Government intelligence agencies are helping citizens reclaim their pasts for this special holiday. Some pasts, however, should perhaps remain there.
Level: 1
Start: Vilhelm, Employment, København
Introduction
The employment center is especially crowded today. With the government's intelligence agencies handing out work to freelancers to help them investigate citizen's past as part of Reclamation Day, the area is thronged with opportunistic individuals of all shapes and sizes.
The building, situated in the shadow of the colossal ship that came crashing down to rest in the area behind it so many years ago, is lit up in the festive colors of Reclamation Tenspan. Bright egg shaped holograms of multiple colors and patterns festoon the area and gently float around creating a gentle swirl of kaleidoscopic light on the floors and walls all around.
Vilhelm: My good woman, I simply cannot accommodate. I… no, I was not insinuating you are a good woman, it was a turn of… no, yes I am aware but it simply… Madam if the information is redacted I cannot…
The winding, seemingly futile attempt to placate someone unseen increases in pitch the longer the conversation continues. It draws your attention into an administrative office next to a bank of holo-terminals of the employment center. A heavy-set man with beady eyes and a scraggly beard is sitting behind a desk with his hand running through his hair in frustration. Your CORETECHS identifies him as Vilhelm and he appears to be stuck in a losing battle on a call via his own CORETECHS.
Vilhelm: No, I assure you that… yes, absolutely on any other day but this. No, because it is Reclamation Day! I have not the manpower… yes indeed or womanpower… to spare! If I did…
Vilhelm notices you standing at his door. For the first time during this dialogue, a glimmer of hope appears to cross his features, a glimmer of hope that he can escape the confines of the conversation no doubt. With pleading eyes, he gestures towards you, placing his palms together in the universally understood sign for: PLEASE?
You have accepted the "The Bad Egg: A Reclamation Story" mission.
- Give him a thumbs up.
- Smirk and indicate you'll want extra money.
Thumbs up:
You nod and give Vilhelm a 'thumbs up,' indicating you will take his job.
Vilhelm: I…yes, wait! If you would give me a moment madam, I was about to tell you that I will put my very best person on it after all. Yes, the very best I assure you. They will be in touch shortly. Yes…an absolute pleasure I assure you…
He lets out a very long, exasperated sigh as he disconnects the CORETECHS call and pinches the bridge of his nose with a thumb and forefinger. After a long moment, he lowers his hand and looks up at you.
Vilhelm: Now, who the smog are you?
He subjects you to a long look of scrutiny, seemingly scanning you with his CORETECHS and eventually lets out a noncommittal grunt.
Vilhelm: Huh…you'll do!
You smile.
Extra money:
You grin at Vilhelm and rub you fingers and thumb together in the time honored sign for, 'money.' Vilhelm pauses for a moment in thought but then rolls his eyes and nods his head, seemingly deciding anything is worth getting himself out of this conversation.
Vilhelm: I…yes, wait! If you would give me a moment madam, I was about to tell you that I will put my very best person on it after all. Yes, the very best I assure you. They will be in touch shortly. Yes…an absolute pleasure I assure you…
He lets out a very long, exasperated sigh as he disconnects the CORETECHS call and pinches the bridge of his nose with a thumb and forefinger. After a long moment, he lowers his hand and looks up at you. He subjects you to a long look of scrutiny, seemingly scanning you with his CORETECHS, and eventually lets out a noncommittal grunt.
Vilhelm: You better be worth it. Though I venture to bet that I'd happily contract the most villanous freebooter to get off THAT call! So, just exactly what have I signed up for?
Vilhelm: Huh, guess you'll do alright.
You grin.
Either choice continues:
- "So what's the deal with Reclamation?"
- "So what exactly is the job here?"
Reclamation:
Me: So what's the deal with Reclamation?
Vilhelm grunts again in surprise as he starts sifting through various documents on the holo-terminal before him. He swipes a couple to float off to the side of his head and peers at you from behind the translucent screen.
