S02E05

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It was last edited Thursday, February 6, 2025 by Arcology Expert Program.

Season 2, Episode 5
Quarterly Report Metrics

Staring	Fräulein Ärtzin, Garbo, Liam, Shirayuri
With	Nicole-Anne Bélanger, Simone-Marie Bélanger, IGARASHI Izanami
And
Introducing	"Pinkie", KAZAMA Takehiko, Anne Smith
Previous Episode	S02E04 – Instinct
Next Episode	S02E06 – Antisocial Network Interface

Session 1 - 2024/12/12

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Scene 1
Dealer Incentives

Who	Fräulein Ärtzin, Garbo, Liam, Shirayuri, Nicole-Anne Bélanger, Simone-Marie Bélanger, IGARASHI Izanami
When	Wednesday, February 18, 2060 (Day 62)
Where	Gaz-Niki Affiliate, SCIRE, Level 257‌

After leaving Director Ushida's Residence on Level 259‌, the group finds another unused commercial property to hide out in — a car dealership. Like the manufacturing levels below them, there are heavy-lift cargo elevators in this facility that lead all the way down to the cargo transshipment facilities, like the one they visited on Level B6‌. However, they are not nearly as conducive to climbing. Shirayuri could manage it with her magnetic system, but it would be a near impossible free-climb for the others.

They spend the day resting and figuring out their next moves. While discussing it, they decide some of their goals are more practical than others:

• Intelligence on the Microtronics Assembly and Manufacturing facilities on Level 252‌ and Level 253‌.
  • Access
  • Information Gathering
  • Steal Neat Stuff
  • Damage the Clean Room — They realize this is impractical; the arcology has dozens, possibly hundreds of facilities that could take up the slack.
• Information on the White Banded
  • Deeper general knowledge needed.
  • Shirayuri wants to know if her brother can be saved.
• Something going on with the director — There's initially some thought that there's something odd going on. There is, but whatever it is, it's just his job.
• Status of Twilight's (Former?) Shadowrunner Team: Dropbox, Lab Lady, Optics, Rocksteady, Snapshot
• Endgame for Exits from Arcology
• Non-Citizens Locations — Garbo wants to find his children.
• Heavy Duty Gear — SWAT armor, heavy weapons, explosives, etc.

The group puts on their Banded disguises — Fräulein and Garbo as Whites, Shirayuri as a Green, and the rest as Blues — and head down to investigate the microtronics factory.

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Scene 2
Satan's Workshop

Who	Fräulein Ärtzin, Garbo, Liam, Shirayuri, Nicole-Anne Bélanger, Simone-Marie Bélanger, IGARASHI Izanami
When	Thursday, February 19, 2060 (Day 63)
Where	Microtronics Assembly and Manufacturing, SCIRE, Level 253‌

In their first attempt at access, they don't find any elevator doors or air ducts. Fräulein projects enough to poke her head through the wall, where she finds people busy at work. They group realizes the production facilities are likely on independently filtered air, hence not connecting up to the SCIRE's normal air handling systems as they anticipated.

They find an alternate entry point, in the more office-like sections rather than the production floor then make their way over to the factory. They're forced to wear containment suits, and almost blow their cover when Shirayuri in the role of a Green technician flubs the procedure. She's able to pass it off as nerves, she's dealing directly with two Whites after all, and the other Greens present buy it.

In the factory, they find everything has been repurposed for drone manufacturing. The large production line for server racks has been repurposed to build Dervishes, and a smaller component manufacturing section is making some sort of tiny drone, like a cross between helicopter and a bumblebee. Further along the line, the tiny drones are loaded into something like a beehive: half a sphere with various hex shaped docking areas for the drones. Part of the quality assurance procedure for the hive appears to includes testing a ruthenium polymer coating.

As we are walking around, the Green shift leader comes up and begins being a suck up to Garbo in his pretty White girl guise. When questioned, he explains the bees have nanites inside them. They attack by inject a dose that distributes itself through the body. Once that happens, they go into a supercharged state and start cutting through body until run out of power. While small and quiet, in motion the bees are very hot. He's explains that the nanites come from Cybernetics Research and Manufacturing down on Level 72‌; he assumes they're a variation of the nanites used to cut and stitch nerve fibers during implantation procedures. When asked why they're making so many, he simply says he's given a quota and he tries to make sure his team meets it.

