>>1017697
Welcome to Shadowrun Occultist Quest!

>What is Shadowrun?

Shadowrun is an RPG series set in the world of 2072, 60 years after "The Awakening", the return of magic, spirits, and fantasy races into the world. Metahumanity now lives in a world of advanced technology and magic, where megacorporations are above the laws of nations and one-third of all humanity have no legal rights. Crime and corruption run amok, and mercenary operatives known as "shadowrunners" ply their services to both the criminal underworld, and to the very corporations that officially fight against them.

>How are success and failure determined?

A number of d6's are rolled equal to the relevant attribute+the relevant skill. 5's and 6's are successes, and the dice are rolled against a target threshold (1 for something trivial; 6 for a highly difficult /intricate task. 10 for something next-to-impossible). Each 6 rolled results in one additional die being rolled in the pool. Results are as follows:

Target number of successes is met: the action is a success.

Target number of successes is not met: the action is a failure.

Target number of successes is met, but more 1's are rolled than any other number in the pool: a "glitch" occurs: a minor outside complication arises that prevents success.

Target number of successes is not met and more 1's are rolled than any other number: critical glitch. Your actions fail in a way that is potentially disastrous for your long-term goals or your health.

You will have 2 points of Edge each "session" that you can spend to tip the scales in your favor. When requesting an action, you may specify that you want to spend a point of Edge to add "luck" or "effort" to a roll. "Luck" will add five dice to the roll's pool (great for situations where Redd is forced to work out of his depth). "Effort" will re-roll all failed dice on a roll if it does not meet the threshold, glitches, or critically glitches (the point will be refunded if none of these happen). This is good when you are playing to Redd's strengths, but want to make sure you don't botch something.

Good luck, and remember the fundamentals of shadowrunning:

>Shoot straight!

>Conserve ammo!

>Never make a deal with a dragon!

>>1017699
Cast:

>Rhun "Hela'R Dryw" map Gaelwynn
A short, toned, and angry Welshwoman who serves as your crew's close-combat expert and recon gal. Has enough chrome and bioware in her body that she could probably tank a fall from the 10th floor of a skyraker into an acid vat. Against all odds, holds a Master's degree in Welsh History. Likes: Parkour, sex, narcotics, alcohol, swordfighting, Welsh autonomy from the UK, Lofwyr (The CEO of Saeder-Krupp), Saeder-Krupp. Dislikes: The English, the Irish, the Scottish, Tir Elves, "wankers", people who don't like Lofwyr or Saeder-Krupp. Is trying to quit Bliss.

>Rex Stirling
A Chicago native and former cleaner for Saeder-Krupp, now demoted to shadowrunning due to a series of unwise decisions that started with a decision to do a hit-and-run on the leader of a major street gang. A veteran of the Sinai Shadow Operations of 2065. Consummate professional (apart from the hit-and-run) and a hard, hard man. Likes: clean runs, gray suits, the Chicago Shatterers Urban Brawl team, and "Pacey Rae", his Gauss rifle. Dislikes: Messy runs, being double-crossed, "wizard bullshit". Has some unresolved trauma from the Sinai.

>Sudo Morphus/"N0b0dy"

The crew's decker. Used to just be an IT nerd, until S-K got leverage on him for redirecting spam-mail from one of their subsidiaries back to said subsidiary's servers. You have the closest relationship to him our of anyone on the team. Suffers from Sudden Unexplained Resurgent Genetic Expression (SURGE), which gives him oily, bright-green scales instead of skin, along with a tail. Likes: MMO gaming, decking, the occult, "me time", you (in a platonic way). Dislikes: violence, being overworked, Lance, himself. Mildly depressed.

>Tizona Cortez

An ex-pirate technically-nun, Tizona Cortez is your group's mage. She channels the power of God to smite your enemies and bring down the heretic government of Aztlan (formerly Mexico). Lives apart from the rest of the crew, in a convent in Charlotte. Likes: Jesus, helping the unfortunate, low-riders, sangria, Marlboros, fire, killing Aztlanti. Dislikes: heresy, blasphemy, apostasy, hangovers, Aztechnology, The Aztlanti, being ordered to spare the Aztlanti.

>"Barbie"/Lenore Lancester
Not a part of your crew, but a close associate. A total ditz when it comes to anything but fashion, smoothies, and calculating the thousands of variables needed to make the perfect sniper shot. Over 40 confirmed kills. Color-coordinates her duffel bags with her outfit. Suprisingly nice for a professional sniper. Does her work to help out her large family. Likes: fashion magazines, shopping, smoothies, small animals, her BFF Rhun, killing "bad guys", you. Dislikes: white after labor day, socks and sandals, unnecessary violence, reading. Your girlfriend.

>Lofwyr
Sole shareholder of Saeder-Krupp, richest entity alive, and one of the near-godlike Great Dragons. Your boss.

>>1017703
Attributes:
>Body 3
>Strength 3
>Agility 3
>Reaction 3
>Logic 6
>Willpower 6
>Intuition 4
>Charisma 6

Skills:
>Magic 3
>Computer 7
>Academic Knowledge: History 7
>Academic Knowledge: England 1
>Artisan 1
>Leadership 2
>Interest Knowledge: Conspiracy Theories 2
>Language: English (native speaker)
>Language: Mandarin 2
>Language: Japanese 2
>Chemistry 4
>Etiquette 7
>Software 3
>Academic Knowledge: Magical Theory 6
>Academic Knowledge: Biology 5
>Language: Spanish 2
>Academic Knowledge: Ancient Languages 7
>Academic Knowledge: Philosophy 6
>Academic Knowledge: Religion 7
>Instruction 2
>Professional Knowledge: Wondertainment Industries 3
>Con 1
>Negotiation 2
>Professional Knowledge: Business Administration 6
>Enchanting Skill Group 1
>Arcana 2
>Assensing 2
>Blades 2 (NEW)
>First Aid 1
>Survival 1
>Professional Knowledge: Small-Group Tactics 3 (NEW)
>Street Knowledge: Magical Theory 3 (NEW)
>Academic Knowledge: Literature 3
>Alchemy 4 (Upgraded!)
>Pistol 1
>Pilot: Ground Vehicle 2
>Sneaking 3
>German 2 (New!)
Modifiers:
>Scarred: -1 on non-Intimidation Charisma tests, +1 on Intimidation tests.
>Blurry vision: -1 on Perception tests and Firearms tests on shooting someone more than 10 meters away.
>Social Stress (Gangs, Personal Intimacy): -2 on all Charisma-based tests when dealing with gangers or in a situation that demands emotional honesty or vulnerability with someone close to you.

>>1017705
Previously...

You've really stepped in it now. Thanks to your weird-ass prophetic dreams, you have hints that the Horrors- extradimensional monsters older than time- are going to break into the universe well ahead of schedule: in just 23 years, in fact. You've managed to retrieve an incredible Atlantean artifact that can help: a kind of "time-viewer" which seems to be able to show any event that has happened, is happening, or is going to happen. Lofwyr wants you to hand it off to the Draco Foundation and look into both the history of Henry Armitage - one of America's most famous early skeptics as well as a personal friend of HP Lovecraft- and a Russian group called the Red Hand. Unfortunately, the Red Hand has been looking into YOU, and had deployed a strike team to retrieve the artifact. You managed to get the drop on them and eliminate them, but reinforcements have been dispatched...

>>1017697
>Take a look through the scope and scout.
Also, has the other VTOL left?
Because we're going to get cut down if the other VTOL is still in the air and can turn its weapons on us.

>>1017766
You heard it retreating into the distance.

>>1017697
>Wait for a few minutes, then scout through scope

>>1017845
>>1017766
As you lie in wait, you hear a thickly-accented Russian voice bark from the end of the VTOL:

"We see you, cyки! Come out with hands up now, or we kill you!"

>Stay silent

>Fire on the speaker

>Surrender and hope for a miracle

>Write-In

>>1017936
>Fire on the speaker
Really, you thought they wouldn't have someone who could assense and see us through the metal of the VTOL?
Or it could just be one of them has natural thermal vision.
Or it's because they're not stupid.

>>1017936
Can we take a quick look around with assense?
Get an idea of numbers, and how many mages there are?

>>1018063

>Assense: There's 8 guards surrounding the transport. 1 of them is an Adept.

>>1018395
Surrounded by 8 armed professionals. I'd say we're right and properly fucked. I wonder if we can use the VTOL against them, otherwise we're gonna have to go with

>Fire on the speaker

>>1018395
I just want to say that staying in a vehicle that could get surrounded was a stupid idea. What were you thinking?

Are any of them in the line of fire of the VTOL's weapons?
Can we even activate and target the weapon systems?

>>1018412
The VTOL's systems have gone into lockdown. Possibly because of a signal sent from one of their members. Oh, yes, another important fact: all members, save the adept, appear to be stuffed to the gills with deltaware.

>>1018421
Adding new option:

>Hope/Pray

>>1018422
Change to
>Hope/Pray
Time to call up that which we can not put down.

>>1018421
So staying in the VTOL was the equivalent of trying to bluff being a Russian operative without knowing Russian?

How thick do the walls on the VTOL look? Like they can handle small arms fire?

>>1018431
Yep. It appears to be a military model.

>>1018433
Do we have the AK-97's and UZI IV's with us?

>>1018436
Yep.

>>1018443
Okay, then we can try to spray fire from the inside of the VTOL, and maybe Rhun can hit targets with the Marlin.

>>1018443
Do we have any of the grenades? If so we can start chucking them from the gunship

>>1018555
The dead VTOL pilot has two grenades on him.

>>1018429
>>1017951

Tiebreaker, first vote decides.

