Runner Quest #2

>You are an elven Adept/Decker with the street name Mercurio, real name Aeodhann Conroy, alias Alan Airgrid.
>With a tumultuous history in the Elven nation of Tir Tairngire and former membership in the Elven terrorist group known as the Rinelle ke'Tesrae as part of your past, you were quite happy to put your past behind you and make your living quietly as a shadowrunner in the Seattle Metroplex for the last decade.
>But ten years isn't so long for an elf, and you were recently confronted by an elven shadowrunner named Rook, the son of Prince Evan Parris of Tir Tairngire, a former black ops expert turned powerful politician and one of the rulers of a modern and "liberated" Tir Tairngire that still struggles under an uneven class system and racism towards non-elven metahumans.
>Much to your surprise the young runner offered you (unofficially on behalf of his father) a most unusual job; finding and aiding in the assassination of Lugh Surehand, exiled leader of your former homeland.

>Naturally, you were discussing price.

>>1116392
>>Previous Thread
you ahould archive that on suptg

"Seriously?" Rook says after you ask for five times the going rate for an assassination job. "What else could you possibly WANT?"

>Check All That Apply
>[ ] "Complete and total immunity for my supposed crimes in Tir Tairngire."
>[ ] "All the information you AND the Information Secretariat have on the modern Rinelle ke'Tesrae."
>[ ] "A fully equipped Fairlight Excalibur, unmarked and built to my specifications."

>Immunity for crimes.

>>1116407
>[ ] "Complete and total immunity for my supposed crimes in Tir Tairngire."
>[ ] "All the information you AND the Information Secretariat have on the modern Rinelle ke'Tesrae."
Emphasis on the first if we cannot get both. As tasty as the Fairlight Excalibur can be, I'm sure we have other means of procuring one; I don't expect this schmuck to have one.

>>1116429
>I'm sure we have other means of procuring one; I don't expect this schmuck to have one.

He doesn't have 50k either.
His dad is footing the bill, hence your exorbitant asking price.

>>1116446
Either way, political and information favors can be gathered now; a material favor can be earned whenever.

>>1116407
>[ ] "Complete and total immunity for my supposed crimes in Tir Tairngire."
>[ ] "All the information you AND the Information Secretariat have on the modern Rinelle ke'Tesrae."

I would trust any deck they built even if we did watch them build it

>>1116450
To be clear, a Fairlight Excalibur is *the* top-flight cyberdeck to have a retail price posted for it. Most anything beyond it would get into bleeding-edge-prototype territory.

>>1116407
>[ ] "Complete and total immunity for my supposed crimes in Tir Tairngire."
>[ ] "All the information you AND the Information Secretariat have on the modern Rinelle ke'Tesrae."

>>1116407
>>[ ] "Complete and total immunity for my supposed crimes in Tir Tairngire."
>>[ ] "All the information you AND the Information Secretariat have on the modern Rinelle ke'Tesrae."


I don't ask for the last one because he is already bitching about 50k, I don't think he has or has the authority to give us something that expensive

>>1116446
>>1116576

Ypu know what?

ask for everything, this guy doesn't know a thing about negotiating and he seems pretty desperate to have the trouble to come after us, the first 2 are easy and free fopr him, the last one is the real jackpot.

throw it out there and see what's his reaction
changing from>>1116576 to this:

>[ x] "Complete and total immunity for my supposed crimes in Tir Tairngire."
>[ x] "All the information you AND the Information Secretariat have on the modern Rinelle ke'Tesrae."
>[ x] "A fully equipped Fairlight Excalibur, unmarked and built to my specifications."

>[] Immunity

>>1116407
>[x] "Complete and total immunity for my supposed crimes in Tir Tairngire."
>[x] "All the information you AND the Information Secretariat have on the modern Rinelle ke'Tesrae."
if we can, go for
>[x] "A fully equipped Fairlight Excalibur, unmarked and built to my specifications."

