Cyberpunk Red - Session Nine - The Kiyoko Quadro

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 - 'The Outfit'

(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, (4a) Hunter's Hunted, 

Story Arc Two 'Reputation'

(5) Talk Isn't Cheap, (6) Grand Theft Auto, (7) Appetite for Destruction, (8) The Misaki

'The Outfit'

The Players

Our players were all started at Rank 4

Garreth as Avery Hicks, Exec 5, Fixer 1

Phil as 'Holliday' Nomad 5, Solo 1

Martyn as 'Klink', Medtech 5

and Exec Crewmembers 

'Jasmine' - Netrunner

'Lizza' - Technician

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.

Session Nine: "The Kiyoko Quadro"

Introduction

The Stolen Mizutani Prototype

Following the incident with the stolen Mizutani, the outfit needed a win. Their reputation depended on it, not to mention their bank balances. Various lines of inquiry had thrown up a few leads on the Raffen Shiv gang responsible for the abduction of the Prylor pack and the murders of Kibi Prylor and Halo Stanson.

The gang it seemed, lived on an armoured MagLev called the Kiyoko Quadro, meaning that they are always mobile and seemingly unpredictable in their movements. Eradicating the gang and removing the threat they posed to travellers would mean somehow boarding the train itself and that was going to take careful planning. 

The Plan

The three of them brooded in the Budget Arms Acquisitions office, plotting their next move.

“The first thing is finding the train.” Said Holliday. “We can’t get on board if we don’t know where it is.”

“Agreed. The only place I can think to start is the NCART. They must have at least a lead we can follow.” Said Avery. “The thing is, if a train full of murderous organ smugglers passes through the city unchallenged, they might have an agent planted in the system or something and we can’t risk tipping our hand.” 

“What’s the plan?”

“I’m thinking we go in confidently claiming we’re exposing a security threat. Hopefully, with enough bravado and a serious enough claim we can persuade the NCART to give up the goods.” Said Avery.

“Go in all official like.” Said Holliday. “Guess we better dress up nice.”

Avery turned to Klink. “What are your least blood stained clothes?” The erratic medtech looked up from raiding the office fridge “Erm… probably my red trousers?” He said thoughtfully.

“Were they always red…” began Avery. “Actually don’t answer that.”

Emersyn Prylor - Nomad

Holliday's agent chimed into life. He recognised the number as Emersyn Prylor's. “Emersyn, good to hear from you.” He said.

Emersyn was straight to the point. “Hey choom, we have a visitor in the camp from further south. He has some insight you might find useful if you're still set on going after the scum that murdered my son.”

“We were just talking about that actually.” Holliday replied, “Any leads will certainly help put together a plan. Who’s the visitor?”

“His name's Lukas Bartletta. He's Aldecaldo from L.A. or somewhere out east. He rode in with the sunset last night. I won’t say much more, I’ll let you make your mind up when you meet him.”

“Ok, sounds good.” Said Holliday, “I’ll head out soon as I can.”

“See you soon.” Said Emersyn, hanging up.

Holliday addressed the others. “Emersyn has a lead from a visitor at the camp.” He waved at Klink. “We ain’t exactly subtle, maybe it’s best we split up. I’ll take Klink to the camp and we can meet up after you’ve checked out the NCART”

Silently relieved to have Klink off his hands, Avery agreed.

NCART

A brief library search told Avery that the NCART system was operating out of the subway station in the Glen. Managed by a Sabin Frakes. Before the war, the system was managed at the Central Station in Corporate Plaza but now it was buried in the radiation filled hot zone, inaccessible to all but the most desperate or insane.

The Glen - Night City

Avery often took the NCART from the Corporate Zone into work but he had always felt that the service workers were somewhat below him so it was a surprise to learn that the system was managed mere metres from his daily commute.

The Glen NCART station was a great departure from the now defunct Central Station. Where Central station had been large and upmarket with sweeping marble staircases and gold rails, the Glen station was a dingy, dark and grotty descent into the underbelly of the city.

Heywood - Night City

The station itself was one of the few underground stations still operable though the line itself climbed above ground and over the bay towards Heywood in one direction and North to the corporate zone in the other.

 

The lighting was dull and artificial, the tiling cracked and mildewed and the air stagnant and stale as the Exec walked down to the platforms. There were a few people waiting for the next maglev and some gave him a curious glance as he entered the station drawn by his rich dress sense though it seemed the large handgun on his hip dissuaded anyone from getting too interested.

There was a kiosk where an NCART employee stood in front of screens showing the schedule. He appeared quite relaxed and at ease, casually chatting with passengers. Though tickets could be bought remotely, it seemed that some would prefer to pay cash and keep their movements to themselves. 

At the back of the platform there was a doorway into the temporary control centre. The door looked heavy and armoured and the two armed guards posted outside held clean efficient looking weapons and wore good quality branded body armour. They were very alert and attentive to everyone on the platform.

NCART - Temporary Headquarters

Avery decided to try the ticket kiosk first. Strolling up he addressed the attendant. “I have an appointment with Sabin Frakes.” He said.

“Hey there choom.” Said the attendant “I’m sorry I wouldn’t know anything about that.” Irritated by the underlings overly casual manner. Avery practically snarled. “Well who would then?”

The attendant pointed at the guarded door. “I just do tickets choom, I’d ask those guys.” Committing the man’s face to memory, should the opportunity come to kill him later, Avery stalked away. “Have a nice day!” the man shouted after him.

GM's Note - Totally normal response to want to kill a guy for not being in charge.

Holding back his irritation, Avery forced a confident smile onto face and approached the door. The guard held up a hand as the Exec approached. "No closer sir, please state your intention." He said.

“I have an appointment with Sabin Frakes.” Said Avery.

“We have no knowledge of an appointment booked sir.” Said the guard.

SovOil Corporate Logo

Avery noticed that the guards were well trained and maintained good trigger discipline but had moved subtly to allow to take an easier firing pose if necessary. “Check again.” He said “I’m sure you would rather not waste valuable information relating to SovOil right?” The guard kept his eye on Avery while the other relayed into the radio. After a short conversation the guard looked up again. “Wait a moment.”

