Sangre Por Sangre
| Sangre Por Sangre | |||||||||
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| Factions Involved | |||||||||
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ShadowHaven Draco Foundation | Aztechnology | ||||||||
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Blue Jay Katherine Tyler Mara Shy Zenith |
Blood Mage Blood Panthers Blood Spirits Feathered Serpent Panther Shifter | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Blood Panthers x2, Blood Spirit, Panther Shifter | |||||||||
| Four points of edge were burned in total. | |||||||||
Summary
In which the runners journey to Aztlan and extract a powerful blood mage with ties to a darkness thought long dead.
Background
In Obscuro, Redux runners from the Haven managed to capture Woedica Kryptman, a blood mage in the employ of Aztechnology, on behalf of the Draco Foundation. The Foundation is greatly interested in Woedica's superior within the company - one Cuauhtemoc Tezcacoatl, a former Blood Panther who has risen rapidly through the megacorp hierarchy to reach the executive level - who they believe to have been one of the apprentices of Geraldo Solis (AKA "Mr. Darke"), and would very much like to acquire as much information on him as possible. With Woedica as a willing turncoat, they have been able to extract a great deal of actionable information on him, including the location of a private villa (on a ley line no less) and the name of his feathered serpent chief of security, Xicena.
Ryan Mercury has taken a personal interest in the job due to his previous run-ins with Mr. Darke and his obligation to Dunklezhan to track down anything relating to the villain. Having obtained what he can from Woedica, Mercury dispatches agents of Assents Inc. to Aztlan to gather intelligence and prepare a safehouse - however he does not wish to use them directly in the capture of Tezcacoatl due to the risk that Aztechnology may be tipped off about his involvement if anyone directly affiliated with him get too close. Thus he has decided to contract out the job to the same outfit which obtained Woedica for him.
The Meet
The runners are contacted individually by their fixers and told of a well-paying but very risky job opportunity - the sort where they should make contingency plans in case they don't return. When none of them back down from the proposition, each is told to meet at the Draco Foundation headquarters Downtown the next day, and to pack their bags for a trip out of town.
At the Foundation HQ, they are met by Mercury, who gives a familiar nod to Mara and Zenith (having worked with them before) and a quick introduction to the others (who are familiar with him through trideo adaptations of his exploits). Familiarizing them with the situation, he explains that he has a high-ranking Aztechnology blood mage in his sights but that he can't get too close himself; thus he requires them to act in his stead. He lays out the risks of operating against the AAA megacorp within their home nation, and especially against a target like this, but the runners all agree to undertake the job.
Quicksilver outlines what they know about the situation, telling them that their target spends much of his time working in various high-security arcologies and ritual sites under heavy guard and is transported between them via armored helicoptor with a dragon as an escort - thus opportunities for a quick and clean extraction are few and far between. While he occasionally goes out to various nightclubs or visits his private villa in Acapulco where the security measures are lessened a bit, there is little regularity to his leisure excursions or patterns to exploit. Thus the team will need to get creative in order to find a window.
The team ask what sort of schedule they're working off of, and are told that they have as long as they need - however Tezcacoatl will be performing what they believe to be a sacrifice ritual in about a week, and they would prefer that he is captured before then so as to avoid the unnecessary loss of life (and attendant magical consequences). While not stated outright, they can infer that the Foundation will look more favorably on their performances if they are able to get the job done before then.
The group are given coordinates to an airstrip in the PCC where one of Assets Inc.'s operatives - called Spitfire - will be waiting for them; he will be their primary point of contact for the duration of the mission, though another of the Foundation's assets is in Aztlan and will be available should they need backup. After fielding their questions, Quicksilver wishes them well and says he will look forward to the debriefing.
