Cyberpunk Red - 'Holliday' - Solo Session - "Hunter's Hunted"

A roleplay session in the world of Cyberpunk Red

This session was written up by our Gamesmaster Matt and formatted for my blog by me.

Previous 'Gigs'

Story Arc One

(0) Spydar's Web, (1) Big Trouble in Little China, (2) Eye-Spy, (2a) Raven, (3) Death's in the Family, (4) A Hot Minute.

The Players

Our players were all started at Rank 4

Phil as 'Holliday', 

Nomad: Rank 5

Gamesmaster

Matt as everyone else.

Scene introductions and 'speaking to the players' bits are written in Blue to distinguish them from the roleplayed parts of the scenes.

Solo Session: "Hunter's Hunted"

Introduction

It has been two weeks since you returned from the Hot Zone. During that time, you have been in the Badlands helping to rebuild the Prylor pack’s caravan and have managed to get some time for therapy to adapt to your latest cyberware upgrades. The vehicle you took from the tower when you rescued the netrunner, known as Spydar was a well-received gift to the Prylor pack and they have been extremely welcoming of you amongst them while you have tried to avoid spending too much time in the city, after your week in therapy.

A Vehicle 'Acquired' by Holliday, via Budget Arms

The stress of not knowing where you stood has been a weight on your shoulders. Your companion’s cold-blooded murder of your previous client, Preston Garvey, could have left you with a price on your head. You opted to lay low until you received a message from Avery himself telling you he had been promoted to Garvey’s vacated position and you were in fact now officially on retainer with Budget Arms.

With that worry laid to rest, you have had a niggling thought in the back of your mind you have been unable to shake. Perhaps it’s spending time with the Prylor pack or maybe it’s the residual anger of your own childhood experiences with the Raffen Shiv, either way, you can’t get it out of your head that they are still out there somewhere, preying on more unfortunates. 

The Camp

It was late in the morning and everyone had been up and about ready for the day for a while. The air was dry and warm and slightly dusty. “Hmm, must be a storm brewing.” Holliday murmured to himself. 

He drained his coffee, gazing out across the desert towards the main Aldecaldo camp east of the city. 

Iris and Aela, two of the survivors from the raid were out with the Jaecob Salome. There has been talk of another pack donating a vehicle to help the Prylors out. It wasn’t much, but it would be enough to get them back to transporting goods again and that would give them half a chance of getting back on their feet. The rest of the group were working around the camp. Holliday admired the way that they pulled together through their grief and adversity.

The Prylor caravan itself was still small, with a few small tents, a mid-sized gazebo used for mealtimes and a station set up where Spydar could be seen working to set up a connection to CityNet. Emersyn Prylor hobbled across from him back towards the gazebo. Despite her broken leg, she insisted on continuing to manage the business needs of the group. Medow Salome had been helping as much as she was allowed to, but Emersyn was throwing herself wholly into her work. The two of them were trying to mitigate the loss of business as a result of losing the pack’s old vehicles in the Raffen attack.

Holliday walked over to the gazebo. Emersyn was pouring over a map seemingly tracing transport lines onto it with a pencil. As he approached she looked up. “Holliday.” She said in greeting.

Emersyn Prylor - Nomad
Prylor Pack Leader

“Mornin’” Said Holliday “I wanted to run something by you.”

She sat back from the map, giving him her attention. “What can I do you for?”

“Those fuckers we dealt with, too late.” Said Holliday “They must’a had friends. I want to look into it. Track them down some.”

“We’re stretched pretty thin here.” Said Emersyn. “We can’t spare the people to go track them down, as much as I’d like to.”

“I know, I was going to look into this myself. I just wanted your permission so to speak to go after them. I’ve got people I can call on to help once I know where the Raffen are hiding out.”

“I got no problem with seeing those fuckers’ dead.” Said Emersyn. “What do you need from us?”

“You got any direction to point me in?” Said Holliday. “Other people going missing? Raids? Anything?”