With forced patience, Avery waited until the door unlocked. A brawny man with dark hair and five o clock shadow emerged. Like the guards outside, he wore high quality branded body armour with a pistol holstered at his side. He moved with the practiced precision of a trained soldier but with the tautness of someone ready to snap into action on instinct rather than on notice. On his chest, his badge read “Depuy.”

He glowered at Avery, full of suspicion with bright, focused and noticeably artificial eyes. “What is your business here?” He asked. 

“I have some useful information that pertains to security that I wish to share.” Said Avery. “It might be better to talk in private.”

“ID?”

Avery produced his corporate ID card. “Budget Arms eh?” Said Depuy. “Follow me.”

Depuy led Avery into the control room. Inside was a wide open office space. Screens covered one wall displaying a map of the entire Night City network including several sections highlighted red that were inaccessible. Another screen showed a more comprehensive list of schedules related to stations, more detailed than the one on the platform. The control room was busy with people conversing with trains and stations. Around the room were a number of other security guards, attentive and professional.

Depuy walked into a cubicle and took a seat at the desk. The name plate read “Basil Depuy Head of Security.” “I'm told you have a security concern.” He said.

Basil Depuy - Head of Security NCART

Avery took a seat. “There’s a train, the Kiyoko Quadro. It is crewed by a gang of organ harvesters who have attacked our transport system. Currently they are recruiting new members and buying weapons. They pose a significant threat to the area and they have already disrupted business once. I plan to prevent them doing so again.”

“What does this have to do with SovOil?” Asked Depuy.

“Everyone is aware that the SovOil delegation is living on their private train here in the Glen.” Said Avery. “Surely a rabid gang of murderers on the line is a credible threat, particularly when they could raise the ire of a megacorporation such as SovOil.”

“All the traffic is directed around them. We keep them separate and safe.” Said Depuy. “Let’s say I humour you though. What is your angle?”

“It’s civic duty. If you can share any information about the train, Budget Arms will deal with it. Permanently.” Said Avery.

Night City Map - 2045

Depuy typed into his terminal and turned the screen to face Avery. It showed up the information on the train. “Kiyoko Quadro is a private freight train. It's not scheduled in our system.” Said Depuy. “We deal with the city transit system. It is due to pass through the city in two days’ time on its way south. It won't stop here." He highlighted a line on the map. “This is the route Kiyoko Quadro is taking. South through Watson, Little Europe and the University District, then through here and out of the city. Once it’s past the city limits it is not our problem.”

“Can you stop it?” Asked Avery.

“No and even if I could, I wouldn’t, that would disrupt our already stressed system.” He sighed. “The SovOil delegation has gummed up the works because we have had to up security and divert trains away from the station. Some trains have been cancelled altogether. Stopping another line is out of the question, especially when the train you’re trying to stop isn’t our problem.”

Avery studied the route. “Will it stop anywhere?”

“I couldn’t say. Our remit is the city. If it’s any help to you, they will be restricted to the speed limit within the city, it’s about 60kph.”

“Thank you for your time.” Said Avery standing. He felt dispirited, it seemed that stopping the train would be difficult if not impossible. Boarding the train while it was at low speed might be an option though. Depuy escorted him from the control room and passed him a business card. “If you have any more security issues, please get in touch.” He said.

Avery headed back to the street, texting his findings to Holliday and Klink. Hopefully, they would have more luck in the Badlands.

The Prylor Caravan 

The Nomad Camp - The Badlands

It was almost unbearably hot as the midday sun reached its peak. The desert road shimmered with the heat haze and the pale red of the wounded sky appeared as a pool of blood on the horizon. Holliday thought the air outside the city tasted cleaner and though he was getting used to urban life, he still felt a lot freer without the towering megabuildings and corporate towers looming over him. Klink sat with the window open enjoying the wind in his face as the desert rolled by and eating a bag of chili flavoured kibble.

Soon they arrived at the camp. It was buzzing with activity. Emersyn seemed to be recovering well, able to move about the camp on her own, albeit with a limp. Aela and Spydar were busy at the communication station, pouring over a project. Holliday noticed that Iris and the car acquired from the main camp however were absent, presumably on a job.

 

The camp had a new sense of optimism about it. The nomads had come together through their hardship and were moving back towards recovery at last. Emersyn was loading rounds into a magazine at a table. “Holliday,” She said in greeting as the two edgrunners approached. “Klink.” 

“Emersyn, it’s good to see you.” Said Holliday.

'Boxer' - Solo - Budget Arms

“And you.” Said Emersyn. “No Avery? Iris wanted to pass on her compliments about Boxer, it sounds like that guy knows how to shoot straight. She’s impressed.”

“I’ll pass it on when I see him.” Said Holliday. “You said on the call you had some information on the Shiv gang.”

“That I did.” Said Emersyn, piling full magazines into an ammo box. “Bartletta rode in last night. He said he's been tracking some Shiv for a few weeks. He's out with Lynk, target practice just north of here.”

Holliday could just about hear the sound of distant gunshots. “What’s he like?”

“Bartletta? I’ll let you decide. He seems decent enough to me but he’s carrying something with him.” Said Emersyn. “I’ll leave you to it.”

Lukus Bartletta

They approached the impromptu firing range from the south. Ahead they could see two motorcycles standing alongside a pop up table with some drinks and ammo on it. Lynk Prylor, Emersyn's youngest son was standing in a traditional firing stance and aiming his pistol down range at a variety of makeshift targets. 

Lynk Prylor - Aldecaldos Nomad

Despite his youth, he looked weary and tired. There was a set to his shoulders that betrayed a tension that Holliday hadn't seen in him before. He was concentrating fully on what he was doing and it evidently paid off for him as he landed a couple of shots centre mass on an upturned bucket.

“Nice shooting.” Said Holliday as he walked up. He smiled at the young nomad as he tried to size up the other man. Lukus Bartletta was tall and slim with the build common to nomads that suggested a life of hard work and health eating. His face was tanned from life it on the road and the easy smile he put on was charming as he watched Holliday and Klink approach.

