Heavy Gear — The Ending

This is the final writeup I did for a Heavy Gear campaign. We got lost in the scheduling muck of the end of the year and lost the thread of the campaign…

Still, I can’t overemphasize how much fun I had running it. Alas, this is likely going to make ZERO sense to anyone who wasn’t one of my players.

They were Mekong Dominion Peacekeepers.

Their unit was called “Experimental Squad 16”

This is the ending to their story

XxFireDog1913xX writes: I don’t know if this address is still going to reach any of you, but I found something interesting for all of us.

 

RECORD TYPE:	ADMINISTRATIVE-LEVEL INCIDENT REPORT — DEBRIEFING TRANSCRIPT
SUBJECT:	ATSI INCIDENT REPORT #12-42016
OFFICERS INVOLVED:	CHIEF CONSTABLE AMARANTA YUE (ATSI GARRISON CHIEF)– SUBJECT OF INQUIRY LIEUTENANT COMMANDER CRAIG ENNIS (INQUIRIES DEPT. INTERVIEWER) LIEUTENANT COMMANDER ZAE YU FUNG (INQUIRIES DEPT. INTERVIEWER) CHIEF CONSTABLE BARLOWE (HEAD OF THE MEKONG DOMINION PEACEKEEPER FORCE — OBSERVER) — NAME REDACTED — — TITLE REDACTED – — NAME REDACTED — — TITLE REDACTED – — NAME REDACTED — (GUEST)
LOCATION:	LO-YANG CENTRAL CONSTABULARY OFFICES.

 

INTERVIEW PT. III BEGINS: 14:55

 

1. CMDR ZAE YU FUNG

So we’ve been talking for some time about the activities of Experimental Squad 16…

CHF. CNSTBL AMARANTA YUE

Yes.

1. CMDR ZAE YU FUNG

And we have discussed how their practices mostly led to the destruction of property, destruction of evidence and so forth…

— **REDACTED** COUGHS IN BACKGROUND —

CHF. CNSTBL AMARANTA YUE

Yes, we have been discussing that.

1. CMDR ZAE YU FUNG

Now, as you well know, we’re not here to assign any blame or responsibility for the actions of the experimental squad in the past–

1. CMDR CRAIG ENNIS

We’re interested in just what happened on the night of Summer 15th.

CHF. CNSTBL AMARANTA YUE

The “Ballroom Blitz” incident.

1. CMDR ZAE YU FUNG

I understand that the rank and file have taken to calling it that.

CHF. CNSTBL AMARANTA YUE

Effectively beheading half the major criminal organizations in the hemisphere, exposing a corruption ring and dismantling the Atsi Red yakuza family would make an impression on–

— LT. CMDRD CRAIG ENNIS INTERCEDES —

1. CMDR CRAIG ENNIS

We’re not arguing about results here, or what junior constables think. The number of suspects and constables killed alone during this fiasco is unacceptable.

CHF. CONSTBL AMARANTA YUE

I’m sure the lieutenant commander knows that the squad was facing opposition armed with military hardware, and that the first part of the operation was carried out without incident.

1. CMDR ZAE YU FUNG.

Two dead suspects by beheading, inciting a riot and then using an unapproved chemical agent hardly seems to be without incident. Those people–

— CHF. CNSTBL BARLOWE INTERCEDES —

CHF. CNSTBL BARLOWE

Move on.

— **REDACTED** SPEAKS. MASKED DIGITALLY —

 

 

 

— **REDACTED** SPEAKS. MASKED DIGITALLY —

CHF. CNSTBL BARLOWE

(to the unnamed guests)

You’re here as a courtesy, not as part of the proceedings. Don’t try my patience.

1. CMDR ZAE YU FUNG

We have some gunsight footage from Constable Guzman’s equipment… Are you familiar with this footage?

CHF. CNSTBL AMARANTA YUE

I’ve seen it, yes.

1. CMDR ZAE YU FUNG

Let’s take another look…

— FOOTAGE BEGINS —

The video is grainy, with just a handful of colors. An overlay displays the time and location, along with Constable Guzman’s name and vitals. His heartbeat is spiking. The scene is a set of blast doors, half-open. Whorls of condensation roll out from the chamber on the other side.

“This is bad”, a heavily digitized voice says. “We’re all exposed.”

