It's a given any plan we have will be crazy. Only way to have it work.

I break it down into two basic strategies.

1. Enter the area as part of the normal expected operations, pull a sneaky switch or snatch and walk out.
2. Go full stealth, sneak in, sneak out.

I think the priority is to identify where the Target works, find out what that areas operations are like. The goal here is to discover what normally moves in and out of this area. (Maybe they do routine shipping out of prototypes to various facilities elsewhere for testing. Then we go in, stuff the target into one of these shipping containers, and jack the container en route. Let MCT get him out and we pick him up.)

Ultimately we need to get in and out of that area acting as if we are something normal for that area. We need to learn enough to make sure we can "Fit in" when we go in.

Getting in.
- We snatch or replace someone else who works in or has access to the target area and go in disguised as that person
- Go in invisible
- Garbage men, facilities people, delivery people, mailroom, painters, office movers, glass repair men etc... (Amazing how that bird just flew right through that window and broke it! etc...)

Getting out
- Shipping out in a box.
- Walk out. Disguises? Need to disguise target, only works if he co operates and is capable of this.
- The "Go Loud" exit... Parachutes, demolitions to blow through walls etc...
- We need to plan for a hot exit, but hope we don't need it.

Getting away
- Have at least a couple options and rally points
- Also need to getaway from the safehouse delivery point...

Diversions
- Might need one to get in.
- definitely need these if we have a hot exit.

A-in

Gifted Technomancer, but green-as-they-come Shadowrunner.

His computer and electronic skill (groups) are just a hair better than his illegal hacking skills (which havn't seen much use). Almost all of his gear is legal - meaning its subpar when your life is on the line.

His two drones are with him right now (well, patrolling the grounds): his car, and his kanmushi bug-drone.

However, taking drones INTO the MCT complex would be tough if not impossible. A-in's ECCM complex form can probably penitrate any anti-wifi defenses they have up, but his drones don't have any ECCM program of their own, so without two-way communication nothing works in Shadowrun.

As for breaking in, like all technomancers, he starts out a little less flexible than a hacker, and less equiped - but it wouldn't be impossible. It just wouldn't be long before probe-IC or a security hacker found him... and matrix damage becomes real for him. So, unless you wanted him to get in, do something, and get out - its probably too risky. Also, he'd ideally want a few hours to probe for a weakness in their system before trying.

Since we are going into the drone subsection, though, A-in thinks its far more likely he would be able to "inhabit" an unused drone, rather than breaching their main network node. Unless a rigger is activly using the drone, the intrusion is unlikely to go unnoticed - of course, about 100 worth of wifi inhibiting paint is going to mean that the drones signals can't reach outside of their building, so its probably somethign A-in will have to fake on the fly, once we're inside.

Mr. Scorpion

He's an adept specializing in unarmed combat. His main thing is he an casually walk through MAD detectors and the like, carry absolutely nothing illegal or suspicious, and still be just as deadly. He's not great with technology, so it's best to leave that to someone more qualified. He's also decent at sneaking around, and can (probably) talk his way past people he comes across. Basically, he's a ninja in a business suit: flip out and kill people while keeping his suit pressed.


As far as getting in, Mr. Scorpion and Patrick could probably talk their way through security if we got some fake passes. I think our best chance to get in would be to pose as some group with an appointment at the Drone division, possibly to negotiate a contract or whatever. Getting in and to the doctor seems like it would be less difficult than getting out. From reading the security document, it seems like we're either going to have to convince them to let us out with the doctor, or sneak out without being detected at all. Whether they want the doctor alive and his work intact will affect how much they try to prevent us from leaving.

Taking over some unused drones inside the complex is an interesting idea. If nothing else, setting a few to run amok would be a pretty nice distraction.

And, potentially, some more loot.

But yeah, a lot of this is OOC, by the way, just tossing ideas around, but I liked the idea of A-in being sort of a drone technomancer (and he could call up a machine sprite or two to help out, with a little prep time).. .but he couldnt' afford much more than his bug drone and his tricked out car.

Patrick was going to wait for the morning to see if he could get some opaque plastic curtains (think hospital) to divide the room upstairs, and a few bunk beds... but if everyone rather stayed somewhere else, I'm not agaisnt that. I was just thinking that by "living" somewhere else, we'd end up doing a lot of come and go to the safehouse... which might attract even more attention.

OOC, I see your point.
IC, it never crossed A-in's mind, until you two started mentioning it, that breaking into a megacorp involved living in a shit-hole for 5 days (or however long we have). He was planning ot head home to his apartment after we made plans - but is open to other suggestions (as, he wouldn't want to be the reason the place's cover was blown).

Also, good job on working in the campaign's title into a post. I think that's probably worth a karma down the road at some point.

I'm also liking the idea of the shipping box. Unless we get a special "unscannable" box, there's a fair bet that some sort of scanners will see that there's someone in it... We can always stick a big "biohazard" sticker on it and list it as "biological waste". I'm sure no sec guard is going to stick his nose in there

I agree we have to go for something totaly wacked out crazy. People who design security systems usually think: "We don't need to cover that, no one would be crazy enough to attempt it anyways". As I said before, the weakest part is going to be the human element.

As far as "concrete" ideas, we have:
"The Shipping Box"
"The Medical Emergency"
"The Firecrew"

Come to think of it, we also have to get geared up to deal with the extractee.
What if he has an implanted homing beacon? Cortical bomb? etc...
Far fetched? Not so much.

Also, what if he suddently goes ape during the extraction and flips out. We'll have to sedate him. Let's says he gets so nervous about getting into a shipping box that he starts shaking and throwing up... we have to sedate him.

Last but not least; medical problemes. Do he have any medical problems? I don't feel like going thru all the trouble of extracting him, just to have him die on us because we fixed him a peanut butter sandwich and he was allergic

The problem I see withthe medical emergency, is that it specifically states that DocWagon won't come resque you on MegaCorp ground without permission from said MegaCorp (which, basically says, it won't save a shadowrunner who's downed on the job)... but I would think that a megacorp compound would have its own Emergency Medical staff. Some might even have a floor that is bascially a hospital, stocked with their own doctors and crap.

Probably, even if the employee had a docwagon contract, the corp would just ship the employee to their own hospital to avoid giving docwagon access to restricted parts of their building. or at least the on-site EMT s would show up first, and find out there is nothign wrong (unless we arange it so there IS something wrong).

I just see us going through a lot of effort to secure an ambulance and stuff just to be told "DOn't worry, its being taken care of. You may not enter. Please, don't raise Mr. Target's premiums"

Yea, I'm aware that of all the ideas, that is the most far fetched one, and that it would all depend on how MCT handles medical emergencies on their facility. This means we should also look what sort of services does MCT "hires out": do they have EVERYTHING on site? Repair crews, EMT, Cleaning crews, etc...

It would be much easier to take the place of "outsiders" than actual MCT staff.

I think a lot of these questions are going to be answered by legwork. The key right now is getting the list of questions together so that they can be asked/looked for.

I like the medical thing, myself, but that's just me. Provided the corp allows that kind of thing to occur.

Matrix legwork is going to be really important here.

Summon a watcher and order it to be an astral alarm (alert me if anything astral comes around):

To the liquid lounge it is.

Maintaining a connection to my commlink (trodes are mostly for show), which is connected to my drones. But others can call me, as needed.

OOC, I don't know anything about the Liquid Lounge, so if there is something A-in should know (VR Club knowledge skill check?) I'd be glad to hear it... otherwise, I'm assuming I'm supposed to hack in?

Nvwati
Your force 3 ward will last for one week (just enough time!). Also, your watcher appears as well, so do with it as you wish. Personally, I think a force 2 spirit of man would have been more useful for the same risk, but your call.

BlackHat
You can definitely roll your VR Club knowledge skill (+ Logic) for information about Liquid Lounge, otherwise you could look it up. Do that first, and then I will provide some more information based on your roll.

