Miss Peachy:
Tailing the ork was easy. She wasn’t certain that it was the right ork, but for now Peachy was just going to persevere and see where he took her. What her old teacher would have called “zen tailing” or he would have if he’d had any sense of humour at all. As he crossed the street she stepped into the passageway across from where the ork was walking, making sure she was well hidden and dropped the spell. Instantly she visible again and she knew she would have to be careful not to make any noise. Sustaining two spells was tiring her. She had slept on the street for the past two nights and she was in need of quality rest. She let the ork get ahead and she removed her boots before recasting the invisibility spell. Normally she would shapechange for trailing, perching overhead or following in cat; rat or dog form was so much easier. But that meant she couldn’t bring gear or clothes and without back up that wasn’t feasible. She followed at a distance until the ork finally stopped.
She’d been tailing him halfway across Puyallup on a whim. But he was the closest thing to a lead she had. He had been completely out of place in the ‘Chimera Bar’ and she was hoping it had been for a reason. She was still wearing the hooker outfit she had worn when she entered the Chimera earlier, only now she had her coat over the top. Apart from a pair of wannabe human go-gangers and a barmaid, who was dressed more like a hooker than Peachy, the ork had been the only other person there. As she had looked around she quickly assensed the joint and he was seriously cybered. She didn’t stay long, just long enough to get the impression he was there as muscle. She had been in a few times before and the bouncers were never more than big and ugly. She had hoped it would have been busier. It usually was. The ork made her think and change her plan, which had simply been to ask around about Silly Pete. She had waited outside, hidden for most of the morning just watching. Then around mid-day a heavily cybered human went in and a few moments later the ork left. Change of shift, she surmised and after quickly stashing her bag in the dumpster she was hidden behind, she set off tailing the ork.
She had always been of the impression that Silly Pete might have owned the bar, but she had never cared enough to find out. He wasn’t really called Silly Pete, only her team, her ex team, as far as she knew called him that. His real name meant something in some weird language and it just sounded like ‘silly.’ However, if it turned out that he had sold them out then Peachy was going to show him how silly that was. For now though, she just wanted to find him. The number she had for him had been dead for two days and she couldn’t be certain that he wasn’t dead too. She had no idea what had occurred and she needed to know why her friends were dead and more importantly who had set them up. Peachy wanted revenge.
The run had seemed simple enough. They had met Silly Pete two days earlier in the Chimera and he said it was a routine redistribution run. They had something and we were going to take it off them and redistribute it to someone who was going to give us lots of cash for doing so. Snowy led the team and she always came up with the plans. He had been their sergeant and knew tactics for every eventuality. Zinc and Timothy cased the joint where the takedown was going to happen and Graveyard, the ex corporal and logistics wiz made sure they had everything they needed. Peachy’s job, as always, was to astrally case the joint just before they went in, then to return to her meat suit and start nuking anything that wasn’t them.
They had been together for six years now, four in the British Army and two running the shadows, firstly in London, then Glasgow, now in Seattle and they knew each other inside out. Occasionally there were hiccups, but apart from that night in Falkirk that resulted in a tactical relocation to Seattle, nothing had really ever gone wrong. This looked no different. Peachy was in the coffin ready to project. The coffin was the name of the hidden compartment in the van where she left her meat body while astral. Timothy as always was outside. She trusted Timothy completely and he was the closest thing she’d ever had to a friend. The others were in position and they were just waiting for Peachy to give the all clear. Then everything changed. As she re-entered her body the shooting started. It didn’t last long enough for her to get out of the van and she knew it wasn’t going to be good. Her hand ran through her hair and she felt so must faster. She had never worn foci or fetishes and did everything to avoid being picked out as the mage. Back in the days of them being Tommies they were generally used as point and she knew the rule. Kill the mage, then the troll. She even carried the same assault rifle as the rest and wore the same uniform. She would spend hours in the days before going into action summoning her spirits to sustain and drain her spells instead of the foci that would have lit her up like a Christmas tree. She called the first spirit. Her hand gently exploring its form as she gave it the instruction. Her fingers tapped as the next spell was cast. More speed and heightened senses. With the next spirit sustaining the spell she called a watcher and ordered it outside to scream abuse at whoever was standing outside the door.
