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02:06, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Sleep Well in Seattle.

Posted by GMFor group 0
GM
GM, 58 posts
Mon 19 Jul 2021
at 07:54
  • msg #1

Sleep Well in Seattle

Most times life in the shadows is a bitch, like when a run gets hosed and the drek hits the fan. Holed up in some a fraggin' squat running outta friends and nuyen at about the same pace while that corp you were trying to screw over is hunting you down. Whatever sprawl, in whatever drekhole country, the shadows are the same. Occasionally though, life pays you back for all the bad mojo it puts you through and you get a way out. A second opportunity if you like.

This is the position you find yourselves in. After the end of a bad run you are holed up, trying to avoid the heat, when the call comes in from a contact on your increasingly short list of friends. The conversation goes something like this:

"Hey chummer, I hear you need to skip?"

"Well, I got something for ya. Johnson in Seattle is looking for assets for a run. Word on the street is that he's looking for out-of-town talent because of the fragged up situation in the Emerald City right now."

"What? You ain't seen the news? There's whole lotta drek going on right now, you should check it out."

"Alright, alright. I know you been keeping you head down. Anyway Johnson is offering you a vacation to Seattle if you're interested. The offer is a week in Seattle, all expenses paid, at the Pan Pacific Hotel and flight on the next sub-orbital. Johnson will even supply a burner SIN if you need it to get on the flight."

"No, I ain't got intel on the run. I'm sure it's drek, but Seattle's supposed to be nice this time of year and the Sonics are playing crazy right now. So, you in?"
Glamnarok
player, 20 posts
Mon 19 Jul 2021
at 16:16
  • msg #2

Sleep Well in Seattle

"Thanks Cherry, sounds perfect."

"Yeah, some hunters sniffin aroun for a 'Taur an I 'match the profile'. Hah, you know it, 'dark hair, short for a troll, bull horns', all us bulls fit that descript."

"Damn straight, any scoops an you're the first rag I-"

"Hey now, you know I mean 'rag' in the most egregious sense."

"Egregious is so a descriptive...  adjective even."

"Ohhh, well both the ancient an the newer meanin at the same time!  Pbbbbbt.  But yeah, your first for anythin I excavate."

"Right, gotta pounce if I'm gonna catch the 'Hound.  Thanks again Cherry."

Tu Bahd
player, 20 posts
Female Human
Adept Marksman
Mon 19 Jul 2021
at 17:13
  • msg #3

Sleep Well in Seattle

"Hey chummer, I hear you need to skip?"

"Some drek like zhat."

Tu Bahd kept walking. Head down, body tucked beneath an amalgamation of fabric that made up a cloak. There was nothing she needed more right now than to stand out in The Throat. This particular section of Cairo's slums were notoriously...unkind. She stuck close to the outskirts as she kept on the move, trusting that her call's connection would be less likely to be observed as one of interest on the matrix. She hadn't checked in with her family for hours; they had to know the job went awry. They would be disappointed.

"Well, I got something for ya. Johnson in Seattle is looking for assets for a run. Word on the street is that he's looking for out-of-town talent because of the fragged up situation in the Emerald City right now."

"Vwhat do jy-"

Tu Bahd lowered her voice at the sound of sirens in the background.

"Vwhat do jyou mean? Ze fuck eez..eez zhis some state-side drek?"

"What? You ain't seen the news? There's whole lotta drek going on right now, you should check it out."

"I vwould love to check eet out," Tu Bahd said, "eef I had...say...ze time to do so."

Tu Bahd tucked down in an alley that, for now, was all her own. She was tired, she was hungry, she was low on bullets. Right now, bullets were worth more than a hot meal or cash. Across the street, there was a cab idling as the driver helped a couple of suits step out the back.

"Alright, alright. I know you been keeping you head down."

"Yes." Tu Bahd studied the scene, squinting her eyes. "Something like zhat."

"Anyway Johnson is offering you a vacation to Seattle if you're interested."

She listened as he spoke, already reloading her gun, manually at that. Everything needed to stay as off the grid as possible right now. Especially considering what she thought she would do next.

"Johnson will even supply a burner SIN if you need it to get on the flight."

"Vwell, could use zhat burner as fast as possible, amigo..." *Click* went the clip. "Vwhat is ze int-?"

"No, I ain't got intel on the run. I'm sure it's drek," "Drek eez right." "but Seattle's supposed to be nice this time of year and the Sonics are playing crazy right now. So, you in?"

