RB 3-6: Making Plans & Christmas

Mission Report

Friday, Dec 15, 2017 ((May 19, 2019))
Team: Jane Irwin (Cael), Proud Flame (Aunne), Cadeos (DragoN), Haelra Vayn (Basil), Cyrus Riggs (Sielic)
On a police call, then arrived: Lyndi Fletcher (Aslene)
On leave: Zoraida Gurrande (Quorgi)

Return to Base

• Loot included:
  • File cabinets and loose files
  • Schematics and marketing materials for mechadead beasts
  • Bloodstone heart
  • Miscellaneous devices and apparatuses from the mechadead lab
  • DNA from the fallen mechadead
  • A piece of adaptive camouflage armor
  • Small cybernetic enhancements, with a focus on gun enhancements
  • Jumpcore, tainted with a fel ocean power
• Team downshifts
  • Lyndi, Cy, Max, and Draco huddle up to finish a report on the op
  • Lyndi called away for a CPD Special Threats case
  • Jane promptly gets into doing facial recognition and forensics on the marketing materials
  • Haelra and Zora work on the arcane loot
  • Proud takes a hot bath

Debriefing

• Zora is continuing to investigate the lab loot, thus remoting into the meeting
• Nails leads the meeting
  • Nails is wearing dark khaki slacks and a short-sleeved button-down in light Oxford blue, untucked. A wearable automated injector is just visible at his waist, taped to his abdomen. Nails' face and other visible skin is blotchy from healing bruises. He looks thinner and older, and tired.
• Updated on Rokk Smackjaw
  • He is a R3M trooper. He was born in Detroit, Michigan. He enlisted in the Army and was selected to be a Ranger. During his deployment in Afghanistan, his unit killed a wizard. An object in the wizard's lab caused him to Change into a half-orc Unbound Fighter-type. Farwatch extracted him from his unit and offered him training as Unbound. However, he declined. 6 months later, he was recruited by Rogue Raptor Risk Management. Rokk's initial assessments, during induction and his first operations, were very positive. A transport helicopter carrying Rokk went down over blue water off-shore near Colombia, and all crew and passengers were believed dead.
  • He'll be escorted to the Talarin Institute in Vancouver, BC, for a full physical and psychological evaluation. Anything they learn about the enhancement tech will be shared with us.
• Nails asks
  • Bron has a spelljammer helm embedded in him
  • Proud explains what a helm is
• Nails about
  • My condition
  • As a child, I was exposed to a substantial quantity of uncut cocaine. It lead to significant immediate and long-term health complications. It also meant that I had to learn to stay clean and sober. Mr. Smith knew this when he chose the consequence for my breach of the contract.
  • Dr. Kennet and I are collaborating on my treatment, and my prognosis is positive. I hope to be out of this chair before Valentine's Day.
• J suggests trying to remove the taint/curse from the jumpcore
• Lyndi arrives
• Journal Fragments from Fortune's Edge
• Vi'essa Keestrix interrupts
• Wedding at Talarin Crystal Tower
  • Amara Talarin, elf female, oldest daughter of Alinar Talarin
  • Trenton Lir, genasi (earth) male; Unbound paladin of Dionysus
• House Skyguard says thanks to Lyndi
  • Safire and Ivy freed to rejoin the Great Circle
  • Invites Lyndi to visit the court of Skyguard
  • Thank you
  • Choice of ship: corvette or cruiser
  • After some discussion, cruiser
• Some discussion of who's in charge of which ship
• Nails: prioritize jumpcore objective
• Max: Coordinates of the jumpgate destination are in Nigeria
• Prophecy
  • Review of what we know, verse by verse
  • Jane has a reaction to the end of stanza 5
  • Nails and Max talk about Uhoshi Nevro's heritage; Vince Suganda may know
  • Missing stanzas #1 and 3, Myriad has a lead on finding #1 in Sigil
• Strategic situation
  • Now we see more of the big picture
  • Into'ix'eel, or what we'll call adintech: bloodstones, metabiotic crystals, living archives, Oskar, Tundinzarn, Adinzar
  • Raid on Quarenzend was lead by devils, yet on worlds where bloodstones are used, chaos follows: war, graven hulks, and metabiotic crystals
  • Even the experiments with metabiotic crystals were haphazard and seemingly-random, generated chaos
  • That chaos prompted the Rational Ascendancy to activate Palisade
• Nicol Bolas
  • Ancient dragon and very powerful arcanist
