I recently began running Shadowrun in my work place for a group of people who have never gamed before. These characters are their creations and this story was something I put together to showcase some the things their characters are capable of doing within the system.
Heathen Power
Fiona Glenarm was busy. The Renraku field office in Seattle was always a busy hive of activity, but today seemed especially energetic. Her department had flooded her desk with progress reports on the many tasks she was overseeing and it seemed as though a crushing tide of deadlines were closing in.
"Oh, you have a five o'clock meeting with Kuchinawa-san to discuss the acquisition of the Daikida property. He's still asking far too much for the business, but the senior partners have faith that you can talk him down to a much more reasonable price for the buy-out," Diane Kendall, her personal assistant was telling her, as she scanned through her calendar. "If they ask for anything over six hundred thousand, we're paying too much."
Fiona sighed. "Why are we acquiring these people? They offer nothing our company doesn't already do better." Her shoulder-length brown hair was tied up in a bun as she scanned the assorted documents on her desk regarding the buyout, showing the tips of her pointed elven ears. It was a rare sight in a company known to be prejudiced against metahumans, but her skills as a negotiator had defeated those who had moved to block her advancement.
"Their top developer has some pretty revolutionary ideas, but he is loyal to the Daikida owner. If we take the company, we can use his skills and cannibalize the rest. The fact that Neo-NET wants him as well justifies this measure. Any means we have to steal something out from under that wyrm, Celedyr makes it justified."
Fiona nodded, closing her green eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose slightly. "All right. I'll do what I can."
The comm rang and Fiona stabbed the connect button. "Yes?"
"Sorry to interrupt, Ms. Glenarm, but I have a Mr. David Wapner on line three for you?"
"Thanks. I'll take the call," she said and looked at Diane. "If you'll excuse me, this is a personal matter."
Her assistant nodded and headed for the door. She gave Fiona a semi-suspicious look before closing the door behind her. Once the door was closed, she activated the eavesdropping countermeasures in her office and connected the call.
"Good day, Judge," she said to her fixer, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Good day to you too, Gemini. I have some work for you and your team. Think you might be interested?"
"Things are pretty busy here. What do you know of the job?"
"New employer. Independent contractor, sounds like Good Samaritan type stuff. Wants to hire people to find a lost family member."
Gemini mulled it over. She has seen these P.I. Style jobs before and they were rarely what they seemed. "What do the others think?"
"Haven't called them yet. Your schedule is always the busiest, so I thought I might talk to you first."
"Can it wait a day? I have deadlines I can't miss over the next 24."
"I think so. I'll talk with Mr. Johnson, but they didn't state a time crunch."
"All right. I'm in if they're willing to accommodate my work schedule."
"I'll let you know if anything changes, but the moment I get details on the meet location, I'll pass it on."
"Perfect. If there's nothing else, I have a conference to prepare for if I want to make this meet with Mr. Johnson."
Judge laughed. "Desk Jockey... all right. Talk again soon, Gemini."
The fixer disconnected and Fiona shelved her runner persona, resuming her corporate self, as she prepared to steal and dismantle a rival company.
Club Penumbra, Seattle – May 23, 2072
Gemini entered the nightclub and studied the interior. The one-time king of the nightlife in Seattle had seen its lustre fade over the years, but for its age, the club still turned out a decent crowd. Some famous DJ stood in a raised booth, overlooking the dance floor, scratching out his own mixes out of popular tunes. The bar poured out real alcohol which attracted the purists to the stools. It was there she spotted the first of her team. Alberich was nursing a beverage as he kept watch over the dance floor for anything suspicious. The red-headed dwarf was perched on a stool, studying the crowd. The broad-shouldered man focused his pale blue eyes on the crowd and when his eyes crossed over Gemini, he nodded and smiled. A healthy dose of paranoia was pretty much par for shadowrunners, but she suspected that his positioning was more an opportunity to enjoy undiluted alcohol.
Moving around the outside of the club, Gemini noted a hole in the crowd and sure enough at the centre was De Madera. The Spaniard was handsome and well dressed. Women were immediately drawn to him and he could charm almost anyone with warm words and a gracious smile. However, his brand of narcissism grated on most within moments, and beneath his friendly exterior dwelled a selfish and cold individual. His powerful connections made his presence in the party a necessary evil for them to operate effectively, so the team had learned to deal with his antics.
Conversely, Astrid was on the dance floor drawing single men in large quantities. She bounced to the music in attire that accented her figure in all the right ways. Her blue eyes sparkled in the lights and her blonde hair flowed freely over her shoulders. She encouraged the men around her to show off, but promised nothing in return. Her skills at seduction were always a careful exercise in psychology. As flirty and attractive as the mage was, there was always a careful play involved. In crowds such as this, attracting lustful men to her side was a way to mask her aura from casual observation by other mages, hiding her magical power amongst the strong emotions of those around her. As much as De Madera disliked mages, Astrid's place in the team was ironclad, as her gifts were in high demand.
As Gemini neared the booth where the meeting was to take place, she saw a woman sitting there. She nervously fidgeted in her seat and seemed to be uncertain whether to go ahead with the meet or leave out of nervousness. Gemini studied her body language, trying to establish whether the nervous exterior was a well-done facade or genuine.
"So, what are we looking at?"
