Onboard the Yacht

GM: The weather is fine. A bright blue sky only slightly tinted with toxic purple. The deck of this super yacht is scrubbed pine. As you boarded you took note of the name of this vessel The Virtuous Scimitar.

GM: You are onboard to experience a scientific experiment, that if successful will change the world and science forever.

GM: The world's brightest and greatest are here to see the world's ruined oceans repopulated with fish. Describe your character and why you are here.

Player: Malaika is a crafty journalist. She has the perk Fast talker and the quirk Cats curiosity. First impressions are that she rocks corpo fashion and wears tinted glasses . She has an ocular HUD. She is here on her own to cover the story. Of course, she was keen to get a free cruise and and take in the ocean scene.

GM: You've spent some time acquainting yourself with the yacht and to get an overview of who is onboard. After a few hours travelling something changes. Until a few seconds ago there was a constant thrum running through the floor and walls of the vessel. You didn't actually notice it ... until it stopped. Then everyone noticed it. The babble of voices changing to a murmur of concern. Rushing to the open deck and taking in the situation it is soon clear that the engines have cut out and the The Virtuous Scimitar is adrift. What do you do?

Malaika: This is interesting! Hmm. I'll quickly head to the engine room before the crew can react and start controlling the situation.

What's happening at the Engine Room?

GM: The yacht is huge and like a labyrinth, but after a couple of wrong turns you catch a sign that points to the Engine room. As you get closer the atmosphere gets thicker with smoke and the smell of scorched plastic.

GM: You can see there are various crew members around franticly attending to their duties. You feel convinced that you can just slip under their radar, but sadly for you you are noticed by a busybody. What do you do?

Malaika: I'll swoop in to speak to them before they can react. Best not to try and be too shady. I'll be honest and fast talk my way round it. "Hi, I'm a journalist. Onboard to cover the experiment. I noticed the engines cut out. Just trying to find out what's going on..."

GM: Roll to fast talk. 3d6 to beat 5

GM: The crew member is having none of it. She touches the comms switch behind her ear. "Bridge, Abele. Engine Room. Got a woman here. Snooper. Instructions?... Look, it's not my job to babysit I've got ... well just get someone down here. Fast." What do you want do?

Malaika: I want to distract her. I'll fast talk her while I manoeuvre to an exit. Then ... I'll make a run for it, hoping her duties won't make her give chase.

GM: Roll again to fast talk. 3d6 to beat 6 this time.

GM: Her body language says everything. She's got work to do and instead she's baby sitting someone who just won't shut up. You reach a door, deftly open it and slip through ... in to what seems to be a store cupboard. Behind you you hear the door lock. You are trapped. What do you do?

Malaika: You're kidding! Is there any other way out?

GM: It's dark in here. You feel about. It's a narrow, small store cupboard. No other doors. As you reach this conclusion you hear multiple voices outside. Male and female. What do you do?

Malaika: I guess I'll just wait until they let me out.

Caught in the act

GM: You do not have long to wait. The door unlocks and swings open. You are greeted by a professional looking man. He's very polite. "Ah, Good morning." His eyes glow blue for a moment.

GM: His eyes return to their normal colour and he politely smiles at you. "You are Malaika King is that right? Freelance journalist. 27 years old." He beckons for you to exit the storage room, "Please, come with me. I'll find someone to speak to you." What do you do?

Malaika: I'll go with him. "That's right. I'm here covering the experiment. The engines. I was curious to find out what had happened. And, well, I'm a journalist. Always curious. Some might say, too curious."

GM: He leads you out of the door and nods to Abele.

Conference room

GM: He smiles warmly and beckons to the the door you came through earlier. "Yes, I'm sure that's an occupational hazard. You know Ms King we do have a comms team who are eager to speak to journalists. May I suggest in future not bothering the crew when they are dealing with a stressful situation?"

Malaika: "Thank you for your understanding. I'll try."

GM: He leads you through the narrow corridors of the yacht. The sea isn't too choppy so you only occasionally have to steady yourself against a gleaming white wall. Crew are bustling about with various duties - trays of food, engineering equipment etc. You go up one level, then another, and then through a door and in to what looks like a conference room. In the centre, a large table with a jug of water with ice and a collection of stationary laid out. There is a table against one of the walls with a large jug of fresh coffee and plates holding some edible items.

GM: The man invites you in to the room. "Coffee? Tea?"

Malaika: "Oh. Yes thank you. Coffee please"

GM: He pours you a coffee then indicates to the milk and sugar. "Please, help yourself." He turns and heads to the door, a small device in his hand. " Now, I must ask you to wait here patiently while I fetch a representative from our Comms team. Then you can satisfy your curiosity. Hopefully." He does a courteous bow before leaving. The door locks behind him. What do you do?

Malaika: I will take advantage of the coffee and food. I'll sit and wait patiently. Meanwhile, I'll use my HUD to check out the news.

GM: On you HUD you see flashing 'no net access'. Seems that there is also an issue with the local network and you are too far at sea to access any other networks.

