Sionann Flanagon in: On His Holiness' Secret Service
| Sionann Flanagon in: On His Holiness' Secret Service | |||||||||||
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| Part of Temple in the Shadows | |||||||||||
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| Factions Involved | |||||||||||
| ShadowHaven | French Catholic Church | Horizon | The Infected | ||||||||
| Fidem | Father Elias | Ace Powers | Grendel | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||||
| Grendel | |||||||||||
| This was an ascension run. | |||||||||||
Summary
In which Fidem goes to Paris Fashion Week, helps with the process of reconciliation between Rome and the French Catholics, and steals an artifact.
Background
The Roman Catholic Church and the French Catholic Church split from one-another in a schism in 2029, however the latest pope, Sixtus VI, is a reformer and interested in fostering good relations with other branches of the Church. Father Raphael of the Order of the Temple has been tasked with reaching out to Father Elias of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher, and as an acolyte of the Order Fidem has been assigned to accompany him.
Separately, Marie-Claire d'Orléans has a mystery on her hands - someone killed her brother by pushing him off the Eiffel Tower, and she would very much like to know who was responsible. Seeking shadow talent to pursue leads where she cannot, she is on the hunt for useful assets for her cause.
The Meet
While partying at the club to celebrate six months of sobriety from drinking, Fidem naturally finds herself in the bathroom in order to do novacoke - there she has a chance encounter with Marie-Claire d'Orléans, in town after a recent party. Recognizing the famous starlet, Marie-Claire greets her in the traditional fashion of rich celebrities, and the two proceed bond over coke and club music. Marie-Claire lets it slip that she plans to return to Paris for the upcoming Fashion Week, and invites Fidem to tag along as part of her entourage.
The next morning, Fidem receives a call from Father Uriel, the spymaster of the Order of the Temple. She tells him of her encounter with the French noblewoman and her trip to Paris, and he tells her that it is truly serendipitous, as another member of his order - Father Raphael - will also be journeying to Paris in order to meet with one Father Elias of the French Catholic Church's Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in order to discuss potential diplomatic ties between their respective organizations (and potential under-the-table collaboration between Templar orders). Fidem adroitly intuits this, and agrees to accompany Father Raphael.
City of Lights
Arriving at SeaTac with her baggage, Fidem (flying her real SIN) has little trouble with customs and security, and is greeted by Marie-Claire upon arrival at the tarmac; naturally the noblewoman has a private plane and a small army of personal assistants and sycophants accompanying her, and soon a mile-high party is taking place aboard the craft. Further endearing herself to Marie-Clare, Fidem shows off her proficiency with French and the history of her family, along with the recent events which lead to her political exile and knowledge of her work in fashion. Marie-Clare introduces her to some of her hangers-on, and invites her to another party at her suite in Paris.
At Charles de Gaulle International, Fidem again breezes through security, though she feels the watchful gaze of Marianne upon her. Marie-Clarie's arrival attracts the attention of the paparazzi, to whom she begins telling about her latest fashion line - Fidem gives her endorsement on camera, attracting the attention of Horizon's data acquisition algorithms. Ace Powers is immediately deployed to "do lunch" with her and discuss contract renegotiation, which she has been avoiding for the better part of a year now. A few hours later, Ace "coincidentally" bumps into Fidem in her hotel lobby, where she deftly manages to socially maneuver her way around a commitment to lunch with him - though he remains relentless in his pursuit of adding her star power to his portfolio of talent and says he'll see her around town.
While partying with Marie-Clare, the noblewoman drops hints about her search for shadow talent, and Fidem intimates that she may be familiar with such individuals without directly revealing herself as one. Later, she drunkenly reveals how she was sent a cryptic clue regarding the murder of her brother, and is seeking someone who can procure her the means of decrypting and translating it. Fidem makes a private note of this, and passes the information on to Father Uriel the next morning.
French Catholics
Fidem meets with Father Raphael for breakfast to discuss strategy with him. He tells her that the man they're to meet with, Father Elias, is known to be rather prickly, and that she should comport herself well without rising to his provocations, as well as to conduct herself appropriately while under the scrutiny of the public eye in Paris. She says that she will do her best to act as a servant of the Lord should (though she did end up on several fan blogs due to partying at Paris Dante's the previous night). Raphael tells Fidem that he has another task for her from Uriel - to infiltrate the Relic Crypt of St. Helena, a church in Paris dedicated to the woman who brought Christianity to Rome, and steal a ring which has been concealed inside a statue in its vaults; she agrees to undertake the task, and he offers to arrange to get her into a clinic so that she has the ware and skillsofts suitable for infiltration (and thus does not have to rely on a personafix).
