Snow Days.P1

Snow Days (Joey, Mike, Aaron, Whitney, Jordan, Pearl)

[Skill check results listed in brackets to record their successes]

@@ when rolling D6s, you usually only need one 6 to represent success. Extra 6s can be used to aid others who failed the attempt, can gain extra information, or be saved for a one-time extra die for the same skill check.@@ 

Monday, Dec 15th, 1985: Lukas’ 13^th birthday held at the Al’s Arcade Emporium. 

	Ace gifted He-man on his Battle-cat. He also plopped a bag of quarters on the table, “My parents offered up the money for all of us. How about we start with Pacman; winner take all.” Lukas started off tilting the machine (he dropped his dice off the table even thou I provided dice boxes to use). Ace and Ein made a decent showing [Tinker: 1 success each]. Evan and Eric grinned as they bested the others [Tinker: 2 success each]. Everyone’s jaw dropped when Josh stepped up with an early excuse, “I’ve never had the money or time to play before. How does this work?” And proceeded to win it all! [Tinker: 3 success]
	Josh gifted a hand-carved go-cart, “Hope you like it.” Not much into electronic gizmos, Josh stepped up as first at Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Donkey. [Move-0] Josh quickly got dizzy as they spun him around blindfolded. [Comprehend-0] He was only guessing as he jabbed with the pinned tail. “OUCH!” Lukas squealed when stuck in the butt while he was opening another present.
	Ein gifted a game controller, “I hope you have a Nintendo system at home” Ein settled in from of the Donkey Kong arcade. [Calculate-2] Kong was jumping barrels left and right and quickly made it to the top of the building to rescue the damsel in distress. “Ding, ding, ding. High Score.”
	Evan gifted ‘Thundercat’ action figures (Lion-O and Panthro).
	Eric giggled then lowered his voice as his gift opened, "Lukas, I am your father."

Thursday, Dec 18th, 1985: Snow is not exactly rare, but any amount above a few inches is cause for excitement. Winter Break is on the horizon, teachers spend most of their time trying to get their students to pay attention just a bit longer to finish out the year. You are hoping for a snow day to be able to skip Friday school.

That night’s radio news, “Sorry kids, snow has shifted north. We’ll only get a dusting. School is still on.” That night:

Evan (Jordan): As Evan readied for bed, he heard his mother scolding, “Evan, how many times do I have to tell you to stay out of my makeup? You broke my black eyeliner pencil. Why can’t you be more like your little sister who listens and obeys?” Evan quickly opened his window to let out his stray cat (Whispers) in case mom barged in. [Trouble roll: Empathy-2] He rushed downstairs to apologize with offer to use his own allowance to buy another, when he heard his dad hustling out the door, “More dang problems at the Loop. Power fluctuations are really messing up my project.”

Ace (Whitney): As Ace gathered his homework to stuff in his backpack for tomorrow, he heard his lawyer parents’ idle conversation about a Nicholas Evans’ injured while walking his dog. “Wonder if he needs a good lawyer? Icy sidewalks in front of businesses; he could sue for neglect.” [Contact: 1]. Ace perked up as he recognized the name: he’d run into the septuagenarian (70-year-old) many times as the man walked his malamute dog, Juneau.

Josh (Pearl): The phone rang as the radio broadcasted the bad news. When his father hung up, he called for Josh, “Mr. Arbuckle at the General Store say to bring the cows in. Other farmers report something harassing the farm animals. A lot of panicked animals. Mr. Douglas says his milk cow quit lactating.” [Empathy: 0] Josh was nervous as he put on his overalls to follow dad outside. When he found his multi-tool in his pocket, he quickly opened the blade part. [+2 die roll for Iconic Item: Empathy: 1]. He now felt safe as he followed dad outside.

Lukas (Aaron): After brushing his teeth, Lukas grabbed the towel to put over his rat cage for the night. That’s when he noticed Oscar not in his cage and missing. He rushed around the house in nervous hunt, not finding his pet in the normal hiding corners. It didn’t help when the radio reported, “A large number of missing pets. Police believe a pack of wolves the cause.” Nor did it help when mom teased, not knowing Lukas out of bed, “I wonder if wolves like rats.” [Trouble roll: Empathy-0] It was a restless night as Lukas stayed awake, worried about Oscar. [Condition-Upset]

Eric (Mike): Eric’s birthday was a month earlier and he’d already broken one of his gifts. As he tried to piece it back together, he heard his mom (Loop janitor) on the phone, talking to the night watchman, “Thanks Bert. Yeah, I’ll keep a lookout for wild animals. Thanks again for offering to escort me from my car to the building.”

