The FBI Is Totally Fine

The FBI Is Totally Fine
Date	2082-08-21
GM	Aurora
Location	Redmond
Status	Threat Level: Semi-Prime
Factions Involved

Summary

Background

A Termite Hive is set up in a B Zone of Redmond, hidden by someone in power until the hive has grown to a massive size. Cassandra Withers and the FBI's pre-crime unit determine that hiring runners is the best solution to this problem.

The Meet

The FBI contacts the 6 runners and has them meet at a parking garage in Downtown at midnight. The runners become EXCEEDINGLY paranoid and prepare for an ambush (which doesn't happen). Cassandra Withers appears via a holo-projecter and lays out the job: destroy the bug hive, kill the shaman, don't make a scene. She offers them 80k UCAS dollars, but is talked up to 100k UCAS dollars by the team. Cassandra Withers promises that KE won't be an issue for them (assuming they succeed).

The Plan

The team separate and go to individual no-tell motels. Delphi does a divination and learns that Urubia would be interested in this situation. She goes to The Fun House and meets with Urubia and Orianna Cazador, who wants the bug hive taken out in a way that cannot be ignored. Cricket does some Threshold 6 Matrix Searches and learns that the owner of the building in Redmond the hive is under has been missing for years, that the area is mostly heavy industry. She speaks to News Van Dan who suspects that someone (he thinks S-K) hid the hive, and he publicizes that there's a bug hive in Redmond in the B zone. For this, he gives Cricket a chip. Koschei speaks to Nameless and discovers that refined insect organs can be used to make Astral Bond, an alchemical compound that allows a mage who is astrally projecting and manifesting to trigger alchemical preparations.

Eventually they get a safe house from Rouge Roof Ring (a disconnected subsidiary of Urubia's) and talk about the plan. Cricket is absolutely sure that the FBI is the one who hid the bug hive while it grew, and the team agrees. The team debates many plans, and decides to go loud (despite the fact that only Delphi knows Urubia is involved and wants that). The team wants to use KE-7 (a weaponized insecticide) in the air vents for the termite hive. Delphi promises to tell Cricket Cassandra Withers's secret after the run. The team decides to take Guts to prevent Fear.

The Run

Ace, Delphi, Koschei, and Black Samurai sneakily place grenades around 4 entrances that Delphi found into the termite hive. However, Delphi and Ace are made by a worker spirit and Delphi destroys it quickly. This alerts the hive, so they meet back up in the warehouse and go down the staircase to the basement, into the Invae Domain.

They enter the termite hive through a break in the wall in the basement. Wychking summons a Force 8 Guardian Spirit inside the domain and hands it a flamethrower, and everyone can hear at least 4 termites up ahead in the passage. The shaman astrally projects and uses Astral Bond to use Clout preps while the termites attack. The team kills the 4 termites and beats up the shaman a ~~little~~ lot, who uses a Napalm Wall prep to stall the team. Black Samurai and Delphi and Wychking's spirits give chase! The party is split!

Black Samurai runs on ahead and fights a giant termite, who he one-shots! Delphi encourages Black Samurai to charge on ahead after that! The two of them and Wychking's spirit head down to the second lower level! Meanwhile, Ace sets up some explosives to try to blow a hole around the napalm wall, but it ends up opening a hole into the second lower level as well.

The hole Ace opened up is above three termite spirits, and the team makes short work of them. However, one of them manages a HUGE hit on Wychking, who goes down. After the fight Ace patches up Wychking, who uses Heal on herself. Black Samurai and Delphi, when faced with a decision to head back to the team, continue chasing the shaman. They go down to the third lower level, where they fight three termites in FBA with Assault Rifles. The three of them also make short work of these, causing one to attempt to run away. The two intrepid heroes chase down the bug and kill it, however!

In the other group, Ace spots a thin wire which Cricket determines to be monowire. Koschei hears a grenade's pin being pulled. The frag grenade goes off, but doesn't manage to hurt anyone. Koschei runs through the monowire trap to open the way for the team, and her foot gets cut off! Koschei takes a hit to the head! Ace takes a big hit as well, but doesn't go down. Cricket Protects The Principle on Wychking, who then MURDERS the bugs with an absolutely massive Insecticide. Koschei's foot grows back as Cricket hacks the computer terminal nearby.

