Friday, December 20, 2013

Wordslingin'

Look, ma, Our Heroes (tm) attended a party and nobody died! How novel!

Friday, December 13, 2013

Wordslingin'

Back on track! In yesterday's game, we rediscovered the trail to Krak Bhakir... only to find out that, unsurprisingly, this rabbit hole is deeper than we'd initially suspected.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Wordslingin'

The bad news is we've lost all leads on Krak Bhakir and have few ideas about how to regain the trail. The good news is we were taken out to dinner, and Torgath yet again did not get killed by people he annoyed. It balances out, I suppose.

Friday, November 8, 2013

Wordslingin'

Welcome to Gropius! Beautiful Gropius, where the wine is Terran, the glass is delicate, and the VDSS is lethal. Just my kinda place.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VII: Operational Parameters

“They’ve done well,” Okran said as he pushed the brown paper envelope across the table. The woman across from him was pulling her scarf and gloves off from around her neck and dropped them casually over the package.

“No, they've done very badly,” she huffed, her cheeks red from the bracing weather outside. “The POP have already opened an investigation into the girl’s acrobatic sorties, and in time, enough of their faces would be compiled from footage at the train depot to feed into the face recognition patterns of MENTOR, and then it would just be a question of time.”

Friday, October 11, 2013

I hit what I aim at

Even through the darkening of the flash-resistant visor of the POP helmet, Lukas could see by the way Todd's eyes narrowed slightly that he was giving in to the impulse to simple eliminate his target.

Wordslingin'

Since we had all hands on deck yesterday, it was time to bring Operation: Oxford DA Office to its mostly-successful conclusion. Mostly.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VII: The Ghosts of Olympics Past


40 Autumn 1926 – Oxford, Bodleian Library, Special Exhibitions

Much to Lyta’s surprise, the “Tribute to the Olympics” exhibit was fascinating. The sign on the door said that it was travelling all over the Humanist Alliance. It had already been through the western cities and was now moving eastward, to Oxford, Perth, and Raleigh. It was just luck that she happened to be in Oxford at the same time as the exhibit.

She took her time. Torgath would no doubt be researching most of the day, probably on more difficult subject matter than the one in front of her. There was a scale model of the Gropius Olympic facilities, trideos of finalist matches going back decades, reproductions depicting evolution of the gold medals… Lyta found whole thing riveting.

Wordslingin'

Interlude! Since Brock was not able to come to last night's game and finish Operation: Oxford DA offices, we backed up the timeline two days to our day off from planning. Awkward conversation ensues!

Friday, September 20, 2013

Wordslingin'

Plan, plan, plan, that's all we do. This week's session comes to us courtesy of Operation: Oxford DA Offices. Which isn't an impossibility on the level of, say, rescuing Christina Katchelli from the CEF diamond mines, but it's certainly not the easiest thing we've ever done either.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VII: Tunnel Rats


35 Autumn, 1926

They jogged along the tunnel, staying close to the side to avoid the crates hurtling along on their almost-silent rail carts. Lyta consulted the map that was helpfully included on Bhakir's PDA. Between that and the memory of her last sojourn through the tunnels, she was pretty sure she knew where she was and, more importantly, how to get out without been noticed, at least not too much. The tunnels didn't seem to be monitored closely -- people didn't generally come in here -- which meant that she was willing to risk a little conversation to alleviate the monotony of running.

"That was good," she said to Fennec, who jogged along behind her. "Objective accomplished, no confrontation. My kind of op."

"You an' me both," said the redhead.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VII: The Best Laid Plans...

Okran Radsley is a largely built man with a barrel chest and thick, strong limbs. His hand clasps another’s with firm assurance. His strength envelops his counterpart’s frequently smaller hand in a friendly gesture that still conveys a certain threat of controlled strength.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VII: Forming Up

38 Autumn, 1926

Lyta’s head throbbed. For the last two days they had been discussing logistics, plans, contingencies, equipment lists, infiltration and exfiltration points, and all the rest of the tiny details involved in an op of this complexity. They had taken on more complicated jobs before, but rarely on such a short timeframe and never in a location with such constant surveillance.

