A Shadowrun RP (Game Thread)

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

"We will offer three million nuyen, plus 100,000 up front that you would have recieved."

Cash registers went off in Blue's head as he listened on to the G.O.D. representative who described why they assembled them. They had Tobias in their hands and that was all well in Blue's book but now they offered them something a bit more. But he also heard the elf mention the Chicago which set off all the bells and whistles in his head. It brought him to think of his time battling Insect Spirits for the Knight Errant. Blue then thought of his squad members and most importantly, Green who saw the worst of it.

"Bug city... I'll take it." Blue said calmly. "Out of curiosity, is that the reason why you assembled us instead of...I don't know... another group of Shadowrunners?" He questioned, implying his past to the elf.

 

[Asclepion]

"I have a two questions. What will happen to the people it controls when we destroy it?

"They will no longer be receiving the signal, so presumably nothing. Quite a presumption, of course."

"Bug city... I'll take it. Out of curiosity, is that the reason why you assembled us instead of...I don't know... another group of Shadowrunners?"

"You were all chosen because, for one reason or another, the Great Otaku Division sees value in your abilities. As for you, Clint Leone, you... have proven yourself already against the bug invaders."

"And how do we escape Chicago once we're done?"

The elf did not answer. He only smiled.

"Well, isn't that the problem?"

 

[RandomMan01]

"We will offer three million nuyen, plus 100,000 up front that you would have received."

Billy smiled as he listened to the elf speak.

That much money could set me up for a looong time

"Well, isn't that the problem?"

Billy's smile quickly faded. He had known about the bugs in Chicago, obviously, but asking them to go in there, with barely any chance of getting out afterwards, was a different story all together. He had gone on "suicide" missions during he days at the Mafia, but they had always had a way out if the plan succeed. Nonetheless, these guys were offering a good sum of cash, a Billy didn't really want to argue anyways.

"As long as we're getting paid."

 

[hiei82]

"You were all chosen because, for one reason or another, the Great Otaku Division sees value in your abilities. As for you, Clint Leone, you... have proven yourself already against the bug invaders." the elf said.

So it was a job then? Some way to hire a group of runners. Julia didn't like any of it, but given they were currently stuck in la la land, she didn't have much of an option otherwise. She had a few guesses why they;d grabbed her - most of them to do with her knowledge of UCAS military. If they needed to get into Bug City, a UCAS dropship was the way. and the only way to get one? Well... they were shadowrunners - how else would they get it.

"Okay-" Julia said, having gotten the jist of it "-so let me get this straight: you want us to infiltrate Bug City, destroy a computer, get out, and be big, rich, goddamn heroes right?" she asked, and waited for confirmation. When she'd gotten it she added "Question time then: what's the big bad Asclepion got in terms of defenses - you know, aside from the city of magical lovecraftian bug monsters? And what can Aslepion do on its own - does it have any space lasers pointing down at us yet?" Julia asked. She didn't have much love for A.I.'s, not since Deus had crashed the Matrix and discovered an aptitude for space based death rays.

"And one last question? Where on earth - or rather bug city - can we find the giant hard drive?" Julia finished, more ore less complete for the moment. She knew she was taking the job - destroying UCAS hardware was something she had acquired a taste for anyway.

 

[Asclepion]

"Okay-so let me get this straight: you want us to infiltrate Bug City, destroy a computer, get out, and be big, rich, goddamn heroes right?"

Yes, that sums it up. If you live, you will generously compensated."

"Question time then: what's the big bad Asclepion got in terms of defenses - you know, aside from the city of magical lovecraftian bug monsters? And what can Aslepion do on its own - does it have any space lasers pointing down at us yet?"

"Surely nothing that can outgun Arsenal, outtalk Ziggy, or make a matrix barrier that Mechanist can't navigate." He said, grinning.

"And one last question? Where on earth - or rather bug city - can we find the giant hard drive?"

"I would be happy to tell you, had such information been available to me. But I have no idea where in Bug City the AI mainframe is located. We will supply you with a GPS device tuned to the control pool signal. When you find it, it must be destroyed."