Ein (Joey): As Ein plugged in his laptop to recharge, he heard the phone ring then his mother calling, “It’s for you. Mrs. Greene (where you got your wiener dog).” Ein picked up the phone. “Hi Ein, I just wanted to check up on your new pup (Slim Jim). How is he doing? Are you keeping up with his shots? Sorry, can’t hear you. Can you repeat that? My dogs are barking at something. I’ll have to call you back.” Ein remembered the Greene farm way out northwest of town. Oh well, he could talk to her over the weekend.

Friday morning before school: After morning chores, Josh rode the bus into town and to school. Ein and Ace rode their bikes separately, straight to school. Evan, Lukas, and Eric always coordinated meeting at a corner to ride into school together. And that’s where they noticed the bullies (Randy, Joey, and Darrel) across the street looking at something nailed to the telephone pole. They hid out of sight and watched as the bullies ripped down whatever they were looking at (Randy stuffed it in his pants) before walking towards school, laughing and snorting about something. Eric pondered what that was all about, “Maybe there’s more fliers on other telephone poles.”

[Investigate: 2] Sure enough, they found another posted notice about a missing dog. Evan tore off a single tab, “No need to be a jerk like those bullies. 25 bucks! I could easily replace my mom’s eyeliner and buy serious stuff for myself with my cut.”

Lunch Period: They barely poked at their food tray as they compared notes. Once Evan showed the tab with phone number, Ace perked up, “I know Mr. Evans and Juneau! She’s missing?!” Lukas mentioned the police report about a possible pack of wolves. Ein added his news about Mrs. Greene’s dogs barking at something and how she lives way out northwest of town along a Loop maintenance road. Eric added the Loop night watchman’s concern about wild animals. Josh puffed his chest out as he retold, “Yeah, I had to help dad bring in the cows because other farmers reported their animals spooked. But I wasn’t afraid; I had my knife ready.” They made plans to meet up at Ace’s house to follow up on the news and possible dog rescue.

After School: Those extra hours after lunch allowed Evan and Lukas to worry. They announced they had to go home first. Lukas wanted to check once more for Oscar while Evan wanted to open his bedroom window to let Whispers in, in case there WERE wolves out and about.

Gas Station Gawkers: Josh hopped on the back of Ace’s bike as Ein and Eric rode beside them, as they made their way to Ace’s house. Along the way, they saw a large crowd of gawkers at the corner gas station, staring at a semi-trailer. Strapped on the bed of the trailer: two large Bipedal robots with what looked like military grade weapons mounted on their shoulders. Terrifying yet interesting to all gathered around.

Ein pulled out his laptop and began researching [7 Calculate +2 iconic laptop: 0, used Luck to reroll: 2] as Eric mingled with the crowd hunting for someone sounding knowledgeable [4 Charm + 2 Iconic tape recorder: 3]. One truck-driver was still in the cab talking on his CB-radio (getting directions), while his partner pumped diesel fuel into the tank. Josh moved near the man at the pump to cause distraction by dropping his books, while Ace snuck atop the semi-bed for a closer look [Sneak: 1].

Ace pondered the mysterious labeling on each robot (Iwasaka SBR-71) as he also marveled at the bulbous glass head with some kind of feed slot under its chin. He pulled out his walkie-talkie to report, “Freebird to what’s your name, come in.” Confusion as Eric recognized the voice and replied, “This is Tomahawk. Is that Ace speaking? I thought your callsign was Ghostrider?” Ace relayed the serial number of the robots. But enough extra conversation for the man pumping fuel to hear the noise, “Hey kid, get off the truck! Especially while talking with electronics so close to me pumping. Police!” Ace hopped off the truck and mingled into the crowd.

But Ace’s report of the serial number helped Ein focus his laptop research: Hunter robot (Iwasaka SBR-71)- an abandoned experimental weapon of war with unique target scanning system (a camera underneath its ‘head’ scans images of authorized targets). Target pictures feed into a slot under the head. They are still used for patrolling wildlife preserves in Africa, and as private defense robots for the ultra-rich. Which didn’t explain their presence out here.

Meanwhile, Eric had noticed the semi-trailer license plates from Denver, Colorado. How the drivers dressed in regular trucker clothing, not military, nor Loop insignia. Some folks in the crowd marveled at the rumors the robots about to be used to hunt for the reported pack of wolves terrorizing the city.

But Eric also overheard another man’s pager buzzing, which prompted him to step into the phonebooth outside the gas station and dial. “Bob Crandall calling in. You do know this is my weekend off. Mike Reed has the weekend shift working the Loop power lines. What do you mean he’s missing? Out near Echo Gate? Alright, let me get my Loop truck and gear and head out, but you better be paying me overtime!”

As the driver capped off the tank and climbed into the cab, Josh reported to the others, “I heard the driver say they are to deliver the robots to the old, abandoned airport just outside of town. If we hurry, we can cut across the fields to beat them there and find out what’s really going on.” Ace got on his walkie-talkie to make a team broadcast for Evan and Lukas, “Calling all SNOOPS. Break, break. Report to the Exxon Gas Station northwest of our school. Pronto!”

