Survivor's Guilt

Survivor's Guilt
Date 2081-7-24 GM Purkinje Location Death Valley Status Threat Level: Semi-Prime
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven	Death Valley
Roadkill Limerick Sc4rl3tt Spider

Summary

A team of shadowrunners hike through Death Valley in the summer to find long-lost evidence that could bring a California Protectorate war criminal to justice.

Background

In 2061, when Colonel Keiji Saito was ordered to withdraw from the Japanese occupation of San Francisco and return home, Saito refused. He declared himself "Protector General" and invaded the rest of California, sweeping across the Central Valley. He doubled down on the former anti-metahuman policies of the Japanese Imperial State in his new "California Protectorate," encouraging violence against metahumans and the newly-created changelings whenever possible. His armies and police gathered metahumans for deportation or execution, sending them into concentration camps where they died in untold numbers.

After the Protectorate seized control of the Central Valley, it expanded its concentration camps to deport or kill the metahumans living there. With these established, an unknown party in the Protectorate established a secret research site a quick flight over the Sierra Nevada in the northern reaches of Death Valley, where select metahuman prisoners would be sent as medical test subjects in quick stealth aircraft flights. What exactly was of interest to this test site is unclear, but it was believed to be engage in bioware research of some sort. Some test subjects were changelings who'd been sent there after the Comet passed. However, most were simply metahumans who exhibit extraordinary physical qualities, such as particularly tough orks, or particularly lithe or pretty elves.

The head researcher at that site was a delta-certified, awakened surgeon. According to Mothers of Metahumans' research, this doctor is a man who went on to gain megacorporate citizenship with Mitsuhama, Renraku, or Shiawase, and investigating him has proven difficult due to jurisdiction. A promising lead turned up, however; the surgeon's delta-grade scalpel focus is believed to have been left behind during an escape, still sitting there in Death Valley. This focus would be of immense value as thaumaturgical evidence, and if any servers are still active there, they may contain further evidence.

The Meet

The man who posted the job listing, a suit-wearing ork named "D. Weaver," meets with the team in a tea house in Palo Alto. He explains the situation to the shadowrunners and offers each of them 80,000 dollars (UCAS) upon completion of the job. They agree to these terms. Weaver gives them a commcode to call once they have the scalpel focus. Along at the meet, the four ShadowHaven runners are surprised to find a fifth shadowrunner not affiliated with them, an academic Hermetic going by the name "Umbranox." Umbranox introduces himself as a seer, explaining that his ability to read into the histories of objects may prove of some use along the way, but he is no fighter. He prefers not to speak about more than business.

The Plan

The team was warned the search area they were going to be working in would be near the CFS-PCC border patrolled by drones, and it was also believed to be under regular megacorporate satellite surveillance; thus, vehicles were advised against until an extraction was called for. Thus, they packed for a long expedition on foot. They bought survival kits, desert suits, and snake-mesh socks. They charted an overland course that should make for an efficient search pattern, though they would end up spending several days in the desert before completing it. To minimize exposure, they decided to drive to Teakettle Junction first and go out "hiking." Roadkill noted it would be difficult to hack any patrol drones as they would be on a protected government network. He called in a favor from The Florist, who was able to get the address for the host protecting the border patrol drones from an unnamed Pueblo government employee for the small price of 15,000¥. The team split the cost evenly.

Rewards

• 80,000 UCAS Dollars (40,000¥)
• 13 Karma
• Phil Haskill at Loyalty 3
• 2 CDP

Game Quotes

"O Death, O Death! Won't you spare me over for another year?"

"I know your kind. Violence is inevitable. I am inevitable." - The Man in Black

"Keep our stories alive. Never forget us. Do not let something like this happen again."