Negotiating, Corp Style!

Negotiating, Corp Style!
Date 2082-5-17 GM Archtmag Location Eagle's Rest, Salish Shidhe Council Status Threat Level: Medium
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven Ares Macrotechnology	Cascade Ork Tribe	Aztechnology
Orchid Spider Lambda Eclipse Strobe	Pat Moss	Maria Tejedor
Casualties and losses
	His hopes, future, and pride

Summary

The runners ruin a relatively innocent man's life for personal gain and corporate profit.

Background

Ares has discovered something of great value in the Cascade Mountains. First to know about it, yet without any extraterritoriality agreements, the Mega moved quickly to change that. Entering negotiations with the newly appointed Chief of the Cascade Ork tribe, Ahmik Craghand, Ares has been making diplomatic inroads to beginning operations in the region. Unfortunately for them, Craghand, still newer to the task of leading his people, relies heavily on the advice of his father's advisors, and one in particular, Pat Moss, is heavily opposed to the proposed deals.

Needing to have the negotations proceed smoothly, Danny Hoffman, director of Ares special operations in the area, contracted a team of runners to remove Moss from the political calculus.

The Meet

The runners were called to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Redmond. Spider, doing research in advance, realized their employer was Ares and also discovered that there were multiple armed individuals within. Nervous and wary, the team entered the building to find Danny Hoffman calmly smoking a cigarette, surrounded by heavily armed and wared guards. Danny, offering some cigarettes to the team, managed to break the ice, casually greeting them. As the team settled in, Milliam tried smoking for the first time. She wasn't the best at it.

Introducing the job, Danny told the team about the problem Ares faced, telling them he needed Moss gone, one way or another. Whether killed or simply discredited, he could not be allowed to affect the proceedings any longer. The only real restriction was that the job had to be subtle. No direct trail could lead back to Ares. Doing so could sink the negotiations. Troubled by the ethics of the job, Milliam decided to back out, not able to stand the thought of what she might be forced to do. To fill the hole, Danny called up Lambda, sending him to assist the team.

The Plan

The team gathers together and begins deciding how to approach things. Spider, having gained access to Moss's schedule, realized that he was scheduled for a surgery in the coming days. With the initial plan to "make an accident" in the hospital, the team started to collect burner SINs for the border crossing. Around this time, Lambda arrived, freaking out the entire team with his bad vibes and general creepiness. Not happy to work with him, yet eventually somewhat accepting, the rest of the team bring him into the plan.

Splitting up into several vehicles, the team leaves Seattle heading over to Eagle's Rest where Pat Moss serves as the leader of the town. The border crossings are relatively easy, aside from the car containing Lambda. The dread he inspired freaked the border agents out leading to them to scan the vehicle for contraband. Thankfully, the smuggling compartment was shielded and they managed to make it through. On a long and exceedingly unpleasant drive, Spider, driven by Lambda's everything, started researching everything she could about him. By the end of the hour, Spider realized that Lambda was not only creepy, but also an (ex)government agent. Sharing that with the rest of the team, the runners finished the drive in a mixture of nervousness and terror.

The Run

Arriving in Eagle's Rest, the team found a place to sleep and then got to work researching and asking around for information. First hacking Moss's commlink for his emails, they not only found the surgery information they were looking for, but an encrypted file on his commlink containing his notes on a problem he's facing. The city's trash collectors had been facing lowered pay and worse hours, the money being taken away to other works. Discontent rising, the workers had begun organizing to form a union. Moss, not being a fan of this, started looking outward to contract specialty union busters.

Sensing an opportunity to discredit Moss, the team changed tact and focused in on this new lead. As the first night approached, Strobe got drunk at the bar, the immorality of the job affecting her. Lambda followed her and creeped through the window of the bar, though eventually gave a whole pack of cigarettes to Strobe, winning her favor.

The next day, before any large activities, something strange happened. At once, each member of the team received a call, on their main commlinks. Answering, they were greeted by an unfamiliar face. Introducing herself as Maria Tejedor, she presented an offer from Aztechnology. Learning of Are's aims, she proposed the team subtly sabotage their efforts. They would lose face with Ares, but Aztechnology would well reward them. Unanimously, the team rejected this, not wanting to anger their employers. Quickly hanging up, they contacted Danny informing him of the development. Grateful, he thanked the team for their loyalty, wishing them luck with their job.

Afterwards, continuing, Spider and Lambda hacked the admin office, quickly losing their stealthy advantage, but together easily smashing through the matrix security. As overwatch approached, the pair managed to download multiple files, hoping their contents would be useful. Spider, using her knowledge of forensics, spent hours poring through incredibly boring data. After sifting through many, many, false leads, she discovered something new. An official in the local government had been extorting businesses' for zoning licenses, at times taking exorbitant bribes. While not connected to Moss, the closeness of the official to him would make an easy connection. Spider, using her skills, managed to construct a dossier implicating Moss in the corruption scheme. Orchid, dropping off the forgery at a newspaper, seeded the dispersal of it.

To finish the takedown, the team leaked the union busting rumors, and then visited the home of the organizing leader. Spider, disabling the alarms, paved the way for Eclipse to enter the man's home. Inside, she beat the man unconscious, "sending a message" from Moss.

Aftermath

With all the runners efforts, Pat Moss's reputation crumbled. Craghand, furious at his supposed actions, posted an arrest warrant by the end of the week. Danny, well satisfied, congratulated the team and increased the rewards, offering good rates on ware to the runners, offering further work in the future.

Rewards

2k Nuyen (1 RVP) Given at beginning of run

18k Nuyen (9 RVP) - ( or 36k in ware, betaware grade or lower)

2 Karma (2 RVP)

Optional Contact: Danny Hoffman 5/2 (Subtract 6 RVP from Karma/Nuyen)

2 CDP

+2 Ares Rep

-2 Aztechnology Rep

Game Quotes

Amusing quote from game.

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Strobe: "Frag, I feel pretty gross after this one. The rest of the team were cool (though that old guy had some weird vibes), it's just... Damn. Not my proudest moment."

Lambda: "As expected, the influencing of the Council's politics went off... er, without a hitch, mmh. Perhaps the extralegal administration was unrequited, but it was ode for us to comply, given our employer's interests. I have my reservations of the less experienced... colleagues, so to speak. Unwilling, or unable to complete the tasks laid out before them -- such a risk is unthinkable in this line of work. It is most concerning for all, were they to search their feelings more... thoroughly."

Spider

Pretty sure Lambda there is a government spook. Also, ruining this guy's life... Well, it's better than killing him. Right?

Orchid

Not the first time, that I got to work on bringing someone down to the ground from high up and feels good to know my skills are up to the test on doing that, I do feel sort of bad but I'll feel better once the drink get into my system