AP: Ferris

Things went extremely well for our first session. The group took to the rules swimmingly and were quite forgiving when I took a moment or two to think about my moves. Next time I definitely want to try and barf forth more apocalyptica and get my bloody fingerprints on everything.

The setting

The apocalypse left the world a blasted desert wasteland; sand, dirt and ash (think Mad Max meets Book of Eli). Getting anything to grow on a scale larger than a small garden is largely futile, and even that is difficult.

The hold of Ferris is a moderately-sized settlement located on a pier overlooking the ocean. The inhabitants have repurposed many of the old restaurants and buildings for shelter and other uses (what’s left of the old ferris wheel is used as a lookout tower, for example). Otherwise, the pier is littered with tents and other makeshift shelters used by the people.

Ferris is lead by a man named Harridan. A woman named Twice and her gang handle security.

Ferris’ primary resources are: the bazaar where Wisher sells and trades the oddments he and his crew scavenge from the wasteland ruins; the fish caught from the ocean by Fisher and his family; and the diner, run by Miss Emmy the maestro ‘d where there is much food and marijuana.

The cast

Miss Emmy, the maestro d'. A motherly, fifty-five year-old woman who enjoys providing rich food  and recreational drugs for people of Ferris.

Burroughs, the brainer. A mysterious young man, wrapped head to toe in layer upon layer of desert wear. Works for Harridan, the guy in charge of Ferris, as a kept brainer.

Kite, the battlebabe. Androgynous, twenty-year old wanderer who sells her deadly skills to make her scratch. She looks a lot younger (teenaged) than she actually is. Currently she helps out with security at Miss Emmys diner in return for room and board, as well as trouble-shooting for Harridan.

History

In our first session, the following relationships were established while setting Hx. Burroughs used to live in Ferris as a boy. He used to hang around Miss Emmy's diner while his parents went out scavenging in the wasteland. One day, when Burroughs was 12, they didn't come back. Soon afterward, Burroughs disappeared as well, going off to look for them. He has only recently returned to Ferris in the last few months. Burroughs has taken to hanging around Miss Emmy's diner regularly. He remembers her kindness from childhood and trusts her, but nevertheless has watched her carefully in secret on more than one ocassion.

Miss Emmy has taken special interest in Kite. This is partly because her own daughter, whom she lost at a young age would be about Kite's age. Also because she feels she can break through Kite's tough exterior to the vulnerable little girl inside.

Both Kite Burroughs both used to live and work in the Shills a hold several days walk from Ferris that has a reputation for exclusivity and luxe. The hold is run by a close-knit group called the elite, and headed by a man named Brain, the Shill's 'mayor'. The two worked for Dustwich, the Shill's former 'marshal'. Dustwich made a play to takeover the Shills and enlisted Kite and Burroughs' aid. When things went south, Dustwich was exiled, but Kite and Burroughs had each (separately) skipped some time before things actually hit the fan. They later recognized one other after running into each other in Ferris.

Session 1

It’s late evening. Rum (the bodyguard for Wisher, the local scavenger/trader) runs up to Kite the battlebabe outside Miss Emmy’s diner. He begs her to hide him because Twice’s gang (who run security for Harridan, the hold’s leader) is trying to kill him. Kite hides him under a tarp, behind some nearby barrels.

Inside her diner, Miss Emmy the maestro ‘d has her son/bouncer Mercer throw out Toyota because she’s getting fighting-drunk, again.

Outside, Missed, Princy and Abondo (from Twice’s gang) arrive shortly there afterward and ask Kite where Rum went. When Kite asks why they want him, Missed explains that Rum tried to rape Cybell and cut her up pretty bad in the process. Kite pulls Rum out of his hiding place, but Rum manages to kick free, knocking Kite down and runs off towards the end of the pier.

On the pier, Burroughs the brainer is taking his evening stroll. He sees Rum barreling towards him and hears Missed yelling for him to stop Rum.

Burroughs direct-brain whispers for Rum to “stop” [and rolls a 10+]. Rum sucks it up and whirls around wide-eyed, blood streaming from his eyes and nose, but he keeps backing away towards the end of the pier. Missed, Princy and Abondo catch up and surround Rum, and tell him they’re taking him to Harridan, alive.

Burroughs whispers again for Rum not to resist, and Rum goes semi-catatonic, mumbling for them to keep Burroughs away from him. Abondo carries Rum away while Missed and Princy follow.

When passing Miss Emmy’s diner, Missed tells Miss Emmy that Harridan wants to talk to her and to meet him at the usual place. As she's leaving Missed makes a smart comment about Kite being unable to handle Rum. Kite responds in kind and the two get in each other's faces. Missed takes a swing, but Kite easily avoid it. Kite intimidates Missed into backing down, but gives her a look as she walks away that says 'this isn't over'.

Missy Emmy gets ready to go see Harridan and asks Kite to accompany her.

The two arrive at Harridan’s place and Kite stays downstairs with the partying groupies while Miss Emmy goes upstairs. Harridan embraces her warmly and asks her to back him on an important play he's about to make. Emmy asks what it is and Harridan signals Twice to bring a tied up Rum down from the roof.

