Runners:
Nomusa Iblis
Lodestone
Rooster
Thankyou
Zuberi

While everyone else has been busy in Lagos, Nomusa has spent some time in a very secure medical facility outside of Cape Town. Having traded the team’s assistance on a the exec kidnapping for medical access with Ezekiel Grey, Nomusa manages to control his shift into a ghoul in such a way as to ensure that he retained sentience. After a few weeks of rehab, he borrows a little more money from Grey, and flies north to Nyamkopon, Asamando, to rendevouz with the rest of the team. The Butcher apparently has some work lined up for them in the area.

The rest of the team, minus Atlas who will require a lengthy hospital stay after his near death, engage in some shopping and general gear maintenance. Zuberi self-initiates learns a new spell (which he crafted himself), and Rooster initiates with The Order of St George. LS begins preperations to permanently bind a spirit to himself. There is also a joyous reunion with Jason Park and Exocet, who have finally arrived. They hace TY’s grenade launcher, but had to trade his milspec armor to the mercs they were with for the ride up. TY is not thrilled. However, he negotiates with the mercs to also sell them the helmet, and get some free grenades for his launcher.

Nomusa contacts TY, as he trusts him most, and reveals himself as a ghoul. TY is suspicious but willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for now, as he has also eaten of human flesh. They get the job details from the Butcher. Apparently, a local immigration official has been secretly recorded engaging in live human flesh feasts with some select guests. As glorying in ghoul’s need for flesh is specifically against Queen Thema Laula’s agenda (securing UN recognition, etc.) this needs to be quietly dealt with. There is an investigative reporter who has the story, and needs to be persuaded never to publish in any way the team sees fit. All copies of the story also need to be eliminated or accounted for as well. There is also the politician, who ideally will “commit” a believable “suicide.” An accident that looks sufficiently accidental will also suffice. So long as the local investigators can write it off as being what it appears. The message of the pol’s death will still reach those who need to receive it: this type of behaviour will not be tolerated.

The team tackles the reporter first. They convince him to meet them in a suburban subway hallway that LS determines has no camera coverage, a rarity in the city. Rooster distracts the small subway crowd. LS stuns the reporter, and probes his mind while Zuberi buries him alive in the concrete of the hallway, while Nomusa uses a directional jammer to keep him from sending out distress calls. They bury the jammer with him. LS finds there are 3 copies of the report: 1 on the reporter’s ‘link, 1 on a datastick in a safe in his hotel room, and 1 on a secure non-connected server at his agent/publisher’s office in Nairobi. He also gets the passcodes needed to access all of these. Not seeing anyone else who seems to have followed the reporter in, they leave. LS gets the stick from the hotel, and packs a bag quickly to make it look like the reporter left in a hurry. They hire Exocet to make a databomb to upload to the secure server, using the reporter’s passcode and a forged comm ID. Exocet will also send an ‘all clear’ signal every 48 hours to prevent a time-delayed release of the reporter’s sensitive info.

Next, they gun for the politician, a Chicago area transplant, who seems to have always taken a very pro-ghoul stance. They infiltrate her condo building using subterfuge, but security is too tight. They aren’t used to it being so hard to kill people in the streets- this isn’t the undercity, or Lagos, or even Cape Town. They decide to stage a subway accident, using Zuberi’s new spell to puppetmaster her in front of a train. LS tails her to establish her schedule, and they spring their trap. LS uses a spirit to pull her assistant away from her (he suddenly needs to use the bathroom), and then to convince the train conductor to override the brake timing system as he pulls into the station. TY keeps an eye on the assistant, while Rooster distracts the crowd. Zuberi, gesturing minimally, puppetmasters her into diving in front of the fast-moving train, splattering nearby commuters with gore. LS reads her mind quickly before she jumps, and finds out that she kept records of all her ‘feasts’ and the guests who attended, for blackmail purposes.

They seperately flee the station as the local security tries to corral everyone together for interviews. They report their successes to the Butcher, who pays up. They also pass along the copy of the report on the datastick, and tell the Butcher about the blackmail kept by the politician. They also head back to the subway with TY in tow, who with his incredible signal range is able to access the reporter’s ’link through the jamming and concrete. He erases the ’link, and turns it off, and also turns off the jammer. Potentially, no-one will ever know he has been buried there, a terrifying thought.

Exocet stops sending the ‘all-clears’ once enough time has elapsed for the databomb to have done it’s job. LS spends some time researching TY’s past, given the secret info that he uncovered while scanning TY’s mind. LS and Zuberi also exchange a mindprobe for a body control, and have a real moment. LS also researchers Zuberi, his past, his religion, and his tribe in the hopes of being able to manipulate him as necessary, possibly by summoning spirits of man in the form of Zuberi’s venerated ancestors. TY comes to the team with more work: Journeyman Urb has a job to pass along. Mr. Johnson will fly them to Nairobi, home to the African branch of the Corporate Court, as well as the Kilimanjaro mass driver, and fill them in on the job. If they like it, they’ll stay, if not they are free to get back on the plane and leave. This is all the info Urb has, but it’s a free round trip, and medical’s covered, so the team agrees to check it out.

Next time: Kenya!

Runners:
Nomusa Iblis
Lodestone
Rooster
Thankyou
Zuberi
Atlas Park

The team takes a commercial flight to Nairobi Int’l Aerospaceport after getting their licenses and gear in order. There, they are introduced to a powerful free spirit who hires them to sabotage an AresSpace train that hauls cargo between NIA and the mass driver at Mt. Kilimanjaro, crashing it into the depot at high speed. The team accepts the initial offer on price before even hearing the job details, as it’s a surprisingly high number. They are to leave behind an enchanted Masai tribal mask to claim responsibility for the attack.

They spend a few days on recon, and end up with a solid plan. After bribing some customs and NIA employees, they ship Atlas and Nomusa in shoddy crates, on a train trip that is supposed to have low (relatively) security (i.e. no extra guards, etc.). The hire Innocent Dobiri, their friend from Lagos, to get them out of the country post-job. They also hire 4 friends of his to fly their planes nearby as they make their escape, headed in different directions, to distract pursuers. LS, Zuberi, Rooster, and TY will be in the plane to provide magical/fire support as needed.

Nomusa, having studied up on explosives, has rigged 2 small charges to blow open the conductors compartments on the train and destroy the onboard AI systems. TY also purchases some powerful area jammers to prevent wireless signals from reaching the train. Nomusa has also rigged up a carbomb, which TY sets off at a security gate on the farside of the mass driver facility to distract onsite security personnel. Atlas and Nomusa bust out of their crates, and bust out of their shipping container. They make their way up the narrow corridor at the center of the train, avoiding the drones on the topside. Nomusa rigs up the explosives on both ends, and sets them off, triggering the jammers at the same time.

He and Atlas make short work of the conductors, and after ensuring that the brakes have not engaged, climb to the roof to make their escape, leaving behind the ceremonial Masai mask that the spirit gave them. Although they are both heavily injured by drone fire, they manage to both jump off the train, deploying their basejump parachutes, and using their recently acquired squirrel suits to glide away. They make a rough but reasonably accurate landing, launch a skyhook, and are promptly picked up by Innocent. TY hacks everyone’s datatrail, and they flee, flying low westwards while the 4 dummy planes scatter in other directions.