“I’ve heard of other families going missing but they left no trail to follow. We were lucky I guess, you and the Salomes saw the smoke from the fires. Not everyone is so lucky.” She said “The disappearances aren’t always in the same area if we do get any evidence of where they went missing from. Could be that the disappearances are unrelated or it could be that the Shiv are avoiding leaving a pattern. They are very mobile.” She pointed at a few spots on the map. “We know of folks going missing out here and here, but not in any sort of close time frame. You thought of checking the market instead?”

“What are you thinking?” Said Holliday.

“If they’re trafficking organs, maybe you could look for a dealer. We bought out medical supplies from Crew Sanchez. That’s his area of expertise. Maybe he has more knowledge of the market, buyers, sellers, supply train or whatever.”

“Preem.” Said Holliday. “That’s a lead I can follow.” He waited while Emersyn sent him Sanchez’s contact details.

Lynk Prylor - Nomad, Prylor Pack

Lynk Prylor, Emersyn’s youngest son had been very withdrawn since the death of his older brother and step-father. He had taken to riding his bike out in the desert solo. The whole camp knew that Emersyn was not happy about this but injured as she was she hadn’t been able to stop him. Privately, as protective as she was, she also recognised that Lynk was dealing with his grief in his own way and maybe it was best to let him get on with it.

“I acted out after what happened to me.” Holliday started. “Some say I’m still acting out. The way I see it, we all got to look after each other out here.” He looked her in the eye. “I’ll keep an eye out for Lynk, make sure he doesn’t get into trouble.”

For a second, the mask slipped and Holliday could see the vulnerability of the worried mother. But only for a second. “Thank you.” She said. “You’re right, we gotta look after the family.”

“I’m going to check in with Spydar, then I’m heading out. You look after yourself.” Said Holliday heading for the netrunners station.

Spydar was busily connecting up a transmitter to a terminal he had set up in his tent. It put Holliday in mind of old listening posts set up for intelligence gathering in the 1940’s. “How you settling in?” He asked.

“I’m only just getting set up out here you know. I’m trying to get used to gathering information the analogue ways, sharing it between families and stuff. Hopefully once I’ve got this station set up, I can get back into the CityNet and be a bit more use.” Said Spydar.

“Speaking of that. I have a small favour to ask as far as computation goes?” Said the nomad.

“What you got in mind?”

“You know about the misfortunes the pack went through recently?”

Spydar - Netrunner, Prylor Pack

Spydar looked around, perhaps slightly apprehensively. “I heard something about it. I don’t want to pry too much, it sounds like stuff went south pretty badly.”

“If I get you data about missing persons, could you run a program that maps out the disappearances?” Said Holliday. “I’m thinking about if we can spot a pattern, maybe predict where attacks might happen in future. We can start warning people in future.”

Spydar looked intrigued. “That’s a good idea. I’m pretty sure I could write a program for that sort of thing. You’d need to get me the data though.” 

“You looking for missing people? Obviously I’m not much use yet out here, but I had contacts back in the city. There was a PI, Cass Optekar. He used to work for Infocomp back before the DataKrash. Once that went to shit though he set himself up. He’s been doing it for years and he’s preem.”

“You mind me name dropping you if I get in contact?” Said Holliday thinking about Spydar’s status as a wanted man.

“Yeah, you can namedrop me, but don’t go into detail about where I am.” He paused for a second. “Though to be honest, if he wanted to find me, I don’t doubt he could. He’s very good.”

“Thanks.” Said Holliday, taking the contact number.

'Code' Mounter - Nomad, Prylor Pack

He could make out Code Mounter working at the back of the delivery truck.  The tough old nomad had been looking after Emersyn since their ordeal with the Raffen. Halo, Emersyn’s husband had been one of the casualties and Code had taken it upon himself to try and help her through the grief. He had been doing the majority of the work converting the ‘borrowed’ delivery truck into a combi. Judging by the sounds of sawing and hammering, he was trying to fit some creature comforts ready to make it more liveable. “Mornin’” He said.

“Holliday, good to see you.” Said Code.

“I have a mind to go after the rest of the gang that pinched you. Do you remember anything about the vehicles that stands out?”

“Hmm, that’s a tough one to recall. It was dark when they came up on us. We didn’t see them till it was too late. Kept their lights off to hide their approach.” Said Code.

