Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Solooffortune
Solooffortune
Solooffortune
An RT6 Production .
d
I
I
- SOLOS
Step into the world of the most dangerou
CYBERPUNK character class- the SOLO. Whethe
you walk the mean streets as a killer for hire, or swea
allegiance t o the megacorps as one of their cybei
L
1 netic samurai, this new supplement is what you nee
I to take your Solo character to the Edge!
ISBN m937279-06
R. TALSORIdl
P.O. BOX 7356 Berkeley, CA 94706-0356
CP 3101 SOLO OF FORTUNE Copyright@ 1989 R. Talsorian Games. All Rights Reserved.
NOW, FACE THE DARK EDGE O F A DANGEROUS
FUTURE- A WORLD OF SAVAGE, SOPHISTICATED, MOD-
ERN & RETROGRADE. THE WORLD OF
The Corporations control the world from their skyscraper fortresses, enforcing their rule with
armies of cyborg assasslns. On the Street, boostergangs roam a shattered urban wilderness,
killing and looting. The rest of the world is a perpetual party, as fashion model techies rub
blosculpt jobs with battle-armored roadwarriors In the hottest clubs, sleaziest bars and mean-
est streets this side of the Postholocaust. The future never looked so bad.
But you can change It. You'vegot interface plugs In your wrists, weapons in your arms, lasers
in your eyes, biochips in your brain. You're wired in, cyberenhancedand solid state as you
take it to the fatal Edge where only the toughest and the coolest can go. Because you're -
CYBERPUNK.
In Solo, you'll find lots of useful things for the Referree who wants to Interior Art: Mike Pondsmith,
run a Solo-based campaign. There's Solo history (THE FIRST CORPO- Sam Liu, Scott Ruggels, Rob
RATE WAR) to give you an idea of how to run Corporate conflicts. Caswell
There's background on Solo Types (FOCUS ON SOLOS), including
goverment operatives to give your teams a little heat. MODERN
STREET GANGS offers a new and unexplored character Role: the Typography: Gee-Max Stu-
CyberDtreetpunk, with examples and how-to-play hints. CORPO- dios
RATE EXTRACTIONS, VEHICLE COMBAT, and even a look at the
elusive world of EUROSOLOS are included. Not to mention lots of Weapon Designs: Louis
useful ads with new game equipment and info built right in. Zutavern & Scott Ruggels
Check out the WORLD SITUATION and HIRING HALL articles. Copyright 19890 by Mike
Rather than pasting in a module you won't use anyway, we've given Pondsmith. All rights reserved
you the framework for literally dozens of adventures in these handy under the Universal Copyright
sections. Also, sections like I WAS THERE and LOVE & BULLETS Convention.
FROM MOSCOW can provide the hooks to hang campaigns in both
the Trauma Team and Soviet Union areas. Published by
R.Talsorian Games, Inc.
So what you do with this is expand your campaign. Make it big. Big- P.O. Box 7356, Berkeley, CA 94707
ger. Bust out of the limits of Night City and take it worldwide. The
world is your playground, if you have a 65%boost, a set of plugs and a Dedicatedto those brave men of
Stermeyer to jack into them. After all- the 20th century who made the
1 21st century possible.
You're CYBERPUNK.
FOCIJS ON ON TIIIIIlt
SOLOS............................... 11 R M e J I STI11S S12C1tET
sIlt\'I(X
The World of Government
RIO1)IltN Solos ...................................... 57
STlt11IWGANG S :
The True Cyberpunks ...........17
Streetgangs pg 17
I 1J 1tOS'~l'LIE:
On the Edge With Europe's
Ultimate Warriors ..................26
U
b
F
By Rex "Maddog" Burton B
u)
The day had been a long one. We Jackson and Daniels, our them- that's the chip in action. I
were about to come off shift-only medtech's, got ready to jump as Ace pulled her trigger three times and
two minutes left-when a card manuvered the AV between us and she started to sing. Both went down
broke in the Combat Zone. Dis- the remaining solos. It looked like a spurting blood and I jumped behind
patcher was full u p so she tagged us routine in and out as they hopped the wall once again.
for the retrieval. Just as the AV-4 the stiff back to the 4. We were just Just as I made it to cover, the
was powering up, Smitty, a solo for boosting out when the back deck entire area exploded in flames and
team three, tossed me a Willy Pete. was all but tom off by minigun fire! shrapnel. My left shoulder was
"For a hot situation," he shouted as Ace tried to bring it down softly, but forced back as one of the shards of
I hooked it on my armor jack. we slammed in pretty hard . Lead hot metal slammed into me. I may
The trip took two and-a half started ricocheting inside the AV- have been wearing an armor jack,
minutes at two-fifty klicks per. he'd dropped us facing the solos. I but it still hurt like hell as I ripped
While we were airborne, I did a jumped out and raced for cover, the frag from my shoulder. Now I
quick weapons check you never shots peppering the ground next to was pissed.
know when your life may depend my feet. I poked my head out behind the
on that one last going over. It's a car, only to be shot at again. This
good thing that I did, too. My "Iwondered what time I saw where the shots came
"Baby", a special-chipped, custom- from, so I snapped off a couple of
ized Remington autoloader, was sort of 'dorph- blasts in that direction and started to
half up so I slapped in three double head would be move. I figured that I could get the
oughts, a teflon slug and got ready drop with Baby on whoever it was
to rock. stupid enough to and that would only leave one solo
Once over the card, our driver to deal with.
Ace circled in for the best angle to try five guys in I was wrong. I found not one, but
put us between the danger and our battle dress..." both of the remaining solos
patient. I took a quick glance at the crouched behind an overturned
situation and saw five guys in street I jumped between a burned van. I blew oneaway withBaby,but
camo, all fully auto, standing over Chevy and a brick wall and took a the other kicked her out of my
the crumpled form of what looked quick inventory of my available fire- hands, tearing the plug from my
to be a corp. I wondered what kind power; it always helps to calm me in arm. With a shit-eating grin on her
of 'dorph head would be stupid combat. Now, I desperately needed face, she popped a pair of rippers.
enough to try five guys in battle situational information so I poked Well I'm no virgin, so I drop into
dress and decided that whoever he my head out and took a five second a combat crouch and pull the ma-
was, he shouldn't have been there look. chete I took off that colonel while
in the first place. Whatever the rea- Two of the solos were advancing fighting down at the Canal. "Rip-
son, it was our job to get him out. at a five yard stagger while another per" took two slashes at about thirty
Ace layed down a suppressive AV-4 hovered overhead, still firing percent boost, then went berserk.
with the minigun and the solos scat- at our downed bird. I ducked back, I dodged left and right until I got
tered. Four of them made it to cover: counted to three and then came back a feel for the rhythm; then I made my
the one that didn't erupted into a up, ready to fire. move. I stepped in after a backhand
volcano of flesh and blood as the As soon as I caught sight of the slash and made her eat all three feet
7.62's shredded him. two solos, Baby leaped toward of cold steel. I wiped my blade on
You started out than acurse; the new arm was better Your new lover ran screaming from
with a basic set of than the old. If you had the money, your apartment when you broke her
plugs, nothing you might have had the other arm arm, just to prove a point: Metal is
fancy, but it let you replaced right then and there. You better than meat. It’s the wave of the
jack into the Net were chromed and ready for action. future, and you’re ahead of the pack.
and operate your You had respect, and knew you de- You took your philosophy to the
rifle. They also landed you the job at served every bit of it. It didn’t matter streets, lettingthe friends inside your
the Company. You worked hard, head guide you. One night, you let
doing simple assignments. It was an entire dance club know, certain
enough. You put in adown payment that those who survived would get
on the new cyberoptics. Now you Metal is better the point and join you. Then you
could do night work. Things started
getting rougher. The company for-
than meat,,, One would have even more friends. The
cops didn’t see it your way, but they
warded you the money for a set of night, you let an were only meat, and much too slow.
rippers. In exchange, you started Meat law didn’t apply to you; you
pulling some of the dirtier jobs, not entire dance club were of a higher order. If only they
that you seemed to mind as much as know, certain that could understand...someone, any-
you used to. The “real world” has a one.
way of wearing away at your ideals. those who
Then you ran into someone who
Then came your big break, an infil- survived wouId get understood. Someone who had
tration job. But first, you had to let the point.. been there much longer than your-
them install the audio systems and self. A man of chrome with wires in
the chipware. What a rush! You his head and voices in his brain. A
could learn languages and combat that your co-workers no longer man with a very large gun. But the
skills in the time it took you to jack in talked to you...they could go to hell metal that matteredthe most was his
the program. It seemed like all of for all you cared. You had plenty of badge. A Cyberpsycho cop with a
that old “slow” training you did in friends. Just throw a mental switch court order for your termination. He
college was a waste of time ... tech- and the audio system would create was sending you to Hell, and you
nology could do it a hundred times friends for you, inside your head. didn’t even care as he pulled the
faster. Your friends didn’t see it that trigger that cashed in your number...
way, but hey, what did they know? That agricorp almost cashed in your
When your lover walked out on number when they hit you with the Self denial is an ugly thing, and far
you... well, that didn’t matter either.
gas, but nerves are easily repaired, too common among the veteran
Love is easily bought and sold, butand with the twin boosters in your solos who should know better. Even
New Tech would always be with you, spine, you became superhuman. the best in the business“choke” from
never letting you down. The things you could see, the ac- time to time, and when they wake up
tions you could take...y ou quit your a week later in the hospital and as-
The accidentwas more of a blessing job, it had nothing left to offer you. sess the damage, they casually give
8 SOU) OF FOI1TUNE, MAY, 2013
the order to slap on more metal. most solos have is with their ap- options” in their hardware to insure
Often, they view their injuries as an proach to combat injuries. Most the results they wish from their em-
asset, an unavoidable, perhaps solos see serious injury, those re- ployees. Trained techies can
even expected transition which will quiring major repair or replacement, overide many of these back door
make them better for the the experi- as an unwritten code calling for cy- programs if you give them fair warn-
ence. No solo thinks that they will be bernetic upgrade. It is more than a ing and pay them well.
afflicted with cyberpsychosis. The matter of professional status. Many
sad fact is, more than 80% of solos solos actually believe that there is no Product Alert: Certain hardware
who have been in the business more other option in their profession. The and wetware options are more risky
than four years are well on their way truth of the matter is that most inju- than others. Be wary of modifica-
to the point of no return. Many feel ries can be repaired through tissue tions to the hands. Hands and fin-
that as long as they still have all of grafting and organ replacement. gers are an important focus for all
their limbs, they have nothing to activity, and many solos have felt
worry about. Metal is a state of mind ..make time...to great unease after exchanging their
more than body. Even an all meat fingers for artificial casings of plastic
body can go over the edge if there is learn it’s (New and razor steel. Boosterwarecan be
too much wiring inside. especially dangerous, and many ac-
Tech’s) advan- cidents have occurred during the
Warning Signs: Detecting the tages, limitations weeks following installation. Reflex
onset of cyberpsychosis is not al- boosting solos have been known to
ways easy, and may at first be and effects on overcompensate and injure them-
marked down as combat stress or a
passing state of depression. Your
best bet is to keep a journal. Record
your mind 4% body. .. selves and their friends. Sensory
boosting solos often forget to “tune
down” intense reactions and over-
your thoughts and feelings and look Even mangled limbs can be regrown load their receptors, leading to
for changes. Step back and exam- over the course of a few months. states of temporary catatonia. A
ine yourself. Have your attitudes With proper therapy, solos can be word from the wise for those using
changed? How about your friends? back on their feet, as good as new, reflex chipware. Do not “chip in” your
What have you given up as “excess without having to risk cyberpsycho- programs until they are needed. Do
baggage” that only six months be- sis. not keep them running after their
fore was a cherished part of your usefulness has ended. The cyber-
life? Testing your limits slowly is impor- netic infusion of reflex skills has a
tant when installing new cyberware. profound effect on the central new-
!
Your reflexes are another early Never install more han one new ous system and the users psychol-
warning sign. Persons undergoing system at a time if ssible. Take ogy, resulting in personality
the early stages of cyberpsychosis the time to judge its ffects, or have changes to match the new found
tend not to edit their actions before a professional psyc ologist monitor learning. This can induce a state of
performing them, much in the same you before and after installment. schizophrenia if too many programs
way that intoxicated people ignore Know when you have reached your are running at once, and can lead to
their own common sense. These limits. Do not assume your reactions unwarranted “impulse” reactions to
conditions become worse as your will be the same as an associate’s outside forces. We have all heard
humanity slips away under the who has the same hardware. Every tales of nervous corp execs chipped
surgeon’s knife. You are a profes- person has a different reaction to for handguns blowing away their
sional. You plan your actions care- every option, and these reactions office mates by mistake during a
fully. When it begins to look like raw can not be predicted before installa- surprise birthday party. Funny-
instinct is overriding your common tion. until it happens to you.
sense, visit a clinic and have them
run a “CAT” scan. It is always pos-Most importantly, know what you are When installing New Tech, make
sible to reverse the process if yougetting yourself into when you install time available to learn its advan-
can still make the decision for new cyberware. Have a technically tages, limitations, and effects on
change on your own. inclined associate screen any hard- your mind and body, beforecharging
ware given to you as part of a corpo- off into the streets looking for action.
Preventing cyberpsychosis is rate contract. Many companies The insights you gain could save
easier then you think. The problem have been known to install “special your life.
