Datahaven

Referee's Introduction:

Edgar Jaymes, see Euro-Trash, is the Vice President of Research and Development of Night City EBM, but he wants more. He has his eyes set on being the head-honcho of his division. Unfortunately, Freidrich Schumann, the current Divisional Vice President, shows no sign of quitting in the near future. And even if he did, chances are Schumann would not appoint Jaymes his successor. Therefore Jaymes has taken matters into his own hands. He didn't get to where he is by waiting for a promotion and he's not going to stop now.

Jaymes plans to anonymously discredit his superior towards the home office in Berlin. However, Schumann has been in the business a long time, and knows to keep his hands clean. Digging up dirt on Freidrich Schumann is no easy task. Jaymes at first trie d traditional Private Investigators, surveillance, research, etc., but turned up nothing. Next he tried INFOCOMP, the world's largest information brokerage firm, but Schumann had taken care of that. Schumann arranged an account with INFOCOMP for the automatic omatic purchase of all information regarding himself in order for it not to be used against him, clever move but expensive, more expensive than Jaymes could afford to outbid. Then Jaymes discovered through a highly-paid informant that not ALL of Schuman n's files are inaccessible.

Unknown to most, INFOCOMP maintains a secret off-shore facility where it retains secure copies of all of their files in a Datahaven. The Datahaven is built into an abandoned off-shore drilling platform and is completely cut-off from the Net. The only access to the Datahaven is via the OTEC transport AV-4 that delivers supplies and information couriers to the facility three times a day.

Jaymes' plan is to anonymously hire a group of thieves to obtain an OTEC AV-4, upon successful completion, they are to pilot the AV-4 to the facility , infiltrate it, and steal the files regarding Freidrich Schumann. To facilitate his anonymity, he has h ired a Fixer named Kano. His chief goal is anonymity, and if he feels his anonymity is compromised, he will send his personal assasin, Cynthia Red to neutralize everyone associated with the operation.

That is, of course, the plan. However, things never quite go according to plan. Kano has his own secret agenda and will unfortunately screw everything up for the operatives. The course of the adventure begins with the operatives completing their missions and ends with the resolution of the subsequent situation Kano puts them in. If they are good they'll survive, and if they're lucky they'll turn a profit.

This adventure was played with an assortment of characters created with Ocelot's Role-less System. The group included Shadow (a Yakuza prowler), Kiki (another Yakuza prolwer, protoge of Shadow), Rose (a prostitute, 2 months pregnant), Inu (a degenerate we efle-netrunner), and Boomer (a demolitions expert). With the exception of Shadow and Boomer, they were all non-professional street people who were probably unqualified for the mission. It fit, however, because Jaymes is on a budget. It went well, excep t for part two (It went way too late and I wussed out and shortened the ending, making it easier), and only two of the characters lost their lives.

The operatives are contacted by a fixer named Kano and are put on-line with a job that will eventually pay $50,000 (to be divided amongst the operatives) upon completion. All they need to do is steal an AV-4 from an OTEC refuelling de pot in the industrial district in the south side of town. They will take the AV-4 to Kano's brother who is a mechanic in the combat zone. The characters receive $5000 now and the rest upon completion of the mission. The AV-4 must go immediately to Kano' s brother or the deal is off, timing is of the essence.

The OTEC Garage is an obscure refuelling station surrounded by the vast industrial wasteland of South Night City. It is located on a concrete seawall adjacent to the Pacific Ocean. The facility is small and is surrounded by 12 foot tall chain linked fence with razorwire. There are only three ways into the compound, through the front gate from the street, the gate at the sea-wall, or over the fence from the warehouse next door. Security is low, but standard for this type of facility. The front gate is monitored by an automated sentry post that checks for OTEC ID cards outside the gate. The facility is manned and operations 24 hours a day. There is usally a team of 5 AV-techs on 12 hour shifts with a shift change at 8am and 8pm. There are also 2 security guards patrolling the perimeter, but more likely eating pizza in one of the garages. The inner garage is usually empty and is used for storage and warehouse space. The outer garage houses two AV-4's that are rotated out every so often as another AV-4 lands to refuel. When one lands, the cargo is transferred and a fresh one takes off, similar to the old Pony Express.