“Do you think maybe they had some sort of IR or night vision of something?” Asked Holliday, intrigued. Perhaps this was something he could look into developing himself.

“It’s hard to say. They could see the light of the campfire, so I guess they didn’t need to be able to see as much. Good idea though if they did.” He put his saw down. “They beat us damn near to death. I don’t really remember the trucks that well, but they were big enough to throw a bunch of people in and were obviously capable of driving off road. That’s all I can really remember.”

“Thanks anyway.” Said Holliday, “You never know what might come up. I’ll be off now, talk to you later.”

Walking to his car, Holliday dialled the number for Crew Sanchez. The fixer answered. “Hello, who’s this?”

“Holliday. We met a few weeks back. I was picking up some medical supplies for a client.”

“You got away alright then?” Said Crew “Those unwanted guests didn’t cause you any trouble?”

“Nothing I couldn’t handle.” Said Holliday. “Look, I have something I need to ask you about. I’m looking into some medical supplies specific medical supplies. Can I meet you face to face?”

“You sound like you’re being a bit cautious about this. There’s a bar in Heywood, it’s called Spannerz. It’s an old workers haunt in the industrial district. I’m there now, I’ll keep an eye out for you.”

Sanchez

Heywood - Night City

Holliday drove into the Heywood Industrial district. Heywood was the closest area of the city to the Aldecaldo camp, but the drive through the slums of the district was arduous all the same. The twisting tent cities were hard to navigate and often packed with the unfortunate denizens, blocking the roads. Eventually, the nomad passed through the suburbs into the old industrial district. Here the mostly empty factories and warehouses stood in testament to the world before the war. The impact on the manufacturing industry worldwide was laid bare before Holliday as he made his way to the rendezvous. He couldn’t help wondering how long these buildings were going to stay empty.

Spannerz seemed to have been built to serve the workers from that bygone age. Now, it seems strange to have a bar in somewhere so remote and lifeless, but Holliday could imagine the bustling atmosphere as shifts from the factories came and went. There were few inside now however. A small group sat around a table to the left of the door. They looked like a work crew of some kind though Holliday had no interest in what they were doing. A large gruff looking man stood alone at one end of the bar.

 

Crew Sanchez - Fixer

Crew and a woman that Holliday vaguely recognised sat in a booth at the back of the room. He ordered himself a beer and walked over to meet them. The woman was another nomad but from a different nation, known as the Bakkers. Searching his memory he seemed to remember her name was Kaneda.

Crew offered him a seat “Buenos Dios, it’s good to see you still in one piece. So you want to talk about to medical supplies?”

“The job I took to get those supplies from you was for the Prylor pack. When I got back to the caravan, they’d got pinched by the Raffen Shiv. I had to mount a rescue.”

Sanchez looked concerned. ”That’s rough. Did you get them out?”

“Most of them. They lost a couple, Emersyn’s son was one. The Shiv were taking organs from them for sale. What do you know of black market organ dealing?”

Crew looked uneasy “I do not like to deal with the Raffen Shiv if I have a choice but sometimes business is business. You do what you must, to get by.” 

Raffen Shiv - Outlaw Gang

Holliday waited patiently until Crew started talking again. “I don’t have a regular contact so to speak. If they have merchandise to sell, they come to me. There’s a guy called Alyn Lostov, he’s an outrider for them. He makes contact on their behalf. I have a number but he always calls me, I don’t call him. I haven’t heard from him in a while.”

“You going to give me that number?” Said Holliday.

“You’re asking me to set up one of my clients. You realise that can have an impact on my reputation right? Not only that, but they are the fucking Raffen Shiv! I don’t want to put a target on my back you know?” 

“For what it’s worth. Those involved ain’t gonna survive. Nobody’s going to miss them neither.”

Holliday could see the fixer warring within himself. After a moment, he sighed and took out a scrap of paper. He jotted a number down and handed it over. “You didn’t get this from me.”

“I didn’t get it from who?” Said Holliday pocketing it. Crew seemed unexpectedly relieved. It was as if giving the number had lifted something of a weight off his shoulders. Holliday threw 10eb on the table. “To your health, have a round on me. I’ll let you know when it’s all clear.” He nodded at Kaneda and walked out into the street.