>>1018603
Shooting at the speaker with one of the AK's.

>>1018609
You level the AK-97 on the shooter and spray at the speaker. You hear the ping-ping-ping of bullets bouncing off of armor, followed by shouting from the speaker.

"Этo шлюхa зacтpeлил мeня! Я yбью eгo!"

A second voice fires up.

"Heт, Cepгeй! Bpaч хoчeт, чтoбы oни живы!"

"Bpaч мoжeт идти eбaть ceбя! Кoгдa тpyc cyкa cтpeляeт мeня, я yбью их, тaк чтo вce ocтaльныe тpycливыe cyки бoятcя мeня!"

"Пoдyмaйтe o бoльшoй paбoтe, чacтный. Oткaз нe вapиaнт. Maшинa пoзвoлит yничтoжить кaпитaлиcтичecкиe cвиньи и пoлoжить кoнeц yгнeтeнию нeжнoгo paбoтникa. Лeнин никoгдa нe пoзвoлит нaм oтдыхaть, ecли бы мы нe cмoгли eгo тaк yжacнo."

"Enough of this shite! <<'N annhymerus' rhwygo oddi ar eich peli a gwthio nhw i lawr eich gwddf, bastardiaid Varangian>>!"

Rhun physically lifts up the VTOL pilot's corpse, pulls the pins on his grenades, and hurls the corpse out of the transport at the speaker.

"Чтo eбaть?! Cyмacшeдшиe шлюх бpocaют тpyпы y нac!"

"Oни в oтчaянии, бpaт! Их cпины к cтeнe, и oни знaют, чтo oни нe мoгyт бeжaть! Пoбeдa-"

The grenades go off simultaneously, spewing shrapnel and gas clouds everywhere.

You hear stamping and tramping all around the VTOL.

>Assense: One of them is on the ground and heavily injured. The others have formed up in a strike formation in the entryway and are preparing to breach.

>Dive out the shattered window and run

>Make a stand

>Pray/Hope

>Write-In

>>1018645
>Write-In
Have Rhun go out the window first and draw her sword as she sneaks around to hit the team from the back.
We also go out the window and keep our head below the lip but a gun (at this point, probably the Skorpion or an UZI) aimed through the window towards where the team is going to breach. As soon as they do breach, fire on them so that it keeps their attention and provides a distraction for Rhun to get behind them and start cutting them down.
Since we're actually not at the ideal placement to be firing on them, as professionals they won't be expecting that we're already outside and hunkered down behind the armored VTOL's hull.

Is Rhun's sword monomolecular edged, or just a regular steel sword?

>>1018665
Normal steel, despite the advice of the rest of the group. She wouldn't settle for anything less than an AUTHENTIC recreation of a Germanic greatsword

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>>1018669
>Normal steel
You're killing me here, Rhun!

>>1018680
Well, she DID compromise by using Molybdenum-Chromium Carbon Steel (AKA industrial tool steel that's nigh-impossible to break). It's a bitch to sharpen, so it's probably better to think of her sword as a vaguely sword-shaped kanabo. When she decapitates people with it, it's more due to the momentum of the swing than any major cutting edge.

>>1018690
(Note that this isn't all too different from how greatswords worked IRL: they were anti-armor weapons because they basically smashed it apart).

>>1018645
Let's go with this

>Have Rhun go out the window first and draw her sword as she sneaks around to hit the team from the back.
We also go out the window and keep our head below the lip but a gun (at this point, probably the Skorpion or an UZI) aimed through the window towards where the team is going to breach. As soon as they do breach, fire on them so that it keeps their attention and provides a distraction for Rhun to get behind them and start cutting them down.

>>1018721
>>1018665
"Rhun, go out the window and flank them. I'll draw their attention."

"Got ya! They won't see me comin'!"

Rhun dives out the window, followed by you as you pull the Scorpion and spray a cloud of suppressive fire down the VTOL.

"Taким oбpaзoм oни хoтят, чтoбы пpикpeпить нac вниз, дa? Toвapищ Bлaдимиp, зaпycтить гaзoвyю гpaнaтy в caмoлeт: дaвaйтe кypить cyки внe!"

You hear a *plonk* noise from the other end of the craft and hear the clatter of a canister hitting the roof of the VTOL. You see a gas grenade drop down into the cockpit and start spewing green gas.

>Fall back into the treeline.

>Continue to suppress

>Write-In

>>1018803
>Continue to suppress
Stay outside the VTOL; we don't need to actually hit them, just shoot in their direction to make them think we're still in the cockpit.
And loudly cough, make them think the gas is working.

>>1018803
Don't we have a gas mask that we used in the room with the mushrooms?

>>1018829
Yeah, we have the respirator, but who knows if this is a contact poison or not.

>>1018825
Undaunted, you continue to rain fire down on the guards while feigning heavy coughing.

"Paбoтaeт! Иди и зaхвaтить eгo втopoй пoжapныe ocтaнoвки!"

Two of the eight guards sprint into the gas... and Rhun finishes looping around and swings her blade into one of the remaining guards. You hear a crunching noise.

"Eбaть дepьмo! Oни нe в кaбинe! aлмaзooбpaзoвaниe, ceйчac!"

>You've exhausted the clip for your Scorpion

>Get in there and help Rhun

>Switch to the Marlin and try to shoot the leader

>Write-In

>>1019145
>Switch to the Marlin and try to shoot the leader

>>1019145
Wait, shouldn't we have some spare mags for the Skorpion?

>>1019145
>Switch to the Marlin and try to shoot the leader

>>1019258
(You do, but you'll have to reload, which you can't do while sustaining burst-fire)

>>1019145
>Switch to the Marlin and try to shoot the leader

>>1019263
>>1019360
>>1019202

You pull the Marlin off of your back and line up a shot on the leader, squeeze the trigger... and the leader's head explodes.

It wasn't your shot: you saw that flatten on the chest armor of the leader. It was a literal explosion of green flames shattering the helmet.

Rough hands seize your back, and you're pulled off of your position on the nose of the VTOL by... the troll from earlier. He seems to have exchanged his rough leather suit for a set of modified Advanced Combat Armor.


"Y'all alright, son? I told ya not to go runnin' off on your own!"

>Who the hell are you working for?

>Great. ANOTHER group coming after the artifact.

>I'm fine, but my friend might need help.

>Write-In

>>1019427
>Who the hell are you working for?
He could be an operative for Lofwyr, since SOMEONE had to have placed that communicator.
Or he's an operative for the Draco Foundation.

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>>1019427
>Write-In
Oh thank God! Did the Big Boss send you?

>>1019427
>I'm fine, but my friend might need help.

I'm fine but my friend might need help.

>>1019766
>>1019880

"I am fine, but I think my friend needs some help."

"We're working on that."

"'We'?! Who is 'we', exac-"

Your question is answered by the sound of gunfire and another burning explosion as more armored men sweep out of the treelines, advancing on the enemy fireteam.

"We're with the Draco Foundation. Was told there's a high-value artifact was unearthed in this area and being targeted by a third party. Didn't think that YOU was the guy who uncovered it."

"Well, most of it is in that cave, but there are a couple of key pieces in my cabin."

"Got ya. You 'n your lady friend go grab 'em; the boys and me are gonna take it from here."

>Go with them anyways

>Go back to the cabin

>Write-In

>>1020236
>Go back to the cabin
We need to make sure that the devices at our cabin are secured.

Let the Draco team know that there are still active defense systems and to be fucking careful. The previous assault team was killed by them, so they should really wait until we can come back here.

Is there any way to know if these guys are really the Draco Foundation team?
Like asking how they're here so fast, when the order to secure the machine only came down 4 hours ago.

>>1020272
2nd this option

>>1020272
>>1020507
"How did you get here so quickly? The order only came through four hours ago."

"I don't ask questions. It's dragons, man. They put me here yesterday, told me to keep an eye on you and wait for further orders. Then I got 'em, and the rest of the team airdropped in."

"Alright. I set up some tripwires in the caves, and the ruin has some kind of active defenses in place. Be careful."

"10-4."

"RHUN, PULL OUT, WE NEED TO GET BACK TO THE CABIN!"

"NO FUCKING WAY, I'M KILLING EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM AND DANCING ON THEIR BASTARD CORPSES!!!!"

>Judge Intentions: She's berserk. It's going to take some major convincing for her to abandon the fight.

>Wait for the fight to end

>Go on alone

>Talk her into coming with you

>Write-In

>>1020592
>Talk her into coming with you
Dammit, Rhun, does she want Lofwyr's approval or not.

>>1020627
"COME ON, RHUN! LET'S MAKE LOFWYR PROUD!"

"I'M DOING THAT!"

>Judge Intentions: Well, looks like she's not willing to listen.

>Wait for the fight to end

>Go on alone

>Write-In

>>1020875
>Write-In
I should've brought Rex instead. Rhun, if you don't come along I'm going to tell Barbie to change your entire wardrobe with the entire Old Navy spring collection!

>>1020924
"I should have brought Rex instead! Rhun, if you do not come along I will tell Barbie to replace your wardrobe with the Old Navy Spring Collection!"

"<<Marwolaeth i fy holl elynion! Byddaf yn ymdrochi yn eu gwaed a diod oddi wrth eu penglogau!>>"

>Judge Intentions: She's barely aware of her own blood spilling from her shoulder. Literally berserk.

>Wait for the fight to end

>Go on alone

>Tranq her

>Write-In

>>1021167
>Wait for the fight to end

>>1021167
Get the Draco brows to keep their distance from her.

>"Rhun! We have back up from Loafweird (too drunk to spell =P) ,I need you to help me return to the cabin!"

