Hoi! Welcome to another episode of…

Yeah, never mind all that. Do you remember what happened in the last episode? Do you?  Do you?!
I need to resolve this thing. Right now. Yes, for me it’s the same day. I don’t know when you read it.

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Scenario 009: A Familiar Face

Let’s just for a moment forget that it’s February 7th for Tomorrow and turn the clock back for Tonight. It’s Feb 5th and Tonight is just starting the project to prepare the Scenario for her meeting with Chloe. Rolling 1v5, she scores 1 mark, then we throw 4 more points of intel at this, and wrap this up within one day. We have 3 more points of Chloe-related intel left and might need them soon, to wrap up legwork within one day and catch up on the timeline.

Scenario Generation

Payout: 5 (campaign progression, but also, why don’t we just try to recruit Chloe as R2 contact? It’s 1 point per R1 and 2 points for R2, leaving us with 2 points to assign – how about 2 points of intel about ALOHA to represent Chloe’s connections?)
Legwork: Diplomacy-based; all Tonight needs to do is learn as much as possible about Chloe from Tomorrow. 5v4=3. Damn, I’m short – good thing I can throw some more Chloe Intel at this and buy marks. I’ll spend them all, getting myself a total of 6 and 1 net mark to reduce the Threat Rating.
Threat Rating: 5v5=2. Aha! This raises TR by 1, my net mark reduces it by 1, meaning we end with a 0 here.
Scenario Rating: 5. Default Actor Rating = 2. Which is exactly what I was after with that buying marks on legwork. Quick, easy, basically impossible to fail. At this point I care more about the narrative than the mechanical challenge. We’ll get back to that when we fight dragons. Right now, I need family drama, y’all. This is a matter of getting a fix, not striving for success.

Build Points: 5
Free Modules: 5 + 5 passages
Free Scenes: 5

Now, let’s build this thing nicely. The objective for Tonight is to get to talk to Chloe without any of her ALOHA friends interrupting and messing things up. For this reason, and because I don’t feel like a prolonged abstract conversation, the modules are a physical thing, Actors are Chloe’s ALOHA friends, and Tonight has a very simple objective of talking to Chloe. This makes the Scenario technically a Chase.

Module 1: Control Room, Chloe’s room. Pre-placed Checkpoint Scene with a free R2 Actor (Technical/Scientific), raised to R3 (1/5 BP). Connected to Module 4. The Finale Scene is also placed here, with a free R2 Actor, the same Chloe James.

Module 2: Modifier Module, a room shared by her friends. Pre-placed Shift scene with a free R2 Actor (Investigative/Scientific) and a paid-for R2 Actor (Warfare/Creative) (2/5 BP). If Chloe calls for help, they’ll run to her room. Connected to Module 4.

Module 3: Gateway, the house’s entry hall. Pre-placed Reinforcement scene with standard delay if Chloe calls for it. A free R2 Actor (Warfare/Investigative) and a paid-for R2 Actor (Scientific/Technical) (3/5 BP). Connected to Module 4.

Module 4: Social Space, a kitchen. Pre-placed Idle scene with another R2 Actor (Social/Creative). Passages connecting it with the rest of the Modules.

I’m selling the fifth module for a Build Point.

This leaves me with 3BP and I’m throwing them all as Resistance for the Checkpoint scene, because Threat Rating of 0 provides no points of Resistance there. Here, easy, fast, no need to sweat anything.\

Except for the plot. The plot is what matters right now, y’all.

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Preparations

Yeah, no. Tonight can’t take any gear with her, so she’s coming in hot, with nothing but her skills, attributes, and traits. First Impression and Anarchist will both work against Chloe, at least in the first scene. Somebody working for a Hawai’ian resistance would definitely count as an anarchist. Other than that? Let me just roll, and then write the story. Maybe the complications make the mess out of things.

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Playthrough!

