Session 02 — Nexus Mods

Summary

In-game date: May 26–27, 2045. Picking up immediately from Session 01, the crew barely had a chance to regroup before two nomads — Oliver and Noah Duke, self-styled “Duke Boys” flying a Pacifica Confederacy flag — rolled up in a beat-up red car and challenged Mr. Zip to a street race. Mr. Zip won the four-corner circuit (Harvard → Pewter → University → Kolaski), with Kenny Log-ins as navigator. The Duke Boys were sore losers: Noah fired a crossbow from the passenger window on the final stretch, punching a bolt through the Zip Mobile’s rear window.

Fix-it-Felix separately pulled the crew aside with news: Zach the Hot Dog Maniac had approached him with a proposition — swap the Escalante data cube for a fake and hand the real thing to Zach’s employers for 3,000 EB.

The crew’s leads pointed them to Dr. Brightowski at Kowalski Clinic, a friendly old Polish ripper doc and Golden Girl’s regular cyberware provider. He laid out what the neighborhood knew about his competitor: Dr. Willie’s clinic (Nexus Mods) had been flush with dark money lately, expanding its operation with hired security and targeting the college-student market for cheap under-the-table work. Outside the clinic, a party ganger with violet eyes accidentally confirmed the manufacturing connection — Dr. Willie synthesizes Vilify for the Piranhas from a base chemical; they “secure the product.” (Party gangers are a general designation for people who party on drugs, not a named gang — these three were Vilify users buying from the Piranhas, not Piranha members themselves.)

Kenny (undercover as “Johnny St. John, interpretive dance student, three rich dads”) and Golden Girl cased the inside of Nexus Mods during business hours, booked fake surgeries for Monday, and bought two vials of Vilify directly from Dr. Willie. That evening, after Kenny repaired the Zip Mobile’s window and Broker summoned Isabella to deliver domino masks and black Escalante outfits, the crew broke in through the back.

Kenny picked the mechanical lock, the team stunned and duct-taped a cleaning lady (relocated to the Zip Mobile trunk), and Kenny hacked Dr. Willie’s terminal — passwords in a plaintext notepad file. The emails confirmed everything: the Piranhas stole the Continental Brands container on Dr. Willie’s instructions to get the Nonh chemical inside it. The data cube arrived with the shipment; Dr. Willie had it but didn’t know what it was.

A firefight broke out with the clinic’s security when a guard named Cisco was flushed from a locked room. The crew was slowly winning — Kenny’s stun gun, Mr. Zip’s smart pistol on autofire, a grenade through the corridor, Broker charging the hallway yelling “Willy! I come for what’s mine!” — when a helicopter landed outside. Six Continental Brands corporate mercs in heavy armor filed in and put everyone at gunpoint. The mercs turned out to have no interest in the data cube. Golden Girl located it in the chaos. The session ended with the crew being “escorted” to Continental Brands’ local headquarters.

Key Events

The Duke Boys — Street Race

• Oliver and Noah Du Bois arrive in a Pacifica Confederacy-flagged red car; challenge Mr. Zip to a four-corner race
• Mr. Zip wins; Noah fires a crossbow from the passenger window on the last stretch — bolt through the rear window, 17 damage absorbed by vehicle body
• Kenny pulls out the bolt and throws it at their car as they drive away; they feel the clunk and flip the bird; the crossbow bolt is found in the middle of Harbor Road
• Don Swayze texts Kenny in response to a Vilify-pouring selfie: “Be careful — increased reports of activity under the streets”

Zach’s Offer

• Felix was approached before the session (while the race was being set up) by Zach the Hot Dog Maniac
• Zach’s deal: swap the real Escalante data cube for a fake one he provided; sell the original to his employers for 3,000 EB
• Felix told the party openly; no decision reached — “we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it”

