Recruiting: Tequila Blues, New game starting up Options

[Ecclesiastes]

The game will be based off this short story...

Tequila Blues

[ Spoiler ]

Tequila Blues
Jong-Won Kim
Q: Why did the Azzie chase his wife?
A: He wanted tequila.*
-- Texan joke

"I should have been a dentist."

Dr. Kristine Martin finished her fourth tequila, enjoying the burning sensation as it went down her throat and up to her brain. This was the high point of her daily routine -- the rest was what fueled her new drinking habit. For the sixth or seventh time in less than one hour, she wondered how had it all ended up like this.

She should have seen it coming years ago. The constant obsession for profits, the need to stay one step ahead of the competition and the pressure to remain on top of her fellow teammates ... She had done her share of questionable experiments -- who didn't in this day and age? Dr. Martin had always silenced her concerns about her crumbling ethics by telling herself it was all in the name of progress.

I'm an idiot. Another shot of tequila found its way to her stomach.

This drek is so bad that it's going to kill me one of these days, she thought. Hell, why not? I didn't have the guts to pull the trigger when I had a chance. Now he could hurt her daughter. Their daughter.

"Why did I ever love such a monster?" she whispered to herself.

"Bad day at home?" The English words had a notorious Aztlaner accent.

Dr. Martin looked at the cantina's bartender as he prepared her another shot. Manuel was tanned and chubby, with an amicable smile that invited customers to relax and open up. He probably worked for Aztechnology or Universal Omnitech, just like everyone else in this Central American village.

"You could say so. I have a ... rather dysfunctional marriage."

Manuel pointed at the five empty glasses. "That bad?"

"Si.. My husband is an abusive bastard who doesn't want to let me go."

"You can always divorce him."

I'd wish. "The problem is that he's a very important man -- a dangerous man. He has more than enough influence to make sure it will never happen ... and he made it very clear once. So here we are, a happy little couple working side by side."

"Ah, you work at the hill?"

"My husband owns the hill." I bet you didn't see that one coming, Manuel. I'm the Queen of the fraggin' hill and I'm even more of a slave than the lowest corporate employee.

He looked pensive for a few seconds. "Impressive ... If I may ask, why are you here? This isn't a bad place, but most of the people up there wouldn't come here for all the pesos in the world."

"I think you just answered yourself."

"If things are so bad, why does he let you come here? Isn't he afraid you could run away?"

"I tried that not so long ago. He took it as an insult and had me hunted like an animal. His men brought me back so that he could break me down, which he did. I'm in Hell and he makes sure that I know he rules it. Even these moments here are just a reminder of what I lost. Friends, prestige, power, family."

"Family? You have kids?"

"A daughter in Tenochtitlán. I'm sure they're feeding her bulldrek about me, molding her into another loyal pawn. When they're done with her, and believe me, they will, she'll worship him just like every other corporate drone here. That is his revenge: He knows I love her so much that I won't do anything as long as he has her secured." And Chávez won't hesitate to kill Gabrielle if ordered to do so ... even if he always was Uncle Diego to her as a child. Frag, I hope I'm a nun in my next life.

"I don't think I've ever met your husband, but judging from your words he must be a monster."

"Oh he is, trust me, but he's also an ill man. He stays at home and I take care of him like a good wife." Sarcasm wasn't her strength. Manuel would never fully understand it, anyway, being just another cog in the machine. She finished her drink. "More, please."

"You drink like a man," complimented Manuel.

Advantages of having some of my own toys. "I know."

"And I thought I had problems at home with my chica. What do you want?"

"Just keep on with the tequila," she answered.

"Very well," he obliged, "but I was asking what did you want."

This time it was Dr. Martin's turn to look pensive. She stared at Manuel for a while, giving him a clinical eye. He just gave her another smile.

"You have the right jaw and tan, but you have all your front teeth. Who are you?"

"Why, I'm Manuel of course. A SIN never lies."

"No you aren't. What did you do to him?"

"Are you going to keep asking dumb questions like that? Tempus fugit. Time flies, doctor, I suggest you ask the right questions before your husband requests your assistance once again."

"I had someone following me to this place, he will know... ," Dr. Martin looked unsure, having just been reminded of her situation.

Manuel pointed at a corner, where a farmer seemingly slept his siesta. "You mean the guy who entered the cantina a minute after you did? That tequila he asked for was extra strong, if you get me. Unless he wants to report he fell asleep while on duty, he'll just say everything went fine."

