Mission 1 - Jumping to Conclusions

Chapter 1

It's been weeks since any of you have had a decent paying job. Though you all have worked together on various runs, for some reason there just haven been any coming your way lately. You've survived on your savings for the time being, but even that is quickly running dry. Really dry. Scrounging for leftover cup ramen from the dumpster dry. It is getting to the point that some of you might even be considering other employment. Not that anyone would hire the lot of you for any good paying, reputable work.

It is a hot summer evening, and "KingFisher" is just leaving her shift at the Kokoro Temple when she gets a ring on her commlink. She instantly recognizes the fit blonde staring back at her through the view screen. It's Rosa Pine, a security guard at the Artemis Club, ex-urban brawl athlete, and all-around girl you really don't want to mess around with. Once
"KingFisher" hits the answer button, Rosa doesn't even bother to give time for a greeting before she says, "Hey sister-chan, I need you and some of your friends to meet me at the Shadix next to the train station in the Izakaya District. I've got work for you if you can get there soon. I'm in room 203. Just come up when you get here." The line is cut off before the priestess can get a word in edgewise.

She had gotten work from Rosa in the past. They were mostly quick and easy jobs that involved either protecting women or roughing up those who beat them. They were never the best paying of jobs, but work is work and right now is not the time to be picky. She knew the Shadix Rosa mentioned though. It was a chain of karaoke houses that were quite popular throughout the Desian Islands. It would be pretty easy to find the place. Now just to gather the others and let them know what's up...

Chougou is watching his favorite trids in his dingy apartment eating soy popcorn with the help of a simple mechanical arm that he made for that purpose (more like a child's toy then a functional piece of equipment)

KingFisher tilted her head back and whistled. This has got to be better then another boring day selling charms.

She pressed her commlink and called the others in the team.

"Ok guys I have a job for us, we need to be at the Shadix next to the train station in the Izakaya District.  Try to look professional, I'm going in a suit for this one. For the love of the Kami don't frag with this Mr. Johnson. KingFisher Out."

A quick visit to the Artemis Club results in the Business Actioneer suit being worn, a non descript waterproof trench coat being carried. The holster of the Business suit is being used to conceal some reagents in case things get dangerous. A black faux leather cross body satchel contains her reagents pouch.

Wanting to get there quickly she debated summoning a spirit before deciding to hail a cab to get there in comfort.
The last thing she wanted to do was turn up dripping sweat and reaking of body odour.

Figuring there's no harm in trying she tries flirting with the driver.


When she arrives she takes a moment to make sure everything is in order and waits  for the others.

Chougou takes a troggy cab to the location and waddles in finding Kingfisher and asking to be put into a chair with a smile

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Kingfisher gets answering machines for the other runners. Leaving a message for them to call her back for a job, she gets ready and hops a cab. The cab driver is clearly a gaijin judging by his apparently limited grasp of the Desian language, and an ork to boot. His name, Antonio Hernandez, only further provides evidence to the fact. Still, he is quite flattered to have a pretty elf flirting with him and gives her his number, should she want to go out on a date some time. He gives her a wink and says, "This ride is on me."

Chougou's cab also features an ork driver, though no flirting is involved and his bill comes to 25 nuyen. Kind of pricey, but he was in a rush and didn't want to take the train.


The karaoke house is not hard to find; a free-standing massive building in the middle of one of the densest sprawls in the world. A huge square sign proudly proclaims "Shadix Please!" beneath a flashing sign that reads Karaoke in katakana. The place is big enough to be a hotel, if it were so purposed. Instead it is a cheap hangout for students and salarymen to go to and sing their troubles out, complete with endless free drinks from a soda fountain in the lobby. Chougou and Kingfisher meet each other in the lobby and then go upstairs to room 203 to find Rosa standing by herself in a small, dark room, belting out the opening theme to the latest Dungam animated series. Not pausing in her song, she ushers them both into the small room with booth-like seating around a central table. By the time you all are seated, she finishes up her song and turns down the sound to the karaoke machine with a large digital console as she places the microphone on the table. She takes a quick sip of orange juice to hydrate her throat before addressing you all.