Lyta walked the streets of Oxford trying to clear her head. She bypassed the Oxford Institute for Physical Advancement – the formal gymnastics did not interest her, and she didn’t want to run into the perky trainer who seemed so keen on getting her to restart. She wanted to run the buildings, but stopped herself. She had promised it would only be the one time, and so far it had been. She walked aimlessly, trying to figure out what to do with herself.

Friday, September 13, 2013

Wordslingin'

This week we introduced our newest player character, Fennec: a tomboyish Badlander about Lyta's age who specializes is "salvage operations." Also, we did a job that went off mostly smoothly. You know this can't last.

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VII: Emerging

In the empty plains two men were near a campfire at sunset.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VII: Intra-lingual

32 Autumn, 1926

Lukas walked into Gabriel’s spare bedroom to find his sister cross-legged on the bed, facing the window, hunched over something on her lap. A slim headphone fitted snugly in her ear, and for a moment she was completely oblivious to his presence. One hand trailed along the stitches of the quilted mattress, the other hovered over whatever was in her lap. He waited at the door a moment, watching her, bemused that she should be so engrossed by a task that involved no movement.

He cleared his throat.

Lyta’s head snapped up and she grasped the object in her lap closer. Lukas stepped into the room to get a better angle on it. “Are you… reading?” he asked at last.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VII: Leaping into Trouble

31 Autumn, 1926, 15:00

Lyta wasn’t sure what morbid fascination it was that brought her back to the Oxford Institute for Physical Advancement. Maybe it was nostalgia for a life she lost when she was only a child. Maybe it was masochism, watching the elite gymnasts while knowing that she could never compete on their level. Maybe it was a desire, on some level, to know the competition, not that she would ever consider the athletes in the gymnasium below her truly ‘competition.’ She was half-curious what Doc Chambers might think of the entire thing. No doubt he’d have something clinical and unwanted to say on the subject.

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VII : The Problems of Others

09:00
Merchant Circle, Tessier Rd, Oxford SW6

“'Well, I’ve got a problem with this,' the bugger says to me. 'Yeah?' I replied feigning shock, 'Well, it's all edible except for the tail!'”

The six people assembled around the makeshift bar in the back of Okran Radsley’s shop erupted into laughter. The loudest of them was Okran himself. He was sitting with his back to the wall and saw Lukas enter shortly after he actually had. With an offer of another round in his absence he excused himself as someone else segued into another anecdote.

“Any problems, mates?” Okran asked, still smiling.

Friday, August 9, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VII : Bread crumbs

NGIS Field Report # 5546-A01-45
Summary: POI at KAD Meredine Fundraiser (Re: Anders Von breslau threat 16.SU.26)

#22. 
Subject: Mr. Quinn, a.k.a. Lukas, Smith, etc...
Description: Scared face, 190+ cm, 108 kg, fair hair, blue eyes, Sandrider?
Known Affiliations: Kolsons cartel, Desert Wolves, Forzi Cartel, BCG, PX Couriers,  
Key related cases: Tantalus, YMC break in, 3 Missing Jaguars, Agent G. Summers Sr., 

#23
Subject: Ms. Kes, a.k.a. Lyta, etc...
Description: 165 cm, 52 kg, fair hair, blue eyes, Sandrider?
See # 22 for related info

#24
Subject: Mr. Grimm, Dr Grimm, Dirk Dark, Grimm Doc, Torgath, etc...
Description: 180 cm, 75 kg, Brown hair, hazel eyes, Sandrider?
See # 22 for related info

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VII : Longnight

22.SP.26

To: Holly Hopkyns
D.E.F.T.A.
Subject: Project Desert Night
Security: ULTRAVIOLET - For Your Eyes Only -

----------------------------------------HIRA Secure communication-----------------------

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VII: Knowing Your Enemy

28 Autumn, 1926

Lyta kept a lookout behind them as they pulled away from the distribution centre. The roads were perfectly smooth and flat; they moved without a sound above the hum of the engine. Lukas, to his credit, was doing an excellent job driving like he knew where they were going, but Lyta was pretty sure he didn’t. He hadn’t had time to set up safehouses in Oxford yet. Certainly he didn’t have any safe houses big enough for a 20-foot stolen shipping crate.

She grumbled to herself. Bhakir and his people had been ahead of them at every step. It was, she grudgingly admitted, an exceptionally well-planned op. They’d had the trackers, the correct redirection papers, the key and pass-code to enter the crate, a means of overriding the systems at the distribution depot, a getaway vehicle, and plenty of manpower. She wished that she had that kind of resource allocation at her disposal.

