08-02-2017, 01:33 AM
Hank Blackford
Dumb hit man
Set snares
Bureaucracy
Leather jacket
Homing missile launcher
Temple chamber
ProtoGen Industrial Corporation
Deliver medical supplies to the ruined beach house.
Disguised villain
Gratify / Riches
My name is Hank Blackford and I work for ProtoGen Industrial. My duties are combination maintenance and security. In a way I suppose you could say everyone working for ProtoGen is responsible for security. With our political allies wavering in their support for the corporation, our facilities have been the targets of sabotage attempts, even a few hit jobs on execs.
I scan the horizon following a loud blast to the south, along the beach but within the facility perimeter fencing. Do I see the smoke?
Yes
Black smoke rises from the waste-chem outflow station. I quickly check the emergency response manual on my desk. Because of the size of the blast, my post falls within the mandatory response zone. I guess I'll be abandoning my defense tower post. I put all missile protocols on standby and grab the orange leather med-vest from the overhead. I begin my descent down the several flights of stairs.
Arrive
I can smell the acrid, black smoke as I arrive at the edge of the blast radius. Should I be concerned about inhaling the fumes?
No, but...
The smoke itself isn't poisonous, but it does stink my eyes and blur my vision a bit. I fan the plumes from my face with my hand. Have I heard any radio chatter since the blast?
Yes, and...
Devil's advocate Halfling hit man
My buddy, Cho, has been in my ear since the blast, mostly bitching about how the mandatory response zone shouldn't apply to him in his tower since his tiny legs cut his response time down by half. I'd grant him a 20% handicap at best, a full half seemed excessive. I circle around the edge of the blast towards Cho's tower, is he still on his way?
Yes
The halfling was barely at a trot by the time he got to the site. "You'd have gotten here as quick as me if you'd have actually run," I tell him.
"What is that smell?!" Cho buries his face in his sleeve.
"It's the chems burning. Must have doubled the size of the blast."
"You think it was just an accident? Or...?"
"Hard to say. Lots of combustibles in there, and it's been hot out, dry too."
"Was anyone supposed to be over here today?"
Do we hear signs of distress?
Yes
As if in answer to Cho's questioning, a pained, choking cry came from inside the rubble.
Stop
Cho starts to rush into the smoke. "Stop!" I scream as I snag the back of his med-vest. "What is it?"
Speederbike
I wrap myself around Cho and pin ourselves against the ground just as the smoking wreck of a Speederbike explodes.
Minor Injury: Largely superficial; painful and distracting, but not life threatening.
We cough and wince against the sting of the blast as we pick ourselves up. Luckily it was more heat than shrapnel. "That thing would have smoked me!" Cho says looking at the small crater he nearly escaped. "I owe you one."
"Don't mention it." Do we still hear screams?
No
The cries from inside the smoke stop. I call out, trying to find the victim in the rubble.
Healthy Half-elf genetic hybrid
Severe Injury: Incapacitating and may become Critical if untreated.
It's one of the ProtoGen research guys from the lab, "What's he doing out here?" I say to Cho through the smoke, at this point both of us are muffled behind our sleeves.
"Is he still alive?"
I pull the scanner from my vest and wave it over his chest and face. "He's alive, if only just."
"How in the world..."
"Come on, we have to get him out of this smoke." Cho takes the Half-elf's legs under his arms as I grab the back of his lab coat's singed collar. We drag his body to just beyond the blast radius and Cho starts going through his med-vest.
Prophecy
Agriculture
"Yaran Matsu," I read, "Says he's in the speculative-crop department."
"Oh yeah? Looks strait out of the academy to me."
"No, that's just the elf half coming through. This guy's probably twice our age at least."
"Here." Cho hands me a pair of medical shears. "We need to get to his chest, cut that away," he points to the waist of the lab coat that has melted and adhered to the man's side.
I finally manage to get the material cut away. Is the injury obvious?
No
"He looks fine on the outside, no serious bleeding or burns."
"Hold on," Cho says as he turns a knob on the side of his scanner. "Might be internal damage."
Yes, but...
"He's got some pretty serious injuries in there. Nothing I can deal with here." Cho says, turning off the scanner and putting it back into the vest pocket. Are the medics responding?
Yes, but...
Abandon
When the real medics finally show up a minute later, the seem more interested in the blast and the rubble than in poor Yaran Matsu. For a while we stand over his body, waiting for them to approach and haul him off, but they don't come over, even after glancing over at us, disinterested. "Hey!" Cho finally yells.
"We got a Lab Tech over here! Internal injuries, but he's not gone yet," I add.
The two confer from a distance, one points into the center of the rubble and walks away from us after a last unnerving glance. The other strolls casually over to us. "What's the problem?" he asks.
For a moment all Cho and I can do is stare blankly at the man as the three of us stand over the body. "Oh, I figured, you know, you might be interested in saving this guy's life and all, what with you being a medic..." I say. Does he even check the body?
No
Without so much as a look at the Half-Elf, the "medic" purses his lips and shakes his head just slightly. He stands up on the balls of his feet and looks over our heads at the beach behind us, scanning the waterline. Cho and I turn to see what could possibly be more pertinent.
Spy
A man in a long overcoat and stiff hat was walking up the shore. A small inflatable craft has been beached just behind him.
He takes a brief look at shirtless body on the ground before both men turn and walk to the boat. A moment later, the other medic emerges from the smoking ruins with a black metal crate of some kind tucked under his arm. He boards the inflatable boat and the man in the stiff hat looks up at Cho and I one last time before they hum away from the beach.
"What the hell was that?" Cho says.
"I...I'm not sure I want to know."
"What about this guy?!"
I pull my scanner and wave it over the bare chest. "Yeah, he's gone."
