The Excruciating Ecstasy of Jacking - Shadowrun Returns

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Stroth: Mar 31, 2007; All Problems Solved

paragon1 posted:

Real Meat and Real Bread are going to be way more expensive, there is a real qualitative difference between what foods we enjoy now and what people in Shadowrun put up with.

Only at the low levels of society. Even a middle management wageslave makes enough money that there's no way to tell that what he's eating is soy instead of the real stuff. Very good money in artificial flavourings and food additives to change textures after all. Plenty of major Corps have their hand in that business.

# ? Nov 4, 2017 08:14

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# ? Jun 1, 2024 14:22

Kanfy: Jan 9, 2012; Just gotta keep walking down that road.

PMush Perfect posted:

Aren't there a set of dialogue options for this part that are something like thinly-veiled disdain, tempered by the fact that you've absolutely been caught with your pant down? Been a long time since I played DMS.

To a degree, sure. You can straight-up say that you were only hired to solve a murder and all this stuff really isn't your problem, but Telestrian is pretty quick to point out that you're in no position to refuse because the only real thing that makes you uniquely qualified, the fact that you've fought the insect spirits before, also holds true for the runners you brought with you for the Brotherhood run. If you won't do it then he'll get rid of you and hire one of them to lead the assault instead.

# ? Nov 4, 2017 09:09

wedgekree: Feb 20, 2013

Well yeah you can totally leave, but then the man that is in a home with the very, very high end magic user, the in-setting legendary lord of chaos, and the right hand man of the Dragon that runs the second biggest corp on the planet are going to have WORDS.

You're in a room with one person who runs an AA Corp, the right hand man ofthe second biggest corp in the world (Yes I'm aware he's the head of it, in-universe most people don't know that distinction), and Harlequin is the most interesting of the bunch.

In-universe it's quite, quite possible that going into the abyss full of alien bug zombies from another dimension has a HIGHER chance of survival. Because do you WANT to say 'no' to Lofwyr when he is directly in the room?

# ? Nov 4, 2017 10:01

Kanfy: Jan 9, 2012; Just gotta keep walking down that road.

There's a couple more short stories relevant to the characters in the game left, the first of which is The Road to Hell by Phaedra Weldon. It sheds some light on the enigmatic Baron Samedi and what exactly went down with him before the events of the game.

Shadowrun Anthology posted:

The Road to Hell, Part 1

Someone said the road to hell is paved with the bodies of your enemies.

That�s not exactly true.

It�s littered with the remnants of your dreams.

We all have them. Dreams. We�re born with them, and when we�re young, if we�re lucky to have parents who care and nurture us, and not soul-sucking pieces of drek who waste their lives in a BTL haze, we�re encouraged to live those dreams.

But even our parents can�t stop those with power and influence. If they want you beat down, they�ll win. But it�s up to you, chummer, to rise from the ashes.

After moving to Seattle, I discovered my Matrix persona, Baron Samedi, had garnered a bit of rep cred back home in New Orleans. Once settled in our new doss, the jobs came steady and the clients paid on time. Picked up a partner named Tex Mex who covered my back enough for me to count her as a chummer. All was well.

Then a new client contacted me. Easy in, easy out. Only that wasn�t the whole story, and Tex and I found ourselves under fire two minutes in. I won�t say I�d gotten a bit cocky. My search hadn�t tagged the node as heavily secured because it wasn�t using one of the generic attack programs employed for basic security nowadays.

The program chasing us through the target node looked like a multiplying army of black clad ninjas with Uzis. It was an old-school crawler, the kind they used to use for search engines. Simple, but effective, and since not many deckers wrote on the fly against them, experience wasn�t something this particular piece of drek worried about. But then again, it hadn�t met me before.

I was good at thinking on my feet, in the Matrix and out of it. Besides, I had a rep for null-footprint. I needed Tex up front with me. Her rig had more memory than mine, and if I had to write code, I was going to need all of mine and use hers for the paydata.

I pulled my icon back behind a wall and tucked my weapon into my back pocket. To anyone in the Matrix, Baron Samedi resembled a darkskinned guy with a face painted like a skull, top hat, and black penguin suit. Didn�t spring for the slick shoes, though. I preferred a nice set of Doc Martens under the ribbon-trimmed slacks.

There was a slight pause through my cyber terminal as I typed the new code. Not having my own datajack was flagging as a real handicap, but I�d never been able to afford one. I figured if I got the right dataslave job, the corp that hired me would spring for the best. And if I could maneuver like pro with a terminal, just imagine what kind of nuyen I could rack up with a Fuchi Cyber 4, or even a Fairlight Excalibur.

�Tex, ready a capture. I�m out of memory.�

�So ka.�

I�m three months away from graduating from a primo High School. Managed a scholarship on my grades in my tenth year, so my dad transferred from New Orleans to Seattle. Took a cut in pay to do it. He was proud. Me... being a human in a school that was 90% Elf had its... well... it was drek. First month in, I�d dodged more attempts to end my short-lived school career than I ever had in the Matrix. The fact I was smarter than most of the students there didn�t help.

Eventually my newness wore off, but my exemplary grades still fragged off one of the hotter-headed elves. Real drek sucker named Alexander Tolemy. Pasty skin, thin white hair, and a face that looked like he had his nose in the crapper. Alexander hated me simply because I used his air.

The fact his father was the head of Telestrian Security for the school annoyed the drek out of me. I didn�t want to catch his attention, or that of Lone Star. I stuck to my usual MO: small jobs, stay solid, and null-footprint.

Tex had dreams of being a shadowrunner some day. Eh... not me. Too dangerous. I wanted a steady paycheck so I could treat my dad in his old age. Steady, old, and shadowrunner weren�t part of the same sentence.

