MISSION 02: The Jiaguwen Sterilisation

[Faanku]

"Somewhere in a second-rate corporate facility here in Rason City, an operative is waiting. This operative - our operative - is waiting because they fucked up. Normally we pay people like this to be... disposable, but this time we can't ignore it. We need you to haul our operative out of the fire – and undo his fuck up – before the corporate extraction team arrives. You have a limited window for action. We're prepared to pay accordingly."

The Johnson, who introduced himself as Mr Wen, awaits your answer from the other side of a video feed, the silver streaks in his hair and precise creases around his eyes cultivated to convey a look of experience. None of you had ever seen the man's face before until the moment it appeared on the monitor, the four of you seated inside the backroom of the Kow Shun Fishery, one of the myriad secluded establishments where your kind of deniable business is conducted on a daily basis. The call came from your fixer less than an hour ago, short and sweet; high paying job, get here quick; and so you rushed to the riverside location as fast as you could.

"Ask your questions, but I advise you not to waste time."

Someone make the Get the Job move to start us off!

[StephenTarheel]

Sung-Ho leans forward, corporations acting out of character is always a good sign of something interesting. Of course, interesting can mean lots of views and street cred, or someone trying to kill you. At least during the war people had the curtesy to wear uniforms.

Get the job:
[2d6]+2

[2d6+2]=5+2=7

Useful Intel "If time is of the essence, I'm sure you can be more forthcoming about what's going on and how your operative fucked up"

[Faanku]

• When you accept the job, mark experience.
• When you enter the Jiaguwen facility, mark experience.
• When you recover the operative, mark experience.
• When you sabotage the system, mark experience.
• When the mission ends, mark experience.

Mr Lee nods, seemingly expecting the line of your inquiries. He explains that his operative was meant to infiltrate the main server room of the Jiaguwen Group, a rising star in the field of cybernetic optics who opened a branch in Rason City recently, and perform a task. Shortly after approaching the facility, contact with the operative was lost and he has missed numerous check-ins with Mr Lee, so there is no doubt that he has been compromised. To assist you in locating and retrieving the operative, Mr Lee forwards a recent 3D holo-shot of the man, as well as his name; one of you recognises the face, and this could mean unforeseen trouble.

The following questions are for you to answer in character:

Mr Lee explains to Sung-ho the operative's mission.
- What was the operative supposed to do when he reached the Jiaguwen servers?
- Did he get there?
- What DID he do?

One of the remaining three PCs knows the operative.
- In what capacity do they know the operative?
- Who does the operative work for?
- How does this complicate the mission for the team?

The Johnson then draws your attention to a hidden lock-box in the room you're in, mag-sealed with a remote access code. Once you discover it Mr Lee disables the lock and asks you to look inside, wherein you discover a slottable program chip. "I believe this would be of most interest to you, Mr Dokkaebi. It is a sophisticated attack program that shall assist you in breaking in to the Jiaguwen facility, as well as a virus to sabotage their computer systems."

While running the supplied attack program in a cyberdeck, you take +1 forward to login to a Jiaguwen server. This bonus applies whether you are attempting to login remotely or from within the facility.

Finally, Mr Lee laments that he doesn't know the exact location of the Jiaguwen facility. "Our operative held that information close to his chest, a decision which has clearly come back to bite him."
Having answered all of your questions, Mr Lee provides you with a number to contact him on once you have completed your mission and then terminates the connection, but not before reminding you again that time is a pressing factor. The team has three tasks ahead of them; find the Jiaguwen facility, rescue the operative, and run Lee's attack program to sabotage their systems.

What do you do?

OK, you got the job successfully and we are now in the Legwork Phase. This is where you gather intel via research and liaising with your various contacts to formulate a plan of attack before going into the Action Phase to execute it. Before that though, everyone needs to stake their cred (page 127). The base multiplier for this job is x3 instead of the baseline x2; Lee really wants this done fast. Make a post in OOC saying how much you're putting up and I'll update the clocks.

[Enoch]

I'm perfectly happy if Salome or Fool wants to take the question of how we know the operative, etc., particularly since Dokkaebi is getting that chip. Otherwise, I can answer those.

I think I'll stake 2 cred; Dokkaebi is all about making those credits in that post-Communist free-market world, but this is a new crew for him, and he hasn't worked with them all together before.

[StephenTarheel]

- What was the operative supposed to do when he reached the Jiaguwen servers?
He was to download the manufacturing control documents for producing the Yerihan Nun (Sharp Eye) cybernetic replacement and then alter the manufacturing tolerances.
- Did he get there?
Yes.
- What DID he do?