Holliday couldn’t help thinking that the smile was a clever mask as Bartletta had a similar tense body language to Lynk. “Are you Lukus Bartletta?”

"That’s me.” Said Bartletta. “You the guys who rescued the caravan?”

 

“Yeah, you got to look out for the family, right?”

“Emersyn said you was good people.” Bartletta replied.  “That means a lot in this day and age.”

Holliday looked over at Lynk. Klink had walked over to the range and as eyeing up the targets. “We do our best. Emersyn says you have some info on the train. We have a mind to go after it, finish off what we started at the scrapyard.”

 

Lukas Bartletta - Nomad

“You don't need me to tell you, you did good work. The Raffen Shiv are animals and they need putting on the ground.” Bartletta smiled mirthlessly. “I've been tracking the group on a train. It's called the Kiyoko Quadro. You heard of it?”

“Yeah, we’ve been doing some digging. We don’t know much though. How long have you been following them?”

“A while. I'm on a bit of a trip. It's a long ways home to Yuma.”

“Yuma?” Said Holliday, surprised. “How is ‘Zona, these days?”

Bartletta seemed strained in his response. “Hot, empty.” He shook his head. “The Shiv and I, we've got unfinished business you might say. So I’ve been gathering intel.”

“Don’t we all?” Said Holliday grimly.

On the range, Klink had taken a bump of synthcoke and drawn his SMG. Sighting down he blasted one of the targets shredding it with automatic fire. Lynk watched on grinning. 

Synthcoke - Klink's drug of Choice

The erratic medtech grinned back, pleased with himself before trying to spin the gun like the gunslingers of the old west, fumbling it and flinging it down the range. Lynk burst into laughter while the sheepish Klink went to retrieve it.

Shaking his head, Holliday pressed on. “What have you found out?”

“Intercity rail is handled by digital data. Passenger trains are scheduled but freight tends to be privately owned. They aren't scheduled the same but data from the train prevents trail traffic incidents.”

“So there’s no schedule for where they’re going to be?” Holliday sighed in exasperation. “It’s never easy.”

“Well, this might help then.” Said Bartletta. 

“So far as I can tell, they have a job on. Transporting 'livestock' from San Francisco to Tijuana. I'm looking for an opportunity to get even. It's almost 400 miles to San Francisco, I'll be leaving tomorrow to try and keep tabs on them. The pickup is out there, but they will be coming back this way on their journey south. Maybe I'll learn more that might help you out.”

“You say livestock like you don’t believe that’s true.”

Badlands Train Station - Abandoned

Bartletta snorted with derision. “Judging by their reputation, if it isn’t a haul of stolen organs, it’s people smuggling.” His smile slipped for a split second. “I couldn’t find out who the client is. People kept hush hush about it. That or they really didn’t know. It’s one or the other though, livestock suggests live cargo to me. Probably some poor homeless bastards dragged off the street never to be seen again.”

“It’ll probably be better to hit the train out here in the Badlands, away from the city.” Said Holliday. “We could obstruct the lines maybe. Force them to stop and get aboard.”

“Maybe.” Said Bartletta. “But these guys are wily and the train is a tank on rails. If they even suspect an ambush, they’ll just power through.”

“What about cutting the power to the line? The maglevs are powered off the rails right?” Said Holliday.

“Maglevs use the centre rail for power, that's true, but most these days have a backup battery system that will get the train to it's next stop at a reduced speed. We're talking maybe 80-100mph at a push.”

Klink, having retrieved his gun, wandered up to the conversation. “So what are we talking? Human cannonballs? No, grappling skates! We can hide and then grapple on as the train goes past and skate behind.”

Maglev Control Room - "Cut the Power?"

“Is he joking?” Said Bartletta.

“I can’t tell anymore.” Said Holliday. “Where can we cut the power?”

“There are, for want of a better word, signal houses that monitor the lines. There’s a combination control centre and maintenance station along the rail line. It’s about twenty miles or so out of the city. If you want to disrupt a line, that's probably the best place to do it.” Said Bartletta.

Calming ever so slightly Klink tried again. “Maybe there’s an overhang somewhere. We slow the train and then jump aboard as it rides underneath.”

“Not your worst idea.” Said Holliday. “You up for joining us for the assault?” He said to Bartletta.

“Count me in. I want to watch the light fade in those bastard’s eyes.” He looked out to the west. “Like I said, I’m heading out following the train soon. I can fill you in on real time intel as I get it. Maybe we can get the jump on them one way or another.”

“Sounds good.” Said Holliday. “We’ll stay in touch.”

Swapping numbers with the nomad, Holliday and Klink headed back towards the city to fill Avery in on what they had learned.

The Signal House

Holliday's 'Kombi' Groundcar

“So I’m assuming “Livestock” is a Shiv euphemism.” Said Avery from the passenger seat as the three men drove out to the Badlands.

“Seems like it.” Said Holliday grimly.

“If it isn’t, I’m getting myself a pig.” Said Klink from the back seat.

“So we can assume there will be prisoners to rescue then?” Said Avery, quietly considering the financial incentives.

Before long, the road met up with the maglev lines. Ahead, the signal house came into view. It was a two story square building set just off the train lines. There was a maintenance line running alongside where a maintenance train waited, ready for use. With no other vehicles in sight, it seemed that the engineers must also have used the maintenance train to get to and from the signal house.

 

The Intercom

The door was securely locked, so putting on his best business face, Avery pushed the intercom.

 

“Hello?”

“Good afternoon, I am here to discuss a serious safety concern that has come to the attention of a number of prominent corporations and requires an immediate and thorough investigation.” Said Avery.

“This isn't a public office.” Said the voice. “This is for authorised personnel only.”

“Of course.” Said Avery. “However in the circumstances, lives are very much at stake and I have been charged with investigating and my investigation has brought me here. Could you answer a few questions for me please?”

