Friday, June 22, 2012

Wordslingin'

A session of ups and downs. The good news is that the first half of our mission -- hoodwink Pinky to think that we're actually doing some infiltration for him instead of fraternizing with the enemy -- went off exactly according to plan. The bad news is that the second half of the mission -- capture Bradwick and hand him off to Pinky's contacts -- did not. We're now left with one dead Pinky, one wounded Lukas, and more trouble with the Kolsons. But at least this time we got paid.

[Brock reflects on my most recent story.]
Brock: "Lyta's boyfriend set her up with training wheels."

[Our Heroes (tm) arrive in Khayr ad-Din. Ariel coins a new T-shirt worthy slogan.]
Ariel: "Sunny Khayr ad-Din: it only smells bad on the outside!"

[We meet up with Pinky.]
Pinky: "Were you followed?"
Torgath: "Followed by the smell."
Pinky: "...Good enough for me."

[Pinky prefaces our mission briefing with a bit of lightheartedness.]
Pinky: "How do you guys feel about a bit of crime?"
Lukas: "As the victim or the inflicter?"
Pinky: "The inflicter."
Torgath: "Better than the other way around."
Pinky: "Don't we all."

[The mission, should we choose to accept it: infiltrate the Badlands Caravan Guild headquarters and steal some data. The only complication is that the BCG are the people Ti works with.]
Torgath: "I don't see the issue."
Lyta: "That's because you haven't been paying attention."

[Given the target, we decide to inform Ti of the mission Pinky has set before us. Lukas tries to ease him into it.]
Lukas: "On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is mortal enemies and 10 is soul mates, what would you say your relationship is with the Caravan Guild?"
Ti Corovan: "You may be as displeased with the answer as I am with the question."

[We inform Ti of our specific target.]
Ti Corovan: "That's their home base. They call it Hotel Bravo."
Lyta: (deadpan) "How original."

[The plan: put Lyta, Lukas, and Torgath in a crate and have them shipped into the Caravan Guild HQ. The complication: getting the crate onto the caravan. Pinky decides he and his buddies are going to "raid" a caravan, and the siblings' crate will get dumped with the rest of the cargo in the confusion.]
Pinky: "We'll try not to drop you. Or shoot at you."

[The ride in the crate is a bit jostling.]
Lukas: "You know what we should have brought? Impact foam."

[Lukas scans the crate for bugs or tracers and finds none.]
Georges the GM: "The box is just a box. Apparently Pinky trusts you guys."
Brock: "Fool!"

[We arrive at the Caravan Guild HQ and are taken out of the crate. We give our data spike to Bill Pierce, who gives it to computer genius Prabal Nandy, who puts it on an isolated system to see what it will do.]
Prabal Nandy: "It's looking for a single world: Bradwick."
Torgath: "What's a Bradwick?"
Everyone Else: *boggles*

[The room we're in is full of computers and elite hackers. Bill Pierce pretends it's just for caravan logistics, and we pretend to believe him.]
Lukas: "And with that pleasant fiction, I think we'll leave off. Tell me about your pastry selection."

[We get a tour of the compound from Karin Hassan, starting in the computer room that appears to be a hub of operations for something much larger than shipping logistics.]
Karin: "So, this room... doesn't exist."

[The next day, we meet Dr. Tom Chambers, head of the Caravan Guild, and make plans for part 2 of the operation, which will involve capturing Bradwick.]
Lukas: "Pinky can't be killed."
Tom Chambers: "You mean you'd prefer that he not be killed, not that he's a vampire or something."

[The reason Dr. Chambers is willing to give up Bradwick is because he wants to know who Pinky is working for.]
Tom Chambers: "In order of preference, 'apprehend the client' is definitely at the top of my list of happy."

[While Dr. Chambers is willing to give up Bradwick, it needs to look believable. Which means people are going to be wounded and probably die.]
Julie: "For anyone who's paying attention, Lyta doesn't look happy with the idea of expendables."
Georges the GM: *looks at character sheet* "I forgot, the Doc doesn't care. He has no human perception."

[Recall that the Badlands Caravan Guild was the organization founded by the PCs in the last campaign, which leads to certain meta-game desires.]
Brock: "I'm not saying I didn't have a brief fantasy about a showdown in the Nexus and taking it over..."

[We are exfiltrated out of the BCG headquarters, and Pinky releases us from the crate.]
Pinky: "Lookie here! I found a prize inside the box!"
Lyta: "We're like cereal that way."

[Pinky is disdainful at our pistols.]
Pinky: "Them's lady weapons."
Lukas: "Discreet weapons."
Pinky: "Yup. That's how I like my women: discreet."
Lukas: "That's a lie."
Pinky: "You're right. That's a lie."