They seem to have made good their escape, although Atlas and Nomusa are both unconscious and injured from stimpatch use. However, a lion shaman appears before them as a ghostly image, and tells them that they have framed his people for this attack. The team, reluctant to take responsibility, don’t wish to cooperate, although they tell the shaman that they will help his cause in the future in exchange for not destroying their plane, which he claims he has the ability to do. However, most of the team members have no actual intention to follow through on this, though the shaman made it clear that he and his followers would attempt to seek retribution if the team went back on their word. Regardless, for now they got paid and got clear, so it’s a win!

However, once returned to Nyamkopon, Rooster receives a disturbing message: Exocet, who has been missing for some days, has reappeared and says she needs to meet up and tell him something. TY goes with for security, while Atlas and Nomusa enter hospital care and LS and Zuberi initiate LS into the new Order of the Dark Realm. They meet her in a coffee shop, and can immediately tell that something’s a bit off. She looks somewhat injured and says that she was recently hit by a car, and lost some memory. She seems about to say more, but TY get suspicious and tries to back away, seemingly triggering an explosive device that had been implanted in her. TY is heavily injured, and Rooster nearly killed, by the blast. The coffee shop is largely destroyed.

Fearing what they may find waiting at the public hospital, Nomusa calls in a favor from The Butcher to get his friends private care. They heal up in a secure clinic, while Nomusa and TY purchase some hacking gear and everyone who had an Exocet SIN gets new SIN’s. TY and N research the accident, which looks like an intentional hit- apparently someone wanted her in a hospital. However, the public facilities claim to have no record of her. So they assume she also wound up in a black clinic. They are worried what info whoever had her may have extracted from her.

Atlas, distressingly, receives a “Get Well” bouquet with a card saying “we found you” in kanji attached. Worried, he leaves the hospital through a side exit, but doesn’t see any obvious Yak presence. However, he can’t contact Jason Park, and upon returning to the hotel finds a message scrawled in blood that says “well be in touch.” LS investigates the scene, and realizes it’s pig’s blood, not Jason’s. Also, all of their stuff has been gone through and then carefully repacked. There seems to be no trace of the intruders or a struggle.

The Yak do get in touch, and tell Atlas that if he wants to end their hunt for him (and see his brother safely returned) he will have to renounce his various martial arts titles, pay an appropriate physical price, and do a large act of penance. He agrees, reluctantly, as he can’t abandon Jason. They tell him to let them know when he is ready, and not to wait too long.

The team also gets a call from Jane, saying she has more work for them if they can meet her in Seattle. She provides airfare, so they agree, as Nyamkopon doesn’t seem very safe right now. Atlas gets in touch with Yak to arrange to settle his business in Seattle.

Runners:
Lodestone
Rooster
Thankyou
Atlas Park

The team meets up with Jane, while Atlas deals with the Yak. He goes to a temple, where he is forced to renounce his titles while being recorded. He also loses both pinkies, as does Jason Park, for the various ways in which they have disgraced themselves and others. Jason actually seems to be getting along with them fairly well, although he is pretty ashamed to have been captured and have forced Atlas into this. Atlas agrees to do a job for them the next day to ensure Jason’s release.

Meanwhile, Jane tells the team that she has another “item” to retrieve, this time in Chicago. She offers reasonable pay once again, and as the team generally likes her, they agree. She tells them she’ll fill in the details on the plane (where they can talk securely) but that the team should stock up on cold weather gear. They will leave the next day.

Atlas hooks up with everyone else, and convinces LS, Rooster, and TY to help him pay off his debt. They carefully avoid commenting on his missing digits and bandaged hands. The job is this: there is a former Importer/Exporter who is now out of the picture, due to the Feds taking an interest in his business. However, it has come to the attention of the Yak that there is a hidden safe in his warehouse that they want retrieved, intact and unopened. The complication is that the Feds are combing the building currently, so the team needs to get in there before they find the safe.

They do some recon, in person, by drone, astrally, and in matrix, and plan their assault using the info gathered plus the building plans the Yak provide. TY makes a local arms connect through a contact of Journeyman Urb’s, and they load up on riot gear, grapple guns, gas mask, and knockout gas. TY steals a reasonable looking getaway car, and they head over. He has previously found a backdoor into the building node, so he enters as they ascend the back of the building on grapples, after his HK drone kills the Feds rooftop surveillance. LS summons Baelor to watch the front, in case the local KE unmarked units down the block move up to support the Feds.

Atlas drops the poison into the furnace/AC unit intake after removing the screen, and TY locks the building’s doors and windows, and turns up the heat. He watches on the cameras as the feds inside start to cough and convulse. However, one of them comes up on the roof (to investiagte the dead drone perhaps?). He busts open the door, and Atlas makes short work of him. The team decides to charge in and finish off the rest, rather than wait for the gas to fully take effect. TY also has his agent kill the agent that the feds have monitoring the building node, although he doesn’t notice until too late that the interior cameras are exporting data to a government address. Oh well, they’re all wearing gas masks.

They make short work of the CSI team on the 2nd floor, only one of whom has managed to get into hazmat gear in time. LS and Atlas dig out the safe while TY and Rooster deal with the 2 security heavies downstairs. Baelor fights off the local KE cops for long enough for the team to make an escape out the back with safe. TY drives them out the Barrens, where they trade for a dilapidated car with a local, and head out to the motel that Jane has rented for them. The Yak come and grab the safe, and tell Atlas his debt is paid, although he is still not welcome in Yak turf without explicit permission. However, Jason tells Atlas the he is staying with the Yak, as they are teaching him important lessons about honor, respect, and tradition that he feels he needs. He tells Atlas to contact him anytime he needs his help of course, though.

The team decides to go shopping for a trip to Bug City in the remaining few hours until their flight.

Runners:
Nomusa Iblis
Lodestone
Rooster
Thankyou
Zuberi

Atlas Park decides to leave the group for a while, to reflect on recent life events. Jason abandoning him to stay with the Yakuza was a big blow. The rest of the team gears up for all possibilities in preperation for travel to Bug City, alongside Jane. She takes them all the best places. They board the charter plane, and have an uneventful flight, a nice change of pace from dodging AA fire in Africa.

Jane fills them in on the job- they are to find another runner team (lead by a woman named Sonora in the employ of Aztechnology) and retrieve another artefact from them. This one is a sextant, and has some sort of link to the map. The team finds out some about this- apparently Jane is able to use the map to roughly locate the artefact, which is how she found out it was in Chicago, and why she’s in a rush. Zuberi agrees that he will stay with her to help perform this ritual, once they touch down, and keep the team apprised of the map’s rough location via satellite link. They get a few hours sleep after prepping gear and planning.

