FIVE 24

[18:08:40] <@Fats> Barely a week after your beer-seeking adventure, a message arrives at your commcall mailbox. It's brief and extremely to the point, stating that a certain Johnson needs a runner team for a discrete but lucrative run, and yours fits his profile. Attached to the message is a location (an office in one of the high-risers in Downtown) and date (21:00 today).
[18:08:57] <@Fats> * where are you, and what are you doing in your downtime?
[18:09:51] <@Nebokhod> * in Yakor.
[18:10:15] <Sharp_> * About an hour ago Sharp came from Vasya-sensei's gym, took a shower and is now having dinner with his girlfriend.
[18:10:54] <@Fats> * runners don't get to enjoy healthy relationships!
[18:10:59] * Che is a little busy gathering info for some girl about her husband but should be able to get there in time.
[18:11:24] <@Nebokhod> *dame
[18:11:45] <@Fats> You arrive in the Downtown, manuevring over a road badly cleaned from snow. More snow is in the air, snowflakes sparce yet persistent in their drive to cover the city in a white blanket. The Downtown isn't that bustling in the late evening hours, most corporate drones leaving their hated workplaces to spend their time with families, pretending to care. The glass crystal edges of the skyscrapers are dark, with dim lights of night shift workers' win
[18:11:45] <@Fats> dows interspaced over dead black building surfaces.
[18:11:45] <@Fats> The high-riser you're looking for is just next to the Eagle Nest Sopka, overlooking the Golden Horn bay. It's owned by EVO and rented out for smaller companies' offices. You walk past the reception desk with a yawning security guard in a black suit, to the elevators and up to the twentieth floor. The office you're looking for is just across the hall, a bell ARO floating invitingly over its synthwood surface.
[18:11:50] <Sharp_> *She's not even a Flaw, Sharp just has a girlfriend :P
[18:12:26] <@Nebokhod> *that's cheating
[18:12:59] <@Fats> * she's not a flaw until he makes enemies and they break her legs. Anyway, your actions, runners?
[18:13:20] <Sharp_> *Sharp lets the other, more face-like runners go before him.
[18:13:21] <@Fats> * (I assume you are all there on time and together, etc)
[18:14:17] * Che signals their approach.
[18:14:26] <@Nebokhod> - Lead on, Macduff.
[18:15:04] <@Fats> The door opens seconds after you call; you were obviously expected. A troll clerk is holding the door open for you; her posh office attire is doing little to conceal her striking beauty. It's apparent she never shied from supplementing what the nature gave her with plastic surgeon's work, leaving her with smooth facial skin so rarely seen in normally bone plate-covered trolls, as well as translucent horns resembling huge opals adorning her head ab
[18:15:04] <@Fats> ove the engraved datajacks.
[18:15:04] <@Fats> She smiles, showing perfectly aligned teeth: "You must be the runners the director is expecting. Please, go in" - she gestures towards a heavy curtain separating her small reception room from the rest of the office.
[18:15:07] <@Fats> If you were to guess, the room behind the curtain was intended as an openspace office. Now, however, it's left as a single empty space, with one wall open to the city, and two others lost in the darkness. A huge wooden table is in its center, the man behind it watching the lights of the Golden Horn Bay with the back of his high armchair turned to you. He spins, and with a certain degree of surprise you see it's an elf no older than fifteen years o
[18:15:15] <@Fats> f age. He has a haute couture suit on, with ideally white shirt and golden cufflinks devoid of emblems.
[18:15:18] <@Fats> - Ah, runners, - he smiles, - see, I have a job for you. Can I trust your discretion, if I pay well enough?
[18:15:26] <@Fats> * Perception(Visual), if you please
[18:15:57] <Sharp_> *Oh god, it's Richie Rich! Nooooooo
[18:16:13] <@Nebokhod> 10#sd
[18:16:14] <ur_dnd_bot> Nebokhod: (pool 10) 4 hits
[18:16:26] <Sharp_> 12#sd
[18:16:27] <ur_dnd_bot> Sharp_: (pool 12) 3 hits
[18:17:52] <@Fats> By the slight fuzzing at the edges you strongly suspect the elf is a well-projected hologram.
[18:18:59] <Che> - Good evening. Yes, you can.
