Each of our protagonists had received an envelope hand delivered from their Level 37 broker with a deep purple colored wax seal bearing the number “37” holding it closed and another small paper with an address on it. Enclosed within the envelope is the following message:
"Acolyte, Level 37 is asking you to show your devotion to the cause and advance your knowledge and standing in The Way of 37. Your presence is required in Chattanooga, Tennessee at 10 AM local time approximately 36 hours from now. You will be participating alongside other Acolytes and devotees of a higher order to complete a mission critical to the success of Level 37. You must assist in the completion of this mission using whatever means are necessary. Further details will be provided upon arrival. In F, S, & P, Elder Yoshida Teru"
Upon arriving at the address, which turns out to be a large high-tech warehouse, each protagonist is ushered to a waiting area with what they assume are the other devotees. Eventually all have arrived and they spend a few minutes of introduction where they meet Revered Takashi, who is leading this mission, and Disciple Garcia, who is going to assist.
Promptly at 10 o'clock, a dark-skinned, statuesque woman in a suit pants with a deep purple blouse and leather jacket strides over holding a computer tablet up toward each member of the assembled group before finally lowering it. She nods and gives only the barest hint of a smile before giving you a mission briefing in a very factual manner.
"Good morning devotees, I am Carla, a mission coordinator for Level 37. You may have heard of Roland Drake as a technologist and prominent figure speaking out against Vanishings after his son Adam was vanished years ago. What is not as widely known is that the components his company manufactures and develops have alternate uses in-line with the technology we use for interfacing with the Cyberplane and the Hollow. For this reason, Level 37 has been in contact with Roland for some time seeking his support in exchange for our help in contacting his son. We believe his resources would be an invaluable asset to us and a partnership with him would be in our best interest. Unfortunately for us, Roland tried to make contact on his own, his attempts all failed, and his energy generation was detected by the IERA, leading to his home outside Atlanta being raided, and him being incarcerated. "
“We have initiated an operation to recover Roland from IERA custody, however a direct assault on their secure facility is not a reasonable option. A member of our computer infiltration team, codenamed 'The Widow', has been able to access just deep enough within their system to initiate a transfer of Roland to a secure facility located near Nashville, TN. We believe intercepting this transport is going to be our best chance to succeed in recovering him. We have two high speed EV SUVs with drivers that will take your team to intercept this transport along a stretch of highway just west of Chattanooga that our strategists predict would make for our best chance to intercept the IERA transport. This section was chosen due to its geography through rural countryside and contains a stretch with no offramps for ten miles. We need you to intercept the transport vehicle, liberate Roland safely, and rendezvous with our extraction team.”
With all their questions answered, Carla takes the lead and takes everyone just outside the warehouse to a pair of Black SUVs, there are two men standing there, whom Carla introduces as Dom and Date, they will be your drivers for this mission. The team is split into the two SUV's and the pair of SUVs take off from the warehouse and park at a nearby lot where they wait for just under ten minutes. The drivers get a "go" message from someone and they quickly wind their way through town to Highway US-64 and head West out of town. It only takes a minute before they signal to the team that the IERA transport is just ahead. Each of the drivers asks the team "Do you want me to retract the roof?"
Revered Takashi and the team in SUV #1 asks Dom to get them closer, closer, and even closer. Dom then retracts the roof of the SUV, Takashi stands up and fires some sort of device at the back of the transport vehicle. It appears to be some sort of pneumatic gun that fires a small device that makes a metallic thunk as it strikes the back of the Transport. He speaks over the radio "Takashi to Widow, The device has been attached, do what you do". Over the radio a woman with a thick Texas accent responds "I got it Takashi. It should be stopping soon"
The IERA transport and the Level 37 SUVs come to a stop, along with a black dodge Charger. A pair of REA agents, Type A, and Type E get out of the charger and a police officer gets out of the transport as Garcia, Takashi, Maven and Switchblade all exit their respective vehicles. The fight is on with Switchblade moving quickly desolid into the transport to find a pair of SWAT officers surprised and Roland Drake in the back, apparently this rescue was expected and the SWAT agents in the back confirm they're being well payed to help Roland escape.