"Bug city and we get rich? No thanks I'd rather not have to fall into that hell and have the Yaks on my back."

"I urge you to reconsider." He said. "If you ever find yourself desperate, Sonya. At an end. In need. Remember- the Great Otaku Division can change everything."

The elf nodded as he stood in the crashing waves.

"The next plane leaves in two days. Plan your run. If there are any other questions, inform us. We'll be watching."

....

"And good luck."

[hr]

Ziggy slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurred, he was drowsy and his body was lying on something hard. As he did, the image became clearer; a park bench.

The island was gone, almost as abruptly as it had appeared. It was early morning at an uptown park. In the distance, sprinklers showered water on the grass and a few cars passed in their early commute, though the roads were still mostly empty. Scattered around him in various states of consciousness were the rest of the shadowrunners. He quickly realized what had happened- that they had been dumped in this park until the anesthesia wore off. Ziggy had been left on a bench for who knows how long. He felt something else underneath him, and examined it. It was a briefcase.

Inside the briefcase:

- 100,000 Nuyen
- A set of collapsible kinetic bubbles that will survive the drop from the plane.
- A commlink for communication with the G.O.D.
- A GPS locator device
- A data file on the airbase that the planes take off from:

The Airfield is surrounded by a 12-foot chain link fence. The surface is populated by UCAS guards, most with regular small arms, but some wield heavier weapons like flamethrowers and assault rifles. The guard towers are equipped with floodlights and thermal cameras, and the guards stationed there have sniper rifles in addition to small arms. Low-level security bots are also patrolling the area. The planes themselves are monitored by several UCAS operatives, as well as flight crews who do regular checks before every flight.

NOTE: Unbeknownst the runners, the G.O.D. has implanted cortex bombs in each member.

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

"Clint Leone..."

His name. No one had ever said his name.

"Hey wai-" In an instant, he awoke in a park with the other Shadowrunners. The wet grass greeted his face as he rose to his feet. Blue saw Ziggy on a bench nearby and slowly began to walk to him as he lost most of his feeling in his legs. He knew that G.O.D had a large amount of information at their disposal so it didn't surprise him that they knew his name but it still made him uneasy to hear it from someone he didn't trust.

"What's in the suitcase, Ziggy?" Blue asked as he approached him.

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

No way out, for fucks sake.

Andrew felt like he had been stabbed... and then he was in a park. With other people around him, and he couldn't feel the code filtering through his mind.

Atleast they're not in my head anymore. he looked around.
He thought about some basic facts, we have two days to get on a plane, the plane is in a UCAS airfield, otaku have been in my head, otaku have seen my code, otaku have been in my implants, otaku have been in his gear, otaku know everything about me, otaku are throwing us into Chicago, Chicago is filled with parasitic bug ghosts, parasitic bug ghosts infest people, I am a person, I do not want to be host to a parasitic bug ghost, I do not want to be a pod person, the pod people are being run through a node in Chicago, my friends have been turned into pod people, my friends matter to me, she matters to me, otaku have me by the balls... I need to be cleaned.

One of the others, blue if he could remember began walking over to the crazy elf "What's in the suitcase, Ziggy?"
Suitcase? he looked over at the elf... Ziggy
Andrew got up and walked over to Ziggy as well.

 

[RandomMan01]

Billy stood up, slowly clutching his head. His legs felt numb.
Fuck, what just happened?

Trying to massage the feeling back into his legs, he thought on the situation.

The Otaku want us to break into a UCSA airfield in two days time, sneak onto a guarded airship, fly to fucking Bug City, fins some sort of hard drive, destroy, then get out without any sort of help...

"Fucking assholes..."

"What's in the suitcase, Ziggy?"

Probably has the money inside. At least they're living up to their side of the bargain

Billy stands up, legs still pretty numb, and begins to stumble towards Ziggy. Eventually, the feeling comes back to his legs, and manages to walk a little more confidently.

 

[Terratina.]

