MEDIC! - Trauma-Team Quest: A Cyberpunk 2020 MedTech Adventure

One last d10! to round out the post, and I'll have something for you all. Thanks for the patience folks!
 
Track 1.06 - Medicine Man of Mystery
Content Warning: Core, Descriptions of Aftermath of Mass Casualty Event, Light Gore

Somehow, the Black Lotus stage lights are still on. Joe's camerawork is shaky, Brent Steele's image wobbling in and out of frame as the technician carefully steps over bodies still lit by a pre-programmed light show. There are a lot of them, scattered in heaps, clustered at the doors, stairs, and emergency exits. The flow of panic can be mapped easily in the body count. The camera pans over bodies twisted in pain, unseeing eyes streaked with tar-black tears.

"Jesus... C'mon Joe, hurry up." Brent's voice carries through the empty space. He sounds queasy, but he keeps it rolling.

"This is Brent Steele, with a Night City Media Eight Exclusive... We are inside Club Black Lotus, where... something has happened, we're not sure what."

A haunting image that will no doubt play on the news for days - the hanging cages that normally contain dancers hold only crying corpses. The floor is squishy with liquefied necrotic tissue. The concert was sold out. Packed to the gills, clustered around the stage.
Joe and Brent make for it, climbing carefully up the steps. Joe makes a passing comment warning children not to look. The stage lights cycle purple and blue, then strobe white.

Written across the wall in what looks like black tar -

"Enslaved to Steel, By Our will be freed."
Brent's running commentary is cut short for a moment, before the pair head upstairs. It doesn't take long for them to find the MaxTac troopers - scattered across the room, undisturbed from where they landed, slain by a secondary explosive..

The black tears are still drying on their faces.

----
Five Crosses Clinic
1:00 AM


"I'm telling you Claire, there's a story here."

Osiris had a nose for these things. He did his share of investigative work, sure, but he lived and breathed documentary. He was drawn to interesting people like a moth to a flame.
And Dr. Baudin was very interesting.
The two "reporters" were tucked away on one side of the reception desk, editing their footage - Claire was still looking a little shellshocked from everything going as fast as it had. Bryce was still in the alley behind the building, puking his guts up.

To Osiris, it just felt like Warsaw again.

"You sure?" Claire matched Osiris's whisper, trying not to disturb the patients who had managed, somehow, to fall asleep amid all this. Her partner nodded and pointed to where the doctor sat, exhausted, head in her hands.

"Oh yeah. Think about it - how many street docs do you know that can shout down a Trauma Team goon squad trying to strongarm them? How many can identify a chemical weapon at a glance, and get TT Central Tower to back their diagnosis? Did you hear them over the radio? She never gave her name, but they knew her immediately." He ticked off each point on his fingers. "How many street doctors would care? About any of this?" A gesture to the poor unfortunates scattered around the room. "You think most of these gonks can pay what it cost to save them?"

Orsiris licked his lips and flashed Claire a grin. It reminded her of a tiger she saw once in some Extinct Species edu-program, licking it's chops at feeding time.
"And if she's as good as she seems, why is she here? In Little China? Running her own practice?"

"Does it matter?"

"I mean, nah, not really." The bulky reporter shrugged, losing a little steam. "But if I'm asking these question, so would The People, I think. Joe Public'd pay to ask. It's practically screaming Human Interest Story, which screams "eddies" to me."

The target moved. Dr. Baudin sighed heavily, lifted her face from her hands, momentary rest over and done with. Her eyes flickered, making a call. Osiris strained his augmented optics to watch her mouth move quietly, speaking...
"Hello? I'm hoping to reach Dr. Lee…?"

Osiris keyed his cybereyes to start recording. Nothing like a little gurellia filmmaking to spice up their bombing coverage. Time to really get to work
* * *​
Lee, for his part, wastes none of your time making you visit his shop - he comes to you, parking a sleek little commuter car into the lot outside the clinic, and you temporarily leave your work to greet him.

"<<Thank you for coming, Dr. Lee.>>" Your tired face still somehow knows how to smile, despite everything, and the Chinsese elder returns it and your handshake warmly. His son is nowehere to be seen, but you forgo any need for a translator - you placed your initial call to the old man in his native Mandarin, and greet him in kind now.

"<<I would not want to pull you away from your work.>>" The elderly man walks with a cane, but refuses your help down the clinic steps. "<<Better to see the situation with my own eyes anyways. This has been a grim night for the City.>>"

His expression only gets more drawn as you walk him through the clinic, a timeline of the night you've had drawn in bodybags and chemically induced comas, explaining the situation as you walk. The shortage, your options, and why you're hoping he can help. You pass the Action City News team, two-thirds of them anyway, as they're bent over a cyberdeck editing some footage for tomorrows airing.

Cool + Awarness/Notice Roll -5 (???) DC 15: (1d10!+9+4 = (10+4)+9+4 = 27!) Extreme Success!

