In the Dead of Night
| In the Dead of Night | |||||||||
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| Part of Darkening the Shadows Event | |||||||||
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| Factions Involved | |||||||||
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ShadowHaven UCAS FBI Ancients | Saeder-Krupp | ||||||||
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Spider Skimmer Babylon Crazy Hoof Hextech Katherine Tyler | S-K Commandos | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| S-K Commandos. | |||||||||
Summary
Cassandra Withers, representing the UCAS FBI, wants some Runners to investigate some strange disappearances. Runners are going missing more than normal, and she suspects foul play.
The Meet
It’s just a normal Seattle day, and several Runners are sent messages offering work. There is a meeting in a rentable office space downtown at 3 PM. The building appears to be owned by Carmen Holdings, a shell company within a shell company. They respond, showing up to the meeting. The group consists of Babylon, Hextech, Skimmer, Crazy Hoof, Spider, and Katherine Tyler. They all make it without incident. Almost. Hoof just about causes an incident by his mere presence, but they all made it to the room. Friendly hello’s were exchanged, and new introductions made. Mostly for Hoof, who Kate and Babylon had never formally met.
After some time talking, followed by silence, they all end up standing around looking at each other kind of confused. Then the TV flips on. On it is a very controversial figure, Cassandra Withers. Babylon immediately launches into a tirade. Off to a good start it seems.
Cassandra explains that they have had an issue with a mysterious force kidnapping Runners. Pretty solid Runners. Normally this isn’t a big deal but the frequency that it has been happening is slightly concerning. The UCAS FBI wants answers, but they know that Runners, or “deniable assets” can go places that even they can’t. Plus if the FBI starts asking around about Runners, they would meet stiff resistance. They want information but if the team can get more substantial evidence and intel about what is going on they would be willing to provide a bigger reward.
The group appears highly advanced and mobile. They leave no electronic trail, and are in and out quickly. The Runners immediately suspect heavy hitters, up to and including the Big 10.
Babylon continues to sass Cassandra though the whole briefing. Cassandra gives it right back. The group is given a dossier on several of the missing runners to help start their search. Soon the question of compensation is brought up. The runners, minus Babylon, ask for cash. God knows the FBI has it hand over fist. But Babylon asks for something more personal. She wants Cassandra to use her contacts to maybe make some of her criminal history go away. Cassandra promises that if the job is done to her expectations, she will see what she can do. There is some negotiation for more money, but Cassandra isn’t having it.
Devil's Lake
Annoyed, the runners finish talking to Cassandra and leave. They mostly leave in separate ways, but several don’t care and just take the elevator. Unfortunately, KE got a tip about Hoof. When the elevator opens there are several KE officers waiting to hassle him. Upon seeing him however, they hesitate. He’s kind of a big deal in person. Thinking quickly Spider hacks some commlinks and sends some fake messages urging the group on to another situation. They take some photos of Hoof and leave. The Runners bounce out, going their separate ways.
They think about places to meet up and conduct an investigation and eventually settle on the WCM base out by Devil’s Lake. Kate had been there and knows Bolt but the other Runners only knew them by reputation. Several knew Vic and held her in good regard. But going to the base itself is an experience. It’s a pretty solid operation, but is somewhat rough around the edges.
The Runners begin their investigations. And they are extensive. Spider begins spreading her web around the Matrix. Searching the dark corners of forums, news agencies, and even messing about with city surveillance records. She finds a huge amount of information about the Runners Cassandra gave them. She correlates the missing surveillance data with locations and begins to put together a list of possible abduction locations. She also catches a photo associated with these events. A high tech, blacked out attack helo was caught on a still leaving one of the scenes. Kate almost immediately pegs it as an Aztechnology Agular. The Gx-3AT specifically. It’s fast, deadly, and perfect for clandestine insertions. They are also expensive to own and operate. Even as a SEAL she mostly flew in Sea Sprites, which were much more economical. Agulars are built and bought for very specific purposes.
Babylon goes a different route. She reaches out to her gang contacts. She reaches out to Ether looking for info, but she could only provide a little info. There just wasn’t a lot to go on. Hextech was spouting something about cults in Glow City, so Babylon decided to call Chaplain Carmilla to follow up on this. After much sassing back and forth, Carmilla pretty much confirmed that none of the Glow City cults had the resources to pull something like this off.