Inside, Harridan explains that yesterday, Newton, a representative from the Scarsdale settlement (a slaver camp, operating out of an old maximum-security prison) arrived in Ferris. Newton has offered to negotiate an arrangement of ‘protection’ for Ferris from the wasteland raiders. All they have to do is agree to send a regular tribute of slaves back to Scarsdale.

Harridan says that he can kill two birds with one stone by sending Rum as a slave to Scarsdale as punishment for raping Cybell. Emmy agrees to back him up at the meet he plans to hold the following day.

Harridan says that Buzz the local ‘fixer’ doesn’t have the equipment needed to help the injured Cybell, but Ruth the doc from Treble Hill might.

Just then, Burroughs, who had entered the room unnoticed, opens his brain to the world’s psychic maelstrom and sees Treble Hill presently being burned and pillaged by raiders. He relates this vision to the rest. Word of raider attacks is no surprise, but never this close to Ferris.

Miss Emmy says that as much as they desire to save Cybell, any group sent out for aid would certainly run afoul of the raiders. Harridan orders Twice and her gang to patrol the hold for the rest to the night.

Miss Emmy convinces Harridan to spend the night with her in her diner, promising to give him the best portion of her next crop of weed.

Twice rounds up her gang and tells Kite to come with them. Twice leads them to the armory and passes out weapons. She divides them into pairs and tasks them with watching the perimeter. Kite and Missed are paired up.

As they walk the hold, Missed suggest they check under the pier and Kite follows. Underneath, Kite is ambushed by two assailants. She shotguns and kills one, causing the other to flee in fear, leaving herself and Missed alone in a standoff. The two take cover behind the wooden struts of the pier as Missed fires of bullets and insults at Kite.

Using the darkness as cover, Kite sneaks around to flank Missed and the two grapple. Missed manages to wrest away Kite’s shotgun, knocking her to the ground. Kite throws sand in Missed’s eyes as she fires, and the glancing shot is stopped by Kite’s armor. Kite gets to her feet and attacks the blinded Missed, savagely beating her unconscious. Kite throws Missed facedown into the ocean and buries the other assailant’s body in the sand.

Session 1, cont.

Kite climbs back up onto the pier and heads back towards Miss Emmy’s dinner. Along the way, she’s stopped by Princy and Abondo (from Twice’s gang) who ask what the gunfire was about. Kite says that she found some ‘intruders’ sneaking around under the pier, but that she took care of it. Princy is convinced the ‘intruders’ are raider scouts and prepares to go sound the alarm.

At that moment, Burroughs walks past singing an old tune his mother sang to him as a child and the strangeness of it causes Kite’s brain to open to the world’s psychic maelstrom [missing her roll]. Kite passes through a turbulent storm that whips and ravages her. Finally the maelstrom asks her “who do you regret killing?”

Kite is then suddenly in the wasteland as a small girl with her brother. The two are alone, starving, and near death from thirst. Kite is holding a bloody rock and a small canteen with their last swallow of water. Next to her, her brother is staring at her with wide eyes, blood streaming from a mortal wound on his head. “Why,” he asks over and over again, “Why?”

Kite collapses in front of Princy and Abondo. Burroughs sees this and direct-brain whispers for Princy and Abondo “not to say anything”. The two walk back to their barracks without speaking to anyone and Burroughs carries Kite back to Miss Emmy’s diner. As he places her in her bed, she  mumbles “I’m sorry. I was so thirsty”. Burroughs consoles, “Its it’s not your fault.”

The following morning, Burroughs is bathing on the beach underneath the pier when Missed’s body washes up on the shore. Burroughs pulls the body onto the sand and heads back up onto the pier towards Harridan’s place.

At the door to Harridan’s place, two members of Twice’s gang harass Burroughs. Burroughs says he found a body on the beach and one of the guards runs off to investigate. The other blocks Burroughs from entering, saying that since Harridan hadn’t called for Burroughs he must not want to see him. Burroughs tries to direct-brain whisper, but Pierre pistol-whips him for his efforts [missed roll]. Pierre puts the gun to Burrough's head and asks him what he's going to do about it. Burroughs responds that if Pierre hurts him Harridan will do worse to Pierre since Buroughs skills are much more valuable.Pierre finally backs off and lets Burroughs inside.

Inside Harridan’s place, Burroughs sees Dudley (one of Missed’s boyfriends who fled the ambush on Kite the night before). After hiding from Kite all night, Dudley is telling Twice that Kite killed Keeton (Missed's other boyfriend) and that he can’t find Missed. Burroughs tells them he found the body of a female on he beach, and the two rush down to investigate as well.

In the marketplace, Kite -- finally recovered from her experience with the maelstrom -- goes to see Matilda. Matilda handles the trade of the oddments scavenged by Wisher from the wasteland ruins. She has an ear for gossip and knows just about everything that happens in the hold. Kite asks Matilda to help her identify her attacker’s from the previous night. Matilda says she will, if Kite agrees to have sex with her, again. The two begin to undress; fade to black.

Back at Miss Emmy’s diner, Mercer wakes her to say that Casper (Cybell’s boyfriend) wants to talk to her. Casper says that Rum deserves to die for what he did to Cybell and that he hears Harridan won’t allow it. Miss Emmy explains that Harridan will deal with Rum fairly. Casper responds that Harridan had better, or else the people in Ferris who don’t agree with him will make sure of it.