Great Artists Steal
| Great Artists Steal | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Factions Involved | |||||||||
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ShadowHaven Nuyen Press | Aoi Bungaku | ||||||||
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Delphi Fennec Signal | g01bez and 0-MUS | ||||||||
Summary
(AAR CURRENTLY A WIP)
A very green and very nervous Johnson puts out feelers in the shadows for data security specialists. Three runners answer the call, and learn his company, Nuyen Press, has a problem with copycat publishers and leaked manuscripts putting their work out online before the publication date, chewing into profits and leaving an already slim-margins business on the edge of bankruptcy. Johnson offers money from his own CEO pay to fund the runners to make the problem go away- non-lethally, of course.
The runners scope out the host and the physical location of Nuyen Press, and Fennec aptly likens it to "a screen door on a submarine." After some skulking around and some digging online, the runners eliminate a social vector as a potential weakpoint due to his employees' loyalty, and decide that this must be an outside job. After finding a stealth tag and tracing it back to opfor hackers g01bez and 0-MUS, the team work together to net Signal marks on his device, where they deftly steal away an encrypted file and disarm its data bomb. After being spotted however, a brief fight ensues, which Delphi dominates with a smartly placed program.
After negotiations with opfor, the opposing squads reach an understanding. Having been clearly outmatched, g01bez and 0-MUS agree to most of their demands, spread the word that Nuyen is off-limits due to new and very competent spiders, and allow the team to part with the relevant evidence of tampering on amicable terms, though refuse to sign a mark of authenticity. Defeat is honorable, betrayal is not.
After returning evidence to an extremely grateful Johnson, as well as the name and commdat of a competent lawyer (Liam Montgomery) and some detailed security advice, the team is paid and all is well.
Background
The players: Aoi Bungaku, an A-level corp that fell on hard times and was purchased by a subdivision of Shiawase's publishing division. With an emphasis on translated imports of East Asian light novels, manga/manhwa, animation, games, and a distribution partner for various western licenses and merchandise, Aoi Bungaku has been a powerful player in the game even since before its Shiawase takeover. Lately, some of their releases, along with releases from other, smaller competing publishers and distributors, have looked disturbingly like pre-release manuscripts belonging to-
Nuyen Press, an up-and-coming publishing house focused on bringing western-made light and web novel fiction to the masses. Its owner and founder, Brady Franco, has been tearing his hair out due to all of his competitors beating him to market. It's cutting into the bottom line, and in an industry with margins as razor thin as publishing (even considering how cheap it is to produce and distribute on the Matrix), it will drive them into bankruptcy by the end of the year.
In a fit of inspiration, Brady suddenly suspects sabotage, and after consulting with various security firms and finding they're outside of his budget, allows his assistant to call her boyfriend, who knows a runner, who slinks his request for data theft protection into the shadows.
The Meet
The Plan
The Run
Aftermath
Rewards
Difficulty: Medium (12 RVP)
6k Nuyen (3 RVP)
4k Nuyen (Negotiation Bonus)
7 Karma (7 RVP)
4 CDP (2 RVP)
2 CDP Base
Optional:
Delphi: Instinctive Hack (2 RVP)
g01bez and 0-MUS (2/1) (2 RVP)
Brady Franco (3/3) (5 RVP)
Signed Limited Edition Print Run of "Reality Got More Real! I'm an AI But I Got Isekai'd Into a Fantasy World Without RPG Mechanics!?: Vols. 1-10 Omnibus Edition" by Waverly Bell (0 RVP)