So Collectable! Much Impeccable!

So Collectable! Much Impeccable!
Rare and Limited Memorabilia
Date 2082-04-12 GM Archtmag Location Covington, Seattle Status Threat Level: Milk
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven
Barracuda Strobe Wrifter Pell
Casualties and losses
Strobe's Hygiene

Summary

Man with too much money pays criminal professionals so that he doesn't have to stand in line.

Background

The buzz in the matrix gaming scene is focused on the upcoming title, "Corsairs of the Seven Seas 6". The anticipated follow-up to the controversial, "Corsairs of the Seven Seas 5", it promises a return to form, an enticing call to all fans of the franchise, including one Agustin Diaz. Agustin, a long time fan of the line, was ecstatic at the news and quickly became consumed by the leadup to the release. Once he heard that a nearby Gaming and Matrix supply store, GameCo, was going to be hosting a launch event, he knew that he had to get his hands on the limited edition merch. To his horror though, with the event the next day, people had already begun to line up outside, waiting for a chance to get their grubby hands on what should be his. As standing outside like a plebian in front of a GameCo was below him, he needed to contract outside help to get him the prize.

The Meet

Agustin called for an evening meet in a grimy Renton parking lot. Pell arrived first, hiding in a corner for reasons. Not long after, Strobe roared in inside her heavily modified vehicle, causing a noise hazard that could be heard for quite some distance. The other two just kind of showed up eventually. Pell, hiding still, made contact over DNI, as they waited for the J to arrive. As they made awkward small talk, standing around in the relatively empty parking lot, time passed and the J still hadn't shown. Eventually, late and unhurried, a limo pulled into the lot.

With a practiced air, Agustin strode out, surveying his hired minions. The minions were not impressed at first glance. Further conversation confirmed this for them. Agustin was a self-centered, arrogant, corporate prick. However, he was a drekhead that was paying. Agustin explained the situation, telling the group about the importance of the upcoming game, and of the replica ship he needed to acquire. Strobe, by chance, actually had played the previous title and spoke up in defense of it when Agustin trashed it. They had a quick spat on the superiority of modern vs classical naval gaming, before remembering the position they were in and they returned to the negotiations. Led by Barracuda, and aided by the team, they managed to score pay beyond "exposure", with the promise of 2000 nuyen each. With that, Agustin tossed them a burner commlink and left, leaving the team to their task.

The Plan

The team hopped in Strobe's van and headed over to the store. Parking about a block away, Strobe deployed her Flyspy drone to scout the surrounding area. While that was in progress, Pell was gazing around and noticed something concerning. There was a Knight Errant patrol car parked nearby. As Strobe finished her perimeter sweep, she carefully flew the drone closer to the vehicle to see what dangers lurked within. With trepidation, the drone lowered, growing ever closer, only to ultimately reveal a KE goon sleeping on the job. With that reassurance, the team committed to scouting out the GameCo further. Strobe, with a few attempts, managed to use their Flyspy to surveil part of the store's interior. Pell, at the same time, walked over to the store and peeked around. Their searches revealed a seemingly deserted store, aside from the dedicated fans camping out front. Further checks via the matrix seemed to confirm that no one really was inside.

The team devised a two part plan. Strobe would distract the nerdy mob out front, using her actual knowledge about what they were here for to keep their attention away from the store. The rest of the team would sneak in the back entrance, magically spoofing the feed on the exterior camera, and breaking in.

The Run

Pell flawlessly fooled the camera, and additionally used a spirit to conceal the team, hiding them from what could lurk within. Wrifter bypassed the maglock, and the infiltration team was free to enter. Making their way past a few more locks, they quickly found themselves in the store's office. Inside, a large safe presented a strong potential lead. Thankfully, rather than having to bypass the security invasively, they soon found the manager's code scrawled down. As the safe's door swung open, amidst the layered mediocrity within, they found a box. Inside the tattered cardboard box, were the ships, tossed about and in varying conditions. Picking around, the trio managed to find some samples that would satisfy the J.

Outside though, things were going slightly less smoothly. Earlier, Strobe walked by the camping fans, casually trashing the upcoming game and letting it slip that the prior installment was vastly superior. Unable to keep that dig to their identities pass freely, one bold member of the troupe stood forward to face the intruder. Dressed as a pirate and carrying a foam sword, he brandished it at Strobe, calling the elf out for her vile words. Tensions soon became quite heated, and the wannabe-pirate threw his sword at Strobe. The hit was only glancing, and, being a foam sword, the only true wound was to Strobe's pride. As they approached each other, violence in their eyes, one of the other pirate fans, being radically unaccustomed to violence in any form, called Knight Errant in a panic. KE Dispatch reluctantly notified the nearest unit, which happened to be the sleeping officer. Woken from his nap, and cranky to have to deal with this, he slowly began to drive over to the scene.

Strobe, still monitoring the KE agent by drone, realized the danger. Somehow, against all odds, she managed to mend the rift between the Corsairs of the 5th and those of the 6th, reminding the pirate man of the absolute waste of time that this was. With heads cooled, Strobe brought the rather sweaty man into a hug, staining her jacket. When the irate KE officer arrived, he reamed them for wasting his time and threatened to detain them if anything happened in the future. Suitably cowed, the gamers retreated, and Strobe was free to leave.

Aftermath

In the end, Agustin was pleased with the work the team performed. Taking all three of the recovered ships, he payed each runner the promised sum and gave them the offer of calling him for aid. Of course, this came with the hefty qualifier that he was above them and that his time was quite important, but it's the thought that counts right?

Rewards

2k Nuyen

3 Karma

2 CDP

Optional Contact: Agustin Diaz

Game Quotes

"Eh, hustling rich corpo brats for facetiously easy jobs is part of the game." -Both Isaac/Pell

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Barracuda: "I gotta say, wasn't expecting my first Haven-sponsored run to end up being grabbing an oversized kid's meal toy for some rich snot, but hey, two grand is two grand. And who knows? Maybe sometime in the future, I'll end up needing some art forged or some drek.

As for my team, Strobe was a fraggin' treat. I can respect the sort of person that decides to pull up to a meet in a purple, leopard-print car without a shred of irony. Makes for good entertainment."

Wrifter: "I must not admit that I am not surprised, the first contracts in the industry are small commissions. I don't think I'm the only one who has raised an eyebrow when this corp-kid comes to tell us that he was holding our purses a bit with credsticks. Fortunately, the other runners were there to raise the numbers a bit. Who cares, he's swimming in money, another zero on the run wouldn't have changed his nerd life. Barracuda has taken the lead on this meager sum, I guess I will take a bit of lead in the future.

Meanwhile, I was a little dizzy, I almost forgot the run with what I took a little while ago. The runners were competent, although Strobe had a technical issue with his flyspy at first, but hey, he handled the small fry outside very well.

And well, Pell and his "magic things" got us covered, not to mention his way of seeing things and his gear, she isn't a newbie here, compared to what I had, I was looking a little pale and smoll, but hey, like I said to myself: You have to start somewhere, even for a rich, capricious big kid for a joy."

Pell

Well, that was comically low stakes compared to what normally gets filtered into the Haven.

Anyway, these new guys were competent, and have good heads on their shoulders. They'd make prime runners if they continue on the trajectory they're on. Should go without saying that I wouldn't mind running with them again.