S086_Dead_Deathstar November
29, 2018 Thursday They still have an hour and a half
before Doom’s deadline. In that time they will need rescue Zeinert, free the
Star Galleon, and get the heck out of dodge.
The group plus the Galactic Marauders
have found a room to discuss what to do next. Paladin tells Captain Richaal
that they will make one more attempt at saving Doctor Zeinert but after that
the pirates are on their own. After all they are pirates and the team won’t be
sacrificing themselves to rescue him. The planning session is interrupted by
a wave of mental communication from Prime. “Aliens we mean you no harm. Our
preparation for departure will be realized in one cycle of your planets
rotation. You are free to go.” Chaikayan, the orange naked engineer,
points out a couple of things. First as long as the Worm have control of the
Pirate Robot crew they don’t need the crew of the Star Galleon anymore. And
two, the Worm are growing a creature called an ‘inhabitor’ that can fuse with
technology and give them control of it. As soon as an Inhabitor is ready the
Worm will have full control over every functioning system in the battle
station. Knowing that Doctor Doom will be
removing the threat of the Death Star in about an hour the only thing the
group(s) are worried about is escaping before Doom activates his
matter-conversion device. They come to an reach an inspired idea, do as Prime
asked. Paladin and Richaal go to the control
room to discuss terms with Prime. They are allowed in without incident. Richaal
wants Zeinert and Prime wants the Star Galleon. Paladin convinces Richaal to agree. It
will buy them time and they can double cross the Worm at the last minute. Richaal tells Prime it is a deal but
he adds that he wants to download the specifications for the Death Star’s
Zero-Point energy system as payment for the galleon. Prime agrees. Richaal goes to a computer station and
begins downloading the information to his wrist computer while Paladin has
Prime remove the mind control slug from behind Zeinert’s ear. When the data dump is complete Paladin
tells Prime that the pirate crew would like to get some personal effects off
the ship before they leave. Prime sends his security detail with them to ensure
they leave peacefully. As they are heading to the hangar
Zeinert whispers something to Richaal in Thalokian which made Richaal smile
somewhat grimly. When
they reach the hangar the Brigade hang back and let the pirates board their
ship. The Worm that have accompanied them and the ones in the bay make no
attempt to board the ship. The loading ramp is withdrawn and the ship’s engine
begin to hum. Synthre contacts the heroes mentally asking if they want a lift?
The heroes decline since they need to get back to Kei and Yuri’s air raft then
get back to where they parked their launch. The
Star Galleon makes for space and engages their cloaking device. The
Worm intended to let the ship leave, give them distance, and blow them out of
the sky! The pirate robots do their best to shoot at the Star Galleon but the
cloaking device makes for effective protection from the point defense turrets. With
the battle station distracted by hunting the Star Galleon the heroes are able
to get to their air raft and flee. The reach their launch just in time to
witness machine of Doom activate and terraform the mighty Death Star into a
natural satellite for planet Earth. They
pilot their launch to the Dark Side and confirm that tower they examined
earlier has been transformed into rock. It has. The Brigade is satisfied that
Doom’s device worked as he described. The
group then returns to Earth depositing the GA1-Fast Courier to its hidden
hangar and drive back to the Brooklyn Bunker. December 03, 2018 Monday Paladin gets word from Sam (the
vampire) that the reason Lilli never got back in touch with him is because she
is missing. She was summoned to speak to the Justicars of the Camarilla about
the recent events concerning vampires in New York. Her plane went down
somewhere over the Atlantic and nothing has been seen of her since. The vampire clans in New York are
currently in chaos from the loss of their Prince. The clan leaders are all
vying to try to become the next Prince. Violence is to be expected. Paladin threatens Sam that if the
vampires don’t behave the Brooklyn Brigade will take care of the situation. Sam
does not take the threat well. Big Tuna addresses the group. He tells
them about being contacted by an Little Tokyo cop about the growing stress and
hostility between Bloodmoon and the Tsukihama-gumi Yakuza. Officer Mayfield is
concerned that innocent people will get caught in the crossfire. With Bloodmoon growing as an issue
that needs to be addressed Revenant decides to go undercover to see what he can
