Weapon of the New Millenium

Weapon of the New Millenium
Date 2085-10-14 GM Lemon Location North America Status Threat Level: High
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven	Wuxing
Dango Rogozhin Raum Oberon
Casualties and losses
	4 vehicles, 1 helicopter, 16 HTR + Helicopter Crew

Summary

The runners thwart a mad scientist's plan to sell AI powered, highly dangerous, potentially lethal pilot technology to Wuxing with the power of Mecha and Slice of Life Shoujo Anime.

Background

A small Corp called "Newtype Industry" and their Mad Scientist have created a frightening new Weapon - A Walker that utilizes an AI aid system to create a high lethal weapon of war with the intent to market it around for the highest bidder. Concerned parties want contracted help to identify the legitimacy of this weapon and if it exists, to sabotage it.

The Meet

The Runners meet with a middle-aged Japanese Man in a dark alley way to discuss business. The Johnson explains the situation regarding Newtype Industries, creating the weapon, and his skeptism that the weapon exists. Nevertheless, the weapon cannot go onto the market if it does. The Johnson also outlines a few leads of people photographed as meeting with Newtype:
The first picture shows three people, dressed in varying clothes. One in the center, an orc, is dressed in a fine suit. To his side, an elven woman outfitted in an armored jacket, carrying weapons, and a human man working a commlink, or perhaps a deck. The woman's armor bears an insignia which reads "Hastam Solis".
The second picture shows two men in suits. They lack any distinctive characteristics beyond the fact that they are both east asian.
The third picture shows a single person: a large, imposing man, with long silver hair and eerie golden eyes.
The fourth picture shows a large group of around 5 people, all wearing suits, clearly showing themselves as four lackeys around a boss, one of them lighting their boss' cigar with an elegant silver lighter. The lighter is engraved with the figure of a snake.

The Johnson offers a frankly silly amount of money for this job, which trips every shadowrunner alarm from here to Vancouver, which tips the runners that the threat of the weapon existing maybe more credible than meets the eye. But the crew decides that this payday is too good to pass up and take the job.

The Plan

The plan is to do legwork on the individuals, and surreptiously gather information on them, gauage their interest and see if they were privvy to any details of this new weapon that is convincing enough of the weapon's existence, or if its all just corporate buzzword bullcrap.

The crew also prepares to find this head Scientist (who they don't know the identity of at this point) and bring em in to ask some questions.

Then destroy the super weapon if it exists (Somehow?!?)

Profit

The Run

The crew runs legwork on the pictures given by the Johnson. They discovered the interested parties were MCT, The Yakuza. They also learn via contacts that there is a manhunt for Hikaru Yatate, the CEO of Newtype Industries. The group decided to ask the Yakuza to see if they cannot share information on the whereabouts for Yatate. Raum and Oberon bullshit their way to the Leader of the Orochi clan, the group of Yakuza that met with Yatate at a bar. At this time Dango finds the third group: Ares Firewatch. A homeless man informs the crew that someone escaped the Yakuza in a Black Pickup Truck.

Raum eventually gets his meeting with the Yakuza boss, who reveals that the Yakuza tried to have Yatate captured after the demonstration of the New Weapon. Yatate managed to flee and escape, and the Yakuza have not found him since. The Yakuza let them leave with a warning; other groups are interested.

The group decided to pursue Dr. Yatate who most likely fled back to home base in Vancouver. The crew finds their home base and Dango hits the camera in this place and determins that a young man came for ten minutes, shut off the power, and left in the black truck. Dango loses the truck, only being able to tell it heads east, but decides to hit the interior of the warehouse. She takes control of the Forklift and achives Forklift certification, she finds that a young scientist deleted all the data, but in jury riggering a turret with a camera, invertedly gave Dango a clear shot of his face when she hacked the turret. The crew also noticed a camoflouged tail for the scientist.

With a face, Rogozhin's spirit is able to chase down the black van. After a run in with a awakened Moose (we dont' know if it was awakened, I just choose to believe it was). The crew finds the black van. Before they hit it though, the tail spotted at the warehouse contacts the crew and offers to work together. The runner gives the crew more information: The walker still needs a pilot despite being marketed as an autonomous drone. Not only that, but the piloting is apparently dangerous enough to be lethal. The tail also concludes that the walker contains an AI and is therefore alive with top of the line Electronic defenses. Finally, the crew learns Wuxing is interested in buyhing it and is meeting with the Dr. who is actually named Ryotaro.

With all this, the tail offers a solution that he can't do, but a runner crew might: A Foundation Dive.

The crew decided to hit the young man first, Dango bricks his car, and the young scientist gives up Mr. Ryotaro's location.

The crew arrive and after some setup begin the Foundation Dive, and arrive to a SLICE OF LIFE SHOUJO ANIME.

Dango is in heaven.

The crew go through school. Rogozhin is out-gayed by Raum and is super jealous. Raum is infuriated at Dango being able to make anime faces. Oberon is utilizing his expertise in horror flick, and Dango is just...living her best life. Eventually the crew is able to find all the control node, their relationship determined by various anime characters in typical anime tropes. Girl likes boy. Student likes teacher. Childhood friends. All that good stuff.

The crew eventually finds the AI, who masquerades as a student. The crew convinces the AI that although this Foundation is cleaner and less ugly than the real world, it's also static, boring, and not real. And in order to seize destiny, the AI must live in the real world. The AI ultimately agrees and leaves the Foundation. Leaving the Arbalest without an AI

The crew leaves soon after, and finds Dr. Ryotaro dead and Wuxing arriving. With no way to leave and Spirits watching them and helicopters and cars in bound, the crew is doomed....

"Just Communication" starts playing in the background as the AI gives Dango a parting gift--full access to the Arbalest.

With the Arbalest in their possession, Dango is able to fight the Wuxing forces with the help of some healing spells and big comets from the crew. However, with more Wuxing on the way, and the Arbalest being too large on and off the Matrix, Dango is forced to do the hardest thing she's ever done and destroy the Mech via self-destruct button.

With Dr. Ryotaro dead and the Weapon of the New Millenium gone, the crew returns for their payment

Aftermath

Wuxing got their asses kicked by a smol anime girl and her mage friends (didn't see that coming, did ya?!?!) Newtype Industries is probably never going to financially recover from this. Dr. Ryotaro is dead and the young scientist Uchijou is stuck in Canada somewhere. The client is happy, the AI is now free and living his best life. Unfortunately, in a blow to mecha lovers everywhere, the Arbalest is gone and it may be a while before another machine of pure beauty graces our lands again.

Rewards

Millennium (Hard) (16 x 3.5 RVP from 21 Hours):
82,000¥ (41 RVP)
12 Karma (12 RVP)
8 CDP (3 RVP)

Optional rewards (taken from any above):
Remove Neg. Qual. Computer Illiterate [Oberon]
Pos. Qual. Trust Lore, Not Data [Raum]
Pos. Qual. Analytical Mind [Dango]
Pos. Qual. Speed Demon [Rogozhin]

Game Quotes

Amusing quote from game.

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Dango

"My.Goodness. This was the most fun I've ever had on the job! Anime foundation? MECHAS?!?! Coolboy AIs?!?!? 10/10 would risk crews lives in a Foundation run again."

Raum

"Glad I never went to high school, it seems fucking miserable after getting a taste in that foundation. That other runner just... giving up and giving us all his intel the second he saw us was too good to be true, but guess it worked it. Think I forget to report back to those yak guys we talked to before heading out of the sprawl... Whoops."