Wordslingin'

What happens when two hostile forces both try to take control of a shipping crate from its rightful owner? And what happens when those hostile forces are trying their very best not to make it seem like anything is wrong? Last night's session, that's what.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Wordslingin'

A belated post, but I blame that on being unable to access a decent keyboard for two weeks. In any event, last session saw Our Heroes (tm) begin the slippery slope to deviancy in the Humanist Alliance. Yay!

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Game Planning

"So...what's the plan? What are we doing here?"

"Making money."

The glibness of Lukas' response to his sister's question was typical, and the lie came with the ease of regular practice. But Lukas found himself asking, strangely, the same question.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VII: Fighting for Pacifists

25 Autumn 1926

Lyta scowled as she left the Oxford Institute for Physical Advancement.

It was not, as dozens or hundreds of Badlanders might attest, that she needed to get into fights. Despite the smashed chairs and cracked tables she often left in her wake, she could live without bar fights. She was perfectly content not to be punched in the face or gripped in an arm-lock. What she couldn’t live without was movement.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Wordslingin'

Into the Humanist Alliance, where the people are polite, the buildings are clean, and you really don't want to be called a deviant by doing things like breaking and entering.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: The Prodigal Daughter Returns

1 Autumn, 1926

Lyta had almost managed to forget how bad Khayr ad-Din smelled. After the lush jungle scents of Junira Loresh, returning to the refuse city was an assault on the senses. At least she wouldn’t need to be there long.

Inside Hotel Bravo, the smell was lessened, and Lyta was grateful for the brief respite. Bill Pearce met her as she entered; she suspected there was a special facial-recognition program somewhere in the Nexus computers keyed specifically for her and her brothers. When they showed up, things started exploding, both figuratively and literally. So it was little surprise that she had barely made it past the lobby when she came face-to-face with Hotel Bravo’s manager.

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Entranced

The Tergami tribe was a constant stream of visitors and well-wishers. Koreshi of all walks came to congratulate the tribe’s Thral, its Matriarch, and of course Jireni herself. No runner had passed the nineteenth course of the B’Ti in a generation, and Jireni’s accomplishment brought great honor.

Most of the guests came, spoke for a few minutes, and left their own tribes and kin. But a few stayed behind, finding kindred spirits even though they had never met before.

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Running Blind

Junira Loresh thronged with Koreshi, and Lyta ran through them, racing past the tent-city of Ratir that had sprung up for the summer competitions. She sprinted along the paths that had formed between the camps of various tribes, making her way toward the more permanent buildings of the Ferah, the Koreshi who lived in Junira Loresh year-long. Torgath was somewhere far behind her, tending to the armadillos, but Lyta hadn’t been able to wait. She had waited so long.

She reached the outer edge of the Ferah village and stopped, hands on her knees, sucking in breath. As a Ratir, she was not allowed to enter without permission, so she waited impatiently for someone to notice her.

An older man with scars on his arms found her after a few minutes, emerging from the homes within the village. He looked at her expectantly.

“I’m Hippartha of the Bathani Ratir,” Lyta said when she saw him. “Where’s Thralan Jonas?”

The Ferah looked at her for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t know. He may be with the other Thrals. Follow me.”

Monday, July 8, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Heavy Is The Head...

21:22
19.SU.26
KAD
Hotel Bravo

“Thanks for your help,” Doc Chambers said to the tall man sitting in the nondescript office in the underground Nexus of Hotel Bravo which Bill Pearce used.

“What would you do without me?” Kain Delacroix asked rhetorically with a barely perceivable hint of sarcasm.

Chambers smiled as he circled the desk and sat facing his old partner. “I manage to muddle through somehow.”

“My presence would seem to indicate otherwise,” Delacroix said flatly.

Friday, June 28, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Dealing with the Devil, part 2

Lyta walked with barely more enthusiasm than a gallows prisoner and reminded herself that she’d wanted this. She’d sat in Doc Chambers’ office and asked, practically begged, for him to let her see Geddy. But now, as they descended into the under-levels of Hotel Bravo, she wanted nothing more than to bolt back to her room, lock the door, and stay there until she and Todd left for Junira Loresh.

