3A - To Heir is Human

Sato swirls his drink to catch all the Absinthe coating the glass and chats with the bartender about the pros and cons of rye Sazerac vs the rumored original cognac-based drink ((IRL my favorite cocktail)) as he observes the comings and goings at the restaurant.  

He's particularly interested if he can observe signs of any chem or mag scanners down here that would prevent him from bringing things into the hotel - are people entering and then discretely being approached by someone that could be hotel security? In a place like this, it would be subtle.

((here's a bit more than you asked for, including his newly acquired Art skill))
 

Sato sends a DNI message to Chougou to get the layout of the penthouse floor from the fire records ((I think this was an option before but we didn't exercise it - hopefully this will help with his Kanmushi recon))

((I think we were going to have Sam try to get them if he got back in time, I'm not sure where we are with relation to their timeline though...Chougou has not had the best luck at hacking so far. But if he gets a spare moment from the remote spying he could try?))

Chougou waits till the bathroom appears to be empty of visitors, sends the sewer snake into the bowl and tries to wash itself off by wriggling around a bit and then takes a cautious peak over the rim of the bowl.

((I'm not sure how Japanese toilets are designed, or the exact size of the sewer snake, but could it try to make its way into the actual tank in the back?))

Sato notices no real signs of searches for anything on this floor. Again, cameras and discreet staff are about all that seem to serve as security here. If there are stronger security measures, they are reserved for the higher floors.

Among the guests, he notices a famous local fashion designer: Reiko Kawagoe. Sporting her signature straight cut hairstyle and over-sized glasses, she appears to be enjoying her meal peacefully with friends. One of whom appears to be Manami Nomura, an ex-nurse who lost her arms in a car accident and yet somehow managed to become a professional violinist and win a silver medal in swimming. Not wanting to get cybernetic replacements, she has made up for the loss through the use of magic, as is obviously visible from the chopsticks floating in front of her as if operated by invisible hands.



Chougou attempts to contact Sam, but he and all the others in his group appear to be completely offline at the moment. Meanwhile, he sloshes the snake a bit in the water to get the filth off. This makes some splashing noise and he hears someone from the other room say, "Huh? What's that?" ((give me a stealth+agility[handling] check. I assume you are jumped in so you get the normal bonus equal to your control rig rating to dice and limit))


((Private toilets generally look like this. They are generally similar to western toilets, but have some gadgets on them to warm the seat and clean your butt. The biggest difference is while western toilet tanks are usually filled internally, these ones have a spigot up top that pours water into a hole when you flush, allowing you to wash your hands with the water as the tank fills up so as to save on water waste. The ones in this hotel are cleaner and fancier than the one in the image there, featuring a button that also dries your butt after its been washed.

As for the size of the snake, it's about the size of a garter snake. Around 2 feet long and fairly slender. It could potentially climb up to the tank and squeeze into the hole where the water pours in after flushing, if pressed))

Sato swirls his drink idly as he tries to be friendly with the bartender as he waits for Chougou to finish scouting.

"Is the turnout always this interesting?  I've been away a while, but I'm pretty sure that's Manami Nomura.  I can't say I know much about magic, but she's clearly very skilled...do you think she held back with the silver medal to avoid the inevitable criticism?"

Torpor takes the drink proffered to him, and sips at it as he steps back once again to watch the room. He nods to the bartender.

The bartender says, "Well, this place caters to a certain caliber of clientele. You aren't going to get a whole lot of riffraff around here. If you cater to the best, the best come to you. It also helps that we respect their privacy, so I would suggest you do not bother any of the clients that you may happen to recognize. Management frowns on that.

"I am not sure what criticism you mean though. If you imply that she might have used magic to cheat, well I understand that the judges for these events watch carefully to see what magic is being used. I would suggest you not bring up such implications to her. Besides the trouble you may get into with management for upsetting our guests, I personally would not want to be on the bad side of any mage."

Chougou's sense of panic increases rapidly as he hears what sounds like an inquisitive voice muffled through the water and he tries to hide:

sewer snake hiding by going up under the rim of the bowl ((I'm envisioning it putting itself around the interior of the toilet and rolling itself sideways until it is under the...lip(?) of the bowl itself and sticking there, just low enough to allow water to pass it if the guy flushes the toilet again.))

agility-1 (2) plus control rig rating (5) plus jumped in (2) ((if applicable?))
Fuchou 复仇 carried out 9 launched of one d6 :

, , , , , , , ,

and if allowed -2 to the perception of the seeker because of Subtle Vehicle Pilot trait

((limit would be (3) for sewer snake plus (5) for rig rating?))

((@Sato, I think it was declared that I have to get a special compartment to transport anything with the sewer snake, which I will be doing after this mission, but I am going to try to hide in the toilet tank and power down to make it invisible to the matrix like you had mentioned))

Using edge to reroll misses:
Fuchou 复仇 carried out 7 launched of one d6 :

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((your control rig is the cyberware in your head. I can't seem to find your cyberware on your sheet at all. It looks like you may have deleted/overwritten it because I remember you having a control rig at the least, and your essence but the highest a control rig can go is 3, and I think the highest you can get at chargen is 2, so you either have a rating of 1 or 2. Guessing from your current essence total, you probably just have a rating 2 alphaware control rig. In fact, under equipment you have "Top of the line VCR Alpha" listed, which would probably be a rating 2 alphaware control rig. So yeah, you get 2 dice to the roll, not 5, for a total of 6 dice. That unfortunately means you get 0 hits, even after the edge.