Kowalski Clinic — Dr. Brightowski

• Dr. Brightowski (Polish, big fluffy beard, currently working on a patient’s aging cyber leg when they arrive) lights up when he sees Golden Girl — she’s a regular
• Confirms: the neighborhood has two ripper docs — himself and “the evil doctor Willy” at Nexus Mods
• Dr. Willie has had sudden dark money flowing in; upgraded gear, hired security, expanded operation
• Clientele: college students; cheap under-the-table work; explicit/garish advertising (“Children could be watching”)
• Kenny leaves his name as a potential tech contact for future work
• Dr. Brightowski’s bodyguard is out getting hot dogs

Party Gangers — Loose Lips Outside the Clinic

• Three party gangers with violet-glowing eyes and the smell of piss hand out Vilify flyers outside Kowalski Clinic — Piranha customers, not members
• One (Samuel) blurts that Dr. Willie develops Vilify and the Piranhas “secure the product” — confirming the full supply chain
• His companion drags him away immediately

Nexus Mods — Daytime Recon

• Exterior: shoddy, hastily-built extension on the southeast corner; no windows in the addition
• Interior: surprisingly professional — clean signage, receptionist, two visible armed guards; one clearly half-paying-attention
• Kenny and Golden Girl pose as students; Kenny becomes “Johnny St. John” (interpretive dance, university, three rich dads); Golden Girl wants a laser arm for public transit self-defense
• Dr. Willie examines both of them — described as “not gentle” — and quotes 5,000 EB for Kenny’s digestive implant, 8,000 for Golden Girl’s laser arm; books them in for Monday at 1pm
• They purchase two vials of Vilify at 10 EB each; “neighborhood specialty”
• Kenny’s perception check: sees the back room door briefly when Dr. Willie retrieves the vials — dirty floor, possibly bloody, another door across the back; standard for a ripper doc
• Plan: the hastily-built addition is almost certainly the Vilify lab

Break-in

• Kenny repairs the Zip Mobile rear window (Land Vehicle Tech roll; done right)
• Isabella delivers: domino masks (cheap Halloween quality), black outfits, Broker’s request fulfilled in Escalante spring evening line; 150 EB billed
• Broker delegates ramen procurement to Isabella: she’s heading to Enderman’s for a drink anyway, told to bring back ramen for the crew’s return; Broker went on the job
• Midnight: one guard still visible through the windows; Kenny picks the back mechanical lock with Mr. Zip’s flashlight assist
• Cleaning lady on a smoke break inside; Felix attempts “I’m here for the cleaning job interview” cover; partially convincing but she’s nervous; Kenny stun-guns her mid-conversation
• First shot wounds but doesn’t drop her; she runs for the guard door; Felix grapples her; Mr. Zip fumbles with the duct tape; Kenny duct-tapes her successfully
• “I know this seems weird… it’s going to be okay. Don’t worry about it, we’re not doing anything weird.” — Kenny, mid-duct-taping
• Cleaning lady relocated to the Zip Mobile trunk; Kenny takes her agent (phone) and leaves it on the floor with a promise to return it

The Terminal

• Kenny hacks Dr. Willie’s surgery terminal; passwords in plaintext on a local notepad file: all set to “egg.nod”
• Downloads emails, scheduling data, shipping records
• Key finding: Dr. Willie directed the Piranhas to steal the Continental Brands container specifically for the Nonh chemical hidden inside it; Piranhas asked if they could keep the chocolate kibble — Dr. Willie said yes
• The data cube came with the shipment; Dr. Willie received it, didn’t know what it was, and asked the Piranhas about it — last mention in the emails trails off without resolution
• Security cameras face outward only (front of building) — no interior coverage; Kenny splices in fake Piranha footage to replace the exterior camera record
• Guard Cisco’s keycard access remotely revoked from the security system — locks him in a room (DV 22, Kenny spends remaining Luck; succeeds)