[18:19:16] <@Fats> - Great then! I always find runner briefings of so tiring, - he complains, - So let's try to keep this interesting. I'll give you a mission, and if you do everything yourself, I'll pay you, say, fifteen grand each. Oooorrr, - he grins mischievously, - You can follow my plan, reporting each step of the way, and I'll be telling you what to do next. If we do this, I'll pay, hmm, say, twelve grand each. Or I can tell you my plan in its entirety instea
[18:19:16] <@Fats> d, and you get to act on it how you see fit - but for this bland stuff I'll only pay eight grand each. Haha, what say you?
[18:20:01] <Che> - Sounds interesting, but let's hear the job first.
[18:20:46] <Sharp_> * I don't usually play hackers, so if there are some common sense tips for me when I should be doing something - please say so
[18:21:04] <Sharp_> * Like "oh, you totally should have traced his hologram source"
[18:21:12] <Che> * Looks like you should nope out of that job.
[18:21:28] <Che> * Before it's not too late.
[18:21:55] <Che> * But, common sence and runners usually don't mix well...
[18:22:01] <Che> **s
[18:22:48] <@Nebokhod> * well, for that you probably need to hack the hosts in the room.
[18:23:16] <@Fats> - Hm, okay. See, I have this old friend of my father's, Timofey Shevyakov, also known simply as, - he proclaims with pathos, - NEON RAZOR. He's somewhere in Vladivostok, and since the go way back with my father, I want you to show the old man some good time. Very public very good time. And once he enjoys his good time for good, get rid of him. Discretely.
[18:23:36] <@Fats> * they go
[18:23:58] <Sharp_> Define "good time". You want us to hire him a prostitue or stretch his face all over the city hall?
[18:25:12] <@Fats> - Nothing of the kind. Just take him out in the city, I am sure in his advanced age he's missing all the excitement of night clubs and heavy drinking.
[18:27:54] <Che> - Will he agree to do that or we'll need to use some persuasion?
[18:29:16] <Sharp_> > I'm still unclear on what he actually wants us to do
[18:29:34] <@Fats> - I strongly suspect by now he must be slotting some personafix chips, he-he. So once you find him, you'll need to take him off these, to get to the good old bugger my father used to know. And that can be tricksy since you only have time till Monday, - he smirks.
[18:29:35] <@Nebokhod> - And what does "get rid of him" means? feet first in the harbour or just ditch him somewhere?
[18:29:56] <@Fats> * It's currently Friday evening.
[18:30:45] <@Fats> - Don't bore me with details. What matters is he must be seen partying, he must be seen having good time, and he must never be seen again, with that debt settled.
[18:31:05] <Sharp_> There we go. Now that's clearer.
[18:32:18] <@Nebokhod> - Not by much though.
[18:32:39] <Che> - Never be seen again or just dead form all that overenjoying party time?
[18:33:02] <Sharp_> He did say "never be seen again"
[18:34:10] <@Fats> - I don't care how he dies. I don't even really care if he dies, really, if you can somehow assure he's never seen again some other way. Like, transport him to Deep Astral or lock him in a single-man underwater arcology, I. DO. NOT. CARE!
[18:34:16] <Che> - Implying we can make him permanently invisible.
[18:34:33] <@Nebokhod> - Never to be seen again where? Will just Vladivostok suffice?
[18:34:40] <Sharp_> > Just get the name and coordinates from him and let's go
[18:34:49] <Sharp_> Dude, do you really care?
[18:35:16] <Sharp_> We are not going to sell him as a crack whore to Thailand
[18:35:18] <@Nebokhod> * use * for ooc.
[18:35:26] <@Fats> - No, no, it will not. Not even the entirety of Russia.
[18:35:38] <Sharp_> * Yes? > was for commlink messages?
[18:35:47] <Che> * ~
[18:35:51] <Sharp_> * bah
[18:36:11] <Che> * = for subvocals and such.
[18:36:28] <Sharp_> * Ok, assume all the > text was actually = text
[18:38:20] <Che> ~ Can you get us some info on that Timofey Shevyakov?
[18:38:41] <@Nebokhod> ~And on the Johnson?
[18:39:05] <Che> ~ And his clerk!
[18:40:08] <Sharp_> * what's the code for extended check again?