SOU) OF FORTIJNE, MAY, 2013 9
Treatment: Whether you are in the The Law: Just as the amendments
early stages or have gone com- to Roe vs. Wade in the nineties re-
pletely over the edge, there is only defined technical terms for the be-
one recognized way of treating cy- ginnings of humanity, the cyberpsy-
berpsychosis once it is outside of cho laws have defined the ending of
your ability to control. humanity. If your cyberpsychotic
Although the basics of cyberpsy- state crosses over the line, making
chosis are well documented (see Therapy begins with the removal of you a known danger to society, a
Cyberpunk, View From the Edge, all cyberware which is not directly court of law, upon reviewing your
pgs. 19-20), you may want to opt supporting the life of the patient. A case without consent, can issue an
for a more precise version of the combination of euphorics and stimu- “Warrant of Termination”. Only suc-
illness than just a raving killer on lants are administered over the cessful treatment for your cyberpsy-
the loose. In each of these course of many weeks of therapy, chosis can remove such an injunc-
variations, the eventual result is a during which the patient is monitored tion on what is left of your life. Be
blind rage against people; how- around the clock by a staff of trained warned. When you go over the
ever, these choices will begin to
appear as personality flaws at an psycho biologists. In most cases, edge, when you no longer consider
Empathy 2 or lower. Roll 1D10. the patients “humanity” will slowly yourself part of humanity, you will be
return, even in such cases where it treated with the same prejudice al-
Roll Result appears to have been supressed lotted to faulty, out-of-date machin-
1-3 BLIND HATRED OF HUMANITY: entirely. Unfortunately, this therapy ery. You will be eliminated. The
(standard cyberpsychosis) has been known to lead to other members of law enforcement‘s Cy-
4 CATATONIA: You withdraw from forms of mental illness, including berpsycho Squads are the craziest,
all contact with humanity. mania, deep depression, and suici- most heavily armed soldiers you are
dal tendencies. The treatment has likely to find outside of a war zone. If
5 OBSESSION: You become
centered on one focussed idea (more also been known cause “techno you are their target, then it is already
cyberwear, money, germs). shock in a number of patients, an too late.
overall aversion to technology, with
6 PARANOIA: They’re all out to get
you. You trust no one. Get them first.
phobia like feelings towards any Yes, it can happen to you. It may
technology which physiologically orbe happening already. If you are
7 DELUSIONS: your worldview is psychologically alters the patient.possessed of a good deal of cyber-
totally skewed. You believe something ware, then a personal psychologist
Still, anything is preferable to cy-
totally unconnected to reality. Roll
another 1D6: berpsychosis. is as important an asset as good
1-2) Immortality (you can‘t be Trauma Team coverage. Be aware
killed) Oh yes, there is a second cure for of yourself and the world you live and
3-4) Fantasy (you live in a
complex fantasy world of your advanced cyberpsychosis, regularly work in. Stay alert, and don’t let the
own devising. practiced by our nation’s law en- metal gain control of the meat.
5-6) Infallability (You’re never forcement agencies... Termination.
wrong).
Dr. Richard Cramer, Lifeline
8 HYPERACTIVITY: You can;’t Trauma Inc.,” 2013
sleep. You can’t rest. You run around like
your’e on speed all the time.
\
9 PHOBIC: You are afraid of
something- deathly afraid. The sight or
thought of it will paralyze you with fear
(80% of the time). Pick one: cats, dogs,
heights, enclosed spaces, dark, germs,
people, open spaces.
dDiW=\
10 SCHIZOPHRENIC: Your personal-
ity fragments, developing into 1D6
different identities. At times of stress, any
one of these may take over (roll 1D6,
assigning a value for each personality-- TK Scdt
reroll any unassigned values).
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powders $15 per ounce. HC=1 Standard model includes: 1) lockpick, 2)
monoblade stilletto, 3) mini flashlight and 4)
minature toolkit for B&E or repairs. $650
NASAL FILTERS
From BodyWeightT"
HC=ld6/2 to basic cyberarm costs.
SILENCERS
From Militek Arms
formation is relayed directly to any standard
Times SquareTMdisplay as range and
the Cookie can identify friend Or foe by
reading signals from a matching badge set. The
disables the trigger when pointed at any
movement direction data! $220. HC=1D6/2
Lightweight, high impact acrylics. Undetect- badge-wearing unit, allowing you to avoid hitting
able by most metal detection systems (95%), your own forces when in the tightest engage-
including IDS and lntertel Watchdog (75%) ment! Cookiecutter comes with three badges,
models. $100-300 full sensor system attachments, tools and
instructions. $300.Extra badges, $15 ea.
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22 SOIA) OF FOR'I'UNIZ, MAY, 2013
BY RmBm TYLER
It’s now, it’s fast, it’s deadly. I’m
talking about corporate extraction
-today’s hot technique for procur-
ing proven talent for an organiza-
tion. As the popularity of extraction
grows, so do the contract opportuni-
ties for solos specializing in corpo-
rateand covert operations work. But
what are the ramifications and le-
galities? How common is it? What
techniques are involved? And what
developments can we expect to see
in this field in the future? That’s the
topic of this month’s Solo of Fortune
Special Report.
I
will not let them resign, or switch extraction. An individual who conspires to defect, or will-
jobs, the second corporation must ingly participates when extracted can be found guilty of
resort to extralegal means. Depend- conspiracy and breach of contract.
ing on the circumstances, the target
may or may not be a willing partici- All of this means diddly. You have nothing to worry about
pant in all of this. Extractions are from the government. You have a lot more to worry about
usually carried out on scientists or from the corporation you extract the target from. Large
researchers working on extremely corps are notoriously sore losers, and an extraction can eas- 23
SOJA) OF FORTUNE, MAY, 2013
ily serve as the precipitator of a spate new employers without a guarantee but that its popularity will be cycli-
of revenge killings, or even a corpo- of safety for their kin, a generous cal. As it becomes more frequently
rate war. Consequently, I would corporation may extract the family used, greater defensive measures
suggest that any solos considering at the same time as the target. Not- will be implemented, and it will
careers in freelance extraction take so-generous corporations will ig- consequently become more difficult
pains to protect their identities at all nore the family, and resort to lies or and costly. This will cause a drop in
costs. Corporations backing psychological conditioning to con- popularity, which will last long
extractionsalso go to extreme meas- vince the target of their safety. Su- enough for corporations to start
ures to remain anonymous. The rea- premely nasty corporations will becoming complacent. When this
son why extraction is open to ensure the death of the family, and
freelance work at all is because through the use of conditioning and
corps frequently fear using in-house twisting the facts,use the tragedy as Supremely nasty
teams to carry them out. Frequently, a technique for winning over the corporations will
an extracting team doesn't know victim. If you have a conscience,
what corporation it's working for. don't work for corporations known ensure the death
This can lead to complications, if to use this technique.
there are corps you specifically of the family, and
don't want to work for. Extracted Another problem recurrent in through the use of
personnel almost always undergo a
complete cosmetic and identity
change in order to keep them from
extraction work are so called "sour
grapes killings." There are two
types: offensive and defensive. In a
conditioning use ...
being recognized and associated defensive killing, if the success of an
the tragedy as a
with their new employer, and to extraction appears imminent; the technique for win-
prevent counter-extraction. One corp losing the extractee shifts it's
thing to watch out for: some corpo- tactics from attempts to retain the ning over the
rations have been known to attempt
to liquidate the extracting teamafter
target to attempts to "render the tar-
get unsuitable for extraction."
victim.. . '\
completion of the mission in order That's a euphemism for filling him '\
to prevent them talking. Do a little full of holes. Beware of this, if you're happens, extraction will become
research and find out what corpora- carrying out an extraction. A dead easier again and its popularity will
tions have a reputation for doing target will not fulfill the contract resurge.
this. If possible, avoid working for conditions. In an offensive killing,
them. (Brilliant advice, eh?) (and this is where the sour grapes Time will confirm or discredit my
moniker comes from) the extracting theory. Either way, I'm sure we all
team will have orders to kill the tar- look forward to seeing how this in-
get if successful extraction is not teresting technique develops. For
Frequently, an possible. The guiding philosophy is, now, its a field of soloing just wait-
extracting team of course, "if we can't have him/her, ing to be properly exploited. To
neithercan you". If you plan a career those of you who are interested, I
doesn't know what in extraction, make sure you have say good luck, and watch your back!
the guts to implement this kind of
corporation it's order.
working for... The future of corporate extraction is
somewhat hazy. Since it is growing
in popularity, corporations are tak- Why waste time in the Dojo? Our new
One problem often encountered in ing sterner and sterner measures to laser-delay phase programmable
corporate extractions is the protect their top level personnel. chipwear allows you to program your
own custom Martial Arts APTRs up to
extractee's family. If someone is con- This makes extraction more and level +3 for only $800. Styles include:
sidered worthy of extraction, their more difficult, and teams will need Shaolin Kung Fu Aikido-don
family is usually either under to be increasinglyspecialized to deal Savate Kenpo Karate
guard, or held hostage as a preven- with these defenses. I believe TaiKwon Do Capeoira
tive measure. Since many targets extraction will continue to be a com- THE WEAPONMASTERS
will refuse to cooperate with their mon tool for corporate recruitment, 983 Ellis, Santa Leon, NM 87282,
EUROSTYLE:
€urostyle: It’s A Whole
Different Ball Game on the Other
air like dragonflies, transporting the
rich to private chalets on mountain
scorn laugh at private jokes.
Chromed limbs waver under infra-
Side of the Atlantic summits. red light. You take your seat. They
You arrive at the club, a one story have been expecting you. They are
By Lars Svedberg, SOF construction in post-modernist the elite.
Euro-Correspondent Gothic. One look at your EBM gold
card and you are through the door. Welcome to the world of the pro-
You are a contractor for Euro Your suit and tie alone would cost an fessional European mercenary.
Business Machines and you are average American c o p a months They have never lived in the streets.
looking for the right operative for a salary. You are underdressed. They have never fought in the wars
touchy extraction. What. you are These are the beautiful people you or done time. They are the best in
looking for is one of the elite in the read about in the screamsheets, the world and know it.
business. If you were in America, whose images are flaunted nightly in We are not talking about the solos
you would put the word out on the the vids. They dance under pulsat- you find walking the streets of Great
Net and in the street, let ‘Yhe best” ing chromatic lights, moving to a Britain, who, much like our own pro-
beat their way to your door, fighting common rhythm; ignoring you. fessionals, have clawedtheir way up
for your lucrative contract. But this is The hostess leads you to a back to the top. The GBR has had second
not America. room. You kick in your optics, for the class status in the Euro Economic
You take off your skis and catch a darkness is total. Strains of Community since the nineties.
sled at the lodge, the coachman Beethoven’s Ninth play in the back- The cities of the ECC are clean
weaving his way through the wind- ground. There, by an alcove in the and well patrolled. There are no
ing, story book streets of beautiful wall. They lounge on silk pillows, “free fire zones” to transform kids
St. Moritz. The streets are lined with sipping cognac and slivovitz, dining into veterans. Since the Euro Space
Porches, Jags, and Royces. Vaca- on fine Viennese cuisine. Their Agency put up the orbitals, the re-
tioning shoppers dressed in coats of clothes are silk, all custom designed. maining soldiers have been sta-
mink and ermine glance at you with The cool fire of gem stones the size tioned in home guard positions, qui-
fashionable polychromed eyes. of walnuts glitter on fingers, necks, etly earning their pensions. There is
Above you,ospreys float through the and ears. Lips edged with a hint of only one breeding ground for solos
26 SOIA) OF FORTUNE, MAY, 2013
MATE WARRIORS.
in Europe, and that is the corpora- are done “in house” by company found enjoying life in the play-
tions themselves. professionals. The pay is first rate, grounds of Europe, rubbing elbows
You start off like any other college and the benefits enable most covert with their compatriots, trading sto-
graduate, looking for a niche in the operatives to enjoy an enviable life- ries and brokering information,
style. Those incapacitated in the keeping track of who is on top; who
service of their companies are cov- is the best.
