Earthrise Campaign: Year 5
This page just covers the story so far in year 5 of the Earthrise campaign. For the story from the beginning, see:
The Fifth Elemental
Session 66 (Played Jan. 12, 2012)
Excerpt from The Bodyhacker's Guide to Self-Modification:
If filling your body with metal isn't your thing, whether it just gives you the creeps or simply that you prefer to be more subtle, you may want a genetic transform. Genetic transforms use all-natural DNA (OK, so it's all-natural designed DNA) to rewrite your code and make you into the person you wish you'd been born as.
One minus of genetic transforms is that they can take a long time. Just because your body is now full of shiny new cat DNA doesn't mean you'll instantly sprout a cat tail. Depending on the mod, you will probably get a secondary cell division treatment to promote growth of the new feature. That means you have to wait weeks or longer while your tail grows, itching all the while.
A bigger problem is where to get one. Genetic transforms are largely illegal in the U.S., so if you want it all above board, head overseas. Brazil and India are popular genmod travel destinations. Also, prepare to bring a wad of cash - if you want a genetic transform done right, you'll have to pay through the nose, or probiscis, or whatever it is you've decided you want to breathe through. You didn't hear it here, but rumor has it you can get many genmods right here at home much cheaper. The results are sometimes less than reliable, however, so make sure to check the word of mouth on your neighborhood street clinic before transfection.
The heros look into various leads they have on the Defenders of Humanity, hoping to get further information about where to find them or how to counter their stolen virus. However, they make little obvious progress. Rico receives a message that a fan site for him has been set up, and views a personalized video on the private "elite" section of the site.
One morning, while watching TV, Catalyst sees a news bulletin that a passenger train approaching New York is under attack. The video feed shows Resolve, from the Elementals, chasing a tall blond woman on top of the train. Catalyst calls Quantum Warrior to teleport Rico, Feedback, and himself in front of the train so that they can intervene. Catalyst is able to match speed with the train and Quantum Warrior can teleport onto it safely. Rico lifts Feedback and together they try to drop onto the roof of the train, but have some trouble holding on. Eventually, with some help from Quantum Warrior, they manage to get their grip.
Meanwhile, Rage and Insight have surrounded the blond woman inside the train. Catalyst, Feedback, and Quantum Warrior fight the two Elementals, while the woman climbs back up on the roof, where Rico fights Resolve. Charm intercepts her, but she manages to escape, now with Insight also in pursuit. Rage knocks out Feedback, sending him flying out of the train, and begins to slug it out with Catalyst and Quantum Warrior. The blond woman jumps off the back of the train, and is chased there by Insight and Resolve, who has disengaged from her fight with Rico. Catalyst wears down Rage and eventually takes him down, while Quantum Warrior goes to rescue the Elementals' prey. Rico encounters Charm, who forces him to shoot himself. Luckily, his armor protects him, but the shot knocks him out. The heros and the Elementals go their separate ways to recover.
Session 67 (Played Jan. 26, 2012)
Flyer:
Hue and Cry announces a new show "Beyond Form" by acclaimed artist Hope Mayfell. "Beyond Form" will transport you into a world without shape or form, allowing you to experience life as a beam of light or the flames of a fire.
"Beyond Form" is open from Friday, February 27, 2060 until Thursday, March 18. Hours are 10 AM - 8 PM Monday-Thursday, 10 AM - 10 PM Friday and Saturday, closed Sunday.
The woman rescued from the Elementals is named Hope Mayfell, a former member of the group. She explains that the Elementals are after her because they want her to give them the design for her face-shifting genetic modification, presumably to enable them to hide better from the authorities. She refused and fled to New York, but the Elementals caught up with her on the train. The heros suggest she can stay at the base for the time being. However, later that evening Hope receives a call from her boyfriend Brian. The Elementals have contacted him and use him to convey a veiled threat.
The Elementals' message indicates they want Hope to meet them at Brian's gallery in Washington DC the following night. The heros travel to Washington, preparing to assault the Elementals and rescue Brian. Catalyst goes early to the gallery to scout, but he is spotted by the Elementals, who are waiting in the back room. He flees into the building and grabs Brian. Brian, under Charm's command, resists fruitlessly, and a bystander captures Catalyst's action on camera. Catalyst flies out through the ceiling, but after attacks by Insight, Resolve, and Rage, he is knocked unconscious. Brian, badly injured, is retrieved by Resolve, and Catalyst manages barely to escape.
Shaken by the close call, Hope agrees to turn over the design to the Elementals, and they make a trade. Brian is sent to get medical attention at the heros' base. Meanwhile, Alyssa Hart and Feedback have planted a radio beacon built into the envelope Hope's design is in, modified to stay quiet for one hour. Using it, they track the Elementals to the mountains of West Virginia, about a mile from the road.
Session 68 (Played Feb. 10, 2012)
Patient file summary, New Life clinic, New Delhi:
Name: Hope Mayfell
Age: 27
Date of procedure: June 23, 2053
Procedure description: Custom somatic genetic modification with nanotech augmentation.
Billing: Complete
Notes: No complications from surgery. Follow-up tune-up of pigmentation calibration July 7, 2053. One year check-up June 8, 2054. Augmentation design client confidential, not for secondary sales.