Make that one-third. The Extremely Polite Camera Guy, as you've labled him in your head (what was his name? O-something?) subtly but steadily tracks you as you cross the lobby, a teeny stud at his temple steadily pulsing recorder red.

Fuckin' press. The last thing you need is to be on camera asking for - well, you're not sure what kind of help you're about to get. But even if it's quasi-legal, you really don't want this on camera.

"Before we continue, Dr. Lee, could I interest you in a cup of tea in my office? We won't be disturbing anyone's rest that way."
* * *​

Edgerunner Trigger! Always Somewhat Paranoid

The doctor raises an eyebrow as you put a budget white noise generator down on the desk next to the teaset before offering to pour.
"Some reporters are here, taking footage for their nightly coverage of the bombings. I'd rather our buisness not be overhead, just in case."

"This is fair enough. To business, then?" The old man seems to both settle into his chair and straighten up, his eyes taking on a youthful gleam.

You wait patiently as he takes a long sip of your tea, though internally your heart pounds.

"I cannot help you find your cybereyes, Doctor Baudin," he pronounces at last, regret crinkling the corners of his eyes. Sensing your dismay, the elderly man holds up a hand to forestall any objection. "However, I am acquainted with people who can - some of whom, might deal with you. There are complications and stipulations they will make of you, of course."

The older man frowns, taking another sip of tea as if he wished to clear his palette of some unpleasant taste.

"And it is... well, there are other risks involved, and I do not wish to endanger you unnecessarily."

"What do you mean?"


"How much do you know about Little China's shadow-world, Doctor? It's criminal elements?" He watches you, grey watery eyes meeting yours. Natural eyes, some small part of you notes. They're so much more expressive that silicon.

Int + Streetwise DC 20: (1d10+8+0 = (4)+8+0 = 12! ) Failure


"Little China's criminal underworld is "ruled" as it were, by the Four Brothers Tong. Tong is..." He sighs, "a complicated word, tied to our coming to this land. They are not all bad, like most gangs, they provide. But the Four Brothers Tong, as it presents to outsiders, is actually the Brother Tongs. Plural. What to outsiders appears like a unified front is merely an alliance of the four most powerful... kingpins, you would call them."
"They are also not all brothers, but that is beside the point."

"This alliance is maintained through very careful economic equilibrium. The smaller organizations may jockey and battle as they see fit, but so long as the surface tension remains unbroken, there is no need for any "uncessesary violence."" The disdain in the old man's voice is plain. "Not all of them appreciate outsiders operating in Little China. Given our current fight with the City Planning Board to keep 22nd street the way it is... that number is probably most of them. But they are buisnessmen first, and if I vouch for you, they will at least hear your petition. There is one, a woman within a smaller, subservient organization, who I would recommend to you, as she has little problem dealing with outsiders."

"But then there is the matter of your clinic's location."

"You have chosen, through blind luck and what I suspect are low property values, to settle on Grey Street. The one street in Little China run fallow and free of any Tong territorial claims because, up until now," he looks pointedly around your little office, "there has been nothing of value. The Brothers have seen fit to let it lie, so long as all the others do. Mostly abandoned buildings do not produce profit, afterall. If I make introductions... it will bring you to their attention. For better, and for worse."

"With regards to Little China, you are an outsider, Dr. Baudin, an unknown quantity. There could be much asked of you, much more than if you were "one of us.""

"What would you ask of me, Dr. Lee?" This is all very valuable - very helpful information. But there's no such thing as a free lunch in Night City.

Quality of Medical Care and High Empathy Bypass Check to Impress Dr. Lee

"I would ask something I suspect you would already happily give - provide quality care to the people of Little China at the costs they can afford to pay, if at all. If they are hurt, heal them. If they are sick, and I cannot help, help them. Be a good neighbor, Doctor Baudin, and treat my people the way you have treated the strangers lying in your hall, and we will not have any problems. Should you ask, I will be happy to vouch for you to the right people, and make introductions to someone I think can help you." He smiles at you, a warm maternal smile that seems to strike right to the center of your cold, cold heart.

"I genuinely believe you can do this neighborhood some good, if given the chance."

The discussion doesn't end there, of course - you have more questions, and while the old man is not willing to divulge all of the communities secrets, helping you get the lay of the land is more than acceptable.

Empathy + Human Perception, DC 10: (1d10+9+5 = (7)+9+5= 21!) Great Success!
Dr. Lee seems genuinely honest, concerned for the people of Little China, genuinely worries about your safety, and is concerned about the balance of power in Little China. No falsehoods detected.

Discussion Time! This will be the first write-in vote of the quest - You have four questions you can ask Dr. Lee, about Chinatown, the local political situation, life advice, etc. Please try to plan vote this as best you can, as I'm not really sure I can work the tally bot to do other fun types of voting, as useful as they'd be. He'll answer to the best of his ability, and I'll handle the social/perception rolls on my end if they're needed. These don't need to be one sentence questions, but I reserve the right to prune down a question if you try to squeeze too much out of it. Use your best judgement here.

