Everybody Wants To Be A Co-Author
| Everybody Wants To Be A Co-Author | |||||||||
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| Factions Involved | |||||||||
| ShadowHaven | Red Vory | ||||||||
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Chameleon Red Ribbon Ryuuji Trace |
Konstantine Amarov Boyevik 1 Boyevik 2 Vory Spider Vory Wagemage Goons 1-4 | ||||||||
Summary
The team is hired to secure a rare piece of telesma from a local clinic and the research associated with it.
Background
A few years ago, Dr. Noison Gayle partnered with financier Grant Faber to open VICRA (Vertical Integration Clinic & Research Adjunct), a wide-service clinic and boutique research facility, to pursue his life's work in advancing magical awakenings and latent potential through controlled exposure to high-energy sources. VICRA provided services ranging from high-end organ replacement to pro-bono medical assistance for the destitute and subsidized worker's augmentations for longshoremen. The enterprise was never especially profitable, but revenues were sufficient to keep the facility afloat.
The prize asset for the facility was a piece of telesma recovered from the Deep Lacuna - a few ounces of dual-natured caesium. Dr. Gayle's careful and robust experimentation has produced sufficient results to consider publishing preliminary findings and soliciting funding for a much more scaled-up program - the time has come to grow beyond VICRA. Grant Faber, of course, sees it a little differently. He provided the up-front capital, so naturally, all of Dr. Gayle's results are, properly, his property. And it's about time to parlay that property into a junior executive position at the highly-interested Shiawase corporation. As the administrator of the facility, it's a cinch for Grant to tie up the annual security contract negotiations with KE and bring in some "temporary" security providers to cover the gap. Arranged between Grant and his Shiawase handler, the Red Vory will act as the catspaws here. Once they've taken over security of the clinic, it will be a trivial task to fake a gang attack, pilfer the research and the caesium, and turn it over to Shiawase. All clean and tidy, with poor Dr. Gayle none the wiser.
Unfortunately for all involved, another party has had his eye on the remarkable little prize locked up at VICRA for some time - Dr. Avery Kronotal, owner and operator of the Flash & Flesh Full Body Works, a competitive but somewhat more upscale 'ware and research boutique located firmly downtown. He has his finger in enough pies to know that Grant is pulling some shenanigans with the VICRA security contract, and he sees a perfect opportunity to send in a few deniable assets to help him write his own name in on the author's line of Dr. Gayle's research.
The Meet
The runners all converge at a small coffee shop in Tacoma, frequented by the working poor, in the face of unexpectedly bad weather, acid rain, and a surly mood settling over the city. Dr. Avery is dressed in an unremarkable laborer's outfit and explains to the team that he will pay them to procure the caesium, in its unbreeched container, to the tune of twenty-thousand nuyen apiece, and that KE will stop protecting the clinic at midnight, the next day. When asked if he can provide specialized equipment, he scoffs and suggests that the runners, as professionals, can surely handle the situation. A reasonably politic team persuades him to front a little more cash for "operating expenses".
Some quick research reveals the identities of the key players (Dr. Noison, Grant Faber, and even Dr. Avery). The team, aware that the KE contract is expiring but not aware of who, if anyone, will be replacing them, decides to pose as a corporate investor and his team to try to get inside the clinic and help themselves to the caesium that way.
The First Tour
A little legwork turns up Dr. Gayle's personal commcode, which the team uses to try to make their pitch directly to the good doctor. Frustratingly, he pushes them over to his "partner", Grant Faber. Grant invites them to dinner at the Humane Bean, at his own expense, and wines and dines the party while talking up his interest and enthusiasm for a new angel investor. In reality, of course, he is simply irritated at the presence of a third party when his own plans are already in motion, but he is confident that he can delay the party until the deed is already done. Unfortunately for Grant, Trace's talent for detecting the telltale smell of a lie informs him that something is amiss. He presses hard for an immediate tour. Grant, looking for the fastest and easiest way to get these out-of-towners out of his hair, agrees.
They travel to the clinic immediately and familiarize themselves with the layout. Grant declines to show them the basement levels ("Hazardous materials, you know.") but the team inserts a microskimmer into the ventilation system and Red Ribbon uses some electronic warfare to slip it down into the basement level undetected. They spot a much more substantial security door separating B1 from B2 and deduce, correctly, that their target is beyond it.
After allowing themselves to be nudged back out the door by Grant with empty promises that he'll definitely contact them soon, they decide to reach out to Dr. Gayle directly and appeal to him (in their guise as outside investors) that his partner is not on the up-and-up, and that something seems a little rotten in the state of Denmark. Dr. Gayle is noncommittal over the phone, but insists that he'll figure out what the misunderstanding is and reach out to them in the morning.
Unbeknownst to the team, Dr. Gayle's call with Grant puts Grant's hackles up. Who are these out-of-towners being so pushy right at this critical moment? Grant decides it's time to solve one problem with another. Why not cast these "investors" as agents of a criminal enterprise, here to steal Dr. Gayle's research? It's the perfect plan. He spells it all out to his vory contact, the leader of the team taking over security, Konstantine. These out-of-towners want to see the subbasement so badly? Then it will be the _last thing they ever see_. The perfect misdirection! Cue ominous music.