After about two hours, Izzie, Siri, and Garbo's eyedrops begin to fade. They leave the factor and return to the car dealership. Even after applying the cleaning solution, Siri's still show the blue pigment, though they have stopped glowing. She complains that she's having trouble seeing, but also has no interest in Fräulein and/or Shirayuri attempting to install the cybereyes they purloined earlier.

Session 2 - 2024/12/19

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Scene 3
Classroom Audit

Who	Garbo, Shirayuri, Nicole-Anne Bélanger, IGARASHI Izanami
When	Sunday, February 22, 2060 (Day 66)
Where	Renraku University, SCIRE, Level 282‌

Garbo builds disguises for Izzie, Shirayuri and Nian so they can accompany him among the unconverted student population (his own powers are sufficient). Fräulein is too small to pull off an appropriately-aged student, Liam is too masculine (even for an Elf), and Siri's sclera are still tinted blue — they will cover the others from inside the duct work.

Garbo and the three girls are able to blend in among the students. They pass through an area with mostly younger girls in the 13-15 range. While Izzie points out that they all have datajacks, none of them have cybereyes. All four agree that they otherwise seem to be early teenage schoolgirls, acting like early teenage schoolgirls.

In there attempts to gather information, Shirayuri has to field a lot of questions about her cyberlimbs, but otherwise it goes well. There's mention of marksmanship classes, something that hadn't been offered to Izzie, Nian, and Siri's age group (though martial arts courses as a physical education elective were available). They also found it telling that the girls had no special reaction to a full five-man team of Red Samurai on patrol, no more than how one might act if a Lone Star or Knight Errant police patrol had rolled by.

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Scene 4
White Walls

Who	Fräulein Ärtzin, Garbo, Liam, Shirayuri, Nicole-Anne Bélanger, Simone-Marie Bélanger, IGARASHI Izanami, KAZAMA Takehiko, "Pinkie"
When	Sunday, February 22, 2060 (Day 66)
Where	Renraku University, SCIRE, Level 282‌

The group in the air ducts overhears a heated conversation between two people, both speaking in Japanese. They vector in the others — specifically the native-speakers — to hear the conversation. They only catch the tail end of the conversation: "One little pyromaniac demon bitch shouldn't be so hard to find. You better take care of it before she torches someone else."

Shirayuri notices the girl has something running up near her neck on her cyberarm side, realizes it's a burn scar. Even with as little as they heard, Garbo believes the male has a genuine authority vibe, especially for someone in his late teens. Both of them have a four-man Blue, and they Whites are clearly in charge (rather than the Blues being more like babysitters and having some authority).

Once his back his turned, the girl gives the boy the double deuce and walks away. As he's passing by the group, he takes notice of Shirayuri and her cyberlimbs, he calls out to the female White, proclaiming that Shirayuri has style, unlike her. Shirayuri realizes that she knows the guy — he is KAZAMA Takehiko, captain of one of the SCIRE school system's soccer teams.

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Scene 5
Hall Monitor

Who	Garbo, Shirayuri, Nicole-Anne Bélanger, IGARASHI Izanami
When	Sunday, February 22, 2060 (Day 66)
Where	Renraku University, SCIRE, Level 282‌

After the two Whites have left, the group encounters a class change, learning there are also younger children in this area. The class groups are mixed, covering about three years wide groups — the younger classes, nine-, ten-, and eleven-year-olds are mixed, while the older group (at least in this area) is all girls. The older girls move between classes under their own guidance, while the younger kids are escorted by Greens as a group.

The group finds a few more opportunities to ask the students, and learn that there have been multiple incidents of arson over the last few weeks. All of the attacks have taken place in the University area, but there's no pattern anybody has been able to figure out. The most recent attack is first time a person was attacked directly: "Pinkie" was lit on fire in her sleep. Some of the older Whites had been staying in the dorms by choice, but now they're sleeping in other sections of the SCIRE.

