Less of a Run, More of an Adventure Options

[Epicedion]

So I decided that my team needed some cash -- they all started out cash poor (by my design) and have been nickel-and-dimeing their way up to financial solvency over the last handful of runs. It's been a street level game (low starting stats, cash, etc) but they've picked up some karma and are starting to look respectable.

But their gear sucks. The decker's using the cheapest bargain-bin deck with the worst programs, the best cyberware anyone has is a smartlink, and so on. My current system of payment is giving out a few thousand apiece per run, with their biggest score being 14 grand each including a couple bonus objectives and some extra paydata off the main system.

Runs so far:
Milk Run -- guarding a milk delivery to a corp summer camp
Car Wars -- destroying a limited-run car to increase the value of the ones still in top condition
La Estrella -- Christmas run, a job received from a street doc named Yosef guarding Maria and her infant son Jesus (hey-soos) from a hideout to La Estrella corporate headquarters, ascend the building to the board room during a meeting so Maria could present Jesus as the successor to her murdered husband's status as owner of the company and oust the murderer and his goons.
Tick, Tock, TokTek -- semi-pro run, data acquisition of fusion generator research from a converted lab in the abandoned warehouse district

Now I've decided to send the team on an adventure. They receive a call from Percy's, the local runner bar where they hang out, that some bike courier dropped off a large secure case with a biometric lock and asked for it to be given to the group (by their street names). They pick it up and predictably bypass the lock to see what's inside. Inside they find 500,000 nuyen in nonsequential cash and a black box, which turns out to be a cyberdeck. When the decker checks out the deck, he finds himself in a pristine Ultraviolet environment.

The mage/investigator gets some security footage of the courier, and tracks him back to courier service, where the group finds out that the courier doesn't work there and there was no package delivery for them -- also there was a bike that briefly vanished off the logs, missing for an hour but never checked in or out, and in normal condition. While they're discussing things in their van outside the courier, they receive a phone call from a rather pompous sounding person who demands his technology and money back, and punctuates the demand with a few gel-round sniper shots through the van window. They threaten to torch the cyberdeck, which causes the man to back off and suggest he'd be willing to negotiate, and to expect a call at 10pm the following evening.

The group heads back home to the decker's apartment, not noticing that they're being tailed. A couple suits with obvious cyber (dermal plating, cybereyes, wired reflexes, and one has obvious cyberarms) and silenced SMGs steps out of a black sedan and opens fire on them as they get out of the van. They dive for cover, returning fire, narrowly avoiding crippling SMG bursts. The decker catches a piece of the lead suit (with the cyberarms), and the infiltrator finishes him off with a burst from his AK. The mage Stunbolts the hell out of the second guy, who retreats while returning fire, damaging the van. Before they can do anything else, though, he dives in the back seat of the car. The team opens up on the sedan, wrecking it with automatic fire. A bomb in the sedan goes off, setting the car on fire. With sirens in the background, they grab the dead guy off the street and chuck him in the back of the van and hit the highway.

The dead suit is carrying his SMG, a light pistol, a couple thousand nuyen cash, and a corp security agent ID issued from Renraku. The team ditches the body in the Sound, then uses the cash to get a low lifestyle rent-a-cube they can hide the van in and hide out. With Renraku sending hit squads, an unknown sniper, and a 'courier' who got them in this mess in the first place all out there scheming, the team settles in for naps.

The trick is, I have no idea what's going on either. I kind of set a loose scenario and filled in tidbits as they investigated. Anyone have any ideas where this should go?

[Lionhearted]

Renraku... What year are you playing in?

[Epicedion]

We're kind of nebulously around 2059-2060 in Seattle.

My current inkling is that the Ultraviolet deck contains early proto-AI code or an environment for Otaku that everyone wants a piece of, which could eventually be a tie-in to some of the events around Shutdown.

[Lionhearted]

If that's your end goal you should probably look into shutdown for inspiration.
Early AI code would be kinda moot since Mirage is already around, Morgan was a freak accident and Deus was cobbled together from the chopped up source code of Morgan.

I would go for three major players in this Scenario.
The black trenchcoats
Someone with invested interest in the deck, like otaku... Possibly even Pax's otaku.
and a third neutral party that sent them the stuff to begin with, possibly one of the AI's.

An ultraviolet deck would be worth it's weight in dragon talons no matter the content, maybe there's a hidden message in it? a hint of things to come, the players setting up their pawns so to speak.