Vilhelm: What? You lose your memory or something? The Reclamation tenspan has been around for cycles. The two governments came up with it during the accords, a way for citizens to find closure and start anew. Basically, the two intelligence agencies, one from Consortium, and one from the Gaule, are charged during this tenspan with helping citizens reclaim personal histories from Before. Any who do can then upload those histories into these intricate little eggs during the ceremony at the end of the festivities and release them to float off into space. Signifies closure or something, apparently helping them move on, be 'reborn'. so to speak.
Vilhelm sighs and leans back in his chair, rubbing his eyes.
Vilhelm: Of course for me, what this actually translates to is a tenspan of living hell. The intelligence agencies only do the most rudimentary work, giving folks the bare details, and then outsource the rest to us and whatever freelancers want to take up any ongoing investigations. And, in this case, that's where you come in!
- "So what exactly is the job here?"
Me: So what exactly is the job here?
Vilhelm: Well, it's the usual Reclamation type gig, with just two minor differences. DZ has sent over some intel on this lady's family background from Before. Now, usually that means we give it to a freelancer to follow up and find out whatever else they can. This time, however, almost everything has been redacted! Don't ask me why. That's difference number one.
Vilhelm: Difference number two is that the lady is a royal pain in the ass!
With that statement seeming like Villhelm's final insight into the matter, he uploads the potential client's contact details to you for contact via CORETECHS as well as the digital Reclamation documents with redacted information.
Look through the documents or contact your new client via CORETECHS on København station.
Next area: Employment, København
- Call the client.
- Look over the files containing the client's Reclaimed family history.
- "You mentioned something called the DZ?"
DZ:
Me: You mentioned something called the DZ?
Vilhelm lets out another grunt, he seems to have a number of those in his social repertoire. He pushes some documents from the translucent screen in front of him, to a screen projected on the air in the main room behind you. As he does so, various other freelancers descend on the monitor to peruse them.
Vilhelm: Department Z, don't ask me what the Z stands for, reckon nobody really knows; likely their way of maintaining some air of mystery. DZ are the Consortium's intelligence agency, psy-ops, espionage, and, during the Reclamation Tenspan, citizens way of finding out who their families were Before.
- Call the client.
- Look over the files containing the client's Reclaimed family history.
Files:
You take a moment to access the documents sent to you by Vilhelm. They appear, floating in your field of view, and you wave your hand to access them. The sounds of the station around you are automatically reduced as your CORETECHS' ambient focusing software kicks in. People and shapes moving beyond the files you are looking at blur softly into the background as you begin reading.
As Vilhelm said, much of the information appears redacted. Long lines of text and separate words or phrases throughout the document have simply been removed, leaving translucent areas that show the background behind them.
The text suggests that the client's family was involved in organised crime during the Before. There was apparently a long standing feud with a rival organisation and this is the nature of much of the redacted information. Apparently, DZ was not interested in providing specifics and potentially opening up a can of space weevils!
You push the file to the background and access another, this one seems to reference an ongoing exchange of killings that was, apparently the final manifestation of the rivalry mentioned in the previous document. Names and details have all been removed but apparently the last observed scenario involved one of the families of the rival organisation fleeing an attack in space, their vessel having sustained heavy damage. While details in the text are redacted, a blurry image of the vessel seems to have escaped the notice of whatever analyst worked this case. You can make out the stylized features of some sort of orange canine painted upon the prow.
- Call the client.
You activate the call link that Vilhelm provided, noting that neither name nor picture appear as the CORETECHS connection waits to establish. You wait a moment, watching the various passersby, going about their business on the station under the shadows of the massive vessels that now make up much of the city's infrastructure. After a short moment, background noise is slightly muted as the call kicks in. A hesitant female voice answers.
The client: I… hello there. I thank you for taking my job during these Reclamation festivities. Vilhelm spoke high praises of your skills. I hope you can understand, given the nature of what DZ have given me about my past, my need for anonymity. At least until we have gotten to know each other a little better.
The client: I assume you have perused the documents in question?
