Opening Song - Livin' on the Edge by Aerosmith
Starting Location - Cypress Hill
Everyone is there for their own reason
Earl waiting for a new "job"; Neowulf looks to hire him to find a human of interest
Blocus "floated" in from being shipwrecked. Neowulf gets word of who he is and what happened, offering compensation if he helps with intel of the Black Hole Sons
Qaplowski, on the run from Kontra, is offered work from Neowulf to help clear her bounty
Terofin was originally enroute to Pure Point, but got word of work in Cypress Hill from Neowulf regarding rare artifacts that are being sought out by other interested groups
Kanteriiss is also hired by Neowulf to help find a human of interest, offering enough to help get him to the moon Ohmes
The group is informed that there's been terrorist like attacks on factories, corporate buildings, government buildings, etc. in other major cities focused in the east and it's suspected that there will be one in Cypress Hill
Lots of speculation of who is behind these attacks. Neowulf has a lead on a human that could be potentially linked to these attacks
Hunter's Quarter
Leafy Brown's Bar
Met Neowulf - Song "Come As You Are" by Nirvana (This was missing from the game!!!)
Target is human, "short", potential Essence user. Preferred alive and the bounty is large.
The group discusses the target and looking for a lead
After many, many, many questions and debate, Neowulf suggests they check out the most likely target; Miller's Zone
Miller's Zone
Along with Neowulf, Blocus decides to go here since he's familiar with the area from past trips. Qaplowski, Earl, and (eventually) Terofin join as well.
Neowulf takes the lead scoping out the factories and places of Miller's Zone. Qaplowski gathers further intel from Neowulf about what's been happening to help narrow down who they could be looking for
Neowulf explains to the group that Cypress Hill is different from the other four eastern cities in that they're more isolated (where as Arlandria, Paradise, Last Hope, and Kontra). This was very noticeable under the rule of Yelyah Rose.
Earl picks up on what Neowulf is doing and observes the workers going in and out of the local buildings. Can't notice anything
Blocus wants to stop by one of his "usual" spots to check in with one of his friends - Zrak Tega
Blocus fills him in on his ship getting destroyed (supposedly by Black Hole Sons) and Captain Sparrow perishing. The have a quick drink in remembrance. Zrak mentions security has been extra tight. (Blocus asks for a monkey wrench; Zrak hands him a rusted, busted wrench). Zrak says to talk to Miles Savell over at Elemental Extracts Mining Group (biggest manufacture of Sevendust)
Kanteriiss decides to head to Hollow's Spot; walks into Hummingbird Garden (strip club/bar, a bit "higher end") looking for the target. Aside from the usual crowd, Kanteriiss notices someone that's hanging out in the VIP section. His name is Barrett Jade - Song "Cowboy" by Kid Rock
Barrett notices Kanteriiss's "look" and invites him over. After offering him a free dance, he goes on to tell him that he often "hunts" wild Metamorphs, but his combat suit is down for repairs. He makes an offer to Kanteriiss to hunt down a Metamorph out in The Distance. Kanteriiss declines, but Barrett keeps the offer open.
Neowulf, Qaplowski, Earl, and Terofin arrive at the Elemental Extracts Mining Group
They ask for and talk to Miles Savell, head of security. Nolam Bonebraids, a Lithoborne worker, is forced to converse with them and is pretty harsh with them. The gang gets flustered. Qaplowski gets angry and intimidates him to get Miles.
Miles comes out attentively to talk to the group. Qaplowski and Miles converse further and he agrees this is serious (the attacks). He has surveillance on someone who's "not supposed to be there". They notice someone hanging around as if they're watching; but they won't encounter them because they're afraid they are in fact an Essence user and with the violate Sevendust around they don't want to risk something catastrophic. Details are that it's a girl wearing red.
Blocus finally stumbles in and talks to Miles (who are acquainted). He asks to let them onto the rooftop. He's not able to convince him, but tries to distract him. They hint at Earl to try and sneak up on the rooftop. Terofin tries to use some Essence to help Earl. Miles, super annoyed, goes to get him a beverage but hints that they're going to soon be on their way out. Miles comes back and is concerned that the group is "one short".
Kanteriiss checks with the group over comms, decides to leave Hollow's Spot and head to Leaves Station. He checks around through the hustle and bustle of transportation vehicles and passengers in the area. He doesn't really notice anything out of the ordinary other than people reacting to a heavier than usual enforcement type presence.
Blocus decides when watching the surveillance footage (again) he decides to poke around in the computer and able to enhance the suspect. She's armed but doesn't look like an Essence user. A random hit in an external database on a Leyawiin Shepard - Song "Scar Tissue" by Red Hot Chili Peppers.