Downloaded and encrypted the untainted files, edited the tolerances and then turned himself into Jiaguwen to negotiate a large pay day for himself, in exchange for the unblemished files.

[Marisu]

Fool clasps her hands over her lap as she keeps an ear out for the details. The overwhelming smell of the fishery makes her feel a little nostalgic, thinking about her school days before she drafted. Before the war, before it all broke down, she knew a modest son of a fisher.

Fool thinks to whether or not she's heard of the Jiaguwen Group's headquarters when the holo-shot comes up. At once her heart skips, the display's scrolling slows to a glacial movement as it spells out the name to the face. It had been years, so many years from a time she'd turned her back on, and those years must have sanded down the kind smile from his lips and eyes, silvered his hair. Still she knew him all the same. Once Mr. Lee's visual winked out of existence, she could only utter a disbelieving, "That... dumbass."

- In what capacity do they know the operative?
Fool would know him as Chung-Hee Yi, but he works under the name Seung. He is her husband, though they separated years ago.
- Who does the operative work for?
He worked for the Blue Lotus in the past, having helped Fool keep her ware after the war.
- How does this complicate the mission for the team?
It turns out, he could spill the names for a lot of Blue Lotus members. Maybe not the leaders, but enough to tamper with their ops in the near future if the authorities got to him.

[thenewflesh]

A leather-clad Salome stands by the group. Her metal arm hangs limply by her side, unused. "He seems familiar," she muses. "I think he spoke to Father once."

"Does anybody know where this facility is?"

I'll also stake 3. I assume we lost the staked cred during the last mission?

[Marisu]

Fool shakes her head. "Yeah I'm not surprised he's ringing a bell for ya. He's got his hands in Blue Lotus biz... As for the facility, haven't heard of it. Though I know someone who might." Her pupil dials rapidly as she reads through her contact list and brings up a name and holo-shot for the benefit of the group. "Goes by Cormorant, technician for GridGuide. I hate working with the bastard, but this is... it's not the time to let personal grudges get in the way." She tugs at her gloves a little nervously, her carefree demeanor falling a little.

[Enoch]

Dokkaebi tugs open the heavy refrigerator door and pulls out a can of Krashi-kola. The soda pops and fizzes as he thumbs it open and says "No idea where the facility is, but I'm sure there's gotta be something on the Matrix. If we can find their network, I might be able to get some internal info, too. Floorplans, messages, that sort of thing."

The hacker double-taps his temple and jacks into the Matrix, then begins sifting through the closest public-records node on the Matrix for information on the Jiaguwen Group.

I assume if we don't know where the facility is, we also don't know how to reach their Matrix node either.
What's our campaign ID, so I can link to the dice roller?

[Faanku]

Correct, but that's what the legwork phase is for. Research is probably your first port of call, unless you wish to Declare a Contact which everyone can do once per mission.
Campaign ID is 880.

[Enoch]

Thanks! Was planning a Research roll to look for that info.

Research [2d6+1]=5+1=6
Oof. I guess my question would be "Where would I find the Jiaguwen Matrix node?"

[Faanku]

Oof. I guess my question would be "Where would I find the Jiaguwen Matrix node?"

Continuing the game's tradition of great first rolls! I'll wait for Stephen to stake his cred so I know where the Clocks start at.
In the mean time, how is Dokkaebi searching for this info? Where is he when he does so? The more fluff you give to your Moves the easier it is to weave their results into the story.

[Enoch]

Dokkaebi takes his soda and bounces down the steps out of Seoul Con Carne, smiling at the line of customers already waiting, and slips behind the truck. He grabs an old, aluminum-framed lawn chair that leans against the back of the truck and opens it next to the propane tank, settling in and flipping on his deck.

A moment later, he's browsing ICANN records, looking for suspicious global DNS records and running queries against industry news nodes and setting alerts for any mention of "Jiaguwen" or recent developments in cybernetic optics. I doubt anyone is watching that carefully for people looking for Jiaguwen...

[Faanku]

Dokkaebi's trawling for information about Jiaguwen reveals nothing about the location of their facility, though he does find some interesting recent news about the Group; they were in court last month, sued for allegedly selling faulty optics. The case may have had some public attention, but more than likely was buried under the daily deluge of celebrity gossip and corporate advertisements.

Jiaguwen was recently sued for selling faulty optics.
- Did they win, lose or settle?
- Were they at fault or were they set up?

No sooner has Dokkaebi finished reading an opinion piece on the court case than a tone alerts him to a new message, one that makes the hacker sigh.

