Van Buren

Neon Drift’s van, named for US President Martin Van Buren. Neon jokingly claims the president is his only ancestor—appearing repeatedly throughout his family tree as his “great-great-great-sixty-two-times grandfather.”

People call Neon “Van Buren” too, even though it is technically the vehicle’s name. The overlap reflects how deeply he identifies with it: members of Van Life plug into their vehicles, and Neon describes becoming a different person behind its controls. The farther he gets from Van Buren or one of his drones, the less he feels like himself. As he explained in Session 1, “That’s the name of my van; I kinda am my van, so I just go with it.”

Known Facts

• A van, central to Neon Drift’s Van Life background.
• Normally flashy and nearly impossible to hide; Van Helsing supplied Neon with gear that can make it discreet for covert work.
• Carries an unkillable devil head mural recognizable to Van Life alumni on sight — Slim Jimmy’s eyes lit up when it pulled into his market.
• It is on the NSMC footage. The clean camera angle recovered in Session 2 shows Van Buren plainly enough to identify it, which is a large part of why that data stick is dangerous to the crew.
• Was carrying Van Helsing’s flux capacitor until Neon traded it to Slim Jimmy in Session 2.
• Has a roof-mounted autocannon that rises out of the ceiling, and a massive external sound system. In Session 3 Neon used both to Play Hardball on two guards: “Back away from the vehicle or you will be shot.” He rolled a 14 and they backed off.
• Remote-drivable by Neon over a short-range link of a few hundred feet, including from its own roof. Bullfrog can sit in the driver’s seat convinced he’s driving. He can’t, and he ground the starter trying to start an engine that was already running.
• Still unmistakable on sight. In Session 3 the GM ruled Iona’s people would recognize it from the garage handoff, so Neon parked around the corner. Van Helsing’s discretion gear wasn’t used.
• Damaged in Session 3. It was pinned in an alley by two Cadillacs, one rammed into its front end and one into its rear. There was at least cosmetic damage, but it was still drivable for the escape.
• Discussion at Session 0 considered whether it could fly (Blade Runner-style rare flight, “Mask”-style wheels-go-vertical transformation) versus staying ground-based — left for Neon Drift’s player to decide, table leaning toward no flying vehicles for regular people in Knight City.

Open Questions

• Can it fly, or transform in any way? Not settled as of Session 0.

Appearances

• Session 0 — Discussed during corp/character worldbuilding; tone and capabilities left open.
• Session 1 — Neon explains why he shares the van’s name and obtains Van Helsing’s gear for making it discreet.
• Session 2 — The crew’s base of operations through the Switchback and the interrogation of Mara Sato; identified on the recovered NSMC footage.
• Session 3 — Tails Iona’s convoy with Neon riding on the roof. Rammed and pinned in the alley behind the ramen shop, it drives off the guards with its autocannon and PA, then carries Mara and the crew out of REIS Six to a Van Life rest stop.