[18:41:03] <Sharp_> *Sharp will do the search while we are going back to the car and deciding what to do
[18:41:39] <Che> * It's a little to late.
[18:42:01] <Che> * We need info before we'll agree.
[18:42:09] <@Fats> * You haven't yet agreed to contract terms with the Johnson :3
[18:43:07] <Sharp_> * well okay, I'll do it now
[18:43:58] <Sharp_> * what is the bloody dice roller code?
[18:44:19] <@Nebokhod> * dicepool, thershold#sde
[18:44:46] <Sharp_> * What's the threshold, chief?
[18:45:02] <@Fats> * Depending on particulars of your search, it can take several minutes; someone will have to busy Johnson with chitchat in the meanwhile (Charisma+Negotiation or Con).
[18:45:14] <@Fats> * Depending on what it is you're looking for right now :3
[18:46:09] <Sharp_> * Information on Timofey Shevyakov aka NEON RAZOR
[18:46:43] <Che> * I'm not sure I should use my CHA skills, remembering how things went on that train. On the other hand we have plenty of windows here...
[18:46:46] <@Fats> * Threshold 12, dice pool modifier -2, period 1 minute
[18:47:20] <Sharp_> 14, 12#sde Data Search
[18:47:24] <Sharp_> 14,12#sde Data Search
[18:47:24] <ur_dnd_bot> Sharp_: (pool 14, threshold 12) 3 passes, 12 hits
[18:47:46] <@Fats> * So, who's rolling those precious charisma skills? :3
[18:49:08] <Che> * Hm, I can try to edge it...
[18:50:01] <Che> * if you remind me how to roll it.
[18:50:56] <@Fats> * number#sdx
[18:51:49] <Che> 8#sdx Cha+Negotiations
[18:51:49] <ur_dnd_bot> Che: (pool 8, exploding) 5 hits
[18:52:30] * Che speaks the speak and talks the talk.
[18:52:55] <@Fats> Sharp, Neon Razor was a small-time street sam in the 50ies and early 60ies. He never did anything outstanding that'd earn him praise on the shadowrunner boards; the only mentions you found of him were his erstwhile teammates surprised how is it he has such top-grade gear if he never hits it big. Deep in the archives you find some long-dead streetdoc's visitor lists, and find out Neon Razor got seriously wounded a few times on botched runs; at abou
[18:52:55] <@Fats> t the same time he struggled hard with alcoholism.
[18:53:46] <Sharp_> = That definitely doesn't sound like a corporate plant or anything.
[18:54:59] <@Fats> After that, mentions of Neon Razor are rarely if ever encountered, he's only indirectly mentioned as "Triad boy" and "sellout"; you scour the Matrix for Timofey Shevyakov instead and only find him mentioned as a patron of Blooming Lotus massage salon in the Khasan Coast.
[18:55:50] <Sharp_> = So our mark is a Triad fuckboy. Do what you will with this, chief.
[18:55:52] <@Fats> Che, it appears easy enough to engage your Johnson in idle chit-chat, distracting his opinion from Sharp zoning off to search the Matrix.
[18:56:37] <Che> * Mmm, I need to AFK for sometime on a family bussiness, sorry. Should be back in half of hour or so.
[18:56:50] <@Fats> * BY CROM
[18:57:30] <Sharp_> * Knowledge Underworld - what do i know about Blooming Lotus?
[18:57:33] <Sharp_> 9#sd
[18:57:33] <ur_dnd_bot> Sharp_: (pool 9) 4 hits
[18:57:50] <Che> * Feel free to roll things for Che if you will.
[18:58:33] <@Fats> * good thinking, Sharp.
[18:59:36] <@Fats> Blooming Lotus is as shady a "massage salon" as you'd expect from a Triad-run establishment in the smuggler district. It has something of a reputation for healthy Asian refugee whores and good BTLs provided.
[19:01:04] <Sharp_> = So ideally we have NEON RAZOR seen with the Yakuza, to give his triad buddies a probable suspect they are unlikely to talk to
[19:02:06] <@Fats> * distracting his attention - up there in the message for Che
[19:03:16] <@Fats> - Hahaha, yeah, and then just blow the whole thing up and snort the remains! - Johnson replies to one of Che's jokes, - So anyway, you going to do it your way? Or my way? Or your way, after hearing my intel?
