Vestigial Memories, Debriefing

Holden is pacing his office, the neon glow of a "Wallace Corp" billboard across the street strobing rhythmically against his tired face. The arrest reports are stacked high on his desk, but there’s a hole in the middle of them where Kamarr’s name should be.

Holden: "Thirty-two suspects in the bag, a warehouse full of illegal biomass, and the biggest lab bust in a decade. But the prize pig jumped the fence, Locke. Kamarr is gone. How do I explain that to the Commissioner?"

Locke: "You don't. You tell him it was a rogue corporate cell. If you tell the brass that a legend like Kamarr was the one pulling the strings, they’ll turn this department inside out looking for more traitors. Keep the information tight. Keep it between us. It gives you a ghost to hunt—and the leverage to hunt it however you want."

Holden stops pacing. He looks at me, and for the first time, I see the calculation in his eyes shift from anger to opportunity. He likes having a secret. In the LAPD, secrets are more valuable than credits.

Holden: "And the Zhao woman?"

Locke: "She’s a witness, Chief. A scared one. She gave us the location; we owe her a quiet exit. Put her in a witness protection program in the colonies, or just lose her file in the basement. She’s not the one we want."

Holden: [Grunting as he sits back down] "Fine. I’ll bury the Zhao file. But I want Kamarr, Locke. I don't care if you have to burn half the city to find her trail. She didn't just betray the badge; she made us look like amateurs."

He doesn't say "good job." He doesn't offer a bonus. He just gestures to the door with a flick of his chin—the closest thing to a gold star I’ll ever get.

Holden: "Go get some sleep, Locke. You look like a replicant on its last day. And clean up your mess at the Snake Pit. I'm still getting calls about the bullet holes in the bar."

I nod and walk out. The elevator ride down to the street is silent. Outside, the rain is still falling, washing the blood of the night into the Pacific. I’ve saved the city from an army it never knew was coming. Now, all that’s left is the long, cold hunt for the ghost who started it all.

Final staus changes
+3 promotion points for closing the case
-1 promotion points for letting Kamarr escape
+2 humanity points for covering for Kael and Zhao

This marks the end of the "Vestigial Memories" scenario.
Overall I am quite pleased with the result. It's probably filled with plot holes, but it's hard not to be when you make up the story as you go, roll after roll. What's important is that I had fun.

A couple of things I forgot and corrected later:

• Assigning/removing humanity and promotion points after each session. I thought that was to be done at the end of the scenario. Well, I was wrong 😄
• The hypothesis mechanic. Solo rules require you to formulate an hypothesis that explains the events; initially you should assign a D6 to it. Every piece of information that confirms your hypothesis, or a new hypothesis should promote the base dice to the higher dice (D8, D10, etc). When you feel ready you should then make an hypothesis check roll. Success means your hypothesis is correct; failure means you are wrong or have been decieved. I forgot completely to do this and added it afterwards. Luckily the check roll was successful, otherwise I was in trouble since I really don't know how I could have pieced together everything in a different way.