Wyrine, Cruiser, Pony, and Kablisk were shielded by an outcropping of the building they were camping outside of on the southwest corner of 8th and Glencoe in the Free Trade Zone of Denver. For added protection, Pony had cast Concealment to ensure any casual glances in their direction would be met with nothing but a concrete wall.
The plan was relatively simple. Use one of the transport vans in the Clovis Exotics Aegis gated parking lot as a distraction, ramming it through the entrance, while the van they planned to actually take would just roll out of the premises unnoticed in the chaos. That would require some tampering with the cameras, two vans under Cruiser's control, and some illusion magic. It was time to put their skills to work. Wyrine took to pinpointing the vans while Kablisk tracked down the location of the camera icons on the Matrix. Wyrine sifted through the light packets of data zipping all around his T-Rex persona and after a dozen seconds honed in on the largest of the armored vans, parked on the right-most side of the row of vehicles. It would ensure the most damage when crashing through the gate. He sunk three prehistoric teeth deep into the icon in quick succession and took command of the van's controls, passing ownership over to Cruiser's Rigger deck. Kablisk parted the digital seas of ones and zeros to peer through the Matrix and lock on to the camera housed in the northwest corner of the parking lot. It took him a few attempts because he was less versed in the technical aspects of Hack on the Fly, but eventually his avatar succeeded in having the required number of marks disguised as hair picks merge with the icon and he assumed control of the device. Manipulating the code resulted in an hour of looped footage where the two guards in the parking lot maintained a continuous circuit. Cruiser readied the van so that it could quickly accelerate straight through the fencing and race at a steady clip towards the nearest body of water, the Denver City Park. Kat and Marx awoke with a start. It was a restful sleep, but they had work to do. Kat was still trying to figure out how to get back at Horizon for the scheme she had exposed, which subsequently resulted in her dismissal from the University of Denver. They were set up on the fourth floor of an affluent apartment building in Washington Park, north of campus. She had a message waiting for her from a longtime associate, Zahira al Najjar. Zahira was an associate professor at the university and was Kat's only real connection to her old profession anymore. Zahira's message told of someone named 'Squid' who might be able to direct her to someone that possessed more information about Horizon and could help them with their vendetta. Kat dialed Squid's number and was met on commlink video with a bespectacled elf - half-moon glasses, pale, scholarly-looking, and enshrouded in long, black dreadlocks. She inquired about his Horizon knowledge and he suggested someone who was working on an action involved with the university. Mona was her name and there was a possibility one of magical individuals under her management had a connection with Horizon. Squid provided Kat with a drop box address where she could leave an anonymous and encrypted message. She wrote a message to Mona relaying Squid's explanation. She decided to get ready to go out and started to stroll with Marx towards the University of Denver. The second van proved a little more difficult for Wyrine. It seemed as though the system was being more resistant with his Hack on the Fly attempts this time. It took a few additional tries for him to twist the code in such a way that it would accept his T-Rex claws without a fight and recognize him as a legitimate user of the van's online presence. Again, he handed off control to Cruiser and the necessary preparations were made to get the van ready for acceleration. There was one more camera in the parking lot to deal with and Kablisk realized he should be making more use of his Sprites. He asked his Machine Sprite to wreak havoc on the icon and within seconds it had inflicted Gremlins on the camera. The sprite forced it to glitch and repeat a three-second loop, rendering it inoperable. Within seconds of setting foot outside, Marx had already grown tired of walking. After a string of expletives, he hailed a cab, not before confirming that Kat would foot the bill. The two climbed in and Marx immediately began interrogating the cab driver, a troll sporting a Gatsby golf cap. "Do you own your own cab?" Marx persistently inquired. The troll was hesitant to respond, but eventually said 'no.' Marx spoke of the revolution and rising up to take what was rightfully theirs. The one-minute cab ride to campus had suddenly become a whole lot more than the driver had bargained for. Before they disembarked, a message came into Kat's commlink from Mona. It gave a phone number for a man named Bob, confirming this would be the contact that had the closest connection to getting something about Horizon for Kat. Kat immediately dialed the number and after a dozen rings, a video feed came in with a closeup of one lens of a pair of glasses resting on the wrinkled, weathered