    • Ambitious, ruthless, evil
    • Has tampered in the affairs of many worlds for his own secret plans
    • Last known location was Amonkhet, before that world disappeared
    • According to some survivors, at least one demon, a being of chaos, named Razaketh, was serving Bolas and played a pivotal role in the world's destruction
• Black Pyramid seems to be some remnant of Amonkhet
  • The Maze may be being drawn here, to the Closeness, but we don't know why
  • Two notable planets
    • Earth: population, technology
    • Tessera: magic
• Shadowfringe
  • Nicol Bolas works through his agents
  • Mr. Smith was a powerful and influential agent
  • Caterina Berrett was one of his apprentices
  • We now know that Caterina was experimenting on mechadead and shadowfringe
  • Two clandestine technologies not typically found on Earth
  • Both have been serious issues on Tessera
  • Thanks to Haelra and Jane, we have intel that Caterina planned to travel to Sigil, and she may already be there
  • Extrapolate that she wants to take over Mr. Smith's operation, and possibly his place in serving Nicol Bolas
  • We have powerful allies in Sigil, including some of the ruling factions, and an alliance working against the League. The alliance is called the Unbroken Tide
• Nails' Plan
  • Present a case to the Council of the Rational Ascendancy
  • Get their approval to travel to Sigil, further investigate Mr. Smith's operations there
  • Verify Ordin Zarn's story that Mr. Smith was working for Nicol Bolas, and why metabiotic crystals were part of Bolas' plans
  • Find out what Bolas is doing and how Adinzar is connected
• You'll also
  • Build a formal alliance with the Unbroken Tide (Tessera already is doing this)
  • Learn more about the League of the Rusted Crown
• Read the draft memo "Adintech"; feedback welcome
• Want a recommendation: do we share this report beyond R3M?
• Max: With Nicol Bolas missing, our best leads are probably tracking and apprehending Caterina Berrett, and backtracking Mr. Smith's activities prior to his demise. Both leads will require traveling to Sigil.
• Discussion of Nails' tentative plan to brief the Council of RA (closed session)
• Discussion of what info to share and with whom
• Ramp up to extended field deployment
  • Camping Trip in Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, in northern Wisconsin
  • Preparation for camping trip
  • Simulation of your aircraft going down; Bron will remain conscious but will damaged beyond repair
• Continue intensive training as well. Once you leave Earth, you'll lose access to our facilities and experts.
• Haelra Vayn: Haelra will stock up on Earth rations because she loves, loves, naan and curry. She has no idea why no one on her home planet has invented naan yet
• Proud Flame: "Hey, Haelra?"
• Jane Irwin: Jane suddenly starts. "Oh, shit- Nails, if we're leaving, like, can I get permission to start hitting the medicakl sh- stuff hard with Talarin? I wont be able to take lessons there."
• Haelra Vayn: Yes?
• Proud Flame: ".... have you visted a bookstore yet?"
• Haelra Vayn: "What
• Haelra Vayn: "Oh, no"
• Proud Flame: "A bookstore. you know, a store with books in it? Seriously. This wierd planet may h ave a lot of wierd - but their bookstores are to /die for/."
• Proud Flame: "/these/ humans like /stories/. And it shows."
• Jane Irwin: Jane will log into Aegis really fast and see if a premilinary search of her slippage gets anything."
• Haelra Vayn: "I'm afraid I'm particular to the writings of the Grey Wardens on my own planet. My own planet has several storytellers as well
• Lyndi Fletcher: Lyndi nudges Jane a moment and gestures towards Haelra. "She can teach you. While we travel. You just need to work with her. She's an expert in anatamy and physiology and healing."
• Proud Flame: "That's fine - just... I was thinking about your interest in the criminal side of investigation work. This is an entire world that gets by /without/ magic, and has some really strong sciences - I'm /betting/ there's a lot in your baliwick. Plus .. recipes."
• Haelra Vayn: "Like for this delicious Indian -- take-aways?"
• Cadeos: Cadeos strokes his chin in thought, fidgeting with his finger-puzzle the entire time, before saying
• Cadeos: "I had a chore-running experience in Chicago. Is it like that?"