She wanted to, but she wouldn’t. Lassanders went forward. Even into the arms of psychopathic madmen.

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Dealing with the Devil, part 1

19 Summer, 1926

Dr. Tomohiro Chambers' cigar extended its grey arm of ash ever further as he skimmed papers in front of him. “Preliminary Interrogation Report: Geddy Jay Gordon,” read the header. The contents were much as he’d expected: volatile; prone to digressions and extended metaphors, particularly those graphic or violent in nature; unprovoked outbursts of anger; and so on. His people had not been able to obtain much in terms of concrete data beyond what they’d known already, which was disappointing. Still, he had been in custody barely two days, and there was still plenty of time to get answers.

Chambers’ eyes lingered over the middle of the second page, a paragraph entitled “New Queen.” Geddy’s anecdotes repeatedly turned back towards a woman he described as his “new queen,” the woman who would replace his old, broken queen to sit at his side and rule the underworld. Chambers read through the description with increasing interest. The report strung together fragmentary references to Geddy’s “marble bride” with her “hair like gold needles, sharp enough to draw blood” and “eyes the blue of diamonds that glint out of the hard rock.” He referenced how fluidly she danced, “like a stream that flows in the riverbed, so calm and welcoming on the surface, while in the darkness it cuts gashes in the rock that holds it in its embrace.” Geddy spoke about how his queen would dance for him at court, how happy they would both be, how they would subdue anyone who stood in their path.

Doc Chambers let a fine stream of smoke curl up from his lips. It was obvious who Geddy was referring to. The question was what reaction she would provoke on Geddy, and how he could raise the topic with her now that her brother had turned down his request for employment.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Wordslingin'

Time for a denouement! Or, as Georges the GM entitled the session, "Consequences." Because we've been paying off karma at a vastly accelerated rate lately.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: What Must Be Done

18 Summer, 1926

“You have to kill him.”

“I don’t have to do anything of the sort.”

Lyta held back a scowl. She’d suspected the Doc would be less than sympathetic to her petition. Still, he’d at least agreed to meet with her. She took a deep breath. “Look, if I’d had thirty more seconds back there before Delacroix grabbed him and drove off, Geddy would already be dead, and we wouldn’t need to have this conversation.”

The Doc steepled his hands over the small pile of papers on his desk. “But you didn’t, and so he is still alive. And in my custody.”

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Wordslingin'

Time for a daring rescue! When Lukas gets himself captured by some really nasty people, it's up to the rest of us to bring him back in one piece. Well, sort of one piece. It's kind of holey. But at least nothing's fallen off yet.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Kain Delacroix - June 2013

Older, more scarred. Wiser?

Monday, June 17, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Cackle Bladder Cock-Up

22:30 hours, 18 summer 1926
Detention cell 3, Hotel Bravo
Southern District, KAD

18:45 hours, 18 summer 1926
InterWest leased warehouse
Western District, KAD

Friday, June 14, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Listening Ears

18 Summer, 1926

Kastin Hassan found her by practically tripping over her.

Lyta had been planning to go to the cafeteria after her conversation with Doc Chambers, to get an early breakfast and watch the sunrise from the oasis tower’s bay windows. That plan had broken down somewhere near the bottom of the staircase, and she’d sat with her head pressed up against the wall for the better part of an hour, her body hunched and her arms around her knees.

“Hey, watch where you’re—” Karin cut herself off mid-sentence as she saw what, or more precisely whom, she’d stumbled over. “Lyta,” she said softly.

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Who Cons the Con Men?

18 Summer, 1926

Lyta glared at the ceiling. Her head throbbed against the pillow, and the minimal light coming in through the windows hurt her eyes. But no matter how hard she tried to sleep, to shut out the world and everybody in it at least for a few hours, her mind refused to settle, and the ceiling taunted her by its continued presence.

She wanted to punch something. The ceiling seemed to be a canvas for the faces of everyone who’d wronged her recently: Kinross and Geddy and Jimmy and Virgil and all the rest of them. The adrenaline and the anger kept her awake, and her fists clenched and unclenched against the bedsheets. She almost welcomed the anger. If she was angry, she could forget that she was terrified.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Wordslingin'

This week's session answered that age-old question: "Precisely how long does it take for a smooth job to turn sour?" And its ancillary, "How bad can it really yet?" Yeah... it was one of those sessions.

