Blades '68 - Accessing the Lusk Reform Clinic

We decided to start with a small time skip to tie up some loose ends. Rather than do extended downtime, we made a list of the narratives that were still outstanding and did a dice roll to assign good or bad outcomes to each. Here’s how everything landed.

• Mirror House (2): This clock finished on the board but the crew doesn’t know much of what actually happened. Dok knows that alluvium has tripled in price and has been very hard to come by. It seems like they may have created a monopoly.
• Tomorrow Program (6): The crew tracked down the doppelgängers and were able to help the Catalyst Engine get back on track. Tailor revealed their plans to create a brand new future free of the cataclysm. All they need to do is break reality. New 12 stage clock has started. Dok captured his comatose doppelgänger and is keeping him in a secret room in the lab.
• Old North Port Preservation Society (4): Their flophouse exploded while trying to activate a soul well. Russo, Helly’s son’s friend, survived but not unscathed. Bingo didn’t make it. RIP. The flowers continue to be a bit of a mystery. For now, they no longer have a presence in Crowfoot.
• Lord Scrulock (6): Setarra is back and Lord Scurlock is back to being a powerful vampire guy after the crew was able to swipe the crystal that had bound her. Scurlock will let them use his extensive library for any future research projects.

During the time skip, Keith served a bit of time in Ironhook, which turned out to not be too bad. He was able to get a bunch of training in at the gym and now the crew has a few guards on the gang’s payroll. This turned out to be immensely helpful for the next job as they set their sights on taking down the Lusk Reform Clinic.

Anti-hull sentiment has spread all over Duskvol and just last week a riot broke out when some former railjacks staged a picket that resulted in a bunch of property damage. Stoker has gotten the green light from his editor for a series of stories about the Lusk Reform Technique and the growing anti-hull sentiment.

The crew decided to break into the Lusk Reform Clinic to find evidence of the program for Stoker’s story. He said he’d pay top dollar for photos, video, and any intel. Fortunately, Keith knew of a secret way into the clinic through the prison. One of the guards on the crew’s pay roll let them in to the sewer drain that connects the two facilities.

While trudging through the tunnel, they were spotted by one of the new patrol hulls that was guarding the entrance. Helly shot out its flashlight and the crew ran for the door. Wanting to collapse the sewer drain, Helly then threw a grenade that malfunctioned. The Hull’s eyes were glowing red as she tried another in her bandolier and it shot its robotic arm through the doorway, gripping Helly while the sewer pipe collapsed behind them. Twiggy tried to free Helly but as the Hull expired its frame exploded, maiming Twiggy’s hand in the process.

Regrouping, the crew made their way through the clinic when Dok noticed how incredibly cold it was. They stumbled upon a room where patients were in beds and a lone clinician in a hazmat suit was taking notes. Twiggy sensed a presence behind her - it was the ghost of a prisoner. He was shivering and cold, and he sought Twiggy for a bit of warmth. Dok tried to communicate with the entity and was able to convince it to focus not on them but the doctor with the clipboard who was running the experiment. Dok watched the shocked doctors eyes roll back into this head after he charged ahead and pulled off part of his protective suit and the ghost forced its way in. 

The doctor began to levitate and contort in the air. He let out a piercing scream - blowing out the hearing of everyone in the room. Klaxons sounded and the crew could sense backup was on its way.

Seizing the opportunity, the crew put on the prison uniforms and with Dok disguised as "the" doc, they rushed up the stairs. Dok convinced the guards they needed to go to stage 1 of the LRT, which they learned was on the third floor.

Upon reaching floor three, crew found what they were looking for. Rows upon rows of 'patients' having their resonance echo extracted. Sensing something was up, the doctor on duty grabbed Helly by the arm, which he soon regretted.

She bit his arm - tearing the flesh off right to the bone. He screamed and wailed and a group of orderlies gathered outside the room as a giant Hull came in to suspend her in the air.

Seeing his opening, Keith pulled out his electro blade and ripped off his shirt - showing a slicked body and defined prison abs. He parkoured off the wall while unsheathing and resheathing his sword in one bold move. The hull split in half - causing the orderlies to disperse in fear for their lives.

Dok continued to blend in with the other clinic staff hoping to learn more while Helly tagged the place with her anti-hull slogan “Souls Not Hulls.” They had gotten what they set out to find - evidence of how the hull program is being fueled by the Lusk Reform Technique, which should help Stoker’s next story.