Christmas

• Solstice was Dec 21
• Dec 24, 2017
• Current Events
  • Star Wars: The Last Jedi is in theaters
  • Time Magazine names their person of the year: Silence Breakers
  • Republicans move forward on their tax plan
• Old Grandmother visits the Fort for Christmas, and bringing cousin Asher to Talarin for treatment, as advised by Dwight Mackey
• Max away to visit family; R3M substitute controller is Krisella Tolbert (human female)
• Tree and other decorations? Oh yes, a lot by Jane everywhere
• Cooking and baking? Yes. Old Grandmother insists on learning everyone's favorite cookies, and bakes them
• Christmas Eve
• Haelra Vayn: Haelra did some intense studying through this time and also discovered powdered survival food and honestly hates it but has packed naan in all of her rations
• Draco cheerfully participates in any and all holiday decorating and other activities, in their new humanoid form.
• Haelra Vayn: Haelra has her unseen servant helping out all the time with helping people. They're very great at wrapping presents so Haelra offers to help people with that.
• Danana (Cadeos): Cadeos takes twice as long to do anything in public so 4 hours isen't out-of-the-ordinary
• Jane Irwin: Jane runs around in an elf-santa-hat like... well, a mad elf.
• Overnight
  • Jane and Lyndi's gifts to Granny Bones disappear
  • Large circular present appears
• Christmas Morning
• Cyrus Riggs: Cyrus isn't really around until Christmas day. He arrives very early.
• Haelra Vayn: Haelra is awake earliest but spent the morning reading until everyone else woke up. Its her routine
• Haelra Vayn: Haelra's familar has a glowing red nose and some cute reindeer horns. She carries around a giant pancake in her mouth and struts around
• Cadeos: Cadeos, while Jane is drinking coffee, finishes one of his bars, walks determinedly around everyone till he reaches the coffee area, and starts pouring every item meant for coffee (sugar cubes, cream, etc.) into the biggest glass. Clutching the almost-spilling glass in his hand, he stares at Jane as he chugs the entire mixed-coffee and slams the glass on the table, shaking the bowls on it.
• Nails in wheelchair
• Old Grandmother and Brother Iron sitting together; Brother Iron plays Christmas carols on the acoustic guitar
• Draco in Dracobot and Joslin sitting together
• Present giving
• Cadeos
• Haelra
  • bumblebasil (Haelra Vayn): Haelra's gifts to everyone were portraits of them. She doesn't have Earth $$$ but she wanted to give people things. So everyone has a sketch of them in a movie poster like pose since another intern has movie posters around their bunk in the interns barracks and she thought that was just how earthlings prefered their portraits. She has them in parchment envelopes on their trees. Some are crumbled due to a certain flying dragonborne's handiwork. Haelra forgot to sign her envelopes, but her envelopes are addressed with dark green ink.
• Lyndi
  • Brother Iron: American Gods
  • Joslin: college brochures, letters of recommendation
  • Nails: No Assholes book, vintage Operation game
• Jane
  • Granny Bones: Leatherman OHT, porcupine quills, a wine tumblr that says A Wise Woman Once Said Fuck This Shit And She Lived Happily Ever After
  • Brother Iron: T-shirt (grumpy old man), Hawaiian outfit, Leatherman Signal, wolf tooth on a necklace
  • Old Grandmother: hand-carved woodchuck statue, Leatherman Signal, coffee
  • Draco: bicycle, PlayStation
  • Joslin: books on tape about mechanical stuff, Leatherman Crunch
  • Nails: LifeAlert linked to Max's cellphone, coffee cup with "Dear Boss…", Leatherman Raptor, box with funky-tacky ties
• Cyrus
  • Vince: fuzzy socks and boots
  • To each Raptor, a knife inscribed with: Through battles fought in pasts and futures, In times of health and times of sutures, The bonds we build, the memories we share, In times of good, bad, or fair, We have been tested hard, and held true, For we are the members of Raptor Blue.
• Proud
  • Nails: custom windable watch
• Nails is clearly delighted by the Operation game.
• Lyndi Fletcher: Old Grandmother takes the leather thong from Lyndi, and then proceeds to do something complicated and lovely with Lyndi's hair that incorporates the leather into Lyndi's braids.
• Jane Irwin: Jane also slips Phobos what looks like one (1) whole smoked buffalo leg.
• Lyndi Fletcher: Phobos noms and crunches and grinds and licks his lips - all in dog form. His tail wags. A lot.
• Nails seems fascinated by the watch and admires it for some time.
• Lyndi Fletcher: Lyndi slips off her gloves and lifts the beautiful weapon from the box. She runs her bare fingertips over every curve of it, aquanting herself with its weights and stories, and she whispers it's name to it. It rests, shiny and lovely, against Lyndi's peppermint-pajama clad thigh, unloaded but beautiful deadly, for the rest of the present opening.
• Haelra Vayn: Ellison is on Haelra's head with the skeleton ribbon around her neck
• Brother Iron and Old Grandmother
  • Cast Iron Coffee
  • Net effect: 3 times when you fail a save, you can succeed
• Presents from Draco, Joslin, and Bron
  • Cyrus: How to Train Your Dragon (on blu-ray)
  • Draco and Bron have been analyzing the team's tactical performance data, suggested various subtle improvements to armor and equipment, and Joslin designed and implemented the improvements
  • Net effect of +1 to max HP
• Presents from Max and Nails
  • Lyndi: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni (book), (and when that doesn't work) three bars of gourmet chocolate
  • Cyrus: Music pages from Johnny Cash's studio recording of The Man Comes Around, signed by Cash and the other musicians, framed
  • Jane: Volo's Guide to Monsters by Volothamp Geddarm (book) (a famous book about the biology and sociology of aliens)
  • Haelra: a 1st edition of Gray's Anatomy (book), which may be haunted
  • Cadeos: a Draco-space VR game-experience-trainer based on gun kata in Equilibrium
  • Proud: The Little Prince (one of our best stories about a traveler)
  • Zora: a membership card in the Purple Circle of VIBs, for Granny Bones shop, obtained without placing Zora under any obligation to the fae, Max, or Nails (Very Important Bibliophile)
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show on 35mm film, from Granny Bones from a "friend"
• Cyrus, gives Oskar some assemblers: metal book tree
• Other gifts are given and received
• Feast
• Starcraft tournament (rematch from Thanksgiving)