Episode 35: The Festival of Firepower Job, Part One - kaseido/NeoTokyo GitHub Wiki

11-26 Thatcher The Team assembles what they learned (offscreen) from investigating the Izanami facilities:

HQ: There were two jobs here.

• The first left this meme: https://pics.loveforquotes.com/uh-oh-we-have-a-hacker-quickmemecom-uh-oh-hacker-50118481.png and arranged for a weather control station to lock out all its personnel for four hours. During that time, an unscheduled storm provided total cloud cover for a front about twenty kilometers wide and 200 long. The operation required a hack of the NET architecture to send out lockdown orders, and a comms intercept and re-direct to handle voice confirmations and authorizations.

• The second left this meme: https://i.chzbgr.com/original/9034629120/h8D34FE15/image-of-a-cat-coming-out-of-a-computer-joke-is-that-the-cat-is-a-hacker-and-says-im-in-funny-meme and de-orbited an atmospheric-gasses monitoring satellite, which impacted a wilderness area in the outback two and a half days later. This required manual re-positioning of the rooftop comms array, and hacked commands to the satellite.

University Heights: This facility is a research lab for terraforming modeling – all supercomputer stuff. They didn’t get much time, or a deep dive here, as security was especially tight. Here’s the meme: https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.785431909.3697/flat,750x,075,f-pad,750x1000,f8f8f8.jpg Apparently this was a solo job, and there’s no record of what the center did for 37 minutes between 0327 and 0402 one weekend morning.

Paragon uploads the memes onto a disconnected system. Dino gets to stay up in Star’s room with a little martini – he’s having a full spa day on a different floor. They’re running what looks like an internet connection: it’s a closed network but doesn’t look like a closed network.

The memes do assemble into one master program: it outputs something to an extreme low frequency generator: it looks like an icepick for something’s brain, but they can’t tell if there’s a message or anything in addition to the attack. They think it’s to stab Sekhmet in the brain. possibly because they can’t get at her any other way.

There are mind control conspiracies about ELF, and they’re not generally monitored. This is what Sekhmet used. Star wants to know if this has to do with her church.

They compare the duration of the message to the amount of lost time at the center. It matches. They were using the supercomputer to deliver the ELF payload. And Izanami runs plenty of those antennas.

They speculate that the hacks were intended to cover up movements and activities of the van movements. A second purpose was to get the memes into the Izanami system so they could be combined at the supercomputer facility. Carbide wonders if the meme attack was on the Hsuis’ own time, or part of the jobs they were hired to do.

Star points out they have all the answers on the Izanami job. They should close that out then get a new job of continuing to investigate the deeper meanings by getting Spicy to keep Hua Hsui alive. If Izanami wants in on that info, they can pay more for it.

Star calls Avril, who says she wants heads of the perpetrators. Star can give perp names, but they were hired. That will take more time and they will have to work with the perps, as they have a good defense network. They’re complete bullshit, but they’re good at their bullshit. Carbide says they’re fellow professionals, Star adds but less awesome. Avril adds she doesn’t care about the contractors – she might need them someday as well. But she wants to know who hired them.

Carbide says one of the attacks was intended to conceal movements of a group of people in the outback. Presumably somebody’s making moves in the wilderness. He explains the payloads were designed to hijack the supercomputer facility and attack somewhere. Internal processes might be better able to take it from there.

Star says if the ELF is designed to communicate with her ultimate god being, she would like to know, for the pull with her church. EVERYBODY STARES. Will Avril tell them if her tech was used to have gossip calls with Cthulhu? Don’t stop, we just need to know. Avril is happy to find out, at her hourly rates – which are higher than the team’s. If Star can figure out if she can bill it to the church, she might call back.

Star says they will continue to find the hand that guides the weapons. Avril says there’s no ticking clock, but they’ll pay.

Paragon suggests that Star’s going to pad the bill to the church and not just pass through. Star believes in Lavinia From Accounting’s power. They think it’s Legal that knows where all the bodies are buried, but it’s really the accountants.