The P.I.

Holliday dialled the number Spydar had given for his contact in the city. The voice that answered was cultured but aged and slightly gravelly.

“Optekar Investigations, how can I help?”

“I’m looking for someone who’s “In the Wind” and I’ve been told you’re the man to talk to I was thinking, maybe you might have him already on file or something.” Said Holliday.

Cass replied slowly. Holliday could practically feel the man analysing his words. “Well, that’s a possibility but it would be a hell of a coincidence.” He said. “Of course, I won’t know unless you tell me who you’re looking for. I like to look a man in the eye when I enter into a contract. Meet me in Heywood. I’m in the north of the district near the outskirts.”

Holliday drove out to the location Optekar had sent him. The district was more or less a ghetto with much of it made up of tent cities. Heywood had became a refugee camp for the people fleeing the fallout of the Arasaka bombing. The meeting point that the PI had specified was in the northern part of the district where the richer population of Heywood lived. It was no less crime ridden than the south but the remnants of the corporate Beaverville elite have created a divide between the rich and the poor. 

Driving up. Holliday had chance to look Optekar over. He was an older man in his mid-50s. He was broad shouldered and tall with greying hair and a short neatly trimmed beard. His clothes looked to be good quality if well-worn, a brown trench coat over trousers and a shirt. He was waiting on a street corner casually smoking a cigarillo.

Cass Optekar - Private Investigator

As the nomad walked over, he looked up. “You the guy on the phone?” Holliday nodded. “What do I call you?”

“Holliday.”

“Call me Cass.” He said. “Who are you looking for?”

“A nomad.” Said Holliday. “I have a business proposition for him but I’m having trouble tracking him down.”

“Does this gentlemen have a name?” Said Cass.

“Alyn Lostov.”

“He’s not one I recognise from my files.” Said Cass. He sighed “My rates are 50eb a day plus expenses.”

“There was a family I did some work for. They had an… incident that I think this Lostov might be able to give me some information about. I want to take it to his pack.”

Holliday again felt like Cass was analysing him. “Walk with me.” Said the PI. They started walking out towards the outskirts. “What sort of incident?”

“Lostov is part of a Raffen Shiv pack. They pinched a family. They were harvesting them for organs to sell on the black market.”

Masaru Kowasaki - Missing

Cass nodded. “What you’re saying is interesting. I’ve been looking into a missing person myself already. Masaru Kowasaki. She went missing from right here in Heywood on the eastern side of the district. See, I think she was taken by drifters from outside of the city. It could be the Raffen Shiv but I can’t prove it. I don’t think there’s any hope of finding her alive anymore, she’s been missing about two days. The chances of finding a missing person alive after 24 hours plummets considerably.” He gestured around the area. “It happened here. A witness saw someone matching Masaru’s description talking to a man with a motorbike. He was lanky with swarthy skin and dark hair wearing a leather jacket, a bandana around his neck and aviators.”

“I have a contact number for Lostov.” Said Holliday “I’m thinking, I call him, set up a meeting.”

“What are you intending to say?” Said Cass.

“I only know one way, brash and crass.” Said Holliday. “I’ll get under his skin, make him want to meet me.”

“Hmm, I can make the call, I can be persuasive.” Said Cass. “What do you want to achieve?”

“Maybe we can get him to meet me at a bar. Tell him you’ve got a business opportunity and you’re sending someone to meet him.”

Holliday read out the number and Cass dialled. The call was short and to the point. “He said he’d meet you at the Slammer in South Night city. I said to go alone and I’d send a lone representative. He agreed, but I don’t trust him in the slightest. I’d bet by reputation he takes some back up.”

“South Night City is a Combat Zone.” Said Holliday. “Figures, he’d want to meet somewhere like that. I appreciate the help but I’m not going to drag you there.”

Cass seemed to be running it over in his head. “Sometimes, you just have to do the right thing.” He said. “I’ll go with you.”

