Session 44 - Answers and Questions

Key Points:

• The group started the session 'held up' by Gwen and Genesis...
• The group confirmed the defeat of Hera, Zeus, and Athena. Gwen claimed she had a team in route to recover their corpses.
• Gwen claimed that she needed Pandora's Box, and that the group needed to provide it. The ROGUE Agent mentioned that her "plans" had begun to go into motion and could not be stopped. As part of her "plans", she needed Pandora's Box at all costs.
• Much to the chagrin of some of the other Runners, Setter and Roan were able to negotiate a deal. The rest of the Runners would be allowed to leave and would be removed from the situation. Then, Setter would reach out to his contact, retrieve Pandora's Box, and bring the intel on it to Gwen. Roan, in the mean time, would be held hostage by Gwen as collateral.
• Kembu claimed to see "through" Gwen and note her true, cruelness. Gwen merely thought that this was the way the game had to be played for a "greater good" and that Kembu and Aria should look to their "father" as the real monster.
• Otter attempted to frustrate Gwen, though the ROGUE Agent was quickly to threaten the Freediver after becoming annoyed.

• From there, the group split...
• Kembu and Aria went to visit Lisa Trent to ensure that she was safe. Kembu claimed that he would be rescuing her sister soon and found the girl to be in good spirits under the care of Managirl's adoptive father. Afterwards, the Kembu and Aria retired to rest at a hotel.
• Angel, Managirl, and Otter retired to a hotel. Otter worked her "magic" during this time, and ultimately found success in her endeavors. Mostly, it involved piggybacking on some information and intelligence...
• Gwen revealed to Roan that she was interested in making power moves within the corporation; first claiming the First Lady position at the side of the current President, and then taking over as President shortly thereafter. Gwen offered Roan a position within the company again under her directives, to which Roan had to think on (having not thought beyond Nacht).
• Setter found his contact: The Man With No Name. Prometheus had left a letter to Setter, thanking him for his assistance and for payment (as well as taking some delight in knowing that the Olympians would be killed). Setter acquired Pandora's Box. He then switched the information to a second hard drive, then destroyed the first hard drive, so that the original Pandora's Box was now decorative and void of useful information.
• Setter ultimately had a blank, decorative box to hand over as Pandora's Box to Rickenato, then had a fake flash drive that he could bait Nacht with (thanks to assistance from Gwen). The hard drive with the real information was given to Gwen. Setter negotiated that his "contact" could seek out employment from Gwen down the road.

• The party rested for the night, and the next morning, gathered at the Elven Embassy to deliver Pandora's Box to Rickenato...
• At the Elven Embassy, the group was cautious that some terrible event had transpired, but found Rickenato in one of the rooms boxing with the MMA Champion: Nolan King.
• Nolan King signed an autograph for Managirl, but otherwise, kept his distance from the group as he was annoyed by Rickenato and had a fight to prepare for later that night.
• The group handed Pandora's Box (sans data) over to Rickenato, who ended up just putting it on display. He had no idea what he was going to do with it besides show it off, though it is likely he'll do something crazy with it.
• While there, Rickenato informed that Managirl's signet ring belonged to the Morrisson family: making her a relative of Gwen (Heather deducing that they were likely sisters because of their age, this would result in Heather being shaken up over the news for most of the day.)
• Upon delivering the box, the group completed their mission, and removed themselves from Rickenato's presence and went to the Lucky Cat Inn...

• The group arrived at the Lucky Cat Inn towards the afternoon and were forced to wait an hour or two for the Middleman and the Watchdog to prepare their 'payment'.
• Setter and Roan had a conversation in the inn; the two having mutual respect and trust for each other. Setter hinted that his current identity (Setter Blackpaw) would "die" after the mission was completed, and that he would assume another afterwards. Setter encouraged Roan to think of a future after Nacht, but Roan grew hostile (and later apologized for it). Setter informs Roan to "think" on his offer.
• The rest of the group passes time in other ways, before eventually being called to a back room...

• In the backroom, the Middleman is waiting, and congratulates the group on their success.
• Otter studied the Middleman; figuring out his identity then and there (more or less an A.I. housed within a construct body that resembles a human being).
• The group found that Del was already there and waiting; allowing for a reunion between her and the rest of the group (Managirl in particular seemed touched to see her again).
• The group was allowed to enter separate rooms and receive their answers from the Middleman...