They have never ered for life. The accumulation of wealth and
But these EuroCorp jockeys are prestige are the only things impor-
lived in the unimportant. For the first tier jobs: tant to these elite EuroSolos. They
Streets. They have vital extractions, infiltrations, and are shrewd businessmen (and
“wet” operations, the companies of women) who would give any state-
never fought in the the ECC turn to the free agents, side fixer a run for their money. They
those solos who became good consider themselves members of a
wars or done time. enough to buy their way out of life- civilized profession, many times re-
They are the best time contracts and go freelance, fusing contracts which would bring
selling their services to the highest them into conflict with their friends
in the world and bidders on the common market. and relations. Although death is
This is a select group, consisting a always afactor, the EuroSolosknow
know it. maybe a few hundred individuals. they can expect fair treatment when
To find them (and they never go bested by their fellows. The tar-
real world. If they think you qualify, looking for work), you will need to nished reputation of the looser is
you have the option of training. After search the casinos in Monte Carlo, often punishment enough. These
a few simple missions, perhaps the beaches in Southern France, high tech mercenaries look down
some hardware. Even in civilized and the slopes in Switzerland. The upon their American and British
Europe, corporate conflicts are elite are rich. The elite are beautiful. counterparts, much in the same way
rampant, and there is work aplenty They can pick and choose the work that you would sneer if a Booster
for those with talent. However, un- they like, for they are always in tried to force his way into your health
like America, most black operations demand. Betweenjobs, they can be club. They especially dislike Soviet
SOU) OF FORTIJNE, MAY, 2013 27
operatives, who they consider bar- on the Net. They are given a single American solos have managed to
baric, and most feel that Japanese name and a location. The rest is up gain a spot on the Cybercircle. If this
and Korean solos are crazy. to them. This is not a contest of is true, none of them have seen fit to
Before you turn your nose up at assassins. The rules of the game talk about it. Europe is a dangerous
these seemingly overbearing young stipulate that a participant must seek place for the uninitiated, and any
aristocrats, you should know exactly out their target and challenge them readers who are beginning to get
what you are up against. EuroSolos to single combat. Back stabbing is delusions of glory should deeply re-
are rich, but they are no less profes- frowned upon. At the issue of the consider making any attempts to
sional. Many have private training Challenge, either solo has the option register in the Circle.
facilities, and devote as much time to of conceding without a major loss in
training as they do to spending their reputation. If a challenge is ex- The Angels are in a class by
money. They have friends in many cepted, the combatants agree to any themselves. Perhaps you have
corporations, and are known to carry personal rules. A fight will either heard mention of them in the shad-
exotic, deadly, often unique hard- continue until first blood, first major owy recesses of some corporate
ware and wetware. If your average injury, or on rare occasions, to the board room. Even the best of the
American Street Samurai is a bar death. Opponents will fight at the freelance EuroSolos speak of the
room brawler, then the EuroSolo is Angels in tones of respect. These
an Olympic trained boxer. They are are the “High Riders”, the best of the
confident and self assured, and ut- best. There are rumored to be no
terly ruthless when dealing with their The Cybercircle is more than a dozen of these “enlight-
enemies. If you are not a member Of a way for the Elite ened combat masters.’’ Their
their inner circle, expect no mercy. names are a mystery. No Euro Solo
EuroSolos have access to the most to hone their skills can recall a friend who has become
advanced medical facilities in the one, although all of the rich elite
world, and many have accounts at against the most secretly wait for their invitations. It is
the “black medicine” clinics of Swe- challenging oppo- said that the Angels live in glittering
den and Denmark. Cyberpsychosis towers in the Euro Crystal Palace at
is virtually unknown among EuroSo- nents they can L-5, low Earth orbit. Their assign-
los, and the secrets of their health ments are as elusive as their names.
are closely guarded. Fortunately, it find: Each other, No company has yet to admit to
is unlikely that most American hiring one of the Angels, or to having
operatives will ever run into a mem- been one of their targets. No doubt
ber of this elite club, as most Euro- location of the challenge, using a company targeted by the Angels
Corps prefer to hire locally for jobs in whateverweapons they have at their would quickly see its stock value
the states. disposal. Preparation both on the drop through the floor.
partofthehunterand the huntedisof Ask the EuroSolos and they will
The Cybercircle: What does a utmost importance, and all EuroSo- tell you that the Angels “Move in a
EuroSolowith time on his hands and 10s active in the Cybercircle travel blur, silently and with an unimagin-
money to burn do for entertainment? heavily armed. Crossing swords able grace.“ Their weapons are
If they are looking to build their repu- with a EuroSolo on holiday can be advanced and lethal. Their trade-
tations, and they have the talent to deadlier than facing one on assign- mark, a gold halo on a field of stars is
survive, many register their names ment. well known, but has never been
on the EuroNet with the Cybercircle. How the ratings system of the seen planet-side. Are these combat
Only a rumor years ago, the Cyber- Cybercircle works is a closely legends a myth, invented by the
circle is now a known organization guarded secret. No buttonhead has EuroCorps to maintain a level of
throughout Western Europe. The ever hacked his way into the Cyber- mutual respect and fear among the
Cybercircle is a way for the Elite to circle Net files and lived to tell about freelancers? No one is certain.
hone their skills against the most it. It is suspected that many Euro- Some say that the Angels created
challenging opponents they can pean and some Asian corporations the Cybercircle to recruit new mem-
find: Each other. A freelancer with receive copies of the Cybercircle bers into their fold. One thing is
a reputation will eventually uncover standings and use these for the certain ... If you meet an Angel while
information on registration and the basis of selecting freelancers for on assignment, it’s probably the last
rules. When a solo is ”active”, i.e., important assignments. assignment you will ever take ...
between jobs, they put the word out Rumor has it that a few ‘‘famous”
28 SOIA) OF FORTIJNE, MAY, 2013
Working in Europe: Opportunities
abound for the high tech profes-
sional mercenary in Western Eu-
rope. The hard part is getting your
foot through the door. This is not to
say that the task is insurmountable,
but the typical American solo will
need to expect the worst while job
hunting in the ECC.
If you do not have a college de-
gree, you might as well stick to Brit-
ain or Greece while working over
seas. You will need to familiarize
yourself with EuroCorporate cus-
tom, and the variations of culture
from region to region. If you are not
already chipped for memoryware,
you should consider it. Most airports
and travel agencies can supply you
with the information and languages
you will need.
Before flying to Europe to en-
hance your career, consider working
for an American branch of a Euro-
Corp. Successful missions in Amer-
ica do not count for much in “Civi-
lized Europe”, but it is better than where the solos take national pride sionals at the lodge or casino and
going in cold, especially if your res- in landing the home contracts. Try wait for the contracts to come to you.
ume notes that you saved a Euro the cities of Athus in Belgium and Just don’t count on it.
Corp a good deal of capital invest- Rodange in Luxemburg,just outside
ment while completing your assign-
ment.
of the zone. Often, major operations
by French, German, and Swedish
S.O.F. IEXCLIJSIVII
Know where to look. Many Ameri- companies in the zone will draw off I~rl2lwIl2\\~:
can solos make the mistake of flying a good portion of the local talent,
directly to West Germany to seek leaving openings for the forign born I~IENNIIT SK~LII,
their fortunes. Homeguard indus- solo to work on smaller, but often-
times lucrative assignments.
12IJ It0SOIAB IZLIT12
tries, especially in major ECC con-
tributors like Germany are very When in Rome... Remember that
the Europeansplay by adifferent set Kennet Skold is a Swedish born
touchywhen it comes to hiringfor big solo who began his career with de-
jobs. They will usually pull their of rules. Stepping out of line will get
you frowned upon. Stepping on the grees in international relations and
forces from the EuroSolo elite, pre- computer science from the Univer-
ferring the past loyalty of old alumni toes of the elite EuroSolos can get
you dead. Honor and sportsman- sity of Stockholm. He was hired by
who have moved up in the world.
ship are qualities reserved for the Orbital Air, where he entered the
Your best bet is to hit the crossroads, covert operations training program
the unilateral industrial centers rich veterans dining on caviar in St.
Moritz. They are not above eliminat- on the basis of his success as a
formed at the border junctures. The college pentathlete. He credits “low
largest, and most open to opportu- ing a “brutish American” who inter-
feres with their livelihood. If you visibility, high yield operations in
nity contracts is the France/Belgium/ Eastern Europe for his financial and
Luxemburg industrial zone. This expect to some day hob nob with the
elite, be prepared to work in Europe professional success. He has been
“neutral ground” for European cor- working freelance for three years,
porate competition is often the for a long time. Who knows; after
five years of successful contracts and owns property in Sweden, Swit-
launching point for full scale indus- zerland, Monaco, Liechtenstein,
trial espionage, if not out and out and a few big scores you might be
able to relax with your fellow profes- and the Bahamas. He refrains from
warfare. Avoid the French side,
SOIAI OF FORTIJNII, MAY, 2013 29
~
statements concerning his finances, SOF: So you claim to have never many, and not all are solos by pro-
but claims he “need not work again” botched an assignment? fession.
to enjoy the pleasures of his life- SkOld: Ihave always completed the SOF: Have you ever run into con-
style. “letter” of the contract. flicts with friends working for conflict-
SOF: Do you work exclusively for ing interests?
SOF: You and your comrades-in- EuroCorps, or have you been hired SkOld: It is avoided when possible,
arms refer to each other as mem- by other international business inter- but it has been known to happen.
bers of the elite. How would you ests? We play to win, but respect the lives
define this? SkOld: Firstly, you are under the of the losers, should they still be in
SkOld: We have the highest levels assumption that Freelance Euro- possession of them.
of professional success in the busi- pean solos are like their lower SOF: Have you ever needed to
ness. We are paid well to complete counterpartswith life contracts in the eliminate a friend, one of the elite,
assignments that those beneath us corporations. This is hardly the during a contract?
could not accomplish. That we were case. There is agreat deal of money SkOld: I would prefer not to say.
able to break lifetime contracts with to be made in the profession outside SOF: What about the Cybercircle?
our companies shows that we have of corporate dealings. The current SkOld: What about it?
earned enough respect to be con- wealth of the ECC has led to a new SOF: Do you participate?
sidered dangerous to cross. generation of young corporate aris- SkOld: I am currently active.
SOF: Dangerous? Surely not to a tocracy, rich businessmen who feel SOF: Can you tell us more about it?
major corporation. the need for personal protection. In SkOld: No.
SkOld: We could be killed, yes. It is addition, the old money of Europe SOF: How about the Angels? Cor-
more a matter of professional con- feels more and more threatened by porate legend or deadly reality?
siderations. We belong to a select the advance of technology. They SkOld: Most certainly reality. I have
group whose members are well are willing to pay a hefty price for se- worked for Orbital Air and have trav-
known to each other. An affront curity. eled many times to L-5. They most
against any of us by an unscrupu- SOF: So by mingling with the elite, certainly exist, but you will never see
lous company would reverberate you become the elite. one on Earth, or at least, never know
through our profession. That com- SkOld: We are not mere soldiers. it.
pany would not gain our services With our profession comes an obli- SOF: Do you think you will ever
again. gation to quality and culture which is become one?
SOF: And it is the companies that preferred to the services of profes- SkOld: That is not for me to decide.
seek out your services, not the re- sionals from other regions. We are SOF: What is the greatest satisfac-
verse. trusted by the civilized classes of tion you derive from your profes-
SkOld: Correct. We need not look Europe, and they are willing to pay sion?
for work. Contracts find their way to for that trust. SkOld: The sense that I live among
our doors. SOF: This gives you access to a the greatest individuals our planet
SOF: And how do the Corporations great deal of confidential informa- has to offer. The men and women
determine the right solo for the job? tion. who make up the elite of Europe in
SkOld: Our resumes are well known SkOld: Many grateful clients have my profession are far more than well
in certain circles. pointed us in the right directions. paid mercenaries. Most are artists
SOF: You own homes in many na- Brokering other interests is part of of one sort or another. They are well
tions, shares in resorts, even a pri- the profession as well. bred with refined tastes and judge-
vate beach in the Bahamas. Your SOF: You refer to power brokering, ments. They are as close to the top
contracts must pay very well. such as sales of arms and informa- of achievement as is possible in our
SkOld: Of course. tion? international society. Unlike the self
SOF: How do the Corporations jus- SkOld: Whatever viable interests destructive solos in America and
tify these rates of pay, when there come our way. Britain, we do not intend to “burn
are other competent solos in the SOF: You speak in the plural. How brightly for an instant and go out in a
international field who would work many members of the elite would blaze of glory”. We intend to be
for much less? you say there are and how many do around for a long time. Our children
SkOld: Success. Be assured, as you know personally? shall inherit all that we achieve.
soon as we fail, the contracts dry up. SkOld: That is hard to say. Perhaps SOF: That’s quite a heavy state-
In my case, as with many of my a few hundred, of which a handful ment.
friends, this has yet to happen. are the true elite. My friends are SkOld: Perhaps, but until someone
30 SOIA) OF FOR’l’UNIS, MAY, 2013
better proves us wrong it will con- Reflexes never lower then 8. Experi- emergencies, the EuroSolo can
tinue to hold true. ence will have raised many of their usually call upon any available re-
skills beyond the initial levels gained sources that money can buy.
The EuroSolo in Cyberpunk is by Lifepath. In spite of agood deal of Running a group of Euro Solos
somewhat better trained then your hardware, most will have high Em- can be an interesting diversion for a
average operative from Night City. pathy stats. An elite EuroSolo can referee with a flair for the interna-
What they are lacking in street savy, afford the most advanced clinics, tional and a knack for “high pow-
they more than make up for in preci- and will only suffer half of the normal ered” roleplaying. For the most part
sion of skill. humanity loss from their customized though, referees should not let play-
The typical corporate run Euro- cyberware. They will have good ers control Euro Solos, as they will
Solo has a Combat Sense between skills in areas such as Business tend to overshadow all other char-
4 to 6. On the Lifepath, they start Sense, Persuasion, Seduction, acters.
with a normal childhood, and then Wardrobe & Style, and Culture. In
spend their first four years on the
Higher Educationpath. Upongradu-
ation, they are inducted into a corpo-
ration and spend a number of years
in intense covert training. For this,
the EuroSolo uses a special educa- CHRISTIEN LASALLE
INT .
tion path, unavailable to normal
REF
characters. This reflects the ad- LUC
vanced training facilities available in EMP .......... a w BOD .............. 7
most large EuroCorps. ‘after HL and boost adjustments
Add +3 to any eiaht skills of your Skills: Athletics (+7), Awareness(+5), Persua-
choice: Athletics, Drive, Basic Tech, sion (+3),Seduction (+4),Wardrobe/Style(+5).
Infiltration, Shadowing, Seduction, Gen.Knowl. (+4),Culture (+3),Language (+4),
Corporate Policy (+4).Gambling (+3), Drive
Pistol, Rifle, Melee Weapons, Mar- (+6), Rotorwing Pilot (+4),AV-4 Pilot (+3),
tial Arts, Driving, Helicopter Pilot, Pistol (+7), Melee (+6), Martial Arts-Savate
AV-4 Pilot, Awareness, General (+6), Basic Tech (+2). Combat Sense +6
Hardware: Reflex boost, Cyberaudio, Radio
Knowledge, Specific Knowledge, splice, Phone link, cyberoptics (2) with Target-
Simple Language, Complex Lan- ing, Antidazzle, Thermograph, Image en-
guage, Disguise, Med Tech, Thief, hance. Interface plugs (3 sets, one forvehicles,
two for weapons & chips).
