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Europareich 2057 - A Cyberpunk CYOA

Hellraiser

Arcane
Joined
Apr 22, 2007
Messages
11,299
Location
Danzig, Potato-Hitman Commonwealth
Chapter XIV

You enter Orłowski’s office, one of many in the Danzig Police HQ building on Karrenwall Strasse. Orłowski’s slowly-graying hair rises above a stack of paper documents, which otherwise block your view of the old cop. A half full or half empty, depending on the point of view, beige coffee mug stands next to his touchscreen computer terminal. The coffee itself looks like it has gone cold a few hours ago. Clearly the man is drowning in paperwork.

“And they say we became a paperless society twenty years ago.” You say to Orłowski, hoping his wall of paper isn’t soundproof.

“Ha! Maybe in India or Brazil.” Orłowski laughs from behind his cellulose wall. It has been a while though Frau Feldwebel, I am surprised you didn’t visit me earlier regarding the attack.”

“Well I was otherwise occupied.” You reply. “So what do we know about this latest attack?”

“I had the lab techs analyze the samples we collected from the parking lot, the explosive compound was the same as the one used in the Fuchs bombing.”

“Nitropenta.”

“Yes, that’s not the only thing that matches. There is absolutely nothing on the security vid files and the cameras are cutting-edge.” Orłowski tells you. “They could pick up anything, probably even a Reichkommando’s stealth cloak from what the GFG security said. I don’t know how they can be sure of that though, optical camo tends to be top secret guarded-like-a-nuke equipment. Doubt the government would let them test the cameras to see if it picks it up. Then again this is GFG, if any German corp has the money and power it would be them.” He muses for a bit.

“They could have planted the bomb earlier, it was under his car right?”

“Yes, a relatively small charge. Could have been planted under his car at night when it was parked at his home.”

“The bloke is bank manager, wouldn’t he have his house guarded by more security than the crown jewels? Surely he has a garage or something, they couldn’t just walk in without being spotted?” Gefreiter Smith asks.

“They shouldn't be able to do that, he does live on the Zoppot beach strip with the rest of the local rich and famous after all. We didn’t have a chance to check yet though. Too busy investigating and securing the mess at the GFG tower, damn media and vultures crawling all over the place.” The cop explains.

“We should probably investigate.” You add, the terrorists may have left something there - you think.

“I hear Zoppot is quite nice, lots of high-class locales, hotels and even casinos.” Richter comments.

“Well Gefreiter, remember that if we will go there it will not be so that you can lose your life’s savings playing roulette.” You remind Otto.

“Of course Frau Feldwebel, duty and service to the Europareich come first and foremost!” The Gefreiter replies eagerly.

“Did you find anything new related to the murders and the Fuchs bombing?” You ask the old policeman.

“Autopsies confirmed that both were strangled, however we found some kind of fabric under one of the assistant’s fingernails.” Orłowski starts explaining. “Odd thing really, artificial but the techs say it doesn’t match anything in the apartment or anything she had in her wardrobe. Could be a piece of her boyfriend’s underwear for all we know, but usually there would also be a skin flake of the other person there as well if that was the case, we found none. We're still analyzing it to see what exactly it is, should have the results tomorrow.”

“Maybe the assailant was wrapped in some skin-tight suit to cover his tracks? I mean it makes sense, the guy was some kind of assassin, they probably know how to cover their tracks. Could be a piece of that suit.” Gefreiter Mazowiecka suggests.

“Well, it is pretty obvious these guys aren’t amateurs. Either they’re trained professionals or professionals trained them.” You comment.

“Russians up to no good as always if you ask me.” Anna adds.

“I am inclined to agree, Perov and his goons know they’re on a sinking ship unless Europareich is out of the picture. Too many enemies around and no allies, too many potential fronts for the RDR.” Orłowski says. “Best way to do this would be to cause internal strife, might be a part of a greater Russian campaign of terror.”

“A likely scenario, however I am not as eager to point the finger at the RDR just yet.” You reply. “Even counting Russians alone, there is more than one group, which would be more than willing to fund such acts aimed against European interests.”

“Maybe we should talk to the GFG manager, perhaps he’ll tell us something.” Richter suggests.

