Allen1

So, you will be taking a Ford-Mazda Thunderbird IV as your sole extra vehicle, and want the Armadillo as the provided RV.  That is fine.  Yes, the RV is for the security Team, BUT, the Universal Records driver of that vehicle gets one of the beds leaving only one bed for the entire security Team.  This will probably work, since there is only a couple of instances where you might not have a hotel for the night, and the Ford-Mazda Thunderbird has a large back seat.

As amusing as your Mad Max style suggestions are for a specialized heavy truck with a ram (whether remote controlled or not).  There is no time to build such a thing and the tour starts in New York City, and no way to get it from Wells, NV to NYC in time.  Also, neither Whyte Hat nor Universal Records will pick up the cost.  Thanks for posting the idea though.  It definitely put a smile on my face!

 

Then I will wait of Cossack's decision on what RV to rent.  I also need a decision on which two vehicles between the GAZ/LADA Cossack with a range of 500km, the Spinelli Twin Cab with a 300km range, or a Nissan Ford Fanmaster, you want.

The security force to be provided by Whyte Hat will consist of:

• 8-Ball, the security chief
• Cossack, chief driver
• J.J. Hunter, security (with Authority to arrest criminals within 5 miles of any US Highway or Interstate) 
• (Eddy's new Net Runner, which he and are are working on).

It is a small, but mighty group.  Also, realize that you will have Rusty with you, who is an experienced ex-military soldier;  Usman, who is very experienced in combat especially against road bandits; and an unnamed driver, who also is trained to deal with road bandits.  Donny Clark, Kessy Ado and Cassie Banes from the band all grew up in a Night City combat zone and are decent fighters in a pinch.  Celestine Antonescu, the lead singer, rocker & Cossack's girlfriend, is trained to fight with her (fair) weapons skills and an Arasaka Te rating of 7!  Then there is Suzy, who is exceptionally dangerous at all ranges and with all weapons.  

This is what you have, so make the best of it.  

Oh yes, there will be local security at all the tour events, but their quality will probably vary wildly, as you have experienced before on the two other tors you have done.

As to 8-Ball's suggestion of everyone making sure they have a sleep inducer, YES!  They are inexpensive, a little addictive (but everyone knows how to avoid that problem) and a 'must have' piece of gear for an Edgerunner Team.

Large scale bandit attacks east of the Mississippi River are very rare especially on the roads you will be traveling.  In the State of Mississippi your traveling security will be enhance by a group of heavily armed State Police.  Just as a note, Universal Records arranged this since it will keep that corrupt police force from arresting you, so don't be assholes to them.  Those cops are there not only to protect you, but to keep you from 'infecting' their citizens with your 'Godless music and ideas'.

There are larger bandit attacks on the highways west of the Mississippi, which is why Universal Records is willing to rent you an armed Armadillo RV for that leg of the trip.  This will replace whatever RV you left in Atlanta.

In addition, I am still looking for IPs for J.J. Hunter and Tai.  I know, nag, nag, nag.

            

Let me be clear about what vehicles Universal Records will rent and how may drivers they will provide for the tour.  There is the tour bus for the band with driver; the equipment truck with driver; and the RV with driver.  The RV can be the Drifter (sleeps 3), the Imperial Metro Agricultural Nomad (sleeps 2), or an (unarmed) Armadillo (sleeps 2).  It is your choice.  Since the tour will be dropping off these rental vehicles in Atlanta to take the Mag-Lev to Saint Louis, you will be picking up new vehicles there.  At that point they will allow an armed Armadillo to be rented as a substitute for the trip out west.

In regards to the the GAZ/LADA Cossack with a range of 500km, the Spinelli Twin Cab with a 300km range, or a Nissan Ford Fanmaster with a 500km range.  The choice is yours.  Yes, the Fanmaster isn't going to ram anything, but it can go over water and rough terrain.  If you picked that, then the other vehicles would have to do any ramming.  The choice is yours and must be a player decision.  Rue has a combined total of 13 on Drive and J.J. Hunter is a 14 on Drive.  Rue is also chipped for Pilot: Hovercraft.  8-Ball is a better with a 17 total on Drive.  All of these numbers are without smart links and before any maneuver bonuses or minuses.

As to Cossack get a Bowie "Not a Knife" knife with appropriate under jacket, back sheath.  Sure, why not.  Treat it as a Combat Knife with a WA of 0.  The cost is €90 (€70 for the knife & €20 for the back sheath).   

I am still looking for IPs from J.J. Hunter and Tai.  

    

Easy response here:

8-Ball's suggestions:

• Yes, buying Militech ranged Tasers for the security people is a go.  The company will pay for them.  Also, thi is in keeping with Whyte Hat's buying of Militech products.  The company will not sanction/ buy Techtronica BlackZap taser gloves for use.  There have been unfortunate accidents where wearers have grabbed things or people not meaning to hurt them, but zapping them anyway.  Also, if you are wearing it and move such a hand in what could be construed as a threat, angry police have shot and/or arrested the person.  In most locations they are legal, but definitely NOT in the Cotton Kingdoms.  Use at your own risk.  
• Handgun is personal choice, of course, but noting over 12mm or .454 (4d6+3).
• How many grenades you can carry discreetly is dependent on what you are wearing.  
• Combat knives and mono knives are kind of a grey area especially in Dixie.  It will depend on the particular cop.  Everywhere else they are fine. 
• Operatives are responsible for their own armored clothes.  Even in Dixie, stylish and expensive armored clothes won't get you in trouble.  Whyte Hat will provide a nylon helmet for quick encounters.  Again this is only for security personnel. 
• Militech Mk IVs or Dragons may be drawn from the armory.
• Whyte Hat will provide EMA-1 Armor or Metal Gear if you prefer

Vehicles:

• Two escort vehicles would be acceptable, but nothing too pricey.  Cossack may have something to say about which types. 

Drones:

• Yes, the suggestion of the Oracle was for urban use, while the Bumblebee was for the open road.  One of each is available.  On the first tour you did, Suzy and Samantha used two Bumblebees since one didn't have the charge to last all day.  However, the company can only spare one of these at present with their increased security demands on the Idaho border. 

What I will need from each character is an equipment, weapons and clothing list of what you are bringing with you.  Also, how you are carrying it all.

 

Well, 8-Ball does 'know' the band, so yes, they can be a handful.  Celestine is a Rockergirl so cooperation with legal authorities isn't her strong point.  Cossack will be with her so she will inclined to listen to him, although he often suffers from the same disdain of authority.  Donny Clark (guitarist), Kessy Ado (drummer) and Cassie Banes (bassist) are all children of the Night City Combat Zone from the same neighborhood as Mitzi, Suzy and Jake Kitagawa.  So, they all have a wide rebellious streak.  Fortunately, 8-Ball, Cossack and Rue have earned the band's respect and friendship for their actions over the years, so they will at least listen.  Of course, then there is Suzy, who can be a complete 'wildcard'.  Still, this tour is very important to her, so you can generally expect she will behave herself.

One of the curious facts about the Cyberpunk United States of America are the Regional Committees, which do have the right to reject certain Corporate licenses and regulations.  (FYI, see Home of the Brave for more information.)  Let me briefly go over who generally honors what agreements.  When riding on the MagLev all weapons must be checked and sealed in the baggage compartment.  Any heavy combat armor isn't allowed to be worn.  On the bright side, there hasn't been an issue of serious violence n the MagLev in years since security is so tight.  These same weapons restrictions also apply on airlines, passenger vessels and airships.  New York has very strict weapons and armor restrictions, but your Corporate licenses are valid here.  However, the walled Grammercy Park neighborhood where you will be staying has its own rules (and heavily armed security).  Basically, there is NO open carry and they frown on (& have been known to gun down w/heavy weapons) anyone walking around is heavy combat style armor.  You might want to introduce yourselves when you get there.

Generally speaking the tour security should have no issues with their weapons or licensing until they reach the areas under the authority of the Dixie Regional Committee (the Cotton Kingdoms).  There your corporate permits aren't worth much.  During your passage through Mississippi, the State Police have agreed to 'hold' your weapons as you travel through their state.  Security shouldn't be a problem since Universal Records is paying the state to provide an armed police escort as you cross their state.  You will be in Louisiana during Mardi Gras, when generally law enforcement is very, very lax.  The police only respond to serious outbreaks of violence.  This usually means major riots, but can also mean walking around in heavy armor and/or automatic weapons.  Police snipers have been known to shoot first and arrest the corpse later (or feed it to the local alligators).  Any weapons that were being held by the Mississippi State Police will be returned at the Louisiana border and can be kept in the vehicles (parked outside of town & under guard) under a 'customs seal'.  Florida and Georgia are a bit of an exception to Dixie's draconian regulations.  If you are on an Interstate Highway, guarding your charges then you will not be bothered by the police.  In Florida this is because there just isn't many Florida State Police, and in Georgia, because the governor is trying to appear more 'liberal' and wants corporations to do business there.  From Atlanta you will ride the MagLev to Saint Louis.  This means that the vehicles you were using will be left in Atlanta.  After all they are just rentals.  In Saint Louis, the tour will get a fresh set of rental vehicles.  From then on, your corporate licenses are in full effect until the end of the tour.  Only one character has an exception to even the Cotton Kingdom's regulations.  That would be J.J. Hunter, since she is still a reserve U.S. Marshall.  However, this exception usually means she can just continue to carry her service handgun. 

The wearing of heavy combat style armor is frowned upon in cities and it is NOT the image that Universal Records wants to show.  It can be kept packed away, because you never know when you will need it, especially in the crossing from Saint Louis to Los Angeles.  The Viper suits will NOT be issued for this job as they are needed in Nevada.  The EMA-1 armor suits can be brought, but it is suggested that they be left in Memphis and shipped to Saint Louis, MO to be picked up on arrival on the MagLev from Atlanta.    Police in the Cotton Kingdoms have been known to confiscate expensive high tech gear 'for the public good'; meaning that they don't have the budget to buy them, so they'll take yours.  8-Ball's suggestions to carry ranged tasers is a good choice, everywhere except in the Dixie Region where they are forbidden, but can be sealed up at the Mississippi border and transported.  This is the same for non-lethal grenades (smoke, scatter, flash-bangs etc).  Again, during Mardi Gras, the local police won't be upset about someone carrying a hidden taser.  Whyte Hat has a long range Bell "Bumblebee" Rotorcraft  and a smaller Oracle drone available for you to use.  Again, Florida and Georgia aren't as 'anal' about these things.  I should mention that Alabama is the worst of the Cotton Kingdoms, which is a major reason that the tour isn't going to drive across that state.  The vehicles and gear are going to make that drive, but again with a hired Alabama State Patrol escort.  Universal Records isn't taking chances with the band personnel since the Alabama governor, Braxton Lowndes, has called the Cyber Revolutionaries "a despicable threat to the peace and security of the country; deserving of being locked up until hell freezes over!"