My search signaled my target data on the other side of the ninjas. I gave Tex the signal and launched my defense. The idea was to bait and switch. A crawler acted a lot like a zombie, reacting to loud noises and vibrations. So I gave them multiple targets, little laughing skulls to mirror my own. Each skull did minimal damage, just surface drek really, enough to catch the crawler�s attention so my own non-damaging movements weren�t labeled a threat.

Slipping past them, I found the filing cabinet in the back room. I used the code the client had supplied, and it opened. The file looked like a lunchbox. Really, it looked like it was made of tin with the picture of a school bus on it. I slipped it into my bag, moved past the dancing skulls.

I pulled out the lunch box for Tex to download.

�Baron��

�Yeah?�

�What�s that?�

I dodged a flurry of shurikens as they stuck into the walls and doorframe around us. �It�s the file��

She grabbed it, opened it, pulled out a thermos and then tossed the box at the ninjas. The thermos dissolved, meaning it downloaded, and she grabbed my arm. �Bounce!�

Her abrupt fear fueled my own. Not wanting to get scragged, I jumped out of the node, not really caring about the null-footprint any more.

The connection terminated and I powered the terminal down and sat back, rubbing my eyes.

�Harkeem?�

It always amazed me how my dad knew when I�d logged off. �Yeah?� My voice sounded fuzzy.

�It�s after eleven. You need to get some sleep.�

Drek. Homework was done and uploaded already, and I�d cleaned the dishes before logging in. Job was done, but I couldn�t sleep just yet. I wanted to meet with Tex real quick. Though sleep sounded really good, and I could get the chip from Tex after school tomorrow, I needed to talk to her.

So I sent her a message.

Gonna grab a snack at the stuffer.

�See you in the morning.� I could hear my dad shuffling off to bed.

I splashed water on my face, toweled off, grabbed a jacket, boots, and a credstick I�d already loaded for Tex. Stepping out into the cool, misting Seattle night was always a good way to get the after images of what I called Matrix sludge out of my brain. And I liked walking. Being stuck at a desk, and then a terminal�didn�t want to get lazy, you know? I kept my dreads coiffed and clean, but I also had to keep my figure trimmed for my lady.

Marie-Louise. Tall, gorgeous, and all elf. She was also the daughter of James Telestrian, owner and CEO of Telestrian Industries. So far the big man hadn�t really engaged in his daughter and my relationship. I hoped the status quo stayed chill.

Tex knew to meet me at the Stuffer Shack over on Pike Street. Porkchip let us use the back storage room.

The place had gone through three owners since Dad and I had moved to the area. First a little Asian man, then a dwarf with some serious skin issues. After that Porkchip showed up, an ork with more metal in his head than I�d seen in our doss. He had cyber eyes and most of his dome was chrome. Even his tusks had been replaced with chrome spikes.

The guy looked odd behind the counter in an apron. But he was straight up chummer and decent.

Porkchip waved and nodded to the back when I stepped in. Tex was already there.

She was pacing too. A goblinized teen, she�d been ten when it happened. Her ork physique was in better shape than my human one, and she had smaller than usual tusks. Her pointed ears peeked through wet, raven hair.

Tex palmed me the chip and I gave her the credstick. Something in her eyes worried me. �Hoi, Tex. What gives?�

�That lunch box was a double-blind, and the thermos is a data bomb.�

I leaned back and felt water drip from my dreads down my neck in a successful parody of a cold chill running down my spine. �A what?�

�Data bombs are usually used for corporate drek. They disseminate a lot of information into targeted nodes, usually the ones used for news.� She rubbed her chin. �They work well for smear campaigns. Most politicians hire out to find those kinds of things and frag �em.�

�My client hired me to find this one?�

�Dunno. When I downloaded it, I chipped it immediately because I didn�t want to trip it. Which, I assume, happens when someone opens it. I called a friend � remember the runner I told you about?�

�Yeah... Ardent or something?�

�Argent. I told him about the lunchbox and thermos. I thought I�d heard him mention the icons before.�

�And?�

�They�re the signature icons for Telestrian Security. Someone had a data-bomb ready for someone at your school.�

***

I found Marie with her friends down by the tennis courts. Despite last night�s weirdness, I had good news I wanted to share with her. Except when I saw her, she looked upset.

�What�s going on?� I kept my hands shoved into the pockets of my school uniform pants as we talked away from her crowd.

She crossed her arms over her chest. �Harkeem, my father says you were involved with drugs in New Orleans. That you�re a bad influence, and he said he had some information he�d dug up on you.�

�Information?� I had a clear memory of my school rep in New Orleans. It wasn�t much different than here, and I�d never dealt drugs. �What information? If there�s something out there, I�d like to know.�

�He said Alexander�s dad, Mr. Tolemy, had found all kinds of trash on you in the Matrix and brought it to his attention, but when I told him to prove it, he couldn�t find it. Mr. Tolemy came over, and the two were screaming at each other.� She reached out and put a hand on my chest. It took all my drekking willpower not to pull her into my arms. �I don�t want to believe it, and the fact he couldn�t find it made it seem sort of ridiculous.�

�Come on, Marie � have you ever seen me take drugs? Or buy or sell them? And I�m sure you did your own search on me when we met.� I winked at her. �Did you find anything?�

�No.�

�You know Alex has been gunning for me ever since I scored higher than him on our last Matrix infrastructure sim. And if no one else believes it, I�m still convinced he�s got his dad to going along with trying to smear me. It might even be his idea. I�m pretty sure he�s seen this, and that�s why he�s making all this up.� I reached into my back pocket, pulled out a print of an email I�d received last night, and handed it to her. �I�m a straight-up, respectable guy, Marie. Always have been.�

I watched her beautiful eyes widen as she read it. Her face glowed when she looked up at me. �Knight Errant offered you a position?�

I nodded, trying to stay casual about it. �Apparently they think I�ve got the grades to work in the corp security division in research and development. Did you see where they�re offering to continue my education, and�� Waggling my eyebrows, I tapped my temple. ��install a serious data jack?�

Her grin was infectious, and when she jumped up into my arms, I couldn�t stop myself from pressing a kiss against her soft, supple lips.

