Session 10. Airborne.

Note to readers: The happenings within the session took place over a year before this writing. Unfortunately, due to the massive gap in time, many sections of this text have been severely summarized. I created this blog back in the day in hopes that our session summaries would provide a concrete picture of the past events, as an aid to both the storyteller and the other players. (GM note to self: I will try, in the future, to post the summaries in a more timely fashion.) The Scars have returned home from their trek to Lancaster and eagerly discuss their options for confronting Simmons. Unfortunately, the castle turned out to be a trap, and they are now infected with a disease. But they did manage to obtain the lengthy conspiracy files from Agent Wade regarding the parvovirus. Is there something of value locked away inside these pages? Marcus Blair scours over the text desperately trying to find a clue. He surmises that they should travel to the United States, where the bulk of the testing and infections occurred. There are two obvious locations: Alaska, where the Pentex headquarters is said to exist, and the Rockies, where reports surfaced of wolves dying from a strange infection. There is a some debate amongst the pack, though it is eventually decided that they will make their first stop in Denver, Colorado. A major factor in this decision-making is due to Strikes-with-Courage's mentoring. The lodge member reveals that he is acquainted with Max Roman, one of the most powerful werewolves in Denver. Strikes arranges a brief dialog between Roman and Marcus. Marcus explains their situation and arranges for copies of the conspiracy files to be sent to him. Roman agrees to look them over and to provide assistance once they arrive in Colorado. Using packmate Deacon Sharpe's seemingly infinite resources, they purchase airfare and prepare for their journey. The following day, the pack boards a jet and coasts across the Atlantic towards the USA. Hours into the flight, Eric receives a brief text message from Tonya, who has been watching Wendy with Strikes-with-Courage: agents brroke in! shot strikes_and captured him!1! dead r alive i dont know wendy & i running Sky quickly informs the other members of the Healing Scars. Oddly, he received this text information via phone but he cannot reply due to technical difficulties. One of the members of the Scars (it's a bit hazy but I think it was Marcus Blair) uses one of his spirit power's and burns essence. Little does the pack know that this act will set off a chain reaction that will inevitably doom everyone on the aircraft. Shortly after this time, it's discovered that an older man and a young girl have both become violently ill. Marcus checks in on them both, pretending to be a doctor. Using the gift “Two World Eyes” Eric Sky is able to peer across the gauntlet directly into the hissel. Surrounding both of the victims a green substance can be seen swarming through their bodies, the same parvovirus that has infected the Scars! Eric's cell phone beeps again; he has received yet another message: ok, we r safe hiding w OMD* pentex guys said something about virus is spreading& missiles? please be careful *OMD affectionately stands for "Old Man Diaper," the aged Urathan mentor of the Scars The members of the pack quietly talk with each other discussing various possibilities on how to contain the virus. They also theorize that the expenditure of essence is what could have triggered the possible infection. One thing is for certain, if the disease is airborne they can not let the plane land for fear of a pandemic. Some time later their fears are confirmed: more passengers have grown ill and the first two infected victims have passed away. To make matters worse, people have been hearing rumors that navigation and radio communications have failed. Deacon Sharpe's laptop suddenly looses it's connection along with other electronic devices. An electrical spike rips through the cabin, much like an EMP pulse. The “technical difficulties” that cropped up earlier are back in full force. Something, or someone, is blocking them from making communication to the outside world. Perhaps individuals (Pentex, the government) on the ground know about the problem and are taking countermeasures? It's a theory that seems to fit the facts, as things have officially gone from bad to worse. Though everyone's electronic devices were knocked out, one man is still chatting on his phone. Using their heightened sense of hearing, the pack collectively snoops in on his conversation. He says a lot of ominously bad things such as “I'll take care of it” and “whatever it takes” as well as “see it through to the bitter end” after which he darts from his seat and hastily proceeds to the front of the plane. Deacon Sharpe take the necessary steps to overt his actions by exiting his seat and following in pursuit. The gentleman arrives at the cockpit, kicks in the door, and pulls a revolver, firing several shots. Deacon rushes the gunmen, initiating a grapple before the gunner can cause further damage. They wrestle over the weapon for several turns; Deacon eventually overcomes his opponent. After a quick interrogation it's discovered that he is in fact a marshal, and the call he received was from his superiors. He was told a deadly virus was on the plane and to take the necessary steps to down the aircraft. The man gets testy and says that it is useless