Racing the Storm

[Pterano]

All right, so with the start of the follow-up of Into the Black looming, I'm posting the discussion thread now for sign-ups and plot intro.

Racing the Storm will be set six months after Into the Black. The story will take place primarily in the city of Corona, a massive metropolis dominated by several major weapons' manufacturers. Corona is part of the Ivitz Federation, which has been struggling to rebuild the planet in the wake of the Scorched Earth War. They were recently put to the test in the aftermath of the war when a warlord known as Rex Sardolemuel, a former hero of the war, launched an all out attack on the federation in an effort to conquer the planet while the federation was still recovering. Before he could achieve total domination however, his fleet was checked by a final offensive from Ivitz, and Sardolemuel was killed by his subordinate Kalis during the battle, Kalis assuming control of his former master's fleet in the aftermath.

Kalis has been biding his time, but after his bombing of Lanthae, he's been growing bolder, and been employing ruthless tactics in raiding Ivitz territory, and one month ago, he scored a massive victory over one of Ivitz's main fleets. With such a disastrous defeat, things are looking grim for Ivitz. Kalis meanwhile is desperately searching for something he feels will be key to his victory, and if he obtains it, he's confident he can overrun the federation and conquer the planet.

Our characters now find themselves racing the oncoming storm, and trying to stave off total catastrophe.

So yeah, that's the plot intro, and at the start of this RP, I figure the Straccis have relocated to Corona, with Tony assuming a larger role in his family's business. Vergil has been traveling for a bit, trying to find out more about his past and his connection to Sardolemuel and Kalis. He'll be heading back to Corona at the start of this story.

Interested parties, let me know and I'm looking forward to starting!

[Nick22]

i'm ready to resume Pterano. my characters will be living in an apartment in Corona, Marie will be a cards dealer at a local casino, Rose has been cured of her biproxytol and sings as part of a local theater troop, and marita has been  a computer repairs specialist. The girls are letting Soren stay with them.

[Pterano]

Sounds good!

[bushwacked]

Nope, I don't think I'll be joining again...  

Yeppers, I'm in! Axel's going to be returning, and I'm planning on trying to introduce at least one other character.

[Pterano]

Glad to hear it.

[Nick22]

broadstreet will be a police captain as he was in ITB. he finds corona much less corrupt than lanthae.

[Serris]

Soren and Anne will be with Marita, Rose and Maria. Soren will be an itinerant cyberneticist. Anne will be a petty criminal.

What's the setting like? Is it still a grimy cyberpunk setting? Is it more along the lines of cyberprep/post-cyberpunk? Or is it a Jetsons-styled city straight out of the visions of Atomic Age futurists?

Doctor Jiang's still gonna be a backalley doctor ó or at least attempt to in Corona.

And the Chinese Triad enforcer Ruozheng "Rory" Zhao will still trying running his business there.

[Pterano]

Corona is kind of a mix of the two, Serris. Excellent way to describe it btw, with the Jetsons' style. The financial center of the city happens to be very Atomic Age in style and clean, but the outlying sections aren't always in the best shape, and can get pretty seedy depending on the neighborhood.

[Nick22]

sounds cool pterano. the jetsons were supposed to be set around 2000, as memory serves me.

[Serris]

Interesting.

So its a hybrid of cyberpunk and cyberprep? Cyberprep at the core, cyberpunk at the borders? And I'm imagining even in the financial district, there's still some really shady business going on. Can't be cyberpunk without some morally questionable people.

And the edges, do they have the "towering neon-drenched black monoliths" (to use my phrase from another cyberpunk RP) connected with elevated walkways and elevated highways? Or are they simply ground level ghettos?

Or are they a mix of both? The poorest of the poor and the homeless live on the ground level amongst all the industrial facilities, city infrastructure and filth while the slightly more well-off live in the "black monoliths" that are crowded Hong Kong-style apartments with tenents of questionable repute.

Do I have that right?

[Pterano]

For the second question definitely the latter as opposed to just ghettos, since Corona is a major seat of power in Ivitz.

Definitely some shady business characters for sure. To give you an idea, the center of the city is a big, clean thoroughfare with fountains and white streets and is dominated by a cross-shaped set of boulevards running north-south and east-west. At the end of each are four massive towers headquartering the four largest weapons' manufacturers in Corona, and they all directly compete with each other.

[Serris]

Or are they a mix of both? The poorest of the poor and the homeless live on the ground level amongst all the industrial facilities, city infrastructure and filth while the slightly more well-off live in the "black monoliths" that are crowded Hong Kong-style apartments with tenents of questionable repute.