With reluctance, the door clicked open. They were met by a security officer not unlike the NCART ones from the control centre. He admitted them into an atrium with a computer set up on a desk and some filing cabinets. On instinct, Holliday took note of the security systems. The doors were locked with keycard entry and a camera in the corner of the room covered the entirety of the atrium.

The guard was a stocky man the nomad estimated to be about forty. No doubt this was a quiet job and the man seemed far from peak physical performance. His badge identified him as Jarrel Miron

“What’s this about then?” Said the guard.

Service Train and Engineer

“The Kiyoko Quadro.” Said Holliday. “You heard of it?”

“A lot of trains go through here, so probably.” Said the Jarrel. He took out his agent. “It’s a freight train. Private owned. What about it?”

“The train poses a significant threat to the general public. It’s run by a gang of murderers and It is in the interest of several corporations that they stop operating.” Avery cut in. “You might say we have a personal and professional interest in this.”

“Oh I see,” Said Jarrel. “What do you want to know?”

“We have been told it is travelling from San Francisco south down the coast. How much of the area does this station cover.”

“We run maintenance from Night City to Kettle Town, sometimes as far as LA if we need to. Why?”

“We need to get aboard that train.” Said Holliday.

The Raffen Shiv - The Kiyoko's Operators

“Let me call the engineers.” After a short wait three people enter the waiting room. He introduced them in order. “This is Darwin Vasser, Nolan Vanlaer and Lyssa Cantos. They are the on-site engineers.”

“Pleased to meet you all.” Smiled Avery. “We have been tasked with eliminating a gang of murderous cannibals on a train that is due to pass through here in a few days. Clearly that means getting on the train which in turn means stopping the train.”

“And how do you propose to do that?” Said the engineer introduced as Lyssa.

“By taking away its power supply.” Said Avery.

“Well that wouldn’t stop the train. They have inbuilt back-up systems. You could slow it down considerably but not stop it.” Said Nolan.

“Slow enough to get aboard?” Through the window, he looked at the waiting maintenance engine.

Lyssa turned to look through the window herself. “So you want us to deliberately cut the power to a line in order to disrupt a train that you are then going to attack?”

“Broadly speaking, yes.”

“Do you realise what you're asking? We should report you to the NCPD for that. If we were to be caught doing something like that, we would lose our jobs at the very best.”

"A Reasonable Donation..."

Though the words Lyssa said were threatening, Avery recognised a negotiation when he saw one. “Oh I’m sure you take your work very seriously. I wouldn’t dream of breaking the law.” Said Avery. “I would assume an operation like this needs careful funding to keep up and running.”

 

Lyssa smiled, realising he had understood. “The lines occasionally have issues that cause power outages that we need to rectify. Often we need to go to the actual site of the failures using our maintenance vehicle. If you wanted to make donation to help keep our railways continuing, I think a reasonable donation would be about 4000eb”

 

“Just supposing that the day after tomorrow then, we want to make a surprise inspection at a specific time. We could make a donation to your upkeep. A reimbursement for taking up your time so to speak.” Said Avery. “1000 up front and the rest on completion of the inspection?”

“An inspection in person?” She said.

“That would be ideal.” Said Avery.

“I think we can make that happen.” said Lyssa offering a handshake.

Preparations

Roxxy Newton - Freelance Media

The edgerunners took the next day to prepare for the job. Hitting up a nightmarket, they stocked up on ammo, and cashed in some of the loot from previous jobs. All that was left was to wait. Klink spent the day resting and recuperating.

Holliday hunted down contact details for the freelance journalist, Roxxy Newton who he considered might be a possible ally in countering the Widow’s impressive media campaign. Avery meanwhile reasoned that in the worst case scenario, this could be his last night on earth and spent it in the company of as many of his many female acquaintances as possible.

The next day started the same as any other. The dirty morning light promised a bright and dry day. As the three men gathered to prepare, the dusty air felt thick and oppressive.

 

The signal house was quiet. The engineers busied themselves around the train, making space for the additional passengers and getting ready to depart. The tense atmosphere was tangible. They could feel the upcoming violence, like a storm about to break.

For the most part, the outfit considered the practicalities of leaping from train to train and talked about where they should board their target. “It’s better to take the engine first right?” Said Avery. “We take control, we hold all the cards.”

“I’d agree.” Said Holliday thoughtfully “Thinning the herd a little from the back might not be a bad idea though.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the nomad’s agent chiming into life. The number identified the caller as Emersyn Prylor. The pack leader sounded distressed.

“I need your help. Bartletta went North like he said tracking the train but Lynk went with him. Got it into his head to get even himself for Kibi.” She paused, trying to choke out words she didn’t want to say. “They got made and by some of the shiv and rode down. Bartletta got shot up badly, he made it into the city, almost bleeding out and Iris brought him back to the camp.”

 

“What about the boy?” Said Holliday. A cold hardness entered her voice. “Bartletta was in a bad way, but he managed to tell us Lynk has been taken by the gang.”

Holliday growled. “Emersyn, I promise you we will get him back. Did Lukus have any more information about the train? Where Lynk is being held?”

“No.” Said Emersyn. “It's touch and go if Bartletta will make it. He's unconscious now. I'm furious but I don't wish him dead.” She swore bitterly. “Fuck! He should have sent Lynk home.”

“Look,” said Holliday “We’ll get him home, maybe we can pass him off the train to you if you can get alongside.”

Prisoner of the Raffen Shiv

“We will give you all the help we can, but we are short of vehicles capable of keeping up with the train, even slowed down. We’re a long way out but I’ll get everything we have moving as soon as I can.” She took a breath. “Whatever it takes we end this for good.”

“We will.” Said Holliday, hanging up. He turned to the others. “The shiv have taken Lynk prisoner. That nomad from ‘Zona get him pinched on his recon gig.”

“I suppose Emersyn will beat him to death for that.” Said Avery.

“No, he’s in a bad way apparently though.” Holliday nodded at Klink. “You got your medical stuff right?”

“Yeah.” The medtech shook the bag vigorously.

“Well, maybe when this is done, you can treat him and he will owe us a favour too.”

