While visting the Underground to pick up some medical supplies, Bright gets a chance to catch up with his mentor Stitch in person. As Bright is getting ready to leave to take care of other matters, Stitch asks him for favor.
"Ken..." The older man pauses and smiles sheepishly, "Bright, I mean. Old habits die hard. I have some pressing personal business to take care of soon. I occasionally set up shop outside of the Underground to help those who can't or won't leave their homes or streets. I'll pay you to make arrangements to cover for one of my street operations so that I can handle my business with a clear conscious. What do you say?"
GM Instructions
This side job requires one success per player participating. At least one success must come from the medical team.
There are two locations Stitch is scheduled to set up shop in the near future. With the Medical team having some backup, Stitch has the players set up shop in a quiet basement in Oak Forest. Nowhere is truly safe in South Chicago (outside of the arcology), but Oak Forest is safer than most.
Medical Team
A handful of sick and injured locals as well as a couple of clients in-the-know line up to get treatment for whatever ails them. You arrive early to make preparations and then open up shop at the predetermined time Stitch provided you with. Hopeful faces greet you at the prospect of somewhat affordable healthcare, although what you can provide at a discount is still too expensive for these poor souls. Even the professionals grimace when they make payment.
GM Instructions
1) Roll Healing or Psionics (with Healing or Relief). If there is more than one member of the Medical Team they may attempt to support the Lead with any reasonable skill, but the Lead must roll Healing or Psionics (if applicable). Note: At least one success must come from the medical team. If no success are gained, the job is botched.
Raise: You're able to help every patient. You also manage to save medical supplies without compromising the healthcare provided. Add 100 credits to the total rewarded for this job. (Alternately, pass the savings forward to these poor sprawlers and you may add +1 to your next Street Cred roll.)
Success: You alleviate the pains and treat the sicknesses of your patients, but there are minor complications which cost you extra supplies you were hoping to avoid using.
Failure: You're good, but unfortunately, there is no substitute for a proper medical facility. You do as much as you are able, but you can't help every patient, and for one, you can do little more than slap a metaphorical bandaid on their issue. (Roll -1 on your next Street Cred roll, or pony up $100 to get this patient the supplies he needs to limp along a little while longer.)
Critical Failure: Are you even a professional? An unforseen complication pops up during the shift. Someone dies or receives a life-altering complication under your care. All players taking part in this Side Job lower their Street Cred die type by one step.
2) After you roll, use the result to narrate what happens during the job and how your character handles it.
Protection Detail
Stitch sends the characters to Oak Forest in Southern Chicago. He promises hazard pay to the medical team to help offset the cost of acquiring protection. Southern Chicago is a sprawling wasteland with few truly safe areas, and most of those are reserved for the wealthy or corporate.
The Protection Detail is getting paid to get the medical team safely to a specific basement in Oak Forest, keep them safe during the shift, and see the medical team safely out of South Chicago. Do your job well, and the mission should go off without a hitch. Lose focus for even a moment, and the results could be disastrous.
GM Instructions
1) Roll a Combat skill (if taking public transport and on foot. Athletics and Psionics [with an appropriate power] are both applicable) or Driving (if commuting together). The lead roll must be a Combat Skill or Driving, but if there is more than one member in the Protection Detail then they may support the Lead with any reasonable Skill roll.
Raise: You expertly deliver (and extricate) the Medical team to (and from) the basement in Oak Forest.
If on foot, you quickly dispatch a threat and retrieve up to $500 worth of weapons, armor or other gear.
If driving, you avoid any trouble and get the Medical Team on location early enough to give them extra time to prepare for their shift. The Medical Team's degree of success is shifted up one level as a result.
Success: There are minor hiccups, but the medical team is delivered safely to the job site and they quickly begin setting up and administering care.
Failure: You run into trouble en route.
If on foot, you receive a level of fatigue as bumps and bruises which will affect the next scene in the main thread as your exhaustion catches up with you.
If commuting together in a vehicle, the driver's automobile receives one wound.
Critical Failure: Are you even a professional? This result is the same as a Failure except critical supplies have also been damaged. The medical team arrives on location dangerously low on supplies for their shift, and their degree of success is shifted down one level as a result.
