Adam"Doubt the C7 is a good idea. The pure destructive force of a full speed taco truck is pretty bad, and adding a bomb on won't add that much."
Adam would drive past the precinct, hoping to quickly assess the defenses outside the building. Any barricades, or anything that could stop the truck?
He'd also try to communicate with the other team. "How long until you're at the precinct? We're ready to go."
The Thai food truck rumbles to life again, lurching to take you away from the derelict hulk of the old building and from the corpses of the two men that your 'friend' just killed.
As expected, the rapid acceleration into city traffic is gut twistingly unsettling. There's a cacophonous clatter from the cooking area as unsecured pots, pans, thai food, and Tao himself go flying.
You ignore it, setting the vehicle to head to the precinct and run a couple of inconspicuous circuits around the building.
The food truck reaches the precinct in seconds, giving you your first in person view of the structure. It's a corner building, and is clearly built up from a much older precinct. There's a wide garage on one end of much newer construction, probably for riot mechs and heavy vehicles, but the bulk of the building still seems to be brick facade and updated glass. There's a Traffic Control Area around it, which would ordinarily provide a serious bar to running into it, but you're already filtering traffic authority. All you'll have to do is disable the AI and take manual control at the last second.
(Perception 9) The weakest point of the building seems to be the double doors on the corner. Judging by the brass, they're probably relics from at least fifty years ago, if not a century, and unlikely to have plasteel reinforcement built into them.
Ernest calls after Akira.
"The train or the maintenance port? Sleepwalker said we're to be a distraction. A prisoner riot would do that just nicely, all we have to do is start it.
They also said something about blowing shit up inside the cop shop, we should probably save your portable tank cannon for that.
I think this suit has some magnetic thing to get us in the train."
If only there were some way of finding out if the train was delivering or receiving prisoners...
Get in position to get on or otherwise follow the train.
A countdown timer appears in your HUD as the train nears, and you kick open the maintenance aperture to access the track.
8 Seconds.
The tracks rumble, and even in the suit, you can feel an electric hum of the mag-rails.
4 Seconds
This has got to be a terrible idea. SC MagLev rail trains travel in excess of three-hundred miles per hour. There's no way you can just get on one...
2 Seconds
You see the light of the front of the subway blossom around the corner, and a bright indicator by your timer flashes a single word insistently: Jump. You jump, the motion turned into an athletic spring by the suit's assistance. (Reflex 9)
0 Seconds
You get a brief moment to look at the front of the mag-lev before it hits you in midair. There is a streamlined window up front, and through it you can see an expression of utter shock on the subway driver's face. You hit the window with explosive force, shattering it and hurtling through the cockpit and into the first car. A destructive hurricane follows you as the streamlined head of the subway train suddenly starts cupping the air instead of splitting it.
You're not sure whether you black out or if your brain just stops processing for a moment, but when you come back to your sense, you're on one knee in the middle of the first car. The girl you came here with is sprawled less gracefully beside you, several gouges in her suit's armor healing even as you watch. Both of you are covered in blood. Bits of at least three bodies are strewn around you, red uniforms soaked to a deep shade of burgundy.
Since 2018, the police force has been divided into two groups. Before that timer, there was only one kind of police officer, and they were required to respond to all types of threats: everything from noise complaints to gang war. The increasing militarization of the police and of criminals resulted in a change of training doctrine. This resulted in a number of civilian casualties, leading to a string of incidents in the late 2010s which caused the police force to be divided into red and blue groups with separate training and operational philosophies.
Blue officers are trained to deescalate situations and provide basic order. They oversee civil disputes, and minor crimes such as petty theft, with the highest level of violence they are called to intercept being domestic violence complaints. They hold the old model of protect and serve, and are typically non-lethally armed with induction weapons. They keep the piece.
Red officers are much closer to military personnel, trained in a variety of lethal weapons, wearing heavy body armor, and frequently equipped with light exo-suits for raids or bipedal walkers for riot control. Red officers eliminate threats, and are called out to deal with violent crime. They are sworn to attempt to bring in criminals alive, but it is left to their best judgment whether bringing an offender in is an acceptable risk.
"I think if we get a running start we could jump onto the trail..."
Follow/lead Ernest.
Following Ernest turns out to be pretty interesting this time. He kicks open the access point to the tracks, and then just stands there while the train approaches. You wonder what he's going to do. For that matter, you wonder what you're going to do.
Your suit counts down, and you begin to see the light of the subway coming around the bend. Your skin tingles in anticipation as the countdown approaches zero. You watch your friend, wondering whether he's about to get splattered on the front of the train. (Reflex 5)
You watch in wonder as he jumps a split second before you realize that your suit is asking you to jump as well. You spring into the air a hair too late, and instead of following Ernest as he tunnels through the window at the front of the subway, you slam into the metal at the edge, spinning and tearing out your own hole beside him. You hit several soft things that break apart as you ram through the first car of the subway at a relative 300mph, and, when you can breathe again, you find yourself staring up at a sparking ceiling with something red smeared over most of your vision.