Flying in very quickly from above to join the REA team is the IERA agent Takashi identifies as Chromium Condor
The IERA agents approach the assailants with weapons drawn
While Maven decides to let loose with unbridled fury on the officer while Takashi takes aim at the IERA agent, and Chromium Condor takes aim at him
Maven vs. SWAT, ending in blood
Chromium Condor misses as Takashi dives under the SUV to avoid being hit
Dominic is chilling in the SUV, apparently doing nothing while his teammate appear to be handling the heavy lifting. Unseen and unnoticed, he violently attacks the mind of Chromium Condor, stunning him, and sending him skidding to the ground and sliding through his own teammate, knocking the agent out.
Maven, finishing off an IERA agent in the deep grass.
The team wraps up the remaining agents and Switchblade breaks Roland out of the transport van and escorts him to SUV #1, while Maven assumes the form of Roland and gets into SUV, prepared in case some surprise comes next.
The SUVs speed off from the scene, leaving a wake of carnage behind them, eventually, they make their way quickly off the highway at the next exit and navigate two turns that lead up an unpaved dirt and gravel road, winding through the trees and up a hill. The foliage gets denser the farther they drive, blocking out much of the light of the sun until finally it opens into a grassy clearing that has large boulders scattered around the outer ring.
Standing opposite the entrance to the clearing, a bald man in red robes stands waiting, flanked by two large men on either side. He waits patiently as the men approach your teams' SUVs to confirm your teams’ success. Once verified, the large men usher everyone but the drivers out of the trucks and across the field, following close behind.
The man in the red robes speaks calmly as you approach, "Mr. Drake, we are pleased you are safe." He scans the faces of everyone present and speaks again "If you are all ready, come closer."
Once the team approaches, the man in red robes looks at each of the devotees present, his body goes very still, and he begins weaving his hands into a set of intricate gestures. In a moment, an orb of yellow light surrounds everyone standing nearby, the world blurs, and a new location comes into focus, briefly sharing the same space as the grassy clearing. The air, which had up until now been silent, howls around the group, sounding like that of a passing locomotive. Through the yellow light, each of you can see walls, furniture, bookcases, and a large desk interspersed with the trees, rocks, and grass from the clearing for just a brief time before the grassy clearing completely fades from your view. As your eyes adjust to being indoors and the orb of yellow light begins to fade, the only sight you can see now is that of a large, lavish office.
The man in the red robes gestures to Mr. Drake to cross the room "Welcome to The Lodge Mr. Drake. Please have a seat," he says to him calmly. Roland Drake crosses the room and takes a seat at the large desk. Once seated, the man in the red robes begins his intricate gestures and as before, an orb of yellow light surrounds everyone standing nearby. Just as before, the world becomes a blur, and you can see that a door at the far end of the room opens, but you only catch the outline of a petite figure in the shadow of the doorway.
The scenery merges with that of the large high-tech warehouse in Chattanooga you met at this morning and the two realities overlay briefly before the office fades from your vision, followed shortly by the fading of the orb of yellow light. Looking around at the group, the man in the red robes speaks to all those present “Level 37 appreciates your service in this matter. Due to your success, you will be contacted when you can serve again.” He then gives a nod and a short bow to Revered Takashi and says “In F, S, & P”
With that, the large men that have been near the man in red robes each take a step back and place their hands on his shoulders as he begins gesturing again. In a moment, the three figures have disappeared in a ball of yellow light with the audible sound of air rushing in to fill the vacuum of the space they previously occupied.
Takashi thanks the protagonists for their service and dismisses them - mission successful.
Watch the entire session here:
Watch the cinematic ending here:
