Picking up the NYC file, everything unrelated to it is slid into cabinets and kept out of sight and out of mind. Now let's see the details.
Subway train moving from one stop to another report strangeness in instrumentation and difficulty reading incoming radio. A terrified operator reports screams before no other noises are heard from the other side. The exact tunnel this took place in is narrowed down.
The operator is made to sign a non-disclosure agreement, silenced out of fear of reprisal. But that's it. Nothing else. You need to have it looked into. This means you need to talk to your staff.
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Office of Investigation
First things first. Following signs on the ceiling through the chilly concrete corridors they would seem arcane to anyone uneducated in the particular code used in this place. Something about numbers that communicates the truth of a location.
The door before you is heavy, metal all the way through. Pushing the thing open, left unlocked, you move into a dim, dark office room with a man sitting at a desk. Scars across a grizzled, yet pleased face. Dress shirt white as can be with a pair of brown suspenders holding up what you can guess to be black pants, hidden behind the wooden weight of the desk that is littered with papers and adorned by two bottles of dark rum with a lightly burning cigarette in an ashtray.
"Director! Good to see ya!" He says, cigarette reaching his mouth in the dark, illuminating the features of his face in the red light, "You gonna turn a light on?" Your response is somewhat coy, with a quirked brow entertained look. "Sure, prefer the dark though, easier to work." He turns back and flicks a switch, bringing a dim orange glow from a hanging bulb to the room.
On the desk ahead, a brass nameplate tells you the name of the person you are speaking to. Special Agent Grimes, but definitely not FBI. "So, Agent Grimes, you are my chief of investigation, tell me what my options are." Getting straight to business as you place both hands on his desk, examining the papers on it.
"Subway thing, right?" He moves the documents before you can read them, pulling a few of them free. "I've got some assets ready to move in, but need your go-ahead." Personnel dossiers informing you of investigators you've access to and their influence. "Only have the pull to get one of these teams in on the situation though, already a major investigation, can't ruffle too many feathers or we won't get anywhere."
Pursing your lip, you consider the options.
Investigator Choice
This is the unit whose primary purpose will be looking into and investigating the matter, pulling whatever strings and doing what must be done to figure out the situation.
Investigative Capacity represents their unique skills and ability to figure out a situation using their wits and resources.
Stealth Factor represents their ability to resist an enemy Investigative Capacity and not get seen.
Choose one.
[X] Brady Bunch
"Miami Vice veterans, they got a good handle on, uh, a lot of things. Good shots, good investigators and definitely the type to break a few legs if they aren't getting their way. A little bit of trouble with authority and don't exactly get a stealthy or unnoticeable approach as a concept."
"Still, they know the streets well, and won't up and die if someone decides to get into a shootout with them."
HP-5
Investigative Capacity: 2d10 a tick
Stealth Factor: 1d10
Special Trait: Aggressive Self-Defense (Resists Ambush, forces contested roll)
Combat Traits: Miami Vice Veterans (+10 to related rolls)
[X] G-Men
"From your neck of the woods, these are FBI vets with a history of cracking tough cases. Little soft by my standards but sharp as a fucking samurai sword. They've got the books and connections to go all the way up and down the tree of knowledge, ya know?"
"Suits and mirrorshades make for a good look anyways, should be able to bully the locals easy enough."
HP-3
Investigative Capacity: 4d10 a tick
Stealth Factor: 2d10
Special Trait: Authoritarian Voice (Can use local factors to increase effectiveness more efficiently.)
Combat Traits: None
[X] New Jacks
"Veterans of the NYPD, these are some varied idiots with more weird experience than I can count. They've got ten languages between them, not including languages they can only sorta speak in. This is home turf for them too, meaning it'll be a walk in the park."
"'Course, it's home turf, meaning folks recognize them. That's a double-edged bonus if you get my meaning."
HP-4
Investigative Capacity: 3d10 a tick
Stealth Factor: 3d10
Special Trait: Keep 'em Talking (Can use locals more effectively, and engage in conversation more effectively.)
Combat Traits: None
NO INVESTIGATOR EQUIPMENT DEVELOPED YET
All Investigators begin with Sidearms, a morass of issued and personally owned pistols.
Sidearms
Range-Short
Damage-1d4
No Stealth Modifier
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Quick Response Force
You're elsewhere in the facility when the concrete turns to steel and the pitter-patter of gunshots through walls becomes the background, replacing the electric hum of wires in the walls that's been droning into your skull without reprieve.
Opening a door you are greeted with the sight of a dozen people practising pistol marksmanship, sending rounds downrange into targets with varying degrees of accuracy, all acceptable. Your aim for being here is present, standing behind the men shooting with a grimace of consideration.
"Sergeant Addams, need a minute." Speaking from your chest, he hears you over the din and ear-pro. Turning his face with a beard that would be out of regs for any police station outside of nowhere-country, he starts "Whadya need ma'am?" A southern drawl makes sense for former Border Patrol.
"I got a situation brewing, need to know my options for supporting a team of investigators that might hit a wall of shit." A simple request, it's exactly what his job is. "We got two teams ready for deployment." He waves a hand for you to follow, "Lemme take you to the arms room."
Walking past the range, you enter a room full of beautiful pieces of kit. Rifles, shotguns, every pistol you could ever want and a few scoped pieces of kit that wouldn't fly anywhere but a military base. "Nearly as important as the men-uh" He looks at you, "Officers, sorry about that ma'am." You wave him off, used to it.
"Is the equipment, especially how heavy their ordinance is." Casting another glance across the armoury, you smile, "Get me the papers, Sergeant, lemme get our boys geared up."
You may select a Quick Response Force, now referred to as a QRF, from the list below.
Statistics:
Manpower, representing their squad size.
Stealth Factor, representing how quiet they are during breaches.
Combat Traits represents the bonus they give to combat operations.
[X] Alphabet Boys
"We have these officers from a variety of Three-Letters, DEA, FBI, ATF. All of them have weapons handling and breaching experience in a variety of situations, from rural sieges to urban skyscraper climbs. Should be able to move fast and give 'em hell at a moment's notice."
"Don't really measure force well, though."
HP-8
Manpower-20
Stealth Factor-1d8
Combat Traits: Combat Veterans (+20 to Combat Rolls) Cream of the Crop (+10 to all rolls)
[X] Busy Bodies
"Undercover and less than official operations specialists, these guys know how to operate in plainclothes and in public, even when taking down the bad guys. Maybe not as good as the folks who train day in, day out to raise hell, they won't cause as much of a fuss when kicking doors in."
"Still, more fragile, less trained and definitely a smaller group of 'em."
HP-6
Manpower-10
Stealth Factor-2d10
Combat Traits: Combat Veterans (+20 to Combat Rolls)
EQUIPMENT
Equipment is currently limited, but still valuable. It is the baseline capacity of a QRF to engage or resist the enemy.
You may select up to 1, but are not required to select any.
All agents begin with Sidearms, a morass of issued and personally owned pistols.
Sidearms
Range-Short
Damage-1d4
No Stealth Modifier
[X] Long Arms
"Long arms, pack a bunch, good ammo capacity and will keep working no matter the situation. 5.56 shell casings attract attention, as does automatic fire."
Range-Medium
Damage-1d8
-4 to Stealth result
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Research and Development
This part of the base feels different. Air's cleaner, coffee scent full of cream and sugar. People waltz around in labcoats, looking like the largest CSI department on the planet. Fancy hospital tiling beneath you makes odd, loud noises to the dress shoes uniform demands.
Still, in the sea of egg-heads, you can spot your quarry. Staring down at a trio of dead bodies in a glass box of some kind the administrator of your research and development grimaces, annoyed at the lack of movement. "Administrator Cline, been looking for you."
He turns with a look of surprise, "I don't think I've done anything wrong?" Immediately defensive, a great sign for future work. "Not yet, no." Is your response as you hop up to sit on a desk next to him, looking at the case of corpses. "My boys need to even the odds here, what do you have for me?
Brushing a hand past blonde hair, thickly grown and long for a man, he smiles, "Oh I've got ideas, Director! I just need your go-ahead to make them a reality."
R&D
Your science staff has the funding and resources to investigate most anything successfully, but vetted and trusted researchers are a much harder thing to find.
You must assign researchers to topics, each researcher is worth one d6 of research towards the project's total.
RESEARCHER TOTAL-30
[X] Body Armour
"Working off some experimental designs, we have ideas on the integration of kevlar aramid and ceramic plates for a tremendously protective suit of armour, or at least a vest that can provide reliable resistance to bullets whilst not weighing the officer down overly much.
RESEARCH PROGRESS-0/30
[X] Superior Weaponry
"Current weapons are effective, but suffer from one crucial flaw. They are designed for human targets. Enlarging the calibre, focusing on soft tissue damage and minimizing overpenetration, we may be able to produce weapon systems that can engage the known unnatural with significantly more effect."
RESEARCH PROGRESS-0/30
[X] Hemophage Corpse Studies
"The three bodies collected by the on-scene investigators are of extreme interest to us. If you would sign off, I have a battery of tests to run on them that could reveal much information on the inner workings of such creatures."
RESEARCH PROGRESS-0/30
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Engineering and Acquisitions
The last part of this place, and the only one you haven't yet seen. The floor is such a noticeable factor in every part of this base. The light stains of grease and beer cans here or there suggest a blue-collar workplace. The scent of machinery and the noise of forklifts only add to the message.
A place of honest work by honest folks.
Still, finding the chief is your goal. Looking around the machines is a chore until you stumble across a hideaway concealing a poker table with six people around it, cigarettes in their mouth and chips on the table. "Hey boys, working hard or hardly workin'?" A tease sends them stumbling with excuses.
"Relax, just need a word with the Chief, then you all can get back to it, alright?" Beckoning with two fingers to Chief Lowe. He stands up with a measure of bearing, walking over to a private part of the sector before speaking, "I apologize for that, ma'am, was just passing the tim-" You cut him off with a wave, "This ain't the navy anymore, Chief, you can gamble and fuck around just so long as work gets done."
"Now, tell me what you can do." Making him nod and start talking you through their facilities and means.
E&A is where you acquire equipment that has been researched as well as requisition more personnel and other more exotic things from the government. It is the sum of your discretionary funding.
Each engineer adds a d6 to the construction roll for the equipment, representing the variable nature of hands-on construction.
Engineers-15
Total Turn Budget: 3,000,000
NO DESIGNS YET
Acquisitions
Engineers: 55,000 per unit
Scientists: 70,000 per unit
Investigation Team: 1,000,000 per unit due to vetting required. Specify requested capacities such as "Woodland experts" or "Data specialists"
Combat Team: 1,000,000 per unit due to vetting required. Specify requested capacities such as "Capable of extreme stealth" or "Close Quarters Battle Specialists"
NOTHING ELSE FOLLOWS
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Personal Time
After the gallivanting around of today, it's nice to sit back down in the office. Taking the time to look at the dossiers one more time you start thinking on your own means. What you can do to ease this investigation.
Select One Personal Action
[X] Make Some Calls
You know a couple of numbers in NYC, see if you can drum up the odd site of the world to help your boys out.
Possible Result: Aid.
[X] Look into Aircraft
Needing to rely on the magnanimous nature of the US Army Aviation Corp is a thorn in your side, seeing if you can get the blueprints and funding to have an airbase constructed, and a design for something quiet, but heavy-duty enough to be useful so you can move your own personnel would be great.
Possible Result: Aircraft Capacity, Airframe design
[X] Budget Jockeying
A finely honed art of any director, jockeying for more discretionary budget is always something that should be done if time allows. Every little bit adds up anyhow.
Possible Result: Budget Increase.