While normally one would start the Scenario at the Gateway, what we have here is a spirit who can literally materialize wherever the hell she wants. I’m assuming there’s no mana barrier in Chloe’s room, because none of the Actors in the Scenario are a mage (yes, I rolled a d4 on every Scientific Actor to check if they qualify as a Magician career – they didn’t). So, honestly, all Tonight needs to do is talk Chloe through the Checkpoint scene, then do the Finale, hoping that: a) they won’t start at low Familiarity, b) scenario complications won’t wreck shit.

Let’s check what we’re dealing with, why don’t we? As Tonight approaches Chloe, she finds out she’s an Aggressive Control Actor at Familiarity 6 (gotta love the weighted rolls of Project Aphelion, with neutral effects being much more probable!). This means actions against Chloe are going to be at basic difficulty of 4 (and even 3, once Anarchist kicks in). The Checkpoint Scene has 3 points of Resistance, by 2 are shaved-off by First Impression.

T1:
Scenario Complications, 5v5=2/5
Tonight: MA Impresonation+1, 5v2=4. MA Diplomacy+1, 5v2=4. MA Investigation+1, 5v6=2. PA TaB. SP 5/5 MP 6/7. MT 10/2.
Chloe: PA Take Cover, 1v5=1. PA Perception, 2v4=1. MA Conditioning, 3v3=3 from MT. MA Investigation, 3v3=1 from MT.  SP 4/6 MP 4/6. MT 6/2.

T2:
Scenario Complications, 5v5=4, 6/5 -> finished, 1 net.
Rolled a 3, reduced to 2 – a negative complication, with Magnitude 6.

A crew belonging to a neutral Faction attempts a Scenario in the same modules against the same Faction, competing for the same Payout. Use that Faction’s Main Focus. Receive 3 plus magnitude Build Points to create them.

WELL SHIT.

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This will be a simple scenario, Anna. Barely have to roll, Anna. You’re here for the plot, Anna.

Yo dawg, we heard you like plot, so we put plot in your plot, so your stated plan of action can definitely not work out the way you’ve envisioned.

Fine. I have 9 Build Points to create the Crew that’s right now going to enter the Scenario for the same Payout as I did – talking to Chloe and recruiting her as a contact. A neutral Faction… A neutral for Chloe and neutral for ALOHA, I suppose – and imagine that, they have Yakuza at Familiarity 5.

Remember them infiltrating ALOHA? This just works.

Yakuza’s main focus in this campaign is scientific, so I suppose we actually do have a group of yakuza folks coming to talk to Chloe. Which means…

Tonight needs to convince Chloe in the Finale before yakuza does. And she doesn’t have much time.

Let’s see. Yakuza Crew needs to spawn at the Gateway, because that’s what it’s for. One interval there and informing Defense about their arrival (scientific approach, not stealth!). Then they need to go through the passage (interval 2) to the social space and talk of the Actor there, that’s going to at least question them (interval 3). They won’t need much time, but by the time they’re done, the two Actors from Module 2 should already get there, stalling them for another interval (interval 4). If everything goes amicably (and there’s no reason it shouldn’t), they’ll need to waste another interval (5), reaching Chloe’s room at the end of that period.

Let’s generate the Crew! There are no free Actors for this, so I’ll pay 3 points to make 3 Actors. Scenario Rating 5 sets their default Actor Rating as 2, so I’ll raise them all to R3, spending 3 more BP. One of them should be the boss, so raise them up to R4, and the two others will get equipped with R1 gear for their main focus.R4 Actor (Scientific/Investigative), R3 Actor (Technical/Investigative), R3 Actor (Warfare/Investigative).

THERE WILL BE SPOILERS IN THE PLAYTHROUGH! SKIP TO THE NEXT LONG ORANGE BREAK IF YOU WANT TO JUST READ THE STORY!!!

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The Finale! 5 points of Resistance (ouch), on top of basic difficulty 3 (Anarchist), no more First Impression, an Aggressive Control R2 Actor, and 5 marks to score within 5 Intervals. Honestly? Not that hard. But just wait for the narrative.

