Silver Lining:I Can Rise High Above the Ashes
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| May 5, 2023 – Episode 10: I Can Rise High Above the Ashes | ||
Old friends call on John about a missing person. The crew of the Silver Lining head to the city Dantur in the Sigma Draconis system to investigate.
Cold Open
"Pedro?" the woman calls out. The man snaps out of his reverie and look towards her, in your direction.
"Mel?" he says, the glassy look in his eyes clearing a bit. "Yeah... Of course it would be you. Well... lets get this over with."
Background
John gets a call from Melanie "Mel" Taggart and William Pendelton, now both ISPS special agents, about a missing war buddy of theirs, Pedro Selah. Pedro served as the Air Boss on board the NAS Kitty Hawk, the carrier the Silver Lining was attached to, and cut short a promising North American Concord Naval years ago after the NAC military action at Sirius resulted in the death all the colonists and several of Pedro's friends. Pedro sunk into a deep depression, racked up several failed marriages, and moved from meager job to meager job since. His most recent job is working as a Janitor at Thesrion Corporation, a defense contractor.
That was an explosion earlier in the day at a Thesrion research Facility on the outskirts of town, and the ISPS was called in. When they arrived, Taggart and Pendelton were met with angry executives and scientists and discovered that Pedro was working here, and now missing along with some piece of "top secret" military equipment. That's when they called the Silver Lining to get some extra muscle to track him down.
The piece of equipment missing is a prototype battle suit that has limited self-repair capability and built in weapons. Pedro took it and is on the run and on a final downward spiral.
Taggart and Pendelton figure there are two places to check - first, his apartment, second, his ex-wife's place across the city. They cannot get a hold of her on her number, and so Pendelton and two volunteers will take the Silver Lining and go check there, while the rest along with Mel will check out his apartment.
Those that go to check on his ex wife will find that she has been killed. It look like a fight of some kind occurred, that ended with her being thrown through a glass table and stabbed with a shard a glass.Neighbors/landlord would say the last she was seen was a few days ago. No one heard any fight, etc. They would know Selah as someone who stopped by from time to time.
Tracking Selah directly, his apartment is tiny and spartan. He has a couch, a bed, a few plates and utensils, and a television and nothing else. Selah was known to frequent bars in the area round his apartment. a few patrons recount how he had been getting erratic over the last few months. int all started to go down hill the night he was arrested for hitting his ex girlfriend. She left hi (and has since moved off planet). Shortly after that his mother died.
The ex claimed he'd always been on edge around loud bangs, but during an arguments she had slammed a cabinet door and he struck her she used his short incarceration to get her things and leave after dropping the charges against him.
He took the loss of his mother even worse and lashed out more frequently at others. he began withdrawing more and more.
Some of the homeless around are familiar with him. He would commonly give them money or food and talk with them about the stress of his job as an airboss, and how wore him down. How once he was in charge of hundreds, but as a civilian he was a "nothing janitor pushing a broom". One will suggest that he often went to a nearby city park to feed the birds there.
Selah can be found near the park, leaning against the car. Just the back of his head can be seen. Taggart approaches him "Selah? Hey, buddy, we've been looking for you." "Mel? Is that you? Yeah... yeah, it would be you. Let's get this over with."
Selah stands up fully and the concrete and asphalt seems form up around him. He swats at the car he was leaning against, and launches at the PCs.
The prototype suit is a type of nano-armor that absorbs materials around it to provide protection (this is actually outlawed technology; which explains the way Thesrion was acting).
The suit also makes him highly mobile, allowing him to leap around, rip though buildings and drop on top of the PCs. The guns of the Silver Lining will be useful in this situation.
Characters Introduced
NPCs
- Mel Taggart - ISPS Special Agent, and former pilot of the Silver Lining
- William Pendelton - ISPS Special Agent, and former co-pilot of the Silver Lining
- Pedro Selah (SEE-LAH) - old friend of Taggart and Pendelton from the Kitty Hawk,
Scene 1 - Call from the Past
John informs the crew that a pair of old friends of his on the planet below reached out to him and are asking for help. "They're special agents with the ISPS and say it's important... I donno, maybe it's a good lead." When the Silver Lining make it down, they are directed to land in the nearly-empty parking lot at the research facility. Taggart and Pendelton await them on the nearby standing next to a hover-craft, which is a part of their ship, the Garnet Crow.
Melanie "Mel" Taggart is a slender black woman with spiked brown hair that stands 5'6" feet tall in her late 40s.