(-7 Armor)
Akira NagamotoResistance: 10/10
HP: 10/10
Inventory:
H&K G172
Tretiak Combat Shotgun
Kiloton Rocket Launcher
Fame (minor): Small chance to encounter random fans. [9]
- Dedicated Fanbase: While they are scattered across the globe, there is a still a core group of several hundred rabid followers that maintain a webpage and forum in your honor. Getting in touch is as simple as logging in.
Stunner: Pretty is an understatement. You move with grace, speak in the tones of angels, and look drop-dead gorgeous. +(1-3) to casual persuasion checks, depending on gender, age, etc.[5]
- Dolled Up (Niche): Your time in the J-Pop business has given you a rather unique fashion sense. For a lot of people, it's a bit... much. For those that enjoy it, well, you can incite projectile nosebleeds if you go all out. You can, given adequate material, choose to 'dress up'. Depending on who you're interacting with, this can either double, or negate, the effects of your stunner perk.
Stealthy: Life has demanded that you take a... subtle approach to most situations. +2 to stealth [1]
- Flash Bang: Problematically, a life spent in the spotlight isn't the best preparation for stealth. You do not gain any bonus against individuals who've had any counter-intrusion training, but your ferocity is surprising despite your incompetence. +3 to hit on your first attack after breaking concealment.
Protean Class Strike Suit: Resonance (Lvl 1)Armor: 40/40
Energy: 50/60
Passive Boosts: +2 Speed, +2 Evasion. Can fire targeted short range shockwaves, 1d6 damage+stun. -6 to small arms damage (min 0), converts massive damage to basic damage.
Defensive Abilities: - Holo-Triple: 10 Energy. Generates 2 identical suits that move independently of you, drawing fire freely. Dissipate when they take any heavy damage.
Offensive Abilities:- Resonance Wave: 10 Energy. Creates a damaging (2d6) shockwave in a cone in front of you. Fragile materials (glass/crystal) shatter, hard materials crack (stone, concrete), and pliable materials weaken (metal).
Alternate Forms:None Unlocked Jamie WaltersResistance: 25/25
HP: 5/5
Inventory:
Damasc Machine Pistol
H&K G172
Arctic Wolf DMR
Impact Grenades x4
Blackware (Military): A military grade piece of E-enhancer wetware has been implanted into your brain, careful regulating your emotional and hormonal response during combat. You never, ever, lose focus. Global +2 to combat accuracy, +1 to evasion, +1 to melee damage. [8]
- Running Raw: This implant was never meant for extended use, in fact, it's very likely that this one was supposed to have decommed after the original soldier's tour. It doesn't have the same safeties that an athletic aug does, and prolonged usage is slowly killing you as your body tears itself to pieces. Resistance pool doubled, HP pool halved.
Infamy (Major): You've done some truly terrible things, and there's definitely a warrant out for your arrest. The good news is that most of the seedy underworld has probably heard of you, and are intimidating as fuck. +(1-3) for intimidation tactics and street cred. [5]
- Broken Chain: Following the crackdown on your organization, you were presumed dead. On the one hand this means that there is no active effort to apprehend you. The bad news is that most, if not all of your followers have scattered, and your territories and powers have by and large been consumed by other gangs.
Tough Motherfucker: You don't often go down, and you never stay down. +5 Resistance Points.[10]
- Indomitable: You've survived alley dogs, muggers, gang wars, cartel assassins, and, most recently, three bullets from a police sniper. Your flesh is only human, but your will to survive is made from much tougher stuff. When regenerating RP, regen rate increases by 1 per turn.
Protean Class Strike Suit: Dominos (Lvl 1)Armor: 60/60
Energy: 40/40
Passive Boosts: +3 Melee Damage, -2 damage taken (down to 1), integrated combat blade (1d6 melee, penetrates 3 DR). -6 to small arms damage (min 0), converts massive damage to basic damage.
Defensive Abilities: - Hyper-Armor: 20 Energy. -5 evasion, greatly reduced mobility. -10 damage from all sources, down to scratch. Lasts 3 rounds.
Offensive Abilities:- Arrow Mini-Rockets: 5 Energy. Fires 3 mini rockets that pierce 2 DR and deal 1d6 points of damage each. Rocket tracking is +2, but cannot do indirect fire. Can be activated up to 4 times in a round. Can be directed at multiple targets.