They do have to make a check to spot and the -2 subtle pilot does apply to their check, but even with that it's not a very hard check to make...))

A man walks into the bathroom and spots Chougou's drone as it clumsily attempts to wiggle under the edge of the inner toilet bowl. With a surprised yelp, he freaks out and slams the lid shut. From the sounds of things, he has decided to stand on the lid while he makes a call. Chougou can faintly hear the sound of the line ringing.

Sato sits at the bar twirling the decorative lemon zest in his fingers as he chats with the bartender.  
 
"Of course, it was merely gossip.  I respect your discretion, sir.  I would expect no less from a man of your calibre."  

Sato chats idly about bartending - genuinely respectful and curious to learn from a master to improve his own day job.  
 
((you mentioned above that this man seemed out of place in this hotel - can I use Judge Intentions to see if there is some angle I could pursue to improve our relationship?))
 


Sato sends a DNI message to Chougou: "How's it going?  I haven't seen an update yet."

Something about the air of the bartender looks like he would be more at home at a quiet hole-in-the-wall kind of bar. He seems to be friendly and more interested in chatting with the customers than mixing fancy drinks and putting on a show. Also, the type of person who usually tends bars in such a high class establishment is usually fairly clean cut and professional looking. This guy, while skilled, is much more relaxed and his hairstyle looks like he just randomly takes a shaver to it whenever it starts to get in his way.

Chougou freaks out and his nervousness doubles from his ridiculous failure to hide a drone in the toilet and turns it around to run as fast as possible!

If Sato is pinging at about the same time he let's him and Torpor know that the sewer snake was just seen and he is trying to get to a safe spot to hide. Probably another toilet somewhere.

Chougou then tries to send the sewer snake back into the pipes looking for another toilet that appears to be in an unoccupied room. If he finds it then he tries to go into the toilet tank to hide.

The sewer snake slips back into the piping. Chougou can hear, "Hello? Front desk..." before the voice is muffled from the snake's submersion into the pipes.

Once Chougou messages him, Sato immediately sends a DNI message back which reads
"Get the snake back down the pipes to below the level of the hotel NOW.  Can you get eyes on the apartment via the Kanmushi on the outside via the window?  With luck, we may learn a bit what their security response looks like."

GameMaster wrote:Something about the air of the bartender looks like he would be more at home at a quiet hole-in-the-wall kind of bar. He seems to be friendly and more interested in chatting with the customers than mixing fancy drinks and putting on a show. Also, the type of person who usually tends bars in such a high class establishment is usually fairly clean cut and professional looking. This guy, while skilled, is much more relaxed and his hairstyle looks like he just randomly takes a shaver to it whenever it starts to get in his way.

 
Sato sits at the end of the bar and lights a cigarette, cool as cucumber. He offers one to the bartender, but will not take offense if he is on duty.

He keeps an eye on the lobby for security response (especially the front desk for hurried calls or the staff area/elevator for incongruous people heading up) as he chats with the bartender to try to establish a connection.  As a bartender himself, he is used to putting people at ease and getting them to talk and he has genuine appreciation for such a master of the profession. ((dunno if I should roll, but I feel like I should so I'm just gonna do it))



((fragging finally - I've been on a cold streak - limit 9 so I keep them all!))

Chougou pilots the snake with even more difficulty than before, and the tension is only increased by his nervousness and fear overtaking him from being caught and now trying to escape the building.

5 Pilot groundcraft (with penalty for exotic device?) + 5 Reaction + 2 Jumped in

Fuchou 复仇 carried out 12 launched of one d6 :

, , , , , , , , , , ,

((I meant to post this in the previous link if it is helpful))
Control Rig Rating (2)

Sewer Snake:
Handl Speed Accel Body Armor Pilot Sens
3 1G/1W 1/1 2(1) 0 2 2

((Chougou, what about the Kanmushi? Can it see what happens through the window?))

None of the windows appear to have a clear view of the bathroom but all of them give you a view of some portion of the suite. The kanmushi sees a couple of hotel employees showing up about 5 minutes later with equipment to deal with the drone. By this time the drone is long gone, of course. After some time in the bathroom, they start sweeping the other rooms...

((Assume Chougou keeps me in the loop))

DNI : “Hmm, 5 minute response time...interesting. Can you shoot some high-Rez images of the response team that we can analyze to see what gear they have and then get the drone out of sight and shut it down for 30 min before they start the sweep?”

Chougou takes the images and forwards them to Sato and Torpor until he feels that it's time to hide/shut down the kanmushi to avoid detection, being more cautious than less.

Sato politely (and apologetically) excuses himself from the conversation with the bartender to "take a call for work" and examines the photos/videos Chougou's Kanmushi took of the response team for signs of weapons/cyber/gear/etc

The bartender goes back to work, leaving Sato to his own business.

The two people in the picture do not appear to be an armed response. One looks like a handyman who probably takes care of plumbing issues on site as well as any other general repairs judging by the toolbox in one hand and paint-speckled clothing he's wearing. The other looks like a tech expert with a datajack. He has some kind of tablet-like device in his hand, either a commlink or a cyberdeck. He also has some kind of sensor box in the other hand, which he is using to scan the room. That's all Chougou can get before he shuts down and hides his drone ((How are you planning on turning it back on? A timer? If so, how long are you setting it for?))