She was a drone worker for Infinity Core. Unfortunately, Miles hits the silent alarm but as a courtesy, tells Blocus that him and his friends should leave. Meanwhile, Earl has snuck his way up to the roof. He scouts the area before security arrives. He sees the target. He relays the info to the rest of the group
Neowulf takes initiative and directly approaches their target but Terofin tries to stop him from doing something rash. Neowulf isn't having it. The rest of them try to catch up. The target stops in her tracks. Neowulf is talking to them for a minute before everyone catches up. Neowulf is angry, asking about her meeting up with someone. Finally after conversing, she's there to meet her boyfriend. Security shows up to lock down the building and she tells the group she doesn't want to fight but needs to find him. Earl now needs to escape the roof; he repels down the side and while not caught, takes him some extra time to catch back up.
Neowulf and Leyawiin decide to go to Peak Estate to "straighten things out" based on her presence and the fact that her boyfriend has been missing for 3 days. Kanteriiss joins them. Terofin wants to wait up for Earl. Blocus and Qaplowski decide to check out Deadhead's Port.
Blocus and Qaplowski arrive to Deadhead's Port looking for Leyawiin's boyfriend (who won't divulge many details to his description). They don't find him, but run into Little Nemo - Song "Until It Sleeps" by Metallica
He approaches Blocus because he looks "familiar" and asks what they're up to at the docks. Blocus jogs his memory and Little Nemo remembers Blocus's ship and crew and is disappointed by the news of the ship going under. Little Nemo hasn't seen who they're looking for but tells them he's noticed a lot of Black Hole Sons moving through the area. There's also something else going on...
Meanwhile, Terofin continues to wait for Earl, who after waiting for the perfect opportunity to escape, finally does so. But Earl over hears the security guards talking about something that tips them off; they need to get out of Cypress Hill sooner than later. Terofin, along with Blocus (based on their separate encounters), both come to the realization that Cypress Hill is the lone standing western city, and for a good reason.
At Peak Estate, Neowulf, Kanteriiss, and Leyawiin arrive. Neowulf works his way in and demands to talk to the leader of Cypress Hill, but gets passed off to the secretary, Eliz M'tais. Kateriiss helps Neowulf finagle their way in and manage to get to talk to Yelyah Rose - Song "Fake Happy" by Paramore
Yelyah Rose is jaded in her manors. Neowulf gets right to the point. She scoffs about what Neowulf has learned, but she still shares that something has been going on with the other four cities and has been isolating Cypress Hill because she doesn't want to go down the greedy, "evil" path the other leaders have seemed to not only embrace that dogma, but they've joined together. There's an inkling that they're gearing up for something bigger; something equivalent to the War of Conquest. She's worried that they will now come for Cypress Hill and "force" them to join them. Yelyah warns something will or has already happened to her boyfriend. Yelyah warns them that she figures they've held out as long as they could, but something bad is about to happen to Cypress Hill.
With all the new information, Neowulf decides it's time to leave. Leyawiin decides to tag along since she knows she can't stay there and Neowulf is looking for who she's looking for.
Blocus and Qaplowski try to wrap up their conversation with Little Nemo and he abruptly tells Blocus that "They're coming, you should leave!". Blocus is confused and asks who. Little Nemo responds, "The 46&2...." - Song "Forty Six & Two" by Tool
The entire crew makes haste for Leaves Station to leave Cypress Hill. On the way Neowulf fills them in on The 46&2; they're extremely dangerous, they search for artifacts, and they're not officially affiliated with Kontra but do wear a lot of their gear. Tensions rise with the local population.
As they're booking it through Leaves Station, drones show up scanning the crowds (basically for them). Blocus and Qaplowski are lagging behind because they were so much further away from the group but eventually catch up. Terofin uses his Essence to distract the drones enough to have them scan different targets. However a single drone manages to detect Neowulf and Leyawiin. Neowulf quickly dispatches it with his sword, so much so that they continue leaving undetected. They then detect Qaplowski, drawing attention away from everyone else. Kanteriiss is able to move so fast that it distracts the drones, pulling their attention enough to lose their focus on Qaplowski but not get a lock on Kanteriiss. Blocus, using his mechanical and computer expertise, figures out with these drones that enough of them go "offline" that their operator will get a major error, hindering their control. He also remembers combat drones often accompany these surveillance drones.
Without hesitation, Blocus digs through his pockets for an explosive to help distract them. Having a spare O2 bottle (from faring the high seas often), rigs it to explode it as a distraction further away from them. They take the bait. The group is able to escape.
Closing Song - "Rusty Cage" by Soundgarden