[19:04:12] <Sharp_> = I feel like we can do it our way
[19:05:50] <@Nebokhod> = Yeah, it provides us with the modicum of control of situation
[19:07:13] <Sharp_> We'll do it our way.
[19:07:43] * @Nebokhod switches to astral perception
[19:07:52] <@Nebokhod> * do i see anything interesing?
[19:09:27] <@Fats> Your Johnson laughs happily: "Oh, previous! Okay, here's my commcall number, do keep me informed! I'll pay you once, - he again changes to humorously serious tone, - NEON RAZOR has his good time and is proved not an issue anymore. Cia!" - he blinks out.
[19:10:19] <@Fats> Lucas, other than the usual murk of boredom and toil residual in office spaces, you see nothing in your astral vicinity.
[19:10:24] <@Fats> * that is, in this room.
[19:11:22] <Sharp_> Sharp checks the net for any yakuza or yakuza-affiliated parties going this weekend
[19:11:51] <@Nebokhod> * i'll check the secretary room on the way out.
[19:12:02] <@Fats> The troll clerk walks in to show you out.
[19:12:23] <@Fats> Nebokhod, nothing except for the troll herself. Anything in particular you're looking for?
[19:12:59] <@Nebokhod> * anything unusual, is the secretary awakened?
[19:13:06] <Sharp_> Sharp doesn't check out the troll.
[19:13:09] <Sharp_> He has a girlfriend
[19:13:21] <Sharp_> * ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
[19:13:42] <@Nebokhod> * plottwist, she is his girlfriend and he is setting us for a failure.
[19:13:51] <@Nebokhod> 7#sd assensing
[19:13:52] <ur_dnd_bot> Nebokhod: (pool 7) 2 hits
[19:15:27] <@Fats> Sharp, Yakuza don't really advertise their parties as such, and with the syndicate war going on in the city, you mostly find invitation-only wake feasts in Yakuza-affiliated restaurants. In a quarter hour of searching, though, you do find a few low-level Wakagashira-hosa going out to let off steam in the Rubric dance club on the Evo Islands
[19:16:08] <@Fats> Nebokhod, no, she isn't Awakened; what you see gazing at her through the Dream Space is nothing but slightly augmented office norm.
[19:17:43] <@Nebokhod> * i proceed to the exit then.
[19:18:32] <@Fats> A short elevator ride and a rent-a-cop nod later you're back to your comfy SUV, finding it exactly where it was left.
[19:19:47] <@Fats> * waiting for your actions, runners
[19:20:49] <Sharp_> I say we go check out this Razor fella, stock up on BTLs and pixie dust, and take him on a wild ride at the Wakagashit-whatever before disappearing. Hopefully that would give them yaks some fun times in future
[19:20:52] <Sharp_> Fucking scumbags
[19:21:58] <@Nebokhod> - Any info on the Johnson?
[19:22:40] <@Fats> * Sharp_, don't forget your speech type markings :3 Was that aloud?
[19:22:57] <Sharp_> * We are in our comfy SUV, aren't we?
[19:23:41] <Sharp_> I haven't looked.
[19:24:06] <Sharp_> Sharp closes his eyes and plunges into the neon depths once again, to find out who publicly owns the office they just visited
[19:24:11] <Sharp_> * aka Data Search!
[19:25:16] <Sharp_> * need a threshold, chief
[19:26:33] <@Fats> A couple minutes later he finds out the owning company is Vector, Ltd. It's a small company with some random SIN that you can't find mentioned anywhere else declared as being CEO, and outsourced bookkeeping.
[19:27:47] <@Fats> * Do you want to follow the ownership chain?
[19:28:19] <Sharp_> * sure. nothing better to do while we are driving
[19:29:01] <@Fats> * Roll Data Search + Browse + whatever modifiers you have on that roll
[19:29:03] <Sharp_> Sharp sends Alice, his girlfriend, a message saying not to wait for him tonight. Work :(
[19:29:16] <Sharp_> 16#sd Data Search
[19:29:17] <ur_dnd_bot> Sharp_: (pool 16) 4 hits
[19:31:29] <@Fats> Sharp, tracking the ownership chain surprisingly proves a gargantuan undertaking; there are shells within shells within holding companies within fakes in neutral legislations within companies registered in Awakened nations that never signed the Business Accords
[19:32:33] <Sharp_> Unsurprisingly, this office is owned by a front non-company. We'll just deal with the problems as they come up, Nebokhod
[19:32:35] <@Fats> Two hours later, you have nothing but tiredness to show for your work; you are sure you can track the elusive owners, but that'll require a few hacks and much longer time
[19:33:50] <@Nebokhod> * was that direct speech?
