t blend in well with the mostly working class crowd. He made quite the impression on the patrons, including two gentlemen sitting at one of the tables who were wearing Petrochem uniforms. Dr. Freeman proceeded to get drunk and sing along with the chorus of the songs. He botched his roll and one of the locals, who was also drunk decided to critique his singing by taking a swing at him. Dr. Freeman fell out of his chair…not because the hit had done any real damage, but because the blow had unbalanced him and he was too drunk to regain his balance in time.
Ken stood up, ready to come to the defense of his Dr. Freeman. The drunken patron’s friends at another table stood up as well. They weren’t looking for a fight. Their reaction was more “Oh God Harry’s going to get himself killed if we don’t do something”. The bouncers stepped in and dragged of ‘Harry’ before the situation got out of hand. One of the men in the PetroChem uniforms followed the bouncers, with ‘Harry’ in tow out the door.
Harry and his buddies all work for Petrochem. The two guys in uniform are on duty, chaperoning the rest. There have been incidents where the workers have been beaten up or caused damage in local establishments while in town ‘blowing off steam’ and with the situation as tense as it has been (thanks to Santa Cruz), Petrochem is trying to make sure such incidents are kept to a minimum. They are the equivalent of a ‘shore patrol’ for the Petrochem workers.
There weren’t any problems after that and the group enjoyed the music and left around Midnight. Cleo was the only one who didn’t enjoy herself…since no one hit on her. She convinced herself that everyone in Monterey is gay. That, being the only explanation why someone wouldn’t try to put the moves on her.
The next morning the group once again does the tourist thing. Cleo collects some brochures that detail the local attractions. One of the brochures is for tours of the local cemeteries. It seems that there are a lot of famous people that are buried in Monterey or whose graves have been moved to Monterey from neighboring communities, since those towns are now all but deserted. Many include interactive resources, where visitors can access information about the individual whose grave they are standing at…hence the remotes in the graveyard.
While casing the grave site, the party becomes aware that they are being watched. Someone one the tour has been surreptitiously snapping photos of them. Ken move to intercept him, but he sees ken and ducks into the small crowd in the concession area. Cleo checks out the parking lot and notices a car with a man sitting in it. Although it is unmarked it’s the same make as other cars they have seen around town with the Petrochem logo on the side. Her suspicion is confirmed when the man, who had been taking pictures of them, heads to the car and gets in. She snaps a picture of the driver and waves to him. The car leaves soon after.
The group decides to leave the cemetery tour and go to lunch. While at lunch, they run into another Edgerunner group, which Cleo recognizes as the Jammers. Their leader and group founder, Benjamin ‘Jammer’ Watts starts eying Dr. Freeman after he makes a racist joke. Dr. Freeman was oblivious to the fact that the other group was there and the fact that Jammer was black. He only asked after he said the joke and just happened to look around and catch Jammer looking at him. For Jammer’s part, he thought the doc was trying to start something, but since they were there on a mission, didn’t want to start any trouble
The group thought that the Jammers might be after the same thing they were, so they decided to jump off that night. In actuality, the Jammers were in town for another reason. Cleo and Ken snuck into the cemetery…avoiding the kids who were drinking in the graveyard after dark. They made their way to the grave and Cleo began to use her B&E skills to quietly remove the cover plate to the grave. She then removes the bolts that secure the plate below. One bolt proves to be longer than the others. Fearing a trap, she leaves that screw in and attempt to ‘quietly’ rotate the plate around it. She successfully moves the plate revealing a metal box inside. She quickly grab the box and reseal the grave, making sure to also sweep up the broken mortar that she had had to chip off the cover plate. They then quickly make their escape, back to the bungalow.
The longer bolt was depressing a pressure plate below it. Once the screw was pulled out a certain distance, it was activated. The signal it gave off was meant for Sid. It was an early warning device, which (if he was still alive), would have warned him that his stash in Monterey was compromised, so he would have kept his distance from the town. Part of the reason that he had picked this grave yard, was due to the large number of remotes already present. Who would notice one more?
Back at the bungalow, Cleo called Uncle Billy who told her to open the lead box. He trusted Cleo enough not to cross him. Inside were Sid’s real financial records, a cred chip with 50k eb on it, a couple of envelopes and chips with blackmail material, and a key to a padlock. Uncle Billy had Cleo deduct the group’s fee of 10k from the cred chip and also keep the remaining 40k, so that he had them on retainer. He had Cleo hold onto the key, in case he was able to find out what it went to. Why send it all the way to Trinidad if it would have to be sent back here anyway. The remaining documents and records were sent to Trinidad via express mail.
Petrochem wasn’t targeting the group personally. With all of the troubles that had occurred recently, they just kept their eye out for people of interest, which the group fell into. After a cursory ‘once over’ the group had been discounted as a threat. The Jammers were thought to be the more credible threat…and rightly so (at least where Petrochem was concerned).
