SESSION 06: FROM STARSHIP TO WONDER DOG
General Summary
Previous Session: SESSION 05: PROTECTION, ELECTION, DELUSION
Next Session: SESSION 07: TROUBLE IN BRAHMIN TOWN
Players: (The Heroes of St. Louis): Lex Garridan, Linda, Mister Man, Mouse, Zero
*May 9th, 2317*
(Adventure Day 15)
The party left Starship Jark'k, it's cardboard computers covered in blood. They headed west to Glasgow Bridge, looking to cross the Missouri River. The found the concrete bridge deserted, but the parallel rail bridge housed an old hideaway. They looted the area, picking open an old safe to gain some ammunition. By then it was 8pm, and the group was getting tired. They traveled for another two hours and then camped by the river. The night was uneventful.
*May 10th, 2317*
(Adventure Day 16)
In the morning, they arrived at Arrow Rock Cave. Mister Man immediately noticed very old human footprints going into the cave. Mouse entered the cave mouth stealthily, the rest of the party following behind. They found a holotape, and careful not to upload strange software to Lex's pip boy, they played it on their holotape recorder. The holotape told the story of the Aldrich family, two fungus biologists and their two children who fled into Arrow Rock Cave as the bombs were dropping in 2077.
Going deeper, they encountered a pack of pig rats and killed them. Nearby, there was the timeworn skeleton of Manfred Aldrich and another hototape. This recording told how the Aldrich family had lived in the cave for 3 years, breeding fungus to support their every need. But Raiders outside were making life difficult, so he had taken time to lay frag mines throughout the cave to protect his family. While laying the traps, he had been stabbed in the neck and died.
Wary of mines, the group slowly explored the cave, killing more pig rats as they went. They eventually discovered the skeletons of the two Aldrich children, as well as a chest containing a bottle of strange serum, apparently concocted by the Aldriches. At the bottom of the chest was a remote with a single red button. Lex pushed it impulsively and the remaining frag mines all exploded.
Searching the cave thoroughly, they found the bodies of two Raiders and Estelle Aldrich. Mouse butchered the pig rats, but didn't know how to prepare the strange meat. There were books and a holotape recording of Estelle's desperate final days. Two hundred and forty years ago, the Aldriches' water purification algae died and they slowly succumbed to disease.
The group were weighed down with loot and decided to head to Booneville to visit Snoddy's Store. They sold their extra possessions for a total 323 caps, their first big haul. Splitting the money, they decided to use the evening to upgrade gear and to spend the night at the local hotel. With the day to spend, Zero made his way to Psycho Billy's Tattz to get a tattoo. After an hour in the chair, he had the the "ZERO" on one set of knuckles and "HERO" on the other.
Curious about the mystery of Mister Man's encrypted Vault 40 data, Lex took Mister Man to MegaCompuNet, a local computer shop. They were attended by Denisa, the shop's owner and hacker supreme. Lex bought an expensive programming spike to help in her hacking efforts, and then asked Denisa to look at the Vault 40 data. But Mister Man, having been warned by Giles back in Vault 40, did not allow the hacker to have access to his memory. They found a workaround in which Lex uploaded a portion of the data to her pip boy and then transferred that partial data to Denisa's terminal.
"Whoa!" Denisa said, in a confrontational style. "This isn't Vault-Tec. This is diversiform encryption: it adapts to hacking attempts. The Institute back in the Commonwealth could maybe decrypt this, but even if they still have the knowledge, all their labs are gone. That leaves the Reavers: a tech cult out of Kansas. They're pretty insular, but if you tell a guy named MegaByte in Gravestone that Denisa sent you, he might be able to help you. Find him at Reaver Manufacturing."
Lex thanked Denisa and they went to leave. Denisa stopped them, saying, "One more thing: there's another layer. Weaved into the code of the 33 year old code is 16 year old code. You won't have access until you break through the first layer."
"Geez," Lex said, sighing. "It's like an onion."
"Yeah, you got a very interesting robot," Denisa said.