Dumb hit man
Set snares
Bureaucracy
Leather jacket
Homing missile launcher
Temple chamber
ProtoGen Industrial Corporation
Deliver medical supplies to the ruined beach house.
Disguised villain
Gratify / Riches
My name is Hank Blackford and I work for ProtoGen Industrial. My duties are combination maintenance and security. In a way I suppose you could say everyone working for ProtoGen is responsible for security. With our political allies wavering in their support for the corporation, our facilities have been the targets of sabotage attempts, even a few hit jobs on execs.
I scan the horizon following a loud blast to the south, along the beach but within the facility perimeter fencing. Do I see the smoke?
Yes
Black smoke rises from the waste-chem outflow station. I quickly check the emergency response manual on my desk. Because of the size of the blast, my post falls within the mandatory response zone. I guess I'll be abandoning my defense tower post. I put all missile protocols on standby and grab the orange leather med-vest from the overhead. I begin my descent down the several flights of stairs.
Arrive
I can smell the acrid, black smoke as I arrive at the edge of the blast radius. Should I be concerned about inhaling the fumes?
No, but...
The smoke itself isn't poisonous, but it does stink my eyes and blur my vision a bit. I fan the plumes from my face with my hand. Have I heard any radio chatter since the blast?
Yes, and...
Devil's advocate Halfling hit man
My buddy, Cho, has been in my ear since the blast, mostly bitching about how the mandatory response zone shouldn't apply to him in his tower since his tiny legs cut his response time down by half. I'd grant him a 20% handicap at best, a full half seemed excessive. I circle around the edge of the blast towards Cho's tower, is he still on his way?
Yes
The halfling was barely at a trot by the time he got to the site. "You'd have gotten here as quick as me if you'd have actually run," I tell him.
"What is that smell?!" Cho buries his face in his sleeve.
"It's the chems burning. Must have doubled the size of the blast."
"You think it was just an accident? Or...?"
"Hard to say. Lots of combustibles in there, and it's been hot out, dry too."
"Was anyone supposed to be over here today?"
Do we hear signs of distress?
Yes
As if in answer to Cho's questioning, a pained, choking cry came from inside the rubble.
Stop
Cho starts to rush into the smoke. "Stop!" I scream as I snag the back of his med-vest. "What is it?"
Speederbike
I wrap myself around Cho and pin ourselves against the ground just as the smoking wreck of a Speederbike explodes.
Minor Injury: Largely superficial; painful and distracting, but not life threatening.
We cough and wince against the sting of the blast as we pick ourselves up. Luckily it was more heat than shrapnel. "That thing would have smoked me!" Cho says looking at the small crater he nearly escaped. "I owe you one."
"Don't mention it." Do we still hear screams?
No
The cries from inside the smoke stop. I call out, trying to find the victim in the rubble.
Healthy Half-elf genetic hybrid
Severe Injury: Incapacitating and may become Critical if untreated.
It's one of the ProtoGen research guys from the lab, "What's he doing out here?" I say to Cho through the smoke, at this point both of us are muffled behind our sleeves.
"Is he still alive?"
I pull the scanner from my vest and wave it over his chest and face. "He's alive, if only just."
"How in the world..."
"Come on, we have to get him out of this smoke." Cho takes the Half-elf's legs under his arms as I grab the back of his lab coat's singed collar. We drag his body to just beyond the blast radius and Cho starts going through his med-vest.
Prophecy
Agriculture
"Yaran Matsu," I read, "Says he's in the speculative-crop department."
"Oh yeah? Looks strait out of the academy to me."
"No, that's just the elf half coming through. This guy's probably twice our age at least."
"Here." Cho hands me a pair of medical shears. "We need to get to his chest, cut that away," he points to the waist of the lab coat that has melted and adhered to the man's side.
I finally manage to get the material cut away. Is the injury obvious?
No
"He looks fine on the outside, no serious bleeding or burns."
"Hold on," Cho says as he turns a knob on the side of his scanner. "Might be internal damage."
Yes, but...
"He's got some pretty serious injuries in there. Nothing I can deal with here." Cho says, turning off the scanner and putting it back into the vest pocket. Are the medics responding?
Yes, but...
Abandon
When the real medics finally show up a minute later, the seem more interested in the blast and the rubble than in poor Yaran Matsu. For a while we stand over his body, waiting for them to approach and haul him off, but they don't come over, even after glancing over at us, disinterested. "Hey!" Cho finally yells.
"We got a Lab Tech over here! Internal injuries, but he's not gone yet," I add.
The two confer from a distance, one points into the center of the rubble and walks away from us after a last unnerving glance. The other strolls casually over to us. "What's the problem?" he asks.
For a moment all Cho and I can do is stare blankly at the man as the three of us stand over the body. "Oh, I figured, you know, you might be interested in saving this guy's life and all, what with you being a medic..." I say. Does he even check the body?
No
Without so much as a look at the Half-Elf, the "medic" purses his lips and shakes his head just slightly. He stands up on the balls of his feet and looks over our heads at the beach behind us, scanning the waterline. Cho and I turn to see what could possibly be more pertinent.
Spy
A man in a long overcoat and stiff hat was walking up the shore. A small inflatable craft has been beached just behind him.
He takes a brief look at shirtless body on the ground before both men turn and walk to the boat. A moment later, the other medic emerges from the smoking ruins with a black metal crate of some kind tucked under his arm. He boards the inflatable boat and the man in the stiff hat looks up at Cho and I one last time before they hum away from the beach.
"What the hell was that?" Cho says.
"I...I'm not sure I want to know."
"What about this guy?!"
I pull my scanner and wave it over the bare chest. "Yeah, he's gone."