[19:34:22] <Sharp_> * yes
[19:35:04] <@Nebokhod> * use "-" then, it's confusing.
[19:35:13] <Sharp_> * k
[19:35:23] <Che> * back
[19:35:41] <@Nebokhod> - That could bite us back in the ass.
[19:35:53] <Sharp_> - eh
[19:36:32] <@Nebokhod> - The fucker hadn't even showed up in the flesh.
[19:39:47] <@Fats> * waiting for your actions, runners :3
[19:40:44] <Che> * do we have location of that neon razor?
[19:42:15] <@Fats> * You have a massage salon which he frequents.
[19:44:23] <Che> - So, let's check that favorite salon of his, or are there any better ideas?
[19:44:37] <Sharp_> - Not really
[19:45:01] <Che> - What about worse ideas?
[19:45:34] <Sharp_> - we can get drunk
[19:45:46] <Che> - Why not both?
[19:45:53] <@Nebokhod> - Would be nice to know who was that father-friend.
[19:46:11] <@Nebokhod> - Or if there was a father.
[19:46:37] <Sharp_> -Do you guys have reliable fixers? We should buy some 'fun' party drugs
[19:47:50] <Che> * I can roll bars and clubs.
[19:48:06] <Che> * to see I Che knows.
[19:49:25] <@Fats> * Well, any Fixer contact can supply you with whatever drugs you need, unless it's something esoteric.
[19:49:58] <Che> * I don't have fixers.
[19:50:08] <@Nebokhod> - I know a guy.
[19:50:23] <@Nebokhod> - What do you have in mind?
[19:53:44] <Che> - To get drunk and wasted.
[19:55:25] <Sharp_> - To get a person drunk and wasted
[19:55:34] <Sharp_> - Basically we need some good party drugs
[19:56:01] <Che> - Is it how you get your girlfriend?
[19:56:08] <Che> **got
[19:56:31] <Sharp_> - No, but it is how I met your mother.
[19:57:13] <@Nebokhod> - Have you started already and i hadn't noticed?
[19:58:24] <@Nebokhod> - Anyway, can you dig up some more info on this razor guy?
[19:58:26] <Che> - Show me on the Nebokhod how she raped you.
[19:59:50] <Sharp_> - I doubt it. I've got as much on the razor as I could, unless we find something new to improve the conditions
[20:00:31] <@Nebokhod> - What, no info on the teams he ran with, their fates and such?
[20:02:15] <Sharp_> -He wasn't much of a runner
[20:02:27] <Sharp_> -He's a triad boy, that's what we know
[20:02:56] <@Fats> Sharp, you found some info on the troupes he ran with, but that was more than ten years ago, those people aren't in the biz anymore. They're either laying low, having made their buck, moved to fixing, or went down under
[20:03:02] <@Nebokhod> - OBS news agency.
[20:05:22] <Che> - Ok, let's get some visuals on that parlour and see if our target is here.
[20:05:56] <@Nebokhod> - Yeah.
[20:05:56] * Che drives to massage salon.
[20:06:26] <@Nebokhod> - Maybe we just need some REALLY good party drugs for him to spill his lifestory.
[20:08:51] <Che> - Can you hack it?
[20:09:00] <@Fats> The parlour you see is a long concrete building, its only windows on the facade, above the double doors flanked by neon patterns and a loud sign "Blooming Lotus: best massage this side of Amur Bay!" A lean Chinese ork hangs out near the entrance; the bulge under his left armpit obviously demonstrates he is armed.
[20:11:23] <Che> - We can use some camfeeds and his usual schedule and preferences.
[20:11:31] <Sharp_> -Sure
[20:11:48] <Sharp_> Sharp leans back in his seat and looks for nodes
[20:11:53] <guns_as_usual> * I feel the main point of this run is that Johnson isn't who he tries to be seen as. Btw, you also have his comm number to trace.