Guzman walks through the opening, stepping over the legs of another constable who is propped up against a wall. Inside the chamber, there is a gruesome collection of body parts, some of them sliced clean, others ripped by gunfire, all of them bleeding something the camera can only register as a dark gray. Guzman can’t look away from a hand, its trigger finger is still twitching, even though it’s chopped out at the wrist. The rest of the arm is in the maw of a metal and muscle nightmare that is collapsed next to the corpse it bit into.

“How long will it take to make?”, another voice asks.

“Couple of hours should be enough…”

Guzman looks up at the voices. It’s Doctor Rokka, barely distinguishable in the low light, and Sergeant Gramm Lumox, who is unmistakable. His prosthetic robot body casts a very particular silhouette. On the floor around them there are dozens of smashed glass tubes. Past them there is a container-sized box. Its smooth walls open up at one end, revealing racks of even more tubes. All of them are broken. There is a hospital bed next to the crate, bloody sheets still on it. Gramm and the doctor turn to look at Guzman. The video cuts out suddenly.

— FOOTAGE ENDS —

1. CMDR ZAE YU FUNG

It seems like two members of the Experimental Squad were discussing something very specific. You’ve said before that you don’t know what it is.

1. CMDR CRAIG ENNIS

Do you stand by that?

CHF. CNSTBL AMARANTA YUE

I do. I have no knowledge to share of what transpired in the third basement level of the compound.

1. CMDR ZAE YU FUNG

And just what do you make of the footage we just showed you? Or the fact that that was the only evidence about that phase of the operation in existence?

CHF. CNSTBL AMARANTA YUE

All my constables submitted the requisite reports. Any details…

— LT CMDR CRAIG ENNIS INTERCEDES —

1. CMDR CRAIG ENNIS

None of those reports mention the last chamber. And all the reports from the experimental squad are missing. You know this already, Chief Constable. Aren’t you responsible for that omission?

CHF CNSTBL AMARANTA YUE

I am. They were removed from our records for security reasons.

1. CMDR CRAIG ENNIS

Are you saying you knowingly deleted the reports yourself?

CHF CNSTBL AMARANTA YUE

I am saying that they were removed for security reasons.

1. CMDR ZAU YUN FUNG

Under whose —

— CHF CNSTBL BARLOWE INTERCEDES —

CHF. CNSTBL BARLOWE

Move on, lieutenant.

 

1. CMDR CRAIG ENNIS

Sir, the inquiries department has the directive AND the authority to —

— TRANSCRIPT ENDS —

XxFireDog1913xX writes: No clue who the guests were. They’re gone for the next part of the transcript I was able to pull. Being talked about like this feels weird.
INTERVIEW PT. IV BEGINS: 16:08

1. CMNDR ZAE YU FUNG

Seems like we’re set so I’ll just go into it. Chief Constable, let’s talk about the third floor.

CHF. CNSTBL AMARANTA YUE

What do you want to know?

1. CMNDR ZAE YU FUNG

Experimental Squad 16 was given the directive to arrest “Ghenghiz”, the leader of the Atsi Reds yakuza family, who was reportedly on that floor. Is that accurate?

CHF. CNSTBL AMARANTA YUE

Yes.

1. CMNDR CRAIG ENNIS

The squad requested back-up when it became apparent that they would face unusually stiff resistance. That request was denied. Why?

CHF. CNSTBL AMARANTA YUE

All our resources were invested in other operations, as well as on the perimeter of the compound.

1. CMNDR ZAE YU FUNG

This is a team that routinely took on seemingly overwhelming opposition head-on. What prompted them to ask for back-up?

CHF. CNSTBL AMARANTA YUE

All the information I have is in the reports.

1. CMNDR CRAIG ENNIS

That information isn’t in any of the reports the inquiry department received — but it doesn’t matter.

1. CMNDR ZAE YU FUNG

We have footage of that floor as well. Shall we?

— FOOTAGE BEGINS —

The image jumps to life abruptly. It’s still footage recorded from Constable Guzman’s equipment. He’s with at least half a dozen other officers. They’re in a stairway. A digitized voice starts counting down.

“In Three… Two… One!”

The image shakes, pixelating. Gunfire in the dark. Flashes. Screams. A blue glow swipes across one side of the screen and the image begins to settle down. Guzman’s vitals are spiking and his breathing is a fast hissing down in the background. He’s around a corner, looking down a wide open space. The body of another constable is in the middle of the floor, still bleeding. Figures move in the dark, punctuated by flashes of yellow and blue light. Guzman crawls over to the wounded constable, turning her over. She is still breathing. Guzman’s gloved hands press down on the oozing wound. A hissing voice is barely caught by the mic.