Malaika: Is there anything else of interest in this room?

GM: It is just a plain conference room.

Malaika: In which case, I'll just wait.

Someone arrives

GM: As you wait you hear voices from the other side of the door, some talk about the loss of comms on the yacht. The door opens and a colourful figure walks in. Dressed in a bright suit and matching makeup, the lady who walked in holds out her hand. She seems quite serious. "Ms King, my name is Dr Vilar. I'm a senior scientist here at Ecocorp" She pours herself the a glass of water.

GM: She looks at you soberly, "Let's talk business." and takes a sip of water, "I believe we have shared a goal. You and I. Both want to know the ... actors, entity ... behind the sabotage. Oh yes, sabotage. I'm under no illusion that this story can be kept under wraps. Of course, we will be working with the police but I'd like you to carry out your own investigation in parallel. You're a freelancer I believe ... and our rates are more than competitive. And I'll throw in a bonus if we find justice. Is this something you would consider?"

Malaika: Well, i don't think I'd sleep at night if I didn't get to the bottom of it.

GM: She smiles subtly, "Wonderful. Just understand, this will be completely off the record. Your only contact at Ecocorp is me." She touches her temple and her eyes glow blue for a second. Her deets are pinged to you. You also get emergency access to the yacht's local network. Neziaopens a panel in the wall and you see an array of various spirits. "Drink? I don't myself. This boat ain't moving anytime soon, so..."

Malaika: "I won't say no. I'll take a whisky. Neat. Tell me, you got any possible leads?"

GM: She pours you a drink and slides it over to you. "I do."

GM: Nezia's eyes go blue again and a screen appears on a wide wall across from the conference table. The image of a young corpo woman appears, headlining some sort of tech conference. "Talia Malham. Young, ambitious, rich. Invests in various projects ... many eco focussed. She was meant to keep a low profile as an investor, but broke her promise. She's positioning herself as the driving force behind the project. I wouldn't be surprised if she plans on some sort of takeover, or legal action."

Malaika: Heard of her. Definitely needs investigating. Even if she's not involved, she's a journalistic goldmine. Yup, need to keep an eye on her. "Nice. Know her. She'd the type of woman who'd zero her own mother for a step up the ladder. What else you got?"

GM: "Sherilyn Adams. Horror novelist. On board as a guest-of-a-guest. Researching for a future novel apparently." On the screen you see a glamorous woman. A promo pick from her publisher. Various novels. Mainly horror, some sci-fi romance. "Mainly known for her horror books, but also does a sideline in erotic AI romance novels. Yeah, I know! Anyway, we recently had a run-in with a rogue AI. A serious attack on our systems. Had to shut it down. Kill it. So, it's possible Sherilyn's militant pro-AI. Got no evidence just a hunch."

Malaika: "Ok. Seems farfetched. But seen crazier things. I'll check her out. And the last?"

GM: An image of a male corpo. Tanned and refined. "Rangi Chat. Another financial backer. One of the main investors. Very excited about the project. Throws a lot of money at Eco projects. Then... suddenly backs out. Think someone put the thumbscrews on him. No idea who."

Malaika: "I see. I agree, that's strange. Requires some looking in to. Ok. That's good. Anything else?"

GM: Nezia shakes her head. "That's all for now. If anything turns up I'll let you know."

Malaika: "Better get started then." I'll check the whereabouts of the three leads on the yacht. Who is nearest?

GM: You pull up information on your HUD. A schematic for yacht opens up in front of you. Soon you pinpoint the three individuals. You can see that the nearest person is Sherilyn. She is in the library, not too far away.

Malaika: I'll head to the library

Spying in the Library

GM: The library is just round the corner. You open the door quietly and peer in. Mahogany lined room, shelves of actual books cover the walls, a presumably real fireplace in one wall with three leather armchairs. You see Sherilyn sitting at a large table in the middle of the room. She is on her own, but there are two other characters in the room - one of which stands out.

GM: A man dressed in Eskimo clothing. What do you do?

Malaika: What book is she reading? I'll be able to zoom in using my ocular HUD.

GM: The book is thick and seems to be some sort of history on ocean environmentalism.

Malaika: I'll walk over to the book shelves and find a book on a similar subject. I'll take a seat at the table at a distance from Sherilyn and read. But I'll also keep one eye on the room. I'm looking for any sign of communication or anything that stands out.

GM: Suddenly the lights go out in the library. You hear some sort of crashing sound nearby but elsewhere in the ship. Something monstrous. And then suddenly there is a commotion here in the library with you.

Malaika: I'll switch on night-vision in my ocular implants.

GM: You were watching the third person in the room when the lights went out. Switching to night-vision you see Sherilyn has gone haywire! Attacking the third person in the room -- a young athletic male. She snaps his neck! She turns both you and the Eskimo, evaluating her next target.

GM: She pounces on you! What do you do?

Malaika: I call out on the local subnet for help.

GM: Your call goes out. If anyone heard it you don't know.

