Session 12: Shifting Sands, Part II

Shadowrun
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Chapter 2
22: Nippon Teikoku e Youkoso 23: Rift Closed/Opened 24: F.A.T.E. Unravels 25: Hotel California 26: Welcome Home 27: New Beginnings
Chapter 1
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F.A.T.E. PCs
Anastasia Ellison - CS Dmitri - CS Eric Black - CS Gideon Wexler - CS Hector Radcliffe Kumiko Nakamura - CS Oni - CS

The Situation

Anastasia, Wex, Doc, and Eric continue to search the Deep Lacuna for Desmond Sands, following the Aztec symbols along the way. Meanwhile, Hector is harassed by a Lone Star officer while Oni guards the Lacuna entrance at the bottom of an apartment building.

Notes

• Anastasia has taken 3 physical damage.

Session Synopsis

Hector managed to get the Lone Star officer to buy his story -- that he was in town on business with a team of real estate speculators, and was simply waiting for his colleagues to return. Initially the officer was suspicious that Hector was part of a team of treasure hunters, as this area was a hot spot for such activity in the murky Los Angeles sludge. The officer threatened to cite him for parking illegally on a PCC highway, but Hector's calm demeanor earned him a mere warning and he agreed to move his vehicles to the nearest island. Oni remained in the apartment building's basement.

The group exploring the Deep Lacuna continued along the only path forward, encouraged by the continual appearance of strange Aztec symbols. They encountered a fork in the road, leading to 11 different paths forward. A lone spirit seemed to have claimed this room as his domain. Eric tried to negotiate with the spirit, but it was much too sarcastic to be trusted. Eric instead summoned the spirit, earning 4 services. He asked the spirit to tell him about others that have passed through this chamber, and the spirit was forced to divulge the information. He described a group of Aztec that passed through with an armed cohort and 6 prisoners, one fitting Desmond's description. Eric had the spirit lead them through the maze of tunnels that the Aztec group used, leading them to a chamber even larger than the first one they had encountered.

They found another familiar fissure, likely part of the same fault line as the first one they had crossed. This one had a rickety wooden bridge across it. Beyond the bridge lay 2 Aztec pyramids, and the faint sound of war drums could be heard from the further temple. The first temple was being guarded by a lone watcher spirit and one heavily armed Aztec guard. Eric and Wex were able to dispatch of these two threats with magic from a distance. However, the disappearance of the watcher spirit alerted the summoner to a threatening presence.

Wex was the first to cross the bridge, but as he crossed the halfway mark, hostile spirits were spotted, two fire and one air elemental. Dispatched to eliminate the threat, they attacked they materialized and attacked the most vulnerable first, Wex on the bridge. The fire elemental missed Wex as he dashed for the opposite side, but the fire burst through the fragile bridge, snapping it in half. Wex was able to hang on to the rope on one side and pull himself up to the top of the cliff.

The team worked to kill off the spirits before they could do any further harm. Once the situation was defused, they used the grappling gun to create a path to the other side, much like they did last time. Ana and Doc climbed over without issue, and Eric floated across on his spirit.

The group made their way to the more distant temple, where the action seemed to be. They plotted their approach: Eric and Doc would approach from ground level while Anastasia and Wex would take an upper level entrance that they spotted. Wex and Ana began their ascent to the 50 meter high walkway, but disaster struck 20 meters into the climb. Their combined weight caused the grappling hook to pull out the rock it was attached to, sending Ana and Wex into a freefall onto the rocky surface below. The two took considerable damage and Anastasia was in dying health levels. Doc rushed over to stabilize her, and worked to heal both their wounds with great efficiency.

Anastasia proceeded to climb back up to the high ground, but Wex elected to charge from the bottom with the others. Ana got in position and had a clear shot at the two powerful Aztec mages performing the sacrificial rituals. Just as they were about to execute their third prisoner, the group surprised them with their attack. Eric, Doc, and Wex eliminated most of the guards while Anastasia sniped the mages with great precision, killing them with one shot each.

With the powerful mages killed and most of the guards injured or dead, Wex and Doc charged up the temple, freeing Desmond quickly. Doc was content just saving Desmond, but Desmond and Wex decided to help save the other prisoners, including the one at the altar. The disruption of the ritual angered the audience of spirits. One chose to attack, but was killed by Doc the moment he materialized. With Desmond and the other hostages in tow, the group escaped as a battle broke out between the spirits. Apparantly, the mages had other bound blood spirits that were freed as the mages bled to death. These blood spirits began wreaking havoc on the spirits in the audience. As the group departed, they could hear the temple being torn to shreds by the powerful spirits.