BlackHat
Oh, which news stories were you interested in reading? I can give you the rundown on them depending on how deeply you wanted to delve into them. I kind of wanted to avoid writing all 6 if I could help it.

well, the more information the better...but lets see

Let's keep it to two for now:

MCT taking aim at lucrative security drone market segment

Local hacker claims MCT is ripe for the plucking, holes in security large enough to drive a Citymaster through

for the VR clubs roll 9 dice... assuming this is one of those situations where the matrix (AR or VR) can help me out, I'll use that to suppliment my knowledge for an extra 2 dice for 11 dice (if not, just take off the last two dice)

BlackHat
Wow, with a roll like that, I would say you have been there before. The Liquid Lounge is a sea-themed VR club with a constantly changing Matrix address that only those "in the know" would have. Casual visitors who stumble across it are presented with a nice ocean view; the trick is to hack your way in, thus proving your "worthiness" to be in there. While the general lounge is open to all, plenty of levels exist where the elite hang out to exchange information in private.

You would definitely know where it is, and could call it up anytime.

W00t. Score one for A-in!

I actually think a place like that would hold a certain attraction to A-in - since it would have given him an opportunity to test out his hacking abilities in a setting where repercussions would be minimal (since its EXPECTED, and the place is probably constantly bombarded with wannabes). Not so say that IC isn't a real danger for him, but just that he wouldn't have to worry about the Star showing up at his apartment.

If A-in has been there before, would he have a good sense of its security level (ie. rating) or is that in flux as well?

The System rating is up there, but the firewall is probably a 3 (just enough to keep the wannabes out). Of course, that's just to get in the front door. Many other private nodes are inside with much higher security.

Sorry for my brief silence
I had a crazy week.

Also, each of you will almost immediatly (lets say right now) recieve an email from A-in's commlink with the detials of those two news articles. The first one is specifically called out as potentially relevant to the whole team.

I won't bother making a new post with a "you've got new mail" message.

Hacking on the Fly rolls, going for admin access (cause, hey, why not):
(Cracking 3 + Exploit 5 + VR 2 = 10 dice)
Estimated Threshhold 3 + 6 (for admin) = 9
[4] [5] [5] [5] [3] [3] [1] [5] [5] [1] = 5 hits
[4] [3] [6] [4] [3] [6] [5] [1] [1] [2] = 3 hits
[3] [1] [6] [3] [2] [2] [5] [5] [2] [6] = 4 hits

So, 3 seconds and I should be in... if longer, let me know.

Once I am in as admin, I want to use analyse (and possibly a built-in admin feature) to look around at the other users that are logged in - specifically at their "handles" and see if I can find a "mctspy".

After the second initiative pass, the system alert is triggered. The sea turns blood red, the sky darkens, and two black squids appear in the water in front of you. Their tentacles begin to come out of the water.

OOC: The firewall rating has increased by 4 since the system is on active alert (just out of reach of your third roll). You can choose to continue hacking or do something else for your third pass. Depending on what happens, I can just post everything that happens to the IC thread when we're done. Anyways, roll your VR Initiative (11) and then I'll figure out who does what.

Hacking for admin access....hahahaha.... ...that's why not!

VR initiative = 11
[6] [1] [2] [1] [2] [1] [6] [5] [3] [3] [6] = 4 hits + 11 = 15 for initiative.

Also, unless I think I can shut off "system alert" status with my admin access, there isn't really any point in continuing to hack once system alert has gone off (at least, in my experience it just means an endless amount of cybercombat) and I've already blown showing I can hack, so I'd rather not be the guy that arrives in the club right after the sirens go off.

If I win intiative, I'll just log off. If not, I may change my mind depending on what does happen in that pass before I go.

BlackHat
With admin status, you can do pretty much anything. Turning off alerts is no problem, but security riggers and defense hackers may have already been scrambled.

I don't have my book on me and I already rolled for initiative for them, so I will follow up on what happens this evening. I think you beat one of the squids, but not the other, so he will get a chance to do something.

BlackHat
Yeah, one octopus beats you on initiative. He begins to send out pulses of light from one tentacle that run past you and behind you. (OOC it is a Track program)

Your turn.

Octopi? I assume coming out of the ocean. Yeah, I'll just log.
I have a week to succesfully get in, and odds are I'll make it one of those days.
I am a little surprised a place like the liquid lounge would bother tracing a hacker... but whatever.

Before I call it a night, I'll try to compile and register a new sprite (might as well be an exploit sprite - or whaveter those are called). I don't have my book with me, so I'll post some more details tomarrow.