>>1021167
>Tranq her
Rhun's berserker rage is too much of a liability right now. Knock her out and take one of the Draco squad back with us to the cabin. The rest can hunker down until we return

Tranq!

>>1021433
>>1021585
"Shit."

You pull your dart pistols from your coat and level two barrels at her.

Two darts land home- to no immediately noticeable effect.

The troll from earlier pulls on your shoulder.

"Leave 'er, man! We needa make sure y'all's shit ain't gettin' jacked!"

You don't really have time to argue, as the troll jerks on your arm and starts leading you down the trail to the cabins.

>Who the fuck are you?

>Take your hands off of me!

>(Hit him)

>I have no idea what's going on.

>Write-In

>>1021750
>Who the fuck are you?

>>1021854
Seconded.

>>1021854
>>1022021
"Pardon me, but who are you and what the ABSOLUTE FUCK is going on here?!"

The troll gives you a look.

"You just blow in from stupidtown? Y'all found some kinda magic whatsit in those caves up there, some kinda Russkie turbo-ninjas come ta steal it, Extraction Team saves your cotton-pickin' ass! We clear?"

"You are dodging my question: answer it before I shoot you, because IT IS VERY LATE AT NIGHT AND I HAVE HAD A VERY STRESSFUL WEEK!"

"Calm down now, son. Name's Jacob Bryan, Ah'm an operative with the Draco Foundation. Specialize in wilderness ops. Trust me, son, this is cozy shit compared to where I grew up. Ah was told to spy on you by mah superiors, 'cause we got a tip that you was diggin' up a dangerous artifact, and there was some question whether we would have to break your kneecaps ta' get it; no offense meant, of course."

>None taken

>Well, I'm just glad you turned up when you did.

>You expect me to buy that story, you massive yokel?

>Write-In

>>1022072
>You expect me to buy that story, you massive yokel? If that is true, what is my callsign?

>>1022072
>>1022106
This guy has a point, we don't have any confirmation on whose side these guys are actually on.

>>1022072
>None taken
Arguing at this time is pointless. There is no evidence, short of a call from the Draco Foundation or Lofwyr, that would confirm that this team is from the Draco Foundation.

Instead, it's better if we just get back to where there's commlink coverage, then try to contact the Draco Foundation to confirm Jacob's story.

>>1022313
Seconding this

>>1022313
Hes right. The more we argue, the greater the chance of the cabin being broken into. Let's just go

>>1022313
>>1022333
>>1022519

"None taken."

"Good, good! Glad there ain't no problem between us! HATE IT when things get too complicated!"

>You reach the cabin without further incident.

Jacob takes a good hard look at the cabin, then turns to you.

"'S clear, unless they're ghosts or some shit. I'll keep the place locked down tight until we can move the rest of the gadget out'a the cave."

>You can feel sleep exhaustion setting in: it's been a LONG night.

>How do I know I can trust you?

>I'll keep watch, thank you.

>(Go to sleep)

>Write-In

>>1022624
>Write-In
"Alright, I got some stuff I need to get out of there anyway."
While we're reloading our weapons and making it look like we're packing our luggage, make some (text messages so that the troll can't overhear).

"Rex: This is Redd; got word from our boss that Draco Foundation supposed to take custody of something I found here. Problem is, not four hours after he said they'd come by tomorrow, a team claiming to be from the Foundation shows up, with one of the members someone that was already here at the lodge. I need you to verify with the DF that they've got an operative, troll named Jacob Bryan, here with an assault team.
"Could be they're just that good. Or I'm being tricked. We DO NOT want the boss angry over losing this thing to the wrong people, Rex."

>>1022629
2nd this

>>1022629
>>1022634
"Alright, I have some things I need to get out of there anyways."

While you reload and pack, you send a text to Rex:

THIS IS REDD: RECEIVED MESSAGE FROM LOFWYR THAT DF WILL ARRIVE TO TAKE POSSESSION OF ARTIFACT TOMORROW. 4 HOURS LATER, STRIKE TEAM CLAIMING TO BE DF OPERATIVES TURNS UP, INCLUDING SLEEPER AGENT ALREADY ON SITE. NEED INTEL IF THIS IS A SETUP ASAP. CANNOT AFFORD BAD HAND-OFF.

20 minutes later, you get a response.

THEY'RE CLEAN. LODGE HAS STANDING MONITOR STATUS DUE TO PROXIMITY TO INTEREST SITE, AND YOUR REAL NAME AND PSEUDONYMS ARE ON DF WATCH LIST AS POTENTIAL BETA-LEVEL THREAT.

THANK YOU.

>(Go to sleep)

>Stay awake as long as possible

>Write-In

>>1022670
>(Go to sleep)

>>1022670
>(Go to sleep)
At least take a 5 hour nap. The others should be fine until we return

>>1022670
>>(Go to sleep)

What's a Beta-level threat and how do we get to alpha?

>>1022704
I kinda of what to see where the rest of the group stands in their threat matrix

>>1022679
>>1022697
>>1022704
You collapse onto the barely-used cabin bed and fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

You wake up to Rhun leaning over you, a cross expression on her face. The second your eyes flicker open, she slaps you across the face.

"REDD, you LIMEY ARSEHOLE! You TRANQ'D ME! How could yeh do that? I thought we was mates!?"

"Din... you not pass out from that?"

"Oh, not fer like five minutes- BUT THAT AIN'T THE POINT! Bros don't tranq bros!"

>Sorry, sorry

>You were berserk, Rhun

>You were wasting my time.

>Write-In

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>>1022809

>Sorry, I didn't want you to regret your beserker rage once you came down and realized you had slain Draco Foundation assets and by extension bring embarrassment to S-K and most importantly Lofwyr's interests.

>So a tranq seemed like the best option in order to avoid that. Thanks for keeping me alive during this and I'll have to make it up to you.

>>1022809
>Write-In
Sorry, but you were jeopardizing the mission and the DF extraction tean with your blood lust. I did what I felt was necessary to complete the job.

>>1022809
>You were berserk, Rhun. I asked you to not kill those guys and you told me to fuck off. I needed to make sure that extraction went smoothly, and that was the only way to be sure.

>>1022830

"And 'bros' also don't go into an uncontrollable blood-lust that could endanger our backup! I'm sorry it came to that however. You really need a code phrase to help you know when to stop your choppin an shootin."

See if we could get her a line to Loftwyr to report on the artifact retrieval. It would give her a chance to sperg out over her favorite dragon and might play into his pride in having such a devoted fan under his employ.

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>>1022866
She could use a doctor. One like this

>>1022873

Redd could probably do it using his alchemy skills, or that AI we got, to implant a trigger phrase into Rhun to snap her out of rages. With her permission, of course. Bros don't brainwash bros without telling their bros.

I would love for Redd and the gang to run into a shadowrunner group based on the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia guys.

>>1022830
>>1022833
>>1022849
"I am sorry, Rhun, but you were out of control! I did not want to risk you maiming or killing Draco Foundation assets!"

"That weren't gonna happen! I can tell friend from foe! It'd shame Agrona if I let the enemy live!"

"... Fine. Just don't expect me to take you on jobs involving subtlety in the future."

Jacob sticks his head through the door, his horns scraping the ceiling.

"If y'all are done with your lover's quarrel or whatever, Ah need yer John Hancocks fer the package hand-off. If y'all need an extra-legal lift back to the good-ol' CAS, we're movin' this mother of a grandfather clock to the Atlanta building and can drop you off."

"That would be... ideal."

You and Rhun sign a few electronic forms waiving your legal rights to the device via the law of salvage, as well as non-disclosure agreements promising to not go public about it. Then, you pile into the Draco Foundation's jump-jet and take off.

>So... you're from the CAS, then?

>Why is this device so important to the Foundation, then?

>(Remain silent during the flight back)

>Write-In

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>>1022884

They've already got their runner names in the very least. Though I'm only fluent in their escapades by second hand accounts and brief snippets of /tg/ lore.

https://youtu.be/0V784AiYtG8

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>>1022901

By all means take the ride back home with the Draco Foundation operatives.

Wondering if there's any way the Draco Foundation could manage to save/gently exploit the Night Gaunt population around the former 4th World Atlantis history browser creche.

I know the Jacob won't be able to add much to that sort of conversation but maybe there's a researcher or another expert on the jump-jet we can share these relatively tame paracritter paleontological findings with?

>>1022958
Most of the team on the jump-jet are clearly paramilitary operatives, but you do see an elf in the jet's storage bay taking measurements of the device.

>>1022901
>Why is this device so important to the Foundation, then?
As an aside, did we salvage any of the the Red Hand's gear?

>>1022901
>>So... you're from the CAS, then?

Ten chat with Ruhn, and try to make it up with her.

>>1022901
>So... you're from the CAS, then?
What about all of those extralegal weapons, commlinks, the fucking bodies with DELTAWARE, and the VTOL?
That was all stuff that we either could have used, sold, or needed to complete Lofwyr's job.

Don't tell me the players forgot all of that stuff in Bavaria.

>>1023223
>>1022969
>>1023393

"So... you're from the CAS, then?"

"Yessir! Cherokee outpost in the Appalachian region. Mom ran a general store, dad was a hunter. Got good with working in the wilds with him, and huntin' some'a the critters is harder than the stuff the Foundation pays me for. Got recruited through the CAS military."

"Ah. And, this device... why is it so important?"

"Hell if I know, ask the egghead. He's knows all of that stuff."

"And... about the gear..."

"We've seized it. Helps cover the cost of fueling this jump-jet."

"ALL of it? Even the deltaware?"

"ESPECIALLY the deltaware. That stuff? Unmarked. Whoever these fucks are, they've got some underground, UNDERGROUND docs working on them."