William Pendelton is a 6'2" balding, gaunt white man, with a well-trimmed mustache, also in his late 40s. They both are wearing black suits, Pendelton with a tie, Taggart leaves the collar of her shirt unbuttoned.
John introduces them, calling William "Wild Bill". Pendelton just nods to the PCs.
Pendelton: "John, I hope your father's doing well."
John: so what is it you needed us for?
Taggart sets the scene. A few hours ago an explosion occurred at a Thesrion Corporation Research Facility located at the edge of town. The ISPS was called in because Thesrion is a major defense contractor. In doing their initial investigation, they discovered that an old friend the military, Commander Pedro Selah, the Air Boss from the Kitty Hawk worked at Thesrion and has gone missing. Knowing the Silver Lining was nearby they called the to get some extra aid while keeping the local authorities out as long as possible.
John: What's the pay
Taggart and Pendelton look at each other, then Taggart speaks: I'm sure you could always use some help next time you're caught with some contraband at an ISPS checkpoint.
John: that's only happened to me once.
Pendelton: Twice
John: okay, twice. beside i stay away from that stuff now. i've gone legit.
Pendelton: So, how's Christina doing John?
John: ...
Pendelton: and how about Ruy Di Silva and that woman of his?
John: Fine. Where do we start?
They show the group a photo of Pedro from when they were in the military - it shows a much younger Taggart and Pendelton (though Bill is still missing his hair) with their arms around a well-built short black man with dark skin and tightly buzzed hair, wearing a white shirt with the word "Air Boss" stenciled on the front. They are standing in front of the Silver Lining, though it's missing the chrome plating and the nose-mounted auto-cannon.
Investigation:
There are lawyers and executives there trying to stop the investigation from proceeding.
Some things the PCs can find out:
The damage is confined to just a single wall in the facility; and while the incident was reported as an 'explosion', it looks like the wall collapsed in onto a room filled with computers and monitoring equipment.
The company won't give the characters access to any of the computer equipment or camera recordings from the inside. The lawyer insists on getting a Warrant. "We're not the ones under investigation here; we're the victims, not suspects.
Video from the exterior just shows the wall collapse and Pedro emerge from the rubble. He sprints across the yard off camera.
Pedro had been working here for six months now and was on thin ice. He could have a short temper, and once got into an argument with someone after Pedro claimed they shut a door too loudly.
His HR file shows an emergency contact, Aminah Selah, an ex-wife that lives across town. Any attempt to call the number goes unanswered.
This is when Taggart suggests they split up. Pendelton and two others will go across the city to the address on file for Aminah, she and the rest will try to track Pedro down by going to his apartment.
While the PCs are with Taggart or Pendelton, they gain the following assets below to use when applicable:
Special Agent Mel Taggart, Good Cop and Special Agent "Wild Bill" Pendelton, Bad Cop
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Scene 2 - Tracking People Down
Who is going with Pendelton on the Silver Lining? (Note, if Seth goes to pilot the ship, and offers to let Pendelton fly - "Why, I was only ever the co-pilot of this wreck. Besides, you're the pilot, right? Do you have any pride in your work or would you just let anyone come in here and take over your job?"
As far as being a pilot goes, Pendelton is amazingly even keeled and unflappable.
Pedro's apartment
The others head the Pedro's apartment, a spartan one room efficiency. There isn't much of anything here, though in the sink is jagged shard of glass that is covered in blood. There is a pile of blood-covered clothing rumpled on the floor next to the sink, one item is a woman's overcoat. Nothing glass has been broken in the apartment. Talking to the landlord or others tenants paint the picture of a lonely man who went to work or hung around he local bars. They offer up the bars might be a better place to look.
Ex-wife's apartment
It will take a landlord or brute force to open the door. Immediately there are signs of a struggle inside, a set of drawers by the front door has been knocked over and its contents spilled out. The living room is much worse, with the couch upturned. The upturned couch is on top of a body, which has been thrown through a glass table. The body has a large gaping wound in its chest.
The Bars and Bums
At one of the bars, the PCs will run into a waitress whose friend, Olivia Lachesis, used to date Pedro. About six months ago Pedro hit her during an argument. "She slammed a cabinet; he flipped out and hit her. She had him arrested and used the opportunity to move to another city to get away from him, but then dropped the charges." She can provide contact info for Olivia, who will say she's not heard from him since then but isn't surprised to be getting a phone call from cops. She will say that he'd heard his mother had died after he got out of jail, and he really spiraled out of control after that. But that's all she really knows. She changed her number and made sure to only tell people she knew wouldn't give him her new contact info.