The watcher did its job. Peachy flung open the door and touched the shoulder of the troll standing over Timothy’s body. He fell to the floor and she jumped out. Three figures were looking over two bodies near the door to the building. None of them saw her and the next spell dropped them all. A tearing pain ripped through her side and she dropped to one knee. She rolled over, repeatedly as she went invisible and before getting up a blood stained hand ran though her hair as the other pressed against the wound. It was enough to stop any more damage but it still hurt like hell. The shooter was on a wall about twenty feet away. He was shooting blindly but hadn’t hit her again. Her manabolts never missed and even wounded she had enough in her to drop him in one. It dropped her too and she became visible. Quickly recasting her invisibility she stood up and took stock. She could see no one else outside so she moved back to the troll outside the van. She bent down and picked up the pistol from the floor and put three rounds into his head.
She began to cry as she looked down at Timothy’s body. She was going to miss the dumb ork the most. The others were her team. She trusted them and felt a strong bond with them, but she loved Timothy as a friend. As she stood over him her mind drifted back to their first meeting in the canteen in Aldershot. She had been introduced to the unit and everyone had a cool nickname: Snowy had brilliant white hair. Zinc was cybered to the max, Graveyard was a one man killing machine, Peachy was Morgana, the sorceress from King Arthur but Timothy was just Timothy. She remembered every expression on his face as he explained why. He had been born human and he was picked on a bit because of his name and the smothering, mollycoddling way his mother would say it. He was too small to fight back and simply resigned himself to it. Then at about ten he changed and was picked on for a different reason. Now he was an ork and his parents no longer wanted anything to do with him. The other kids would still gang up and hit him, but it didn’t take long before they realised he wasn’t the scared little kid anymore. He was a scared big kid and one at a time, then two and then three at a time he beat the dreg out of them. Eventually he was taken away but he always kept the name to remind him of what being an ork made him. She wiped away the tears and let her anger engulf her. She turned her attention back to the building.
The door was open and she knew there had been four people inside. Another slight tapping on her side and her steps were silent. As she entered two figures were kneeling behind a metal bench and a third in a doorway on a gantry above. The fourth was prone on top of a pre-fab hut at the back of the room. She called her spirits closer and fixed her focus on a light about 5 metres from each of the four figures. As she dropped her spells she ordered her spirits to help her with the drain and she let loose her manaball. She couldn’t risk anyone being left standing and the force of the spell meant she was most likely going down with them. The drain dropped her to her knees again, but she was still awake and alive. Her side hurt like hell and her head was pounding. The arms stash they were supposed to take wasn’t there and the people all looked like they were from the Balkans. Her team had spent time there about three years ago and she recognised the features. As she left she knew something far worse than a bad run had taken place, but now wasn’t the time to think about it. Now was time to heal up and get her things together. But first she had to clean up.
The takedown point had been an abandoned building on the outskirts of Redmond and firefights were all too common around there. She didn’t want to spend too long but she had to make it as hard as she could for anyone to know what had happened or who had walked away. A few minutes later she had drained the petrol from the van and soaked the faces and hands of all the dead bodies. Six fireballs later she was on her way.
That was two days ago and now she was looking for the man who sent them there. It seemed that things didn’t stop there. Crazy Eight, her talismonger was dead. After numerous attempts to get her on the phone Peachy took a walk over to Tacoma only to find a pile of ash where her shop had once been and talk on the street was that crazy was in bed when it happened. She had also tried to contact Pencilhead a street doc in Redmond that she regularly used, to patch her up after the fight but he wasn’t answering calls and no one had seen him all day. Maybe Silly Pete had suffered the same fate? He most definitely would if she found out he was involved.