The Second Tour
The team receives an early AM call from Grant Faber, obsequious and solicitous, eager to clear up any "confusion" and excited to come to an arrangement that very day. Why not come around the clinic for another tour and we'll show you the full facilities? All the biohazards have been tidied up and he'd like nothing more than to show them around. The team is a little trepidatious, but this is what they wanted, right?
In no time at all, Dr. Gayle is showing them, with some pride, the very lifeblood of his professional work. Two "security guards" accompany the party and Dr. Gayle to the basement while Grant finds an excuse to stay above. As Dr. Gayle is showing them the intricacies of his high-energy exposure therapies and extensive safely checks, the boyeviks spot the perfect opportunity and open up. Unfortunately for them, they're not facing an accountant and his retinue - they're facing a squad of shadowrunners. Things go about as well as might be expected - Ryuuji shakes off an APDS round with 1 box of physical damage for his trouble, and FBA serves them poorly against a duo of adepts with the Nerve Strike power.
Two paralyzed boyeviks later, the team plans their exfiltration. Their plans are interrupted when a fire spirit manifests and attempts to incinerate Trace. Chameleon attempts to intervene with Mana Strike and gets Engulfed for his trouble, forced to burn edge to survive. Ryuuji, built different, decides that punching fire is a great idea, actually, and gets himself one more point of physical damage in exchange for punching a fire spirit back to its home dimension. He also resolves to rescue Dr. Gayle, who ate a bullet in the crossfire, and get him medical attention. Trace Heals Chameleon back to consciousness.
The team decides to try using the caesium as a hostage - don't try anything, they communicate to the cameras, or the cannister gets it! Suicidality of the plan notwithstanding, the Vory are reluctant to open fire on them as they ascend, cannister forward. The Vory's leader, Konstantine, suggests that an arrangement can be made. The team agrees, and when they enter the surgical suite to make a deal, Trace uses the spell "Opium Den" to cast the entire opposition force into a stupor. They snatch the bribe intended to buy them off and flee for the exit.
Red Ribbon decides that the best way to clear the opposition from the exit is simple and direct - ramming them with a Bulldog. She smears two goons across the pavement...and then clips a stealthy dumpster and rolls the Bulldog over in an ugly crash, nearly dying in the process. The team rushes out and Ryuuji leaps into the manual controls to escape the facility while Chameleon uses a trauma patch to stop Red Ribbon from graduating to driving the barque of the dead.
Dr. Kronotal couldn't give less of a shit about how close they came to dying, but he is pleased to receive the caesium cannister and makes good on the team's payment. They walk away with a tidy sum, but a bad taste in their mouths.
Run Rewards for Everybody Wants To Be A Co-Author (High, 16 RVP)
32000 Nuyen (16 RVP)
+2500 Nuyen (Negotiations)
+2500 Nuyen (Opfor showdown shenanigans)
2 CDP (Base)
2 negative RVP for Chameleon in the form of 4k in burn treatment costs for burning edge to not die of being engulfed in fire
Optional Contacts:
Dr. Noison Gayle (Connection 2, Loyalty 3)
Dr. Avery Kronotal (Connection 4, Loyalty 1)
Optional Traits:
Ryuuji - Toughness at chargen rate
Trace - First Impression at chargen rate
Chameleon - Will To Live at chargen rate
Red Ribbon - Stunt Driver at chargen rate
Game Quotes
Player After Action Reports (AARs)
Red Ribbon: "There were exactly two good things about this run - everyone survived, and everyone got paid. That Faber guy was slippery as hell, and I think most of us were expecting something to go down once we got into the building. Of course it's only after the fact that I realize we could have just impersonated either the good doctor or his financial partner, but that's hindsight, I guess. When it came down to it, Trace, Chameleon, and Ryujin performed pretty damn well under pressure, and I wish I could have helped them out more actively. Maybe I should put an anthrodrone on my list for next payday."
"I'm glad we managed to get the doc out alright; he was really caught up over his head. It's a little comforting that if we hadn't been there, he would have died, but stealing from someone actually willing to do charity work like that is a punch to the gut. He deserves another shot at things."
"Regardless of all that - I will never, ever underestimate a dumpster again."
Chameleon: "I used to have a friend that talked about The White Light Club. I've joined now. He was right, the light is so pure, so alluring. The rent's paid, food in the fridge. Time to loop Rashomon and navel gaze.
Trace: "Walk in; get shot at; don't get hit; fire spirit tries to hug you; don't get hugged; make people briefly feel the love of the Lord with magic; and walk back out. Easy peasy. Poor Chameleon got hugged real bad and Red Ribbon's ride seems to have beem hit by an assault canon round. There's no way Red Ribbon crashed. I've seen that lady drive: she's one mean rigger.
Body count (of the murder variety) remains at zero. Praise God."