The Plan
After packing their bags and making their travel arrangements, Shy has her contacts in N-51 transport the group to their Nevada base via helicopter and once there borrows a Jeep to get the group the rest of the way to the airstrip. Spitfire - a broad-shouldered human with striking orange eyes - meets them there and proves to be an amicable sort, welcoming them aboard a sleek smuggler's plane and explaining that they will need to do an aerial drop into Aztlan. Before they leave, Shy exploits her unit's hatred for Aztechnology in order to contract Etrius's Team as backup; after providing them with sufficient funds, the spec-ops group agree to be on standby as additional backup.
The aerial insertion proves to be more challenging for some of the group than others. Spitfire, being a drake, simply uses his wings for the purpose, while Kate and Shy, being experienced military types, have little trouble; Blue Jay (piloting her roadmaster, equipped with parachutes), Mara and Zenith require slightly more in the way of instruction, but supported by their teammates they are able to make the jump as well with a bit of AR assistance. Things are timed just right, and the low-flying plane is able to slip by both radar and patrols in order to drop the team off in the jungle about 20 miles north-northeast of the boundary of the Tenochtitlan sprawl.
The group initially plans to off-road it the rest of the way, but Zenith - his Social Stress flaring up thanks to the red-headed elf's presence - makes the questionable decision to travel on-foot, telling the others that he'll meet them at the safehouse. Mara insists on accompanying him so that he doesn't get himself killed by a jungle predator, and he reluctantly acquiesces, leaving the rest of the team very confused. Spitfire takes it in stride and quizzes the rest of the group on their specialties during the drive, while Mara and Zenith debate the latter's stubborn attitude during their harrowing march. While they don't encounter any hostile predators, they do run into a naga called Salazar who proves to be rather curious about what the pair are doing trekking through the jungle; the two manage to endear themselves to the big snake, who as it turns out has something of a grudge against Aztechnology, having escaped from a facility where the corp was experimenting on its kind. Salazar gives the two runners directions to a nearby bus stop, and accepts a burner commlink from Mara as well.
Reuniting at the safehouse within the city, the team review the Draco Foundation's information dossier and plan their next move; Spitfire tells them to make a list of any equipment they might need and he'll make sure to procure it, then leaves them to their own devices. Deciding that they could use more in the way of Matrix support, Kate and Shy propose contacting Alexandria, a friendly AI they recently made the acquaintance of. Alexandria is able to locate the (highly-secured) device that Tezcacoatl uses for work and to coordinate his busy schedule, but warns them that any intrusion attempt is likely to be detected - seeking to either acquire the schedule or to disrupt his existing one, they give her the go-ahead to try to obtain it. She manages to obtain a copy of the file, but the attempt is indeed noticed; the group thank her for her aid in the matter.
Noting that Tezcacoatl has something of a penchant for extravagant parties at private clubs, and for inviting young women back to his villa (from which few ever return...), the team concocts a plan to honeypot him by having Alexander-James Brodrick Johnson III host such an event and for Blue Jay to get picked up there, hoping that the villa will be less secure than a corporate arcology in the middle of the city. Brody J, always down to party, agrees that it would be "totally radical" to throw a bash for his "triumphant return" to Aztlan, and extends invitations.
With the skeleton of a plan in place, the group turns to how they will execute it - deciding recon is in order, they take a trip to Acapulco and scout the villa out, contracting Red Sonya to perform an infiltration assessment on the property. They find it to be quite secure, with a contingent of highly-trained security personnel on-site, but within their capabilities. Identifying the part of the property where guests are brought, they locate a structural weakness where a bomb could be placed in order to both damage the defense systems and create a hole through which anyone who goes inside can exfiltrate. Convincing their new pal Salazar that this is a chance to strike back at Aztechnology, they ensure that the magic snake will be on-hand to plant the explosive; as well, Shy makes sure that their backup will be in place to cover the escape.
The Run
The night of the party arrives, and the runners attend dressed to the nines. Zenith plays bodyguard for Blue Jay, who heads out on the dance floor to attract Tezcacoatl's attention; meanwhile, Mara keeps an eye out for magical trouble, while Kate and Shy make their way towards the villa and prepare to infiltrate it at the appointed time. Blue Jay is successful in getting the target's eyes on her, and is soon invited over to his booth - she is able to keep her composure in the vampire's presence, and soon dismisses her "bodyguard" to get him to let his guard down a little bit.