find about the Glove Cleaner Virus. Network sets him up with a false identity
and he gets a low level job at 30 Rockefeller Plaza as a test tube washer (or
similar position). He starts doing his regular legal
work, he does have a job with the public defender’s office, around his shifts
at the lab. A fresh new recruit wants to join the
team; Impact. Impact is a speedster who was a member of Chicago PART. A
personality conflict lead to him leaving PART and he would like to become a
member of the Brigade. While Impact is doing the paperwork
Paladin calls Lt. House who gives Impact a green light. December 7, 2018 Friday That
night after most of the MBI staff have headed home for the weekend Revenant’s
new ID stays late to finish some miscellaneous tasks. When he has the place to
himself Network rendezvous with him so they can do a more exhaustive search for
evidence linking MBI to Bloodmoon and the Glove Cleaner virus. Network
convinces a security elevator to quietly take the pair to the basement lab
level. They find a BSL4 facility, the highest ranking for biological labs that
there is. They
bypass the first airlock getting access to the biohazard suits and isolation
equipment. The are locker rooms, decontamination showers, and so on in this
area. Network’s power suit knowledge lets him don and help Network get their
life support suits on. From
here they access the second airlock entering the lab proper. The computer does
not have detailed information as to what is supposed to be in the clean room.
It does have an inventory of supplies and test batches that with encoded
labels. Three letters, hyphen, three letters, and then four digits. There
are a number of metal bound binders with hand written notes. The notes are not
coded but are in scientific double speak that makes them indecipherable to
those outside the field. There
are two large chests, 6 foot long, two hand half deep, three feet tall. The
chests contain hundreds of samples. [To
Be Continued via Sidebar on Discord] Network copies all the information in the lab including
the material written in the metal backed binders and puts in on the open Web
for everyone to look at.
(The research being done was for the Department of
Defense. It was intended for muscle, organ, nerve, and brain regeneration to
enable soldiers to be able to go back into combat almost instantly. Network is
not aware of the nature of the research. He believed it was illegal bio-weapon
research. Should he become aware of this his reaction was ‘Well I sure that
info will help many people not in the arm forces as well. Think how many people
will be saved from the research.’
(Should the DOD ever discover his involvement, which would
implicate the entire Brooklyn Brigade, it would not be good for those involved.
Military secrets are among the most transitory but the Government does not take
espionage kindly.) December 10,
2018 Monday Later that day Network enters
cyberspace and Charlie is waiting as always but this time Charile gestures for
Network to follow him. After zig-zagging through a maze of dark web datapaths
Charlie gestures for Network to return to the real world. He
appears in a dark room where a man is sitting behind a very bright light. The
man then actives a Faraday Cage. The man opens the conversation with; ‘his name
is Gruesome, not Charlie.’ [To
Be Continued via Sidebar on Discord] The
Shadow-Man assures Network that the Faraday Cage is being used so they can have
their conversation in private, isolated from his companions. Network has
abilities that make him useful to an intelligence bureau of the United States
of America and that is why he is extending an invitation to work towards the
defense of the homeland. There are others out there with similar abilities, such
as Gear Head of MW&FF, and adding Network as an asset would help maintain
the balance of power. Do you accept? Network
asked if this was an episode from the X-Files? He wanted to know more than just
that he’d be working for the Government. He pointed out that not all Government
agencies are heroes, just look at the CIA, MKUltra, etc. He wanted to know the
agency’s objectives and how his abilities were intended to be used. He refused
to follow orders blindly. Network wanted mutual understanding and trust. The
Shadow-Man replied that the objectives were simply protecting America’s
interests, protect American technological superiority, delving for secrets
about American enemies and rogue states. As for methods sabotage, identify and
locate targets for ‘cleaning crews’. We work to protect the usual things, baseball,
hotdogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet. You (Network) are a hacker and a data thief.