The waitress will also tell the PCs that he spent a lot of time talking to the bums that frequented the area around the bar.
The bums will say he was a kind guy, who always gave them money or food. But he also had a darkness around him. He would talk with them about the stress of his job in the military, and how wore him down. How once he was in charge of hundreds, but as a civilian he was a "nothing janitor pushing a broom". "Seemed like he'd end up out on the street here with us one of these days, to be honest." "I often saw him out by the park up on Pioneer Boulevard, feeding birds. Maybe you can find him there." they say they haven' seen him in a few days.
As they're walking away, one bum sneaks over to talk to them away from the others as they go to get into the hover vehicle. He tells them that he saw Pedro the other day, coming home, walking fast-like. He was wearing a coat that didn't fit, and his hand was bleeding. "But.. the wind caught the coat good-like and pulled it open, and I swear his shirt was all covered in blood. I was scared but didn't know what to do. I just acted like i didn't see him, but... should i told someone? Cops'll kick you outta an alley and trash all your stuff just for lookin at em wrong, so.. who was I supposed to tell?"
Pioneer Park Confrontation
Taggart slowly rolls down the road and comes to a stop "I think i see him. Let's approach on foot."
She points to a man leaning against a vehicle, his back to you. She out of the hovercar and slowly approaches the man.Leading back to the Cold Open
"Pedro?" Mel calls out. Pedro snaps out of his reverie and look towards her, in your direction.
"Mel?" he says, the glassy look in his eyes clearing a bit. "Yeah... Of course it would be you. Well... lets get this over with."
He fully stands up and you can see he's wearing a tight form-fitting body suit. He clenches a fist and it begins to shimmer. Concrete and asphalt start to crack and crumble around him,and draw up onto his arms and legs.
"Pedro, what are you doing?" Taggart asks, reaching into her suit coat and drawing her weapon and clicking the safety off, but not pointing it. She glances back at The PCs "get ready for trouble. There are spare weapons in the trunk."
"Making sure things end here." Pedro says, lashing out with a fist, and sending the car he was leaning against careening at the group of you.
| Pedro Selah | ||
| Pedro is being enhanced by a nano-infused combat suit that is able to absorb stone, asphalt, and concrete using nanomachines for attack and defense. It also enhances the user's mobility. | ||
| Boss Trait: Power-Suit Soldier | Rating | |
| Adaptive Nano-Armor | ||
| Litho Ascent | ||
| Fist of Stone | ||
Collateral Damage
Step down Fist of Stone by one and keep up to three additional effect dice. Additional effect dice may only be used to create complications on the scene. | ||
Avalanche
Double a scene complication created by Collateral Damage and include an extra die in Pedro Selah's result, then remove that complication from the scene. Shut down Avalanche until you spend a . | ||
Grow No Moss
Spend to reset Avalanche. | ||
Rub Some Dirt In It
Once per scene, spend to step up one Boss Trait Die or step down one Complication on Pedro Selah. | ||
Upon beating Selah
The concrete and asphalt that encased Selah is ripped to shreds and he tumbles backwards. As you approach, he sits up, and the suit begins the shimmer and gather up materials again.
Taggart: Pedro!
Pedro: Mel! He glances over at her, for a moment distracted. Of course, it would be you. A smile starts to curl on his lips.
A single gunshot echoes and Selah topples backwards in a spray of skull and brain matter. Pendelton grimaces as he flicks the safety back on his side arm and slides it back into its holster hidden under his suit coat. You can hear distant sirens and approaching aircraft.
Taggart kneels next to Selah's body, silently checking on him.
Pendelton turns to you, "You guys had better get out of here before the local police arrive. It'll be a lot less complicated for you guys if you don't stick around."
As you start to leave, Pendelton calls out "Hey!" he flips what looks like a poker chip with the ISPS logo on it at one of you. "Now you better get a move on."
Reward:
Signature Asset:
| Friend of the ISPS | |
| About the size of a poker chip, trimmed in gold with the ISPS logo on the front. On the back is the ISPS motto, "Keeping Order Throughout the Cosmos" along with the numbers 78/165 in small print. | |
The Police Benevolent Association Has Your Back
Destroy this Signature Asset Permanently. If you are in a scene with an ISPS official, the official capitulates and ends the scene immediately, giving you what you want but dictating the terms. | |
| Musical Inspiration | |
|---|---|
| Song: | Break it to Me 
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| Artist: | Muse |
| Album: | Simulation Theory |
| Listen online | |
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