They land, and the remaining team members drop off Zuberi and Jane at a hotel in Northside, and weld a scrap metal plow onto the SUV, before heading for the ABC complex at Trinity University. They fight off a go-gang on the way, gaining some bodies for Nomusa to feed on, and to use as trade goods with any ghouls they encounter. They reach the ABC complex, and trade a bunch of medical goods and 2 bodies (for study!) for info and a guide to a gate they can use to bring their rented/stolen SUV through the wall into the CZ. They sleep a few hours, fearing they won’t be able to in the Zone. They trade the guide some more for the backdoor he uses to open the old security gates.

They ram a pack of wild dogs who are attacking a raggedy family, and then feeling that they’ve done their good deed for the day, ignore the raggedy old woman and baby that they see huddled in a doorway a few blocks later. They head for the Hangman bar, near the Noose, to get wireless access and hopefully some info. When there, they trade the bodies with an older ghoul hacker for some info- the other team has indeed been seen in Chicago recently. In exchange for some ammo, he also points them in the direction of the Little Earth Sioux community on the old U of C campus, who apparently have a talented healer whose services the other runners may have sought out.

The team prepares to head there, hoping to catch up with their prey. They manage to drive on the highway, having to stop frequently to push aside rusting old cars that they can’t move with the plow. They arrive, and find that some folks have barricaded one of the former campus buildings, although their security seems to be a bit less stringent than its evident heyday- they only see a few patrolling spirits, and 1 sniper nest/lookout on their way in. They are ushered in the door to the Sioux medical building by an ex-military looking man, and meet up with an elderly woman to trade medical supplies for some info- they find out that Sonora, the mage they pursue, has lost another team-mate while crossing the CZ, and that she plans to pay Spire Enterprises, a smuggling operation trying to go legit, to carry the remaining team members to parts unknown. They apparently traded the last of their meager supplies to the Sioux for medical aid after being set on by dogs of some sort, and also for assistance cremating their dead friend, who they didn’t want used for more nefarious purposes.

The team loads back into the SUV and heads for the Spire building, plowing and moving cars on the way. As they approach, they hear some distant gunshots, shortly after catching sight of the distinct spiral of the building. However, TY, driving, receives an odd premonition, and swerves suddenly, just as the bridge collapses under them and the car plummets down, through a large sinkhole in the street below, into some sort of subterranean level. He prevents the car from flipping, and the team’s armor (as well as what’s left of the car) absorb the bulk of the shock- but it looks like they are on foot the rest of the way. And also underground. Neither of which are ideal.

The team fights off some hybird mantis spirit/dog monstrosities, and regains the surface. They approach the Spire on foot, while trying to stay warm. They encounter the tower under siege by a mafia faction trying to gain some new turf. They break the siege, calling in assistance from the mafia faction that currently controls the area, as well as providing some fire support from a distance. In gratitude, the head of Spire Enterprises agrees to fly the team out, on Sonora’s trail. Stopping to pick up Jane and Zuberi, they head for Denver.

On the way, they are forced to land to make some repairs, and stop at a waypoint that their pilot, Ricky Steelsky, has used before. However, it appears abandoned, and Rooster heads out to investigate- uncovering a cellar full of corpses and getting ko’d by a free-roaming spirit. The team takes the spirit out effectively, but on it’s death it opens an astral rift to the shadow plane, which Zuberi thinks is the Dark Realm. However, he decides to remain on earth, feeling his work there is not yet complete.

The team makes it to Denver, following Sonora’s trail, and calling in some favors to do so. They land a ways outside the city, and leave their non-licensed gear in the plane. They find out she has lost another teammate in a shootout, and is looking for a ride out of town. They eventually find out where she is meeting her ride (a national park in the PCC outside Denver), and race there to try to intercept her team. They arrive, but are slowed by an ambush by an unknown team, which (confusingly) takes place over and around a triad smuggling camp. Apparently, the pilot Sonora hired agreed to meet there as he had to drop off some new slaves, the team enters the campsite as these new arrivals are being processed, and the ambush breaks out. Rooster uses his command abilities to good effect to try to focus the triad’s fire on the opposing team, while LS and TY try to access the exiting VTOL that Sonora is aboard.

TY is unable to hack the VTOL- it seems they are running dark. However, LS overpowers Sonora’s mental defenses, and finds out where they are going (LA) and who they are working for (an Aztlan blood mage). The opposing team seems to break off once the craft leaves, though they leave 3 of their number behind, dead at the hands of Zuberi, TY, Nomusa, and LS’s attacks. The team makes a quick exit in a car, before the triad has time to figure out what’s going on and start shooting them. On their way south to link up with Jane and Ricky again, they pass some emergency vehicles seemingly headed for the park. Rooster and Nomusa decide to ride back into Denver proper and fly to LA on a commercial flight, hoping to get some good recon in on Sonora’s employer’s meet site before either their team or Sonora arrive via slower VTOL smuggler travel. The rest of the team decides to stick with Jane, as LS figured out that Sonora has been staying ahead of them partially by using the sextant to track the map- and Jane is worried about the blood mage making a play for the map as well. They decide to pressure Ricky to take the shorter but more dangerous Mojave route, to try to cut down Sonora’s lead.

Rooster and Nomusa arrive in LA with no trouble, and meet up with Alex Foxfire, an LA Ancient, who takes them to a safehouse that Jane arranged, and provides them with some weapons and ammo. They scout out the warehouse where Sonora is meeting Itztli, and also are approached by an odd man, who says he belongs to the Sylvestrine Order, a Vatican affiliate, and that they are also seeking the artifact- he warns Rooster of the supposed curse on the item, and says that only his order can keep it safe. But, he offers his and his brothers’ assistance to the team, based on Rooster’s attempts to save (or at least keep out of harm’s way)the civilians in the Denver shootout.

The rest of the team flies the Mojave, TY has some distressing waking dreams while they travel. The local mana field is distessing and anger-filled. However, an old man (in appearance at least) manifests inside the plane and says that due to LS’ good rep in the spirit world, he will guide them safely through. However, this is a one-time favor, and LS is instructed to tell others not to come here- the spirits are taking it over for themselves. LS also asks what else he can do to help, and is told to strike out at Horizon where possible. They arrive in LA, and meet up with the rest of the team. Having just recently seen a car enter the warehouse (within Sonora’s expected window of arrival), they decide to storm the place. They hire some Ancients to help, as the gang guarding the warehouse (the Burning Angels) is an enemy. Rooster also calls the Sylvestrines.

They assault- TY hacks the building node and unlocks the doors, and Baelor and Ancients on bikes storm the gates, with a van crrying the team right behind. They mop up the Burning Angels inside, as well as 2 combat mages and a blood spirit left to slow their pursuit, but are unable to prevent Itztli and Sonora escaping in some mini-subs. However, there are a few more left, so they give chase, pausing for long enough for TY to slave all the systems together, and to grab some waterproof crates to strap on the back for gear. The Sylvestrines insist on protecting the Burning Angels who were wounded in the fight, but not killed, and will not let Zuberi execute them. He is annoyed.