Friday, May 31, 2013

Wordslingin'

Remember Jimmy Croyden, the guy whose last job nearly got us killed multiple times? Well, it looks like we're working for him again. Just one more job. We can quit any time we want, honest.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Ignorance Ain't Bliss


“With all due respect, I don’t much like that they know I’m associated with you. What if they get it in their heads to use that information as leverage with the Doc?” Bill was shaking his head, his phone pressed hard to his ear. Just beyond his soundproof door, the Nexus was full of analysts trying to follow up leads and piece together what had happened and why.

“Would he believe them? It doesn’t matter. Lukas wouldn’t do anything so foolish. Besides, you’re now their handler. Bill. I can’t continue managing them; they’ve become too involved. Better you collate their data and send me what’s pertinent.” Renault’s voice was calm, as usual.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Detained, Redux

16 Summer, 1926

It was one of the more memorable outfits Lyta had ever worn: cherry-red dress with a high hem and low neckline, ruby jewelry to match, and three-inch heels. Some of the strands had, admittedly, come undone from the fancy pile of curls atop her head, and her makeup was smudged with sweat and dirt. But the zip-ties were the accessory that brought the whole getup together, Lyta thought. They matched the décor better than her dress did, anyway.

The small room – not quite a cell, not quite a meeting room – had a narrow window overlooking Khayr ad-Din, but it was too dark to see much beyond the glinting lights of oasis towers. The bulbs in the ceiling maintained a moderate light, accompanied by a low hum that was almost soothing. The door in front of her had no windows, but it did have a sophisticated lock.

Lyta let her head fall to her chest. Bill Pearce had ordered them all taken into custody, placed into separate rooms, and left alone. Clearly, he had bigger things to deal with, like the explosion in Hotel Bravo’s south loading bay, like the virus that had potentially wormed its way into the Doc’s nexus, like the madman on the loose with enough explosives to blow up an oasis tower. Compared to that, the Lassander siblings were an afterthought, and Lyta imagined she’d be spending most of the night sitting with her hands zip-tied and her head aching until someone remembered about them. Or, more likely, until someone talked to Lukas and decided what the hell to do with them. Again.

She woke to the sound of the lock clicking. She kept her head low against her chest, kept her eyes closed, kept her breathing steady and even, but her leg-muscles tensed and she pressed her hands against the edge of the chair. Geddy was still out there. Geddy had been here, tonight, and she wasn’t going to let him get a second shot.

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI : Chance


“Is it done?”

Geddy smiled through the trideo projection, an expression which provoked some disgust in Kinross as Geddy’s face contorted, pulling at the fresh scars on his neck.

“It’s done all right, rightly done, they be done all right.”

Friday, May 10, 2013

Wordslingin'

Spin and spin and spin again! So many plot twists and red herrings in last night's session it's a wonder we have any idea what's going on at all. Or maybe we don't. Maybe it's just better that way.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Wordslingin'

A long-expected party! Yes, at long last, it is finally time for Doc Chambers' fundraiser gala to support the Meredine Clinic. And at least so far, nothing has blown up! Huzzah! (Of course, we all know it's only a matter of time...)

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI : Correspondence


Doc.Dirk.Grimm@mobilcom-Hermes72

-------------------------------------------
INBOX : 3 mew messages
-------------------------------------------

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: How to Craft a Diamond Ring

Step 1: Choose your gemstones
The raw stones should be considered with care. While some jewelers would argue that having a selection of pre-cut stones eases the process of creating finished pieces, using rough stones allows for the greatest degree of flexibility and customization. When choosing an even number of stones for a single piece, it is best if they are of approximately the same size, shape, and composition.
 

The four women, two younger and two older, stood in Miss Julie’s private office overlooking the Lucky Shot casino floor. “I thought you were coming with me,” Lyta said, almost plaintively, to Ellen Cranby.

Ellen laughed. “Lyta, honey, pamperin’ ain’t really my thing. But Miss Julie, she kindly pulled in a few favors and got it all settled for you.”

Friday, April 12, 2013

Wordslingin'

So close, and yet so far! Instead of wining and dining at the gala fundraiser like we'd hoped, this week saw Our Heroes (tm) crawling through underground tunnels to meet with an excessively dangerous arms dealer. Because that's way more exciting than benefit dinner speeches, right?