The ork had stopped at a metal door that appeared to lead up to an apartment over some derelict shops. Another ork opened and closed it after he had gone in. Peachy waited. About fifteen minutes later two other orks came out with the one she had been tailing, and then behind them was Silly Pete. The first two orks cased out the street and as they did a car arrived and everyone got in. Peachy had no time to plan; still sustaining her invisibility she gently tapped against her side and flew off following the car. High above the buildings she watched as it twisted and turned out of Puyallup and across the city. It eventually pulled into a parking lot in downtown Seattle. She carefully landed close by and dropped the falcon shape. Another gentle tapping and she was a cat, invisible and silent as she watched and listened. The orks talked but Peachy hadn’t a clue what they were saying. Silly Pete was angry about something and it seemed the others were agreeing. Then another two cars pulled up and five humans, four men and a woman got out of them. Peachy could see the drivers still in the car and she very carefully began to move towards the assembly of figures.
“You were right,” the woman said to Silly Pete, “it would seem one survived.”
“Yuh, one of de women. Prolly the mage so be carefuh. I got me a mage too.” Replied the ork boss as he gestured one of the other orks over.
The woman gestured at two of her colleagues and spoke again. “Better safe than sorry, but damn expensive.” They both smiled their last smile.
Eleven against one. Peachy thought to herself. There was going to be no plan B. this was down to who was the biggest and ugliest and history had taught her it was always her. Her hand ran through her invisible blonde hair. She called a spirit to sustain it. She had two spirits left and two services from each. The next spell was cast and sustained as she dropped her cat shape. Still invisible she backed away to about 15 meters then before she dropped her invisibility she ordered her second spirit to help her drain. Then as she dropped her invisibility her arm flung forward to overcast and she released a fireball at the woman’s head. The whole congregation were caught napping and the fire ripped through them. Both cars and four or five surrounding cars exploded. Peachy dropped to the floor, her body creased in pain. She had no time to hurt. She summoned what she could and gently flung her head back. The manaball put paid to the movement in the fire and a second, then third and fourth was cast for good measure.
It took a good few minutes for her to get to her feet. She was bleeding from her nose and ears and her naked body was still wracked with pain. One hand ran through her hair as the other held her forehead. The last spirit disappeared as it helped with the drain and Peachy could feel some of the pain going. It was enough for one last spell. One last effort. Her fingers gently tapping on her side and she soared into the sky. She flew and rested, flew and rested until she found the doorway where her clothes still lay. She dropped her spell and slowly and tentatively began to get dressed.
“You okay Miss?” The words startled her and she sprang around.
The next thing she knew was being woken up by an old guy that looked as bad as he smelled.
“You not well, Miss?”
Peachy knew she needed whatever help she could get. She looked at the old man. Although worn and ugly he had a kindly face and she had a feeling he about to develop a kindly nature too.
“I don’t know,” she responded, trying to sound as frightened as she could. “I just want to get home to my husband and children. I was attacked by some gangers. Did you rescue me?”
The man shook his head and looked at her quizzically. “No Miss. I just saw you getting dressed and you fell down. I ain’t touched nothing honest. I tried not to look either. “ like this, honestly!”
Peachy smiled. “Thank you.” As she spoke her fist clenched and she moved her hand to her mouth. She bit gently on her index finger and as the spell was cast the old man was sold on the idea of helping her.
The man smiled back. “Best be getting you out of here, Miss. Put on your clothes and I’ll find you something to eat”
Peachy smiled once more and carried on dressing. “Thank you again. I didn’t get your name?”
The old man’s face beamed as he answered her. “Lewis, Lewis Anders.”
“Thank you again Lewis Anders. It’s so nice to find a gentleman.”
“In my day Miss, ladies didn’t dress like that. Not that I’m complaining though!”