"Your robot has a very interesting human," Mister Man added, whether out of wisdom or aphasia, who is to say?
Mouse and Linda found the time to head over to Cody's Lab, to see what chems were available. Cody was sleazy and curt. He noted that all of his product was spoken for, pre-purchased by an important, and powerful, client. If they wanted any chems, they would have to wait two weeks. Mouse asked about Calmex, and Cody said he would cook a batch of 30 minimum, at a cost of 2500 caps. It was far too much for Mouse to afford. As they were leaving, Cody recommended a visit to the Prairie Home Ochaya, were one could purchase a tea service with a geisha.
Mouse and Linda went on to explore Pitt International Finance. They found an important-looking man in a new suit, surrounded by well-equipped mercenaries (one played by Amber Heard.) The besuited man explained that he was Capo Larry, there representing The Pitt, the capital of The Rustlands, and offering financial products. He was willing to give out a 100 cap same-day loan, at a lending rate of 50% per annum.
As much as he would like 100 caps, Mouse was a Rustlands kid and didn't trust the situation. Linda was more concerned with religious matters, asking if Capo Larry had found Atom. Larry was surprised, admitting that he was from Holy Toledo and was a Child of Atom. When Linda began to describe how she believed her mutation was Atom's blessing, Larry was clearly shocked and offended. But the salesperson tried to be diplomatic, asking Mouse and Linda to leave. The situation was tense, and Larry was far from cordial, but they soon parted.
The group met up again and decided to visit Sheriff Alvarez at the town jail. They found the sheriff working on an old gas-powered generator. Alvarez had been tinkering for days, but Lex had it running in five minutes. With many thanks, the sheriff confessed that he would love to offer them bounties, but the town was completely quiet. Except for the disturbing news of the St. Louis attack, there wasn't even any news. The best he could do is relay that the last time he was at the Prairie Home Ochaya, his favourite geisha, June, was unavailable. It was most likely nothing, but it could be a lead.
They thanked him and, finished their business in Booneville, set to upgrading their equipment. Lex and Mister Man worked for a few hours, fixing armour and making arrows. That night they all stayed at the Hotel Boone, Linda staying in a special room with a large, reinforced bed.
*May 11th, 2317*
(Adventure Day 17)
Rising with the sun, the group was at Robert's Bluff by 10am. The old granite quarry and sometime highway spot was a great spot for looting. They found three missiles, some Molotov cocktails, a robot repair kit and a few other useful materials. Then they were off again, headed west.
Pyro City was an old PetroStop gasoline station, staffed by Fiery Franny (although her real name was Tina.) Zero hadn't been there in years, but Franny still greeted Zero gladly. The group were impressed by Franny's fire-related gear, including Molotovs, a shishkebob flaming sword and, taking Linda's special notice, a large, potentially-devastating Flamer.
The fire-spraying weapon cost a steep 137 caps, and even with a friendly discount from Franny, it was expensive. The group pooled their funds to buy Linda the weapon and some ammunition. They made their purchase and moved on.
They reached the Jim the Wonder Dog at 6pm, and the sun wouldn't set for another 2 hours and 21 minutes, but already they could see a group of 7 wayfarers sitting around a campfire, drinking and playing cards. The party approached the gathering affably.
"Ho there, travelers! I'm RAM and this is my crew. We're Reavers headed up to Farris Theater. They have real plays there, from a pre-war archive. It's supposed to be mind-blowing."
The group introduced themselves vaguely. Zero was intrigued by the idea of seeing a live production, but the others were more focused on Gravestone. RAM invited all of them to share the fire, and enjoy as much free beer and water as they liked.
Lex approached RAM, noting that the hacker Denisa back in Booneville had mentioned Reavers. She asked about diversiform encryption and MegaByte in Gravestone.
"Diversiform encryption!?" RAM laughed. "There's no such thing. It's a story Reavers tell their kids to scare them. But I know MegaByte. He's a good guy and a great code-slinger."
