Wednesday, October 10, 2012

The Woman in Black

When I opened the door this evening to see who had been knocking, I was rather surprised. A well-dressed woman in a striking black coat stood on my doorstep. She was of average height, wore black aviator-style sunglasses and had shoulder length brown hair. I couldn't help but notice her poise and beauty, but the curious weapon in her right hand startled me. It looked like a toy or a prop, something you might see in an old sci-fi movie.

     "Are you Mr. Reed?" asked the stranger. 
     "No." I was lying, of course. Who was this lady, anyway?
     "I was sent here to collect the robot you have in your possession."

      Now this was something of a surprise. A few days ago one of my students, Miguel, was assaulted by a surly little robot. He was saved when his older sister knocked the thing's head off. Miguel brought the robot to me and I mailed it to an engineer friend at Cal Poly Pomona just this morning.

     "Please listen carefully," I said. "You're a beautiful woman and trust me when I say that it's been a long time since I've had a female caller. Still, I have no idea what you are talking about, so please take your ray-gun back to whatever movie set you stole it from."

     The woman shook her head slowly, then simply said, "That is very unfortunate."

     She raised the odd-looking pistol and pulled the trigger. I tried to slam the door in her face as she was doing so, but I was too slow. A deafening whine assaulted my ears, then I slumped to the floor, vomiting as I did so. I was helpless. Most humiliating of all, I lost control of my bodily functions.

     And by that I mean I soiled myself.

     As I lay on the floor, the stench of my own filth consuming my senses, the strange woman methodically ransacked my home. Not finding what she was looking for, she casually walked out. Ashamed and embarrassed, I finally got off the floor and cleaned myself up. I considered calling for help, but what would I say? "Hello, 911? A woman dressed like a character from The Matrix just shot me with a ray gun. Or maybe it was a phaser. I don't know."

     I thought better about it and instead called my friend in Pomona. I think he might be getting a visitor very soon.

-----

     Ms. Drew works for a secretive lab that develops and builds robots. Their methods are so advanced that they can produce technologies at a TL 9. The name of the company, its location and roster of employees are a closely guarded secret. Ms. Drew is a trouble-shooter, ensuring that security remains tight. She keeps the public at a safe distance and cleans up any messes that the runaway robots cause.

     Like so many people in Los Angeles, Ms. Drew has a rather complicated private life. Wanted by law enforcement, her employer has used its considerable resources to create a new identity for her. As a result, she is extremely loyal and will not hesitate to do anything they ask.

Ms. Drew, the Woman in Black (170 points)
SM 0 (5’ 7” tall, 130 lbs.);

ST 10, DX 12 [40], IQ 12 [40], HT 12 [20];
HP 10, Will 12, Per 13 [5], FP 12;
Basic Lift 20, Damage: Thr 1d-2/Sw 1d;
Basic Speed 6.0, Basic Move 6;
Dodge 9, Parry -, Block -;
DR 0.

Advantages and Perks
Alternate Identity (illegal) [15], Attractive [4], High TL 1 [5], Patron (employer) (fairly powerful organization, available quite often) [20], Wealth (comfortable) [10].

Disadvantages and Quirks
Loner (9) [-8], Secret (imprisonment) [-20], Social Disease [-5].

Skills
Area Knowledge (los angeles)-14 [4], Beam Weapons (projector)-14 [4], Brawling-13 [2], Computer Operation-14 [4], Detect Lies-13 [4], Driving (automobile)-12 [2], Electronics Operation (surveillance)-13 [4], Fast Talk-13 [4], Liquid Projector (sprayer)-13 [2], Lockpicking-12 [4], Observation-14 [2], Photography-13 [4], Stealth-13 [4].

Attacks
Nausea Pistol-14, HT-3 aff (1 yard), Acc 3, Range 9/27, RoF 1, Shots 66 (3), Rcl 1;
Pocket Aerosol Spray with Sleep Gas-13, HT-6 or Unconsciousness, Acc Jet, Range 1, RoF 1, Shots 1, Rcl 1.

Equipment 
Nausea Pistol*, pocket aerosol spray can*, flatcam*, laser microphone*, Samsung Galaxy S3, 2012 Mercedes C250 Sport Sedan.

*see GURPS Ultra Tech for a description of this item.

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11 comments:

  1. Sharing this story online was a very poor decision on your part, Mr. Reed. I strongly suggest that you go back to your life and forget all about this event. If I have to visit you again, crapping your pants will be the least of your worries.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I told you that things would go poorly, Human Unit Reed. You had best busy yourself with sharpening pencils and correcting homework.

      Delete
    2. Don't be so smug, robot. I am coming for you next. Furthermore, to keep you from transferring your programming to another chasis, self-destruct devices are being installed in all Spybots.

      Delete
    3. Wouldn't it be called a remote-destruct device Ms. Drew? Self-destruct would imply that Spybot could do it itself. Of course I know you're just hired muscle, and wouldn't understand such technical jargon. Just thought I would help you out. I wouldn't want an attractive lady like yourself to make herself seem unintelligent.

      Delete
    4. Point taken, Mr. Z. Point taken, indeed.

      Delete
  2. You may have silenced me, but you can't keep this a secret forever.

    ReplyDelete
  3. While the principals in this story banter, I'd like to share some additional information with you. The self-destruct device Ms. Drew spoke of is actually an anti-tampering device. It is an electrical attack that is triggered when the robot is, well, tampered with. It can also be activated remotely via the robot's wireless telecommunication. The stats are as follows:

    Anti-Tampering Device (Burning Attack 3, Area Effect (2 yards), +50%, Armor Divisor (2), +50%, Emergencies Only,
    -30%) [21]

    This advantage can be added to the Spybot that was presented a few days ago.

    A version of Ms. Drew was presented in Iridia no. 79 in Sepetember 2008. The anti-tampering device was presented in Lovitar no. 4. I leave it to the reader to draw their own conclusions and (possible) connections between Ms. Drew's Loner, Social Disease and Secret (imprisonment) Disadvantages.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Keep the speculation to yourself, Christian, or what I did to Mister Reed will look like a day at the beach when I show up at your door.

      Delete
  4. Don't be afraid of her, Christian. Those who work in the shadows can't stand having the light of day cast on their activities. She may have pulled that ray gun crap with Mr. Reed, but you've got friends out here. Very powerful friends, who have your back.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for the support! If things get really bad I figure that I can call in some of those awesome heroes you write about on your blog. Those dwarven warriors seem to know their way around a fight. If that fails, I will rewrite Ms. Drew's stat black and add things like Compulsive Behavior (hugging), Honesty and Duty (protects kittens) to mellow her out.

      Delete