T1:
Tonight: MA Diplomacy+1, 5v7=0. MA Con+1, 5v7=1. MA Stalling Tactics, 5v1=5, forcing Chloe to commit 1 Action to talking to Tonight. PA TaB. SP 5/5 MP 5/7. MT 1/5
Chloe: PA Perception, 2v4=2, noticing yakuza entering the building. MA talking to Tonight. SP 3/4 MP 4/4.

T2:
Tonight: MA sus Stalling Tactics. MA Diplomacy, 5v7=3 for MT. PA Dematerialize. Move. PA Perception+1, 3v7=1, picking up on what’s going on. Move. MA Diplomacy, 5v7=4 for MT. SP 3/5 MP 3/7. MT 8/5.
Chloe: PA Interact with the building’s security system. MA talking to Tonight. SP 2/4 MP 4/4. -> interval ends, Finale is won with 3 net marks.

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Now, Tonight has succeeded in her Finale, and Chloe now is a R2 Contact, with Familiarity 6 +1 for Scenario to her benefit. 2 points of Influence in ALOHA are also scored. But what now? They don’t know what yakuza wants, it might be a threat to Chloe. Should Tonight go back? Should she stay hidden and observe what are they after? Should her and Chloe just cut it, run away before yakuza gets to her? The way the modules are connected, this will be near impossible. Should Tonight impersonate Chloe while she is hiding and talk to Yakuza in her stead…? Talking to Chloe/Tonight will be a Finale for the yakuza folks, so they’ll face 5 points of Resistance and base difficulty of 5… And Tonight would be in Defense…

Yes, let’s do it. Now, the game comes with proper rules for Impersonation, but I don’t care much – we’re talking a spiritual body double of one elven sister pretending to be the other elven sister. As you may have noticed, Chloe and Tomorrow look very much alike. So, first thing to do: create a Scene on the Fly.

Tonight: Impersonation, 5v3=5. Chloe, IT, 2v4=2, 7/5 marks, 2 net.
Scenario: 5v4=2.Threat Rating: 0.

Scene gets no extra Build Points, so it’s just a Finale for the yakuza folks, with no extra problems on our side.

Creating the Scene took 1 interval, so there are still 2 until the yakuza knocks on the door.

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T4:
Tonight: throwing on a hat and some makeup to look like Chloe. Impersonation (comb), 5v1=5 points for MT for anybody trying to realize it’s not Chloe. Stealth (comb with Chloe), 3v5=2 points of Concealment for Chloe.
Chloe throws earbuds at Tonight, to give her directions and help her in the upcoming meeting.

T5:
Tonight: picking up the mannerisms and voice pitch from Chloe. Impersonation (comb), 5v1=5, total 10 points of MT for anybody who tries to disprove the impersonation. No reason for the disprove until Tonight fails at some Con roll or something.
Chloe tries to hide herself more, scoring 1 more point of Concealment.

And that’s when yakuza knocks on the door.

Defense: Tonight + Chloe, R2 Actor (Technical/Scientific). Tonight’s 2 points of Clout from First Impression work as always, so does the 1 point of Clout from Carrer.

Offense: Boss, R4 Actor (Scientific/Investigative). Drive, R3 Actor (Technical/Investigative) + R1 technical gear. Bodyguard, R3 Actor (Warfare/Investigative) + R1 warfare gear. They face the basic difficulty of 5 and 5 points of Resistance in the Finale.

Offense’s Finale task is getting Chloe as a contact. If at any point Defense manages to reduce their progress in MT to 0 or below, Defense switches to Offense and has its own Finale scene (with Resistance and all). If former-Defense succeeds at their MT, they win the Scenario.

Let’s flesh out the Offense, so we know what’s about to go down.

Boss, R4 (Scientific/Investigative) is an octogenarian lady, a tank with a Conservative Defense behavior – which means she will focus on keeping her team safe in a very relaxed way, not scoring marks towards MT unless she’s forced by another Actor.