“Last time we tried talking to a GFG employee we got stonewalled by a legion of lawyers. What makes you think it would be better this time Gefreiter?” You ask him.

“That is true Fraud Feldwebel. But surely the manager would be willing to help, if it means the people who tried to kill him would be brought to justice.” Otto replies.

“I’ll consider that possibility.” You tell him.

“There’s one other thing,” the old police officer mentions, “we’ve been trying to get a better look at the local criminal underworld, see if we could find who helped them smuggle in explosives. Got something, not sure what it is though.”

“What do you mean?” You ask, curious as to what he has found.

“An old warehouse on the west bank of the Vistula, not far from the Port really, the place is in Lauenthal. The thing stands empty, in theory. A patrol spotted some activity there during the middle of the night, a vehicle or two moving out of the lot. Now, this wouldn’t be all that suspicious, but technically the warehouse is supposed to be demolished, whenever the current owners gets cash to build something in its place.”

“What could they be doing in the middle of the bloody night there, not demolitions work I’m sure. Maybe an illegal rave? Reminds me of the stories my older brother used to tell me, back when you could actually go out somewhere in the night in England, without having to fear that a roaming machete-armed Ali hides behind every corner.” Sarah muses.

“Too quiet for a party according to my people. Whoever was there, they didn’t want to get spotted.” The officer explains.

“Suspicious activity such as that should be investigated.” Richter comments.

“I agree, although it may be something unrelated to our task. Either way I need to decide what to do next.” You tell everyone.
As you look around Orłowski’s office, thinking what to do next, an icon starts flashing in your field of view. Somebody is calling you, you answer the call.

“Frau Westgard,” the Major starts the conversation, “while I do understand that you are busy with the investigation, I would like to remind you that going on patrol is also your duty. As it stands, you and your squad are to spend at least 8 hours a day on patrol duty until further notice. Unless urgent matters regarding the investigation come up naturally. That is an order.”

“Of course Herr Major, I am not forgetting about my duties.”

“I know you are not Feldwebel, you did an excellent job during your previous assignment last week. However we are stretched thin as it comes to patrolling the TSZ, we need your squad on the streets if our presence here is to be visible.”

“Are the patrol areas the same as the last time Herr Major?”

“No, we also need somebody in Neufahrwasser and Brösen. Neufahrwasser in particular is a rather bad part of town, people tend to avoid that place at night, even if it is close to the port.” The Major explains.

Brösen is similar to Saspe, although they built a few somewhat fancy restaurants and clubs there, the sea being close probably makes it a good location for that. We could use more men, but command feels there are more important places to station them than the TSZ. Saspe, Heibuden and Oliva you know obviously.” He adds.

You will…
A)…go to Zoppot, see if you can get access to the bank manager’s home and investigate it for clues regarding the bombing.
B)…visit the manager at the hospital, see if he has anything interesting to say about the bombing.
C)…go check out the suspicious warehouse at night. The entire squad will go with you should something happen.
D)…interrogate Robert Wis, see if he knows anything about local right-wing terrorists.
E)...persuade Carla Durante the hacker, to tell you more about her involvement in the Fuchs bombing, using torture. Don’t worry, it’s all in the mind.
F)…go make up for all the patrol duty you missed by playing cop. Spend an entire day doing that.

Furthermore the major orders that you actually get your squad on patrol, the rookies can’t be playing cops all the time. You will patrol the following area during the night:
1) Saspe
2) Heibuden
3) Oliva
4) Brösen
5) Neufahrwasser

Patrols work like this, two soldiers stay in the Neinmask and guard it, the rest of the squad splits into two groups of four soldiers each. One is lead by the Unteroffizier the other by Ida. For the time being the group assigned to you are the same people as you picked for this chapter, that is Mazowiecka, Smith and Richter.
 

Monty

Arcane
Joined
Mar 24, 2012
Messages
1,582
Location
Grognardia
A and C seem the best options. A should be done seeing as though the cops haven't done it. I guess C is a more general investigation, could be related to the bombing, could be related to the Russians as Infantryman said, could be related to any other criminal / corporate / terrorist group. Think I'll vote A for now. As for patrolling, Neufahrwasser - bad part of town, near a port, sounds perfect for nefarious activity esp at night.