Persuasion, Interrogation, Human Background: 32 year old male. Spent 1st four
Perception, Wardrobe & Style, Cul- years after childhood touring Europe,4 yrs. COIL
ture, Corporate Policy (see sidebar). lege, then 8 yrs basic corp service with EBM.
Of these skills, Corporate Policy Last 4 yrs., freelancing part time while prepar-
ing to break with Corporation.
must be chosen. In addition to com-
bat skills, Culture, Languages, and ACADY NOIRE
Persuasion are highly recom-
mended.
In addition, a EuroSolo gains the LUCK ............ 5
standard number of pick-up skills. EMP .......... 6/4* BOD ..............5
‘after HL and boost adjustments
A member of the EuroSolo Elite
Skills: Athletics (+4), Awareness (+5), Persua-
will have taken the above education sion (+3),Seduction (+6), WardrobelStyle (+8),
path twice. They will have Combat Gen.Knowl. (+6), Culture (+4),Lanquage (+6),
Sense skills between +7 and +8, if Gambling (+3),Drive (+6), Pistol (+9), Melee
(+7),Martial Arts (+8), Shadowing (+6).
not higher. Tt-,ey are all very Combat Sense +6.
wealthy, and will generally have Hardware: Reflex & sensory boost, cyberau-
equipment which adds an additional dio, Radio splice, Phone link, cyberoptics (2) Three New Skills
with Targeting, IR, Times Square, Interface Culture: knowledge of jet set fads, habits
+1 to what ever rolls they modify. plugs (2 sets).
hangouts. Cool based.
Most will have boosted reflexes and Business Sense: knowledge of how to invest,
Background: 28 year Old Entered running businesses, spotting business opportuni-
cyber optics with infra-red capabili- College from high school in Switzerland. Did ties, Modified by Ref, Int based,
freelance while in college as INTELLEX body- Corporate Policy: knowledge of company rules
ties. Many will have an Attractive- and how to select key personnel. Int based.
guard.
ness of 10 due to biosculpting, and
SOlA) OF FORlIJNE, MAY, 2013 31
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side of the casing, above the action. field-like bullpup; and the Budge- and feeds the ammo in nose down.
After 18 months, a better thought t a m C-41 pistol. To test the weap- Then the box is discarded. The CG-
out measure was introduced with ons, we brought up our usual as- 13 has a very comfortable heft and
the production of the M-95A2. Field sortment of targets: a watermelon to point, and it was demonstrated on
stripping was much easier, and a test organic damage, an old army numerous occasions that the M-95
ceramic coating on the barrel, simi- PASGT vest to test penetration, an familycan put out a horrendous vol-
lar to shuttle tiles, was introduced to NRA lOOm Centerfire rifle target to ume of fire in trained hands.
manage heat build up and reduce check accuracy, and an I X sillhou-
the IR signature. What wasn’t ette to test the handling capability in The fixed plastic scope mount on the
hardchromed was stainless steel, burst and full auto fire. M-95 series has been replaced with a
and the silicone bag was retained. with an older style dovetail rail. The
The M-95A2 wasn’t a bad weapon, We arrived at Anderson Quarry scope mounting rings are sturdy,
so the announcement of a weapons early in the morning, after our cus- parkerized alloy, and the scope bar-
trial by the Army was only a small tomary breakfast at Mosely’s Diner, rel is made of a thick aluminum that
surprise. and began setting up the targets. We is more than adequate to fulfill its
loaded the magazines and started secondary role as a carry handle.
Soon after it was announced, our our tests. The mounting system is adaptable
offices received a call from two of enough to mount a wide variety of
the manufacturers participatin& in- military and commercial sighting
quiring if we’d be interested in the devices. While the mounting may be
chance to test their candidates. The Sternmeyer weapon is a light conventional, the adjustment is not.
Having previously scheduled a trip weapon, weighing in at six pounds Instead of the standard side knobs
to our private range to test the C41 (2.8 kilos) empty, but that weight or set screws in the base, the Stem-
pistol, we jumped at the chance. rises by two pounds when fully meyer scope is adjusted by two
loaded. It holds 90 rounds of stainless steel, ratchet screw heads,
The weapons received were the 5.56x30mm caseless in its integral flush mounted on the objective
Sternmeyer CG-13, basically a re- magazine. This is standard for the mount ring. 1 click moves the point
engineered M-95A2 with the special G-11 format. The ammo is stored in of aim lcm at 100 meters. The eye-
Sternmeyertouch; The Fabrica Mili- a thin plastic box with a pulltab. To piece ring holds the rear of the scope
taria de Argentina M2012, an En- reload, one rips the top off of the box in a yoke arrangement, allowing no
SOJA) OF IWRTIJNIZ, MAY, 2013 39
In the target tests the rifle performed
within the expectations of the
5.56x30mm caseless round, but
Sternmeyer is planning simultane-
ous release of its new Composition
,'R" rounds with the introduction of
this rifle (see sidebar). The water-
melon sported a 4 inch wide exit
wound when using standard mili-
tary ball, which I would call respect-
able, but the burst mode ate the wa-
termelon away in a messy spectacle.
Okay, so it was easy to fire and aim,
but was it easy to clean?
Caseless ammunition seems to and cased ammunition do not share. from factory sealedcontainers, and
have achieved legitimacy. Once keeping it dry after it is broken out.
considered a technical curiosity, it First, since there is no casing, the The manufacturers are constantly
has now achieved the status of propellant is exposed to the working on improvements. Stern-
“standard military ammunition”. It elements. The oxidizers in the pro- meyer sent along two boxes of its
takes more production to make a pellant do not combine with the pro- “CompositionR” ammunitionfor us
brass casing than it does to make a pellant until combustion. However, to try. It is reportedto bewaterproof,
ball point pen. Production being the oxygen in the atmosphere is free and has the aforementionedlaquer
money spent, the militaries of sev- to do so. The rounds are then said to coating. It performedwell as can be
eral nations have adopted the cost- be stale. This can be checked by seen by the ballistic report. But we
cutting measure of caseless alter- looking for whitish or light grey de- also tested the CG-13 with old
natives. Without the brass, a signifi- posits on the outside of the round. A “stale” ammunition. It fed and fired
cant amount of weight is saved, al- stale round will most likely fire, but without difficulty, despite a potential
lowingthe soldier to carry more am- the more stale it is, the higher the for fouling inthis ammo. This spoke
munition. A promotional poster put percentage of inert substances will well of the designersof theweapon.
out by the old Heckler& Koch com- be left behindwhenthe bullet leaves,
panycomparedwhat 7.5 kiloswould causingfouling and a bakedon build Don’t throw away your old guns yet,
get you. A HK G3 rifle and sixty up in the chamber. With less propel- though. Cased ammunition has the
rounds of 7.62 NATO ammunition lant available,the performanceof the advantage of being able to be
weighed 7.5 kilos. An M-l6A1 and round is also degraded. stored for long periods. The oldest
one hundred and fifty rounds of ammunition I have ever fired was
5.56NATO weighed 7.5 kilos. HK’s A related problem is moisture. While minted in 1915, and I regularly run
(then) new G-11 with five hundred not combining with the propellant, it across large cased lots of ammo
rounds of 4.5mm caselessweighed may attack the binder on some from the 40% 503, and 60’s.
7.5 kilos. It is clear which is the brands of ammo, causing it to be- Weapons using cased ammo have
better price per pound. With the comesomewhat chalky andcrumbly. an installed user base of hundreds
adoption by the US. of the M-95, a Aremedyforthis hasbeentocoatthe of millions if not billions, so cased
clear signal was sent around the outside of the roundwith a thin phe- ammowill bewith us untilthe end of
worldthat caseless ammunitionhad nolic laquer that is consumed by the next century at least. Caseless
been recognized. This does not combustion (and may aid it). ammo, though, is the wave of the
mean that “cased” ammunition is future, or at least a strongly viable
automatically obsolete. There are a Many of these problems can be alternative. I
couple of problems that caseless avoided by using fresh ammunition
SOU) OP PORTUNIZ, MAY, 2013 41
The sighting systems are standard, slight problem getting the first But its power, when combined with
if expensive, military. In this couple of rounds to feed, but it was the light weight of the rifle, gives a
specimen’s case, it sported a Knop a brand new, unfired piece, and somewhat unpleasant kick. During
fler & Konig 2x power laser reflex needed a little breaking in. After that the days of the last fighting south of
scope. This system works by paint- initial stickiness, we encountered no the border, most of the local troops
ing a target with the laser, and then other problems with the weapon. used a dizzying array of longa-
using microprocessor-controlled J.T.was able to get 2cm groups at 150 chambered for 7.62NATO. The felt
liquid lenses, determines the range, meters offhand, just taking his time. recoil reminded me strongly of the
and the proper elevation to hit a He said he liked the scope. Bubba short barrelled, paratrooper stocked
target at that range by moving the emptied the magazine, with no lightweights that the indigs favored
aimpoint, causing the shooter to rounds outside the 10 ring (about most. There must have been some
bring it to the correct angle. Some k m ) , but made a cryptic negative cultural connection between
scopes of this type can be fussy and comment about the shouldering Cojones and recoil, although the
fragile, but we had no problems spot on the buttstock. I found the recoil was nothing compared to that
with this particular unit. A cyberop- weapon to have a nice balance and of the afore-mentioned Japanese
tical triangulation system would be point. Since most of the weight was war trophy, it was mildly unpleas-
even more effective, but at $5000 to to the rear of the pistol grip, my ant. The muzzle flash was quite
$10,000 a piece, only the most shoulder supported most of it. I felt pronounced, even in daylight,
trusted or financially solvent would that I could have held the ready prompting me to believe that the
have these. The unit on the gun goes position all day. Recoil was a differ- Lapiz round was developed for a
for $1200 and is quite adequate for ent matter. longer barrel.
most uses.
J.T., having some experience with The cartridge, nicknamed ”El The rifle had no full auto mode, only
the Enfield style, was the first to try Lapiz”due to its dimensions, is a single shot or a four round burst
out this Argentineproduct. He had a very accurate and powerful round. could be selected. Supposedly there
expanded to fill the reticule. This us, or the editorial staff of Solo. It was sessed, we couldn't enjoy the bene-
function can allow you to fire Bubba's idea alone. Anyone who fits of the weapon. I liked it. J.T.
around corners, but only with the objects can take it up with him. Per- thought it was above average, but he
accuracy of iron sights; less if the sonally. He would enjoy the prac- prefers revolvers.
scope is misaligned. Still I would tice. He brought from his van a large
prefer losing a hand to a head. airline animal carrier. Inside was Its elliptical barrel made cleaning a
Hands can be replaced. some feral-looking canine, a coyote breeze. The action is well engi-
or some such. We all got kind of neered and simple, like all Budge-
So how did it perform? Well, Bubba quiet when he told us what he t a m products. But, like all Budge-
fired at a sheet of six 8 inch NRA wanted to do. He told us the best t a m products, it's manufactured
targets from 25 meters. He swept the way to test a COT unit, or any cyber-by machines. To disassemble the
pistol back and forth, and shot all six scope, was to use it against a mov- weapon, make sure the magazine is
targets in as many seconds. While ing, heat generating target. He out. First the slide is drawn back.
not all bullseyes, they were suffi- Second, both safeties are engaged.
asked one of us to release the animal.
ciently close to the center. Against Third, one must rap the left hand
J.T. did, but it needed a little encour-
an IPSC target at 25 meters, they're agement before it bolted from the with the rear of the slide to remove
all in the 10 ring. Very accurate, as any chambered round. A visual in-
carrier. Bubba let it run for about 30
expected. The penetration of the meters before he popped off two spection is difficult, but must be
vest was poor, but it's just a pistol. performed to insure there is no
rounds. The critter tumbled to a stop
The watermelon came apart nicely. in the bush. Bubba then trotted overround in the gun. Otherwise, it fol-
Bubba said this was all nice and to the body and took some notes (seelows basic Browning take down
well, but targets are no challenge for sidebar "Bubba's Notes"). procedures, with some differences.
a COT-rigged Firearm. He wanted Because of the compensation
to try a different test. The weapon performed very well. extension, removing the barrel
We all tried the pistol, but without bushing is an operation that must be
The following was not planned by the enhancements that Bubba pos- performed twice. The recoil spring
like cheese off a hot, fresh pizza. At safe pistols made predominantly because no gunstore sold (or admit-
this point, the gun jams perma- out of pot metal, smuggled in ted to selling) these weapons, and
nently. The plastic is truly inferior, through Mexico. The apocryphal the only people found with them
and inappropriate for the job it was price for these was somewhere in tended to be illegals. Some laws
used for. You get what you pay for, the $40.00to $80.00 U.S.range. In the were enacted that dealt with the
as this only costs $35.00 new. late 1980's, there was an attempt by possession of these weapons as
U.S.lawmakers to ban the sale of so something like felony smuggling.
