Medical Coverage Exceeded
| Staring | Fräulein Ärtzin, Garbo, Liam, Shirayuri |
| With | Saffron Cade, MIYASHITA Amethyst |
| And | Eloise Brady, Langdon Brady, OGAWA Ryōta |
| Introducing | Saoriko Süß |
| Previous Episode | S01E04 – Happy Holiday, Citizen |
| Next Episode | S01E06 – Peacekeeper |
The team continues their trek upwards, securing long-desired medical supplies and discovering more horrors at the hands of Renraku employees.
Session 1 - 2023/06/22
Out of Stock
| Who | Fräulein Ärtzin, Garbo, Liam, Shirayuri, Eloise Brady, Langdon Brady, Saffron Cade, OGAWA Ryōta, MIYASHITA Amethyst |
| When | Friday, December 26, 2059 (Day 8) through Saturday, December 27, 2059 (Day 9) |
| Where | SCIRE, Level 59 |
Fleeing the experimental site below them, the team bivouacs in an abandoned grocery store on Level 59, to rest through daylight hours. The site was in relatively good shape, though it had been entirely stripped bare. They had sufficient supplies to share with their new companions, so the emptiness was a disappointment but not a problem. Further, they decided it would be a safe place to stay as it was unlikely any hostiles would return.
They spent the next day resting, recovering, and learning about their new companions. Eloise and Langdon were in the Mall holiday shopping when the shutdown began. They were knocked unconscious by the Dervishes, and woke up later "assigned" to a unit inside the experimental area. Ryōta is a Renraku citizen and employee, operating cargo loaders on the Level B1 loading socks. He told a familiar story, with the emergency barricades snapping shut and Dervish drones tranquilizing everybody present. Similarly, he woke up in a unit on Level 55.
When the team is attempting to redistribute weapons, Eloise is not shy about mentioning that she was recently released from prison for murdering her husband. She had plead self-defense, but was convicted anyway. Her punishment included psychotropic conditioning, rendering her unable to handle a firearm without suffering tremors and occasionally outright convulsions. Fräulein's astral senses picked up some tension between her and her (adult) son, but no outright hostility, surmising that he believed his mother's story even if the jury didn't.
After heading out that night, they jump a group of guards to secure body armor and extra ammunition for the new companions.
Session 2 - 2023/06/29
Medical Vacancy
| Who | Fräulein Ärtzin, Garbo, Liam, Shirayuri, Eloise Brady, Langdon Brady, Saffron Cade, OGAWA Ryōta, MIYASHITA Amethyst |
| When | Sunday, December 28, 2059 (Day 10) |
| Where | SCIRE, Level 60 |
On Level 60, they find the entire floor stripped down to bare metal — the carpet has been ripped up and all of the typical hallway furnishings are gone. They are surprised to find that the floor has full power and lighting, despite the damage they inflicted on Level 55. Liam asks Ami if this floor was inhabited, and she confirms it was. She is able to point them in the direction of the hospital (roughly three blocks away), one of the team's primary objectives for this excursion.
Fräulein uses that information as she astrally scouts the floor. She finds no signs of current inhabitation, but the area where the hospital is supposed to be is surrounded by relatively powerful ward[1]. They decide the four 'runners will approach the hospital, while the rest of the group holes up in an empty unit nearby.
Medical Necessity
| Who | Fräulein Ärtzin, Garbo, Liam, Shirayuri, Saoriko Süß |
| When | Sunday, December 28, 2059 (Day 10) |
| Where | SCIRE, Level 60 |
The lobby is vacant and Shirayuri has no problem popping the door open. They others hang back while she scouts ahead. In one of the exam rooms, she finds a nurse prepping a young woman for limb implants. Shirayuri quickly backs away, before the nurse has a chance to look at her. As a recipient of such surgery herself, Shirayuri is doubtful that the amputated regions have had enough time to recover — they're clearly rushing the implantation surgery.
As the group moves deeper into the hospital, they spot a Red Samurai on patrol and duck into a bathroom. Now that they're physically inside the ward, Fräulein decides she should do some more astral scouting.
While they're waiting for her report, a nurse enters bathroom. Unfortunately, they were all hiding in individual stalls, so the nurse had to wait for somebody to leave. Shirayuri passes her gear and Fräulein's unconscious body to Liam in an adjacent stall, and rushes out. The nurse comments on her outfit on the way by. Garbo tries to use using his adept powers to encourage her to leave, but fails and makes the nurse even more suspicious. Liam is forced to knock her out. They tie her up and dump her in the adjoining shower room, then switch to the men's bathroom and wait for the others to report.
