The Princess Bride
| The Princess Bride | |||||||
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| Factions Involved | |||||||
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ShadowHaven Moth Trash Panda Itako Shiro |
Horizon 'Princess' Rosemary | ||||||
Summary
A mysterious johnson met the runners on the matrix, and asked them to kidnap 'Princess' Rosemary in the middle of her wedding to Prince Dunkel. She needed to be kidnapped on camera during the ceremony. The runners were hesitant to deliver any woman into the hands of what might be a stalker. They negotiated that they would bring her to the meet-up point and insist that she then have a right to decide what happened next. If she wanted to leave the johnson's presence, the runners would help her do so. The johnson did not object to this stipulation.
The runners made a plan to more quietly kidnap her prior to the ceremony itself, and substituted a disguised Moth who was able to impersonate her. The staged a kidnapping of the unwilling bride during the ceremony, and were able to get away clean by simply removing their disguises. The guards were looking for 'Princess' Rosemary. She was already outside the building.
They drove as fast as they could north, with a mana barrier to prevent the sprites from chasing.
However, when they called the johnson to arrange the meet, the burner phone rang in the unconscious woman's pocket.
They kept driving, now certain that she was the johnson.
Eventually she woke and confirmed it. She truly did want to escape the marriage. She'd rather fake her kidnapping and death. The kidnapping was done, and the runners delivered her to a safehouse provided by Moth. Mission complete.
Background
Trash Panda was particularly familiar with the history of Horizon's popular Bachelor Royalty trid reality show. In this latest season, 'Princess' Rosemary won challenge after challenge, and ultimately the marriage to Prince Dunkel. However, Trash Panda had watched closely and wasn't sure her heart was entirely in it. It was almost like circumstances kept contriving to give her the win.
Regardless, the wedding was the media event of the year.
The Meet
The runners were a little suspicious to have to meet in the matrix. And then increasingly concerned. This man dressed as the phantom of the opera indicated that he wanted 'Princess' Rosemary abducted during her wedding. He didn't want anyone hurt. That was good. But it didn't seem like she would want to go with him. The runners were uncomfortable with the possibility of handing a woman over into some sort of creepy slavery with some stalker.
They insisted that they would only do it if the johnson agreed that 'Princess' Rosemary would have the ultimate say in her fate. They would interrupt her wedding and bring her to him. But what happened next had to be up to her. They would help her leave if she did not want to remain with the johnson.
The johnson agreed to that.
He also provided the intinerary for the event, and an offer to help keep guards away from her during the kidnapping if needed.
The Plan
The team moved to a nice hotel room to plan, courtesy of Moth.
Shiro gathered useful information about the venue.
First, they needed reasons to be there that would get them past security.
Moth would play two roles. First, she would get on-site as the make-up and hair artist preparing the princess for her big day. The hotel had outsourced beauty staff, and Moth's papa used the same company. He was able to call in favors and get her the role, legitimately. She was very skilled with hair and make-up from her own work with disguise. Standing behind the princess doing her hair gave her the best access to hitting her with the neurostun patch and knocking her out.
They planned for Trash Panda to pretend to be a member of the maintenance staff. That would give her freedom to move around and - crucially - sneak the unconscious princess out in a laundry cart.
Then, Moth would take on the role of the princess through the kidnapping.
Trash Panda would distract the magical security, and play a critical role in transforming the wedding dress so it could not be recognized with a fashion spell, and in magically scrubbing Itako's magical aura.
Itako would play the role of the kidnapper. Swooping down from one balcony on a line shot from a grappling gun, grabbing the princess (Moth), and swinging them up to the opposite balcony where they would slip out of line of sight, swap disguises, and then be able to leave - clearly not the people sought.
Shiro had the critical roll of keeping an eye on the cameras if anything went wrong, and of hacking the system to make sure the targeted balcony would be empty. She changed it to reserved for cameras and a fictitious group.
