Thin Thread and Lines
| Thin Thread and Lines | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||
| Factions Involved | ||||||||||
|
ShadowHaven DGSE Indonesian Rebels | N-51 | Indonesian Government | ||||||||
|
Anansi Chameleon Ducky Fennec Saint |
Grunts Checkpoint Guards | N/A | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||||
| N/A | One Forward Base and Many Grunts Guarding Munitions Crates | Eleven Civilian Casualties | ||||||||
Summary
In which Fennec and the crew put the "casual" into "civilian casualties."
Background
Civil war in Indonesia is anything but as the Indonesian government, using the N-51 as their proxy, maintain an iron grip on the country and its rebels. Reports, however, trickle in from the ground level. The country, largely Matrix-dark and with a vested interest from the Indonesian government to keep it that way, struggles to present conclusive evidence of alleged war crimes perpetuated by the N-51 in their peacekeeping operations. White phosphorous, so says intelligence. Burning slime that clings to skin until it reaches bone.
Awful stuff, the things people are saying about the N-51. Terrible. The DGSE, French national intelligence, would love to know if those accusations against their homegrown N-51 are true, and would love to deny how they found out as well. Time for a shadowrun, in that case, ne?
The Meet
They call in their most reliable deniable and some of her friends to brief them on the situation. Mr. Johnson of course doesn't reveal himself as French intelligence, but a few watchful eyes in the crew of worldly runners are able to put the pieces together even without the out-and-out knowledge that Fennec seems to have.
Mister Johnson asks if the runners are familiar with the N-51, and with some scattered yes's and no's (with Fennec remaining resiliently mum throughout), he explains that they're a French paramilitary group currently doing some work for the Indonesian government with "peacekeeping operations." He speaks with quotation marks surrounding it because there are rumors, evidently, of the N-51 utilizing white phosphorous to do so, which he assures the runners, big players would be very interested in having confirmed.
They can provide transportation into the country - all the runners need do is get undeniable evidence of the N-51 doing war crimes. As easy as snapping a picture.
What could go wrong?
The Plan
The crew airdrop onto an under-used Indonesian road with some mixed, though non-fatal, success, and after some deliberation and consultation of the materials gathered prior to the run, they opt to road trip it to the Western capital in order to gather information about N-51 operations in the area. Anansi and Ducky set about disguising themselves and the party before ducking into a few local establishments. With weaponized rizz, they manage to talk up their penchant for "men in uniform," and are able to squeeze information from some more upright looking bar-goers regarding the rumored whereabouts of N-51 bases - their headquarters, notably, are across the miniscule island in the Southwest, several hours away by car.
They're also warned that the N-51 have checkpoints set up along most major roadways, and to be careful when traveling.