Code: Select all

it has been a while, my nemesis
the game shall soon be on
- zer0

Kyeong-Cham's self-styled rival and internet stalker, who always seems to crop up at the worst possible time, has cropped up at the worst possible time. Hopefully they won't attempt anything until the job is over...

For missing your move, zer0 is now a Threat Clock! I'll leave your exact history with the anonymous hacker open, but future misses may advance their clock and cause them to interfere with Dokkaebi's online persona.

What do you do?

[thenewflesh]

Salome walks to the bike, adjusts her helmet, hops on. It races down the streets with the speed and quiet of a hunter, to Hyun Shik, a Blue Lotus member and digital librarian of political and cyberintelligence esoterica, a connoisseur of staggeringly dull things. He and Salome have never worked together, but they've had lunch a few times. He works in a coffin apartment, rented out under the pseudonym of Sung Hye-rin.

Salome knocks on the coffin doors. Hyun greets her bleary-eyed, a laptop making dinging sounds behind him.

"Hello," Salome opens. "Good to see you again. I've a big job and need your help. Can I come in?"


They sit in the cramped coffin, and she tells him about the operative and the facility.

"What can you tell me about them?"

[Enoch]

Dokkaebi's trawling for information about Jiaguwen reveals nothing about the location of their facility, though he does find some interesting recent news about the Group; they were in court last month, sued for allegedly selling faulty optics. The case may have had some public attention, but more than likely was buried under the daily deluge of celebrity gossip and corporate advertisements.

Jiaguwen was recently sued for selling faulty optics.
- Did they win, lose or settle?
- Were they at fault or were they set up?

No sooner has Dokkaebi finished reading an opinion piece on the court case than a tone alerts him to a new message, one that makes the hacker sigh.

Code: Select all

it has been a while, my nemesis
the game shall soon be on
- zer0

Kyeong-Cham's self-styled rival and internet stalker, who always seems to crop up at the worst possible time, has cropped up at the worst possible time. Hopefully they won't attempt anything until the job is over...

For missing your move, zer0 is now a Threat Clock! I'll leave your exact history with the anonymous hacker open, but future misses may advance their clock and cause them to interfere with Dokkaebi's online persona.

What do you do?

Jiaguwen lost, but they're appealing the verdict. They were definitely at fault (internal memos show they knew about the issues before shipping), but they've got the resources to (potentially) make it go away.

Dokkaebi messages back:

Code: Select all

Zer0, did I ever tell you how much I like your handle?  Cuz you got zer0 cred, and I lose zer0 sleep over you.

Besides, you are *not* my nemesis.  I don't have time for every dick with a deck.

He's totally my nemesis.

[Faanku]

Hyun Suk eagerly invites Salome in, either glad to see her or just happy for company. Sitting Salome on a small stool, he rambles on about the exciting developments and random factoids he's discovered in the Matrix these past few weeks before the killer finally gets a word in edgeways, directing his monologue towards the Jiaguwen Group. "Oh yes, very interesting case that one. There were documents that showed Jiaguwen knew all about the lower polymer count in the lenses, but the evidence was lost before being officially submitted; par for the course, or par for the corps, perhaps, haha. Still, the judge ruled against them based on witness testimony claiming to have seen these documents, which cause quite the furore. Jiaguwen are appealing, naturally, but the whispers are the decision came from above and that this was all orchestrated. But what isn't these days, eh?"

The people who made sure Jiaguwen lost this court case:
- Who are they?
- Which corp are they linked to, if any?
- Who currently owns Jiaguwen?

Massive success, 10+ means you get all your information for free and immediately, as well as a little something extra.
Does Salome recieve [intel] or [gear] from Hyun Suk?

What do you do?

[Enoch]

I have other ideas for legwork, but I'd like to let others have a chance to jump in before I post anything.

[StephenTarheel]

Sung-ho taps his knee and begins searching his database. Long ago he'd given up the idea of impartiality. It wasn't, always, his choice to influence the winners and losers, but here...he had no trouble making sure that Jiaguwen lost. There are plenty of reasons for that. Mainly that the idea of "corporate responsibility" was an oxymoron. It wasn't the first time he'd worked to find information on Jiaguwen. Looking for a server location wasn't what Sung-ho usually looked for, but he had searched for property records and holding companies, perhaps therein he'd find the answer.

Question: Do I know a location that could contain the server: low foot traffic, high security, ect.

[This is a Research test]

[2d6+1]=7+1=8

so we get a location and an intel?

[Faanku]

so we get a location and an intel?

I assume this was a Research Move? If so you can ask "Where would I find the Jiaguwen Facility?" and also take an [intel].
I can't see your roll in the campaign list though, did you add your character properly?