BlackHat
No prob. You exit the area successfully before the drek starts to come down. The sprite you're looking for is a crack sprite, I'm sure.

About what time of night is it?

OKay, jsut looked, assuming its a little bit after 11pm (that was your last timestamp, and not mcu hhas happened).

Will compile a rating 4 crack sprite (11 dice):
[2] [2] [2] [1] [2] [1] [5] [5] [5] [6] [3] = 4 hits.

BlackHat
Ouch, the GM dice are hot.

BlackHat
I hope you aren't disappointed with your crack sprite. I think you'll only need one service anyways, and from your previous expedition, it won't be to get in the door. Common sense would say, use user permissions to get in, then escalate as needed.

Everyone
To get things rolling on the main plan side, I suggest you guys compile a list of the questions you want answered and work on those. Your target is in one place, so your priority is to find out how to get in, and how to get out. Keep in mind that A-In will be meeting someone influential here in a bit, so that will provide some additional info as well.

EDIT: Forgot about the stun, reposting.

Chiller is going to check with Streets Fixer/Promoter loyalty 2 / Connections 5 and Meg Jones, Ork Rights Activist L3/C4 if either of them can put Chiller in touch with anyone who is willing to be debriefed about the MCT facility, preferably near the drone R&D division internal operations. Maybe there is a disgruntled Janitor looking for some extra money, or a former or current employee. Streets might know people in MCT marketing and sales, and Meg Jones may know metas in MCT.

Any particular rolls I need to make for this?

BlackHat

I'm updating my website right now. I'm adding the MCT security document link, and that's it for now. If there are any changes to character descriptions or info or anything else someone wants to see for reference, let me know.

DireRadiant
Streets would probably be the best choice for making that contact. He won't know anyone specific, but he can ask around to see if he can locate someone. GM rolls for contacts usually; in this case, it takes him 5 hours to locate a person. You can post about making the call to Streets to make the request, and I will put the reply up when that time comes around (about 4am).

*shakes his fist* =D

Also need ot resist drain (should have posted that with the resgistration)

Well as far as questions go, some of the things I mentioned IC would be a good place to start: more detailed information on the building/complex (things like checkpoint locations, back doors, etc), people and groups authorized to enter/leave the complex and when, and possibly if there's anything like business meetings or visiting execs scheduled for Saturday.

I think some of this would probably need A-In to do searching for, so it looks like he's not going to get a whole lot of sleep.

*shakes his fist again!*
Lets pool our up-front cash and get A-in a sleep-regulator so he has time to do all this junk.

BlackHat
I'm sure one of your companions could hook you up with some long haul...heh. Anyways, after 3 hours your crack sprite returns with a user level authentication.

Registering sprites is tough, especially rating 4 or higher, and the fading can hurt. I wouldn't bother registering something that didn't have at least 3 services already, because it takes too long and its probably not worth it.

Btw, I've got you at 7S right now, so make Body+Willpower (1 hour) when you sleep this off.

Everyone
Ok, the group looks like it pretty much has this going:

- Nvwati is going to take an astral look around tomorrow
- A-In needs to find a hacker at the Liquid Lounge who has inside MCT info
- Chiller will get a call in the morning about someone who has worked for MCT before
- Patrick will probably get the call to meet Carver and the good doctor at a secure location later in the week

Questions that need answering:

- What can arrive/leave the research area without attracting attention
- What outside groups have access to the building
- Specific security procedures, building information, and personnel information

I'm still alive!
I just had a tone of contract work fall on my head this week
Have no worries, I've been reading everything, althought I haven't had the smallest chance to compose some sort of post yet
I'll probably be done tomorrow and will be able to jump back into the game.

Body + WIllpower = 6 dice. Buying 1 hit per hour, He'll be fine by the time he wakes up (and well rested) around 10 am the next day.

I suppose I'll just crash at the safehouse, but since I'm now 12 hours ahead of the PCs timeframe, I'll just let them catch up. Hopefully they aqquire something nice for me to sleep on, but otherwise I'm already passed out on the couch, and can just continue to do so.

Nvwati will end up catching some z's, too, after she gets the ward up. The next morning, she'll do some astral recon. Let me know when you're ready, thewolf.