Cleo Explains It All
Well, we took a week off, because I had a paying gig with my band on Saturday night. I thought it would be fun to give a little background and set a few things straight about the new group dynamic. I brought in my character, Cleo Jane Skye, to the group. I created the character a year or two ago in response to some observations by the other players that the characters which I was using were all very old (in terms of real life playtime), and therefore were very well equipped with gear, cyberware, money and skills in relation to some of the new player’s characters in the group. As this was a legitimate observation to some extent, I decided to create a new character with lots of baggage and NO combat or leadership ability.
So Nikita Alexandra Bakunin was born. “Nikki” (yes, I am a fan of that French film, so it was a she) was born to a woman of Russian descent (from the same family as Mikhail Bakunin, my favorite anarchist) in New York’s Brighton Beach neighborhood. Her father was an Organitskaya hit man, who did not marry her mother. Mom was a drug addicted whore and dad wasn’t around much so, without going into the gory details, let’s just say she had a horrific upbringing and ended up on the street alone and disfigured. She ended up working for a retired mob thief who ran a garage (he caught the terrified thirteen year old burglarizing his place), and earned her skills as an auto mechanic and thief (Prowler). Her mentor died and she was on the streets with a few pieces of equipment, some contacts, and a burning desire to become a world-class jewel thief. Nikki’s skill set was one of a thief. SNEAK, very high pick pockets, and pick locks, stealth etc., but NO combat skills. When asked during her first scenario by the party leader if she knew Martial Arts, her reply was, “Who is he?” She used a lot of her signing bonus to start fixing her face (her ATTR will never get to be 10 naturally due to her childhood scarring). She spent her two last campaigns in a single-minded quest for cash. Nikki believes she is destined for a life among the rich and power elite. She strives hard to remake herself, and to that end collects contacts and patrons who can help her. She now changes identities like people change their socks. Nikki has arrangements with two top surgeons (she hope soon to be three with Doctor Freeman) and two top flight “shoemakers”. For further information look up the Grenada Campaign (as Nikki) and Las Vegas Campaign (as Alexis).
Now as Cleo Jane Skye, she came to join the Killer Bees and establish a name (and new fortune) in Night City. Unfortunately, that group got really boned during their last Ocean War adventure and she found them in disarray. She then decided to invest some of her considerable stolen swag into rebuilding that group with the intention of using them for one last daring heist before she ‘retires’. Nikki has been working with one her shoemakers and Victor Kruger (a world class power broker she met, who she considers her patron, and is a major NPC) to create a more permanent identity for her. This is her situation as she enters the campaign. So with this out of the way, here is a little comment on episodes 16 & 17.
GM quote: Episode 16: UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT (in more ways than one)
“…. Security looks inside the room and then a brief argument ensues, Rose hears the man from Hazard tell the security guards that they would have to talk to Mr. Hazard; pointing to the man seated at the table. After a short discussion Mr. Hazard shakes hands with one of the security guards and the incident seems to be over. Billy is still in the private room.
Rose calls Cleo to let her know what’s going on. In the process, she is made by one of Hazard’s body guards. It is obvious to both Cleo and Rose…the body guard kept looking up from a hand held device and staring right at Rose. (1) Feeling that discretion is the better part of valor, Cleo sounded the retreat back to their table in the Antechamber.”
Cleo’s Explanation: “Sound the retreat?” No, actually Cleo was there to hire a solo/bodyguard, and she needed to finish his interview.
GM quote: Episode 16: UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT (in more ways than one)
“…..They called the association to tell them about Billy. It turns out that Billy wasn’t acting on Morgan’s orders, so Billy is pretty much fucked. Rose wants to mount a rescue, but is over ruled by Cleo. They leave with Ken in tow and head back to their headquarters.”
Cleo’s Explanation: Yes, Cleo did overrule any rescue attempt. Not so much in fear of a fight, but in that she didn’t give a shit about the person being held. This wasn’t her fight and she wasn’t being paid. “Billy” was obviously spying and got caught. “Too bad, so sad”
GM quotes & notes: Episode 17: A GRAVE SITUATION
“…..Disheartened that this might not be the cake walk she had envisioned, the group decided to regroup and take in some of the local color. After eating, they went to the Old Sod (Irish Pub) to listen to live music by the house band, “The Skids” (a homage to the Scottish Punk Rock Band). Cleo was upset, because no one hit on her at the bar. This takes a little background information to understand…Monterey’s pre-Collapse economy was based around……
Neither Cleo nor Dr. Freeman looked the part of Edgerunners, but they were sitting with “Mr. Grim Death” himself, Ken. With his face plate and kimono, he just didn’t blend in well with the mostly working class crowd. He made quite the impression on the patrons, including two gentlemen sitting at one of the tables who were wearing Petrochem uniforms. Dr. Freeman proceeded to get drunk and sing along with the chorus of the songs. He botched his role and one of the locals, who was also drunk decided to critique his singing by taking a swing at him. Dr. Freeman fell out of his chair…not because the hit had done any real damage, but because the blow had unbalanced him and he was too drunk to regain his balance in time.