Note: Dr. Lee's special is in herbal and homeopathic medicines - there's not a lot of the medical side of the field Dr. Lee can teach you, but he'll chat about it if you ask.

The fixer Dr. Lee plans to reach out to is Madame Butterfly, who weve already met (but Dr. Baudin has not!) Should you decide to accept his offer to make introductions, he will reach out and arrange a meeting for later this evening, which will trigger another plan vote around posture, bargaining points, and generally working out what exactly it is that Jeanne wants out of the Little Chinese Underworld.

Since this is fairly open ended, and, well, it's New Years, there will be a 48 Hour Voting Moratorium, maybe longer if discussion is still ongoing. Hopefully this experiment works out. Muse willing, we'll check in on Isa, Kai, and some of the other side characters next update. Sorry for the delay, and Happy New Year everybody!
 
So in regards to the Lees and any potential to get into criminal trouble with them, as a small spoiler I read the Night City Sourcebook from Cyberpunk 2020 where they are first introduced and I think we'll be fine. From what was given it seems like they're decent folks who help out the neighborhood and just happy to be into shady stuff. No different than the likes of Padre, El Capitan or Regina in 2077.


Written across the wall in what looks like black tar -

"Enslaved to Steel, By Our will be freed."

Sniff, Sniff. You smell that? It smells like the Inquisitors are in town.
 
Aw, I knew I should have double checked the NCSB - I couldn't remember if he spoke Cantonese or Mandarin. I'll fix that later, lol. Well spotted though! I'll try to stick as close to canon as I can, but some things (like the 4 Brothers) are my own invention to make your lives more... interesting.
 
[] Night City is a place that thrives off exploitation. What happens if we make this promise and find no overlap between 'affordable' and 'sustainable?'
 
[ ] Plan: 4 Brothers, 4 Questions
-[ ] You're a stranger to dealing with Madame Butterfly and the Tongs. What etiquette should you observe to avoid offending them?
-[ ] You used to work for Trauma Team. Will that pose a problem when dealing with Madame Butterfly and the Tongs?
-[ ] You're not sure if you'll be able to keep operating thanks to the dearth of regular patients during non-emergency situations. Any advice on how to change that?
-[ ] Can he give us a basic rundown of the various organizations within the Tongs who'd be interested in Grey Street and our clinic?

Basic info gathering here. I say we take him up on his offer and prepare to impress Madame Butterfly.
 
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[X] Plan: 4 Brothers, 4 Questions
-[X] You're a stranger to dealing with Madame Butterfly and the Tongs. What etiquette should you observe to avoid offending them?
-[X] You used to work for Trauma Team. Will that pose a problem when dealing with Madame Butterfly and the Tongs?
-[X] You're not sure if you'll be able to keep operating thanks to the dearth of regular patients during non-emergency situations. Any advice on how to change that?
-[X] Can he give us a basic rundown of the various organizations within the Tongs who'd be interested in Grey Street and our clinic?

Basic info gathering here. I say we take him up on his offer and prepare to impress Madame Butterfly.
[X] Plan: 4 Brothers, 4 Questions
Moratorium guys...
 
Some questions I thought about asking, I don't care if someone else puts them in a plan.
[] Are there any Mega Corps that have a presence or active interest in Little China? If not, were there any in the past?
[] I once read that before the DataKrash that Little China was a center of Badge Presence thanks to the NCPD HQ being located in the district. Does that still hold up?
[] Any gangs try to come in and encroach on the Tong's turf?
[] What is Little China's relationship with the other districts?
[] From your experience as a doctor, what are the most common ailments and injuries that I can expect from local patients?
[] Will my being ethnically non-Chinese affecting my standing and presence among the local community?
[] Any prominent Edgerunners or notable personalities who call the district home?
[] If I were to expand my employees, most notably in security and Medtechies, would it be possible for you to send any potential recruits my way?
[] As someone whose lived here for many years, what do you love and dislike the most about Little China?
 
[X] Plan: 4 Brothers, 4 Questions

Edit: thought I could vote whoops.
 
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I think that we can play this pretty straight. We want to do what they want us to do (from what we know) that being to offer medical services to the community at a reasonable price.

@ConfusedCanuck voting opens tomorrow, there's a moratorium currently.
 
[X] Plan: 4 Brothers, 4 Questions
-[X] You're a stranger to dealing with Madame Butterfly and the Tongs. What etiquette should you observe to avoid offending them?
-[X] You used to work for Trauma Team. Will that pose a problem when dealing with Madame Butterfly and the Tongs?
-[X] You're not sure if you'll be able to keep operating thanks to the dearth of regular patients during non-emergency situations. Any advice on how to change that?
-[X] Can he give us a basic rundown of the various organizations within the Tongs who'd be interested in Grey Street and our clinic?
 
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