//upload attachment :: user Nephrine :: 06/28/76// UCLA STUDENTS EXPELLED

LOS ANGELES NEWSOURCE [LAN]-–28 June 2076

LOS ANGELES, PCC: Pharmacology students Lateesha Yang and Arnim Obolu have been expelled in absentia and are facing criminal charges after fire officials responded to a call in Lab 3. The alarm triggered last Sunday was caused during processing of the Bioengineered Awakened Drug flipside. A search of their dorm rooms also revealed traces of flipside, a handgun, and various drug paraphernalia. Yang and Obolu have not been seen since the incident, and are believed to have gone into hiding.

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Date: June 28th, 2076
Location: Los Angeles
Mr. Johnson: Ms. Johnson (Dae)
Team: Carbon Copy, Fender, Rex Dart, Steps in Shadows, Woodstock
Run Type: Bodyguard / Extraction
Overview: Kaz Yakamura hires the runners to act as his bodyguards, and run some errands for him.

The runners receive a panicked com-call Dae, asking that they meet her at Tickler’s. When the team arrives they are escorted into the back room to find Dae pacing nervously and smoking. Seated in the center of the room is a clearly agitated Kaz Yakamura. Kaz informs the runners that he believes there are people trying to kill both he and Dae. He isn’t sure who it is, so he no longer trusts anyone he hasn’t specifically hired himself.  He asks the team to serve as his executive protection detail, guarding Dae and himself while also performing some tasks for him.

The runners drive the two to the relative safety of their apartment in Glendale. Kaz rants in the back seat about his woes… everyone is against him and trying to screw him, his enemies are working behind the scenes to drag him down, and the only people that he trusts are a select few members of the Komun’go, and the runners. Kaz asks the team to find Caine, a Lieutenant from the Ragers and bring him for a little one-on-one. Caine’s been going over his head to cut him our of the Flipside trade, and Kaz has some questions for him.

The team tracks Caine down to the top floor of a clubhouse in Pasadena. After a quick recon, they estimate about 20 gangers and at least 50 junkies/hangerson/party-goers on premises, as well. Deciding against a direct assault (for once), the team makes a… mostly direct assault. Woodstock casts an illusion in the street, drawing out some of the gang, and causing confusion. Steps-in-Shadows takes up a sniping position, and eliminates the sentries. With the aid of a levitate and invisibility spell, Rex dart is dropped directly onto the top floor. After a running gunfight across the rooftops of Pasadena, the team brings down Caine, and drags him back to Kaz’s flat.

When the runners return Caine to Kaz’s apartment, the troll drags him off to a bathroom. For the next few minutes the apartment is filled with tortured screams. When it stops Kaz is drenched in blood. Standing there bloody, he asks them to bunk down for the night. They have more business in the morning.

Rewards:
¥5,000 per person

+1 Loyalty with Kaz Yakamura

//upload attachment :: user Nephrine :: 06/22/71//

The Use of Parapharmaceuticals to Influence Metaplanar Travel in Postmodern Los Angeles
By Jacques Mandelleon, Graduate student at the Thaumaturgy Department, University of California Los Angeles.

Background: Many pre-Awakening shamanic cultures have made use of psychoactive substances in their rituals to achieve altered mental states which may nowadays be seen as an attempt to achieve astral projection or metaplanar journeying. While normally unnecessary to perform these tasks in the post-Awakening era (see my paper on The Use of Parapharmaceuticals as Geasa, a Cost/Benefit Analysis), a 2033 study by Dr. Anton d’Venescu revealed that some pharmaceuticals may assist in aspects of metaplanar journeying by guiding the initiate to a specifi c plane through the use of altered state when used in conjunction with a symbolic cosmology, which was inherent in many cultures. Quoting the maxim of the microcosm aff ecting the macrocosm, the altered state of the magician in navigating this symbolic landscape would serve as a roadmap to bring their astral self to a designated—and unfamiliar—metaplane. Th is paper will address an aspect of d’Venescu’s research as applied to the recent rise of the parapharmaceutical known as flipside, which has lately appeared on the streets of Los Angeles.

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//Archive/Newsfeeds /recovered//

LOS ANGELES NEWSOURCE [LAN]–22 June 2076

LOS ANGELES, PCC: The Pasadena docks exploded in violence late last night, when a gun battle erupted between what PuebSec believe to be members of the First Nations and the Ragers gangs. Sources say the fight may have resulted from a turf dispute linked to the increasingly profitable street trade of the new drug known as flipside. Drug related violence and petty crime has spiraled across the LA Metro area since the drug’s first appearance more than six months ago. Last night’s violence is only the latest such incident to make the news, as increasing numbers of adolescents and young adults turn to crime to fuel their habits. LA authorities and PuebSec have done little to stem the spiral of criminal activity.

Among those killed, at least six were positively identified as members of the First Nations or the Ragers. One remains unidentified, while the remaining three were identified as Maria Jones, a black ork woman residing in Downtown Los Angeles; Matthias Jones, a black man DNA-matched as Maria Jones’ younger brother; and Semyon Gorobets, a Ukrainian national. All have unverified criminal backgrounds, known to associate with elements of organized crime and the underground shadowrunner community.