Ken stood up, ready to come to the defense of his Dr. Freeman. The drunken patron’s friends at another table stood up as well. They weren’t looking for a fight. Their reaction was more “Oh God Harry’s going to get himself killed if we don’t do something”. The bouncers stepped in and dragged of ‘Harry’ before the situation got out of hand. One of the men in the PetroChem uniforms followed the bouncers, with “Harry” in tow out the door.
Harry and his buddies all work for Petrochem. The two guys in uniform are on duty, chaperoning the rest. There have been incidents where workers have been beat up or cause damage in local establishments while in town “blowing off steam” and with the situation as tense as it has been (thanks to Santa Cruz), Petrochem is trying to make sure such incidents are kept to a minimum. They’re the equivalent of a “shore patrol” for the Petrochem workers.
There weren’t any problems after that and the group enjoyed the music and left around Midnight. Cleo was the only one who didn’t enjoy herself…since no one hit on her. She convinced herself that everyone in Monterey is gay. That, being the only explanation why someone wouldn’t try to put the moves on her.
Cleo’s Explanation: “Upset?” no not really. She viewed this job as a cake walk and after the Ocean War thought it would be nice to relax, have a good time, and maybe find some studly, horny oil worker to play with before returning to a town (Night City) where she realizes she has to be more careful with her personal safety. Now, having read the GM’s explanation of the situation I am forced to wonder why if the situation was so tense with outsiders why one would approach a table and punch a ‘suit’ with a ‘grim faced”, kimono wearing bodyguard sitting there for ‘botching’ a singing roll. Oh, by the way, GM failed to mention, that Cleo then threw her beer in the drunken ‘music critic’s’ eyes (with a fine roll) which blinded him enough to allow the bouncers to get there. Ken (aka Grimjaw) did stand but took a defensive stance, and did not allow the situation to get out of hand. Cleo spent the rest of the evening away from the table enjoying the music and ‘cruising’, but apparently the ‘liquid courage’ the place was serving only gave the patrons the willingness to pick fights with strangers rather than at least just talk to them, especially obviously available young, pretty (ATTR 11, with Royo mask and high Personal Grooming rolls) women. Maybe they were mixing saltpeter in with the alcohol for the locals.
Cleo intends to take the Killer Bees to a new level. She wants to get the group press and reputation that will bring it up to the attention of the people who have the ‘real’ moneyed jobs. In the Grenada Campaign, she was a complete pawn learning ‘the ropes’. During the Las Vegas Campaign, she viewed herself as a mover in the situation there, but still just a cog in Victor’s greater plan. Now, in Night City, she wants to call the shots, so to speak, and make this last job her “masterpiece”.
GM’s Response:
Cleo’s Explanation: “Sound the retreat?” No, actually Cleo was there to hire a solo/bodyguard, and she needed to finish his interview.
GM: Sure, and it had nothing to do with the guy that came up about that time and offered buy you both a drink? Am I getting mixed signals, I though you wanted guys to hit on you? Although he wasn’t wearing the Hazard Inc. insignia, it was pretty clear that he was associated with them in some capacity. Still, a drink is a drink.
Cleo’s Retort: Now, having read the GM’s explanation of the situation I am forced to wonder why if the situation was so tense with outsiders why one would approach a table and punch a “suit” with a ‘grim faced”, kimono wearing bodyguard sitting there for “botching” a singing roll.
GM: As I indicated when you first walked in, the place was busy. Your table was not far from the dance pit in the middle of the room. “Harry” was leaning on the railing near your table on the edge of the dance pit. An as for Dr. Freeman’s botch, it was on a skill that he doesn’t have and he rolled a 10 on the botch. It didn’t help matters that “Harry” failed his COOL roll or that when you first walked into the bar, I rolled for the patron’s first impression of the group and it was a 35. Not really good vibrations from the crowd. Remember, if you guys are in a situation, you can always ask me for a diagram.
Cleo again: Oh, by the way, the GM failed to mention, that Cleo then threw her beer in the drunken “music critic’s” eyes (with a fine roll) which blinded him enough to allow the bouncers to get there.
GM: Oh yes, how could I forget? Forgive me for glossing over your shining moment in the encounter. As to the rest of the evening, one person picked a fight, and he was a hot head and drunk. Most everyone else in the place was ignoring your group…or at least attempting to ignore you guys. Hate to tell you Cleo, but it looked more like a trap than anything. A cute young thing, new in town, just looking for fun. Course the fun is when your friends show up and beat the crap out of the guy who goes with you, once you have him separated from his friends. I know that wasn’t your intention, but it’s happened recently. A couple of the roughnecks (oil rig workers) are still in the infirmary back at the Petrochem facility.
There is also the fact, that beautiful women can be intimidating to approach, especially in a bar where everyone knows you. It’s hard enough to go up and try to make conversation, when she is so obviously out of your league. Even worse would be getting shot down and having the long walk back to the table where your friends are sitting. I’m sorry that men aren’t throwing themselves at your feet, but maybe you should try hanging out in a better class of establishment.