I need help to test a set of events

[Commander Truestar]

OK,

So my players are in the Lunion system and are known and trusted troubleshooters with experience vs the Zhodani in the FFW.

A survivor has been taken off a Sword Worlds raider who dared the system, and he has been placed into a high security cell.

While there is no camera "directly" on the cell, there is one on the guard watching the access point ( a standing post)

The characters will be called in because:
despite the standing guard saying he was at his post 100% of the time
despite the sensor scan tech for that section of the prison reporting no issues

the prisoner was shot and killed with three 7mm slugs to the chest!

The working theory is that it might be a Zhodani teleport commando, and the Duke's people are out of their depth.

The scene opens as the PC's are brought to the cell.
The guard (as well as new forces) and the dead body are still present.

What would you do? (admittedly, not know their skills)

 

[flykiller]

what did the guard hear?

is interior layout of the cellblock public knowledge or secure? if secure then who could know how it was laid out?

bullet condition/groves/etc should say much about velocity, weapon, etc

do an isotope analysis on the bullets to determine their likely system/subsector of origin, manufacturer, etc

same thing with any chemical propellant used to drive the bullets

look over the raider for any clues as to why this individual would be thought worth killing in such an attention-getting manner

 

[Commander Truestar]

what did the guard hear?

--The guard claims to have heard nothing.
--When pressed, he admits to having nodded for a second or two but, as this is a standing
----post, he did not fall, so he was not "out significantly"

is interior layout of the cellblock public knowledge or secure? if secure then who could know how it was laid out?

--No, the floor plans are kept secure.

bullet condition/groves/etc should say much about velocity, weapon, etc

do an isotope analysis on the bullets to determine their likely system/subsector of origin, manufacturer, etc

same thing with any chemical propellant used to drive the bullets

--Once equipment is brought, the rounds and power residue prove to be from a locally
----sourced snub pistol stock. There are millions of rounds in circulation due to Lunion's
----low law level.
--There is a strange "grooving" that does not match the standard snub pistol, but nothing
----anyone can identify

look over the raider for any clues as to why this individual would be thought worth killing in such an attention-getting manner

Nothing apparent.
He was being held in hopes he would give data on how Sword World raiders are reaching the system?

Thank you for participating!

 

[flykiller]

he admits to having nodded for a second or two but, as this is a standing
----post, he did not fall, so he was not "out significantly" ... the rounds and power residue prove to be from a locally
----sourced snub pistol stock.

does the guard have such a weapon? privately owned or duty-issued?

--There is a strange "grooving" that does not match the standard snub pistol, but nothing
----anyone can identify

take to a firearms expert (or two) for identification.

 

[Commander Truestar]

does the guard have such a weapon? privately owned or duty-issued?

He does not

take to a firearms expert (or two) for identification.

The image can be 3D printed to an expert, but you will have time in-between.

What other steps would you take?

 

[Commander Truestar]

A thumbnail description of the location:
1) the level is in a sub-basement. all reinforced-cement construction
2) access can only be gotten by inserting the correct credential chip-imbedded card
3) once in a central embarkation chamber, passages lead off to the cell-areas
4) the passages are ~100 ft long with a bend at the end, to prevent quick-fire assaults
5) every 30 ft, there is a vent, for air circulation controlled centrally
6) the cluster of three cells (the other two empty) is at the end of the corridor

 

[flykiller]

take samples from the clothing and walls for powder residue to determine origin of fire. take samples from the floor for footprints (thought it's probably too late for that). don't know what zho psi rules you're using but for ct a double-teleport is very draining so check around outside the jail (including under it and over it) for the nearest approachable points that might serve as a base for such action and see if anything is apparent.

and continue to check the guard and any accessible areas in the prison and prison armory for a matching weapon - the best person for an inside job is an insider, especially if he "nods off" and doesn't know he's an insider.

and if you're doing wild fantastic psi, read the vic's mind for any last sight information.

 

[Commander Truestar]

take samples from the clothing and walls for powder residue to determine origin of fire.

Based on your experience, the shot came directly from the front. The victim was facing the killer when shot.

take samples from the floor for footprints (thought it's probably too late for that).

The facility is kept "very clean". Despite that, you do notice that what you thought was dust is actually a very minimal amount of dirt! Dirt which should not be in that passage.

don't know what zho psi rules you're using but for ct a double-teleport is very draining so check around outside the jail (including under it and over it) for the nearest approachable points that might serve as a base for such action and see if anything is apparent.

CT Rules, and yes, you are very correct. if a Psi-commando did a double, they'd have to have accomplices or someone with a "special" power to recharge them.