The team follow an ARO breadcrumb trail through a series of winding and branching underwater tunnels and caverns, and soon find themselves hopelessly lost and reliant on the trail provided. Fortunately, they find theire target: they emerge into a larger air-filled cavern, and find Itztli waiting to make good his exit via a larger sub, but delayed by wrong direction currents. Itztli sacrifices Sonora’s lone remaining companion to cast a large barrier spell, and one of his guards apparently ko’s Sonora when she tries to intervene. The team manages to defeat his 5 guards, and one of his bound spirits, while Sonora comes to, and offers aid to LS in breaking the barrier. They succeed, and manage to kill Itztli before he is able to finsih mind-controlling the whole team (although TY, Zuberi, and Nomusa fall under his sway). He is, by far, the most powerful mage they have ever fought. Sonora grabs the sextant and tells the team to “RUN”! as Itztli was apparently equipped with a powerful cranial bomb. They manage to avoid harm, although the cavern takes some damage and fills with smoke. They vacate the area via the mini-subs after Sonora also warns them of the curse, and tells them to stay away from the sextant.

They head back out, and the Sylvestrines once again offer to take and protect the artifact. The team looks to Jane, who refuses. They leave the area before more Burning Angels arrive (the Ancients and Sylvestrines held off the first reinforcements). They drop Jane at a private jet, and get paid- she has also arranged for them to stay at a fancy OC hotel for a week to R&R, and says she will foward the bloodmage bounty that the Draco Foundation offers, if she can claim it. She also covers LS’ needed hospital stay (from multiple stimpatch crash) after Rooster gives her a hard time. Zuberi also gains a contact in the Denver Golden Triangle Triad, after calling them through Kayin, and explaining that they were fighting the same people as the triad, not trying to fuck up their op in Denver.

Runners:
Lodestone
Rooster
Thankyou
Zuberi

The team recuperates in the splendor of The Mountain hotel, Jane having secured them a private suite for a week. LS heals up in the hospital and resummons the banished bound spirit Mordin. The rest of the team restocks on gear and armor, and learns/hones some new abilities and spells. Nomusa Iblis leaves after a few days, feeling restless and unwlecome. He tells the team he is likely returning to Africa, after stopping in Chicago to visit some graves and memorials.

TY also tries to access the sealed-node CarJakkr that resides in his right arm- however, he sets off a databomb while entering the node, and suffers some biofeedback, during which he has an odd vision, and possibly gains some insight into his mysterious past. The Carjakkr is rendered non-functional though.

LS receives a visit from Laibon, the Masai lion shaman who he had agreed to help after the team framed the Masai for attacking the AresSpace train & depot. Laibon tells him that there is a traitor to their movement, who has been snitching to the corps. He has been in corp witsec for a few years, but is apparently going to be in LA to promote a book he wrote about his life (which Laibon says will be filled with lies, no doubt). Laibon wants the traitor (Tomas Abede) made an example of. LS agrees, as this seems easier than dealing with angry shamans, spirits, and freedom fighter/terrorists.

The team finds out that Abede is giving an interview to a Horizon talk show taping the next afternoon. LS purchases tickets and enters, he assenses Abeded during the interview and then leaves, to ID what car he is leaving in. Rooster creates a distraction for the crowds nearby, as TY and Zuberi wait by the parking garage in a stolen car. 2 identical cars leave, but LS ID’s which one contains Abede, and Zuberi destroys it with 4 flung high-ex grenades, killing Abede and his 2 corp guards. They flee, and ditch the car in Ancients turf, having paid them to dispose of it and give them a ride back.

Laibon gets in touch and tells the team they will be welcome in Kenya once more. They also receive a call from Jane, saying she has more work. She’ll be out of touch (she’s worried someone is tailing her), but gives them a number to call, just once, to contact her employer and set up a meet. They agree.

Runners:
Lodestone
Rooster
Thankyou
Zuberi

The team calls the number Jane left them, and agree to meet her employer, “Aaron Johnson”. Rooster realizes that this is in fact Ehran the Scribe. Ehran tells the team that he wants them to track down a 3rd artifact, starting in (relatively) stable Northern Europe this time, as opposed to a feral city. They agree, and Zuberi tells Ehran that if he can participate in whatever ritual the artifacts will someday be used for, he will forgo pay. LS warns Ehran privately that Zuberi is insane and dangerous. Ehran tells the team that they will meet Jane in Europe, where she will give them more details, but that they are traveling seperately due to Samriel Lockwood tracking them all on the last job.

They head to NYC via Ricky Steelsky’s cousin, Angela, and booka transatlantic flight to Hamburg, AGS. Zuberi agrees to be magecuffed and hooded during the flight, as opposed to sedated, as he will not willingly deactivate his quickened spells. The rest of the team passes security with fake licenses and SINS, along with Rooster’s social hacking, with no major problems. Thay arrive in Hamburg and meet Jane at the hotel. She tells them to find a local data broker, Hardy Wagner, but to be cautious as the local Vory and in a turf war with Dutch Penose gangsters.

The team finds Wagner’s apartment, burned out, although he wasn’t there. Some Vory approach and tell them to get in touch if they find Wagner. Rooster also meets some Penose at a bar, who tell him to help Wagner if he gets a chance. They also leave a message on Wagner’s comm, and are called back by a young ork named Jan Brecht, who arranges to meet them the next day during a political rally. They agree, and he makes them all run a CARE program so that they can find him in the crowd (and he will know where they are, to avoid ambushes).

They meet, and convince him they are not Vory or Interpol just in time, as the rally turns violent. They escape and follow Brecht through a series of sub-basements, service tunnels, and old vaults and fallout shelters, which are all in various states of flooding and decay. They are ambushed by merc’s (of unknown employ) who seem to also be seeking Wagner. They fight them off, but take some injuries, and don’t capture any of the merc’s for interrogation. Brecth takes them the rest of the way, and they find Wagner at a Penose safehouse in the tunnels. He agrees to give them the name of the thief who stole the artifact in exchange for getting him out of town- they agree, and hire a smuggler to take LS, Zuberi, and Wagner, while TY and Jane take the train, and Rooster (posing as Wagner and magically disguised) heads a different way. Then, they will tell the Vory where “Wagner” (aka Rooster) went, to avoid making enemies.

Rooster heads to Copenhagen, while the rest of the team heads for a rendevouz in Europort, to the west. Smuggled via jetski and powerboat, LS and Zuberi arrive first and get the name from Wagner: Malcolm Carella, aparently the leader of a Europort based heist crew called ’The Loose Cannons." Meanwhle, TY tells Jane his personal history, hatreds, goals, etc, and she offers to try to hel him reclaim some of his missing memories. He agrees and she roots around in his brain for a while, and provides a significant amount of info to him, regarding the Gilgamesh Initiative, and their role in his life. She also causes him to question his long-standing hatred of Mujaji and the Xhosa people, as well as the basis of his superstitions. LS, meanwhile, is freaking out that this is happening, as he worries it will trigger TY to go on a rampage.

They all meet at the hotel, LS having told Zuberi that they may ned to kill TY. Zuberi tells TY this, and they all decide to have a talk- LS also reveals what he knows about the GI and TY’s past, and TY overcomes a supersitious urge to murder everyone in the room. Zuberi insists everyone participate in a Dark Realm blood ritual to cement their alliance, and they do. While doing so, LS discovers that they all have nanites in their systems. When Rooster arrives (having appeared at a number of Copenhagen spots as Wagner, and then come to Europort from there), he also does the ritual and is discovered to have nanites.