“Or,” added Avery. “We could just save the supplies and let the useless prick die?”

Lyssa leaned out of the maintenance engines door. “It’s time to go. Get loaded up.”

The Kiyoko Quadro

The maintenance engine hummed into life and ghosted out onto the lines. The engineers hunched around the controls as the train accelerated up to 300mph. Nolan switched the radio frequency and called out.

The Kiyoko Quadro - Raffen Shiv Mobile Base

“Kiyoko Quadro, this is maintenance MT331. We have a line disruption in your path and are on route to clear it. We are now cutting power to the rail so you will be on emergency power until the problem is resolved.”

The gruff voice that replied sounded wholly unimpressed. “Right, fine, thanks for the warning I guess.”

Nolan turned in his seat. “Well that line flew then.”

Holliday watched the armoured train as the engine caught up to it. “Klink, which car would you guess was the medical one?”

Unusually for the medtech, he seemed to take this very seriously. After a few seconds thinking it over, he said “The second from the back would be my guess. Not too far from the sleeper cars but not right at the back.”

“Well that’s where I’m getting on then.” Said Holliday.

“We will get on at the front and stop the train.” Said Avery. “Good luck finding the kid.”

Armoured Hatch - Train Access 

The wind whistled as Holliday slammed the door open and climbed up onto the roof. The dust covered shape of the armoured behemoth loomed under the hazy sky. Bracing himself, he waited, muscles bunched, braced against the maintenance engine. As the second car approached, he steeled himself and leapt out into the void.

Time stopped still, his heart beat hard in his chest and his eyes seemed to close in his target, then everything sped back up as he stuck the landing rolling to a crouch and gripping the roof rails tightly. Behind him, the maintenance engine continued to surge forward, overtaking the train. Avery and Klink clambered up onto the roof themselves in preparation. He watched as they both made the jump themselves. He raised a thumb and then opening the roof hatch, swung down into the belly of the beast.

Holliday found himself in a deserted corridor. Scanning around down the sights of his shotgun, he realised, to his slight surprise, that Klink had been right. This was certainly the medical car for the train. He ghosted silently down the corridor until he reached a door marked as surgery. Quietly. He pushed the door open.

Raffen Shiv - Organ Harvesting

The door opened into a chilled operating theatre. There were boxes Holliday associated with organ transport stacked up to the side. In the centre of the room was an operating table where a medtech bent over the form of Lynk Prylor. He was wide eyes gasping in silent agony and delirious with pain. It seemed that the surgery had already been started without anaesthetic and the boy had a large surgical incision open on his chest.

Overcome with anger and disgust, the nomad levelled the shotgun and blasted the medtech in the back, knocking him against the wall. The shiv ganger spun in shock and confusion, reaching for a gun on a table nearby, but Holliday was quicker on the trigger, hitting him again. The solid slug bit deep and shattered the man’s femur. He cried out in pain, “Intruders on the train, help! Help!”

The sound of footsteps approached from outside the door. Kicking the medtech’s gun away, Holliday hauled him to his feet and held him up in front of him. 

He spoke into his radio. “Klink, the boy is here in the surgery and these fucks were cutting on him. Get here as quick as you can!”

“Is he bleeding?” Asked Klink.

Holliday could hear the sounds of movement coming from outside. He looked at the boy on the table. “Yeah, but I’ve got my hands full.”

“I’m on my way, hold tight!” Klink came back.

 

Back in the second car, a voice from outside called to the now badly injured shiv medtech. “Namon, are you ok?”

Namon coughed wetly in response and suddenly the door was flung open, revealing another gang member with a shotgun. Holliday was waiting and fired off a shot with his pistol, hitting her in the chest. In a panic the ganger fired back, hitting Namon in the chest with a shell and blasting chunks of flesh onto the ceiling. Holliday dropped the dead medtech and front kicked the new arrival in the chest dropping them to the floor. She tried to roll away and create some distance and breathing room, but the veteran solo followed her with viperish speed and stamped down on her neck, killing her instantly.

He looked around the room. It was a small tech workshop with items in various states of repair on the workbenches. A door on the far side of the room led to the guard car. Checking his shotgun he prepared to move.

Runaway Train

Cyberware - Klink's Cyberskates

Klink looked over at Avery. “Kids in trouble.”

“Go.” Said Avery “I’ve got this.” As Klink skated away, Avery took a steadying breath and dropped down into the train. To his left, the doors to the engine looked foreboding. They were clearly well armoured and secured.

“Some would pick the lock, some would knock the door down. Why not just knock?” He said quietly to himself. Engaging his voice synthesiser to try and sound more gruff and shiv-like, he rapped on the door and shouted through.

“Hey, I need to speak to you.”

A muffled voice called back. “What do you want?”

Avery shrugged. “There’s a problem at the back of the train. It’s important.” 

Avery's Silenced Heavy Pistol

He could here swearing from the cab and the door unlocked. “What’s the prob…” began the woman before Avery shot her point black, sending her reeling across the cabin. She desperately drew a gun before the Exec finished her with another well aimed round.

He looked around the cabin. The train continued to travel on along the track at the reduced speed the ICART engineers promised. He thought about trying to stop the engine himself, but the dizzying array of buttons and switches was barely intelligible.

“I hope there’s nothing on the line.” He said, turning towards the corridor. He fired off a message to the others: “Killed driver.” Silently he padded down the corridor further into the train.

Emergency Surgery

Panting slightly with the effort, Klink skittered across the roof of the train, leaping the gaps between carriages and hopping over the closed hatches and vents. He skidded to a halt at car three, seeing the hatch Holliday had entered through. 

Klink's Portable Medkit

He stuck his head through to check the coast was clear and flipped down into the corridor.

He could hear Holliday somewhere ahead dealing with something violent. Behind him another door led further up the train. Taking a length of material from his medbag, Klink made a makeshift tripwire just in case anyone came back from the front of the train and stepped into the surgery.