Tu Bahd cared little for sports right now. Skipping town, skipping countries, would surely earn her family's ire. There were missions still in there queue, and their services were growing with every passing politician. Of course, they would still understand the need for her to get out of her jam; the Inotoba would take even less kindly to Tu Bahd bringing 'bad boyfriends' home with her.

"I'm een." Tu Bahd was already on her toes now, cloak taut about her body with one hand, Baby Girl loaded in the other, "Just get me zhat burner. Now."

Three minutes later, she was driving the cab car, manually at that. The highway was a stretch that circumvented the Throat, Doxxes, and Vileeyes slums that took her closer to the tamer heart of the city. Bloodless bullet holes lined the dash, quickly filled with smoke from what she hoped was a stray cigarette in the cup holder. She knew her moment of reprieve would be short lived; she'd have to dump the car miles away from the airport, but it was better than walking.

He'd said Seattle was nice this time of year. Hopefully it was, she could do with a little less heat in more ways than one.
FreeMason
player, 23 posts
Tue 20 Jul 2021
at 01:30
  • msg #4

Sleep Well in Seattle

Mason was busy running a Tag Eraser over a few purchases in his latest bolt hole. His current SIN didn't need to be linked to anything that, while legal, may be put to questionable use. The Merseysprawl dive and the possessions that would fit in a single box and backpack were a significant step down from what he was accustomed to. Since his parting from the company, Mason had heard some of the local idealists rail against the status quo. However, there was a lot to be said for regular, sometimes real food, constant power, a roof that didn't leak and numerous other "luxuries".

Hoping to buy himself some time before having to move on, Mason was preparing to ward the tiny dwelling when an ARO told him there was an incoming voice message from an unknown number. Not exactly uncommon in this profession. An accompanying message claimed that it was Delilah, the elf fixer who'd taken a leap of faith in order to add a full mage to her virtual rolodex. The Fixer got straight to the point, probably still pissed off at not being able to make use of him right now. Like he'd known the warehouse had belonged to a Pyramid Arcane Supplies European subsidiary. "Not a social call. A friend of a friend has work, abroad. With your last stunt, I think it'd be best for you to accept, fast." Another ARO told him another voice message had been sent from the same number. Mason listened to the second message then replied to Delilah via text only I'm in. Help with travel arrangements would be appreciated. He was sure that next time he heard from Delilah, it would be by a different comm-code.

With that, "John Smith" began making arrangements for Mason's operations Gear to be shipped to the Pan-Pacific in Seattle. With any luck, Masons trail would dead-end here.
Xaays
player, 25 posts
Tue 20 Jul 2021
at 05:25
  • msg #5

Sleep Well in Seattle

Xáays is annoyed. He's stuck in this bolt hole and he has mostly himself to blame, which is decidedly bad for his already-bruised ego. The run had been sponsored by Gaeatronics (he thinks) against Aztechnology (he knows). He had infiltrated the black-tie party and slipped away to attach the transmitter to the offline host, as instructed, but the exfiltration was a big mess. "Walking right out the front door" was a bit too obvious in retrospect, which lead to an explosion, a chase, punching some cybernetically guard dogs that were chasing him, the usual. Now he was stuck in this squat that was somewhere in between a jail cell and a halfway house.

He'd been in worse boltholes. There was that week he had spent in a shipping container without light, without electricity, and without Matrix access. THAT was a long week without running water, and only a chemical toilet to keep himself company. He looked a wreck when he emerged, my God. Nevertheless, it was excellent training in the concept of carronasto, which is to say non-motion, or stillness. For a physical creature such as Xáays, ar'laana ("the wait") had been character-building. Or so his father would say.

Xáays current hole doesn't smell good, the water is rusty brown, and the landlord is ugly, but at least it has some daylight and a fluttering Matrix signal that occasionally allows him a bit of entertainment. Tonight's publicly available entertainment is an opera by Mozart, The Marriage of Figaro.

♫ Sotto i pini del boschetto
Ei già il resto capirà
Certo, certo ei capirà
Ei capirà ♫


Not knowing Italian, Xáays has no idea what the two ladies are singing about. Still, it's like some beautiful bird is flapping into his drab little cage and making the walls dissolve away. For the briefest of moments, Xáays feels free.

Right on cue, the call comes in. Thank the spirits it's when he has a decent Matrix signal.

"I do need to skip," he admits to the caller.

"Seattle?" This is a surprise. "I'll go to Seattle."

Xáays has been living in the shadow of Seattle for years. Growing up in Salish-Shidhe, it was always right there, the dirty armpit of a beautiful region. And yet... he was fascinated by it. Seattle was the big leagues. He always thought he could make it there, always assumed he'd break into the Seattle shadowrunning scene eventually. It's just... he always presumed it would be after a big score, a run flawlessly executed, rather than one half-botched. Yet here he was, getting called up to the shadowrunning capital of the world.

"I have seen the news. I know what's going on."

In fact, there had been little else to do but read the news. Xáays is reasonably aware of the players and the playing field. He knows about the Bellevue Poor House club and the Cascade Orks going there to blow off steam. Who could blame them? Orks gonna ork, he thinks to himself. Plus, fighting is good fun.

"A week in the Pan Pacific Hotel sounds wiz. Real wiz. I can even save the Johnson the cost of a suborbital. Flip that into an upgrade, will ya? Or some room service. I could really go for an elaishón," an elven pastry with a strawberry filling and a natural vanilla glaze.

"I'm in."
Glitch
player, 16 posts
Male Elf
Mystic Adept Decker
Fri 23 Jul 2021
at 10:13
  • msg #6

Sleep Well in Seattle

The sound of sirens was deafening as Glitch’s GMC Bulldog weaved through back alleys barely big enough to squeeze through with trash splattering across its gray paint job. The job was supposed to be a simple personnel acquisition with nabbing the target as he walked to his car in the parking garage. Little did he know it was a set up with the local authorities waiting for him. The one thing that tipped him off before they could close the noose was the one commlink he was able to see running silent in the matrix that had been forgotten to get linked to the security’s deck.

Being set up means they were actively looking for him, and he couldn’t trust that they wouldn’t be coming after him the next job he took. He needed to get out of the city tonight and lay low somewhere. That’s when the call came through about a job in Seattle. The Decker had been to Seattle before just not in a long time. The job offered a free fake SIN and a place to stay for a week. At this point, beggars can’t be choosers so he accepted the SIN and started racing for Seattle. The cops needed to be shaken off his trail, so he made his way over to a patch of barrens with a particularly volatile all troll go gang. He hacked into their bikes and drove them into the path of the oncoming police cars where they were then crushed. The go gang did not appreciate this and proceeded to fire upon the cops giving Glitch the distraction he needed to slip away. It would take a full day of driving to get to Seattle but what other choice did he have?
GM
GM, 73 posts
Sun 25 Jul 2021
at 14:53
  • msg #7

Sleep Well in Seattle

Whether flying half way round the world, driving across country or taking a short hop up the Pacific coastline your journeys are uneventful. For those arriving at Sea-Tac airport you find a driver waiting to transfer you and your luggage to the Pan Pacific Hotel. For Glitch, driving across country you find parking already reserved for you at the hotel.

Checking in also presents no problem for you with the polite elven desk clerk assuring you that all your expenses have been covered and encouraging you to enjoy the facilities of the hotel to the fullest, and to not hesitate to contact the front desk if anything is not to your satisfaction. The bellboy takes your luggage and leads you to the elevator bank, from where you take an elevator to the upper floors of the hotel to an executive suite consisting of a large living area with attached king size bedroom and luxury bathroom. Placing your luggage down and asking if you need assistance in unpacking, the bellboy finally leaves assuring you that all service charges have been addressed and thanking you for your generosity.

Exploring the room you notice that a message has been left for you, a voice only message. The caller is male, with a gruff dwarven voice, who introduces himself as Johnson. He thanks you for responding to his summons and encourages you to enjoy the amenities of the hotel but to limit your trips outside the hotel to social engagements such as sporting events, music events or theatre. He wants you to establish yourselves as worthy visitors to the hotel ahead of the run. He mentions that he will be contacting you again in a few days to go over the run and that a tailor will be calling up to your room shortly to provide you with suitable clothing. Finally he signs off with a brief “have fun.”

As Johnson mentioned, a tailor visits each of you and within a couple of hours you are furnished with 4 or 5 outfits of high class clothing tailored for each of you. These clothes cover a range of events from casual to formal. The tailor tells you they are yours to keep compliments of Mr Johnson. You are then left to explore.

For those who have not lived a high class lifestyle the Pan Pacific Hotel is undoubtedly the finest hotel that you have ever stayed in. The Pan Pacific corporation, an independent corporation that operates a chain of hotels in different cities around the Pacific Rim, pride themselves on the uniqueness of each hotel in their chain. The Pan Pacific Seattle is decorated with hints of emerald green throughout, playing on Seattle’s moniker of the emerald city. You are convinced that in some cases the decoration are real emeralds. The pool and spa are pristine and the hotel offers a wide range of room services. The views from the restaurants of downtown Seattle are magnificent and the rooftop revolving bar is every bit as good as advertised, with a view across the Puget sound.

What are your plans for the next couple of days?
Glitch
player, 17 posts
Male Elf
Mystic Adept Decker
Sun 25 Jul 2021
at 20:15
  • msg #8

Sleep Well in Seattle

Glitch was certainly surprised at the high class treatment he was getting but tried to keep up appearances of ‘I guess this will have to do’ on the outside to the hotel staff. He didn’t necessarily need to leave the hotel for anything as his main interests were on the matrix on full VR. The Decker took advantage of the spa and the rooftop bar. He interacted with other hotel guests often challenging them to friendly strategy games or making small talk about spirits and Metaplane theory. Every sunrise and sunset, he would summon three task spirits to handle all the mundane activities he would need and be his personal bodyguards in case someone came after him at the hotel. The tailored suits were certainly a plus and very much appreciated.
Tu Bahd
player, 26 posts
Disciple of Osiris
Adept Marksman
Mon 26 Jul 2021
at 15:43
  • msg #9

Sleep Well in Seattle

Tu Bahd was unaccustomed to the excessive lifestyle she was forced to indulge in. Her family probably would have laughed their asses off, humored at the way she drank her drinks, pecked at the meat (real meat) on her plate. But drink and peck she did, as Tu Bahd didn't have to enjoy a single thing; Jan Lethenal did.

"Jan" shoved her ass into those form-fitting dresses without complaint, actually glad her ridiculous wardrobe caught the eyes of all sorts of metahumans. She made sure to take advantage of the spa and bar liberally, even though most of the time, she ordered more drinks than she drank. At one point, that elf she played against amused her; though she was more a woman of tactics, it was some of the most engaging mental exercise she expected to get for the next couple of days.

The Runner never dallied long; she always made herself visible enough to be seen, but not enough to stand out. It helped that she wasn't much of a talker. She was also glad to have gone to see the opera, as no one could fault her for paying more attention to the performance than a quip or conversation. Jan hid her features behind layers of make-up, and did what she could to hide her accent behind years of study of English. American English always did sound abrasive to her, but it at least matched her working personality.
Glamnarok
player, 26 posts
Tue 27 Jul 2021
at 02:29
  • msg #10

Sleep Well in Seattle

"Have fun, righto boss."

As soon as the tailor leaves the troll runs a scan for active bugs and checks everywhere "possible" (without damaging the suite) for passive recorders.  Glamnarok then headed out, "Social engagements, ho ho, gettin right on it..." to set up a U-Stor-It for the package delivery.  They knew better than to carry some things across international boundaries, I mean, sure, it might be legal, but the paperwork was a nightmare and you know the feds will get their nasty bugs all up in everything.  Of course they'd have fondled Aces and Eights, probably would have drooled on them even, and nobody drools on Glam's prized pair of shotguns.  Well no one but Glamnarok.

So a quick bit of business, then mostly staying in the next two days, listening to various books on tape travelogues about Seattle, some history documentaries, and a restaurant guide by a weirdo chef who eats in the worst places possible.  Punctuated by another quick run to meet the locals Cherry had given Glam an in with, acquire the guns and unpack the tool workshop in the storage room when the package is delivered.  Finally feeling 'properly dressed', Glam actually relaxes the last day, spending time in the rooftop bar watching the city revolve, one eye on the news feeds, occasionally trying to engage the staff in light discussion about current events.
Xaays
player, 27 posts
Tue 27 Jul 2021
at 17:18
  • msg #11

Sleep Well in Seattle

Xáays, as a handsome elf, has spent his fair share of time at upscale hotels and fancy black-tie parties. Even by his lofty standards, the Pan Pacific Hotel is nice. It feels like his environment. His treatment is Right and Proper, as a shadow operative of his caliber.

The tailored clothing is unexpected but, in retrospect, also fitting. Fitting, ha. Xáays spends the morning of the first day at the hotel's gym (jogging, lifting weights, swimming in the pool), then straight to the spa to work out the kinks and blemishes that accumulated in his safehouse jail cell. Once he's been properly pampered, massaged, and fed, his new clothes are ready. Time to explore the hotel and then see the city.

