Begin a session: Flashback reveals an aspect of your background or nature.
Take +1 Momentum when you return from flashback.
Flashback
Society in the Forge is very widely accepting. Being a non-binary pansexual like me barely causes a blink in even the tiniest, most backwater settlements you can find. Within the Service that’s not true. They have all the right tick boxes on their HR forms of course, but they teach classes on seduction, honey trapping and the like and to say they’re antiquated would be polite. I don’t think they’ve been updated since before the Exodus. They talk in really gendered language, he, she, him or her and it doesn’t take much of a scratch to see there’s a great deal of heteronormativity and sexism there too. How a many seduces a woman, how a man is at danger of being seduced by a woman. There is an appendix written for a woman, how she might seduce a man, how she might be seduced. I kid you not, it’s an appendix. Nothing about lesbian or gay experiences and if you get further into the rainbow alphabet, forget it. Our instructors at least had the grace to look ashamed. By that point there were 25 of us left. 10 women, 11 men and 4 NBs and I swear the straights were in a very small minority in our cohort. Maybe a few were only “gay for the stay” - the Service still had single sex dorms (fun for the four of us like me that weren’t either) - but hardly anyone wasn’t getting some. Tomas, Ari and maybe Charlie. The actual training, the practical element, was much better than the manual. We had actors and agents of all genders and romantic inclinations come in and they practised on us as much as we practised on, and learnt from, them. We didn’t know who was who, so we had to learn how to tell the actors (who were looking to brush up their craft but present their true selves, at least at first) from the agents (who were looking to learn secrets about us and practise their tradecraft with false identities and sexualities) but we had the whole gamut. Over time, the actors moved on to having scripted secrets to protect and personas to try.
I didn’t expect to enjoy it, but I absolutely loved it. It was a battle of wits, understanding and sneakiness. It came after a load of brute physical stuff where I sucked and while this wasn’t pure stealth, suddenly I was in an area where I was much stronger than those in my cohort who had been (literally) running rings around me with heavy packs on during endurance training and combat training. Ari and Alun were the best of us, but I was a close third and that was good enough for then.
Flashback Ends
I woke up with a smile. I pulled out my dagger. I would have to word this just right, Tinker would have to go down, and that might mean her death depending on how this played out, but I was determined to honey trap and try to turn her.
Swear An Iron Vow: roll+heart.
Honeytrap Tinker, Try to make her a double agent for AWJ against AWJ if she can be pulled out rather than killed.
Strong Hit 5+2+1 vs 1,3.
You are emboldened and it is clear what you must do next. Take +2 Momentum.
I have Tinker’s contact details, we exchanged them so she can call me in for the next round of training as “her” recruit. It’s almost certainly a burner, and it’s probably monitored but she hadn’t said not to call her and they haven’t given us any op sec training. I sit down and weigh up my options. Yesterday was the assessment, I figure probably next weekend for the training, so she’ll contact me on Thursday. So tomorrow, I’ll call and invite her for goffi and see how that goes.
I spend the rest of the day cleaning the flat. I take advantage of the cleaning to destroy as many of their devices as I reasonably can.
Secure An Advantage: roll+shadow.
Strong Hit: 1+3+1 vs 4,4
Mark Progress, gain +2 momentum and +1 on the next roll.
I haven’t got them all, that would be too hard for a normal clean, but I’ve given myself some space to plan and move in safety.
Next I plan to what to wear to impress Tinker. I didn’t really come looking to seduce anyone, but there are always a few bits tucked away.
Check your Gear: roll+supply.
Strong Hit 5+5+1 vs 3,3
You have it and are ready to act. Take +1 momentum.
With everything ready, I head to bed. In the morning I run, head off to not get a job, come home and dress to impress and then call Tinker. She’s free and would love a goffi. This afternoon is fine… I let her pick the place - she likes to be in charge and “Mongoose” likes letting her be - and note it’s not too far from my flat. I wonder if that’s so she can drop someone off to replace the bugs or if she thinks she’s going to get lucky?
I decide to plant a coupe of devices to passively record anyone coming in through the door. Much harder to detect than the bugs they had, which had to transmit over the Weave.
I wonder what, if anything, they’ll reveal?
Tinker and I meet up. The flirting begins almost instantly.
Begin the Scene: Name your objective - Seduce Tinker into a relationship. Set rank as formidable, choose the tension clock 6 segments.
I have a tricky path to walk. “Mongoose” has to let Tinker take the lead, but give her enough signals to say “I’m here, take me.” I’m not really that passive normally. But I remember the classes in the Service, and it’s fun to be wooed. I remember the coy looks, the licking of my lips, smoothing my hair down.
Face Danger: roll+shadow
Strong hit: 5+3 vs 5,2
Mark Progress
Clearly Tinker likes what she sees and moves her chair closer. I lean forward, and smile, encouraging her.
Face Danger: roll+shadow
Strong hit: 6+3 vs 8,5
Mark Progress
Soon enough she’s reaching out, taking my hand and stroking my fingers. I’m mixing the coy looks with staring into her eyes, then looking away with a giggle. I’m not good enough to blush at will, I wish I were, but this is working just fine.
Face Danger: roll+shadow
Miss: 2+3 vs 10,6
Burn Momentum, Weak Hit.
You are successful and mark progress but also encounter a complication or setback. Envision what occurs and fill a clock segment.
