Purity At Any Cost

Purity At Any Cost
Part of Hail to the Pumpking
Date 2085-10-05 GM Asmodeus Location Seattle (Redmond [Sophocles]) Status Threat Level: Medium
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven	Imperial Kami Services	Knight Errant
Datastream GOODLUCK HeadKrash Obsidian Rogozhin	Asahiro Kunitoshi Akai Tsuki Exorcist Onmyouji Various	Jane Dior Various
Casualties and losses
N/A	N/A	Their very expensive, very top secret intel stream from the IKS office in Sophocles has been compromised before it ever even began.

Summary

Some say that Bogle haunts Datastream to this very day.

Background

To put it bluntly, Sophocles is cursed. Every October, and every Halloween especially, something goes terribly wrong. And all of them invariably involve one specific gourd.

Shiawase has noticed this trend - specifically, a well-intentioned subsidiary, Imperial Kami Services, who have historically offered their hand at preventing disaster each and every. This year, they are taking a proactive approach - though this part of Seattle is not zoned for extraterritoriality, Shiawase has procured a quite robust footprint in the area, including well warded office spaces and a wide variety of employees.

Although things seem on the level at a glance, Knight Errant's Jane Dior smells something rotten. Without proof, however, she can't accuse them of anything, and without meaningful suspicion beyond a nose for conspiracy, she can't even begin to find it.

Enter the shadowrunners, ne? Even good cops go a little bad every now and then.

The Meet

A little West of Sophocles, five shadowrunners surreptitiously converge on their fixer-designated meeting place in a non-descript alley. They trade some light banter, and after a few minutes of silence, apprehensively reach to make certain their weapons are still there.

In a moment, however, headlights blaze before them. Knight Errant, well in position, reveal themselves. Riflemen have taken strategic positions in the upper floors of neighboring apartment complexes, while an official looking woman steps grimly from the back of a van. She informs these criminals that if they try *anything*, they will be shot, and much worse after that. A dazzling start to a wonderful relationship.

With mixed degrees of outrage and outright fear, it is Obsidian who steps forward to represent their group. She confirms that this woman is Ms. Johnson for the evening, and then, after the tension leaves her shoulders, what shadowrunners can do for Knight Errant that they cannot do for themselves.

The answer, of course, is corporate espionage. At least, not without probable cause. Officer Dior explains the situation as outlined above, that Shiawase has a suspiciously positive reputation and foothold in the previously Horizon-centered Sophocles, and that, while she suspects foul play, she can't confirm as much without evidence, and cannot find evidence without probable cause.

So here they are. Probable causes.

The runners are to place six surveillance cameras surreptitiously on the main Sophocles campus of Shiawase's subsidiary, Imperial Kami Services. A wide spread of locations, from board rooms to executive suites to water coolers, are requested for maximum coverage. To compensate the runners for their time and risk, she offers 8,000 nuyen each.

This probable cause has the problem of cost, however. She includes the brief caveat that the runners will have to supply the surveillance gear themselves, as nothing can even remotely have the chance of being traced back to Knight Errant. She fronts the runners a little cash to get them going, and then shoes them on their way.

They have one week. Make the most of it. Don't screw it up, ne?

The Plan

Research comes first. Datastream doesn't even wait for them to pull away before researching the history of Sophocles hoping for some hint as to how Shiawase became such a key local player - and instead finds that Sophocles is cursed. Its people love Halloween, and every year it brings chaos. A key player in each event, he finds after some very extensive digging, appears to be a spirit by the name of Pump King Jack, and this, the team agrees, sounds like a solid lead. If this strangeness has something to do with Shiawase, then he may be able to offer some insight.

Game Quotes

Amusing quote from game.