The governor has called Celestine: "A foreign plague that should be taken out beyond the twelve mile limit (US territorial waters) and thrown over the side into the sea"; and Suzy as "A murderous slut that should be hanged and her corpse left to rot in the hot sun."

Needless to say, Governor Lowndes is NOT a fan of the band.  Universal Records thinks he is just doing political posturing for his supporters, but best not to take the chance.  Alabama is the most repressive of all the Dixie Regional states.

Now as to vehicles for the tour, Universal Records is providing a truck to haul the band's and people's gear and a tour bus for the band along with drivers for them both.  They can also rent a New American Drifter RV for the Team and provide a driver, who will also serve as a roadie for the band.  The tour manager will be your old friend, Nancy Chang.  Also, Usaman Katusi will be the truck driver and Rusty Walker will be the sound engineer and drive the tour bus.  The record company is open to suggests for other vehicles if it is within their budget.

I hope this answers some of the questions you have posed.

     

     

To let people begin their planning, I have worked out the Tour schedule for the Cyber Revolutionaries Tour.  While some are larger venues (NO stadium shows though), most are at famous Cyberpunk clubs.  They will be playing songs off their new EP disc that they have just recorded.  Except where noted, travel between dates will be done by tour bus and truck with whatever security vehicles are brought.  It should be noted that weapons laws can be different in the various Regions (as in Regional Committees) especially in the Cotton Kingdoms (Dixie).

 

Sunday, January 10, 2077:  Tour personnel take MagLev from Night City to Washington, DC

Monday, January 11, 2077:  Mag Lev arrives in Washington, DC, in the afternoon and then they take short flight to NYC followed by an air taxi to Grammercy Park Hotel in the walled Grammercy Park neighborhood which is inside the Manhattan walled Combat Zone. 

Tuesday, January 12, 2077:  Fun in NYC, while the band does its final rehearsals for the tour

Wednesday, January 13, 2077:  Fun in NYC, while the band does its final rehearsals for the tour

Thursday, January 14, 2077:  Fun in NYC, while the band does its final rehearsals for the tour

Friday, January 15, 2077:  1st Show in NYC at the Skeleton Coast (club).  Cyber Revolutionaries are headlining the show.

Saturday, January 16, 2077:  2nd Show in NYC Skeleton Coast (club).  Cyber Revolutionaries are headlining the show.

Sunday, January 17, 2077:  Drive from NYC to Philadelphia, PA

Monday, January 18, 2077:  Show in Philadelphia, PA

Tuesday, January 19, 2077:  Drive from Philadelphia to Harrisburg, PA

Wednesday, January 20, 2077:  Show in Harrisburg, PA

Thursday, January 21, 2077:  Drive from Harrisburg, PA to Cleveland, OH

Friday, January 22, 2077:  Show at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH

Saturday, January 23, 2077:  Attend Jack Entropy’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH. 

Sunday, January 24, 2077:  Drive from Cleveland, OH to Detroit, MI

Monday, January 25, 2077:  Rest Day in Detroit

Tuesday, January 26, 2077:  1st  Show in Detroit, MI

Wednesday, January 27, 2077:  2nd Show in Detroit, MI

Thursday, January 28, 2077:  Dive from Detroit, MI to Columbus, OH

Friday, January 29, 2077:  1st  Show in Columbus, Ohio

Saturday, January 30, 2077:  2nd Show in Columbus,  Ohio.

Sunday, January 31, 2077:  Rest Day

Monday, February 1, 2077:  Drive from Columbus to Cincinnati,  Ohio

Tuesday, February 2, 2077:  1st Show in Cincinnati,  Ohio.

Wednesday, February 3, 2077:  2nd Show in Cincinnati, Ohio

Thursday, February 4, 2077:  River Steamer trip & show aboard the American Queen II from Cincinnati, Ohio to Louisville KY.  Vehicles will go by road.

Friday, February 5, 2077:  Show in Louisville, KY and a drive to Lexington, KY after the show

Saturday, February 6, 2077:  Show in Lexington, KY

Sunday, February 7, 2077:  Rest Day

Monday, February 8, 2077:  Drive from  Lexington, KY to Knoxville, TN

Tuesday, February 9, 2077:  Show at club in Knoxville TN

Wednesday, February 10, 2077:  Drive from Knoxville to Nashville, TN

Thursday, February 11, 2077:  Spend day in Nashville seeing the sights.

Friday, February 12, 2077:  1st Major Show in Nashville

Saturday, February 13, 2077:  2nd Major show in Nashville

Sunday, February 14, 2077:  Travel from Nashville to Memphis, TN

Monday, February 15, 2077:  Show at big club in Memphis.  

Tuesday, February 16, 2077:  Tour leaves Memphis for trip across Mississippi to New Orleans.  Universal Records has employed the Mississippi State Police to escort the tour across the state to make sure they suffer no harassment for local authorities. Band takes enforced rest stop in Jackson, Mississippi

Wednesday, February 17, 2077:  Tour leaves Jackson, MS and arrives in New Orleans; vehicles remain outside of city and band is given an old barge to live on tied up at Antoine’s, another famous Cyberpunk Club and where they will play.

Thursday, February 18, 2077:  Mardi Gras begins and the band has its 1st Show at Antoine’s. 

Friday, February 19, 2077:  2nd Show at Antoine’s  

Saturday, February 20, 2077:  3rd Show at Antoine’s; although this is their last show in New Orleans, they can stay on barge until Fat Tuesday when they depart for Miami.

Sunday, February 21, 2077:  Fun at Mardi Gras!

Monday, February 22, 2077:  More fun at Mardi Gras!  Although, some band members take flight to visit Havana, Cuba in morning to visit family

Tuesday, February 23, 2077:  Fat Tuesday with even more fun at Mardi Gras!  Team departs for Miami via Zeppelin at 11 pm, which is a 14 hour trip;  however, some staff drive gear by road.

Wednesday, February 24, 2077:  Zeppelin arrives in Miami.  Time for fun on the beach!

Thursday, February 25, 2077:  Band people in Havana, Cuba fly to Miami in morning.  That evening the Band has a show at the Del Sol (club) in Miami.

Friday, February 26, 2077:  Drive from Miami to Tallahassee, FL

Saturday, February 27, 2077:  Show in Tallahassee, FL

Sunday, February 28, 2077:  Drive from Tallahassee, FL to Atlanta, GA

Monday, March 1, 2077:  Show in Atlanta, GA

Tuesday, March 2, 2077:  MagLev trip to Saint Louis, MO from Atlanta, GA

Wednesday, March 3, 2077:  Scheduled show in Saint Louis, MO

Thursday, March 4, 2077:  Drive from St. Louis, MO to Kansas City, MO with new vehicles

Friday, March 5, 2077:  Show in Kansas City, MO; then drive to Topeka, KS

Saturday, March 6, 2077:  Show in Topeka, KS

Sunday, March 7, 2077:  Drive to Denver, CO

Monday, March 8, 2077:  Rest Day

Tuesday, March 9, 2077:  Show in Denver, CO

Wednesday, March 10, 2077:  Drive to Las Vegas, NV

Thursday, March 11, 2077:  Show in Las Vegas & drive to Los Angeles that night

Friday, March 12, 2077:  Show in LA at Smash Club and on to Night City; probably by AV

Saturday, March 13, 2077:  Scheduled show in Night City & end of Tour

What are listed as Rest Days are also in case there are delays on the road that puts the tour behind schedule.  This is a preliminary schedule and can be subject to change.  Shoot me any questions you have about it.   

 

 

Before I begin filling in the details for our next segment of the campaign (the Cyber Revolutionaries National Tour), I just wanted to tell everyone that, in my opinion, this last episode saw the Team act like a finely honed machine in its taking of the Western Star Hotel and subsequent ambush of the Idaho Fascist relief column.  This is especially gratifying since the opening shot by the Team was a miss-fire of the ACPA Bazooka.  No one was thrown off by this and proceeded with your carefully crafted plan.  

Your ~200 or so prisoners were with you for a couple of weeks as their fate was decided.  These men did help clean up the debris from the fighting in Jackpot and you had no escapes.  None were found to be wanted men, except in Idaho, of course.  This is not to say that many are people of high moral character, but they are, for the most part, "just plain folks".  Idaho wanted them turned over for 'legal processing', but that seemed to be code for execution.  The Federal government didn't want them and neither did Nevada.  When Mitzi sent Nevada a bill for their care and food, the state refused to pay it.  She was told, "They are your problem."

In response, Mitzi provided them all with civilian clothing, €200 apiece and bused them secretly to cities in western Nevada (Las Vegas, Reno and Carson City).  The State of Nevada wasn't happy about this, but there is little they can do about it.

The national and world press are all over the story of the end of the Idaho Civil War.  The government of Idaho is being faulted for hiring badly disciplined penal troops who committed numerous atrocities many of which were caught on video. There are ongoing investigations, but the worst penal unit was sent after the tiny remnants of Wiking Division that fled to Jackpot and surrendered to Whyte Hat.  This penal unit fired on Jackpot  when their demand for the prisoners to be turned over to them was refused, and Whyte Hat promptly wiped the penal troops out.  It has been questioned whether Idaho was hoping this might happen and rid them of the responsibility of dealing with these penal troops.

As far as media coverage of Whyte Hat's actions in this situation goes, they have been lauded for their actions in liberating Jackpot with minimal civilian casualties and destruction.  Both 8-Ball, for leading the capture of the Western Hotel, and Cossack, for shooting down a Idaho State Air Guard jet that was attacking Jackpot in Nevada, got prominent mentions.  Mitzi also came out very well in the media coverage with the exception of Helen Jamieson of WNS – World News Service, who seems to have it out for Mitzi.  Other WNS news people also support Whyte Hat.  All the other networks praise Whyte Hat for its destruction of the Schwarze Jäger and decimating the penal unit that came to the border and fired on Jackpot. 