(GM note- AV-4's are notorious fuel hogs, thus this station. Realistically, OTEC would use V-22 OSPREYS or Hovercraf for this maneuver, but I wanted to have a cool AV-4 aerial battle, so I used AV-4's. Please feel free to substitute whatever vehicle you wish, it's unimportant to the mission.)

However the operatives decide the infiltrate the facility is up to them. Let them be creative. Most likely, they will steal one AV-4 and disable the other. That's fine, if they don't then have the other AV right on their tail, if they do then put another AV on an intercept/pursuit course. Either way, they'll have to do some fancy flying/aeiral combat to escape. The OTEC pursuers will attempt to disable the stolen AV-4 only. Make it difficult and give everyone something to do. If you have a techie on board, make the pursuing AV attempt to activate the auto-shut-off function so the techie will have to disable it. If you have a netrunner, have an OTEC netrunner try to bring down the AV-4 remotely so the PC netrunner will have to fight them. Don't make it impossible, however. The goal here is to get the AV-4. If they don't, the adventure's over.

(GM note- My PC's did their homework. They researched the facility, staked it out, recorded it's cycles. They had Shadow, the prowler equipped with a Ghost Suit, infiltrate the base and re-program the terminals. The next morning, Boomer, the techie with AV-pilot, and the team showed up early for the shift change posing as OTEC technicians. According to the computer, they were expected and let right in. After taking care of the guards, the AV-4 was stolen fairly easily. Of course, another OTEC AV-4 was dispacted immediately to pursue them, but some tricky and very dangerous maneuvers got them away.)

Once Kano's brother had the AV-4, the gruff Philipino has his crew of outlaw mechanics begin to re-program it for the next mission. Kano informs the operatives that they've succesfully completed the first part of the mission, and as soom as they complete the next part, they'll get their money.

Whoah, you hear your PC's say, no money?! "That's right," replied Kano,"I said you'll get your money when the mission is completed, it's not over yet. Hey, Trust me..."

Part 2: Stairway to Datahaven

Kano informs the operatives that upon completion of this next and final assignment, they will be paid the $40,000 (oops, did I say 40? of course I meant 50...). They are given a printout of a letter given to Kano detailing the mission:

Operation:
Included are navigation coordinates to an INFOCOMP off-shore Datahaven 03-A, 75 km offshore. There is no Net access to this site. INFOCOMP currently denies all knowledge of the existence of this site nor will any other records make mention of it. What is currently known regarding this facility is that it is apparently a retro-fitted oil platform, maintains complete radio silence, even with approaching aircraft, to maintain this illusion, and that it's security complement is relatively weak due to it's small size, 3 well-trained Lazarus guards.

Operatives are given access to an OTEC AV-4 that until recently is believed to have made supply runs to the site. Operatives may use this vehicle for transport to the site. The vehicle is ultimately dispensable.

Operatives are instructed to retrieve all data regarding Personnell File: Freidrich Schumann and return to contact unsullied and uncopied. Pay upon receipt of data will equal $45,000 in cash.

Secrecy is of primary concern and, if captured, the mission should be aborted and all retrieved data should be destroyed to deter investigation.

No further inquiry is to be made of this matter on the part of either the operatives of the contact under risk of retaliatory action.

Kano explains that the AV-4 will be ready in a few hours and that the operation is planned to take place at 4am. His brother is modifying the AV to impersonate the AV-4 expected at the delivery. All the operatives have to do is impersonate INFOCOMP employees, infiltrate the facility, get the info, and get out, just like the last op. Simple, right?

(GM note- Of course not. This entire operation is poorly planned and amateurishly managed. Jaymes is on a budget, and desperate, thus the hastily prepared plan. Problem number one: INFOCOMP is more than made aware of the stolen AV-4, so they'll be expecting the PC's. Problem number two: The PC's have next to no intel on the operation. They don't know the layout of the facility, it's complement, where the data is, nothing! Not to mention this hokey payment scheme! No professional would take such a shoddy job unless they were desperate. Kano has no idea what he's doing, he's a street fixer, not a black-ops team leader. Emphasize his nervousness, but don't scare the PC's. They have to be desperate enough to do this or it won't work.)