>(Ask for Draco Foundation's help with investigations)

>(Talk to scientist about the device)

>(Talk with Rhun for the rest of the flight)

>Write-In

>>1023432
>(Talk to scientist about the device)

>>1023432
>Write-In
My friend Rex got picked up from UCAS Spec ops to join SK "cleaning services". Hopefully, we at least can keep a couple AKs and an Uzi or two for the trouble of disarming the traps.

>>1023432
>(Talk to scientist about the device)
>write-in
At least ask for one each of the AK's and UZI's, and complete images of the commlinks with properly generated hashes so that we can go over the data (and phone numbers and Matrix addresses) on them later.

>>1023446
>>1023447
>>1023453

"Well, I... require an AK, an UZI, and datadumps of the commlinks."

"I'm sorry, I can't give you those... but I'll let you know how our investigation is going, and if we need a man to do some fieldwork, you'll be the first guy I call."

"Alright, then."

You head into the mini-hanger and approach the scientist.

"So, what is so important about this device?"

"I'm afraid that's classified."

>I found the device; maybe we can share notes?

>I'm an occultist; maybe I can help?

>I know it can use magic: how the hell does that work?

>How does this thing look through time?

>Write-In

>>1023667
>I'm an occultist; maybe I can help?
>Write-in: I already know enough to be making educated guesses as to what it is for and why our great benefactors regard it as so essential to what is to come. While I can appreciate the need for secrecy and security, especially from the deeper metaplanes, I think it can do more harm than good sometimes."
Essentially a "look, I know we have to keep secrets so that cultists don't learn about this, but we need to work together and our dragon overlords seem to expect it of us, because we are fucked if we can't stop what is coming".

>>1023708
2nd this

>>1023667
Thirding >>1023708

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>>1023708
>>1023746
>>1024654

"I'm an occultist; perhaps I can help? I can make an educated guess about why they want it, and being all cloak-and-dagger at this point will only hurt people."

"... Fine, since you found it, I suppose we can talk. The artifact appears to be powered by Atlantean arcane batteries, which accumulate mana from mana wells and allow them to be used in thaumatech. Before you ask, no, we don't know how to make thaumatech yet. Anyone who figured the trick out would be the recipient of an eight-million nuyen bequest in the Will, and only a complete idiot would turn that down.

Anyways, this thing SEEMS to be... picking up shadows and echoes of events in the manasphere. Past events, it should be pretty dead-on about. Future events... those are more tricky. Impressive stuff."

>You spend the rest of the trip talking about the precise mechanisms and phenomena of the machine.

You make it back to the Charlotte airport at 12, and manage to get back to the flat at 1.

You walk through the front door and immediately almost trip over a model tank the size of a shoebox.

The living room has been converted into a warzone. Camps of raiders in their scrap-metal vehicles are scattered here and there among model-mat deserts, geared up to besiege a 3-foot-tall model fortress atop the coffee table remodeled as a mesa. Planes hang from the ceiling in the middle of mock-dogfights. Flickering holographic sandstorms and smoking craters are projected here and there.

Sudo and Rex are currently looming over a formation of ERC troops entrenched around a fuel depot under assault by fearsome Raiders, engaged in a heated discussion.

"That's a STUPID IDEA, MAN! You NEED that fuel for your Rolling Fortress! How do you think you can get your breach force close enough to take out my guns without it!"

"IMMORTAN REX NEEDS NO FUEL!! HE IS FUELED BY THE FIRES OF HAAAAATTTTEEEEEE!!!!!!"

Rhun beams, and you can see misty tears in her eyes. ""This is beautiful. Why did I ever leave you two? So, who's who?"

Sudo speaks up. "Well, I'm controlling a rough approximation of the Draconis Major detachment of the Red Lotus Sect of the Eastern Rim Consortium-"

"AND I AM IMMORTAN REX, DEATHLESS GOD-KING OF THE BALESTAR SHREDDERS!!!!!"

>Pardon me: what are you doing?

>Sudo, are you trying to pull Rex into your antisocial hobby?

>Clean this junk up: we're back on the clock

>Sudo, we need to talk; off your tail and come downstairs

>Write-In

>>1024965
>Write-In
I figured Rex would assume command of a much more organized force

>>1024965
>>Write-In
"Well whatever hobby allows Rex to remove the stick up his bum is fine with me. But we should look into getting some paying work soon."

Watch them finish up their little engagement then call up a team meeting to find a job.

>>1025030
Seconded!

>>1025030
>>1025371
"I would have figured Rex would assume command of a much more organized force."

"I have to cut loose somehow, Redd. Besides, the Battle of the Crimson Altar was fought between Raiders and ERC forces, and Sudo's the ERC guy."

Rhun rushes over and hugs Rex.

"Well, iss nice ta see ya starting to embrace yer inner berserker! Mebbe one day yeh'll fight with me side-by-side, blades in hand!"

"I don't think that's at all likely, but its certainly nice to have your feminine charm back in the house, Rhun. Now, you've got to show me any combat footage you have from this mysterious trip, so we can start drawing up training regimens.

Rex and Rhun retreat downstairs. You and Sudo are left in the middle of the miniature warzone.

"So... how'd the Bavaria trip go?"

"Well enough. Lofwyr has saddled us with busy work, some of which may be right up your alley."

Sudo pales a bit. "What? Lofwyr himself is giving us orders now?"

"Was there a point where he wasn't?" you wryly respond.

>Run 3: Bavarian Vacation COMPLETE

>2 Karma earned

>Relationship with Rhun improved

>New Contact: Draco Foundation (Connections 5, Loyalty 1, Favor 2. Provides: Networking, Legwork, Personal Favors. Payment: Services).

>Improvements: (select any one of the following:

Improve active skill by one

Improve knowledge skills by two points total

Improve language skills by three points total)

>>1025712
Could we also get our eyes fixed?

>>1025712
>Improve language skills by three points total)
We should learn Russian, sense we're investigating a Russian equivalent of Hydra.

>>1025749
We could probably get some glasses for cheaper instead. Plus Redd could take Barbie to help pick some frames that would match him perfectly.

>>1025749
Yep. Vision correction would cost around 5k nuyen. If you want to talk cybereyes...

The basic cybereye system gives you perfect 20/20 vision, an image link, a built-in camera, and can have extra tech added onto it.

Cybereyes basic system
Essence Tech Capacity Rarity Base Price
Rating 1(Basic Prosthetic) 0.2 4 3 4,000¥
Rating 2 (Advanced Systems) 0.3 8 6 6,000¥
Rating 3 (Corporate Upgrade) 0.4 12 9 10,000¥
Rating 4 (The Bleeding Edge) 0.5 16 12 14,000¥
Flare compensation 0.1 -1 4 1,000¥
Low-light vision 0.1 -2 4 1,500¥
Retinal duplication (Rating 1–6) 0.1 -1 16(illegal) Rating x 20,000¥
Smartlink 0.2 -3 8 (semi-legal) 4,000¥
Thermographic vision 0.1 -2 4 1,500¥
Vision enhancement (Rating 1–3) 0.1 -Rating Rating x 3 Rating x 4,000¥
Vision magnification 0.1 -2 4 2,000¥

(Rarity increases the odds of finding the item at a higher price than base. Smartlink tech allows you to use smartguns. Retinal duplication allows you to beat retinal security scans. Alphaware costs 20% more and is +2 Rarity, but only drains 80% Essence. Betaware costs 50% more and is +4 Rarity, but only drains 70% Essence. Deltaware costs 150% more and is +8 Rarity, but only drains 50% Essence.)

>>1025821
Glasses wouldn't fix the problem. It's more similar to cataracts than other kinds of vision problems.

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>>1025821
Alright, since no one else has voted, I guess Redd is learning Russian!

I'm signing off until tomorrow, so tonight's question is: should Redd get cybereyes, or just vision correction surgery?

>Get the surgery

>Get cybereyes (Specify what type and with what upgrades, reference pic related)

>>1026282
>>Get the surgery

>>1026282
>Get the surgery

>>1026282
>Get the surgery
If we want more goodies, like a smartlink and vision magnification/enhancement, then we should buy a better set of contacts, or get AR glasses.

>>1026282
>Get the surgery

>>1026282
>Get the surgery

>>1026282
Can we get one cybereye?

>>1026655
That normally isn't done unless one eye is just straight-up missing. Asking for that wouldn't decrease Rarity or Cost.

>>1026663
Also, I'm back! Currently generating new potential runs for you guys, and will write stuff up when done.

>>1026664
Sounds good. Kinda want to get back to a good old shadowrun.

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>>1026668
>1 week later

You're 3 days post-op. It's nice to have your eyes back in working order, no longer having blurs and smudges in your vision all the time. Your credstick's feeling light, though: Sudo managed to find a doctor who'd give you a reasonable price for the surgery, but it was still 3k. Anything less, and you'd have probably ended up going under the knife of a back-alley doc who learned medicine from organleggers.

>Credstick: 2042 nuyen

You've been spending post-op sniffing around the Matrix for Red Hand, but they seem to have gone underground: the best way to keep Lofwyr happy is to spend your time between runs looking into the Armitage connection.

You log into the terminal Sudo hacked together for you in his free time (it uses the scrubbed-down processor of Lance's drone as it's core; you appreciate the visual of the metallic skull on your desk casting a holoscreen out of its eye sockets) and see a message from Andrea:

HEY BUDDY. BET YOUR CREW'S FEELING HUNGRY FOR SOME WALKING-AROUND MONEY, YEAH? WELL, I'VE GOT SOME POTENTIAL JOBS LINED UP FOR YOU: THEY'RE TIME-SENSITIVE, SO YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO PICK JUST ONE. DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE OTHERS, WE'LL FIND SOME OTHER BOYS TO HANDLE IT. DETAILS INCOMING.