The Team gets a well deserved rest over Christmas and New Years.  Wells celebrates the third anniversary of the arrival of Whyte Hat and their repulse of the bandit attack that was meant to wipe out the town.  The Cyber Revolutionaries are all at Rancho Mitzi as they prepare for their National Tour.  Recording equipment is brought in and they complete their latest EP music disk which the band will be promoting on the tour.  Even Billy Chou, the band's original keyboardist, who on vacation from the Berklee College of Music, is there.  All is well as the campaign enters the year 2077.

      

Just a general comment on last Saturday's session here.  It went really well despite the misfire of Tai's ACPA Bazooka.  The Schwarze Jäger in the hotel are now aware of the danger they are in and are preparing to fight back.  Of course, this is to be expected.  Out on the road leading to the main camp of these vile soldiers(?), the Ranger Platoon is cutting the returning column to pieces (hopefully) and their camp in the gulch along the Shoshone Creek is getting pounded by your 82mm mortars, 155mm artillery along with missiles and bombs from your AVX-9C Viper.

As we discussed, our next Episode (#68) will be this coming Saturday, January 21st.  The two following weeks I have birthday parties for two of my granddaughters, so I would like to schedule Episode 69 for Saturday, February 11th and Episode 70 for the following week, Saturday, February 18th.  After that I would like to resume our normal every two week schedule starting March 4th.  How does that work for everyone?

BTW, excellent idea of flash banging the corridor on the 3rd floor!  That assault Team (Tai, Suzy and J.J. Hunter) will have Suzy fire into the wall in front of her to clear anyone there; Tai will use his 12.7mm to destroy the door in front of him; this will allow J.J. Hunter to roll a flash bang grenade into the corridor to clear any possible ambush. 

Let me know if this schedule is good for everyone.

 

First of all, remember this "break" is just that we ran out of time with the session, so we immediately begin using the already rolled turn (or rather round) order.

In regard to the damage to your suits of Viper armor, you are only aware of the condition of yours.  Still, you know that J.J., Suzy, Jamal and Crusher's suits are undamaged.  Also, you know yours is the most damaged with your head having 27 SP out of 30 SP left, 29 SP out of 30 SP in the torso, 28 SP out of 30 SP in the left leg and in the RL 27 SP out of 30 SP with 5 SDP of 8 SDP left in that leg. 

As to your question about being able to drive the Grasshopper, since you have never been in an actual ACPA, you have no personal experience to know.  You have been told that being in a Pit Viper and controlling an actual ACPA is different, so you don't know how that would work.

As to calling people up from the 1st floor, you can do that when we restart, if you wish.  Your team has thoroughly searched the first floor, so you can be confident that you have left no enemy behind there.  Also, Lucky Mike's people have deployed to defend the first floor.  The Waitress is behind the counter in the Café looking towards the Barton's Club 93 (the local watering hole you referenced) and the Cook is covering the Café's side door.  The will contact your people downstairs if they see any movement towards the hotel you are in.  The Manager and the Concierge are holding your 4 Wiking Division prisoners behind the wall surrounding the front desk.  These prisoners are secured with strip binders and are on their knees.  I have placed Crusher with them, but you may move him to a defensive position one the first floor before we restart.  Jamal has just finished saving the wounded Wiking Division soldier and the doctor reports that this man is at Mortal 3 so he will NOT be regaining consciousness any time soon.  The Joy Girl who slit the ACPA pilot's throat is alone guarding the rear two doors.  In regard to your assumptions about the basement, they are just that and I can't comment beyond what the Concierge told you. 

The watering hole or Barton's Club 93 is about 150 meters south of the hotel and slightly down hill.  The Dog Soldiers are positioned to watch this area also.  There is one member of Whyte Hat's B-Team with them to facilitate communications between them and Whyte Hat command.  The B-Team is on a different channel, but your Team's comms can be switched to it if you need to contact the man and thus the Dog Soldiers.  FYI, these Dog Soldiers are not only Paiute but also Shoshone.  The Duck Valley Reservation has both Shoshone and Paiute Native Americans.

Please keep in mind that you have "speed assaulted" the hotel, so only 90 seconds have pasted since the attack began.  Since Tai's ACPA Bazooka misfired (or whatever) there was no huge explosion outside.  Yes there has been the sounds of fighting from the hotel, so the enemy knows something is up.  Also remember that 155mm artillery shells, 82mm mortar rounds and RPG's along with missiles and bombs from the AVX-9C have been pounding the Schwarze Jäger camp and their returning truck convoy, which is about 5 to 6 kilometers from you.  The time is currently 7:01:30 pm, so don't count on the men at the club being passed out drunk.  Conversely, they are probably just becoming aware of the attack on the hotel and are at best trying to muster.  Any attempt by them to rush the hotel will be met with a storm of fire by the Dog Soldiers on the hill.  

You may switch your current comm channel to the contact Whyte Hat Command and make that report when we restart concerning the prisoners, documents and the Grasshopper ACPA.  This also applies to any updates you might request from them.  There has been no attack on the airport as yet, since the AV-4 is still incoming.   According to the original plan, the AV-4 will commence firing on the designated defenses of the airport in 30 seconds (9 rounds).  Twenty seconds after that they should be dropping off their assault troops at the airport.  FYI, all your comm channels are coded.

        

Communications with Jackpot in regards to this attack is very limited.  Pictures and/or descriptions of the hotel staff are not available.  When in doubt, you have a challenge word: Truth and a countersign known to Lucky Mike's people: Valkyrie. The staff on duty there will be very small at the time of the attack.

If you take prisoners, then you are responsible for them.  Once you accept someone's surrender, then they may NOT be executed.  If you do, then you're not much better than the Schwarze Jäger.  Yes, this is a bit of a moral dilemma.  Your character's personal decisions in these matters are an important facet of Cyberpunk.   

There won't be many civilians in the hotel when you attack.  In fact the number is expected to be only four.  Most should be on the first floor.  They will definitely be 'hitting the floor' when the shooting starts.  Since this attack is occurring at night most of the regular staff will have gone home.  It is stressed by Lucky Mike to NOT shoot the concierge, as he is 'in the know' and will have information on the actual numbers of the enemy in residence at the hotel. 

 

As for being pressed for time, remember, enemy communications will be jammed during the attack.  While you are striking the hotel, all hell will be breaking out eight and a half kilometers away as artillery, airstrikes and your Rangers will be wiping out the Schwarze Jägers at the camp and returning to the camp from town.  The Paiute Dog Soldiers and the B-Team will be on the hill behind the hotel to suppress any move to reinforce the hotel you are attacking.  Also, one of your large Militech RPV-500 Tiltrotors will be on station over the hotel to attack any move to bring reinforcements to attack you.  About two minutes after the attack begins, the airport will be assaulted by the AV QRF.  Another minute after that, the Dacian Wolf and the Hover QRF should arrive at the airport to assist them.  The Schwarze Jäger isn't expecting an attack by you.  As far as the Fascists are concerned, Whyte Hat is a neutral party in their conflict with the State Government of Idaho.  They believe your company is complicit in keeping their US 93 supply route open.  You have hired their Luftwaffe to fight with you, so they consider Whyte Hat a disinterested neutral at worst and a silent friend at best.  Ten minutes is the quickest time it would take them to gather enough troops to attack the hotel.  That is 180 rounds!  You are NOT pressed for time, really.

I do believe the order of the day will be to exterminate the Schwarze Jäger completely.  There are a small number of Wiking Division support and supply troops in town, who are not known to have committed any atrocities.  Their fate is up to each player character. 

Some of the Fascists may escape the town, but those in the hotel will probably be cut down by the RPV-500 Tiltrotor, the B-Team and Dog Soldiers.  Lucky Mike's people in the hotel know not to leave during the fight.  This hotel is their livelihood and Jackpot is their home.

Yes, Lucky Mike's people will be available to identify any Fascists, who try to take off their uniforms and blend into the local population, if you don't shoot them accidentally.  The hotel needs to be secured.  It is important to know that some of Lucky Mike's people will be setting off explosives and creating diversions to confuse the Fascist defenders at the outset of he attack.  Whyte Hat command thinks that the first counterattack will be directed at the radar station and AA missile battery on the hill  just west of town.  Command thinks it will be at beat 15 minutes before any counterattack can be mounted anywhere.  That is 270 rounds, which is plenty of time to secure the hotel.   

War is a messy and bloody business.  This Second Battle of Jackpot will be just that. 

Here are some maps for the attack on the Western Star Hotel where the Schwarze Jäger are staying.  A normal transport truck will drive the APCA / Viper Team to the warehouse for the State Line Liquor Store.  All the checkpoints to that location in Jackpot are manned by Lucky Mike's people.  Supply trucks coming up US 93 from Wells are not unusual since this has become the major supply route for the Idaho Fascists, since Wyoming and Montana have closed their borders, with Wyoming become an active participant against the right wing rebels.  Lucky Mike will arrange to have another truck that also delivered supplies earlier for the hotel to park just to the west of the Team's jump off point at the edge of the parking lot next to the trees.  Positioned there, it will block the view from the front of the hotel where the enemy APCA (now identified as a Grasshopper) or Combat Cyborg stands guard so the Team can move to the Jump Off point.  Also, one of Lucky Mike's men will be on guard out front to distract the APCA or Cyborg as the Team moves to the jump off point.  Please try not to kill him.  Lucky Mike has a few loyal operatives in the hotel.  If you meet someone NOT in a uniform, you can 'challenge' them with the word; Truth.  They should respond with the countersign: Valkyrie.  This will tell you if they are loyal to Lucky Mike.

  

Please Note that the extension on the east side of the building into the parking lot DOES NOT exist.  The building is a rectangle.  When the attack commences, Tai will fire his ACPA bazooka and take out the Cyborg / ACPA outside.  The Team will charge the glass front doors in this order: Tai, Suzy, Rue, 8-Ball, Crusher, Jesse Wayne, J.J. Hunter and then Jamal.  Tai can crash right thru the doors with no trouble with his Arasaka Standard-C.  All the Viper suits can too but it may cost them a point or two of MA.  The assault team should always remained paired and NOT go it alone.  The pairs should be: Tai and Suzy, Rue and 8-Ball, Crusher and Jesse Wayne, J.J. Hunter and Jamal.  Although the last three can mix and match.  This keeps each pair with similar speeds.  

