cyberpunk new angeles: a red day

[bramblefoot]

Spoiler: ooc

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i approve of your compels

after the meeting is over, father sanchez calls you to his office. "so charity, i feel we can promote you to assistant gardener" he says, steepling his fingers. "what say you to that?"

[WindStruck]

Charity is of course overjoyed by this news, though she tries to hide it. "Ah, yes, Father! I.. I would be honored."

Being born and raised among this commune, her loyalty was unquestioned. However, she may not be qualified for this work. Be that as it may, Father Sanchez surely knew this as well.

So Charity says, "Whenever you wish to begin my training, I shall be ready."

[bramblefoot]

father sanchez nods. "you start tomorrow, bright and early" he clasps you by the shoulders and says "make me proud acolyte"

gimme a montage of your remaining time until sleep, and then gimme another dream

[WindStruck]

With the day winding down, each person gets one last nutrient wafer.

Charity spends much of her time dusting off all the prayer mats. And after stacking them in one piles, sweeps and mops the room. And then there is laundry, to which Charity did not start the washing process, but there is much to dry and fold.

It's getting late now, and others return from their Missions outside. Charity is allowed to privately read some Bible passages on her own for some minutes. And then she retires to the women's sleeping quarters. She attempts to meditate on her bed for a while. And then grooming and prayers before bed. She drifts off into a sleep that may have been dreamless at first. Until...

Somewhere in a dark alley, one silhouetted figure holds another to a wall.

"Where are they?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

There's a squishing and snapping sound as one thrusts something into the other.

"Aaaaaah!"

"I'm only going to ask you one more time. Where are they?"

"I dunno! She- Feng had them!"

"She's dead, and there was nothing on her."

"Tha-that's all I got man! I don't-"

*BLAM*

One man slumps to the ground, and the other calmly walks away.

[bramblefoot]

one of the gardeners will come to get you as is the custom in the commune, blindfolding you and leading you down a small ramp and into an area that smells fresh. the blindfold comes off and your jaw drops. inside this room sits a number of small leafy green plants, carefully tended by gardeners

"ready for your first day in the gardeners" a tall grey haired woman says, stalking over. she has the bearing of someone who brooks no defiance here, and seems in control of her element

wdyd?

[WindStruck]

Charity says, "Yes, as ready as I'll ever be."

She looks around, still amazed. "This is incredible. I have never seen anything like this before.." And though she had never seen a lot of gadgets, cybernetics, or mutants either, something about this place just felt.. right.

Looking back to the wizened woman, Charity asks, "What should I do?"

Spoiler: ooc

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I assume Charity has met this woman before, right? Who is she?

[bramblefoot]

Spoiler: ooc

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she is chief gardener lisandra

chief gardener lisandra quirks a grin "thats cause theres nothing like it in the whole wide world" she says, and shows you to a table. "this plant urn has cracked, and needs to be repotted" she says, and will show you how its done.

meanwhile

two men drive a delivery van towards the compound, checking their guns as they do so "should be simple right?" one says to the other. "kill em, loot the place, and secure whatever they're hiding in there" there is a chorus of "aye ayes" and "yes sirs" from the back, as the hit team locks and loads

charity, your just finished with the planting, when you hear a thunderous crash from up top, followed by the sounds of automatic weapons fire. screams and shouts are heard above, and chief gardener lisandra curses, slamming a big red button on the wall "we got issues" she says, and moves you into a small panic room, as gardeners carry plants in

"keep these safe and dont come out" she says, slamming the door

wdyd?

[WindStruck]

Well there's not much to do, aside from do as she was told. The sounds from above were awful. Something terrible was happening! Gunfire, screams, it sounded like they were being attacked!

Charity looks around the panic room for maybe something that could be used as a weapon. A pipe, a wrench, a machete, something.. But if they found this place.. honestly what chance could she really have??

She also looks for a hiding spot, and put the plants in some places that aren't obvious.

Spoiler: ooc

Show

for a weapon of some sort
Notice +3
(4d6)[3][6][4][3](16)

Moving, searching, rearranging stuff for an advantage
Investigate +1
(4d6)[1][3][3][2](9)
If successful, create "An Obscured Nook"

for a hiding spot
Stealth +1
Invoke advantage if possible
(4d6)[6][3][3][1](13)

[bramblefoot]

Spoiler: ooc

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ill let you hide, but just by the skin of your teeth

you hide as the gunshots get closer and closer to the panic room. a body falls with a thump against the door, and blood starts seeping under the door. you hear a laugh, followed by a "i like the way you die boy!" as rifle rounds impact the door multiple times.

finally, you muster the courage to open the door. the first thing you see is pools of blood and broken plantpots everywhere. you see lots of bootmarks in the blood, and plenty of spent brass. you have a feeling nobody made it out, save you

please describe charity's reaction, and then take a signficant milestone

Spoiler: advancement rules

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https://fate-srd.com/fate-core/advancement-change

[WindStruck]

It seemed like quite a while that Charity hid. But the sound of gunfire ceased, as did the stomping of boots. Eventually she made her way to the door and listened intently. The blood on the ground had stopped spreading..

