Mind Over Matter, It Really Don't Matter
| Mind Over Matter, It Really Don't Matter | |||||||||
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| Factions Involved | |||||||||
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ShadowHaven Washington Wizards | Andrew Wittenfield’s Academy For The Psychically Sensitive / The Mentalists | ||||||||
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Poe Awesome Possum Mnemosyne Handler | |||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| None | The entire fake school / wizgang was disbanded, though no one died - however Andrew was forced back to Horizon. | ||||||||
Summary
The runners talked with the two Js, at first doubting their sincerity but coming to find that they really cared about the target of extraction - Sir Wave - before they got to work. They sent watchers to the school to distract the students, allowing for Poe to have a heartfelt conversation with Sir Wave, leading to him walking out. However, Sir Wave wanted to confront the headmaster and get his fellow students who were friends out. And so, the team of runners confronted Andrew, and the students were quick to turn against him. Sir Wave ended up leaving the gang, but they were thankful nonetheless, paying the runners and having the job go rather smoothly.
Background
3 years back, a PR manager of Horizon had a divorce and entered a mid-life crisis, desperate for some sort of control. That man is Andrew Wittenfield, and after his divorce, he left his great paying job and used his savings to purchase a small condemned high school to turn into a "psionic college" which in truth was just a recruiting ground for his psionic wizgang "The Mentalists". Sir Wave, whose real name is Matthew Louis, has the Washington Wizards to thank for getting him off of the streets 3 years ago, though now he's begun to want to escape the gang life, yet still repay them by becoming a professional chef and giving them a lot of his money as thanks. So, thanks to the advertising of the "college", Matthew ends up joining it, worrying the other Wizards - he's Hermetic, not even Psionic - as they feel the college has something off about it, thus getting the runners involved as he starts getting less involved with the gang.
The Meet
The runners showed up far more well suited than even the Washington Wizards who pride themselves on their dress, and are rather suspicious. They might already know the school is a shitshow and has some gang-like tendencies, but this level of care from gangers about a member is off, yet it seems to really be sincere. They talk a bit, getting the location of the school which is rather close by, but also using watchers they had prepared to locate that he was in the southern of the two buildings, yet also was behind a mediocre ward. They went ahead, Poe and the Watchers, and begun their plan.
The Plan
The plan was simple - use the watchers to draw the others away, while Poe got to Matthew and extracted him, peacefully or not. The watchers would also give crucial information on where he was exactly instead of the more vague location given by their searching or spells.
The Run
After two of the students - Connor and Agnis - have strange numinous feelings, and Agnis spots the watchers on the astral, the students are heading towards the headmaster's office, however Poe is already in the room where they spotted Matthew. He manages to hit notes with him, making him realise it was a scam college that wouldn't be worth a thing, and they could've just gone there and brought him to the Washington Wizards. However, Matthew spoke up, having spotted Andrew and the students looking for him, asking to confront Andrew to help all of the students out. He decided to oblige this request, gathering the other runners in case it would turn violent.
Poe and the runners headed the assault, alongside Matthew's impassioned and betrayed response, causing Andrew to be on the backfoot - however, once Matthew got to his best friend Connor's heart with his words, alongside Awesome Possum's crowd-work, Andrew couldn't recover. The students he conned turned against him, everything he built was lost. And so, he tried to draw a gun, yet it wasn't even fully out when Matt flung it out of his hands and into the air, leaving him completely catatonic in place just trying to process how everything around him was gone.
The team was prepared to go, but Matthew had things to say to the other students before going, including a confession to Connor. After that short interlude, they went back to the Washington Wizards, and Matthew told them that he wouldn't be in the gang anymore but instead would become a chef, his dream, thanks to the opportunity Poe had presented. They were reluctant, but they ultimately were fine with Matthew going, and the run was done.
Aftermath
The Washington Wizards became the good friends of the runners for what they had done, and the students all went off, now inspired to truly follow their dreams and properly this time. You don't often get good endings in the 6th world, but anything seems to be possible.
Rewards
4,000¥ (2 RVP) + 1,000¥ Negotiation OR 8,000¥ in Hermetic, Chaote, or Qabbalist standard reagents / foci up to force 3, or in psyche / red mescaline
7 Karma (7 RVP)
8 CDP (3 RVP)
+5 Washington Wizards Rep
Alongside the narrative consequences of disbanding the Mentalists and their fake front college, leading to the students to head down the following paths:
Matt "Psychokineticist" Smith gets into a proper college with the help of his parents, on a fast track to becoming a therapist and counselor for high school students.
Achim "Pyrokineticist" Schmidt gets a rather nice firefighter job thanks to his magic's ability to make fires far easier to deal with, he works with the Seattle government.
Connor "Telepath" O'Riley is now the happy boyfriend of Matthew Louis, alongside starting his acting career however small it may be now.
Agnis "Clairsentient" Free has started getting direct tutorship from her older brother on how to get into esports.
Joseph "Biokineticist" Jones, now finally free from the gang's strong-arming, has applied to medical school with hopes of becoming a paramedic.
And finally, Matthew Louis, Sir Wave, has headed to Desmond's Cajun Delights to hopefully be hired and become the chef he dreams of.
+6 Wild Rep to Mnemosyne for the thing that Elayne said.
Game Quotes
"I know his team said Gay Hermetic, but those sideburns are screaming Psi-Curious to me." -Poe
Player After Action Reports (AARs)
Handler
This shadowrunning thing might not be so bad. I can't believe that we got paid so much! All I had to do was whip up some watchers for the team and send in my spirits to standby as muscle.
Poe Jesus, this one was personal. They are never personal, and this was under my skin from the moment I took the call. The Wizards dress and act like less well put together versions of me, which is terrifying as I am a barely held together version of me. That college, drek. Somehow worse than what Dubois fire spirit managed to teach me. Those people would have been doomed. I suppose it is a good thing to help, where I can. I wish I felt it was more rewarding.