[20:12:01] <Sharp_> 16#sd Matrix perception
[20:12:01] <ur_dnd_bot> Sharp_: (pool 16) 6 hits
[20:12:30] * Che meanwhile prepares his Optic-X and Fly-Spy just in case.
[20:14:35] <@Fats> Sharp_, there are a few customer-grade commlink nodes in the building (a dozen of them or so clustered at the far right corner), as well as a building node (with cams, air conditioners and lights slaved to it) and several hardened commlinks. Those latter run in hidden mode, and it takes you a lil' while to find them all.
[20:15:17] <Sharp_> *What's the building node's firewall? Going for admin hack on the fly
[20:16:15] <@Fats> * It's Firewall 6; the hardened commlinks you see in the building are Firewall 5
[20:17:04] <Sharp_> 18,12#sde Hack on the Fly admin
[20:17:04] <ur_dnd_bot> Sharp_: (pool 18, threshold 12) 3 passes, 12 hits
[20:17:27] <@Fats> * you have 6 stealth, right?
[20:17:47] <Sharp_> yes
[20:20:34] <@Fats> The node before you, Sharp, is sculpted like a blooming lotus, unsurprisingly. As you plunge your feelers into it, you see someone highly professional worked on its security. You twist it this way and that, and by the time you've logged on with admin rights, the node is on high alert, and a greeting committee awaits you on arrival: there's a security spider looking like a, unsurprisingly, spider; and two ICs looking like snipes.
[20:20:57] <Sharp_> -well, fuck
[20:21:04] <Sharp_> *I've got Mute on Exploit
[20:21:08] <Sharp_> *If that's relevant
[20:22:12] <guns_as_usual> * if it was traced on your last roll it would be
[20:22:52] <Sharp_> * yup
[20:23:55] <@Fats> * Well, how many IPs do you have?
[20:24:14] <Sharp_> 3
[20:24:39] <@Fats> * You have 2 until alert is triggered
[20:25:17] <Sharp_> * Can I use my admin rights to turn it off?
[20:28:29] <@Fats> * Hmm, it was somewhere in Unwired, wasn't it?
[20:30:47] <Sharp_> * I actually have no idea what admin rights do >_>
[20:31:12] <Che> *>format c:
[20:31:17] <@Fats> * Okay, let's wing it and say it's a Hacking+Edit test against the node's System+Firewall that takes a Complex Action
[20:31:21] <guns_as_usual> *logically he should be able to
[20:33:18] <@Fats> * Sharp_?
[20:33:30] <Sharp_> #16sd Hacking + Edit
[20:33:34] <Sharp_> 16#sd Hacking + Edit
[20:33:34] <ur_dnd_bot> Sharp_: (pool 16) 7 hits
[20:35:33] <@Fats> You suppress the alert before it brings the spider and launches the IC, Sharp_. The node's sculpting is a small walled Chinese garden, flowers in clusters across it; what do you want to do?
[20:36:29] <Sharp_> Sharp finds a small glade in the garden, and wrestles the node's programming to display him the images from security cameras
[20:36:44] <Sharp_> He redirects those images to his companions
[20:39:16] <@Fats> Sharp_, surprisingly enough, there is some actual massage going on in the rooms closer to the entrance. The ones further in are, however, less restricted. Furthermore, you spy two more wry Chinese sitting at a closed door at the far end of the establishment. You scan the record back and forth and notice there's a stairway down behind that door.
[20:40:00] <Sharp_> I'll check the logs for any records related to Neon Razor/whatever his real name is
[20:41:22] <@Fats> * Timofey Shevyakov
[20:42:25] <@Fats> * Sharp_, roll a matrix search with a period of Complex Action and threshold of 6. It's a vast archive they have there.
[20:42:54] <Sharp_> * 16,6#sde
[20:42:54] <ur_dnd_bot> Sharp_: (pool 16, threshold 6) 2 passes, 11 hits
[20:45:13] <@Fats> As you search, a snipe flies overhead: apparently, the node's IC scanning for intruders. Your Stealth holds, however; but the results of your search are as surprising as they are discouraging: there's no one resembling any image of Neon Samurai you're seen walking in or out of the Lotus found in the archives.