They decide to go to a local well-regarded blacksite clinic, and get the nanites flushed, and also get TY’s cyber scanned to see if it’s hiding anything. They do so, and it turns out that the Carjakkr in his arm appears to have been fried when he went prying into it, although they also discover, disturbingly, that he has a hardened comm hardwired into his brain that isn’t giving off any wireless signals, in addition to his implanted comm. TY opts for brain surgery to remove the suspect 2nd comm, although his superstition is telling him not to. The surgery suceeds (although it it’s quite expensive), and the surgeon places the mystery comm (with a conspicuous GI logo on it) in an inert gas storage container to attempt to avoid triggering any self-destruct mechanisms. They are also attempting to continue sending it brainwave signals based on a scan of TY to make the comm think it’s still wired in. TY asks Jane for a favor, and she says she will call a friendly hacker to investigate it, in return for a future favor from TY (and team).

The rest of the team heads back to the hotel to try to start tracking down Carella while TY heals in the hospital (assisted by LS’ healing magic). The team manages to make a local contact, Jakob Schultz, who gets them a meeting with the Loose Cannons. TY decides to ship the secret GI comm from his head to the hacker Jane found, and sends it off. He also spends some time researching Carella while hospitalized, and finds out that he is in a secure Regulus JI-run detention facility, apparently relating to an Interpol investigation of some acts of corporate espionage. TY finds rumors that these acts were carried out on behalf of Saeder-Krupp.

TY also checks up on events on Mars, and finds out what has happened to his old teammates UltraBoy! and Tobias Cheney: A Betrayal on a Distant World. LS, Zuberi, and Rooster head to the meet with the Loose Cannons (minus Carella apparently) at a local bar. They find a seemingly capable runner team that appears to be a bit lacking in the magic department, although they are savvy enough to note that they are dealing with 3 awakened runners, and are on guard for spellcraft. The LCs are planning a frontal assault prison break to bust Carella out, although there is some dissension amongst the team as to whether they should go through with it. LS, Rooster, and Zuberi agree to assist in exchange for Carella’s promised cooperation, but also start thinking up alternative possibilities to get in and meet Carella.

Meanwhile, TY breaks into the prison’s node, and finds the security assets list before getting chased out by the on-site rigger and some hostile IC.

Runners:
Tobias Cheney
UltraBoy!

The last few months on Mars:

UB! has been working for Knight Errant as a corporate runner, he’s got his own team (although one of the members is a KE minder to make sure he stays on mission), and is being used in KE promotions around the city- “A Redeemed Runner!”, “Getting Revenge on Crime!”, etc. He’s been hunting down criminals, runners, etc, and enjoying all the perks of the corp-backed lifestyle. He feels he is finally getting the respect he deserves, as well as some public recognition (even if folks in the undercity won’t talk to him anymore). He hasn’t heard from Tobias, although T and other possible members of Daedelus’ Exchange are on the KE most-wanted, and bringing any of them in would be a significant coup for UB!

Tobias has been continuing to work with/for Daedelus’ Exchange op on Mars, although he’s had to largely flee the city proper- he’s found himself a wanted man (literally- he and other suspected Exchange members are on KE’s most wanted list, and are major targets). However, with Daedelus’ assistance, he has been able to continue his physics research, and amass many of the materials needed for a decent sized dirty bomb. He’s heard rumors that KE is planning something big, and is feeling pretty resentful that UB! is publicly living the big life while he is hit-and-running corp convoys in the desert and hiding in atmo processing facilities and the like.

2 weeks ago:

Tobias has been putting out the word that he wants info on the whereabouts and well-being of his old friend Patrick Henry Hughes. Word eventually gets back to him from John Caruthers that PHH has apparently been taken to Ares HQ in Detroit and is being held there- he’s not sure of the conditions, or how willing of a participant PHH is, but he has some mafia contacts down there who could help with setting up a rescue/extraction. However, there is a price- Caruthers will only help if Tobias gives him UB!, alive. Rooster had previously told Caruthers that UB! was behind the carbomb that killed Caruthers cousins in the uppercity, although Tobias and others also helped, unknown to Caruthers. Tobias agrees.

Fortunately for him, UB! has been trying to reach out and find a way to escape KE’s corporate clutches. Ultraman is pretty much the only person who will still talk to him out of all his old Undercity contacts, but he does eventually make contact. They arrange an ambush for UB!‘s team- responding to an anonymous tip, they walk into a booby-trapped killzone, and are cut to shreds by Tobias, with the help of Marlowe’s team. UB!, at Tobias’ insistance, ko’s and captures his KE minder, and loads her into a car T has waiting, and then jumps in himself, while shouting “LONG LIVE HAMSHALLOW!”, expecting to be sped off to the relative safety of life as an outlaw, alongside his old pal Tobias.

Sadly, T has also boobytrapped the car, and after UB! jumps in, it delivers a powerful shock to him, incapacitating him while the passenger compartment fills with gas and renders him unconscious. T delivers him to Caruthers, and keeps the minder for himself- a useful source of info for the Mars Exchange, surely.

The last few days:

Ultraman is rumored to have a new houseguest that’s he’s been seen around the Undercity with. It’s some weird human in his early 20’s, doesn’t seem all there- looks he had a bunch of surgery recently, he has a shaved head and a ton of not-so-subtle scarring. Supposedly Ultraman has been taking him on drives around town, visitng various sights of UB!‘s exploits and watching old trids and stuff. Folks are saying the Ultraman might have finally lost it, but some others remember some old rumors that UB! was actually an ork poser and think that someone took some pretty intense revenge on him- although who is anyone’s guess, as UB! had plenty of enemies to go around. Jaro has been seen meeting them occasionally for meals and such, having been spared arrest, unlike most of the rest of the Problem Children and Mad Martians, due to the secret deal UB! made with KE, which they appear to still be honoring, for now…..

Meanwhile, Tobias has been interrogating the prisoner (with some drugs provided by Caruthers, as well as some magical assistance from one of Marlowe’s people). He’s trying to plan a dirty bomb attack on KE’s uppercity HQ, hopefully in such a way as to kill Elton Massey, his former contact there, who has apparently been given a significant promotion in reward for his masterful ganger round-up.

Runners:
Lodestone
Rooster
Thankyou
Zuberi
Saul Chronic

Jane contacts TY to suggest that as soon as he is able to leave the hospital, he should. Jane wants to switch to a different hotel, and meet TY there, sneakily, so as to hopefully throw off any pursuers who might have tracked them to the original hotel via the nanites. TY agrees, and decides to leave a bit early. He gets in a cab in the secure clinic lot, where he is accosted by a large ork man and a middle-aged woman in a suit. They seem to have access to his comm, as they paralyze his cyberlimbs and disable his communication abilities. The rest of the team only sees a looped feed of a bland-seeming cab ride. They tell him that they were hoping he could keep developing on his own, out in the world, before being brought in, but that they’ll have to make do.