The first pair should fire on any in the lobby, but head straight for the Cafe /Bar.  The other pairs will be directed to locations on the first floor as they enter.  On the first floor note that the Employee Lounge is a command center; Storage / Janitorial is now in the basement and that is the Ready Room for the Combat Cyborg or ACPA, which ever isn't outside.  The basement is unheated so there is no one quartered there.  Reports indicate that the Fascists don't use the area since they are here to warm up.  All the elevators will be disabled by the staff when the attack commences, so don't kill the civilian in the Concierge office!  

 

There are three floors above the ground floor that are laid out the same.  The only exception to this is the top floor which has no stairs going up, since there isn't a floor above it.  Don't worry about enemy using the small (locked) roof hatch since the roof will be under fire from your troops on the hill to this building's west.  Your troops on the hill have orders to fire on anyone exiting this building from any exit, but the front door.  This can only be cancelled by a command officer (8-Ball & Suzy)     

 

You should note that the interior walls of the residential rooms are not very thick.  They have an SP of 5 and a SDP of 15/m.  It will take 2 to 3 full rounds (about 1 turn) of standing still to see heat patterns in another room.  If you spot a person with this vision through the wall, you may shoot at a -4 to hit, but may NOT used a called shot.  You may NOT see through the walls in the following rooms on the first floor:  the Employee's Only Area, Storage / Janitorial, Laundry, the Employee's Lounge, the Asst. Manager's Office and the Manager's Office.  Of course, thermographic vision will NOT see through the outer walls either.  However, the first floor front and cafe areas have huge glass windows where you can see into the lobby and cafe.  These Plexiglass windows have an SP of 12 and an SDP of 15/m.

The Concierge on duty is a trusted associate of Lucky Mike's and may be a font of information once you have killed all the enemy within earshot of him (and the bullets stop flying) in the lobby.  I hope this provides enough information for everyone to continue their planning.  Any more questions, just ask.

   

The first AVX-9C will approach Jackpot with the AV QRF and then move to commence dropping ordinance on the camp as the AV-4 with a weapons load out and its infantry takes the airport.  When the attack commences with the Ranger ambush, the second AVX-9C will lift off from Wells and should be on station to support troops in Jackpot in about 8 to 9 minutes. 

 

As for the hotel - what will happen, will happen.  The communications battle will be between their communications personnel verses Whyte Hat's Electronic Warfare Specialists.  The Fascists will get word of the attack out eventually and since the attack will begin just about sundown, any reinforcements will have to form up and travel at night; if they have the fuel.

 

Looks like a plan is coming together here! 

Good questions here:

Yes, the Dog Soldiers can be considered light infantry.  Well, cavalry actually, but they aren't bringing their horses.  These men are lightly armed with some automatic assault rifles, but mostly high caliber hunting rifles.  They are all marksmen and all have good to top skills in Wilderness Survival and stealth.  Most have some type of body armor.  These men are very familiar with the area and confident they can approach Jackpot unnoticed to link up with the B-Team.  They are organized into 4x infantry squads with the rest equipped with heavy weapons: a Ma Deuce, a light machinegun, an RPG-A and a 60mm mortar.  Each squad has a spotter to call in fire from the mortar.

 

Lucky Mike isn't available for you to contact, but I doubt he would appreciate just blasting the hotel / casino flat!  You should ask Mitzi abut this.

 

Jackpot:

• Yes, the AA Battery on the hill shouldn't be a problem as you have the forces to take and hold it especially with people loyal to Lucky Mike already up there. 
• As to the airport, all Luftwaffe aircraft are inside hangers and they have none on a Ready Line since they are NOT supposed to be there.  There doesn't appear to be many guards since since that would spoil the illusion of this being a civilian airport. 
• No, the C-23 aircraft can't lift off until the attack starts.  Whyte Hat command is sure that their airport is being watched, so any unusual lift off might set off an alert.  To cover the lift off of the AV QRF and a Viper AVX-9C, The 3rd Infantry Platoon, which is guarding the rebuilding of the rail line just over the border in Utah will call for reinforcement to defend against a bandit attack.  The AV-4 and Viper is a standard response to an attack like this.  The 3rd Platoon will prepare radio traffic simulating a raid in case the enemy is listening.  Those craft will use the mountains just to the west of Montello to disappear from radar.  Those craft will then swing north and loop around to strike Jackpot.  That is when your NET operators will take over the enemy radar and hide the approaching AVs.  
• Good point on the two C-23s delivering the troops of the 2nd Platoon.  Plan A will be landing on the airstrip and disgorging them before immediately lifting off unless there are enough wounded and the commander wants them evacuated immediately.
• According to Lucky Mike, the enemy, while they recognize the danger of Whyte Hat troops, believe that his (Lucky Mike's) agreements with you and your past friendly dealings with the Luftwaffe make your threat not immediate or serious.  To stand off and blast the hotel down will use an enormous amount of ammunition and take time you don't have.  Whyte Hat Commanders feel that an immediate attack with the ACPA and Viper suits will catch the defenders of the hotel off guard before they can get their gear and organize a defense.  
• No, you really don't have time to reequip the suits.  Besides, you can't install weapons on the Pit Viper.  They can, however, carry a grenade launcher on a sling.  From what you have learned, the interior walls of the individual hotel rooms are not shielded against thermographic vision, and aren't very thick.   A 5.56 or 7.62 round might puncture it, but probably won't kill an armored opponent.  The 12.7mm and 14.5 round will puncture the wall and serious wound, if not kill, the person on the other side.  However, if you want the smaller weapon, it is your personal choice.  As to the 10mm HIVE, it is twice the weight of the standard 12.7mm and requires 2 external spaces for ammunition.  Never put ammunition in an external mount.  The only other option is a torso mount and there are none left in that ACPA.  The 12.7mm Gathing gun is 5x heavier than the 12.7mm which would through the balance of the suit off.  That could be corrected, maybe, but it would take too long.  Also, the suit actually belongs to Suzy.  She bought it for Tai's use, and for her to hide behind if necessary.  If you want a G-20 machine gun, convince Mitzi to buy it.     

 

Yes, the convoy is taken care of.  

 

As to the Camp:

• I am still working on the map.  There are some rough cabins under the trees, and small sets of quarters built into the sides of the gulch.  Also,  the Ranger's ambush will occur on the return of the convoy from Jackpot to this camp.  That means there will be ~50 men who were just delivered to Jackpot and another ~50 in the trucks plus the drivers in the convoy.  That leaves no more than ~150 in the camp.  
• Only the Viper AVX-9C can carry enough ordinance to keep the camp busy.  There will be one Militech RPV-500 Tiltrotor n station in the role of flexible support and another Tiltrotor armed and ready to launch at Wells.  
• The artillery units will have trained spotters on the ground and drones dedicated to both the 155mm guns and 82mm mortars.  Also, every Ranger has at least some training in Artillery Operations.
• The Ranger commander feels that his men are worth 10 of the enemy and is confident that they could hold off any survivors of the air and artillery strikes should they try to move towards Jackpot, if not drive them from the camp. 
• The 1st Platoon is ordered to drive straight for Jackpot.  Once they are near to town, they can be dispatched to where they are needed.  

As to your Side Note:  You can assume anything you want.  You are 'out of the loop' in regards to the discussions between Mitzi, Lucky Mike and the Idaho government.  Exactly where all this ammunition and supplies came from is unknown to you.  You do know it arrived in trucks on Interstate 80 that were supposed to be bringing non-military goods to Wells.  

 

As far as the Wiking Division is concerned, yes it will take a while for them to move south to support their forces in Jackpot.  You should know that this force is positioned to face an attack from the west and northwest where the Regular Idaho state forces are.  Even after the deal to enter this combat was made, they haven't changed the orientation of their defense.  Also, the guard force that defends US 93 at the south end of Jackpot facing Wells is still made up of troops loyal to Lucky Mike.

If the Wiking Division does have QRF and sends it south, they open themselves up to attack by the Idaho troops with no mobile force to defend them.  This would open Twin Falls to an encirclement which could end with the loss of that city and capture of what is left of the rebel government.  Still, the Wiking Division will have to react, but it will (hopefully) take until dawn to gather and move out.  By then at least one of your Viper AVX-9Cs should be available to strike at this column heading south.  But, all of this is beyond the scope of Whyte Hat's assignment, which is to destroy the Schwarze Jäger and end the use of Jackpot as a Fascist supply point.                 

 

EDIT:

Each of the players can go into this fight with their 'combat buddy'.  For TigerGuard, that means Jesse Wayne in a Pit Viper and carrying his 7.62 Mini-gun.  For 8-Ball, that means Crusher, who has completed his Viper suit training.  This brings the attacking A-Team up to seven members because Suzy will be going with you; possibly eight if Cia joins us.   

 

Yes, it is time to deal with the Schwarze Jäger.  