Lynk was still gasping in shock and pain on the table. The incision on his chest wasn’t deep but it looked nasty. Clearly the shiv didn’t care about their ‘patients’. “I’ve got you buddy.” Said Klink as he started to grab things from his bag.

Despite the rough job he was presented with, the medtechs training kicked in, and he administered pain relief before stopping the bleeding and closing the wound. He swore he could hear music from the direction Holliday had gone in. Leaving the boy sedated, he locked the door behind him and followed on to see what was happening.

The Guard Car

Holliday approached the guard car. He could hear voices from within. “Maddox wants this stuff taking into the workshop. Gael, get to it you little bitch.”

 

A man's voice answered back. “What the fu..? yeah yeah ok!” 

Another male asked  “Do you think that other biker got away?”

 

Aegis Scrapyard
'The Outfit's' Last Encounter with the Shiv

The woman responded. “I doubt it. Isaac got him pretty good. It's a shame we were on a schedule. If we'd had time to run him down he was easy meat.”

 

“What about the kid? Did you hear him mouthing of about the Aegis Scrapyard? Sounds like a survivor.” 

A woman's voice says  “What was that about?” 

“Shut up newbie.”

“He's something for Namon to play with on the ride now. I think he's already on the slab.”

 

The voices then all laughed. “Well he's fucking dead then. Teach him for picking fights he can't win. Little punk.”

 

Holliday started playing some music. He kicked in the door to the cabin and shouted “Let’s be having you!”

Raffen Shiv - Solo
Identity Unknown

Inside he saw two women and two men. The woman was leaning against the wall. She was muscular but slim with long blonde hair and crimson eyes. A shotgun hung on a strap around her back. She had the air of superiority, seemingly used to people doing as they were told. The other two gangers were noticeably subservient and seemed to be trying not to antagonise her.

GM's Note - Holliday’s player is also Hope in our VtM game… yes, I made his own character an enemy. His response was “This betrayal will not be forgotten” I have no regrets.

They jumped at the nomad’s intrusion and sprang into action. Holliday used the surprise and launched into a flurry of blows, hammering closest man again and again. He retreated as the two other gangers moved to attack. Holliday slipped and dodged their attacks seeing the odds turn against him. 

From behind, he heard a familiar voice. “Duck!”

A grenade sailed over his head, landing in the centre of the carriage and exploded. The gangers who had been swinging wildly at him became a shield, protecting him from the raging inferno. When the smoke cleared, only the blonde woman remained. The other gangers were dead or dying.

Their eyes met and Holliday stood unflinching. As a challenge, he dropped his shotgun and cracked his knuckles.

“Come on then.” The woman sneered.

Klink's Trusty SMG

They came together head on. Holliday feinted a wild haymaker that the woman ducked under only to meet his rising knee. Spitting blood she lashed out with razor sharp clawed fingers scoring a deep gash into the nomad’s shoulder. They scrambled for advantage dodging and slipping, crashing around the cramped cabin.

At the doorway, Klink tried to draw a bead with his SMG. Fearful of hitting Holliday his shots barely touched the lithe and agile solo. There was a break in the combat and growling in frustration, the woman backed out to the rear door and clambered up onto the roof. Holliday turned to Klink.

“The kid ok?”

“Yeah, I’ve locked him in there safe.” Said Klink.

Holliday moved to follow the retreating solo. “Head back up to Avery!”

The train was still moving at about 100 mph as he clambered up onto the roof. The warm air hit him tasting of dust and grime. Shielding his eyes, he could see the solo heading along the train towards the locomotive and he hurried to catch up. Hearing his footfalls she turned to face him, stretching out her cruelly clawed fingers.

Cyberware Hand Razors

“Looks like I’m going to have to kill you after-all.” She drawled. She slid into a fighting crouch and launched herself at Holliday. He claws whistled through the air aiming for his throat. Taken by surprise, he stepped back parrying the attack millimetres from his face and threw a vicious kick to unbalance her. The solos reflexes were catlike and she stepped out of the range of the kick triumphantly only to be floored by a countering flying punch.

She staggered to her feet, bleeding and battered. Her movement had become strained and drunken. Holliday could see fear and desperation in her eyes. Going for broke, she tried one last time to hit him, the swing wide, slow and telegraphed. He clutched her flailing wrists and plunged the deadly clawed fingertips into her own chest. Staring into her eyes he growled.

“You will not be missed, you will not be remembered and you will not be mourned.”

There was a flicker of pain and fear for a second, then her gaze turned glassy and the nomad dropped her bodily to the ground. Wiping the blood from his face, he headed back inside.

Sweep and Clear

The sleeper carriage by the engine had been completely empty. The few rooms that were left open were small, cramped and filled with the trophies and totems of the Raffen Shiv’s deplorable gang members. The grungy and grimy air in the car had tasted stale and unclean and Avery tried not to think about the horrors that had been meted out on unfortunate victims. It seemed the next carriage would be more of the same. Listening carefully, he could make out voices from up ahead. It seemed that the next car was still occupied.

Blythe Seven - Raffen Shiv

A large brutish looking man was berating two other gang members.

“What the fuck is going on? We’ve slowed down and Sierra isn’t answering the radio. Go find out what’s wrong.”

“We’re on it Blythe.” The other gang members backed away fearfully and headed back towards Avery. The Exec rolled his eyes. It seemed that stealth was out of the question. He fished a grenade out of his satchel and pulled the pin.

The two gangers looked confused as the small black cylinder landed between them and rolled to a stop. “Fuck!” shouted the Blythe, leaping down the corridor as the grenade exploded showering the car with blood and body parts. Through the smoke he could dimly make out the shape of a tall and proud figure. He whipped around his SMG and fired blindly hoping to buy himself some time and sprinted towards the back of the train.

“Urgh” Groaned Avery as he stepped unperturbed into the car. These shoes were expensive and now he had blood on them. Checking his ammo count he gave chase. The sounds of furious shouting indicated that Blythe wasn’t waiting up for him.

He opened the door to the next sleeper car and immediately leapt back as he was met with automatic fire. Risking a peek, he could make out the gang leader heading further away.