Driver, R3 (Technical/Investigative) is a middle-aged man, a debuffer with a Conservative Offense behavior – focused on depleting pools of the opposition.

Bodyguard, R3 (Warfare/Investigative) is a twenty-something woman, a marker with a Balanced Defense behavior – keeping the rest safe, but also scoring marks for the main team.

And now, let’s get this party on the road!

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The Finale, revisited

	Initiative	Behavior	Actions	SP	MP	MT
Tonight	5	N/A	2 PA, 3 MA	5/5	7/7	N/A
Boss	4	Con Def	2 PA, 2 MA	8/8	8/8	0/5
Driver	3	Con Off	2 PA, 2 MA	6/6	6/6	0/5
Bodyguard	3	Bal Def	2 PA, 2 MA	6/6	6/6	0/5
Chloe	2	N/A	1 PA, 1 MA	4/4	4/4	NA

I’ll be keeping track of stuff in this table as I go and save myself some of the normal notation. Just trust me on that.

T1:
The initiative order: Tonight, Boss, Driver, Bodyguard, Chloe. As ANY mark by Tonight would automatically mean that Offense’s Finale is failed, it forces Offense to sell off their Actions (1 each) for +3 initiative, so they can move first.
Boss: MA Sciences, 4v2=4 points of Resistance to attacks against Bodyguard. PA (comb) TaB.
Driver: MA Negotiation, 1v5=1 MP dmg to Tonight. PA (comb) TaB.
Bodyguard: PA Perception, 2v4=1, -1 Concealment point for Chloe (2 left). MA (comb) Diplomacy, 1v8=1 towards MT.
Tonight: 2 MA Stand Out AAC (Impersonation+1), 5v2=4, all Offense Actors must spend 2 Actions next interval to observe Tonight. MA Negotiation+1, 5v3=4, equal or higher than Boss’s Resolve  -> suggest moving the conversation to the Module 4: Social Space, dragging them away from Chloe. PA Interact: close door. Move. PA TaB.
Chloe: MA Leadership, 1v2=1, 1 point of Clout for Tonight on Conning the enemy. PA Stealth, 1v5=0. 1 point of Concealment left.
Offense MT: 1/5

T2:
All Actors of the Offense have to forfeit 2 actions to watch Tonight and her shenanigans. They’d need to drop one more to move before Tonight, but then, they’d be reduced to 1 per Actor, so they will not do that. But if Tomorrow moves before them, she’ll need to sustain Stand Out cards, so it’s a better choice for her to *sell* her 3 points of initiative for an extra action and go *after* them, once the effect of the cards is already applied.
Boss: 1 PA and 1 MA forfeited, Move to Module 4. MA sus Resistance for Bodyguard. PA TaB.
Driver: 1 PA and 1 MA forfeited, Move to Module 4. MA Negotiation, 1v5=1 MP dmg to Tonight. PA TaB.
Bodyguard: 1 PA and 1 MA forfeited, Move to Module 4. MA Diplomacy, 1v9=0 towards MT
Tonight: 2 MA (comb) Stand Out AAC (Impersonation), 5v2=5, all Offense Actors must spend 2 Actions next interval to observe Tonight. MA Con+1, 5v2=5 marks towards MT, changing Offenses 1/5 into -4/5, meaning: 4/5 for the brand-new Defense MT! MA Diplomacy+1, 5v4=5 towards MT. MT 9/5.
Chloe: Hiding, I guess.

End of interval. Defense MT: 9/5, success with 4 net marks.

Damn. As much as I don’t care about strategy much, tactics are my thing. Have you see those Stand Out cards? When everything you have is a hammer, you just need to imagine every problem as a nail, then get it done.

Also, action control is, as always, a great equalizer when faced with overwhelming enemy dice pools. Selling initiative for actions (and vice-versa) is a very useful little thing.