They talk about their exit plan: time is getting ripe. They still don’t believe the “no money” thing. Star suggests investing in cultural artifacts to trade for goods and services. Carbide says with replicators, you don’t need a lot of trades. Star says they like art, so they care about real objects on some level.

Vir talks to Mango. Paragon translates, though Mango doesn’t like her much. Vir asks if odd was going on when the broadcast went out. Sekhmet has been pinging the network, but stopped for about 10 days after the attack, which disrupted the cats for about 37 minutes, like a concussion. Vir thanks Mango, and finds Sekhmet’s back to normal. Treats are appreciated as her due – she gets real sardines.

Paragon meets with Killswithch, at a suitably private location: the tech support office of an abandoned office building in Koto City. She and Dino do not dress professionally. Dino’s in his pirate outfit. Killswitch takes the rock out of his shoe and takes off his face-shifting mask. Instead of greeting him like a human being, she opens up Dino’s pooch, pulls out the shard with all the information – everything from the moss acid trip and derived data. This is the other deadman switch, but she doesn’t care if Killswitch looks at it before she dies.

“A really really interesting history lesson. So, Arasaka. We’re pretty sure it’s not gone, and it’s Netwatch.” Not certain, but really good suppositions. Video files from a psychedelic trip on moss from a really tiny tree, don’t ask, it’s biology, it’s not my thing. One of the video clips is of the recently incarcerated Bai getting compelled to shut down research and incidentally order my parent’s deaths, but someone who looks almost exactly like the director of Netwatch.”

“What better cover for shenanigans than owning the shenanigan police?”

“The research is an anti-senescence drug and technology. They shut down the operation and all the employees including my parents, there was a backup formula and manufacturing facility on the chip. That was the noodle recipe. Antoine knows that’s what it was and is keeping his trap shut, as well he should. I’m pretty sure the facility is on the same station as the noodle shop. I’m sure there’s a lot of loose threads. We have a lot on our plate, and we may be leaving the planet. We’re going to be the worst Federation citizens ever. We’re planning on stealing photos of people’s grandmas and sell them back, I dunno, I wasn’t really paying attention.”

He offers help with distractions. She lets him in on another job, probably punching up a little more than they necessarily should. She tells him about the Izanami jobs, the memes, and the ELF spike aimed somewhere at something. She doesn’t mention the cats. She does note a being or group that communicates that way, so possibly it was a strike with our against that, but no further info.

He offers the Gnu, she says at least two of the three attacks that did something aside from horrible meme job – less horrible, since it Voltroned – the first one was deletion of footage of some sort of prisoner transport or personnel movement. Another was deorbiting a satellite. Something is being hidden in the outback. They have back burner things looking for hidden prison facilities, but they’re currently occupied chasing another angle.

She shoots over all the stuff on the Izanami jobs. If the Gnu can find anything out about the locations, people, source of the trucks, or anything else, pass it along. Might not be anything easily findable, but the trouble they went to says there’s something traceable there. Even if they find out the same things, that’s confirmation. And be really careful with the Arasaka/ Netwatch stuff. Everybody’s scared of Netwatch. And once you fuck with Netwatch, you can’t unfuck with Netwatch.

And one last level of what the fuck. The plant trip Star went on was because of a tree given to her by Bai Wen-Yi. He explicitly gave us this shit. At the very least he would like to fuck Arasaka over. But the enemy of your enemy is not necessarily your friend.

He says prison puts a lot of guards between you and your enemies. BSP is paying to keep him out of their boardroom.

He’s going to get drunk, sleep for a week, and then think about this. It’s a shame she’s leaving, or he’d pass on all his operations to her. She tells him to pay attention to her disciple. It feels like defiance when she gets herself a vanilla latte on the way home. It does not occur to her to buy coffee for anyone else.

Star calls Spicy and gives her the next job. She’s visibly not armed and definitely bodyguard, so if somebody takes that to a heavy weapons expo, that’s concerning.

Star and Spicy get coffee with Da. Star needs to get Spicy guts. But Spicy doesn’t like liver! Star has guts now and can eat things again. Spicy wants hot water to dissolve her nutritional wafers in. She’s jealous of Star’s boba. The wafers are easy to break down, she doesn’t even have to chew.