They did determine that the craft flew out into a North by Northwest direction, and further searching pointed out to a destination in BC, probably near the coast. With this revelation, Babylon uses Oniero for some divination.
No one was finding anything really conclusive. So Hextech got an idea. Technomancers and deckers are crazy, and she set out to prove just how bad. She decided to skim the Dox. It’s a little known venture, and fraught with peril, but Hextech was set. She did succeed in her Techno black magic Matrix diving. They learned that certain blacksites exist. They learned that there is a Wuxing, Aztechnology, and Saeder-Krupp blacksites where they think the helo might have gone. This information was pretty invaluable. But there could be grave consequences to searching for it. The Dox is not to be trifled with, and time will tell if Hextech escaped unscathed.
Hextech also tried some Oniero, but instantly crashes when using it.
The group tries to find out more info. Kate calls Sahalé, who isn’t a contact but has been a J for her in the past. She couldn’t provide much info.
Babylon starts making some alchemical preps, and the group rests up a little. Cereprax hits Spider, and everyone relaxes for a little while. In the morning, a hungover Babylon calls Cassandra back. Cassandra seems to not know much more. Sass abounds. Babylon flips out. Good times. Cassandra thinks it might be the S-K or Wuxing sites, but has little evidence to support this.
Babylon decides to call Cecelia Cross. Cecilia is a friend and they have a pleasant conversation. Comparing notes, Cecilia bets that this is the work of the Saeder-Krupp site. They are in the right location, have motive, and most clues point that way.
They have a destination now. But breaking into an S-K blacksite is no mean feat. The team begins to prepare. Skimmer and Hoof now take a more active part of the discussions. Babylon calls Ether to try and see what resources she can muster. They do secure a patrol boat, and some fake SINs to match it as members of the SSC coastal patrol.
They begin to formulate a plan. There is much deliberation as to how to approach the site. Skimmer is a ghost, Kate is an experienced diver, and Hoof is about as subtle as a bulldozer. Plus there are the terminators, and Babylon and Spider.
The Operation
They eventually settle on an aerial approach. They know the site has a sophisticated SAM system, so this is a two-fold insertion. Skimmer will sneak in and disable the SA, and the rest will jump from a plane. But no one had a plane. Hextech speaks up here. The WCM, specifically Vic, had a tricked out blimp. Perfect for stealthy insertions. Babylon keeps bringing up the fact that they need a floor plan. Over and over. Kate gets tired of this, and with Hextech's Techno BS she puts her little old Fuchi Cyber-X7 to work. Somehow, some way, Kate gets the information they need from the host.
Content, they decide to pull the trigger on this op. Skimmer went in with all the buffs and became a shadow. Babylon was on spirit patrol, and the rest of the group prepared their bodies for insertion. Skimmer expertly infiltrates the base, noticing some very big crab-like drones with very big guns on them but avoids them. He disables the SAM. The group then begins the assault, deploying near the main building. Babylon deploys in her astral form.
Landing and avoiding the drones, Hoof makes a door and they are in. They enter near the barracks, where they hear a commotion. Hextech decides to handle this and leaves Skimmer, Kate, and Hoof to keep going to find the prisoners and the VIP’s. Hextech and the terminators bust in the barracks and rain hell. They do solid work, but the S-K SPECOPS team eventually overpowers her and drives out into the hallway… into Skimmer. Bad move on their part. But before he can do Skimmer things, Hextech grits her teeth, aims with her Dragunov, and blasts the guy trying to kill her right through his face. She continues to secure the barracks.
Hoof and Kate explore more and start searching VIP areas. They find some living quarters and a Horizon exec. Putting him in cuffs, they continue on. Hoof continues to make doors as they search the area, coming to the director’s office. Hoof delicately smashes the door, revealing an S-K SPECOPS trooper, a distraught looking director, and a strange woman. Hoof does assense her, but turns up a really plain and suspect aura. They decide to come back to this later. Hoof and Skimmer demand that they stay out of the way, and in the interest of self preservation they promise to.