Just a few notes here before I finish the map with the preliminary attack plan:

• There is only one hotel that you have to worry about and there is NO WAY to pull off a quiet stealth attack.  The hotel has guards outside; one of which will either be a combat cyborg or an ACPA suit (types to be identified).  Also there will be at least 50+ Schwarze Jäger troops on R&R inside plus whatever Idaho Fascist troops are in the command center of the hotel.  
• The Ranger platoon has enough anti-vehicle weapons, mines and explosive to turn the convoy into a mass of flaming metal and dead bodies.  Whyte Hat commanders agree with you that this will be the least problematic part of the operation.
• As to the camp outside of town, you are correct in your assumption, that this camp is located in the creek's valley.  Once the ambush of the convoy starts, the overall attack will begin.  Your 155mm artillery battery (2 guns) will begin to lay down GPS guided munitions to targets that the drones and satellites have identified, and the 82mm mortar battery (4 tubes) that has been training for years with the Ranger platoon will also commence fire on the camp.  
• Your Paiute / Shoshone Dog Soldiers (which number 50, not 60) are proposed to be mated with Whyte Hat's B-Team, and will secure the hill that looks down on the town from the west.  That hill has an AA missile battery on it along with the primary radar installation.  Lucky Mike, Jackpot's 'mayor', will make sure that men (and women) loyal to him are stationed there, so no missiles will be fired on Whyte Hat air assets.  Of course, he is unaware that his entire air defense system has long ago been compromised and Whyte Hat can override any launch command.  There is a small number of Idaho Fascist troops up there too, which is why the B-Team, along with the Dog Soldiers will secure the hill at the beginning of the attack.  As you know (or should remember), the Jackpot militia has an old T-100 MBT.  The crew is loyal to Lucky Mike.  The tank is usually based south of town on the main road north (guarding against a ground attack from you!).  It will proceed to the hill top where it can provide fire support to almost any position in town.  There is no bad blood between the Jackpot militia and the Dog Soldiers.  With the B-Team up there, the hill should be unassailable for hours.
• The Jackpot airport is also a major target.  The Team has learned that some of the Luftwaffe's aircraft are based there and those aircraft must NOT be allowed to get airborne.  The AV Quick Reaction Squad supported by one Militech RPV-500 Tiltrotor will strike and pin down the airport.  The Dacian Wolf and the Hover Quick Reaction squad will be hidden a few miles away and make a quick run to support them.  With the enemy air defenses under Whyte Hat's control, two C-23's will lift off from Wells and the 2nd Platoon will either jump just to the east of the airport, or be air landed if the Dacian Wolf and the two QRF squads have secured this airport.  
• Back to the issue of the Schwarze Jäger camp, between the artillery barrages, one of your Militech AVX-9C Vipers will carry out airstrikes against the camp.  With the airport secure, the hover unit will be sent north across the border into Idaho to cover any attempted retreat down the Shoshone Creek into Idaho.  Whyte Hat has received permission to enter Idaho by the democratically elected government of that state.  From Wells, a ground force consisting of the veteran 1st Platoon mounted in 5x BTR-15 APCs supported by your rebuild T-72 will make a 'Thunder Run' to Jackpot.  They will take about an hour and a half to two hours to make it to Jackpot.  If everything has gone right (or at least mostly right) you will have broken enemy resistance by then. 
• This force may be needed as the rest of the  Idaho Fascist's Wiking Division is based about 25 miles north of Jackpot to defend the southern approaches to the City of Twin Falls, the last major metropolitan area held by them.  That force is really only about 1,200 strong according to your intelligence (from the Idaho government).  The Scharze Jäger number about 250 so that leaves less than 1,000 they can commit along with an estimated 11 AFVs.  Your second Militech AVX-9C Viper and a Militech RPV-500 Tiltrotor are being held in reserve to delay any advance down US 93.  Reports indicate that this formation is very low on fuel and ammunition and the Idaho government has promised air support, if the Wiking Division does move towards Jackpot.  Whyte Hat command isn't going to count on this.
• Although Whyte Hat will receive official permission to enter Idaho, the government in Boise (Idaho's capital) hasn't promised any troops to defend Jackpot.  They have, however, delivered tons of supplies and ammunition (including the GPS guilded 155mm artillery rounds) for the operation.

OK, more information will be on the way, along with the floorplans to the hotel / casino that houses the most enemy troops.  

                  

On 28/12/2022 at 11:25, senior officer Mikael van Atta said:

On 28/12/2022 at 09:55, Allen1 said:

In regards to water & sewer in Freedom Park, that neighborhood is next door to Night City's main water treatment plant, so that isn't an issue.

What I mean, keeping access to these municipal services is something they want to maintain. Which, in turn, forces them to behave - otherwise the city may consider closing the tap. 

Any threat like that by the city is bound to fail disastrously.  All the sewer pipes and most of the water pipes that serve San Morro (including Morrison Square and South Beach) pass under Freedom Park.  Also, Freedom Park has easy access to all sewer lines running in from the north and east.  Morgan could shut the system down if he wanted.  The underground explosion that occurred on 8/23/76 in the neighborhood just north of Saint Spyridon Church crippled San Morro's sewer system for a few days.  This didn't effect South Beach as South Beach Redevelopment built a back-up sewer system just in case of such a incident.  Morgan was suspected of doing this, but no proof has surfaced.  You have learned recently that this bombing was part of the late Big Al Crenshaw's campaign to frame Morgan and get the powers in the area (you included) to take Morgan out for him.  

Yes, indeed, that is politics!  There is no one else that has to be 'neutralized', as you so colorfully state.  The British Secret Squirrels are happy and so is Suzy since this has enhanced her inter agency position.  You will find out that only Calvin O'Shae had been dealing with Arasaka before this.  The others were given a choice on the night of the attack: go along with this coup or suffer an intense criminal investigation by both Whyte Hat (not a big threat) or Arasaka (a huge threat).  Arasaka clearly has an agenda down here, but what it is, you don't know.  FYI, that corporation has just hired B&B Technologies to build an urban style 'Strategic Battle Mapper" similar, but smaller than the one Whyte Hat uses in the Outback of Nevada.  I will watch Morrison Square AND Freedom Park, along with some of the nearby Combat Zone to the northeast.  It will NOT look at South Beach.  There is no need really since Arasaka has a limited access to Whyte Hat's local security net since they have a small factory in the area.   

Aldo Hoebacke is a hunted man now, but he has clearly made a successful get away; at least for now.  The bank in Morrison Square is under control of Federal Regulators.  Since Night City is considered a 'Free City' of the United States, the Feds supersede the NorCal Free State in this matter.  Yes, savings have been wiped out and as I mentioned in my previous post, this will make certain properties become available for sale in a few months.

As to the bank itself, it is finished.  However, unknown to almost everyone, both Raymond James III (Ray-ray) [Corporate 9], the current owner of South Beach Redevelopment and Suzy with her Reynolds Realty are moving forward with their plan for a South Beach Bank & Trust.  They are negotiating with the receivers of the Morrison Square Savings & Loan to take over the building and bring banking services to the area.  

In regards to Freedom Park, Mitzi will be acting as a go between for Morgan and Arasaka as they work out a plan to open the gates of the wall between Morrison Square and Freedom Park.  In regards to water & sewer in Freedom Park, that neighborhood is next door to Night City's main water treatment plant, so that isn't an issue.  Their only concern is which way the wind is blowing.  If it is from the north, then Freedom Park begins to smell bad when the plant malfunctions.  Looking at the historical precedent (Fristaden Christiania), that seems to be the basis for a possible solution.         

OK

Well, here is the rundown of who was captured, and what we has happened to them as of October 29th, 6 days after taking down 'Big Al Crenshaw' and his gang.  Please understand, that Whyte Hat must bring charges and turn over any suspect after 48 hours.  Any detention beyond that point could be considered kidnapping.  Of course, that generally wouldn't be a problem in the Outback of Nevada, but this is in Night City.  Whyte Hat lawyers and personnel are going through all of the files and computers that you captured.  This will take a few weeks, but you quickly find enough evidence to prove that Big Al set this whole war off.  The city recognized authority in this area is the Morrison Square Businessmen's Association.  You killed two of the six members of the association.  When Mitzi spoke with Arasaka and brought them into this operation, she learned that Calvin O’Shea, the secretary of the association, was already plotting with Arasaka to overthrow Big Al.  With the deaths of “Big Al” Crenshaw and Gregor Yurkova, O'Shea is now the president of the association.  Calvin O’Shea made sure that two of the remaining officers, Aldo Hoebacke and Bonti Ramamurthy were at a small get together at his house.  While you were ridding the area of Big Al and his thugs, O'Shea and an Arasaka official explained to Aldo Hoebacke and Bonti Ramamurthy that it would be in their best interest to: #1 - Vote that Arasaka immediately replace the Morrison Security Group as the official 'police force'; and #2 - Elect Mitzi to the Association ruling board.  This they do.  Calvin O’Shea, Aldo Hoebacke and Bonti Ramamurthy ended up in no one's custody.  They are protected by Arasaka (and allied with Whyte Hat) at the end of the fight.  

There is the problem of Ciardan Guilfoyle who they hoped would be killed.  He could get a lawyer and cause quite a bit of trouble.  On that point, I think 8-Ball's opinion to "wrap him up with a red ribbon and make sure the appropriate Irish or UK authorities find him on their "doorstep" is the right idea.  This is a job for Suzy, who has connections with a number of foreign intelligence services.  She will handle it and make sure any official reports on this matter lists Ciardan Guilfoyle as 'fleeing Morrison Square'.  That does leave his father, Shaemus Guilfoyle, the bedridden cripple that shot Jamal with his tiny pistol then immediately surrendered.  He is a nasty, foul mouthed old man, but there is no evidence that he was involved in the local criminal activity.  He was only in the Penthouse for his protection and has a home in the neighborhood.  Suzy thinks we should just send him back to his house and keep an eye on him.  

So to recapitulate:       

• “Big Al” Crenshaw:  The former president of the association and local gang lord.  - confirmed dead.
• Gregor Yurkova:  The former vice president of the association and is the titular owner of the defunct Morrison Square Security Group.  This is one of the people that Andrea wants dead - confirmed dead.
• Calvin O’Shea:  This man is the secretary of the association and owns a bar, restaurant and dance club, the Clam Shack, right on Morrison Square.  He also owns the brothel above. - He survived. As explained above, he is now untouchable.  As to information about his operation that IS a MItzi issue. 
• Aldo Hoebacke:  This transplanted Dutchman is the treasurer of the association and president of the Morrison Square Savings & Loan. The bank was on the first floor of the target building. - I'm not sure he was on site. No, he wasn't, and was NOT in custody because he cut a deal with Mitzi and Arasaka to turn on Big Al.  However, Somewhere in the 36 hours after the fight, he disappears.  It is not public knowledge yet, but the Morrison Square Savings & Loan is bankrupt.  The vault has been cleaned out of the bank's assets, but most of the safe deposit boxes are still intact.  When this is discovered,  Federal Regulators descend on the bank and take it over.  It will be months before this is all sorted out.  Oh yes, there is now a warrant out for the arrest of Aldo Hoebacke.  
• Ciardan Guilfoyle:  The former IRA Provo gunboy officially 'escaped' the fire fight so there is also a warrant out for his arrest.  By the end of the week he is really a guest of MI-5. 
• Bonti Ramamurthy:  This man was NOT the crazy old cripple (IIRC) that Jamal ran into, and yes, he survived.  He continues to run two thrift stores and the largest retail food outlet in Morrison Square.  He is also now under the protection of Arasaka.
• Dan Klimowitz (Lt. Dan, Head of Security from Big Al (Andrea’s replacement) - confirmed dead.
• Maria (Big Al’s latest squeeze): A young woman of low to no morals - survived. 8-Ball's suggestion: interrogate her (job for JJ, basic questioning), and you are right, she knows nothing about Big Al's operations.  With Big Al dead she answers all your questions quite willingly.  In fact Big Al's death doesn't seem to faze her a bit. 
• In regards to various other Big Al's personnel they do a get a cursory questioning. A few of them might be potential talent to recruit, but Suzy is opposed to this.  Of course, hiring is Mitzi's department so she will acquiesce to the fixer on that point.  Bob, the accountant Tai dragged along, just started work a week ago, so he really didn't know anything.  However, yes, he would be useful for digging through the captured (financial) data. He already knows where to look.  B&B Technologies will do a deep dive on Bob and he appears to be trustworthy.  8-Ball's suggestion to offer a limited-time contract with standard rates, plus a bonus for every acquirable Big Al's asset they uncover, is a great idea. Perhaps he could be kept on full time depending on his work. 
• Agreed: Hired guns (a few of them have survived. Those who decided not to fight us...) should be treated with professional courtesy. Unless there's a good reason to pass them over to authorities, we should let them go. Various sycophants and hangers-on walk, too.