The sights on these weapons are called "Plastic Guns" citing that However, most other cities have
rudimentary at best, and non exis- they were undetectable by the air- ignored the problem. Only Califor-
tent on some. One would be hard port detectors of the time. This was nia, New York, New Jersey, Con-
pressed to hit a stationary target at false as the plastic used in the con- necticut, Massachusetts, and the
12 meters with one of these. These struction was dense enough for it to District of Columbia consider them
are some of the most inaccurate show up on X-ray machines, and the to be a felony to possess. Other states
pieces of machinery ever to be misla- metal contained in the magazine consider it to be misdemeanor
beled firearms. But it gets worse. and the barrel was enough for it to smuggling, and tax the offending
When I was in Thailand a few years trigger detectors. Import restric- party. Texas does nothing. The gov-
ago, I saw a wannabe Yakuza bran- tions were enacted, but even some ernor said that anyone using them
dishing a $15 mauve-colored hand- police departments adopted these got what they deserved.
gun that looked like a robot's leg, same guns for departmental use.
and he had taped a $7000 cyber- But in the late 1990's during the These weapons often find their way
scope to it. These were unbalanced, heating up stages of the second con- into thecountry in shipments of toys
scary, people. flict, a lot of the first generation and camera equipment. I don't
polymer one-shots crossed the bor- think they should be legislated
In the 1970's,many U.S. municipali- der and wound up in the hands of against, but I think good,common
ties passed laws against a type of r e the San Diego and East L.A. Gueril- sense and a healthy dose of self-
volver known then as a 'Saturday las. The city councils of both munici- preservation should keep people
Night Special'. Mostly it was a ficti- palities didn't know how to deal from trusting their lives to these
tious gun, but some these were un- with the flood of Asian imports, badly engineered and produced
SOJA) OF FORTIJNP,, MAY, 2013 47
More gems from J.T.’s Collection:
I
Teen Dreem
P i JE9mm1010 UR
Federated Arms X-22
P 1 JE.221010 R
F J
Ten shot pistol with full auto capacity. Ten shot pistol with .22 caselessload.
Tends to melt under fire (SOYO).About About $25. Comes in 13 colors.
$36.
pieces of trash. I watch the trade of image of these guns. However, the Budgetarms AW-2, and possibly
them with morbid amusement, J.T. given the strict product liability the Daiwoo M-470. This month I
even moreso than me. He doesn’t laws of this country, they cannot think that the laurels go to the Stern-
shoot the things he collects. He just take the same shortcuts as their meyer CG-13, for its ease of use and
piles them in the box, looking like Asian counterparts, hence safer general idiot-proofing. I think that
childrens’ toys in a toy chest. Can weapons. But with American com- the M-2012 would make a great
somebody answer my question of panies entering the market, it will squad automatic. If Fh4A follows
why the manufacturers of the ham- just add legitimacy to this product through, they’ll have a certifiablehit
merless versions insist on putting an that violates all sense of taste and on their hands. The C-41 is a fine
LCD time display on the back of the user safety. It’s an unfortunate de- handgun. There is nothing wrong
slide? The design ethics of these velopment. with it that a more general sighting
weapons I find strange and confus- m package wouldn’t cure for me, but
ing, like velvet Elvis paintings. its performance with our resident
Aside from the previous section, the chipped and wired expert convinces
To add insult to injury an American trip was a success, as we now have a him that it’s an excellent package. I
firm, Federated Arms, is entering better appreciation of some of the am waiting for what the upcoming
this market. Their X-22 and X-38 competition involved in the trial. I months will hold, if they’re as good
pistols, while acceptable firearms, don’t know what the trial will deter- as this one.
were not meant to have a dayglo mine, but it looks like some stiff
pink and green zebra pattern all competition. Next month, we’ll test
over them. It accentuates the toylike the Millitech offering (the M-95A3),
48 SOJA) OF FORTUNE, MAY, 2013
Above: The COT ($4000 I Wt.602. I +3 to WA)
This trip was originally for testing tional patern matching method, it top of the gun. Rear-view mirror
the Budgetarms C-41 pistol and the can also do it by offering the user a anyone?
Nikon COT scope. I had agreed to split window, where he can match
test and review the package after upper and lower halves of his target. The static test were just warm ups
talking with a Budgetarms rep I'd On a simple mental command, the for the coyote test. This is the only ef-
mentioned I was wired and he asked range figureis displayed below. The fectiveway to test a firefight system
if I wanted to test it. I agreed, as I farther you hold the gun from your like the COT. I suppose one could
usually find Budgetarms products cybereye, the more accurate is your mount one of these on a paintball
to be well made and reliable pieces reading. The full windowing capa- gun, but the ballistics would proba-
of equipment. The C-41 pistol was bility inside the reticule image was ably throw the programming off, and
no disappointment. The Nikon very happy surprise. paintballs move through the air so
scope was something surprising slowly. The sight performed well
and new. This feature would allow the user to against the coyote; I saw no appre-
ciable flutter or lag in the window
image. I tracked the coyote through
many of the zig zags along its path
with no loss of true tracking, and
then killed it at precisely 32.004
yards. I like accuracy like that.
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Orbital
Multirole Computer & Electronics Mfg.
mrl ce Transport &
ita1 Facilities
Main Office: Nairobi, Kenya
Main Office: Hamburg Regional Off ices: New York, Washington, Dallas
Regional Offices: Berlin, Rome, Madrid Major Shareholder: Antoine DuBois of Pans (15.2%)
Major Shareholder: Dr. Rudolph Muller of Bremen, Troops: 6,521 Covert Operatives: 335
Germany (20.8%) Equipment (as of 2004): 10 AV-4's,6 AV-6 attack
Troops: 7,254 Covert Operatives: 820 craft, 4 Osprey attack craft, 9 heavy cargo planes, 18
Equipment (as of 2004): 24 AV-4's, 18 AV-6 attack Herernes II spaceplanes, access to Tycho Massdriver.
craft, 12 Osprey attack craft, four heavy cargo Allies: Transworld Air, ARC, Advanced Development
planes. Research, First Continental Bank, Technostations
Allies: WeHGeshaft Bank, Drakon Fund, Militech Inc., Xoma Corp, Militech (arms only), Applied Tech-
(arms only),TTA Properties, Bronliegh Develop- nisystems.
ment, Mamoru-Nakimura LTD
portation giant, a scenario is created crisis (in fact, some corporate histo- shakeup of Transworld's governing
that will inexorably lead to corpo- rians suspect that EBM may have Board. Believing that the restruc-
rate war. precipitated the crash of Tran- tured company might survive, the
sworld by calling Transworld's new CEO refuses EBMs offer.
Corporate War. Although the tennis loans in several Euro-banks in
constantly thrown about in the me- which the computer firm holds con- At this point, EBM begins an un-
dia, few people on the street really trol). Chief among EBMs goals is friendly takeover of Transworld's
know what it means. Spanning con- the leveraged buyout of Tran- stock position, offering an increase
tinent-wide operations with mil- sworld, with an eventual break-up of almost fifteen Euro a share over
lions of employees, a full scale cor- and sale of it's assets. In September the current market value of Tran-
porate conflict is fought in of 2004,EBM, through it's interme- sworld stock. As investors rush for
boardrooms and stock exchanges as diaries in the WeltGeshellshaftBank the gold, Transworld begins to flail
much as in battlefields and tactical of Switzerland, makes an offer to wildly for a "white knight"; a rival
operations. In this segment of SOLO Transworld of 126 million Eurodol- corporation to counterbid EMBs
OF FORTUNE'S ongoing history of lars. This deal is sweetened by an offer and undermine the computer
the Solo profession, we explore the under-the-table "golden para- giant's move.
52 SOJA) OF FORTUNE, MAY, 2013
Enter Nairobi-based Orbital Air. At
this point, Orbital Air (a splinter
company originally formed from
the five nation consortium which
built the Kilomonjaro massdriver),
has just secured an exclusive 8 bil-
lion Euro deal to buy eighteen Her-
mes I1 spaceplanes from the Euro-
Space Agency. With investors from
five of themost powerful nations in
the EuroMarket on it's Board of Di-
rectors, Orbital Air can well afford
to relieve Transworld's dilemma. In
exchange, Transworld will transfer
rights to it's key airport facilities in
the U.S., as well as devoting a large
part of it's feeder flights to servicing
Orbital Air's spaceplane ports.
The Orbital Air-Transworld deal is Drakon Worldwide Fund is brought Sea spaceports, cuts all travel to
well on it's way to consummation in to carry out takeover procedures EBMs orbital workshack Security
when EBM makes a critical bungle. against ARC. Stepped up computer is beefed u p in OA facilities, and
Hoping to disrupt the negotiations, and communications security and a labor is pacified with a 2% raise.
EBM attempts to kidnap the OA freezeout of European business con- Dangling Transworld's shares as a
'
deal team enroute, using a front nections is used to blunt Zeta's at- carrot to attract allies, OA is frus-
group recruited out of the Union tack. A series of "accidents" and trated by repeated EBM-sponsored
Corse (the infamous Gallic Mafia of work slowdowns at OA facilities in terrorist attacks on Transworld re-
"French Connection" fame). How- Europe and Asia begins. Under sources. Both EBM and OA begin
ever, tragedy strikes when the heavy assault by EBMs counter- heavy lobbying with the EuroSpace
would-be kidnappers bungle the programming action, Zetatech pulls Agency to control space traffic in
job and accidentally kill most of the out of the battle in October of 2004. their favor, culminating in OA solos
OA negotiators. directly engaging in "piracy": hi-
jacking and diverting EBM ship-
One member of the Corse team is Tragedy strikes ments to South America, Africa and
taken alive; under extreme persua-
sion, EBMs complicity is revealed. when the Union other lonely places. This stolen ma-
terial is used as an inducement to
With this and other evidence, OA
moves into action. Contacts are
Corse persuade Chicago-based Advanced
Developed Research to provide
made with ARC (a Euro software kidnappers techinical support. As a civil con-
firm involved in designing the tractor to the U.S. Government,
spaceplane programming), and bungle and kill ADR represents the first entry of a
Zetatech (designers of the Hermes' national goverment into the conflict.
navigational computers). A full- the OA negotial
spectrum database attack is
launched in Europe using virus and
tions team. February, 2005: The banking com-
bine, First Continental, joins the OA
capture programs designed by both side, enticed by a chance to grab
firms and implemented by Zeta's However, ARC, sensing a rich profit some of EBMs more loosely held
netrunners and other off-thestreet and facing obliteration by EBM, affiliate branches. Blocking Drakon
hackers. signs a secret alliance agreement Fund's attack on ARC with a speedy
with OA. loan, First Continental brings it's
Massively assaulted inside all eight own security u p to speed.
continental European offices, January,2005 Orbital Air, operat-
EBM's response is equally swift. ing out of it's England and North March, 2005 The Wave-a massive
SOJA) OF FORTUNE, MAY, 2013 53
1
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cI 0 oflo
history- national
ing, Basic Tech. Most of these skills are at
level +5 or above.
Central lntelllgence Agency Additional Skills: Interrogation, Research,
The Agency, reorganized after the governments. Streetwise, Rifle, Disguise, Language
disaster of ’96, is now truly central, (simple, usually French, German or
dealing with domestic counter intel- intelligence gathering equipment Spanish), Human Perception, Gunsmithing
ligence, foreign drug trafficking into and espionage gadgets. Most cy- (fixing or modifying guns. Tech based).
the United States, and foreign polit/ bewired agents have eventually
Cyberware: 1 set of interface plugs, 1-2
economic intelligence and/or covert gone freelance (except those in the cyberoptics, with possible audio. Rarely:
action. Since 1999, the National Se- covert action departments), but cyberlimbs, reflex or sensory boosters.
curity Council (NSC) has been abol- newcomers pride themselves on
ished, with remnents of the Federal what they can do with drugs, de- Hardware: Survelliance gear, mini weap-
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and vices, and training alone. ons, at least one heavy caliber, highly
accurate automatic pistol, combat dorphs,
the Drug Enforcement Agency brain & reflex boosters, medical gear for
(DEA) blended into one powerful Primary Target- The Euro Eco- battlefield repair.
entity responsible only to the Execu- nomic Community (EEC). The
SOIA) OF FORTUNE, MAY, 2013 57
Agency specializes in economic dis- ‘94, followed by the Mideast Melt-
ruption, political sabotage against down in 1997. Some old-liners had
corporations on the EuroCouncil, been “rehabilitated” and allowed
and industrial theft (the DIA, millitary back in the govt. From this position,
intelligence, would tackle orbital they criticised the regime’s reluc-
sabotage). There is little or no coop- tance to take advantage of the U.S.
eration with the Soviets, and only situation plus its loss of useful surro-
limited cooperation with the gate states in the Mideast. With
remnants of Britain’s DI-6 organiza- these crisies to cast doubt on the
tion. They are (mutually) cool in their new ruling clique of Andreyev Gor-
relationship with Mossad, and get borev (Gorbechev’s successor) a
along well with the Japanese via the “political direct action” was decided
zaibatsus. There is Chinese sup- on.
port for Soviet monitoring and possi-
bly full concerted action against The KGB, with its party membership
Triads and Golden Triangle war- entrance requirement and duty of
lords. Taiwan is now a target nation maintaining internalpoliticalcorrect-
because of Triad problems and the ness, was a major haven for the
new U.S. alliance with China. apparatchniks and so became the
chosen instrument of change. Its
1i.G.B. middle-road director (replacing an
old-liner who mistakenly was al-
(Komitet Gosudarstvennoy lowed to live) could be bypassed
Bezopastnosti /Committee for and the organization was in perfect
State Security) position to isolate strategic portions
After 1992, with the “Gorby revolu-
of the country and seize or kill the
tion”at high tide (one or two EuroSo- supreme Soviet. They were
cialist opposition parties, a “peoples stopped in the nick of time by the
senate” half full of reformers, and a personnelof the GRU, alongsideair-
decentralized agricultural operat- borne troops under their command.
ion), the remaining old-line
Kruschev-Breznev Communists Being Army intelligence [with the
Common Skills: Pistol, Driving, Athletics,
Brawling, Notice, Thief, Intimidation,
armed forces’ dedication to the de-
Stealth, Shadowing, Basic Tech. Most of
these skills are at level +5 or above.