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>>1026687
THIS FIRST ONE MIGHT ASSUAGE ANY GUILTY CONSCIENCE OF YOURS: A CLIENT WANTS A TEAM THAT CAN DIG UP DIRT ON A LOCAL GANG. SEEMS LIKE THEY'RE CREATING SOME PROBLEMS THAT CAN'T BE SOLVED THE EASY WAY. PRETTY STANDARD FARE, BY MY BOOK. HEAD TO THE CELLTEC CLINIC IN UNIVERSITY CITY AND ASK FOR MR. JOHNSON.

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>>1026715
THIS ONE'S WEIRD. IT'S NOT EVERYDAY YOU GET A LONE STAR DETECTIVE COMING TO THE MOB FOR A FAVOR. GUY WANTS SOME HELP PUTTING AWAY SOME YAKS FOR GOOD. WOULDN'T GET INTO THE DETAILS, BUT PROMISED THIS WASN'T A DEATH RUN OR SCREWJOB. I CAN SMELL BULLSHIT, AND THIS GUY WAS CLEAN. HIS NAME'S DAVID BISHOP, AND HE WORKS IN THE LONE STAR STATION ON JEFFERSON AVENUE IN DURHAM. PAY HIM A VISIT IF YOU WANT THE JOB.

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>>1026726
YOU EVER HEAR OF THE BURNS FAMILY? OLD TOBACCO MONEY FAMILY, TRANSFERRED THEIR FUNDS INTO ATOMICS, EVENTUALLY SOLD THEIR PLANTS INTO SOME KIND OF ENERGY CONGLOMERATE IN EXCHANGE FOR SHARES. WHEN SAID CONGLOM GOT SNAPPED UP BY THE DRAGON, THEIR SHARES GOT BOUGHT FOR HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS. GLORIA BURNS IS ONE OF THE CURRENT GENERATION OF THIS OLD-MONEY FAMILY, AND HER DAUGHTER RECENTLY VANISHED WHILE IN THE PCC. SHE'S CERTAIN SHE KNOWS WHO DID IT AND WHY, BUT SHE WANTS PEOPLE TO CONFIRM AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. SWING BY OUR PLACE TONIGHT AND SHE'LL BE IN THE BACK ROOM. MAKE SURE TO INVEST IN SUNSCREEN IF YOU WANT THIS ONE.

Looks like our options are some Franking and smear job, Dragnet 2072, or Lindbergh Baby scenario

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>>1026738
WANNA DO A PACKAGE RUN FOR A DEMIGOD? THE FREE SPIRIT "HE-WHOSE-EYES-BURN-LIKE-WILDFIRE" NEEDS SOME COMPETENT RUNNERS TO COURIER SOMETHING FOR HIM. HIS ENVOY WAVED ENOUGH NUYEN IN MY FACE THAT I WASN'T GONNA ASK QUESTIONS, BUT THAT PROBABLY MEANS THAT THIS JOB IS DANGEROUS. THE ENVOY WILL BE HANGING OUT IN THE RAFAEL FRESH TOBACCO DEPOT FROM 2-6 PM. HE'LL BE WEARING A GOLDEN CROSS LAPEL PIN. ASK HIM ABOUT THE TASTE OF CINNAMON. AND TRY NOT TO LOOK TOO MUCH LIKE WOOD IN FRONT OF THE CLIENT.

>>1026738
This one looks to be the more interesting one so far, judging solely by it's cover. It's got a missing girl/heiress, old money, new locales and the client's already got suspects/enemies in mind. It positively reeks of 'complications'.

>>1026751
Definitely Lindbergh Baby scenario

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>>1026749
"CUTTHROAT"'S A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY. NICE GIRL, ONCE YOU GET PAST THE KNIVES SHE CAN SHOOT OUT OF HER WRISTS. SHE'S CURRENTLY SITTING IN JAIL, AWAITING TRIAL FOR A TRIPLE HOMICIDE. TALK TO ME IF YOU WANT TO HELP A SISTER OUT.

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>>1026758
THIS LAST ONE'S WEIRD AS HELL. AN AZTECH SUIT CAME IN AND DROPPED A FAT CREDSTICK IN FRONT OF ME TO ROB... AN AZTECH FACILITY. YEAH, YOU DIDN'T MISREAD THAT. HE'LL BE IN DANTE'S INFERNO AT MIDNIGHT. HEAD TO THE THIRD CIRCLE AND ASK FOR MONTEZUMA.

A lot of pros and cons for each job
Job 1: weaken a gang's influence, but might get put on their shit list
Job 2: Good reputation from Lonestar, but unknown variables
Jobs 3&4: a lot of money, but seems like a screw job
Job 5: Helping the mob out, but dealing with a pyscho.
Job 6: Fucking Azlanti

>>1026765
>>1026758
>>1026749
>>1026738
>>1026726
>>1026715

>Take "The Hospital Job"

>Take "The Banzai Caper"

>Take "Indian Affairs"

>Take "Up in Smoke"

> Take "Spare Us the Cutter"

>Take "Of Quetzals and Mirrors"

>>1026769
There's no information on expected payouts?

Torn between > Take "Spare Us the Cutter" and the Old Money job

>>1026772
Nope, but none of these are milk runs, or even that easy, which means they pay well.

>>1026769
>Take "The Banzai Caper"
Always nice to have the police owe us a favor.

>>1026769
> Take "Spare Us the Cutter"
Picking this one, mob rep and a potential assassin in our debt out of gratitude seems like a good choice

>>1026769
>Take "Indian Affairs"
We should be savvy enough to know that there'll be a sudden, but inevitable twist to this whole affair.

>>1026769
Is the gang he wants us to interfere with Halloweeners? Because weakening them sounds great, and we're already on their shit list.

>>1026769
If not, then take the old money job

Spare us the cutter!

>>1026769
>>Take "The Banzai Caper"

>>1026769
> Banzai Caper

>>1026769
IMPORTANT NOTES:

>Tizona will not assist in "Of Quetzels and Mirrors": working for an Azlanti will sit bad in her mouth

>Rhun will not help in "The Banzai Caper": she hates working for cops.

>>1026868
First round of voting complete! Second round:

>Vote for "Indian Affairs" (Investigation job, pays 12,000 nuyen per day before mob cut)

>Vote for "Spare Us the Cutter" (Assassination job, pays 240,000 nuyen, no mob cut (internal job))

>Vote for "The Banzai Caper" (Weird job, pays 187,500 nuyen before mob cut)

>>1026879
Second round ends at 4:30.

>>1026879
>Vote for "Spare Us the Cutter" (Assassination job, pays 240,000 nuyen, no mob cut (internal job))
Let's make up for our group's behavior while we were working in Bavaria.

>>1026879
>assassination job
Wait, the job is to kill Cutter, not break her out?

>>1026886
Could be to kill a witness?

>>1026889
Yeah, it's to kill someone to throw her trial.

>>1026895
Good, we just make it look like they fell off a truck

>>1026879
>Vote for "Indian Affairs" (Investigation job, pays 12,000 nuyen per day before mob cut)
Like I said, this one has complicated and convoluted written all over it. Money-wise, no way this isn't taking days, if not weeks, to solve.

My vote is still cutter.

>>1026879
>Indian Affairs

>>1026879
Banzai Caper.

>>1026769
>>Take "The Banzai Caper"

>>1026960
>>1026939
>>1026938
>>1026937
>>1026909
>>1026886

WE HAVE A TIE!

I'll give you guys one more piece of info and an extra 45 minutes to settle the tie:

>Sudo will be very reluctant to kill an innocent without good reason

>Vote for "Indian Affairs"

>Vote for "Spare Us the Cutter"

>Vote for "The Banzai Caper"

If this results in another tie, I will personally make the decision.

>>1027038
>Vote for "The Banzai Caper"

>>1027038
>Vote for "Spare Us the Cutter

>>1027038
>Indian Affairs

Banzai Caper!

>>1027038
>Vote for "Indian Affairs"

>>1027111
>>1027062

WOULD LOVE TO HAVE DINNER WITH MRS. BURNS TONIGHT. EXPECT ME AT 7.

>7 PM

You go through the front door of Our Place, nodding at Albert and Fred, the troll bouncers. You stroll through the lovingly-decorated front area of the restaurant to the black door that leads to the private section. You check your firearms in the dimly-lit coat room beyond, and walk to the private room marked on VR.

Mrs. Burns is a fine-looking lady: despite being in her late 50's, she barely looks a day over 24, with a petite nose and a sheer blue dress wrapped around her willowy figure.

>Perception: you can see the faint surgical scars and injection marks that indicate that her figure is far from naturally acquired.

>Judge Intentions: She's very nervous, biting her lip and playing with her jewelry like mad.

Her head snaps up so quickly that you swear she should have gotten whiplash. She recoils briefly at your facial scars, but recovers admirably.

"Ah, hello, Mr..."

>Smith. Frederick Smith.

>Russo. Vincent Russo.

>Call me Redd, Mrs. Burns.

>No names, Mrs. Johnson.

>(don't respond)

>Write-In

>>1027207
>No names, Mrs. Johnson.

>>1027207
>Russo. Vincent Russo.
This is our time to shine.

>>1027229
By giving out the SIN we use in our everyday life?

Yeah, it's a great way to shine, letting everyone in the shadows know how stupid you are.

>>1027207
>Write-In
Mantis Toboggan, M.D. Now you want to save your daughter, you're gonna have to gimme some aspirin, a roll of duct tape, a bag of peanuts, and four beers.

