Shake The Pillars

Shake The Pillars
Date 2081-06-20 GM OB Location Renton B-Zone, Secure Wuxing Facility Status Threat Level: High
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven	Wuxing
Brute Force Hot Mess Seedbomb Vichnozeleny

Summary

The team is hired by a mysterious, well-connected Johnson to test the security of a well-guarded Wuxing facility. They decide to do this by blasting a bunch of the statues they have outside and sneaking into the main building. Matrix stuff happens too.

Background

A certain well-connected organization desires to work through Big Mone¥ Warehou$ing to get their hands on an ancient Chinese artifact in a well-guarded Wuxing facility. Without any intelligence on the facility itself, they decide to hire a team to probe the defenses and possibly open a security gap that they can exploit.

The Meet

The team arrives at the warehouse at around midday. Ushered in by smiley-masked guards, they meet with the anachronistically-dressed 'Mr. Stalin' and an unarmed rotodrone. The J reveals the details of the mission: the team will be paid a ¥10,000 deposit, and as long as they deliver footage of them testing the security present on the site, they stand to be awarded a further ¥15,000 in an ideal case. While the J can't offer much detail, the team does receive the location and purpose of the site, a thaumaturgical research centre / artifact storage centre in the North of Renton, and the fact that it is likely protected by corporate HTR.

The Plan

A quick matrix search reveals the rough outline of the site: a single building in a spacious compound criss-crossed with seemingly random paths, protected by a gate and guardhouse. The compound is in a pretty low-security section of Renton, and nearby fire escapes provide respectable oversight of it. The team, hoping to test the internal security of the compound, sends Seedbomb into the compound's host to locate and distinguish the artifacts.

The Matrix Attack

Seedbomb hacks into the silent-running Wuxing host, noting the personas of security guards and intellectuals wandering a spacious courtyard. Disguising himself as one of the intellectuals. he searches the host for a project plan, forced to rely on his imperfect understanding of Cantonese. With that, he finds a large, encrypted and data-bombed chest containing a good number of files. Imitating one of the personas working at it, Seedbomb is able to find a project plan... for the feng shui ornaments that dot the compound. After searching further, Seedbomb is lead up a flight of stairs to another folder, a locked door behind which the files he's looking for may be found. This time, however, he fumbles his hack, and he comes face to face with the host's Bloodhound IC, along with another, more immediately dangerous IC program.

Evading a gout of data-flame, Seedbomb flees the host, unfortunately unable to find any data on the artifacts the site houses.

The Secondary Plan

Forced off their initial plan to penetrate the site completely, the team falls back to every shadowrunner's fallback option: explosive charges. Without the intelligence to infiltrate the building itself, they decide to target the external ornaments. Seedbomb, camouflaged on the fire escape, memorizes the security pattern of the watchers and guard spirit. Along with Vic, he will provide overwatch as Hot Mess and Brute Force plant the charges under cover of night.

The Run

Thanks to the advice of Vic and Seedbomb, who are observing the security, the two infiltrators are able to cut their way in through the fence and into the compound. After successfully planting their charges on the statues they've targeted, they get to the back of the building, where they evade a camera and the interest of a guard to allow Hot Mess to enter. Hot Mess, informed by Seedbomb that certain markings on the floor indicate the likely presence of a security spirit, avoids them, and in so doing is able to get footage of the entire first floor before exiting the building, leaving through another hole in the fence, and setting off the charges. Vic and Seedbomb watch as first a cadre of four guardian spirits are called in, and then a flock of one-man helicopters. After almost the entire night passes, the HTR disperses, unable to track the team.

Aftermath

For the footage they've gathered, the Johnson is happy to dip into their resources to provide not only the extra payment, but also to offer certain elements of contraband as rewards, especially given the team never betraying their true intentions as probers.

Rewards

¥20,000 / ¥40,000 worth of gear (Availability lower than 20), 5 Karma, 2 CDP

Game Quotes

"So you're telling me it's a vaseline gun" - OB

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Brute Force

Gotta say, if I wanted to infiltrate this place and take something, with the right team, it would be a cakewalk. I mean, they didn't find a 9 and a half plus foot troll planting explosives. That said, their response time wasn't half bad, so any kind of actual respons would have been great. Had I set up the security, I would have covered the spirit's path, for example. Well, I guess we'll see qhat happens due to this footage.

Seedbomb

There's something quite relaxing about lying on a roof. One good thing about the urban environment, I suppose. Gonna have to get in better shape, can't be the old man forever. Hah.

Vichnozeleny

I still remember this job. It is not that it was difficult or easy, but playing overwatch is a decisive role. Close, observant eye on the smallest of details is crucial to keep all in one piece. I appreciate the talents of these infiltrators, but aside from that... I pray I do am not required to merely watch others go into danger henceforth. I do not enjoy it -- as for the work itself, it was typical physical pen testing. I was not shaken by it, nor do I have an opinion of it.