The Memories That Bind

The Memories That Bind
Date	2085-05-03
GM	Sarcarian
Location	Seattle
Status	Threat Level: High
Factions Involved
Casualties and losses
	None

Summary

Mara tries to atone for past mistakes by completing a project that Dave would have cared about. This time without blowing anyone up and hopefully with a more permanent effect.

Visit From Mortimer

Mortimer, the ally spirit of Mara's deceased friend Dave, comes to call as Mara relaxes in her hobbit hole. The pair discuss Dave, his legacy, the accident (in which Mara accidentally killed Dave with a bomb meant for Sumitomo Chemical), and Sumitomo Chemical. She learns that the company has moved to a new location and is up to their usual antics of being an environmental bad actor. As the night wanes, Mortimer suggests that Mara can atone and honor Dave's memory by getting Sumitomo to clean up their act on a more permanent basis.

Information Gathering

Mara sets out to gather information about Sumitomo Chemical and the current state of regulation enforcement in Redmond.

A Visit with Zenith

Stopping by Zenith's Pinnacle House in Redmond, Mara speaks with the old gunslinger. He is able to inform her that the Mayor of Redmond is actually a decent type. And that Urubia and Kalynar might also be interested in the environmental stakes. Zenith also gives her a datachip he retrieved during the events of Quantum of Solace with information pertaining to her background. With a task before her, she tucks it away for later.

Matrix Searching

Mara attempts to use the matrix to dig up info about Sumitomo Chemical. However, she is no expert on the matrix and she eventually decides she needs some more oomph. This leads to a visit to the crime mall where she commissions the construction of an agent. She is able to find some details of the local management, however, and files that away for future use.

Sampling the Snoqualmie

Figuring that nothing beats hard data, she visits the river on which Sumitomo Chemical has located their plant. Approaching the river she comes across some tribal folk and talks to a member named Donald. He informs her of that the local spirits complain about the pollution of the river. Thanking him, she promises to furnish some seeds for the tribes agricultural ventures.

Approaching the river, she summons a fire spirit, named Tygar, as backup. In the process of gathering her samples she comes across Roger, a small water spirit. The spirit's actual name is the sound of rain hitting a window, but Mara can't pronounce that. She does offer to move Roger to a more pleasant place, as the spirit seems to be suffering. Eventually she collects her samples, moves Roger, and binds Tygar on the agreement that she will burn a log of black cotton wood and use the ashes in gardening. The collected samples are sent to Dameon Morris for analysis.

Moving like a Spy

With a good start on information gathering, Mara decides to try to recruit the Mayor of Redmond to her cause. This will take a bit of doing, and she knows there's more than one way to cook a steak. She needs to find a way to get face to face with the Mayor and show her a powerful hand.

Back to the Pinnacle House

Without any immediate ideas, she returns to the Pinnacle House to talk to the locals. She is reminded that Eli Johnson might be able to help, as a community organizer, so she heads down to the soup kitchen.

The Soup Kitchen

Visiting the Eli's soup kitchen, Mara talks with Eli while serving. He suggests that she might talk to Rachelle Donaldson who works in the Mayor's office and Molly Maguire, which is the local representative of a labor movement started in Ireland. Being pragmatic, Mara decides to follow both leads. Eli is able to schedule a meeting for her with Rachelle Donaldson with fair ease.

Molly Maguire

With Eli's help, she's able to have a comm conversation with the head of the Molly Maquires in the Seattle area. It is suggested that she look in to former issues with Sumitomo Chemical and try to discern if the company is willfully contravening environmental regulations. This is information she doesn't currently have, so she sets off to gather it.

Actual Spying

The best way to get inside information is to get inside. Barring that, Mara decides to get someone who might know. To find such a person, she purchases a flyspy and parks it in a trash can outside the Sumitomo Chemical plant entrance. After observing and attempting to search people out as she does, she hones in on one Melvin Franklin. With the help of her new agent, she's able to cross reference Melvin's information to guess that he might be SINless. Mara follows her mark to the Pinnacle House.

In the bar she offers she approaches and speaks to Melvin. Eventually she offers him money for pictures from inside the plant and information about the filtering of output water. He agrees.

As she continues to relax in the bar, some patrons get a bit rude. Likely young street level runners. Mara decides to show up one particularly loud mouth with a sword duel in the parking lot.