>>1027246
Serious answer: Just call me Redd, let's make this low key

>>1027244
I was actually trying to find which of our SINs Vincent Russo was, the main one or the side one. Since it's out main, change mine to

>Call me Redd, Mrs. Burns.

>>1027264
Any reason in particular you want to use her real name?

>>1027307
We're going to be privy to her private life and she'll soon tell us of her friends, allies and enemies.

>>1027264
>>1027249

"Call me Redd, Mrs. Burns. I was informed you have a problem?..."

"Yes, Mr. Redd, it... it has to do with my daughter...

My sweet Sophia... she's always been so irresponsible, you know? I've always told her, you know, she has to be careful, your status means that you need to be on your guard, what what you do and say, watch where you go... but she never listened to me. Always going around with her artsy friends, getting involved in all kinds of dangerous causes..."

"What sort of causes?"

"Oh, everything you could name! Environmentalism, metahuman rights, SINless support, even those anti-extraterritorial wingnuts-- all the popular progressive stuff."

"And this brings us to her disappearance, right?"

"She told me that she was going to an art show at LA, flew out three days ago, and... I haven't heard from her since!"

>Have you considered that she might have just run off?

>Did she have any enemies?

>Why aren't you going to the privsecs about this?

>Write-In

>>1027325
>Did she have any enemies?
>write-in: What about your enemies? And what about her friends? Have any of them started asking you about where she is? It might help narrow down the suspects.

>>1027325
>Why aren't you going to the privsecs about this?
And also
>Judge Intentions

>>1027339
2nd this

>>1027325
>Why aren't you going to the privsecs about this?
And also
>Judge Intentions

>>1027346
Before we get more into her daughter's disappearance along with possible motives and suspects, I really want to know why she's turning to shadowrunners.

>>1027339
>>1027373

"Why haven't you gone to the privsecs about this?"

"I don't want this to become a stir. I've been keeping all of this VERY quiet, and contracting private security to get my own daughter back- why, I would never be able to live it down!"

>Judge Intentions: She's telling the truth. Or, at least, what she thinks is the truth.


"Did she have any enemies that would want her dead? Do YOU have any enemies that would kill her to get to you?"

"Well, Sophia was always complaining about this guy, Howard Leaping-Panther? Some kind of art-dealer in the PCC, she always felt like he was a creep. But I already know who did it."

"You do, ma'am?"

"Jewel Frazier. He's a big wheel at Blue Dog Tunes- you know, the record company?- I have an EXTENSIVE collection of jazz memorabilia, and he's been after me for it for YEARS! He's planning on using my daughter to force the sale."

"... Well, have her friends contacted you about her?"

"Oh, she doesn't let her friends know about ME! Hates the Burns family name, but is she ever willing to spend the Burns family MONEY! I only know something's happened to her because someone blew out her tracker chip in LA."

>Judge Intentions: Once again, the truth, or what she thinks it is.


>Don't you think that's rather extreme for some kitsch?

>Have you considered that she might have just run off?

>What do you want me to do?

>Write-In

>>1027454
>Have you considered that she might have just run off?
>What do you want me to do?

>>1027454
>Have you considered that she might have just run off?
Do you have monitors on her accounts to track spending? Since the tracker was disabled we may trace her by paper trail.

>>1027454
>What do you want me to do?
>write-in: has she, or her accountants, noticed any strange activity in her family's funds? Could Frazier try to get Sophie to drain be family's accounts so Mrs. Burns will have to sell to him?

Of course Sophie could have just run off. But telling Mrs. Burns that without any evidence doesn't help either of us.
We should look into it, certainly, but if the girl was going to run then she would have taken money with her.

It's like the question about private investigators. Of course she wants this kept deniable, the answer was obvious.

>>1027454
>Have you considered that she might have just run off?
Considering the company you say she keeps, her behavior and how she views her family, it's a very likely scenario.

>>1027500
Without taking money? Considering what we were just told of Sophie's spending habits, that doesn't fit.

>>1027510
Mrs. Burns only said Sophie's tracker was knocked out so far. That's why I suggested to look at the money trail to track purchases in LA

>>1027481
Well, now we know that while she's worried about her daughter, she isn't desperate enough to find her by any means possible. This could've just as well been a last resort gambit to find a daughter that's been missing for far too long.

>>1027510
Yeah, but we haven't really gone in depth (hacker style) into her social circle and any new causes and people she may have run into or fell in with.

>>1027524
True, I concede to that point. Sophie seems like the active rich and might account for her mother hiring mercenaries to track her if this is a simple runaway case. At worst, this could be similar to Patty Hurst and her escapades.

>>1027466
>>1027470
>>1027500

"Mrs. Burns, have you considered that your daughter may have just run off? Considering the company she keeps, her behavior, and how she views you..."

"I don't blame you for thinking that, Mr. Redd, but she never checked in at the resort she was staying at and her security detail lost her in the airport. That's where her tracker vanished, too. I had a tracker on her credstick, but we found that smashed on the tarmac. "

>What do you want me to do?
>This is going to cost you, Mrs. Burns. This sort of work isn't easy or cheap.
>Do you have any leads?
>Write-In

>>1027538
>Write-In
You want us to track her down, inform you of her status, and bring her back if she's kidnapped like Patty Hurst before she does anything extreme, correct?

>>1027538
>Do you have any leads?
We know she thinks Jewel Frazier has her. Does she suspect where? As far as she knows, does her daughter and her suspect have anything to do with each other aside from the jazz collection?

>>1027559
Also this
Really bad at quoting the proper posts today

>>1027595
That's cool, everyone has one of those days

>>1027559
>>1027561
"So, you want us to find her, inform you of her status, and retrieve her if she's been kidnapped, correct?"

"Yes, and please DO be discreet about it. I want to avoid embarrassment over all of this."

"Very well. Where do you think Mr. Frazier is holding her? Does he have a connection to Sophia?"

"I really wouldn't know, that's your job, isn't it? Sophia IS part of an alleged band signed to one of Blue Dog's records: the Corporate Freight Houdini. Some kind of... "post-ironic fringecore rock", or something like that. I promised 12,000 nuyen per day to your employers: will that be enough?"

>Yes

>No (try to negotiate upwards)

>Yes, but if this gets ugly, my men and I will need hazard pay

>Write-In

>>1027538
>What do you want me to do?
"I assume you want her brought back regardless of the situation she is in, but how do you want the rest of it handled? With extreme prejudice, or as quietly as we can? The answer will determine the final cost."

>>1027741
>Yes, but if this gets ugly, my men and I will need hazard pay

>>1027741
>Yes, but if this gets ugly, my men and I will need hazard pay
We'll just have to rely on Sudo and our skills for a more complete picture of our target and her connections.

>>1027741
>Yes, but if this gets ugly, my men and I will need hazard pay

>>1027775
The others might have skills that could help us on the ground. Tizona and Rex can do a lot of leg work while Rhun can look into the band. Isn't she a metal head or something?

>>1027753
>>1027775
>>1027778
"That will do for now, but if this gets ugly, my men and I shall require hazard pay. Put aside funds into your shadow accounts accordingly."

"Very well, quite reasonable. Now, is there something we sign, or?..."

>Yeah, sure. (pull out your commlink). Just put down your signature here.

> No, just make sure you keep the nuyen coming, and don't try and screw us.

>This your first Shadowrun? The fixer deals with that.

>Write-In

>>1027803
>Write-In
>Our mutual acquaintance will see to the details, Mrs. Burns.

>>1027803
>Write-In
"The person who arranged this meeting will take care of that."

>>1027828
Backing this as seems professional and would make her more inclined to utilize Andrea's services in the future

>>1027803
>This your first Shadowrun? The fixer deals with that.

>>1027803
I honestly thought us more polite and formal than these answers would imply.

>>1027880
(The actual answers would be formal and polite)

>>1027888
It just puts a little distance between what we choose to say and what actually gets said in-character. Not too much of a problem really.

>>1027828
>>1027858
>>1027876
"Our mutual acquaintance will deal with that. Have a nice day, Mrs. Burns."

You walk out of the private dining area and back to the safehouse.

You come in to Rhun talking into her commlink while lying on the sofa, eating fatback.

"... oh, really? I'm in? Fecking A, yeah! Imma be o'er there righ' away!"

Rhun hangs up, kicks up to her feet, stuffs her cheek with a piece of fatback, and hustles toward the door.

"Shee ya' Redd!"

>Where the hell are you going?

>We're working, Rhun

>Have fun, Rhun

>Write-In

>We're working, Rhun
We're back on the clock

>>1027939
>We're working, Rhun
Time off depends on what you got into.

>>1027939
>Write-In
"When are you expecting to come back? We just got a job, and we'll need muscle once we find the target."
It's going to take a while to find the girl, and we WANT it to take a while, considering we're getting paid by the day and we didn't negotiate any kind of early completion bonus.

So Rhun going off on her own for a day or two is fine.

>>1027939
>We're working, Rhun
and this >>1027947

>>1027955
I'm specifically letting Rhun go to whatever thing she's going to, not telling her she can't go because we're on a job, even though we're going to be doing nothing but Matrix research and legwork (which Rhun is NOT suited for) for a minimum of 10 days to make enough money to be the equivalent of the other contracts we passed on.
That's 10 days of her not doing anything. It makes no sense to do that.

>>1027939
>We're working Rhun

>>1027967
Just letting her know we're on the clock. She can go do whatever but when I call, she's available and on her way if I ask.

>>1027955
>>1027945
>>1027944
"Rhun, we're working. We have a missing persons case that we are working for the skyraker set. Take the week off, but make sure that you're ready to go in 10 days or so."