"Good. You're here, sister. Thanks for making it. I have a job for you and it is a little unusual and possibly a little dangerous. I can't pay much, but if you get it done, you'll be doing the city a great service.

"I don't know if you have seen the news reports, but there is a serial killer somewhere in town. The police think it's gang activity and are doing a half-assed job of investigating it. I think that's just bullshit excuses and women are dying every day the killer isn't found. I want you to find the killer and bring him to justice. If you do a satisfactory job, I'll pay you each 500 nuyen. That includes your other two friends who work with you if they end up helping. I'm sorry that I can't spare more, but it's a good cause, right? Who knows? Maybe you can even cash in an extra reward from the police if you can prove the killer is guilty and turn him in. What do you say?"

Chougou things to himself that he is happy to help, but waits for Kingfisher to take the lead

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I assume that Kingfisher had seen and they have used his retinue of spy and attack drones, so I'll mention them here in the forum but not in game.

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KingFisher whistled softly as this was a little more serious then she was expecting.
"Didn't expect to be hunting a serial killer. The first thing I think we need to know is do we have any clues about this killer? Chasing a ghost across the city is a very time intensive way to solve the case.

The second thing is are we supposed to kill this creep, capture them for questioning or just hand them over to Cowboy Sheriff?"

She looked at her companions and tilted her head to invite them to join the conversation.

She remembered hearing about this sadistic killer on the news and she felt a cold wave of fear trickle down her back.
Looking unprofessional in front of a Mr Johnson was one thing, but chasing a violent cunning killer was something else.
They had her magic, some combat drones and a Decker. They were going to need some muscle.

She listened for someone to break the silence as her mind raced to come up with what she'd need to know to be able to start looking for this freak.
The money wasn't much but a sicko who tortures women to death needed dealing with.
Completely without knowing it she'd allowed her face to reflect her thoughts.
Her eyes flashed with determined anger, her face moved through showing fear, confusion, determination and a desperate urge to think of how to solve this mission.

Rosa says, "To be honest, I don't think the police even realize it is a serial killer yet. They certainly don't particularly care about it. Most of the victims have been street girls, some SINless, so they haven't really had much incentive to look too deeply into this case. Don't get me wrong, they do their job, but just to the very bare minimum of what is required of them when the victims don't matter. The last victim was a corp girl though so they seem to have started getting more involved in the investigation. Once real people are getting killed is when they start offering rewards, so you may be able to pick up some additional reward from them. So to answer your second question, I don't really care what happens to the killer, so long as he is off the streets. The police reward, assuming there will be one, may have other stipulations. They will need proof that the person you have detained is the killer. I am satisfied so long as the murders stop and am fine without any further details on the matter. I trust you enough to take you at your word that the job is done and they have been happening every day or two for a couple of weeks now, so it would be easy enough for me to confirm soon enough.

"As for your first question, I don’t have a whole lot of information to give you but know of where you can start. The latest victim was killed this evening and the Cowboys are securing the scene as we speak. If you are going to find any clues, I would suggest going there. If you hurry, you can even make it before they clean up the area. It won’t be easy to get past them, but the only other option is to break into a Cowboy Sheriff koban and try to steal what evidence they have there. Given the two choices, I think the first is definitely the easier of the two, but I leave the decision up to you. If you agree to the job, I’ll forward the address of the crime scene to your comms. Otherwise I need to find someone else to get there as soon as possible.”

Chougou agrees with Kingfisher about the nature of the work and is interested in trying to help in any way possible. The chance to collect the rewards from other sources could make any costs expended financially feasible, and an opportunity to help put an end to the killings is a cause that he would get behind no matter what.

But he does ask if there are any more personal reasons why she is hiring us, and that all information is valuable at this point no matter how insignificant it might seem...

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Rosa says, "There is some asshole out there murdering women. That's all the personal reason I need. I would hunt the guy down and kick his ass myself, but I am not much of a detective. I wouldn't know how to begin investigating something like this."