The Slammer

'The Slammer' - South Night City Bar

The South Night City district had been an industrial sprawl before the bombing. One of the last oil refineries in the area had been in the zone and the city’s sewage plant had also been here. The district had never been truly safe, with a lot of gang activity and trigger happy locals who shot first and took no chances when boosters were in the area. Now those same gangs had converted the empty warehouses to hideouts and perpetually warred amongst themselves for territory.

In amongst it was the Slammer. Holliday had heard of the gang bar in passing but had never actually been. He parked up outside and took it in. The building was squat, it might have been a storehouse or something in the past. Outside were a number of gangs and the occasional vehicles including a motorcycle near a side alley. He nodded to Cass and led the way in.

They split up as they entered. The door led to a wide room full of jeering gang members. There was a bar serving drinks under faded and flickering light strips. The air was heavy with the press of bodies and the stink of sweat and deep inside, the sound of gunfire. Holliday kept his hand by his handgun as he approached the centre of the room.

'The Slammer' - Illegal Pit Fights

The floor opened to show a wide pit. The Slammer’s reputation as an underground fight club seemed to be literal. The basement had been converted into a circular pit where a group of rival gangers were fighting to the death. The sandy floor was stained with years of bloodshed and the concrete walls bore the scars of countless gunfights. Above, the crowds cheered. Holliday was sure that they were baying for blood and couldn’t care less about the winners.

A man caught his eye. He was tall and slim with dark hair and a bandana much like Cass had described. He was leaning against the barrier by the pit, appearing to take interest in the fight but clearly keeping an eye out for the meeting. “You the guy on the phone?” He said.

“The associate.” Said Holliday.

“OK, what’s this proposition and what is it going to cost me?” Said Lostov.

“I happen to know of a camp. Easy to get to, not well defended.” Said Holliday. “There’s people there. Shouldn’t be hard to take them.”

“And the cost of this information?”

Alyn Lostov - Raffen Shiv Outrider

“I don’t want to just be “someone’s associate.” I want to talk to the rest of the gang about making some real scratch.”

Lostov laughed. “Oh, I see. Follow me, we’ll talk outside, it’s a little more private.” He started leading the way through the crowds and out towards a doorway. Holliday followed him closely. As they got to the door, two men swung in behind him.

“I noticed you got some guys to follow us out. That doesn’t say much about how much you trust me.” Said Holliday.

“I don’t like people knowing too much about my business.” Said Lostov. “Boys.”

One of the gangers threw a sucker punch at Holliday, but with cat like reflexes he rolled under it and delivered an uppercut that lifter the man off the ground then back handed the second stunning him and leaving him flailing wildly. Lostov rushed in to try and take advantage of the distraction but Holliday bobbed and weaved like a pro boxer evading every strike.

Suddenly Cass crashed through the door and leapt into the fight scuffling with the two boosters. They turned on the new arrival, but foggy with the impact of Holliday’s enhanced strength were barely able to see straight.

Holliday delivered a brutal series of body blows, feeling ribs break and staggering Lostov away. The Raffen outrider sneered and started to run for the end of the alley, wheezing with the pain from his broken ribs. Holliday pursued him and as the outride got onto his motorbike, the nomad flying tackled him to the ground, crushing the air out of him and toppling the bike onto its side. He dragged Lostov to his feet, pressing his pistol against his neck and shouted down the alley. “Hey! Stop or I’ll decorate this alley with his brains!”

The gangers stopped fighting with Cass and drew their own guns on him. Lostov started to laugh despite the pain. “Looks like we have a Mexican stand-off.” He said. “How about, you let us go and we forget this ever happened?”

“I was going to say just that. You tell me where the rest of you’re hiding and you can just disappear.” Said Holliday.

“I ain’t telling you shit.” Said Lostov.

Holliday poked Lostov with his gun. “I don’t need you to talk. See, them?” He pointed at the other gangers. “They ain’t looking too peaky either. Once I’m done with you, maybe they’ll talk to save me themselves the same pain.”

“You’re Aldecaldo? You know you don’t betray the family.” Grunted Lostov.

“Well, I ain’t gonna lie, once I’m done, there will be nobody to betray. You talk and you get to be the last survivors.”

