[Silicon City] The Shooter (1.2)

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Scene Reference Post

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Scene Aspects

Notable NPCs

NPC Aspects

Hector Tracking

Stress

☐☐☐ (☑ this is a box to copy when you need it)

Consequences

• (2):
• (4):
• (6):

Fate Points:

2

Notes:

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You keep up on the comm traffic. Early estimates seem like about 50 dead, several hundred wounded, some very seriously.

Hector, you're in an interview at headquarters with Harvey and your catch, who has been attended by medics in the wagon. Her helmet off now, you recognize her from your days working for the syndicate. She's Leticia "Roja" Stone, and she was, at the time you were back-and-forth to the Undercity, working as muscle for the Los Cuervos, a cartel dealing primarily in the sex trade.

This is Roja, by the way:

Hector, she spits and calls you by your old nickname, the one you went by when you were running incognito in the Undercity for the Seven Sisters. What was that? And has Harvey ever heard it before?

"Asswipe. I seen you on vid, struttin' around like a faggot in your Archon armor and shit, like you're savin' the effin' world. The hell happen? Find Jesus? I remember when you was worse'n nothin', happy to run a errand for a pat on the head." And sure, that's what it would've looked like to a street-level cartelista.

She's got a new tattoo, just below the hollow of her neck, an approximation of the Humanist movement logo:

Rich

They called me Arañito, the little spider. I hated that name, and Roja knows it. Harvey has no idea about that name. Not like I talk about those days to anyone. Sure, he's read my file, but those files have lots of gaps. Luckily.

Roja has always been a bitch to me. Probably because I slept with her sister. But then, who hadn't? She set herself up like a party favor, you know? It was like "I did it with Sela. Achievement Unlocked. Ding." I know, hateful stuff, but that was the gang. I didn't know better. Well, I knew better, but that's how they all were, so I went along. Go along to get along, mierda like that.

I put hands on her enough to show I see the tatt, not enough to rattle her. She may have a concussion. "Humanist now, huh?"

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Harvey raises an eyebrow when Roja calls you "Arañito," but keeps his mouth shut, assuming you've got the situation in hand. He's an old-timer, the old-timer, but keeps his hands off even when some other senior Archons would question or interfere.

Roja snaps back. "Hell yeah, Humanist, and you should be too, hijo de puta! You running errands for 'bots now? I mean, aside from that whore Alexandria 7?"

Rich

She's just trying to get under my skin. I keep it cool, "Roja, I'm in a new line of work. I'm not going to waste your time and mine defending it. Why don't we talk about who hired you? I mean, this is way out of your league, using weapons you'd never sniffed before. Somebody set you up. I hope you know that by now."

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"Pucker up and kiss my culo, Arañito. You don't know shit! No one hired me, I volunteered! This army can't be stopped, because we believe in something, in humanity."

She sits there solidly, staring at you with defiance.

Rich

I don't want to disrespect her, but what a load. "I guess humanity wrote the laws that will send you away for the rest of your life. I mean, unless you're willing to talk with me about who took the volunteers, who handed off those RPGs."

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A knock on the door and a young woman pokes her head in. "Archon Gatten, Archon Towers, you... may want to see this?" Roja's handcuffed to the table, no reason not to walk out. There, on one of the big wallscreens, a newscaster is speaking with that excited-calm tone they adopt. "Again, we will be going live to a broadcast stream from Humanist spokesperson Carol Xibua, on an encrypted satellite signal. The producer's giving me the countdown now, and we're live in 3, 2, 1..."

"People of Silicon City, take heed. The Humanist Army has made its first concerted strike today, and although the robowhore Alexandria 7 survived, the deaths of its supporters, human and mechanical, serve as a warning. The Humanist Army will rise, and the machines will fall. Our next attack will occur in one week, unless the machine Alexandria 7 is dismantled on live broadcast and its UID code verified by our technicians during the broadcast. One week, Silicon City." The screen flickers and cuts back to the newscaster.

Gatten says, "Shit."

Rich

I look to the young woman who interrupted, ask her a question she probably can't answer, "Did we track the signal?" To Gatten, "You recognize the background there?" I'm using my Pocket Buddy (tm) to try and estimate time of day and looking at weather patterns to guess when this was recorded. And yes, I look like I'm ignoring Roja.

"Looks like we have what we need from you. I hope you enjoy orbital." Of course, I'm referring to the orbital prison, where lifers are sent. It's not at all pleasant.

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Roja spits out, "Cágate tus pantalones, maricón!" She's starting to seem scared.

You can see the flurry of activity as support stuff around the room are talking and typing and trying to answer the same questions you're asking. Harvey says, "I'll coordinate out here for the moment, if you want a little more time with that charmer."

Here's the thing. You don't need a trial. The Council gives Archons pretty much carte blanche, and due process is a thing that only comes up when someone makes a fuss, which is unlikely with Roja. Your hands are most definitely not tied, and your resources are vast. The caveat being, of course, that if you do screw up, the Council comes down hard and fast.

What do you do?