Alternate Forms:None Unlocked Ernest QuinnResistance: 10/10
HP: 10/10
Inventory: H&K G172 Impact Grenades x1
Tretiak Combat ShotgunHard-Bitten: Life has done Ernest no favors, and he's gotten used to that. Life is hard, and he has no illusions about what that means. +2 to detecting lies and subterfuge. [3]
- Grifter: Unfortunately, the cynical and pragmatic side of Ernest shows a little in the way he moves and looks. You can tell that he's a predator, if only a small one. -1 to casual conversation checks, +1 to intimidation.
Dirty Tactics: Leverage is everything, whether in a brawl or in a boardroom. Bonuses due to specific, temporary modifiers are increased by 50%. (Example: coercion with an incriminating tape, or tripping someone who already has a sprained ankle) [5]
- Animal Ferocity: Experience has taught Ernest value of exploiting weakness, and there is a part of him that deeply fears the same weakness being exploited in him. Negative status effects will also grant a minor positive boon.
Contacts (Minor): Ernest's, shall we say 'extra curricular', activities have netted him a fair network of petty criminals and compromised civilians that owe him favors. [7]
- Hardened Network: Ernest's pragmatism, and his interest in being smarter about robbery than his father, means that he holds something over every single member of his small network. This makes them much more motivated, and far less likely to turn against him or feed bad intel.
Protean Class Strike Suit: Villain (Lvl 1)Armor: 50/50
Energy: 50/50
Passive Boosts: +2 Strength, +1 Evasion. Integrated electrified cables (3 cables, 1/4 inch, break strength 4000lbs, 1d3 stun damage. Integrated Pitons to secure cables). -6 to small arms damage (min 0), converts massive damage to basic damage.
Defensive Abilities: - Optical/Thermal Cloaking: 5 Energy at start, doubled every round. Cost resets after 5 rounds of cooldown.
Offensive Abilities:- Magnetic Harpoon: 10 Energy. Onboard gauss launcher fires one of the three cables with a barbed piton attached. Deals 1d10 damage, and has a chance to lock regardless of armor penetration. If it deals HP damage, it also stuns for the electric cable's damage. Can be fired without a cable to launch only the barbed piton for 1d10 damage.
Alternate Forms:None Unlocked Adam JonesResistance: 10/10
HP: 10/10
Inventory:Damasc Machine Pistol H&K G172 C-7 x2
Brilliant: Brains, regrettably a resource the world is in short supply of, at least brains that want to do something other than be bathed in feel good chemicals. You get a +2 at most tasks that come down to intelligence. [1]
- Brilliant, not Smart: For all the brains packed into your head, you don't play the game well. You voice opinions because you believe them, not because it's a good idea or because it's political correct. Your honesty and straightforwardness is refreshing, though perhaps a little naive. +2 persuasion checks when honest, -2 to detecting or engaging in any kind of suberfuge.
Engineer (Electrical): You understand the strange black boxes and the hearts of copper and doped silica that beat inside of them. You're not a prodigy among engineers, but it's still utter magic to a layman. Can perform advanced repairs without penalty, as well as construct and tamper with advanced electronics with a moderate chance of success. +2 to working with electronics. [8]
- Protean Aptitude: Your educated background and native intelligence means that your mind naturally meshes well with the Protean suit. Your suit starts one level higher, and you have a chance to gain bonus Protean XP from encounters.
Allies (Minor): There are people who have your back. They're not strong, they're not backed up by any particular higher power, but they're damn good friends who'll answer at a moment's notice. [7]
- Tech Expertise: Your friends are engineers like yourself, and together you represent a pretty deep well of knowledge. If it needs identifying, repairing, or even fabricating, there's not much tech that's totally beyond your clique when given adequate time and resources.
Protean Class Strike Suit: Hierophant (Lvl 2)Armor: 45/45
Energy: 70/70
Passive Boosts: -2 damage against all (min 1). 50% of all base damage taken is added as energy. -6 to small arms damage (min 0), converts massive damage to basic damage.
Defensive Abilities: - Energy Shield: Damage taken is dealt to Energy instead of armor. Energy shield takes -4 damage against all (min 1), and converts massive damage to basic damage. Takes double damage from EM weapons. Shield can be altered to cover another nearby person or object instead of the Strike suit.
Offensive Abilities:- E-Shock: 5 Energy. Targets a unit and attempts to activate and overload their E-enhancer, dealing crippling (3d10) nonlethal if successful, and (1d10) nonlethal otherwise. Can be used three times per round.
- Reverse Shield: 10 Energy. Creates a one way bubble shield around target opponent, turned inwards. The shield has ten HP, and takes -2 damage from small arms. Prevents movement and outgoing fire, but does not prevent entry.
Alternate Forms:None Unlocked
Author
Topic: Pursuit of [Un]happiness [Cyberpunk 4/4]: [Im]plausible Deniability (Read 10807 times)