Just as things were getting interesting there’s a buzzing and Tinker’s eyes go glassy. I’ve seen this before, she’s got a military comms implant, although “Mongoose” wouldn’t know what’s going on. From the way things were playing out I was initially thinking we were heading back to mine for an afternoon of hot sex. Now I’m wondering if that call was to say they’d installed fresh bugs.
Tinker smiles and squeezes my hand.
“Another goffi?”
I nod and smile back at her, watching as she goes up to the counter. She’s definitely easy on the eyes and I’m rewarded when she turns back, catches me checking her out and gives me a positively sinful smile and then a shake of her finger in mock admonishment. I find myself blushing. I rarely do kinky stuff, but with Tinker I think I could, at least sometimes, and enjoy it. Just as I’m considering that, she comes back and slides into the seat next to me. I gasp and make room, looking up at her.
Face Danger: roll+shadow
Weak Hit: 2+3 vs 8,4
You are successful and mark progress but also encounter a complication or setback. Envision what occurs and fill a clock segment.
“I’m sorry about that,” Tinker says, “Mimic called.”
Mimic is another member of her strike group. Gay man, tall, shifty looking with a skin colour mutation, bright green. It’s hard to say if he’s called Mimic because he’ll find it impossible to blend without makeup or his mutation is more of a chameleon thing and he’d chosen to be bright green for some reason. He’d come over as rather indifferent during the assessment period, like we weren’t good enough. I wasn’t quite sure about his position in the hierarchy, but I thought he was subordinate to Tinker.
“He’s having family trouble, wanted to bend my ear,” Tinker continued. I could see something darken her eyes.
“But I didn’t see you say anything, answer a comm?” I say.
“Augment,” came her not totally accurate reply, along with her eyes clearing. She was wondering why I hadn’t asked how she’d answered without seeming to react when “Mongoose” doesn’t have anything military in her background. Squeaked by there.
“I think he’s good to go but if he can’t sort it, he might call again,” Tinker kept going. “But I told him I’m not available for at least the next two hours. So we shouldn’t get any more interruptions unless he burns the place down.” With that she puts her arm around me and pulls me close.
I smile up at her and nestle close.
“What are you going to do with little old me for two hours?” I ask, in a small voice.
Face Danger: roll+shadow
Strong hit with a match: 4+3 vs 4,4
You are successful and mark progress twice.
Tinker lets one hand roam down over my flank and uses the other to tip my head up so she can kiss me. I moan softly and open my lips.
Secure an advantage: roll+heart
Weak hit: 3+2 vs 10,3
Take +2 momentum
I kiss her back, remembering to keep it soft, submissive and I’m not entirely surprised to feel my whole body responding. I’m happy to feel her pressing me close against her and feel her body responding to the kiss and the pressure of my body against hers somewhere in that little bit of my brain that is still Bagpipes, still on mission, even now.
Face Danger: roll+shadow
Weak hit: 3+3 vs 4,10
You are successful and mark progress but also encounter a complication or setback.
Envision what occurs and fill a clock segment.
As the kiss carries on, Tinker turns in the seat and there’s a crack that I can’t quite place, then a yelp and she pulls away, swearing. If I didn’t already know she was Honshu born, the jig would be up now as she mixes a variety of Honshu with AWJ choice curses as her leg is covered with hot goffi… that crack is clearly where she kicked the table and spilt out drinks over herself. I do my best not to giggle and reach for the napkins, dabbing her leg dry. I can’t help strong her leg as the worst of the moisture is gone.
Secure an Advantage: roll+shadow
Strong Hit: 4+3 vs 1,4
Take +2 momentum and +1 on your next move.
“Would you like to come back to mine?” I offer, putting just enough hesitancy into my voice. “I can wash the goffi out of your trousers. You might have to wear my robe though, I don’t think I’ve got anything else that will fit you.”
“Are you trying to get me naked already?” Tinker smiles roguishly at me. I blush. She holds out her hand as she stands up and pulls me close. “No pressure, but getting these clean before they stain too badly sounds wonderful, thank you.”
We walk back to my flat hand in hand, chatting nervously. We both know in a few minutes Tinker is going to be undressing in front of me. All those old jokes about lesbians technically don’t apply to me, but they are threatening to come back and bite Tinker in her very shapely arse.
Too soon, or not soon enough, I open the door and invite her inside. She stops on the threshold and again says “no pressure, beautiful.” I lean into her and kiss her.
Face Danger: roll+shadow
Strong hit: 4+3 vs 2,6
You are successful and mark progress
I tug Tinker inside, still kissing her.
“Don’t be silly, I want this as much as you do,” I whisper against her lips.
She undresses first, unashamed. Her clothes go into the wash. Then she undresses me.
And as we fade to black, neither of us are aware of the eyes of a third party watching us.
End Scene: When the events lead to the scene’s conclusion, roll the challenge dice and compare your progress.
Weak hit: 8 vs 2, 10
You succeed by not without cost. You must pay the price.
Make this a minor cost relative to the scope of the scene.
End Session
Reflect on the events of the game, and opportunities to mark progress.
During this session it seems fair to say I developed my relationship with Tinker, so mark progress there.
I also reached a milestone in the attempts to honeytrap Tinker, so mark progress there.
My cost for ending the scene was “a surprising development complicates your quest”. I haven’t thought about who, but I have decided that the people who planted the bugs are not Tinker’s strike group or my branch of the Service. The heddlu would be one possibility. A criminal organisation would be another. A different part of the Service would be a third. I will think on it, they all have interesting potential ramifications.
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