�I�m so proud of you.�

�That means a lot to me. I�d never jeopardize this future � our future � over drugs, or anything else. I want to prove to you that a guy like me from New Orleans can make it.�

She kissed me that time. �I always knew you could.�

# ? Nov 6, 2017 21:45

Kanfy: Jan 9, 2012; Just gotta keep walking down that road.

Shadowrun Anthology posted:

The Road to Hell, Part 2

When Alexander and his cronies showed up in the tech-lab after school, I wasn�t really surprised. Not happy, but null-perspiration. Cheyanne, whose mother taught tenth-grade magical logistics and history, was on his way here. A year older than me, he was attending his tribe�s private school. He and I became friends when he saw my icon online and figured out who I was. He didn�t have a datajack either, not wanting the tech to mess with his magic. But he did, on occasion, visit the Matrix with Tex and I.

�You were warned, Harkeem.� Alexander shook his head as he set his book bag on a terminal. �Stay away from Marie-Louise.�

�She can make up her own mind, Alex.� I kept my voice steady and silently wished Cheyanne would show up now. I�m not defenseless. I did grow up in the New Orleans sprawl. But since arriving in Seattle and spending a lot more time online, I�d let some of my reflexes go to drek. I could probably scrag pretty boy easily, but with all of his chummers joining in? Not likely.

The elf stopped in his tracks, his expression hardening. A lot of the teachers at the school were elf, along with a few humans, orks and one troll who taught physical education. The elf teachers usually kept their expressions muted. Alexander wasn�t that good at it yet, and what I saw in his thin face and weird drekking eyes was a bit more than anger.

I saw rage. This guy hated me.

�Not the way I hear it,� Alexander continued in his thin voice. �Word is you�ve brought your drug culture here to the school, and that�s how you can afford to live in that house. You have nice things because you sell drugs, Harkeem. Because I know your father doesn�t make nearly enough to make those payments.�

�You�re guessing, Alex.�

�Don�t call me that.�

�Alexander, let�s just frag his rear end and go. I�m hungry.�

I didn�t pay attention to which of them said this because I was too shocked that they�d said it out loud.

�Well, well, well,� said a familiar voice. �Looks like a meeting of the dandelion club.�

Everyone turned to see Cheyanne standing in the doorway. He was tall, with tan skin, and tribal tats on his neck and shoulders. His hair was long and dark, a single braid down his back. Not a shine of tech on him anywhere, not even the glimpse of a weapon, but power and control radiated off of him in waves. I wouldn�t have been surprised if one of the leaf munchers had pissed his pants right about now.

Alexander�s face turned even paler for a second, but he recovered fast. �You don�t belong here, Cheyanne.�

He took several steps in. �You know what�s fascinating about a totem, drek-head? They can hear things and tell me. And mine told me what you just said.�

�You didn�t hear anything.�

�Really? Care to wager about that? If you really know what Mr. Marshall makes, then that fact alone breaks a whole drekking mess of school rules of confidentiality, since the only way you�d know it is if you�d decked in and took a peek-a-boo. So, unless you�d like to be brought up before the board in a disciplinary hearing, I suggest you frag off.� He leaned forward. �Now.�

Alexander�s posse split, but he took his time leaving, shooting me one last dark look before disappearing behind the door.

I slumped over and banged my head on the terminal I�d been working at. �Drek.�

He stood in front of me. �Let�s go. We need to talk.�

Cheyanne had his mother�s old car. It was beat to drek, but it moved when it needed to. And since it was already old and in rough shape, most of the gangers left it alone. He pulled up near my house and cut the engine. �Tex told me what you found last night.�

I told him what Marie Louise said about her dad having information about me selling drugs in New Orleans. �So, I wonder if what I snatched was what Mr. Telestrian said he�d found.�

He reached into his bag and handed me a credstick. �It was. I was your client.�

My jaw hit the console between the seats. �What the frag? You knew it was there?�

�Mom said something to me a few nights ago. The dandelions talk around her because they don�t think she�s paying attention, or they seem to think she�s stupid. She overheard one of the board members talking to Edward Tolemy about digging up scratch on you in New Orleans. I�d already done that for a possible chummer, so I knew you were pretty much a null-head there.�

I gave him a sour look. �Possible chummer? Someone paid you to look me up?�

�Chill. Not you as Harkeem. They�re looking for a local decker, and I wanted to recommend Baron Samedi. And I knew he�d want a file.�

�Who?�

�Tex�s friend. We�ve already collaborated on a few jobs.� Cheyanne winked. �I play the Shaman.�

I held out my hands. �Uh uh, Chey. I don�t want to be a shadowrunner.�

�Yeah, Tex said you were planning on dataslaving. Which is drek, Hark. You got chops and you got style. You�re already getting a name out there in the Matrix. You get things done, and you�re known to be a ghost.�

�Yeah, but I�m not sure about last night.�

�They don�t know who took the data. Mom already checked. James is furious and chewed Tolemy out. I�m pretty it was all set to seed its way throughout the Matrix. If it got loose, there�s no way you�d be able to clear your name.�

I sat quiet for a while, feeling a weight settle on my shoulders. �But why? I mean, I never did a thing to Telestrian, or anyone else. I mind my own business. I get good grades. And I got a good offer over at Knight Errant.�

He nodded. �Marie-Louise loves you, Hark. And that�s all it takes.� Cheyanne shrugged. �Look, there�s nothing saying they won�t try and plant another bit of bad news. Mom�s keeping her ears open, but if they notice it goes missing every time she�s around, they�ll keep their traps shut. So, I figure maybe the two of you chill should �til after graduation? Not sure how much Telestrian�s influence extends to Knight Errant. Might want to wait till Marie is old enough to live on her own? She�s only sixteen, you know.�

�I know. And don�t think I haven�t worried he�d try to get me for statutory rape.�

Cheyanne�s eyes widened. �Chummer, you haven�t��

�Naw. I wouldn�t, either. I�m a good man, Cheyanne. You know that.�

�I do. As for the data, do not open it on a connected system. Might pay to poke around in it, see how it�s done. Once you get the program, shoot it over to Tex.�

Before I got out of the car, I turned to look at him. �Did your totem really tell you Alexander said that?�

Cheyanne snorted. �Drek, no. The dandelion�s got a big mouth � I heard him all the way down the hall.�

***

My locker was sealed the next morning when I got to school. Before I could turn around, I was surrounded by a trio of Telestrian Security and escorted like a criminal to the principal�s office.