Once he's "dismissed", Zenith continues to keep a wary eye on her but focuses his efforts on keeping the Tezcacoatl's own security busy - outside on the rooftop, he encounters Xicena and, with the power of edge, manages to play the part of a particularly interesting talking monkey well, showing off his pi-tac as well as demonstrating intricate knowledge of security procedures and tactics. Xicena, despite herself, finds him somewhat endearing and engages in a bit of small-talk; her interest grows somewhat when she sees something that fascinates her in his aura. Blue Jay ends up propositioned to come back to the villa as planned, and is given a helicoptor lift there - Mara follows close behind in Cascade's stealth helicopter, while Zenith is able to keep Xicena's attention after the dragon is dismissed by her charge from active duty for the evening (though she remains on-call in the event of an emergency).
At the villa, once the helicopter containing Blue Jay and Tezcacoatl arrives, Kate and Shy coordinate the infiltration plan with Etrius's Team (who will wait in a stealth PT boat at the bottom of the cliffs and cover their escape), managing to make it through the web of sensors as well as spirit and shifter guards surrounding the perimeter and scale the wall without being detected. They set a second explosive charge to draw security's attention when it's time to go loud, then make their way towards the entrance. Blue Jay meanwhile is brought to the guard house and subjected to ever-increasing psychological torment for the vampire's entertainment - she is able to play her part well, occupying his attention while the others set about rescuing her. Mara, in Cascade's helicopter, arrives shortly thereafter and manages to remain undetected.
Meanwhile, Zenith keeps Xicena distracted by talking shop as an (ostensible) fellow professional, though her interest turns personal when she asks him about his aura - ignorant of what she is referring to, he allows the dragon to show him via quicksilver photograph (which he, thankfully, is able to retain possession of). He is just about to ask about the curious quality (i.e. latent dracomorphosis) which interests her so, but she is called back to duty when she receives an emergency alert from her security team as they detect the villa's perimeter being breached. Zenith convinces Xicena to bring him along, as his own charge may be in danger as well, so he gets to enjoy a high-speed dragon ride as Xicena boosts her movement rate with spirit bs and zooms towards the villa as fast as she can.
Getting a heads up that they've been made, Kate and Shy blow their first shaped charge and kick in the door, engaging in a brutal knockdown fight with a pair of blood panthers - the pair emerge bloodied but triumphant and quickly proceed towards the guest house. Since the guest house is soundproofed and Faraday cage'd, and Tezcacoatl is too caught up in his revelries to notice the commotion, the only thing between them and him (besides a reinforced door) is the augged-up panther shifter which has been shadowing the executive as well as his latest blood spirit. The fight proves to be a harrowing one, with Shy knocked out (after popping the spirit and preventing it from hemorrhaging them both to death) and Kate nearly killed, but the swordswoman eventually manages to behead the beast.
Getting the signal from the street sams, and catching sight of the rapidly approaching feathered serpent, Mara decides it's now or never and blows Salazar's bomb, punching a hole in the side of the guest house - this finally alerts Tezcacoatl to trouble, who quickly grabs Blue Jay's neck and threatens to snap it like a twig. Knowing that he's alert for any attempts at magical manipulation, and feeling the walls start to close in a bit, Mara starts to freak out and, quite unexpectedly, the stress of the situation causes her to undergo dracomorphosis; this shocks everyone present into a brief moment of surprise, which Mara leverages to employ her new compulsion ability to force Tezcacoatl to let Blue Jay go and stand perfectly still as Kate and Shy quickly black bag, incapacitate, and get him aboard the chopper.