They exit the parking ramp, and head down the street, as the woman starts to speak again. Almost to quickly to process (as his wired reflexes are disabled) the driver side window and windshield both shatter, and TY is showered in glass, blood, and brains as the heads of both the human and the ork explode all over him. He is jerked hard forward as the car crashes. His limbs return to his control and he heard the door locks click open, but he dives out the windshield in a burst of adrenaline. He makes a run for it as he realizes that he never heard any shots. He gets in touch with the team, and LS sends Baelor over to help conceal him. He successfully gets away, and hops a (legit this time) cab to rendevouz, while hacking his comm and rebooting to lock out the backdoor that the woman used to shut down his ’ware. The rest of the team moves to a new hotel without noticing any tails.

Jane suggests that TY and Zuberi remain with her in the room, as they would be the likeliest to get noticed, and contacts a local hacker to get everyone some new SINS in case whoever was tracking TY has all their info. She also hires a local security mage, Saul Chronic, to secure their current room and help obscure their travels. Rooster convinces Widget & The Loose Cannons to hold off on their daring rescue of Malcolm Carella while they investigate ways to get him a message. LS gets ahold of Carella’s lawyer, and they arrange to send Saul (who has a legal SIN) into the prison, posing as a legal aide, to find out what Carella wants for the info they need. The meeting happens, and it turns out that Carella wants to stay in prison- he is worried that SK (who he was working for on the job he got collared on) will try to kill him to cover their tracks, and he has just been transferred to genpop, so he thinks they’ll hit him soon.

So, he offers a deal: he’ll tell his lawyer the name of the man with the disc, if the team gets him transferred back and somehow make it obvious like SK is behind his original transfer. Widget and TY tagteam the hacking, and it appears to work, as the facility goes into a security shutdown and the lawyer passes the name along. They are looking for a man named Hermann Meyer, apparently a member of the Doctor Faustus Society chapter based in Frankfurt. They purchase tickets, and plan to travel quickly to the train station in disguise, but are waylaid in the hotel lobby by the Apep Consortium rep, Georgiy Abolev, who they foiled in Lagos. He is accompanied by two tough looking guards and a small-ish bald man who is sitting in a chair in the lobby stroking an odd looking cat. He asks where the team is going, and they all (except Jane) respond against their will with a mumbled chorus of “Frankfurt.” They decide to avoid a potentially messy shootout, and head for the station.

They arrive safely in Frankfurt after getting some rest, only to find that Meyer has recently been buried having been murdered in some sort of odd circumstance a few days back. They look into it some, and find out that he was ritually murdered in some sort of blood sacrifice that looks like a frame-up of Aztechnology, who are helping Interpol and local cops with the investigation, as they either actually aren’t involved or are trying to cover their tracks. The team also finds out that the Faustus Society is hosting a gala in 2 nights where they will be displaying a number of magical artifacts, and all the latest thaumaturgical developments will be discussed. Jane wrangles an invite with +1, and Saul calls in a favor with Mir Cossint, and gets his own ticket with +1. Jane tells TY he can probably dress up fancy and hang out nearby as a chaffer, but she suggests Zuberi stay behind- a room full of curious mages is probably the worst spot for him to be.

They find also that a man named Hans Winokur has apparently taken over Meyer’s position in the Society, and is now in charge of hosting the gala, as well as overseeing Meyer’s estate (apparently all left in trust to the Society). They figure they may have to steal it out from under the Society’s nose during the event, as the manor house/Society base is otherwise not open to non-members, and is supposedly fairly secure. Rooster also discovers that there will be an Interpol team on alert should any threats arise, fearing that Meyer’s death could perhaps be only the first event.

TY does some aerial scouting with drones, and a little system probing- it seems like the manor has high security, but much of it will be disabled in the public parts for the gala. Outside the public areas, who knows? Jane secures a towncar and they head over. The team successfully enters the gala, and using spatial sensing, social engineering, brain scanning, and a little pick-pocketing, they manage to gain access to a secret corridor hidden behind locked portal in the library. They also see a number of other parties who have been pursuing artifacts, spread throughout the gala, including Samriel Lockwood, Georgiy Abolev, a member of the Vigilia Evangelica, and 2 Aztechnology reps, who they think might be the investigators Rooster heard about at Meyer’s death scene.

LS and Saul head down the secret passage, while Rooster returns the alchemical passkey to the Faustian he stole it from and Jane tries to distract the other factions present. After winding through a series of disused servants corridors, and ending up well underground, they find a secret chamber: perhaps a lair of the True Faustians. They gain access, and find the Phaistos Disc atop a pedestal in the center of the room, with a pressure plate underneath it, hardwired. They access a nearby terminal (also hardwired), and determine the exact weight of the disc. They then make a carefully balanced pile of other artifacts from the room of the same weight (once again, using the computer), and deftly make the swap. They hear no alarms, and TY doesn’t notice the node go on alert, so they exit the way they came, while Rooster distracts people from the library with a magical tale.

Outside, Zuberi has scouted out their exit, and noticed 2 SUVs with tinted windows idling down the street. He gains control of the metal undercarriage materials of the front one, in case they give chase. Jane makes her goodbyes, and the team loads up in the car and heads out. The SUVs do follow, and LS decides to have Mordin cause one of the drivers to have an accident- however, a mage approaches Mordin in astral space and asks to talk. LS tells Mording to ignore them and crashes one of the cars. Zuberi lockes up the wheels on the other, crashing it, though he barely overcame their counterspelling. They race to the train station, where Rooster has a courier waiting with a mana case. They pop in the disc, and get out of town, headed towards the Internation Airport. Jane assenses the disc, and discovers that it’s a fake, but with LS’ help, determines that it seems to astrally guide them to the real disc, seemingly located beneath the Pyramid of the Sun complex in Sarajevo.

They book a flight to Sarajevo, using almost the last of their travel budget, and land in the wartorn city. UN peacekeepers and mercs dominate the area, and locals seem split along ethnic and factional lines. They stay at a hotel charmingly named ‘Hotel’. They find a local fixer to arrange transport to the pyramids and do some scouting. Aztechnology has apparently moved in and is excavating the area, under guard, which complicates matters. They also find that the valley of the pyramids seems to be an astral shallow with a high background count. They grab some survival gear, while TY hacks into the Azzie node. He finds some archeological info, and they decide to make there way into the temple of the Moon, hoping to gain access to what seems to be some sort of underground tunnels revealed by Azzie radar imaging.

They head out, with TY’s drones alerting them to guard patrols, and travel through the blasted countryside, first by car, and then by foot for the last 5k of the 30k journey. They sneak in, levitating over the security fence, and dodging chimeric jaguar patrols and working grad students to drop into the Moon temple. Zuberi moves earth and stone aside to allow them passage, and they descend through many layers, dimly lit by a ghostly light from the astral plane. They find some small humanoid remains, ancient and decomposed, as well as long-decayed traps and some astrally active runes that seem to match with markings on the artefacts they’ve seen. They eventually find a smooth tunnel ringed in orichalcum, which they descend, entering a brightly glowing doorway at the end. They find 2 elf-like people seated at a table, with the Phaistos Disc between them- they tell the team to leave, as they are the disc’s final guardians. The team refuses. Zuberi is initially confused after they sprout bony projections, but LS convinces him that this is not, in fact, the Dark Realm. They defeat the spirits, seize the disc, and decide to leave, as the room is rapidly darkening and getting very cold.