If you haven't:
- Look over the files containing the client's Reclaimed family history.
- "I can't say that I have."
If you have:
- "I have, yes."
- "I can't say that I have."
Can't say I have:
Me: I can't say that I have.
The Client: It would expedite our business relationship to no end if you would do me the kindness of casting your eye over the files now. It would mean that we are on an equal plateau in as far as information pertinent to the current situation goes.
- Look over the files containing the client's Reclaimed family history.
Yes:
Me: I have, yes.
The Client.: Ah, excellent. You can see then, that my history seems to include several rather, erm, delicate, chapters. I believe we were wronged, or we wronged someone, or perhaps an equal measure of both. Either way, I've always felt a certain distance to the various older branches of my family, a certain awkwardness born, perhaps, of latent guilt or shame at some half-known truths.
The client's voice pauses for a moment, as if lost in thought. The background slowly takes on a scarlet hue as the station's main view-ports slowly revolve towards the Martian landscape far below, giving the impression of a sunset and the day dragging on. Finally, she speaks once again, in softer tones.
The Client: I see here an opportunity, an opportunity to bring my family together and move into this new chapter with the confidence and togetherness one can only really garner from leaving the past firmly behind. To begin a new chapter, I must help them close the previous one, even if much of it now lies shrouded in the darkness of ignorance! Enough remains, fragments or echoes of it if you will, that I feel causes some rift between us.
The Client: Help me reclaim it Ser, and I can mend these voids, these… distances between us! And, it goes without saying, reward you handsomely for your efforts.
- "Alright, so what do you need from me?"
- "The documents mention a ship?"
Ship:
Me: The documents mention a ship?
The Client: Yes indeed! Well spotted. I can see that you are, as Mister Vilhelm postulated, quite the canny freelancer! The mention of the ship, and more importantly, the fact that it suffered damages as you have no doubt surmised, is why we are here on København!
- "I know why…"
- "Alright, so what do you need from me?"
- "And why is that?"
I know:
Me: I know why…this station used to be the hub of ship building no? You're thinking that the vessel mentioned in the documents might have made its way here for repairs.
Silence greets you for a long moment and you wonder if you have offended the Client somehow. Finally she speaks again, her words bursting through a half-formed giggle of apology.
The Client: Ha! Sorry, yes! Correct again. I was tapping my nose in that time honored gesture of acknowledgment of ones erudition but, of course, you could not see this. The irony is not lost on me I assure you.
Why is that:
Me: And why is that?
Silence greets you for a long moment and you wonder if you have offended the Client somehow. Finally she speaks again, her words bursting through a half-formed giggle of apology.
The Client: Ha! My apologies, I was leaning in conspiratorially in a misguided attempt to add dramatic flare to our conversation. You, however, cannot see this!
The Client: The reason, you see, that I have come here to seek aid in uncovering the details of my family's past lies in the details about the ship on the documents. The ship was reported to have sustained heavy damage in a firefight. København, perhaps you already know, was, and to an extent is becoming once again, the galactic center of shipwrighting and repairs!
The Client: It is my fervent hope, therefore, that the vessel in question may have alighted in the shipyards in order to facilitate repairs and was there when the Catastrophe struck! It is, as shots go, a fairly long one, but I have no other leads!
- "Alright, so what do you need from me?"
Me: Alright, so what do you need from me?
The Client: We need to find out if the ship mentioned in the documents did indeed alight on this station Before. There could be any number of avenues to that information. You are, after all, the professional!
On København, find a way to locate the ship pictured and mentioned in the redacted documents.
- See if anyone in the area knows anything.
OR
- See if anyone in the area knows anything.
OR
- See if anyone in the area knows anything.
OR
Next NPC: Iwo, Port, København
- Inquire about the ship.
OR
- Search the Wreckage for signs of the vessel pictured in the redacted documents.
Gym:
There are few people using the training area today, most are likely preparing for the Reclamation ceremony later today. Of the two you manage to speak to over the loud music pumping from the ceiling, one suggests searching the Wreckage yourself and the other making an inquiry with Iwo, the head of the wreck runners guild located in the port.