>>1116587

The trouble isn't if he can afford it, I just wouldn't trust any deck that they built to not have something in there they can use later, it would be stupid of them not to try

>>1116712
and stupid of us not to check.

we are just the right amount of arrogant to ask for it in my opinion

>>1116429, >>1116450, >>1116480, >>1116576, >>1116672, >>1116587
"Firstly, I'd like complete immunity for my theoretical crimes as Aeodhann Conroy," you demand.
"The Zincan Act allowed any Rinelle ke'Tesrae who came in officially total immunity!" Rook protested. "If you wanted immunity why did you leave Tir Tairngire?"
"I'd get immunity from the LAW, not my former comrades, or the Black Sun, or even your own guys like the Paladins of the Great Hunt who go around killing people who disagree with your elven supremacy crap. That's not immunity, that's making myself public and painting a target on my back. No thanks. I'd like ACTUAL immunity, in person, from the Tir Princes. Your dad specifically, since people know not to fuck with him. The kind of immunity a Made Man in the Mafia has."
Rook looks flabbergasted and frustrated as you speak. "Any other outrageous demands you got while you're pulling them out of your ass?!"
"Yeah. All of the information the Secretariat has on the existing opetations and membership of the Rinelle ke'Tesrae."
"WHAT?!"
"And a Fairlight Excalibur," you say as if it was an afterthought.

Rook fumes quietly, taking out his commlink and dialing. "I'll have to make a call. Go mind your own damn business while I do so."

"Gladly," you say with a nod.
You admit, you're curious to see exactly HOW badly they want and need your help. You were driving the price so high partially to see if they eventually would just give up on hiring you and so you could have a legitimate excuse to ignore it.

<"Merc. It's 'Jack. I'm outside the Daisy Chain. Need me to head in and back you up?"> comes a subvocal link over an AR window as you get up and give Rook privacy.

>[Yes] "Get in here. Stay incognito."
>[No] "Stay outside. Keep an eye on the place."

>>1116776
>"Stay outside. Keep an eye on the place."

>>1116776

Get in but stay away, i'm on the bar next to sting and an elf ass

>>1116776
>[No] "Stay outside. Keep an eye on the place."

Talking to a Johnson, I'll fill you in in person

>>1116776
>[No] "Stay outside. Keep an eye on the place."

>>1116776
>[No]

Although I feel like all these demands we're making might backfire and we should expect some kind of trouble, double cross, or to get denied at least one of them.

>>1116941
He should've known what to expect when he asked us to kill a (former) big cheese among the elves.

>>1116796, >>1116832, >>1116863, >>1116941
<"Hang back and keep an eye on things,"> you subvocalize back. <"There's nothing going down yet and you'll definitely attract attention. If stuff goes down, get in here and start picking targets.">
<"Copy that. Watch your back.">
<"Rule Number One, omae,"> you reassure, and see Rook motioning over to you.

You walk back and sit across from him.

"I can get you the ¥50k and the immunity," he says, sounding somehow....diminished. Admonished.
You were right. Daddy issues.

"Good luck then," you say making a show of getting up and leaving.
"Wait! I can't pay you with information on the Rinelles! There's too much I'd have to go through to even get close to getting it, and if it ever got back to me then all my contacts there would burn up!" he protests firmly, trying to be reasonable.
"So sweeten the pot some other way Rook, you're not exactly asking me to walk down to the Stuffer Shack and get you some chips," you say with a shrug, looking unconcerned.
"The cyberdeck! I can get you the cyberdeck," he says, holding his hands open like someone bargaining with his last chip in reserve. "I don't have it with me but I can get one delivered. It won't be built but you can customize it to your specifications without problems!"

You pause and think on it.
"Okay, fine. Not what I really wanted, but it'll do. You have a deal, Sir," you say with a nod.

That whole thing was a show anyway; all you REALLY wanted was the money and the deck.
Any information on the Rinelle ke'Tesrae that Evan Parris (and thus Rook had) would be limited to the Black Sun cells he had ties with, not the entire thing.
The immunity would be easy for them to grant you; it's an empty promise they can do nothing to actually enforce and would magically erase the knowledge of your crimes or the desire for retribution they caused, so getting it would be the same as not having it at all.
This was about ensuring the money would be paid and getting the cyberdeck; the money itself is plenty useful, but the deck is a massive upgrade in operating power for you. In addition, the REAL benefit is that to get a Fairlight on short notice they'd HAVE to grab it from Tir's NetWatch, which means you'll suddenly have a deck that's NetWatch-encoded and thus would be hardwired with Tir Grid access protocols.
You could in theory get into any system in the Tir Grid as if you were NetWatch authority using that particular Fairlight. You'd have to do so sparingly because your issue of NetWatch authority would be logged and tagged by NetWatch's computers every time you did it, but it's damn near a back door to every civilian system in Tir Tairngire and access to a LOT of government ones too.

