Dear Helena

Dear Helena
Date 2085-03-01 GM Asmodeus Location Downtown, Seattle Status Threat Level: High
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven Lamashtu	Saeder-Krupp
Frieren Silver Lining Kadō	Drake Reacquisition Worker

Summary

Gang gets hired by Lamashtu to cover her trail. They succeed!

Background

Lamashtu has planted informants in several companies to keep tabs on anyone trying to look for paracritters in an effort to stay ahead of Ghostwalker's trackers. So far, she's managed to stay on the good side of caution.

The Meet

The meeting happens in a morgue. Lamashtu, veiled by magic, asks the team to find who killed Helena Tsaikoskoi, the cadaver on one of the dissecting tables. Signs indicate she was killed by garrote and Lamashtu already used Grave Whispers to confirm it wasn't someone she knew. She knows the office and the rough time she died, promising espionage utilities in exchange for covering this informant's death.

The Plan

At first, Silver Lining looks into Matrix Searches and finds more information about Helena, further informing the team of their odds. Kado's experience with Evo tells her that the lack of public outroar all but confirms them to be racing against Evo's internal investigation. Further information also reveals they're after a particular PI called Jane Doe, suspected to be a spirit working for Evo as a free individual.

The Run

There's no choice but to go into Helena's office. Kado's Evo connections get them in without too much issue. Silver Lining gets his ass handed to him by the final boss of Shadowrun, a Rating 4 camera. After some serious trial and Frieren's spirit helping get a direct connection, he breaks into the host, wipes them from the footage and gets footage of when the killer entered the office during after hours.

Footage shows someone entering the office but not emerging. Frieren finds a panic button, but there's no indication it was ever pressed. Questions keep mounting. The team decides to leave after Silver Lining finds a false bottom in one of the office desk drawers and finds a notebook of the findings Helena was going to give Lamashtu. Apparently she's kept eyes on paracritter findings and who's looking for them, meeting with even a Horizon contacts and several others to discuss this.

With further searching, Silver Lining narrows down who this Horizon contact is: Carolina Petrovski. Kado manages to expertly convince her secretary to get the party a trid call with Petrovski, during which she elaborates that she's happy to help with them catching Helena's killer. Kado feels, surprisingly, a tiny bit of sympathy for the politician. Unfortunately, she isn't much help to the party's efforts so the team goes back to the drawing board. After putting their heads together and brainstorming in their hideout, one of them finally realizes something that they hadn't checked -- the footage they caught might've been doctored by the assassin just like what they did to cover their own exit, leaving their entrance intentionally as a red herring.

Now knowing what to look for, Silver Lining hacks into other nearby cameras and finds the car the assassin used speeding away. This is relatively easy to track with Downtown's surveillance and they find the building it's parked at.

Once there, a brief fight ensues but the assassin is caught just barely alive after Frieren's frost breath almost kills them in a single hit due to its power.

Aftermath

Lamashtu looks at the captured hunter and confirms that they are a Saeder-Krupp reacquisition expert. Likely in Seattle looking for a lost drake, Lamashtu doesn't appreciate her contacts getting in the crossfire of whoever this person was looking for. The team is advised to leave before the hunter is killed to avoid leaving their impressions in the ensuing background count. Kado does manage to convince Lamashtu to offer continuing communications with those that want to get a hold of her expertise.

Run Rewards for Dear Helena (High, 15 RVP)

• 40,000 Nuyen worth of interesting subterfuge materiel (10 RVP)
  1. AAA Megacorp Uniforms (4,000 Nuyen per uniform)
  2. Lavish Corporate Bribes (1,000 Nuyen per bribe)
  3. Difficult to Find Safehouses (1,100 Nuyen per Bolt Hole)
  4. GMC Sidewinder (33,000 Nuyen)
  5. R3 Spellcasting Focus from an S-K Adept (12,000 Nuyen, might get tracked by S-K agents!)
  6. Fairlight Caliban (8,000 Nuyen)
  7. Take the rest as Karma at a rate of 4,000 Gear Nuyen -> 1 Karma
  8. Uneven change is taken as liquid nuyen at a rate of 2:1
• 5 Karma (5 RVP)
• 2 CDP
• Optional Contact: Lamashtu, 6/1 Ex-Prison Warden (6 RVP or 12 CDP)
• Optional Quality: Sensei (any Close Combat/Firearms group skill) (only if you take Lamashtu as a contact)

Game Quotes

Amusing quote from game.

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Frieren

Back when I was a sweetling, running through the streets of Nara. Feeding the deer and wandering, ducking from the Kami who chased and played with me. My eyes, so bright and blue, it scared the neighbor and we had to move away. Mother said we had to watch out, be careful, to not be seen. That was until the magic I had manifested. People saw me as a divinity, others, saw me as a as a monster, something to be controlled or owned. When I was whisked away to Europe to work for that man, and I taught his daughter and my now mentee how to use magic and fight... Well. After everything I've been through, after all this. I can see why she's so guarded. There will be much that Lamashtu will be able to teach me, and in turn, much I will be able to teach my dutiful pupil.

Silver Lining: Drakes, huh? Weird. Feel a bit embarrassed about not thinking of the street cameras until later. Kado was nice enough to work with, and Frieren was, uh, remind me not to get on her bad side. Also, apparently mages can get Embolisms for their third eyes. The more you know.