A 5
 

Erebus

Arcane
Joined
Jul 12, 2008
Messages
4,763
While I'm tempted to go and visit the manager, odds are he won't talk to us. Let's check the warehouse instead.
As for the patrol, I don't think our team is ready yet to maintain order in dangerous parts of town. Let's patrol Oliva instead : it should be fairly safe and, if the terrorists keep targeting corporations, it puts us close enough to react quickly.

C3
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
E3

Don't want our hacker getting electronically terminated before we talk to her.
 

Seerix

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 31, 2012
Messages
235
While warehouse may have something to do with our case or it may be just bunch of drug dealers or other criminal activity unrelated to our problems, it may be good idea to check it out and deal with whatever is going on in there as situation in TSZ will only get worse and so far we barely did anything to help it, besides calming one angry mob long time ago.

Investigating Zoppot is best left for later when we'll be able to choose new squad as we could really use both Laukaitis and Borg there for their expertise and tracking abilities.

And to max out our chances for some action, let's patrol Neufahrwasser, we will make up for the missed patrol duty or die horribly.

C5


Edit: Patrolling Oliva is waste of time for now IMO, I bet that whoever is doing the bombing will keep doing it in intervals of few weeks or so as to have the least amount of potential obstacles during the next attack. I wouldn't be surprised if each next attack was bigger than the last, maybe even TSZ HQ at the end.
 

Smashing Axe

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Dec 29, 2011
Messages
2,835
Divinity: Original Sin
B4
Seems like an interesting place to explore, and still important enough with its high class restaurants that something big could go down for us to intervene in. I want to talk to this bank manager, he might be more forthcoming with his information.
 

Rumsfeld

Scholar
Joined
May 19, 2012
Messages
116
Location
Bilderberg HQ
Still no votes for a brutal interrogation session. Sigh. Perhaps we could spend the day feeding the homeless and doing charity work. If that option isn't available I'll go with:
C5
 

Hellraiser

Arcane
Joined
Apr 22, 2007
Messages
11,299
Location
Danzig, Potato-Hitman Commonwealth
The votes:

AA
BB
CCCCCCCCCC
E

3333333
4
5555555

More huehuehue news:

brasiliatribune11v1.png


Yes, Ida was among the people captured. She got a promotion for that escape, no medal unfortunately, lost an arm during the fighting.

The next chapter will be posted tomorrow, assuming I don't drown in important(tm) stuff, again. Otherwise expect it on Wednesday.
 

Hellraiser

Arcane
Joined
Apr 22, 2007
Messages
11,299
Location
Danzig, Potato-Hitman Commonwealth
Chapter XV

Cold, outright arctic air blows against your face. The falling snow signals the slowly but steadily approaching beginning of winter. It is a chilly and dark evening in Oliva, strangely calm.

Somewhere in the distance, the local corporate towers rise towards the sky, their silhouettes hidden behind a thick screen of icy crystals falling from the sky. The city lights of Danzig mingle into an ambiguous orange glow, shedding any individuality they once had for the safety of monotone conformism.

“Doesn’t look like much does it Frau Feldwebel? A city like any other.” Otto reflects on his surroundings.

”Your point being Gefreiter?” You ask him, irritated by the vague nature of the statement. Vagueness after all means nothing but trouble, in your experience.

“That you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. The important things may be hidden beneath it.” The Gefreiter answers, you wonder if this is some kind of joke you are not meant to understand. Related to the whole cleaned out past of his, along with people making sure nobody digs up anything that got scrubbed.

“Tell me Gefreiter Richter, what is beneath your cover?” You ask him directly, wondering how he will react.

“My cover? What do you mean Frau Feldwebel?” He answers with a question, somewhat surprised by your inquiry. The rest of the squad says nothing, but by the looks on their faces you know they’re surprised as well.

“Why did you join the army?” You inquire further.

“To serve the land that helped our culture thrive. Stave off the barbarians at its gates. Banish them out of Europe ensuring peace and security for all.” He replies, Anna and Sarah cringe upon hearing it.

