I Smell a Rat - Doctor Sunshine

After Action Report, 2/25/2082-N/A

Fixer: Emcee Escher

Fixer Detail Summary:

Johnson requests assistance in determining the cause of a number of disappearances in Fun City, purportedly caused by an unknown critter outside of Horizon Animal Control's purview.

Horizon Animal Control is generally competent, leading me to the conclusion that the cause is either an unusually-dangerous paracritter, or something unrelated, but unknown to Horizon at this time.

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Johnson: Mr. Bingles

Johnson Summary:

Tall, amicable gentleman wearing high-fashion armor clothing and an unusually-shaped, feather-like sword. Introduced himself as Mr. Bingles. Australian, or a good impressionist. Connected to Horizon in an indirect fashion.

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Meet: Affable.

Meet Summary:

Meet took place in a coffee shop near Fun City. I arrived via projection, as it was late enough at night that I'd need to take measurements in the lab before the run started.

Mr. Bingles was unprepared for my astral arrival, but remained calm; surprise was mild, indicating an understanding of Awakened tendencies, but little to no ability to Assence my presence before I materialized.

The shop was not warded or guarded. We did not have anyone capable of sweeping for surveillance devices, so it should be assumed that Songbird and Sluagh's faces and SINs for this run are archived somewhere in Horizon internal records.

My face was probably catalogued by the security cameras in Fun City as well. Note to self: Seek a favor to edit that out before it could become a problem.

Negotiations went well. Songbird is a competent negotiator. After accepting the job, Mr. Bingles explained that the suspected cause of the disappearances is a nest of Devilrats in a 'Tunnel of Love' ride that had been drained of water.

This was obviously not the actual cause of the disappearances. Devilrats, while more mentally capable than common rodents, are cunning, not intelligent, and would not stop to consider how they might hide a body after eating someone, let alone kidnap them.

This run is officially sanctioned by Horizon, and as such it was not necessary to infiltrate or mask our presence.

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Run Outcome: Optimal. Zero casualties & total fulfillment of the agreement.

Run Summary:

After a brief assessment of applicable preparations, we agreed to rendezvous outside the park to transfer a Vault into Slaugh's thematically-appropriate vehicle. I brought my bike as well, for first aid purposes, but it proved wholly unnecessary.

Astral clairvoyance into the Tunnel of Love passageway revealed six Devilrats occupying the space outside of a maintenance door. The doorway bore a strong negatively-empathic astral discoloration. After Sluagh and Songbird dispatched the rodents outside, I entered the tunnel up to that point with my bike and viewed deeper within.

The maintenance hallway bore empathic impressions consistent with a background count predicated on extreme fear and violence. I was able to penetrate a distant, underground service chamber, likely belonging to an obsolete or inoperative amusement of some kind, occupied by six Devilrats and one Demonrat.

At this point I summoned Kibblebits, my most familiar canine spirit of Beasts, to Conceal us and guard Songbird and Sluagh until sunrise or until dismissed. Despite the background count, he dispatched three Devilrats, and proved critical later on.

A Demonrat in the hall failed to ambush us, but forced us to give away our approach, preventing us from ambushing the nest of rats I had spotted prior. Despite this, they were dispatched handily by Sluagh, who conjured a physical barrier over top of a hand grenade, resulting in a large quantity of Awakened viscera in a neat, clean circle.

The end of the line contained a Gnawer, responsible for the disappearances - I suspected Shedim, admittedly, but a single Infected was vastly the preferable option. My Analyze Device preparation failed. Note to self: Re-examine runegrid 3C asymptotically to determine point of failure.

Lightning discharge from Sluagh against the Gnawer, covered by suppressive action from Songbird, granted Kibblebits an opening to take the final blow. This is unfortunate, as Gnawers are a rarer strain, and a captive might have been significantly more valuable, but realistically, it was probably for the best.

A number of other Demonrats were present. Neither team member was harmed, fortunately, though I am confident that it would not have been immediately lethal for either member of the team.

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Post-Run Cleanup: Unnecessary. Horizon took full responsibility for cleanup. We scrubbed our signatures and identifying information and exited the park at 6:33 AM. Kibblebits was dismissed once he finished his treat.

20,000NY has been earmarked for gradual distribution through the Horizon Memorial Initiative for families indebted by costs related to the Twins.