Gemini jumped slightly, as she turned to see X3 standing less than an arm's length away. She hadn't seen the man approach and if she were on the wrong side of the man, she knew that this conversation would never have begun. Dressed in a simple suit, attending a meet was one of the rare times she got to see X3 as someone other than a dangerous assassin. His Filipino features were altered with cybernetic replacements in his eyes and ears, though the bulk of his most dangerous improvements lay hidden beneath the skin. When he wore a suit, he merely looked like a cybered up bodyguard rather than anything more deadly.
"Newbie. Not corp, that's for sure. She's practically vibrating in her chair. I think we have a genuine Jane Doe here."
"How does a civilian hire people like us?
"Empty their savings... whatever she wants, she'll be desperate enough to risk everything. That being said, not being familiar with our line of work outside of what she sees on the trid, she'll offer everything right off the bat. I'll offer her an exit clause so we gain her trust, which will get us some leverage when the job is done."
"Exit clause? Does that mean we might not get paid?" X3 asked, with an arched eyebrow.
"No, we don't work for free, but diminished returns, if we screw up."
The Filipino runner nodded. He was a consummate perfectionist and the idea of failure wouldn't enter his mind.
"I think we've kept her waiting long enough," Gemini said, sending a signal to the assembled team that it was time.
Gemini strode over to the table with a pleasant smile and passive demeanour. X3 stayed close, but stayed back enough to not present an intimidating front. It was required with some employers, but not one who was already terrified. "Good evening, Ms. Johnson. Were you looking to hire my team's services?"
The woman looked up and seemed surprised about Gemini's appearance. A definite sign that all she knew of runners were the image portrayed by popular shows. "Uh...y-yes. Please, have a seat."
Gemini remained on her feet at first as the rest of the team filtered out of the crowd and made their way into the booth. Their potential employer looked from runner to runner and seemed surprised by those gathered. The mages wore nothing that identified themselves as such and only X3 was obviously augmented. Gemini sat down once everyone else had settled in.
She subvocalized to Astrid, "Watch her closely for signs of falsehood."
"Already on it," she said, watching their employer's aura. "Wow, she's nervous... maybe even a little afraid."
"Thought so. But we need to watch for any change in her temperament."
Putting on her best smile, Gemini attempted to make eye contact with their employer. "So, what did you have in mind for us, Ms. Johnson?"
"I, uh..." she said, trying to pull her eyes away from X3. When she pulled herself away from his cybernetics, she locked eyes with Gemini. "I need you find someone. His name is Robbie, er, Robert Monroe. He went missing a couple days ago."
"What relation is he to you?"
"P-pardon?"
"You called him Robbie. That tells me there's some form of personal attachment involved. Knowing how important he is will help us determine how best to treat him when we find him."
"Oh, OK. He's my brother... we talk every couple of days or so. Lately he's been getting distant and now he seems to be gone altogether. He doesn't return my calls and he hasn't been home in a while. I'm getting really worried."
"No deception..." Astrid reported under her breath.
"All right. Now why come to us with this? I'm sure Knight Errant could look into this for you..."
"I've spoken with them, but because my brother is unemployed and in a poorer neighbourhood, they couldn't promise me a swift response. It's not like him to just vanish like this and I'm afraid for him."
Gemini looked to her fellow teammates for signs of concern, but thus far there wasn't any. "Well, I think we can be of service. How much were you willing to offer us?"
"I've pulled together 20,000¥. It's the best I could do..."
Divided five ways, there would be little payment for the team's time. There was a murmur of unease amongst the team about the low profit margin, but it was good for their reputations to take on the occasional 'feel-good' job.
"I'm sure we can work for you, Ms. Johnson. I will also offer you an exit clause. Should we be unable to locate your brother, we'll only take half for our time and compensation for spent resources."
Ms. Johnson smiled and relaxed some. "Thank you so much. I know you can find him..."
"We will do our best, Ms. Johnson. How can we reach you once we've found your brother?"
"You can call me on this number," she said, sending her commcode to Gemini's commlink. "Oh and this is my brother's address. Hopefully that will help."
"I'm sure it will. We will contact you soon, Ms. Johnson. Have a good evening."
Gemini rose from the table and walked toward the exit with the rest of the team following close behind. Finding a quiet corner of the club, she turned to face her teammates. "Thoughts?"
"I think we're doing this work for charity," X3 said. "I've made more walking grannies across the street..."
"She's genuinely distraught," Astrid said. "I think our reputations would benefit from doing this, low pay grade or not."
"It may help our rep, but it could also label us as suckers," Alberich said. "It's a bit of a gamble we're taking here."
"Every job is a gamble," Gemini said. "I spend my 'real life' destroying the lives of Joe and Jane Average in the name of selfish ambition. Every once and while, it's good for the soul to do a good deed."
The team seemed divided. X3, Alberich and De Madera seemed sceptical of the positive effects of taking a low paying job, but Astrid and Gemini were confident that they had made the right choice.
"Well, we're on board now," De Madera said with a shrug. "At this point, I guess we just do the best job we can and hope you're right about this."
The runners nodded. Whether they agreed on principle or not, they were committed and now had to earn their pay.
"Well, if we're doing this, I guess we should check out this guy's home," X3 said. "I'll find a way inside and do some recon."
"I'll go with you. It'll help get the job done sooner," Alberich said.
"I'll get in touch with my contacts," De Madera said. "Find out what I can about the Monroe's and any questionable ties that might justify his disappearance."
"Sounds good," Gemini said. "Astrid can provide overwatch for anything unusual in the astral plane. I'll see about securing us some extra funds to cover our investigations. Everyone keep your comms open so we all remain current on the situation. Let's go."