Just think about it: if Tomorrow was in place of Tonight, she’d have little chance in this encounter – without action control, she’d be forced to lie her way through (which would be much harder without the Impersonation skill) or sneak away, changing herself and Chloe into animals, then sneaking past yakuza and running away. A completely different approach, but still with a chance of success. One day, I’ll put both PCs in a Scenario and then throw *everything* at them. And watch them suffer.

Nah, I just like setting up challenges, then finding smart ways of succeeding.

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February 7th, 2056

Nobody will ever understand it. The unending space. Three dimensions stretching all around her, stopped by nothing at all. No horizon, no ground, just clear, crystal air, cold and refreshing. The wind, raising her up, pushing her down, dancing around her in waves and whirlpools as she glides through the absolute, final vastness. The direction doesn’t matter – there’s nothing but air everywhere she goes. Freedom.

Nobody will ever understand. Maybe Steven – but the elemental was a mute construct of primal air forced into submission, bound, braided, chained. Tonight was something different. She might have been molded into the shape of her summoner, but she has joined the pact on her own volition. She was not a slave. She was barely an employee. A sister-for-hire, maybe.

And the elemental plane of air was her home. It was good to be home, even for a moment.

Only for a moment.

The spirit comes to a halt mid-air, then takes a measured step forward.

The room looks exactly as Tomorrow described it: small, cluttered, messy. Tangles of wires with a completely unknown purpose are strewn over the floor, walls, and even the ceiling. A small dirty window lets a bit of light inside – and a lot of heat, if the woman sitting in front of the terminal can be used as a gauge. Long hair, so light they’re almost white, are tied in a messy, sweaty bun, and the green short-sleeved shirt is open, showing pale, unhealthily thin body and a thin strip of a sport bra. The face is hauntingly familiar, though, and there is zero chance of a mistake.

Tonight puts on her most friendly smile and materializes near the door.

‘Do not be afraid,’ she starts, but before she manages to go any further, her host swirls on her desk chair, putting the backrest between herself and the visitor. There’s little grace in the movement – but a lot of fear. ‘No, seriously, I mean it, Chloe. Chill. I got a message for you.’

That earns her a careful look from behind the black backrest. From the scratches on the metal, Tonight figures it would actually provide some cover from a firefight. Must less from a spirit.

‘From whom?’ asks Chloe, focusing her eyes on the material world. A second later, her eyes widen in surprise. ‘Holy shit. Sarah? What are you doing here? How did you get here?’ Chloe unplugs the cable from her datajack and drops it loose. Stunned, she turns the chair back.

‘Hi, Chloe,’ says Tonight. ‘Bad news and good news. I’m not Sarah, I just look like her. Your sister got rather handy with spirits lately. But she did send me here to check on you. I was told to tell you something about all glory to the hypnotoad. I assume it’s a reference you recognize.’

Chloe nods, listening to Tonight’s speech. She shuffles her feet and kicks some cables under her desk. ‘Oh, yeah. Yeah. Of course. That makes perfect sense. So, uhm… what’s your name?’

‘You can call me Tonight.’ With a wink, Tonight sits down on Chloe’s bed.

‘I have a girlfriend, thanks.’ The answer seems more an instinct than a conscious thought – only confirmed the moment Chloe’s brain catches up with her mouth. ‘I mean, nice to meet you. So, where’s my sister? Is she okay?’

‘At this moment exactly?’ Tonight follows her mental link. ‘Safe, slightly annoyed. So probably in Shoalwater, talking to Marti Vann. Putting all her ducks in a row, as she’d phrase it.’

‘Shoalwater?’ Chloe bites her lip. ‘Wait, is Fayette…? Never mind. Tell me everything. Is it safe back there?’

Tonight shrugs. ‘Is it safe here?’

‘Oh. I understand.’ Chloe deflates a bit, the hopeful smile leaving her face. ‘No, it’s not. But they helped me when I needed them, so it made sense to return the favor.’

‘Well, you don’t have to. Your sister has a plan to… Can you hear that?’

