Surface Tension
| Surface Tension | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Factions Involved | ||||||||||
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ShadowHaven Mafia | MCT | Yakuza | ||||||||
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Black Sabbath Goddess of Victory Firewill Samael Shugi |
Various Lower Level Grunts Commanders overseeing transport Lieutenant Riggers maintaining drone operations | |||||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||||
| GoV got blown up, but no one died at least. | 3 grunts, a lieutenant, and a commander were killed during transport duty. | |||||||||
Summary
Due to mounting tensions and increased activity in Renton, the Mafia send out a team of Runners to check in on what's happening. What they find is deeply concerning.
Background
Francesca Giordano, member of the Ciaronello family and operating out of Everett, received some rather worrying reports about the uptick in Yakuza activity -activity with much greater firepower and 'ware notably- over in Renton. While her normal sphere of influence resides in Everett, she understands that things are spread thin and that assistance in reconnaissance would be vital in ensuring that the families don't lose control over the area, and that while she works on the situation in Everett she can at least spare the funds to send a more...expendable group to investigate.
Still somewhat sore from her prior interactions with the prolific network before...she decides upon the Shadowhaven as her avenue for information.
The Meet
Black Sabbath, the Goddess of Victory, Firewill, Samael, and Shugi were all called to her mansion by their fixers for some kind of intel job. Ms. Giordano was rather cagey about giving out exact details (partially to keep her informed advantage, partially because she had the distinct impression some present would be unwilling to work with a syndicate member) but did inform them of their task:
The runners were to investigate a particular site that Ms. Giordano suspected (according to other reports from the family in Renton) was part of the uptick in supplies and general increase in equipment quality. The team had a simple objective: Find out who was in charge of that facility, what they were sending out, and whom/where whatever it was they were sending it was going. For their information, she would give them 10k a piece. If they managed to procure some of the product for her own measures, there would be a bit of extra cash (about 4k a head) for it. Despite the team generally realizing who they were working for, they agreed to the terms.
The Plan
After some initial casing and looking into the name of this place (Kyoto Delivery company, to be precise) the team realized that there was an issue: This was likely MCT. So the plan became this, rather than hitting the facility directly because Zero Tolerance Policies are horrifying.
- Scope out the place from afar (Astrally, Socially, and via the Matrix) - See if they can't find out more about their targets through the vans actually sending out...whatever it is they were sending out and taking back. - If possible, attack a van when it is far from the facility and where HTR won't be...as fast arriving and see what they can learn from that.
The Run
First, the distance investigations. Shugi's spirit was able to check out the warded and fairly standard Watcher presence over at the warehouse. Samael was able to notice how heavily reinforced the place was from the exterior, as well as noting that there was indeed a lot more activity than there should have been. Finally, Firewill noticed how...terrifying the Host inside was. It was going to be way too big for her to get into. Even with a risky physical infiltration, there was a good chance MCT set their host up to linklock and kill rather than just dissuade intrusion. So, Samael came up with another proposition: Stick a few tags on the bottom of one of those vans and see where it goes.
GoV kept watch for Sam's hide as he snuck up on the Van during traffic, pretending to just be some rude pedestrian. It worked well enough, and he even managed to avoid getting hit by a car as he slipped out back to the sidewalk. Following the signal from the tags, the team took note of where the van seemed to be stopping: This one was heading to spots in Tacoma and Everett before heading back to the facility. The team recognized these spots as Yakuza territory, meaning the Yakuza were being supplied with whatever this was by MCT.
Samael plotted out the final course of the plan: Stopping one of those vans somewhere they could hijack it, and then seeing what's inside. He let Ms. Giordano in on what they had found so far, and then the team got ready to hijack. Firewill got the marks she needed to steer this sucker someplace remote as Shugi's spirit iced the watcher hanging around the truck. Once the preliminary defenses were halted and Firewill was in position to stop any attempts to call for backup, GoV and Samael went out to handle the opposition as Black Sabbath kept the noncombatants safe in case of any emergencies. The fighting was going well as they had enveloped the enemy and caught them without a majority of their defenses, but a Krime Stinger nearly took out the Swordswoman as Samael tried at first to be nonlethal and...failing that, finished off the remaining guards. The only survivor was the rigger and her drones.
The firefight was sure to garner attention, so the team quickly cleaned the site, hauled bodies into the van, and drove off with the tags inside the packages removed. Taking a peek inside as they kept an eye on possible pursuit as they escaped, the team discovered the weaponry, ware, and even experimental drones that these transports were handling. Samael immediately realized these people are preparing for war. Black Sabbath then gathered some materials for a...very rude awakening for the poor rigger they had left alive. After paralyzing her and subjecting her to excruciating pain via melting her body, the team found out that these people were, in fact, planning for some major project. The commander knew more, they kept their info on a need-to-know basis for these situations. Satisfied, Black Sabbath knocked her out for good, and the team had all they needed.
Aftermath
Ms. Giordano was briefed on the situation, and also on the fact that the team needed to get rid of this vehicle and its contents...now, preferably. She set up a rendezvous at the docks in Tacoma for them to hand over what they stole and receive their payment. The team briefly considered whether or not they should hand over this woman to the Mafia, who would surely kill her after interrogation, but the majority simply did not care and the rest believed her beyond redemption.
They discreetly drove over to the meetup spot, where some of Ms. Giordano's goons were waiting with their own van to offload the goods and hand out the payment, along with the bonus. With that settled, the team dispersed to handle the implications of this job however they saw fit.
Rewards
Run Rewards for "Surface Tension" (16 RVP)
14k Nuyen (7 RVP)
5 Karma (5 RVP)
10 CDP (4 RVP + 2 Base)
Optional for GoV:
Asahiro Kunitoshi (C6/L1) for 6 RVP or 10 CDP
Liudmila (C5/L1) for 5 RVP or 8 CDP
Narrative Consequences:
-The Mafia are made aware of MCT arming the Yakuza and Triads for an all-out gang war
-For his assistance in this run, Asahiro will be expecting a run in the future from the Goddess of Victory
Game Quotes
Player After Action Reports (AARs)
Shugi
"well.. running sure is interesting, didn't get to do much but at least got some good naps, it was neat"
Samael
"Relatively clean op, all things considered. I certainly don't appreciate the likelihood of an MCT backed Yakuza going blow for blow with the local Mafia families. That spells danger, madness, and bloodshed. Which, I suppose, is good for work but increases the risk and the exposure. I think I may need to watch this Ms. Giordino more closely. Not to mention, needing to check up on Dr. Foreman. Something is strange, there..."
Goddess of Victory
"It is never so simple with the yakuza. To dream that they could be convinced to put down arms, to go peacefully into a better life... So rarely is it so. Even rarer still that MCT cedes it's position. Would that I had my sister’s blade."