The Run
'Princess' Rosemary brought her maid of honor and mother to her hair and make-up appointment. Moth conned the maid of honor to leave to get more hair spray. She waited until the mother criticized her work and then through a temperamental fit, typical of an artist of the caliber to land this assignment, and convinced the princess to send her mother away since she was distracting the process. The mother was convinced to go check on her husband, and Moth told her she'd be done and gone before she got back, as if glad to avoid her.
As soon as the mother left, and Trash Panda confirmed she was in place with the laundry cart, Moth managed to get the neurostun patch on the unwitting bride. She was unconscious. They got her in the laundry cart, and Trash Panda was able to wheel her out to the car without anyone noticing.
Moth was able to convince the maid of honor when she returned, and was led back to the bride's room. She was soon all dressed in the gown, taking some last pictures before the ceremony. But, curiously, she found a knife hidden inside a hidden pocket of the wedding dress. What had the princess been planning?
Itako got in place on the opposite balcony.
Moth walked down the aisle with the princess' father. Her own papa, a guest in the audience, didn't recognize her.
It was time for the ceremony to begin. They turned to Moth and indicated that the princess had planned to open the ceremony with a song. She was a good singer, but had no idea what song was planned!
Happily, everything planned happened at that point.
Trash Panda distracted the magical security with an amazing impression of a son of man spirit.
Itako made the grapple gun shot, and swooped down.
Moth made it look like she was utterly surprised, and yet also managed to back right into the right place to be easily scooped up by a slightly off target swooping.
They made it to the opposite balcony. They stowed the grapple gun in the invisibility cloak, and the spirit changed their clothes. Moth swapped the princess synthskin face for the make-up artist face. Just two guests out of place on the stairwell to makeout. Weddings are romantic like that. The physical guards were fooled and raced past to find the princess and her kidnapper.
Everyone made it to the car and they had a clean get away.
Aftermath
They were driving hard, fast as they could, and called the Johnson. And the Johnson's burner phone rang in the unconscious woman's pocket. Uh oh. Was she the Johnson?
Moth kept driving and Trash Panda and Itako sat on either side of the princess, ready to interrogate her when she woke up.
Sure enough, she was the Johnson. And glad the job was done.
Now she wanted a safe house, and a chance to re-group and make plans to fake her own death. A story for another day.
Rewards
20k Nuyen
5 Karma
2CDP
OR
20k Nuyen
3 Karma
'Princess' Rosemary 3/1 Contact
0 CDP
(Additional Reward of Armante dress, concealed holster and a combat knife for Itako
Game Quotes
Player After Action Reports (AARs)
Moth
Moth here. This is run #14 for me.
I have lots of thoughts about this one. First, what a great team. Trash Panda, Itako, and Shiro are first rate. Good plan - just the right mix of thoughtful planning and panache.
But this was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. Was the Johnson some horrible creepy stalker villain? Were we going to ruin a woman's wedding day? What a relief that she did not want to go through with it, and was desperate to be rescued. Desperate enough to hire us! Desperate enough to have a poisoned knife ready if we failed.
But man, I keep thinking about her papa. He walked me down the aisle. He seemed to care about her. He thinks she's been kidnapped. He's going to think she's dead. That's a tough one.
And there was my papa in the audience. And me in a wedding dress. And just thinking about my life, and what I might want, and what it would be like to walk down the aisle for real. I can imagine myself getting married now. Ah, my heart!
Still, I think I really did my part on this one. Lots of impersonation and disguise. I pulled off two roles. Even her father didn't realize it was me, and not her.
And now the news just keeps playing that kidnapping! The daring swoop by the blurred figure. And the woman who looks like her, but I know it's me! I'm famous, but no one will (hopefully) ever know it was me.
Shiro Hime
This Run had an intresting start and the and to think the Johnson was the target was quite a thing she could have told us from the beginning that would have made things a lot smoother. I dislike celebs and their drama but the money was good so I got that going for me which is nice.