The approach to the coordinates in the pre-dawn hours is uneventful. Kilometers of dark, silent ocean slips beneath the Aerodyne. Nothing registers on either IR, Radar, or Sonar. The AV passes a marker buoy indicating their entrance into the restricted zone. An automated broadcast warns them that unless they change course and promptly exit the zone, they will be intercepted by OTEC hovertanks and escorted out. This, of course, doesn't happen because this AV-4 is expected.

Once near the coordinates, the radar indicates a small transport hovercraft and a large fuzzy object, similar to a swarm of insects. IR shows only the hovercraft (an Awareness of 20 will detect the platform). The AV is then contacted by laser-com and guided to a landing pad. No other contact is made.

Once the data is retrieved, they have to get home, either with the AV-4 (if it isn't shot up) or in the hovercraft. Either way, once they're away from the station, they are home free (INFOCOMP can't respond for several minutes).

Once they get the Datachip to Kano, he tells them that they've done a good job and that they can pick up their payment tomorrow at noon. Whoah! you hear your players say, "We want our money now!" Well, tough. The deal was, "payment upon receipt of dat a." That means from Kano to the employer, not from the operatives to Kano. Kano doesn't have the money, but he'll get it. They can either wait until noon or cause a problem. If they cause a problem, and Kano is unable to deliver the data, then Jaymes wil l activate the third part of his plan and eliminate the operatives. Otherwise, the mission proceeds as planned.

Here's where the operation get's tricky. The operatives are screwed by Kano and they're not even there to see it. Here's what happens...

Kano has made a seperate deal with a fugitive named Klaus von Himmel, an ex EBM courier who was at one point employed by Jaymes. Several years ago, while Jaymes was a mid-level exec in R&D, Von Himmel was framed for an explosion that killed 35 people living in a tenement. He was convicted and sentenced to life in Braindance. However, during a recent brown-out, Von Himmel managed to escape. Now he is hunted by the State Executioner, Judge Julius B. Anderson. Von Himmel has copies of all the data he ever couried for Jaymes, and has hired Kano to extort enough money form Jaymes to pay for a Face-sculpt and maglev tickets out of town.

Kano, always looking for more, has also made a copy of Jaymes stolen INFOCOMP data, in violation of his agreement with Jaymes that no other copies be made. He now plans to double-double-cross Von Himmel by selling him to Jaymes. He informs Jaymes that for 1 million (!) he'll turn over Von Himmel AND the data on Schumann. Jaymes refuses. On his way home, Kano's car explodes, killing him instantly. After a brief investigation with few leads, the police get back to work.

When the operatives go to pick up their payment from Kano, he never shows. Now they'll have to research Kano. After some inquiries or streetwise rolls, they'll find out Kano's been killed.

They can easily find out where he lives, ask the right people, grease the right palms. They find that Kano lives in the Bay Bridge Residential Hotel (pg. 114 #7 in the Night City Sourcebook). Kano lives in Apartment 2313 on the 23rd floor. The elevator requires a passkey (diff. 20) to stop on the tenant floors. If it is tampered with, alarms (diff. 20) will sound. The hallways are monitored with cameras and are patrolled by one Level C Guard (BTM: -2, Init: +4, Handgun +11 damage:1d6 ammo:10).

Inside the apartment, there is little of insterest. A search of the room (diff. 15) will find a datachip labeled "Mr. Y / Von Himmell 666-9211" along with several other datachips that might be useful later on. There are also some expensive electronics, computers, clothes and weapons. Cynthia Red, on her way to search Kano's apartment, comes across the operatives. She decides to wait and watch them. She will follow them for a while, learning their habits. She will them plant exp losive traps in order to kill them. If she is discovered following them, she will pretend to be attracted to one or more of the operatives, hoping to become intimate with one. If this happens, she will attack with her Cybersnake in private. Ugh, grueso me. Otherwise, let the operatives go home with their booty to figure out what happens. The shit won't hit the fan until the next day.