The heros head into the mountains after the Elementals. They find the envelope with the tracking device at a bend in the trail between a bluff and a ravine. The Elementals are waiting there in ambush. The battle starts off with some ineffective long-range attacks. Feedback and Catalyst close with Rage and Insight. Feedback gets the worst of an exchange with Insight and is knocked out while Catalyst slugs it out with Rage. Charm attempts to sneak up on the others, but Rico intercepts him. Charm fails to mind control Quantum Warrior and ends up fighting both Rico and Hope. He manages to paralyze Hope with fear, but Rico grabs him and drags him away from the others. Alyssa brings Resolve to ground with her glue gun, and puts her in a joint lock, but Resolve manages to knock out Alyssa with her laser eye. Meanwhile, Insight takes on Catalyst while Rage gets slowed more and more by Quantum Warrior, eventually becoming immobile. Feedback recovers enough to attack Rage, in the process starting a forest fire with his thermal burst. Catalyst just barely manages to take out Insight, but while he refocuses on taking down Rage, Resolve grabs Insight and flies off. Charm manages to escape down the ravine. The PCs do capture Rage, however, and turn him over to Alyssa.
Primary Objective
Session 69 (Played March 15, 2012)
New York Times, Wednesday, March 2, 2060:
Super Tuesday Widens Leads for Thompson, Rodriguez:
The outcome of yesterday's primary elections in 15 states gave Governor Vincent Rodriguez a commanding lead in the Democratic primary election, while Vice President Sam Thompson gained more ground over Senator Jim Nelson in the Republican primary. Congressman Sandra Toul has scheduled a press conference at 2 PM today and is expected to announce that she will drop out of the race. Senator Nelson has already vowed to fight on.
Rage is turned over to the FBI. The heros ask Hope to track down a post-human geneticist who might be willing to help them against the Defenders' bioweapon. Hope also does some investigation on her own. Her sister Ruby, who works at a PR firm working with Senator Nelson's presidential campaign, noticed him in a suspicious holo-meeting. Nelson is speaking at a rally near New York City, and the heros decide to investigate him while he is in town. They begin by hacking into his local campaign office and extracting their database of local donors, campaign staff, and potential voters. They leave in place a temporary monitoring program, hoping to catch him in another holo-conference, but without luck.
Feedback and Quantum Warrior attend a rally by Warchild rights activists at Nelson's speech. Rico and Alyssa are assigned to help the police in case of trouble by the Warchildren. Tempers flare as the Warchildren there, on edge due to rumors about a bioengineered Warchild-killing disease, confront Nelson's supporters. One Warchild loses his temper and badly burns the man taunting him. This sparks a larger brawl. The heros try to get things back under control, eventually succeeding when Feedback uses his psychomagnetic burst to knock out the people fighting, as well as some nearby police.
Going Viral
Session 70 (Played April 11, 2012)
Excerpt from a speech by Senator Jim Nelson, March 24, 2060:
"Last week, Warchildren rioted at one of my speeches, badly injuring some innocent attendees. This goes to show how dangerous the situation is, and how needed is further legislation to protect normal folk. This incident shows what extremes they are willing to go to stop us, but we will not be cowed! I swear to you, I will continue to speak loud and clear when I see a danger to humanity, no matter who tries to stop me. And when I'm elected president, I will do whatever it takes to make sure humans will not lose their place on this planet!"
The heros continue to investigate Senator Nelson. They break into the computers of his main campaign office and download information about his donor database and meetings. They also break into the records of the lawyer who handled the bail hearings for Blue Lightning and Whiplash, and download client and financial data, as well as information about appointments relevant to the two cases.
Hope contacts them again. She has located a geneticist who might be willing to help them, a post-human named Unfolding Horizon. He is currently in isolation at a monastery in Nepal, so Rico, Quantum Warrior, and Feedback go to visit him there. He is currently in a coccoon metamorphosing, but would perhaps be willing to aid the heros starting in a few weeks. However, he indicates he will likely need a sample of the Kenyan Plague, and insists first that the heros prove they can protect him. They face three monks skilled in martial arts, and defeat them without too much trouble.
Blown Away
Session 71 (Played May 9, 2012)
New York Times, Tuesday, March 30, 2060:
Conspiracy Theories Fuel Warchild Tensions
Rumors about a deadly genetically engineered plague have played a major role in the recent slew of riots by Warchildren. Many in the Warchild community believe that a secret society is preparing to unleash a deadly plague to wipe them out. Contrary rumors have also been circulating that the secret society plans to eliminate everyone not a Warchild. Public health officials and law enforcement officials deny there is any truth to the rumors. Following the first news stories yesterday about the rumors, however, many pharmacies report heavy sales of over-the-counter and prescription anti-viral medications.
Quantum Warrior has been having some trouble teleporting correctly, an indication of further dimensional anomalies. The heros set up some monitoring equipment worldwide and send a message to Mereth Panal Poppa asking for help. Feedback and Quantum Warrior begin to go through big donors to Jim Nelson's campaign, looking for people with poor information security. They discover a few people who have also donated to the Defenders of Humanity, one of whom additionally leased a warehouse in Los Angeles for the Defenders' use. The heros go there to investigate. However, the warehouse is a trap, with crates full of explosives which go off as they examine them. Quantum Warrior's attempt to teleport them out is interrupted by the explosion, causing something to go wrong.
They wake up in the warehouse after an unknown time unconscious, with all their minor electronics destroyed. They attempt to teleport back to the base, but are instead bounced to Lady Dusk's lawn above the base. As they try to determine what's wrong, Lady Dusk and two combat robots confront them. She attacks, accusing them of being terrorists. Feedback is captured, but Quantum Warrior and Rico escape.
Feedback ascertains that Lady Dusk thinks the three of them are criminals and have been for some time. Wanderer appears and talks to Quantum Warrior and Rico. He confirms that they are in a parallel universe, and that the dimensional anomalies in their home universe were caused by the dimensional nexus in Olympus Mons on Mars. It was improperly opened and not closed. Quantum Warrior and Rico teleport to Feedback, grab him, and escape. They retreat to a hotel in a small town in Canada to check the news archives. They learns that in this world, their counterparts, as well as Catalyst and Kit, have been wanted for around 10 months for terrorism and attacks on government facilities.