Staring Down Renraku
| Staring Down Renraku | |||||||||
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| Factions Involved | |||||||||
| ShadowHaven | Renraku Computer Systems | ||||||||
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Babylon Canis Stargazer Usagi |
Security Guards Systems Manager | ||||||||
Summary
In which the runners are hired by the Ancients to investigate Renraku's new satellite facility in their area of operations.
The Meet
The runners are hired by Ether and told to meet at the Daisy Chain in Tarislar, where they are told of the job - Ether wants them to investigate the goings-on at a new facility for Renraku which has been set up near their territory, as she is concerned about what sort of business might be taking place there and the effect it might have on the gang's operations. They are told that their payment will be commiserate with the value of the intel acquired.
The Plan
While Usagi goes to scope out the site in meatspace and Babylon does a flyby on the astral, Canis hits the Matrix and digs up everything he can find regarding what's going on there - Canis takes a dive into the host to acquire a bit more information while Babylon bargains with a spirit of man to perform some further astral recon inside the mana barriers, managing to not get caught after confirming that there's some odd fluctuations to the background count inside, and from what they're able to put together the team learn that the facility is apparently some sort of coordination and data processing center for Renraku's communications satellites and other space assets.
The Run
While Usagi is doing reconnaissance on the facility, he runs into Masuyama Kijuro, an unassuming individual who Canis' intel suggests is a security coordinator for the site; deciding to pump him for some more information, Usagi approaches Masuyama during his off-hours and strikes up friendly conversation, getting himself invited out to lunch and to spar together. In the process, he learns a bit more about the security of the site and Renraku's operations there, including that they are working on a project intended to establish a gaiasphere inside of a mana void so that the corp can bring more Awakened assets into space. This piques Stargazer's interest considerably, who uses her connections in Ares Space to arrange a meeting under her real SIN in order to acquire more information.
Steeling herself (and without telling the other runners exactly what she's up to), Stargazer calls up her colleague Gus From Marketing, a coworker with a crush on her, and in exchange for the promise of a lunch date she is able to secure a meeting with a systems manager from Renraku in order to discuss potential collaboration between their companies on this venture; while she is taking a great risk in this regard (as she is already a Corporate Pariah for selling insider information to a rival corp), she reasons that it is worth it for the chance to find out more about space magic. The next day Stargazer heads in for an appointment with the manager, during which she learns more about their operations (as well as the fact that her father was apparently extracted to Renraku).
Aftermath
Stargazer manages to extricate herself from the meeting after being discretely offered the chance to jump ship and be extracted herself (she says that she needs to make arrangements first, and quietly moves to cover her ass with Ares so it doesn't look like she was informing on them, though she ends up with quite a chewing-out from her superiors nontheless). Gathering all their information together, the team approach Ether with it who determines that it's not worth hitting the facility at the moment, instead paying the team their 10 grand and resolving to keep an eye on the situation.
Rewards
- 10k nuyen (5 RVP)
- 9 karma (9 RVP)
- 2 CDP
- +5 Ancients Rep
- May buy Ether (Connection 5) at Loyalty 2 (-6 RVP from rewards)
- May buy Pitty 'Grease Lightning' McShane (Connection 5) at Loyalty 2 (-6 RVP from rewards)
- Babylon: May buy Spirit Affinity (Man) at chargen price (-7 RVP from rewards)
- Stargazer: Gus From Marketing (Connection 1) at Loyalty 4 for 4 RVP (MUST BUY)
- Usagi: May buy Sensei at chargen price, may buy Masuyama Kijuro (Connection 2) at Loyalty 3 (-4 RVP from rewards)
- Canis: May buy Ninja Vanish at chargen price
Game Quotes
Stargazer: [through gritted tusks] "Lunch will be fine..." |
Player After Action Reports (AARs)
Babylon
So there I am, just having a drink in the Daisy Chain, when Ether comes in and asks if I wanna be a squad leader - I say hell yeah, and she tells me that she wants me to start by babysitting some runners she hired to look into some Renraku drek on our turf. Fine by me, seems easy enough and I'm always looking to move up in the ranks. Turns out to be less of an issue than she thought, but I guess I made a good impression because she says she'll have something for me soon. That Stargazer chick was pretty fun, she had a lot of enthusiasm for this space drek and it was really nice to see; also had a killer aesthetic going with the whole cosmic magic thing, and helped me track down my shoes when a spirit jacked them while I was out projecting. It was interesting being the senior mage in the conversation for once - guess she just Awakened recently, but she's got some real natural talent. Almost enough to make a girl jealous - almost.
Canis
Pretty interesting research that Renraku is doing; I'm hoping that they wouldn't start doing stuff that would warrant runners hitting the place to shut it down. The team was mostly professional, if not finished baking yet.
Stargazer
I was not expecting my job and this... "secondary" work to interact quite as much as it has. Especially on this run. Finding out that Renraku has an interest in a space program now, and additionally, using this data to create an artificial manasphere within space was incredible. The fact that this could theoretically be done means that I still have a chance to go into space and achieve my dream. Though the fact that my dad is in this facility, and the strangeness of being offered a job at Renraku is a lot to take in after one day. I hope that everything's okay with him, I can't bring myself to call Ma yet and tell her that he's still alive though, not until he's back in Texas.