“Holliday, Klink.” He radioed. “I’ve met resistance in carriage three. Blythe is heading your way.”

“Copy that.” Radioed back Holliday.

"Another Headshot..."

The other two occupants were a tall gaunt looking man with long matted hair. The ragged sleeves of his leather jacket shook under the automatic fire of a crude and brutal looking SMG. The other ganger was a woman in mechanics overalls. She waited until her companion finished firing before leaning out of cover to keep up the suppression. Waiting for the right moment, Avery leaned out and calmly put a bullet in the head of the man.

“Fuck!” Shouted the woman “London? I’ll fucking kill you!”

More automatic fire shredded the carriage walls. Throwing caution to the wind, Avery walked down the defender switching to his own SMG and riddling her with bullets. Reloading, he stepped over the corpse and continued into the belly of the beast.

'Livestock'

Having watched Holliday clamber up onto the roof followed by a series of distressing thuds and cracks, Klink had reasoned that the tough nomad was probably fine and turned back towards the head of the train. He disarmed the tripwire he had placed earlier and gingerly pushed open the door into the next carriage.

The Raffen Shiv's 'Livestock'...

The car was eerily silent and pitch black. There was a tension in the air, a sense of anxious waiting. A row of cages ran along the side of the car. To Klink’s horror, he realise that the livestock Bartletta had mentioned were children. At the sound of the door opening it seemed they had all shrunk away to the backs of the cages.

He lamented that the most socially awkward, coked up and bloodstained member of the outfit had been the one to find them. Staring slack jawed at the half starved and filthy children, he reflected on his own parentless upbringing. Once, the scared faces of the cages occupants could have been seen in his own mirror.

“Hey…” he began. “Uhh, don’t worry, I’m not one of them.” He tried to look as confident as he could. “I’ll be back to free you. Just hold tight ok?”

From somewhere behind, he heard the familiar sounds of Holliday as he re-entered the carriage. “Uhh, Holliday, you might want to see this.” He said.

Showdown

Isaac - Raffen Shiv 'Tech'

Blythe sprinted through the mess car and crashed through the doors into the next one. 

It was a wide open space, repurposed into a garage housing two large utilitarian vehicles and a motorcycle. Assorted cargo, mostly looted from unfortunate victims, had been stacked in boxes amongst a variety of tools and spares.

A couple of gang members were busy working on one of the trucks. Nearby a tall pale man was arguing with a mohawked man.

“Isaac!” Blythe bellowed at the Mohawk. “Some asshole is on the train shooting up the cabins. Fucking kill him!”

Isaac looked at the tall man. “We’ll finish this little chat later Hershall.” Cackling, he drew his pistol and stepped towards the door. “Looks like we have visitors! Let’s make them comfortable!” The gang scattered looking for cover and drawing a variety of crudely modified weapons. Patiently they waited.

Avery, in cover, leaned against the doorway and casually started to reload his weapons. “You could surrender around now.” He said conversationally.

Isaac’s cackling turned into full laughter. “I don’t think so. I’m going to have some fun with what’s left of you.”

Avery heard a metallic clink as a grenade rolled into the car connector. 

For a split second he considered the fragility of life and then the grenade started to spew out toxic gas. The smoke billowed around him as he stepped into the car. Sneering in disgust he fixed Isaac with a hateful gaze and shot him in the face.

The crazed ganger barely seemed to notice the chunk missing out of his head, nor the remains of his eye dripping on his cracked and scarred cheek. Still laughing he fired back. Avery dipped reflexively and the shot went over his head. Other gang members took up the chorus, but the choking smog cloud made every desperate shot wide of the mark.

Still moving forward, Avery put another round into Isaac’s centre mass. The return burst of automatic fire tore chunks out of the floor and wall. The exec spun out of the line of fire and put a final headshot into the berserk ganger dropping him lifeless to the ground. 

In cover behind one of the trucks, Avery tossed a set of handcuffs in the direction of the remaining gang members. “Cuff yourselves and I might not kill you.” He said.

The gangers fired back “Go fuck yourself.”

‘Fine’ thought Avery, ‘we’ll do it the hard way.’ He'd intended to kill them anyway, it would have just been easier if they were handcuffed at the time

Finale

Holliday's Shotgun

Holliday’s emotions ran wild. He had checked on Lynk when he recovered his shotgun and was awash with a sense of relief that the boy was safe. Then he had met Klink in the prison cart and that relief had turned to disgust. The filthy cages full of frightened children had awoken a deep sense of revulsion and then rage.

With Klink in tow, he made his way to the end of the car. Beyond, he could hear the sounds of gunfire. Evidently, Avery had started the party without them. Sensing opportunity, he pushed the door open quietly and peeked through.

Hunkered down behind on large SUV were a tall and thin pale man being berated by a bullish brute that could only be the gang leader Blythe.

“Get hold of Sierra!” shouted Blythe, grabbing the pale man by the collar. “How the fuck did that choom get on my fucking train?”

“She isn’t picking up. Nobody is.” Said the pale man. “Either the comms are being blocked or she’s dead already.”

'Holliday makes himself some space...'

“Who the fuck is driving the train then?”

With the sudden realisation that they were on a runaway train, Holliday sprang reflexively into action. He thundered out of the doorway shotgun in hand and expertly put a slug though the tall man’s face. Blythe, spun on his heel and opened fire at the sprinting nomad with his SMG but Holliday swayed out of the way, eyes fixed on his target.

Klink, walked down the retreating gang leader, raining fire and taking chunks out of his armoured jacket. The rapid fired low calibre bullets kicking up dust and debris distracted Blythe enough for Holliday to put a slug in his side, biting deep and breaking ribs as it went.

Across the garage, Avery popped out from cover to blast a hole through the chest of one of the remaining gangers and then another through the shoulder of the second. He risked a sideward glance at his companions just in time to see Klink unload on full auto at the scrambling Blythe. 

'Several near misses'

The shots went dangerously wide, pattering against the car Avery was using as cover.

“For fucks sake Klink!” He shouted. “I’m on your side!”