Friday, April 5, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Stepping Out of the Wings

15 Summer, 1926

31:00 hours

Lyta watched the big black man across the table from them. He was huge, almost as big as a GREL, and from what Billy Croyden had said, he had enough military experience that he could probably use his fists to maximum effect. He seemed polite enough for now – no threats, no ‘accidental’ revelations of weapons – but in a place like the Hammer, that could change in an instant.

Lyta sized him up while Lukas talked. It would be hard if she had to fight him. He’d be strong, and he’d be mean. Even in a fist-fight, he could probably do some serious damage, even through her flak. The way she saw it, she only had three main advantages over him: First, she’d be faster. Big guys were generally slow, and that would give her a chance to get inside his guard or jump behind him before he could grab her. Second, she had a lower center of gravity. If she could throw him or trip him, she might be able to get in some decent shots to a kneecap or elbow or – if he decided to escalate – to his head. And third, he probably wouldn’t see it coming.

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: All Shook Up

15 Summer, 1926

“Lyta, honey, are you going to tell me what happened, or are you just gonna scowl for the next two hours?”

Lyta tore her eyes away from the window and the speeding landscape. Ellen Cranby had already finished her cawfee, while Lyta’s remained practically untouched. She blinked a few times, trying to gather her thoughts. “Sorry.”

Ellen sighed. “No need to be sorry. But was it really that bad? You looked like you were enjoyin’ yourself.”

Lyta had spent the whole of the train ride north in a similar lounge, sitting across a tiny table from Alain Vulpei, laughing and talking. She had missed seeing him in person, she’d realized. He hadn’t been joking when he said he could practically read her mind when they were face-to-face. It was just a shame he’d ruined the whole thing in the last ten minutes.

Wordslingin'

My goodness! Did we really just manage to get through an entire session without anyone shooting at us? I think we did! How novel! I'm sure it won't last.

Friday, March 29, 2013

Wordslingin'

Good evening, sir. Can I interest you in a little combat tonight? Yes? Would you prefer combat on foot or in Gears? Both, you say? Splendid! We'll get right on that for you!

Monday, March 18, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: One of the Crew

14 Summer, 1926

The cheering rattled Lyta’s eardrums, the sound of thousands of spectators shouting, booing, and banging on railings. One thing you could say for Gear dueling: it wasn’t quiet.

She’d watched Gear duels before, of course. Broadcast over radio on long caravan rides, on trideo in hotel rooms, and even on the big screens at the Lucky Shot. But she’d never watched them like this, in the Web Arena with Antoni Mor’s pit crew, so close to the action that she could practically feel the shock waves with every collision.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Wordslingin'

Talk, talk, talk, that's all we do. Oh, and argue. And, very occasionally, investigate a woman who may be trying to kill us or may be trying to hire us. It's a toss-up, really.

Friday, March 1, 2013

Wordslingin'

aka: What happens after the bad guys stop shooting you. First you shoot them back, then you ask questions of whoever's left standing. And maybe in the middle of all this, you discover that your boss's high horse... isn't all that high after all.

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Changing Fortunes


“Dead?”

He asked it again incredulously. His subordinate nodded sheepishly and swallowed hard. For Dr. Bearden, this wasn’t just one more failure in a string of upsets. Losing the Borodin data was serious, failing to recapture it on the Maglev was grave, but now getting one of Vitushkin’s precious five killed... Add to that the riot in the gulag and the end of his stream of test subjects, well, it was only a matter of time before Katerina gave him the chiding of a lifetime.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Wordslingin'

This week's session is subtitled, "Lukas gets into arguments with just about everybody." Really, what more do you need to know than that?

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Detained

13 Summer, 1926

The stairwell behind the cafeteria was quiet and empty. Few people took the stairs when an elevator was easily available. And so the staircase remained disused, secluded, and the perfect place to escape to when you wanted solitude.

Ennik found Lyta sitting on a window-ledge, her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. He stopped a moment, suddenly reminded of how young she really was, despite the hard life she had lived in her few cycles. He caught himself thinking about his sister.

“Want a drink?” he asked, mostly to break his mood.

Lyta didn’t look up. “No,” she said. “Thanks.”