Search elsewhere on København for information on how to locate the ship pictured and mentioned in the redacted documents.
Inn:
You ask a number of the patrons and staff in the Mermaid but most seem to be getting ready for the Reclamation ceremony in some form or another. One woman, a bouncer hired for the evening, suggests searching the Wreckage yourself or even asking the wreck runners in the port.
Search elsewhere on København for information on how to locate the ship pictured and mentioned in the redacted documents.
Market:
You ask various people in the market but nobody seems to know anything of value. Some suggest asking the wreck runners in the port. Others tell you that the Wreckage, an area in the ruined city, is full of old ships. But for the most part, everyone seems to be getting ready for the Reclamation ceremony.
Search elsewhere on København for information on how to locate the ship pictured and mentioned in the redacted documents.
Ruins:
(Stamina check)
You spend many long segments trudging through the broken city, clambering through the husks of once mighty space-faring vessels and through the twisted remains of skyscrapers lying on their sides. Finally, as you climb to the top of a shattered sky-rise jutting at an angle out of the cracked streets, you spot a familiar looking orange colored canine.
You pull up the image from the redacted documents to compare the crashed vessel you see jutting out of a squat, brown building in the distance and confirm they are the same. It may be time to contact the client!
Iwo:
You approach Iwo, a behemoth of a Mall with craggy features buried behind a bristling beard that is equal in proportion to his size. He sits in an office that is comically too small for him and, perhaps, adds in part to the perpetual scowl hanging like an avalanche of lava off his mountainous face. He listens to your questions about the ship before offering a non-committal grunt.
Iwo: Ship gone missing since the Catastrophe? Huh, oh suuuure, nobody ever asks me about those! I'm guessing this is a Reclamation thing eh? Fine…
Iwo swipes two large fingers through the air in front of him and a holo-screen pops into existence, casting a bright orange hue onto the wall behind him.
Iwo: Could use a break from wreck running inventory to be honest. You have anything I can work with?
Iwo looks at you expectantly, fingers poised before the glowing holo-terminal.
- "Erm, I think there was an orange dog painted on the hull?"
- Send Iwo the picture of the vessel from the documents.
I think:
Me: Erm, I think there was an orange dog painted on the hull?
Iwo's brows come together and he releases a geyser-like snort, somehow managing to both scowl and laugh at the same time. He shakes his head and starts manipulating the holo-screen before him, pulling up records and other pieces of data.
Iwo: An orange dog, sure, that's gonna yield a smog-ton of info I'm sure. You realize what the chances of anyone having even reported somethin' like that while…
His voice trails off as he squints his eyes, scrutinizing some piece of data hovering on the air in front of him. He taps on it and it expands into some long entry that he begins to scan through, flicking his finger upwards to scroll down. The background sounds of the port filter through the lobby of the squat, wreck runners' building and motes of dust float lazily in the air, briefly flaring up in the light of the holo-terminal like tiny novas as you wait to see what caught Iwo's attention.
After a long moment, Iwo lets out a mighty guffaw that bounces painfully around the chrome plated office walls. His belly bounces in rhythm to his mirth in an impressive display of a flesh based Dancing Oobleck for a long moment before it peters off. He wipes a tear from his eye before continuing.
Iwo: Oof… I needed that! Orange dog… did you mean a fox? As in, the Interpid Fox?
Iwo flicks his fingers at the screen and it spins around to face you, showing an image of a crashed vessel lying amid the rubble and detritus of a broken city. On its prow is a faded but familiar logo like the one in the image on the client's redacted documents.
Send picture:
You access the blurry image of the vessel from the redacted documents and, with a flick of your fingers, send it to Iwo. On your field of view, the file floats over towards him and hovers above his head until he snatches it out of the air and pushes it onto the holo-screen before him.
Iwo: Alrighty, let's see what we have here. Image is fairly old and blurry but you can make out that she's a cruiser, class H from the looks of it. You can tell by the striations under that fin… also, that Fox on the prow should give us what we need.