“How poetic and patriotic. What exactly did you do for a living before you joined?” You ask, totally unimpressed by his *rousing* speech.

“Well, I sold things. House appliances, vacuum cleaners, the like.” He answers after a while, startled by your question a bit it seems. He’s hiding something isn’t he? – you think. “Any reason you ask Frau Feldwebel? It should have been in my files.”

“Well, I thought you may have some hidden talents, ones not mentioned in the database entry. Now I’m disappointed.” You coldly explain.

“I can bake a fantastic chestnut cake.” Otto jokes.

“Splendid! Hopefully every Ali and Ahmed we encounter will try it. Should make for a bloody fine weapon if they have an allergy!” Sarah replies sarcastically, somewhat irritated by his shenanigans.

“Alright, that’s enough small talk for now. We’ve got a district to patrol.” You end the exchange before it escalates.

Nothing of note happens in Oliva during your evening patrol.

*

This place has seen better times – you think as you look at the motley assortment of metal sheets forming the shape of a warehouse. Its facade is partially consumed by rust, the whole thing looks like it could instantly turn into a scrapheap, should the wind blow a bit too strongly. This disaster waiting to happen is located behind a bunch of industrial buildings, belonging to a myriad of small businesses. All of them silent in the middle of the night.

But something is happening, someone or something is moving around inside. All this activity in the one warehouse that is supposed to be empty. Orłowski was right, this is suspicious. You observe the building carefully, from a safe distance.

It appears there is a vehicle parked somewhere behind the corner of the warehouse, hidden away from your sight. You can hear its engine, just barely. Footsteps, some intelligible whispers, the sound of something being hauled back and forth.

The question remains what to do now? You could try to simply confront them, ask what they are doing here. However odds are these people may be armed and will respond with fire. You are not sure of that but it is a risk you have to consider.

Perhaps trying to sneak closer might be best, take a small team with you in case something goes wrong. Figure out what is going on before deciding your next move. Hopefully you won’t be discovered, before you find out who these people are and what they are doing.

You may simply wait and follow the vehicle as it leaves the abandoned lot. Call in a drone to track it more easily. The local police would take care of the warehouse in the meantime.

Finally there is the obvious option of a frontal assault. Go in and tell them to drop any weapons on the ground. Don’t fire unless they are armed and refuse to comply. You have an entire squad and a transportpanzer, also you can call Orłowski to send some men to cut off the area and support you. The odds are in your favor, if it ends up in bullets flying.

You will…
1)…attempt to confront the people in the abandoned warehouse.
2)…try to stealthily uncover what is going on.
3)…wait for the vehicle to move out, follow it.
4)…go in ready to fire, if these people want a fight they’ll get one.

Pick four people out of the following to accompany you on your task (this does not apply to option 3, but you can list them anyway if you vote that):

Borg, Beauvis, Smith, Laukaitis, Bosch, Mazowiecka, Osterhagen, Richter

The people not picked stay with the Unteroffizier. If things go bad they'll obviously go in and support you. If you decide to go in all guns blazing they go in as a second team from a different side. The assault option will utilize the best tactical approach for both squads as possible.
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
2:Borg, Laukaitis, Richter.
The spooks taught us infiltration, might as well use it.

Richter should go to be observed, something tells me he was a thief.
 

Infantryman

Scholar
Joined
Feb 9, 2010
Messages
459
Location
War Saw, Potatoland
I'll vote for 3. Whatever purpose this warehouse serves, it's just a minor part of this shady business. We must reach the core of this trouble-making organization.

Borg, Beauvis, Mazowiecka, Laukaitis
 

Erebus

Arcane
Joined
Jul 12, 2008
Messages
4,763
We need to catch these men, but also prevent them from destroying any important evidence. That rules out 1 and probably 4.
Trying to follow the vehicle is too risky : if we lose it, we lose everything (I doubt that anything useful will be left in the warehouse).

I'm voting 2, with only Borg and Laukaitis. Taking a third soldier with us would mostly increase our chances of getting caught.

It could be interesting to use Richter in a dangerous situation in order to determine the hidden abilities he may have, but I don't like the idea of relying on him when a small mistake may have severe consequences.
 

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