GM: Out of the corner of your eye you spot the Eskimo leap to your aid. As Sherilyn took the action to attack, she goes first. How will you defend vs D5? Her hands reaching for your throat, her eyes wild.

Malaika: I took some self defence classes once, as she dives towards me I'll side swipe her to one side.

GM: You grab her arm as does the Eskimo, and manage to send her to one side. You notice her arms are rock solid muscle. Do you fight back or flee?

Malaika: I'll grab a nearby implement and strike her with it.

GM: You grab a lamp. Roll 2d6 vs D5

GM: As the Eskimo is helping you, you hesitate for a moment so you are less likely to hit him. This is just enough to strike Sherilyn on the back ineffectually.

GM: Sherilyn attacks you once more, trying to grab you and smash you in to the shelving behind you. Roll 2d6 vs D5

GM: Sherilyn grabs you by the scruff of the neck, you can feel that her fists will crush your windpipe if you don't wriggle out of it. The Eskimo helps by grappling Sherilyn's arm, holding her back just enough so you can turn and push her aside. What do you do?

Malaika: In my panic I shout to the Eskimo, "Pull her down!" We try to grapple her to the floor.

GM: Roll 3d6 v D5.

GM: You try to grapple her but Sherilyn is wild! She easily pushes the Eskimo away and launches herself, teeth bared, at your throat. Defend 2d6 against D5.

GM: You avoid a complete throat bite, but she sinks her teeth in to your shoulder.

Malaika: I scream out! And of course, I fight back. For my life! I'll use the lamp again.

GM: You try to bring the lamp down on her skull. With Eskimo's help 3d6 vs D5.

GM: She's just too agile, like she's been overclocked or something. Sherilyn tumbles to floor.

but dives at your leg to bite! Defend 2d6 v D5

GM: You manage slide on to the table and lift you legs up just as Sherilyn crashes past you. She spins, eyes wide, ready to pounce once more.

Malaika: I'll grab something heavy and crash it down on her again!

GM: You grab a heavy wooden chair. Looks like an antique. And bring it down on her from above. 3d6 (with help) vs D5.

GM: Security arrive and are able to overpower Sherilyn. A medic tends to your wounds. Nezia contacts you to ask you to speak to her when you have recovered.

Malaika: I will do. After a short rest. I'll make sure to thank the Eskimo.

GM: You both bond briefly after the attack. His name is Panuk. Here as a representative of the Inuit People whose whole culture and history relied on fish. He explains that there are others here representing various cultures. You continue small talk until his colleague turns up looking for him. Are you just going to wait 20mins or so until you have recovered?

Malaika: Yes. Then I message Nezia and go and meet her.

Debrief

GM: You meet again with Nezia in the conference room.

GM: She explains that the other noises you heard in the library were those of another person being triggered like Sherilyn. This was not one of the other leads, but someone new. The power cuts were localised to the areas where around the library. Whereas the attack in the library was some sort of assassination probably, the other was an act of sabotage.

GM: The experiment has been damaged and cannot be carried out until fixed. This will cost Ecocorp a small fortune in eddies.

GM: It was a solo agent. Male. They travelled in under the radar, cut their way through the hull, destroyed materials for the experiment, then got away. They were not a registered passenger on the yacht.

Malaika: Is Sherilyn ok?

GM: She tells you that she is recovering and being kept safe. They will have better facilities to investigate this further when the yacht's engines are repaired and they return to the city. Nezia turns to you smiling kindly, "I must apologise. You were injured on my yacht. Medical costs will be covered for you. I'll add something extra as way of apology." She pulls her chair round towards you and looks serious, "I'd like you to continue your investigation. You might uncover something the authorities won't. Or can't. Corruption is rife in the city. If it was a solo, I think it was, then whoever paid them has a huge amount of influence and power. So, stay safe. Find the solo and their paymaster. Uncover the truth. We'll pay you in kind." She looks at you expectantly, how do you respond?

Malaika: I'd be a sorry excuse for a journalist if I get frightened off that easily. Count me in.

GM: Nezia smiles and shakes your hand. "Then it's a deal."

GM: Nezia continues, "We think Medicorp might be behind this. We are rivals in many areas. And we have evidence to suggest that ... they might have a rogue AI. Captured. Maybe in the dark net somewhere. There have been a series of hacking attempts on Ecocorp. AI fingerprints all over it as far as I can tell. Keep an eye out and beware. To help you I will arrange for one of my colleagues to provide a hack that should placate and rogue AI you come across." You continue your conversation for a little while and then she asks if you have any further questions.

Malaika: No questions. Right now. I'll be in touch if anything crops up. Directly to her, of course.

GM: With that she leaves you to your thoughts. It will take a little while for the yacht to be repaired and return to the city. Expect twelve hours to pass. What do you want to do?

Malaika: I'll just rest and think about my game plan. Maybe catch some sleep.

GM: Time passes and soon you hear over the tannoy that the yacht is pulling in to Central City.

Malaika: I'll grab my things. I'm keen to get back to The Centipede, my apartment and get to work.

END OF PART 1

Part 2 →