"Who are you? Who do you work for?"

"My name doesn't matter, I don't exist. But my employer is an old friend of yours, someone who has followed your career with interest and is concerned about your current situation."

She eyed him suspiciously. "That sounds too good to be true, considering my situation. How do I know this isn't another sick little game?"

"You don't, but I was told to deliver you this." He handed her a small item. "Science without religion is lame... ."

"... religion without science is blind," said Dr. Martin, finishing Einstein's quote. She opened her hand and looked at its content. From a small, aging pin, the genius stuck out his tongue. She almost dropped it in surprise.

"The Copenhagen Biotech Convention. I was there with UniOmni's negotiation team, nothing more than a young, bright rookie."

"My employer remembers having some interesting conversations with you and your colleagues at a nightclub. You didn't seem to be interested in mere profits like the others. You had dreams."

She sighed. "That was a long time ago."

"Some people have a long memory."

"Yes."

"Interested?"

"No."

"Excuse me?" It was his turn to be surprised.

"Not without my daughter. I won't leave without her."

"That can be arranged. How tough could it be?" Manuel, or whoever was in front of her, flashed a roguish smile.

"You'll need some serious cojones to do that. Or a death wish -- they won't take it lightly."

"We'll take care of that part, it's our specialty. Besides, I've been in worse situations. Back when I worked with the Colombians, I had to spend some quality time in La Gorgona, courtesy of Aztechnology Corporate Security."

Dr. Martin's eyes widened in surprise. "You mean Gorgon Island? The maximum security hellhole?"

"Those words can't even begin to describe it," said Manuel, or whoever it was behind his face. "It is as if there is something evil in there, sucking away your life one day at a time."

I know how it feels, chummer... . "So how did you escape? It's not like Televisa would ever mention something like that."

Manuel served himself some tequila. He looked at it for a while before answering. "I was rotting away in the Gorgon's belly, hoping for death to come soon. Then, one day, a strange guy came out of nowhere with an offer from an old friend of mine. Sound familiar?"

"Very."

"Anyway, it's not me or our mutual friend that we should be talking about now. I'll ask again: interested?"

"Yes."

"Good. It will take some time, but I suspect my employer has already set things in motion. She has this habit of making things fall her way, you know."

"What about you?"

"I'll be gone tonight. I need to make sure that Manuel has a terrible accident with his gas oven while sleeping his siesta."

Dr. Martin frowned. "Is that necessary?"

"What would you do for your daughter? For the future?"

Touché. "Anything."

"Then you just answered yourself. Do you have any other questions?"

"No, I just need another shot of tequila."

"Sure, it's on the house."

Manuel watched as Dr. Martin stumbled out of the cantina, half drunk with tequila and hope. His mistress had been right: the doctor was a survivor, ripe for extraction and recruitment. Oh, she would require a little guidance and a few adjustments, but that wouldn't be much of a problem -- it hadn't been in his case, at least.

*A phonetic joke; Texans frequently pronounce it "tuh-KILL-ya" or "tuh-KILL-er."

Character Creation

Start off with 125 points, standard avail/rating, cultured bio ok, get funky with the edges and flaws, and give me a short background (try to avoid giving me a novel, I don't have time to read it).

After that, add 100 karma, using karma to cash for 5000 is you need more spending money. Street index applies, but surgery costs don't. Avail/Rating at this point becomes 12/10.

Any questions?

[Shadow]

I am down with it. I have just the character too... I will send her your way.

[Slipshade]

I have a healer based Physad: Path of the Magician that I have been meaning to play. She is heavy on the healing light on the combat. Of course with 100 Karma that could change. What are your rules for initiating with the extra karma. Sould I write up an Initiatory Group or just do it all on my own.

Slip

[Ecclesiastes]

Groups are fine, just pay the 3 karma to join it and give me a short write-up on it.

[Slipshade]

Will do, it may take me a couple of days to get everything ready, when are you planning on starting?

Slip

[Ecclesiastes]

I'd like to see characters in by Friday and I'll try to get things rolling sometime next week.

[Slipshade]

Will do.

[Frater Inominatu...]

I have an albino, gnome, physad...

Do you want character sheets and background info posted here or PM'd to you? What about initiation?

