PARALLAX, Session 6: The Green Box

Scene setup

Expectations: Lawrence meets the team in a safehouse and gets the details of operation PARALLAX.

Expected scene test : I need to introduce a new support PC, so I am choosing Altered scene + Add a character

Notes
I am promoting Pariah as a support PC and introducing a second support PC. I will only assign stats and skills to support PCs. Bonds and sanity losses will only be handled for main PCs. If main PC dies, I will switch to a support PC and introduce bonds.

Second support PC rolls
Character identity roll: Competitor + Investigator
Character Personality roll: Loyal + Wild
Name: Major Samuel Reyes, 32, codename 'Phalanx'
My interpretation: a Military Police Officer, fiercely loyal to the corps but goes completely wild against anyone who causes dishonor to his fellow soldiers.

At 701 Decatur Street, I find a non-descript self-storage facility. Waiting by the entrance is Pariah, now in civilian clothes, standing next to a man in his thirties with a gaze like a whetted blade.

Pariah: "Hello, Placebo. Sorry for the short notice, but there’s been a development. This is Phalanx. We’re the team assigned to Operation PARALLAX."

I can’t help but smirk at the names. It feels like a spy novel, but the cold look in Phalanx’s eyes tells me there’s nothing fictional about the stakes. Pariah gestures for us to follow her to one of the units. She slides the corrugated metal door up, revealing a "Green Box"—a stash of gear tucked away from prying eyes.

Pariah: "Pick your toys, guys. And make sure you grab your fake IDs. We’re posing as FBI, but don't push it; these won't hold up to a deep background check."

The "toys" are mostly firearms. Pariah and Phalanx begin checking sidearms with the effortless muscle memory of professionals. I hesitate, looking at the black metal.

Phalanx (noting my hesitation): "Not a soldier, I take it?"

Lawrence: "Medical examiner."

He gives a sharp, approving nod.

Phalanx: "Military Police. I’ll handle the heavy lifting."

Pariah pulls a stack of files from a crate and begins the briefing. She recaps the Kaminski shooting and the disappearance of the Baptiste body. Phalanx remains unfazed by the talk of shifting tattoos—he’s clearly seen the "unnatural" before.

Pariah: "Yesterday, Kaminski was killed by a guard during a robbery. We need the details."

Lawrence: "Stranger is his name, yet his tatters drape across our souls. By the Twin Suns, it is finished."

They both stop. The room goes silent.

Lawrence: "That’s what Kaminski screamed before she died. I got it from the detective on the case. Does it mean anything to you?"

Fate question: does the words mean anything to Pariah or Phalanx?Answer: No

They exchange a look, then both shake their heads.

Lawrence: "One more thing. The tattoo. I saw it on Baptiste’s arm before he... well, before he was taken. But Jo confirmed Kaminski still had her tattoo when she died. It didn't move. It replicated. Or maybe they just had the same tattoo artist."

Fate question: any new element emerged from baptiste's autopsy performed by pariah?
Answer: yes!
Element meaning mutations roll: Deformed + Travel
My interpretation: the tatto that moved from Kaminski to Baptiste changed

Pariah: "It’s worse than that. Program specialists performed a sanitized autopsy on Baptiste. He died of the gunshot, but the tattoo on his arm was... deformed. Different proportions from Kaminki's. Like a corrupted copy."

Lawrence: "Like a son born with a mutation? Is Kaminski’s tattoo still contagious? Are we looking at an epidemic?"

Fate question: does pariah know more about the tattoo transmission?Answer: yes

Pariah: "The transmission vector is still unclear, but not everyone who makes contact gets infected. If they did, the city would already be burning. Our priority is tracing Kaminski’s movements since she killed Baptiste. We need to ensure there are no more 'offspring' out there."

Phalanx: "And if we find an infection?"

Pariah: "Cleanse. We can’t take risks. We neutralize the host and incinerate the remains. Primary objective."

I swallow hard. Five minutes into the Program and they’re already talking about execution. Can I really kill an innocent person just because they have a mark on their arm? I feel a cold pit of regret forming in my stomach.

Pariah: "Secondary objective: Find the origin. Stop the source. Clear?"

We both nod.

Pariah: "Great. Let’s look at the motel footage. Kaminski fled the scene after killing Baptiste, and she took the dog with her."

Lawrence: "The dog? Could it be a carrier?"

Pariah: "In this business, we assume everything is a carrier."

Fate question: Did somebody see Kaminski?
Answer: No
Fate question: is there any camera footage?
Answer: Yes

Lawrence: "Any witness saw her leaving the motel?"

Pariah: "No but we have security camera footage"

She slides a laptop onto a crate and pops in a DVD. We watch the grainy security feed.

Lawrence search skill check
[D100]: [3] < 60 success
Fate question: What do I see in the footage?
Element meaning vision and dreams roll: Plans + Allies
My interpretation: she meets with someone just outside the motel
Character identity roll: Victim + Dependent
Character appearance roll: Mundane weapon
My intepretation: a junkie or maybe another victim of the tattoo. he seems to be carrying a weapon under civilian clothes

Lawrence (leaning in): "Wait. Rewind that. There! Who is she talking to? Is that a holster under his jacket?"

Phalanx: "Good eye, Doc. Definitely a piece."

Lawrence medicine skill check
[D100]: [80] > 60 => failure

Lawrence: "Something about his posture is off... he looks like a junkie, or maybe he’s already symptomatic. It's hard to tell from an image."

Fate question (unlikely modifier): is the picture clear enough to run some kind of facial recognition?
Answer: Exceptional yes!

Pariah: "The image resolution is surprisingly high for a cheap motel. We can run this through facial recognition."

Lawrence: "I have access to the NOPD database. Let me try."

Lawrence bureocracy roll
[D100]: [96] => failure

I log into my account, but my screen hits a red wall.

Lawrence: "Shit. They’ve updated the security. It requires a valid, active case number now to run a search."

Pariah: "Fine. We do it the old-fashioned way. We head to the motel, show the still around, and have a very 'persuasive' chat with the night manager."

Scene bookkeeping

Chaos factor unchanged: 6
Characters list: Kaminki's accomplice added
Threads: Kaminski's movements after she killed baptiste added