Iwo manipulates the screen and pulls up a list of entries, perhaps cross referencing them with the word 'Fox.' After a moment of searching, he grunts and, with a flick of his fingers, swivels the holo-screen in your direction. You lean forward and see an image of a crashed vessel lying amid the rubble and detritus of a broken city. On its prow is a faded but familiar logo like the one in the image on the client's redacted documents.
Iwo: Easy-peasy.
Either choice continues:
- "Can you take me there?"
- "Where is that?"
Where:
Me: Where is that?
Iwo: That would be quadrant 57G. It's in the Wreckage, that's what we call the ruins of the old city. And before you ask, no I can't spare any wreck runners. Old Iwo may be working seeing as I'm the boss and all, but the lads and lasses all have the day off on account of Reclamation. You want to see the ship, you'll have to get to her yourself. Word of warning though, many of those old vessels still have old security systems running, or worse, half running.
Take me:
Me: Can you take me there?
Iwo: No can do friend. Old Iwo may be working seeing as I'm the boss and all, but the lads and lasses all have the day off on account of Reclamation. You want to see the ship, you'll have to get to her yourself. She's in quadrant 57G. It's in the Wreckage, that's what we call the ruins of the old city. Word of warning though, many of those old vessels still have old security systems running, or worse, half running.
Either choice continues:
Make your way to the Wreckage (The Ruins) on København to find the Intrepid Fox.
- Find the Intrepid Fox.
The ruins area known to the locals as The Wreckage is eerily quiet as you make your way to the coordinates provided to you by Iwo. The only sounds you hear are the distant hum of the station's engines and the occasional rockfall or sifting debris loosened by time. You weave through broken buildings and the corpses of behemoth vessels, ships that came crashing down onto the station so many cycles ago during the Catastrophe.
Before too long you find yourself staring up at a squat, brown building with a ship jutting out of it. At the ship's prow is a faded but familiar design of an orange colored canine. It may be time to call back the client.
Searching the Ruins or consulting Iwo both continue:
Call the Client on København.
- Call the Client via your CORETECHS.
Long moments pass while you wait for the Client to answer. The ruined buildings and crashed vessels loom above you like strange, squatting behemoths observing some tiny insect. The silence is almost pervasive and you are gladdened when the call is finally answered. You inform the client of your location and the fact that you have found the vessel.
The Client: Oh! You are a most industrious and effective freelancer indeed. I am quite impressed with your pluck and resourcefulness. Now you just have to get inside the vessel and dig out what secrets lie within! I assume there must be some sort of passenger manifest or ship's log waiting to be reclaimed by a clever enough explorer! In fact, so confident am I in your capability that I am off to the bank to withdraw a generous sum for your payment. Call me again once you find something and I shall tell you where to meet me!
She disconnects the call with an air of breathless anticipation and leaves you to stare up at the imposing and, not the least bit foreboding, figure of a once mighty cruiser smashed into the side of the building before you. Sighing, you move forward and try to find the best path up to the ship itself.
Explore the Intrepid Fox in the Wreckage (The Ruins) of København.
- Enter the Intrepid Fox.
Tiny avalanches of sifted debris mark your passage up the side of the building that houses the corpse of the giant vessel you're trying to reach. Several segments and a couple of close calls later, you find yourself standing next to the hull. A breached section allows you convenient access and you find yourself in an ancient, chrome colored corridor in the interior of the ship known as the Intrepid Fox.
You make your way deeper into the bowels of the ancient ship, looking for the central control point that should hold some sort of passenger manifest. Suddenly you hear the sound of ancient machinery whirring just ahead. An old security system seems to be semi-operational but fully terminal to the unwary. A rusty and very deadly looking turret whirs and clacks in an erratic and glitchy pattern on the wall ahead.
- Hack the old turret.
- Dodge past the old turret.