It will be a few months before all the legal issues are straightened out.  Mitzi is already moving to take ownership of the building you captured.  She already has the reconstituted Morrison Square Businessmen's Association and Arasaka's support on this move.  Eventually properties in the area will be for sale.  It should be about he time that "Mitzi's Sleazy Land Deal" should come to final sale and bring in a good return.  Details on that to come.  

Upcoming Episode 66 will start on Devil's Night (October 30th) where 8-Ball and J.J. Hunter will be attending an Arasaka media event with the press at the Oceanside Blvd gate between Morrison Square and Freedom Park.  One squad of the 4th Platoon will be stationed on the west bank of San Morro Creek between the Arasaka and Militech (which is the other side of Morrison Square from the media event).  Tai will be supporting the squad in his Arasaka Standard-C.

The next day is the Halloween Rave at the Grand Illusion where the Cyber Revolutionaries are headlining.  There will probably be an after party.

Hopefully Cia will be rejoining us in the near future with her character, Rue!

 

We are currently looking to possibly opening a seat up in our current Cyberpunk 2020 (style) campaign.  The Tech we use is about 2021 with much of the gear slightly updated.  This is definitely a story driven campaign as the Team works to survive in a fractured America.  We have stretched out the corporate wars and South Am Drug Wars, a Middle East Meltdown and other relevant history from the original game.  The story is currently based around Night City and the Outback of Nevada.  The Team works for a small security/paramilitary corporation called Whyte Hat.  Most of the episodes (sessions) deal with various jobs from Whyte Hat.  This young company is now getting big enough to be noticed, but not enough to be considered a threat.  However, that may be changing.     

Our gaming group has been running a Cyberpunk 2020 style campaign for a couple of years now on a VTT and over Mumble / now Discord.  Some of our sessions are posted here on vfte.  At present we meet about every two weeks or so on Saturday's from 11 am to 5 pm (EST).  Since ASTRAL has ceased operation we have moved to Roll20 where we use a custom custom character sheets developed by one of our players.  That is an on-going project as we make improvements.  For voice chat we are all now on Discord where we have our own dedicated server.  We are a stable group of one GM and three other players; all members of the vfte community.  We are a mature adult group and sometimes are stories can get very dark, but this is Cyberpunk after all. 

If you are interested and you have the time for this, give us a read on the Cyberpunk RPG General Chat threads:  Cyberpunk 2071 - Return to Night City or Proposal for Virtual Cyberpunk Game.  Tigerguard and Mikael van Atta, both long time vfte members are involved.  If you want to inquire, please drop me a PM or an e-mail. 

Cyberbear

We have our next Episode 66 upcoming on December 31st, but for now here is another of the older Episodes for your possible enjoyment!

 

 

Episode 37 – The Battle for Rachel, Nevada

 

 

Background

 

A disparate group of Edgerunners from America and the Ukraine were brought together by a mysterious patron named ‘Marty’, who openly admitted she intended to misbehave.  Well misbehave she did, this Team found itself about to be arrested on numerous capital charges.  Marty, was revealed to be Martina Vargas / Lupescu, the illegitimate daughter of the late infamous Venezuelan Drug Lord, Jorge Vargas.  With few prospects of surviving the wrath of LEDiv, they accepted Marty’s offer to follow her to the port city of Buenaventura in Colombia.  As the only major port on that country’s Pacific coast, this city is hotly contested by all the cartels in the region.  Martina ‘Marty’ Vargas, who had worked for all of these cartels at one time or another, was now considered a rising star among them.  She was made ‘Arbiter’ of disputes in the city.  To the Team’s surprise, in the end they learned that Marty was actually working with elements of the Colombian government who were being covertly supported by the C.I.A. and other international agencies to crush the cartels and restore the power of the central government in Bogotá.

This was accomplished (for the most part) and the Team returned to the United States with their true identities restored and their records cleared.  Back in Night City they decide to remain together and continue their work as Edgerunners.  With all the corruption and evil, they have seen, the Team also decides that, besides making a living, it is time to take a stand.  To those who threaten the innocent with evil, their new mantra will be “Thou Shall Not Get Away With It!”   

 

Dramatis Personae

 

8-Ball (Richard Miller – Don’t call him Dick) [Solo 7]:  He is a former member of the Seattle Chapter of the Chrome Berets, a gang of military posers that practice urban combat tactics often with paintball guns and hired themselves out as “ringers” to corporate paint ball teams.  He left his gang on good terms and is seeking to become a serious solo like his hero, the late Morgan Blackhand.  His first experience in Night City made him an ‘honorary’ member of that gang’s local chapter and earned the deep friendship of all of its members.  Also, he acquired a serious girlfriend, Mia Byrnes, a NCU college student and daughter of a deceased South Am Wars veteran.  8-Ball sports a Mohawk in the fashion of many U.S. paratroopers from the Second World War.

 

Angel Torres [Techie 4]:  This outwardly morose individual grew up in a family of small time urban criminals in the ruins of Los Angeles.  At an early age he showed a talent for technical things and developed an interest in guns and armor.  The family’s background led to a number of scatterings to avoid ‘legal complications’ gave this young man an unstable upbringing, which contributed to his negative outlook on life.  Fortunately, he remained close with his middle sister, Gloria, and moved to Night City.  There is sister’s sometime boyfriend, Ricky Hidalgo, introduced him to Mitzi and  this led to his joining the Team. 

 

Cossack (Stefan Petrovych Chernenko) [Panzerboy 6]:  He was a Ukrainian smuggler who made himself a pain in the ass to Interpol which pursued him relentlessly for the past several years.  He lost a cargo belonging to a powerful Ukrainian mobster, Vyacheslav Morozov, who wished to take the loss of his goods out of Cossack’s hide, but his now deceased boss, Martina, assassinated the mob boss instead.  His work in Colombia has led to the government arranging for the release from prison of his imprisoned girlfriend, Celestin Antonescu, this coming October. 

Hollow (Arthir Dawnson) [Solo 7]:  This formally angry and resentful young man comes from a crime family in the Pacific Northwest and did a little time himself back in 2066.  He broke with his family because he was unhappy with the direction they were going, followed by the death of his friend and mentor, a Judo instructor.  The late Martina Lupescu / Vargas helped him discover the identity of his mentor’s murderer and arranged for him to kill that man personally.  This has calmed many of the demons that have been plaguing this young man. 

Jamal Hemings [Medtech 7]: Jamal is now one of the Team Medics. He was born in a black working class neighborhood in Detroit in 2042.  When Jamal was 15, his younger brother was killed by a cop for “playing with a toy gun while black.”  This had a profound—though not immediately obvious—impact on Jamal.    When he graduated from high school two years later at age 17, he joined the Navy.  He entered the Navy SEALS where most of his work remains classified.  It was Suzy that brought him into the company and the two are close.  While his family is Moslem and his father was devout.  His mother is more relaxed about prayer observances. So, Jamal did not learn Arabic initially, but has used his military educational  opportunities to correct that.  He is fluent now. As he grew older, he became more respectful of his religion.  He is currently attending medical school in Night City.

 

Mitzi Blaize [Fixer 4 (Covert Operative 2 / Prowler 4)]:  She is a local girl from a Night City combat zone who joined an up and coming Edgerunner Team with a powerful patron a couple of years back. They pulled off a few big jobs before some on her Team (not her) crossed a local Mafia Capo, Marco Baronti, who murdered their patron, many of her friends and scattered the others to the wind.  The late Martina Lupescu / Vargas helped her exact bloody revenge not only on Marco Baronti, but on the people who framed her father for a crime he didn’t commit, which drove this man to become a ‘family destroyer’.  

 

Rue Perlo [Medtech 8]:  She is a former Washington State National Guard medic from Seattle.  Her sister was a hanger on at her hometown chapter of the Chrome Berets and served as their medic.  This is where Rue became a friend of 8 Ball’s.  When this solo put out the call for help for the Night City chapter, she answered this call and was hired by Marty full time.  Her dream has to get her medical degree and become a certified doctor.  Getting this was Martina’s promise to Rue.  On her return to Night City, she will be enrolled in Medical School and in three terms will receive the training and certification as a legal Doctor of Medicine. 

Xavier Aguinaldo (Fawkes) [Combat Sneak 6]:  The young man was born into a large Snake Nation Nomad Family.  While working on a Petrochem CHOO² a greedy corporate flagrantly violated the family’s employment contract and bought off local authorities.  His parents led a work action which was ruthlessly crushed after this legal action was declared an ‘insurrection’.  His parents were arrested and his family scattered (and he believed killed).  Wandering alone, he was eventually able to enlist in the United States Army where he served for twelve years eventually making the Special Forces.  Cutbacks forced his retirement where he drifted to Night City and the Forlorn Hope.  There he contacted his old friend and mentor, Robert Cronenberg (Kronos), who got him a job working with Mitzi’s new Team. 

