Shimmer Shiny Sea

Shimmer Shiny Sea
Date 2081-08-16 GM Chrisst111 Location Downtown, Seattle Status Threat Level: Medium
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven
Charitas Jenny Glitz John Brown Skein

Summary

A mysterious corporate Johnson representing Proteus AG hired the runners to discover the location of a data chip containing stolen research from one of its underwater research arkoblocks. The information was being auctioned off at a soirée in Downtown Seattle. The runners infiltrated the party, systematically eliminated their bidding competition, and purchased the information on behalf of their corporate employer.

Background

Situated deep underwater, Proteus AG's research arkoblocks cannot rely on the matrix for backups. Instead they save copies of their research on data chips which are transported to the surface and stored off-site. During one such transfer, a chip containing highly sensitive data was stolen.

The Meet

The runners were sent the coordinates of a downtown Seattle nightclub. Upon arriving at the location, an ARO (shaped like an arrow) pointed them further into the depths of the building. They were led down increasingly secluded hallways and staircases until finally arriving at a nondescript door. With some hesitation, the team opened the door and entered the room beyond.

The Johnson seated in the room beyond was sharply dressed in typical corporate attire. He represented Proteus AG, an AA megacorporation known for their (sometimes fringe) work in biotechnology, marine, and aerospace research. A datachip containing highly important and sensitive information had been stolen from one of their undersea facilities, and rumors about its sale had surfaced on the black market scene. The Johnson had information about the woman currently in possession of the datachip, and was looking to hire the runners to infiltrate a fancy dress party being thrown by her that Saturday night and obtain the chip’s current location for the corp’s retrieval team. He refused to give any details on the data itself.

John Brown negotiated a 22,000¥ fee along with transportation and operational costs for the run, after which the runners agreed to take the job.

The Run

The meet over, the team retired to a more private location to plan. Jenny Glitz put her deck to good use scouring the matrix for information related to the party, the hostess, and the guest list. After extensive trolling of the informational depths, the team had dredged up the following: the party was a front for auctioning off the stolen chip. There were primarily six guests who would be bidding for the information: Carissa Walsh, an awakened Halloweener with a Bliss addiction and a proclivity toward pyromancy; James Bentley, party boy ex-CEO of the now defunct Blue Crow Corp. (an unrated megacorp that had been forced out of business by Proteus AG); Elliot Pollard, trust fund recipient and avid partier; Anastas Sokolov, a Vory bruiser with a penchant for prostitutes and combat stims; and Mui Fang and Yaw Fa, members of the Yellow Lotus Triad and overseers of a Triad warehouse downtown.

The objective was simple enough: get party hostess and auctioneer Cecilia Garza to tell the runners where the data chip was hidden. Several ideas were considered, mostly involving some sort of con or interrogation, but they finally settled upon the idea of simply winning the auction. They contacted the Johnson, who agreed to provide funds for bidding, but was willing to pay half a million nuyen at most. It was therefore up to the runners to ensure that bidding on the item did not pass that mark.

The plan was also simple, at its core: each runner would approach a different bidder, establish a connection, and get their target to invite them to the party as their +1. The runner would then use that connection to gather information about the auction, and (for everyone but Bentley) find a way to remove their date from the running. To this end, John Brown approached Carissa Walsh, who was more than willing to party with a handsome hunk of man meat. Charitas conned Elliot Pollard into believing she was an executor of his multiple trust funds sent to chaperone him after recent...shall we say...embarrassments. Skein used his face-sculpting capabilities and Jenny Glitz's technological know-how to establish himself as a female escort. They then put Skein in Sokolov's path and let the Vory man do what he naturally did.

As the runner in charge of controlling Bentley, Jenny Glitz had a bit more involved of a job. As the ex-CEO of a rival biotech company brought down by Proteus AG, Bentley had the most to gain by acquiring the stolen research. He also had an axe to grind, which meant that getting him to drop out of the bidding would be difficult. Instead, Glitz established herself as an ally: a MCT corporate liaison looking to acquire the data at a bargain, who was also interested in headhunting Bentley for employment at MCT. The two were inextricably linked...Bentley would drop out of the bidding early and pay half of the cost (shared, he believed, with MCT). Then, after MCT retrieved the data chip, they would hire him to head the resulting biotechnology project based on the stolen research.

The plan set, the runners showed up at the party with their respective marks. The first to fall was Anastas Sokolov. Skein plied him with liquor, encouraged him to use drugs and combat stims, and then (when the moment was right) Charitas used influence magic to push him over the top. As the Kamikaze took hold in Sokolov's system, Skein whispered to him that that several of the Halloweener guards had been laughing and making derisive comments behind his back. The resultant melee led to Sokolov and the majority of the 'Weener group being ejected from the party.

Carissa Walsh was the only 'Weener not ejected from the party, but only because she was so Blissed out that she had not engaged in any of the fighting. For the same reason, she was far too far gone to engage in any bidding.

Elliot Pollard was similarly easily removed. Charitas, in her role as executor of his trust funds, simply informed him that she would not approve the funds needed for the bidding.

That left the two Yellow Lotus Triad representatives, Mui Fang and Yaw Fa. To remove them, John Brown sent the location information of their warehouse to his contact, Chipper. Master Chipper and his tetrad of adolescent amphibians then attacked the warehouse, and Fang and Fa quickly excused themselves to handle the situation.

The field now controlled, the runners were able to quickly (and relatively cheaply) win the auction and collect the data chip location from a disappointed Garza.

Aftermath

The runners contacted Mr. Johnson by means of the provided burner phone and gave him the location of the stolen datachip. After confirmation, the agreed upon funds were transferred by escrow into the runners’ personal accounts.

Rewards

• 22,000 Nuyen
• 3 Karma
• 2 CDP
• 1 Drug of Choice (Under Availability 10)

Player After Action Reports (pAARs)

Skein

Well, I'm certainly not used to this level of efficacy and professionalism on a run. Great group. I think I'm going to like working with the Haven.