From the Ashes
| From the Ashes | ||||||||||
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| Factions Involved | ||||||||||
| ShadowHaven | Aleph Society | Zone Defense Force | ||||||||
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Quinntessence Stacy Zan Zan |
Frederick Walters Security Spider |
Boarder Officials ZDF Officers | ||||||||
Summary
In which the runners investigate a talesma smuggling operation.
Background
The Aleph Society, through their intermediaries in the Coalition of the Pure Spirit in Denver and the White Eagle Lodge in Cheyenne, have been conducting a smuggling operation with the aid of the Koshari and Lakota mafia, moving awakened turquoise from the PCC (former Ute territory) through Denver and into the Sioux nation. While they've made every effort to make this appear to be simply an effort to avoid the Sioux's heavy taxes on magical goods, in truth it is part of a conspiracy to bring in specifically attuned mana-sensative material for Nefarious Purposes (specifically: creating blood magic talesma in order to channel the magic of the Sun Dance ritual towards darker ends).
The operation has not gone unnoticed however: the Society of the Risen Phoenix (rivals to the Aleph Society based in Denver who also recruit from among the burnout population) have noticed the influx of suspicious activity around the Coalition of the Pure Mind. Wishing to earn the favor of the Council of Denver by exposing the smuggling operation (and get to the bottom of what their rivals are up to), they reach out to their Seattle chapter and tug on their founder's connections to the shadow community in order to recruit some out-of-town runners to investigate the situation.
The Meet
The runners are contacted via their fixers and asked to meet with Ms. Johnson at the Society of the Risen Phoenix's Seattle chapter house the next day - after a bit of research into the society, the three of them meet up at the magical group's HQ for their meeting with their prospective employers. Ms. Johnson is forthright with them: the group doesn't have a lot of extra money, but they're willing to cover travel expenses to Denver if the team agrees to discretely dig into the matter. None of the team feel like gouging them for extra cash, so they accept the megre pay and the free vacation. After filling out their Visa papers with their fake SIN information, they head to SeaTac (thankfully their unlicensed techno isn't exposed by the casual astral scans of domestic passengers) for an uneventful flight to Dunklezhan International Airport in Denver.
The Plan
After navigating the various "the Big D is alive" conspiracy theorists and Church of the Dragon Reborn parishioners at the airport, the runners secure lodgings at the nearby convention center by blending in with the Pride Month festival-goers there. Quinntessence hits the local grid to gather information on the Coalition of the Pure Mind and it's members (finding that its outreach coordinator seems to be a dwarf named Fredrick Walters while the behind-the-scenes money seems to come through a series of shell companies owned by one Sylvia LaGuardia) while Stacy heads to the tourism bureau to secure a mapsoft and information on local magical societies. Armed with this information, Zan Zan performs some astral scouting, but ends up getting lost in the unfamiliar city. At the Red Rock Amphitheater, the explorer meets a wolf-like air spirit calling itself Hunts-With-Wind who agrees to escort her around if she makes a donation to the nearby wolf sanctuary; with their aid, she is able to locate both the main branch of the Risen Phoenix Society (which has generally good vibes to it) as well as the ivory tower-like headquarters of the Coalition (which does not). Deterred by the powerful ward in place, ZZ decides against attempting to astrally infiltrate, instead returning to her body and accompanying Stacy there in meatspace.
Meanwhile, the techno digs a bit deeper into the increasingly-cult-like Coalition and its financial backers while she prepares to infiltrate their host for more info. A search on LaGuardia discovers that she has affiliations with a number of other magical groups (including the White Eagle Lodge in Cheyenne, as well as the Community of Truth in Atlanta, the Munma Order in LA, and various other orgs in Boston, Toronto and Montreal). The connecting tissue between these groups however is the Aleph Society, whose previous leader vanished under mysterious circumstances and which now appears to be headed by LaGuardia - the runners immediately peg some of the group's rhetoric about "finding the Throne of the Soul" and "embracing the Black Moon" to be highly suspect, which isn't helped by interviews which seem to confirm that they intentionally target depressed burnouts in desperate circumstances without support networks. Stacy can't help but get some exceptionally weird, almost antiquatedly psionic vibes from them, and ZZ recalls her old mentor Yamabushi looking into Munma Order before he disappeared.