 

The NPCs

Bambi (Jennifer James) [Credibility 5]:  A beautiful young woman met the Team posing as a fellow passenger on the New York Express zeppelin to befriend the Team on their trip to NYC when they were working for Marty. She turned out to be working for the World News Service (WNS).  She did earn the Team’s trust when she brought diplomatic pressure to bear to have them released after they were detained in Washington, DC. 

 

Celestin Antonescu [Rocker / Poet 6]:  She is an ethnic Romanian from the Ukraine, who was imprisoned for years for anti-government activity, and Cossack’s girlfriend.  Part of the driver’s deal with Marty (and by extension, the C.I.A.) was that they would get her released from prison and to the United States.

Samantha Burke [Netrunner]:  This beautiful young woman is old friend of Mitzi and some on her old time currently enrolled in the Masters of Computer Science Program at Night City University.

Scotty [Videographer]:  This man is Bambi’s cameraman from WNS on the tour. 

Stepan Danolovitch [Covert Operative 7]:  This man is a Ukrainian who used to work for the late Vyacheslav Morozov, a Ukrainian mob boss who wanted to kill Cossack for dumping a load he was smuggling.  Morozov came to Night City and threatened Celestin and Cossack to get Marty Lupescu’s cooperation in his criminal enterprises.  The Romanian ex-pat seemed to agree, but Morosov ended up dead on his return to the Ukraine.  Marty was suspected in arranging his death.  That young woman didn’t like being blackmailed.   

Susan ‘Suzy’ Barnes [NET Tech]:  This is another member of Mitzi’s old team.  She is a former corp kid whose family was destroyed, and she ended up working as an underage stripper in a sleazy combat zone club.   The late Night City mob boss, Marco Baronti, put a bounty on her head after she had witnessed some serious criminal activity by the man.  LEDiv scooped her up, faked her death and hid her in Federal Witness Protection while they built their case against Baronti.      

Usman Katusi – He is an immigrant for Nigeria, probably in his late twenties.  He is the driver of the tractor trailer which is hauling all of the band’s equipment.

 

The Action

Wednesday, December 28, 2072:

Now the enemy is coming from the southeast up the Extraterrestrial Highway and trying to loop around the left (southern edge) of the Rachel.  8-Ball, Jamal, Hollow and Mitzi take cover beside and under the trucks and buses waiting for the first wave coming down the highway.  Angel is still helping Samantha and Suzy get the Armadillo back on line.  Cossack takes the controls of the GevHog with Rusty Walker manning the water-cooled 7.62 machine gun.  The Ukrainian pulls out of Rachel and loops around the west side of the town to avoid any of the wounded Raffin Shiv that still might be in town.  His intention is to harass and try to peal of some of the flanking attackers with his high speed.  Rusty has also brought along his M-212 Grenade Launcher; just in case.  The GevHog takes some fire from the back part of Rachel where some of the wounded Raffin Shiv retreated to.  Rusty suppresses them with his machinegun and the hover craft continues to move to intercept the flanking vehicles.    

The advance attack group is now 1000 meters from the town and both Cossack, with his M-90, and Stepan, with his extended barrel Dragunov, open fire.  Cossack’s first round hits the engine of a Baja Blaster and the vehicle explodes in a fire ball, killing all aboard.  Stepan’s first rounds do wound a man.   This doesn’t slow them down at all.  Finally, the Armadillo’s 40mm commences firing with short bursts aimed at the larger vehicles.  For almost 30 seconds the combined rifle and grenades thin out the attackers until the 40mm Auto GL stops firing and Suzy’s voice again comes over the comm saying, “Shit! A jam!”

Angel gets right to work trying to clear that weapon.  It doesn’t take long and the weapon is again back into the fight.  Stepan starts to focus on the motorcycle riders and starts dropping them and/or their machines.  The enemy is now within long range of their assault rifles.  The volume of fire from the tour’s vehicles increases dramatically.  When the Raffin Shiv on the Extraterrestrial Highway reach about 230 meters, they break.  The last two homemade armored vehicles turn back into the clouds of dust they have through up.  Only two of the original twelve bikers are still up when they turn to race away.  Half of the homemade armored vehicles are destroyed; two of the five cars are crippled although the enemy has taken casualties in the remaining three.  All of the trikes are destroyed.  Over three dozen are killed (mostly) and wounded and only about two dozen are left fleeing in the dust cloud.

With the initial attack broken, 8-Ball orders, Hollow, Rue and Angel to head back into the restaurant to stop any infiltration from behind with him.  Fawkes, Mitzi, Jamal and Suzy move in to check the Sheriff’s / Fire station.  Fawkes moves up to the roof hatch in that building.  Samantha remains in the Armadillo and Stepan is still on top of the freight trailer.  The band members remain in their vehicles and keep watch in all directions. 

A few of the surviving attackers try to move back towards the station, but one gets shot down by Suzy.  Another of the last Raffin Shiv survivors shows himself to Fawkes, whose .50 caliber shot goes right through the building where he is hiding and wounds him grievously.  Jamal moves forward with Suzy and finish off the renewed attack in the small town.  Mitzi moves forward to support the two.  8-Ball and Hollow also begins moving through the small collection of trailers that makes up the Town of Rachel.    

At this point the flanking force is about 1.6 kilometers to the south of town and turning north.  The GevHog is now in range and begins his attack.  Cossack uses the information from the Battle Mapper to keep at extreme range from any return fire while it remains at long range allowing Rusty to hit them with its longer range weapon.  He succeeds in peeling off twelve bikes a dune buggy, two cars, and a lightly armored home built AVF.  That leaves about two dozen bikers, a half dozen trikes / dune buggies, five cars and two remaining home built AFVs heading towards the south of town.

8-Ball and Hollow move to the southernmost collection of freight containers which is south of the home containers of the residents of the town.  Suzy moves into the area of the container homes with her RPG-A to cover the west flank of the town.  Jamal, Mitzi and Stepan move to the east of 8-Ball’s and Hollow’s new position.  Rue, with the second RPG-A, and Angel fall back to the restaurant to cover the rear of their tour vehicles from the west in case they get around Suzy.

Cossack leads the pursuing group on a merry chase while turning to fire on the group still heading towards Rachel once in a while.  The up-armored Kuma in the pursuit group has its gunner blown out of his seat by Rusty.  Fawkes opens fire on the incoming attackers from the south.  The closing Raffin Shiv’s gun truck returns fire with its .50 caliber Ma Deuce.  Fortunately, it hits the trailer before it goes right through to Fawkes, but his EMA-1 armor turns the shot.   Fawkes fires on the gun truck and cripples it, so its slows to  stop.  He then crawls out of sight.  Now that Cossack has led the pursuit force away he turns to strike at the rear of the main attack from the south.  Some of the raiders have dismounted from one of their vehicles to defend the crippled gun truck.  Cossack has now closed close enough to the up-armored Kuma and Rusty has reloaded his grenade launcher.  It takes two shots but Rusty blows that vehicle up.                                            

The attacking force is now only one hundred meters from 8-Ball’s and Hollow’s position.  The cars stop and the Raffin Shiv jump out.  The bikers continue towards the two Team members.  Fawkes switches to his automatic rifle and Jamal moves to support 8-Ball and Hollow.  Suzy starts to shot at the approaching Raffin Shiv from the area of container homes.  This draws some enemy fire away from Hollow and 8-Ball.  The attackers are now getting some hits on 8-Ball and Hollow but realize that they are in heavy armor.  The Raffin Shiv call out to switch to AP ammunition.  The rush closes on 8-Ball and Hollow.  The two drop a good number of the attackers, but the two are finally overwhelmed and drop.  Hollow is shot dead and 8-Ball makes his death save.  Some of the attackers stop and start to loot the valuable gear on the fallen Team members.  With 8-Ball and Hollow down Suzy yells over the comm, “Everyone fall back!”

 

 

 

Next: Episode 38 – The Endgame at Rachel and the Finale of the Tour

 

 

 

We have Episode 65 under our belts.  Big Al Crenshaw, the crime boss of Morrison Square, is now dead and his organization killed or scattered.  TigerGuard was absolutely right when the Team moved its focus to Wells and he stated that both Big Al (from Morrison Square) and Morgan (from Freedom Park) needed to be dealt with.  At the time you all really didn't have the strength to deal with these two, but your successes in Nevada have allowed you build up a force with personnel and equipment to bring to bear on this problem.  It is true that this leaves Morgan to deal with, but he is no fool  and is NOT in the mood to tangle with Mitzi and Whyte Hat.  Now that Arasaka has regained its security contract in Morrison Square, the Team has a friendly (to the Team anyway) Mega-Corp between them and the Combat Zone.  The wall between Morrison Square and Freedom Park is now fully manned by Arasaka.  Morgan realizes Mitzi played him, but she didn't actually lie about her plans.  His initial anger turned quickly to respect.  After all, his desire to see Big Al destroyed has been accomplished and it cost him nothing.  Both he and Mitzi are products of the Combat Zone who have clawed their way into positions of power.  Morgan realizes that his future depends on good relations with Whyte Hat, for now anyway.

As to the two Alpha cyborgs that you defeated, The one with the center torso destruction had its biopod in the torso and the one with the destroyed head had its brain located there, so there will be no talking to them.  So yes, the undamaged head is available for Cossack to do with as he wishes.  As far as the pinball machine from Big Al's penthouse is concerned, the reconstituted Morrison Square Businessmen's Association heartily endorses you taking it with you.

Crusher will take Cossack up on his offer to use his house in Wells to get settled in.  On hearing this Suzy will offer to pay Cossack a monthly rental for the place as long as Kathleen is living there.  

In regard to the Swede's funeral, the man has no surviving family.  He did leave a Last Will and Testament and has left his estate to the club in Night City.  The club also wishes to honor his Swedish roots and agrees to hold a Viking funeral.  The Swede had talked about what he would want for a service with Sarge and this syncs well with your ideas above.  The man wished to be cremated, his ashes put in a ceremonial urn and buried with some of his prized possessions (grave goods).  The club is concerned that his burial mound might be plundered if anywhere in Night City, so Suzy offers to buy him a plot in Wells, NV, where he made many friends.  The Chrome Berets agree to this, but the cremation and funeral feast will be held in Night City.  At Cossack's suggestion, Celestine immediately sets to work on a funeral song for the Swede's service.  Mitzi can easily find a godti, a priest of the Asatru, who will be honored to perform the service and will be a fountain of information on the correct ceremonies.  Acquiring beer and mead are NO problem and will be available in copious amounts at the feast.