Lex smiled and nodded. She suggested RAM look at Mister Man's memory, but the robot wouldn't have it.
After some merriment, RAM sidled up to Zero, trying to appear casual, but clearly thinking of something important to him. He said, offhandedly, "Say, you weren't thinking of heading up to All-American City, were you?"
Zero said he and his group weren't planning on it.
"Good," RAM declared. "That place is bad news. It's cursed by SatanSoft - best avoided."
And just then another Reaver said, "Hey, RAM! We got lots o' tough juice left."
RAM thought to himself and then asked, "Everybody had their tough juice today?" And all the Reavers agreed that they had.
Then RAM turned to the group, saying, "Yeah, we got a traditional chem. It works like Med-X. It's makes you resistant to pain and injury. You know, tough. Tough juice. But once its open to the air, it oxidizes and goes bad in a few hours. You're welcome to it. You should all take a big swig, especially if you're going somewhere dangerous."
RAM took up an old plastic jug and offered it. The party were all a bit skeptical, but Zero, being a friendly person with a ghoul's resilience to chemical effects, took the jug and sipped a small amount. The fluid tasted light and astringent, like water with a touch of gasoline. He handed back the tough juice, feeling nothing.
The Reavers and their leader continued to encourage the party to drink from the jug. Mouse took a small drink, though he wasn't confident in the choice. Lex chose to fake a gulp from the jug, hiding her closed mouth in the sunset shade.
Retrieving the jug, RAM then proceeded to Linda. He pressured her to drink, saying, "We're offering you a gift. It would be rude not to accept. You don't want to be rude, do you?"
Linda thought back to her time with at the Altar of Atom in Emancipation. She recalled that chem-use in itself was not strictly forbidden by the Children of Atom, but that they forbade drunkenness and insobriety as a lifestyle. She hesitated.
The Reavers grew impatient. They all stood. RAM' hand went to his laser gun.
"Drink the juice," he commanded, his tone gone cold...
Next Session: SESSION 07: TROUBLE IN BRAHMIN TOWN
Next Session: SESSION 07: TROUBLE IN BRAHMIN TOWN
Players: (The Heroes of St. Louis): Lex Garridan, Linda, Mister Man, Mouse, Zero
*May 9th, 2317*
(Adventure Day 15)
The party left Starship Jark'k, it's cardboard computers covered in blood. They headed west to Glasgow Bridge, looking to cross the Missouri River. The found the concrete bridge deserted, but the parallel rail bridge housed an old hideaway. They looted the area, picking open an old safe to gain some ammunition. By then it was 8pm, and the group was getting tired. They traveled for another two hours and then camped by the river. The night was uneventful.
*May 10th, 2317*
(Adventure Day 16)
In the morning, they arrived at Arrow Rock Cave. Mister Man immediately noticed very old human footprints going into the cave. Mouse entered the cave mouth stealthily, the rest of the party following behind. They found a holotape, and careful not to upload strange software to Lex's pip boy, they played it on their holotape recorder. The holotape told the story of the Aldrich family, two fungus biologists and their two children who fled into Arrow Rock Cave as the bombs were dropping in 2077.
Going deeper, they encountered a pack of pig rats and killed them. Nearby, there was the timeworn skeleton of Manfred Aldrich and another hototape. This recording told how the Aldrich family had lived in the cave for 3 years, breeding fungus to support their every need. But Raiders outside were making life difficult, so he had taken time to lay frag mines throughout the cave to protect his family. While laying the traps, he had been stabbed in the neck and died.
Wary of mines, the group slowly explored the cave, killing more pig rats as they went. They eventually discovered the skeletons of the two Aldrich children, as well as a chest containing a bottle of strange serum, apparently concocted by the Aldriches. At the bottom of the chest was a remote with a single red button. Lex pushed it impulsively and the remaining frag mines all exploded.