A faint, repeated knocking on the front door echoes through the small house, and there’s a sound of voices in the entry hall. Tonight scowls.

‘Give me a sec, I’ll check it out.’ Before Chloe has a chance to react, the dematerializes and pushes her face through the wall. It only takes a couple seconds to pick up on the deal of the three Japanese politely asking to see Chloe. ‘Yakuza is here to talk to you,’ she explains a moment later to a rather startled elf. ‘I take it they don’t have an audience booked?’

‘What? Why? What kind of Freaky Friday is it?’

‘It’s Sunday, actually. And I don’t know. They’re armed but not forcing their way inside. Do you want to talk to them?’

‘About what? No, wait.’ Chloe drags a hand across her sweaty face, smearing the heavy eye makeup. ‘No, I don’t want to talk to a damn yakuza, are you crazy?’ she adds in a feverish whisper. ‘I have nothing to do with them. I have barely anything to do with the resistance. I just wanna go home and not be hunted for a while, okay?’

‘Gotcha, babe.’ Tonight looks over the elf, taking in all the differences. ‘I need a hat and a makeup bag. And about half a liter of sweat.’

Chloe picks up immediately. ‘Oh. Yeah, sure. Thanks. Uhm…’ She looks at herself and takes off her shirt, handing it to the spirit. ‘I got a baseball hat in there… Yeah, there. Catch the eyeshadow, it will do the job well enough. And put on my headphones, so we’ll stay in touch. I’ll…’ Chloe turns around and looks for a place to hide. The tiny room doesn’t provide many options, so she sighs and hides behind the door. ‘Don’t let them come in here.’

‘No worries, little sis. We got you.’ With a fresh coat of slate-grey eyeshadow and her hair hidden, the spirit looks almost exactly like Chloe. The green shirt on a black jumpsuit looks a bit too warm, but it provides the olfactory element of a living metahuman in a humid hotness of Hawaii. ‘Do you want anything from them? Anything they can offer that you want to take?’

‘Unless they offer to shut down this crazy mage that’s after us, there’s nothing for us to talk about.’

Tonight wants to answer, but knocking on the door stops her. She sends deadly pale Chloe a reassuring grin, then copies her anxious expression perfectly. ‘Yes?’ she asks opening the door and taking a measure of the opposition. A young woman in a jumpsuit similar to hers, a gun holstered on her hip. An older man in well-tailored but not expensive suit. An old, round woman with a gentle face and intelligent eyes. A perfect audience. ‘Hello? Can I help you with anything?’

The old woman launches an explanation of their business, the research lab they’re running and how much an addition of Chloe would help them, between her talent for astronomy and technical skills. They have mutual friends that spoke so highly about her… It’s a paid position, of course, adds the man. Temporary for now, but with a chance for long-term employment. Better than sitting in the basement, they suppose. After ALOHA got so badly hurt in the latest counter-coup and after losing Na Kama’aina’s support, the resistance is basically done, and there’s no reason for her to go down with them.

Tonight listens to the explanation, expertly guiding the group away from Chloe’s room, playing up her hesitation and loyalty to the cause, putting on a beautiful show of competence – and distrust. All it takes is a whispered Get rid of them, please in her earbuds to put an end to the conversation. Tonight dances with them for a while, letting them put their best arguments forward to recruit the young astronomer – and suddenly they’re on the other side of the door, with a vague, non-binding promise that she’ll call them back, there’s just something she needs to do for the resistance, but thank you so much for the offer, she considers herself highly flattered…

Then it’s just a short conversation with Chloe’s friends, to play the utter confusion after the yakuza visit. None of the people here seem to read to deeply into this – if anything, they’re broken. Beaten. Despondent. Tonight just wishes they didn’t have such a giant pile of explosives in every corner.

Soon she’s back in Chloe’s room, giving back the shirt to its owner. Chloe picks it up in two fingers and with a faint expression of disgust, tosses it into a corner and reaches for a fresh one from the wardrobe. ‘Sorry. This place is a mess. A bit demotivating when it comes to cleaning up. And cleaning myself up.’