// uploaded Newsfeed item :: 06/22/76//
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Date: June 14th, 2076
Location: Los Angeles
Mr. Johnson: Ms. Johnson
Team: Fender, Rex Dart, Steps in Shadows, Woodstock
Run Type: Extraction
Overview: The runners are hired to extract four high value targets from Horizon custody.

The team gets a call from Reno Pyatt with a job offer. The details are sketchy, but Mr. Johnson fills them in a few hours later. They need to extract four heavily guarded targets from Horizon, and deliver them to Mr. Johnson. The only problem is, that the only time that these executives are not heavily guarded is while they’re in transport, so they’ll need to extract them in mid-air. Johnson has a line on a guy who’s done this before, so they’re basically just muscle on this run.

The team meets Wheels, the ‘expert’ for more info. They first need to break in to the FAA’s Auxiliary Control Center at the Ontario Airport. The team buys a keycard to access the building, and Fender, with some help from Woodstock, levitates over the fence and walks right in the front door… while invisible. From there, Cygnet directly accesses the FAA’s data systems to obtain the target aircraft’s flight log and transponder code, bypassing a lot of the usual Matrix security. Security is called (due to the unauthorized access), but the two of them hold them off and escape.

Next comes the actual extraction. The plan is to intercept the target somewhere between LA and Arizona. As they approach, the Cygnet uses the transponder access code as a backdoor into the aircraft’s systems. From there it’s just a matter of hacking the control systems, jamming any communications, and rendering the aircraft blind to their approach. Wheels maneuvers the C-260 into position and deploys the Sky Sled with the entry team on board. The sled maneuvers itself into position and docks with the Gulfstream. The team cuts a hole in the roof and drops into the cargo hold. The resistance on the plane is minor, but the team is hampered by parachutes and cramped spaces. Eventually, they secure the targets and transfer them from the Gulfstream to the C-260. Once the team is back on the Sled, and aloft, Cygnet sabotages the controls and lets gravity take over.

They deliver the targets back at Wheel’s airstrip and collect payment.

Rewards:
4 Karma per person
¥20,000 per person

Wheels added as a contact (1/1)
+1 Street Cred (Mid air extraction)

//Archive/Newsfeeds /recovered//

LOS ANGELES NEWSOURCE [LAN]–2 June 2076

LOS ANGELES, PCC:  In what is being called a response to escalating gang violence, PuebSec public relations spokesperson, Maxine Poocha announced today that PuebSec would be hiring former Metroplex Guard of?cers to bolster its overtaxed LAMetro Fast Response Division. The move comes after weeks of escalated gang warfare throughout the city. Poocha admitted PuebSec FRT forces had been caught ?at-footed by the sudden spike in gang violence. “We were unprepared to handle the level of ?repower and military efficiency these gangs are operating with,” she stated. Poocha went on to say that the move would allow the police force to “get out on the street in greater numbers and protect the city from criminal elements.”

// uploaded Newsfeed item :: 06/2/76//
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Date: May 29th, 2076
Location: Los Angeles
Mr. Johnson: Ms. Johnson
Team: Carbon Copy, Fender, Rex Dart, Woodstock
Run Type: Intimidation / Blackmail
Overview: The runners are hired to persuade a financial consultant to do some work for their employer.

The team receives an e-vite to a private party at Tickler’s gentleman’s club. When they arrive they are escorted to a private room, but this time Ms. Johnson is dressed in a sensuous black skirt and matching formal top with a Masquerade mask resting upon her pinned up hair. She tells the runners that her associates need help persuading a financial consultant to work for them. Their target is Evan Goldman, a hedge fund manager for Brackhaven Investments. The  job is to gather or create blackmail information on Goldman, then serve as intermediaries for the blackmail operation.

The team searches, but finds very little incriminating evidence about Goldman. He’s a devout father, husband, and Mormon. The closest thing that he has to a secret, or a vice is his weekly psychologist appointments. The team decides to fabricate blackmail information, and has Cygnet forge video, phone logs, and emails. When the team picks Goldman up, and Ms. Johnson presents the ‘evidence’ to him, he’s devastated, and confused. Ms. Johnson gives him instructions:  She will be testing him with an initial 100,000 nuyen. He is to clean the money through his firm and contact the runners to hand over the clean credsticks in no more than 48 hours. He is told not to try any silly moves; the runners will be watching him.

Over the next day and a half, Goldman is obviously rattled. Cygnet monitors his phone calls, and about 36 hours later he reaches out to the authorities. The team gives him a warning, but then… unexpectedly… he runs. Quickly, the team is in pursuit. They find that he has an armed escort, and they tail them to a parking garage. The runners eliminate the escort, recover the 100,000 nuyen, and then put down Goldman.