Da says,d o bear in mind that Bai Jie will be coordinating security for the Expo. Jie’s going to protect Hua as high-visibility BADI staff, but she doesn’t think it’s going to be enough, as Jie’s going to be playing general in a full-on battle, and might consider middle management acceptable losses. Da will cooperate on site – get people in, do whatever they can as Senior Manager, Strategic Analysis – which will mostly involve an employee ID and lots of bluffing.

Da asks Spicy for her qualifications. Spicy gives her trade names, all spices. “Was I Coriander once? Maybe? I was Parsley but that was a weird job that wasn’t written down anywhere.” Da asks how many clients she’s lost. Sometimes her air-quotes client is not actually her client, sometimes there the victim, I mean target. Sometimes the job actually is act like you’re bodyguarding that person, but then bite out his femoral and let them bleed out in bed. That’s happened twice.” I can stash the client and stand and fight and decapitate a few people, or pick up the client.” Star says, “Technically I’m the client, and the orders are to keep her alive.” Spicy responds, “I’ve never not done what Star says except when it comes to eating popcorn.”

Spicy says if Da wants no damage to Hua but wants to take out the attackers, “I don’t have to be a bodyguard, I can be a girlfriend, and hang off her arm and giggle and fetch drinks, or steal her drinks and drink from the first, eat off her plate, and be very cute about it. I don’t carry a gun, I don’t look dangerous. If you want to draw people out who might be scared off by a bodyguard, and might try another time.”

Da loves it. It’ll calm Hua down. Spicy says she should be contracted for the whole event. Star will dress her as needed.

Da is disturbingly grateful. Star: “I do want to make one thing clear. This is MY sister.”

Star is going to have Tiffany bring her as a date – there’s nothing Jie can do if Tiffany brings her. Stephane-Louis will bring Paragon, and Carbide and Vir will get on rooftops and not have to wear people clothes.

Bai Jie’s battle tactics are messy and loud. Tiffany will have her own bodyguard team and Star will tip her off on Jie’s nonsense, which Tiffany will find entertaining.

Star deduces her friends at TFS Specialized Defense will be at the sharp end of what goes down. She tells Paragon about Lavigne Aerospace being the other likely major attacker.

Carbide knows a lot of people who can add to chaos and distraction. Paragon wants to bring the Gorn in: they’ll do anything for Spicy and Starscream and nobody will mess with them. They can cover the extraction. A bunch of giant lizards in Happy Aura cosplay… Star says they’ll all be in tuxes and dresses. “Oh, we should probably tell Night what we’re doing so we don’t get yelled at.”

Spicy will arrange through Da to have “dates” with Hua before the event, to establish herself as a girlfriend, and because it was important to Da that Hua be comfortable and happy, so Spicy shouldn’t be a stranger. A little bit of relationship and a baseline of friendly. It goes adequately, and Hua is getting comfortable with her. Spicy’s doing her best – she’s naturally a friendly and affectionate person. Hua found it creepy at first, but found it more pleasant over time.

Hua totally falls for her!!!!

Star’s stated goal for the church was to start recruing the rich – who get invited to this and have their own private armies. She’s going to talk to Lavinia, and find out who on the church rolls got invited, and tell them to have their security standing by, as she’s gotten emanations from the planet that there could be danger. She wants to see who’s become a tentacle scientologist.

The name Karpaev comes up in Paragon’s search. Star’s outraged: “I gave him a signed CD!! I had a whole apology concert!” Spicy asks if she should offer to sign his CD. Star wants to say yes… “Yes! By the end of the night that man will worship me!”

Paragon wants some side netrunners, to take over onsite turrets on the venues. And people in the network willing to do anti-personnel.

Star learns that Paradise Blossoms, the third-generation replacements for Happy Aura, are playing the event. Star reaches out to their manager: “I’ve been through this shit before, look out for your people, and consider bringing extra bodyguards and have an escape plan. I’ll have people and if you want to coordinate we can.” Message heard and understood. Star did her good turn for the year.