They step back through the doorway, and find themselves in some sort of space between spaces- LS and Saul recognize that they are astrally travelling, though not in any place they’ve seen before. They manage to guide the others back to the ‘real’ world, and exit the temple, although Zuberi tries to shape the earth to allow him to take some of the orichalcum on the way out. It seems to absorb his spell, and he feels his access to magic weaken. However, they seem to have ended the astral shallow and the high backgroud count by seizing the disc, though the areas history of war and genocide still pollutes the local manasphere. However, the end of the astral shallow gives them the perfect distraction to sneak back out. They rendevouz with Jane, and placing the disc in another mana case (after she confirms it’s the real deal), fly to Amsterdam, there to go their seperate ways.

Jane tells them that she & Ehran the Scribe will be in touch sometime soon- they believe there may be a 4th artefact to be used with the others. She promises a ‘special’ reward, alongside pay, for recovery of the 4th item, once Ehran locates it. Jane also invites TY and LS to join Jackpoint, as provisional members. They get paid, and drop Jane at a private jet, though she is disturbed to see an elf wearing garish clown makeup standing there waiting for her. Samriel is also present, and congratulates the team on another job well done- he tells them he respects them, even though they are not working for him. They also get Ehran to give them some extra for the details and recordings of their time in the temple, and the data TY stoles from the Azzie node.

LS hires his family to do some research on Ehran, and gets some info back of varying quality/plausibility. They also hear from The Order of St George, who tell them that they have a European job lined up for them: the great dragon Alamais (Lofwyr’s brother, some say) has apparently taken over the feral city of Gemito with some other dragons and drakes who follow his draconic supremacy agenda, and is preying on metahumans there. The Order wants to hit back, where it hurts, by raiding any of his hoards they can locate, and they have found one for the team to assault. TY also hears from the woman Jane hired to hack his secret implanted Gilgamesh Initiative comm, who is coming to meet him, and has a favor in mind to repay her services. They also have a lead on some info on Jane’s history, if they find themselves in Seattle, and some pending work in Detroit for John Caruthers.

Runners:
Lodestone
Rooster
Thankyou
Zuberi
Saul Chronic

ThankYou is contacted by Netcat, a Jackpoint member who Jane hired to hack into TY’s secret Gilgamesh Initiative comm. She has some info, and wants to meet in a wireless dead zone, so they find a z-zone composed of old Amsterdam slum housing, in a former suburb. They meet at a squat guarded by a techno tribe who Netcat knows. NC tells TY that the comm seems to mostly have been for collecting scientific data on TY, as he appears to be some sort of test subject. There are records of infrequent downloaded updates, and NC’s best guess is that one of the IC/Agents that were running on the comm were sending suggestions to TY’s normal comm, explaining his ‘superstitions’. NC had to nuke these all to get the data, as well as bash through a bunch of milspec encryption & defusing ample databombs. Weirdest of all, someone had intruded in the system before. They didn’t seem to have edited or or destroyed anything, just glided in and looked over some stuff. The comm seemed to only have sent and received communications from the outside world when in range of pre-approved ‘safe’ networks (mostly large cities and the like). Also, the comm refers to TY as “Project Enkidu”, and records 2 contacts with “Project Boedicca”, which they determine to be referring to April O’Mally. NC offers to try to trace the in/out connections, but warns it will be difficult, and tells the team she needs some work from them first.

Her friend, also a technomancer, is missing, and she recently found some info in the deep resonance realms about where he might be. She located a message that a former Mitsuhama Computer Technologies employee tried to get out to the shadow community. Apparently, he was not secretive enough, as he has also gone missing, and his message was judiciously scrubbed from the more commonly accessible parts of the matrix. The message says that, while auditing an MCT bio-research experimental program, Tanaka found a secret lab, hidden under a clinic that an MCT subsud, Collison Biotech, operates in Amsterdam. They were doing experiements on technomancers there, and many of the ‘subjects’ did not look likely to survive long, but one of their descriptions matches NC’s missing friend. Being a closet techno himself, Tanaka was obviously concerned, and so fled MCT and tried to get the word out, in exchange for help entering the shadows (for his own safety). NC has put this together with the large amount of techno’s recently going missing from a variety of z-zones & sprawls around the world, and wants to find out what MCT is up to.

The team agrees to help, and fortunately Rooster wants to get a vocal enhancement bioware put in, so he checks into the clinic, and pays for an executive suite so that the rest of the team can come in and investigate as his “security detail.” He gets his implant while the rest of the team pokes around. Lodestone scans some minds, TY & NC hack the local node, and Saul and Zuberi do a little physical and magical surveillance. They find out that the staff of the facility doesn’t seem aware of the secret lab under the clinic, but that there is a securely locked “medical waste” room, from which 2 pickups a day are made, on a tight schedule. This room also has an elevator shaft off the back of it, leading to a small basement complex (which they see through spatial sense and radar). The node seems to be only patient files- the security systems are hardwired. They leave, after the surgery, and wait outside for someone they recognize as a guard to leave.

They follow the guard home, read his mind, and kill him and the cats he was feeding when they burst into his dingy apartment (they were making noise, and TY decided to shoot them, as he doesn’t understand pets). Rooster imitates him, using his clothes and studied mannerisms from the tacnet, verified by the blood sight spell that LS casts to make sure his face looks right from all angles. He goes into work, and bluffs his way through part of the day until it’s time for the first waste pickup. Then, the rest of the team slips in (using invisibility spells and a trid phantasm illusion to fool cameras) as Rooster distracts the other guard. They slip into the waste room (which Rooster handily propped open), and begin hacking into the elevator, while Rooster continues his day. They descend, disabling all of their wireless connections, as the elevator demands. They hack through another security door in an airlock-like decon room, and surprise a few guards patrolling nearby, killing them quickly. They find 7 living techno’s in cells, 5 of whom survive being disconnected from their life support. Tanaka is dead in the 8th cell. NC tells them to wait by the elevator, in the company of some spirits that Saul and LS summon to provide watch, until they can all escape at once.

They continue, killing more guards, and find some sort of medical room- the guards seem to be packing things up, and the facility seems largely empty- they have yet to find any scientific staff on hand. The techno’s there seem completely mentally destroyed, and die shortly after being disconnected from life support. They find the main guard room, killing 4 men playing poker before they can reach their guns. Having no wireless seems to really impede the facility’s security personnel. They proceed into the final 2 rooms and find a real horror-show: there are dozens of techno’s hooked up to a central computer array of some sort. They are in various states of physical completeness, with some having only minor implants and trodes attached/implanted, while some are missing limbs or large pieces of their torsos, and some are only severed heads or brains in nutrient vats. They are all connected to the computer, spiralling out from in in their vats, creches, and beds. The final room contains an acid vat that seems to be used to reduce failed “subjects” into a thick slurry, which is being siphoned off into some “medical waste” barrels, some of which Rooster recently loaded on a truck. They seem to be literally liquidating the facility, so NC demands they enter the computer core and find out what’s up.