If the operatives view the details of the labelled datachip, they find a copy of the info they downloaded on Schumann. That should tip them off to the duplicity on Kano's part.

If they call the number, they'll reach Klaus Von Himmell, the fugitive. The only person who knows this number is Kano, so he'll at first be suspicious. If he is told that Kano is dead, he'll be more apt to talk. If the operatives c onvince Klaus that they were working for Kano, he'll be cooperative. If the operatives are clueless, don't know Kano is dead yet, and try to bully Klaus, he'll hang up, figure the deal is blown, and try his darndest to hide for the rest of his life. If t his happens, the operatives will have to survive Cynthia the hard way. If they can get Klaus to cooperate, they might make it out alive.

If they convince Klaus to cooperate, he'll agree to meet at a secure neutral location to discuss terms.

The next day, however, Cynthia's on the job...

Cynthia, the demolitions expert, sets booby trapped bombs all over the place for the operatives to run into. She'll claymore the entrances to their apartments, she'll put mines under their mattresses, she'll rig their electroic appliances to blow with C- 4. Be mean, be nasty. Never let them see Cynthia but try to give them a chance to notice the bomb so that they can diffuse it.

(GM note- My Player Characters noticed Cynthia on the way home from Kano's apartment. They confront her, so Cynthia plays the adoring admirer. She begins flirting with Boomer (a female demolitions expert, a lot in common, really) and they go out on the town, hit some clubs, and decide to go back to Boomer's place. On the way home, on a dark and quiet street, Cynthia tries to kiss Boomer, who lets her. Then Cynthia attacks with her Cybersnake! The attack fails, and Boomer shoots Cynthia with her pistol. Cynthia is wearing armor but is stunned. Boomer sees Cynthia go down and doesn't wait for confirmation. She bolts the scene. The next day, Cynthia set up a bomb on Boomer's door, but Boomer defuses it. Inu was not so lucky, hi s apartment goes Kablooey! Cynthia also set up a great booby trap on Shadow's Laptop that explodes days after the adventure is over! What a great revenge! However, Rose was at home while Cynthia came to plant the bombs there. Rose hid under her bed bec ause she didn't know who was after her. Cynthia found her and shot her 6 times through the bed, killing Rose. Be sneaky. Cynthia is not a stand-up solo type, she's devious and smart.)

At the meeting with Klaus, if the operatives make it in one piece, Von Himmel will explain that he had a deal with Kano. His deal was for 750k, a full biosculpt job, and Planetran tickets to Kansas City in exchange for copies of sensitive documents perta ining to Edgar Jaymes of EBM. He won't go any further into his relationship with Jaymes nor will he reveal that he's a fugutive. These facts might be divulged, however, with successful Human Perception or Psychology rolls. What no one knows, however, i s that Kano planned on screwing EVERYONE by taking the money and running.

At this point, have Judge Julius B. Anderson catch up to Himmel. Don't let him get too close, but scare the operatives a little. They should get the message that someone else is out to get Himmel and that time is of the essence. Only Himmel knows the location of his copies, and if he dies, the operative's ONLY bargaining chip dies with him.

At this point, the operatives have some options:

1. Contact Jaymes, offer to sell their copy of the datachip (the one Kano made) and all other copies they may have made. Jaymes is a business man, so he'll pay them $10 thousand total. He'll pay an additional $10 tousand for either the delivery of loc ation of Klaus Von Himmel, or his data. Less than the original deal, but they might make it out of this alive. If they refuse, Cyntia is still on the job. If Cynthia is neutralized, then he'll raise the price to the original $50 thousand. Done deal, eve ryone's happy except for poor Klaus, who is still hunted and will be caught and executed. If they deal with Jaymes and later interfere with his promotion, he'll have them killed.