So this then? Yeah, I can see Soren living in one of these questionable apartments. Poor as he is, he prefers living in a shithole apartment to being homeless and living in what's essentially a combination factory and garbage dump.

Tidbit for Lanthae: favorite place for getting rid of evidence? Over the side of the nearest elevated walkway or elevated highway. Nothing's down there except for some bums, scavengers, cleaning robots and assorted infrastructure.

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And by shady business, do you mean just bribery, corruption and "white collar crime" or  do these weapons megacorps also engage in literal corporate warfare, hiring assassins to literally take out competitors and industrial espionage and theft?

[Pterano]

Yes how you described it.

Yes, they literally engage in corporate warfare, but the only rule is they DON'T engage each other in Corona itself, as it's too public a place. Or should I say, they don't attack each others' headquarters, since it's too difficult to do so, and too public.

[Nick22]

futher, soren has roomates who work in relatively honest jobs, compared wityh thier past jobs. the girls enjoy living in Corona far far more than Lanthae, and marie at this point has settled into relationships with marita and rose. she makes more than marita, because folks like gambling,. and rose gets good crowds at her plays.

[Serris]

Yes how you described it.

Yes, they literally engage in corporate warfare, but the only rule is they DON'T engage each other in Corona itself, as it's too public a place. Or should I say, they don't attack each others' headquarters, since it's too difficult to do so, and too public.

So, a squad of corporate mercenaries leading a raid on a rival's HQ, not okay?

But a squad of corporate mercenaries leading a raid on a factory that said rival company owns, okay?

Or paying a "home visit" to a rival businessman, okay?

And I'm guessing that these corporate mercs have little, if any regard for civilian casualties and collateral damage?

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I could see these corporate mercs posing a problem for Don Stracci and the Bak Long Triads and maybe even Soren.

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Would I be correct in presuming that these megacorps also produce augmentations of all classes or just class 3?

For those who don't remember there's a national standard of augmentations I mentioned in Into the Black.

Class 1: Same strength as a natural limb of the species it's intended for. Allowed to have properties and tools that are mostly harmless (computer jack, magnetic fingers/palm etc).

Class 2: Strength is in excess of natural limb of the species it's intended for. Carries tools that can easily be used as weapons (laser welder, cutting saw, line thrower, etc).

Class 3: Carries or is a weapon (laser rifle, vibroblade, untethered projectile weapon, taser, poison injector etc).

Class 1 and class 2 are dependent upon species. A Human wanting a strength upgrade by seeking a class 1 arm for a Bison still needs a class 2 license because a Bison Baseline is far stronger than a Human Baseline.

Class 3 is not species dependent.

Class 2 augments have been upgraded if they've been deemed to be too easily weaponized.

Some cities may restrict Augments from having certain classes (mainly class 3 but a few very authoritatian ones restrict class 2's as well) without a permit. Which may or may not be difficult to get.

I hope I'm not intruding on your idea.

[Pterano]

They do at least try to keep their image up, and try to avoid civilian casualties. At least one of the four mega-corporations has a sense of honor and is seemingly more trustworthy than the others. They don't try to outright kill civilians, but if they're collateral damage in a factory bombing or something, it's how the game is played.

Yeah as of right now, Don Stracci tries to stay out of their way, but counts himself a rival of one in particular, though he's managed to finagle his way into shipping contracts with some of them.

They produce augmentations for all classes, yes.

And it's fine.

[Nick22]

so when will this one start?

[Serris]

Yeah, Soren's gonna find himself in deep shit...esepcially when he starts sourcing augmentations from whoever's got the lowest price. I don't forsee one of the megacorps taking too kindly to him buying augments from their rival.

I can see the Bak Long Triads trying to get their fingers into one of the four main companies...or maybe a smaller company. Either way, they're gonna attract some bad juju.

Doctor Jiang, yeah. I can also see him running into problems with them. He's doubly vulnerable. The megacorps send their goons to threaten or beat him up (like they can with Soren) but they can also sic the cops on him. Since his cybernetician's license has been revoked, his business is illegal. All it takes is an "anonymous" tip and...bam! Your competitor's customer is out of the picture. Of course, you just lost a customer too.

Anyways, have the companies been named yet?

[Pterano]

Yep, they're Judaken, Serami, Derami, and Zaloga.

And I think we can start relatively soon, since I think we're basically all ready.

[Nick22]

just let me know pterano and i'll jump in..