[More random banter with Pinky.]
Lyta: "Did Lukas show you the mask made of papier maché money?"
Pinky: "Are you shittin' me?"
Lyta: "...Yes."
Lukas: "No."

[Lyta, Lukas, and Torgath sneak up on the building where the Caravan Guild is holding Bradwick. Lyta and Lukas roll very low on their sneak.]
Georges the GM: "Remarkably, you're not noticed."
Brock: "It's not like they're not expecting us."

[We move in closer.]
Brock: "I sneak up to the building."
Georges the GM: *rolls dice and smiles*
Julie: "That smile says someone noticed you."

[We are not noticed. We climb up onto the roof to see 12 guys around the perimeter and 8 guys inside. But who are we allowed to kill?]
Georges the GM: "The Doc told you everyone in a beret is expendable, and they're all wearing berets."

[Pinky shows up in a spiffy customized longrunner. To help him out, Lukas throws a flash-bang grenade into the thickest part of the enemy forces. Keep in mind that the enemies here are theoretically the Caravan Guild's people, whom we'd rather not be killed. Pinky's guys swarm in.]
Brock: "They don't waste their ammo on guys who are already down."
Georges the GM: (sarcastic) "...Right, because ammo is so expensive."

[We capture Bradwick and escape.]
Pinky: "You guys are damn handy to have on an operation."
Lukas: "That's how we make our money."

[Our original plan was to get paid $10,000 each for the mission, which got upped to $17,500 when Pinky asked us to help him with the assault. Now it's time for yet more negotiations.]
Pinky: "Let's make it a nice round number."
Lukas: "Twenty-five it is."
Pinky: "I don't like numbers that end in five."
Lukas: "All right, thirty."

[Pinky has never been subtle about hitting on Lyta.]
Lukas: "You're getting her polite side."
Pinky: "I could stand to see some of her less polite side."
Lyta: "No."
Pinky: "No worries, little lady."
Lyta: "I'm not worried."
Lukas: "Maybe he is."

[We reminisce about last session's antics.]
Pinky: "For all I know, you were putting a monkey wrench in my job."
Lyta: "We were there first!"
Pinky: "...Only technically."

[The next part of the job is to act as backup for Pinky as he hands over Bradwick to his client. We set the signal for when to intervene.]
Pinky: "I'd say the best way to know is if I shoot somebody."

[We've arranged that Dr. Chambers' people would interrupt the trade and capture Pinky's client.]
Brock: "At this point, do I contact Chambers, or do I count on his ability to find the highly conspicuous longrunner..."

[The hand-off is taking place in the highly populated Plaza. Which is inconvenient when Pinky's clients turn up, submachine guns in hands, and start shooting him. Lukas tries to shoot them back but misses.]
Ariel: "What's your innocent civilian count at now?"
Brock: "I haven't been keeping track -- no one pays for civilians."

[Pinky has very likely been killed by submachine gun fire.]
Julie: "We did get paid in advance, right?"
Georges the GM: "That's what you're thinking about at a time like this?"

[A mook is coming after Lyta from behind. She doesn't notice.]
Torgath: "I accidentally used your real name over the comms because I was worried."
Lyta: "It's okay. Our real identities are the worst-kept secret on Terra Nova."

[Pinky is dead, so is Bradwick. We've got one prisoner.]
Torgath: "We should follow the chain of command and tell Ti."
Lukas: "Are are the chain of command."

[Dr. Chambers' men did not show up to the carnage in the Plaza. Lukas calls him afterwards, in which they agree that Chambers will meet the siblings in their hotel room in six hours.]
Tom Chambers: "And Lukas, I'm sorry for being late."
Lukas: "Bring money." *hangs up*

[We captured one of the people who shot Pinky. Turns out he's working for the Kolsons.]
Kolson Goon: "Job was to meet the contacts and kill them."
Lukas: "Well, you killed them."
Kolson Goon: "Do I get a pat on the back?"
Lukas: "No. Sorry for you, they're friends of ours."

[Before he died, Pinky gave Lukas a key to his locker. In it, we found a duffel bag with a pistol, a notebook, and $60,000.]
Lukas: "I'll add that to the account. Death benefits."

[We inform Ti of what happened, including that the job was organized by the local Kolson chief, Marius Wallcraft.]
Ti Corovan: "I don't want you to go after Wallcraft yet."
Lukas: "..."
Ti Corovan: "I'm gonna take that silence to mean you're in complete agreement with me."

[We also inform Pinky's friend Tatsugoro that Pinky is dead.]
Tatsugoro: "Vengeance is for tomorrow. But today... Today is for drinking."

And that's it for this week. Next time... I honestly have no idea. I guess we'll have to find out then!





Heavy Gear Roleplaying Game

0 comments :


 
Hermes 72 - Heavy Gear RPG - Most artwork Copyright 2002 Dream Pod 9, Inc.