FEIGNED INSANITY

JAMES NORBURY

An Officer has abused his position to steal and sell important government secrets. The UIG, fearing their own investigators will arouse too much suspicion have conscripted a group of Agents to find the defector and bring him back; alive is possible, dead if necessary.

Their only clue is a transmission intercepted by the Archon Orpheus which points to a Mental Asylum in northern Russia.

Feigned Insanity is a blend of negotiation, interrogation and action in which Agents will work for the UIG and even travel in one of the Archon-built teleport stations.

PlaytestersPaul Arran, Amy Robinson, Ruth Norbury, James Norbury

Art and LayoutJames Norbury

Proof ReadingRuth Norbury, James Norbury

Copyright James Norbury 2010www.corpgame.com

INTRODUCTIONThis is an ideal introductory mission for a group of cross-corporation Agents. You could easily have all Agents from the same corporation and if necessary change the mission officer to be a corporate Agent rather than a UIG employee.

This nature of the mission is primarily investigative although there is an action portion towards the end to satisfy those who want to get their hands dirty.

CHARACTERSThe mission is designed for any number of characters, you simply need to change the numbers of antagonists at the end to suit your group. Because of the lack of combat this would suit a low-power group or a group who have a good range of social skills. You could of course run this game for a high-level division of combat-orientated Agents; it could be fun to watch them have to stow their weapons and actually talk.

BACKGROUND

The Exchange are a group of highly respected UIG Officers who have been chosen to act as ambassadors to the archons. This group of men and women are some of the most trusted officers within the ranks of the UIG and are trusted with many of their greatest secrets. Likewise, because they relay the Archons wishes to the rest of the UIG they also have access to some of the most profound and world-changing information on the planet.

The identity of the Exchange members are known to few for security reasons and their movements are shrouded in secrecy. Note that at no point do the Agents need to know that Compton is an Exchange member.

THE MISSION

Which brings us to the mission at hand. One of the Exchange members, a Mr. Edward Compton (aka XCH5), did not attend the last meeting two weeks ago. The UIG has made provisional calls to his known acquaintances, all of whom have given little in the way of useful information.

There was one transmission picked up last night by the Archon Orpheus which contained segments of data which could only be known by the loyal Archons and the members of The Exchange.

This leads the UIG to believe that this information is the best lead they currently have. The message was transmitted from a terminal somewhere in the treatment facility known as Mental Asylum 6. Mental Asylum 6 is located in Talnakh, Russia and owned by an independent health concern called ʻValkyrʼ.

Valkyr are extremely protective of both their practices and their clients so any official UIG visits are met with great suspicion. Aside this the Asylum is so isolated that Valkyr are aware of visitors well ahead of their arrival which gives them the opportunity to make everything seem above board.

On this occasion the UIG are not interested in prosecuting Valkyr for any wrongdoing or misconduct, they simply want to recover Compton ASAP in order to prevent any data leakage.

COMPTON’S SECRETSCompton has abused his inside knowledge to gain access to some Archon Technology. He is now terrified the UIG are coming after him so he struck a deal with the asylum administrator to take on the identity of one of the patients. He used a combination of viral modifiers and surgery to look like him and the administrator made sure the real patient disappeared in the furnace. If Compton had not sent that one signal he would be totally safe but his greed got the better of him. He was arranging sale of the technology to the Shi Yukiro and due to time constraints needed to take the risk. He has arranged to be extracted from the Asylum by some UIG guards loyal to the Shi Yukiro and hopes they will break him out before the UIG are able to trace him.

WHY AGENTS?So why send in Agents rather than Officers? Primarily because unscheduled civilian visitors are not allowed and even if you make an appointment, you still need to be connected with the patient you are coming to see.

The only two groups of people who will be able to get in are UIG and Agents.

If UIG Officers turn up, Valkyr, who are known for mistreatment of patients, will panic and put up every kind of barrier possible. Corporate Agents on the other hand are known for their dispassion and businesslike manner.

Valkyr are more likely to permit the Agents free run of the Asylum as long as they remain convinced the Agents are after nothing more finding one person.

A small payoff should ensure the compliance of the staff and hopefully we can get a swift result.

Plot Summary1. Agent are called in to speak with the UIG Mission Officer.

They are given Search Commercial Licenses, hire car vouchers and 1000 credits in bribery money.

2. The Agents are teleported to Igarka which is only a few hundred kilometres from the Talnakh. They hire a car and drive to the Asylum.

3. They arrive at the Asylum and negotiate their way in. 4. The Agents Interview the subjects and make a choice. The

doctor releases the patients.5. Exit the facility, avoid / kill the hostiles and return to base.

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1. MISSION BRIEFING

Depending on your Agents previous history you should decide what they are doing when summoned to see the UIG Officer.

If they are standard Agents they will have the blessing of their normal Mission Officer as the Corporations are normally very keen to have their Agents involved in high-level UIG activities. It can give them a good insight into the UIGʼs problems and plans.

The Briefing takes place in a UIG station in the Atlanta Spire (Eastern USA). Any Agents too far away will have been given tickets to board an express shuttle.

ATLANTA SPIRE

This beautiful spire is a classical broad sweeping cone but unlike many spires the outer surfaces are transparent making it appear like a like a crystal shard rising from the earth.

Inside the increased light is used to its fullest making the plazas and concourses appear open and idyllic. Beautiful plants grow everywhere, hanging in long trails from the polished steel support structures and lying in rows along the sides of all walkways.

The population of Atlanta prides itself on being enlightened and are extremely polite, considerate and peaceful. Guards are not dressed in armour and are only discernible by the green armbands they wear. They do not carry guns as they are highly trained telepaths. In an emergency however traditional armed guards and resident Agents divisions can be summoned from within the spire.

THE BRIEFING

The Agents are called to floor 491, Office 33, to meet with UIG Officer Annabelle Richards (Rank 4). Miss Richard's is a traditionally attractive young woman with short, blonde hair and a trim, athletic figure. She is very positive but could come across a little over-keen and efficient.

Her office is fairly spacious with a large window that looks out over the agricultural enterprises to the west.

She greets the Agents and informs them there is no official mission brief but she will tell them anything they need to know about the mission, within the boundaries laid out by her superiors. She will tell them the following things.

1. A UIG Officer, who has access to some very delicate information has gone missing. He should have reported in two weeks ago. We have made several investigations in that time but nothing of note has been unearthed.

2. Orpheus detected a transmission containing some information which only he and a few select other individuals could have known. As it is unlikely the others would have sent the transmission we can say with 90% certainty the Officer is in Mental Asylum 6 in Talnakh (Russia).

3. Talnakh is located near Igarka Teleport Station so weʼll be sending you there directly. Youʼll then hire car and drive there.

4. Why Agents? See the section on page XX if the players ask why Agents are being used instead of Officers.

5. Equipment - Youʼll receive 1000 credits expenses for bribes and miscellaneous costs as well as all being upgraded with Search Commercial Licenses for the duration of the mission.

6. She will NOT reveal that the target is an Exchange member but will look awkward if the players mention it.

7. The targets name is Edward Compton. If the players have the right skills or trainings you could allow them to find out he is an Exchange member but this should be a very hard task.

8. Reward is 1000 credits per Rank level and a generous amount of Rank Points which will vary depending on success.

When the players run out of questions she hands them 10 slip credit chips with 100 credits on each one and tells them to report to the teleport station outside the spire.

2. ATLANTA TELEPORT STATION

The players leave the spire and head over the vast, stained concrete structure which houses the UIGʼs teleport technology. The grounds around the station are protected by 12 foot high electrified fences which are topped with nanowire. The periphery is patrolled by armoured officers and Malenbrach in open topped transports armed with heavy weapons. Tracking turrets are also mounted around the place and the occasional iolite combat cruiser passes overhead of reconnaissance trips. All of these measures pale when compared to the two cyberlins which can be seen on the horizon (one battle class and one ranger class).

As the Agents get close an open-topped jeep drives out to greet them. Inside are four officers dressed in light combat armour with black visored helmets.