I�d never met Edward Tolemy, Alexander�s father. I�d only heard of him, but I spotted him first in the room. Alexander was the spitting image of him, right down to the �I smell drek� expression.

The principal looked anything but happy, but I wasn�t sure if it was directed at me or the number of bodies packed into her small office. �Let�s get down to business.� She fixed her unhappy gaze on me. �Harkeem, Mr. Tolemy brought several students to my office this morning who claim you sold them drugs on school property.� She held up a hand when I opened my mouth. �They also searched your locker � without my permission � and claimed to have found drugs there.� She looked at the others standing around. �As I was saying before you brought Mr. Marshall in, you did not follow the proper procedures in searching this boy�s locker.�

�We don�t have to have a warrant, Mrs. Fuller.� Edward Tolemy said in a pinched voice. �Telestrian Security has full jurisdiction on school grounds.�

�That may be, Mr. Tolemy, but you do have to abide by board of education law, which states that while lockers are indeed school property, they must be opened in the presence of a school official. Since there wasn�t one present, meaning you had no witness, I�m going to have to dismiss any evidence against this boy that you claim you might have discovered in his locker.�

Mr. Tolemy turned bright red. �Mrs. Fuller, I�m pretty sure Mr. Telestrian will have something to say about your lack of cooperation.�

I�d never seen Mrs. Fuller mad before. And seeing her stand and face down an elf of Mr. Tolemy�s standing, I hoped I never saw her that mad again. �Do not even try to intimidate me, Edward Tolemy. You did not follow the proper procedures, and the last time I checked, the school was not under martial law to be carried out by Telestrian Security. Now,� she looked at me and I actually swayed back a little. �Mr. Marshall, what does concern me are the allegations of you selling drugs.�

I waited a few beats, making sure she wanted me to speak. �Mrs. Fuller, ma�am, I have never sold drugs. And I have never used them. I would gladly submit to a witnessed drug test or polygraph to prove my innocence. I�ve worked hard since being granted my scholarship, and if I did something as boneheaded as taking or selling drugs, that would be disrespecting this establishment, you, myself, and most importantly, my dad. And of all the people I never want to disappoint, it would be him.�

I knew I had her when she smiled at me. �Very well put, Mr. Marshall.�

�Mrs. Fuller�� Mr. Tolemy began.

She raised a hand. �Silence.�

�Ma�am,� I continued, thinking quick on my feet. How could I turn this around? It was obvious this was a set up, and I was pretty sure from her reactions, Mrs. Fuller saw it that way as well. So, the best possible thing to do now was to give her an out so she could step away from the spotlight and do some investigating of her own. �If I may... since these students claimed I sold them drugs on school property, then wouldn�t they be just as guilty as I? If there is to be any punishment, I�m not sure justice serves the good of the school if an example isn�t made of all involved. You can�t sell, or purchase, any illegal substance on the school grounds.�

Mrs. Fuller smiled. �You are right, Mr. Marshall.� She looked at me and then looked at Tolemy. �I�m afraid I�m going to have to place all of the students involved on suspension pending a hearing on the matter. And since Mr. Marshall has offered to take a drug test as well as a polygraph, I see no reason why those accusing him of selling drugs wouldn�t also agree to such.�

�I won�t have this!�

I glanced at Mr. Tolemy. Wow. He was red. And angry. And glaring at me. Mrs. Fuller�s smile vanished, replaced by an even angrier glare. �And I won�t have you marching into this school, disrupting its operation, and making accusations against a student who has shown nothing but exemplary actions since his arrival. Now, if you feel you must do your job, Mr. Tolemy, how about escorting all the children off campus � including your son.�

Oh, drek.

No wonder he was so fragged at me. Alexander was one of drek-heads accusing me? Ha! That meant his own son was caught in the lie.

I nodded to Mrs. Fuller, who looked sad and furious at the same time, and left her office in front of the Telestrian Security people.

Sitting on Cheyanne�s car across from the school, we watched as the other five students walked out. I saw Marie Louise standing on the lawn and waved to her. She glared at me and walked away. When I leaped off the car to follow her, Cheyanne grabbed my arm. �No. You can�t go back on school grounds till Mrs. Fuller lifts the suspension.�

I wanted to talk to Marie-Louise. I wanted to let her know it was all a lie. She�d believed me once, had faith in me. Surely she had to know this wasn�t real, right? �This is a nightmare. What if Knight Errant gets hold of this and withdraws their offer?�

�I don�t think this is big enough for them to really care, Hark. So don�t worry. Just trust that Mrs. Fuller will do what�s right.�

�I just want this to be over.�

Cheyanne spoke in a low voice as he watched Alexander walk down the street. �Hate to say it, but I think it�s just beginning.�

# ? Nov 6, 2017 21:46

Kanfy: Jan 9, 2012; Just gotta keep walking down that road.

Shadowrun Anthology posted:

The Road to Hell, Part 3

I got a message from Tex that evening to meet her around midnight at Porkchip�s. When I messaged back to confirm, she didn�t respond. It was odd for her to want to meet that late, especially without doing a run. I hadn�t been online since snatching the data bomb. But I had carefully loaded it into an isolated terminal I had. It was dad�s old one, not very powerful, but steady and reliable.