Doc's keen survival insights led them to an exit that was much closer than the Lacuna entrance they used. It was about 10 kilometers from the entry point. Hector sent the sedan to pick them up. Meanwhile, at the apartment complex, the PCC military must have found out about the Lacuna breach because several platoons arrived to secure it. Oni was trapped in the basement. The teams the military sent to the apartment were no match for Oni's combat skill, he was able to take care of every threat and even commandeered a getaway boat.

Hector was being chased by a PCC military patrol car. The two coordinated their reunion by speeding towards the same intersection. Oni leapt onto the overpass as the boat slipped under a bridge just as the Ares Roadmaster crossed over the bridge. Side door open, Oni landed perfectly in the van, assault rifle drawn, facing a patrol car just a few car lengths behind them as the van continued at high speed down the highway.

Aftermath

<Eric> Hector, what's your status?

No sooner than Eric finished typing the message did Hector begin to share multiple video feeds. He was driving the Ares Roadmaster in full VR and shared out the front and rear cameras from the vehicle. Doc nudged the accelerator as he examined the feeds. Hector had two patrol cars on his tail, and the vehicles were blazing through traffic heading north on highway 5.

<Eric> We're coming to assist, about 20 miles behind you.

<Hector> Negative... negative... find another route home. PCC military in pursuit, no sense you getting caught up in this as well. We'll be fine. I have Oni.

Ana spoke up from the back, "They're 40 miles from the border, are they going to make it?" As she spoke, Doc turned the car toward the exit ramp onto route 101, the other way home. "I don't know," he responded, "but he's right, we're not going to be any help to them. At those speeds I doubt we could catch up to them in time anyway."

---

Hector weaved in and out of traffic nearing the Roadmaster's top speed, and two PCC patrol cars matched his every move. Oni occasionally opened the back door and laid down suppressive fire, forcing the patrol cars to keep their distance. He spotted a helicopter approaching from the distance. He slammed the back door shut as the patrol cars returned fire. He reloaded his assault rifle.

<Oni> I don't have unlimited ammo

<Hector> Use some spike strips... just a few more miles.

Hector continued driving along the highway. Traffic had noticeably thinned out for two reasons. The government had closed many of the on-ramps along the route, and they had left the L.A. metro area some time ago. The terrain was increasingly hilly as the highway entered the Tehachapi Mountains. The border was only a few more miles ahead, at Tejon Pass. The roof of the van was peppered with gunfire from the helicopter.

<Hector> Can you take care of that too.

Oni looked at the weapon rack to see what else he had at his disposal. He saw that Ana was kind enough to pack an Aztechnology Striker missile launcher. He grabbed the weapon and loaded it, holding on to a railing in the van as Hector made some unexpected turns.

Oni opened the hatch at the top of the van, only to close it seconds later as another round of fire sprayed the van from the helicopter. He waited for it to subside before opening the hatch, quickly hoisting the launcher on his shoulder and firing it out hatch. The rocket screamed towards its target, causing the helicopter to dive quickly in defense. The rocket missed, but the helicopter fell further behind in its pursuit.

Minutes later, the van reached Tejon Pass. At 4,100 feet, the valley in front of them came into view as they crested over the top. Much to Hector's dismay, the border checkpoint was swarming with military vehicles, helicopters, and even a few tanks in the valley below.

More to come...

Results

Status: Complete
Dates: February 8-9, 2073
Quote of the night:

After the bridge collapse and Wex narrowly escapes falling to his death...

"Glad I didn't go first." - Anastasia

Nuyen: 5,000¥ mission award + 2,000¥ bonus for international travel
Stipend: 3,921¥ remaining
Karma Awarded: 7
Additional Awards:

• Eric, Doc, Anastasia, and Wex receive +1 Street Cred for surviving a trip into the Deep Lacuna.
• Hector and Oni receive +1 Street Cred for their escape from the PCC military.
• Doc receives +1 Notoriety for his callous attitude toward saving other hostages.
• Wex receives +1 Notoriety for exceptional bad luck with the grappling hook.