2. Contact Schumann, offer to sell their copy of the datachip and all other copies they may have made. He'll pay up to $25 thousand for the data with an additional $10 thousand for proof of the identity of whomever hired them. Cynthia is still on the job. If Cynthia is neutralized, Jaymes will hire a new killer to take her place. Uh Oh, they've made an enemy.

Kano, Fixer Kano is a Filipino fixer and small-time agent. He hooks gangs up with corporates and solos up with employers. He arranges deals, and takes a little commission for his trouble. His goal is to someday have enough money to return to the Philipines with his brother, who runs a chop-shop in the Combat Zone. He is a smooth talker and dealer, but is ultimately small-fish in a big pond. His ultimate bumbling ruins what could have been a sweet deal for everyone involved. Unfortunately, he doens't live long enough to regret it.

Edgar Jaymes Stats: Int: 7, Ref: 8, Tech: 5, Cool: 4, Attr: 5, Luck: 5, MA: 5, BT: 4, Emp: 5. Skills: Resources +5, Human Perception +12, Persuasion +14, Education +12, Wardrobe & Style +11, Social +11, Stock Market +9, Streetwise +12, Intimidate +7. Cyberware: Sandevestian Reflex boost, Vampires, Right Bionic Arm, Interface Plugs in forehead, left and right Bionic Eyes with anti-dazzle, low-lite, and times-square. Gear: Cane, Suit (15 SP), Corporate Credit Card, EBM I.D., Portable Cell-phone. Edgar Jaymes became the Vice President of R&D by having his superior eliminated. He is a insolent American outsider in a staunchly conservative German company. He knows his future in the corporation is limited so he makes up for it through sheer ruthlessness. He plans to duplicate his previous success by eliminating his new superior, Freidrich Schumann. He wears a suit that provides 15 SP protection to all areas except his head. He carries a medium autopistol for personal protection. He has a bionic right arm and two bionic eyes with anti-dazzle and low-lite. He always carries a cane and wears loud print suits.

Tori Nomura, Edgar Jayme's Assistant Tori is nearly as smarmy as her boss. She oozes wierdness, but still has hopes of legally climbing the corporate ladder someday. She will sell Jaymes out if given a chance of a promotion.

Cynthia Red, Corporate Assassin Stats: Int: 4, Ref: 6, Tech: 5, Cool: 5, Attr: 9, Luck: 5, MA: 6, BT: 4, Emp: 2. Skills: Awareness +11, Handgun +12, Capeoria +11, Stealth +11, Submachinegun +10, Demolitions +13, Thrown +10. Cyberware: Sandevestian Reflex boost, Cybersnake (+12, 1D6, 1m), Skinweave (SP 10), optics with Microvideo. Gear: 44 Automag (+12, 4D6, 1/8), 3 Clips, Grenades (+10, 7D6), Armored Jacket (SP=14), Corporate Credit Card, EBM I.D., Portable Cell-phone. Cynthia is Jayme's personal assassin. Her job in this adventure is to retrieve all of the stolen datachips containing data on Schumann. She is to kill only if his anonymity or his promotion is threatened. Cynthia assumes that the operatives know the truth, so she takes it upon herself to neutralize them. She's a bit of a loose cannon, and more than a little psychotic. Her preferred choice of assassination is with her cybersnake located in her throat while kissing her target. If the operatives try to talk to her, and make a few psychology or human perception rolls, they may be able to psychobabble her into a nervous breakdown.

Friedrich Schumann, V.P. of Operations, EBM Night City Schumann, while in charge of EBM Night City for the past 7 years, has accumulated quite a secret history on his way to the top. INFOCOMP values the info at $3.6 million a year. Schumann also hates Jaymes.

Mena Laublich, Schumann's Assistant Mena is a stiff German Fraulein. She is strict and terse, relaying her superior's orders with military efficiency. Mena once served in the German Armored Cavalry and is capable of driving most heavy vehicles. Unbeknownst to Schumann, she is also a secret spy for INFOCOMP.

Leslie Hamm, Schumann's Body Guard Schumann's Body Guard is an ex- German anti-terrorist agent. He wears heavy Kevlar Body Armor and carries many weapons with armor-piercing ammo.