Outside the bathroom, Shirayuri and Fräulein continues their recon while avoiding the Red Samurai. Fräulein finds the operating rooms and heads back to Liam and Garbo when she sees one of the finally empty out. Meanwhile, Shirayuri takes cover in a patient room, hiding under one of the beds. The Samurai don't spot her, but one of the children in the room does. She asks Shirayuri "Do they scare you too?", refering to the Red Samurai. They talk a bit longer, Shirayuri expressing concern for the girl's safety and eventually offering to bring her along.
The team regroups and makes their way into the operating room. They collect most of the supplies and tools Saffron identified, then sneak out.
Out Patient Briefing
| Who | Fräulein Ärtzin, Garbo, Liam, Shirayuri, Eloise Brady, Langdon Brady, Saffron Cade, OGAWA Ryōta, MIYASHITA Amethyst, Saoriko Süß |
| When | Sunday, December 28, 2059 (Day 10) |
| Where | SCIRE, Level 60 |
Once they're free and clear, Fräulein takes a moment to assense Saoriko. The only implant she finds is a datajack, and she's clearly traumatized by the surgery. When asked about her parents, she says she is not worried about them but doesn't want to elaborate. They also discover that she speaks German and Japanese, but not English, leaving her unable to communicate with nearly half[2] the group.
When Garbo offers her a stuffed animal from the small collection of toys he's been lugging around, she throws it back at him and says, "They give those to the ones with white eyes."
Session 3 - 2023/07/27
Out of the Pan
| Who | Fräulein Ärtzin, Garbo, Liam, Shirayuri, Eloise Brady, Langdon Brady, Saffron Cade, OGAWA Ryōta, MIYASHITA Amethyst, Saoriko Süß |
| When | Sunday, December 28, 2059 (Day 10) |
| Where | SCIRE, Level 61 |
Immediately after reaching Level 61, the security iris begins closing behind the group. They have a few moments to get everybody clear, after which they realize the architecture of this floor is very strange. It's the first time they've seen exterior modular walls cut down. When they hear the sounds of Dervishes spooling up, they realize they've stumbled into a trap.
Fräulein puts up a Barrier to hedge some of them out, but the team is forced to retreat by a combined group of Work Spiders, Medusas, and the Dervishes. Saffron, Liam, and Shirayuri make a concerted effort to protect Saoriko, but both Bradys, Ryōta, and Amethyst are downed by Dervish darts. Losing Amethyst is a particularly worrisome event, as she knows far more about their resistance operation than the other three.
Into the Fryer
| Who | Fräulein Ärtzin, Garbo, Liam, Shirayuri, Saffron Cade, Saoriko Süß |
| When | Sunday, December 28, 2059 (Day 10) |
| Where | SCIRE, Level 61 |
The group finds themselves in another heavily modified section. This one has walls added to it, rather than walls missing — it's been turned into a maze. They start searching for a way out, soon encountering heavily modified and nearly feral metahumans.
The first one they see one arm and one leg replaced, plus augmented jaws and teeth. They find it literally gnawing on one of the walls, with Fräulein's astral senses telling them it's hungry. Try to talk to it, offer it food, but it responds by attacking them[3].
The sound attracts a second one, with two chainsaws grafted directly onto it's arms. They're able to dispatch it and find someplace to pause before others are drawn in.
Session 4 - 2023/08/03
Pop and Sizzle
| Who | Fräulein Ärtzin, Garbo, Liam, Shirayuri, Saffron Cade, Saoriko Süß |
| When | Monday, December 29, 2059 (Day 11) |
| Where | SCIRE, Level 61 |
Shirayuri takes the lead in scouting, at one point leading four of the cybernetic monsters back to the group — another biter, a choppy, and two with arms replaced by massive taser batons. A combination of well placed tear gas grenades from Liam and Reduce Friction and Barrier from Fräulein allows them to defeat them without actually killing them.
They find a good, defensible corner to hole up in for a bit. Fräulein puts her sleep regulator to good use and gets a full three hours of sleep. Once she's up, they resume their search for an exit. They encounter a few more groups of experimental subjects, but now knowing what to expect, they defeat them relatively easily.
Session 5 - 2023/08/10
Rising to the Top
| Who | Fräulein Ärtzin, Garbo, Liam, Shirayuri, Saffron Cade, Saoriko Süß |
| When | Monday, December 29, 2059 (Day 11) |
| Where | SCIRE, Level 61 and SCIRE, Level 71 |
The team explores the maze, defeating more experimental subjects as they go. Eventually, they reach the edge of the megalift block and find the elevator shafts, albeit blocked off by sheet steel. They decide up is the way out, and Liam smashes his way through. There's a little bit of trouble getting up their ten stories — Saoriko gets tired and has to be helped and encouraged by Shirayuri — but then eventually make it to Level 71.
References
- Previous: S01E04 – Happy Holiday, Citizen
- Next: S01E06 – Peacekeeper