Rewards:
5 Karma per person
¥8,000 per person

+1 Loyalty with Kaz Yakimura

//Archive/Newsfeeds /recovered//

LOS ANGELES NEWSOURCE [LAN]–23 May 2076

Blood is running on our streets and authorities seem powerless. This weekend saw another 14 deaths in three separate gang confrontations and two armed robberies. It makes you wonder what tomorrow’s headlines will be like and how far this will be allowed to escalate. The chilling weekend death toll includes four innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire and one PuebSec officer killed in the line of duty.

According to official sources, most of the incidents are narcotics-related. With more than a century of dealing with designer drugs, then Better-Than-Life, and now Bioengineed Awakened Drugs—will the legal system always remain one step behind? With law enforcement agencies limited to slaps on the hand, one-night lockups, and inconsequential fines—the new generation of drug dealers and their thugs are back on the streets mere hours after being arrested.

Until we face the fact that current Federal and Metroplex legislation—often subject to powerful corporate lobbies—is woefully inadequate and outdated, the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel might indeed be the next train. Right now, honest, hard-working residents would like to know what is being done to keep them “safe and secure.”

// uploaded Newsfeed item :: 05/23/76//
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Date: May 15th, 2076 / May 22nd, 2076
Location: Los Angeles
Fixed By: Ganef
Mr. Johnson: Mr. ‘August’ Johnson / D’Scialpi
Team: Fender, Rex Dart, Steps In Shadows, Woodstock
Run Type: Intimidation / Theft
Overview: The runners are hired to intimidate an engineer, and set him up for extraction.

The runners are hired by a bland corporate Johnson to setup a client for extraction. Iwasaki Yajiro, Prize Skyward’s lead engineer, apparently is looking to defect to Horizon, and the runners need to help him illustrate to his superiors that he and his family are not safe. The team has a list of tasks… blow up his car, vandalize his home, make it look like someone’s out to get his children, and, ultimately, forge some photos of his wife dead in a ditch. The team accepts, and the job goes off without a hitch… until they find out a short while later that the target died of a massive heart attack moments after receiving the photos. Apparently, Iwasaki may not have been aware of the extraction plans! Not only that, but someone tipped of PuebSec about their involvement. They make the decision to lay low, and Rex Dart quits his day job in order to stay hidden.

A week later the team gets a chance for some payback. The score is big… possibly in the millions, and the team’s cut is 20% of the final take. The target is a Horizon complex in Anaheim. The facility is serving as a corporate scrip credstick reclamation site for taking Horizon corporate script off of credsticks and converting it to account-based systems. The facility recently accumulated approximately twelve million in Horizon certified scripsticks, and their contact wants them to be a part of the team that’s going to hit it. D’Scialpi and his team are very professional, and have planned the job minute by minute. The team simply needs to be ready to ‘go’ in three days time.

The actual infiltration and theft goes off pretty much without a hitch. The team enters the warehouse from the east, eliminates security, and then makes a coordinated attack on the script storage room. They take care of the opposition there (with assistance from D’Scialpi’s men), and load the trucks. The other team opens a second vault and removes some secondary objective, as well. They all caravan to a Wuxing facility a 40 minute drive away, and split the loot. After the Triad’s take (50%, since they ‘own’ the script laundering business in LA), the team gets their 20% – 127,000 in Horizon Scriptsticks. D’Scialpi offers to convert it to Nuyen on the spot at 2/1, and the team walks away with ¥63,500.

Rewards:
5 Karma per person
¥4,000 per person / ¥15,875  per person
+1 Public Awareness – August the Johnson frames the runners
+1 Street Cred – Finishing, and maintaining professionalism during the scrip heist
+1 Loyalty with Ganef

Location: Anaheim, Heritage Park neighborhood, north most point of Solo Point Rd
Starting position: Treeline east of facility

Timeline for Action at Horizon Live ‘n Work Facility:
21:05:00 – Fifteen MCT-Nissan Roto-drones carrying jammers will descend upon the Horizon Live ‘n Work facility in a pre-programmed pattern that will completely block all Matrix transmissions coming from the facility.
21:05:00 – Number Three sets off a shaped charge on top of the wired Matrix line running south out of the facility.
21:05:05 – Four crashes the gate and delivers One, Two, and Three in the south.
21:05:30 – Your team stationed covering the east moves in.
21:10:00 – Both teams in position to storm storage room containing scrip-sticks.
21:10:10 – Storm storage room.
21:10:20 – Number Four (via Signal 7 commlink transmitter) pilots four delivery trucks parked on the south road to enter the facility.
21:12:00 – Your team takes loading dock in north of warehouse. Clears threats.
21:13:00 – Your team signals all clear for delivery trucks to move into position, back up to the docks, and open their rear doors for loading. Number Four will drive the crew’s van to the back, also. Load pallets of scrip in seven minutes.
21:20:00 – Egress to rendezvous. Get paid.

Rendezvous TBA.

Security:
Well-trained and equipped personnel
Maglocks w/passkey and keycode entry systems
Armed fast-response ground drones