Vestigial Memories, Session 5: Holden's Office

Scene setup

Scene Countdown Check
Countdown Timer Dice:
[D12]: [6] => Event happens
Countdown event table roll:
[D12]: [11] => Pressure: Higher-ups push for progress, new deadline imposed, media coverage amps up 

This is my 4th shift in a row without sleep, but Holden did not seem to be in a mood for waiting. My eyes are stinging, and my reflexes are dull => 1 Stress Damage taken for skipping downtime.

The rain has turned into a torrential downpour, blurring the neon skyline into a smear of cold light. I white-knuckle the controls of the Spinner, barely managing to guide it onto the LAPD tower roof. I hand Zhao over to the intake officers with strict orders—No sleep, no visitors—and head straight to the lion’s den.

The Briefing: Ghost Stories

Holden is at his desk, but his mind is clearly thirty years in the past. He doesn't notice me at first. When he finally looks up, his eyes are hollow.

Holden: "Locke. Sit down. This is going to take a while."

Locke: "Start with the name, Chief. What is 'Vestige'?"

Holden takes a long drag from his cigarette, the cherry glowing bright in the dim office. Despite the injuries that almost took him out years ago, he hasn't lost the habit.

Cipher table check:
[D6 + D12]: [5 + 12] => Threaten + Violence

Holden: "Thirty years ago, when I was barely more than a rookie, I stumbled into something that should have stayed buried. I retired a Nexus-6 named Krueger. Simple job. Two weeks later, I retired another Nexus-6. He was identical to Krueger. Same face, same serial number, same everything."

He exhales a cloud of grey smoke that hangs heavy in the air.

Holden: "Back then, bootleg skinjobs didn't exist. We thought Tyrell had made a clerical error, but their records were clean. They hadn't built them. That meant someone else had cracked the code. Someone was building replicants in the shadows."

He leans forward, his voice dropping to a low growl.

Holden: "Gaff took over the case. He found rumors of a group called 'Vestige'—an underground cell of replicants organized like a terrorist army. Their goal was to create unlimited copies from a single template. A literal army of ghosts. Gaff hit a wall; no hard evidence ever surfaced, and the department buried the file to avoid a panic. They called it a rumor. A Tyrell mistake."

He points the smoldering cigarette at me.

Holden: "Until now. This is big, Locke. I feel it in my gut. I want you on this 24/7. I want results, and I want them yesterday. But keep this tight. Keep the loop small. If Vestige is back, I don't want them spooked before we can put a boot on their neck."

The Strategy: Breaking the Silence

Mei Lin Zhao is a tough nut to crack, but even the strongest walls crumble without sleep. I head down to the holding cells and give the jailer a specific set of instructions: Keep the lights on and keep her awake.

I’ll let her simmer in her own fear for a few hours. In the meantime, I have work to do. If she won't talk, maybe the data will.