What I found in the data bomb really fragged me off. It was the worst load of drek I�d ever read about myself, and not a word of it was true. It was like someone had yanked some ganger�s profile in New Orleans and slapped my name on it. It was well done, with details about my life back home, even my mom�s death. Cheyanne had been right, if this thing would have gotten into the Matrix, it�d be years before I could clean all the false information up�and my life would still have been derailed for good.

I locked and chipped what I had and put it in a good hiding place be fore I checked on dad, who was asleep on the couch. He hadn�t taken my suspension very well, and though he said he believed me, I felt that somewhere deep inside, he was afraid it was true. That I�d fallen victim to the same life that killed my mom. But it wasn�t true, and I was sure I�d find a way to prove my innocence. I just didn�t know how.

When I got to the Stuffer Shack it was closed, which I knew it would be. Porkchip didn�t stay open past midnight, too many cutthroat elements come out of the shadows. That and the city shuts half the neighborhood lights off to conserve nuyen.

I stood on the corner, looking up and down the dark street. I didn�t see any sign of Tex so I slipped a credstick into the corner phone. As I did, something very hard and solid hit me below my shoulders. The impact drove me into the phone. I clipped my forehead on the thing�s top and dropped the handset.

Another shot, this one to the side of my head, made me see stars. A third to my right knee dropped me to the ground. For a long time I wasn�t sure if what was happening was a dream, that I�d somehow logged into the Matrix and gotten fragged on a node, or if I was really getting the drek beat out of me just outside the Stuffer Shack. I managed to ball myself up as something struck me over and over again, against my head, my back, my side, my legs.

After so many blows, the pain had created an agonizing wall around me, something that blocked out sound and sight. It was impossible to move, and I was pretty sure I�d passed out until I was roughly grabbed and hauled to my feet. I couldn�t support myself � something was wrong with my knees � hands held me in place under my shoulders.

Someone grabbed my hair and pulled my head back. I couldn�t see out of my left eye at all, and the pain made everything else flash red. A single streetlight illuminated figures, and recognition dawned too late. Tex hadn�t messaged me.

It�d been a trap.

At first I thought Alexander stood in front of me. The image swam, and I blinked a few times to clear it up. It was Edward Tolemy, his father. They all wore black coats with hoods to hide their pointed ears, but I could see their faces. They wanted me to see them.

Tolemy reached out and grabbed my jaw, shoving my lips against my teeth, making it impossible to speak. But it hurt too much to try. �Thought you�d frag it all up, didn�t you? I had it all planned, exactly the way James wanted it, and then someone went in and just plucked my little treasure out. Now, you wouldn�t have had anything to do with that, would you? Hired a decker, maybe?�

�Dad,� Alexander stepped up. �Let�s go. He�s fragged. Look at him. We did our job.�

�No, he�s not fragged enough � not nearly enough. I�m going to make him pay for embarrassing me in front of James. No one � especially not some puny little human � is going to get the better of me. You owe me, Mr. Marshall. You owe me.�

�Dad�� I had to admit, old sonny-boy Alex actually sounded worried. Me? I wasn�t really feeling anything much. Just a lot of pain. And I wanted to lie down. I just wanted them to put me down. �Stop. We�re not supposed to kill him. Mr. Telestrian didn�t want him like this. Let�s go!�

�Shut the frag up and watch how your father handles the weak and the stupid.�

I saw him raise the pipe.

�Dad- NO!�

And then I didn�t see or feel anything else.

***

Six weeks went by. I was in a coma for four of them.

When I came out of it, I couldn�t feel my legs. My dad told me I�d never feel them again. The nurses said he�d been with me the whole time. I worried that he�d lose his job. But apparently he was given a leave of absence. Just... it was okay.

I learned through an official letter than I�d been expelled from school after finding me guilty of selling drugs. My beating was supposedly given to me from some gang I�d never heard of, in retribution for losing my selling contacts at the school. They took it at face value. And besides, how could I protest? I�d been in a coma. And when I finally could speak, no one bothered to ask me who did it. They�d already made up their mind. The beat down of some kid wasn�t worth Lone Star�s attention to investigate. Besides, Telestrian Security handled it all.

Knight Errant politely withdrew their offer as well. I left the letter on the table by the bed the day I was discharged. I was surprised when I was given a top-of-the-line chair, motorized. I figured I should be happy it didn�t require a baggy and funnel. I was paralyzed from the waist down, but luckily all my plumbing still worked.

The house had a new ramp too, for the chair. Small improvements inside made me question dad a bit more when we were finally alone in the living room.

�I�m not sure,� he�d replied when I asked him about the hospital, the chair, the ramp. �But everything�s been paid for. Hospital said it was a charitable donor, a philanthropist that wanted to remain anonymous. They paid for the hospital, the chair, and a donation of a half million nuyen.�

Only guilt made anyone that nice.

The single, burning memory of that night was Alexander telling his father to stop, that Mr. Telestrian didn�t want me beaten. I assumed finding any proof that James Telestrian paid the bills would be impossible, but it gave me an excuse to return to the Matrix.

Everything looked just how I�d left it that night, only covered in a layer of dust. I�d half expected it to be gone, confiscated by Telestrian Security. Was my keeping it another concession, a handout for paralyzing me?

More than a month had passed since I walked in the Matrix, and it felt good to walk, even if it wasn�t real. I skipped dinner, and then saw the dawn come up, and still hadn�t found anything tying the mysterious philanthropist to James Telestrian. There wasn�t a shred of tangible proof, but there was my gut. And the empty pit inside of it would never forgive what they�d done to me.

