Vestigial Memories, Session 17: The Sea Wall Docks

Scene setup

I chose the Sea Wall Docks location because I wanted a scene happening there :-)

Locations table roll:
[D6 + D12]: I choose [3 + 2] => Empty Factory

Scene categories table roll:
[D12]: [9] => Search. Inspect a location for clues. OBSERVATION to locate physical evidence, TECH to access or operate specialized gear, FORCE to bypass containers or barriers

Q: What do we find at the production site?
Cipher table roll:
[D6 + D12]: [1 +1] => abandon + authority => Kamarr already escaped, leaving behind his men.

Countdown event roll:
[D10]: [7] => event happens
Countdown event table roll:
[D12]: [9] => Loss. Evidence stolen or destroyed, key person killed or missing, safehouse compromised => Kael's man is found dead.

Q: Does Vestige find out about the altered data?
Tech roll: I am assuming a skill level of [unskilled D/D] on genetics for Vestige people. Roll with disadvantage because data was altered masterfully. I' making it very unlikely that Vestige finds out about the data, but a roll adds some tension nonetheless.
[D6 + D6 + Disadvantage]: [1 + (3+4)] => 0 successes. They do not find out about the data.

Rolls interpretation
Kael's man is found dead. Locke goes to the crime scene and Kael shows up with updates. He located the second production site, an empty factory on the sea wall. We proceed there to investigate the scene. We find vestige people there.
We find that Kamarr is gone, leaving behind the Vestige cell.

The next four hours are a fever dream of flickering monitors and cold coffee. I sit at my desk, eyes burning, watching the LAPD dispatches like a man possessed. Then, the call comes in: a floater in Hawker’s Circle.

The flight to the Circle feels like it takes a lifetime. When I arrive, the crime scene is a jagged mess. It’s him—Kael’s man. They didn't just kill him; they tore him apart. Broken fingers, knife wounds, a systematic attempt to make him scream. Guilt is a cold stone in my stomach. I made him the carrier of the poison. I sent him into the teeth of the wolf.

Kael emerges from the crowd, his face a mask of grief.

Kael: "There was a lot of movement amongst my contacts at Vestige in the last few hours. I followed a courier to an old food processing plant by the Seawall. It’s the production site, Locke. I’m sure of it."
Locke: "Meet me there in one hour. Stay in the shadows."

I don't go in alone. I’m not a martyr, and this isn't a job for one man. I call Holden.

Locke: "I’ve got the site, Chief. Abandoned factory, Seawall Docks. High activity, high-end hostiles. Send Spec Ops. Now."

Rules say 3 promotion points and 1 shift to get support from Spec Ops, but I am ignoring the time requirements because Holden was forewarned of my plan.

Fifteen minutes later, the air vibrates with the hum of unmarked tactical spinners. Spec Ops moves like a scalpel. They don't ask questions about who I'm with or how I found the place. They launch micro-drones—detecting 32 heartbeats, light weaponry. I warn them they’re facing Replicants. They don't even blink.

The assault is a symphony of flash-bangs and pulse-fire. Vestige is caught in the middle of a systemic failure; they were too busy staring at their dying vats to see the front door come off its hinges. Six "skinjobs" are retired on the floor. Twenty-six others are zip-tied and kneeling.

I walk through the wreckage of the vats—greenish slurry leaking across the floor, the "Kane" models dissolving before they ever drew breath. But Kamarr isn't here.

Insight Roll:
[D12 + D12]: [11 + 3] => 3 Successes (Critical).

I find a woman in the holding area, her eyes hard and defiant. She’s watching the others, keeping them silent with a single look. I have her moved to a small, windowless office.

Locke: "What's your name?"
[Silence]
Locke: "You’re the boss here?"
[Silence]
Locke: "No. You’re the lieutenant. Kamarr is the boss. And she left you here to hang, didn't she? She saw the vats failing, smelled the trap, and bolted while you were still trying to salvage the slurry."

She flinches. A tiny, microscopic twitch of the jaw. I’ve hit the nerve.

Woman: "She is more important than any of us. You couldn't understand." Locke: "What I understand is that you were building an army of slaves with no identity and a combat template. You were building a war."
Woman: "It’s no worse than what Wallace does. He gives them 'memories' so they’re better tools. We give them a purpose."

I want to argue, but I can feel the truth in her words. The difference between a "legit" replicant and a "bootleg" is just a corporate seal and a longer leash.

Locke: "Ok, let's cut the crap. Where's Kamarr?"

Q: does she know where Kamarr is?
Question table roll: [D10]: [8] => yes

Manipulation vs Insight roll
NPC skill level roll: [D8]: [5] => experienced [D/D]
Advantage: she is restrained
Disadvantage: she is a fanatic with nothing to loose
Locke's [D12 + D10] vs Woman's [D10 + D10]: [5 + 9] vs [1 + 7] => nobody wins

She smirks at me, a bloody, defiant grin. She won't give up Kamarr's location. She’s a true believer, and those don't break for a detective in a wet coat.

I find Kael in the alley outside. The rain is coming down in sheets now, washing the soot of the factory fire into the gutters.

Locke: "Six dead. Twenty-six in custody. Vestige is dead, Kael. The army is gone." Kael: [Rage simmering in his voice] "And Kamarr? Did you bring her out in chains?"
Locke: "She’s gone. She’s a ghost again. But the LAPD won't stop looking. We don't take well to traitors."
Kael: "She’ll just start over. You know that. Somewhere else, with new vats and new lives."
Locke: "Maybe. But it takes decades to build what she had. She's running out of time. And Zhao? I'll make sure she’s taken care of. Holden has bigger fish to fry than a shop owner who helped the LAPD."

Kael looks at me, the bridge between two worlds.

Kael: "It's over, then."
Locke: "For now. If I find her... I'll mark the booth."
Kael: "And if I find her... you’ll hear the screams."

He turns and vanishes into the grey mist. I stand there for a long time, watching the Spec Ops teams load the prisoners into transport. I saved the city, but I let a legend walk free. I’m a good cop, but in this city, being a good cop just means you’re the last one left in the rain.

I reach into my pocket, pull out my KIA, and delete the logs of my meetings with Kael.