The Captain scans the Agents, nods and tell his Lieutenant to escort them to the station. One of the officers gets out and in a semi-mechanical, synthetic voice says ʻfollow meʼ.

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SecurityThe Agents are expected to pass through a security scanner, which will detect illegal items with a 95% success rate. Any illegal items are taken and stored, the officer notes down the breaches on his PDA and allows the Agents to pass through into the main station.

InsideInside the building is cavernous, around 100 feet / 30 metres in height. The walls are lined floor to ceiling with thick cables but it is the central area which is more interesting.

A raised platform around 20 metres square dominates the centre of the station, on each side of the square a massive copper hemisphere seems to hover around 2 metres off the ground with the flat surfaces all pointing into the centre.

A few feet behind each hemisphere a huge mass of thick cables terminate and the resulting gap is suffused with arcs of powerful electricity. The constantly fluctuating arcs cause the station be bathed in an erratically pulsing blue glow which feels a little like being surrounded by strobe lights. The ceiling of the room has hundred of huge black cylinders hanging from it, these are enormous capacitors which are continually charging and discharging. The overall noise is a cross between the screaming whines of the capacitors and the cracking and hissing of the electrical arcs.

Off to one side is a small observation chamber with a set of metal stairs leading up to it.

In a few seconds a screaming blast comes from the platform and a reality bubble appears between the copper hemispheres. It looks for second as though you are peering into the entire universe at the same time, each Agent sees different images of far away worlds and the dark recesses of space. This is believed to be a psychological phenomenon and is to do with the psion particles reacting with the brain rather than the viewer actually ʻseeingʼ other places.

Then everything goes quiet for a few seconds and a Mantis 9 Series Heavy Tank appears in the bubbleʼs place. The tank starts its engines and one of the copper hemispheres levitates out of the way so it can drive past and out into the tarmac.

Your TurnA voice sounds over a loudspeaker and tells the Agents to get onto the platform and down-power as many devices as they can.

You can see the attendant in the observation booth looking out and smiling. He winks and then seems to press some buttons. You can hear all the ceiling-capacitors charge at once and then a sudden thunderclap.

The players once again view far away worlds and monsters from their darkest nightmares - then its gone and they find

themselves in a near identical station. A black armoured UIG guard beckons the Agents over and leads them outside where a battle class cyberlin can be seen patrolling the area. He informs them that they will be very disorientated and may well need to sit down for a a few hours.

After a few minutes he informs them that they need to go the hire car centre a few miles away at Igarka, he gestures down a long road.

IGARKA

After a two mile walk the Agents arrive at the UIG barrack town of Igarka. It consists of a broad single street lined with rotting hi-rise buildings and cheap bars and shops. Behind these are located the barracks, ten in total, each a large concrete structure capable of housing 2000 UIG officers and a wealth of infantry equipment. These troops act as rapid deployment as they can get to the teleporter in only few minutes.

Several miles from the town is a veritable cityscape of warehouses where the UIG store all manner of heavy goods including vehicles, weapons, building components, cyberlin frames and so on. This area is heavily guarded and does not feature in this mission but its outline can be seen on the horizon.

The Agents can get some food here if they wish and find the rental car place. It will be about 5pm by the time they get here so they should be able to make the Asylum before nightfall if they make good time.

Renting a CarThe car rental shop is a scummy place with a single bored clerk who seems to be looking at something on the datanet . When the Agents walk in, he quickly hides it and shifts in his chair (yes, it was dirty pictures).

After scanning one of the Agentʼs chips he explains that they have a class C rental which allows them to take a mid-lower range vehicle.

Class A # # Sport Car / Luxury Car# 400/dayClass B# # Modern Car / SUV # 100/day#Class C# # Older Car / Small Car# 30/dayClass D# # Crap Car / Motorbike# 10/day

A Pinko would be a good car to give the players, it is a small pastel coloured bubble car with incredible emasculating properties. (Covered in detail in The Dragon Awoken).

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3. ARRIVAL AT MENTAL ASYLUM 6

The drive is quite treacherous as the road winds up into the mountains.