An Unexpected Visit

After her day of doing spy stuff, Mara is visited by Malia Strongoak. The pair discuss Mara's progress with manipulating spells. Spirits are also brought up and the runners developing feelings on binding spirits come out. She explains how she has been negotiating, offering her services in return. Malia seems to approve and suggests that Mara include an end of service no later than 1 year and 1 day with the spirits. She also invites the runner to a ceremony.

Environmental Lawyers

As the conversation moves to current endeavors, Malia offers some backing for Mara to higher some lawyers. She suggests Hershberg and Morris, a firm that she has worked with before. A meeting is set and the next day Mara attends, presenting her findings. By this time she has the analysis from Dameon Morris and the insider info from Melvin. All of this combines to make a strong case and the group talks strategy. They send a paralegal named Darcy with Mara to assist in her meeting with Rachelle Donaldson at the Mayor's office. Mara and Darcy present what they have bolstered by the council of the lawyers, Rachelle agrees to schedule a meeting with the Mayor toward the close of business.

Urubia for the Extra Ooomph

With the case coming together nicely, Mara wants to make sure that it goes her way. Via the Crimson Wings LLC matrix presence, she gets in touch with Orianna Cazador by leaving a message referencing the dragon's frog sanctuary downstream and speaking in Sperethiel. When Cazador calls back, Mara explains the real reason for her call and asks to meet with the dragon. She then drags poor Darcy along to the wyrm's Funhouse.

Mara is nervous to meet the dragon and Cazador doesn't do much to assuage that in the elevator ride up. However, Mara manages to not die while speaking to Urubia and she gets permission to drop the dragon's name in her attempt to protect the Snoqualmie river. Taking the win she excuses herself and on the elevator back down, she asks Cazador if she can send some official correspondence to validate the dragon's participation, even if it is a ruse. And it might be.

At the meeting with the Mayor, Mara keeps the dragon in her back pocket so as not to spook the politician. The Mayor agrees to help with her crusade, seeing as Mara has done all the work and her role would be to add some official flair.

Meeting with Sumitomo Executives

With all of her info gathered and Redmond's Mayor on board, Mara asks Molly Maguire if they are able to get commlink numbers for two local executives with the company. That is done easily enough and she uses the numbers to schedule a VR meeting with the pair of executives, the Mayor and herself. During the meeting, Mara presents her case, her evidence, and the fact that the clean up isn't actually that hard. She also drops the dragon's name and the correspondence. In the end the execs are eager to agree, seemingly persuaded by the evidence and the thought of a dragon melting their plant.

A Game of Rememory

With her task complete, Mara returns to relaxing in her hobbit hole. The final burning question of what is on that data chip returns and she decides it is better to know that not. The chip reveals archived memories from Mara herself. They include meetings with Oakforest, Tír Tairngire nobles, Ehran the Scribe, members of the Laesa, and Lofwyr.

Of particular interest is a trip to Denver. Traveling with Eavesdropper she was apparently part of a prisoner return or handoff. Lamashtu receives the prisoner, likely on behalf of Ghostwalker.

Eventually Mara shares some of this information with Ohrwurm who seems interested and appreciative.

Rewards

2x duration

10 karma
42 CDP
+2 Streets of Redmond rep
+1 chip on Ohrwurm (can raise loyalty to 5)
Initiation ordeal discount
Optional Contact: Molly Maguire (C4/L1 Neo-Anarchist Organizer) (4 RVP)
Optional Contact: Orianna Cazador (C6/L1 Urubia's Secretary) (6 RVP)
Optional Gear Reward: Shaman Tuxedo (4 RVP)
Optional Quality: Code of Honor (The Shaman's Code)
Optional Quality: Watch the Suit (3 RVP)

Game Quotes

Amusing quote from game.

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Mara

Perhaps I should have been a lawyer. I seem to have a knack for building a case. Although there would be so many rules to follow. Maybe someday. In the meantime, I hope that Dave is satisfied with my efforts. I will have to ask Mortimer his thoughts if I see him again. For now I will have to be satisfied with the job done.

As to the recovered memories, I would like to learn to hide them away. There is a reason they were wiped in the first place. Until I know what that is, it is best they stay hidden.