We want you to keep doing what you are doing except we want you to do it for
the homeland. We
are part of the deep state. We have no public offices, no business cards, and
we don’t answer to Congress. We don’t fear the Supreme Court. We work at the
behest, direction, and protection of the Executive branch. We could be called
Executive Sanction except that name has already been taken. Network
raised an eyebrow, “So no oversight?” He wanted to know who watches the
watchmen? Who decides what is in America’s interest and who holds them to
account if they go too far? Network
leveled a number of accusations and told Shadow-Man that ‘Charlie’ was as subtle
as a truck. He then asked if he was going to be allowed to leave or was he
going to hold him. Network said that he would surely find a way out if they
wanted to try the later option. Shadow-Man
said that if Network would get the information that they wanted all would be
good. He also said that his superiors provided oversight as needed. He also
said that Gruesome was intended to be obvious. He they didn’t want Network to
know about Gruesome he never would have known he was there. He
asked Network if they were going to be good? Network
replied that if he worked for them he would need a contract. He wanted to know
how much he was going to be paid, benefits, and so on. He also wanted to inform
the team about his decision to work with them. No,
you won't tell your team. You are all involved in a serious breach of trust
with Department of Homeland Security. By working with us you will be shielded.
Don't mention this to them the appropriate wheels are already in motion. There
will be no contract. Our association is off the books and there will be no
paper trail. As for payment that will be assessed on a case by case basis. We will make you an offer as to the value of
the task, if you think it is too low we can discuss it as we would with any independent
contractor. Your checks will be issued from agencies like The Department of
Indian Reservation Land Management, The Human Factor and Behavioral Science
Department, Department of Unclaimed Funds, or something similar. Network
burst out into laughter, "Oh, really? Homeland Security? What are these
'charges'?" he made finger quotes when he said 'charges', "that my
team are in trouble with? What's next, are you going to tell me about my car's
extended warranty?" Network's demeanor shifted; he was worried before, but
now he relaxed somewhat. "My father always had a saying: 'If it's not
written, it didn't happen,' or put another way, 'Don't do a job without a
contract.' I think you misunderstand the situation. I don't need you or your
deep state off-the-books rogue group. You need me, and that means I get to set
the terms of service here. Sure, you've got me locked in this room, but you're
locked in here too. As soon as you open a door, there's a gap in your defense,
and I can exit as well. You can't teleport out because the same thing keeping
me in stops you from teleporting out. And if you're a hologram or something
like that, it means there's a projector, which is another exit. If you want me
to work for you, there will be a contract, and I'll tell whoever I want. Shadow-Man
replied, First, you are contained, I'm not. Second, you are not the only asset
we're considering, third ,,'if it isn't written down it never happened' is
exactly the point of not writing it down. Fourth, if you are declining our
offer which family member do you want eliminated first? Or should I just start
with you and check with the next candidate on our list? The
laughter ceased, and his eyes narrowed. "Why would you do that? This was
just fun and games, but you had to bring my family into this," he said,
his tone serious. He placed his hand on the wall and used his power to turn the
Faraday cage to scrap. "Let's get this straight. If you or any of your
goons lay a hand on my friends or family, I'll bring down your whole
organization. You want to play games with me, that's fine, but my family is
off-limits. Shadow-Man
answered What you don't understand is that you're a spineless p** that's not
willing to do what is required for his country. I have no fear of you and you
have no idea who we are. You'll have no idea from where the axe fell. My
superiors rarely make mistakes but asking to recruit you is certainly one of
them. I will let you go. Then I will report that you weren't worthy. We can
pretend that we never had this conversation. However, if you tell your team
about this little exchange, or anyone for that matter, your family will cease
to exist and you will soon follow. Don't think for a moment that there's any
way to prevent us from finding out. Kismet's Little Mind tricks won't stop us.