“Help… help…”

Guzman looks up suddenly, shifting the perspective of the image.

A statue of a young woman is standing over the two of them on a pedestal, lifting her hands in a quasi-religious pose. The statue is standing in the middle of a frame made out of metal tubing, held like a puppet by steel cables attached to its joints. The statue is bone white, except for where the wires dig into its flesh. The wires are surrounded by bloody scabs.

“Help me…”

Guzman looks down at the constable he’s keeping alive with his hands for a moment, then across at the rest of the room. There are at least a dozen statues there, all of them different. All of them are striking poses that contort them into something akin to prayer. The firefight continues down the hallway

Guzman stammers into his radio.

“I – I need medical over here!”

— FOOTAGE ENDS —

1. CMNDR CRAIG ENNIS

There are no victim debriefing reports, no names collected of possible survivors, no suspects or charges, for anything that was going on on the third floor.

CHF. CNSTBL AMARANTA YUE

Is there an issue you are trying to raise here, lieutenant?

1. CMNDR CRAIG ENNIS

The absolute lack of a paper trail is an issue. The lack of charges for the crimes we just saw on the screen is an issue. Or do you disagree?

1. CMNDR ZAE YU FUNG

Let’s move on from that. We have some autopsy reports, as well as some medical logs…

CHF. CNSTBL AMARANTA YUE

Those were leaked to the press, weren’t they?

XxFireDog1913xX writes: I added the news clip she’s talking about here. Still no clue who the actual leak was. I’m betting it was the quartermaster, Sgt. Bolton. That guy always had way too much cash.

— FOOTAGE BEGINS —

The music sting of “Atsi Action News Report on Channel 52” plays as the shows logo spins into view in tri-dimensional video. Sarah Vikkers comes into the foreground.

“Good evening Atsi, and welcome to your Action News Report on Channel 52, the most trusted source of up-to-date news that matters to you. Our top story tonight…”

An image of the Atsi Red’s compound fills most of the screen. It’s a dark silhouette with the glow of a blazing fire in the background.

“A public disturbance call on one of Atsi’s most notorious gangsters leads to a pitched battle and a strange discovery in the home of Yakuza Gang-leader “Ghenghiz”.

An image Ghenghiz is displayed. He is a wide-set man in his early forties, sporting a thin Fu-Manchu.

“The Mekong Dominion Peacekeepers report that when answering a noise complaint, they discovered that several dozen guests at the home of notorious Atsi Reds leader “Ghenghiz” were intoxicated by a gas leak and in need of medical assistance.”point

A shot of police officers in gas masks carting out unconscious bodies replaces Ghenghiz’ face.

“While searching the premises for more victims, MDP sources tell us, they found evidence of several felonies and started conducting arrests. Several gang members resisted, according to the MDP, and were neutralized without incident.”

The logo along the bottom of the screen changes to “ACTION NEWS EXCLUSIVE!”

“But here at Action News Report we are prepared to state that there is more to this story than what MDP sources tell us. In tonight’s exclusive, we shall have a closer look at medical reports tied to the incident.”

A photograph of a corpse is brought up, with its face and crotch censored. It has gaunt limbs, with barely any skin on the bone. Thick cabling comes into view from whatever is censored on the corpse’s face.

“Autopsy reports acquired by this station list at least fifty dead, plenty of whom were members of the local Peacekeeper garrison, and scores more wounded. Amongst them, though. One stands out. It is an autopsy that says its subject was, a two-year old, who was 60 pounds, and five feet tall.”

The camera pans to a middle-aged, well-coiffed man sitting next to the anchor.

“To discuss this report we turn now to our medical correspondent, Dr. Arnjan Vonderwalde. Doctor, what can you tell us about this remarkable report? Is it a fake? A series of errors?”

“Well, Sarah, if you read the report you’ll see that it addresses all of those discrepancies itself. The subject, according to the report, was a clone.”

“A HUMAN clone?”

“Precisely, Sarah. A human clone. The subject appeared to be a thirty year old eunuch, but testing by a member of the MDP medical staff proved that this was, in fact, a two year old clone, deformed by an aggressive growth acceleration treatment. We can’t really tell who was cloned — but we do know that they were likely not a functioning individual.”

“How can you tell, doctor?”