“C’mon,” Ennik pressed. “It’s grape.”

Friday, February 15, 2013

Wordslingin'

Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal, Dr. Chambers! Yes, just when it seems everything is going our way: we've escaped the worst of the consequences of the train job (for now), we've opened the mysterious case, and we've even gotten a ton of information out of our target-turned-hostage Katchelli, the Doc has to go and muck everything up. Because that's just the sorta guy he is.

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Motives

There was a knock on the door; it was soft and apologetic, and Tom wasn’t in the mood for things soft or apologetic. “Not now,” he said authoritatively and went back to concentrating on his 60-cycle-old scotch and a double magnum cigar he had been toiling at for nearly 45 minutes.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter IV: Two Halves Don’t Make a Whole

12 Summer, 1926

The knock on the door broke her mood. Todd was out – Lyta hadn’t asked where – which meant that she was alone to answer unwelcome interruption. She pressed a button on her data-pad and stood up, checked the peephole, sighed, and opened the door.

Jimmy Croyden strode through like he owned the place. “Have you got the fuckin’ case open yet?” he asked without preamble.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Wordslingin'

Last night's game asked the question, "Why can things never go smooth?" See, not only were our target cases being guarded by our friend Tatsugoro and his company, not only were they backed up by several squads of NGIS plainclothes officers, but another team was after the same cases. A team with better resources, more men, and absolutely no qualms about conducting a terrorist operation aboard a TNTR train for the first time in 150 cycles. Because if you're going to do something right, you might as well go all out.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: The Plan


"Okay, everyone, the plan is pretty much the same as it was before, except we're down one man." Lyta's voice came on, somewhat tentatively. "But it's okay, they're down one man too, and he's one of their better guys. I think we're still okay in terms of manpower. Quinn, if your comms are still on, say 'Yes' in your next sentence or two with Tatsugoro."

Lukas managed to get his confirmation in and that one word conveyed assurance. ‘Yes,' Lyta could do this.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Happy, Belated

11 Summer, 1926

“Lyta, honey, it ain’t your birthday, is it?”

Ellen Cranby regarded the slice of cake with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. The candle sticking up from the middle of it was not a birthday candle. The hotel gift shop had not sold birthday candles, and Lyta hadn’t been in the mood to go hunting for one. They had, however, sold long tapers in calming pastel colors, the sort that rich executives’ wives might strategically place around a bathtub to try to forget that they were in a city made primarily of trash.

The mauve taper looked out of place atop the generic slice of chocolate cake Lyta had bought with her cawfee. It looked even more out of place in the TNTR café-bar, which reflected a certain modern minimalist aesthetic not suited for pastel candles. Lyta lit it with a tactical fire-starter and watched the flame hover gently.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Wordslingin'

This week's session is subtitled, "The train job(s)." Because why have only one, when you can have two for twice the price?

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Wordslingin'

Back into the thick of things! Well... sorta. Mostly last night's session was about setting up for the next mission and preparing to wrap up the current one, but still. Yay gaming!

Monday, January 14, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Southern Comfort

Lyta breathed deep in the cool evening air. She hadn’t expected there to be a stop so close to Lance Point, but homesteads were paying customers, and this one had booked a shipment. The longrunners were stopped for an hour or so, enough time to offload supplies and take payment, and for the passengers to stretch their legs, if they wanted.

Lyta wanted. She was tired of being cooped up, tired of being in close quarters with Ennik’s depression, Katchelli’s madness, and the Croydens’ quiet seething. She had found a ridge where she had a view of the caravan, enough to make sure they didn’t leave without her, but where she had relative privacy from prying eyes. She extended her staff and began twirling it in slow circles around her, letting her muscles loosen from being tight for too long, and letting her limbering muscles relax her mind.

She thought about Alain.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI : The Long Days Of Summer pt 2


Minnie slipped out of bed quietly and put on a brocade gown. Her light feet made no sound as she descended her spiralling staircase to the first floor of her apartment. Throwing a furtive glance in the direction she had just come from, she glided into her office, where she delicately closed the door. Activating the sweeper, she made a quick pass and found what she had expected: nothing. She then activated her signal jammer and finally keyed in the call on the trideo.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Koreshi Chronicles - Chapter VI: Summer At Last

Dear Torgath, 


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