‘Don’t worry, sis. We got a plan to get you out from here.’ The spirit hovers mid-air, her legs crossed and pretense of metahumanity dropped. ‘Our allies have some business here and agreed to move a person with their next transport to the mainland. This person happens to be you.’

‘Just like that?’ Chloe looks dubious. ‘I can’t use my documents, they’re looking for me. I got no legal way of traveling.’

‘Oh, you sweet child.’ Tonight chuckles. ‘Of course we’re not going the legal route. Have you ever met your sister? She isn’t going to risk Aztechnology even getting a sniff of your scent.’

‘It’s not Aztech that’s after us, it’s just Fayette’s father. But… Who are those allies then? What’s the plan?’

‘Your sister is making a deal with Cutters. They smuggle weapons, mostly. We don’t have the details hammered out yet, because…’

‘Cutters?’ interrupts Chloe. ‘You mean the cartel with a base in the old airfield?’

The spirit ponders the question for a while. ‘Possibly,’ she allows. ‘I didn’t get that much into their business. Your sister would know.’

‘Yeah…’ Chloe shuffles in her place. ‘So about them… You know we had a revolution here lately? ALOHA came out decimated from it… No, worse than that. The Cutters did their part delivering the weaponry to the counterrevolution. They’re the enemy of the state, as far as we…’ she checks herself and takes a deep breath. ‘As far as ALOHA is concerned. And their base is about to be blown up.’

‘When?’

Chloe shrugs. ‘When the opportunity presents itself. The preparations are already underway. Tomorrow? A day after? I don’t know. It’s not like we have anybody at the head of the resistance. Not anymore.’

‘Well, shit. I need to talk to your sister. No, screw your sister. I need to talk to Wheeler.’ The spirit floats to the ground and smiles. ‘It was a real pleasure meeting you, Chloe. We’ll talk soon, I’ll pop in when I have some news. You got any safe contact line? I imagine you’d like to talk to your sister or something. It’s a thing you people do.’

‘We have a cold relay, let me give you the code…’ Chloe reaches for her commlink, then stops and looks at the spirit. ‘You got no ‘link, do you?’

‘Never needed one. Don’t worry about it, I’ll be in touch soon. See you, Chloe.’

‘Hey, Tonight, wait.’ The elf looks up. ‘Thank you. For the help. And for everything. Can you please pass a message to Sarah?’

‘Sure, sis.’

‘She’s late.’

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Wrap-up

Oy vey.

There we go, we have the data we we’re after, we met Chloe, we got to dispose of yakuza goons, gathered 5 points of Payout. We get to add +5 to campaign progression (47!), +5 to Tonight’s Rep (earning us another point of general Faction influence), +3 to the counter of conned Actors (yakuza squad) and +1 to the impersonation counter (Chloe). Chloe is now a R2 contact (technical/scientific) with Familiarity of 7 (rolled 6, +1 for Scenario to her benefit). Also, 2 points of Intel to be used against ALOHA – may be incredibly useful for getting the Cutters’ base not blown up.

Rolled a 4 for Scenario Consequences, and 4 net marks bring it up to 8 – a nice, little, positive consequence of magnitude 5.

A Contact gives the player Faction a freebie. Generate a Scenario furthering the Campaign Goals with Payout equal to magnitude.

Oh look, a ready-made scenario – I won’t have to waste the time on the generation project. Noice.

For the sake of organization, skill learning progress for Tonight:
Impersonation +2, Diplomacy +3, Investigation +1, Con +2, Perception +1, Negotiation +1

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Coming Up

In the next episode, I need to make a choice: do I throw everything I have to stop the ALOHA hostile move against the Cutters or do I don’t care about the syndicate at all and just find a different way of getting Chloe out of Hawaii? I don’t know yet what to do, but I’ll figure it out.