Session 6 Log

Iapetus Tier

• John 117 blasted away at the attacking creature, Piv sniped at a second monster rushing from another tunnel entrance and the rest of the party slid awkwardly down the power cable to the floor of the well - shooting as they went. Neither creature made it into threat range before going down and were finished off with a few additional rounds.

• While John finished collecting the cortical stacks from the 17 dead or dying bodies and Kru rejoined the group and began examining the server, everyone else sat tensely on overwatch.

• Kru found that the server was empty - wiped clean of all data - but when he connected the display to the full memory stick he saw only obsolete static and heard - though there was no medium for sound - a voice in his head that said, “God, how may I serve you?” He shrugged off this concerning contact and told no one.

• While John recovered stacks and Kru worked on the server, plasma fire from the shadows hit Terry and everyone sprang into action - blazing away in the direction of the attack. The fight was short and when he approached the target Terry found an unconscious biomorph - one of the Cognite technicians working on the Iapetus project.

• Terry threw the injured researcher-turned-gunman over his shoulder and sent Piv to secure the inflatable habitat. He then debated with Rentlov about how, or even if, they should destroy the server. In the midst of the debate the gunman regained consciousness and began to struggle. Terry made helmet to helmet contact and tried to talk to the man, getting only a strained, monstrous groan in response. He dropped the body but was unwilling to just shoot him in cold blood. Nikolas stepped over and casually put a bullet through the man’s helmet - easy peasy. In the end, Kru set explosives on the server.

• A sharp vibration through the ice indicated an explosion in the distance. Minutes later a second, smaller or more distant explosion occurred. As the party headed back to the habitat they felt another small explosion - Kru detonating the server. When the party arrived at the habitat they found it mostly destroyed despite Piv’s attempt to secure the area. Subsequent recon proved that the shuttle had also been blown up.

• Debate began about what to do next, how to get off the moon and what, if anything, they should take from the site - stacks? Data? Contents of the memory stick? As the debate went on, Terry contacted Dr. Saya on the autonomist orbital and reported that the mission was complete. As soon as his transmission ended, Rentlov detonated the remaining explosives in his demo kit and….

Mars Tier

• Nikolas jumped aboard the police van and, as the cops inside stared befuddled at John 117 and their now suddenly headless prisoner, Nikolas blasted one of them through the window. He then pulled the back doors open and John, grabbing the head, cloaked up and rolled out onto the street. The two of them then melted expertly into the still dispersing crowd and joined up with Kru and Rentlov. They retreated to the safe house that Nikolas had arranged through local contacts.

• John 117 reported to the @-net posse AI that he had eliminated the fugitive. The program acknowledge the information then informed John that as a result the program was obliged to inform him that his actions were illegal, that he should surrender himself to the authorities and that the program could have no further contact with a fugitive from the law.  

• Piv and Terry independently but similarly bluffed their ways into the sky hook terminal’s infirmary, Terry claiming one of the injured was his father and Piv just trying to offer continuing first aid.

• Once inside Terry, unable to convincingly bluff his way into the examination room tried to shock-glove a nurse who then, as she fled, notified security. Since the terminal was already on lockdown due to the apparent Barsoomian terrorist attack, and swarms of security personnel were already on site, the response was immediate and overwhelming. Terry and Piv were both taken into custody, surrendering without resistance. Piv was identified as a good Samaritan who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and released a few hours later. Terry was aggressively interrogated and held for 16 hours before finally being released by virtue of the records that he was a properly licensed bounty hunter in pursuit of a warranted ego.

• The party waited at the safe house, collecting Piv and Terry in turn and then made their way back to the shuttleport, returning to Pontes Station where they learned of the apparently terminal fate of the forks Proxy Evo sent to Iapetus.

• Ultimately, in response to the apparent terrorist attack the space elevator remained on security lockdown for four local days as the terminal was cleared of possible sabotage threats. The shutdown cost the Mars and associated economies millions of credits, causing a notable economic slump that had ripple effects throughout the inner system for several months. In the future, economists will refer to the event as the Red Recession of AF10. If the party’s role in the event is ever made public there will be significant repercussions - OIA arrest warrants, Civ-net Blackmarks and @-rep Goldstars.