Session 13: Pirates!?
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Shadowrun
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Chapter 2 |
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Chapter 1 |
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F.A.T.E. PCs |
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Briefing
- Suggested music: OCR Heroes vs. Villains - Pirate Shout and Voodoo, Roots 'n Grog
Over the past few months, there have been an increasing number of mysterious disappearances of ships in the Pacific Ocean outside San Francisco. All have taken place in a circular area spanning roughly 50 miles in diameter, an area including the Farallon Islands. At first the CFS Coast Guard chalked up the first few disappearances as accidents potentially involving rough seas. But as the incidents in the area began to increase, and larger and larger vessels were being targeted, the Coast Guard sent an attachment to investigate. The ship and helicopter sent out never returned.
The four most recent and notable disappearances:
- A couple travelling in a small yacht to the Farallon Islands for whale watching
- A medium-sized international shipping vessel enroute to Asia carrying vehicles from General Motors
- A small shipping vessel owned by a Shiawase logistics company shipping spent nuclear fuel to the Farallon Islands, a known nuclear dumping ground.
- A medium-sized international shipping vessel from Seattle enroute to Los Angeles with foodstuffs.
Dmitri cross referenced the files he stole from Shiawase on the Drakes Bay facility. They confirm that Shiawase has a contract with the Atlantean Foundation regarding nuclear waste disposal.
The Matrix is abuzz with theories that various environmental groups could be responsible for the missing vessels. Many groups are upset at the continued use of the Farallon Islands as a dumping ground for nuclear waste. But J.P. Redman is not convinced that this is the case. The other lost ships seem like unlikely targets for eco-terrorists, and no groups have come forward to claim any responsibility.
The Atlantean Foundation has not been cooperative with F.A.T.E.'s initial investigative efforts. They refuse further questioning, and have issued a statement denying any involvement in the disappearances and pledging to heighten security in the shipping lanes nearby.
Notes
- Anastasia has started taking diving lessons... just in case.
- 7,000¥ is available on the March team stipend.
- The Farallon Islands are located 27 miles from the Golden Gate. They were sold by the city of San Francisco to the Atlantean Foundation in the 2050's.
- You can read more about the Atlantean Foundation here.
Session Synopsis
Dmitri obtained an archive of Atlantean Foundation magazines and Wex poured over the information, looking for any useful information on the Farallon islands and any possible connection to the missing ships in the surrounding area. He found that the Atlantean Foundation bought the island a few weeks after the massive earthquakes that ripped a large chunk of California away from the mainland. They have been using an island as a base of operation as they operate in the fault line area to the south, an area of great interest to their organization.
Wex also contacted Krista Lively to see if she had any relevant information. She told him that Shiawase was being investigated by the Corporate Court for violating Nuclear Non-proliferation treaties by losing the shipment of nuclear material to Farallon.
The group consisting of Doc, Eric, Oni, Hector, Wex, and Anastasia loaded up the boat with equipment and supplies as departed to an area 5 miles off the coast of the Farallon islands. They waited beyond sunset, monitoring ships in the immediate area as well as the islands themselves for any unusual activity.
Hector noticed some noise on the airwaves, and the drone Hector deployed showed that one of the small tankers started veering off course. The group moved to investigate. As they came upon the shipping vessel, they noticed a smaller, well concealed boat tailing it. Also, the jamming increased as they approached. The ship stopped jamming for a brief moment and hailed the F.A.T.E. vessel, advising them to leave the area for their own safety. Doc retorted, "For your own safety, please identify yourself," to which they resumed jamming and began to move away from both ships.
F.A.T.E. followed the stealthy ship as it began to speed away. Not knowing yet if it was a real foe, they fired a warning shot across the ships bow and again warned the ship to stop. They retaliated by firing a missile at F.A.T.E.'s boat, damaging it significantly. Hector returned fire with the assault cannon, equally damaging their boat. They hailed F.A.T.E. once again, agreeing to a cease fire but only coming to a stop after Oni took out one of their two engines, significantly reducing their ship's speed.
Meanwhile, a strange creature was rocking the shipping vessel violently. When the jamming subsided, they could hear distress messages from the large vessel. They were in a panic as this powerful creature was causing significant damage to their hull. Eventually, the hull was breached and the shipping vessel began taking on water.
Doc, Eric, Anastasia and Oni boarded the stealth boat, interrogated its passengers, and searched it. They found that the group was contracted out to capture a baby leviathan. They were most likely hired by the Atlantean Foundation, but due to the nature of deniable assets, it was difficult to prove at the moment. A powerful mage was with the group, and he convined Eric to astrally project and assist in taking down the leviathan. By this time, the shipping vessel the leviathan was harassing was completely sunk.
Eric and the mage attacked the leviathan. The mage eventually succeeded in controlling the leviathan's thoughts, ordering it to come towards the boats. He may have had more sinister motives, like taking out F.A.T.E.'s boat with the leviathan, but lost control of it before it reached the boats. He failed to regain control of it, and after Anastasia scored a hit on it with her sniper rifle, it made its way towards the two boats.
In a moment of luck, the leviathan chose the opposing group's boat as its next target. Oni attached a grappling hook to F.A.T.E.'s boat and allowed the 2 civilians they captured to zipline across. Doc hit the throttle and ran out and jumped to F.A.T.E.'s boat safely. Oni was slow to react and was on the boat when the leviathan rose out of the water right in front of him and tipped the boat completely over. Oni athletically leaped over the railing as it came back at him and found himself standing on the underside of the boat. Rocket launcher in hand, he leaped over the leviathan, firing a grenade into the mouth of the beast. The blast cut a large hole in his side. Hector, Wex, and Anastasia opened fire on it, with Ana scoring the killing blow by firing her shotgun at the already wounded midsection.
The shot severed the leviathan in two, causing the head and some of the body to fall on top of the F.A.T.E. boat. Oni reached out in a desperate attempt to save their boat, trying to soften the blow of the 2,000 kilogram body and prevent it from splitting their boat in two. He succeeded, the boat took only cosmetic damage. Doc, Wex, and Oni avoided any impact from the beast but Anastasia was pinned under the weight of it on the ship's top deck, injuring her legs significantly. The two frail civilians were crushed by the weight of the leviathan.
F.A.T.E. trudged home with half of a baby leviathan in their fishing nets and one of the "pirate" group's bodyguards to interrogate.
Aftermath
Results
Status: Complete
Dates: March 3-4, 2073
Quote of the night:
- After Hector fired on an enemy boat, and it returned fire with a missile.
- "This is why we don't fire warning shots!" - Doc
Nuyen: 5,000¥ mission award + 1,000¥ bonus for recovering half of a baby leviathan
Stipend: 5,800¥ remaining (1,200¥ spent on summoning materials)
Karma Awarded: 7
Additional Awards:
- Eric, Doc, Anastasia, Hector, Oni, and Wex receive +1 Street Cred for taking down a baby leviathan.
- The head of a baby leviathan is mounted in F.A.T.E. HQ's lobby.