face of Bob. His usual aloofness came through when he started answering Kat's questions about Horizon. "I know a guy... Horsie or Stallion... Big Stallion? Something like that. His team is doing some work on campus and if anyone has a connection to Horizon, it would be them. I'll send his contact details." With that, the connection was severed. Within minutes, Kat received a rambling message that captured Bob's typical spacey behavior. Marx expressed his displeasure that they were being routed through so many people - who could be trusted? Kat ignored his concerns and called the number for Horsie/Big Stallion. It rang a few times and Pony picked up. Pony was just as surprised to find a random woman in her thirties on the other end of the call, so he asked her to identify herself. Kat introduced herself and asked for information about Horizon. Pony was surprised to be getting so many questions from someone who had no connection to him, but had dropped Bob's name, for some reason. He thought back and tried to remember any relevant information that might pertain to Horizon to help this Kat woman. It hit him when he recalled a story that Kablisk had told him about being an experiment of theirs, escaping the facility, and living on the street to avoid being recaptured. Figuring this was the connection that had caused Bob to give out his personal number, he held on to the information but asked Kat if she'd like to meet. Marx abruptly cut in and started making demands of Pony. He trusted very few people, especially those whose information had been passed from contact to contact. Eventually he relented, realizing his was in no position to be badgering Pony about proof of authenticity. Kat threw them a bone that she thought would be mutually beneficial for both parties. She mentioned her long-time colleague Zahira al Najjar and the assistant professor's relationship with the university. Perhaps it could be useful for whatever the Shadowrun team had planned for UoD? The idea immediately peaked Pony's interest and he suggested arranging a meet. Kat wanted to get moving on the Horizon information as soon as possible, but he made it clear that they were in the middle of some action at the moment. Joining them right now would be out of the question. He provided the address to Sal's Coffin Motel, where they were presently crashing in their down time. Kat confirmed that she and Marx would meet them there. The two got in a new cab shortly after exiting the first one. This time they were greeted with a female dwarf, but Marx refrained from delving into his anti-capitalist diatribe that had put off the previous driver. Activity was increasing at the Clovis Exotics Nexus compound; a metal loading door had creaked open halfway, revealing several pairs of booted feet moving in a circuit to load or unload something. Cruiser's infrared confirmed a number of clusters of employees throughout the building. One security member approached the chain-link fence gated exit and had it open just wide enough for a humanoid form to fit through. It was now or never for the distraction the team had planned. Cruiser revved the engine of the van that was built like a more compact version of a Bulldog and gripped the accelerator with his mind. Initiating the program he had created, it barreled straight for the exit, mere centimeters from the guard as it dove to safety just in the nick of time. The van made a sharp right and took off for the Denver City Park, careful to drive fast enough to entice a pursuit, but slow enough to ensure that it could be followed. The two security guards in the lot ran out to the street and were quickly joined by the three that were working behind the metal loading door. They readied their weapons and peered down 9th avenue at the fugitive vehicle. Pony used this opportunity to cast Concealment on the van Cruiser planned to drive away with. Unseen by electronic and humanoid eyes, the vehicle disappeared in a blanket of invisibility. Cruiser approached the gated exit slowly, half of the fence ripped away by the delinquent vehicle. He had to quickly put it into reverse and move away from the three individuals that were heading at a brisk pace towards another parked van. As they climbed into the vehicle, Cruiser quickly accelerated and headed out the gate, turning left towards Grape Street. The Concealment spell would now pose a problem on public roads, as cars approaching from behind him were unaware of his presence. He would have to be extremely careful not to put himself in a position where he would have to worry about being rear-ended. While Wyrine was finishing up his work in the Matrix, fear overwhelmed him as he became conscious of the fact that he had spent just a little too long with his illegal exploits online. The crushing weight of an approaching demiGOD program enveloped his avatar. What appeared in front of him was a perplexing array of bladed angles - hard to comprehend in the mind of a regular Matrix user, but perfectly at home in the digital architecture that surrounded them. Before Wyrine had a chance to react, it raked long, serrated talons across his T-Rex persona and small pixels erupted in