The Run
Stacy and ZZ head to the Coalition HQ to scope the place out, while Quinntessence listens in over comms and prepares to do a bit of hacking. In meatspace, the pair talk their way into a meeting with Mr. Walters, though Stacy is able to quickly discern that the totally-not-cult has little interest in recruiting people who come to them, and instead seem like the type who prefer to approach targets who are at a low point in their lives and offer them much-needed support. While ZZ steps out to "take a call", Stacy privately confides in Walters that she's been attempting to get "her friend" to reach out for help for some time, intimating that ZZ has been dealing with personal struggles as a result of the degree of cyber-augmentation she's undergone and the strain that's been placed on her connection to the gaiasphere. She suggests that Walters talk to the oni in private, hinting that if they can help her she'd be willing to help them in return; ZZ indulges this, but proves to be something of a brick wall to the cult recruiter, who is about to write her off before she mentions Yamabushi. Suddenly becoming more interested, he starts to dig into ZZ's past a bit (the oni is characteristically forthright with him) before offering his card and inviting her to another meeting.
Meanwhile, on the Matrix, Quinn navigates the destination host and is able to locate a hidden nested host within managing to get a mark on it and slip inside before the IC attached to her notices. Finding herself within the facets of a crystalline structure lit by an eerie blacklight type effect, she is able to stay hidden while seeking out information on the group's recruiting efforts and mentions of the Aleph Society connections. Thanks to the power of the Resonance (and the skills she learned in Hacker School), she's able to disarm the data bomb on the progress reports file (finding that the group tends to employ cult-like indoctrination efforts designed to weed out those who aren't committed to their methods) and circumnavigate the encryption on some messages between Walters and LaGuardia (which explicitly detail the connections between the groups). The files contain mention of a "Mr. Acothley" who has been "keeping the supply of rocks flowing across the boarder", as well as a Talutha Maka who has been "crafting them into the telesma and moving them to Cheyenne." Deciding she's found enough, she exits the host before her luck runs out.
While the face and the street sam return to the hotel, the techno starts looking into Acouthley (a common last name in the area, but in-context likely referring to one Jenson Acouthley, a criminal SINner from the PCC and known member of the Koshari) and Maka (a Lakota name meaning "Scarlet Earth", and the proprietor of a talismongering shop in the Sioux sector). The team looks over the evidence and begins to put a picture together - however they're going to need more evidence, and are left with the choice of going to deal with known criminals or snooping around a talismonger shop. Deciding the latter is more conducive to not getting on the radar of law enforcement, Stacy and ZZ start crafting an excuse to cross over into the Sioux sector, settling on a story that they're charity workers with the Knights Hospitaller (actually true in the latter's case). Not wanting to put too much stress on her fake SIN, Quinn elects to hold down the fort at the hotel and provide remote Matrix support.
After a night of rest and a conversation with the Sioux boarder authority, Stacy works her magic and, wiconvinces the suspicious guards of their good intent, getting them access to the sector. Making their way to the talismonger's shop, they find it closed for business with a note that Maka has gone to participate in the Lakota Sun Dance ritual. They decide to break in, waiting until nightfall to do so. While scouting out the astral defenses, ZZ notes a strong ward and a watcher spirit, as well as an alchemical preparation on the back door's lock; at the appointed hour, she dispatches the astral guardian and keeps an eye out while Stacy casually meanders into the back ally. The extra effort it takes to avoid triggering the preparation means that the amateur locksmith is unable to break in with her hair pin without triggering an eruption of firewater, so instead ZZ triggers the prep (which melts the lock) and forces the weakened door open with her sword while Quinn disables the alarm system.
Once inside, they decide to make things look like a mundane burglary, swiping some telesma and reagents while searching for the turquoise stone - while they locate a few pieces of jewelry, it seems that the stock has already been taken. Finding a commlink hidden in a locked drawer, they pocket it while Quinn wipes the camera footage, checking the logs and finding that a trio of men using Faceless systems apparently let themselves inside the shop with a key a few days ago and took the stones with them when they left. Zooming in on the crates, she finds that they're stamped with the logo of "Vandelay Imports/Exports" and apparently came from Desperation, Nevada. Deciding that they've found enough, the thieves escape into the night.
Aftermath
Remotely hacking the commlink, the team find messages from Maka to someone called Wambleeska (Lakota for "White Eagle"), and begin putting the pieces together: the Koshari smuggle the magic rocks in from the PCC, which are then moved through the talismonger shop to the White Eagle Lodge, though the purpose is still unclear. Deciding the smugglers aren't likely to be privy to the information, they report back to their J, who is satisfied with their work and the evidence they've brought - which can be used to implicate the Aleph Society in illegal telesma trafficking.
Rewards
8,000 nuyen
4 karma
8 CDP
+2 Risen Phoenix Society reputation
Narrative Consequences:
-The Risen Phoenix Society confirms the link between the Aleph Society and their various front groups (the Coalition of the Pure Spirit and the White Eagle Lodge), and curry favor with the Council of Denver and the ZDF by making them aware of the talislegging operation from the PCC into Sioux territory.
-ZZ becomes aware that Yamabushi was looking into of the Aleph Society before he vanished.