Good thing Rook doesn't know a damn thing about decking. Magic-focused guys always overlook the technical solutions.

>[Surehand] "So tell me how you know Surehand is in Seattle?"
>[Oppositon] "What kinda security are we talking about?"
>[Info] "How did you get the tipoff?"

>>1117123
>>[Info] "How did you get the tipoff?"

>>1117123
>[Info] "How did you get the tipoff?"

>>1117123
>[Info] "How did you get the tipoff?"

>>1117123
>[Oppositon] "What kinda security are we talking about?"

>>1117123
>>[Surehand] "So tell me how you know Surehand is in Seattle?"
>>[Info] "How did you get the tipoff?"

Mercurio when he gets his Excalibur
https://youtu.be/AUANVrNwYyQ

>>1117123
>[Opposition]
Any big names we should be aware of? How many White Banners are with him at all times? Favoured loadouts, perimeter guards etc.

Everything you know and then some

>>1117123
>[Surehand] "So tell me how you know Surehand is in Seattle?"

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>>1117153, >>1117156, >>1117167
"So who tipped you off?" you ask firstly.
"What makes you think there WAS a tipoff?" Rook wonders. He mostly seems curious as to your train of thought.
"Surehand's been in the wind for nearly a decade. If you'd found him directly with your own guys you have drawn up every single free Ghost you could find and hit him yourself. Which means you got a tipoff and you need someone like me to do the rest of the legwork to hunt him down," you explain.
Rook pours himself a drink and offers to pour you one. You decide to give him a break and accept it politely; you've pushed his buttons and messed with him enough for now. With the deal now made you work for him until the job is over, period.
"I have constants in the Laesa. One of them saw a close affiliate of Surehand in the city, Alexander Tintagel, a former Captain in the Ghosts who is one of Surehand's Paladin's," he explains.
You the (real) alcohol and dub it pretty good, but make no expression to admit it as such to him. The Laesa are a new syndicate in Seattle that's only about five or six years old, with most of it's strength in the Puyallup district area of Tarislar, which is full of Tir expats and refugees. The Ancients and the Laesa do NOT get along as they are competing for the same base of influence. The only reason more gun battles don't break out is because the Laesa don't have as many gunmen as the Ancients do.

Playing both sides for info; dangerous game. Rook may be a kid but he's either confident or stupid.

"You get any independent confirmation aside from the one guy? Tintagel may just be in the 'Plex working some kind of angle for his boss, not actually here WITH him," you point out.
"We do," Rook says with a nod. "A different informant, but one who gives reliable info, though sporadic. The informant is likely an agent of someone else who wants Surehand dead or has some kind of vendetta against him."
"This guy got a name?"
"Not that I know of. Goes by the handle 'the Laughing Man'. I hear he used to frequent the Shadowland darknet. Heard of him?"
"No," you admit. You wonder if he's talking about the legendary decker, The Smiling Bandit. International elven espionage doesn't fit his MO though, so you think not. Probably not important anyway.

"So you can track Surehand down?" he asks.
"Now that I know to look for him, I can find him. Even if his digital footprint is nonexistent, he's riding deep with ex-Ghost commandos. They ARE leaving some kind of trail, which means they can be found, which means I can find them."

>[Backup] "Mind if I bring other runners in on this? Reliable ones only of course."
>[Response] "And if I find him, what then? No offense, but just myself against a powerful mage that every agency on the continent has tried to kill seems like a one-sided fight."
>[Opposition] "So how many commandos do you think he still has with him?"

>>1118998
>[Opposition] "So how many commandos do you think he still has with him?"
>[Backup] "Mind if I bring other runners in on this? Reliable ones only of course."

>>1119103
supporting

>>1118998
>[Opposition] "So how many commandos do you think he still has with him?"
Keep our friends secret as an ace in the hole in case this is all an elaborate setup for a trap.

>>1118998
>[Opposition] "So how many commandos do you think he still has with him?"
>[Backup] "Mind if I bring other runners in on this? Reliable ones only of course."

>>1118998
>[Opposition] "So how many commandos do you think he still has with him?"
>[Response] "And if I find him, what then? No offense, but just myself against a powerful mage that every agency on the continent has tried to kill seems like a one-sided fight."

>>1118998
>[Opposition] "So how many commandos do you think he still has with him?"
>[Backup] "Mind if I bring other runners in on this? Reliable ones only of course."