The Airport: The truck had already pulled out when Evan and Lukas arrived. They cut across country and arrived top a hill overlooking the airport. A black sedan already parked as the semi lumbered to a stop. 4 men in Loop jumpsuits got out of the sedan and began unstrapping the robots, then plugged long cables (stretched from an electronic device mounted to the trunk) to power up the robots. Soon the robots stood their 15-foot height and stepped off the truck-bed then squatted before one of the men who feed something under its bulbous chin.

Evan questioned, “What does this have to do with the missing dog we want to find?” Eric seconded the opinion, “It’s getting late and I’m supposed to be home for supper.” Josh offered, “I can’t see what they are doing. We need to get closer.” Ein pondered, “What if they are feeding it pictures of Juneau to hunt and capture him?” Which shocked Ace, “Oh my gosh, wolves! Juneau a malamute looks just like a wolf! If they are targeting wolves, he could be shot by mistake!” Ace panicked [Condition]. Eric tried to convince/lead the others to abandon the idea of sticking around.

[Lead- 2 success gave a 4 dice pool. One used to remove Ace’s scared condition, another to remove Lukas’ upset condition. 2 dice remain.]

Evan was already sneaking [2] toward the truck when the others realized him gone. Josh snuck forward [1], angling to the left, while Ein snuck [2] to the right to get behind the truck. Which left Lukas/Ace/Eric still standing atop the rise as lookouts. Evan had noticed the one man put the folder back into the car before returning to the robots. [Move to silently open the car door: 0. Used Luck to re-roll: 0] With the keys still in the ignition, the car “dinged” an alarm that caused the closest suited man to turn and notice, “Hey kid! Get away. Leave that folder alone!” Evan ran! Josh stayed in hiding in case he needed to cause a distraction. Ein was already expecting trouble and threw a handful of rocks that clanged off the robots. “Hey kid, stop before it thinks you a danger!” (Ace playing his guitar and Eric found and played a police siren recording on his tape player) Suddenly, the men were even move distracted by the sound of music and police siren coming from the top of the hill.

The men gave up pursuit and finished their business. Soon the robots were unplugged, lights under their chin strobed through various (red, yellow, green) colors before going solid green as they lumbered off to the north, northwest. The kids hid on the other side of the hill and cautiously opened the folder, expecting pictures of wolves. 

“Dinosaurs?!”

Mr. Evans’ House: They pedaled back to town, some concerned how their parents would react to their late return from school. Ace convinced them, “We have to go near Mr. Evans’ house anyway. Let’s stop in and see if we can get more information about Juneau.” 

They found the bullies already on the front steps, talking with Mr. Nicholas Evans, obviously hobbled with a cast on his foot. Randy was being Randy, demanding more, “$25 each mister. That’s a long way out of our way if you expect us to find her.” Eric and Evan held back, but Ace tried to push his way forward, “Hello Mr. Evans. We came because we heard about Juneau. Is she OK?” Randy got in his face, “We were here first! Bug off!”

Josh stepped forward with his hands clenched into fists, “That’s no way to treat the man already hurt and missing his dog. If you want to fight, step on down!” [5 Force plus the presence of his 5 friends (3 success) easily outnumbered Randy and his 2 thugs] Randy tried to show some bravado as he backed off and left, “We’ll settle this later.”

Mr. Evans invited them in, “Ace, always good to see you. I sure can use your help. About 3 days ago now, I was walking ‘Fur-Ball’ on a Loop mx road north of the town, when she suddenly began barking and ran off. I tried to follow but slipped in the snow and twisted my ankle.” Eric asked and learned her favorite treat was milk-bones. Evan interrupted, “Did you see any dinosaurs on your walk?” Ace kicked Evan’s shin. Nicholas looked quizzically at the young punk-looking boy in his black makeup, “Dinosaurs?” Eric asked, “It’s getting late, but we could start tomorrow. Can you drive us out where you lost her?” Nicholas shook his head, “Sorry I can’t drive you out there. Doctor says I have to keep the cast on another week.” Ein asked, “Can we see your backyard to find examples of her pawprints to better track her?”

[Charm- Josh:1, Ace:1] As they said their goodbyes, Mr. Evans offered, “Here, let me get something to help you.” He returned with ‘Fur-Ball’s favorite squeaky toy and blanket. “Good hunting. I hope she’s OK. At least she has the fur for this cold weather. Probably romping around and having fun in the snow out there.” Before the kids rode their separate ways home, Ace began to worry, “He said she broke away and ran off with her leash still attached. I hope it didn’t get caught on anything and has her trapped.”

TO BE CONTINUED: https://tftljoey.blogspot.com/2023/02/snow-days-conclusion.html