2) After you roll, use the result to narrate what happens during the job and how your character handles it.
Bright looks at his mentor fondly, a tight smile across his face. "Of course, anything you need, Stitch. My friend, we call him Shift, has some 'abilities' that I think could help us. We'll get the preparations made for both your clinic and the protection detail. Don't worry about it at all."
Last edited by Bright on Tue May 12, 2020 10:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
"Very well, I trust your experience in these matters. I will play babysitter, and you can be the nurse"..
Shift checks over his gear, especially his shield and gun, before rolling out. Anyone getting to close to the medical team will be getting a burst of lightning to the face.
Bright opens up Stitch's street clinic, happy to help his old mentor. He pulls scrubs over his jeans and t-shirt, then whistles as he busies himself organizing the supplies and sanitizing. While scrubbing down one of the tables he reaches a little too far and pain shoots through his right arm. Damn, that wound from the Jersey Heights job is still limiting my range of motion a bit. I hope it doesn't flare up too badly today. He pops a few painkillers and gets back to work.
After a while, he looks up to see the long line of people looking for help from various afflictions and disorders, and blows out a deep breath. Look at all of these people living in squalor. It's inhuman. If I ever were to end up that way...ugh, better not think about it. Okay, let's do this. It's all for Stitch, after all.
Putting on his best smile, Bright waves the first person to take a seat.
Healing 7 (Success)
Healing 1d8!!: [6] = 6
Wild 1d6!!: [9!!] = 9
-2 to rolls due to right arm injury
After many hours of diagnosing illnesses, treating abrasions, setting bones and even dealing with a few malingering hypochondriacs, Bright looks up to see that no one else is in line. He's managed to treat everyone. He grimaces rubs his right hand and arm, which are almost completely numb. He strips off his scrubs and begins wiping down the little clinic, moving his arm gingerly. Thumbing his communicator, he calls down to Stitch. "Hey old man, looks like your student did good over here. It was good to be back in the game for a while. I got everyone treated and tried to do my best with conserving supplies, but my right arm hindered me a bit. It looks like you'll need to stock up. And speaking of the arm, maybe next time I'm down by you, you can take a look at it. Give my love to Marie."
Last edited by Bright on Sun May 17, 2020 8:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Halfway to their destination, Shift noticed that they were being followed. He wasn't surprised, to the people around here medics just meant access to drugs and an escape from their lives. Their leader, a short rat hybrid carrying a chain sword, was directing about a dozen others, trying to get the group surrounded.
Shift managed to avoid them for a while, but knew it wouldn't last. He directed his wards down into alleyways, choosing narrower and narrower roads until they could only walk in pairs. He got his wards to take cover behind him while he turned and faced their pursuers. "Stop! This isn't worth a fight!" he shouted, extending his shield and firing a warning shot over the gang members. The Rat and his gang didn't answer, aside from revving his chain sword. Shift sighed, and put away his pistol, knowing it wouldn't be effective against a group so large.
He took a moment to focus, draw the electric power into his fingertips. The Rat hissed, and the group charged. Just as they reached him, blinding light erupted from Shifts outstretched fingers.
As the survivors ran, Shift stood over the Rat's body. He picked up the chain sword and a couple of batteries, never know when something like that might be handy, then turned to his wards. Time to go.
Stitch responds to @Bright's call, "Excellent! Thank you, Bright. I can take the time I need with a clear conscience. But don't worry about those supplies, eh? That's why I sent extra. There really is no excuse for a proper clinic, and you never know what complications will pop up on the street. You should be seeing your payment...now. Visit any time, now. Marie would love to see you, and I can take a good look at that arm of yours."
If Bright checks his funds, he'll find the 500 cryptodollars Stitch promised him plus the 500 cryptos worth of hazard pay for covering the shift in Oak Grove.
The trip out Oak Grove and away from South Chicago is uneventful. Shift remains alert, but no one accosts them further. He has time to check out his new chainsword, and he's pleasantly surprised to discover it's relatively new. It doesn't have any rust or wear and tear, and it doesn't have any obvious blood stains in the hard to clean nooks an crannies.
