Reaper reaches the sprawl's edge as corrugated roofs shudder beneath a swarm of corporate surveillance drones. Their speakers broadcast stolen executive orders over static and sirens.
A young adult woman crouches atop a patched utility shack, lean and sharp-faced beneath copper braids, wearing a patched gray coat threaded with glowing interface cables. Her hands dance across a jury-rigged control rig.
Mara Venn
You picked a bad time to visit. Unless you came to watch the board burn.
She spots Reaper through the haze and tilts one headset toward him. Above, the drones pivot in formation, broadcasting orders that redirect corporate security toward the settlement.
Armored response teams descend between the shacks, boots striking metal walkways. Their rifles remain lowered for now, but red targeting lights sweep across windows and doorways.
Mara Venn
The orders are authentic enough to start a coup. The corps will blame everyone here before they admit their command net is compromised.
A crippled drone spirals from the cloud and crashes into the mud between Reaper and the nearest escape route. Its damaged speaker repeats one broken command: surrender.
✓ Quest Accepted
Protect the shantytown from the corporate assault
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify who compromised the corporate command net
“"And why would I assist a group I have no affiliation with, hm?"”
FAILURE (Great Reasoning, rolled -3)
"Reaper" Blackwell
And why would I assist a group I have no affiliation with, hm?
Mara Venn
You wouldn't. That's the problem. You ask for a reason when the rifles are already choosing sides.
The rigger's fingers halt above the control rig. A targeting light crawls across Reaper's mask, then shifts toward the shack behind him.
Mara Venn
This isn't my group. It's a settlement, a network, people who become disposable the second the corps need a culprit.
The broken drone between them crackles surrender again. Nearby response teams tighten their perimeter, cutting off the route Reaper was measuring.
Mara Venn
So don't assist us. Decide whether letting them erase this place serves you. I can open one corridor, but not while you keep treating this like a negotiation.
“I stand still calmly. "It is. Are these your men?"”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +1)
Reaper stands motionless amid the mud and static, black-on-black tuxedo untouched by the settlement's panic. The targeting light lingers on his mask.
"Reaper" Blackwell
It is. Are these your men?
Mara Venn
No. They're corporate response teams, wearing orders someone forged or hijacked. Mine are the people hiding under those roofs.
Her eyes flick toward the armored perimeter. One team leader raises a hand, and the rifles remain trained outward instead of turning toward the shack.
Mara Venn
I can prove it. Watch the command feed. Their ident tags belong to Helix Security, but the authorization chain terminates inside the settlement.
The rigger slices a channel across her display. Corporate seals unfold beside contradictory routing data, each packet stamped with the same executive credentials.
Mara Venn
Someone wants these teams blamed for the massacre, and this place erased with them. That makes their presence your problem too.
“"Consider this an investment then." I duck behind the team's line of fire. "What's required of me."”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +2)
Reaper moves on the targeting shift, slipping behind the response team's line of fire. Rifles track past his shoulder as he reaches the shack's shadow.
"Reaper" Blackwell
Consider this an investment then. What's required of me?
Mara Venn
Three things. Keep their rifles facing outward, reach the relay mast, and stop whoever is issuing those orders.
She snaps a route across her display. A narrow maintenance trench runs beneath the armored perimeter toward a signal junction pulsing red through the rain.
Mara Venn
The mast carries the command handshake. Pull it, and I can seize the drones long enough to expose the forged chain.
A response leader, a middle-aged woman with a broad build, dark skin, a shaved head, and a yellow-striped black armored suit glances toward the shack, distracted by the false orders. The rigger rotates her rig, and a service hatch unlocks beneath Reaper's cover.
Mara Venn
That hatch gets you under them. Once you're inside, the system will tell us who has the root access.
“"I'd like to propose a simpler solution. Give me a pistol."”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -1)
"Reaper" Blackwell
I'd like to propose a simpler solution. Give me a pistol.
The drone rigger studies the mask, then reaches beneath the control rig without hesitation. Rain ticks against the shack while armored boots pass overhead.
Mara Venn
Simple works. Keep it quiet until you reach the mast.
She produces a compact black pistol from a magnetic holster, checks its charge, and extends it down through the opened service hatch.
Mara Venn
Smartlink is live. Two magazines. No tracker, no corporate serial.
The pistol settles into Reaper's hand, its grip warm from the rigger's palm. Beneath the perimeter, the maintenance trench waits in darkness.
Mara Venn
Go. I will keep their attention pointed outward and feed you the relay's access route.
+ New Item Acquired
Compact Pistol
“I proceed through the trench.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +1)
Reaper slips into the maintenance trench, pistol held close beneath his tuxedo sleeve. Nanotech armor tightens silently across his torso as rainwater streams through the narrow channel.
Mara Venn
You are under the perimeter. Keep left at the junction, then follow the blue maintenance strip.
Armored boots thunder overhead. Reaper moves between support braces and cable bundles, timing each step against the rain and the rigger's drone static.
"Reaper" Blackwell
The trench is newer than the surrounding infrastructure.
A maintenance grate opens beneath the relay mast. Reaper rises through it into a fenced service bay, directly beneath the pulsing signal junction.
Mara Venn
You made it. The mast is above you. I am feeding you the access route now, and their rifles are still looking outward.
The mast's lower housing unlocks with a soft mechanical click. Red status lights spill across Reaper's mask while the command handshake waits inside.
“"I'll choose the simpler solution. Keep them focused on you." I draw my pistol and attempt to neutralize all enemies whilst their back is facing me, using my HUD to zoom in and assist with aim.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Firearms, rolled -1)
"Reaper" Blackwell
I'll choose the simpler solution. Keep them focused on you.
Reaper draws the compact pistol beneath the relay housing. His HUD magnifies the service bay, tagging armored silhouettes as the rigger floods their channel with counterfeit orders.
Mara Venn
Already doing it. They think I am routing a second strike team through the eastern blocks.
The response teams turn toward the settlement, backs exposed. Reaper's smartlink settles each target into the reticle, and suppressed shots cut through the rain with disciplined precision.
One leader collapses against a barricade. Others drop across the walkways as the formation breaks, rifles clattering harmlessly against corrugated metal. No targeting lights remain trained on the shack.
Mara Venn
All clear. You neutralized the perimeter before they knew where the fire came from.
The relay mast continues pulsing overhead, its open housing bathing Reaper's mask in red light while the settlement's drones hold formation.
Seize control of the settlement's drones
Quest Complete
Protect the shantytown from the corporate assault
Attribute Upgrade: Agility Great→Superb