He took a moment to nurse his head, "...Not nice at all. Mr. Suit."

Ziggy was tempted to call up the G.O.D. and complain about the service. But then again, if they knew the cowboy's real name, they probably knew his as well. Luckily, they all were booted out of the sim before that could happen. Screw Bug City, if it got out that he was related to the Danaan families... But that was a headache for another day. Right now, there were other figures badgering him about the suitcase. However, he had to check one important thing. He ran his hand through his hair and to his delight, it was intact. A faint smile appeared on his face and he stood up, holding the suitcase in question loosely, swinging it about.

"This little thing?" He playfully teased, "Why, just nuyen, plastic-y, bubbly things, data, a commlink and PGS. No, wait, a SPS. No... Ah! GPS! That's what they're called. Time's-a-wastin', so I'd better grab me a boat ride to the airport. See ya."

He began walking away, albeit slowly.

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

"This little thing? Why, just nuyen, plastic-y, bubbly things, data, a commlink and PGS. No, wait, a SPS. No... Ah! GPS! That's what they're called. Time's-a-wastin', so I'd better grab me a boat ride to the airport. See ya."

Andrew looked at Ziggy as he began to walk off, not hearing any of the playfulness in his tone why you little shit.

He quickly grabbed him by the shoulder painfully "If we want to have any chance of pulling this off, we need to plan. First we split the money, then we come up with a plan, then we prep. We cannot fuck about now. We just made a god damned deal with a dragon." he sounded a little panicky.

He let go and ran his hands through his hair "I'm sorry... I just. Damnit."

 

[EmperorZuma]

Jacob woke up in the grass, dazed, and somewhat annoyed. The elf didn't even bother answering his question, practically forces a mission to a bug-filled city on them, and then had the gall to just dump them in a park with the down payment. The G.O.D had to do more than stroke his ego then to get his compliance.

It was when he regained full consciousness that he could feel his connect to the Matrix finally kick in, and when it did, his holoprojector beeped. Jacob keyed it off and sent his own message, through the matrix, back to the "pinger". "Can't talk now, in the middle of something. Send the van and we can catch up there." His projector beeped once more to confirm, leaving Jacob free to rejoin the group. From what he could tell, the others were curious in the contents of the briefcase, which should had been obvious. However, the Mechanist couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of the insane elf that appeared to be trying to steal it all in the most conspicuous way possible.

 

[Terratina.]

"...I'm sorry... I just. Damnit."

Ziggy was just about to make another scene, but then the elf in black apologised and Ziggy noticed those piercing green eyes. He slowly spun on his heels, and extended his free hand, stroking the other elf's face with a smile. The hand moved across and upwards to the other elf's dark brown hair, and stroked that a little as well. Ziggy feigned infatuation, "Don't worry; I'm not going anywhere, because that would mean being away from you." With a deep sigh, he stopped stroking Mr. Black's face, and placed the suitcase on the floor. If only he had caught the other elf's hand when he grabbed his shoulder... That would have been a better way to go about it. But improv was improv. He then addressed the rest of the group, regardless of their thoughts of him. That little antic was just to spring them into action. He squatted on the upright suitcase and said his piece.

"Seems like I've found a reason to keep living. Alright, ladies, gentleman and those otherwise! Ziggy is at your disposal."

 

[Asclepion]

By midday, Seattle was picking up. Lines of traffic, wageslaves making their daily commute. Crowds walked the streets. And underneath it all, in the Shadowrunning capital of North America, organized criminals went about their business.

Including, of course, the Yakuza.

Their draconian Wakagashira-hosa had not heard anything from the runners since the night of the battle.

- Message from Mr. Tanaka -

What the hell is going on!?