Combat

• Cisco (locked in room) starts banging; second guard “Ombray” comes to investigate and spots the crew — combat breaks out
• Ombray has a shotgun; hits Felix hard (18 damage to vehicle-equivalent terms; armor absorbs part)
• Golden Girl uses the crew’s Speedheal on Felix; holds her position with shotgun at the ready
• Mr. Zip fires his smart pistol on autofire; lands 11 net damage on Ombray after armor
• Mr. Zip fires a grenade into the hallway
• Dr. Willie himself enters the fight — both arms reveal hidden pop-up ranged cyberweapons — but he’s a coward; he cowers inside rather than advancing
• Broker charges the hallway: “Willy! I come for what’s mine!” — heavy pistol
• Continental Brands helicopter lands; six corporate mercs in heavy armor, Continental Brands insignia, file in and put everyone at gunpoint
• The mercs don’t care about the data cube; Golden Girl locates it during the standdown
• Dr. Willie orders remaining guard to stand down and produce the cube

Continental Brands Arrives

• Mercs are employees of Continental Brands (the chocolate kibble / Nonh parent company — also Broker’s indirect employer through Escalante)
• Lead merc: “As long as none of you are involved in the theft of Continental Brands goods, we can guarantee your safety. Please stand down.”
• Kenny: holsters gun, starts eating chocolate kibble, asks the mercs what kind of benefits they get
• Data cube recovered; crew being escorted to Continental Brands’ local headquarters
• Session ends at cliffhanger

Standout Quotes

“I would like a consultation about a digestive implant so that I can have more fun at the rages drinking the alcohol without feeling regret.” — Kenny Log-ins (as “Johnny St. John, interpretive dance student”)

“I never trust a man who puts ketchup on his hot dog.” — Fix-it-Felix

“Catch up? First of all, I only have cage-free Polish sausages, and I don’t put that nasty shit anywhere near them.” — Dr. Brightowski

“Alright, this guy’s on the level, guys.” — Fix-it-Felix (after Dr. Brightowski’s answer)

“I know this seems weird… it’s going to be okay. Don’t worry about it, we’re not doing anything weird.” — Kenny Log-ins (while duct-taping the cleaning lady)

“Willy! I come for what’s mine!” — Broker (charging down the hallway)

“Did you guys get free chocolate kibble? What kind of benefits do you guys get? I love this stuff.” — Kenny Log-ins (to the Continental Brands mercs, gun holstered)

Open Threads

• Continental Brands escort: The crew is being taken to CB headquarters. What do they want, and how does this change the Escalante job?
• The data cube: In the crew’s possession. What’s actually on it? Why did Escalante hide it in a kibble container?
• Zach the Hot Dog Maniac’s offer: 3,000 EB to hand the real cube to his employers. With the cube in hand, this decision is now pressing.
• Dr. Willie: His operation is wrecked. What does Continental Brands do with him?
• The Piranhas: Their Vilify supply chain just got disrupted. How do they respond?
• Don Swayze’s warning: “Increased activity under the streets.” What’s down there?
• Good Movie Night: Kenny’s deal with Don to fix the Schroeder’s Theater projector — still outstanding.
• The cleaning lady: She’s in the Zip Mobile trunk. Someone needs to deal with that.

Meta / Errata

• First full combat session — several mechanical questions resolved on the fly
• Autofire adjudication: Mr. Zip’s smart pistol autofire wasn’t calculating multiplier correctly; DM ruled 18 damage → 18 minus SP 7 = 11 net damage manually
• Speedheal item: Not on Golden Girl’s sheet going in; added mid-session; heals Body + WILL
• Aim action: Automatically selected in Foundry combat tracker — must be explicitly deselected before attacking normally; costs a full turn to Aim
• Shift+T targeting shortcut: Kenny’s player discovered that hovering over a token and pressing T targets them, avoiding the manual toolbar switch
• IP awarded: TBD — session ended at cliffhanger, will resolve next session

Player Notes

• Dr. Brightowski is now a friendly neighborhood contact — open to Kenny for occasional tech contract work
• The crew’s fake surgery appointments at Nexus Mods (Monday, 1pm) are now moot — the clinic is a crime scene
• Zach the Hot Dog Maniac’s employers — identity unknown; may be pressing for answer next session
• Continental Brands HQ pickup point: to be determined next session