Xicena has no intention of allowing them to escape however, and lines up a fire breath at the helicopter - Zenith preempts this by grappling to the chopper and firing a capsule round full of quick-expanding fire-retardant foam down the dragon's throat. The holds back her retribution just long enough for the helicopter to dive into the ocean and activate its secondary propulsion; enraged, the dragon attempts to pursue, but she quickly loses track of the craft in the deep dark waters. Kate and Shy are disappointed but somewhat relieved that they won't get to fight her, while Blue Jay is more than a little bit shaken up by her experience with the vampire. Plunging Tezcacoatl into a prepared watery coffin in order to induce torpor, the team all cast an eye at the new drake in their midst; Mara quickly changes back to metahuman form, and keeps an admirable level of composure given the situation, merely swearing them all to secrecy on the matter.
Aftermath
The runners are able to successfully extract from Aztlan and get past the coast guard thanks to Asset's Inc.'s intel and the spec-ops team covering their escape. Returning to Seattle, they drop off the sealed tank containing Tezcacoatl and receive a congratulations and a pat on the back from Quicksilver. Mara asks if they knew what would happen to her, and he coyly taps his nose and replies that they had some suspicion, but that one never knows for sure until it happens, casting a meaningful look in Zenith's direction as he does so; the mage's curiosity is piqued, but she simply nods and accepts the senior drake's words of wisdom regarding her situation (as well as the newly-fitted armor he provides for her).
Rewards
(3.5x reward modifier): 100,000 nuyen (50 RVP) 50 karma (50 RVP) 80 CDP (39 RVP) 1 Street Cred (1 RVP) +5 Draco Foundation reputation Optional Contact: Alexander James Broadrick Johnson III (C4/L2 Rich Idiot) for 5 RVP or 10 CDP Optional Contact: Cascade (C4/L2 Smuggler) for 5 RVP or 10 CDP Optional Contact: Ryan Mercury (C8/L1 Prime Runner) for 8 RVP/16 CDP Optional Gear Reward: Weapons/Armor/Augmentations/Vehicles/Mods/Magical Equipment
For Blue Jay: Ascension rewards (take up to 5 RVP out of rewards) Optional Quality: First Impression @ chargen price Optional Quality: Good Looking and Knows It @ chargen price Optional Quality: Sensei (Stealth) @ chargen price
For Kate: Wanted + Records on File (Aztechnology) for 100k Optional Quality: Aptitude (Blades) @ chargen price
For Mara: Optional Quality: Adrenaline Surge @ chargen price Optional Quality: Common Sense @ chargen price
For Shy: Wanted + Records on File (Aztechnology) for 100k Optional Quality: Daredevil @ chargen price Optional Quality: High Pain Tolerance @ chargen price
For Zenith: Can buy off Loss of Confidence @ chargen price Optional Quality: Honest Face @ chargen price Optional Quality: Trustworthy @ chargen price
Game Quotes
Player After Action Reports (AARs)
Mara
It seems I'm becoming popular for out of town work. And work with The Draco Foundation. This was a little bit traumatic at the end. But starting from the beginning, the team was well put together, we seamed to have everything we needed out of the gate. I can't say that I liked working in Aztlan or particularly in the capital, but I made do. We very nearly lost our rookie member to a blood mage vampire. Think of a worse combination, I'll wait.
- Zenith - Brave and stupid. Poor man takes his life in his hands every chance he can get. I can't say that he isn't effective. His plan to distract the dragon was a bit undercooked, but he made it work somehow. And apparently ended with a flourish, shooting a fire retardant round down the beast's throat. Sometimes his 'plans' force one to question his sanity.
- Kate - It's hard to imagine a tougher individual. Or at least a tougher human. Along with Shy and some other elements of our group they fought through some barriers that would have sunk most others.
- Shy - Top notch adept. Certainly would give Zenith a run for his money. Carries some association with a paramilitary or possibly rogue military group. I'll have to look into that more.
- Blue Jay - A newer runner. Rigger. Apparently her look bothered Zenith; red hair, elf, taller than myself. In the end it wasn't her driving that was at the forefront, but her ability to bait our target in to a situation we felt we had a better chance of controlling. In the end she nearly paid the price. And then...