Dramatis Personae

• Chessur (NPC): It’s a cat! It’s a bird! It’s a Catbirb!. Powers: Unknown. Tagline: “Chirp?”
• Lynne C. Duane (NPC): Neurobiologist and neurosurgeon. Consulted doctor. Power: Telepathy. Tagline: “Please don’t, I’m already in your head.”
• Tabitha E. “Tabbs” de Orellana (NPC): Owner of Alchemia, LLC and wife to Harlowe. Mother to many (and counting). Can do it all and then some. Powers: Hyper-Intelligence and Kyberic Energy Control. Tagline: “No me respondas.”

Previously . . .

The robot scanning Harlowe has an miniature image of Ray popping up in front of the robots, just staring at Harlowe and seemingly sizing up Harlowe, trying to detect if he’s a threat and still cautious of him. Harlowe states, firmly, that they’re heading towards the principal’s office and moves past them while Flit fiddles in place to not make things worse. The robots don’t stop them, but two more cylindrical robots float around the corner to observe them on their way to the office.

Crystal Blue Persuasion

Fiona, Flit, Harlowe, and Harvey
Meraki Institute for the Gifted
Thursday, May 7th, 2020, 1200 hours (EST) 
605 E 9th St, New York, NY 10009

Fiona, Harvey, Giga-Jewel meet up at the principal’s office at about the same time as Flit and Harlowe. With more robots between them and the door to the office of Robert Rivers, the Principal. Fiona immediately declares that they’re here to help the school if needed while the robot waits for them to present their evidence. The burner phone having been given to one of the security guards already, but Harvey did remember to make a few copies and presents the one he stored on his phone. The robot gives a quiet whirr before making a rather bad sound effect as Harlowe processes what he just heard of the recording.

He understands that they just walked into a rather large trap, that there are people that want to destroy Meraki, kill Harvey and every person associated with it and the group decided to gather everyone there. And the sound effect that the robot made is not a good thing based on Harlowe’s information. Unfortunately, there’s also only one thing that is able to shut them down based on a backdoor that Warren and Ray had placed in years ago, doing a Safety Dance.

A quick boogie later, Harvey and Harlowe head into the office, finding Principal Rivers under the desk covered in blood and a bit woozy. Harlowe directs Harvey to help the Principal who was attacked by someone that could manipulate glass or something and been hit by a crystalline shard. He’d managed to get the majority of kids out thanks to an emergency teleport, but four kids are left behind in the south wing where the boarder dorms are. Harvey patches up Rivers quickly with one of his medical gadgets. They do some discussion about how to get the kids, Flit suggests getting portal set up there while Harlowe instead takes over River’s computer and uses the backdoor.

He sets fire suppression system off and suggests that Fiona uses the suppression system to get the kids out before looking at the status of the robots, finding five that are currently compromised and almost 28 that aren’t. Getting the information on when the Principal has been shot, Harlowe checks the footage and going frame by frame spots a shimmer of a crystalline being that spoke a passphrase to the compromised robots. Harlowe immediately shuts down the uncompromised robots’ microphones. He tracks the crystalline being into the cafeteria that was startled when the sprinklers began.

A quick check of cameras reveals that the security guards that stopped Fiona’s progress are now gone and Harlowe questions why a school with such technology even needed the guards in the first place before they get Flit to pop some of Harvey’s knockout grenades into the cafeteria, to no avail but the being is now more wary and creates several crystalline orbs that start wandering around. A bit more brainstorming while Flit gets the Principal and kids out while Fiona gets some oil paints from the art room. The paint is placed into some of Harvey’s gas grenades and then popped into the cafeteria while Harlowe shuts down the sprinkler system. The crystalline being is rather annoyed to be covered in paint and taps a nearby table sending out a vibration that summons the crystals orbs and the compromised robots to it, but with the paint it’s also easier to follow while Harvey investigates the crystal structure. It’s almost spiralized sort of cylinder, manmade and almost fractal in nature with air trapped inside. A golden structure, created from air that would need some kind of ultrahigh frequency to shatter, literally created from air. Flit is curious enough to try to focus to take off one of the tips of the crystal and destroys almost 3/4ths of the crystal while Fiona is rather impatient.

Harlowe, meanwhile, has been watching the video and identified the tone used to summon things, a very high C note that Flit is able to reproduce. Harlowe preps for the final assault by having Harvey record Flit’s note and uploads it via the Principal’s computer and to the 28 uncompromised robots and the PA system.

Fiona travels through the water left in the sprinkler pipes where the crystalline being is utterly confused as the crystal orbs rotates around it like spokes in a wheel. Fiona decides to take out one orb to spatter it against the ceiling and hiding back into the water, the PA and robots start blaring at the same time as she hides back into the water. The attack doesn’t seem to have damaged the crystal orb, but note starts to crack them while the being is holding its head as the robots fight each other. Fiona keeps ducking in and out of water, striking the orbs before sinking back in.

Fiona summons a water spout that surrounds the last orb that firmly disorients the being while the rogue robots are destroyed entirely. The orbs are destroyed and the being looks circle drunk, like it’s been spun around repeatedly. Fiona calls for it to surrender only for a crystal to be launched at the table Fiona is hiding behind and punches a circle through the table and the wall behind. It speaks in a harsh buzzing tone, saying that Fiona is not a part of anything only for Fiona to ask what it’s a part of. It responds it’s part of the future.

Aftermath

Flit asks if the PA system can go up higher, but Harlowe instead, having noted the frequency connections, pulls out his harmonica with orichalcum plates and plays a perfect G causing the crystalline being to go insane with rage and pain and starts writhing with pain as cracks start forming in it. Fiona alerts the group it may get destroyed so Harlowe lowers the volume on the robots and stops blowing, asking it to please comply. It screams and throws a crystal at Fiona while stumbling away, Fiona who responds with a water wave to knock it over only to knock it back into a wall and shatter it completely into crystalline dust. There’s still evidence of its existence around in the form of the crystal orbs and robots that have been hit with crystals. Fiona looks for a way to carry them to the rest of the group.

After Action Report (GM)

We finally got to play for several hours (almost our full allotment!) but again, the weather interfered and the power flickered. Still. It was a good game with lots of twists and turns and fun to be had by all. I kind of insulted Will a bit by accident half way through (Sorry, Will!) when I commented I was waiting for him to do something with his tech skills and I hadn’t really given him a chance to DO anything. Ah well. I think it was a really good session and it’s building up in a good hopefully fun way.

Other Notes

None.

Soundtrack

“Safety Dance” by Men Without Hats
“Float On” by Modest Mouse
“Crystal Blue Persuasion” by Tommy James & The Shondells