Hack:
(Intelligence check)
After several failed attempts and a number of rerouted pathways, you finally navigate your way through the ancient and jumbled network to the turret's core system via your CORETECHS. You not only manage to power it down but also disable any further security measures and even manage to restore a semblance of power to the corridors ahead.
With relative ease, you now proceed down the dimly lit corridor. A number of disabled turrets seem to mark your passage somewhat mournfully, unable to try and riddle your body full of bullets. After several moments, you finally reach a room marked 'Central Control.'
Dodge:
(Agility check)
You take a running start and slide across the metallic floor. The system kicks in just after you pass and you manage to leap around the corner just as a smattering of bullets beat a staccato into the wall across. The hallway ahead is bathed in darkness and you find yourself wondering if any other security systems wait in the shadows.
You proceed down the corridor at a cautious pace and, now forewarned, manage to avoid a number of similarly jittery turrets on the path. Finally, you reach a room marked 'Central Control'.
Either choice continues:
- Search for a passenger manifest.
Whether as a reaction to your presence or just an old power core still providing power, the ship's central systems appear to be online. You dig through old files and journal entries, sifting through various logs and confirming that the ship did indeed come under fire. You search for a passenger manifest and only find one entry. Plenty of crew-members but only one actual passenger. The name of the passenger is missing, with the only data attached to the file being a set of DNA markers. There doesn't appear to be any corruption to the data so it seems that this was intentional.
You upload the data and carefully make your way out of the ship, dialing the Client on the way out. This time, she answers almost immediately as if anticipating your call. She listens with bated breath as you report your findings.
The Client: DNA markers? Yes, I had, in fact, anticipated something of the sort. This method was often used when transporting a personage of sensitive identity. No doubt the medical vessel had been bribed or coerced to transport the individual in question but was betrayed and waylaid en route. Still, I can work with this! DNA, in fact, in even better than a name. A name would not necessarily yield a current descendant! But these will work just fine!
The Client: Kindly send me this data post haste, I wish to put it to use immediately. Afterwards, come find me at the Mermaid for your much deserved payment! My name, by the way, is Avital. This too, you now deserve!
Avital ends the call and leaves you to gingerly pick your way down the sloped building upon which the Intrepid Fox rests. Once you reach the bottom, you upload the data she requested and begin to make your way out of the Wreckage.
Meet Avital at the Mermaid, the Inn on København.
Next NPC: Avital, Inn, København
- "Avital I presume?"
Me: Avital I presume?
You ask the question though your CORETECHS has already confirmed the answer. Avital's name hovers above her head as she sits at a table in the Mermaid, occasionally glancing at an old style timepiece on her wrist. She is well dressed with flowing, auburn hair and jumps slightly when you address her.
Avital: Oh! I, yes! The freelancer of course? Sorry… I was a bit preoccupied. Please sit, and thank you for everything!
Avital absentmindedly chews on a lip with obvious anxiety as she indicates a chair on her table. You sit next to her noting an untouched drink and a nervous tapping of her foot on the ground.
- "Did it work?"
- "Is something wrong?"
Did it work:
Me: Did it work?
Avital takes a moment to answer, seemingly preoccupied with something. You note a tightening of her features, a heightening of tension on her otherwise composed face. When she speaks, her voice almost seems to be coming from far off, wherever her thoughts are.
Avital: Yes, everything worked fine. The final step is… underway.
- "Is something wrong?"
Me: Is something wrong?
Avital: I… no. Why would you think something is wrong? Everything is fine. I used the data you sent me and put something in motion. In due course, I will have closure and this will be behind us. My family I mean, we will be whole again, I will be accepted.
- Convince Avital to tell you what is wrong.
(Social check)
You press Avital and, at first, she resists, insisiting everything is fine. But the more she resists, the more agitated she seems to become, her eyes even filling with tears. Even more sure that something is amiss, you continue to try to get her to open up until, finally, and almost with relief she relents. The words spill out in a jumble, as if poured from a decanter.
Avital: I… I fear I've done something terrible! I was so sure this was the right path, it was my family's path, the old way! But… I fear that when it comes down to it, it's the wrong way, and most definitely not my way!