The (KGB) revolt
. . fence of the Rodina (motherland)
and its determination to stay apart
Was played Out in a from intracene Party struggles], the
Additional Skills: Interrogation, Language GRU commander saw-how- the
(complex, usually Arabic, Japanese), Rifle,
Disguise, Language (simple, usually
series Of firefights Gorborev regime had changed the
French, German or Spanish), Human within the Moscow country. With social and economic
Perception, Specific Knowledge (Torture). reforms came the slack needed to
area... streamline and modernize the army;
Cyberware: 1 set of plugs, maybe. single this progress must be preserved at
cyberoptic, with IR, camera or dartgun. If were reduced to sulking, semi-ob- all cost. The revolt was playedout in
cyberlimbs, they are heavy, slow and
scurity. They left behind though, a series of intense firefights within
massive, with heavy caliber gun in arm.
Phone link only. hundreds of “apparatchniks”; sup- the Moscow area and two other Rus-
porters in low and middle-level sian cities. All across the continent,
Hardware: Same drugs as CIA. Many posts, who could still wield varying individual acts of sabatoge and as-
miniweapons disguised to resemble amounts of influence. The ap- sassination erupted.
common harmless items. Thief tools. paratchniks covered for their former
Note: GRU operatives stress more mentors and bosses until the day the Followingthe attempted coup was a
Demolitions skills (setting, disarming great wheel of internal Party struggle year of purge/reorganization similar
explosives. Tech based), Heavy Weap- turned their way again. This oppor- to that undergone by their rivals, the
ons, more cybertlimbs with strength boost, tunity came with the U.S. collapse in CIA. Apparatchniks were removed,
limited body plating on torso. the aftermath of the Great Crash of being replaced by administrators
58 SOIA) OF POR’I’UNE, MAY, 2013
sympathetic to change. A certain “wet” work, is also carried out
number of GRU men were trans- against competetors. The needs of
ferred over to “enliven” the defunct the moment can move Africa up to
service, though this practice was not primary target status.
followed in all cases, as it tended to
highten the rivalry and hatred be-
tween the organizations. I”r1~RI’OIA
Prlmary Target-It’s still the U.S. Between the formation of the EEC in
The United States now threatens the ’92 and the Second Corporate war in
Soviet’s economic resurrection with 2007, the Euros were dropping in-
it’s anti-EEC actions. As a result, the ternal barriers and tightning external
Soviet intelligencecommunity coop- ones (especially against U.S. “Gang
erates closely with the Euromarket of Four” chaos, but later against
in keeping security on space and USSR infiltration due to Euro-tech-
tech projects. This doesn’t rule out nical high-handedness). With no
the possibility of subversion of select passport controls and weak conspir-
Euro-corps to gain more leverage. icy laws, there was an even greater
The GRU (Glavnoye Razvedy- mixing of political terrorist forces
vatelnoye Upravleniye/Army intelli-
gence and special action) handles The U.S. threatens
middle-scale raiddsabotage, espe-
cially in near orbit. The Soviet’s the Soviet’s eco-
secondary theatre of ops is what
remains of Near and Middle East,
monomic resurecl
with regards to Islamic tensions tion with it’s anti-
within the southern Soviet Repub-
lics. China and Japan are closely EEC actions...
watched (Japan more because of it’s
role as a major U.S. ally and techni- (IRA/lreland+ETA/Basques in
cal innovator), but no major action is Spain+Breton Revolutionary Army/
taken as long as they do not threaten France +Lotta Continua/ltaly+RAF/
Sino-Pacific access at Vladivostok W.Germany) along with reorgan-
(or to a lesser extent Cam Rahn bay). izing native European crime groups Interpol
such as the Union Corse (Southern
Common Skllls: Pistol, Driving, Athletics,
Spy tech expertise is still behind the France & Corsica), Union Sicilano Martial Arts, Notice, Specific Knowledge
U S . capability, except in the field of (original Mafia in Sicily & Napoli), (criminology), Stealth, Shadowing, Interro-
unusual killing devices and interro- plus local vice/smuggIing/strongarm gation, Research, Streetwise, Basic Tech.
gation procedures. Technical aid gangs in Spain & England. By the Most of these skills are at level +6 or
advent of the Second CentralAmeri- above.
from-theEuropeans will remedy this
in the long run. can war in ’03, foreign criminal refu- Additlonal Skills: Rifle, Disguise,
gees were battling native mobs and Language (simple, usually French, German
Important note: Both “superpow- terrorism had swung from left to right or Spanish), Human Perception, plus
ers” (and to an extent the EEC) with the infamous Europe For Euro- usually an aircraft or Shuttle Pilot Skill.
consider Africa to be an important, workers Movement.
Cybemare: Usually 2 interface plug sets,
but secondary theatre of ops. The twin cyberoptics, with full audio, often one
struggle is to maintain sources of Prompt action had to be taken, and cyberlimb with knife or gun in compart-
strategic materials and secure prime so an old idea was revived. The ment. Chipped for Martial Arts, Eurotheatre
space launch or space oriented International Criminal Police Or- Law.
manufacturing sites. This is carried ganization (Interpol) had been an
out by secret influence of standing information sharing bank since the Hardware: Survelliance gear, medical gear
for battlefield repair, thief tools, usually
gov’ts and covert takeover of others. 192Os, but had no enforcement or chipped for 9mm full auto
Information gathering and “special investigation powers (and had been handgun (gyrojet).
actions”, i.e. sabatoge, kidnapping, abused for political purposes by
SOJD OF FORTUNIZ, MAY, 2013 59
Germany in the 1930~-40s,Taiwan reputations, East Bloc countries are
in the 80s, and the U.S .in the early asked only to contribute technical
90s). West Germany and Italy, hard- and informational assistance for
est hit by terrorism (and with the security operations. Interpol is also
reluctant help of France, who, with the major law enforcement arm of
the Low Countries, had the worst the EuroSpace agency, and main-
organized crime problem), pushed tains extensive facilities in orbit.
to update and expand the responsi-
billities of the organization while A paramilitary intervention capabil-
narrowing its focus. And so, the new ity vs political terrorists and “black
lnterml was born. ops” sabateurs is provided by men
of the GSG9 (the anti-terror depart-
With the U.S. out of the picture, and ment of the West German police),
with Russia and China never signa- the GlGN (a French equivalent), and
tories to the agreement, it was rela- a special unit of Italian Carbineri
tively easy to push out the other (Italy’s para-military state police).
small countries worldwide and bring Foreign Intelligence and C.I. can be
the former East Bloc nations back handled in many different ways;
into the fold. By absorbing the infor- corporate solos and fixers can be
mal discussionkooperation groups hired on a contract basis, informa-
on terrorism and utilizing shared tion or technology can be traded with
manpower/data resources, Interpol a host country adjacent to the target
in return for the intelligence, or
agents of the members’ former spy
Pushed to the agencies (because the EEC Council
was to handle foreign affairs, mem-
wall, the Israeli re- ber countries were asked to moth-
sponse is to be- ball the majority of their espionage
apparats) can be employed. Former
come tougher, operatives of DGSE (France) and
MfSlHUA (East Germany) are pre-
more ruthless- to ferred for their ruthlessness and ef-
W the point of fanati- ficiency. In terms of espionage tech-
nology, the Europeans are behind in
MOSSAD cism, if need be. ElintlElsur (electronic intel/survel-
lience), but their agentkolos carry
Common Skills: Pistol, Rifle, Driving, Ath-
letics, Martial Arts, Notice, Heavy Weap- the latest in cyberware, usually with
ons, Stealth, Demolition. Shadowing, could now meet the duties of policing minor spy gear built in.
Interrogation, Intimidation, Streetwise, a unified Europe and maintaining a
Basic Tech, Survival (Desert). Most of security watch on her enemies. Primary Target- Interpol has no
these skills are at level +7 or above. primary target; it feels it has its
Additional Skills: Disguise, Language
Interpol today investigates crimes hands full just keeping Europe and
(simple, usually French or German), against, and enforces the laws of the the Mediterranean basin clean. It is
Human Perception, Gunsmithing, Forgery, EEC where they pertain to interac- also the main law enforcement
Fast Talk, Thief Skills. tion among members, or action from agent in the L5 and Luna colonies,
outside against the membership as where it’s power is akin to that of the
Cyberware: 1 interface plug set, cyber a whole. Far more than in America, U.S. Texas Rangers of the late
optics or audio only for replacement of lost
body parts, cyberlimbs very rare. Oca-
this counterbalances the fixerkolo 1800’s.
sional sensory or reflex boost. forces of the corporations. Man-
power for internal security purposes Special note concerning Great
Hardware: Survelliance gear, medical gear is primarily drawn from personnel of Britain: Britain is the poor relative of
for battlefield repair, booster and dorph the former DST and B N (French and the EEC, with a rampant crime and
drugs. Usually chipped for mini UZI, Galil.
W.German equivalent of FBI). Be- unemployment problem almost
cause of their former repressive equal to America’s. Because of its
GO SOU) OF FORTUNB, MAY, 2013
relationship with the American lowed the once close relationship ponents of “a greater, secure Israel
“cousins” in the Gang of Four, and between the two nations to die a or nothing” are part of the former in-
repressive reactions at home, both quiet (and both sides hoped, telligence service. With it’s main
D15 and D16 are disorganized, de- amicable) death. Hopefully, the Is- operations base in the Mid East and
moralized, and in disfavor among raelis might help out their mentor at the Mediterranean Basin (where an
the other European security and in- some future time, but no one was uneasy protocol exists with Inter-
telligence organizations. Individual willing to bet on it, particularly in the pol), Mossad must strike a balance
British agents will help American wake of the Second Central Ameri- between pacifying the Shin Bet fac-
solos for their own reasons, but the can and First Corporate Wars rav- tion (which is demanding a full out
majority are busy fighting their rival aging the West. break with Interpol and a realliance
services at home. The GCHQ (Brit- with the remnants of the South Afri-
ish equivalent of America’s NSA) With the Arab Jihad’s formation in can apartheid state) and pursuing an
supports Interpol, and is usually the first decade of the 2000’s and active intelligence war with the
looked down upon by the other the EEC’s growing cultivation of the EEC’s individual corporations. Ex-
sevices as a result. SAS was the Soviets, Israel became more and pect the Mossad to be operating
inspiration and/or teacher for the more isolated. This isolation was not selectively against particular corpo-
United States’ (and many of the Eu- helped by the loss of it’s South rate targets in the EEC (especially
ropean) co unte r-terror paramilitary American client states and the de- those with clients in pro-Jihad
groups, and is the best special struction of a favored customer in states), Arab terrorist groups and
intervention group in the world. This South Africa. Pushed to the wall, the agents of the Jihad in the Mideast,
puts SAS in a rather delicate position Israeli response is to become and gathering intelligence in the
between the “cousins” and EEC. tougher, more ruthless-to the point U.S. for use elsewhere.
The British govt (for monetary rea- of fanaticism, if need be.
sons) has put them “on hire” to the
EEC council to assist their forces, Professionalism is the Mossad key-
but will discreetly loan them, free of word; they are as profficient as the
charge, to the U.S.. best the EuroTheatre has to offer
and strongly motivated by national
patriotism. Equipped with a mixture
of U.S. and European equipment,
relying on gadgets and drugs over
Still emphasizing the tough minded, cyberware, the Mossad specializes
individual intiative that character-
in teamwork. Astanding rule is if you
ized it in the mid 20th century, the see one Mossad agent, there are at
Mossad tempers it’s daring least four more as backup some-
operations with expedient practical- where. Only the most astute and
ity. After the “Mid East Meltdown” of
daring operatives work without a
1997, the Shin Bet (Israeli Security
team. The Mossad style combines
Service) took control over the Mos- careful training with a hefty dose of
sad, as Israel moved to occupy
innovation and improvisation; al-
immediate cross-border areas to most all Israeli agents are Fixers or
provide a buffer zone. By the early Techies on the side. An increase in
2000’s,the Mossad re-emerged as Orthodox religious sentiment has
teams were sent to the devastated inhibited cyberwear use among
Arab Zones for recon and “salvage”. most operatives, except for those
(in the manner that the Russians and recruited (usually for “strongarm”
Allies confiscated Nazi Germany’s work) from the Army Paratroops;
archives and remaining industrial they will happily be chipped and
capacity after WWII.) enhanced to handle anything.