their wake. The bio-feedback responded instantaneously in Wyrine's head as it felt like a hammer of pain blossomed in his head. He hesitated a moment, wondering if he could challenge this new adversary, but quickly acquiesced and jacked out. The Black IC had link-locked Wyrine, sending stay-alive signals to the Matrix and causing waves of pain as he forcefully exited from hot-sim. He doubled over in agony as the combination of the damage from the IC attack and the abrupt departure from the Matrix was nearly enough to render him unconscious. Pony noticed Wyrine's state as he opened his eyes and laid his hand on Wyrine's shoulder, casting Heal. It took away the vast majority of the pain and he slumped down for a moment of respite. Two Clovis Exotics security guards remained on the street. One of them had spotted magic being worked in the vicinity of the Shadowrun team and proceeded to investigate. Their Detect Magic spell identified what Pony had put in place to shroud the team while they worked on the vans and the cameras. The two drew their HK assault rifles and proceeded down the street with caution. Pony called up his Air Spirit and had it manifest right in their vicinity, immediately casting Fear on the guards. The spell was powerful enough to break one of them, sending the Clovis Exotics member running straight back to the compound with their rifle left discarded on the pavement and a look of horror painted on their face. The other one steeled themselves and continued southwest towards the Shadowrunners. Marx and Kat arrived at the southeast corner of Colorado and Alameda. Looking across the street, they saw Burns park, where a number of homeless individuals had erected a makeshift camp under a copse of trees that were showing their age. "To the revolution!" Marx declared as they exited without leaving a tip and the cab driver held her fist up nonchalantly in solidarity as she drove off. They examined the exterior of Sal's Coffin Motel. It was a run-of-the-mill location, with little distinctive flair. Average looking business people exited the building, heading to whatever meetings they had planned for the day. Marx was incredibly suspicious of the upcoming engagement and suggested that the two of them make themselves scarce in order to assess the situation before getting involved with the Shadowrunners they had been in contact with. Kat cast Invisibility on herself and a veil drifted over her, blending with the surroundings. She stepped out of the path where most of the motel patrons were treading. Marx took a position behind some shrubbery and laid in wait. The four Shadowrunners made their way around the corner of the building, a battered Wyrine and a focused Kablisk carrying an unconscious Cruiser to the alleyway near a dumpster. Pony followed from the rear to guard their advance and prepare for the remaining Clovis Exotics personnel. Cruiser had done well to maintain a distance between other vehicles on the road and was fortunate to not have anything approaching from behind to risk a collision. But turning left onto 11th Avenue put him in a precarious position behind a stopped delivery truck. Oncoming traffic prevented him from driving around and all he could do was wait for the cars to pass in the hopes that nothing would threaten his rear while he sat idle. The gridlock cleared and he quickly accelerated to reach the team at 9th and Hale Parkway, being careful to avoid any close calls with vehicles traveling in the same direction. The team set themselves up to jump the security guard. Wyrine readied his Predator, Kablisk his shock gloves. Pony would have the spirit use an ability and if it didn't work, the others would be ready to pounce. The Air Spirit followed close by the Clovis Exotics member, ready to inform Pony as soon as they drew near to the corner where the building met the alleyway. At the moment the guard was ready to round the bend, he commanded the spirit to execute the plan and engulfed the sentry. Caught unawares, they could do little to fight back as the oxygen was quickly sucked out of the space where they struggled and great pressure was exerted by the spirit to choke them into unconsciousness in a matter of seconds. The body out cold, they looted it for anything they might find useful and hefted it into the dumpster nearby. They climbed aboard the armored van that Wyrine and Cruiser had jacked, heading back to their base of operations in Sal's Coffin Motel. Pony had informed Trigger and Richard that there would be two visitors to the motel, people they could potentially work with on this heist job. They were to go out and greet them. But when they stepped foot outside, they looked around with confusion. Where were these two individuals? Kat and Marx carefully examined the two people that had exited the building. A serious-looking ork in fatigues and a disheveled and spacey Asian man. Surely these were the two meant to introduce them to Horsie or Big Stallion, whatever his name was. How should they proceed with them?
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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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