If you tell anyone about us, even if you do it in another dimension, we will
know. You'll be much better off if you just forget all about this. Understood? Network
raised an eyebrow, "Really? Name-calling? Are we in a COD lobby? Are you a
13-year-old boy?" He sighed and closed his eyes, using his mind to enter
their computers and start copying all their information. Simultaneously, he
utilized his phone's GPS to locate his position. "How about I just let the
whole world know about your little group? I could text and email every person
with a computer and phone, sharing all your information. I don't think the US
Government will appreciate a rogue deep state organization running amok, let
alone foreign governments learning about it. I'm sure you'll be too busy
running for your life to do anything to my family." Network
uses his Computer Reading: Mind Scan 5d6
(Machine class of minds) (25 Active Points), Speed Reading (x10), and Eidetic
Memory Network’s
attempt was not successful. The node you are in is empty except for Gruesome
and Data Paths that led back to the main net. While the Faraday cage has been
disabled his other safeguards are still in place. You close your eyes and start
to try to ransack the Dessert Node the guy says, "That was a mistake.
Count yourself lucky that we are not cleared to kill you ... yet." Three other figures become visible and you
are attacked. Network
faired much better in the fight than expected but Shadow-Man, Match-Stick,
Empty-Suit (an invisible girl), and Rocky were too much for him. He succumbed
to their onslaught and was defeated. His
ultimate fate is currently unknown …. Big Tuna gets a package. When he opens
it he finds his Grandfather’s signet ring, with his Grandfather’s finger still
in it! There is a note for him to come to Shogun Nakazawa, a nyotaimori
restaurant, in Little Tokyo. ( Nyotaimori is a Japanese
custom. Sushi or sashimi is served directly on a woman's naked body. Nyotaimori is also often referred to as body
sushi.) Big
Tuna goes but he grabs Revenant to shadow him as backup. At
the restaurant he is led into a dim back room where six men are dressed in dark
suits with white shirts. Five are wearing back ties, one is wearing a red one. Between
the entrance of the room and the man with the red tie is a lovely blonde
Caucasian woman draped in delicacies, staring at the ceiling unmoving. (The
Yakuza frequently use white girls who don’t know Japanese because they can
speak freely without fear of witnesses.) Red
Tie Guy thanks Okina for accepting his invitation and encourages him to eat. He
continues with your Grandfather is looking forward to seeing you, no need to
thank me for arranging his transportation to America. I would like a favor
before the reunion. I
want you to get the Sword of Amateras for me. Legend says that it is buried
under a Shinto Temple in the Yatun region of Japan. I will give you that
location and you bring me the sword. It should be easy for someone like
yourself. [The
Sword of Amateras is an object of legend. It was used at least a thousand years
ago to defeat a powerful demon. According to the legend the sword is impaled in
the heart of the demon keeping it from coming back to life. Should it be freed
the world would be set in eternal flame. Oh, and anyone who removes the sword
will be cursed until the demon is laid to rest once again (by impaling the
demon heart with it thus completing the circle.] Tuna
replied that the debt was fulfilled and that he was no longer bound to RTG’s
organization. RTG
said consider this interest. Otherwise your Grandfather will be visiting you a
bit at a time until nothing is left. This is for me not for the Tsukihama-gumi.
I am a … collector of a type. [To
be Continued either via Sidebar or Next Game session] Also
Paladin got a package in the mail too. It was not as grim as the Big Tuna got.
It contained a papyrus scroll with ‘blue prints’ for a temple to Bast. These
plans are identical to the ones left at their door on November 16 th
after Bast held back the dawn giving the team time to finish the counter-spell
for the Curse of Oblivion.
The
scroll was sent by the priestess of Bast (Khata) who helped commune with her
goddess (issue #77)