GM's Note - Klink rolled a fumble here vaguely in the direction of Avery. I could have been much meaner…

Rolling back to his feet, Blythe sighted on Holliday and emptied his SMG, hitting the nomad square in the chest. Fuelled by vengeance and adrenaline and seeing nothing but red, Holliday charged forward landing a bone-jarring side kick into the ganger’s broken ribs. The winded and gasping shiv leader swung punch drunkenly back but Holliday, enraged slipped and countered with fists like pistons.

Avery casually executed the wounded ganger and walked over to the ongoing brawl. As he passed by the slumped gurgling pale man, he put a round in his head without breaking his stride. He could see the look of wrath on Holliday’s face. 

"Stop, Stop...He's already dead..."

He could practically feel the aggression in every strike and almost taste the venomous, murderous intent that the nomad put behind his fists.

Blythe was slowing and weakening. He barely looked conscious, let along capable of defending himself. Finally, a straight cross landed sweet, knocking him to the ground. Holliday pinned him to the ground and flurried heavy strikes over and over, letting out his hated and rage for long after the man had died.

He stopped, breathing heavily and looked over at Avery. “It’s done.”

“Yeah, that’s great, can you stop the fucking train please?”

The gravity of the situation hit him immediately and he surged to his feet, pounding through the cars one after the other. The devastation was shocking even to him. Avery’s fight from the engine to the garage had clearly been chaotic. 

He leaped over the crumpled bodies and splashed through the pools of blood until he reached the cab.

Inside was a mess. A body lay slumped over the controls. Dials and switches were covered in blood. Through the window, he could see the train eating up the miles at over a hundred miles an hour. He scanned the controls, catching his bearings and trying to make some logical deductions about how the train was operated. 

Carefully, he gripped the controls, easing the throttle back and gliding the train to a gentle stop.

The adrenaline wore off quickly and he staggered into a seat, finally taking stock of his many injuries. It had been a hell of a day.

Aftermath

Sometime later, the train was met by the rest of the Prylor pack. Emersyn headed straight to Lynk and pulled him close. She looked over at the three edgerunners.

“I don’t know what I would have done if I’d have lost him too. Thank-you.”

“Think nothing of it Emersyn.” Said Holliday. “I wasn’t going to let anything happen to him. Especially not by these scum.”

'Code' - Emersyn's second in command

Code, Emersyn’s second in command was surveying the sleeper cabins. Avery went with him.

“It’s a mess in there. These chooms weren’t exactly the most stylish types.” He said.

“Give me a sledgehammer and I’ll make sure there’s no evidence the shiv were ever here.” Said Code. “It’s a lot of work, but erasing their stink off the planet is a fucking pleasure.”

“A train could be really helpful for your business.” Said Avery. “Besides, it wouldn’t fit in my parking space anyway. It’s all yours.”

“Appreciate, it.” Said Code. “It shouldn’t take us too long to get up and running with the train. This is really going to give us a boost for our income. I reckon some chooms from the main camp might join us. It won’t hurt to have more hands on deck here.”

Klink and Holliday had freed the children and send them to the mess car to get some food. They had asked questions about where all the kids had come from but the replies were vague at best. All of the children were between eight and ten years old from locations all along the east coast. Some had been snatched from their families, some had been literally bartered for with their parents and others had been orphans taken from the streets.

Detective Ross - Corrupt NCPD Officer

Avery re-joined them in the mess. “Is this worth taking to detective Ross?” He said.

“Maybe.” Said Holliday. “We’re in a predicament. Some of these kids can go back home, some might not be safe to go back. It sounds like more than one parent was happy to part ways with a child in exchange for a few eddies.”

“Missing children usually make the news, and I’ve heard nothing in the screamsheets.” Said Avery. “I wonder who the shiv were taking them for?”

Avery mentally ran through all the ways that someone could make eddies out of these kids and nothing occurred to him that would be worth the effort that had been put into acquiring them.

“I think in this case, these ain’t the sort of kids people care about when they go missing.” Said Holliday. “Still, best to keep an eye out.”

The sun set over the desert. In the night, the Prylors built a pyre and burned the bodies. It was going to take a lot of work to get the stench of death and corruption out of the train but it was a price worthy of eradicating Blythe and his gang.

Quietly, Holliday pushed some eurobucks into Emersyn’s hands. “Make sure as many of those kids get back to safe homes as possible.” He said. “Any that can’t, tell me about. Ok?”

“I’ll do what I can.” Said Emersyn. “Thank you again for getting my boy home.”

The Prylor’s gave the edgerunners a lift back to the maintenance station. Wincing with the pain a little, Holliday slumped into the back seat and tried to get comfortable. As he drifted off to sleep, he couldn’t help thinking to himself: “Today has been a good day.”

To Be Continued...

GM's Round-up

Well this write up has been a long time coming and I apologise to anyone who has been waiting for it.

This session was a good one. There was some excellent role play and most importantly there was a fist fight on top of a moving train. What more could a GM ask for? As per usual the players were exceptional and were really invested in the story. It was great to watch.

I had fun with this, I got to expand on the nomad’s and life outside of the city and it’s opened up a lot of possibilities for future sessions. Overall I think it went well. I will say that I learned a lot about storytelling when I ran this one and it certainly helped a fledgling GM to evolve ideas and consider how to make beats flow together.

Acknowledgement's

I've used pictures of real people to represent some of the characters and art for others so in no particular order Avery Hicks is Tom Ellis, 'Holliday' is Wes Chatham, 'Klink' is Mackenzie Crook, Jasmine is Dichen Lachman, Lizza is Eiza Gonzalez, Emersyn Prylor is Linda Hamilton, Basil Depuy is Dean Morris, 'Boxer' is Tom Hardy, 'Lynk' Prylor is Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Lukas Bartletta is Bradley Cooper, Roxxy Newton is Kate Mara, The Raffen Shiv Solo was Deborah Ann Woll, Blythe Seven is Vinny Jones, Isaac is Craig Conway, 'Code' is Sam Elliot and Detective Ross is Michael Madsen.