[Ecclesiastes]

A gnome physad? You've got to be kidding? This I gotta see. PMing me the sheet is fine for now, once I have finalized who is in the game, I'll ask you to email them to me.

[Frater Inominatu...]

Limits of edges & flaws?

[Ecclesiastes]

None. But if you get cheesy, I'll reject them.

[Fortune]

Hmmmm .... what to submit?

[Mister Juan]

Here is what I have in storage:
-Decker runaway teen (always fun to play troubled youngsters)
-Pure hitman (who isn't magically active, or has any cyberware... just skills man!)
-The good ol' Sioux Ork Street Sammie.

Personaly, I've never played a decker, and would really like to play one. Of course, most GM hate deckers, so I can make sure he can cover other fields.

Any of these I should work on and send your way?

[Kiedo]

Yes, I've got the perfect character for this...

Concept: Formoni, shaman sorcerer (possibly raven), face who can hold his own in a fight. Weapon of choice, Vibroblade, and like batman, he refuses to use guns.

background:

[ Spoiler ]

Trog's is what Icarus and his sister Pandora decided to name the small restaurant they opened in London. Originally from Ireland, his family moved to Scottland once thier homeland became Tir na nOg, not agreeing with the politics of the new nation.

Icarus was just a child when that happened, and has since revisited the land of his birth. Born a Formoni suprisingly his childhood wasn't very difficult, and that lead him to pursue his dream of owning his own buisness. He studied hard in culinary school, and eventually graduated valedictorian from the Scottland Institute for Cullinary Design. His sister, a regular troll, majored in buisness at the Notre Dame graduating magna cum laude. With all the right things going for him, he decided it was time to open his buisness. He and his sister decided on london due to it's population denisity and the fact that if they put thier restaurant in Cork, they're parents would never eat there.

At first buisness was slow, but after the London Free Press gave them a four star rating, the restaurant really came into it's own. Trog's served everything from Haggis to hamburgers and catered to a wide variety of clientele, from the upwardly mobile young crowd to Corporate suits on thier lunch all the way down to shadowrunners. With all the popularity the restaurant was getting it wasn't long until the underground world of london wanted a piece.

Several Jokers, a london gang, visited and "convinced" Pandora to give them her share of the buisness. Fortunately Icarus had majority control, part of his and pandora's carful buisness plan. he entered into negotiations with them and finally sold his part to them under the condition he kept the name and menu, it was that or he closed the place down. Needless to say, they were pissed that he had them so firmly by the balls and quickly retaliated by killing Pandora.

Icarus was now so enraged that he had only one course of action left, tear the gang limb from limb. A group of shadowrunners, that were frequent patrons of Trog's, lead by, with some training, Icarus himself razed the gangs headquarters killing most of the vital members. The underground papers hailed him as a hero, but the major press called him a vigilante and a menace to society. With the heat coming down in london, Icarus caught the first plane out and headed to the CAS to start anew, but his reputation followed him there and it wasn't long until he was getting calls from Johnsons looking to employ his services.

[Sphynx]

Ecc, I'd love to play. Good story btw, are we extractees/extracters? I've been thinking of making a sword-saint type one day, I'd be interested in playing an Adept if you don't object.

[viggo]

I'm in, if it's OK with you I'll use a character from a currently running game - believe it or not, it fits with the bio I wrote - had to skip out of Aztlan because he pissed of Aztec :)

If that's not all right I can cook something up in the next 24 hours.

[Ray Becker]

I've a PhysAd you like for nothing more than to jump of high buildings after taking a quick snipe at somone.

I'll write up a quick background shortly.

[Ecclesiastes]

[Ecclesiastes]

[Guest_Overwatch_*]

I'd like to give this a try. I havent yet played an SR game on dumpshock. Are there any character types you are missing? I'd be happy to play whatever you need to round out the group.

[Ecclesiastes]

Just what you see here. I've only received one complete sheet so far (from Shadow) and that was for a cybered gun-bunny.

[Gynkoba]

never done this either, as overwatch said. No clue how this will work. But I got a crap load of creativity.

Sounds good... a few questions.. although I will email them.

Hope to fit in to the team roster..

Gynkoba

[JongWK]

[Ecclesiastes]

Well, thanks for the great story! :D

[Mister Juan]

I'll send you the decker character tonite. Since he's the kind of person that gets along well with pretty much everyone, I'll give him something of a Face type.