>>1119103
+1

>>1119103, >>1119143, >>1119416, >>1119968, >>1120340
"So do we have any idea how many ex-Ghost trooper commandos are with him? That's kind of going to be a key deciding factor in how easy this is going to be," you ask.
Rook shakes his head.
"No, not an exact number. But there can't be THAT many. There's a standing order from the Council to capture or kill any rogue Ghost unit members, regardless if they left with Surehand or not. We've been picking off his followers bit by bit over the years, and their numbers are dwindling."
"So he won't have much backup then?"
"No he'll have some, just not many Ghosts. He's been gathering support among the Laesa and recently drawing from the Mistish Farahd from home to Seattle for something. It's another reason we found him."
"Fuck," you swear in annoyance. The Laesa are pretty well dug-in, being former Rinelle ke'Tesrae members who were still criminally inclined after the removal of Surehand. They have resources but rely more on negotiation and treaty-brokering then leg-breaking. The Mistish Farahd, "the Great Hunt" is another matter. They're a social "club" from Tir of volunteer militia drawn up by Erhan the Scribe when he was part of the Council, blatant elven supremacists like their idol was.
Unlike your usual volunteer militia they were almost all noblemen, with enough money to get augmented to the gills and enough well-nurtured magical talent to be a problem, especially since they likely didn't opt out of Tir's mandatory military service just so they could get guns and training. To make matters worse, they were all Paladins on top of it, sworn to their goals.
They kinda remind you feudal knights in history books; noblemen with individual combat training and individually funded resources drawn up at command of a higher noblemen and swearing to some ideal that they usually just use as an excuse to go out and kill people and party, but with violence.
You're betting a lot of them have links of are members of the Black Sun.

"What about other runners? This might not be a one-man job," you ask.
"Up to you, as long as they can keep their mouths shut about who they work for. You're splitting the fee between yourselves though, that's non-negotiable," he says with a shrug.

<"Merc," Halfjack's voice comes in over your AR link.
<"What?"> you subvocalize back.
<"We've got some activity out here. Elves with gear shooing people off. Not wearing Ancients colors either. No idea who they are. They look ready to start some shit or start an ambush.">
<"Fuck. Gear up and get ready to do some damage, but not until I say so.">

>[Warn Rook] "There's an armed group of elves outside taking positions."
>[Make Your Escape] "I'll get to work right now. I'll be in touch with updates."
>[Wait For Them to Act]

>>1120685
>[Warn Rook] "There's an armed group of elves outside taking positions."
These the Laesa friends you're talking about?

>>1120695
>[Warn Rook] "There's an armed group of elves outside taking positions."

If these are some of yours now is the time to bring it up

>>1120695
>[Warn Rook] "There's an armed group of elves outside taking positions."

>>1120695
>[Warn Rook]

>>1120695
>[Warn Rook] "There's an armed group of elves outside taking positions."
Personal feelings aside, he's our client now.

>>1120695
>>[Warn Rook] "There's an armed group of elves outside taking positions."

Apologies on the slow posting today.
Taking care of multiple sick roommates.

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"Rook, we've got trouble," you say suddenly, reaching under your armor jacket's threads and discreetly taking out your Telestrian Falcon-2 from it's concealed holster, covering the nickel-plating with your hand and doing a manual brass-check as you activate your smartlink. The smartlink counts ammo for you, but your Peace Force training always told you to check manually in case there's a glitch in the software.

"What?" he says, caught off-guard by your sudden tonal shift.
"A group of armed elves outside taking positions. Not wearing Ancients colors either. Someone must have tipped off someone else that you're here."
"How do you-"
"I had backup waiting outside in face you tried to scree me over. We need to get out of here now, if they decide to just throw their weight around the Ancients might start shooting the place up when the new guys get inside and then our survival rate drops dramatically."

>[Reinforce Daisy Chain] "Can you get backup from the Ancients, let them know shit is about to go down?"
>[Escape] "Is there a back way out of this place?"

>>1123765
>[Reinforce Daisy Chain] "Can you get backup from the Ancients, let them know shit is about to go down?"

>>1123765
>>[Escape] "Is there a back way out of this place?"

we can't compromise our involvement

>>1123765
>[Reinforce Daisy Chain] "Can you get backup from the Ancients, let them know shit is about to go down?"

>>1123765
>\>[Escape] "Is there a back way out of this place?"

>>1123765
>>[Escape] "Is there a back way out of this place?"

>>1123765
>[Escape]

Baby come back :(