Continuing, Hoof, Kate, and Skimmer open up to another room. They soon surmise this is some sort of dangerous area. The clue here is that it is filled with heavily armored troops sporting a whole arsenal of weapons. They have found quite the kill box. Unfortunately for the S-K troopers, they were trapped in this box with Hoof, Kate, and Skimmer. Chaos ensues. Hoof hits Kate with Noble Sacrifice, and they begin to pick the security team apart. Hextech gets a little caught off guard from stray suppressive fire, but ducks out of the way. Hoof and Skimmer pick off the tougher targets, and Kate focuses on the lighter armored ones. Some are wearing Milspec armor, and Hoof’s massive strength and Skimmer’s unnatural accuracy take good care of them.
While this happens, spirits appear. Babylon steps up and handles this. She was here for one purpose and this was it. She puts her banishing skills to good use.
After the fight, Hoof, Kate, and Skimmer search for the prisoners. They find and release them. Searching further they find a medical suite. They take any documentation and data chips they find.
The strange woman then comes to meet the Runners. She converses with Babylon, curious but not that interested in the whole thing. She summons some very big spirits to hang out. She gets assensed again, as a magic 13 Drake. The Runners are immediately more concerned than before, but she doesn’t appear to be hostile. In fact, she pretty much lets them go.
As they leave, Hextech marching out first, they forgot about three things. They were the three drones outside. As soon as Unit 02 steps out, he gets blasted by an HMG. Through crazy luck, he managed to survive and Hextech and her drones duck back inside. The Runners begin thinking on how they will escape. They intend to fly out, but don’t have a way around the drones.
Crazy Hoof gets a crazy idea. Using Kate’s creative skills at making improv doors, they blow a hole open in the back and let out Hoof to cause a distraction. And a distraction it was. There’s an old saying about when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, and it was displayed in full outside. Hoof tanked shots and distracted the drones like some kind of monstrous being. He did get hit, but the explosions did little to dissuade him from being as big of a target as he could be.
This did have the desired effect. The group of Runners and Prisoners made it out, Stole the Agular, and flew off. Babylon immediately called Ether looking for a safe place to land and take care of everyone, getting info about an obscure place in the woods.
Escape and Aftermath
The Runners let everyone go, Hextech did some recruitment, and the group hid out for a bit while the heat cooled off. Pissing in S-K’s yard when you’re not welcome is dangerous.
Information was sent back to Cassandra about the site, the operation, who was involved, but the captured Runners were set free. The group refused to let the FBI get their hands on them.
Babylon made contact with the drake again. She wants to be free of the S-K dragons. An audacious idea, and she asked if the Runners would be willing to help. Most agreed.
Rewards
40k Nuyen - 20 RVP
40 Karma - 40 RVP
20 Bonus CDP - 10 RVP
2 CDP Base
+2 FBI Rep(for everyone except Babylon)
+2 Shadowhaven Admin Rep
-2 SK Rep
-2 Horizon Rep
-5 FBI Rep(for Babylon
Optional Contact: Cassandra Withers as a 8/1 - (8 RVP)
Optional Drake Contact as a (8/1) - 8 RVP
For Babylon, as a (8/2) - 9 RVP
Optional for Hextech: (If thematics approves)
The stolen Agular GX-3AT at Gear Rewards Rates, any other RVP converted - 280K if all converted
Optional Quality for Hoof. Tough as Nails. Up to 2 ranks. (10 RVP)
Optional Quality for Hextech. Can buy another rank up in WCM at chargen price.
Optional Quality for Spider, TDNL
Player After Action Reports (AARs)
Katherine Tyler
I try to avoid working against Saeder-Krupp if I can help it. They may be evil, but they are an invaluable ally to have. But this was not acceptable. This was about other Runners, and that made it personal. The whole plan was audacious and ridiculous and to be honest I'm surprised we pulled it off. The whole thing was a giant pain in the ass. I guess that's why they use black sites. They are ridiculously hard to find and deal with.
Skimmer
"Again with S-K being a bad guy. Who knew? I guess they aren't going to be on the good list this year, you know for Santa. Glad we could get those runners out of that situation though. Being brainwashed into little automatons for security, sad face... Anyway, got to work with a bunch of professionals again, enjoyed the process to no end. Hope to see such talent again some time soon."
Crazy Hoof
Those crab tanks used to be fun. Finally, a challenge again. Apart from that, it's always amazing what ideas the megas come up with to simply abuse runners like us for their purposes. But it was fun to work with a good professional team again. It was almost like the old days at Aztech.