Cat Burglar
| Cat Burglar | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Nearl after applying the SPF 9000 sunscreen. | |||||||||
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| Factions Involved | |||||||||
| ShadowHaven | Seattle Animal-Metahuman Alliance | ||||||||
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Trades Trauma Nearl |
Rex Ash Goons | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Rex goes on a trip to Constantinople, Ash and the goons clean up Martha's house | |||||||||
Summary
Background
The Meet
Minerva Kotomine contacts Trauma and Trades while Nearl heads up to Touristville to meet up with Martha, the prospective employer. After Minerva tells Trades that Trauma will be working the job with her, Trades sends a comm message over to ask if she needs a car pool up to touristville. Trauma responds in the affirmative and Trades heads over in her Armadillo to pick her up. In the meantime, Nearl arrives and starts talking to Martha before the conversation heads inside so Nearl can avoid the sun's deadly rays. Martha made a sudden trip to Hawaii, but forgot to secure her expensive 100k necklace. When she returned, she found her house ransacked, her necklace stolen, and cat taken. After a while of drinking tea and gathering more information the J springs the million nuyen question, "Nearl may I ask you a question? Why are you red." Nearl quickly deflects with an answer about sunburn. Martha retaliates with an offer of SPF 9000 sunscreen.
The Plan
Once Trauma and Trades arrive, Trauma starts assenssing the premises while she and Trades search for the others. While Trauma passes through the main room, she spots an astrally active collar. She handles it while being careful to avoid contaminating it with her own astral signature. Once the collar is safely relocated, Nearl and Trauma begin inspecting it while Trades is granted access to Martha's host in order to review security camera footage. She's able to find a direction for the team to begin exploring before they encounter a group of beast spirits lounging in the street on the astral. Trauma attempts to get one of the spirits to provide assistance while Trades performs a wild summoning. She attempts to align her aura with that of one seeking a bargain. To make a deal. She manages to draw the attention of a spirit who offers to guide the team to where the missing cat has gone in exchange for a future service to benefit the wild beast spirits of Seattle.
The Run
The team loads into their vehicles and follow the wild spirit through the city until they arrive at an apartment complex. The spirit guides them to a door, but it warns the team about astrally projecting into the room. Trades sends her flyspy around to check the building for windows, and she discovers that there is a balcony to the apartment. Using her laser microphone she is able to hear the occupant talking to someone named Rex while they smoke. Trades recalls her flyspy and quickly cracks their commlink in order to see what information she can dig up. She quickly determines that the SAMA was responsible for the break-in, and that the cat, the necklace, and Ash, Martha's grandchild, are inside the apartment. The team stacks up in the hallway outside the door while Trades sneaks her Directionssekretar onto the balcony. She downloads an unarmed combat skillsoft in preparation for the possibility that she might need to intercept Ash as they flee. Nearl applies some alchemical preparations to themself and Trauma and then the plan is afoot.
Trauma gently opens the door and tells Ash that they need to talk. In response, Martha's cat makes a break for the balcony door only to see Trades' drone waiting. Instead, they run into the bathroom. Trades opens the balcony door and enters the apartment, taking care to close the door behind her, she pursues the cat into the bathroom where she applies tactical cat squishing to safely restrain them while Trauma talks to Ash. During her entry into the apartment, Trauma managed to assense the fleeing cat and detects that it is in fact awakened. Ash asks for the cat to be brought out to the living room so everyone can discuss things together since the cat, whose chosen name is Rex, can only telepathically speak to beings within line of sight. Trades delivers the cat to the living room and tentatively releases them while Trauma and Nearl begin discussing the situation. When Ash reveals that they had stolen Martha's necklace in order to finance Rex's escape from the country, Trauma rebukes them by saying that several crimes had occurred during SAMA's actions. Eventually Nearl offers a proposal, the SAMA take action to make Martha whole again, and apologize to her and they'll bring Rex with them during a business trip to Constantinople before making another stop anywhere Rex would like.
They agree, and Trauma contemplates whether any nations in the sixth world offer citizenship to awakened animals. Apparently, there is much progress for the world to make way its towards.
Aftermath
Necklace: Returned to Martha SAMA: Helps Martha fix their home and make herself whole again. Rex: He's going on a business trip with Nearl to Constantinople to see the world. Is interested in acquiring immortal flower in order to regrow their reproductive system Martha: Grants clemency to Ash and agrees not to press charges. Trades: Owes a service to the cat spirit/general favor to the wild/beast spirits of Seattle