I have sent my associates to retrieve the man. They have not called back, the last they told was of an explosion at the pickup location. I have not been in contact with you. Where are you!? Do you have the kusoyaru Tobias!? Nameruna!​

 

[3quency]

Jade falls in line with the others. Her head hurts like hell and she swears she was out of it for longer than the others. Some crazy shit happened on an island and next thing you know the group are in some dumb park in the middle of a city. Damned VR shit was messing with her.
"Hey, hey hey." she said getting someone, anyone's attention.
"So's I'm assumin' this wasn't just some fucked up dream yeah? We've been all but ordered by a bunch o' cybergeeks to drop ourselves into Bug City? And they're just assumin' we're cool with this?"

Before anyone can respond she stops, stock still.
Something is wrong.
She twists around, squinting her eyes. She looks at the green, taking in the entire area. Her heart is sinking, fast.

"Where's Lillian?" she asks.
"Where the fucking fuck is Lillian?!"

 

[RandomMan01]

"Seems like I've found a reason to keep living. Alright, ladies, gentleman and those otherwise! Ziggy is at your disposal."
Billy scratched his head in confusion at the whole scene, but passed it off as mindless antics for amusement.
"How 'bout you get up tell us what's in that case of yours then. If it's money, I says we split it now." he says. At that moment, an elf in a punk getup walks up

"So's I'm assumin' this wasn't just some fucked up dream yeah? We've been all but ordered by a bunch o' cybergeeks to drop ourselves into Bug City? And they're just assumin' we're cool with this?"
Billy nods "Yep" I'm going to kill those guys if I make it back alive

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

Ziggy began to act fucking bizarre and then Andrew began to back away slowly with a look of mild confusion on his face.

"So's I'm assumin' this wasn't just some fucked up dream yeah? We've been all but ordered by a bunch o' cybergeeks to drop ourselves into Bug City? And they're just assumin' we're cool with this?"

Of course they assume we're fine with this, they're practically dragons.

"Where's Lillian? Where the fucking fuck is Lillian?!"

Shit, they either left the VTOL to the pod people, or took it.

"Shit... I'm guessing on one of these rooftops" he waved his arms around at the buildings around him "or the casino still."

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

Blue watched the runners and heard them talking, trying to piece together some sort of semblance to a near impossible infiltration of Bug City. He remembered the simulations, they put him through in preparation for his deployment in Bug City and it seemed funny that no matter how far he ran away he still would end up in that place. For the first time his left arm felt a bit "funny".

"Getting to Bug City is the easiest thing on the agenda." Blue said. "I've got a nasty history with Insect Spirits but I'm your best bet in navigating that place and before you ask how we need to plan things out. Jade, once we find Lillian, mind dropping us off some distance away from the place? Since its the UCSA, I expect they got their robot watchdogs sniffing around so any technomancer here worth his two cents should take a crack at it. Now anyone have an idea to deal with the more "organic" obstacles?

 

[hiei82]

Julia opened her eyes, finding herself on a park bench. This was why she hated computers - she could fight her way through an army of people, but all it took was one computer with the right software to shut her down. The only consolation was it wasn't magic.

Sighing slightly, she listened to the conversation for a bit, before jumping in. "How 'bout you get up tell us what's in that case of yours then. If it's money, I says we split it now." Julia needed to jump in there. "I wouldn't. If we need something big to do this job, the money's gonna have to come from that slush fund. Instead, we sit down and figure out how we're gonna do this." she said, then turned to woman with the massive rifle - a woman after her own heart - and added "and if we're gonna do this."

 

[3quency]

"Jade, once we find Lillian, mind dropping us off some distance away from the place?"
Jade rakes a hand through her hair, looking around frantically. She gulps in air, calming herself as best she can.
"A'right, a'right. One thing at a time yeah?" she says to Blue.
"Can we get about findin' Lillian first? Once that's done I'll take us wherever we're s'posed to be."

 

[Terratina.]

Ziggy smiled, but was a bit glum inside. Jade had missed the best bit, not to mention the rejection from Mr. Black. Maybe death was the only thing that would give him solace, after all. He opened up the suitcase while still sitting on it and revealed the contents to the others. Hopefully they would stop pestering him about that. He reached into it and pulled out the commlink and threw it to Jade. "Why not ask the 'cybergeeks' themselves?" He teased.