Marie-Louise blocked my calls. She accepted my guilt, just as all my �friends� had. Dad never saw her at the hospital while I was in the coma. She never came after I woke. Maybe she�d written me off, and maybe her love wasn�t what I�d believed it to be. But you see, mine was. And I still loved her.

My anger charged my vow to prove to her that her father had set me up. I was innocent. But no one cared. My future was gone, along with my hopes and my legs.

My road was paved with broken dreams.

It took a week to rewrite the bomb, disengaging protocols and making sure it would never be linked to me. But it would have Baron Samedi�s smiling skull on it.

As the Baron, I could move in the shadows and be nothing more than smoke.

Tex was ready to drop the bomb when it was ready. She�d confirmed never calling me that night, and being used for such a nefarious plan fragged her off. She took that bomb and set it right in the middle of Lone Star�s news node.

Boom.

Within a day, Edward Tolemy was arrested by Lone Star, wanted in seven territories for kidnapping, smuggling, drug running, and a whole list of other offenses that would keep him tied up in legal fees for a hundred years. And since elves were long-lived, it�d haunt him for a very long time.

The trideo crews were at his home when Lone Star escorted him out. James Telestrian was on the trid giving a simultaneous speech, denouncing Tolemy�s actions, claiming to have no knowledge of what his head of security had done, and declaring he�d get to the bottom of everything and make it right.

I made sure I was front and center for Edward Tolemy to see. I wanted to be the last person he saw before they took him away. I smiled at him as he passed, so he�d know what I�d done to him.

James was embarrassed, if only for a short while. Tolemy was disgraced. And Alexander? Seems the poor distraught elf was caught cheating, his fingerprints found in the school�s node, evidence that he�d decked in and changed his grades. Too bad. So sad.

Was I happy? Best as I could be. I still had half a million of what I believed was James Telestrian�s money squirreled away where even he couldn�t touch it, enough to get a top of the line data jack and the perfect deck. Argent was ready when I was.

It�s been five months since I came home, and every night I dive the Matrix. I don�t call myself a Shadowrunner. I find what people want, and all the while I look for the opportunity to find the data I need to clear my name, and show Marie-Louise the truth.

And maybe, just maybe, the road to hell won�t be so painful one day.

Kanfy fucked around with this message at 21:50 on Nov 6, 2017

# ? Nov 6, 2017 21:46

paragon1: Nov 22, 2010; FULL COMMUNISM NOW

Stroth posted:

Only at the low levels of society. Even a middle management wageslave makes enough money that there's no way to tell that what he's eating is soy instead of the real stuff. Very good money in artificial flavourings and food additives to change textures after all. Plenty of major Corps have their hand in that business.

I said people, chummer, not drones. :clint:

# ? Nov 6, 2017 22:23

painedforever: Sep 12, 2017; Quem Deus Vult Perdere, Prius Dementat.

Kanfy posted:

There's a couple more short stories relevant to the characters in the game left, the first of which is The Road to Hell by Phaedra Weldon. It sheds some light on the enigmatic Baron Samedi and what exactly went down with him before the events of the game.

Pretty sweet. Thanks Kanfy.

# ? Nov 7, 2017 04:02

wedgekree: Feb 20, 2013

Nice! Fun read, thanks for sharing.

# ? Nov 7, 2017 05:15

Stroth: Mar 31, 2007; All Problems Solved

Kanfy posted:

Someone said the road to hell is paved with the bodies of your enemies.

No one ever said that outside of a highschool deviantart page man.

# ? Nov 7, 2017 07:32

GimmickMan: Dec 27, 2011

It is a shame that Samedi is so terribly incompetent in this game (not that I noticed back when I played this), his story is a good one. Probably the one I like second best so far. It is hard to compete with the plot twist at the end of Dresden's story.

Thanks for sharing.

# ? Nov 7, 2017 08:38

Kanfy: Jan 9, 2012; Just gotta keep walking down that road.

Glad people are liking the stories, I figured they'd make for good bonus content and maybe give people who have already played through the game something new to see as well. They're easily skipped if you don't care anyway.

There are 16 stories in total in the Anthology of which I'll post one more (a good one for fans of the Harlequin-Brackhaus duo such as myself), plus a bunch of concept art and other miscellaneous pictures such as this one of a dragon playing with a cat.

# ? Nov 7, 2017 15:58

Yeowch!!! My Balls!!!: May 31, 2006

GimmickMan posted:

It is a shame that Samedi is so terribly incompetent in this game (not that I noticed back when I played this), his story is a good one. Probably the one I like second best so far. It is hard to compete with the plot twist at the end of Dresden's story.

Thanks for sharing.

Samedi's a bright kid. Who is legitimately hot poo poo in the matrix.

Daaaamn shame about the rest

# ? Nov 7, 2017 18:05

Andyzero: May 22, 2009; I used to spoil, I'm sorry.

I believe someone was saying that it's possible the real Loa Baron Samedhi is possibly influencing those who take his likeness on the Matrix.

If that's the case, it's possible the fack-up was intentional on the Loa's part to get the MC in league with the group to fix the real problem.

"In Mysterious Ways"

# ? Nov 7, 2017 18:23

wiegieman: Apr 22, 2010; Royalty is a continuous cutting motion

Andyzero posted:

I believe someone was saying that it's possible the real Loa Baron Samedhi is possibly influencing those who take his likeness on the Matrix.

If that's the case, it's possible the fack-up was intentional on the Loa's part to get the MC in league with the group to fix the real problem.

"In Mysterious Ways"

It would be unlikely. Even big league spirits don't reach out and mess with people unless they're a Mentor, and great spirits don't like to Mentor people who mess up their essence a bunch with cyberware.

# ? Nov 7, 2017 18:29

Psion: Dec 13, 2002; eVeN I KnOw wHaT CoRnEr gAs iS

wiegieman posted:

It would be unlikely. Even big league spirits don't reach out and mess with people unless they're a Mentor, and great spirits don't like to Mentor people who mess up their essence a bunch with cyberware.