“Well, Sarah, according to the report, half of the clone’s brain was atrophied. It had some sort of mechanical device that seemed to relegate higher intellectual functions to a computer over a network.”

“Remarkable. How does this tie into the events at the Atsi Reds’ compound?”

“The report tells us that the corpse was found in the personal chambers of “Ghenghiz”, the leader of the Atsi Reds, the night of the incident.”

“How did the clone die?”

“A massive heart attack, if the report is to be believed. It lists a number of lacerations and other wounds, but it states that the clone went into grand mal seizures when the network connection was forcibly cut.”

“Thank you, doctor. Let me bring the conversation now to our security specialist, Mr. Lucas Arppaio.”

“Good evening, Sarah. What an eventful few months we’ve just had in our fair city!”

“Yes, it’s been a very busy time for us here at Actions News. Especially for you! Tell me, what do you see in this incident, with your expertise as a retired intelligence officer?”

“Sarah, I see a culmination of a long string of incidents, where there was a single common thread…”

The image focuses on Lucas Arppaio, a portly man with a shaved head and a wide, predatory smile. An image of Gramm, Willow and Yasuhide at the Atsi Maglev station appears next to him.

“The special Peacekeeper unit known as Experimental Squad 16. They have been at the center of the riots that shook our city earlier this year…”

The image changes to one of Doctor Rokka standing next to Yasuhide in the middle of a city street over a corpse covered with a plastic sheet. Red Rum’s silhouette is nearby, stalking out of view.

“The dismantling of one of the biggest smuggling rings in our city…”

The next image is one of Gramm leading uniformed constables while they search the rubble of a building. Langstromm is standing next to him with his rifle.

“And this latest incident. They are all connected by this special unit that was, I might add, also the unit that stopped a mercenary takeover of one of the maglev train lines. They are the best of the best of the MDP and I am sure they were hand-picked for this mission.”

“So you’re saying that all of this was planned, Lucas?”

“Absolutely. I believe the capital has had it with the corruption in our city and has sent this crack team to clean up the mess!”

“While their achievements may be impressive, the amount of collateral damage…”

“That is a symptom of just how deep-rooted the problem is! Even the best surgeon amputates when the whole limb is diseased.”

“Well! That’s quite a statement! Based on your experience, can you speculate what this specialized team will do next? Storm city hall?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised, Sarah! I wouldn’t be surprised… Though, I did have a question for our good doctor. Arjan, my friend! What do you make of an entire MDP garrison being scheduled for “vitamin booster shots” immediately after last night’s incident?”

“Well, it sounds fairly innocuous. It’s strange that the entire garrison was scheduled to get an injection the morning after, but with bureaucracy being what it is –“

“I’m sorry gentlemen, but that’s all the time we have for that story.”

The image focuses back on Sarah, the anchor.

“As a final note, “Ghenghiz” was amongst the arrested during last night’s MDP operation. Our requests to interview Ghenghiz have been denied by MDP officials, stating that “Ghenghiz” is currently indisposed due to an acute case of complete catatonia.”

The image shifts to another camera angle. The anchor glances that way with a smile.

“Let’s move on to sports news. The Charioteers continue to dominate this season as –“

— FOOTAGE ENDS —

XxFireDog1913xX writes: That’s the end of the segment. Maybe I let it run a little too long. Back to the transcript…

1. CMNDR ZAE YU FUNG

The leak is irrelevant to the current inquiry. But yes, I’m talking about those medical reports.

CHF. CNSTBL AMARANTA YUE

What about the reports?

 

1. CMNDR CRAIG ENNIS

We see a few things that made us curious. Constable Langstrom is listed among the casualties. And there is a lot of “salvage” listed that matches components of Sgt. Lummox’s prosthetic body, and of the xenocyborg projects “Cujo” and “Red Rum”.

CHF. CNSTBL AMARANTA YUE

Your point?

1. CMNDR CRAIG ENNIS

This is the last time any members of Experimental Squad 16 are listed anywhere.

CHF. CNSTBL AMARANTA YUE

I still don’t see how —

— LT. CMNDR CRAIG ENNIS INTERCEDES —

1. CMNDR CRAIG ENNIS

It just leads us to one question, Chief. One which we think only you could answer.

CHF. CNSTBL AMARANTA YUE

And that is…?

1. CMNDR ZAE YU FUNG

Where is Experimental Squad 16, Chief? Where are they now?

 

XxFireDog1913xX writes: I guess they’ll never know.