Black Samurai and Delphi are chasing down the shaman and catch up to her shortly after the shaman as Cricket hacks into the turret and causes it to shoot at the shaman! Her two termites nearby dive into the way and take some huge hits and are killed. Delphi kills the last termite, and Black Samurai destroys the shaman! Her head goes flying! The two of them save a victim inside of the shaman's lodge.

Shortly afterwards, the FBI shows up and attempts to secure the hive. Black Samurai and Delphi kill as many of the remaining bugs as possible.

Aftermath

Ace Powers is given footage by Wychking and Ace, and he makes a trid film out of it, beginning a franchise with "The King of Witches & They Came... From Below" Cricket gives News Van Dan the uncut footage.

Cassandra Withers is unhappy that they released the footage to Horizon, but is a 'woman' of her word and pays the runners.

The property values in the area drop like a rock, and are picked up by various shell corporations that are definitely not owned by any dragons.

~~Also Cassandra Withers eats a couple of remaining termite spirits and grows in strength!~~

Rewards

100k UCAS dollars (50k nuyen) or double that in 'ware - 25 RVP (no maximum availability, approved by Thematics head)
25 karma - 25 RVP
2 CDP

Optionals:

Awakened/Emerged Deltaware clinic access for -15 RVP
Cassandra Withers at Loyalty 2 for -9 RVP
Orianna Cazador at Loyalty for -7 RVP
Wychking: Force 5 Power Focus and 1000 nuyen for -23 RVP (in the form of a termite queen encased in amber)
Cricket: Go Big Or Go Home for - 6 KARMA
Delphi: Lightning Reflexes for -20 KARMA
Ace: Catlike for -7 KARMA
Koschei: Tough As Nails (Physical) for -5 KARMA
Black Samurai: Daredevil for -6 KARMA

Wychking +3 Public Awareness Delphi +1 Notoriety for dealing with Urubia (again)

Game Quotes

Amusing quote from game.

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Koschei: What a mess of a job. Like, when you can't even feel happy after stomping an invae hive you know drek's fragged up

Black Samurai

So, I had kicked the betakami nonsense a long time ago. I've been meditating and painting and trying to center myself. I've been reading on mortality and the human condition. Aside from a drink with meals, this is the first hit of -- well -- anything I've had in quite a long time. Guts makes you feel invincible; it made me feel like the old me, you know? Kick down the door, stab, repeat.

It was wonderful...while you're still on guts. I don't want to be that person anymore. I want to be putting myself between the dangers and my comrades, not running off and leaving them. I mean, most of them. Lord--there are some sketchy as hell people working on the Haven now. We've really let ourselves go.

Cricket

"You know when a situation's so bad that you just kinda shut down and stop thinking about it? Yeah that didn't happen to me. I haven't been sleeping ever since this fraggin' job. Not only do the feds know where I live, but they might know that I know their big secret. I'm gonna go into hiding for a while, keep my head down until things start cooling off. Fuck."

Delphi

Goddamnit. Fucking FBI, fucking Urubia, fucking goddamn fucking bug spirits. I don't think this situation is getting resolved unless runners do something about it, because clearly the ghostdamn dragon is content to profit off of this drek and I'm pretty sure that goddamn bug wearing the FBI lady like a skin suit is close to what it wants. Fuck. What a mess.

Ace

That was a run, multiple days of prep, to find out a termite hive was beneath Bellevue. And now I know Cassandra #1 hires people less competent than I am because I can catch them off-guard and #2 I've made her even stronger. We filled the bug hive with spray, compliments Ares and went in. And I had to patch up Wychking as they nearly got killed by a bug, had to demoman our way in as someone kept activating what I can only assume were preps from the astral and we split into two teams to get this place under control. I left barely conscious and Wychking is a movie star, also Koschei is one of those creatures with regen. Notes to self, better understanding of fluid dynamics needed for next bug hive.