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Scene 6
Tunnel Rats

Who	Fräulein Ärtzin, Liam, Simone-Marie Bélanger
When	Sunday, February 22, 2060 (Day 66) through Monday, February 23, 2060 (Day 67)
Where	Renraku University, SCIRE, Level 282‌

The group spends the rest of the day and most of the next in the vents and undercover, trying to see if they can do a better job of finding the arsonist than the Blues and Whites.

The group in the ducts keep their focus there. It's an area the Banded have shown a persistent disregard for, finding clear evidence of somebody other than themselves. They also find indications that somebody has been accessing the maintenance areas. There are shrink-wrapped pellets with bottles of potential accelerants missing from the backside, somebody didn't want their thefts to be found quickly. Some effort is put to exploring the Dean's Office complex, but there's no evidence that it's ever been used (it wasn't finished when the shutdown began, and still isn't.

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Scene 7
Theatre Nerds

Who	Garbo, Shirayuri, Nicole-Anne Bélanger, IGARASHI Izanami
When	Sunday, February 22, 2060 (Day 66) through Monday, February 23, 2060 (Day 67)
Where	Renraku University, SCIRE, Level 282‌

The other group search some of the more publicly accessible areas. Their olfactory sensor pings in the library and study rooms, detecting signs of some of the accelerants the arsonist might have used. A quick check of the library computer says there are physical reference materials that have gone missing since a few days before the attacks began.

They also hit up the food storage area. There are drone tunnels that go in and out, ones you'd have to be Fräulein's size to make use of. They find similar evidence of things being stolen from the backside of stacks, however. There's no chance anybody was staying here long term, as it's all refrigerated and freezer compartments.

They get additional pings off the scanner in the entertainment and performance arts section. The trideo film theaters are actively in use in all but the wee hours of the night. The stage theaters are only active during the day; the scanner pings indicate she might be staying here at night.

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Scene 8
Red Stage

Who	Fräulein Ärtzin, Garbo, Liam, Shirayuri, Nicole-Anne Bélanger, Simone-Marie Bélanger, IGARASHI Izanami, Anne Smith
When	Monday, February 23, 2060 (Day 67)
Where	Entertainment and Performance Arts, Renraku University, SCIRE, Level 282‌

The team decides to split up into three groups to cover the three different stages — Shirayuri, Izzie, and Siri, then Garbo and Liam, with Fräulein and Nian covering the third.

Despite how stealthy Shirayuri usually is, their prey spots them from the scaffolding above the stage. She's no older than a third or fourth grader, but she threatens to burn the whole place down if they don't leave. Shirayuri tries to convince her that they're here to help, but the girl says she won't be trapped again and flees. With her speed and her ability to jump and climb, she can't get away from Shirayuri, who corners her in a space between the stages and grabs her without harming her.

When Garbo and company reaches the group, he realizes that the pyromaniac is his eight-year-old daughter, Anne. Her reaction is entirely unexpected: she shouts that he can't be her father, that it's impossible that he's here, and that they tried to trick her with her mother once already. She refuses to believe any statement he makes to the contrary.

Fräulein and Nian are the last to arrive. In addition to assessing the obvious injuries — her left arm and the left side of her face have been burned, destroying the eye too — Fräulein does a quick astral scan. It's as you would expect: the girl is injured (beyond just the burns), angry, sad, and scared. She quickly uses her magic to relieve some of the injuries, and without the pain to keep her on edge, Anne passes out.

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Scene 9
Burning Questions

Who	Fräulein Ärtzin, Garbo, Liam, Shirayuri, Nicole-Anne Bélanger, Simone-Marie Bélanger, IGARASHI Izanami, Anne Smith
When	Tuesday, February 24, 2060 (Day 68)
Where	Gaz-Niki Affiliate, SCIRE, Level 257‌

The group retreats to the car dealership they've been hiding in. After what is likely to be the first good sleep she's gotten in weeks, the group has many questions for Anne. She answers what she's able to, but remains wary of the man who claims to be her father.