The short story says Harkeem doesn't have any cyber, he's doing his decking old school. Take it for what it's worth. Personally I don't really think we need to go that far, but it's a possibility not contradicted by the game. :shrug:

Psion fucked around with this message at 18:40 on Nov 7, 2017

# ? Nov 7, 2017 18:38

Deep Dish Fuckfest: Sep 6, 2006; Advanced
Computer Touching; Toilet Rascal

That last story made me think of something: wouldn't being paralyzed from the waist down be curable without too much trouble in the Sixth World? Between magic and cyberware, I'd imagine a visit to your friendly local cyberdoc could solve that problem. It wouldn't be cheap, but I can't imagine it'd be that expensive either.

# ? Nov 8, 2017 01:20

Yeowch!!! My Balls!!!: May 31, 2006

Deep Dish Fuckfest posted:

That last story made me think of something: wouldn't being paralyzed from the waist down be curable without too much trouble in the Sixth World? Between magic and cyberware, I'd imagine a visit to your friendly local cyberdoc could solve that problem. It wouldn't be cheap, but I can't imagine it'd be that expensive either.

that much full-body replacement is not cheap, money or essence-wise, but prosthetic pelvis+below is not hard to get your hands on.

# ? Nov 8, 2017 02:10

IMJack: Apr 16, 2003; Royalty is a continuous ripping and tearing motion.; Fun Shoe

It could be as simple as replacing whatever chunk of your spine is damaged beyond repair, if the legs are still alive.

# ? Nov 8, 2017 04:16

Deep Dish Fuckfest: Sep 6, 2006; Advanced
Computer Touching; Toilet Rascal

Yeah, that's what I was thinking of. If one half of your body has been separated from the other half, then yeah, that would be problematic to replace essence-wise. But fixing the fibrous bits in someone's spine seems like it shouldn't be that big of a deal. I realize it's for story purposes here, but it just doesn't seem to fit with the setting.

# ? Nov 8, 2017 04:42

wiegieman: Apr 22, 2010; Royalty is a continuous cutting motion

Shadowrun has robust and dependable artificial neural fibers, so injury repair is relatively simple if you can afford it (and not even too hard on your essence if the repairs are done with that objective in mind.)

# ? Nov 8, 2017 05:28

painedforever: Sep 12, 2017; Quem Deus Vult Perdere, Prius Dementat.

Psion posted:

The short story says Harkeem doesn't have any cyber, he's doing his decking old school. Take it for what it's worth. Personally I don't really think we need to go that far, but it's a possibility not contradicted by the game.

Okay, so I didn't get that. How does that work? Does the interweb still work the way it does in Hollywood, and you've got someone banging away at three keyboards in front of thirty monitors while getting a blowjob, and is always able to find a backdoor into the CIA's computers? Did he know they were programmed by Jeff, who was born in 19-Jeffity-Jeff?

# ? Nov 8, 2017 05:33

wiegieman: Apr 22, 2010; Royalty is a continuous cutting motion

painedforever posted:

Okay, so I didn't get that. How does that work? Does the interweb still work the way it does in Hollywood, and you've got someone banging away at three keyboards in front of thirty monitors while getting a blowjob, and is always able to find a backdoor into the CIA's computers? Did he know they were programmed by Jeff, who was born in 19-Jeffity-Jeff?

You wear a mesh net of electrodes on your head that's a little worse than having a datajack in most ways. It's the only way for someone who doesn't want or can't get any cyber to jack in, like if they're a magician or a vampire or something.

# ? Nov 8, 2017 05:44

IMJack: Apr 16, 2003; Royalty is a continuous ripping and tearing motion.; Fun Shoe

painedforever posted:

Okay, so I didn't get that. How does that work? Does the interweb still work the way it does in Hollywood, and you've got someone banging away at three keyboards in front of thirty monitors while getting a blowjob, and is always able to find a backdoor into the CIA's computers? Did he know they were programmed by Jeff, who was born in 19-Jeffity-Jeff?

The VR interface overrides most of your motor functions and your body's senses, so your body is just going to be sitting there staring into space while your mind is surfing the web. This may be a later edition thing, but I think if you don't have a datajack you're limited to "cold sim" VR which isn't nearly as fast or responsive as someone running "hot sim" but also protects your brain from the kind of attacks that will cook it or rewrite it.

# ? Nov 8, 2017 06:14

DGM_2: Jun 13, 2012

wiegieman posted:

You wear a mesh net of electrodes on your head that's a little worse than having a datajack in most ways.

How vulnerable are they to ICE?

# ? Nov 8, 2017 06:14

paragon1: Nov 22, 2010; FULL COMMUNISM NOW

Deep Dish Fuckfest posted:

Yeah, that's what I was thinking of. If one half of your body has been separated from the other half, then yeah, that would be problematic to replace essence-wise. But fixing the fibrous bits in someone's spine seems like it shouldn't be that big of a deal. I realize it's for story purposes here, but it just doesn't seem to fit with the setting.

There's plenty of in-setting reasons that someone might not be able or willing to get cybernetics to repair a physical disability. Financial, medical, spiritual, and so on.

# ? Nov 8, 2017 06:20

paragon1: Nov 22, 2010; FULL COMMUNISM NOW

DGM_2 posted:

How vulnerable are they to ICE?

Just as vulnerable as someone using a data jack. ICE usually works by attacking the deck that is sending signals into your brain rather than damaging the link between you and your deck.

# ? Nov 8, 2017 06:22

Keeshhound: Jan 14, 2010; Mad Duck Swagger

paragon1 posted:

There's plenty of in-setting reasons that someone might not be able or willing to get cybernetics to repair a physical disability. Financial, medical, spiritual, and so on.

Your girlfriend's hilariously overprotective dad had his goons break your legs and then blackballed you so hard that even the street docs won't touch you...