At first Charity was so scared and reluctant to come out. Then when she saw the blood, and the bodies.. she didn't know what came over her. She rushed out and began frantically searching around for survivors, for any signs of life. Overwhelmed by grief, there were no words to describe how she felt.

This wasn't real. This had to all be a dream! And as she frantically made her way through the compound, the death count climbed higher. This couldn't be happening! Please God there has to be someone!

[bramblefoot]

as you traverse the commune grounds, you finally find the truth. in life, there are no constants, only change. you are alone, amongst dead bodies and empty brass casings. these men came not for any tangible, but only for a chance to kill. your commune members are all dead, faces frozen into masks of agony and pain

the question is, what do you do now that your entire life has been upended like a overturned table?

[WindStruck]

Not finding a single survivor, only blood-stained bodies and contorted faces, Charity breaks down, bawling at the sight of her dead mother. Screaming to the heavens and God she asks why this happened.

After some time, however, there is a glimmer of hope, perhaps a silver lining that perhaps someone she knew wasn't dead. There was Kristoff, who was last seen at the hostel, and of course, it was known that others ventured out sometimes to perform Missions, or otherwise, because of other obligations.

So it was likely that some people yet survived, and yet their home and way of life was shattered. But even if Charity's life was turned completely upside down, she still might not be totally alone.

Spoiler: ooc

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So we know there should be someone watching over the hostel. And Charity's dad developed pharmaceuticals (though I don't know where exactly he was at the time, and maybe his recent career changed), and some people have been said to go out for reasons.

In other words, it's not likely that absolutely everyone is dead.

The question simply is, who is left? I think that's Charity's first priority.

At some point, when Charity can begin to think beyond the grief and start thinking rationally again (somewhat) she makes her way to wherever their phone was to call the hostel. Her fingers shake, and she gets blood on the numbers, having to try several times to remember and input the correct number, but eventually the phone starts ringing...

[bramblefoot]

one by one, people answer their phones. of the commune, only ten are alive and out on errands, and none of them are senior management of the commune. what do you do now?

meanwhile, across town

"i take it mission accomplished?" the man with a bald spot says, sitting in his boardroom. "not quite" says a voice across the line. "we're tracking loose ends now. apparently someone survived the massacre inside and is helping us by dialing all the remainders" the man smiles cruelly. "good. we need the asset secured. dispose of them one by one, and then send in a cleanup team to bag and drag"


mr bald spot


the voice across the line

[WindStruck]

Well Charity isn't entirely sure what to do at first, after contacting those who remained, but she figured that she needed to quickly clean the blood off of herself, don some clean clothes, and then hurry on over to the hostel to explain the gravity of the situation.

She just.. she couldn't handle this alone. The bodies of loved ones, the rites, the gore, she.. she just couldn't do it alone. And chances are, they could no longer afford upkeep for the hostel either. They needed to salvage what they could.. figure out what to do next, together.

[bramblefoot]

as you begin to walk to the hostel, your phone rings, and then auto-picks up. the caller ID is unknown. A sing-song voice says "ten little technophobes standing in a line. one did something they shouldnt, and then there was nine" the phone then goes dead

wdyd?

[WindStruck]

At first Charity thought it was someone left from her community, but the caller ID was completely unknown. So was the voice. And what they said was disturbing.

Dread fills Charity as she hurries along the streets, fearing the worst.

[bramblefoot]

you get to the hostel, and just as it was said, nine people are at the hostel, all members of the commune. the tenth one is nowhere to be found.

what now?

[WindStruck]

Charity looks at everyone and asks, "You're all here, but why??" She did not recall telling or asking them to go here. Though she supposed at some point she started telling people she was going to head here at first.

Though she had called ten people and nine of them were here, she did not think much of the missing person, aside from the creepily taunting phone call. Maybe Roberta was still on her way, or at their compound instead.

[bramblefoot]

the nine members of the commune look at you strangely. "what do you mean charity" they all say in unison. this is some major levels of creepy, as youve never seen this happen before. the nine remaining members of the commune will move to circle you, as sirens wail in the background

wdyd?

[WindStruck]

Charity might have tried to answer that question, but all of them speaking in unison was too freaky. She becomes extremely nervous as they circle around her.

"W-what are you doing?! What's wrong with you?!" Charity cries, looking for some semblance of humanity among her former friends.

She will try to squeeze through them, to get away and regain some personal space, but she might not actually try too hard, seeing as she is still so confused, and doesn't want to hurt them, or be hurt for that matter.

[bramblefoot]

there is no sign of humanity in your commune goers eyes. they will spin and dance, and you feel sort of lightheaded as they continue to do so.

will you roll 4d6 and tell me what you get? higher is better, and lower is worse