After a day of visiting holy sites such as Notre Dame, the Sainte-Chapelle, and Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, the two meet with Father Elias for dinner. Fidem is able to navigate the dinner with grace and dignity, while also showing appropriate humility and piety for a nun - Elias seems doubtful about the sincerity of her devotion at first, but she impresses him with the breadth and depth of her knowledge on scripture and Church history. By the end of the meal, Elias is rather taken with the trideo starlet-turned servant of God, and happily invites the two to a function at the Relic Crypt which is to take place three days hence.
Spending the following few days split between partying and shopping with Marie-Clare and touring Paris' various religious sites, Fidem does her best to prepare for the dinner by acquiring a proper wardrobe and studying the history of the Relic Crypt. While she is out and about, she is again accosted by Ace Powers and forced to commit to a dinner with him. Later, while signing some autographs for fans, she notices a man observing her from a distance; ascertaining that he's not poorly trying to stalk her, she cautiously approaches in private and strikes up a conversation. The man says that his name is Lyam, and that he is a servant of Louis XXII de Bourbon, who unlike Marie-Clare is not so free to show his face in Paris. However he would like very much to meet with Fidem, who agrees, having heard of Louis XXII as a fellow Catholic; Lyam provides her with a Matrix address where she can speak with him in private, away from Marianne's eyes.
Louis XXII proves to be polite and refined as one might expect of a nobleman, telling Fidem that he is aware of her order in Seattle and wished foster better relationships with his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Fidem impresses him with her religious and history knowledge as she did with Father Elias, and he intimates that he too is seeking talented individuals who can see to tasks where he cannot. However he also hints that he is aware that Marie-Clare also has her eyes on her, and he cannot trust someone who is in service to a rival claimant. Fidem says that she will consider his offer closely, and passes along the fact that she met with him to Father Uriel as well.
Dinner and Dungeon Crawling, With a Side of Artifact Theft
At the Relic Crypt, Fidem and Father Raphael are introduced to other prominent members of the French church, and talk their way through another dinner with the dignitaries; Fidem makes a particular impression on some of the nuns, managing to sell the sincerity of her beliefs and even meeting a few fans of her work. Managing to eventually slip away from Father Elias' watchful gaze, Fidem heads towards the confessional box; inside, she locates a secret passageway which leads to an ancient set of stairs down into the undercroft.
In the tunnels, Fidem encounters a spirit bound to this place as a guardian, who tests her knowledge with a series of tough questions - thankfully she's done her homework, and is able to remember the answers from her prior research. Allowing her to pass, she progresses further into darkness, relying on her eye-lights to see. Coming to a lone shrine to St. Helena, she uses her ultrasound sensor to notice another secret passage under the statue, as well as some Latin writing etched into the wall. Feeling the words with her hands, she notices that some letters are etched deeper into the stone than others, finding a pattern to them; depressing them in sequence, she is able to trigger the catch that makes the statue move aside, allowing her to descend further.
Unfortunately, she does not notice some loose brickwork, through which a pair of feral-looking eyes watch her pass - a grendel from the Paris catacombs. The creature starts to stalk Fidem through the tunnels, though she manages to pick up on the fact that something is following her; taking shelter in a small alcove, she readies her sword to strike. Tracking her by scent, the grendel slowly advances on her position - attacking from surprise, she manages to cut its head off with a single blow thanks to the power of edge, avoiding getting its blood on her in the process.
Finally, she comes to a dead end and a hole in the wall just big enough for her hand. Concerned that there may be more grendels on the other side, she nonetheless takes the leap of faith and feels around cautiously, managing to find a catch within which can be turned, pulled and pushed in various directions. Working out that it's some sort of puzzle, she manages through trial and error to figure out the correct sequence to unlock the secret door leading into the Relic Crypt's vault. Sneaking through it, she is able to locate the statue and discover the secret compartment in the base where the ring is hidden before retracing her steps through the tunnels and back to the confessional. Running into Father Elias on the way out, she is able to con him with a story about wishing to confess her public indulgences, and slips away without suspicion.
Aftermath
Having acquired the relic for the Order of the Temple, Fidem's superiors are pleased with her work, offering access to prime-quality augmentation. She also managed to make a good impression on a pair of French nobles, and is left with a decision to make with regards to which she wishes to remain in contact with.
Rewards
12k nuyen
5 karma
12 CDP
Ascension rewards (5 RVP out of rewards)
Optional Contact: Louis XXII de Bourbon OR Marie-Claire d'Orléans (C6/L2 French Noble) for 7 RVP or 14 CDP
Optional Gear Rewards: High Fashion Armor (Paris Winter Collection) AND Deltaware from the Vatican
Optional Quality: First Impression @ chargen price