The facility staff are out vaporizing anything that looks like cover. Do you send a member of your team out to check their work?

and continue to check the guard and any accessible areas in the prison and prison armory for a matching weapon - the best person for an inside job is an insider, especially if he "nods off" and doesn't know he's an insider.

the guard is being honest to the best you can tell of his demeanor and answers. You can not do more with him beyond sending him for a medical check up.

A quick check of the armory shows there are auto-pistols and SMG's for "normal duty" and gauss weapons for repulsing an assault. The standard "duty armor" is more for appearance and there is more robust gear in case of assault

and if you're doing wild fantastic psi, read the vic's mind for any last sight information.

No wild and fantastic stuff. Like in the OTU, if you get caught being a Psi, you get lobotomized, lynched or (if quickly grabbed by the government) employed secretly

 

[flykiller]

study dirt patterns on floor, gather samples. and check the ventilation system for any transit of robots or other devices that may have disturbed dirt out onto the floor.

The facility staff are out vaporizing anything that looks like cover. Do you send a member of your team out to check their work?

vaporizing as in destroying? yeah, get 'em to stop, then check for areas that might have the dirt found on the cell floor and/or that might provide cover. and also anything under or above the prison - big cities from civilizations that are many hundreds of years old are likely to have all kinds of forgotten passages.

continue with the firearms check on the unusual grooves in the bullets.

and at some point when the cell is clear, get a snubbie and stand someone where the guard said he was and fire off a few rounds in the cell and see what can be heard.

 

[flykiller]

oh yeah, and check the swordie's hands and clothing for any scratch debris, hair, etc. standard tv police detective work ....

 

[Commander Truestar]

study dirt patterns on floor, gather samples.

Unfortunately, any patters have been disturbed. Only the presence of the dirt stands out.

and check the ventilation system for any transit of robots or other devices that may have disturbed dirt out onto the floor.

you do find a number of vents, of which one might be more loose than the others. Checking that vent with a flashlight, a small 'droid may have been here. The dust patterns are not certain.

vaporizing as in destroying? yeah, get 'em to stop,

Not destroying, I was over-zealous. Sorry.
But they are digging into anything that could have provided cover. So your team member feels comfortable anyone trying to hide and recover would not succeed.

then check for areas that might have the dirt found on the cell floor and/or that might provide cover.

The external team member finds that the entire facility is surrounded by a "dirt skirt" providing an open space to prevent covert assaults. The dirt "could" be the same as that found in the passage.

Any further orders to the external team?

and also anything under or above the prison - big cities from civilizations that are many hundreds of years old are likely to have all kinds of forgotten passages.

No, as far as you can determine at the moment. The entire area was cleared to provide fora "green fields" construction.

continue with the firearms check on the unusual grooves in the bullets.

That report has not come back form the experts yet

and at some point when the cell is clear, get a snubbie and stand someone where the guard said he was and fire off a few rounds in the cell and see what can be heard.

the report of the snub pistol can clearly be heard all the way back to the lift where the level is accessed. Everyone on that level should have heard the reports

 

[Commander Truestar]

oh yeah, and check the swordie's hands and clothing for any scratch debris, hair, etc. standard tv police detective work ....

Nothing at all unexpected.
He may have seen his killer, but never got hands on from what you can see

 

[flykiller]

Checking that vent with a flashlight, a small 'droid may have been here.

ask the prison, any cleaning robots or animals that might have been in there? if not then find the ventilation entry/exit points and check for tampering. briefly examine the dirt - is it rust flakes, or puffy crumbly dust, or hard scratchy silicate "dirt", or something else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI--wFfipvA

Any further orders to the external team?

look around, pretend you're a perfidious zhodani, where would you work from? go there, check it out. then get a sample of the "dirt", compare later.

the report of the snub pistol can clearly be heard all the way back to the lift where the level is accessed. Everyone on that level should have heard the reports

turn back to the guard then. "even mostly asleep you should have heard that."

 

[Commander Truestar]

ask the prison, any cleaning robots or animals that might have been in there?

Once a month, they have a contractor come through and, under armed escort, open the vents and put cleaning bots in. They are dumb-bots, all-logic chained to a controller station that is also wheeled into the prison. But every bot is accounted for in and out.

if not then find the ventilation entry/exit points and check for tampering.