Now as to Angel's project ideas outlines above:

• Designing a drone (which Angel has no experience in) to be a scout and run by the ACPA pilot is an interesting idea, but not particularly practical as it would often have the pilot's concentrating on piloting the drone.  Unless the pilot has the  Interface skill, then he must use a manual drone controller.  This would be very difficult with the size of the armor on the ACPA's hand.  If Angel wants to work on this he can, but both Suzy and Samantha don't see any practical value in such a project.  However, the idea of having a drone operator (with small drone) dedicated to working with an ACPA unit does have some practical applications that could be useful.  
• The "camera grenade" (for lack of a better term) is an interesting idea, but could be very expensive.  To get the 360 degree vision would require 4 cybereyes (maybe 3), a transmitter, be designed in such a way that it always lands on its 'feet' and be robust enough to be constantly thrown.  I would say that about 1/2 the time it will be destroyed by anyone defending the room after it lands.  On the unit cost, please realize that one cybereye costs €500, the Remote Eye, with its ability to transmit only in one narrow direction costs €1,500 (page 9, Chrome 2).  If you are adding more cybereyes, a rig to guarantee it always lands correctly, structure to hold it all together and some type of 'armor' to protect it, this unit is getting larger and more expensive to build.  This doesn't even consider the development costs.  Two questions come to mind: first, why would someone buy this (expensive) camera grenade instead of using a 'snake cam' to slide under the bottom of the door?  Second question is,: why didn't anyone take a snake cam on this last mission?
• As to the Pit Viper, in the description on page 22 of Solo of Fortune 2, it has no mounting brackets for weapons or anything else really.  The Hooded Viper is an actual ACPA with two mounting brackets (one on each arm) that a paintball gun could be attached.  This last battle was the final field test of these suits.  Please remember that you were driving proto-type armor.  Over the next two months, Raven MicroCybernetics will be making some design changes and begin manufacture of the Viper suits for sale.  These sales will be limited to military, police and licensed security corporations.  (Whyte Hat qualifies)  In fact, Raven MicroCybernetics will offer to trade the proto-type suits you have now for the improved production models.  The main improvement on the Pit and Hooded Viper suits is their ability not to 'bounce' when the pilot is running (up to 20 hexes)!  However making turns (75 degrees or more) will require a maneuver roll.  

 

A Few Notes on Where We Go from Here:

 The Team's taking down of Big Al Crenshaw and his criminal gang has shaken up many people in Night City.  The city government is concerned about Whyte Hat's rising power.  The Night City Police Department is more than concerned as they realize that there is nothing they can due to reverse Arasaka's and Mitzi's power grab.  However, the local NCPD precinct feels that the Team has done a great service to the neighborhood, so there will be no trouble there. In fact, Mitzi has wisely chosen a number of police contacts as she has risen up as a Fixer, so she (and the Team) do have a lot of support by some mid-level command officers and many rank and file policemen.

While this isn't a major problem yet (and may not turn into one, depending on what happens next), helping Arasaka regain its police powers in Morrison Square has brought you all to the notice of the Militech home office.   As to the local Militech branch, the increased Arasaka presence in San Morro leads Militech to increase the number of its police and security forces in the area.  This works out well for South Beach as now both Militech and Arasaka form a protective arc from Morrison Square (protected by Arasaka) to the neighborhood just north of Saint Spyridon's Church and south down San Morro Park to the Pacific Ocean (both protected by Militech).  South Beach, along with the San Morro Paintball Palace, the Knights of Saint Spyridon and the Tong, now have the two most powerful security mega-corps in the world forming a defensive ring between you all and the Combat Zone.  Arasaka is VERY pleased with you, but Militech is less so.  Fortunately, Whyte Hat is a major consumer of Militech products and that company doesn't want to damage its bottom line in the sales department.  

In the next episode we will deal with the Swede's funeral, Devil's Night (October 30th) and the Cyber Revolutionaries headlining the Halloween Rave at the Grand Illusion in the central city (October 31st).  Afterwards, there will be an episode in Wells as some 'old business' needs your attention.  Hopefully after that will be a major national tour with the Cyber Revolutionaries, who will be promoting their next album.

That's all for now.  I will be sending out IPs later this week to those who have sent me their claims.  

               

                       

Quick answer here:  Andrea (not Angela) doesn't know exactly how strong the internal walls are, but does say that they were improved structurally both during and after the top four floors were turned into its current fortress-like arrangement.  Big Al's bedroom, office and command center were made even strong than that.    She can tell you that thermographic vision will not see through the walls and each room is sound proof.  Also, some type of wire mesh is laced through the walls, but she isn't sure of the function it serves. 

From what you are told, you believe that the Vipers probably won't be able to walk through the interior walls, but could take the time to smash through them.  Maybe the Arasaka-C might be able to, but would definitely sustain damage to its external systems.  Andrea will tell you that the floors were reinforced and (from what she was told) the walls contain steel & concrete pillars to hold up these floors.  

OK, time to finish breakfast!

 

Yes, the Swede is the best choice for the reasons you gave. 

Just a quick "fluff" note here: Crusher has sated his desire for revenge by killing the Steel Mamluk leader.  He now feels guilty about not being able to protect his late sister, Mary, and is concerned about young Kathleen, who is boiling with anger.  He has also spoken with the Sarge and Mitzi about joining Whyte Hat and moving himself and Kathleen to Wells.  The man feels his remaining sister needs to leave Night City and get a fresh start.  He has talked with Suzy (they have known each other for about 10 years) and she is willing to try to convince Kathleen to go to Wells and will use her influence to get the girl into Wells High School, which is now a state accredited high school.  Also, the Swede has now been away for a number of years and put together a small nest egg.  He also feels guilty about not being around to stop the restaurant massacre.  The Swede wants to return to the Night City and the Chrome Berets. 

As to the attack on the Morrison Square, below is a general map of the layout of the four floors of the fortified penthouse.  Andrea can't tell you exactly what is in each room now, but can give you a general idea of what each room was used for when she worked for Big Al.  On all four floors rooms #1 through #6 and #10 are usually bedrooms or small apartment units.  "Rooms" #7 & #8 are actually elevators that connect penthouse floors #1 through #3.  #7 also goes to the floor just below to the penthouse.  In an emergency, this elevator is pulled up into Penthouse Floor #1 and an armored plate slides into place to seal off the Penthouse.  Suzy should be able to get control of that from the 'Safe Room'.  Generally speaking Room #11 is a store room.  On Floor #4 (the top) rooms (#7 & #8) are machinery rooms for the elevators.  The bottom floor of the Penthouse has a slightly different arrangement:  Rooms #10 & #11 are one room and the hall where their doors are doesn't exist.  This is where the 'Safe Room" is.  To get to it you have to use the hall that goes up from Room #9 and then loop around Rooms #5 & #6 using the halls.  As you head back down around the last corner there is a machinery room and beyond that is the "Safe Room".  There is also only 1 stairway (up) in Room #9.  Now Penthouse floor 3.  MOST IMPORTANT is Penthouse level 2, where Big Al has his quarters.  On this level Room #1 is Big Al's office; Room #5 is his command center, and Room #6 is the mob boss's bedroom.

  

Sample Penthouse Floor from Morrison Square

The attack will start with the blowing of a hole in the roof above Room #4 on the 4th Floor of the Penthouse.  Tai in his Arasaka-C (APCA) will drop in first and make his way to Room #9 to control the stairs.  8-Ball should follow him and watch to watch the hall to his left.  Due to the "bounce" that these suits have when running, everyone should just walk or you will be hitting the ceiling.  The floors are reinforced so there is a slim to none chance of floor collapse.

The Team has pictures of all the principle opposition.  There may be some non-combatants in this multi-floor penthouse and they should NOT be killed.  Most, if not all, are from Morrison Square and are likely to have family and friends in the area.  Suzy suggests that any who resist with serious violence be shot, except if they armed with a weapon that really can't really penetrate your armor.  

The following are the members of the Morrison Square Businessmen's Association and some principle enforcers of Big Al's:

“Big Al” Crenshaw:  The president of the association and local gang lord.  He outwardly owns several small businesses and the building where he lives. *

Gregor Yurkova:  He is the vice president of the association and is the titular owner of the Morrison Square Security Group.  This is one of the people that Andrea wants dead. *

Calvin O’Shea:  This man is the secretary of the association and owns a bar, restaurant and dance club, the Clam Shack, right on Morrison Square.  He also owns the brothel above.

Aldo Hoebacke:  This transplanted Dutchman is the treasurer of the association and president of the Morrison Square Savings & Loan.  The bank is on the first floor of your target building. 

Ciardan Guilfoyle:  A former IRA Provo gunboy, who had to flee both Ireland and Ulster when accused of a number of rapes and murders.  Ciardan runs a number of laundromats in Morrison. *

Bonti Ramamurthy:  This man came from India with his parents as a young child.  The parents were killed by street thugs and Bonti drifted into the street scene.  He now runs two thrift stores and the largest retail food outlet in the Morrison Square area.

Others:

Dan Klimowitz (Lt. Dan😞  Head of Security from Big Al (Andrea’s replacement so he must die). *

Maria (Big Al’s latest squeeze): A young woman of low to no morals. *

* Suspected of being at the Penthouse

This assault has to be fast, since it is possible that Big Al has a contract with a paramilitary unit to rescue him in case of emergency.  That is also why a Whyte Hat AVX-9C Viper will be on station to deny an airborne rescue.  This AV will also have some air to ground ordinance. just in case.

We are ready to go for Episode 65!

          

Your load out is fine for the most part except Whyte Hat has no 12.7mm Assault rifles.  They do have 14.5mm Assault rifles modified for use with the Viper suits.  Angel can hop back on the AV after setting the roof demo charge and fly to safety.  The 4th Infantry platoon has a competent medic attached and medical supplies can be brought in after the fight is over.  

Each player is getting control of two characters.  Since Angel is just setting the roof charge and leaving, he doesn't count, so you have the choice of using either Crusher or the Swede.  Crusher isn't cleared/trained for the Viper suits, so he will have to wear the EMA-1 armor with a standard assault rifle.  The Swede is Viper trained and can use a 14.5mm Assault rifle.  It is your choice as to who you will play.  Please let me know which you want, so I can prepare the character.