[20:47:11] <@Fats> On the other hand, you notice the commlinks you previously found clustered together in the Matrix in a bin near the entrance to the guarded door.
[20:47:59] <Sharp_> * Can I log out while keepign the camera feed?
[20:48:05] <Sharp_> - What do you think, fellas?
[20:48:50] <@Fats> * Yes, until someone else logs on, sees the feed redirected and tries to track it
[20:48:51] <Che> - I wonder what's behind that door.
[20:53:01] <@Nebokhod> - Something very interesting and very hush-hush.
[20:53:39] <Che> - Are your majik senses tingling?
[20:54:40] <@Nebokhod> - No, only lojik,
[20:55:25] <Sharp_> -I find it odd that they have no blackmail on Razor
[20:56:08] <Che> - Can you check those commlinks?
[20:56:36] <Che> - If we're lucky one can be of our guy.
[20:57:16] <Sharp_> -There is a shitload of commlinks
[20:57:27] <Sharp_> -If I were to hack them, we'd be here for days
[20:59:56] <@Fats> * btw, in the interests of full disclosure: when you run data searches and such, I answer the questions you ask. If the question is vague (like "what do we know about X") I'll give the information a runner is likely to look for
[21:00:29] <@Nebokhod> - Do at least one, so we'll know what we are dealing with.
[21:00:48] <@Fats> * So there might be stuff I don't reveal unless it's covered by the specific question (like "what do we know about X's taste in blankets"?)
[21:01:21] <Sharp_> * Sharp will pick one of the Firewall 5 commlinks at random and hack on the fly a user access
[21:01:55] <Sharp_> 18,5#sde hack on the fly
[21:01:55] <ur_dnd_bot> Sharp_: (pool 18, threshold 5) 1 pass, 7 hits
[21:02:03] <@Fats> * The Firewall 5 commlinks, as you can see with the cam feeds enabled, are on the employees.
[21:02:48] <@Fats> You're inside. The commlink is an off-the-shelf Novatek Heroine, with standard megacorp sculpting.
[21:03:32] <Sharp_> Does he have Timofey on his contact list?
[21:05:01] <@Fats> No.
[21:05:21] <@Nebokhod> * better question would be who the fuck is he?
[21:05:32] <Sharp_> Who the fuck is he?
[21:06:27] <Sharp_> -We are dealing with the triads here, let's be as careful as possible. Ideally we should just snatch Razor off the street while nobody's looking
[21:06:36] <@Fats> Judging by the files on the commlink, he's a guard. Other than being ethnically Han and getting his paycheck from the Triads, you don't see he's any different from the other guards at the other massage parlours around the city
[21:09:16] <Sharp_> -These guys are just guards.
[21:10:02] <@Nebokhod> - Plot thickens.
[21:10:56] <Che> - Do you see any non-guardy looking comms there?
[21:12:08] <Sharp_> -There is a ton of people getting happy endings.
[21:16:14] <Che> * Is there any way to get a small drone behind that door? Ventilation shafts, electric cabel canals and samesuch?
[21:16:52] <@Fats> * You'd wager there are.
[21:18:13] <Che> - Hm, I can try to sneak inside with drone.
[21:18:49] * Che pulls out liberated from Rose microdrone.
[21:18:52] * @Nebokhod haves an out-of-body experience.
[21:19:12] <@Nebokhod> * what does the parlour looks like?
[21:19:20] <Sharp_> * Yay, people who aren't me are doing stuff! :D
[21:19:32] <@Fats> * Che, it's a flier, correct? Roll Pilot or whatever control skill you're using to direct it
[21:20:18] <Che> * crawler
[21:20:49] <Che> * also, it can mimicry lipstick if memory serves me well.
[21:21:46] <@Fats> Nebokhod, the parlour is engulfed in pink haze. It doesn't take a genius to understand what the people in it are there for. Furthermore, you see a large astral presence underground; flat sheets of gently glowing green you identify as biofiber.
[21:21:57] <@Fats> Che, then Pilot:Walker it is.
[21:22:49] <@Nebokhod> * what does the biofiber do? block astral movement?
[21:23:19] <Che> * Mmm, I don't see Pilot Walker spec...
[21:23:21] <@Fats> * Yes. It is essentially a mana barrier that is killed whenever you push through it (which can be detected)
[21:23:48] <Che> * There are anthro and ground.