"Cool, got ya, I'll be there, got bands to book and flyers to print!."

"Well, good luck with tha- what?"

But Rhun is already out the door.

You sit down on the sofa and steeple your hands. This job has multiple angles on it, at least for research:

>Research Burns family history

>Research Gloria Burns's personal history

>Research Sophia Burns's personal and recent history

>Research Jewel Frazier and his label

>Research Corporate Freight Houdini

>Research LA Art Show (Mrs. Burns mentioned an artist who worked under the name 'Sanguine' displaying his latest works at it)

>Research tracker tag technology

>Research Howard Leaping-Panther

>Research security detail

>>1028057
>Research Sophia Burns's personal and recent history
>Research Jewel Frazier and his label
>Research Corporate Freight Houdini
>Research LA Art Show (Mrs. Burns mentioned an artist who worked under the name 'Sanguine' displaying his latest works at it)
>Research tracker tag technology
>Research security detail
We also need security camera footage from the airport to see what happened to the girl and the tracker tag.

>>1028057
>Research Burns family history
>Research Sophia Burns's personal and recent history
>Research LA Art Show (Mrs. Burns mentioned an artist who worked under the name 'Sanguine' displaying his latest works at it)
>Research tracker tag technology
>Research Howard Leaping-Panther
>Research security detail

>>1028057
>Research Burns family history
>Research Gloria Burns's personal history
>Research Sophia Burns's personal and recent history
>Research Corporate Freight Houdini
This is standard due diligence.

>Research Jewel Frazier and his label
Our client's main suspect. Doubt he's connected seeing how little of her daughter's life Mrs Burns was privy to, but you never know.

>Research tracker tag technology
>Research security detail
Might be an inside job.

>Research Howard Leaping-Panther
>Research LA Art Show (Mrs. Burns mentioned an artist who worked under the name 'Sanguine' displaying his latest works at it)

>>1028101
Backing this

>>1028101
>>1028141

You start with due diligence: logging onto your terminal and compiling a quick profile on the major players in this drama.

>Burns Family History

The Burns family are, as Andrea said, old money. Originally tobacco farmers (well, tobacco farm OWNERS) in the same part of North Carolina that the Duke family grew their millions in, the Burns's managed to sell off their farms and switch to atomic power just before the Masters settlement could have screwed them out of their fortunes. When the Duke Energy company started buying up all potential competition in the wake of the Shiawase Decision, the Burnses were first in line to turn their plants over- in exchange for shares and favorable stock options, of course. Duke Conglomerated Power kept their family wealthy for a few decades, until Saeder-Krupp started setting up their fiefdom in North America. Ruhr-Nuklear bought up Duke Conglomerated for a cool eleven figures: and a ten-figure slice of that went to the Burnses- who by now had achieved a status in the CAS that the Dukes held almost 200 years ago.

The Burns family are a high class of social animals: the women sparkle in the spotlight at the parties, and the men blend into the background and keep the money coming in, in-between hunting trips to Africa and Asia. The Burns family has some enemies- many rural people despise them for the Tuckaseegee Leak that left a wide tract of woodland a nuclear dump, and the local socialist and populist movements tend to use the Burns as symbols of Everything Wrong With the Country- but none of them seem to have the kind of power needed to kidnap Sophia.

>>1028206
>Gloria Burns

Mrs. Burns is the latest in the line of celebrity Burns's. She enjoyed a brief trid career acting in serious dramas such as "Gently Fell the Lilacs", but quickly transitioned seemlessly into the REAL career of of the Burns women: marrying old men and outliving them to add their money to the Burns trove. Her victim of choice was some genetic hanger--on of the Shiawase family tree, who stuck along just long enough to produce Sophia, then conveniently died from choking on a plum while laughing at a dirty joke during a city-wide failure of the DocWagon alert system. Mrs. Burns seems to be a major fan of jazz and it's musical progeny, often spending extravagant sums on memorabilia and owns a house/personal jazz museum in New Orleans, supposedly built on the site of Louis Armstrong's childhood home.

Satchmo's ghost is behind it all

>>1028248
>Sophia Burns

Sophia Burns, as your research has turned up, is three people. The first is Sophia Burns, moody mid-20's daughter of Gloria Burns, living out her life as another moon caught in the gravitational field of her mom's celebrity. In the lovely photos and clips that graced the gossip sites, she was always somewhere behind her mother, usually with a combination of crossed arms, pursed lips, and gyrating eyes.

>Perception: You have to personally say that Sophia is not cut out for the limelight. Compared to her mother's million-nuyen face and figure, Sophia looks... not ugly, but plain, which in certain circles is essentially the same thing. You manage to find several images of Sophia with a number of young men in ill-fitting suits and the look of someone navigating in the waters of his social betters (or richers, at least).

The second person is Shotgun Maria, the edgy, daring lead singer of Corporate Freight Houdini infamous for her confrontational, daring, and politically-active performances (such as the time she lynched the CEO of Aztechnology in effigy while opening for Switchknife Hellions at Austin City Limits). Famously tight-lipped about her background in this persona, Shotgun Maria has quite the cult following, some of whom seem to have an... unsettling level of parasocial interaction with her.

>Perception: 'Shotgun Maria' is a hell of a stage persona: if you didn't know what to look for, you would say that the pale-skinned ork on stage in a black-stained wedding dress was someone entirely different from the Plain Jane at the public functions. Looking more closely, you can see the prosthetics she uses to pass as a goblinoid. It helps that she's tall and in decent shape for a human, allowing her to pass as a short, malnourished ork.

The third personality is Alicia Krueger-Duran, an avid political activist and conspiracy crank who co-runs a MeFeed stream called "Citizen Eye": a self-styled "watchdog group" dedicated to "Exposing The Things They Don't Want You To Know About".

>Perception: Alicia Kruger-Duran was the hardest persona to unearth: it took digging through an underground music forum and finding Duran leaking details about the group's next album to start connecting the dots. Her 'Alicia' persona is also an ork, and it looks like she just uses the same prosthetics for both 'Alicia' and 'Shotgun Maria'. This has led to theories connecting the two to abound.

>>1028301
>Corporate Freight Houdini

"Become the Man. Destroy Yourself. Free the World."

Thus proclaims the opening screen to Corporate Freight Houdini's official Matrix site.

CFH style themselves as "corporate raiders restructuring the public consciousness through the heavy arsenal of complex guitar riffs and paradigm-shattering lyrics!" They seem to be angling STRONGLY towards shadowchasers: those people who idolize the IDEA of the shadowrunner, while knowing next to nothing about the life. They have good marketing, but... less-than-inspiring talent that seems to lock them solidly in their niche.

The band's six members all use pseudonyms:

Vocals and Lyrics: "Shotgun Maria"/Sophia Burns

Guitar: "Sidewinder Highrise": Male Elf

Bass: "Fenway Mantis": Female Elf

Drums: "Cat-Rabbit": Female Troll

Keyboard: "Cable Burnout": Male Human

>Perception: you recognize Cable Burnout as one of the men on Sophia's arm at some kind of function or another: the paper gave his ID as "rising star electronica composer Joshua Sandusky"

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>>1028332

>>1028332
CFH are signed to "Uprising Records", a subsidiary of Blue Dog Tunes, managed by Jewel Frazier.

It's been 6 hours since you started your research, and you feel that, with this initial work done, it is time to invite Rex and Sudo into the investigation. Each of you should take an angle and work it:

>Assign your choice of Rex, Redd, and Sudo each to one of the following angles:

>Jewel Frazier

>Inside Job

>Howard Leaping-Panther/Art Show

>Write-In other possible angle

>>1028338
Perfect.

>>1028340
>Redd to Howard Leaping-Panther/Art Show
>Sudo to Jewel Frazier
>Rex to Inside Job

>>1028340
So sorry guys, but I'm going to have to get off early. Feeling really burnt out from today. My bad.

>>1028390
No problem QM. My only request is that you pick up an ID so we can tell when you are posting more easily.

>>1028390
>>1028408
Yeah, this anon has the right idea.

>>1028340
>Sudo to Jewel Frazier
Put our hacker on the main suspect.

>Rex to Inside Job
Let our professional dig around and see if something's off.

>Redd to Howard Leaping-Panther/Art Show
We'll handle the art show and the 'creepy' Howard Leaping-Panther

>>1028340
My gut feeling, so far at least, tells me that her ork-posing has gotten her in some hot water. Bad enough (and excusable) to act like an ork when you're not, but to (successfully)pretend to be one and deceive both one's music fans and MeFeed viewers. All the while she's some pampered, rich brat slumming it out of (what they'll assume is) boredom or for a thrill.

Might just be a scorned fan/stalker gone off the deep end after finding out the truth.

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>>1028340
>Redd to Howard Leaping-Panther/Art Show
>Sudo to Jewel Frazier
>Rex to Inside Job
Have Sudo look into data trails, while Rex interviews/looks into Piss-poor security solutions. We can handle some creeper, our group members are experts in their fields

>>1028340
>Jewel Frazier
Sudo

>Inside Job
Rex

>Howard Leaping-Panther/Art Show
Redd

>>1028408
I'm back, with a snazzy new trip made in honor of the craziest motherfucker I've ever played an RPG with. Shine on, you crazy diamond.

>>1028750
>>1028742
>>1028732
>>1028345

You call Sudo and Rex down into the basement.

"We are now on the clock, gentlemen. One of the idle rich, Sophia Burns, has gone missing, and we have been contracted to find her. Now, I have taken due diligence and done some background research, and from that, I have found some obvious possibilities for us to look through. Sudo, use your Matrix skills and investigate Uprising Records and Mr. Jewel Frazier. Our client believes he's the culprit, but... I am not as confident. Regardless, we must check it out to be thorough."