# ? Nov 8, 2017 06:55

DGM_2: Jun 13, 2012

paragon1 posted:

Just as vulnerable as someone using a data jack. ICE usually works by attacking the deck that is sending signals into your brain rather than damaging the link between you and your deck.

I should have been more specific, but I was thinking mainly of black ICE. Surely it can't fry your brain through the mesh?

# ? Nov 8, 2017 07:04

wiegieman: Apr 22, 2010; Royalty is a continuous cutting motion

DGM_2 posted:

I should have been more specific, but I was thinking mainly of black ICE. Surely it can't fry your brain through the mesh?

Any gear that can put you in hot sim can kill you, otherwise biofeedback from stuff like black IC will only do stun damage, and only when you're in VR.

A trode net provides DNI (direct neural interface) and can put you in hot sim just like a datajack. The only difference is that datajacks have built in noise reduction from their solid connection. After all, it's the electrical signals in your brain that matter, not the brain matter itself.

# ? Nov 8, 2017 07:34

DGM_2: Jun 13, 2012

So a trode net leaves you just as vulnerable to getting lobotomized while also making you less effective at decking? I suppose that makes sense from a balance perspective.

# ? Nov 8, 2017 07:54

girl dick energy: Sep 30, 2009; You think you have the wherewithal to figure out my puzzle vagina?

In a sense. It's more like Hotsim makes you react faster, but also makes things like Black ICE hit even harder.

# ? Nov 8, 2017 07:59

wiegieman: Apr 22, 2010; Royalty is a continuous cutting motion

DGM_2 posted:

So a trode net leaves you just as vulnerable to getting lobotomized while also making you less effective at decking? I suppose that makes sense from a balance perspective.

Only if you're running hot sim. Otherwise the worst it can do is knock you out. Hot sim, by the way, is the same kind of unfiltered max-output sensory signal that BTL chips use. Deckers tend to be the dumbest kind of smart person so they use it to get a slight edge when jacked in with the cat-5 port they had implanted in their skull for 5ms lower latency.

Plenty of people use commercial grade trode nets that are easy to hide in your hair and just switch them to AR mode or cold sim when they go clubbing so they can see the floor show or whatever. Well, in cold sim they'd better be sitting down first, because you still go limp.

wiegieman fucked around with this message at 08:05 on Nov 8, 2017

# ? Nov 8, 2017 08:01

MJ12: Apr 8, 2009

DGM_2 posted:

So a trode net leaves you just as vulnerable to getting lobotomized while also making you less effective at decking? I suppose that makes sense from a balance perspective.

The main thing about trode nets is that they let you deck without spending essence on a datajack. This is useful if you want to play a Decker Adept (a surprisingly viable build, actually).

# ? Nov 8, 2017 10:09

painedforever: Sep 12, 2017; Quem Deus Vult Perdere, Prius Dementat.

wiegieman posted:

Only if you're running hot sim. Otherwise the worst it can do is knock you out. Hot sim, by the way, is the same kind of unfiltered max-output sensory signal that BTL chips use. Deckers tend to be the dumbest kind of smart person so they use it to get a slight edge when jacked in with the cat-5 port they had implanted in their skull for 5ms lower latency.

Plenty of people use commercial grade trode nets that are easy to hide in your hair and just switch them to AR mode or cold sim when they go clubbing so they can see the floor show or whatever. Well, in cold sim they'd better be sitting down first, because you still go limp.

Right. So that's all fluff explanations. Is there a mapping in it for crunch as well? A jack in the video-game means giving up 0.5 essence (0.3 if you're using the eyeball jack). I assume you can use the 'trode thingy without giving up on essence?

# ? Nov 8, 2017 11:28

Lack of Gravitas: Oct 11, 2012; Grimey Drawer

Something Awful has taught me that spending any amount of time on the internet is going to burn off some portion of your humanity regardless of how you connect :v:

# ? Nov 8, 2017 11:39

I dont know: Aug 9, 2003; That Guy here...

Lack of Gravitas posted:

Something Awful has taught me that spending any amount of time on the internet is going to burn off some portion of your humanity regardless of how you connect

Correct. The breakdown is 0.1 essence loss for the jack itself, and 0.4 for the harm that shitposting does to your soul.

# ? Nov 8, 2017 11:46

SIGSEGV: Nov 4, 2010

painedforever posted:

Right. So that's all fluff explanations. Is there a mapping in it for crunch as well? A jack in the video-game means giving up 0.5 essence (0.3 if you're using the eyeball jack). I assume you can use the 'trode thingy without giving up on essence?

The electrode net never replaces any part of the body and therefore has an essence cost of zero, just like tools and glasses which can also, arguably, be referred to as cybernetics. (Although I hear the actual term is supposed to be mechtronics.)

# ? Nov 8, 2017 11:56

DGM_2: Jun 13, 2012

MJ12 posted:

The main thing about trode nets is that they let you deck without spending essence on a datajack. This is useful if you want to play a Decker Adept (a surprisingly viable build, actually).

Yeah, that's what I meant by it sounding balanced - you're sacrificing some potency to save essence.

# ? Nov 8, 2017 12:31

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# ? Jun 1, 2024 14:22

Yeowch!!! My Balls!!!: May 31, 2006

similarly, one of the better tools in the game, and what makes a good wage-mage terrifying, is magesight goggles.

see, spells require you to have line-of-sight to the thing you're casting at to fire.

and then some Awakened kid who remembered a tiny bit of Wikipedia-That-Was asked the question "wait, does fiber-optic cable count as line of sight?"

answer: yes, which means if your pre-run casing shows that the security cameras are hooked up to a fiber-optic network with no matrix access, be prepared for any camera that spots you to start launching fireballs.

# ? Nov 8, 2017 19:05

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > The Excruciating Ecstasy of Jacking - Shadowrun Returns

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