Daniel Cortez, INFOCOMP operative Daniel is the man who gained most of the info on Schumann in the first place. He obtained most of his data through Schumann's previous personal assistant, with whom Daniel was having an affair. Dan killed her when she threatened to tell Schumann and was subsequently the focus of an EBM manhunt. Daniel does not figure much into this adventure, but he did in Stand By Your Man, a prequel adventure to both Euro-Trash and Datahaven, coming soon.

Until recently, Klaus Von Himmel was in braindance in State Prison for the bombing of a residential apartment building killing 39 people. Prior to this, he was a courier for EBM working for Edgar Jaymes. As a courier, Klaus delivered sensitive informati on that could not be trusted to public transmission lines. On one such delivery, Klaus was to give what he thought were instructions for gang members on how to receive payment for a job commissioned by Jaymes. The data was fake, however, as Jaymes had no intention of every paying the gang. Klaus was framed when a bomb, built by Cynthia Red, detonated in the tenement Klaus was to meet the gang in, killing 39, including the gang. Klaus fled the scene on foot, but the detonation trigger was later found in his car by the police. He was subsequently arrested and convicted and sent to Prison. During a recent brown-out, he managed to escape. His case was turned over to Judge Julius B. Anderson, the State Executioner. Now Klaus hopes to get enough money to escape town. His only assets are the datachips containing the data he transported for Jaymes as a courier. He illegally made copies of the data just in case he was ever double-crossed. The data contains instructio ns for the gang to perform several illegal acts from assault to theft. The data is scrambled, however, and is useless without Jaymes' code. He hires Kano, the only fixer that would help him, to sell the data back to Jaymes. Unfortunately, he was double-crossed again.

Judge Julius B. Anderson, State Executioner of NoCal Judge Anderson, son of marine Chris Anderson, is a cold-hearted killing machine whose sole job is to pursue escaped convicts and execute them. He cannot be bribed, he cannot be persuaded, he cannot be stopped. It's what he does, it's all he does. Stats: Int: 5, Ref: 8, Tech: 9, Cool: 9, Attr: 2, Luck: 10, MA: 6, BT: 8, Emp: 5 (3). Skills: Shadow +15, Track +11, Stealth +13, Intimidate +13, Rifle +14, Pistol +12, Aikido +10 Cyberware: Optic with Anti-Dazzle, Lowlight, Microcamera, Neuralware Processor with Chipware socket, Left Cyberarm armored (SP20), Skinweave (SP16) Gear: 20mm Cannon (+14, 4d10 AP, 1/10), Armalite 44 (+12, 4D6+1, 1/8), Armor Vest (SP10), Flares, Radio, Sleeping Bag, Police Visual Recognition MRAM Chips, AV-3 Aerocop.

The Data The contents of the file on Schumann are rather illustrious. In 2023, Schumann hired German terrorists to bomb the IEC stockholder's meeting in Berlin in an attempt to launch a hostile corporate buyout of the newly available stock. This information was retrieved by INFOCOMP field agent Daniel Cortez and was subsequently purchased by Schumann's political opponents to foil his political aspirations. Schumann had to drop his bid for Governor after that in exchange for the info. Value Index=1 (GM note- the basis for an other adventure I ran, to be published later.) In 2024, Schumann had a documented affair with DMS braindance star Haley Comett. Attached Braindance recording supressed. Value Index=4. In 2025, Schumann ordered the assassination of EBM V.P. Finance Lars Lumley using EBM Black Ops Agents over rejected budget proposals. Subsequent VP appointment Horace Greeley later approved said budget proposals. Value Index=9. (GM note- this is the ringer. It is generally acceptable to use EBM black ops agents on targets outside the corporation, but expressly forbidden to intentionally cause harm within the organization. Schumann is in deep ca-ca for this one.) Should the information on the datachip be copied, a record of that copy is made on the original. Therefore, Jaymes will know if the original has been copied. If the copy has been copied, and he retrieves the first copy, he'll know it's been copied again. Jaymes wants ALL copies. No exception.