"Uh, yeah, sure! ...You sure this guy manages some kind of counterculture label? Guy looks like every other troll in a suit I've seen."

"Rex, I want you to investigate the security detail and the manufacturer of this tracker chip. You're the expert on security measures and I want to see how the kidnapper beat the detail."

"Executive Protection, huh? These guys have a pretty good rep. I'll see what I can find."

"I'll be investigating this art show our target was going to attend. There was an art dealer in LA that apparently left a bad impression on the target: I want to cross him off the suspect list."

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>>1028812
>4 days later
Sudo drops you a text file:
JEWEL FRAZIER ISN'T THIS GUY'S REAL NAME (BIG SURPRISE THERE). HIS REAL NAME IS ABRAHAM FRAZIER, A GOOD OL' COUNTRY BOY FROM ALABAMA. WAS A DRUMMER IN A GROUP NAMED "SUICIDE STRANGLEHOLD" FOR ABOUT FIVE SECONDS, THEN SPRINGBOARDED INTO THE PRODUCTION SIDE OF THE BUSINESS. EIGHT YEARS AGO, HE FOUNDED UPRISING WITH THE BLESSING OF HIS OVERLORDS IN BLUE DOG TO PULL IN THE INDIE SCENE (OR AT LEAST THEIR CREDSTICKS). LEGAL NAME CHANGE HAPPENED AROUND THE SAME TIME, PROBABLY FOR IMAGE REASON. HAS A "HISTORY" WITH SOPHIA BURNS: THEY HAD A FIVE-MINUTE FLING AROUND THE SAME TIME UPRISING SIGNED CORPORATE FREIGHT HOUDINI. I'VE GOT NO HARD EVIDENCE, BUT THREE GUESSES HOW THOSE TWO WERE RELATED. HERE'S THE WEIRD THING ABOUT ALL OF THIS: JEWEL DOESN'T SEEM TO BE A BIG JAZZ GUY, BY WHICH I MEAN HE HATES THE STUFF. HE'S SAID SO PUBLICLY! GOT NO IDEA WHERE THE CLIENT IS GETTING THESE IDEAS ABOUT THE KIDNAPPING BEING MOTIVATED BY JAZZ RECORD THEFT. ALSO, RHUN'S BEEN CHOKING ON OUR BANDWIDTH! TOOK A PEEK INTO HER TERMINAL, AND SHE'S BEEN RENTING SPAM NODES FROM HERE TO ATLANTA ADVERTISING SOME KIND OF METAL SHOW CALLED "RAIN RUIN REIGN"- AND SHE'S RENTING OUT THE SPACE! SHE'S EVEN RETAINING THE SERVICES OF SOME TWO-BIT CATERING COMPANY FOR IT! DOES SHE NOT GRASP THE IDEA OF "LOW PROFILE?"

>5 days later

Howard Leaping-Panther, it turns out, has a bit of a history as a lech: people in the art circuit were quick to divulge tales of the art dealer tripping over himself (sometimes literally) chasing after high-class tail. He never seemed to target Sophia in his escapades, however, and he has no record, criminal or otherwise, of taking things any further than the average horndog with too much money and too little sense. He attended the art show, called "Grand Guignol: Ugliness is Beauty", along with many of the more avant-garde of the West Coast art scene.

"Sanguine"'s real name is Angel Maria Ripoll Arias, an Aztlanter sculptor known for his use of disturbing artistic themes, such as rape, torture, mutilation, and unnatural monsters. These works were all carved with such realism that there was talk of Sanguine having to have witnessed their subject matter first-hand (a likely event, in your personal opinion). His centerpiece of this display, "The Rape of Venus" (showing the subjugation and conquest of a beautiful woman by a horribly disfigured and withered man, captured in the act of shattering her skull with a hammer mid-penetration) caused a great deal of shock and admiration in equal measure. Sanguine also used this show to announce to a number of others a second, private show of "his most unconventional and revolutionary works" in two weeks time at a location known only to the invited.

>>1028885
Is Rhun trying to give us a flashing neon sign saying "Hey Halloweeners we are here"

>>1028885
We need to look at the connection between Jewel and Mrs. Burns, since as Sudo mentioned he hated Jazz.
Of course, it could simply be her own narcissism acting up, that if she places such importance on jazz then everyone else must, too.

>>1028885
(Important note: it's only been 6 days TOTAL since you received your contract. Apologies for ambiguous wording.)
As you print out your findings and file them away, Rex comes down the stairs.

"Security detail's clean, sir. Mrs. Burns was very helpful and willing to give me access to her mountaintop villa and 120th-floor skyraker penthouse condo. Interviewed the guards involved; they aren't sure how the principal vanished. Facilities she was using only had one way in or out, and it was empty when she went in. Videotape confirms. Goes into a stall and never comes out.

Tracker chip was subcutaneous, implanted at the base of her neck; only three ways to turn it off. You could physically cut it out, overload it, or there's a manual kill-code that can be sent from EP's system. The first one would require a medical environment, and the second one's risky as hell to the implantee, although maybe our kidnappers just didn't give a shit about that."

"So ANOTHER dead end. I am getting rather annoyed with this."

"Didn't say it was a dead end. Mrs. Burns was talking to her accountant on a holoscreen when I was leaving. Apparently, there are some discrepancies in her accounts, and the investment firm that manages the Burns wealth are getting worried about an audit."

As Rex leaves, Sudo sends you a message: SHIT. BEEN DIGGING THROUGH UPRISING RECORDS'S BANDS. ONE OF THEM WAS THE BAND AT THE TEXAS ROAST.

>Assign each member of your three-man team to further investigation:

>Investigate Cable Burnout

>Investigate Bathroom Security Footage

>Investigate Tracker Circumvention

>Investigate Burns Family Financials

>Investigate Sanguine's Private Show

>Investigate the Jewel-Sophia relationshihp

>Investigate Rhun's Party

>Investigate a Custom Angle

>>1028885
My bet is our little rebel got herself mixed up with some crazy 'artist' and his 'revolutionary works' (read: weird and horrific as shit)

>>1028937
The artist is giving me some off putting vibes, like Taken vibes

>>1028945
Dumb question, but what do mean by "custom angle"

>>1028967
If there's a connection you think might exist that I didn't list, feel free to list it.

>>1028945
Sudo
>Investigate Burns Family Financials
This is our most promising lead so far. Daughter goes missing and now money is being moved around. No such thing as coincidences in shadowrunning.
>Investigate Cable Burnout
Let's see just how deep our poser's little rabbit hole goes.
>Investigate Bathroom Security Footage
See if there's been any tampering.

Rex
>Investigate Tracker Circumvention
Still the best one of us to look into this.
>Investigate Rhun's Party
And have him look into what the fuck Rhun is trying to do and give her lessons in 'low profile'.

Us
>Investigate Sanguine's Private Show
>Investigate the Jewel-Sophia relationship
These two look like they'll need a Face's personal touch.

>>1028984
Gonna back this. Rhun's little event might jeopardize our case and long safety

>>1028945
>Investigate Bathroom Security Footage
>Investigate Tracker Circumvention
Rex.

>Investigate Burns Family Financials
Sudo

>Investigate Sanguine's Private Show
>Investigate the Jewel-Sophia relationship
Redd

>>1028994
Long term safety*

>>1028994
>>1028984

>Two days later (day 8 of investigation)

>Sanguine's Private Show

It took a lot of legwork and 'Vincent Russo' suddenly becoming VERY interested in avant-garde sculpture, but you managed to get a general location for this party: somewhere in Phoenix, Arizona. Cross-referencing that with a list of rented spaces gave you an underground warehouse with ground access in the heart of Phoenix and a tunnel leading into an underway that ran out into the barrens: AA front door, E back. And, honor of honors- you managed to get three invites for you and two guests to the function! Reservations at the Howling Canyon Urban Resort included: a car will pick you and your guests up when it's time for the show.

>Jewel and Sophia

Getting to Jewel was easier. A quick read-through of his company's history, a dab of hair product, and you managed to score an interview with Jewel, and went through the motions until you could bring up Sophia.
"Oh, HER. Of course you had to bring that up." Jewel shifts uncomfortably in his XXXXL leather chair. "Look, she was alright. Smart, rich, kinda cute, liked the kind of shit Uprising was putting out- she even managed to turn us on to a pretty good act, you know- but it was a mistake. She-" his eyes flick towards the door for a second- "Look, she had some kinda fetish, man. Look, I know there are some things we trolls can't help, but I've always tried to keep it classy, you know? Go against the stereotype- not like those nuts that file down their tusks and horns- but by showing people that trolls can be more than brutish dumb muscle! But when it came to, you know- fucking- she wanted me to be all Mr. Big-Dick Monster Man, roughing her up an' shit, and I don't play that way, y'know? I think of myself as a gentle giant. Anyways, I started getting freaked out when she started saying shit like 'rape me harder!' and 'make me feel like I'm gonna break!', and I started thinking, she's only sleeping with me because she's got a troll kink, and I just called it off right then and there." Jewel leans back and coughs uncomfortably into one baseball-mitt-sized hand. "That last part's off the record, got it? Just make some shit up about us being too different. It's half-true, anyways."

>>1029234
Either her goblinoid kink/posing got her in serious trouble with some very scary and offended people or she's tied up in some crazy artist's basement.

>>1029234
Rex: I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.
Redd: That old cliche, really? You had a 7 hour flight to make a better bit than that.

In all seriousness, we should bring Rex and maybe Rhun to the art show. Awakened Liam Neeson demands it!