• Del's answers...
• Del's answers revolved around the nature of Jergo (her blink dog's) existence and what Genesis was doing with those transportation trucks of animals. However, more than that, Del wanted to know how to get Genesis to listen that they were hurting and killing the planet...
• Watchdog informed Del that the president was a puppet. The best way to impact Genesis would be to approach one of two parties. The first party would be Gwen Morrisson, who is in the process of a hostile takeover of the company. The second party would be a secret cabal; the true forces that run Genesis from the shadows.
• Pandora's Box was revealed to contain sensitive intelligence on this cabal; their identities, locations, and resources.
• The cabal is compromised of monsters and monstrous humanoids that have run the progress of civilization from the shadows for a long time now; not just Genesis, but all major companies and countries.
• Gwen ultimately plans to use Pandora's Box to take out the Cabal and rule for herself.
• Del thought Watchdog and Middleman were trying to help Gwen, but rather, the Middleman was interested in his own goals (a democracy) and found the possibility of that easier under one leader (Gwen) than a hidden cabal with multiple members.
• That tied into her next question; what the Middleman was after. As a humanitarian, the Middleman ultimately wants improvement for the world, and for people to have the ability to choose for themselves rather than being manipulated and lead. He seeks peace in the end.
• Finally, the last question: Project Rebirth. Genesis is attempting to recreate and rebirth extinct (or near extinct) monsters and other creatures. Klein was briefly involved in the project, but removed herself after disagreements. ROGUE AGENT Lukas Baer is in charge of its operations, but receives support from Gwen Morrisson.
• Project Rebirth can happen due to Genesis having a Phoenix Hatchling; using the creature's DNA to allow for reincarnation of other species. The baby Phoenix was a gift from the cabal.
• In addition to having monsters for, well, monster purposes, the goal of Project Rebirth is to find a way to return one of the cabal members to normal: a dragon who has mutated into a cancer dragon and is slowly dying from mana radiation poisoning as a result of the reactors.
• The Cabal wasn't aware of the long term effects of the Mana Reactors, but don't want to destroy them as it would destroy a lot of their resources that they've created. The cabal is currently split; some of their members like the dragon wanting to tear down the reactors before more damage is caused while others want to continue production.
• Watchdog offered to work with Del in the future; as her goals likely line up with his and the Middleman's...

• Managirl's answers...
• Watchdog give Managirl the chance to ask REAL questions instead of the fake ones she had given him at the start.
• Managirl inquired why her level of mana radiation was so high compared to other manaborn. Watchdog revealed that her parents conceived her on top of a reactor core (her parents being scientists specializing in mana radiation studies).
• Managirl asked Watchdog if Gwen Morrison was her sister. He confirmed that, yes, Gwen is Managirl's sister.
• Managirl then asked the question, "where do I go from here?" Normally, the Watchdog doesn't deal in philosophy like this, but he decided to encourage Managirl to embrace her destiny and become a true superhero. Go out there and stop crime. Help people who need help. And more importantly, to trust herself and to turn her life around; to embrace lawful and good behavior rather than chaotic and neutral behavior.   

• Angel's answers...
• Angel's questions had to do with her past and her future; what happened to her family and how she could start her own.
• Angel's first question to Watchdog was to inquire about the nature of the deva's infertility. Watchdog was able to answer that Klein had begun to understand some of the issues, but sought no resolution for it because it did not pertain to her interests and research. Rather, the issue of the infertility has begun in recent years (the exact time frame was not given) and it is an abnormality. The Watchdog gave Angel in address to a library in Ramesses that'll have a tome that refers to the deva's fertility issues and what can be done to rectify it.
• Angel then asked what happened to her family. Watchdog informed her that their family lived in a town with Genesis connections. The dwarven cartel gang, the Winged Serpents, took out the towns inhabitants as retribution for a slight Genesis paid them. Angel's family (who were leaders in the communities) were among the victims of the dwarves.
• Angel didn't have a third question, so the Watchdog hinted that she can seek him out, should she ever think of another one.