Crash?If the driver did NOT rest after the teleportation he will need to roll ʻIntelligence + Driveʼ with a -2 penalty. Failure means he crashes the car into an oncoming vehicle . As the GM you will need to adjudicate how this turns out but the most likely solution is to call the UIG station and arrange for a new hire car to be brought up. This will cost around 300 credits.

The drive is roughly 4 hours long which means the Agents will arrive at approximately 9pm. The they will arrive in thunderstorm with heavy rain and sheet lightning, these give the asylum and fairly intimidating feel.

GETTING INThe building itself is an ancient structure built hundreds of years ago when the communists controlled Russia. Its featureless, pollution-stained concrete walls rise out of the mountainside, the only way up being a narrow dirt road which forks off the main route.

There are three run-down cars parked outside the building and a large chain-link fence surrounds the entire structure. The chain-link gate is locked and a small intercom is hung on the nearby fence with a plastic shopping bag over it.

Pressing the button eventually gets the response of a gravelly Russian voice (though he can speak English).

The attendant is called Bostov and ask the Agents who they are visiting. He refuses entry unless they say they are Agents in which case he comes out personally.

Bostov has a heavy build, stubble and is dressed in a dirty white orderlyʼs uniform under a heavy rain coat. He says the administrator is away so he could allow you in for a small fee. He has 200 credits in mind but will settle for 100 if pressed.

If paid he opens the gate and lets the Agents bring their car in. He takes them to a rusting iron side door and opens it with a comically sized key.

INSIDE

Architecture# Rotten, peeling walls. Functional concrete # # corridors. Tiled walls and floors in many # # parts. Complete lack of maintenance. Smell# # Cleaning fluid, sweat, overcooked food, # # medical suppliesSounds# # Screaming, crying, clattering on metal on # # bars, murmuring, shrieking, insane # # ramblings and singing. Guards# # None, all cell doors are locked. There are # # 2 o r d e r l i e s w h o c o n t r o l t h e # # patients.Staff# # 2 Orderlies, 1 Doctor. The Administrator # # and both psychologists are have taken # # Comptonʼs cash and left a few days ago.

The Asylum is divided into three parts loosely based on an ancient method of classifying mentally damaged people.

1. Raving2. Melancholic3. Mischievous

Each section has around 40 cells in which the patients are kept, however this facility is well out of date and there are currently only 15 patients.

Missing StaffBecause the Administrator and psychologists are missing no one knows the history of the patients. Their stories cannot therefore be verified. The orderlies take no real interests in the patients illnesses and the doctor (Silvia Kleb) is purely there to treat injuries but is always drunk so has little recollection of anything she has done.

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Bostov and Istvan, the orderlies, have no interest in the patients whatsoever and spend most of their time on the roof playing golf with stones and smoking.

4. THE INVESTIGATION

RECORDS OFFICEThe first thing to do it look at the records. Visiting the records office reveals that all paper records are gone and the computerʼs drives are all missing.

However, for a few hundred credits the other orderly, Istvan recalls a visitor about a week ago. The visitor matches Comptonʼs description.

For a little more cash Bostov also remembers the Administrator firing up the furnace the same night he arrived (he was burning a body but Bostov does not know this). Bear in mind Compton is a powerful man and will have brought with him some specialist equipment to ensure he assumes his new identity correctly. Although most of the evidence of this will have been burnt in the furnace, the empty syringe for the custom-built viral modifier has fallen to the floor and rolled underneath a cabinet in the administrator's office. A good Perception roll could locate it.

THE PATIENTSOf these 15 patients four are children and six are horribly disfigured. This leaves only five potential suspects.

The players will need to interview each of the patients and determine which of them are really insane and which one is Compton pretending to be insane. This can be achieved by the use of questions, observing behaviours and making successful social rolls. As the GM you should use your judgement and improvisational skills to make the victims more or less convincing.

The drunk doctor or an orderly can accompany the Agents round and give some vague details of the patients rough backgrounds.

Mr. Asal Kul MaenirHe wears heavy grade Psi-Cuffs to prevent him using telepathics)

Asal was a powerful telepath from Cameroon who allegedly saw into the eyes of universe. He was already a naturally powerful telepath but the following event is thought to have changed him into something terrible.