Between widespread U.S. espio- Primary Target-As the Jihad
nage activity by the Israelis and their gathers force, Shin Bet is challeng-
own internal problems, the United ing Mossad’s importance once
States intelligence community al- again. Many of the most vocal pro-
SO110 OF FORTUNE, MAY, 2013 61
This month marks the the anniver- We are presenting a list of the Before leaving make sure your
sary of the signing of the Costa Rica world's active combat zones that we medical information, discharge pa-
accords, ending formal government know about. This is by no means a pers and I.D. are up to date. It is best
involvement south of the border. comprehensive list, nor a detailed to provide your prospective em-
With the cessation of hostilities, the one. We are just telling you what's ployer with hardcopy, as computers
U.S.deactivated a significant por- up, and where to get more informa- are rare in a lot of these more under-
tion of its ground forces. But for all tion. If you find a place of interest, developed nations. Be considerate
those Nightstalkers, Grunts, Wire- find out as much about it as you can. of local customs when you get there,
heads, T.Vs, Cat Cultists, Salvo Use the addresses provided for Forgetting your manners may make
Saviors, Brick Pilots, Head Flyers, more detailed information. Do your you a conspicuous target, or at least
Jungle Jammers, and assorted own mission pre-planning. Find out mark you. Notoriety is not a survival
Chipped Beef, the employment if the climate and resources avail- trait. Make your credit arrangements
opportunities never looked better. able are adequate for you. Some of with a multinational like Suisse
Many of our fellow comrades in arms these places may be hellholes no Bank, American Express, or
have found lucrative employment matter how good the pay, and no Sumitomo. Trusting local financial
around the world, in hot spots ne- one likes to be the losing side. Most institutions is not advised due to the
glected by the superpowers, and of the organizations here, unless instability of currency in a wartime
even the media. These are small otherwise noted are good for at least situation. If possible, take your pay-
places where fighting skills are re- half up front, but this magazine of- ment in multinational stocks or pre-
warded. fers NO guarantees. cious commodities. At the least ac-
62 SOIA) OF FORTUNE, MAY, 2013
cept only stable currencies like the some cases they are grounds for term employment, and often at the
Eurodollar, the Soviet Ruble, or the arrest. completion you will be without sup-
Australian Dollar. Check with your port. Often it is government forces
employer for weapons arrange- What are the prospective employers looking for elite forces to back their
ments. Often your prospective em- looking for? Mostly they need small sovereignty (like in the case of the
ployer will be working at cross pur- groups of chipped and wired soldiers Phillipines). Often these govern-
poses to the people in charge of cus- for long duration surgical counter -in- ments fight against Marxist guerril-
toms. You will be lucky if you get to surgency (COIN) ops. A lot of them las, oppressed minority liberation
use your own weapons and equip- need drill instructors and training movements, other countries, inter-
ment. Try to be inconspicuous. It cadre, either for the formation of elite nal strife, multinationals, or some-
doesn’t take much detective skill to units, or beefing up the defensive times combinations of the above.
figure out where a tall Anglo with ratings of their outlying villages by The multinationals are represented
milspec shoes, shiny spots on his training the villagers how to fight. A here as often they need uniquely
wrist, a predilection for dark or mir- few are requesting Rangers (read: qualified contractors for specific
rored shades and baggy, informal Cat Cultists) for long duration,Salvo tasks. Again, this is by no means a
clothing is going, but try to hide the style , anti guerilla operations in the complete list.
Cat Cult tattoo and the chromed hinterlands. Specific, short duration
cyberarm. Equipment like that does missions come up from time to time What is going on? Well, globally
not go over well in the more primitive, as these are cost effective for the speaking, there are no major wars
or strongly Catholic countries. In employers, but they are not long happening. The northern hemi-
SOIA) OF POR’I’IJNE, MAY, 2013 63
sphere is basically calm. Only a few South America is considerably matic action, but tensions between
hot spots here and there, usually worse. Peru, Bolivia, Columbia, Armstrong Base and Tycho City re-
some nationalist uprisingwith little or western Venezuela, and northern main high. There are always the
no money. As always, it is the mon- Ecuador have almost fractured into occasional raids on orbital pharma-
soon belt that is hopping the most. warlord states due to the fighting be- ceutical labs, but these are between
Africa has cooled down a bit in just tween the new and former members the corporates and the criminals,
the past few years. Only the occa- of the Andes cocaine cartels. The though these stations and the corpo-
sional tribal conflict, resource dis- beleaguered governments of these rations are hiring security to guard
agreement, or coup disturbs the countries are begging for experi- them.
countryside. The K. M. D. C. has enced "yanqui" help. Argentina is as-
been working to bring the benefits of sembling an elite unit of border That, in a nutshell, is the world situ-
space exploration (in the form of guards to deal with the problems on ation. Lets go to specifics, shall we?
profits) and prosperity to Africa. The its northern border. Chile has re-
question is: will the rising population turned to an inquisitional mode un- Capsule Situations
in the poorer areas choke off Africa's der the current military junta. Lucky
economic hope, and cause the Brazil is only now feeling the begin- The following are a number of cap-
whole continent degenerate into a nings of an economic pinch. Ja- sule updates on world situations in
myriad of tiny little guerrilla actions maica and Cuba are still agents of which professional mercenaries
as they fight over food and dwindling instability in the Carribean and the seeking employment might find their
resources? That would not be a northern coast of South America. fortune.
meat and potatoes war, folks.
The independence movements of
" J u t try to hide the native populations of the Pacific
ruined their chances of fully partici- The Phillipines
the Cat Cult tatoo pating in the twenty first century. The Moslem tribesmen of the south-
Now the more ambitious of them
and the chromed ern islands and the New People's
...
cyberann Equipment
have again had feelings of conquest
as they had in the days of the ancient
island kings.
Army continue to fight government
forces and the corporations. The
conflict is very low intensity and is
like that doesn't very seasonal, depending on the
The Phillipine conflicts that have monsoons.
go over well in the waxed and waned throughout the
more primitive last century continue to thisday. The Side A: The Government of the
Australians continue to pour money Phillipines. General Manuel "Tony"
countries. '' into the Phillipines. The Indonesians Tiapon has been authorized to form
and Singapore continue to disagree a "Foreign Legion" of elite cyber-
violently over border and jurisdiction soldiers, especially veterans of
Central America is somewhat disputes. The large Moslem popula- Central America. The goal is to hire
stable, the terms of the Costa Rica tions of Indonesia and Malaysia ref- a full battalion before the campaign
Accords still holding. There are use to back down, and even con- season of 2014.There will be little
some corporate conflicts over re- sider themselves the center of Mos- political interference in the unit's
source management and port facili- lem thought in the world. This does mission of Rapid Deployment and
ties, but these are of very low inten- not bode well for the Phillipines if and "killing our enemies". There are also
sity, and are great fodder for the when the Moslems cry Jihadagainst several Euro-corps seeking security
Telenovelas broadcast down there. this predominantly Catholic nation. forces for Phillipine-based
Uncle Sam's Southern Command In what must be supreme irony, the operations. Both corporations and
can still use warm bodies to defend Republic of Vietnam has hired government will provide plenty of
the canal zone, but that is for the American mercenaries to deal with background support (travel ex-
terms of employment that you all its border problems with Laos and penses, steady supplies and perma-
know about. A lot of the large land China. nent barracks). All fighting is long-
owners in that area would like duration COIN-ops. The Phillipines
guards for their estates, and they Near Space remains calm- what government has the confidence of
are known for their generous terms looked like a possible conflict on the the city-dwellers and is trying to
of employment. Moon was averted by furious diplo-
64 SOJA) OF FOR'I'IJNE, MAY, 2013
SOIA) OF FORTUNE, MAY, 2013
soldify the rural community. Against member, if serving with the NPA, ernment would like to see the rebels
the NPA, Tiapon's position is, "no re- that the Goverment has a"no mercy" crushed in any way possible, so that
treat, no surrender". Against the in- policy towards them. they can go about the business of
dependent Moslems, his govern- forming an independent govern-
ment would like to contain their mili- Side C: Manong/AnderssohnA.G. ment and establishing trade rela-
tary activities so that a limited-au- The Negros Island Facilities of An- tions with other western nations.
tonomous state can be negotiated. derssohn A.G. are in need of spe-
cialized corporate security. Their Side B: Communist rebels, sup-
Pay is $4000 a month for Top NCO Salt refinery in the town of Bacolod ported by socialist Philippine forces
with the pay grades for enlisteds fol- and the plantation in the town of La with the help of Cuba, wish to over-
lowing the usual stepdown to a mini- Carlota are being harassed by units throw the current government and
mum of $2500 a month for the lowest believed to be, or attached to the set up a socialist state. Their num-
enlisted ranks. Officer's pay is sub- NPA. Specifically, the company bers are small, but they have outside
ject to negotiation. Facilities are at would like to hire solos with en- help and are well stocked with Cu-
the Aquino Barracks. Fax your serv- hanced perceptive capabilities and ban supplied Soviet weapons. They
ice records and resume to the familiarity with long range sniping to have sought the help of the people,
Aquino Barracks before booking be posted on swing and grave shifts. but have had little success.
your trip. The number is (45)-137- Opponents are usually non-en-
6384-021. hanced, but well trained indigenous Jobs: Work on either side is of a hit
rebels with a small amount of sup- and run nature. Both sides seek
Side B: The NPA (New People's port in the countryside. They pos- specialists trained in recon and
Army.The NPA, a homegrowncom- sess no heavy weapons, and maybe counter insurgency tactics. The
munist group and a separatist coali- the occasional RPG. Pay is $2500 to Palauan government officials need
tion of Moslemtribes are fighting the $3000 a month in Australian dollars body guards to protect against as-
same war against the government with a second track benefits pack- sassination, while the rebel forces
for different goals. The NPA wants a age guaranteed by Anderssohn seek assassins trained to circum-
reformed Chinese-style collective A.G. Finances are handled by the vent the governments precautions.
state with all corporations removed Chartered Bank of Sydney. There is Solos should have little trouble
or nationalized. They seek weapon- also free transport into Manila on finding pilots with amphibious
smiths for maintenance and modifi- your off days. Please contact the planes in the Philippines willing to
cations of their current stock, plus Manila offices of Anderssohn. transport passengers to Palau for
commo experts for secure coordina- Voice: (45) 146-2124-773, Faxed: the right price. Be warned that a
tion of their scattered forces. The (45) 146-2126-928. large number of Australian solos
NPA is rather mercurial in organiza- have already undertaken contracts
tion and flighty in action, so secure Palau for both sides in the conflict, and are
your pay and your own line of with-
drawal. They prefer ex-government The island nation of Palau is under- wary of outside competition. Be pre-
mercs and freelancers, preferably going a struggle for control of the pared for a cold reception from the
from Eastern hemisphere nations. ailing government. In the wake of native population, and above all,
Corporate solos need not apply. closures of U.S. bases due to agree- keep an eye open for large scale
ments with the Soviets, this island intervention by U.S. and Soviet
The Moslem faction is fighting for chain south of the Philippines is up forces, predicted to occur at any
semi autonomy and religious free- for grabs. The two major forces in time.
dom in the Islamic southern islands. the conflict have been hiring merce-
They'll take almost anybody, al- naries to do the dirty work that their El Paso/Ciudad
untrained troops cannot handle.
though co-religionistsare preferred, Juarez
for a variety of training cadre and
"point man" jobs. At least a working Side A: The former U.S.-backed There is fierce competition for con-
knowledge of Islamic practices and government is fighting for survival. trol of the remaining independent
prejudices is required, but once a The nation's peoplewere never very border companies in the impover-
steady bond has been forged be- happy to be under the wing of the ished industrial zone running be-
United States, and are loathe to tween these two adjacent cities. The
tween employer and employee, they
enlist in the government's battle lure of pre-establishedfactories and
are quite reliable. Expect less in the
way of background support and re- against the rebel forces. The gov- an endless supply of cheap labor
7 3D6 COUNTIZRMEASUIIRS
Heavy Weapons: Heavy weapons Chaff (-30%)
are defined as grenade launchers, Hughes m3OB-2 Aluminized metal flakes or strands to con-
autocannon, heavy machine guns RIF 0 N P 30mm 1,200 rounds 30 VR fuse radar guided missiles.
A heavy firepower autocannon used in heli-
and missile and rocket launchers* copter warfare. Damage: P/B 8, Close: 18D6 Flares (-15% per flare)
The skill gives the USef the ability to Med L ~9 ~~ ~ 6 ~ f : 6D6
i ~ ~ ~ Extremely ~ : hot and bright magnesium flares,
use any or all of these weapon types. usually with a parachute or shroud to keep
Heavy Weapons Skill can only be 20mmMachlneCannon the flare airborne. Used to attract heatseek-
squired through the Military Educa- RIF 0 N P 20mm 2,3000 rounds 30 VR ers or dazzle optically sighted missiles.
tion Path. Extra IP Cost=+5. A lighter duty machine cannon also used in
helicopters. This version is a “generic” type, ECM (-30%)
any direction). This requires that the Missiles are self propelled, self-con-
target be passing in front of you or trolled weapons. As a result, they roll SIBS ()p
that you be in a tailing position rela- separately to destroy targets. Each COMMON VLlHICIX WAIJLf
tive to the target. If using figures or missile listed has a base Percentage Bell F-52 Airogyro 40 SP
models, position will be fairly obvi- To Hit for it’stype. This percentage is Bell Boeing Osprey (military)
20 SP
ous. If working from descriptions reduced if chaff (metallic strips de- Cessna Swingswing 5 SP
(more common in a roleplaying
context), the Referee will have to tell
signed to confuseradar homing mis-
siles), flares (to confuse heat seek-
~~~~!~~~ 50 SP
15 SP
Dowlass AV-4 Tactical Aero 40 sp
you the relative positions of your ers) or ECM (electronic jamming) Lear-Douglass AV-6 Aerodyne 60 SP
vehicles. are used. Subtract the Defense per- Douglass AV-7 Aerodyne 10 SP
centage for each countermeasure Unarmored automobile 10 SP
LIGHT MACHINEGUNS from the missile’s Percentage to Hit 40 SP
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ t o m o b10iSP l e
& GR1INAI)E I,AUNCHl3lL!
it difficult to exactly delineate the the US and EuroTheatres, with it’s 1D 10. His total is 4. The Toyogoes
amount of damage a vehicle could civilian equivalent in the ubiquitous into a spin. Mike still has time before
take in a combat situation. This Colt AR-15 used by many corporate he hits the up coming wall. In the
made comparisions quite impos- Solos and police departments. Our next turn, he rolls to regain control.
sible. Eventually, b o scales were profiles produced this information: He needs to beat 15. He scores an
used. The first, called Stopping 18 and pulls out.