“Fuck you!” Shouted Lostov. Holliday exchanged a glance with Cass. One of the gangers moved to fire at the PIs and Holliday shot him in the head. A fraction of a second later Cass drew with viperish speed and gunned down the last one.

"One Less Boosterganger to Worry About..."

“See?” Said Holliday. “You get to be the last survivor. No family left to know you betrayed them. You can ride into the night or leave in a body bag with your honour intact, I don’t mind either way.”

Lostov stayed defiantly silent. Holliday signed. “Have it your way.” He dug his fingers into the man’s ribs. “The girl. Did you take her?” He said. Cass showed him the photo of Masaru.

“Yes” groaned Lostov.

“Where?”

“There was a camp, it’s gone now, the camps move.”

“Where is the next one?” Said Cass.

“I don’t know, they’re ad-hoc. We set up where they need to.”

“Where is the rest of the gang?” Said Holliday. Lostov stayed silent again and the nomad punched him hard in the side. “There were no vehicles at the scrapyard, so some of you got away.” He felt Lostov tense.

“Fuck you!” He growled. 

Holliday hit him again. “I can keep hitting you, or you can talk.”

When he stopped gasping for breath, he spoke. “Seven. There are seven left.” His voice had gone cold. 

“Where are they?” Said Holliday.

Kiyoko Quadro - Raffen Shiv Mobile Base

“There’s a train. We go where we like, when we like.” Lostov gasped. “It’s called the Kiyoko Quadro.”

“Is there girl still there? Is she alive?” Said Holliday holstering his pistol.

“What? No, not by now. She wouldn’t have lasted the night and the body would be burned out in the desert.” Said Lostov.

“You get a good price?”

“We will.” Sneered Lostov.

Holliday rummaged into the man’s pockets and found his agent. “Remember, after all this, dead men don’t have agents.” He made eye contact with Cass again. “I promised you’re free to walk away.” He released Lostov.

The outrider tried to elbow Holliday hard as he was released, diving for the floor and drawing his gun. Holliday stared down the barrel for a split second before Lostov’s head burst. Cass holstered his smoking pistol. “I guess that’s case closed.” He said.

“I owe you.” Said Holliday. “Not just for that.” He pointed at the bloody bullet hole in Lostov’s head, “You didn’t need to come to the combat zone with me.”

“Like I said, sometimes you just need to do the right thing.” Said Cass.

Holliday smiled sadly. “When we go after the train, me and my buddies, if I find anything about Masaru, I’ll bring it back for you. I promise.”

 

“I appreciate that.” Said Cass.

Between the two of them, they picked Lostov’s toppled bike up and loaded it into the back of Holliday’s truck. Holliday gave the PI a ride back into the city before he travelled back to the Prylor caravan.

Holliday assessed the damage to the bike while Spydar helped to sieve through the data on Lostov’s agent. The Shiv gang appeared to be led by someone called Blythe Seven, though the other name attached was Isaac Wattsmith. At last, Holliday had a solid lead to follow. The bike had taken the impact of the heavy set nomad launching himself at Lostov. The NOS canister had been cracked and there were a few scuffs and dents to hammer out. As the sun began to set, he grabbed his toolkit and started to get to work.

To Be Continued in "Talk Isn't Cheap"

GM's Round-up

This was a really enjoyable session for me as a GM. I had to improvise a lot of it which was good to give me the practice. Holliday’s player used more subterfuge than I was expecting. I think this showed some real character development for Holliday too which I really enjoyed.

Cass Optekar was really fun to create. I don’t have any more plans for him yet but I would love to see more of him. Who knows!

So Holliday benefitted from a motorcycle too. It’s a big reward but he’s going to need to do some work on it to make it roadworthy again. Still, there’s plenty of opportunity for roleplay there too!

Acknowledgement's

I've used pictures of real people to represent some of the characters and art for others so in no particular order 'Holliday' is Wes Chatham, Emersyn Prylor is Linda Hamilton, Link Prylor is Thomas Brodie-Sangster, 'Spyder' is Joe Pantoliano, 'Code' is Sam Elliot, Crew Sanchez is Antonio Banderas, Cass Optekar is Donald Sutherland, Masaru Kowasaki is Yui Aragaki and Alyn Lostov is David Kait.