Searching the cave thoroughly, they found the bodies of two Raiders and Estelle Aldrich. Mouse butchered the pig rats, but didn't know how to prepare the strange meat. There were books and a holotape recording of Estelle's desperate final days. Two hundred and forty years ago, the Aldriches' water purification algae died and they slowly succumbed to disease.
The group were weighed down with loot and decided to head to Booneville to visit Snoddy's Store. They sold their extra possessions for a total 323 caps, their first big haul. Splitting the money, they decided to use the evening to upgrade gear and to spend the night at the local hotel. With the day to spend, Zero made his way to Psycho Billy's Tattz to get a tattoo. After an hour in the chair, he had the the "ZERO" on one set of knuckles and "HERO" on the other.
Curious about the mystery of Mister Man's encrypted Vault 40 data, Lex took Mister Man to MegaCompuNet, a local computer shop. They were attended by Denisa, the shop's owner and hacker supreme. Lex bought an expensive programming spike to help in her hacking efforts, and then asked Denisa to look at the Vault 40 data. But Mister Man, having been warned by Giles back in Vault 40, did not allow the hacker to have access to his memory. They found a workaround in which Lex uploaded a portion of the data to her pip boy and then transferred that partial data to Denisa's terminal.
"Whoa!" Denisa said, in a confrontational style. "This isn't Vault-Tec. This is diversiform encryption: it adapts to hacking attempts. The Institute back in the Commonwealth could maybe decrypt this, but even if they still have the knowledge, all their labs are gone. That leaves the Reavers: a tech cult out of Kansas. They're pretty insular, but if you tell a guy named MegaByte in Gravestone that Denisa sent you, he might be able to help you. Find him at Reaver Manufacturing."
Lex thanked Denisa and they went to leave. Denisa stopped them, saying, "One more thing: there's another layer. Weaved into the code of the 33 year old code is 16 year old code. You won't have access until you break through the first layer."
"Geez," Lex said, sighing. "It's like an onion."
"Yeah, you got a very interesting robot," Denisa said.
"Your robot has a very interesting human," Mister Man added, whether out of wisdom or aphasia, who is to say?
Mouse and Linda found the time to head over to Cody's Lab, to see what chems were available. Cody was sleazy and curt. He noted that all of his product was spoken for, pre-purchased by an important, and powerful, client. If they wanted any chems, they would have to wait two weeks. Mouse asked about Calmex, and Cody said he would cook a batch of 30 minimum, at a cost of 2500 caps. It was far too much for Mouse to afford. As they were leaving, Cody recommended a visit to the Prairie Home Ochaya, were one could purchase a tea service with a geisha.
Mouse and Linda went on to explore Pitt International Finance. They found an important-looking man in a new suit, surrounded by well-equipped mercenaries (one played by Amber Heard.) The besuited man explained that he was Capo Larry, there representing The Pitt, the capital of The Rustlands, and offering financial products. He was willing to give out a 100 cap same-day loan, at a lending rate of 50% per annum.
As much as he would like 100 caps, Mouse was a Rustlands kid and didn't trust the situation. Linda was more concerned with religious matters, asking if Capo Larry had found Atom. Larry was surprised, admitting that he was from Holy Toledo and was a Child of Atom. When Linda began to describe how she believed her mutation was Atom's blessing, Larry was clearly shocked and offended. But the salesperson tried to be diplomatic, asking Mouse and Linda to leave. The situation was tense, and Larry was far from cordial, but they soon parted.
The group met up again and decided to visit Sheriff Alvarez at the town jail. They found the sheriff working on an old gas-powered generator. Alvarez had been tinkering for days, but Lex had it running in five minutes. With many thanks, the sheriff confessed that he would love to offer them bounties, but the town was completely quiet. Except for the disturbing news of the St. Louis attack, there wasn't even any news. The best he could do is relay that the last time he was at the Prairie Home Ochaya, his favourite geisha, June, was unavailable. It was most likely nothing, but it could be a lead.
They thanked him and, finished their business in Booneville, set to upgrading their equipment. Lex and Mister Man worked for a few hours, fixing armour and making arrows. That night they all stayed at the Hotel Boone, Linda staying in a special room with a large, reinforced bed.