Xáays has had a love/hate fascination with Seattle for a long time, particularly its reputation as the Shadowrunning Capitol of the World. Now that he's here, he doesn't intend to leave any time soon. He spends his time at the hotel studying the other guests, wondering which of them might be his fellow runners. They'd be from other places, like himself. He turns his ear toward accents, looking for people with freshly tailored fashions who might not know how to act in these surroundings.

The afternoon of Day One is for some of the tourist fun. Pike Place Market, the Seattle Art Museum, walking along the waterfront. What do Salish lands look like from Seattle? Beautiful, with blue water in the foreground, green trees on the other side, and white-capped mountains reaching above it all. There's an elven district around the south end of Lake Union where he finds the elaishón that he wanted. In the evening, he has the choice of a Sonics game or the symphony. He opts for the symphony, remembering the comfort of classical music when he had been in the safehouse.

The next day he starts scouting out neighborhoods, looking for where to establish himself after the week in the hotel is up. He's thinking two spots, one high and one low. One for his reputable self, one for his disreputable self, even though the two often blur together. Xáays thinks of himself as a lovable scoundrel; the trick is staying on the right side of the law, even when you are clearly well past that point.

He wants to be centrally located and close to the action; the means near downtown Seattle or maybe Bellevue. Capitol Hill is nice, but awfully close to the Aztechnology Pyramid... Queen Anne? That's an option. Mt Baker could set him up with a nice view of Council Island, a pleasant reminder of home. South Lake Union would make sense, given all the elves. Then there are the options in Bellevue, which has the added benefit of being near the Bellevue Poor House...

Xáays is less interested in Tuesday night Sloppy Soy Wrestling but Friday Night Fights is tempting indeed... The Johnson - a stubby little fellow by the sound of his voice - had asked Xáays to limit his trips outside the hotel and to establish himself as a reputable visitor. He had already done that, had he not? And now could he not - perhaps using one of his other SINs - slip away to the fights to see what the Cascade Orks could do? Xáays didn't want to jeopardize this opportunity, but nor did he want a bitter little halfer to boss him around when there was entertainment to be had within easy reach. Xáays wouldn't participate, oh no ... (well, not this week at least) ... but didn't the Johnson say that sporting events were acceptable? And what was fighting except the ultimate sporting event, the perfect expression of athletic superiority? And the Johnson did say to "have fun"...

Xáays pulls on a Seattle Screamers jersey (his second-favorite team behind the Tir Tornadoes) over his armor vest, slips out of the hotel, changes his identity to Ashkii Dighin, and hails a cab for a ride over the bridge to Bellevue...
FreeMason
player, 26 posts
Wed 28 Jul 2021
at 22:32
  • msg #12

Sleep Well in Seattle

Mason boarded the suborbital flight with a sense of unease. Previously his travel arrangements had been made by a faceless person he'd never met, but the fact that person belonged to the same company inspired a degree of trust that was now absent. Being met at Sea-Tac by an equally un-vetted driver presented much the same problem. Things were no better when the mage arrived at the Pan Pacific Hotel.

As he checked in under the SIN provided by the mysterious Johnson, Mason was acutely aware that any activity taken using it could be tracked and profiled. Additionally, it was likely someone was collecting the biometric data linked to the SIN. Despite all of this Mason believed it to be worth the risk to get out of the U.K. Also, he had to admit that he'd missed being able to stop in such hotels on someone else's credstick.

When he reached the room Mason refrained from unpacking. Instead, he opted to literally live out of his suitcase, allowing him to be ready to leave at a moments notice. The brief to live the cover of being a simple visitor to the hotel suited Mason. He started by ordering a sports bag large enough to contain his equipment when it was delivered. Several other purchases for sports clothing were also made for the benefit of anyone tracking his account activity.

Using the clean (he hoped) SIN he acquired before leaving the Merseysprawl, Mason established himself as the tenant of a small Puyallup apartment and owner of a third hand dodge scoot. When he left the hotel to take delivery of the vehicle, the commlink carrying the Pan Pacific SIN was powered down. While Mason doubted it would make a difference to any software that might be used to identify him, the mage had dyed his hair and wore glasses to alter the lines of his face.

On returning to the Pan Pacific Mason went over the room with his bug scanner. He then repeated the process on the clothing provided by Johnson and his purchases, both with the scanner and tag eraser. He took the time to make use of the hotel amenities and visit tourist attractions within the area. However, much to his frustration Mason avoided checking out the local soccer team knowing this might provide a reference point for anyone looking into his habits at a later time.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:21, Thu 29 July 2021.
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