Kingfisher knows from her working relation with Rosa that all of her jobs involve taking care of people who brutalize women. Usually the work involves beating and terrorizing rapists, wife beaters and the occasional stalker. The only thing unusual about this current job is that the target is apparently an actual murderer.

Chougou apologizes for his forward behavior and agrees to assist in any way possible, offering to send his flying-eye drones to the scene immediately to record evidence while they travel there if Kingfisher agrees to the mission as well.

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Rosa says, "Like I said, it is an active crime scene, so if you send your drones, they had better either have enough zoom on their cameras to let you see any clues without getting into police airspace, or sneaky enough to explore without being noticed. It is a crime for unauthorized personnel to enter an active crime scene. I trust you will be discrete enough to not get yourselves into trouble with the law over this because I can't afford to bail you out."

Should I roll for discretion?

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((well, she hasn't given you the location yet))

KingFisher nodded slowly and looked at the Rigger.
"Do we have the skills to sneak a peek at the scene without being caught?"

Looking at Rosa
"Is there a contact in Cowboy Sheriff we can reach out to?
If we could find out what the cops found at the scenes, crime scene photos, anything in the official files it would help. They have to know more then they're letting the public know.
"

Rosa says, "I don't have any contacts with the police, and bribing one for evidence could get us in more trouble anyway, not to mention cost us money I don't have. If you think you can handle it, there is a small koban near the scene. Only a couple of officers are ever there at any one time. They aren't really the most secure of places and might have direct access to the Cowboy evidence database, which would be easier to try and access than one of the headquarters. Just don't get caught doing it."


((in case you are unfamiliar with the term, a koban is a very small local police station. They are usually 1-2 rooms with somewhere between 1-10 officers operating from them. Their purpose is the same as a typical large police station, but their size allows for more intimate community outreach and rapid response for smaller crimes. Below is an example of what a modern day one looks like. The ones in Mingmei are obviously a bit more modern, but only slightly.))

KingFisher listens thoughtfully and nudges Chougou with an elbow subtly.
"Think you could get into a Cowboy Sheriff system if I could get you inside?"

Turning to Rosa.
"Do we know the name of any detectives working on this? Just in case we need to drop a name when poking around. It sounds like there isn't a lot more information we can get. Where is the current crime scene so we can go check it out?"

You're a long way from backup if this goes wrong , let's hope these guys can handle the tech stuff.

Then a thought came to her, magic.
"Do we know if anyone checked for magic at any of the scenes? Be a shame if I called up a spirit and masked the true killers signature. "

I don't think that Chougou has any explicit reason why he could get info in the Cowboy Sheriff system, but he can try for simple backdoors with what is available at his level of course. As an additional measure though, he can send his fly-spies and flying eyes to the site to try to gather audio and visual information from the detectives since they probably wouldn't let us get too close to the scene without a disguise....

Chougou agrees with Kingfisher that spirits and drones will be the best primary option with their limited numbers, but he would like to try to see if he can access any case files, especially if they are at the scene being written currently and maybe not as protected as they would be back at the station?

"Maybe Sam will be better equipped to get the data.
In the meantime, get as much information from your drones as possible. We need to make sure the Adept comes along too, of trouble finds us we will need someone skilled in combat."

Rosa says, "Sorry, I have no idea what the police have done or who is in charge of the investigation. I don't really have any connections with the police. I just know that they have been investigating and women are still dropping, so they must not have found the guy yet.

"If you are planning on going to both locations though, I would start with the crime scene since that is the one that is the most time sensitive. Once they clear out of there, any evidence will either be bagged or destroyed through their bumbling. Can I take this as a yes, that you will be doing it then?"

Chougou agrees to send his drones to the site to find out what he can. One Fly-eye and two Fly Spies should be enough to get what can be got.

He agrees to the payment as well

Rosa nods and says, "Alright. It might not hurt to search for any magical traces there, and there might be witnesses to talk to, so I wouldn't rely on drones alone, but I leave the investigation to your discretion. Hold on while I give you the location..."

She zones out for a moment as she connects with her commlink via datajack and both of your commlinks ring with an address and local map to a small park called “Wanpaku Koen” which is well within walking distance from where you are. A pin in the map marks the crime scene.