The Handbasket Ride - Episode 20 - Part 1

A solo Electric State RPG actual play report

Content Warning: Strong Language

Thursday, October 17th, 1996. 10:03pm

Scene Chaos Factor: 4
Expected Scene: Arguing over whether Eamon will give the other two a ride
Testing the Expected Scene: 8: Expected Scene

My head snapped around and I just started at Summer. "What the fuck? Seriously?"

She shrugged. "You have a vehicle big enough for all of us. You're also wanting to get through this desert without any trouble, so having a guide like Albey to show you where to go and where to avoid would save you a lot of trouble."

Albey was looking at it like he was Arnold in Diff'rent Strokes. "What you talking about, lady? Are you missing the fact he's pointing a gun at us?"

"I'm serious," she said. "Yeah, OK, he's pointing a gun at us right now, but we also walked up on him in the desert in the middle of the night, and it's pretty dangerous out here. But think about it for a second, Albey: the sooner we can get across this desert, the safer we'll be. And we can get across it a lot faster in a truck like that than we can on foot."

Opposed Empathy vs Wits Check: can Summer convince the other two that this is a good idea?
Summer (Empathy): three dice - 3, 6, 6 - Two successes
Eamon (Wits): five dice - 1, 4, 4, 5, 6 - One success
Albey (Wits): five dice - 3, 4, 4, 6, 6 - Two successes

Right now, I'm seriously uncomfortable about the idea, but I have to admit: she has a point. Having someone with local knowledge to show me the way safely though does sound kind of appealing. I still don't trust them fully. Summer I'm less worried about, but Albey is more of a wildcard right now.

Albey shook his head. "No way. I'm taking a big enough risk taking you through this region. I'm only doing that as to repay a favour from a guy I owed one to. I don't trust this fool!"

Opposed Empathy vs Wits Check: can Eamon convince Albey to guide him through?
Eamon (Empathy + Con Artist): Seven dice - 1, 3, 3, 3, 5, 6, 6 - Two successes
Albey (Wits): Five dice - 1, 1, 2, 3, 3 - No successes

Con Artist is about lying or bluffing, which is not quite what Eamon is doing, but he's also trying to fast talk Albey into agreeing, so I think that's in the spirit of the talent, so I'm using it.

I looked across at Albey. "You like being out here in the desert?"

He gave me an odd look. "What? No!"

"So how long is it going to take you two to walk across? Two, three days?"

Albey shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe. Depends on whether we run into trouble or not."

"Do you have enough food and water for two people for that long, or longer? It didn't seem like you had a whole lot in your bag when I checked."

"I'm used to going hungry. Don't know about her."

I got up and walked over to the back of the truck. I pulled out a can of the stew, then walked back to them and tossed it across to him. "I've got food and water. I don't know this area at all, and would prefer not to run into any trouble. So, I could use a guide, too. I'm not comfortable with it either, but Summer here is right: it's a mutually beneficial arrangement, and we can all get through this quicker if we work together."

Albey glanced up at me. "How do I know you won't just shoot us and dump our bodies? Or hand us over to Sentre?"

"Oh come on, man," I said. "Didn't I just get through saying that I could use a guide? You aren't going to be much use as a guide if I kill you two or hand you over to someone else."

"Please Albey," Summer said. "Won't you even think about it?"

Wits Check: does anyone hear the approaching drone?
Eamon: Five dice - 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 - One success
Summer: Two dice - 3, 4 - No successes
Albey: Five dice - 1, 2, 3, 3, 4 - No successes

Is it a flying drone? Very likely - 42 - Yes
Is it armed? 50/50 - 26 - Yes
Is it controlled by humans? Likely - 47 - Yes
Is it being controlled by the Pacifica military? - Very Likely - 55 - No (No random event as above Chaos Factor)
Has it detected the trio? 50/50 - 01 - Exceptional Yes
Is it hostile? Very likely - 24 - Yes

About then, I started to hear a weird buzzing sound off in the distance. By the sounds of things, it was getting closer, and fast.

Does Eamon know what the sound is? Likely - 12 - Yes.

"Fuck!" I muttered. "Do you two hear that? There's an aerial drone coming our way fast from the east!"

TO BE CONTINUED…

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