TY backs her up, and they enter- her friend, who introduces himself as Puck, a name which worries TY a bit to hear. The rest of the techno’s in here seem considerably more mentally decayed- however, they seem to have maintained there access to resonance even given the massive essence loss they have all suffered due to repeated surgeries and implants. This intrigues TY, and he downloads all the available data, although NC demands that he delete all the test data, so that noone can ever benefit from this atrocious abattoir and the deeds done herein. Valuing his newly enhanced reputation as a trial member of Jackpoint, TY complies, against his wishes. They free Puck, and flee the basement, after thermite-ing the data core, and all the research materials. They bring the other survivors along with them, and decide to hide those that can fit in some of the excess empty “medical barrels” while Saul maintains invisibility spells on Zuberi, himself, TY, and one of the prisoners. They wait til the second truck arrives to collect waste, and Rooster once again distracts while they sneak/are loaded onto the truck. He works the rest of the day, and then leaves, rendevouzing with the team after they hack the gridlink on the robotruck, bring it to the z-zone, and trash it. They bring the rescues to the techno tribe that NC knows, who take them in.

Puck and the other rescues confirm that that facility was being shut down, with research moved to another locale, after Tanaka’s leak. However, they have a lead, as the MCT researchers didn’t bring any subjects with them, as they are difficult to secret out of the clinic. And, since there have still been rumors about local underclass techno’s going missing, they decide to stake out a few local tribes and see if anyone pulls a snatch & grab, and then follow them back to the new facility. Puck also says, after TY and other express concern about him (given his involvement with Deus and the 2nd matrix crash), that he was investigating some odd matrix happenings nearby when he was snatched- apparently there are some bands of dissonant techno’s calling themselves Discordians using some sort of ritual to drive free AI’s insane. Worst of all, there are rumors that they are lead by Pax, also one of Deus’ prodigy otaku, who has remained in hiding since the crash.

LS and TY also use their brand new Jackpoint access to post details of the run, to much dismay on the VPN (and some small celebrations, amongst the anti-techno ’runner set). Netcat defers to them in posting, as she is busy mining the data herself.

Runners:
Lodestone
Rooster
Thankyou
Zuberi
Saul Chronic

The runners, having trashed the first MCT lab, realize that MCT will need more technomaner experimental subjects for whatever facility they are transferring to. They decide to watch some local z-zone techno tribes and see if anyone gets grabbed. Sure enough, some local-looking thugs show up and snatch a few. The team traces them back to a coffin hotel on the outskirts of Amsterdam, where they see another team also dumping some bodies. Later in the day, a more pro-seeming group comes and collects all the techno’s. Saul follows them astrally while TY tails from a distance, using the blimp to spot. They end up in an old industrial park, now a barrens, about an hour out of town. They see the new group load the techno’s into what looks like an old toy factory.

The building seems to have pretty high security, although it seems pretty tech-heavy, from what they can see. They ID it as possibly being one of MCT’s feared “Zero Zones”, the supposedly impregnable design they use for certain ultra high-security areas. They decide to take out the visible drones from a vantage across the street, and then approach while summoned spirits trash anything that tries to attack them from the building, and Saul and LS break down magical barriers and launch area spells. The building is a seemingly unpopulated wirless dead zone, so presumably witnesses will be few or non-existent, and backup will be slow to arrive.

They gain entry, with Zuberi shaping materials out of their way left and right, managing to avoid a series of devious traps that a less wary group might have triggered. Zuberi is injured and partially blinded by some sort of chemical spray, but other than that the team makes it to the building’s door unharmed, having taken out a number of security drones, 2 mages, and some sensors. Netcat and Puck report that they have come under vicious matrix assault from some deranged seeming personae, and that they will hold them off but that the team may need to disable all their wireless if it gets any worse.

Zuberi warps them into the building, and controls air to filter away some gas attacks, and then surprises the onsite security personnel by attacking through a wall instead of coming through the door. Zuberi and TY are nearly killed by assault rifle fire, but the team manages to kill the security and the scientists who survived the initial spell assault on the building. They find the kidnapped techno’s and free them, telling them to wait til they can return- it seems they arrived just in time, as the scientists had begun executing the subjects that seem to have been there longer.

They head for the basement, where the main servers seem to be, and disable their wireless after warnings from Puck and NC. Zuberi and TY are once again heavily injured by some monstrous full-body cyborgs, who lack heads and moan almost indecipherably through chest mounted speakers: “iiimmmm sooorry” and “kiiillll meeeee” and such. It is near pitch black, with only a red alarm light illuminating what seems to be a grim surgical suite, and some more cyborgs in vats, which NC and Puck say they are attempting to keep from opening. Once again, it is distressing to the team to find that although these cyborgs have very obviously lost a huge amount of essence, they are still able to use their techno abilities. The team finishes them off, and kills the ones still in the vats, before proceeding. LS turns his wireless back on to document the scene, and is quickly hacked, losing some programs and a SIN before NC is able to shut it down.

They open the door to the server room, launch in a HE grenade, and close it, having caught only a quick glimpse of a middle-aged woman frantically typing and manipulating ARO windows. They enter the room to find her dead, and the equipment heavily damaged, although it seems she had access to a satellite uplink. NC emp’s the room, and thermites all the equipment in the building to make sure it stays dead, and the team leaves, quickly, to get Zuberi and others to the hospital before they flatline from overusing stimpatches to stay in the fight. TY races back to Amsterdam, and they arrive just in time. Zuberi’s sight is returned to him, although the hopsital staff is curious as to how he encountered the rare venom that caused it. NC hacks the hospital records to get them a steep discount and obscure their ID’s, and they part ways, after she gives them the SINs/info she had offered in trade for their help. Puck says he is back off to Geneva to look further into the possible return of Pax and the Discordians.

TY receives a call from the Doctor Faustus Society, telling him that they know he and the others (who they ID by name, although everyone except Saul were using fake SINs) stole the Phaistos Disc, and they are demanding info on the disc and the other artifacts in exchange for not going to Interpol/cops/etc. LS hears from The Order of St George, who tell him they are teaming up with the Sons of Siegfried (another anti-dragon order), as well as some pro-human extremist/terrorist groups such as Humains and Alamos 20,000, to put the hurt on dragonkind for their assaults on humanity. Specifically, they will be targeting the Destroyer Sirrurg, and Alamais, who is currently using the metahuman denizens of the feral sprawl of GeMiTo as game in a hunting preserve for him and his pro-dragon extremist allies. As the team is currently in Europe, they will be raiding one of Alamais’ layers, in the Apenine Mountains. The Order requires the team to bring them everything they recover from the layer, from which they will be paid a percentage, in nuyen. The Order has also called in some favors to get the team some limited air support, in the form of a friendly military chopper, although the team has the option to assault via mountaineering on foot or a HALO jump as well. The helicopter will be used for extraction regardless. They are told to complete the job within the week, to minimize the risk of Alamais or one of his allies visiting the hoard- months of careful observation and planning are on the line, and this will be a glorious blow against the dragons (as well as a powerful recuiting tool) if the team suceeds.