Peachy remembered she was still dressed like a whore. “We had a party at work, Lewis and I think I got drunk. No idea how I got here though.”
Lewis shook his head. “Dangerous place to be, Miss. Dangerous place.” He then pointed a couple of blocks away. I just live there, Miss. Come on I’ll get you a cup of tea. You sound like you could do with one and your accent sounds like your English. They love a cup of tea the English, hey Miss?”
Peachy smiled. “I’d love one, but then I need to get back, Lewis.
“Ok, Miss. Who are you?”
The ringing in her ears hadn’t stopped and mis-hearing the question and trying to sound as English as she could she answered, “ I’m Peachy, Lewis. Peachy I am!”
“Well, Miss Peachy, lets get that kettle on.
Peachy had fallen asleep on the old man’s couch long before she had finished her tea. She hadn’t woken till the early hours and the old man had gone to bed himself. She had nothing to help repay his kindness so she just left quietly. It was a good hours walk back to the dumpster and a lot went through her mind. What would she do now. She didn’t really know any except an old man and her contacts were either dead or missing. She tried to think why the Balkan woman had wanted them dead. She couldn’t think of anything her team had done there that would warrant revenge. As she picked up the bag with the rest of her belongings inside her thoughts moved away from the Balkans and she thought of the old man. She paused for a moment and smiled. Then a larger smile as she remembered what he called her.
‘Miss Peachy, eh?’ she thought. “Now I can live with that’
Miss Peachy: (400 Bp)
SIN-Alexandra Sladen Born Coventry, UK. Age 25. Height 5' 8" Weight 136 lbs. Long Blonde hair. Blue/Green eyes.
Fake SIN-Amber Beale
SN: Peachy, Miss Peachy
Attributes: (200 Bp + 40 Bp)
Body:4 | Agility:3 | Reaction:3 | Strength:1 | Charisma:4 | Intuition:5 | Logic:3 | Willpower:5
Edge:2 | Essence:6 | Initiative:8 | Magic: 5
Qualities: (+20 Bp – 35 Bp = -15 Bp)
Positive: Magician, Astral Chameleon.
Negative: SINner, Records on File, Hung Out to Dry, Combat Monster.
Mentor Spirit: N/A
Magic Tradition: Buddhist
Combat: Air
Detection: Guidance
Illusion: Earth
Health: Fire
Manipulation: Water
Drain: Willpower + Intuition
Skills: (136 Bp)
Spellcasting: (Combat) 6 +2
Counterspelling: 4
Conjuring: 3
Assensing: 3
Etiquette (Military): 3 +2
Con: (Fast Talk) 1 +2
Dodge: 3
Perception: 3
Astral Combat: 2
Knowledge Skills & Languages: (0 Bp)
Magic Knowledge: 3
Magic Threats : 3
Parazoology: 3
Area Seattle: 4
Shadowrunner Hangouts: 4
Corporate Security Tactics: 3
Military Combat Tactics: 4
English: Native
MA Advantages/Maneuvers: (N/A)
Spells: (36 Bp)
Manabolt
Manaball
Powerbolt
Increase Reflexes
Combat Sense
Shapechange
Influence
Stealth
Improved Invisibility
Fireball
Knockout
Heal
Gear/Lifestyle: (3 Bp)
Squatter/Homeless
Fake SIN level 4
Light Long Coat
Street Clothes
Mage Goggles + 5 meters of cable
Magic Lodge Materials Level 6
Sunglasses R4 w/low light, thermographic, magnified, flare comp and Vision Enhancement 3
Renraku sensei/renraku Ichi Commlink and OS
1 x level 3 Conjuring Materials
1300NY
Contacts: (L/C)
N/A
Any thoughts or any glaring mistakes? Would appreciate any advice.
Edit: I realise I have missed out the section in her background relating to her childhood. will correct that before posting as a finished character.