to attempt to thwart this situation. Sharpe's patience wears thin; the Iron Master shoots the man in the leg to up the intimidation factor. Instead he sneers, pulls the classic “spit in your face” maneuver, and tells Deacon that several inboard missiles should be in route at this very moment to finish the job. He laughs methodically confessing that this is all standard operating procedure. Sharpe's patience wears to a boiling point as he uses the remaining revolver rounds to shut him up for good. While this entire debacle was going on, Nails wisely decides to use the situation/commotion to enter the cargo hold to retrieved their weapons. He also bides his time and searches for clues by tearing the crap out of everything and anything in his way. Oddly enough, he stumbles upon a lone package that bears Pentex's markings. The Scars Alpha opens the box and simultaneously hits the jackpot: a vile of sorts is inside! Could this be an antidote? Nails slips it on his person and continues to pillage. Everyone's weapons are later distributed. By this time most of the passengers have lost it in the wake of all these events. Marcus and Eric attempt to hold some amount of order by instructing everyone to remain calm. Deacon takes his own gun in hand and finally enters the cockpit. The situation there is not pretty, both of the pilots were shot by the marshal and are dead. Two flight attendants remain cowered over the deceased, rattled in a combination of fear and shock. Deacon comes to grips with the fact that one of these women needs to take control of the plane or they're all in big trouble. Note: the dialog below is pretty much exactly how it went down and was one of the silliest exchanges I've had the pleasure of GM-ing. Deacon: Do you know how to fly this plane? 1st Stewardess: Well, not exactly. I sorta never took the classes. Deacon: Let me guess... you were fucking one of the pilots so you didn't have to? Stewardess: Yeah, I mean all I really do is show people how to buckle their seat belts. (Crying) I didn't think they'd be an actual emergency! Deacon: Right. (Speaking under his breath) Useless broad. (Pauses. Shoots the girl. Looks at the other stewardess.) What's your name? 2nd Stewardess: It's... Star. P..please mister, don't shoot me! Deacon: Star? You are a stewardess, not a stripper, and your name is fucking Star? Did you screw the pilot too? Star: Yes. (Worried) But I did take the classes! So Star the Stewardess (hehe) pilots the 747 in novice fashion while the Healing Scars do their best not come off like complete terrorists to the rest of the folks. Star screams at Deacon, telling him that something bad is showing up on the “radar thing.” This would be the missile, foretold by the marshal. Deacon informs the rest of the pack. Things have gone from worse to fucking terrible. Eric comes up with an interesting long shot. If they start killing off each passenger there is a slight chance all the terror and rage of the events might loosen the gauntlet or even create a locus. Seeing no other viable alternatives, they put the plan into motion. Nails readies himself in the back of the aircraft as the rest of the pack herds the passengers towards him. This might just be the one time in the Alpha's life that he has been truly happy. Nails goes crazy times one hundred: chopping off limbs, maiming, and murdering to his heart's content. He even takes the rampage to a psychological level as he wears the skin off people's faces and chants odd phrases like “I'm Jesus! Wait... now I'm Satan!” The slaughter finally winds down as Nails runs out of victims. The carnage is so severe that the the walls of the plane have become painted with a thick, bloody layer of flesh, sinew, and organs. Eric Sky searches the confines of the airplane for any change in the spirit world. Finally, he detects a slight breach to the gauntlet in the back of the plane. It just might be large enough for the Uratha to slip through. The Bone Shadow pours some of his own essence into the new locus in hopes of stabilizing it. The bridge between worlds holds, and everyone quickly crosses over into the spirit realm. The Healing Scars could not have found their solution at a better time. Like something out of a James Bond film, a missile strikes the side of the Boeing 747 center mass seconds after their departure. The whole vessel erupts into a massive fireball and plummets towards the waiting ocean. On the spirit side, the pack is greeted by an unsuspected visitor, the living spirit of the plane. It would appear that a technology spirit, a phoenix to be exact, has been living as a counterpart to the real plane in the physical world. The Healing Scars are perched on one of his massive wings as the creature views them with cautious eyes. Sky communes with the spirit for some time and returns to his brothers with excellent news. The creature has agreed to take them the rest of the way to the mainland. As they travel through the spirit world towards their destination, signs of the plane's destruction are beginning to take effect here as well. Slowly, the bird's entire being is twisting and fading with each passing minute. As the winged beast nears its end, it finally drops the pack on the surface below, singing to them in its native tongue the word “sleep.” The song wraps itself around the werewolves like a blanket and they drift deep into slumber, as the bird chimes its final melody before meeting with the abyss.