*May 11th, 2317*
(Adventure Day 17)
Rising with the sun, the group was at Robert's Bluff by 10am. The old granite quarry and sometime highway spot was a great spot for looting. They found three missiles, some Molotov cocktails, a robot repair kit and a few other useful materials. Then they were off again, headed west.
Pyro City was an old PetroStop gasoline station, staffed by Fiery Franny (although her real name was Tina.) Zero hadn't been there in years, but Franny still greeted Zero gladly. The group were impressed by Franny's fire-related gear, including Molotovs, a shishkebob flaming sword and, taking Linda's special notice, a large, potentially-devastating Flamer.
The fire-spraying weapon cost a steep 137 caps, and even with a friendly discount from Franny, it was expensive. The group pooled their funds to buy Linda the weapon and some ammunition. They made their purchase and moved on.
They reached the Jim the Wonder Dog at 6pm, and the sun wouldn't set for another 2 hours and 21 minutes, but already they could see a group of 7 wayfarers sitting around a campfire, drinking and playing cards. The party approached the gathering affably.
"Ho there, travelers! I'm RAM and this is my crew. We're Reavers headed up to Farris Theater. They have real plays there, from a pre-war archive. It's supposed to be mind-blowing."
The group introduced themselves vaguely. Zero was intrigued by the idea of seeing a live production, but the others were more focused on Gravestone. RAM invited all of them to share the fire, and enjoy as much free beer and water as they liked.
Lex approached RAM, noting that the hacker Denisa back in Booneville had mentioned Reavers. She asked about diversiform encryption and MegaByte in Gravestone.
"Diversiform encryption!?" RAM laughed. "There's no such thing. It's a story Reavers tell their kids to scare them. But I know MegaByte. He's a good guy and a great code-slinger."
Lex smiled and nodded. She suggested RAM look at Mister Man's memory, but the robot wouldn't have it.
After some merriment, RAM sidled up to Zero, trying to appear casual, but clearly thinking of something important to him. He said, offhandedly, "Say, you weren't thinking of heading up to All-American City, were you?"
Zero said he and his group weren't planning on it.
"Good," RAM declared. "That place is bad news. It's cursed by SatanSoft - best avoided."
And just then another Reaver said, "Hey, RAM! We got lots o' tough juice left."
RAM thought to himself and then asked, "Everybody had their tough juice today?" And all the Reavers agreed that they had.
Then RAM turned to the group, saying, "Yeah, we got a traditional chem. It works like Med-X. It's makes you resistant to pain and injury. You know, tough. Tough juice. But once its open to the air, it oxidizes and goes bad in a few hours. You're welcome to it. You should all take a big swig, especially if you're going somewhere dangerous."
RAM took up an old plastic jug and offered it. The party were all a bit skeptical, but Zero, being a friendly person with a ghoul's resilience to chemical effects, took the jug and sipped a small amount. The fluid tasted light and astringent, like water with a touch of gasoline. He handed back the tough juice, feeling nothing.
The Reavers and their leader continued to encourage the party to drink from the jug. Mouse took a small drink, though he wasn't confident in the choice. Lex chose to fake a gulp from the jug, hiding her closed mouth in the sunset shade.
Retrieving the jug, RAM then proceeded to Linda. He pressured her to drink, saying, "We're offering you a gift. It would be rude not to accept. You don't want to be rude, do you?"
Linda thought back to her time with at the Altar of Atom in Emancipation. She recalled that chem-use in itself was not strictly forbidden by the Children of Atom, but that they forbade drunkenness and insobriety as a lifestyle. She hesitated.
The Reavers grew impatient. They all stood. RAM' hand went to his laser gun.
"Drink the juice," he commanded, his tone gone cold...
Next Session: SESSION 07: TROUBLE IN BRAHMIN TOWN
Missions/Quests Completed
Character(s) interacted with
Report Date
30 May 2021
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