[Epicedion]

If that's your end goal you should probably look into shutdown for inspiration.
Early AI code would be kinda moot since Mirage is already around, Morgan was a freak accident and Deus was cobbled together from the chopped up source code of Morgan.

I would go for three major players in this Scenario.
The black trenchcoats
Someone with invested interest in the deck, like otaku... Possibly even Pax's otaku.
and a third neutral party that sent them the stuff to begin with, possibly one of the AI's.

An ultraviolet deck would be worth it's weight in dragon talons no matter the content, maybe there's a hidden message in it? a hint of things to come, the players setting up their pawns so to speak.

Not early AI, proto -- think baby AI, not quite there yet, still needs some baking. Maybe the courier could be Otaku working for one of the AIs (or had a Deep Resonance experience that led him to this) and positioned himself to steal the box in transit, and the player team was selected out of convenience or desperation (or quasi-mystical Deep Resonance reasons that aren't explained). Renraku was shopping out the coding (here's the box and a half a mil) to a guy because they want an AI they can contain and control (and they never learn), Courier steals it in transit and dumps it on the player team, Renraku gets involved because now their expensive property and large cash deposit is off the grid and sends the hit squad.

That gives us.. the Courier/AI/Otaku faction trying to free or control the thing themselves, Renraku the looming Corp threat, and the Mysterious Coder/Sniper who wants the money.

[Lionhearted]

Given the very, very shady nature of the affair. How will you put the players in the know?

Do they know where they would start to dig?
Who could tell them anything useful?
"Uh so Bob, we got a dead renraku suit here and some very hot stuff, what gives?"
Does any of the involved parties have any interest in having them know?
or maybe you're aiming to have them running blindfolded with everyone out to get them...
Maybe the baby AI hatches and gives them a hint... and their own set of priorities.
Just brainstorming.

[Epicedion]

Right now, they're working on tracking down the Courier. Mysterious Sniper already contacted them, threatened them, but ultimately made overtures for negotiation (but they have no inclination toward trusting him). Renraku's only after pursuit/acquisition/clean-up.

So I'm thinking of playing it with Renraku hunting them safehouse to safehouse, maybe crashing some meets, etc. Constantly have them looking over their shoulder for the corp bad boys who have better tech and resources than they do.

Before they can get to negotiating with Sniper, they're either going to find Courier or he's going to contact them. Sniper's going to want his money and the box, but he's willing to deal (unlike Renraku) but probably backstab the team if they go through with it. Courier's going to imply there's a way they'll be able to keep the cash but it's ultimately going to require some sort of run (which could go toward explaining why he dumped it off with a runner team instead of just hanging onto it himself, since he seems quite capable of covering his own tracks).

[Lionhearted]

Don't motivate them to hard to make it SEP (Someone Elses Problem)
So what you really need to figure out is what happens after they chosen their side.
Is there something you could run off the coder?
Maybe he's growing attached to his pet project and don't want Renraku to have it back...
How does the other parties react to that?
What contingencies does the courier have?

Hm, with the Courier you need to establish who exactly he's working for, what do they want with the baby?
is there other variables that would get involved once he have it?
Maybe they are lead to believe that the deck is the coming of the otaku messiah or something. However becomes the prophet would get a lot of influence...

[nezumi]

Nice setup.

Don't forget that the box itself is a player in this game. The ultraviolet environment should give clues of either what the AI is, or what the AI or the AI's team are planning and capable of. The AI itself is also a player (one they can actually talk to), making for a real 'demon in the bottle' type scenario. Does the AI want to go free? Does it want to return to Renraku? Since the PCs hold the AI, it's not about to threaten them. So what does the AI offer them for their cooperation? And if the party helps the AI, will the AI betray them, pay them, or just leave them with nothing?

The choice the PCs are given in Lionhearted's idea is 'set the AI free, or return it to Renraku'. If you want a third choice, it should probably be to destroy the AI altogether. So your third player can be on that side, and perhaps offers the safest (and lowest payout). Some group like the Draco Foundation knows what Renraku is up to, and knows it's going to play out poorly. Their intervention is what prevented the courier from making the delivery properly. They're an 'honest' group, so they'll offer a bounty, but it's measly compared to the other two groups, who stand to make a lot of money. If the PCs decline, the foundation may still kill them, since they're working to help save the world, and it's an unfortunate, but necessary sacrifice.

The PCs can of course find other players who may be friendlier to the PCs' terms, such as another corporation, or another organization willing to 'raise' the AI in freedom.