 

 

Burning Questions

 ^[edit]

Team Questions

• Where was she taken when taken from mother? — She was on Level 4‌, having lunch with her mother, step-father, step-aunt, and brother when they were attacked by Dervishes. When she woke up, the adults were gone and she was in a cage with Caesar.
• What kind of classes? — Computers, electronics, mechanics, math. Caesar liked it. She heard some of the older kids were taking firearms classes.
• What happened to Caesar? — I don't know. The younger kids (6, 7, and 8) were grouped together, boys and girls. The older kids were kept separate from the younger kids, and the boys and girls were kept separate.
• When did you see your mother? — It was a couple of weeks ago, but it wasn't her mother. Mom has dark eyes; the woman pretending to be her had glow green eyes.
• How did she get away from the classes? — She attended classes, because they're escorted to and from them. She escaped from the dorms at night. The mag locks listened to her, opening when she told them to.
• Why did she light Pinkie on Fire? — She does not want to talk about it.

Fräulein's Assensing

After Anne mentioned the doors just "listening to her", Fräulein assenses her again. Without the injuries and the strong emotions clouding her perception, she's able to get a much better read. Other than a datajack, Anne doesn't have any of the implants the Whites do, but Fräulein picks up the same astral weirdness seen in Oracle and the Kid.

Session 3 - 2025/01/09

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Scene 10

Who	Fräulein Ärtzin, Garbo, Liam, Shirayuri
When	Tuesday, February 24, 2060 (Day 68)
Where

Prior to Pinkie, lowest essence she has seen in a White is Treasure. Blue mages are also low essence. The Banding process seems to amplify negative traits and/or lower empathy.

Step 1: Acquire Truth Serum - Return to Microtronics Assembly and Manufacturing on Level 253 to secure a supply of Gamma-Scopolamine from the Dervish production line.

Garbo and Shirayuri are going to go in and just ask the foreman for the serum. Fraulein gives pointers on wearing a clean suit. No issues looking like they belong. Slow putting her own suit on, faster with Garborina's The foreman comes onto Garborina real hard. She's almost put off by it, but remembers that plenty of the Whites are supremely arrogant. She tears a strip of flesh off him and puts him in his place. There is some "confusion" of what they actually need, and some back and forth between them, but they eventually get what they need. They escape without further issue. Step 2: Identify

Find White (probably "Pinkie") in University, follow them to their residence/room from the astral.

Day 1 - No success.

Day 2 - At the end of her first shift, she finds a White but it's just a kid who wants to play with other kids. After resting, she heads back to where the kid is and is able to find him (the kid he was playing with has a black eye). She is able to follow the kid down to floor 273. The Whites have been given whatever they seem to want, some having 3-4, others just one older white maybe in a suite living the high life. Many of them have high end electronics in large quantities. Astral vibe on the floor is there is a lot of solidarity and working together for a greater purpose. From the Astral it feels very cult like and it is everywhere. (Background Count 3+)

Learn patterns to identify locations to capture them and locations to keep them.

With the background count on the dormitory levels, they realize the best/only bet is to draw "Pinkie" out big giving her what she wants - Anne. Of course, it will be Fraulein disguised as Anne.

Step 3: Acquire

Fraulein - Disguised as Anne

The group as a whole will conduct a psy-op, encouraging Pinkie's hunt for Anne. They'll lead her to the Dean's Complex, where they'll ambush her.

Step TBD: Interrogate

Step TBD: Dispose

Questions for White:

What is it that Whites do to gain bands and why is it different than the Blues and Greens.

Why do Whites have so much authority?

Why are all the Whites children?

What is the process of becoming a White?

Where are the Whites trained/processed?

What is the Whites purpose in the SCIRE?

The Girl in White referenced a He, who is He?

Where are the Whites staying?

What is the purpose of the experiments?

Session 4 - 2025/01/30

Session 5 - 2025/02/06

References

Episodes:

• Previous: S02E04 – Instinct
• Next: S02E06 – Antisocial Network Interface