After coming home one day to find his family murdered at the hands of an Ai-Jinn Death Squad, he went into an insane rage and unleashed an awesome display of power. In the

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Asal Kul Maenirʼs Writings

midst of this fury he claimed that space opened around him and the eyes of far-universe looked into him.

From that moment on he became incoherent and spent all his time writing; scratching symbols into walls arranging objects in meaningful patterns. All these things were nonsense to everyone else however and he was locked up in Mental Asylum 6. His room is covered in writings, most of them drawn in his own blood. (Blood matching can eliminate him as Compton).

Anyone with a xenology may recognise some of the elements of his writing as referring to hazy myths relating to origins of the Archons and some ancient stella conflicts. He also rambles about a person at the asylum who ʻspeaks with the Godsʼ.

Mr Aaron ForbesForbes is around 40 years old and has acute schizophrenia. He changes from being a pleasant English gentleman to thinking heʼs a spy. He sneaks around the room with cartoon-like actions. Occasionally whipping round to see if anyone is following him and checking for bugs. Forbes is innocent and has been here for 5 years.

He used to work as a desk clerk in a UIG administration centre. He poisoned all his co-workers with radioactive isotopes after he was ʻtold toʼ by the spymaster general.

Forbes offers to use his spy skills to help track down this missing man, this is a hollow offer as he has no notable skills.

Miss Ivenka DeveskaIvenka was captured and locked in a basement by junkies in her home town of Kizlet. They kept her there for 11 years to provide them with relief. Eventually the UIG found her and she was freed but she was already mentally ruined. She bought a gun and kidnapped random men off the street, locking them in her basement and torturing them. Eventually she was caught and brought here. If she sees a man she will scream incoherently before trying to kill him.

Mr. Calasta Mayhew (Compton is posing as this man)Compton has used a Jackal Band (a piece of UIG technology) to take Mayhewʼs ID chip. The Agents will not be able to simply scan him and determine he is not who he claims.

Calasta is an ex-mercenary who fought in several border wars and but has little in the way of a recorded history. He moved around working for the highest bidder.

It was during the Cult Uprising at Drome Spire that Calaster was captured and used an a lab rat by the cult for several weeks before he was rescued by a Federation Commando Squad. He was a dribbling vegetable who, although in seemingly perfect health, had been subjected to mental tortures beyond the comprehension of most men. During this

9 year rehabilitation his psychiatrist has managed to get him speaking but he has reverted to a child like state in order to escape the horrors he was forced to witness. Compton will be pretending to act like a child and has read Calasterʼs profile so he knows about his ordeal.

Obviously Compton is an Exchange member and quite smart but he will be unlikely to stand up to intensive cross questioning by the Agents. Some ways to get him to reveal himself are outlined below.

• There are a few teddy bears on the bed. Calaster is very attached to them and so in theory should react strongly if they are interfered with. Looking for Comptonʼs ʻfakedʼ reactions could be a good indictor.

• Catching Compton off-guard could also be a good technique. For example, firing a shot near his head; Calaster would likely cry and scream like a child whereas Compton might yell a swear word and go for cover.

Mr. Grigori MechenkoGregory was a brilliant hacker who was wanted by every corporation and the UIG at the height of his career. He was brought down to earth suddenly when infected with a variant on the Hegner virus which caused him to believe his body was seething with ravenous maggots located just under the skin.

Gregori began tearing at his own flesh trying to get he creatures out and his body is still ravaged with scars. His madness allowed him to be caught by the UIG who wanted him cured of his insanity so that he could shed some light on all the cyber-crimes he had performed over the past 10 years.

For his own safety Gregori is kept restrained. He is supposed to be sedated but the doctor has been drunk ever since the administrator left so Gregori is screaming in anguish 24 hours a day. (They keep him gagged so it does not get annoying).

Anyone with Medicine can make a roll to realise that Gregori may well show some of the telltale signs of not moving for long periods of time such as bedsores or lividity on the posterior of the body.