Power (SP), is relatedto the scale on
which we have previously measured Locating Damage: When attacking When a vehicle reaches one half of
armorjacks and flack vests (see vehicles, you first must locate where it’s SDP, it must automatically make
Solo, March, 2012) ,and is a meas- you’ve hit. It is nearly impossible to a Control Roll as if it has taken a
ure of the vehicle’s effectiveness as make aimed shots with vehicle- critical hit. At 0 SDP, the vehicle
cover. mounted weapons. However, you automatically crashes if Hying, and
may elect to make aimed shots us- stops moving if on the ground.
Example: Derek throws himself be- ing hand-held weapons. Each ve-
hind the armored door of a Trauma hicle has a random damage location Crashing aircraft automatically take
Team AV-4. The door has an SP of table, much like those used on damage based on the last speed of
40. A hail of assault weapon fire fol- human targets, listed on page 76. the aircraft before the loss of control.
lows him-although a 7.62 slug
would normally cause an average of Critical Hits: SDP is a measure of Armoring Critical Areas: If you are
20 or 3Opoints of damage, the heav- sheer physical volume of the ve- attacking a vehicle directly, you may
ily armored door stops the bullets in hicle. However, every vehicle has still use it’s SP to blunt the effects of
their tracks. Scott isn’t so lucky-he critical areas which, if damaged, can damage. For example, an AV-4‘s
dodges behind a car door with an SP incapacitate it completely. These heavy armor will usually blunt most
of 70. The 7.56 slugs tear through critical hits areas are wings, en- attacks before they can cause criti-
the light door and shred Scott. gines, tires or rotors. Damage done cal damage to the aircraft. Rotors,
in these areas are automatically thrusters, engines and tires can all
The second scale, Structural Dam- tripled. be armored up to an SP of 15.
age Points (SDP), is a relative meas-
ure of how much firepower can be Example: Derek fires at an airogyro, Example: Once again, Derek fires at
poured into the vehicle before it is doing 2Opoints. Normally, this would an airogyro. This one has armored
unable to function as designed. Us- reduce the airogyro’s SDP to 20. rotors and hubs (SP 15). His 20
ing a baseline in which a NATO 5.56 However, his hit slams into a main points of damageare reduced to 5
rotor-a critical hit. The damage (20- 75), which, when the critical
SDl’S OF triples to 60 points-20 more than location rule is applied, is only 15
COMMON VIIIIICJJN the airogyro can take. It goes out of total. The airogyro turns, levels it’s
Bell F-52 Airogyro 40 SDP
control and crashes. minigun, and reduces Derek to snail
Bell Boeing Osprey (military) 200 SDP snot.
Cessna Swingswing 60 SDP Control Rolls: If a vehicle takes a
Helicopter 90 SOP critical hit, it automatically reacts to Hits on Humans Using Vehlcle
Douglass AV-4 Tactical Aero 100 SDP the damage as if it has failed it‘s Weapons: Most of the time, a hu-
Lear-Douglass AV-6 Aerodyne 85 SDP
Control roll. Roll 1D10 and add 3. man taking damage from a vehicle
Douglass AV-7 Aerodyne 50 SDP
Unarmored automobile 50 SOP This is the amount by which the roll type weapon will be reduced to
Bike 30 SDP has been failed. Example: The ai- paste. The firepower is just too over-
Speedboat 60 SDP rogyro Derek plugged back in a whelming. In general, if you’re not
TrucWVan 80 SDP previous example is going down in interested in calculating the impact
flames. The pilot rolls 7070+3 to of every bullet from a minigun spray
steel-jacketed slug causes thirty two determine how bad he’s lost it. He (up to 200 bullets in some cases), we
SD points at point blank range, the rolls a 5-a total of 8! The airogyro suggest you use the following rule of
number of shots required to totally drops 7000 feet in an uncontrolled thumb.
destroy the vehicle in question was tumble. Unfortunantly, it’s only 600
generated via computer modelling, feet up at the time. Splat. 1) All miniguns and autocannon
using field data from various military have an automatic modifier of +5 to
sources. The 5.56 was selected as a Meanwhile, Mike’s Plymouth Toyo hit. Add this to the attackers REF stat
standard round in use throughout takes a hit in the tires. He rolls the + Heavy Weapons Skill + 1D10 ver-
SOJA) OF FOR’I’UNII, MAY, 2013 75
I Scon Ruggeis
sus the Defender’s REF Stat + Ath- calculate a vehicles’s actual scale Vehicles are also rated on three
letics Skill +1 D10. movement, multiply the given speed other factors, found in the Table.
by 1.5. To make this simpler, we These are:
2) Roll 2D10 to determine how many have included a table with common
bulletsthe target took. Usually by the speeds on page 77. When aspeed is AccelerationlDeceleratlon:this is how fast
third or fourth hit, it’s academic. not listed, add the values for the the vehicle can gain or lose speed per phase.
These weapons were designed to nearest combined speeds together:
Maximum Speed: this is the fastest speed
stop tanks and armored cars. Locate the vehicle can achieve.
damage as in Friday Night Firefight. Example: you are moving at 350
mph. On the table, 300mph= Manuever Speed: this is the fastest the
450meters per phase. 50mph=75 vehicle can perform a maneuver without
CAIEULATING SPlZED meters m r phase. Your total move- requiring special drivinglpiloting skills.
In most cases, vehicles (particularily ment is 450+75=525 meters per
aircraft) will be moving far too fast to phase.
accurately use models in scale. To
I I I I I I
7 Body Body Body , Driver Body , R.Wing . Body . Rotor Body
8 I Body I Body I Body I Driver I
I
Body I
I
Body I
I
Body I
I
Rotor I
I
Body
9 I Body I Weapon I Body Driver Body M Y I Body I M Y M Y
10 Weapon Weapon Body Body Body Body Body Body Body
Attacker chooses location
I I
lOmph 15m 70mph 105m
20mph 30m 80mph 120m
MOVEMIZNT 1)ATA TABLE 30mph 45m 90mph 135m
40mDh I
60m I lOOrnDh I 150m
VEHICLE Max spd. Manuever spd. AccVDecel. 50mph I 75m 1200mph I 300m
AV-4
AV-6
350mph
375mph
150rnph
2OOmph
1 50pIphase
100rMhase
I60mph I 90m 1300m~hI 450m-1
I EHICLE Tight Swerve Hard Reverse Takeoff Vertical Hover Rotate/ Pullaway
Turn Brake Land Climb/Dive Bootleg
4V-4 (Transport) 1 15 I 10 I 10 I 20 1 15 I 10 I 15 I_ 20 I 25
4V-6(Assautt) I 12 I 10 I 10 1 18 I 15 I 10 I 15 r 18 I 20
4V-7 (Private) 12 10 10 19 15 10 15 19 22
)$prey II 15 10 10 20 15 10 15 20 25
ielicopter 123 10 10 19 15 10 15 19 24
31ke 15 10 15 NA NA NA NA 20 NA
sportscar I IO I io I io I IO I NA I NA I NA I 20 I NA
ampact 1 12 I 12 I 12 I 10 I NA I NA I NA 1 25 I NA
VanKruck 20 20 20 15 NA NA NA 30 NA
Speedboat 15 10 15 20 NA NA NA 20 20
I I I I I I I I
SO! CYBERWARE CONT FROM PG.25 The second story exploded and a behinds. Instead, they began to
Boris' face paled. "We are sol- metal monstrosity plummetedto the close in, and I could see they were
diers in elite guard. We do no such street, cracking the pavement. The calling for the youth's arrests. But it
things. In big cities, younger boys, Sovs opened up like it was Christ- was too late. The pair were winging
bad children, buy on underground mas, but the walking battleship their way down the block, and there
and do things for money and goods. waded right through their 7.62 must have been some feelings of
They have been a problem for some rounds and decked one of the vans gratitude amongst the grunts, be-
time." He shook his head sadly, and like it was a pencil-necked prize cause they never opened fire.
his partner nodded in agreement. fighter. Walking through the carnage, I
Well, at least there was a hint of The hardware was hopelessly was drafted into helping evacuate
action. Maybe the younger genera- crude, almost a parody, but there the wounded. I helped an young
tion had found the time to lighten up was no denying what Iwas seeing. A injured officer to his feet and intro-
and make a profit for itself. I was borged-out Russian, five blocks duced myself as a reporter working
beginning to look forward to my stay from Red Square! for the London Times. Fortunately,
in Moscow. My respect for the bulky Soviet he spoke passable English and after
I made it past Boris and his pal cyberware increased geometrically he got over his initial surprise,l was
without them discovering the .177 with every passing second. It may able to ask him about the two appar-
explosive tipped caseless rounds not look nice, but it sure can kick the ent Solos we had just seen in action.
concealed in the arm. They didn't hell out of everything that gets in its "There are a few." he began.
even bother to examine the eye. I way. "Mostly younger men and women.
guess they have never seen a one Lightly armed, I ran for cover. They like Western things; music,
shot optic before. Icaught a cab into Behind me, there was a sound like food. There are places to buyevery-
the city and made myway to the U.S. two trains crashing. I chanceda look thing. There are doctors who
embassy. After filling out too many over my shoulder. smuggle cybernetic parts in from
forms, I acquired my gear and a The big Russian borg was on his Europe and America." He grimaced,
rented car. I also picked up a tail. It back, a dent the size of a basketball showing his displeasure. "They are
looked like the old style government in his chest. Standing over him was young and reckless. They replace
paranoia was still in effect. a young man with three blades the things that do not need replacing.
This would never do. The Ameri- size of garden shears poking out of Interfere with business which is not
can rental, designed for visiting his forearm. Behind him, a woman their own. It is most illegal."
Dips, was equipped for plugs, and I jacked in to a .50 anti-tank rifle was I pointed out that their interfer-
quickly jacked in and lost my frus- in a ready crouch. The borg stag- ence had probably kept his butt out
trated follower. Moments later, gered to his feet and launched him- of the intensive care ward. That
cruising through the back streets, self at the two young Russians. produced the hint of a smile.
looking for signs that Moscow had They danced out of the way and let "The children these days. Who
something to offer me, I was re- him have it from both sides. The girl can understand them?"
wardedby sirens. Two red and white shoved the rifle barrel through the Who indeed?
police vans screamed by, sirens chest plates and held down the trig-
wailing, four heavily armed soldiers ger. The guy with the blades deliv-
hanging onto the running boards for ered an expert wheel kick that caved
dear life. Acting on a hunch, I gave in the side of the 'borg's armored
chase. I was richly rewarded. head. They were suicidal moves,
To make a long story short, I found and Iwaited for the 'borg to clamp its
what I was looking for. The police paws down on the both of them, but
had surrounded one of the city's the action never came. The pair
newer ferro-concrete apartment rolled out of the way as something
blocks and had heavy weapons deep inside the cyberpsycho ma-
trained on the front doors. I worked niac gave way, and blood and
my way around the barriers, flashing smoke poured out of lethal wounds.
fake Pravda credentials to a pair of The borg was finished.
soldiers who were too stressed to You would expect that the police
argue. I unpacked my Nikkon and would have dashed out and kissed
waited. those two for saving their Bolshevik
social security number to our Wash- squad. Apply at City Hall today. Swaggarti p-o- 7356 Berkeley,
inaton branch. If YOU check out, we CA 94707-0356.
w'il get back to iou. Citizens of
socialist nations need not apply.
SOLI)1111W Souvenirs: Authentic Vietnam War
The Republic of Mexico needs bat- surplus. American and Sino-Soviet
I CENTRAL IRTEUIGENCE I tlefield-experienced solos to aid in rifles. arenades and other miscella-
I UENCY I our ongoing war with savage insur-
rectionist forces. Pay negotiable.
neousequipment. West Coast Sur-
plus 666 Devils Lane, Night City, CA
The C.I.A.
...
It's not just a job It's a way Good chow. Contract immediately
for tours from one month to four
95025.
of life
years. We can provide the latest Is it true that you can buy used cy-
equipment. Extra benefits for indi- beware from the U.S. Government
Needs
IllterTech viduals with command experience for only !$44eb? Call 1-800-555-
We're a and comin?9 or special skills. Help preserve a 8872 for details.
nanotechnology company based In benign, democratically elected gov-
Night city- Our security forces are in ernment. Enlistment bonus if you If you need a job done, then I'm your
the latter stages Of assembly, but sign up before the end of the calen- man. I have over 3 years combat
larger* establishedcops are dar year. Se habla EspaTiol. See experience in covert operations. In-
ready attempting to steal the your local Mexican recruiting board terested parties reply to box 341.
mation that will enable our company or tourism office.
to succeed. We need more man- Are you female? An expert in infiltra-
power! If you're long on talent, but Strike a Blow for Libem! tion with at least 4 years field expe-
short On talkto We Help the valiant Mexican freedom rience? The Bitch, an all female solo
want personnelwho can grow fighters throw of the tyrannical yoke group, wants you. Contact Debbie
with Our company- Add a 'lid entry of the totalitarian government. Our at Box 2013, Palo Alto, CA 94301.
to your with an lnterTech leaders are puppets of big business.
tour Of dub', and be On the They grow fat on the backs of our T.C. We met down at the canal in the
edge! people! Reasonable wages. Must 21st Infantry. The Rat PAck is hav-
OMUEBUE@rn have your own equipment. All solos
accepted. We need you . Send a
ing a reunion and we'd like to see
you. Call Butch at Rick's Bar on the
Solos letter stating how we may contact 29th.
The Maelstrom, Night City's hottest YOU to Box 387, Night City, 94887-
live music club, needs bouncers and Help US in Our hour of need!
80 SOJA) OF FORTUNE, MAY, 2013