After the long conversation about using the Awakened Cerberus to smuggle artifacts out of the facility, they opted for a more manageable strategy by posing as the company tasked with transporting magical items to and from the University of Denver.
Wyrine used his administration status in the UoD Matrix host to adjust the fake profiles he had created earlier, so that they would now reflect employment with the company they planned to impersonate. A response came back to Thresher from Ahmil about the magical artifacts inquiry. Three items matched Pony and Thresher's criteria for medium-value relics: the Wanderer's Shield, the Cube of the Messiah, and the Otherworldly Utensil. They logged whatever information they could find through Wyrine and Kablisk's search in order to fully prepare for the transit of those items, along with Clarity of Grace and the scroll related to the Celestial Atal. Kablisk and Wyrine continued to dig through the University of Denver host for more information on the artifact repository. A schematic they pulled up of the electronic box design showed another important component: a portable device which provided a randomized code to signal the container to unlock. The team had a conversation about how best to deal with this device. Craft their own? Spoof the code somehow? Steal a device to use themselves? Wyrine found the source code to be secured behind protection even he couldn't breach with his administrative privileges. That presented a significant problem for spoofing the code. A personnel search turned up three names that were registered for possession of the device. The name that stuck out the most as easily accessible was Maria Sobrino, Professor of Artificing. She, presumably, was a less powerful magic user who engaged primarily in research and could somehow be compromised through the facilities she frequented. An Influence spell could get her to leave the device unattended while the Shadowrunners scooped it up and returned it later, no one the wiser. The team thought on this while they tackled two other issues: observing the routines of the delivery service company they would be impersonating, Clovis Exotics Aegis, and forming a plan to print out the ID cards for the fictitious profiles that Wyrine had implanted in the database earlier. The five made a plan to infiltrate the campus administration building and access Student Services, where the UoD host told Wyrine they would find the equipment necessary to manufacture the ID cards. Pony and Kablisk approached the building. Kablisk positioned himself near a restroom down the hall from Student Services. Pony entered the office and assessed the situation. It was somewhat busy, the hum of activity surrounded him. A line of students snaked around the open area to reach a counter where a number of employees were assisting university students with a variety of needs. Pony was attempting to pinpoint one employee that matched an approximate build for Kablisk, when one of the staff members took notice of his loitering. "Is there something I can help you with?" The older woman asked politely. "I'm just waiting for my friend," Pony replied quickly. The answer seemed to raise a red flag for the woman. "We don't usually have people waiting for their friends in the Student Services office." She looked at Pony curiously. At that moment, Pony spotted someone who would do well for his Physical Mask spell on Kablisk. He quickly tossed an Influence spell at the clerk and he shot up out of his desk with a strained look on his face; he urgently needed to use the restroom. Weaving around other employees, he made a beeline for the door to the hallway. Pony used the commotion to slip out the door with him, uttering a brief excuse to the woman that was interrogating him. Pony trailed behind the clerk and cast a Confusion spell as soon as he reached the stall. That would keep him busy while the air shimmered and Kablisk received the Physical Mask spell from Pony. Kablisk headed into the Student Services office and went directly for the card-generating equipment. Working as quickly and accurately as he could, he churned out the three cards in under a minute. Just as he was finishing up the last one, the same woman that approached Pony earlier began to grow suspicious of Kablisk's behavior. His magical masquerade as the clerk was causing her to take notice and there were telltale signs she was seeing through the facade. Kablisk had to think quickly and followed through with the first thing that popped in his mind: another emergency trip to the bathroom. He forced himself to pass gas and quickly excused himself from the awkward situation to rush back to the bathroom, where Pony was waiting and keeping an eye on the employee. Broaching the threshold of the restroom, Pony immediately dropped the Physical Mask spell and the two quickly collected themselves. They stepped out, one by one, to be confronted with the woman who had been harassing them earlier. She had an accusatory tone to her question. "Have you seen a tall, elvish gentleman in the restroom?" She looked at Pony and Kablisk expectantly. "Yeah, yeah. He ran into a stall, looked pretty serious." Pony shrugged nonchalantly and walked around the woman. Kablisk quickly followed behind and the two left the building, three ID cards now in their possession. The team returned to Sal's Coffin Motel to recuperate and prepare for the morning stakeout where they would observe all the details of Clovis Exotics Aegis's interaction with the Iliff School of Magic staff. The Shadowrunners took up positions in park areas surrounding the school campus, while Kablisk situated himself across the street on Iliff Avenue, where he could get a good look at the security checkpoint at the campus gate. The delivery arrived minutes before its scheduled 10 am time and the team observed attentively from their locations. Kablisk watched the driver lean out from the armored van with the company's logo emblazoned on the side. The security guard conducted herself as if she had some familiarity with that particular individual and let the delivery employee pass with casual pleasantries. The van passed through the gate and proceeded to the first right that opened into a parking lot in front of the Iliff School of Magic. This is the moment where Pony would learn the protocol for passing through the mana barrier protecting the entirety of the School of Magic campus. Using his Astral perception, Pony watched the van slow down to a crawl and one member seated behind the driver leaned into the barrier. The person was able to summon enough magical energy to protect themselves and the artifact they were transporting because it was a smooth transition. Pony didn't witness any kind of struggle in the van where resisting the barrier was unsuccessful, so it had to be assumed that a fairly powerful magic user was in charge of handling the magical artifact as it passed through the mana barrier. At this point, Cruiser had his Shiawase Kanmushi walking underneath cars through the parking lot to converge with the van by the time it reached the loading dock ahead. Three people stepped out of the vehicle, making contact with two Awakened dressed in lab coats. Several sets of ears listened intently to the conversation. The five engaged in chit-chat, catching up on recent personal news, and mentioning names that they appeared acquainted with. One Clovis Exotics representative handed off a box that matched the schematic the team had been examining online the day before. Cruiser quickly ensured that his Kanmushi was securely attached to the bottom of the armored van, just before the vehicle departed. The idea was to hack and steal one of the vans for their own scheduled early pickup the next day. The van passed through a large sliding chain-link fence on Glencoe and 9th, near Denver General Hospital. The [bug bot] didn't have a great view, obscured underneath the chassis. It was a holding area for the other armored vehicles, where several pairs of combat-booted feet patrolled the area. The crew disembarked and walked over to the nearest building. Cruiser got in touch with Esther and Pony connected with Bob to ask about a possible resource for acquiring uniforms that matched the ones Clovis Exotics Aegis wore. Esther returned the call with a service that was cheaper, but required a drive through several territory checkpoints to reach the location. The Shadowrunners opted for the more expensive solution; a Russian dwarf named Mikhail promised door-to-door service within a few hours. The uniforms matching Wyrine, Pony, and Thresher's exact specifications would be delivered to Sal's Coffin Motel, where Trigger was waiting.
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AuthorI'm Dobie, GM of this Shadowrun group. I've been playing Shadowrun since Second Edition, though I had a serious hiatus and have just recently picked up Fifth Edition to get back into the Shadowrun universe. Archives
September 2017
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