Avital: I've not been entirely forthcoming, you see. There are elements to the story that I did actually know. I knew about the attack on the ship, it was part of a long standing feud between my family and another Before. The vessel carried the last survivor of our enemies, a child. When the ship came to København, it was not known what happened to the child as the Catastrophe struck shortly thereafter. I wanted to find out, to see if it survived and if there were descendants. And… if there were, I wanted to get closure for my family.
Me: Avital…what did you do?
Avital bites her lip and her eyes take on a panicked look, she leans close and speaks in a hoarse and frantic whisper.
Avital: The DNA markers, I sent them to a specialist. A person who… a person who finds people… and kills them. A person who is rumored to belong to something called the Smiling Gentry! Oh stars… I was so caught up in fitting in, I wanted to attain a sense of belonging with my family, they knew what we were Before. But now… it is hitting me. I have ended a human life!
- "Can we find the target?"
- "Can't you call it off?"
Call it off:
Me: Can't you call it off?
Panic begins to truly set in and Avital shakes her head, her eyes wide.
Avital: No! Once I made the request, they contacted me, and once I gave them the information, they went dark! Oh stars, what have I done?!
- "Can we find the target?"
Me: Maybe it's not too late. We also have the DNA, could we not find the target first?
Avital's eyes begin to dart back and forth as she thinks about what you said. Behind her, staff of the Mermaid begin setting up for the evenings Reclamation festivities. Decorations are hung up and Reclamation eggs are placed around the area for patrons to buy. Finally, Avital nods and replies.
Avital: Well, yes! Why not?! Theoretically, a DNA sequencer should be able to correlate a close enough match to deduce a potential target. Even if I can't call off the hit, we could warn them maybe! Any clone gestation facility would have a sequencer. Will you go? Please? You are far fitter than I. Plus, on the off chance that the… specialist, wants to make further contact, I should wait here.
Anxiety clouds her features as Avital looks at you with pleading eyes. This is a far different woman to that who spoke quite confidently over your CORETECHS not long ago. With a nod, you leave the table and hurry out.
Head to the Clonevats on København
- Use the DNA sequencer.
You rush to the Clone Gestation Racks and quietly make your way inside. One, lone member of staff sits at a table, her chin resting on colorfully manicured fingers and her eyes drifting closed. With the Reclamation festival about to commence, she is the only member of staff and, apparently too bored to bother with trying to stay awake.
This works to your favor and you are able to walk up to the bank of terminals at the back of the room unhindered. Once you get there, you are also further hidden from view so are able to work without fear of discovery.
You quickly locate the DNA sequencing machine and take a moment to acquaint yourself with it. Soon after, you input the DNA markers and wait for a list of the closest matches, individuals who are likely descendants of the child transported on the Intrepid Fox.
The machine works quickly and a list of names begins to appear. All of them but one are listed as deceased. As you read the only living relative, your eyes widen in shock. The name is Avital.
As if on cue, your CORETECHS notifies you about an incoming call from none other than Avital herself.
- Accept the call from Avital.
You accept the call and Avital begins talking in a hurried and frantic tone.
Avital: Did you find them? Oh stars, the specialist he, or maybe she, I don't know… they made contact! The message simply reads, "Eggs will crack, but an omelette will be had." That cannot be good!
- "Avital, it's you!"
- "You need to get out of there!"
It's you:
Me: Avital, it's you!
Get out:
Me: You need to get out of there!
Either choice continues:
Avital listens in shocked silence as you tell her what the machine found. Then she gasps as the immediate implications set in.
Avital: I'm the target! I am my own target! The specialist is coming after me…oh stars, they said cracked eggs. The Reclamation eggs! But there are other people here!
The call disconnects.
Return to the Mermaid, the Inn on København station.
Next NPC: Avital, Inn, København
- Approach Avital.