Your "outside man" does find a vent which was approached. While there was an effort to obscure the footprints, they are still visible to someone searching for them. Just not casually. The area is covered by a security camera. When you ask, that is not "live monitored".

briefly examine the dirt - is it rust flakes, or puffy crumbly dust, or hard scratchy silicate "dirt", or something else.

it is loam, and can form-fit when crushed into crevices. Like the tread of a shoe/boot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI--wFfipvA

Such a 'droid would need someone there to open the vent, as all vent covers are secured from the outside. So if a 'droid forced it, the damage would have been very visible.

look around, pretend you're a perfidious zhodani, where would you work from? go there, check it out. then get a sample of the "dirt", compare later.

"If" it were a porting-mind raper, they could have sent a 'droid in to "view" the place to jump to. So a camera-'droid would work that way.

turn back to the guard then. "even mostly asleep you should have heard that."

The guard stands firm that he would have heard it even if it happened while he was nodding. He even states the sensors and scan tech would have heard it electronically.
His defense is "the scan tech did not hear it, so he can not be blamed"

 

[flykiller]

that is not "live monitored"

check records. and see if the prison can check its vent systems right now, see if anything was left behind.

so what I'm thinking so far is

1) robot visual scan real-time for target location, then orient and fire the weapon and teleport the bullets at velocity to the front of the target. would explain lack of noise.

2) wondering about the loam. if someone teleported in and the weapon was fired in the cell then the guard and systems would have heard it.

hm. 3) two intrusions. first 1, then 2 looking for something. perhaps the swordie was a courier, knowing or unknowing.

any other damage to / indication on the body?

 

[Commander Truestar]

check records.

A play-back of the video from the access passageway at high speed shows a flicker.
Playing that segment back shows a ~10 second burst of static. the scan tech says that sort of thing happens often. His supervisor is NOT pleased.

A play-back of the video from the outside video shows a male Caucasian dressed as a technician carrying a tech bag crossing the dirt-skirt and stepping under the building shadow near where that should be a vent. Some minutes later, he is seen again, stowing something unidentifiable into the tech bag.

and see if the prison can check its vent systems right now, see if anything was left behind.

A pressure burst test confirms all the vents are clear.

so what I'm thinking so far is

1) robot visual scan real-time for target location, then orient and fire the weapon and teleport the bullets at velocity to the front of the target. would explain lack of noise.

None of the vents face the cell itself, so there would be no camera viability to the target

2) wondering about the loam. if someone teleported in and the weapon was fired in the cell then the guard and systems would have heard it.

Should have, yes. (See above for sensor data discovery)

hm. 3) two intrusions. first 1, then 2 looking for something. perhaps the swordie was a courier, knowing or unknowing.

any other damage to / indication on the body?

None other than the bullet wounds.
even the fall appears to have been soft enough not to damage the corpse

 

[Enoki]

What else is in this cell? Is there a toilet, sink, shower? Bunk(s)? Other furniture like a personal locker, desk, anything like that? If so, how are these made? What kind of mattress and pillow was he issued?

Was the idiot that didn't have a camera on this prisoner get fired?

Has what security cameras there are been reviewed to see what the guard was doing? Is there any requirement the guard check this cell periodically and if so, how often?

 

[flykiller]

male Caucasian dressed as a technician carrying a tech bag crossing the dirt-skirt and stepping under the building shadow near where that should be a vent. Some minutes later, he is seen again, stowing something unidentifiable into the tech bag.

person of interest A. anyone recognize him. time stamp, face, height, gait, etc. published to general police net / where is he, or is this covert? send the outside guy and someone else with him to follow the footprints, where they went and if there's time where they came from. send someone else to examine the vent in question.

even the fall appears to have been soft enough not to damage the corpse

shot while sleeping or laying down?

4) non-standard psi? shapeshifter? worms his way in, does ... something involving 1), leaves.

 

[Commander Truestar]

What else is in this cell? Is there a toilet, sink, shower? Bunk(s)? Other furniture like a personal locker, desk, anything like that?

If so, how are these made? What kind of mattress and pillow was he issued?

There is a metal cot, toilet and sink. The thin padding of the bed is foam and enclosed in a water-resistant removable "sheet-bag". There is also a pillow constructed the same way as the bed padding.

Was the idiot that didn't have a camera on this prisoner get fired?

Has what security cameras there are been reviewed to see what the guard was doing?

The camera on the guard bears out the guard's defense, except for the ~10 second static burst.

Is there any requirement the guard check this cell periodically and if so, how often?

Yes, the guard is required to constantly sweep all the cells from his central position. Since there was only one prisoner, when he saw the man down and bleeding, the guard immediately raised the alarm.

 

[Spartan159]

Just some thoughts, could suspect have used a micro robot with a camera to get a picture of the cell enough to allow teleportation? is silencing technology available in this TU such as in MgT?