DECISION TIMEThe players need to decide which person to take with them. In theory they could take all five if they are unsure but there are two reason they should not.

1. The UIG asked them to retrieve Compton, not 5 lunatics. This is simply passing the responsibility onto another party.

2. If they need to protect Compton, it will be much harder with an extra 4 lunatics hanging around.

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Within a few seconds of making their decision the cell doors will all open. This is due to the actions of the resident drunk - Dr. Kleb, although not working with Compton directly, the administrator has made contact within the last 20 minutes and asked her to ʻmake life difficultʼ. She has been promised a fat payout from the Shi Yukiro if she complies.

The problem now arises that there are lunatics running around the asylum creating chaos. They are smashing things and fighting each other. Some may even attack the Agents but killing them should not be an option. The UIG will be most displeased at any unnecessary deaths.

WarningThe Division are contacted on their comm. devices by Richards who informs them an unknown number of unauthorised UIG officers in hovercopters are heading towards their position. These are rogue offices and they should be killed or captured. She says that reports from the ground say that most of them were East Asian, perhaps this is something to do with the Shi Yukiro or Ai-Jinn.

As the players take in the mayhem, they hear the sound of hovercopters landing outside, these are the Shi Yukiro-loyal officers breaking from their duties and storming the Asylum in order to extract Compton.

Treat these guards as standard UIG Field Officers from page 231 of the Core Rules. If you have the Eastern Bank you could also have them lead by a UIG Response Officer from page 102.

Once the guards are in they trigger the security override to stop the Agents taking Compton. Rogue Guards, Lunatics, Orderlies, the Doctor and the Agents are all locked inside. The doctor has armed herself with several evil little weapons such as scalpels and chemicals; you can use the scientists on page 223 of the Core Rules to represent her.

5. EXFILTRATION

EncounterThis encounter should be altered to suit the combat ability of your Division. Below are some example.

Weak# # 1 Field Officer per AgentModerate # 2 Field Officers per Agent but scattered so # # they are not all fought at the same time.Strong# # 3 Field Officers per Agent with more # # reinforcements on standby and the attack # # helicopter could provide support.

If in doubt just have the Agents attacked by a few Officers and have more turn up and when you think its appropriate.

The patients will be considered normal humans should they attack the Agents, they are not really intended as combat encounters, more to get in the way and act as distractions.

MAP?You donʼt need a map but you could sketch one out of you like. Basically the asylum is maze of concrete corridors and cells over a number of levels.

However there is only one door out that is still working so the Agent will be heading for that door and the Officers will be entering through it. It will need to be picked or blown open and is a basic mechanical door. AV 15, HP 150

As the Agents make their way out of the facility they will see guards rounding corners, spotting them and taking cover. You should be able to run a series of firefights / brawls without the need to a comprehensive layout.

You can add in these environmental features to increase the fun.

• Rusting gurneys in the corridors.• Bottles of flammable liquids such as surgical spirit that can

act as weak incendiary grenades. • Dissection tables with scalpels etc • Broken doors which can be carried as mobile cover. • Rotten walls which can be kicked in to present interesting

ambush opportunities. • Gas / fuel pipes on the walls which could be shot to

release volatile fuel.

DEBRIEFINGAfter defeating the rogue officers the players will return to Igarka where a group of UIG (led by Richards) will be waiting to take possession of Compton.

Before allocating rewards Richards will send some Officers to investigate the asylum and see what condition the Agents left it in. Unless the Agents covered their tracks well, the Officers will find any dead innocents etc. and report their findings back to Richards.

If the players delivered the correct target then they will be well rewarded. Here are the recommended awards.

Experience Points3-6 XP Depending on ingenuity, roleplaying and contribution.

Rank PointsBrought back Compton# # # # +10 RPBrought back only Compton, not other misc loonies# +2 RPKilled no-one# # # # # +3 RPKilled any innocents # # # # -1 RPKilled a lot of innocents (3+)# # # -3 RPBrought back a live Rogue UIG Officer# # +2 RP

Note that you should only apply the worse of the penalties for killing innocents. If they killed lots it will be -3, not -4

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