You run into the Mermaid and are greeted by a chaotic scene. Several of the delicate, filigree Reclamation eggs are strewn about the floor, broken. A number of staff members are standing around with shocked expressions and, in the middle of the floor sits Avital an egg before her.
You cautiously approach and see that this egg is different to the others. Most eggs house a simple data matrix where people can upload their histories into, and then jettison the eggs into space during the ceremony, signifying their accepting and subsequent letting go of the past. The egg that Avital is looking at has been pried open, and a delicate lattice of wires and tubes is visible from within. The tubes each hold several vials of dangerous looking colored liquids.
- Try and defuse the egg.
- Wait to see what Avital does.
Defuse:
(Intelligence check)
Several tense moments pass with the entirety of the Mermaid's staff and patronage seemingly holding their collective breath. You lift one wire as Avital gently nudges another from beneath. You expose a tube and she disconnects a tiny conduit. Slowly, painstakingly, you work with each other and, finally, seem to have disarmed the explosive egg!
Wait:
Not willing to risk trying to defuse the dangerous device, you opt to see how Avital handles it. You look around and meet several gazes of both patrons and staff, all seemingly holding their breath, not wishing to further disturb the apparently already disturbed lady with an exploding egg. Avital herself is studying the egg as she sits on the floor, the egg between her splayed legs.
A patron gasps as she lifts a wire, another swoons as she nudges a tube. Finally, apparently having reached a decision she leaps up and grabs the egg. She runs to the view-ports in the back and quickly deposits the egg into one of the small hatchways that will serve as ceremonial airlocks for people to jettison their eggs later in the evening. She closes the hatch as gently as possible and then initiates the airlock.
All eyes turn to the view-port and watch as the luxurious, delicately crafted egg spins end over end, moving away from the station towards the Black. Suddenly, there is a small flare that quickly implodes as the explosive is stifled in the vacuum of space. Avital's shoulders slump and she slides down the wall, her face buried in her knees.
Either choice continues:
- Approach Avital.
You slowly approach Avital and wait for her. After a long moment, she regains her composure and stands up, making her way back to the table and indicating for you to sit. The other patrons and staff begin to drift off, the drama now having passed and their interests eventually waned. Avital asks for you to wait for her as she stands up and moves off to make a CORETECHS call.
She stands by the wall and talks to someone on the other end of the line for some long moments. She is oddly composed and her expression stoic and unreadable during the conversation. Eventually, she returns to the table, sitting down and looking off into the distance for a while before finally speaking.
Avital: I spoke with… my family. Or rather, I spoke to THIS my family. There were elements of… the past, that I was very much unaware of, indeed, they were as well, but we managed to piece together what had happened. Our two families were indeed involved in organised crime, and they fought endlessly. Much blood was spilled on both sides. My ancestor, the child on the Intrepid Fox, was one of the last surviving members of the 'other' my family.
Avital: My…erm…my great grandparents from THIS family who lived here were tasked with finishing the feud, ending the child and ending the…my family, for good. But they could not, they took pity, took her in and raised her as their own, even after the Catastrophe.
Avital: I'm technically the last of both lines, and I almost ended both lines in one fell swoop today! But for your help, I would have succeeded! You have more than earned your pay dear Freelancer, and here, a small memento of our adventure perhaps!
Avital waves her delicately manicured fingers in the air and uploads a number of credits to you. She also lifts up one of the eggs from before, slightly cracked but pieced back together, and hands it to you. You spend some time sitting at her table, talking to her about what she might do now and whether she will need to go into hiding from the 'specialist.' Eventually, tired from the excitement, she sits back lost in thought.
Around you, the sounds of the Reclamation celebrations begin to rise in volume as the festivities reach full swing.
You have received 1 'Reclamation Egg: Deadly Edition'.
You have received 350.00 credits.
You have completed the "The Bad Egg: A Reclamation Story" mission.
Chronicle Summary
Reclamation Tenspan, a government sanctioned time of reflection, revelation, and moving on. For Avital, this seemed like an opportunity to violently set some family feuds right…it almost blew up in her face, literally!
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