[21:24:09] <@Nebokhod> * i return to the body.
[21:24:21] <@Fats> * That's because it's called Pilot: Anthropoform, yes.
[21:24:30] <@Nebokhod> - The cellar is warded off from astral.
[21:24:38] <@Fats> Nebokhod, your trusty meat is still where you left it, in the SUV.
[21:25:07] <Che> * Aren't multipods a big deal different then humanoids?
[21:25:22] <Che> **than
[21:26:22] <@Fats> * Yes, but SR writers think they should be lumped with those rather than wheeled drones.
[21:26:42] <@Fats> * what, you don't have the skill and you're out of Edge?
[21:27:09] <Che> * Well, I haven't trained anthro at all.
[21:28:25] <Che> * I can spend my free karma on it, but let's try wuth flier instead.
[21:28:33] <@Fats> * as you wish
[21:29:36] * Che assumes direct control of his Fly-Spy and sends it in.
[21:29:47] <@Fats> * rrrrroll
[21:30:06] <Che> * Is it just skill rank or with REA?
[21:30:30] <@Fats> * Rea, plus whatever modifiers you have on piloting tests from your rigger implants or what have you
[21:31:01] <@Fats> * The rules for piloting drones are on p.247
[21:31:08] <@Fats> * the table, anyway
[21:31:31] <Che> 11#sd
[21:31:31] <ur_dnd_bot> Che: (pool 11) 5 hits
[21:32:35] <Che> * It is minidrone with chameleon coating.
[21:32:46] <Che> * Looking like large insect.
[21:33:45] <@Fats> You pilot the Fly-Spy through labyrinthine air ducts of the Blooming Lotus, getting it past several narrow ducts all but clot by wires, and through a working fan. Finally you're in the duct running under the floor of the ground level, which supplies the underground rooms with air.
[21:34:24] * Che carefully buzzes around.
[21:37:20] * Che looks out of air vents to see things in the rooms along duct.
[21:38:58] <@Fats> As you explore the rooms underground, you see a small room at the entrance with more guards behind a solid-looking door; then several large rooms where people recline in comfy-looking chairs, wires running into their datajacks or whole arrangements on their heads. You place the whole arrangement to be a high-class BTL den. Further in, you see smaller rooms with one or two people in each. They're strapped into elegant capsules, wires plugged into t
[21:38:58] <@Fats> heir heads and medical machinery into their veins, massaging liners running along their bodies. In one of such patrons you recognize your Neon Razor. The AROs floating near his capsule show him healthy, running a Zen personafix chip and a Quite Family Happiness BTL.
[21:39:11] <@Fats> * Quiet
[21:40:05] <Sharp_> * Guys I'm sorry, I have to leave now.
[21:40:11] <@Fats> Razor looks much older than the pictures you have; his beard is trimmed and he is reclining with a small satisfied smile on his lips.
[21:40:32] <@Fats> * Yeah, I guess we're wrapping up one way or another soonish.
[21:40:56] <Che> = I got our mark.
[21:43:15] <@Fats> * another pilot test, if you return your drone the way it came
[21:44:22] <@Nebokhod> = Ain't that nice.
[21:44:34] <Che> 11#sd
[21:44:34] <ur_dnd_bot> Che: (pool 11) 4 hits
[21:44:53] <@Nebokhod> = How many guards is there?
[21:44:54] <Che> = He looks pretty happy down there.
[21:45:13] <@Fats> You happily avoid the dangers of the ventilation on your way back, and a quarter hour later, you're back outside.
[21:46:02] <@Fats> Nebokhod, Che saw two at the entrance underground. There are also minders in the den, but they don't appear armed or dangerous.
[21:46:18] * Che relays recorded layout and guards positions to team.
[21:49:31] <@Fats> * So, should we save here?
[21:49:46] <@Nebokhod> *yeah
[21:49:50] <Che> - So, now we can either wait for him to come out, or...
[21:49:57] <Che> * Yeah, looks like.
[21:49:59] <@Fats> === SESSION 23 END ===
[21:50:11] <@Fats> Three karma everyone, blast me with your feedback
[21:50:23] <@Fats> Also, Che, judging by the cam data, he isn't likely to come out any time soon