• Roan's answers...
• Roan sought out the Middleman because while in the line of duty, he had accidentally shot his love interest (Kimberley Meyer, a recon member of his security team) when trying to take out Leonhardt Nacht (who was using Meyer as a human shield). His questions mostly had to do with his quest for revenge, though it did satisfy his cat like curiosity as well.
• Rather than give Roan an address and tell him to have it, the Watchdog offered Roan a 'deal'. The Watchdog would deliver Nacht to a location of Roan's choosing (that Roan could set up in advanced for an ambush). However, this would require 'releasing' what Nacht wants, and if Nacht acquires it, then slips away... he'll be gone forever.
• Roan then inquired as to why Genesis protected Nacht. Watchdog revealed that Nacht was a former, off the books agent for Genesis. Nacht was well liked in the company by some and hated in the company by others. Nacht had no qualms getting his hands dirty with what Genesis needed. Nacht's main directive towards the end of his career involved human trafficking in order to acquire unique specimens for Genesis projects (Genasi, Apex, Rebirth).
• Nacht eventually came to a disagreement with Genesis when Gwen Morrison took over as his handler. Gwen threatened Nacht by using Nacht's wife as leverage against him which set Nacht over the edge. Nacht and Gwen decided not to act against one another because each had information (or a hostage) that would ruin the other; creating an uneasy stale mate between Nacht and Genesis.
• Nacht had gotten along with his previous handler, but the handler had been killed, and Gwen took over the duties of advising Nacht. Nacht had been involved in human trafficking under that handler, but he had been trying to remove himself from those type of missions and Gwen wouldn't let him.
• Finally, Roan wanted to know about the Middleman's identity. The Watchdog revealed that the Middleman is a complex Artificial Intelligence that the Watchdog helped design. The core identity and personality of the Middleman came from a colleague, a father figure, that Watchdog looked up to. The process to create the Middleman resulted in his colleague's death; the goal of the project being to imprint a person's personality into cyberspace. To protect the Middleman and to prevent this from happening again, Watchdog killed all the other scientists involved in the project, then escaped Genesis and cut all ties with their organization.
• Ultimately, Roan was left more confused and twisted up over his answers than he was happy with them.

• Setter's answers...
• Setter's goal for working with the Middleman was to get revenge against the people who ultimately ruined his life by killing the team of mercenaries he had worked so hard to build.
• Setter inquired why his first team of mercenaries had been killed. They were killed in revenge against their primary employer (Daichi the Crane) who was cutting ties with dwarven cartels while trying to muscle in on their turf.  The cartel team was able to hit and take out Setter's team in mid-transport thanks to Leonhardt Nacht being leveraged and used to acquire sensitive intel from Daichi.
• Watchdog revealed that the nature behind the hit was also done for Genesis to acquire Daichi's cargo: a live dragonborn. Nacht went out of his way to ensure that the dragonborn would be captured, unharmed, when Setter's team was hit.
• Watchdog then gave Setter a list of names of the people responsible for the hit. It included: Leonhardt Nacht, Gwen Morrisson, and Lukas Baer. Carlos Rodgersias (cartel member who ordered the hit), Sofia, Juan, Javier, Jazmin, and Dante (the five man dwarven hit team).

• Kembu's answers...
• Kembu originally sought out the Middleman on a whim; having discovered a little girl named Lisa Trent whose old sister Brittany had been kidnapped by the Winged Serpents Cartel.
• The Watchdog revealed Brittany was being held in an apartment complex that the cartel used as a base of operations in Babylon. The Watchdog warned to bring friends.
• Kembu then inquired what the Middleman's ultimate goal was. The Middleman wants to see Babylon transition into a democracy. The Watchdog believes that this is possible under the Middleman's guidance, and supports the cause.
• Watchdog then revealed that Leonhardt Nacht was ultimately behind the kidnapping of Britanny Trent, and one of the main leaders behind the Winged Serpents. And without saying it directly, Watchdog confirmed Kembu's suspicions that Nacht is his and Aria's father.

• After the answers were shared...
• Death Otter attempts to recruit Managirl to help her steal a counter-encryption unit, but Managirl actively declines, and insists that Otter should not conduct criminal activities and that she might face off against Managirl someday if she continues that route. Otter eventually leaves the group; having more than she could've wanted when she first joined the group at Mei-Xing's behest.
• Setter made a phone call to Gwen Morrison in order to see what role she had in the events that have plagued Setter's life. Setter seemed to deem Gwen innocent of purposeful intent, though he managed to arrange a meeting between him and her associate, Lukas Baer, so that he could vet him out.
• Kembu informed the group that he would likely part ways from them and take up wandering again; though it seemed that his "beef" with some of the other party members might've at least been settled for the time being; settled enough that he trusted them enough to use their help in his goal of rescuing people kidnapped by the Dwarven Cartel.
• Roan and Kembu briefly talked regarding the nature of Leonhardt Nacht; Kembu asking that Roan not assassinate him until he and Aria have had a chance to talk to him.
• The group wanted to discuss some of their answers and revelations, but that would have to wait until next time...

Loot:

• N/A

Current Objectives:

• Receive the Middleman's Answers. [COMPLETED]
• Pursue Personal Goals.
• Roan: Defeat Nacht.
• Setter: Revenge.
• Kembu: Save the girl.
• Managirl: Find yourself.
• Aria: Reunite your family.
• Del: Save the world.
• Angel: Start a family.
• Death Otter: Defeat Athena. [COMPLETED]